Authors: Rain Oxford
“I think you need to discuss this with Ron. It sounds
like it’s more about him than this situation. Come on; let’s see if we can find
some clean water to drink.”
“There’s no point at all if I don’t get my magic
back. My magic protects Ron. I’m no good to anyone without magic.”
“You’re still my friend, and you’re still Ron’s
brother.”
* * *
Once again, I was on the table, screaming through the
pain. The doctor smirked down at me, his face just barely visible since the
light was angled away from him. “Ready to go again? I think we should talk
about your mother this time.”
“No, please,” I gasped over the pain. I think it was
more emotional pain than physical. My chest was mostly numb now, cold and numb,
but I couldn’t bear to look down.
“Your mother consorts with gods, right?”
“No.”
“You’re lying. Tell me about your mother and be
honest, or I will know.” He picked up several little silver disks off the table
next to the bed and stuck two of them on my forehead. Instantly, on contact
with my skin, they began to burn. “All the pain stops the moment you are honest
with me. See, you told me about your father, and I made the pain in your chest
stop. Now tell me about your mother.”
Suddenly, I was in the cage again with no pain in my
chest, and the doctor was sitting in the chair by the door, writing something
on his clipboard.
“Very interesting,” he said vaguely. It could have
been a trap. “I thought your father was more fascinating, but it seems I should
have been focused on your mother the entire time. Continue.”
* * *
This time I didn’t bother to thrash, scream, or even
run. Whether I was dreaming or awake, it was very possible that I told them
everything.
“Prove to me you’re real,” I said.
“How?”
“Tell me something I don’t know, something the doctor
at the lab wouldn’t know, either.”
“Well… The Sekora Era was the first time people
started writing poems. Actually, they wrote them exclusively in Vido, because
they thought Vido looked prettiest, and poems back then were all romance. In
the Jeske Era, people started writing horror poems and sad poems, but they
started writing them in Modo. Most poems from those days were never translated
into Sudo because of their sentimental value.”
“That is definitely something I didn’t know,” I
laughed
“I found water, but I don’t know if it’s clean, and I
can’t do enough magic to check it out. If we were just camping, I could boil
out any impurities, but I don’t have anything to boil with or put water in.”
“What about food?”
“I have no idea what plants might be edible here, and
I haven’t seen an actual animal. How do prisoners even live here?”
“Probably by eating other prisoners.”
“What?!”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. We are in a shallow-mouthed
cave at the moment. I dragged some tree branches in front of it to hide the entrance,
but I doubt it’ll last for long. When you’re feeling better, I’ll go out and
look for something to boil water it. Maybe there is an abandoned can or
something.”
“They do genetic experiments here; I wouldn’t trust
anything. Without magic, we’re just going to have to wait this out. No water,
no food. Remember the year the Katshiyuri were found? They had been hidden on
Canjii for two years and created a biological weapon that killed every living
thing on Canjii for five years until a cure was found.”
“Yes, I heard about it. It took a month to kill the
victims and it was very nasty the way they died. But if we just wait in here,
we’ll die. I bet your friend can’t even find us in here.”
“He’s not my friend, he’s my father’s demon, and if
I’m about to die, he has to do everything in his power to save me. Hiding in a
cave wouldn’t stop---” I put my hand over my mouth before I revealed the Xul’s
name, because the power in a demon’s name was as powerful as the demon himself.
It wasn’t about trust; not even Edward knew the demon’s true name. The only
reason Ron and I knew it was because we were a factor in the deal Dad made with
the ancient demon. We usually called him “Zeb” aloud.
“It looks like they gave you something at the lab
that makes you tell the truth, or at least more than you should.”
“They had a blue liquid of some sort. I saw it before
I lost my sight.”
“If you did tell them everything, are they a threat
to you?”
“If I told them everything, yes. They know where I
live and if I told them about my parents, they’ll try something.”
“What about Ron?”
“There is nothing that could make me betray Ron. I
could betray myself, my parents, my uncle, you… anyone under some kind of drug
or magic, but not Ron. We are entirely incapable of harming each other in
anyway… at least we should be.”
“Did something change recently?”
