He dried her off and brought her to Theo's old room. He laid her down in bed and sat down next to her. "I want you to relax" he said as he began rubbing her feet. "How can I?" she asked. "The same why I did before you were born. I let the people who love me show it" he said. Faith closed her eyes. She could feel his warm breath on her soles. Her body tingled as his tongue licked her toes. His teeth as he slowly sucked her toes. His hand felt her legs. "Damn. She's been through a lot" he thought as her leg muscles were more developed than a normal borrower. Faith sighed contently as his hands massaged them. She felt his warm hand rubbing her belly. "That's my girl" he said seeing her breathing slow. His hands traveled up her chest to her bare breasts. Little drops of milk fell from her nipples. She squirmed a little. Keith bent down to suckle her breasts. "Hmm...yeah daddy. Feels so good" she sighed as he drank her milk. There wasn't much as she pumped her breasts for the babies before she left Italy and soon Keith had let go to play with her hair.

Keith stopped as soon as she fell asleep. He sat there in the darkness for a while deep in thought. He had played the brave general for her but deep down he was terrified of what she was facing. There was a literal horde of giant vampires out there and no telling when they would come for her. Oh yes, they would come for her. "She said sliver right?" Keith asked summoning his sword. "That she did, and Rune Breaker is made out of silver" Oberon replied. Keith was silent for a moment. "What are you planning?" he asked. "Do you really have to ask old man?" Keith asked. "No, I guess not" Oberon replied. Keith left the room just as the potted plants outside their window began to grow.

"What's wrong?" Keith asked seeing them standing around bewildered. "Our noses are bleeding" Alex said. Keith walked outside to find people in the streets standing around. Each and every one nursing nosebleeds. "It's beginning. The drain really is killing them" he said. Keith began to run to the entrance of the city. He didn't dare to grow for fear of alerting anyone. It would take time to get where he wanted. Time that was of short supply. 20 minutes into his run he abruptly stopped. What he had feared. What they had both feared was beginning. Keith could see far ahead a towering titan of a man, the same man he knew now as Ambrogio commanding human sized Mages along with borrower sized ones. "Take the four Cardinal points and work your way in. I care not for the others but bring me her alive" he ordered. Keith watched them fan out. Dozens, no hundreds of borrower sized vampires invaded the city and Keith could only watch as even he could not cut down that many. Keith fell back towards where Faith rested. If worst came to worst, he would make a stand there. His hearing was sensitive enough to hear the crunching of bug sized humans and screams. The air carried the scent of blood and death. 

It had been barely a year since Faith had taken over the island and made it clear there would be changes. They were free and no longer the playthings of mages, but old habits and beliefs die hard. When they first arrived, they accepted them. Trained since childhood, they came forth to please and pleasure them. Their red glowing eyes did startle them at first but there had been mages from time to time to have glowing eyes. They thought nothing of it. Certainly not the 14-year-old boy with his two older siblings. The closest vampire Mage approached. Her bare feet making tremors in the street. Still dressed in night clothing (as most were attacked in the middle of the night) she fit the bill for a girl looking for some cute humans to rape, squish, or eat. The three teenage siblings stood ready to oblige. The giantess looked down at the gathering crowd looking for something or someone. Her vampiric sight seeking magical power. Power maybe belonging to a girl named Faith.  She took a step forward right over the teens. "This is it! Die well!" the youngest yelled with pride as they stood naked ready for what was to come. Her giant bare foot came right down kicking up dust blinding the boy. He cleared his eyes to find himself square between her toes. His older brother not as lucky. Her toes scrunched scraping his flattened remains underneath her second toe. She bent down plucking his sister (surviving only because she was standing behind them) from the street. 

The giantess brought her to eye level sensing magic within her. She had just awoken to her power a few months prior and any other time would be indulging in pleasure giving humans herself. She had chosen to wait until she could control her size spell before enrolling in the academy. It bought her a few hours of life as she would've been one of his thralls otherwise. The giantess saw she was not Faith and tossed her into her mouth. With no ceremony, she pressed the tiny girl to the roof of her mouth until her body exploded from pressure. The vampire savored her blood for a moment before continuing her search. Over and over it played out as Keith watched. Girls, only girls plucked from the street only to be eaten. Pulled from lovers, parents, siblings. And then, then the humans realized this was no culling, no raid for fun and games, this was slaughter. They ran. Moving now, they were crushed flat by the dozens as the giants and giantesses had to step up their pace. The screams louder, buildings demolished for the girls hiding inside. A girl who awakened the other week showed extraordinary power within her. Now a target as she hid with her young brother. She hid with him in her bedroom as the ground shook and people screamed below. Their parents out at the market shopping when it occurred. Her door flew open and it was her best friend. 

