Ky thought she’d have plenty of time to strategize; that wasn’t the case. Once outside, Cobaaron led her to the shore of a deep lake. He pointed to the lake that looked like it boiled, and huffed. “It’s down there. Good luck, Princess.” He then walked away taking long, hurried strides to put distance between them.
“Wait!” Ky yelled, but he didn’t stop. She shouted the first thing that came to mind. “I’m your prisoner! Does this mean I can go free?”
Cobaaron halted and slowly spun. He marched back, and gripped her arm. He snarled and growled like a dog. Ky saw the wolf resemblance and knew why locals said warriors acted like wild men. Cobaaron was untamed and shadowed in a deathly gray. “What did you do to warrant a tortured death by lava? You’re a witch pretending to be a Star, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m not! I don’t know the first thing about magic.”
“Well, that’s probably the one honest thing you’ve said,” Cobaaron retorted and glared as he shoved her into the water. Ky fell with a splash and they were immediately drenched. “Swim to the bottom, the lava pools are a mile down. If you can do more than clean and sleep with strange men, prove it. My bet is you will never make it there.”
“Cobaaron, look at your hand. I’m your partner. I’m carrying your baby! I’ve slept with only you. Now get over here, and help me get to the lava pools, you big jerk!”
Cobaaron studied his hand, and then held it up. Her name was no longer on his palm. Ky gasped, and frantically flipped her palms in search of his name etched on her skin, but any trace had vanished. “I don’t understand.” Panic settled in. He was angry, didn’t believe her, and now they weren’t even married. She sobbed, feeling lost. “This is a nightmare! Cobaaron! I swear I love you more than anything. Don’t you remember me at all?” This was worse than him dying. He was alive, no longer loved her, and no longer bound to her. He’d never know his daughter if things remained as they were.
“I’ve never seen you before in my life!”
She had to get him to the lava. She couldn’t live in a world of darkness without him. She’d change him, and then follow him anywhere. Hopefully he’d learn to love her again. Maybe once he dipped in a pool, the union would return. With the glimmer of hope, she continued on saying, “I love you! Maybe when we get to the lava you’ll remember me and your child.”
“You don’t say anything truthful, do you?” Cobaaron glowered.
“Everything I said was true,” Ky exclaimed. “We were bound. Please try to remember! I’ve been with you almost every day for the past year. At least where I’m from it’s been that long. I love you, Cobaaron! I’m having your daughter, Lu Lu! I’ve never given myself to anyone but you. I’ll never love anyone as I do you. I’m loyal to you, and you love that about me. You found me in a cave and took me to Gem City, but we completed our bond while on a ship going to Elder. That is why I had the ring in the shape of a vessel from the fleet.”
“I’d never sleep with a woman, and prefer a life of solitude!” Cobaaron asserted. “I may not remember how I got here, but I must return to my men. I left them in Boehler.”
“Look at your reflection, Cobaaron. You look sick, but you’re young. I changed you when we united. Please look, if only to humor me.”
Cobaaron hurried to the waterside, and knelt close to see his reflection. He studied his face and then turned furious eyes on her. “What did you do?” he bellowed.
Cobaaron attacked; he wrapped his strong hands around her throat. “What did you do to me, witch?” She could barely breathe. He was so strong. She was helpless against him, even with his weakened corpse-like fingers. She gasped for air, but couldn’t make a sound. Ky stared into the eyes of her lover trying to kill her. She no longer saw Cobaaron, but a shadow of a man she knew. But this wicked dead man had a murderous look in his eyes. “Fight me you witch.” He shook her.
“I’m...not a...witch,” Ky mouthed. She was making gargling, rasping noises as he strangled her.
“Then what kind of evil are you?” Cobaaron asked, still choking her.
“A...Star,” Ky coughed when he released her. She cried silent tears, fearing the man she loved was gone. She spoke gently, as she reached out for him, bravely trying to touch his arm lovingly. She’d try anything to help him remember. “Cobaaron, please remember me. We were making love just last night. Don’t you remember? And any time we do you’re always in control; I love your dominance.”
