“My brothers and sisters are free,” it said. “And we have you to thank for that, King Wotul. Great King.”
The sound of sarcasm in its voice was unmistakable – but Wotul didn't seem to hear it. Didn't seem to notice it. He was too engrossed in the swirling darkness above us. Something bad was about to happen – I just didn't know what.
“We leave Chondelai to your stewardship,” the creature said. “Make of it what you will. And do with its – people – as you see fit.”
Slowly, as if waking from a dream, Wotul looked at the Shongtal and cocked his head. “We have work to do yet,” he said. “You promised –”
“I promised you the world,” the creature laughed. “And so, it is yours. Enjoy your new world.”
One moment, the creature was there. The next, it had turned into a cloud of smoke and had shot up to join the swirling mass on the ceiling. Without warning, that swirling, malevolent mass of smoke shot forward and disappeared through the Dragon Door, gone to whatever world lay beyond.
Wotul fell to his knees, absolutely stricken. He looked at the Door as if he expected the Shongtal to come roaring back through to fulfill their promise to him – but deep down, knowing that it wasn't going to happen. He'd been double-crossed and he finally knew it.
With a body that was trembling and naked fear in his eyes, Wotul turned to us.
“Mercy,” he said softly, his eyes shining with tears. “I beg of you. I knew not –”
“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Uldor said.
I looked at the Doorway, wondering what was on the other side. Wondering what world the Shongtal had gone to pollute. To infect. And what the ramifications for us – for Chondelai – would be.
I turned back to Wotul and looked at him with undisguised contempt and disgust. I looked to Uldor and nodded.
“This ends now,” I said.
We both stepped forward as Wotul screamed in both rage and helplessness. Our blades pierced his body, snuffing out his life force in a wave of blood. I had no idea what was going to happen with the Shongtal loose, but our part seemed to be over. At least, for now.
Chapter One
Ozaryan
Twenty-Three Years Ago...
The night was dark and the storm outside was fierce. Lightning lit up the night sky and rain came down in sheets. It was an ominous night. A deadly night. Deadly, because I knew they were out there. They were coming, for me, for Jessica, and for our child. If I hadn’t killed that Shongtal out in the open in L.A., we could have still been there. Still been protected by the warding spell. There was no such protection here in Chicago.
Jessica's screams of agony were pure torment for me. She was in pain and there was nothing I could do about it. Running back to the bedroom, I stood in the open doorway as Jessica gritted her teeth and screamed again. Chelsea sat at the edge of the bed, watching Jessica, encouraging her, and doing everything she could to make my wife comfortable.
Which, given the fact that she was birthing our child, wasn't easy.
And Jessica was having a hard time with this birth. Unions that produced offspring between Dragonborn and humans were extremely rare. Human bodies were not equipped to deal with birthing a Dragonborn child.
Noticing me standing in the doorway, Chelsea gave Jessica's hand a squeeze before coming out to join me in the hallway. She was a talented doctor and one of Jessica's closest friends. I trusted her with my wife's life.
And when she looked at me, her face grim, I felt my heart stutter. Felt the knot in my stomach grow tighter. She closed the door to give us a little bit of privacy.
“How is she?” I asked.
Chelsea shook her head. “Not well,” she replied. “She's in agony. Birthing this child is taking a severe toll on her. We really need to get her to a hospital, Ozy. I don’t have the equipment here to deal with this.”
I sighed and shook my head. Getting her to a hospital was out of the question. Humans were a curious and intelligent species that had a way of asking questions and learning things they shouldn't. It was why we usually used midwives as opposed to going to hospitals. It was part of my mandate as Warden, to ensure the secrecy of my kind. Nobody was to know we existed. Nobody was to know that our charge was to protect them.
And most especially, nobody was to know what it was we were sworn to protect them from. What it was my kind had unleashed upon their world.
“We can't, Chels,” I said. “I'm afraid to move her. I'm afraid it would kill her.”
She nodded. “It's possible,” she said. “But not moving her and forcing her to give birth here might do the job too.”
I paced the short hallway, fear twisting my insides. Stay here and she might die. Move her, and she might also die. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't. And it was complicated even further by what I knew was out there. What was coming for us.
I gritted my teeth. At least here, I could stand and fight. And maybe, if I got lucky, I could win the day and save us all. But to do that, I was going to need help. A lot of help.
“Listen, Chels,” I said. “There is a lot going on that you don't understand. And I don't have the time to explain it all to you, so I'm going to need you to trust me. When this is all over, I promise I'll explain everything. But right now, I just need you to listen and do as I say. Our very lives depend on it.”
Chelsea looked at me with wide eyes and the color blanching from her face. But to her credit, she simply clenched her jaw and nodded. This wasn't her fight and she could have chosen to walk away, but she hadn't. And for that, I admired her. Not to mention, couldn't thank her enough.
I outlined my plan and her role in it. She remained silent and listened – though I knew she had a million questions she wanted to ask. Her eyes grew wide when I returned from our bedroom with my sword in hand. I handed her an ornately carved dagger, its curved blade glinting in the dim light of the hallway, the ruby in the eye of the dragon's head handle, seeming to pulse with an inner light.