They had known one another since kindergarten. Her friend was the only one around her that did not give her grief about not wanting to clean the feet of a giantess. Others said she disrespected their masters, but her friend stood by her side. She loved her for that. Sleepovers, borrowing clothes. Boys...girls. They were more like sisters. Her friend grabbed her and dragged her brother into the hallway thinking the sub-basement of their apartment was better shelter. It did no good against vampiric sight. A pair of fingers smashed right through the ceiling and upper floors nearly killing them in the process. The girls and her brother stunned by debris. Then she saw her friend plucked up. Her sandal falling ominously back down. The girl stumbled and looked up through the hole made. "No... NOOO!" her friend screamed as it was determined she was not the one she was looking for. But fresh blood must not be wasted. Thrown into the mouth of a giant their age and chewed alive. The girl stood there broken until her brother grabbed her leg crying. The fingers came back down sensing their real person of interest. The girl pushed her brother away just as she was plucked up. "YOU KILLED HER!" the girl screamed firing off her most potent blast of lighting magic she could. It struck the vampire in the face searing dead flesh. It froze. She watched horribly as the thing regenerated she tried to attack again but found her magic used up. It was all she had. She was not Faith and was tossed into the maw headfirst. 

She struggled with all her might kicking her legs until they were pinned. Her tiny bare soles sticking out from between his lips until a sucking motion brought her inside. The tongue three her hard to the roof of his mouth nearly breaking her neck. What little blood she shed made the monster want more. Pinning her between his teeth, he began her execution. Screams, ungodly screams rattled his dead teeth. That and the sound of crunching bones. And then mercifully stillness of death. He chewed her to a pulp savored her magical youthful blood and swallowed her remains. Empowered by the flicking remnants of magic, he carried on looking for candidates.   

Keith closed his eyes to the horrific sight. Girls, young vibrant girls devoured. Their futures cut short because they were looking for his child. The ghastliness of it all spurred him to action. When all seemed hopeless, Keith saw in amazement as girls from all over the city grew to meet the threat. However, Keith knew it would only delay the inevitable. Less than a hundred had risen to fight a horde four times their number and nigh immortal. Keith ran to the closest ones. She was young, 14 at best dressed simply. "SIR!  she yelled bowing seeing one her size but years older. "Off your feet" he said holding his sword. She looked at him oddly. "What...what's going on?" she asked. "Monsters. Goddamn monsters invading the city" he replied. "Where is Class S? Where's the rest of you?!" she asked. It dawned on him that she thought he was a high ranked Mage due to his age. "They're all dead. Turned into those" he said gripping his sword. He heard the sound of her pissing herself. The vampires turned their attention on all of them. "They're sensing your magics. You got any good spells other than growth and shrinking?" he asked. "Fire. I can use a bit of fire" she replied softly. "Better than nothing" he said. 

Battle erupted all around them as the vampires took the initiative. If the first few moments it was a slaughter. The low-level mages completely unprepared for an enemy with lightning fast reflexes, superior strength, and unnatural healing. The older ones rallied for a counterattack. Keith leaped into the fray. His superior combat training and experience giving him the upper edge one after another he cut off the heads of monsters. Their dust and bones raining down like abysmal rain. But as he struck one down, two more seemingly took its place. Not seemingly, the mages lying dead on the ruined streets and buildings had been turned. They joined the ranks of undead killers. Keith could hear fresh screams coming from mages being attacked by those who were friends just minutes before. He knew he couldn't hope to hold them off this way. "Attention. Withdraw from combat and focus on gathering the surviving people to the center of the city! NOW!" Keith yelled over a magical link. They all questioned who he was but only a high rank Mage could use such a link. The girl near him looked at him worried. "You heard me! Go!" he yelled. And so, began their retreat.

Keith kept cutting them down as they came. Slowly he was pushed back. If it wasn't for their methodical approach, he would've been overrun on all sides by now. His eyes now and then looked at the giant in the distance. Faith had told him there were 50,000 people here making the population dense for such an area. More density meant a longer time to track down their prey, but it also meant a bigger body count. 10 minutes had passed since he gave the order. Now it was time to go on the offensive again and that meant growing back to human size. Keith canceled the spell and now towered over the city and the borrower sized vampires. Of course, that meant he was fully visible now. "There you are. Take him" Ambrogio growled. Keith saw them swam towards him. "Yeah that's right you bloodthirsty fucks. Come at me" he thought. Their footsteps tore through the city demolishing buildings and squashing fleeing citizens by the drove. No longer were they looking for Faith. Keith bent down to begin writing arcane. The dust itself his medium.

Faith awoke in her bed. She felt strong again. Powerful. She left the room and came upon Theo's parents. They were on the floor breathing heavily. "Goddess?" Alex asked. "Shhh. It'll be over soon enough. Hang on until it is done. I command this" she said oddly. "What's done?" the wife asked. "A battle between monsters" she replied holding her hand out. The Eye of Bast appeared in her hand and she made a wish on it.

Meanwhile...

*crash*. "Cordelia?" Marco asked looking at the floor with broken glass on it. Cordelia was washing dishes when suddenly she went stiff. "Marco. Something has happened with Faith. She's pulling on the Green" she replied. "Green? What's going on with Faith?!" Alicia asked worried. "The Green is what Cordelia calls the source of plant life. It's basically where she gets the power for her Authority. What do you mean Cordelia?" he asked. "Faith is absorbing all the life energy of the plants where she is. Something has happened" she replied. "I knew it was a bad idea not going" Alicia said making a portal. She stopped abruptly. "I'm being blocked. That's impossible" she said. She tried forming it again. "I can't get it to focus on her!" she said. "Can you put it near her?" Marco asked. "Trying. Found it. I can open one on the beach" she said. She clapped her hands and opened one. Cordelia nearly fainted. "Getting worse. Hurry" Cordelia said. Alicia rushed though.

