Authors: Scarlet Hyacinth
Yane gripped the youth’s hand and squeezed it tight. “Try again. What’s your name? I’m Yane.”
The human stared at him, then, after a few seconds, choked out, “O–Owen.”
It was weak and barely audible, but a good result, given the ordeal the human had just been through. “All right. Owen.” As a side thought, he asked again, “And your last name?”
“T–Tomassen,” Owen replied a bit louder.
“Okay, Owen. The paralysis you feel now is because of the animal attack you suffered.” Yane struggled to recall what a human would be told in such circumstances. “We’re going to a hospital,” he said. It was close enough to the truth and something the human would understand.
Owen looked a bit relieved, but his eyes started to drift closed. Cursing, Yane summoned a spell and splashed the human’s face with water.
“H–How?” Owen asked. “You…W–Water? How?”
“I’m a nymph,” Yane answered. He decided panic and shock would be more likely to keep Owen awake than relaxation. “Owen, you’re not on your world anymore. You’re on mine.”
Owen’s eyes widened, and he looked like he was going to faint. “Listen closely,” Yane said. “It’s very important that you hear me out. Don’t fall asleep on me.”
Owen gave him a look of disbelief, as if to say “how in the world do you think I could sleep?” Yane suppressed a sigh of relief and proceeded to explain, “This is my world, Uli. It is a parallel dimension to yours. Sometimes humans get sucked in through energy storms. I gather the same thing happened to you.”
Owen nodded and looked like he wanted to say something. “What?” Yane asked. “What is it?”
“A–A friend of mine. C–Connor Spade. He went missing. I–I wanted to find him. Do you know…Connor?”
The human gave him a pleading look, and Yane considered the question. He’d never met a Connor, but the name did sound familiar. He distantly recalled a human had a run-in with the Golden Eagles, just a few weeks back. His name had been Connor, yes. He didn’t know too many details, other than the fact the missing Prince Valderr had been recovered from Almareya, apparently with the help of this mysterious human.
“I do not know him,” he replied, “but I have heard of him. He appeared in a different land, away from here.” When Owen looked confused, he elaborated. “Energy storms don’t happen in just one place. They can pop up all over the world. Your friend was somewhat luckier than you, I believe.”
Or at least, so Yane thought. It was only a matter of personal preference in the end. Almareya—where the whole Connor business supposedly happened—seemed far better than the plague lands where Yane lived, but for a human, it would be very difficult to live there. At least in the plague lands, Owen would be less likely to be taken for a prostitute, like Connor must have been.
Owen, however, looked relieved. “N–No monster?” he stammered.
Yane shook his head. “Sea snakes like you saw are native to the area. At any rate, I believe your friend is safe now.” He didn’t know much more than that, but he might be able to find out. The Golden Eagles would know. “I’ll look into it more if you want.”
Owen seemed very excited at the prospect, and he beamed. “Yes, please.”
His voice sounded a bit steadier, and a weird sense of jealousy invaded Yane. He’d have liked to put that smile on Owen’s face. He hastily pushed away the random, strange thought. His love life was already complicated enough.
Guilt gripped his heart at the realization that he lusted for a human when he should be worrying about the love of his life, the man he would be separated from by his own people. But something about Owen grabbed him and refused to let go. Yane shook himself. He could just watch over Owen like a friend, just a friend. In the end, he could not have pursued anything romantic or even sexual with anyone, let alone a human. He was engaged to be married, for fuck’s sake.
“Yane,” Lyole’s voice shouted, “we’re here.”
Yane stole a look behind him and realized that, indeed, during his conversation with Owen, they’d reached the shore. The boat worked automatically, set on following the course of the other sea vessels, but he needed to make some maneuvers now that they were so close.
“Owen, I’ll be right back. Remember not to fall asleep.”
Owen nodded, and Yane rushed to his controls, switching the boat to manual steering. His power coursed through the magical mechanisms, and he increased the speed. The other boats fell in formation behind him. After all, it wouldn’t do for the leader of the battalion to come in last in the harbor. Here in Tanarak, few people cared about formalities, but the respect toward Yane anchored them, and he couldn’t afford it to falter.
Finally, they reached the harbor, whereupon Yane threw the anchor and headed to the back of the boat. As his men also arrived, Yane grabbed Owen and jumped onto land. Much to his relief, the human had obeyed and remained conscious.
“What is this place?” Owen asked, taking in the sight of the harbor with wide eyes.
“This is Tanarak.” The name of the town roughly translated into Dead Waters, but Yane didn’t go into details. Instead, he wondered about Owen’s first impression of Yane’s country. What did Owen see when he looked at the silent people, at the dirty, rough buildings? Could he smell the scent of death and destruction like Yane did?
“What happened here?” Owen asked, his voice choked.
Yane began to walk forward, his men following behind him. “Well, Uli was much like Earth once, but tides of high water swallowed large portions of land. It destroyed much of our world’s industry and agriculture. In fact, once, the place you landed in was a very fertile plain, where my people used to grow food. But after the flood, disease roamed the land. Many died of starvation. The subsequent plague worsened the situation. Then, the beasts appeared.
“Now, our country survives only because we fight to keep the great wyrms at bay. This town is our base, so to speak. All of us here are water nymphs.” He refrained from saying the rest, from explaining the truth about The Great Dryad Nation. Water nymphs were a rare breed, and all of them were banished into Tanarak to fight against the wyrm invasion. Meanwhile, the dryads lived further inland, where the plague lands didn’t look quite so bleak. The dryad’s affinity with nature had actually managed to mend some of nature’s wounds in some places. But because of Yane’s diluted blood, all he got was deadly waters and the scent of death.
