Melchior clapped Zeke on the back. “Ares hasn't used his chariot in thousands of years. It's probably your friend Romeo out for a joyride.”
Zeke frowned. “Romeo is no friend of mine, but you're right. I hope he doesn't come here.”
A groaning sound came from Bolt's stall.
“She's having the first baby now.” Zeke ran in with the horse. “I can see the feet.”
Fable patted Sigrun's nose. “I'll come back to see you soon.” She hurried to Bolt’s stall and knelt by her head. The horse shuddered a few times, and Zeke helped the baby. “Your baby is gold with black socks like you.”
Melchior checked the baby. “She's small, but she's breathing.”
Zeke nodded. “I expected them to be small. Bolt's not a typical mare, but twins still complicate things.”
Thunder bent his head into the stall and nudged the baby.
The second baby was born. He was black with gold socks, and before long, both babies were trying to stand up.
Melchior sat on the ground next to Fable. “Another successful continuation of your original warhorse's line. Congratulations, Zeke.”
Warhorse? “Is that why a Thunder is so big? He's supposed to fight?”
“His great-grandfather loved to fight.” Zeke winked at Fable. “That's why you need a bigger dragon to scare him. It's in his genes, although he likes to be lazy.”
Thunder kicked his stall.
“Zeke was a knight in Albion.” Uncle Melchior held up the pen. “I’m writing that down.”
A real knight! “Did you have a princess?”
Zeke smiled, but he looked sad. “No, I had a lot of adventures, but I never met my princess.”
Soră clapped her hands in Fable's head. Zeke's heart is ready to beat. He will find his Dragă soon.
Fable had to be sure. “Do you know how to kiss a princess?”
Uncle Zeke laughed. “I promise you, if I find my princess, I know exactly how to kiss her.”
FABLE HELD HANDS WITH Soră and skipped across the green grass in front of the stable, while Zeke and Melchior watched. They had to stay inside because the sun was coming up. The shadow animals grew big. The dragon and crow flew in the air, the snake stretched out on her back, and the bear pushed his big head into Fable's stomach. She scratched his soft ears. “I wish Tahtli could be with us outside.”
“He can. Stryx and Jael can be in the sun now, so Norrix could too.” Soră laughed as the snake coiled around her and dangled her upside down. “You just have to figure out how to do it.”
The memory of almost exploding from too much magic made her heart beat too fast, but she wanted to do something nice for Tahtli. Fable put her hands on her tummy to check her magics. They were all small. She had to practice so they could grow safely.
“But, you're magic. Why can't you do it?”
“I'm not a witch. The changed ones love me, and I love them, but we aren't bonded like they are with their Dragăs. That kind of energy can mix together where I can't. Plus, you have magic from the oldest gods in the Aztlan pantheon. I told you before that you're a more special girl than me. You can do more things.”
“Can I just say the words?” That was easy. That was only Seeking magic wanting to get out to find Melchior's family. Fable didn't have to tell the other colors what to do. They just knew how to make her words happen.
Soră disappeared from the snake's coils and reappeared on her feet. “I don't think that will work with Norrix. You have to adjust the magic that's part of him. The changed ones feel different after Ember and Viktoria made the magic do this.” Soră held up her hands and wove her fingers together. “Your mom can help you use the bond.”
“Are they still adulting?”
Soră tilted her head like she was listening. “No. They are done.”
CHAPTER SIXTY SIX
MYTH
FABLE'S COMING.
Soră's warning, delivered with great amusement, barely gave Myth enough time to scramble from bed and into her clothes as she tossed pants at Norrix.
“What's wrong?” Norrix’s voice, thick with sleep and satiation, rumbled over her skin as he watched her frantic actions through half-opened eyes.
Myth pulled on sweatpants and ransacked the drawer for a shirt. “Fable —”
That was all she had to say. At the single word, Norrix moved with vampire speed. In a blink, he stood wide awake, pants on, at the side of their bed. “Where?”