As she thought, she emerged on the shore. Her bare feet sank into the sand as she gazed and gasped at the sight of a void black barrier surrounding almost the entire island. She ran to it and found it as solid as diamond. She attacked it with the biggest spells she could muster. Not one scratch. Breathing hard, she grunted as she pounded her fists on it. "Adet " she growled summoning her artifact. With it, she could boost her magic with song. She began at once attacking it with a lightning spell as she sang a random song. The barrier fluctuated but did not break. Over and over she attacked and then paused. "This is no ordinary barrier. If it's black then it must be absorbing light. So, what if I hit it with a light spell? One pure blast" she muttered. Alicia took a deep breath, concentrated light magic into her hands, and fired off an eardrum rupturing note. It cracked and then broke. Not much but enough for Alicia to squeeze through. It closed as soon as she did. "Oh my god" she muttered after climbing the hill and looking on the city. Ablaze, broken, under siege, and Keith standing alone as tiny vampires began to swarm him. "What was that?" Ambrogio muttered sensing his barrier falter for just a few seconds.

Alicia ran full speed into the city not even noticing Ambrogio yet. She did notice the full-on swarm engulfing Keith. Bursts of fire magic incinerating small vampires by the dozen but even then they were wearing him down. "Cover your ears!" Alicia screamed at him. Not having time to ask why, he did. Alicia fired off a musical note seeped in wind magic blowing the swarm clear. "How? How are you here?" he asked gasping. "Something is wrong with Faith. She's sucking dry every bit of plant life energy" she replied. "Can't be. She's out like a light after she was attacked" he said. She looked around just as a vampire jumped at her face. She caught it squeezed. "Aw fuck what is it?!" she asked cringing at the hissing thing. "Vampire!" Keith yelled burning the streets around them. Alicia threw it down on the ground and crushed it under her bare foot. She squealed in terror as it exploded into dust and bones. A green light began to fly towards them. "Aw now what?!" Keith yelled. Just as it got near, the green light grew to human size revealing Faith. "I'd knew you'd come" Faith said with a slight smile.

"Faith!" Alicia yelled hugging her. "How?" Keith asked. "I used the plant life around me to...jump start my magics" she replied. "Faith. The city, the people" Keith said. "...I know. Alicia I brought you here for a reason. You once told me that if people sang your song along with you, you could leech their life energy" Faith said. "Yes, but it's horrible. When I did it it wasn't pretty. You don't mean..." she muttered. "Yes, but on a far grander scale. Slowly, very slowly at a time not to kill anyone and then transfer it right to me" Faith said. "You can't be serious. Everyone here? Faith there's 50,000 people! Not even you can..."

"50,000 no more. And if that fucker has his way, none will be left alive and he will be unleashed on the world like a plague" Faith said. "Guys! The big bad is coming right for us!" Keith yelled seeing Ambrogio hovering into the air. "This darkness barrier was caused by corrupting the existing one. The only way to bring it down is to overwrite it with a burst of light magic to cancel it out. I can't do it alone" she said. "Okay, but it had to be a song everyone knows. It won't work otherwise" Alicia said.  "I have Faith in you" she said. "Not yet anyway" Alicia said kissing her. "Sweet and all but guys!" Keith said firing of a lightning bolt at Ambrogio. The vampire deflected it easily. "Delay him as long as you can while we get ready" Faith said to her father touching his chest. Instantly the armor of Caner appeared on him. Keith nodded not even fazed anymore and gripped his sword as they flew to the center of town. Their giant feet shook the ground as they landed terrifying those nearby. "The barrier array begins here and spools out using the streets. Alright diva girl. Showtime" Faith said. Alicia knew that her regular songs wouldn't cut it. The outside world knee them but nobody here did. It wasn't enough to sing them. One had to feel them in their hearts. That was the trick to drawing life energy out of her targets. There was one song she could think of that might work. Just one that was well known enough and pure enough for her synergy to work. Alicia took a deep breath and began to sing...

"Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star..."

"Brilliant. Goddamn brilliant. Everyone knows that song. Parents singing to their kids at bedtime and kids listening to it. A perfect memory. That's my girl" Faith thought smiling. Alicia's song began to touch the hearts and souls of the people in the city. They felt the urge to sing along. In English, French, German, Finnish, Russian, multitudes of different languages in unison singing. Alicia felt their energy drawn to her. "Don't die" Alicia muttered as she touched Faith. Faith nearly jumped out of her skin as life energy forced itself into her body. Raw and potent, it was like rocket fuel compared to the life energy she absorbed from flowers, grass, and trees. "Come forth Last Stigmata!" Faith yelled. The sword appeared in her hands and she stabbed it into the street shaking the buildings. An ant sized girl hugged her mother as she felt the tremors. She and her mother barely survived the attack. Her father not so lucky ending up squashed flat under a huge sole. Her shorts soaked after pissing herself, she felt the coldness. But her mother sang and held her close as the roof creaked and groaned. And in her fear, the girl began to sing with her. She felt a pull on her body. She felt tired. But the longer she sang, the calmer she felt.