“No. It’s just that Dad and Mordon are the same as
Ron and me, and I saw…”
“One of your visions?”
“Yes. I saw Mordon kill my father, which is the
second most impossible thing in the universe. The first, of course, being Ron
and me hurting each other. And if you knew my parents, you would know there
isn’t much in this universe that is impossible.”
“Maybe it was faked.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, completely lost.
“Maybe you didn’t really see Mordon killing your
father. Maybe one of the gods is messing with your visions in order to make you
see it, to distract you or something. Or maybe it’s a trick to make you doubt
your bond with Ron, or Mordon’s with your father’s.”
That would have made sense if Ron and I didn’t have a
magical barrier over each other’s minds. Not even a god was able to so much as
read my mind without an invitation. The only one powerful was… Zero.
We heard nothing about Zero, Nila’s father, or the
demon army in nearly five years. That meant for five years, none of us were
comfortable enough to relax even in our own home. If Zero was finally acting
again, it was going to change everything.
“Hail?” Sari asked when I said nothing.
“That would imply one of the gods is my enemy. I so
wish it was Vretial.” I was extremely happy I didn’t blurt out everything I
knew about the creature who was more powerful than a god.
“Why would you want the dark god to be trying to hurt
you?”
“Because Ron would never stand for it, so we wouldn’t
have to go work for him. Vretial isn’t the all-powerful, malevolent being that
sago think he is. Instead, he just bothers me, deep inside. It’s never
something he says or does, I just hate him and I don’t know why.”
“It’s because of Ron,” Mordon said.
I would recognize his voice anywhere, but couldn’t
feel his presence without my magic. Apparently, he appeared out of nowhere,
because Sari shrieked. I reached out towards her screaming to quiet her and
instead felt the arm of my uncle, who moved to sit next to me. Sari finally
calmed down, probably having recognized him. Of course, I had no idea how dark
this cave was.
Mordon touched my face gently to turn me towards him.
“They did a number on you, kid. Does it hurt badly?”
“Yes. I don’t know what they did. I’m afraid they
might have used drugs on me to make me tell the truth.”
“They did. You told them everything about everyone
except for Ron. You even told them the demon’s name. That’s why he can’t find
your brother; he is a danger to those he’s around because the enemy can get
control of him, so unless your danger outweighs his power, he cannot find any
of us.”
I tried not to fall apart. I was never one to cry,
but it would have been especially embarrassing in front of Sari and Rojan.
Unfortunately, my second response was to get angry, and that would have been
even more inappropriate. I was so ashamed and didn’t know how to express it.
I needed Ron.
I realized then that the pain was fading fast and
wanted to tell Mordon to stop. I didn’t deserve to be healed.
“I can only heal your pain, not your vision.
Hopefully your father can fix your eyes. I don’t know what happened to your
magic. All I know is your bond with magic couldn’t have been severed, because
Ronez died when he lost his.”
“I deserve to die after betraying everyone.”
“It wasn’t your fault, and don’t worry about the ones
who did this; I’ll take care of it. You’re just going to have to wait here for
a few days. This is actually the safest place for you now. She can find you,
but you’re not a threat, so she’ll leave you alone.”
“What? Who will?”
“You’ll need this, I can’t be sure how long you’ll
have to stay here and I doubt I’ll be able to make it back here. You wouldn’t
believe how long I’ve been trying.” He shoved a cloth sack into my hands.
“What are you talking about?! You’re not making any
sense.”
“He’s gone,” Sari said.
I reached out and didn’t feel my uncle.
Why would
he leave me?
Sari sat next to me and took the bag. I didn’t care, I was
just reeling that my uncle left me alone on Canjii, blind and injured.
“It’s food and water,” she said, taking my hand and
wrapping my fingers around a plastic water bottle. I refused to drink at first,
and when she politely gave me the option to either drink it or drown, my
stomach rebelled.
In my despair, it was the first time I ever wished
Dylan had never found me on Earth. The demon could have killed me and I would
never have grown up to betray the only man who ever treated me like a son.
Sure, Nano tried, and Vretial was just as much to blame for my birth, but Dylan
was the man who never treated me as anything less than his beloved child. I was
never second to Ron for Dylan or Divina. And I betrayed them.
