"The Ilyium have integrated into our society, and are mates to many, or children to others, how do you expect them to react to our queen’s words?" the demon answered.
That was a good question, and one Daimon would look at more closely later.
"Keep grilling him, find out as much as you can about the war and MB's and everything," Daimon told the twins, then set his plate down and addressed all three of them. "I'll be back."
His pulse was pounding once again as he walked up beside the dark-haired warrior and caught a scent that reminded him of wild stormy nights. "Hi, I'm Daimon."
The female, who'd been perusing the table's contents, turned her pale blue eyes on him. "I know who you are, son of Skulla."
Daimon blinked. "How do you know that?"
She smiled and warmth filled him, like the sun shining on him. "What is it you really want to know?"
"Your name," he blurted out, feeling like a callow youth. Then he remembered that was exactly what he was. He'd never had a girlfriend or even kissed one. Well, except his cousin that one time, and then she was the one who'd kissed him. And they'd been seven at the time.
"I'm Isla," she said, and it sounded like Eye-la.
"You aren't Ilyium."
Her smile grew wider. "No, I'm not."
"How did you come to be here, working with the Irod. I noticed everyone’s reaction to you. Did they kidnap you as well?" he asked.
“No.” Isla's smile disappeared, and Daimon wished he could take back his question.
"It was nice meeting you Daimon." Then she turned away.
"I've felt you."
Isla stopped.
"Watching," he said. "I know it was you who led them to us."
Isla looked back at him, and Daimon released the breath he'd been holding.
Her eyes searched his for a long moment. "I'll see you soon, Daimonthorn."
Daimon returned to the twins and Irum. "We need to go, right now."
Chapter 18
Young B's
They discussed everything once they were back home in their cave.
"I think we need to face the fact that Irum might be right and our great grandmother brushed them off," Elan said to his sister.
Caro was silent for a long while, contemplating what he'd said, then she looked at Daimon. "What do you think?"
"Well, I don't know your great grandmother, but my father said she was kinda ..." he stopped speaking, not wanting to offend either of them.
"That she's crazy?" Caro asked, with a slight smile.
"Ah, yeah." Actually, Daimon's father had said more than that. He's said Herasa was a bit of a heretic, and believed she was always right. That she saw herself above all others, better, stronger, yada, yada, yada.
"Yeah, I guess she can be pretty intense," Caro said.
Elan snorted. "Intense? I think she's a bit more than that. She might be our family, but she has always been scary."
"Fine, so Irum is probably telling the truth," Caro snapped.
"I don't see why he wouldn't," Daimon said. "It'd be kind of a moot point now, wouldn't you say?"
They both agreed, then Caro sighed. "It's just ... hard to think that she's the reason we're here. If she wasn't so inflexible, they could have come to some understanding and we wouldn't have had to blow the portal up."
Daimon knew it was irrational, but so far, he'd been blaming himself for them being stuck here, but now Caro's words gave him pause.
In the end, they agreed to join the Irod in their war.
"Think we can do that combined cloaking thing again?" Daimon asked.
"Of course," Caro answered.
"What do you have in mind?" Elan asked.
Daimon explained his plan for a sneak attack on the mutant butt-faces.
"That could really work," Elan said.
They took their idea to the Irod and the other demons in the war room.
"Do it," the queen said.
"How do you know where and when the battles will be?" Caro asked something they'd been wondering.
The queen gave a sly little smile and glanced over at Isla.
"I have a ... gift of sorts. It lets me know where the Rhapaskiru will be, what crop they'll target next," the warrior female said.
"So, something like precognition?" Daimon asked.
"Exactly like that," Isla answered with a grimace, letting Daimon know she wasn't exactly excited about her gift.
Because of Isla, they were ready and waiting for the next battle.
"Ready?" Daimon asked his riders.
"As we'll ever be," Elan said.
Daimon dropped down over a swarm of butterflies, and they lowered their cloaking so that the Irod didn't hit him with their arrows. Then he roasted the mutants with his dragon-fire. A large part of them turned to ash, while the others quickly fled.
"What about them?" Elan asked.
Daimon faced the spiders who hovered—waiting to dart in and snatch whoever they could, and blasted them as well. But they were too far away, and as he went after them, they turned and left. He considered following, but then decided not to this time.
The Irod were ecstatic.
"This is the first battle we've ever won," Irum said when they landed. "The first time we've saved the whole crop."
"Well, let's save more," Daimon said, looking around for a certain female.
"She's not here," Irum said, and his voice had gone hard.
Daimon didn't respond, but disappointment bit deep.
They'd been given a place to stay in the city, and had a supply of meals always waiting, but there were days Daimon wished for the cave. Yet he stayed, holding out hope of seeing Isla.
Over the next month they used the same strategy, but then the MB's changed up their attack. They set up sentinels high above them who sprayed a steady mist of green goop, which completely defeated the purpose of the cloaking.
Still they fought on, and while they managed to save more crops, Daimon was getting tired of being accidentally hit by the demons’ arrows.
"When you're in the middle of the dark swarm, it's a bit hard to distinguish you from them," one of the Irod told him.