"It's working" Faith said as she directed the energy into the array. Hundreds of tiny people came out of hiding to sing louder and harder. Faith did not look down and kept her eyes on her father fighting a pitch battle on his own. "But grandma? What big teeth you have?" Keith asked swinging his sword at his head. Ambrogio caught it on in his hand. The vampire hissed as it burned his skin. "Accursed silver!" he yelled tossing it aside and striking Keith in the chest with his first. Anyone else and it would've punched a hole clean through, but the armor saved his life. Cracked his ribs but saved him.  "Every story has monsters, but they all end up dead in the end" Keith said spitting blood. The blood froze in midair and was slurped up by the vampire. "It took the curses of a god to kill me last time and I'm 100 times more powerful now. No gods here to save you mortals from my palate" Ambrogio said digging hid bare feet into the street. The street cracked and fissured as he sprung forward to deliver a slash of dark magic. Keith staggered feeling it cut through the armor. "Possession mode" he hissed. In this form, he and Oberon were of one body one mind. It was taxing on both, but each gained from the other. Keith gained the immediate knowledge and insight into magic spells and Oberon hand to hand combat and superior reflexes and senses. "Light attribute. Luminous element form" he muttered invoking light magic into the sword. The vampire froze seeing it. 

Keith wailed on him and each strike burning the vampire's dark magic sheathing his body. With his speed, he staggered him and drive the sword into his chest. "ENOUGH!" Ambrogio yelled knocking Keith back. He pulled the sword out of his sizzling chest and throwing it onto the ground. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a flurry of dark magic spears to rain down on him. Keith focused his defenses to maximum and deflected all but one. It skewered him right through the leg. The pain broke his connection to Oberon. Ambrogio swiped up some of his blood. "Pathetic" he said shaking his hand. He waved his hand once more commanding dark magical tendrils to tear open homes all around him. Dozens of people were forced into the air by magician might. "No..." Keith muttered tying to stand as they were brought to his mouth. With a sick grin, he consumed them. His tongue crushing the bug sized humans to the roof of his mouth. He savored their blood before swallowing. Keith watched in horror as the wound he gave him healed in seconds. "Only one or two had what I needed but sometimes you need quantity over quality" Ambrogio laughed. Keith felt cold. The wound in his leg far more serious than it looked. Struggling to heal, he was in no position to defend himself any longer. The vampire gripped his throat.  

"And I will take your daughter next. I won't drain her immediately. No, she's a vintage that must be supped. Maybe, maybe I will give her pleasure before the enteral touch of Thanatos" he chuckled. The vampire squeezed his throat until a stray beam of light pierced the monster's left eye. He howled in pain and let go of Keith. "VERMIN!" he screamed as a frightening dark visage enveloped him in compete darkness. His hand shot out at unbelievable speed ensnaring a tiny girl in midair. Keith watched helplessly as he stuffed her into his mouth and bit down. Her screams abruptly stopped as he sucked her dry before spitting out her upper torso. Keith's rage boiled over as he recognized her remains as the same girl from earlier. "Keith....Keith what are you doing?" Oberon asked. Keith didn't answer as he forced magic through his body. Magic his body was not suited for. He collected his into his hand. The vampire could see what he was doing and grinned. Ambrogio slammed his feet into the street demolishing the last standing buildings. "As if a puny mortal could kill me! Do your worst fool! DO IT!" he screamed thumping his dark magic armored chest as his voice echoed through the burning city. "HARROWING!" Keith yelled activating the spell at point blank range.

*BOOOOM*

The shockwave bent around the vampire scouring the city in two directions for 50 ft. Tiny vampires and survivors were obliterated by its touch. As for Ambrogio, his darkness armor was dissipated, and his body broken but he stood. Stood and laughed as his eldritch bones and skin reformed. "No..." Keith muttered before vomiting blood. The recoil from using the forbidden spell, especially by one not blessed with magical talent, ruined his body. His arm was broken. Fingers shattered. His body growing cold from blood loss. He had not even the stamina for healing magic anymore. Falling to his knees, he glared at him. "I apologize. I considered you weak and beneath my notice but to use such a spell knowing the cost, I applaud you mortal. Not many have the spine for such a thing. I make an offer of you. Swear fealty to me and live for eternity. Be a noble among the rabble. What say you?" Ambrogio asked. "I... give a counteroffer" Keith said before giving him the middle finger. "Your middle finger? What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. The ground trembled before it began to glow. A massive magic array became visible all around them enveloping the city. Pure blackness it was made of until slowly the array began to change into white light. "Something tells me you're about to find out asshole" Keith chuckled.  Ambrogio looked ahead of him. In the distance was a small light that grew brighter. At first he thought it came from the woman he could see but it was illuminating her and not the source. "My barrier! No!" he yelled running to them.

