“Okay.” Ky stood, but Cobaaron seized her hand, stopping her.
“I’m so sorry for everything. How I was a few hours ago.”
“Am I your wife?” Ky asked, because that was the only important thing.
“No, but I love you,” Cobaaron replied. Hearing his rare confession of love melted her. She was sure everything would be okay. She smiled and told him she loved him, too. He drew her down, wanting a kiss. Ky dropped onto his lap and threw her arms around him. She kissed him, but then needed a hug and dropped her head to his shoulder. They weren’t in a rush, and Ky sat on his lap, embracing him, until her fear of losing her lover subsided. She breathed deeply; thankfully, he regained his memory of her.
When they stood, he said, “Do you see on the cave wall where the water leads to the lake?”
Ky spotted the smooth arch where water slowly eroded away the sharp edges. “I see it.”
“We’re going to drop into this shallow pool. Take the fizzy weed and put it in your mouth. Don’t release me. I don’t have the energy to swim back up to find you. I don’t want us separated while I’m blind. Remember which way we’re facing, because we need to count sixty feet as we walk. After we reach the lake, we’ll have to walk north where the weed field isn’t as thick, and float up where the bubbles aren’t as dense I’ll keep you headed north, but don’t let go of my hand until we surface. Then you’ll need to find our clothes. From there, we’ll head back to the mountain and get the silver box. Find any dry cave that I can block the entrance with a boulder. We can shine and clear it of pests. I’ll have to sleep, most likely for days. So, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
“I can do that.”
“I know you can! Don’t believe anything I said this morning. You’re the most capable woman—person—you’re the most capable person I know.”
“I don’t know. I’ll be living off burnt meals and I’m not Tyrus or Octavos.” She indicated she was ready to go, and they entered the pool. They reached the sea floor effortlessly. Ky searched for the weed, but the bubbles were blinding her.
Once she had the plant in her mouth, she picked some for Cobaaron and handed it to him. He took it, and then led her. She was almost positive they were heading in the right direction. After she paced twenty feet, she was certain. She kept count, adding each step until she reached sixty. Cobaaron was counting, too, because he turned, and led her in a new direction. They walked through several large pockets of air. After passing many more that gradually got smaller, they began to float as water crowded under their feet. The aerated water felt heavy. They took one last step, before Cobaaron leaped off the sea floor, and they ascended in the bubbles. Without clothes weighing them down, they didn’t need to swim. He popped the larger bubbles, and soon the fizz brought them to the surface.
They bobbed out of the water and Ky saw the far dark shore. She spit out the seaweed and then said, “This way.” She tugged Cobaaron’s arm, navigating around the wildly churning lake center. “I see our clothes. Taja,” she shouted in delight when she saw her pet waiting patiently. To her surprise, Ky’s flurry managed to drag her box. “She brought the silver box, Cobaaron.” In the dark, Taja’s white fur was a target for predators, but she bravely waited in the open, unlike other rodents. Taja’s loyalty trumped her self-preservation instincts. While shivering with fear, Taja’s long ears twitched in all directions as she listened. “We’re almost there,” Ky stated to Cobaaron and Taja.
Cobaaron slowly paddled, helping as much as he could, but he was weak from the transformation. Soon they waded to shore, and Cobaaron collapsed on the grass with his eyes closed. He was exhausted and nowhere near as strong as he was before.
“I regret forcing you to speed-walk when you were blind, and griping when you didn’t want to scale a hundred-foot wall. I am not about to conquer cliffs.” Cobaaron sounded as guilty as his words indicated.
Ky gathered their clothing and handed him his scale skirt, belt, armbands, and sandals. “You were used to ordering warriors. I regret nothing. I’m lucky to be here with you. You took me to an upside-down garden, a dream cave, and made love to me while floating mid-air. I don’t regret a single thing. I’d do it all over again, even today if it meant keeping you.” Ky donned a clean dress and wedding ring. Cobaaron carried her box as she stroked Taja briefly before guiding him toward the mountain.
Ky led him through the grassy plain, and they enter the sanctuary of the caves. “Uh, I don’t think this is the same entrance we left earlier.”
