by JF Jenkins
As she stepped outside into the warm night air and took a good look at her surroundings, she thought of home even more. The island where she grew up was a lot warmer than Oceina City. It was further south and had lots of rich tropical jungle. Sanctuary was surrounded by a similar setting. Wild flowers bloomed on the other side of a stream that was flowing next to the castle. The water babbled quietly against some rocks. The stream couldn't have been deep because she could see the moon reflecting off of the wet stones. Darien led her across a bridge and they entered a garden. In the middle of the garden was a shallow pool that looked to be around three feet deep, and in the center of it a small island with a dragon statue – an Oceina dragon.
"This was the home of the first of our kind. It's about three islands away from where you grew up," Darien said quietly. "When the world first began, it was your island where my many-greats-grandfather had found the love of his life. They fell in love, and devised the whole sacrifice ritual so that they could be together and not have suspicion. It worked, but the world began to expand and grow more populous. His son, who became Lord after him, decided to move to the mainland where he founded Oceina City. When my grandfather Lucca stepped down from being the Great Lord so Dad could rule, he moved here. He made sure to create a magic portal so we could get here should the need arise. And it did. I had no idea where the palace was though until after I came here."
She listened to him speak, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked to the pool. Together, they stared out at the statue. "I was really looking forward to getting to see snow for the first time. We don't get any where I lived. We probably won't here. All it does is get cold in the winter."
He laughed, albeit quietly, but it was still a nice sound all the same. "This is hardly cold. The city sometimes gets...got… well below freezing."
"Oceina City is still there. It wasn't completely destroyed," she pointed out.
"You're right, and someday we'll go back and you'll be able to see the snow. Hopefully soon. I wanted to take you to see the Festival of Tears celebrations, but that won't be happening this year." He gazed down at the water.
Tai leaned up and kissed him, turning his face so he was now looking at her. "Next year. We will do it next year, and every one after that."
"And we will celebrate here in the meantime. The first day is technically today, and we have a lot to celebrate," he said, still quiet.
"And remember," she whispered. He nodded, but didn't say anything. Tai sighed, watching her husband and his thoughtful frown. He was blocking those thoughts from her, and it troubled her. "Something is bothering you."
"I'm tired of almost losing you. And I'm thinking about what could have happened if the plan against the Inero Lord failed," he said.
She nodded slowly. "Ah, what ifs."
"I know. It doesn't matter now. Getting out of there, having it go so smoothly, had to be a miracle."
"Yes, I'm amazed myself," she said honestly. It did seem like some kind of divine intervention happened. Tai wasn't much of a believer in any higher power, but tonight was enough to make her start. The timing was too perfect.
When he faced her and stared into her eyes, she noticed a new kind of determination in his gaze. "We won't have any more close calls. You're going to be safe from here on out." He took a step forward into the water and for the first time since they came home again, he relaxed. His shoulders eased down and he took a deep breath. As soon as both of his feet touched the water, glittering blue streams of light began to flow into him.
Tai's eyes widened and she was amazed by the beauty of it. "What's going on?"
"I'm regenerating the magic I lost. Being Touched, I have a lot of it, but to fly so fast and hard two times in such a short period of time... Plus I was attacked with the element of my weakness. It hurt a lot more than I was anticipating. The water though..." He dropped his hands to his sides and trailed his fingers into the pool. Wisps of the same blue light came to his fingertips.
"The water is our element and it makes us strong." She paused. "Which I don't understand why they attached a magical bracelet to me that has water magic in it. It makes me feel strong." She showed him her wrist where the glowing metallic band still rested on her tightly.
"To keep you from talking to me. I doubt they were anticipating you knowing how to use magic." He brought his hands out of the water to look at the bracelet. With one rough tug he snapped it apart.
She rubbed at her wrist, feeling the loss of power right away. "I don't know how. Until my brief lesson with Navi, I didn't even know I could use any magic."
"Most wives can't do much," he said. Taking both of her hands in his own, he urged her into the water with him. The cool liquid felt nice on her skin. The glowing blue light around Darien intensified. When she gazed up into his eyes, she noticed them reflect the glow – an even more intense blue than they were naturally, and a slight sparkle in them as well. Then he leaned in to kiss her. The instant their lips touched the water around them began to churn. Tai would not let it distract her from her husband. How she had missed the feeling of his lips on hers, and especially the passion in which he did it. She held his face, pulling him closer to her. Her eyes closed, and for that moment in time she was completely lost in him.
"I love you," he whispered in her ear when their lips finally parted.
Her eyes fluttered open and she found them surrounded by a pillar of sparkling, blue water at least ten feet high. She stared up in awe, spinning in a small circle before settling her eyes on him once more. The magic they created when together was powerful and beautiful. Her fingers tugged at his shirt hem, determined to take it off.
"I love you too."
Chapter Seventy-Seven
The Oceina
Darien gave all of his new guests four days to get settled. There was a lot of work for all of them to do. He could be productive by researching and spending time with his family, two things which were just as important as figuring out what to do next. All of the reading gave him an idea of what that was.
