by Lynda Aicher
Pride, pure and smooth, slammed into him. She was courageous, strong and beautiful. He wouldn’t fail her.
“What happened back at the cave?” He moved to his dresser and quickly tucked the normal arsenal of weapons onto his body as he waited for her answer.
She sighed and her voice wavered softly when she spoke. “I don’t know.” She paused and shifted her feet against the carpet. “One second I was with you and then the darkness invaded and pulled me under. I couldn’t fight it, couldn’t resist the commands that were filling me and forcing me to…jump.”
He paused to look at her. Her lips were pulled tight, her hands shoved deep into her pockets as she stared absently at the carpet.
“You scared the shit out me, sweet cheeks,” he said with forced lightness. “Don’t do it again.”
She looked at him and after a moment, smiled. “Right. I’ll try not to.”
He turned back to the dresser and picked up the throwing stars. He turned them over in his hand and contemplated. They were cold in his palm, the tiny blades sharpened to lethal spirals of death.
“What brought you here, Airi?”
He heard her sigh, a deep pressing release, but she didn’t pretend to misinterpret the question. “Doubt. Questions. A search for answers as to why I never felt like I belonged with the Shifters. Why I always questioned their words, doubted their beliefs. Why I was always so alone. A quest to find what the energy was pushing me to search for.”
“And did you find it?”
Silence. “Well, I found you. So, yeah, I think so… Louk?” She waited until he turned to face her. “Why didn’t you turn me in?”
It was his turn to sigh. “I told myself it was to find answers about my brother, Damian.” He contemplated the objects around the room for a moment, taking in the small mementos that reminded him of his family, of how little he still knew about his older brother, before his gaze came back to meet hers. “But in truth, I was drawn to you from the first time I touched you. There was a part of me that couldn’t turn you in until I figured out why.”
“And did you?”
A slow smile slid across his lips. “Yeah, I think I did.” In a quick decision, he held the throwing stars out to her. “Here. Take these. Just in case.”
Her lips compressed and disappeared between her teeth as the point of his gift registered. There were no guarantees.
“You could still go,” he offered even as the thought tore at him. “There’s nothing holding you here.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, then her chin lifted and she reached for the weapons. “There’s nowhere to go. I’m dead the second I leave the safety of this compound.” The truth of her statement tightened his gut. She distributed the weapons in her pockets and gave a shrug. “Besides, you wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight without me. We’ve already established that.”
He laughed, the tension leaving his body. Louk strode to the door, a beat of optimism in his step. He swung the door open and the optimism switched immediately to rock hard dread.
The cold, blue gaze of his father nailed him with a flat look of disappointment. His patrician nose was lifted in disdain, his mouth set in a grim line between compressed lips. He held his hands clasped behind his back, the strength of his hold displayed in the strain of the tendons on his neck. Clothed in an expertly tailored white silk shirt and slacks, he exuded the power that bespoke his position as the head of the House of Air.
Behind him stood Cronus, the oldest Energen in their enclave, an Ancient and their respected leader. His timeworn face told nothing, but Phelix’s said everything. His brother stood stiffly off to the side, the pain flashed across his features and nailed Louk in the chest.
His father narrowed his eyes and his lip curled up in a show of pure disgust. “Louk,” he said, then rolled his tongue in his mouth as if the taste of the words offended him. “You have betrayed us.”
There was nothing he could say. The truth of the words echoed in his mind even as Airiana stepped up behind him and placed her hand on his back. The energy pooled into him and gave him the needed strength to straighten his shoulders and face his fate.
Wrong. Their fate.
And for them, he would fight.
Chapter Ten
Strong. Airiana kept her shoulders back and her head up as she faced the enemy. That’s what they all were. Except Louk, who stood beside her, his hand tightly grasped around hers. It was his energy flowing into her that kept her balanced. Kept the complete hopelessness of the situation from pulling her under.
Again, it was the two of them against a foe. United when only that very morning they were enemies.
She felt his doubt, though. It whispered over the energy that circled within her. He wasn’t as confident as he was presenting. That unnerved her, but she wouldn’t let it show. Weaknesses were only exploited, and she would give them none.
In truth, she was still shaken by her encounter with Gog. She had no question that the dragon had controlled her and manipulated her into jumping. How, she didn’t know. Without Louk, she would have been dead.
“Explain yourself,” the voice boomed across the chamber. The man who spoke was one of the men who had greeted them outside Louk’s room. He was dressed in a long white robe that draped to the ground and covered his feet so it gave the appearance that he floated more than walked when he crossed the room to stand before them. His hair was white with remnants of gold giving hint to his one-time color. The energy proclaimed him to be another Ancient, but his posture and carriage gave no suggestion to his true age.
He looked them over with cool blue eyes, pausing at their joined hands with a pointed glare. His own hands were locked before him, but hidden beneath the folds of his robe.
“We are waiting for your words before a judgment is passed.”
“What do you want to know?” Louk spoke stiffly, none of his usual jovialness showing in his voice or expression.
