Date: Mon, 29 May 2000 01:00:38 EDT
From: Shaman il-de SaintGermain <elderknight@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Price and the Prize Chapter 6

Well, here it is. The last of it. The end. The one and only chapter 6.
I've had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you've had as much fun reading
it. As always, this is fiction. Original fiction at that. I don't know
any of the guys from *Nsync, nor do I hold any secret information about
them.
My thanx go out to Kat as always, and to those of you who've written me
about this story. Okay, enough talk, On with the story...

The Price and the Prize, Chapter 6


     It's dark here, and it's cold. I don't know where "here" is, or even
if it's really a place. Maybe it's a time. Maybe it's not. I don't know.
All I know is, it's cold, and it's dark. I like it that way. That means
that IT isn't here, not watching. I can think freely. I learned that
early on. If I can't feel IT, IT doesn't know what I'm doing. Not
that I can do anything. Except think.

     I've thought a lot these last few...what, hours? days? weeks? I have
no concept of time. There's nothing to...well, there's nothing. Unless
IT shows me something. When IT does I look for anything I can to tell
me time, day, anything. I never have much time. IT always moves so
fast. And the things IT makes me see...

     *ringring**ringring*

     I reach over and pick up the phone. "'Lo, J.T. speakin'."

        "Hi Justin, how are you today?"

        "Hi mom, I'm..." No! There is no phone. Damn it! I'm loosing it
again. Tighten up Justin. Can't let my mind slip like that.

     It's cold here, and it's dark. I like it that way. At least that way
I know I'm still sane, I think. I'm not sure anymore...sure of anything.
I was sure once. I knew who I was. I knew what I wanted. I knew the whole
deal. I thought I did anyway. I was wrong. I didn't know anything. I'm
starting to get it though. I've learned as much in the last, well,
however long it's been, as I have in my whole life. A different sort of
thing. IT doesn't think I'm listening when It talks, but I am. That's
the only time The darkness parts. IT Thinks I'm just a stubborn kid.
Okay, I am that, stubborn I mean. When I was real young I figured out
that the only way I was going to survive in the entertainment business
for very long was to make up my mind and stick to the plan. I had a plan.
It was a good plan. Naive, but good. I was going to be a star. Not just a
star though. One of those people that are remembered for generations. I
was going to be like Frank Sinatra, Fred Astair, Bob Hope. Okay, so I get
a little carried away about it, but that was my plan. It was going pretty
good to. I had a long way to go to get to the prize, but I was willing to
pay the price. Not any price. Like I said, I wanted to be like the great
ones. The ones who, in the words of Mr. Sinatra,"Did it my way."
Something went wrong.

     There was a girl after a concert. She ran at me. I heard Lance
shout, but it was to late. I was already falling. I held on to her, trying
to make sure she didn't get hurt too bad. The breath left me when we hit
the ground. I tried to inhale, but her lips were on mine. What came into
me was not air. IT was there. I don't know exactly what IT is. I know
IT is from somewhere else. Like that old Sci-Fi movie, "Not of this
Earth". J.C. would like that I remember that. He loves those old black
and white movies. He used to make me stay up and watch them with him when
we were kids. They sucked. Bad. I never minded though. I always had fun.
J.C.'s my best friend. He's the best friend I ever had. The best anyone
could hope to have. The guys are great friends too. It's just that J.C.
has always been there for me. If I needed something, he never asked why,
just how soon. Even back when we first met, when the older kids on MMC
used to ignore us younger ones, he always made time. For all of us, not
just for me, but it seemed to me that he made a little more effort where
I was concerned. It made me feel special. My mom was a little suspicious
at first. She thought there might be "something wrong with him" as she
put it. She thought he was gay, into kids or something. Then he started
dating, bringing girls along when we went out and stuff. He hooked me up
pretty good too, I must say. In fact he's the one that introduced me to
the girl that would be my first time. He sort of set me up on that one.
I was 14, she was 23. Freaked me out when we went to pick her and his
date up. What a night that turned out to be. What a night that turned out
to be. What a night that turned out to be. I just said that didn't I?
Damn! I'm slipping again. That's what IT wants. IT said I would be
broken. I won't let that happen. I don't know why it's so important for
IT to break me before...