For the first time in nearly 2,500 years, Ambrogio felt panic. The array was purged around him as he got closer. "Stop singing. STOP THAT INFERNAL SINGING!" he roared as his feet crashed through the city taking more lives. The barrier spell pulsed brightly enough to make everyone wince, even him, as it was finally purged of his corruption. The darkness in the barrier cracked and shattered like glass letting in the high noon sun. Ambrogio stopped dead in his tracks hissing. His darkness shielding him from being burnt to ashes. Faith pulled her sword from the ground and willed herself to human size. Those that could see her had no doubts anymore in their hearts that Faith was the chosen protector. Sparkling with shards of light and holding sword gleaming with light magic and sheer power, she was something to behold. Keith wept at the sight as he had seen NOTHING as beautiful before. And as he began to slip into death, he thanked whatever God could hear him for giving him the chance to see it. Ambrogio lashed out in fear only to have his arm cut clean off. Screaming in pain he fell back. "No more. No more monster. Your darkness has been banished, your feast is canceled, time to go back to the pit from where you came" Faith said coldly.

With a blur, she charged and slashed him. Then over and over she did it again literally whittling down the last defenses of dark magic he had until his pale lacerated body was exposed. "Mercy! MERCY!" he screeched. He gasped as her sword ran him through. "You're asking the wrong Campioné for that" Faith said with a chill. She yanked her sword out and kicked him onto his back. She planted her right bare foot over his face. With his vampire senses, he could easily smell the dirt and sweat on her sole but more importantly, feel her blood pumping through the veins and capillaries in it. He could feel her heartbeat. It wasn't fast, it wasn't racing as one would expect with adrenaline. It was a steady rhythm. Steady and constant. He realized in that moment why he had been chosen to attack this girl. He thought it a useless waste of his power. He had devoured more dangerous (in his mind) prey in the past. Thessalian witches drained dry after raping them. Powerful oracles torn apart. Demigoddesses themselves shrunk and eaten alive if they crossed him. But a mortal girl with no name making her famous? Surely a waste of his power. No. As her light imbued bare foot burned through his unholy skin, he knew why he was tasked to kill her.

She was approaching Ascension...

Faith pressed all her weight and strength down crushing his skull. And with that, the evil vampiric shade was gone from this world for a second time. Nothing of him remained. With him gone, so was his curse and with that gone, his thralls, his victims turned to dust and ashes. Faith walked away from the site towards Keith. She looked down on him lifting him into the air with magic. She said not one word as she healed his body. Willed his heart to beat again. Stabilized, she began walking back to the house leaving Alicia standing there in awe. "Oh god, now what?" she muttered.

Keith awoke to the smell of fresh coffee being brewed. His was lying in his daughters' bed but Faith was nowhere to be found. After taking what seemed the longest piss of his life. He staggered down the stairs. Every muscle in his body stiff and sore. "You're awake" Cordelia said handing coffee to Marco. "You're here" Keith said. "Alicia brought us here hoping our presence would help Faith" Marco said. "Where is she?" he asked. "The cemetery" Alicia replied softly gazing from the veranda. Cordelia gave him a cup of coffee. "Damn good" he muttered. "Thanks. I literally grew the beans this morning" she said. "Alicia you said the cemetery?" he asked. "She's been burying the dead for three days. All on her own. Lucy and Theo are staying with his parents along with the babies" she said. "THREE DAYS?! I was asleep for three days?" he asked. "Your body was a shattered mess. Faith said you were dead for a moment" she replied. "So, you've talked to her?" Keith asked.

"If you can call two or three word sentences a talk" she replied. They were silent for a moment. "You saw it didn't you? You saw the power she wielded" she said. "She took out the bad guy yes" he replied. "Took him out? She smote him with her damn foot! Like it was nothing!" she yelled. "Keith, she tapped into probably my most formidable power. To give or take plant life on a MASSIVE SCALE. There's not a single plant in that city left alive. Even the trees outside have wilted. Look at the ocean. Notice anything?" Cordelia asked pointing out of the window. "It's kinda...brown" he replied. "Because she sucked the life out of the seaweed and plankton. She killed the ocean life around us" she said. "SO WHAT?! She saved thousands of lives! Faced down the father of fucking vampires and what you just told me has been mourning the dead for three days! Jesus Christ unpucker your assholes!" Keith yelled slamming his coffee cup down. Keith stormed out of the house. It was fairly easy to see where Faith was being the tallest thing in and around the city. It was a careful 10-minute walk to get to her, but it gave him time to look at the city.

It was no longer burning but the morning light exposed the damage. Entire neighborhoods leveled to the ground but oddly in some places no debris. There were some people mulling about looking at the gigantic man strolling through the town but not as many as one would think. He paused watching the bug sized humans digging through debris and carrying out bodies into the middle of the street. Teams of humans carrying giant (to them) bones to be out in piles. No doubt borrower sized vampires that met their end. He watched in silence as people cried and mourned in front of their demolished homes. Keith bit his lip watching parents sift through the rubble of a school. A giant footprint dead center of what was probably the auditorium. Logically the place one would gather all the kids to be watched. And if so, they were no more. He finally reached Faith who was pouring dust and bones into a small grave the size of a shoe box. Hundreds of small little lumps of dirt stretched on for dozens of feet before then. "It's difficult. You can't tell whose bones are who's. I broke even and just interred a bunch until the grave filled" she said. "Honey..."

