The Sipre's End

Yesterday, Sussen had tried to kill Rome but she killed Reema, her leader, instead. Bonnie Mullen took the opportunity to shoot her dead with Jack Henry's ancient Beretta. Rei had the Sipre capture and had save Rome but he dare not let go. Quite the dilemma:

     The Sipre wriggled and pushed and clawed. Only Rei’s strength was keeping in check. He realized it was because he was Essessoni he could do this. No Vuduri could survive the full venom and seething spirit of the Sipre trying to absorb them, to envelop them. They just weren’t built for it.
     “As soon as you leave, I will rise again,” the Sipre hissed to Rome. In her heart and her soul, she knew it was true.
     In the real world, Rome turned to Rei. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “We cannot let go,” she whispered. “If we do, the Sipre will ascend again. We will never be safe if it escapes.”
     “I can hold it myself,” Rei said forcefully. “It can’t beat me. You can let go. I’ll stay here. You go home. I’ll make sure you and Aason are safe forever.”
     “No,” Rome said. “I can’t leave you to such a fate. I love you too much. I’ll stay. You go.”
     “Romey,” Rei said gently, grasping her hands firmly, shaking them so that she listened to him. “You cannot. You’re Vuduri. It will take you down. Only an Essessoni can stand up to what it represents.”
     “But I can’t leave you,” Rome wailed.
     “You must,” Rei insisted. “You must go back to Deucado and raise our child.”
     Bonnie’s bright yellow spirit drifted over, placing her tendrils around Rei and Rome’s. The entire time, the little black spirits continued to stream to her, changing to yellow upon contact. Bonnie’s glowing presence grew larger and larger. She deftly inserted her tendrils beneath Rei’s. With an easy strength, she collapsed the Sipre into a tiny ball as if it was swallowed up whole.
     “You both go home and raise your child,” she said proudly. “I’ll stay here. I can handle this.”
     Rei probed her spirit. Her resolve was absolute and growing stronger by the second. There was almost no evidence that the Sipre ever existed, even though he knew it was there. Tentatively, Rei removed his hands and his tendrils. The Sipre did not reappear.
     “Rome, let go,” Rei said. Reluctantly, she let go in the ethereal world. She, too, could barely detect the Sipre’s presence as it continued to shrink away toward nothingness.
     In the real world, Rei turned to Bonnie and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Rei asked. “You’d be stuck here forever.”
     “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life,” Bonnie said, her earthly body smiling beatifically. “And I won’t be stuck,” In the ethereal world, joined by her little flames, her yellow spirit blazed even brighter, almost blinding in its intensity. “This is where I want to be. With my babies. After 14 centuries, I’m finally home.”
     It was enough for Rome. In the ethereal world, Rome’s red spirit and the tiny pink spark withdrew as she shut down her PPT connection. Rei shut down his connection as well. He looked at their surroundings. All of the Onsiras around them were nodding and smiling. It was a sight to behold.

The Rome's Revolution series has always been about redemption. Here we find Bonnie Mullen completely absolving her former existence by saving the Onsiras from the Sipre and putting them back on the path to humanity. The Onsira threat was now over. Sounds good to me.