        'Justin? Awaken sweet one.' IT thinks.

     What now?

        'I want you to see something. Look at this one."

     I don't want to. I do anyway. If IT wants me to see something, or
feel something, or taste or hear or smell something, I do.

        'That's right Justin.'

     There's a room, in a basement it looks like. There's very little
light, and all of that is coming through a small window set high in the
wall. There's a girl. Can't be 10 years old yet.

     Oh God, not again.

        'Oh no Justin,' IT laughs at me,'This one is for tonight.'

     Tonight? Tonight! Oh God! The Ceremony!

        'Oh Justin. Why do you insist on constantly calling to your god?
If he were going to listen, he would have done so by now. And yes,
tonight  is the ceremony. Tonight I will open the ways for my true power,
and my brethren.'

     You'll fail.

        'Now whatever would make you think something so asinine as
that?'

     You have to fail.

        'I *have* to fail? And why do I *have* to fail? Because good
always triumphs over evil? HA! You have seen evil Justin. You have seen
me. Do you honestly think I will be beaten by some vaunted principle
slipped into the psyche of humans to bring them feeble hope in this dark
world?

     There's absolutely nothing I can say to that. IT is right.

        'Of course I am. Now rest yourself Justin. We have a long night
ahead of us...Oh my. Now what could that be?'

     It's dark again, and cold. I like it that way. Means IT isn't
here, not watching. Something caught IT's attention. What? I don't
know. The ceremony. The little girl will die. Her life force will fuel the
opening of a portal between worlds. Her soul will feed the power that
crosses that portal. IT will be stronger. IT will be whole. IT
promises that I won't be destroyed because IT hasn't broken me yet. I'm
afraid, but there's nothing I can do. Since IT came there has been
nothing I could do. Nothing. IT keeps telling me that. Over and over
and over and over. IT thinks I'll come to believe that eventually. I
know that's wrong though. There *is* something I can do. I can hold on. To
the last shred of my sanity, to the hope that IT will be beaten, to the
memories of better times.

        "Memories are good."

        "Yah, they are. Hey Chris, You remember that time we all went
swimming in Bonn? It was really late, and we all snuck out of our ho-o-OH
Shit! I'm doing it again! Tighten up Justin! Tighten Up!

     It's dark here, and it's cold. I like it that way. Let's me know I'm
still sane. I think. My mind plays tricks on me. There's nothing else to
do. I think it's sort of a defense mechanism. I'm subconsciously trying
to retreat into a world that's better, safer, warm. I have seen things...
In my darkest nightmares I could not have seen these things IT has made
me see. Made me be part of. I haven't just watched the murders, the
feedings, the rapes, the unnatural acts. I've been there. I've felt them.
At first, it was as if I were in a VR simulation. The sensations were...
not, right. The sounds were tinny echoes, the feelings were muted, like
wearing gloves. IT figured that out though. Now it's all real. I feel
what IT feels, hear what IT hears, taste what IT tastes. The blood,
the screams, the *pleasure*. If anything will break me, it's the feeling
of pleasure. I like pleasure. I always have. Pleasure is good, but what
pleasures IT is wrong. Very, Very, Wrong. To feel pleasure from the
things IT does...

     I hold no hope of being saved from this. I don't know what I would
be like even if I were saved. I don't know if I would ever be able to
function normally after what I've seen. IT hasn't broken me, but IT
has stolen something from me. Something from deep inside. Innocence?
Faith? Yes. They're gone. I've been violated in ways...in ways that
should not be possible. I'm holding on. IT thinks I believe I'll
survive. Find some way to get it out of me. I don't. I'm holding on
because that's all I can do. All my life I have been willful and
stubborn. All my life I have never given up on anything. I will not do it
now.