Airiana made a quick assessment of the large, circular room. Currently mostly empty, it was obviously a judicial chamber of sorts with bleacher style seating lining the walls of the room going ten to twelve rows high. At each directional point was a throne style seat that she assumed was reserved for the Head of each House. She knew enough about the enemy to understand that the Energen were aligned under Houses that were associated to a directional navigation and thus its corresponding elemental power.
Louk’s father stood to the side, his face a mask of anger. “Don’t you dare smart off to us, son.” The cold tone was emphasized by the tight hold of his mouth and jaw.
“I’m not, father. I will tell you whatever you want to know. I’d just like to understand what I am accused of first.”
Smart. Airiana gave a mental nod of approval. Rule of engagement number seven—get the enemy to divulge their information before you give them any of your own.
Besides Louk’s brother, who stood back from the group with his hands in his pockets and his face deceptively blank, there were two other men and one woman in the chamber. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they must be the other House Heads who had been rounded up for their impromptu inquisition.
Airiana sucked in a breath and prepared herself for the coming battle, for there was no question in her mind there would be one. The faces around them said it all and it was verified by the energy that radiated off them. The pretense of a fair hearing was nothing more than a sham. They had been judged before they entered the room.
She tightened her hand around Louk’s and mentally planned. Together, they would make it out. Alive.
“Why are you with her?” Louk’s father pointed at Airiana like she was the lowest life form on earth. “How could you betray us? Did I not warn you about Damian often enough? You were told of his betrayal, of how he aided the Shifters in the death of your oldest brother, Kristoff. My son. Damian’s actions tore our family apart. Ripped your mother’s heart out. And still, you stand here with your hand attached to one of them? Have you no dignity? No honor?
”
Shame engulfed him, but Louk wouldn’t let it prevail. Airiana was not evil and neither was he. “I have not betrayed you.” He looked around and met the gaze of every person in the room. “Any of you. We have been brought together for a reason. One I don’t yet understand, but it is not to harm any of you.”
“A likely tale,” his father scoffed. “If that is true, then why are none of us aware of it?” He pointed to the others who all nodded in agreement.
“I’m going to guess that you felt the energy shifts, right?” He looked at Cronus and waited until he inclined his head. “That was us.” He lifted their joined hands. “Together, we are doing that. Not by our choice, but it is happening nonetheless.”
“It is powerful,” Cronus said. “Strong enough to awaken the dragon.”
“You know?” Louk gaped at the Ancient.
“I know much, young one,” he answered cryptically. “And I know very little.”
Louk let their hands drop. “Can’t any of you Ancients give a straight answer? You have no idea the hell we’ve been through today. It would be really, really, nice to have some straight answers.”
“So, you’ve met another Ancient today?” Cronus raised an eyebrow in question and Louk clenched his lips at his error. Damnit. In his frustration, he’d given them information. A juvenile error. “Do tell us about this day. That is why we are here after all.”
“What is going on?” His father stepped forward and glanced between Cronus and Louk. “Isn’t it clear that he’s sided with the Shifters?”
Louk turned to his father. “If that was true why would I bring her here?”
“It’s a trap to ensnare us all,” his father spit out, anger contorting his face to a mask of hatred.
Cronus held up a hand and gave his father a pointed look. “I want to hear of Louk’s day. If my guess is true, it affects us all.” His father backed off at the Elder’s command, but his fists were still held tightly at his sides, his anger barely constrained in the tight clamps.
Airiana stepped forward and spoke with a grace that Louk was finding hard to maintain. “I am Airiana Draco, great granddaughter of Tubal.” A collective gasp came from the assembled group, and Louk’s gut tightened past the hard ball into a rock-solid lump of cement. They all knew that Tubal was one of the Shifter leaders. But, she showed no reaction and only continued as if her announcement hadn’t just jolted them.
“Despite my birth, I am no enemy of yours. You should know that the dragon stirs. The time is coming when Gog will rise again. The Shifters are preparing. The Apocalypse is near, and after that, nothing will ever be the same.”
Her words hung in the chamber in the silence that followed. Suddenly, his father burst out laughing, a contorted rumble of disbelief. “You really expect us to believe you? Don’t you think we would know if this was happening? Between the five of us—” he shifted his hand around the room to encompass the other House Heads, “—that we would feel it if this was true? We are not fools.”
“But, it is true,” Louk insisted, feeling like a petulant child demanding that the adults listen. “We saw him. Gog. And he is beginning to awaken.”
“How?” Cronus demand. “How could you possibly see him? He has been trapped and caged deep within the folds of the earth for a thousand years. How is it possible that you saw him?”
“Hell if we know. The damn Ancient sent us there.” Louk took a breath and tried to calm himself. The tension in the room was jacked up to the ceiling. “Believe me, it was an experience we would’ve rather skipped.”
Airiana snorted lightly at the understatement. “Definitely would have skipped.”
“So you woke up Gog to destroy us?” his father accused.
“No.” Louk shook his head in frustration. “Were you listening to anything I just said? We did not choose to go there. Nor did we wake the beast up. He was already stirring before we saw him.”
“Words,” His father scoffed.
“Truth,” Louk insisted, before he quickly gave them a brief rundown of their day.
