Authors: Stacie Simpson
“You saw what I did in Solaria,” I reminded Dragon. “What do
you think a group of Elder time demons with unlimited access to the River of
Time could be capable of?”
“I don’t care Rook,” he replied emphatically. “You are my
Guardian, but more importantly you are family. Any threat to you is a threat to
me and The United Clans. We will go to war if necessary, but we will not stand
by and allow those corrupt sociopathic monsters to take you away from us.”
I shook my head knowing there was no point in arguing with
him. “Fine, I won’t try to stand in your way, but if you’re going to be there
anyway you could do me a favor and watch Angela’s back.”
“That goes without saying,” he said and extended his hand.
We clasped forearms and he pulled me in for a one armed hug and a slap on my
back.
When he released me we both stepped back and I bowed with my
hand fisted over my heart. “It has been an honor to serve you My Lord.”
“None of that now boys,” Claire chided as she came in from
the terrace followed by Kalen, Serafina and Angela. We were in Dragon’s living
room where Kalen planned to open the portal to the Elder’s chamber. “That
sounded an awful lot like an attempt at goodbye.”
Angela’s eyes were a little wide as she came to me and I
wrapped my arms around her.
“I wasn’t saying goodbye,” I promised her. “I was just noting
that so far it’s been a good journey, and if I have anything to say about it,
there will be many more centuries before our travels together come to end.”
“Kalen, I’ve decided to accompany you this evening and
possibly speak on Rook’s behalf if necessary,” Dragon announced.
Kalen inclined his head. “It would be a good idea for you to
stay close to Angela. The proceedings will not be in English and I’m sure she
would appreciate a translator. Normally whispering would be frowned upon, but
as the Dragon King, I’m sure you’ll be able to get away with a little rude
behavior.”
Dragon snorted. “I’ll get away with a lot more than that if
that bunch of uppity time demons tries to railroad Rook for something he didn’t
even do.”
“Let us hope it doesn’t come to that,” Kalen said, then
asked, “Are we ready?”
“Just about,” I told him, then turned to Angela and placed a
small silver ring in her hand. “I want you to have this.”
She examined the ring then looked up at me with her head
tilted to the side and one eyebrow raised.
“If you say the words ‘there’s no place like home’ while
wearing this ring a portal leading back to Myths and Legends will open up no
matter where you are,” I explained.
She grinned and her blue eyes lit up with amusement.
“There’s
no place like home?”
I smiled back and asked, “It worked for Dorothy didn’t it?”
Shaking her head she slipped the ring on her finger.
“Now I want you to promise me something.” I cradled her head
between my hands making sure she looked me in the eyes and knew how serious I
was. “No matter what happens, if I go down you will think about your own safety
and leave me behind.”
“I can’t make that promise Rook. It’s like you once told me,
our fates have always been intertwined. There was never another choice for
either of us, because only together will we ever be whole.”
I leaned in and kissed her, knowing she was right, but
wishing there was a way to guarantee her safety. While our lips moved together
I sent one last prayer to the Goddess asking her to watch over Angela if anything
happened to me. When we broke apart I told Angela, “Stay close to Dragon and
follow his lead.”
She nodded her agreement then I told Kalen we were ready to
go.
Long ago the Elders had a permanent portal created in their
chamber that they and they alone could open by chanting a few magical words.
Protective wards kept them safe by making it impossible for anyone else to gain
access to their domain. While Kalen worked on opening the portal, Serafina and
Dragon whispered their goodbyes and I held Angela close, smoothing my hand over
her hair. Just before we stepped through the shimmering rainbow of colors I saw
Claire and Angela exchange serious eye contact but there was no time to worry
about what the psychic was up to.
The Elders’ chamber was a small naturally formed cavern with
damp stone walls and stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Kalen moved to take
his place with the other Elders in throne-like chairs placed on a dais a few
feet away. He was dressed like me in leather pants and a shirt but the other
Elders wore elaborate ceremonial robes. Once we were all safely through the
portal it closed behind us and a sense of dread settled in my stomach. I never
should have allowed Angela or Dragon to come here tonight.
