"I'm sorry," Nankyokukai said softly.
"We're sorry," Kindan said firmly. "No one else should have been punished for our actions."
Midori nodded, still floundering. He'd lost everything because of the upheaval caused by their actions. He'd accepted it because he was, ultimately, to blame for the results of his own choices. But it would seem he hadn't really done anything wrong in the end—had, in fact, done exactly what Nankyokukai and the others had wanted. He'd been punished for nothing.
Part of him was angry. Part of him was hurt. Mostly, though, he was relieved they were not dead and he had not made the horrible mistake he'd always believed. It did not fix the fact that he was in trouble in Kundou and in Piedre, that he no longer really had a place to call home … but at least his decisions hadn't killed anyone.
In the end, all he really felt was lost. There were more important matters than his stupid personal problems, he knew that. But he wished someone would tell him where he belonged. The relief he felt at Nankyokukai's being alive did not erase the hurt that he'd been used and then left in the dark for so long.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps and tensed when Nankyokukai walked toward him and stepped back, but then he realized he was trying to retreat and made himself stop.
"I'm truly sorry," Nankyokukai said, looking up at him. "I did not know the repercussions of my actions—our actions—would be so great. I can fix—"
Midori shook his head again. "No. I understand, I think. You're gods now. The gods are returning. That's worth whatever sacrifices we all make."
Nankyokukai nodded, smiling gently at him. Midori recalled the days when he would have done anything for a smile like that from Nankyokukai. Right then, it did nothing but remind him of all he'd lost, all that had been taken from him. It reminded him of a place that no longer felt like home.
Raiden and Kindan drew closer as well, and Raiden said, "Whatever we can do to help now, Captain—"
"I'm not a captain, anymore," Midori said, looking at the three of them. He licked his suddenly dry lips and said, "I don't want to be one. I've had enough of the sea for now, enough of Kundou. It made me what I am, but ... but then it left me to drown, too. Everyone knew getting rid of me was wrong, but still they sent me here. You sent me off with Culebra and probably never thought of me again."
Guilt flickered across Nankyokukai's face. "That isn't—"
"It's true enough," Midori said quietly. "And I'm not saying I resent you for it. I even understand. But I'm done, I think. You've moved on in your way. It's time I did the same."
Nankyokukai nodded. "I am sorry, however little those words are worth. I never wanted to hurt anyone."
"Nobody sails without getting hurt," Midori said roughly. "It's the chance we take. But I think it's time I sailed a different ship."
The sadness that filled Nankyokukai's face then almost made him back down, but he could feel Culebra's steady gaze, Dario's curiosity. He was not sure what he would do if this proved to be an ill-fated decision as well, but he had spent his whole life making careful decisions. A sailor did not rise to captain of the royal navy by making foolish ones. He had to trust he was making the right one.
"Midori, you will always—"
"I don't want to belong to Kundou anymore," Midori cut in, a ring of finality to the words.
Nankyokukai dipped his head in acknowledgment. "A piece of you will always remain because no man can ever leave his past behind completely, but as you wish." He looked at Culebra and Dario, then back at Midori. "Is Piedre where you want to be?"
Midori looked at Dario, looked at Culebra, and when they smiled, he smiled back. "Yes."
"Then I give you over to the land of stone and into the protection of the god of death." Leaning up, Nankyokukai rested one hand against his cheek and kissed the other, and as he stepped back, Midori felt something in him being drawn away.
Before he could ask what was going on, Culebra stepped forward and twined his arms around Midori's neck, leaned up, and kissed him full on the mouth. He tasted like the earth, with a hint of honeyed wine. Just as he had felt Nankyokukai taking something away, he felt Culebra giving him something in that kiss. It left him hot and dizzy as Culebra finally pulled away. "What ... what just happened?"
"You belong to me now," Culebra said with a smirk that made Midori want to kiss him again. "The Dragons of the Three Storms are no longer your gods or your protectors. That right and privilege is mine." He reached up and combed a hand through Midori's hair. "I rather like the black hair."
"Black?" Midori said, blinking. He reached up, not certain what that would accomplish.