     It's cold here, and it's dark, so very dark. I like it that way...

     I still am...am...something. I'm getting all philosophical here.
I've been doing that since IT came. I wonder. I've been fighting to keep
my self here. To keep myself whole. I wonder. Am I really, have I ever
been. I think so, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm just a character in a story some
guy is typing out on his computer. Ha! that's funny. Who ever'd be writing
something like this would have to be a pretty sick puppy. Nah, this is
real. I am real. I am reel. I am reeling. I am spinning. I am dancing. I
am on stage. I am...loosing it again! Damn it! Damn It! DAMN IT!

        'Now now Justin, calm yourself.'

     IT is back.

        'Yes I am Justin. And I bring you a gift. Look at this one.'

     A room. Like the one the little girl was in. Maybe the same one.
There's someone laying on the floor. Short, dark hair, long body, bandage
on the right arm...oh my god...Josh...

        'Yes. I thought you might be surprised.'

     WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!

        'Why nothing little one. He's had a little accident that's all'

     If you hurt him I swear...

        'What? What will you do Justin? You can do nothing. You cannot
save your friend...Wait. You have been such fun. I think, yes, I will give
you a gift. I will let you choose who will be the sacrifice tonight.'

     What?

        'Choose Justin; Your handsome friend or the little girl you felt
so sorry for this morning. Which will open the way for me?

     You...You can't make me choose that!

        'You will make that choice or they will both die the most
hideous deaths I can imagine, at your very hands.'

     I feel IT smiling. IT is happy with IT's self.

        'I most certainly am Justin. I most certainly am.'

     It's dark again, and cold. Oh god oh god oh god! Josh! Joshua!
Please don't let this happen! Please...Who am I praying to? There's noone
listening. If there were this wouldn't be happening at all. I would be...
What, what's that? A light? A pin prick of light in the darkness!

     A star in this blackest of nights? HUH! Th-that wasn't me! That
wasn't my thought. The Light! NO! No No No...I m-must, I must be loosing
it again. Tighten Up Justi...!

        'jjjjjuuuuussstinnn...'

     No thought. No feeling. Shock. Silence...

     W-who...

     I feel him, just for an instant I feel him before me. In the shimmer
of light. In the tiny speck of brilliance that is the only thing in my
world, I feel him...

     josh...? For a moment I am warm. For a moment I am wrapped in strong
arms, protected against the dark and the cold, then it's gone. The
warmth, the light, gone, but It Was *HIM*!!

     JOSH!! OH MY GOD!! HOW!! WHAT!!

        'Now now Justin. Have you been ranting this entire time? Enough.
Calm yourself. It's time for your decision.' IT's back.

     What?

        'Your decision Justin. Who shall be my sacrifice?'

     I-I...her.

        'Ahhhh. You know very well that he will die regardless. Why then
choose her? No, wait. I know. You still hold hope don't you? What is that
foolish saying? Where there is life there is hope? Yes, that's it.

     H-he...She, she's innocent. Sh-she doesn't know...She should die
first so you don't hurt her anymore.

        'Ohhh, I see. You pretend you choose her out of mercy, is that
it Justin? No, We both know the truth. And we also both know that I had
no intention of honouring your choice.'

     No!

        'See this then.'

     There's a room, Large and open. No windows. The light is from
hundreds of candles spread over every flat surface, including the floor
along the walls. There are symbols and circles drawn all over the floor
with dusts and powders, and...paint?

        'Blood Justin.'

     of course...there's a table, big and heavy, in the very center of
the floor. As I look, I'm moving closer to it. On the table is...Josh...

     He's naked and tied down. A gag keeps him from making any noise, but
he's unconscious anyway. As I reach the table I see my hand reach out and
stroke his cheek. He's been beaten up. There are bruises on his face, his
lips are swollen and split, and his right arm has a big gash on it that's
been stitched up.