Everyone but the children, Allegra, and Katelyn gathered into the den. Darien sat down in a chair, and the others followed suit.
"After all of the reading Alex and I have been doing of the Holy Book, we've come up with a number of things describing what we believe is this time period," Tony said. He glanced at Alex and then continued. "It's never been a secret that to have a Touched one on the Earth means that something big is going to happen. As far as we know, there are two, and I believe there are more. Especially with what Darien has said about his conversation with Dad...Orion..."
Jason leaned forward in his chair. "Care to elaborate?"
Darien took in a deep breath. "He said: four is one, one is four. He was talking about the Touched. You feel it in you, right? That there are others we need to find?"
"Yes," Jason said. He gazed absently for a moment, as if lost in his own thoughts. "Which is why I was going to find a way to get to you so we could work together. There are others. My brother has talked about a Touched man from the Terran. Matt's daughter is supposed to marry his son."
Darien frowned as he thought those words over. "Daughter? What do you mean daughter?"
With a sigh, Jason rubbed at his forehead with a hand. "My brother seems to believe that his child is a girl. Something to do with the Great Dragon. When he wasn't so careful of guarding his thoughts from me, I heard a lot more than he probably realized. He did tell me that tests done by the doctor, scans, all confirmed this possibility. It's part of the reason this whole thing started to begin with. Because—."
"The Great Dragon will be born of Inero blood in the city by the sea," Alex interrupted. "I read that in the Holy Book. It also said the Great Dragon will be of pure blood. So if they have a girl dragon, and she weds a boy dragon then what better way to get a pure dragon?"
For a while, all Darien could do was stare at Alex in disbelief. He could hardly believe what the guy was saying. It sounded ridiculous based on everythin
g Darien knew about his species. And yet, the Great Dragon was the bringer of peace for the land, the one who would vanquish the evil in the world. Why wouldn't there be some kind of miracle involved in his creation?
"So if this is true, and your brother knows this, I guess I see why they want to take our land so badly," Darien said at last. "Something tells me this isn't how things are supposed to be going."
"Exactly, and it's got to do with that prophet Lynx had been collaborating with. There's something off about him, but I can't quite put my finger on what exactly," Jason said. He opened his mouth, as if to say something more, but then quickly closed it again.
Darien watched him, curious. Jason was peculiar, that was for sure. "When you figure it out, let me know. We're going to go north to Aero first. They are allies, and I'm sure their Touched would be more than happy to help us figure all of this out. Ideally, I'd ask the women and children to go there for safety as well, but I doubt you'll agree to that?" He glanced over at Tai who was shaking her head. "For now, you can stay, but if things start to get out of control then you're going." And he made sure to say it with such firmness that everyone knew not to question him on the matter.
"When do you want to go, and who are you taking with you?" Tony asked.
"Jason, obviously," Darien said and looked around the room. His eyes settled on the Oceina man who was so devoted to the Inero woman named Navi. "And Chris." He was a fighter, a guardian, and strong. Most importantly, he fought for love. Darien didn't know the conditions under which he'd joined Lynx's side, but like Jason, the man knew right from wrong.
Lance raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's it?"
Darien nodded. "Jason needs to come. It's a Touched thing, and he's Touched. Chris is going to be extra security and we probably won't need it. The Aero aren't going to hurt us. I'd take you Lance, but you need to stay back. You're my First Council, so if hypothetically something does happen, it's your job to figure things out. Everyone has something they need to do here. We'll be fine."
"I just wanted to have some fun," Lance said with a small pout. He was teasing, Darien was sure of it.
"I think you've had more than enough fun with the Inero," Darien said with a soft smile. Lance was still recovering from the magic used against him. Unlike Tai though, they had mixed the water magic with that of the Earth. It pained him to think of how the Inero had come across the power of an Oceina dragon. Had one of the spies been the victim? Or someone else? Darien didn't know if he wanted to understand the process of combining the magics and putting it into an object. Magic was not made for accessories, but for blood.
Navi was the next to speak. "So that's it? And when are you going to leave?"
Darien made eye contact with Tai. "After the Festival of Tears ends. In a few days. There's more reading to be done, and I have to set a few things in order first."
Chapter Seventy-Eight
The Inero
In the middle of the night, Jason stirred from bed. He carefully got out, mindful to not wake Gwen who was next to him. They still hadn't made love, but she lay next to him most nights and cuddled into his arms. Ideally, he'd be back before she woke up again. For whatever reason, he suddenly felt the urge to go for a walk.
The castle Sanctuary was dead silent as he moved through its hallways. He didn't like how empty the place felt. It would take a lot of getting used to, much like the peace of the island had. Oh, how he missed the island. Everything was so much easier when he lived there.
If you want things easy, boy, then you should let me take control, the demon said. The creature had been quiet inside of him for some time. For a while, Jason had forgotten about being possessed for that wonderful handful of days.
Jason sighed. I don't understand why you think I'll give in to something evil.