Dragon and Angela took their places in the back of the room
while I presented myself to the Elders. Coming to a halt in the center of the
chamber I went down on one knee and bowed my head.
“Sa’jon, many time demons live their entire lives without
ever seeing the inside of this chamber, yet here you are for the second time,”
Esja commented from the second chair from the right. Of all the Elders I
believed her to be the most corrupt.
“The first time Sa’jon Ruk was in this chamber was when we
performed the ceremony binding him to his charge,” Kalen reminded her from his
chair on the far left. “He has lived every moment of his life with honor and
with the blessing of the Goddess. To even entertain these allegations against
him is blasphemous.”
“Let’s not start that again,” Pius told them from the center
chair, then addressed me, “You may stand Guardian.”
Pius wouldn’t stick up for me the way Kalen would, but I
believed he would at least listen to what I had to say. As for the other two
Elders Ka’ja and Taico I had no idea what to expect.
I came to my feet and stood tall and straight with my hands
behind my back and my feet shoulder width apart.
“The accuser Adan will now take his place beside the
accused.” Pius commanded.
Adan sauntered out of the shadows and came to stand beside
me. As he passed by me he whispered, “After they take your powers and banish
you, I will make your woman mine forever. Now that your abomination is gone she
will have no way to stop me from bonding with her.”
My fists clenched but I kept my cool. The words from the prophecy
playing through my mind like a soothing balm.
Stay your hand, when you
thirst for blood. Vengeance is yours, after the flood.
Once Adan was in place Pius informed me, “Sa’jon Ruk you
have been accused of altering time to save the lives of thousands of humans in
New Orleans and the life of a human known as Rachel Marie Ruby. How do you
plead?”
“Not guilty, Na’tu.”
Esja’s eyes narrowed and she asked, “Did you use your power
to stop Travali’s vampires from slaughtering the humans in New Orleans?”
“No, Na’tu,” I replied then added, “I used my power to stop
his vampires from entering the human world. It was not a certainty that any of
the humans present would lose their lives since there were so many
nightshifters present. Even if Travali’s vampires had attacked the humans, I
was confident that Dragon and his people could have revived them with their
blood. Therefore, the humans’ lives were never in danger. I only acted as I did
to prevent the humans from learning of our existence.”
Esja’s lips thinned, “Did you use your abilities to bring a
past version of the human Rachel Marie Ruby into the present to replace the
version of her that was addicted to Oblivion?”
“Yes, Na’tu.”
Before I could add anything else she said, “There you have
it.” She smiled glancing from one Elder to the next then turned back to me
looking very smug and pleased with herself.
Kalen took a deep breath then asked, “Sa’jon, was the human
child’s life in danger when you traded her past self for her present self?”
Thankful for his presence, I replied in a strong clear
voice, “Not at all, Na’tu. Her quality of life was certainly lacking, but at no
time was her actual life in danger. With the help of the nightshifters she
could have lived in that state until her body perished from old age.”
“Nonsense,” Esja disagreed. “Everyone knows that it
eventually becomes impossible to feed Oblivious humans, therefore, in the
absence of any other life threatening circumstances, they are all doomed to die
of starvation and dehydration long before they reach old age.”
“I beg to differ,” Ka’ja said, joining the debate from her
chair on the far right. “I have gone back to witness firsthand how the
nightshifters cared for the child and I believe Sa’jon is correct. The child
was in no danger of losing her life.”
“We have already debated these issues at length. Now that we
have heard from the accused we will vote,” Pius announced. “Kalen, how do you
vote?”
Kalen responded with a resounding, “Not guilty.”
“Esja?”
“Guilty,” came Esja’s gleeful reply.
“Taico?”
Taico looked at me, then after a moment of silence he
reluctantly murmured, “Guilty.”
“Ka’ja?”
“Not guilty,” she responded immediately.
“It seems my vote will break the tie,” Pius mused. “We heard
you found a conduit Sa’jon. It didn’t take you long to learn how to use the
power from the River.”