        'He is handsome isn't he? Even beaten and bruised.'

     yes.

        'Don't worry Justin. Soon he will be in no more pain. Well, first
he will experience pain the likes of which he, nor you, could ever imagine
as his soul is ripped from his body and torn to nothingness by the forces
of my dark majik...'

     Oh god...

        'but after that, he will be in no pain. He simply will not be.'

     I see my hand run down Josh's neck, over his chest. His eyes flutter
open, filled with confusion. Then comes the fear. He struggles with the
ropes holding him down.

        "Ha ha ha. You struggle in vain Joshua." IT says with my voice.

     Josh stops cold and stares up at me, at IT. The fear is gone,
replaced by, what, resignation and...

        'Love Justin. You've seen that look in his eyes before, you've
just refused to accept it for what it was. Do you know how much that
hurts him? Do you know how much pain you've caused him through the years
because you do not have the courage to accept love in whatever form it
may come? Look at him. He lies there with the certainty of his death
staring down at him and do you know what his only concern is? Let me show
you. Let us peer into the mind of this fool.'

     Something changes. I'm still looking into Josh's eyes, but I'm seeing
more. I'm seeing the world beyond them. I feel myself slip easily into the
mind behind those blue eyes. I've wondered so many times what he was
thinking, what he was really thinking. We shared so much, he and I, but I
always knew there were things he would never tell me. No matter how close
we got, how open we were, I knew he still had secrets. That's okay, I did
to. IT's right. I know he loves me. I've known for a long time now. And
I love him too. I...don't think it's the same thing. I don't think about
it much. I guess it's easier that way. Besides, Josh was always there,
always close, so why dig too deep. I was happy having him near me, doing
things with him, spending time together. Why dig deeper than that, right?

        'You're a coward Justin. That's why you never looked deeper. You
were too afraid of your feelings, too afraid of what you might find, what
it might mean. Your friend was brave enough to see the truth.'

     It's like being in the middle of a storm, I feel Josh all around me.
Every inch of me is touched by some part of him. I'm *in* him, becoming
*part* of him.

        'No Justin, we are only touching the top most portion of his mind.
Now listen.'

     Thoughts, words, spinning, swirling around. Chaos in smooth clear
tones. Then clarity; {Please God, keep him safe. Whatever I have to give,
take it. I've told you that before. I didn't think you were there, I'm not
really sure you are now. I'm sorry about that, but please, don't punish
Justin for my screw up...}

     No...

        'Yes Justin, now listen.'

     {...can't go on without him. You know what he means to me. You know
I'll give anything, everything for him. Please god, let them take me, but
save Justin...}

     NO!

        'Oh yes Justin. In his last minutes, as he stares death and
oblivion in the face, he can think only of you...'

     NO!!

        '...and pray to a god you no longer believe in that he will
deliver you. And do you know what is even more pitiful than that? He
thanks that god for letting him see you just once more before he dies.'

     Oh God No! Shut Up!

        'Hahahahahahaha!!'

     Shut Up! Shut Up! SHUT UP!!!! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM!!! I WON'T...!

     It's cold here, and dark. IT is gone.

     The ceremony is beginning. OhGodOhGodOhGod...Someone, something, hear
me please! Josh can't die! Not like this! Oh please, please, Please,
someone Hear Me!

        'hhheeaarrrmmmeee...'

     Huh! Was...? NO! It can't be! It can't *really* be him. Can it? Could
it be...josh? Josh? I look around and see nothing. There is only darkness
here, darkness and cold. Josh!? Oh God! It's going to win. I'm loosing it.
I can't...

        'pppllleeaasssse!'

     Silence! Look. Listen. Spin in the darkness. Light! Something's there
again! Josh!??

        'jjjuuusstiinnn?'

     The light! I see it flicker and grow brighter. Oh God, I'm going
insane. It's finally happening. Oh God! In the light I see a shape, tiny
and weak. It shimmers and moves, like it's reaching out, groping in the
darkness.