She held the weapon and looked at it – then at me.
“A silver blade is the only weapon that will kill them,” I said.
“You’re not talking about-?” Chelsea asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
My smile was grim and tight. “The Shongtal,” I said. “They are coming for my child.”
I gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” I said. “I know it will be hard for you to face these creatures again, but it is essential that my child stay safe, no matter what. Are you clear on the plan? Understand what it is I am asking you to do?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Though, I have to admit – I'm a little freaked out here.”
“I understand,” I said. “But right now, we need to stay focused. They will be here soon and – we need to be ready.”
Jessica let out a scream that was pure agony. Chelsea looked at me for a moment longer, before turning and running into the bedroom to attend to her. I glanced at my watch as a blast of thunder sounded like it was tearing the sky open.
All things considered, the Shongtal couldn't have picked a worse night to attack me. As part of the Lightning Clan, I could harness and use the power of the storm to my benefit. And I intended to do just that. But knowing that I would have the power of the storm on my side, they seemed to be waiting until the peak of their power – midnight.
The Shongtal were creatures of the night. I'd fought thousands of them over the years. There seemed to be a never-ending supply of them in the human world. It was why we Wardens were here in the first place. It was our mistake that had inflicted this upon the world of man. And it was our sacred duty to protect them from it.
I walked to the window and looked out at the street below. Standing there, in the rain, beneath the street light was a man. Tall and thin – gaunt and sickly looking really – he stood across the street from our apartment looking up at the window.
He was Shongtal, there was no question about it. And he was waiting for midnight – as well as reinforcements
very likely – before making a move. I looked at my watch and saw that we still had a couple of hours yet – assuming I was right about the timing.
I stood at the window, thinking about everything that had happened. I remembered that when Jessica told me she was pregnant, I freaked out. Then when she told me there was no way she was going to give the baby up, I freaked out a little bit more. I'd done all the research I could about human-Dragonborn offspring but there wasn’t much to go on. I'd told Jessica – everything – and let her make the decision.
Besides knowing how difficult it was going to be, she chose to keep our child. It was a part of us. A physical manifestation of our love, she'd said.
Over the next few months, I started to grow excited about the prospect of our having a child together. About being a family. The life of a Warden could be a very lonely affair. Sure, there was no shortage of women who wanted to sleep with me, but I wanted more than that. Craved it. Wanted the companionship that came from a solid, stable relationship.
I found it – and even more than I'd ever dared hope for – in Jessica.
As the months of Jessica's pregnancy wore on, I'd done a lot of research about our offspring, curious about what a Dragonborn/human hybrid would be like. But it was during the course of that research that I'd discovered a nugget of information that chilled me to the core.
It was just a little slice of our lore, but it had caught my attention in a big way. And had terrified me.
The Shongtal had long been trying to find a way to close the doors between Chondelai and the world of man. They wanted this world for their own. Wanted to be free to ravage and pillage as they saw fit. They sought to keep the Dragonborn from interfering with their plans for this world.
I wasn't sure what their plans were, but knowing the Shongtal like I did, I knew it wouldn't be good for humanity.
According to the lore, because a child born of a union between Dragonborn and human had a foot in both worlds, that child was special. Unique. It could be used to slam the Dragon Doors forever. All it required was the blood and life force of the child.
And there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.
Jessica's screams echoed throughout our small apartment at the same time a tremendous clap of thunder shook the building. But then she fell silent and I felt my heart jump into my throat. Turning from the window, I rushed down the hallway and threw the bedroom door open, trying to prepare myself for the worst.
But when I walked into the bedroom, I found Chelsea sitting on the edge of the bed, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. For sitting upright in the bed, looking exhausted and in pain, was Jessica – a small wrapped bundle in her arms.
Jessica looked up at me, her smile almost too big for her face, and tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Is – that –” I started to ask.
Jessica nodded. “Say hello to your daughter,” she said, her voice weak and raspy.
I stepped forward and looked at the small girl in Jessica's arms. She handed my daughter to me and I held her close to my chest, marveling at her beauty. She had her mother's eyes and delicate features. There was honestly, almost no physical trace of me in the baby. But that didn't bother me in the least – our little girl was sheer perfection as far as I was concerned.
I sat down next to Jessica and handed the baby back to her. We sat there, side-by-side, just staring at this wonderful little blessing. Our child. A child I feared I would never get to see grow up. Not with what was coming for us. I was tough, a strong fighter, but I didn't know what the Shongtal had in store for us. Or how many there would be. I'd tried to summon reinforcements, but so far, had heard nothing in response.
I closed my eyes, holding back my own tears, and said a silent word, begging for help to arrive in time to save us.
When I heard the clock in the living room chime though, I knew time had run out. It was midnight. The time of night when their power was the greatest. I looked to Jessica and Chelsea, both looked absolutely terrified – not that I blamed them in the least.
“It's time,” I said. “You both know what to do, yes?”