“If you don’t cheer up right now, I’m going to beat
you so hard, Ron will have bruises.”
I stood in the center of a room. Three walls were
white while one was clear glass showing an identical room where Hail stood. He
looked at me without speaking, and somehow I knew he wouldn’t hear me if I called
to him.
A hand came down gently on my shoulder and I turned
to see my uncle. “Mordon. What’s going on?” Something was odd. There was
something not right about his eyes.
He put his finger to his lips to shush me. “She will
hear you.”
“Who?” I whispered.
“The demons are ready to attack. You need a weapon.”
“Mom has the god sword and you have the azurath
blade.”
“Find the mage king’s staff. Bring it to me.”
“Dad destroyed that.”
“No, he did not. Find it.”
* * *
I woke quickly, startling Sen out of sleep. Before he
could ask me anything, I flashed to the Land of the Iadnah. This was not
Vretial’s normal lounge but what my dad called, “the Council Room.” It was a
white room, which I found very irritating. As soon as I arrived, every god
except Vretial and my mother appeared.
“Hello, Ron,” Avoli said pleasantly. He was afraid of
me, which I was glad of.
“Hello, Avoli. I called you all together because I
had an odd vision. It wasn’t like Hail’s visions, but it wasn’t just a dream,
either. In this vision, Mordon warned me that the demon war is starting.”
The gods all looked at each other, as if waiting to see
each other’s fear before they could betray their own. “Maybe it was just a
dream,” Regivus finally said.
“It’s been five years; more than enough time. Hail
and I have been separated. If the demons are ever going to attack, now is their
chance. I want us to be ready.”
“You are so sure we will fight beside your father,”
Azenoth said. “This is not really even our fight.”
“You will fight beside him or become my enemy. My dad
is the best ally you could have, while I am a worse enemy than Vretial. Zero
will return, and when he does, you want my father fighting him.”
They all contemplated this for a moment before
Regivus nodded. “We have already established that we would support Dylan. That
means in every battle.”
Encouraged by his brother, Avoli spoke up. “My world
is able to sustain life, but there is no sentient creature living there yet.
You can use it for your war. When you are ready, we will transport everyone
willing to fight for Dylan to Lore.”
I worried, however, that the mortals wouldn’t have
enough power to fight the demons. “Those weapons… the ones in the god wars?
Where can I find them?”
“They are spread out. We cannot find them,” Erono
said.
“Who can?”
“Rilryn and Nano,” Zir said.
“Assign them to find those weapons. Assign the rest
of the Guardians to the hunt as well. Dad and Edward are working on something
already. I don’t know what, but I’m sure it’s important.”
“So you plan to prepare for the war on your own?”
“What choice do I have? Have any of you had any luck
finding Janus?”
“No. We believe he really is gone,” Regivus said.
I flashed myself back to the hotel, where Sen was
having a breakdown. He stopped pacing when I appeared.
“Stop disappearing! I was worried about you!”
“I’m going to explain some stuff to you, and I need
you to stay calm.” I put my hands on his elbows and gently guided him to sit on
the bed. This was the way Mom handled giving Dad news that was tough to handle.
“You know Dad is the Guardian of Earth and that we spent two years there.”
“Yes.”
“You know what my mother is.”
“Sort of.”
“You need to know this part. The force that keeps the
universe together, the balance, is inside me. This is usually okay, but since
my brother is my balance and he’s missing, I’m going to go insane soon and
start killing everyone. If my eyes become milky green, it means the darkness is
in control.”
He swallowed audibly.
“There is also a war brewing between demons and
mortals. All of the gods are on Dad’s side, but there are many mortals who will
fight for him as well. There is also a being far more powerful than any god. We
call him Zherneboh, or Zero. Therefore, we need to find the weapons that were
used in the Iadnah wars and give them to the mortals who can use them.”
He swallowed again. “Okay,” he said softly. “Anything
you need me to do, I’ll do it. What is plan B? You always have a plan B.”
“Plan B is to learn to control the darkness. The
darkness controls the demons, so I could make most of them surrender if I
control the darkness.”
“Why isn’t that plan A?”