“You’re a filthy liar!” he raged. He yanked at her clothes, and angrily started to undress her, wrenching the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders. Ky closed her eyes; tears rolled down her cheeks. He exposed her breasts, and she braced herself for the worst. If he was going to force himself on her, she’d try to slow him enough that he wouldn’t hurt her. She shook with fear, but willingly let him strip her naked. Kissing always grounded them when powerful magic overtook their senses. She cried, knowing the depths she’d go to in order to help him. She leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes, and kissed him.
He immediately pushed her away. “What makes you think this is sexual? I would never force sex on you, but I’m positive you had your way with me last night since I awoke nude with you bare beside me. You disgust me!” Cobaaron put distance between them when she stepped forward, pleading it wasn’t true.
Her bottom lip quivered. “I wouldn’t ever do that. How would I overpower you?”
“You weakened me! I can’t even roll a stone!” he bellowed. She flinched in fear, and began to shake.
He walked away, and seized handfuls of seaweed. He thrust a fistful into her hand, and told her to keep it in her mouth. Then he clamped his mouth down on the weed as he undressed. “You breathe the froth or die. Simple as that, witch.” Then with a jerk, he lugged her toward churning white water. Ky held her breath; relieved he was taking her down to the lava. There was again a glimmer of hope and she didn’t dare speak in case it changed his mind.
It occurred to Ky that Cobaaron was determined to get her to the lava, as proof she was a witch; maybe he planned to force her in the lava to kill her. Ky was pleased he was equally as determined to get there.
Soon they were wading in fizz until waist deep. Ky put the plant in her mouth. The weed formed suds, which filled her cheeks, and burst as pure oxygen. It gave her a constant flow of air, which she swallowed in shallow gulps. Once chest-high, he wrenched her below the surface.
Cobaaron tugged Ky deeper. All the tiny bubbles, gave her a sense of weightlessness. They didn’t have to swim hard; the density was less because of all the air in the water.
When they reached the concentration of furiously seething water, they sank in the rising oxygen. She couldn’t see anything but white haze.
Air globules began to clump together. The farther they were dragged down, the clusters combined as water crowded away. As if they swam a lakebed of air, they easily fell through huge pockets. Cobaaron toiled the current of bubbles floating to the surface. He searched for enormous sacks of air, and once they entered them, they dropped several feet before falling out. They were continually falling, and plunged steadily toward the lake floor.
Suddenly they tumbled into another giant bubble, which burst when they hit the sea floor. The gurgling seaweed was as thick as a forest. The fattest plants burped, releasing enormous amounts of air each second. Immediately they formed another huge sphere encircling them. Ky was amazed the plant could produce so much oxygen, and wondered where all the gas came from. Ky could breathe through her nose, and deeply inhaled fresh air. And amazingly, the weight of the deep lake didn’t crush them. By no other explanation except magic, the air congregated at the bottom.
They made their way along the sea floor, passing inside huge domes that sheltered them from water. Cobaaron must have known exactly where they were, because after a short walk, he popped the air pocket and jumped upward, as he fought to stay with the rising bubbles to the surface. There was nothing to see but thick carbonation-like mass. They emerged into a small undersea cave
, but had to swim hard to stay afloat.
Heat from the lava pool burned away the excess water that spilled along black rock. The magma was keeping the water level down by steaming it as riffles rolled up to the liquid rock.
Cobaaron dragged her onto the shore not far from an exposed river of lava that slowly oozed under the black rock wall. “If you’re not a witch, you can get into the lava,” Cobaaron gloated triumphantly; sure she wouldn’t dare.
“Wait! If I’m a Star, will it harm my child?” Ky asked. “My child is not a Star.”
“No, a Star is hotter than lava. If you were with child, it would be in more danger of your heat. Star children have protection. Now quit stalling! Get in the lava!” Cobaaron growled. Ky stood still, trying to figure out how she would get Cobaaron into the pool. “Yeah, I thought so. You’re a witch.”
“No.”
