“I don’t know. But come, this fight isn’t over yet. Go see to it Kat’s protected. She’s helpless out there on the field. I’ll come back for you once this is over.”

“It’s done!” Jackson shouted. “Your leader is dead! Stop fighting us or die by his side!”

Half of the field had already pulled out of the fight, not acting against the Nightwalkers any longer, but not acting with them either. When they realized what Jackson was saying was true, they began to kneel on the ground, one by one, and put their hands in the air.

The Wraiths screamed in fury.

“Cowards!” a Wraith cried. “Fight them! Come on and fight them! Do you want to live under their boot heels for the rest of your lives?”

“It’s over!” Jackson said harshly. “Your master is dead. Unless the Wraiths want a war with the rest of the Nightwalker clans I’d call a halt if I were you.”

“Maybe I’ll just kill you and be done with you!” The Wraith phased and launched himself at Jackson. Jackson tensed, but suddenly Viève was in front of him, blocking his path. She grabbed hold of him, one phased Wraith grappling with another.

“Don’t be stubborn!” Viève grunted. “Can’t you see it’s over?”

“Get your hands off me, you filthy little mongrel!”

There was a crack of sound as Viève hauled back and punched the Wraith in the face. He snapped back and fell to the ground, unphasing as he hit the dirt, unconscious.

“Call me a mongrel again!” Viève hissed. “I dare you!”

Then she phased back into solid form and went looking for Kat. She found her kneeling next to Ahnvil.

“If he just wakes up and turns to stone, he could heal,” she said in a small voice. “Do you think he’ll wake up?”

Viève looked down at the Gargoyle and the huge chunk of flesh that had been taken out of his chest. She had serious doubts, but the Gargoyle was still breathing and that was all that mattered right then. Maybe one of the Body Demons could help heal him. It was hard to say. She had heard that the Body Demons had trouble healing others outside their own species, except for humans. But as she understood it the Gargoyles had been human before they were forged. Maybe that meant they could be healed?

With Apep gone, the fight went out of the remaining Templars. Some who were die-hard met their ends the hard way. Gideon, the Body Demon, reached out and stopped the heart of one…then two…right in their chests. In the end Templar bodies were as fragile as any human’s. They were susceptible to injury and even death. In spite of the havoc and death they had wrought, the Wraiths realized they were outnumbered and began to flee the scene, but not after taking a few more lives, including that of the Phoenix Ceara and a pair of the Mystical dragons. But the damage they caused before leaving was breathtaking. Many lives had been lost with just a touch.

The battle was won. They had taken heavy casualties, but the Templars had taken worse. The Templars that had given up came willingly to kneel before Jackson.

“Listen, all of you,” he said vehemently to them. “This war is over. There will no longer be Templar and Politic sides. There will only be a Bodywalker side. Trust must be earned, but if you truly want to be part of a cohesive whole, you will earn it. And over time you may be forgiven the egregious sins you have committed. All you have to do is look to Kamen for your role model and your guidance. You looked to him as leader in the past, look to him now as you will look to me. He has worked hard to earn his forgiveness, and you must work even harder. It will not come easy, but it will come.”

Kamen looked to Jackson in surprise. The idea of forgiveness from someone like Jackson, to whom he had committed so many ills, was shocking to him. He had not been looking for forgiveness, nor had he expected it. He had simply done what he felt was necessary to make things right.

Kamen didn’t know what to feel. He still felt undeserving of such a thing. Defeating Apep had made it better, but that didn’t change the fact that he had created the problem in the first place. He had made so many mistakes, caused so much pain. As he looked around at all the wounded and dead he knew he was responsible for all of it.

Viève walked toward him, her steps hurrying as she watched the tight play of emotions crossing his face. She reached for his hands, caught them up into hers, and squeezed them tightly.

“It’s all right,” she said soothingly. “It’s over now.”

“But the mourning has just begun,” he said, looking at Cordo and Ceara where they lay dead. They had come to represent their people and they had paid with their lives. What would the rest of the Phoenixes think of them now? Would any hope of a lasting relationship die with their representatives? Kamen would have to return to the Brazilian rain forest and report their deaths. No other should do it. It was his responsibility.

“The reunification has just begun as well,” she said, looking around at all of the Templars.

“I can see at least ten right now who will not come willingly to the side of good. They are vicious and brutal beings. It is they who should lay dead,” Kamen said fiercely.

Jackson heard this and turned to him.

“We will discover who they are with your help. You know the Templars better than anyone. You will know who deserves a second chance and who deserves to pay for their crimes.”

“As I have paid?”

“You have earned your redemption because you sought it out. Anyone who seeks the same will receive it,” Jackson said. “All others will see imprisonment.”

“And I am to judge who is sincere and who is not?” Kamen asked bitterly.

“You are to help us judge. This is a group effort, remember? You are not alone in this.”

“Then why do I feel so isolated?” he asked painfully.

“But you are not,” Viève said softly, leaning her body against his, giving him support and warmth. “You have me, for whatever that’s worth.”

He frowned down at her, reaching to touch a finger to her powder soft cheek. “It’s worth everything. That alone has more value to me than anything else in this world. You have the power to make me feel as though…as though somehow I managed to be deserving of something good, even though I am at a loss as to how I managed it.”

“You managed it because you have become a creature of good intent,” Jackson said. “And that is worthy of good things.”