Faith motioned for him to be quiet. She set the grave on fire. "Cordelia said the curse could still be carried in their bones so cleansing fire is needed" she said softly. "Faith, tell me how you feel" he said. "It's even harder for the really tine people. The grave is easy. A few scratches with my finger, a few millimeters down is all. But the bodies...as durable as grains of salt. Again, mass graves especially the ones crushed flat. Took a while to literally scrape them off the street with my fingernails" she said. "Faith, talk to me" Keith said sternly. "You ever have to use a dustpan to dig a grave and fill it?" she asked. Keith shook his head. "I know how it feels. After the battle last summer on your birthday, I had to dig graves and mourn the dead..."

"That is nothing like this! You didn't have to pull the mangled bodies of kids out of their school with tweezers!" she screamed breathing hard. Keith could see her eyes flaring up. Faith willed fresh green grass to hide the newest graves. It was pristine with no hint of what lay below. "I'm done here...for now. 6,661 and counting" she said quietly. "That many?" he asked. "Before I took over here, when they died with bodies mostly intact, they were incinerated, and their ashes tossed into the sea. A few grams of ash and bone. No funeral, memorial, no grave plot. I changed that. Everyone should be remembered. Not disposed of like cigarettes" she said. "They didn't have a cemetery?" he asked. "Not until last year. Even then it was just a 20 ft. strip of dirt. Well I burned through that and then some" she hissed. Keith looked on as it was easy to distinguish what she made by the green grass and what was natural by the sandy soil. It was 200 ft. long and 25 ft. wide. 10 times what she began with. He held her hand and she pulled away. She disappeared in a flash of light leaving him there.

Faith translocated to the other side of the island and sat on a little bump of land near the northern edge of the city. She used clairvoyance to survey the area as it was a part she had not tried to clean up. She could see bodies crushed flat still lying in footprints. The smell of death had begun to get stronger over the last few days. Soon that and possible diseases would be an issue. She went over in her mind how to handle that and distributing food and water to the affected. With so much damage, basic utilities wouldn't be repaired for a while. "I should get Shanice to help organize food banks. She once said she...Oh" Faith said to herself until she remembered Shanice, one of the maids on staff, was one of the first to die. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. The same day the invasion was put down, Faith went about collecting the remains of the dead starting with the Class A mages. A literal ring of their bones surrounded the city as Ambrogio held them back for fear of them crushing Faith like an ant. 50 of them and Faith made a mass grave for them except for Shanice and Juli. Not just for sentimental reasons. The unnerving fact was Faith could smell their scent on their bones. She could identify them and only them. Faith buried them both under a beautiful palm tree. 

"You going to run again?" Keith asked behind her. "I'm busy" she muttered looking at him with glowing eyes. "I know but can I sit next to you?" he asked. She shrugged and turned her gaze back at the city. "If I did as they asked, disbanded my project, knelt, and kissed her fucking feet, none of this would've happened. I'm just as guilty as they are" she said softly. "Bullshit. You're an Acornwood which means you're and survivor and a McCormick which means you're not a bootlicker. From what you and Alicia told me you were the new girl in the neighborhood and these gods, goddesses or whatever the fuck they are didn't want to share the playground. FUCK THEM YOU HEAR ME!" he yelled. Faith flinched. "Nice speech dad but does it do them any good?" she asked. Keith looked at the city with clairvoyance. "The thing about senseless deaths is you can do something that gives them meaning. Medger Evers, 9/11, the Holocaust. All senseless until we gave them purpose! A rallying cry to change this shitty world for the better! And... hmmm...come with me" he said standing. He led Faith to a collapsed apartment no bigger than a shoebox. "And the thing about tragedy? Sometimes you can find a glimmer of hope that, and to paraphrase a great human, that the arc of our moral universe bends towards Justice" he said carefully pealing way the mound of debris to reveal a group of survivors huddled underneath a magical barrier. "Oh my god" Faith muttered. A lone girl with her hands held high saw the darkness peeled away and her goddess looking down on her. 

"Three days...she had that barrier up for three days" Faith muttered as the girl passed out. No less than 50 teeny little humans have their lives spared by the girl. When the attack began, the tenets rushed down into the basement. Then a massive rumble brought it all down on them. But a girl, a girl half the size of an ant, and no older than 12 held her hands high and created a barrier to save them all. She sang like the rest of them to banish the darkness and then it all went quiet. A day passed and she craved sleep, water, food. A second day passed, and they were sure they would die. Their cries for yield out of tiny holes in rubble that gave them air went unheard. The girl did not lose hope and told them to hang on. They poked her to keep her awake, gave what little water in the hot water tank they had to her. And on the third day her magic finally began to wane. The debris sagged as her barrier shrank. They huddled closer and closer. And when she had met her limit, her only regret was not seeing her beautiful goddess one last time. A goddess who showed them how to live than simply existing to serve or die. To see her face one last time. To gaze upon her glorious toes one last time. To thank her in prayer one last time. And then shaking and light. She thought she had died and fell to her knees as her barrier faded away. But she was not dead as she could feel her warm moist breath on her fragile tiny body. Her mouth, teeth, tongue looked so comfortable.