“I think you led us to the twin entrances, but I’m not certain. Any cave will do.”
A good cave wasn’t easy to find. Any time she spotted a small archway, she checked the cavity, but more often than not, it smelled so rancid Ky was sure something died inside.
Cobaaron was weaker by the minute, and she fretted about finding adequate shelter. His transformation was different and the process harder. He almost died.
She saw his muscles quivering with each step. “I’m not very good at this. I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
Unexpectedly her flurry squirmed, dropped to the ground, froze a moment, and then scurried down a tunnel. Taja double-backed several times; Ky watched curiously before realizing Taja wanted her to trail behind. “Why not?” Ky held Cobaaron’s hand and followed. Her flurry cooed approval.
Taja ran on short stubby legs, moving faster than Ky thought possible. Taja darted so fast that when she turned sharply, she skidded, before she shot off down another tunnel. She scampered down a narrower passage and stopped at an opening two-feet wide, and ten-feet above the floor.
“Well, I think Taja found us a cave,” Ky said, disenchanted that Cobaaron would have to climb blind.
“But?”
“It’s two-feet above your reach and four-and-a-half above mine.”
“Alright, I’ll lift you up.”
“Support me. I’ll try to climb the smooth wall. I’m not a warrior, but I’ll try.” She climbed a yard before she ran out of handholds. She glanced over her shoulder at Cobaaron. “Okay, give me a boost.”
Cobaaron grasped her thighs, and lifted her above his head. He struggled feebly. Ky hurried into the cave, and shone her light bright so she could see, and several bats quickly flew out. The space was adequate and she nodded in approval. Taja found the perfect cave with a stone to roll over the entrance and ample firewood. She promptly returned. “It’s a good cave. We can stay here.”
She went to the edge and glanced down. Cobaaron was crouching, calling her flurry. When Taja climbed onto his foot, he picked her up. “Do you want some jerky before you climb?”
“No, all I want is sleep. I could pass out right where I stand.” He took a deep breath, and exerted the last of his strength climbing. He handed Taja over when he couldn’t scale the wall one-handed. When he reached the top, he tried to cover the opening, but he didn’t budge the boulder.
“It’s okay,” Ky said, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’ll take care of you. Go to sleep. If anything comes in here, I’ll cover Taja with my cloak and shine. You need rest, and I want you well.” Ky first fetched the few pillows they had left, placed them deep in the cave, and then had him lay on the soft bed.
“Promise me you won’t go far and get lost.”
“I’m not going anywhere while you’re sleeping and blind. I’ll eat my jerky.”
“Even better.” She liked that he let her coddle him enough to lead him to the bed, and comb his hair with her fingers after he lay down. Before she thought to whisper goodnight, he fell asleep.
Ky watched him slumber, thankful he made it through the transformation. His appearance was very different. His hair was black as it had been but his skin was almost red with a faint glow; she remembered her shining was also dull once. The barbwire-like tattooing made him look completely different. The elaborate wire crossed his thighs and calves as a wide zigzag. The longer she stared, the more she liked it.
Ky crawled next to him, getting closer,
finding it odd holding him when he looked like a different man. She closed her eyes, and felt her love for him.
She simply didn’t know what kind of man he became. Noelya said he would change, but beyond appearance, he seemed like his old self. She hoped he wasn’t hiding his thoughts, only to slowly reveal his vile side again. She wanted the Cobaaron she fell in love with.
CHAPTER TEN
Cobaaron stirred, which got Ky’s attention. For a week, she wondered if each toss or turn signaled an awakening, but day after day he simply rolled over and kept dreaming. This time was no different. Cobaaron huffed uncomfortably, and shifted to lay on his other side.
Ky went back to watching her only form of entertainment, her old life in her glass bottle, enjoying it like a silent movie. Taja tirelessly scurried from the cave to find food. She would come back with berries or hard grains, which she had stuffed in her cheeks and spit out by Cobaaron and Ky’s feet. The slobbery fodder was disgusting, and Ky wasn’t about to eat it. Instead, two little piles were mounting by the day.
Her old life was definitely a racy “movie”. Aaron and Kylie made love more than Cobaaron and Ky, but she wasn’t going to tell him. He would probably demand marathon catch-up sex.