Cobaaron leaned against the rock wall sweating and coughing. He seemed gravely ill, almost green, and worse than when they left the cave. “You’re killing me. You poisoned me and I’m weak.”
“I’m not a witch,” Ky echoed, afraid he hit upon the truth. His weak body gave her an idea. He was only inches away. She would have to move fast, and use all her strength, but with him weak, she had a chance.
Ky ran full tilt, and for a moment she saw him move in slow motion. But then his movements matched hers, and he sprang out of the way by gripping the cave wall, straightening himself into a handstand high above her. He then flipped through the air. Ky charged him, sure the only time she’d be able to knock him into the lava was when he had nothing to hold onto. She bounded for him, and they collided midair.
He landed on two feet, leaning dangerously backward toward the magma pool. Before he could regain his balance, Ky knew she had to ram him. She bashed into him with all her might but Cobaaron spun her by the arms, throwing her into the lava. Ky landed with a splash, as Cobaaron stood upright, regaining his balance. Ky blazed, and the warmth of the lava felt no hotter than warm fire. She stood slowly; lava dripped from her nude body. She kept a handful hidden in her palm. She would resort to pain to distract him.
“Do you believe me now?”
Cobaaron stared; confusion written on his face. “How are you doing that? You’re a witch. You’re supposed to die,” he said, perplexed.
Ky walked slowly, drizzling magma, and shining as she approached. “I’m not a witch,” Ky insisted, and came to his side. “Do you trust me?”
“No. But I’m certain you can’t be my prisoner. Tell me the truth! I demand it!”
Ky was disappointed, but she didn’t expect this new Cobaaron to trust her. “I poisoned you to bring you here.” Before he could recover from shock, Ky slapped the lava onto his skin. The magma burned his flesh. He bellowed and looked at his scorched chest.
“I love you,” Ky cried, again feeling the sting of betrayal. She wrenched him and forced him to take the final step before Cobaaron flopped onto this back. He screamed, sounding as if he was dying.
Ky lost her balance, and fell to the unforgiving floor. She was horrorstruck. She scurried backward in a crab-like crawl, watching his skin blister and darken to charcoal. She could smell his burning flesh and hair as he caught fire. He howled painfully and filled the cave with earsplitting sounds. Seeing him in such pain was torture, and there was nothing she could do. “Cobaaron!” she screeched.
He sank. Ky screamed, watching the lava engulf him. He sunk further, until he was neck deep. The horrible stench of burnt hair filled the cave; she could taste the burning skin on her tongue. He continued to shriek.
“I’m so sorry,” Ky called out as his mouth filled with lava. He soon was up to his eyes in red-hot rock, and then moments later he submerged.
Ky didn’t know what she expected, but this was nothing like she imagined. “Cobaaron,” she shrieked, fearful he was gone. She didn’t want him swept away. “Cobaaron!”
Ky blazed brightly as she jumped in the lava, and felt around for his body. She hit something hard, and tugged his black corpse to shore. He was much lighter and thinner, as if he were half the man he was before. She dragged him to the black rock with ease, as if the capsule was hollow. Cobaaron was silent. Was he in the shell at all?
She knew it had to burn away his flesh, but this wasn’t right. He wasn’t visible and if he was alive, he wasn’t breathing. If he was a Star, he should be shedding the rock to reveal new flesh, but nothing happened. Thinking she brought him up too soon, Ky heaved him back. She lit up, so she wouldn’t feel the heat, and held him as he descended again so he wouldn’t drift away.
Ky hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. Finally, Ky heaved the black casing back on shore. Fearing he needed air, she attempted to chip away the rock at his lips, but she couldn’t damage it. Defeat wasn’t an option. She wasn’t giving up. She did everything she could, from dipping him again before washing him in cold water, hoping the quickly cooling rock would crack the shell. Then she tried pounding his chest with rocks. Lastly, she tried dropping him to shatter the stone. Nothing worked.
She held his burnt body, realizing she did something very wrong. Cobaaron was black and lifeless. Ky held him tightly and cried bitterly.