When he finished, Cronus held up his hand again before his father could pounce, and they all stilled. The silence echoed through the chamber, his father’s harsh breath cut against the sudden quiet like the deep bur of a saw blade. The Elder clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace before them, his brows furrowed and his head down in obvious thought while everyone waited.
Finally, after long moments, Cronus stopped and turned back to the group. He stepped forward and reached out to place his hands on the shoulders of Louk and Airiana.
The energy assaulted Louk in one strong push of power. He lost his breath in the onslaught, and his eyelids closed as he fought to stay upright. The Elder dug into every nook and cranny of his being. Another Ancient who wielded the power of spirit, an exceedingly rare power, but today they’d faced two.
Louk felt Airiana’s energy drifting away, separating from his under the strength of the Ancient’s energy. He started to panic, his breath coming in short intakes of air. Sweat beaded on his skin, and his head began to feel faint. What was Cronus doing? Louk tried to pull away, to jerk his shoulder from the man’s grasp, but he couldn’t. Cronus held tight, his fingers digging through the material of Louk’s clothes to hold him in place.
And then it was gone. Airiana was gone.
The blackness descended on him instantly. The raven crowed, flopped on his side and quivered in pain. A pain matched by his own. The energy clawed for its partner, but it was nowhere to be found.
Empty.
He was lost. Alone. Without her.
Louk felt his legs give out, and his knees cracked against the hard marble floor. He fell forward, barely conscious enough to put his hands out to catch his body before his face hit the ground.
Cronus was gone, his energy removed. But, so was Airiana’s.
Louk felt like he was crawling through sludge, his mind stuck in a fog, his energy moving in half time. In the distance he was aware of a commotion going on. Voices rose and fell in angry tones—bodies moved and scuffled around him.
She was gone. That was all Louk could process.
“Louk.” Airiana’s voice broke through his haze and jolted him awake. He jerked his eyes open and turned in the direction of her voice. Red, searing rage fired through him at what he saw.
Airiana struggled, clawed and fought as she was dragged away in the arms of his brother, Phelix and the leader of the Guard, Xander.
“Airiana.” His voice came out in a barely heard whisper. Fear clawed at his chest. He couldn’t lose her. This was wrong. But, he couldn’t move. His body was immobile despite every thought he that had to move. To fight. To go to her.
“Stay where you are, Louk.” The voice sounded in his mind, and he struggled to process what he was hearing. They were almost to the door with Airiana.
“You must wait. You will see why I have done this.”
Louk looked around to see Cronus staring at him. Every other eye was on the struggle at the door. Cronus was speaking to him in his mind. A power exclusive to the Spirit Energen and Cronus was the only one in the room with that ability.
What was the man thinking? He couldn’t do nothing and let them take her.
But, his body wouldn’t move. He was pinned to the floor as soundly is if there were metal nails in his hands and feet.
He had failed. She’d trusted him, and he’d failed her.
The raven screamed, a cold wet tear streaming from its eye to drop on Louk’s clammy skin. The finality of the moment ripped across his soul to tear it in two.
She was lost.
Chapter Eleven
Desperation pulled on Airiana, banking down the fear and firing the anger. His energy was fading, drifting away and leaving her empty and cold inside. Why was Louk just crouching there, doing nothing?
He let her go. Let the men take her.
She pulled on the arms that held her, jerked her shoulders and kicked her feet in resistance, but there was nothi
ng she could do. The two men dragging her from the room were too strong.
Louk did not rise to help. Did nothing to stop them.
Her heart tore at the sight—he simply looked at her from his position on the floor and watched them pull her away.
Why? She’d trusted him. Believed him.
The energy didn’t lie. Did it?
He was hers.
But, he did nothing.
Her dragon fired in anger, the heat stoking over her skin and raising her own ire. The injustice of the moment kicked her in the gut and spurred her own sense of self-preservation. If he didn’t believe in her, trust her, want to fight for her, then screw him.
Screw them all.
The change took over before she could double think the action. It had been over a hundred years since she had shifted, ever since she’d discovered the oddity that separated her from her people. But, that didn’t matter now. Here. With them. She had nothing to lose.
If she was going down, she would die there. Now. Not in some cell fifty years from now.
The fire rippled through her, then burst into a full inferno. Her nerves snapped, and she felt it coming. Her dragon stretched and prepared, freedom only seconds away.
Her bones cracked, her tendons stretched, then the change was executed in a smooth blending of form. The energy pushed and she shifted into her dragon shape with a fiery roar. Flames burst from her mouth and raged across the chamber at the people who stared in shocked amazement at her.
The two men who had held her backed away in cautious retreat from her serpentine body. She swung her head and the soft hairs of her mane caressed her jaw. It was glorious to return to her dragon shape. The power stoked through her, fulfilled her with an energy that purified her in a way that only happened when she shifted.
Now, she was in control. She had the power.
She swung her tail and smashed the pointed end against a row of seats, the hard marble crumbled into pebbles under her strength. The sound echoed through the room and she followed it with a roar that shook the very foundation of the structure.