        'JJuusstinniissthhaaatyyyoouuu?'

     What do I do? If I reach for the light I may loose myself completely.
If I do that IT wins. I can't let that happen. But if there's any chance
that this is real, that this *is* J.C....

     The light grows stronger, brighter. After so long in the dark it
hurts me. It hurts to look at it, so I turn away, but I feel it. It's just
a dream, a hallucination. It isn't real Justin. Tighten up. But I feel it.
It's there, and it *feels* like him. Slowly, I turn back. It hurts, but I
look. The shape is still small, but it *looks* like him.

        'JJuusstinn?'

     It *sounds* like him. It *Looks* like him! It *FEELS* Like Him! Oh
God. Let me be right about this. Let this dream not be a dream. I reach
out...

     There is light here, and warmth, and arms around me and a strong
chest against mine. My chin rests on muscled shoulder and his voice is in
my ear.

        "Oh Justin! I'm here. I'm here now, and I'll never let you go!"
Josh says. There's so much emotion in those words I can't help but believe
him. And it *is* him. I know it's him. I can't explain how, but I know. I
pull back too look at him. His face is the same as it was when I saw him
on the table. He's beaten and tired. Now though, in place of resignation
there's joy, and hope, and...love. Yes, it's there, and it's for me. Oh
God, I never imagined the depth of emotion I see in his face. He smiles
through split lips as if there were no pain. He hugs me to his bruised
body like I were somehow healing him, making him strong, making him whole.
I knew he loved me, but I never knew it was like this. In the face of it I
am stunned, and ashamed. Ashamed of the pain I must have caused him
through the years, and ashamed that I am the cause of the bruises I see,
the blood at his lips, the cuts on his arms. Most of all though, I am
sure, sure of one thing. I will *NOT* let him die!

     There is darkness and cold. I can't see! The only thing I feel is
Josh. I feel his arms around me, his heart beating next to mine. I feel
his breath catch in his throat.

        "Justin! Wha...!"

        "JUSTIN!!" IT screams,"YOU ARE MINE!!"

        "NO!!" Josh shouts, and pulls me closer to him, almost into him.

        "No," I say,"I am not your's. I was never your's, and I will never
*be* your's!"

        "You Are!" IT laughs, and IT's laughter becomes winds, cold,
bitter cold, lashing, biting, cutting! I feel the skin of my arms and face
freeze and crack. I feel the wind tearing at me. Pain! I scream. Above the
howl of the wind, above my own tortured crys, I hear Josh scream too. NO!
*NOO!!*

        "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!!! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM ANY MORE!!!"
Was that me or Josh? I don't know. I don't know if there's really that much
difference anymore. Somewhere, in the pain of the tearing winds, the
darkness of this evil thing, the joy of finding josh and finally accepting
the love he has for me, and the threat of loosing each other again,
something has changed. We are connected. Not one, but together. I could
never stand up to IT before. I never had the strength. Josh is here now,
and I think, I think strength is not what's needed. The winds are biting
less, the pain is fading.

        "WHAT!!???" IT shouts,"WHAT IS HAPPENING!!???" IT's not laughing
anymore.

     Peace. Warmth. Love...Cliché? Yeah, I guess it is. I feel IT cringe.
I turn my head and meet Josh's questioning eyes. Love, a simple emotion.
It drives us to so many ends. I've felt it before, but not like this. This
is more than I ever believed could be. I see in Josh's eyes the one thing
I have never had. Pure, unequivocal, unrelenting, love. And I know he sees
it in my eyes too. It doesn't matter if it's the same. It doesn't matter
if I want the same things from him that he wants from me. Love is love,
true and simple. That is the one truth, the one thing that IT cannot
twist, cannot deny, cannot defeat. But is it enough?

        "NO!" IT shouts,"You are mine, and nothing you can do will save
you! It Is NOT ENOUGH...!" Josh smiles softly and leans his head on my
shoulder. His whisper cuts through IT's screams and the winds that still
tear at us.