His panic flared through their bond. She’d scared him. “Coming here!” Myth muttered through the soft fabric stuck on her head. She wrenched the material around until her face popped through the hole and tugged the t-shirt down.
Norrix relaxed and slumped against the headboard, stretching his legs out. “You frightened me.” He rubbed his chest. “I think I actually almost had a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” Myth sat beside him and took his hand. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The main door slammed open and Fable’s footsteps sprinted through the sitting room. She burst into the bedroom and launched herself at them. “Soră said you are done adulting and I can come in now.”
Norrix caught the little girl and settled her between them as the army of shadow animals lined up across the foot of the bed.
“What have you been up to?” Myth marveled at the difference in her daughter. Two days ago, enslaved, chained, and mute. Today so full of confidence. Her eyes shone and her cheeks had a healthy flush.
“I was playing with Soră, and I ran into Melchior, but he didn’t fall and he caught me so I didn’t either. I was scared because he has white hair, but he said if he thought about hurting me, Tahtli would kick him in the ankle. Is that true?”
Norrix's brow creased. “He said I'd kick his ankle?”
“Yes!” Fable nodded. “Because you're old and that's how high you can reach.”
“Oh, really?” Norrix's eyes flashed from golden to black. “I'm going to kick something of his, but it's not going to be his ankle.”
Myth bit her lip to stifle her laughter.
“Zeke let me help a baby horse.” Fable babbled on, oblivious to Norrix's plotting Melchior's imminent demise. “There are two. They were just born and can already walk. You should go see them. And I met Sigrun. She showed me her wings.” Fable held up her notepad, turned it into a storybook, and flipped through the pages. “Ciaran and Melchior are teaching me to read and write. They said these are the places they are from and maybe I can go.” Face scrunched in concentration, she traced her finger over the letters, sounding them out. “Ku-ru-fa-ba, Al-bi-on, Pat-a-gon and Nor-den.”
Myth’s heart leapt at hearing her daughter’s voice, so excited and bursting with words. She didn’t know where any of those places were, but she would take Fable to all of them if it would keep the words spilling from her.
“Nantli, did you know Zeke was a real knight? He didn’t find his princess yet, but he promised he knows how to kiss her so she won’t be stuck asleep. His horse ate my grilled cheese and isn't scared of little dragons, but I didn't make my dragon big in case the babies got scared.”
“No. I didn’t know any of that.”
“Tahtli, where are you from? Write it down for me.” She changed her book to a notepad and held it out.
Norrix accepted it and wrote his name and where he thought he was from. “The earliest place I can remember is Göbekli Tepe. I lived there with my third mother when I was a boy.”
“How many moms do you have?”
“Three.”
“How many dads?”
“None.”
Fable’s forehead wrinkled as she tried to work through three moms and no father.
“Well, not until later. A man named Nabu found me, and he didn’t have a son. So we became family. He’s like my father and I’m like his son.”
“Like you are my Tahtli and I am your princess?”
“Exactly like that. We can choose who our family is.”
“I choose you!” She snuggled
into Norrix. “Can we go to Göbekli Tepe?”
“We can try. It’s not going to be like it was when I lived there, though, because that was a long time ago. I think you would love Kurufaba,” Norrix said. “A lot of stories are hidden there, and only Ciaran knows how to find them. After I return the ahuizotl to his pack, we can go wherever you like. Did Melchior tell you what Patagon means?”
“Land of Giants!” She turned to him with wide eyes. “Are there really giants there?”
Norrix nodded. “Some of them are even bigger than Melchior.”
Fable leaned close to Myth’s ear and whispered, “Soră said I can give Tahtli a present if you help me.”
Myth whispered back while Norrix pretended he couldn’t hear them. “Of course I'll help. What do you want to give him?”
“The sun. Soră said we can do it so Tahtli doesn't have to be scared.” Fable turned her notepad sideways so it became a storybook and turned pages.