“Because I’ve been trying for ten years without
success. Now that Hail is missing, it will be even more difficult. Grab our
bags. We’re going to Earth.”
Sen’s eyes widened with fear. “Are you sure it’s
safe?”
I had the powers of a god, which a human might have
found reassuring, but it would upset any sago for me to point that out. The
people of Duran were extremely superstitious. Sen’s father was a mage from
another world, but he was raised with his mother’s fear of other worlds and
gods. Actually, Emiko saw Sen’s father as proof that all other worlds and
aliens were evil.
“You’ll be fine.”
Instead of immediately flashing us to Earth, I
decided to take a shower. When I looked better, I felt better, so I fixed my
hair after my shower. As I made both my hair and eyes dark sapphire blue, I
wondered if I was really going to survive this.
For fourteen years, I was known to the gods as
Dylan’s son. I was too loud, too pushy, and too arrogant. I knew it, Hail knew
it, and Dad knew it. Hail was willing to be Vretial’s Guardian just so I could
have a part in something.
With a sigh, I leaned against the white sink and met
my own gaze in the mirror. I had to be the most powerful being in the universe,
because otherwise, I was nobody important. For my brother’s sake, that wasn’t
acceptable.
* * *
We arrived on Earth in the only place I was really
familiar with. Fortunately, my power always attempted to land me somewhere I
was safe, so we appeared right outside our old apartment instead of in it,
because someone new was living there.
A car pulled into the spot right beside us and Sen
shrieked. I could only smile, though, when Drake got out of the vehicle. He was
my age, still thin, but taller than me now. He closed the door, looked up, and
spotted me immediately.
“Ron! Hey, long time.”
He reached to hug me and I returned the gesture. Sen
gave us a look, probably because sago were not generally touchy people. “How
have you been, Drake?” I asked.
“Good. Dad got me a car!” he pointed to the flashy
red sports car. “What are you doing back?”
I hesitated. After Ghidorah healed Drake from his
cancer, the boy became much more independent, but I still thought of him as
small and defenseless. On the other hand, he was taller than me. “The demon war
is beginning.”
“I’ll call Tatum and the others. Where is Hail?” he asked,
pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
“No, don’t call them. We’re not getting the old gang
together.”
“But…” He looked heartbroken. “But we were a good
team.”
Actually, I liked solving mysteries with them when we
were kids, but after Sydney’s death, Hail and I decided to keep the serious
stuff among family. Hail and I didn’t want to be the reason any of our friends
died.
“How is your little brother?”
“He’s annoying me to death. Come say hi.”
“We really can’t. This is Sen, Mordon’s son.”
Before I could say another word, I heard what sounded
like a small explosion. I started to turn, but Sen shoved me away, towards the
car. The ceiling of the covered walkway we were standing in suddenly collapsed,
narrowly missing Drake and me. Sen was buried.
I reached out with my magic to move the rubble… and
nothing happened. My magic failed.
Panic gripped me. If Sen died under my care, Mordon
would never forgive me and Dad would never trust me to be responsible. I
focused on the mortal energy of Earth, drew it in, and tried to move the
debris. The concrete started to move, just as Drake shouted. A huge creature
landed in front of me as if it fell from the sky.
The skin of the creature was grayish-blue and it
looked rough. Its face was dark and smooth with slits for nostrils instead of a
nose. Its sunken eyes were black with red, diamond-shaped irises. The creature
stood about seven feet tall with as much muscle as Ghidorah, but its body
wasn’t entirely humanoid. The monster’s arms were too long and its legs were
shaped oddly, as if it wasn’t meant to walk upright. Even without my powers, I
knew the aura of a demon when I saw one.
I was determined not to show fear in front of Drake
right up until the demon reached out for me. Its skin suddenly bubbled and darkened
as if with some contagious disease. Drake and I both screamed.
I tried desperately to draw my power, but it was
still not obeying me. Therefore, I was shocked when a shield did surround Drake
and me. The demon screamed with pain that was obviously coming from within if
trying to claw its own chest open was any indication. When he burst into ash, I
saw Xul standing behind where the creature had been.
“Zeb!” Drake cried happily.
