I know it's been like forever. I am so sorry. I lost inspiration and was working on a different project. I also wanted to do this story justice with a good ending. This will be the very last chapter of this story. It will also be the longest by far. I hope you enjoy.

The feeling of stepping into a swirling mass of pure magic was not something Nora could describe. It was dizzying and made her a little bit nauseous, but it was also warm and comforting somehow. She tried to keep her eyes open but all of the colors were too much. She squeezed Michael's hand, reassuring herself that he was still there beside her. He squeezed back and Nora felt herself relax. Even though she knew she would be breaking is heart in just a few minutes, she was still glad to have him there. She thought about what she would have to do. The fireflies would ask for something in return for a magical weapon, and although she couldn't be sure, Nora thought she knew what they would ask for. She wasn't meant to be alive. The world needed balance. She stepped out of the portal to look at that looming mansion where all of this had started.

She had just wanted a summer job. That's all. If she hadn't come here in the first place, none of this would have happened. Did she regret it? Surprisingly, no. It was crazy, but she could go back in time, she wouldn't have changed a thing, except perhaps dying. That had sucked. 

"Ready?" Michael asked, giving her hand another squeeze. Nora let out a breathy laugh.

"Not even a little bit." Michael smiled softly. Nora took a deep breath and let go of his hand. "Let's do this." She led him over to the side of the house, where those beautiful flowers were swaying in the wind as if they didn't conceal a torture chamber below. 

"Hello?" she whispered. She didn't know why she was whispering. Emma likely already knew they were there given the shields that were up around the house. There was no response. "Firefly people?" she tried again. They didn't take kindly to being called the wrong name apparently.

"Who dares misname us?" A voice responded. It wasn't anything like the benevolent softness of that glowing woman's voice. This sounded like a swarm of bees mixed with a million snakes hissing, somehow forming words. It was neither male nor female.

"I wouldn't misname you if I knew what you were called," Nora retorted. Something between a hiss and a laugh came from behind the lilies.

"We are the Evviads," the voice conceded.

"We wish to make a trade," Nora said, peering through the lilies, looking for any sign of these evviads. That hissing laugh greeted her again.

"What could you possibly have that the mighty evviads would want," the evviads responded. 

"A life restored through dark magic," Nora said before she could lose her nerve. Michael looked at her incredulously.

"No. Nora, you can't. I'll just bring you back again. I know I said I wouldn't but I won't let you die! Not again." Nora turned to face him, reaching out to take his other hand.

"You know it isn't right. I'm supposed to be dead. Think about it. Even if I live, I'll end up like her. Like Emma. I can't do that." She looked into his eyes to find them shining with tears. She knew hers probably looked the same, but she wouldn't let them fall. She couldn't show how scared she really was. 

"Please," Michael said one more time.

"I'm sorry," Nora said simply. She turned back towards the flowers. "I wish to trade my life for a way to stop Emma." There was a moment of silence.

"We accept," the voice finally stated. Nora released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She wasn't sure what she had expected to see next, but what she did she surprised her all the same. 

A seemingly endless stream of fireflies emerged from nowhere and swarmed around Nora. It felt nothing like the kindness of that mirage she had seen before. Whatever these evviads were, they were not gentle creatures. She tried to focus her attention on just one of them. There was something different about these compared to normal fireflies, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The swarm swirled, making her feel like she was back in that portal all over again. She couldn't see or hear anything beyond the buzzing. Then one of the evviads broke ranks and flew steadily toward her face, and then into her open mouth. She tried desperately to spit it out, but it was much to late for that. The bug had flown into her mouth and down her windpipe. More followed it. The entire swarm shoved themselves down her throat. Nora tried to scream, but no sound escaped her. 

She thought it would never end, but it did, as quickly as it had begun. She was suddenly kneeling on the soft grass, shivering. Then Michael's arms were around her. She longed to melt into them, to sob until she had no tears left. But she wouldn't. She couldn't. She allowed herself a few seconds to stay there, and then she gently pushed him away and stood up. He stood with her, a look of unbearable sadness on his face. 

"Are you okay?" he asked after a moment.

"I feel....tingly," was all she said. It was true. She felt tingly, like she was buzzing with energy, which, she supposed she was. 

"Can you do it? Can you kill her?"

"Yes." Of that she was absolutely certain. She would kill Emma. She would kill her for all the pain she had caused. She would do it for all of the innocent people that Emma had consumed. She would do it for all the pain Emma had caused Michael. And she would do it for the little girl that Emma used to be. The little girl who ran out into the street and walked back without a soul.

"Such confidence," a cold voice said from behind them. Nora and Michael whirled around, coming face to face with a smirking Emma. "You just won't stay dead now will you?" she said, a fake smile plastered on her face. 

"Guess humans are a little more resilient than you thought," Nora retorted. 

"Perhaps. I'll just have to make sure I finish the job this time," Emma replied simply. 