Because if you don't, then things will get a lot worse. I've tried to be reasonable and patient, but that ends tonight. And that was when the demon started to control his body again. For a moment, Jason was afraid he'd be forced back to the bedroom where he would hurt Gwen. The demon was desperate, he was sure of it. He wasn't made to go back to bed, though. Instead, he walked onward to the castle den.
I know you believe you can vanquish me, but I've worked too hard to be banished, the demon said. Now we're going to do something new. And that was when Jason lost complete control. He felt as though he was shoved to the side of his own consciousness and he watched as the demon began to use his body to light the fireplace.
You have so much magic boy. It's a pity you waste it by doing nothing. Jason's body knelt in front of the flames, his hands held out in front of him. The fire grew stronger, and he closed his eyes and began to chant. As much as Jason tried to fight it, he couldn't make the demon stop. The creature was getting stronger each day.
His eyes opened when he heard a loud crack, and Jason secretly hoped the noise woke someone. The image of a boy around the age of twelve appeared in the flames.
"Who's there?" the boy asked. Jason recognized him to be Seth, Lynx's supposed Prophet of God.
"Your master in his new host," the demon said using Jason's body.
"I didn't realize you had taken over the Touched, my lord. Perhaps we should meet in person? That would be much easier," Seth said.
"I'm in the brother who fled."
"Oh, I see. Thank you for making yourself known. With the death of the Great Inero Lord, I wasn't certain of what to do. The other brother is angry. I think he will retaliate so our plans to stop the Great Dragon's coming will come to pass."
"Excellent, that is what I wanted to know. You must persuade him to exterminate the Oceina at all costs. Do you understand? That will always be our number one priority."
"Yes my lord. Will you be released to your glory soon?"
The demon shook his head. "I'm working on it. It's a shame this host had to be more pure than you. I hadn't anticipated that, though his magic is useful. There are things I can do here that will benefit our cause greatly."
"J-Jason?" Gwen asked from behind him. The demon startled, and Jason used this opportunity to take control once again.
He spun to face her, the fire and the image of the prophet disappearing. "Help—" And that was as much as he could get out before the demon took control once again. Gwen thankfully did not hesitate. She picked up a coffee table book and hit him hard over the top of his head. Not what he was expecting in terms of aide, but Jason was thankful that it was enough to get him back in charge of his own body again. It also caused him to lose his balance, topple over, and fall unconscious.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
The Inero
Matt sat down across from the boy prophet, and crossed his legs casually. He was curious about what the child would have to say, but skeptical as well. Seth smoothed his clothes while they both waited for the guard to leave them alone. As soon as the door closed, Seth spoke.
"I'm honored you wish to see me my Lord."
"I'm not your Lord," Matt said quietly. A successor to his father's title had yet to be named. For the time being the First Council was ruling. Many in the nation believed he should continue to do so, other relatives tried to make a claim, and some thought Matt should be the new leader. An honor and a possibility. The funeral was tomorrow, and then his father's will would be read. In it, his requests for who would take over the nation would be found.
Seth lowered his gaze. "My apologies. I see greatness in you, and I respect you. Why did you agree to see me?"
Matt exhaled slowly. "I'm tired of doing nothing. My father trusted your spiritual abilities. I'd like to do the same. I was told there was a way for you to help me remember my vision I had after the ceremony we performed, the one where my..." He couldn't say brother. "Where I helped you achieve a new level of spiritual enlightenment."
"Oh yes, I can." The boy sat up and motioned for Matt to grab his hands. Matt did so, hesitantly. Given everything that had happened in the past week, his faith was not as strong as it once had been. Yet he was determined t
o remain strong.
The boy barely touched him. "Close your eyes."
Matt did as he was told, and was surprised when he heard Seth begin to chant quietly. He began to feel a floating sensation. Then he began to see flashes of images: green grass, Oceina City, and an Inero with blue eyes. He gasped, pulling away from Seth and opening his eyes.
"The Great Dragon," Matt breathed out.
"What did you see?" Seth asked softly.
"I saw the Great Dragon. I'm sure of it." A peace washed over him again, and familiar words filled his mind. The darkness is coming...Focus on the eternity, and everything else will fall into place. If you only pay attention to the short run, then we will not succeed.
Seth shifted his weight in his seat. "Is that all you saw?"
"It moved so quickly," Matt admitted.
"I know I am not as skilled in the ways of war, but I had another vision that said if we did not over take the Oceina within the year, they will never fall. If we cannot take them over, they will retaliate viciously."
"What are you saying then?"
"We must keep moving quickly."
That didn't make much sense to Matt and it conflicted with everything he'd ever been taught. The Inero had just suffered a huge loss with the death of his father. Morale would be low. "We won't be able to do anything if the men are unmotivated."
Seth raised his eyes briefly to meet Matt's gaze. "I've seen your greatness my Lord. Your power, your future. Unite them under your sword and your men will have all of the motivation they need. They trust you and fear you. Destroy what remains of Oceina City. Burn it to the ground. Their 'Great Lord' has fled them. Take advantage of this. When the city falls, so will the Oceina."
Chapter Eighty