Dario stirred and moved hesitantly closer, reaching out a hand himself before he caught the action and stopped it. "Your hair is black. Your eyes are blue, I think, but so dark they almost look black as well. It's very different, but just as beautiful." He smiled hesitantly, as if not sure how Midori would react.
"Why did my hair and eyes change?" Midori asked, baffled.
"It's merely a side effect of the shift from being a child of the seas to a child of stone," Culebra said. "No different than the way that jumping into water will make you wet, or standing too close to a fire will make you hot. It just signifies that you have become one of mine. But I can alter it for you, if you want."
"We can figure it out later," Midori said.
Culebra smiled at him and lightly stroked his cheek. Midori smiled back and bent to kiss him and dared to hope that maybe everything would actually work out. He had just seen a single god reborn as two and four other gods stood in the room. After that, and the past weeks, anything seemed possible.
"Well that was easily settled," said the man who until then had watched the proceedings in silence. He was as short and slight as Fidel, but almost pretty in appearance. His eyes glowed like burning embers. He could only be Zhar Ptitsa, the Firebird. "So one Basilisk is now two. An interesting split, and I think a wise one. I hope it makes you happier."
"It will," Culebra and Cortez said together. "But that's not why you've come."
Raiden nodded and said, "We are happy for you, brother, sister, but you're right. We came mostly because we want to know what happened to you nine hundred years ago. You, of all of us, should have been able to remain standing. What slayed the God of Death?"
"Poison," Cortez said flatly, moving to stand with Culebra and taking his hand. They really did look like siblings, light and dark versions of each other. Had they always looked so similar in appearance? Had becoming gods changed their appearances that much? "Not long before everything went wrong, we ... entered into an affair with Licht."
Raiden and the others all frowned—scowled. "You were sleeping with Licht? But he had Teufel. Why would you do that?"
"Loneliness," Culebra said bitterly. "The dragons had each other and their myriad lovers. The guardians had each other. Zhar Ptitsa had his adoring little priest. Licht had Teufel. No one wanted to be close to the god of death. Until Licht came along and told me that he and his living shadow were not as everyone thought. That he wanted me. He preyed upon me and I let him."
Cortez said, "Everything went well for nearly two years. No one ever noticed our affair, and he insisted it be a secret. We agreed because we were happy enough just to have someone. Until we began to fight because of his dissatisfaction with the world we had built. He constantly spoke of starting over—"
Kindan swore loudly and colorfully. "That's what this was about? He wanted to steal your powers to destroy the world?"
"Only because he could not convince us to do it," Culebra said, and the temple shook slightly with the force of his anger. "We were lonely and bitter, but we did not hate anyone—and certainly not enough to destroy them. When Licht realized we would not be persuaded, he left. We did not see him again for three months. When he returned, pretending that he wanted to make amends, he gave us a bottle of wine that poisoned us. Fatally. We took one sip and our death was sealed. We told him to surrender the antidote, but he wouldn't unless we agreed to give him our powers. We clearly were dead no matter what we chose to do. We fought and killed him, for not even gods are necessarily immune to the power of our eyes. After we killed him, we managed to fracture our soul before we died."
Fury filled the faces of all the gods, and they looked so fierce that Midori recoiled, taking an involuntary step back and bumping into Dario. "Poisoned," Zhar Ptitsa said flatly. "There is nothing on this planet that is poisonous enough to kill a god. We're not that stupid."
"But one of us is that talented," Raiden said, looking devastated. "I'm sorry we were not there for you. We all failed quite miserably."
Culebra and Cortez shrugged. "Our mistakes were our own where Licht was concerned. As gods, we failed our children, but we are beginning to set that to rights."
Midori hesitated because he was not certain he had the right to interrupt a discussion between gods, but the question would not leave him be. "Who could make a poison to destroy a god?"
It was Culebra who quietly replied, "Of the nine of us, one was most responsible for our more exotic creations. She helped to craft the golden apples, the mermaids, and the temples. Many of the ideas were hers, and she refined others. If anyone could design a poison that could fell a god, it is the Faerie Queen of Verde."
"The Faerie Queen ... but she's a god of life," Dario said. "Why would she murder one of her own?"
"That we do not know," Cortez said. "We will not know the answers until somebody manages to break the terrible cycle of the Tragedy of the Oak."