She was pleased to see her old self deliriously happy. Ky was surprised to see Kylie constantly checking pregnancy tests that all read negative. Each time it had a minus symbol on the small screen, she glowered with increasing confusion, because she showed all the signs of pregnancy.
Ky found it fascinating, how parallel their lives were. Aaron must’ve be on vacation, because, like Cobaaron, he spent almost the entire week lounging around devouring books, doing little more than cooking dinner for Kylie when she got back from classes. Kylie cuddle with Aaron at the same time Ky decided to lay the dream aside to be next to Cobaaron.
“Oh, no worries. I’m eating,” Ky whispered to Taja, who spit the grain at Ky in case she didn’t notice. Ky took a few berries and pretended to eat. “Yum.” She rubbed her belly for theatrics. “Delicious.”
Taja cooed like a dove, and then happily ate the berries. She waited for Ky to eat so she could. Ky patted Taja as an apology that she didn’t catch on sooner. She pretended to eat more seeds, and stealthily dropped the grains in the pile. Soon the flurry food was gone, but Taja ate everything she gathered. After a taste, it apparently became unbearable to see Cobaaron’s food go to waste, because Taja spit seeds at his back, and when he didn’t wake up and eat, she devoured it. Ky soon learned that bored flurries thought about food a lot, and once again Taja slipped out to hunt.
As soon as Taja left, Ky smelled the stench of troll. The sulfur was pungent and Ky’s eyes watered. For the first time in days, something was passing their cave. Taja was a blur as she scampered into their chamber. Ky hurried for the cloak in her box, and dropped it over Taja.
Ky listened as heavy footsteps approached. The gray, knobby troll stopped in front of their cave. Either it saw Taja enter, smelled their presence, or saw their pink glow. No matter the reason, the mountain troll twisted its head with a jerk and locked eyes on Ky. Suddenly, the troll reached a thick arm into the cavern, and its hand swiped at them. Its grasp was inches from Cobaaron’s feet.
“Don’t you dare touch him, you foul beast!” Ky hissed. “Touch him and you’ll regret it with your life!” she warned, but the troll didn’t understand.
Ky ran for the beefy hand that scratched at the rock by Cobaaron’s feet. She lunged for the thick arm as it swiped to ensnare him. She let the troll snatch her, and the moment the beast had a firm grip, she seized its fingers and flipped backward. She heard its bones crack as she broke the troll’s wrist, and immediately she began to shine as the singed fingers loosened. The beast slammed her into the stone wall. The troll bellowed, and quickly withdrew its hand. Ky burnt its thick sausage-like fingers, perfuming the room with the smell of sweet pork.
She could see the troll outside the cave, rubbing its hand and grunting in pain. Eating them wasn’t worth the effort, so the troll moved on. Ky slowly relaxed when the smell of sulfur could no longer be detected.
Minutes after the troll left, a pop echoed in the cave. A small man stared at Ky; he was three-foot-tall, with big green eyes, long pointed ears, and no hair. The small person was eerily formidable with many wrinkles, widely spaced teeth, and no eyelids. He wore a sarong and twine anklets. Ky instantly began to glow for protection. “Forgive me for intruding,” the gruff little man whispered harshly. Ky blinked, taken aback with his politeness. Though anxious, especially since his expression held no warmth, Ky felt he wouldn’t harm her. The short man quickly reiterated her assumption. “Have no fear. I’ve come to ask you a few questions. Let me first introduce myself as Gobs of Portereck. I’m a goblin of the Cragen Mountain Range. I’m here on behalf of our council to inquire about the prophecy.”
Ky nodded, slowly understanding, and her light dimmed. She was now face-to-face with the goblin she was supposed to lie to. Ky pressed her lips together, hoping she seemed helpful and honest. “Okay.”
“How did Cobaaron survive the transformation?” Gobs queried.
“I honestly don’t know. For a few hours I thought he died.”
“I’m a magical creature and have ways of detecting falsehoods.” His lips twitched unpleasantly into a frown. His lidless eyes stared. Ky gulped.