"Please...eat me" she muttered just loud enough for Faith to hear. "Jesus she's delirious" Faith muttered shrinking down to her natural borrower size before picking the girl up. Faith could sense her life hanging by a thread and began first aid by conjuring water from water vapor in the air and infusing the girl with stamina fortification. "Rescue teams here now!" Faith yelled. In minutes house drawn carts to ferry survivors to aid stations in the city arrived and took them away. Faith however still held the small girl in her hands. "She'll be okay. She'll be okay" she muttered. Keith placed Faith in his own hands. "What's your name sweetie?" Faith asked trying to see if her attentions were helping. "Selah" she replied weakly. "That's a pretty name" Faith said. "Why don't you see to her personally?" Keith asked Faith. Faith saw no reason to object at the moment and was still worried for the girl. Keith walked them back to the house. Everyone was watching as they returned, and Keith motioned for them to stay silent. Faith fluttered down onto the coffee table still holding the girl and silently saw to her every need for the next few hours. 

"Finally. She's stable" Faith said after coming back downstairs from tucking the girl into her bed. "Keith told us what happened. It's really a miracle" Marco said crossing himself. "Three days. Even class A mages can't do that" Alicia said. Faith sat on the sofa clearly exhausted. "She going to be okay in your bed? She's like really small, smaller than me right?" Lucy asked curious. "She's your size right now. Her body is just stable enough to be grown. Still, I'll be with her for a while. Selah..." she replied. "It's pretty" Lucy said. "It's Jewish. It means pause and reflect" Cordelia said. Faith looked at Cordelia for a moment and then closed her eyes as she looked at the ceiling. She took a deep breath as her body began trembling. They all grew worried and was not prepared for what happened next. Faith let out a heart wrenching wail. She cried so hard Alicia had to grab her from falling off the cushion. Marco looked down at his feet sadly. Cordelia closed her eyes. Lucy cried for her. And Theo held his wife. "Why? Haven't I suffered enough? Why can't I be happy like everyone else?" she whimpered. Alicia sat down on the sofa as Faith curled into a ball in her hands. "I'm tired. I'M TIRED GODDAMMIT!" Faith shrieked as light magic exploded form her body. As quick as it flared, it died down. 

"She passed out" Alicia muttered. "I don't think she even got a wink of sleep since she killed that guy" Cordelia muttered. "How much more can she take?" Lucy asked. Keith looked at her. "Don't. I'm saying what we're all thinking. I love her but we can't ignore she's worse off than she was a few days ago" Lucy said. "She's not going to hurt you" Keith said coldly. "I'm worried she'll hurt herself. You heard her. She's said she's tired. Pretending this isn't a possibility doesn't do her any favors" Lucy said to him. Keith was forced to agree. "Prozac?" Alicia asked. Keith looked at her. "Borrowers don't do antidepressants. It causes other problems" he muttered. "Then how do we treat a borrower with depression and possible suicidal tendencies?" Marco asked. "Love. Constant around the clock love" Keith replied softly petting his daughter with his finger. "I'll put her to bed and stay with her" Alicia muttered before standing up to leave. 

Over the next three days, Faith was very quiet around them. She would mutter to herself now and then and only talk to the girl she had rescued. She had taken an interest in the girl which seemed to be a good thing all around. They hoped that by helping her, Faith was helping herself. "That was great Selah. Now can you keep your growth spell up long enough while I do this?" Faith asked grabbing her ankle and ticking her bare sole. "HAHAHAHA! Stop it!" Selah laughed. Faith smirked at her. "Selah? Do you want to live here in the mansion with me?" Faith asked. "Goddess! I am not worthy to..."

"Faith. I am no goddess. Goddesses do not let their charges be murdered" she said to her. "Nobody has ever cried for us" Selah said wiping one of Faith's tears away. "Please don't cry. You've cried enough. You've mourned enough" she said. Faith looked at her. "I heard about the graves and other things" she said. Faith hung her head. "I failed you. I should've been here to protect you" Faith said. Keith and the others watching from inside the mansion to the veranda where Faith and Selah sat could hear them. Selah looked down at her toes searching for something to say. "You saved us. Today is my 13th birthday today and if it weren't for you I wouldn't be having it" she said. "If it wasn't for me you would've never been in danger" Faith said. "If it wasn't for you I would've been crushed, eaten, or worse by now. The God...I mean Aquarius liked our part of the city the most when he visited. He liked to eat pretty girls. Girls like my older sister" she said softly. Faith looked horrified at her. She hugged her close. "No more..." Faith whispered. She told up and walked back into the mansion. 