"Too bad you can't change color," Caro teased.
"But I can," Daimon said with a smile, wishing he'd thought of it before. He was the only one in his family that could change his scale color.
They tried a few different hues, and finally settled on a bright purple. "It's my little sister's favorite," Daimon told the twins while they helped carry the wounded to wagons.
"You make a very pretty dragon these days," a voice teased. The scent of a wild storm came to him and his heart sped up.
He turned, and there she was, Isla. The warrior who twisted him up inside and left him feeling like a lovestruck fool.
"I hoped you'd like the new look," he said, a grin on his face that he couldn't hide.
She smiled, and Daimon felt his insides melting, then she grew serious. "I sense ..." She frowned and moved close, then stroked a hand across his chest. "There's ... something within you, but I can't see it."
"How ... ?"
Isla backed away, alarm in her eyes. "I'll see you later Daimonthorn."
Then she disappeared.
What—? She could teleport? Who was she, and what else could she do?
The next battle was brutal, though Isla was stunning as she fought alone. The twins used their magic as well, and he his fire, but still they lost the crop and too many fighters.
"At least you saved the witches," Elan said, as if sensing his melancholy mood.
"I had too, I couldn't stand by and see those little ones die." He'd made it his priority to see to the three little witches’ safety. Not a single one had looked to be older than seven. Of course, the distraction of worrying about the small children hadn't helped in the battle.
"You both sure about this?" Daimon asked the twins. "You can stay here and get a ride back to the city with the Irod if you'd like." It had been decided that the next battle
they lost, Daimon would follow the Rhapaskiru and see where they went and what they did. Either way, it could be risky if the mutant insects caught him, and he didn't want the twins getting hurt.
"I told you, you're not leaving us behind," Caro said.
Secretly glad for their company, Daimon shifted back into his dragon and waited for them to climb into the saddle.
"When are we going to tell the Irod about the spiders and the ... Celtylight tree?" Elan asked once they were in the air.
The demons wanted him to follow the spiders as well.
"I'm worried they'll want me to show them where it is, and I really don't want to go back there," Daimon said.
"You can guide the Irod to the island, and then let them deal with the spiders," Elan suggested.
Caro snorted. "Do you honestly see Mr. Purple Scales here sitting back and letting anyone deal with the creepy freaks on their own?"
"No, you're right," Elan said.
"Though you really should, that hero complex thing you have going on will get you hurt one day," Caro said.
"I don't have a hero complex. I'm dragonkind. We are protectors, guardians. I can no more change that, than I could the color of the sky," Daimon said.
“Well, good thing you can change your scale color then.” Caro chuckled, then changed the subject. "You never did explain about how you know that white energy tree is called Celtylight."
Daimon finally told them about the portal energy entering him, and how it had compelled him, and even spoke to him somewhat.
"Why did you not tell us this sooner?" Caro asked.
"I don't know, we had so much going on, and I didn't know if it could be dangerous or hurt one of you, then after I buried it deep, I guess I kinda forgot about it for the most part.
"Huh, well, I still think you should have told us, we might have been able to help," Caro said, but didn't sound too upset.
They kept their distance while following the MB's even though they'd activated their cloaking. "How much you want to bet they lead us to the sky tree?" Daimon asked.
"Well, since we're headed that way, I'm pretty sure you're right," Caro said.
They slowed as the approached the rock block fortress.
"What are they doing?" Elan asked.
"I'm not sure," Daimon replied as he circled the swarm. The large cloud of mutant insects completely covered the fortress. "I want to get closer, is there any spell you can use so they won't hear or feel us as we draw near?"
"Of course, we'll just pull a spell out of our heads," Caro said.
Daimon grinned inwardly, knowing she'd figure something out, she always did.
A moment later he felt a shield roll over them.
"Try that," Caro said.
Daimon flew as close as he could, and what he saw shocked him.
"It looks like they're ... what are they doing?" Elan asked again.
"I believe they're feeding whatever is inside there," Daimon said, spying the tubes going from the MB's into each hole.
"They're sucking the life, all the nutrients out of the crops, and feeding it to what, their young?" Caro asked.
"I think so," Daimon said. They now had their reason for why the Rhapaskiru were destroying the crops. "This is so not what we need, young B's."
"What?" Caro asked. "I have the hardest time following you sometimes."
"Well, we can't call them mutants, because they aren't. Yet," Daimon said. "So, I figure young B's will work."
Isla was there when they told the Irod.
"This changes things," Daimon said.
"I don't see how, we still need to save our crops," the queen said.
"And they need to save their young, or whatever it is they're feeding," Daimon countered. Then he had another thought. "Wait, you said this war started ten years ago. How did they feed their young before that?"
The queen didn't answer.
Daimon gazed around at the others in the room. Beside the queen and the three of them, there was Irum, Isla, and a bunch of demons who commanded their own troops.
"They weren't here before that," the queen finally said.
"So, ten years ago you opened a portal to Tartaria, kidnapped humans, and that's when the Rhapaskiru appeared?"
"Correct."