“I, uh…I’m sure that being magical means you have control over a lot of things. But I assure you, I’m relieved and thankful he’s alive. I thought I lost him the other day and I’m not going to question how it happened,” Ky said, avoiding lying as much as possible. Gobs gritted his teeth, which somehow narrowed his eyes. “Why?” Ky asked, acting curious. After all, the guilty frequently forgot to ask questions.
“He shouldn’t have survived, unless someone interfered, or he’s touched by the gods,” the goblin stated.
Ky glanced at Cobaaron, and added, “Well, he is the great warrior who is to return this world to light. I suspect he has angels looking over him. I believe I have one.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
“What do you mean?” the goblin hissed.
“A spirit sent me a snow tiger. She took it back, because he was a guardian, and belonged in the spirit world. I assume they are from the same place. She blessed my womb, too. I have a promise she will be back to bless me again. Or at least she said she would visit me once more.” Why was she divulging this? She bit her inner cheek, and forced herself to fall silent.
“This spirit woman, was she solid or smoky?”
“She has the appearance of milky water,” Ky replied.
“I see.” The goblin eyed her again. “So, tell me child, have the witches or elves been particularly useful to you?”
“Well, my best friend is a healer. She’s not a witch. No witches have helped me.”
“Yes, yes, yes, but what about the elves?” The goblin asked impatiently. “Surely your future son-in-law’s mother, Noelya, was very accommodating. What took place while under their protection?”
“They were helpful. We stayed one night at Opalace and had a party. We exchanged gifts for our future children,” Ky said, uneasy admitting her pregnancy, but she was trying to avoid the entire truth.
“What kind of gifts?”
“Gifts for our children.”
“I don’t believe you. Something happened! Goblins are smart creatures, Ky. We are not visionaries, but we are clever enough to sniff out a tales. Would you shake on it, with a magical oath that would strike you dead if you’re telling untruths? Swear that the elves didn’t warn you to lie while helping you, and I will consider our argument settled.”
Ky didn’t hold out her hand, as he readily did. “I’m shaking to the oath that they never asked me to lie to you?”
As if the goblin decided he won a battle of wits, he gave a slow, triumphant nod as his lips snarled in a malicious sneer. Ky took a peek at his hand, and then offered to shake it. She took the last step that separated them, and said, “I swear the elves n
ever asked me to lie to a goblin to cover up a hidden plot while they helped us.” The wording was perfect. She gave the oath, admitting they helped, but didn’t ask her to lie. Of course it wasn’t what the goblin intended, but nevertheless the statement was true.
She held her breath. Their fingers touched, but the goblin surprisingly lowered his hand. “I believe you. If you would risk death, then obviously you are truthful. If by small chance you are lying, it would look bad for goblins if a Star died by a handshake.” He muttered more to himself than to Ky, as he continued, “Besides, this is good news and avoids war. The elves are not breaking the treaty and they’re letting the world progress naturally.” He spoke to Ky once again, “There is nothing else I have to ask you.” At that, he audibly popped as he vanished.
Well, that was easy, Ky thought. But the goblin seemed eager to believe her if it meant avoiding war that would wipe out both the dominant races. Ky hadn’t realized until that moment that she was tense, until her shoulders relaxed and she sighed.
She watched Cobaaron, who lay peacefully sleeping. She lifted the cloak, checking on her shivering pet. She picked up Taja and gently rubbed her back. “He’s gone. Don’t worry.” Before long, Taja was consoled enough that she went back to thinking of food, and scurried away.
A few hours later, Cobaaron awoke. “What was that sound?” Cobaaron asked, groggily. He rubbed his eyes, and stretched before facing her. His eyes were open, and he still had the dark, almost-black, eyes she wasn’t used to.
“What sound?” Ky asked.
“I thought I heard you yelling, and it woke me up.”
“Oh, that was a troll, and it left some time ago.”
Cobaaron sat up, and again stretched his back before standing. “How long did I sleep? My body is sore like I’ve slept for days!”
“I think a week, a very long week.”
“Well, my sight is back. Thank you for letting me sleep; I needed it.” Cobaaron stood in front of her, intimately closeness. “So...we’re not married anymore. That’s disappointing.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 74