"Marco. I want to know everything about your parents last mission. Everything" she said to him. "Why?" he asked wary. "The only reason I defeated Ambrogio is because I used Ishtar's Authority. It's clear now what I need to do. I need to get stronger. I need to kill more gods and goddesses" she said coldly. "Faith. I don't know if that's a good idea. You had problems assimilating Morpheus' power last time. The toll on your mind..." Cordelia said. "Is nothing compared to the suffering down that hill. I'm sick and tired of people I love being caught in the crossfire. I need more power but before that there's going to be some changes" she said. "Like what?" Alicia asked. "All of you are going back to Italy without me. That includes my kids too" Faith replied. "Aww hell naw!" Alicia said as her Texan accent slipped out. "Alicia, I'm a walking talking ground zero for any shit coming my way. Look what happened to Lucy and Theo. You're all safer away from me" Faith said. "Faith honey you need to consider..."

"Am I wrong?" Faith asked cutting her father off. "...technically no but would you agree if the roles were reversed?" he asked. "YES! Yes, goddammit because it isn't just about my feelings. Lucy tried killing herself after she stabbed Theo because of what I brought into her life. Thousands died out there because what I brought into their lives. You yourself were a cunt hair away from death because of what I brought into your life. This is the smart play and you know it" she hissed. Keith didn't respond. "You're better off with me and Cordelia at least" Alicia said. "You're going back with them to help protect the others. The decision is final" Faith huffed hopping off her hand. She grew to human size to make some tea. "How can you calmly brew tea after telling us to get lost?!" Alicia yelled. "I didn't say that" Faith said lighting the stove. "You might as well have! You think I can twiddle my thumbs while you ride off into battle?" she asked. "It's the right thing to do. Never said it would be easy" Faith muttered as she watched steam escape the kettle. "Don't you remember how effective..."

"ENOUGH!" Faith yelled slamming her first down on the marble counter cracking it. Everyone looked at her astonished. Faith looked at her bleeding hand. She observed her blood running off it almost curious. "The only one in this room that has an inkling of how I feel is Cordelia. Isn't that right?" Faith asked the goddess. "I don't know what you're referring to" Cordelia replied. "Florian" Faith muttered. "You...you know about that?" Cordelia asked. "We're connected" Faith said tapping her head. Cordelia grew quiet and sat down. Faith poured her fresh tea and went back outside to Selah. "Who's Florian?" Marco asked. "My son" Cordelia replied softly. "...you never mentioned a son" he said. "Because it's very painful to speak about. He grew old and died as well as his children and his children's children until it was far too painful for me to keep watch" she replied softly. Marco held her hand. "Then what exactly did Faith mean?" Marco asked. "She's means that she considers all of us, even the multitude out there as family. And with so many lost she questions the point of caring. If there was a bigger fear in her heart then losing us, losing her love for us maybe it. We should honor her request" she replied.

Faith spent quiet dinner with them not staying much. Selah herself curious to it all if not awestruck just eating with her. "I wrote down what I could remember from what we learned and what mom told me when she...returned. Cordelia and she would probably be better at this" Marco said. "Maybe but I wanted to hear it from you" she said before kissing him. "Theo, Lucy, take care" she said sniffling. "Cordelia I'll be in touch soon" she said. "Alicia...come on face me" she said turning her shoulder. Faith deeply kissed her while hugging her tightly. Faith let go and clenched her fist. She felt her wedding ring with her finger. Alicia deeply wept and Faith motioned for Marco to see to her. "The strength you showed the other day I need to see again. If not for you then our kids" she said bending down. Alicia silently nodded. Faith opened a portal back to Italy and watched them leave. "Now for you old man" she said to her dad. "What am I to say to your mothers?" he asked. Faith took a step towards him. She breathed in his scent before kissing him. "Nothing because you won't remember none of this" she whispered before grabbing his forehead. Her eyes glowed as she activated a memory erasing spell. Keith tried to fight it as well did Oberon. "Stay out of this old fae. This is for his own good" she said. "And he does not have a choice in this?" he asked. "You of all people know the purpose of this don't you?" she asked him. Oberon was to shame to answer.

Keith's eyes glazed over as Faith rewrote his memories. She let go when satisfied her work was done. She watched in silence as her father left her life for a second time. Faith sat down on her sofa. "Well I love, love you darlin' come and go with me. Come home with me, beyond the sea. I need you darlin' so come go with me..." she sang softly to herself. Faith began crying softly hugging herself. The small pressure of a tiny girl on her knee made her stop. "Are you okay?" Selah asked softly. "Sometimes doing what's necessary isn't always easy. It can hurt just as much as doing the wrong thing" she replied. "It's really quiet right now. Did everybody leave?" Selah asked. "Yes, they did. You don't mind it being just the two of us in this big house do you?" Faith asked. "No, it's nice" Selah replied grinning. "You're adorable" Faith said ticking her with her fingernail. Selah chucked and then burst out laughing as her nail raked her tiny sole. "You're a quick study. Borrower sized and full control. That makes me very happy" Faith said. "Whys that?" Selah asked. "Gives me hope that there is a better future out there for all of us. That a girl with power like yours can have such a beautiful soul" Faith replied. Faith gave her a delicate kiss before carrying her to the kitchen. "Time for ice cream. What's your favorite?" Faith asked. "Double chocolate chip" she replied. "A cutie after my own heart" Faith chuckled.

Faith took comfort in the lull that night. She carried the girl to her bed and tucked her in. Faith smelled her little body and felt compelled to keep her safe at all costs. Little did she know how important this girl would be to her...and the world.