"It's next year," Kindan said. "We will have to wait and see if the faerie children can at last restore their gods, or if we must wait another hundred years."
Zhar Ptitsa shook his head. "Longer than that if they fail. The child of chaos will not live forever, and there is no telling how long it will take for another to be born."
As one, the dragons whipped around to glare at him. "You know the identity of the child of chaos?"
"Yes, and I'm not telling you, dragons."
"Who or what is the child of chaos?" Dario asked. "What is all this about?"
It was Culebra who explained, "Licht was the god of order and Teufel has taken that power. This you know by now. Since Licht fell, order—fate—has controlled everything. But chaos was always there, waiting for its chance to break free. All things come due, and even Teufel could not stop the dictates of fate that chaos would eventually return to the world. He could delay it, but that's all. The moment the dragons returned to the world, chaos began to grow in power to return to its rightful place—equal in strength to order."
Raiden continued, "The child of chaos is the nemesis of fate. He is completely immune to order. When we were all Lost, those of our children who were powerful enough to read the threads of fate wrote down what they saw: prophecies. The most important of those prophecies goes:
To defeat Teufel and restore Licht will take a Child of Chaos; someone who can change, who wills himself to change, and instead of succumbing to the one who would instill Order, changes him
."
Midori's brows shot up. "That sounds like it will not be a pleasant battle. It does not seem fair that it all will fall on one person. Can't you see how it will go since you're the Dragons of the Three Storms?"
"No," Nankyokukai replied. "We can see threads of various possibilities, but chaos is chaos."
"That aside," Zhar Ptitsa added, "Schatten is sealed from us. I can protect the child of chaos from Teufel for a time, but that same power means he can hide things from us. Whatever happens in Schatten, we will not know until it's over, one way or another."
Dario asked, "How do you know who this child of chaos is when even the dragons do not?"
"Because I noticed first," Zhar Ptitsa said with a smirk. "You may as well quit with the scowling and pouting, dragons. I already told you I'm not telling."
Kindan retorted, "I can and will pluck every last one of your feathers."
Zhar Ptitsa just grinned. "Pluck away, lizard. You won't hear a peep out of me."
"Bah."
"The fewer who know, the safer he is," Zhar Ptitsa said, levity fading. "It's not a matter of trust, merely a matter of never knowing what shadows are listening."
Kindan made a face, but nodded. "Fine. So now we must wait for the Faerie Queen to tip her hand. That's going to be a pleasant reunion."
"At least now we know what happened," Raiden said quietly. "So much betrayal, so little care. We all lost our way. Let us hope we can all make our way home again." He walked over to Culebra and Cortez and embraced them each in turn. "I'm glad you're back, and I hope you're happier this time around."
"We will be," Culebra said. "We'll keep watch over Verde. You keep your eyes on Schatten."
Raiden nodded and stepped back to rejoin his brothers and Zhar Ptitsa. With a rumble of thunder and flash of light, they were gone.
"So what do we do now?" Midori asked.
Cortez snorted softly and looked toward the main doorway and said, "We punish."
Midori frowned, confused, but the confusion cleared in the next moment when the four guards they'd left unconscious in the hallway stumbled inside. Their eyes had a dazed, glazed look to them as they stumbled in as though drunk or groggy.
They dropped to their knees in front of Culebra and Cortez, heads bowed. "Do you know what you have done?" Culebra asked, the words quietly spoken, but the tone hard.
When the men remained silent, Cortez said, "You helped a man who did not belong here try to steal the heart and soul of the country. Without the Basilisk, the very god who made this land, all would have perished. Piedre is the land of Death and Destruction. Take those powers away and you would have left an empty husk that would have died within days. You nearly killed every person in this country for your own selfish ends."
"Worse," Culebra continued, "You were going to hand that power over to Teufel, the Shadow of Licht, a being of pure evil. Not only would you have destroyed Piedre, you would have destroyed the entire world. Jürgen is dead, and you could very well join him. But Jürgen was manipulated by Teufel and never stood a chance of living a free life. You, however, are different. You had choices, and you chose to destroy the world. Death, therefore, is too easy a punishment for you."