        "We have more." And we do. We have more. We have friends who are
even now trying to find us, to save us from this. We have families that
love us, friends that would help us if they only knew. We have more. I feel
it as I open my heart. It flows into me, warming me against the winds,
bringing me strength I thought I'd lost forever, washing away the torment,
the terror, the fear. Nothing can stay except love and peace and warmth.
Nothing else can stay...and IT screams.

        "NOOOOOOOOoooooooooo....."

     Light. A shout, Confusion. Splintering wood! *BoOoMm!* A gunshot! I'm
laying over Josh. He's still strapped to the table. IT is gone. Gone. IT'S
GONE! I'M FREE!

     *bOoOmM!!* GUNS! I'm snapped back to reality by the thunder of a gun.
It's the guys! They found us. Some red head, IT called him...Toby?, is
leading the way into the room. A man in black robes charges him with a
knife.

     *BoOoMm!* He flies back through the air as Lance shoots him in the
chest with a shotgun. Lance has a shotgun! Chris steps around Toby, yells
something and heaves a torn bag into the circles drawn on the floor. It
hits the floor with a thud and something like white sand scatters
everywhere. Where it hits the bloody markings they sizzle and hiss. The air
smells like salt and rotten meat. Toby raises a sword and yells something.
He swings the sword down across the first of the circles and sparks fly. I
feel Josh struggling underneath me. Oh God, He's still tied up! I have to
get him free! First the gag then I start on the ropes holding his hands.

        "He's free!" Josh shouts when the gag is gone,"The thing's not in
him anymore."

        "LOOK OUT!" Chris yells, pointing past me. I turn as I see Josh's
eyes go wide. I see  a woman, IT called her Linda. She has a huge knife
raised over her head. Her eyes! they're empty, nothing but darkness and
cold! She's screaming, but her voice, it's, it's...IT! OH GOD! IT's in Her
Now! IT steps forward bringing the knife down fast. There's a blur and a
yell as something pushes me down and crashes into the woman, into IT. As I
hit the floor I look to see Joey sitting on top of IT pounding his fist
into IT's head again and again, yelling without saying anything. NO! IT
could get into him! I push off the floor and slam into Joey knocking him
off of her. We sprawl together, sliding in the blood and powder. Before I
can start to get up he kicks me in the head and grabs me by the collar, my
vision blurs and lights dance before my eyes. He gets up, lifting me with
him like I'm nothing, and slams me into the wall holding me there.

        "Toby!" Joey shouts,"Where is it!" My sight clears and I see Toby
standing infront of me. He looks me in the eyes and I feel like I've been
scanned, like in all those Star Trek shows. I see Lance standing behind him
pointing his gun at the woman still laying on the floor, at IT.

        "It's right," says Toby, still looking me in the eyes, as he
raises his sword in the air. IT starts to chant in some strange, ugly
language. Toby spins quickly and drives his sword down,"Here!" He shouts as
the blade sinks into the body of the woman and the darkness of the souls
within. There's a sickening thunk as the sharp metal enters flesh then
meets the floor below. Then there's a scream. It starts loud and harsh and
gets louder. Two voices. Two souls in agony, definitely. By now I am very
familiar with the sound agony forces from your throat. It's something I
will never be able to forget. There's an ear splitting shriek, like metal
tearing. It hurts my ears. I cover them with my hands, and even through
that I am overcome with joy. *I* just covered *my* ears with *my* hands!
The other guys are doing the same. Even Toby, who has backed away from the
woman who's struggling in vain to get the sword out of her chest. I watch
in awe as a crack moves up the blade of the sword from where it touches her
to it's hilt. The Shriek of tearing metal, it's the sound of the sword
screaming! I don't know how I know that, but I do. The sword screams and
the woman screams and IT screams. The screams combine, twist together to
form one sound. That sound, the sound of agony grows, crescendos to a
sudden crack of thunder.