CHAPTER NINE
While numb and in shock, Ky stared in mute horror at the blackened husk of her husband. She steadfastly refused to believe he was dead, but after an hour, she knew he was gone. The only man she ever loved passed on. Her light was blinking out, and she was sure she would be dead within minutes. She rocked herself for comfort, and wished for death if Cobaaron wasn’t in this world. Ky didn’t have the strength to look at the unrecognizable figure of her lover, knowing she had killed him.
Slowly, Ky grew incandescent with rage. She trusted Noelya, and the spirit that gave her Huntra. Tyrus wondered if the kings persuaded Noelya. And if they reached the elf queen, maybe they influenced the spirit woman. Why did Ky ever trust either of them? The spirit was probably a witch, as Cobaaron suspected in the beginning, and she only helped so Ky would trust her. Ky made a grave error that she would pay for with her life, which was the only consolation she had. She’d be dead soon, and her grief would be over.
Ky had been naive. She knew she was young, and being naive was certainly a major flaw, but this cost her dearly.
She didn’t understand what went wrong. Over and over, she played the scenario in her head as her light flickered anytime she peered at the lifeless lump. Maybe Cobaaron was right, and they needed to find the sword first. The iron was probably what opened the rock. There was no hope.
Then Ky had a flash of inspiration. “I’m an idiot!” She hadn’t tried everything. Her blood was supposed to bring him back, and it penetrated anything. Her light corrected all things; maybe it would correct his broken body. “My blood!” She prayed she hadn’t stalled too long before healing him.
Ky hustled over, and searched for the sharp stone. She pressed the arrowhead to her palm, when Ky heard a faint sound. She froze and darted her eyes to Cobaaron’s burned body.
With trembling hands, she cupped his head. “Cobaaron?” She heard a soft breath, but his body didn’t move. “I love you,” she cried. “I love you so much. Come back to me. You promised you’d always come back for me. You can fight this. You’re strong enough!”
“Sh,” she heard him mutter painfully. Ky lay next to him; tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. He was in there somewhere, surviving, but trapped inside the black shell.
Ky wished she could touch and console him, but feared any contact added to his excruciating torture. He was dry and brittle, as if the thin layer of rock that covered him was slowly changing to a hard, ash casing. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do, and decided to do nothing. She lay next to him, but didn’t touch him, because he was now groaning and in terrible pain.
As Ky lay facing him, she noticed a crack by his rib. She saw hot silver blood pumping through his body under a thin layer of creamy skin. The crack grew and splintered wi
th each rise of his chest. He was breathing! Miraculously, the process sped up, and like hatching, he peeled free. Except for lack of hair and dimming silver veins, Cobaaron looked unchanged and nothing resembling a Star.
He sat, and gazed at her. Ky hesitantly touched him, gently squeezing his arm, asking him if he was okay. She prayed he remembered her, but his expression was a mixture of fear and relief.
Then his creamy skin absorbed her pink hue, and swirls from her fingertips grew, stretching out to his skin. Then her red vines traveled up his arm. The charred rock seeped into his skull and black hair grew. His eyes darkened to the same hue of the stone. The red swirls continued down his chest and body, forming what resembled barbwire on his hips, legs, and down his left side.
He watched the barbwire deepen to a dark crimson. His skin was more red than pink. Then as Ky’s body had done, he began to glow. A gradual light instantaneously burst into white-hot beams of blinding luminosity. Ky felt the heat, until she matched its blaze. She heard Cobaaron shriek in pain.
Hearing him in such agony was heart wrenching. For him to howl in torment meant it was unbearable. It made her feel weak, because there was nothing she could do. She knew what it felt like to have burning light coursing through her body. In a flash his skin diffused to a glow, and Cobaaron froze.
Ky softened her light, and stared at him nervously. His dark eyes were now green like a nocturnal animal. He was blind. “Can you see?” Ky knew the answer.
“No.” Cobaaron shut his eyes. “We need to leave. The fumes can’t be good for us. You’ll have to take us ashore, and to the caves where we were.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 73