Page 107 of Visions of You
Jaron's draconic strength was noteworthy, but vampires weren't weak either, and Keegan had superior agility. The moment he broke free from Jaron's grip even for a second, he moved out of the dragon's reach.
"Yes, come to me," Malkira's voice resonated through his head, drowning out all other thoughts. "You understand now, don't you? The ritual must be completed. It's the only way to save the future."
Keegan felt himself nod, his body no longer his to command. The world around him blurred and shifted, but Malkira remained clear, her presence anchoring him to a newfound purpose.
Jaron's voice cut through the fog once more. "Keegan, please! This isn't you. Don't let her control you!"
But Keegan's gaze remained locked on Malkira, her words etching themselves into his mind. The virus within Casca andFei, the threat it posed, the necessity of the ritual—it all made perfect sense now.
"We must cleanse the world of this danger," Keegan heard himself say, his voice sounding distant and foreign to his own ears. "The ritual will set things right."
Malkira smiled, her approval washing over him like a warm embrace. "Together, we will save the future."
Keegan felt a sense of calm settle over him, the last vestiges of resistance fading away. He knew what he had to do. The ritual would be completed, and he would be the conduit for all the power Malkira had gathered here.
For some reason, Malkira reached for him and removed the scarf. He wanted to protest. Jaron had given that to him. His protest was swallowed by the fog in his mind, but somewhere in the depths of his consciousness, a glimmer of his true self remained awake, fighting against the fog that enveloped his thoughts. He could hear shouts and the sounds of a struggle as the mages broke free from Mordyn's hold, but he couldn't act on any of it.
His body moved without his consent, touching the glowing sphere. Its energy flowed out to him, enveloping him in its otherworldly radiance. He became a vessel for its power.
The life-force of the unconscious victims, including Casca and Fei, began to transfer to him, drawn out by the ritual's dark magic. Keegan wanted to scream, to break free and stop this from happening.
Somehow, he had to…
Amidst the chaos, a sound pierced through the haze—Jaron's cry of pain as one of the mages wounded him.
Something inside Keegan snapped back to life at that sound. A spark ignited in his mind, burning through the layers of control Malkira had imposed on him. His eyes cleared for justa moment, enough to see Jaron clutching a wound on his side, blood seeping between his fingers.
"Jaron!" The name escaped his lips before he could think, filled with an urgency that pierced his heart.
He surged forward, power pulsing outward from him as he broke free from the magical grip that held him.
The mages were thrown aside by the blast, even Malkira, temporarily knocked out by so much raw energy.
Jaron yelped too, but his system wasn't as sensitive to being overloaded by magic.
Keegan knelt beside him, his hands shaking as he assessed the wound. "Jaron, I'm here. I'm so sorry. I couldn't… I couldn't fight it."
Jaron looked up at him, his eyes filled with pain and relief. "You're back. You broke free."
Keegan wanted to nod, to embrace Jaron and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't make any false promises to Jaron.
Keegan felt the ritual's power coursing through his veins, an unstoppable force that had taken hold of his very being. The same power that had knocked out the mages. He was full overflowing with it. His fate had been sealed the moment he touched that glowing sphere. The magic had found its vessel, and there was no turning back.
He looked down at his hands, watching as tendrils of energy danced across his skin. It was a beautiful and terrifying sight, a manifestation of the raw power that now resided within him. He hadbecomethe ritual, a conduit for the dark magic that threatened to consume everything in its path.
And with that realization came a sickening clarity. The vision that had haunted him, the one where he had begged Jaron to end his life, suddenly made perfect sense.
He used to think of it as a warning. A future that needed to be prevented.
Now he understood the opposite was true.
All this time, his powers had shown him the only way to fix the fate of the world. Fate itself had guided him here, chosen him for this job.
Keegan looked at Jaron.
God, he wished he didn't have to ask this of him.
"Listen to me," Keegan said, his voice strained with the effort of fighting against the magic that threatened to overtake him completely. "The ritual can't be stopped now. It's too late for me."