Myth caught Norrix's eyes over her daughter's head. “Let’s ask Tahtli to help, okay?”
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN
NORRIX
MOST OF NORRIX WAS relieved to be included on the project, since it could result in his fiery death, but a small part of him thought this was a bad idea. On one hand, he'd nearly burned in the sun two days ago. On the other hand, vampires in the sun wasn’t an unknown idea anymore.
His other gift worked perfectly. Norrix remembered everything. Not in order, but in an orderly fashion. He marveled at his newly arranged memories. Maybe going in the sun could work, too.
Fable tipped her head back to look at him imploringly upside down. “Will you help us make you a present? You have to act surprised later.”
That wouldn’t be an issue. If this worked, no one would be more surprised than him. “I promise.” He couldn’t help a flutter of hope rising in him. A daughter should have a dad who could go in the sun. He had to try. If it didn’t work, well, he found out just a couple days go he’d burn slowly.
“Okay.” Fable flipped through more pages, then pointed a small finger at one with a list, each item a different hue. “Here is my list of colors. Which ones should we use? Soră likes all of them. They made stripes in her hair.”
Well. If Soră could use all those magics now, that should make things even more interesting around here. Norrix read the page.
Red - War, Death
Orange - Light, Fire
Yellow - Djinn, Wishes
Green - Healing, Creation
Blue - Telepathy, Illusions
Purple - Shifting, Wards
Gold - Sun, Air
Bronze - Sound
Brown - Earth, Nature
Lilac - Seeking
Grey - Shadows, Doorways
Pink - Dreams, Fate
Mauve - Adulting
Black - Demons
Turquoise - Water
“Zax wrote it for me. I touched the reindeer’s nose and showed all my colors. She wrote what they do. I have to practice so they can get big again.”
It didn’t look like there was anything she couldn’t do. No wonder she and Myth had suffered from magic overdose.
“Grey for shadow.” Logical. “Orange for light?” That was Ember's magic. She made it work to protect Stryx. By bending it, maybe? “Green for healing.” That couldn’t hurt, just in case.
“Only those colors? What about red? Red likes to come out. And yellow because it's a wish.”
Red meant death. That didn't seem like a good idea when he didn't want to die in the sun. But if he refused, would that set off an overdose again? And a wish... Well, anyone who'd ever met a Djinn should know better than to make a wish.
The little witch plowed ahead with her magic without waiting for his input. Taking his hand, she joined it with Myth's and gave them the silver pen. Fable flipped pages in her book to a blank one and put her hands over her stomach. “Once upon a time...” The words flowed through the pen, guiding their hands over the page to leave ornate but neat lettering in multi-colored ink. “... Tahtli is safe from the sun.”
Nothing seemed to change. No magic tingles. He pondered the best way to mitigate Fable's disappointment when this didn’t work.
“Good.” Fable crawled from between him and Myth, plopping herself to face them. “Now Nantli, you have to give the magic to Tahtli through your bond because you’re a Dragă but me and Soră aren’t.”
Myth flushed a dark shade of red. The naughty emotions flowing through their connection told him exactly how she wanted to use that bond between a Dragă and her vampire.
“Nantli, is your red color is getting too big? You have to make it calm and small and keep it in your tummy.”
Norrix rubbed a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. Myth caught it anyway, and a sense of vengeance traveled to him. He winked, earning narrowed eyes in return.
“Like this!” Fable’s exasperated voice cut through the non-verbal spat. She took the page from her book and her mother's hand, placing them together on Norrix’s chest over his heart.
“Oh.” Myth shifted to press the on page more firmly. “Is that it?”
“How else do you do it?” Fable tilted her head curiously.
Myth opened her mouth but closed it without saying a word. Norrix made what he considered to be a valiant effort not to be amused.
Fortunately, Fable moved on. “We all have to say the magic words.”
Happy to go along with the game, but understanding that was all this likely would be, Norrix obediently intoned the words with Fable end Myth. “Once upon a time, Tahtli is safe from the sun.”