"Where did they come from, because I know they aren't from my world," he said.
"Have you seen that rift in the sky?" Isla asked.
Daimon stilled. "Yes. You're saying that's where they came from? What about the Celtylight?"
The queen stilled. "Celtylight?"
"Yeah, the white lightning tree dying out there on spider-monkey island?" Daimon said.
He was met with a blank expression.
"I want to go see this Celtylight," Isla said.
"No, no way. I am not going back there," Daimon said.
Isla was about to say something, when the queen interrupted. "Daimon, the next time we lose I'd appreciate it if you'd take Isla to see the Rhapaskiru feed their ... young or whatever they're doing."
Chapter 19
Life Crystal
They lost the next battle, but no one was killed and only a few demons injured. Daimon made arrangements for the twins to get a ride back to the city.
"I don't know if I like leaving you with her," Caro said, indicating Isla.
Daimon couldn't help teasing her. "I'm pretty sure I'll be fine, but don't tell me you're worried about me?"
"Well, someone has to worry about you, you're liable to get sucked inside the rock monstrosity if we're not there to blast some magic into you," she said.
Daimon laughed, and then grew serious. "You know I don't like leaving you behind, but there's not enough room for all three of you."
"We know, and you don't want to leave one of us alone with the demons. We agree, but still ..." Caro didn't finish.
"Just be safe, and careful, okay?" Elan asked.
"I will, and I'll see you both when we get back."
Daimon shifted and waited as Isla climbed upon his back.
"You remember the spell I told you to shield the both of you?" Caro asked Isla.
"I do, and you need not fear, I'll return your purple dragon to you in one piece," Isla said.
Caro scowled at her.
"Ready?" Daimon called aloud. He'd briefly considered connecting to Isla so they could also speak telepathically, but decided he wasn't ready for the demons to know he and the twins shared that ability. He still didn't quite trust them, and as much as he liked Isla, he didn't know her either.
"Yes, let’s go," Isla said, excitement in her voice.
They trailed behind the MB's, and when they got close to the rock fortress, Isla activated the shield.
Daimon circled as close as he could, and after a few minutes, she yelled and tugged on the strap around his neck.
Daimon looked back to see her pointing down. "You want me to land?"
"Yes!"
Daimon did, and Isla climbed off his back. "Shift into your human form."
"Why?" he asked, but then did as she wanted.
"I want to go inside," she said. "I spotted an opening we should be able to fit through."
Daimon gazed at the giant rock-block fortress. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Probably not, but I want to see what's inside."
Daimon followed her to the opening and they crawled through. It was tight, and for a moment he worried he wouldn't fit, but then he managed to squeeze through. "Gah, it stinks in here," he said when they were inside and able to stand once again. The floor was covered in green slime.
He looked up, and then turned in a circle. The inside was a hollow dome, and all along the blocky walls were millions of glowing bubbles that reminded him of when he and his siblings were very small, and they'd blow bubbles out of soap. His older sister had been very good at making really big bubbles.
"Careful," Isla said as Daimon went up to inspect one.
"It’s like a bubble sack, filled with fluid, and something that looks l
ike a small worm. With big black eyes." A neon blue worm that stared at him.
"Baby Rhapaskiru," Isla whispered.
"Yeah, young B's. Of course, they aren't actually butterflies yet. Guess I need a new name." Beyond each bubble sack was a tiny hole and Daimon could see the sky outside. "So that they can get sunlight maybe?"
Clear tethers led from each bubble sack down to the very middle of the structure, to a large glowing white crystal with thick black striations running all through it.
"What do you think that is?" Isla asked as they ducked under the tethers and approached the energy source.
"It looks a lot like Celtylight," he said. Very thin streaks of lightning zipped up and down the tethers to the bubbles.
When Isla went to touch the crystal, Daimon pulled her back. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Right," she said. "Let's get out of here."
Daimon went to turn away, but instead found himself moving closer to the crystal. He laid his hands on the large jagged rock, and an intense feeling of love filled and warmed him.
"Daimon!"
"It's slowly dying." A deep sadness welled up inside him as he felt the life of all the creatures around him. They were the light's young and when the crystal finally failed, they'd all die.
"Daimon?"
He could feel Isla tugging at him, but all he wanted to do was send reassurances back at the energy. Send love and some of his own power. His hands sizzled as energy passed from him to the crystal.
"Daimon, stop! What are you doing?" Isla yanked him back.
Daimon gazed at her—she was so beautiful, she completely took his breath.
"Daimon, snap out of it," she said sternly.
"What happened?"
"You seemed to have a connection to this thing. I don't know what you did, but—" She gazed around.
Daimon frowned as he too looked around. A couple of the bubble sacks were pulsing.
"What are they doing?" he asked.
"I have no idea, but I think you did this," Isla said.
One was a good eight feet above them, so Daimon moved closer to the other one. "I think it's about to hatch, or whatever you call it when a worm morphs into a butterfly."
Sure enough, the cocoon around it broke apart and a small, blue butterfly emerged. Then with its tiny front legs it slashed at the bubble and before they could blink, it left through the hole.
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