     *BbOoOoMmMm!!*

     Silence. I'm surrounded by the smell of blood, rotting meet, sulfur,
death. Bodies lie scattered around the room. My friends stand before me and
I see them with my own eyes for the first time in I don't know how long.

        "Um, could somebody untie me? Please?" Josh, oh God, he's still
tied up. I take a step away from the wall to help him and my knees give
out. I'm caught as I fall, and my stomach lets loose. I start crying, I'm
not sure why, but I can't stop. My head is swimming and my heart is
beating. I can hardly breath, and mixed in with my sobs is laughter. I
hear voices around me, soothing and loving. I hear, through the others,
Josh, my Josh. He's here. I'm being moved, but I don't know where, or how.
I can't stop laughing and I can't stop crying, and I can't breath, and I
can't think straight. Oh God, I'm loosing it. Tighten Up Justin! I hear a
whisper, soft and warm. I feel, through everything else, his breath against
my ear, his tears mixing with mine as they make
they're way down my cheeks.

        "I love you Justin. I love you." He's here, I'm safe. I'm safe. I
let go and fall into his voice.

     It's dark here, but it's warm. I like it that way. It means he's here
with me, holding me, watching over me.


                   End Chapter 6


Tobias' Journal entry:

     It's over. The Daemon is dead and Justin is free. Gods, this has been
so, what...so much. I haven't had the chance to talk with Justin yet. He's
had a nervous breakdown. Noone can blame him for that. I have however,
spoken with J.C.. It seems that there was meaning to the Lovers card after
all. J.C. says it was as if the love between them pushed the daemon away.
I suppose I can't argue with that. Love is a powerful force. For the first
time in a long time I'm being reminded of that first hand.

     The official story to the guy's management is that they were
kidnapped.  They fought their way free, but never really saw their
attackers. I came along after the fact and helped them get away safely. It
took a little majik from Chris and myself, but they bought it. The official
story to the press and public is that the guys were in a car accident and
had to take two months off to recover. I don't know whether that will
actually be enough time or not.

    They've asked me to travel with them for a while. Chris wants me to
teach him, and the rest will feel safer with someone around just in case
there's any fall out from killing the daemon. Then there's Joey. He wants
me just because he wants me. I jumped at the chance.

    NightFire says she will meet us in Orlando and work with Justin until he
recovers fully. She's also going to teach Lance everything she can. He does
have quite a talent, and more over, he has the will and want to use it for
good.

    I've consulted my cards, and runes and all the signs point to good
things for us all. J.C. hasn't left Justin's side for more than seconds
since we left that house. The rest of us have taken turns watching them
both. In the brief periods of wakefulness Justin has enjoyed, he seems to
be lucid and sane.  I'm honestly surprised at that, and very happy. He must
have a strong will and a stronger mind. Stronger than me I think. Lance has
settled into a surer faith than most people could dream of, and he seems to
be one of those rare people who are content to allow us all to do our own
good in our own way. He's a good man. I'm glad he has accepted his
gift. Chris is raring to go on with his majikal education. He's quite a
character. Teaching him should prove to be a load of fun, and a bigger load
of trouble. I'm thinking it'll be worth every second of it. Lastly, I'm in
love with one of the strongest, truest, funniest men I've ever met. Look at
me, I'm gushing over here. Ah well, I deserve it.  I only hope I can be the
man he deserves. I'm going to try my damnedest.

     So there you have it Jeremiah. I'll keep this journal thing up as best
I can. It might be difficult. I have a very large, very handsome pest
pushing me to "quit writin' in that ol' book an' c'mere." And I don't think
I'll be able to resist for much longer.

     For now then, thank you Jeremiah for everything you did for me. I
think I can finally say goodbye. Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord. Of
course that's only second hand information. Anyway, it's been had. More
importantly, evil was stopped and souls were saved. Goodbye Jeremiah. I
will always remember you.


                  The End...