Any hope I still had died with those words. I knew how Pius
would vote and it wasn’t because he thought I was guilty, it was because he was
afraid. He, like the other two who voted against me, was afraid of the power I
could wield through Angela.
“May I speak?” I asked and Pius waved his hand giving me the
floor.
“It’s no secret that I have never agreed with our laws, and
I’ve often wondered how our moral compass became so skewed. What does it say
about a people when their laws force them to stand by while hundreds of people
die, but at the same time they encourage sociopathic killers like Adan to
murder with impunity?”
Adan bristled beside me but held his tongue as I continued, “Or
that the life of a child means nothing simply because he lacks the same
abilities that they possess?”
Kalen and Ka’ja appeared remorseful while Pius and Taico
looked on me with pity. Esja however simply looked bored which enflamed my
anger more than anything else could have.
“Over the centuries I’ve asked you as our Elders to loosen
your grip on the River of Time and allow us the freedom to use that power for
good. Your constant refusals have long since felt like betrayals of the trust
we place in you as our leaders. It wasn’t until recently though, that I
realized the true depth of those betrayals.
For centuries our numbers have declined instead of grown.
Too many of us find it tiresome to be near other time demons, our powers always
competing to maintain our current timelines. The thought of bonding to another
of our kind as
anai
always seemed tedious and the chances of meeting a
conduit were almost nonexistent.
But what if the River flowed freely?
I began suspecting the truth in Solaria, but when I pulled
Rachel through time I knew I was right. If we as a people had access to the
River, many of us who are strong enough to wield its power would be able to
bond with anyone we chose, not just other time demons or conduits. We’d be able
to pull anyone into the ether to complete the
anai
ritual.”
I looked each one of them in the eye and demanded to know, “How
could you take that from us?”
“We do not answer to you Sa’jon,” Esja replied, her voice
dripping with scorn.
Before I could respond Dragon’s hand was on my shoulder. I
looked back at him as he came around to stand before the Elders.
“That is where you are wrong Esja,” he told her and the rest
of them. “All leaders are beholden to their people. We owe them the same
measure of respect and loyalty that they give us. Without that return of
devotion your subjects will lose faith in your leadership and rebellion will be
inevitable.”
“Let them rebel,” Esja scoffed, then told Pius, “Cast your
vote so we may be done with this matter once and for all.”
“Let it be known that any act of aggression against my
Guardian will be seen as an act of war against The United Clans,” Dragon’s
voice thundered in the small chamber.
I knew Dragon meant what he said as did the Elders. But
looking in their faces I also knew that his threat would not sway this
decision. To them, the danger I presented far outweighed the risk of war with
Dragon and his people. With unlimited access to the River they were nearly
untouchable by anyone except another time demon who could counteract their
ability to manipulate time. Lives would be lost in a war with The United Clans,
but it wouldn’t be theirs.
Looking at the five demons responsible for the lives and
futures of my entire race I felt nothing but contempt. These were not demons worthy
of our trust or loyalty; they were traitors to their own kind. Their lust for
power had long ago blinded them to the needs of the people they were sworn to
serve.
Pius cleared his throat but before he could speak I added, “Whether
my life is forfeit or not, I ask that you consider the fate of our people as a
whole. Will you condemn all time demons to one day be extinct simply because
you’re unwilling to share the power granted to us all by the Goddess herself?”
“I find your concerns valid and I will think on what changes
we might need to make in the future, but regretfully, I must side with Esja and
Taico in this,” Pius said with a shake of his head. “Sa’jon Ruk, you have been
found guilty of altering time to save the life of the human known as Rachel Marie
Ruby. As punishment, your powers will be stripped and you will be banished to
the Netherworld between times, where you will remain forevermore.”
Just as the last word passed his lips three things happened
at once. Dragon unleashed a stream of fire aimed at the Elders as he roared
with rage. I felt a sudden drain on my powers that nearly brought me to my
knees and Angela screamed behind me.