The paper transformed, thinning and stretching over his body, then merged, leaving the multi-colored words over his heart. The black magic making him vampire stirred and surfaced on his skin as Fable's rainbow spell sought a way to blend the magics together. His energy retreated from the onslaught in spite of Norrix willing the vampire to cooperate.
Myth slid her fingers into his, and the vampire inside him capitulated, holding still for Fable's colorful magic to poke and prod at it. The words on his chest sank in, all the way to his heart. Every beat spread the little witch's spell farther through him until his entire body tingled. Was that it? About to ask, he stopped as the new magic in him surged to the surface, engulfing the vampire magic in a full body hug, and receded.
“It worked! I felt it in my tummy.” Fable clapped her hands and turned her face up to him. Her triumphant smile felt like the sun had turned on him. She slid off the bed, shadow animals scattering to assemble at her feet, and stood in front of him. Her small hands pulled on one of his to lever him off the bed. “Let's go outside.”
He probably should have felt some trepidation with the only thing standing between him and immolation being the new magic of a four-year-old girl who didn’t really know how to use it, but unlike when Ember protected him, Norrix felt no nervousness about stepping into the light this time, in spite of being burned recently. The colors Fable talked about, invisible even to vampire sight, nonetheless provided a tangible shield tied to him through the bond he and Myth shared.
Outside, Fable’s shadow animals grew to their huge sizes. This time, the ocean remained blue. A greener blue than the sky. The riot of colors in Xenos’ day garden all seemed brighter. But out of all the colors he could see, his favorite was the hazel, a green-gold in the eyes of his Dragă and their daughter as they watched him.
Norrix held his arms out and growled.
“Run!” Fable shrieked in delight, and took off into the sun, followed by her ever-present shadow animals. She was surprisingly fast for a tiny girl with short legs, but incredibly bad at getting away. After only a few steps, she turned around and launched herself at him.
He caught her, and Myth joined them, slipped her arm around his waist as the three of them watched the waterfall sparkling in the sun. The heat on his arms had him debating working on his tan.
Two triangular ears broke the surface of the pond and swiveled until they aimed at Norrix. Th
e ahuizotl swam to the shallow part of the lake and walked out. He bounded to Norrix and attacked his boots. “What is it with dragons, dogs and ahuizotls and my shoelaces? I haven’t forgotten our agreement. Things are in upheaval in Aztlan right now. Let’s give it today to calm down, and I’ll take you to your family tomorrow.”
The ahuizotl chuffed and relented, sniffing around the bear and snake instead.
Fable laid her head on his shoulder. “You’ll really take us all the places in my notebook?”
“I will take you anywhere you want to go, on this world or any other.”
Fable gave him a smile of utter trust and adoration that made his heart beat with an extra hard thump. She closed her eyes and her body went limp as she fell asleep. The shadow animals followed as Norrix carried Fable inside the house.
Myth walked alongside him, hand tucked into the crook of his elbow. “All her adventures are catching up to her. She’s exhausted.”
“She has certainly been busy.”
Contentment and love washed over him in waves as Myth slipped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest next to their daughter’s. “You’ve given us a fairy tale.”
Norrix tightened his arm around her and laid his cheek on her head. “In only a few days, you two have already given me the best memories I’ve ever had.”
THE END
CAST OF CHARACTERS
I know sometimes words in a foreign language and names of gods and goddesses in an unfamiliar mythology may be confusing, so hopefully this glossary will help.
CENTZON - 400 SONS of Coatlicue & Mixcoatl. Killed by Huitzilopochtli at the start of the Fifth Sun. Their souls guard the stars.
Chalchiuhtlicue - 4th SUN. The Jade Skirt. Goddess of childbirth. Iqiohr’s mother.
Cipactli - primeval sea monster or crocodile, with a mouth at each joint, who eats everything created. Sometimes she is said to be part crocodile, part fish, and part frog.
Myth's Legend: Norrix Page 39