At first, Owen remained silent, but just when Yane thought he’d shocked Owen too much, the young human spoke. “The wyrms…Are they all evil?”
Yane tensed. “Of course,” he shot back. “One just tried to eat you. How can you even ask that?”
He cursed himself for being snappish when Owen winced, but he found the question very odd. In the end, he walked toward the clinic in silence, and Owen didn’t speak again either. When they reached their destination, a nurse appeared and gave them a wide-eyed look. Her name was Hannah and he liked her a lot. He considered her his sister more than his own dryad one. “This is Owen Tomassen. He looked into the eyes of a wyrm,” he told her in their language. “I gave him first aid, but he needs careful medication.”
“Yes, My Lord,” she answered. “This way.”
“I told you a million times to call me Yane,” he answered as he followed behind her, leaving the receiving room of the clinic through a dark corridor.
“Where are we going?” Owen finally asked. He seemed to be tiring again, which made Yane thrilled that they’d gotten to the clinic.
“To get you looked at,” he replied. “Don’t worry. Hannah will take good care of you.”
He entered the room Hannah directed him in and placed Owen on a bed.
“All right, My Lord,” she said. “You can go. I’ll look after him.”
Owen looked frightened and sleepy. “Y–Yane,” he stammered. “Don’t go.”
Yane watched as Hannah started working on Owen. The human’s eyes closed as she medicated him. “It’s all right,” she told Yane. “His vital signs are good. The treatment you gave him seems to have countered most of the effects of the attack. I expected him to have a full recovery.”
Yane nodded, feeling relieved. “Thank you, Hannah. I appreciate it.”
Outside, the sun lingered over the horizon, and Yane remembered he had someplace to be. “I’m busy this afternoon,” he told Hannah. “Watch Owen for me, will you?”
“Of course.” She smiled softly. “I’d love to.”
After thanking her again, Yane turned his back on Owen and left the room. In his ears, the voice of the human still rang out. Why did he have to feel guilty about someone other than Alcharr?
From the deep cover of the water, Sassaki watched the nymph boats reach the harbor. A man jumped out of the first one, carrying the motionless body of the human.
Sassaki bared his fangs, barely able to suppress his growl. The nymph—Yane—had been his opponent for quite a while. Sassaki didn’t enjoy this war, but neither did he appreciate being banished to the polluted waters. It wasn’t their fault for the great flood, and his people deserved to live on what little land remained as much as the dryads did. Not that Sassaki blamed them. The wyrms weren’t exactly friendly folk or people who one would want to share borders with.
But
Sassaki
hadn’t risked his life by coming within sight of Tanarak for this reason. No, he sought a far greater prize today, the young human who’d come through the energy storm. Usually, Sassaki forced himself to avoid the surface whenever storms emerged. His kind were drawn to the angry energy Mother Nature unleashed, and the nymphs used this to hunt them down. But today, Sassaki had been unable to keep himself from staying underwater. The call of his mate had pulled him toward the storm stronger than any other energetic connection.
He still didn’t know if he’d made the right choice. He’d managed to keep his siblings from eating the human, but in the process, he’d hurt his mate. He’d realized it the moment he’d met the human’s eyes. The gaze of a wyrm was deadly for the nervous system of most beings, and more so for humans. For this reason, Sassaki allowed the nymph to take his mate when everything inside him protested. Nymphs had medicine that could somehow counter the effect, and Sassaki knew it would be the human’s only chance to live.
It was difficult to see into Tanarak from the edge of the sea. All the buildings were built further inland, keeping them out of reach of wyrm vision. But Sassaki didn’t let it deter him. He went around the harbor and found the very edge of the city. Once there, he waited. Slowly, it began to get dark. At one point, he noticed the nymph leaving. It was a good thing. For one, it meant the human must be in a stable condition. At the same time, Yane would be most likely to detect Sassaki, should he try to infiltrate the harbor.
Finally, night fell on the nymph town. Guards surrounded Tanarak from every direction, and Sassaki knew he needed to be very careful. Choosing the best moment, he swam closer to the shore, mentally grimacing as the enchantment on the plague lands pushed him back. Long ago, the damn dryads placed a spell on their lands preventing any shifter from using their second form here. And yet, the spell felt very strange, not as strong as it used to be. Sassaki made a mental note of the information. It might be useful in the future. Then, taking a deep breath, he forced his reptilian nature back and changed into his two-legged form. In a flash, he slipped into the city, just nearly missing one of the nymph guards. It had been close, but Sassaki made it.
Sassaki never tried to go into Tanarak before, but that didn’t stop him now. From shadow to shadow he went until he reached the building he sensed housed his mate. It seemed to be a hospital of sorts. Through the windows, he spotted nymph nurses bustling around, arranging medicine or dealing with patients. Today, the hospital didn’t have too many injured folk, since Sassaki’s kin decided on keeping a low profile until they figured out all this business with the Golden Eagles. Disturbing rumors had reached their ears, that of an alliance between the dryads and the flying little bastards. Unfortunately, wyrms were vulnerable to attacks from the air, and if the alliance was completed, it could mean the end of the war. It all rotated around a wedding between Yanentah and an eagle prince named Valderr.
But right then and there, Sassaki couldn’t care less about such things. He just wanted to find his mate and make sure the human was unharmed. The mere thought that he could have killed his own mate made his cold heart shrivel and die.