“Wow! You’ve gotten big!” the Ancient laughed,
disintegrating his shield. When Drake moved to hug him, Xul patted Drake’s
head. “I thought you were going to stay tiny forever, like Ron.”
“Bite me, demon,” I growled. That just caused him to
laugh again. He waved his hand at the debris behind him and the blocks flew off
Sen easily. The dragon-mage was unconscious with a head wound.
“I can’t heal people, so you’re going to have to,”
Xul told me.
“My power is missing.”
“Try again.”
I knelt next to Sen and put my hand on his head
gently, trying not to get more dirt in his wound. “Maybe I should clean the
injury first.” I didn’t want him getting an infection or anything.
Xul sighed. “Sure. He’ll die because you’ll be too
late in healing him, but at least he’ll look better.”
The Ancient was the only was foolish enough to speak
to me that way, yet it was my own fault for not punishing him when he did so. I
focused on my power and the desire to heal. Sen was my friend.
This time, my magic responded easily and flooded the
dragon-mage to heal him. The cut across his forehead fused and scabbed over,
then fade until it looked months old.
“Has your magic been acting up a lot lately?” Xul
asked.
I shook my head. “My flash went wrong on Anoshii when
I tried to get to Hail. He’s missing.”
“I will find your brother.”
“If you’re here, at least that means he’s safe. I
need to find the god weapons; the demons are ready to attack.”
“I know. The Guardians have spent the last five years
spreading word of the war and figuring out how to protect their people from
demons. Nobody wants to point to demons, but over the last year, people of
Malta, Enep, Dayo, and Kahún have been attacked. Kahún needs a Guardian.”
“Azenoth is working on it. How are our demons doing?”
“They are despised by both sides. How do you think
they’re doing? I was going to give this to your father, but I think you need it
more.” He pulled out what looked like a locket on a thin gold chain. “This can
help you find the god weapons.”
“Are they all on Earth?”
“From what I can tell, there are five weapons; a
sword, a dagger, a bow, an axe, and a wand. Vretial has the sword, which I
believe is the only one that has been altered. Vretial got ahold of the sword
and tried to disarm it to protect it from Rasik, but you know how well that
turned out. The other weapons are on other worlds, but exactly where, I don’t
know. Hopefully, you will have the instincts to use this,” he said, passing the
necklace to me.
I recognized the symbol etched into the metal charm
as the symbol of Earth. Energy pulsed from it lightly, but I didn’t know what
kind it was. “What magic is this? It’s not mortal or Iadnah magic.”
“It’s void magic.”
“Demon magic,” I scoffed, slipping it into my jeans
pocket.
“You are your father’s child, so I know you can use
demon magic.”
“Have you figured out what Dad is yet?”
“Unlike Vretial, I really don’t care what Dylan is. I
know he can use all forms of magic. Find the god weapons, because I’m afraid we
might have something worse coming than demons.”
“You think Zero might be working with them?”
“I think Zero is on nobody’s side. I think that if he
comes back, we might all be dead.” With that, he vanished.
Sen finally woke at that point, so I helped him to
sit up. “Are you hurt anywhere?” I asked.
He shook a little as he tried to stand up. “I’m
okay.” He took my hand. “Are you? Did you get hurt?”
“No. You pushed me out of the way.”
“Come inside,” Drake said. “Mom would be happy to see
you again. I’m sure she’d be happy to let you two to stay here tonight.”
“English?” Sen asked. Although Emiko stubbornly
refused to learn English, Mordon taught the young mage the language just in
case the boy ever needed it. For members of our family, we never knew what to
expect.
“Yes. Sen, this is Drake Reagan, half human, half
fae, and speaks English. Drake, this is Sen Kaori, half dragon, half mage, and
Mordon’s adopted son. Now, I can use magic so that both of you will understand
me no matter what language I speak, but Drake doesn’t know Sudo, so, Sen,
you’ll have to speak English.”
I pulled Sen up and helped him to Stacy’s apartment,
which was exactly as I remembered it; pristine and boring with white walls and
leather furniture. I sat Sen on the couch while Drake went to the kitchen. He
returned with a bottle of water for each of us.