"You won't get that chance," Michael growled from next to Nora. "Fortis ventis," he said suddenly, throwing his hands out towards where Emma stood. There was a whooshing sound and Emma stumbled back a step. Just one step, but it was enough for Nora to gather herself. Emma, ready to retaliate, had her own hands poised in front of her body. Nora dove in front of Michael, just as Emma sent a blast of boiling energy towards him. The blast went right into Nora. It felt like someone had poured molten lava down her throat. It was slowly filling up every bit of her. It was excruciating. She would have screamed, but her vocal cords had been incinerated. She writhed on the ground. She heard someone laughing in the distance. It was probably Emma. Wait, Emma? Who was that? Come to think of it, who was she? What was she doing here?

And then everything stopped. Nora opened her eyes to find that nothing was moving. The pain was gone. Michael was frozen, kneeling beside her. Emma was also frozen, a look of evil glee still etched on her face. Besides the simple act of blinking, Nora couldn't move either. 

"Do it. Do it now," a voice said inside her head. It was the buzzing consciousness of the evviads. 

"I don't know how," Nora pleaded. How was she supposed to kill Emma when she couldn't even move?

"Foolish human. It is not so difficult. Just move. Move or we will leave you to die here. We are not a patient people," the evviads egged her on. Nora strained against the stillness with every ounce of her being. She grunted as she managed to wiggle her fingers a little bit. That grunt turned into a low growl as she struggled to move her entire hand. She felt the buzzing power of the evviads fill every orifice of her body as that growl turned into a scream. She threw her hands out towards Emma as she forced herself into a kneeling position. She physically felt the power leave her in a great torrent of cold. Where Emma's power had been all fire and brimstone, the evviads' was as cold as ice. It blasted Emma off her feet, and time unfroze. Michael looked around, a confused look on his face.

"But...you were there....and she was standing....and you weren't...what?" Nora managed to smile briefly at how adorable he was. The smile melted off her face quickly as her eyes landed on Emma, who wasn't moving. She thought she would be happy when Emma was finally dead. She didn't feel guilty. She knew it had been necessary. And yet, she was sad that it had been necessary in the first place. So many things could have been different if it hadn't been for that stupid car that had hit a happy little girl who just wanted the ball back. Nora crawled over to Emma's body. It took all of her remaining strength to do it. She could feel the life leaving her. The price for that magic would be paid, and soon. Michael was still standing, staring absently at his sister's body. Nora turned Emma over. Her eyes were closed. She looked peaceful. Nora was about to close her own eyes, feeling the pull of death, and then Emma opened hers. Nora jumped back in alarm. It hadn't worked. Emma was going to kill her, and then Michael. It hadn't worked. Those stupid fireflies had lied to her. 

Emma just laid there, barely breathing, as Nora stared. She finally gathered the courage to go over to the girl again. When she did, she didn't find the eyes of a monster. She found the eyes of a little girl who was afraid of dying. Then Nora did something she never could have predicted. She picked up the girl and cradled her in her lap, gently stroking her head. Michael stumbled over and kneeled beside them. 

"Em?" he said hesitantly. Emma turned her eyes to his. 

"Mike." Her voice was rough and gravelly, like she had been screaming. Nora saw the hope in Michael's eyes, and wished she could tell him not to dare hope. She had her fingers pressed to Emma's neck. The girl's pulse was thready at best. She wasn't going to survive. Emma took a rattling breath, seemingly gathering all the strength she had for these two words. She grabbed Michael's hand and then, to Nora's surprise, grabbed Nora's.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then she exhaled and went limp. Nora looked over to Michael. Tears were traveling silently down his cheeks. She wished with all of her heart that she wouldn't have to be the cause of more of those tears, but she could feel the life slipping away.

"Michael I--"

"Please. Please don't say anything," he whispered. Nora gently set Emma's body back on the ground. She reached out and closed the girl's eyes. Then she crawled the couple feet to Michael and collapsed into his arms. He held her there. 

"I think that really was Emma. I don't think the real Emma wanted to do all of those awful things," Nora said softly. She was so tired. She fought to keep her eyes open. 

"I know," was all he said. He began to stroke her hair softly in the same we she had done for Emma.

"You'll be okay," Nora forced out. Her breathing was short and labored now. 

"I know," Michael responded, so quietly Nora almost didn't hear. But she did hear. She didn't wish she could tell him how much she loved him. He knew. And as she felt herself sink into nothingness, she smiled, because she knew that he loved her just as much.

Well that is that my lovelies. Again, sorry it took so long to get this out. I wanted to make this chapter special. I hope you all enjoyed it, or maybe didn't enjoy it considering how much death there was. Sorry about that. I was going to write an epilogue but decided not to. If you want to know what happened to Michael I will explain it below.

He returned to that cabin the woods to find his father waiting. He cried. A lot. He went to college and became a doctor. He never forgot about Nora, but as he had promised her, he was okay. He married a very nice police officer named Piper and they had three kids. Two boys and one girl. Their names were Percy, Nate, and Emma. At age 72, he died of a heart attack.

So there you go. I felt bad just leaving his story the way it was. Again, I hope you enjoyed.

In other news, look out for my new story. It's called The Good, the Bad, and the Damned.  

xoxo

-Sierra