They looked at me and nodded, both growing paler by the second. I leaned down and kissed my child on the forehead, relishing the feel of her soft skin upon my lips. And when I looked into Jessica's eyes, I saw the love for me burning hotter than the sun. I leaned forward and kissed her, trying to put every ounce of my love for her behind it.
I stood up, adrenaline shooting through my body and setting my every nerve ending on fire when I heard the pounding on the door. They were there.
I walked out of the room, picking up my sword as I made my way down the hall, my tension growing with every step. I stood in the middle of the living room as the pounding on the door continued.
“Ozaryan,” came a voice from the other side of the door. “We know the child is in there. Give it to us and we will spare your life.”
I closed my eyes and opened myself to the power of the storm outside. A booming crash of thunder shook the building and I felt my power growing as I absorbed the storm's energy.
“Ozaryan” came the voice again. “Last chance. Give us the child or we come in and take it.”
Gripping my sword tight, I summoned the power of the storm that was building inside of me. Lighting erupted from my fingertips, the windows in the room shattering and the front door exploding outward.
Knowing there was but one way to kill a Shongtal, I stepped to the ruined doorway to look for the creature to put an end to it. It was already rising from the smoldering ruin of wood. Moving swiftly, I lanced out with my sword, the tip of my blade slicing through the body of the man it was inhabiting. It screamed with a fury that rivaled the storm outside, but red light burst from its eyes as the demon inside the body died.
It was then that I noticed half a dozen more standing on the steps leading up to my door, waiting as if they'd expected what I'd done. I backed into my apartment, sword at the ready. Six to one – not great odds, but I had to play the hand I was dealt.
“Come on then,” I said. “Let's finish this.”
“Anxious to die, Warden?”
A tall, thin woman stepped through the doorway, a predatory smirk upon her face. She was followed by five men of varying heights and weights – the Shongtal apparently weren't picky when it came to picking the bodies they took control of. I supposed it didn't matter. Their power didn't come from the bodies, it came from them. They were infused with a demonic power that was frightening in its capacity for destruction.
“I'm feeling magnanimous tonight, Warden,” the woman said. “So, I'll give you one more opportunity. Give us the child and we'll be on our way. Nobody needs to die here tonight.”
She turned and looked back at the body of the man I'd run through and smirked.
“Well – nobody else, anyway,” she said.
With my free hand, I summoned as much energy as I could and flicked my wrist, sending two silver throwing stars at the men to her right. Both hit home, sinking deep into the flesh of the creatures. Both screamed and clutched their heads, but the damage was done. Red light burst from their eyes and they fell to the ground, as dead as the man in the hallway.
The woman looked at me and sighed, shaking her head. “It did not have to be this way, Warden.”
That left four of them. Still not great odds, but better than before. To nullify the advantage they had – as well as to prevent any of them from slipping down the hallway behind me – I stationed myself just inside the archway that led to the bedroom where Jessica was.
If they wanted her, they were going to have to go through me. A task that I'd just made a little more difficult by forcing them to fight me one-on-one.
They rushed at me, but because of the narrowness of the hallway, they had no choice but to wait their turn to get a shot at me. The first man stepped forward, a heavy broadsword in his hand. He raised it and brought it down in a murderous arc that surely would have split my head wide open. But I dance
d backward, just out of reach, and the edge of his blade buried itself in the wooden floor.
Before he was able to rip it free, I stepped forward and drove the point of my blade into the man's throat. His eyes opened wide and he opened his mouth to scream, but all that came out was a wet, gurgling sound. The red light erupted from his eyes as the demon inside of him died. I pulled my sword free and stepped back, allowing the body to slump to the floor.
“This is entertaining, but it's all for nothing, Warden,” the woman called to me. “I will only summon more of my warriors.”
“Then summon them,” I said. “I can do this all night.”
The man before me moved aside and I wasn't able to react in time. A knife shot out of the darkness of the living room, burying itself up to the hilt in my side. I grunted in pain as the blade tore through my flesh. I felt warm blood rolling down my body and then felt that something was wrong. My skin burned and there was a strange sensation coursing through my body.
“In case you wondered,” the woman said. “The blade of that dagger was coated in a rare poison. It's deadly to the Dragonborn. Or so I'm told. You'll have to tell me if that's true or not.”
“W – where did you get it?” I gasped.
It had been only moments, but I was already feeling lightheaded, my vision starting to blur and grow fuzzy around the edges. I tried to shift into my dragon form – an act of sheer desperation – but found that I couldn't. Whatever the poison was, it had me locked in my human skin.
“Doesn't matter where I got it,” she said. “It only matters that it's effective. And judging by the amount of sweat pouring off you, I'd say it is.”
I was dying. There really was no other way around it. I felt my body growing weaker with each passing second. Knowing that I was about to die, I wanted to see Jessica one last time. I stumbled back to the bedroom door, barely strong enough to hold onto my sword. When I got to the doorway, I threw it open, stepping inside clumsily, and then closed and locked the door behind me.
The Shongtal were in no hurry – they knew they'd won.
Rocor (Dragons of Kratak Book 5) Page 110