He glanced at her, over his shoulder. "Symbols of healing and protection that were placed there by my brother, Hadyn."
"They're beautiful."
He nodded. "He was incredibly powerful. One of the strongest Simeon Magi ever trained. A true manslaghe." That was impressive given that a manslaghe could not only take a life, they could destroy a soul.
It was what made them some of the most dreaded breed of god-killer. More so than even the Chthonians who'd been created to police the gods themselves.
"You fought together?"
"We did." Sadness darkened his eyes. "He saved my life during the Primus Bellum."
"Which side did you fight for?"
"It wasn't so much a side I fought for, as a person I fought with." He pulled his shirt over his head. "I served with the Sephirii. Protected their commander."
She paused while dressing to gape at him. Surely he was kidding.... "Jared? You protected that bastard?"
"No. Before him. His mother. Myone." A tic started in his jaw as if he shared her anger for Jared's behavior.
And when he spoke, she realized that he did, indeed, understand why she harbored so much hatred for the former Sephiroth warrior. "I was there when Jared turned on his army and led them to slaughter. Whatever you did to him while your mother held him for Artemis, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, he deserved it. I know he thinks he had a noble reason for his actions, but I can't forgive it. All I can say is that I'm glad his mother was dead at the time. It would have broken her heart to see him betray his oath."
"You're one of the few who feels that way."
"Because I was there for it. I saw the carnage." He fastened his pants. "There's so much I hate the gods for."
"Believe me, I resemble your pain."
Falcyn moved to her side so that he could brush his fingers through her hair. "I will help your parents. Not because of what we did just now. But because I'm tired of watching the gods destroy lives for no reason."
"Thank you."
He inclined his head to her. "No problem. You just have to find a way to get us out of here so that I can get to them."
"Well, that's easier said than..." Medea paused in her sentence as a strange sensation went through her body. Like someone or something had squeezed her soul. It was the most peculiar thing.
A deep, dark ache set in. One that made her strangely depressed and exhausted.
"Medea?"
"I'm so tired, all of a sudden. Can barely keep my eyes open." She sat down to finish dressing. "Just overwhelmed, I guess. There's so much to do. I don't even know where to start." Her heart sank at the thought of what lay ahead for them. "What if we can't get to them in time? What if it's too late?"
"It's not."
"What if it is? What if we're underestimating Kessar and Apollo? He's a god, you know.... How can we hope to fight that?" She rubbed at her forehead as tears choked her.
Falcyn went cold as he saw a movement in the shadows to his left. Something wasn't right and he had a bad, bad feeling that he knew what it was.
"Medea? Look at me."
She did.
Cupping her chin in his hand, he studied her dark eyes. Her pupils were a bit dilated. She had a funny glaze over them as she continued to lament their situation.
Shit ...
"Did you sit in a shadow?"
"What?" She frowned at him.
"Did one of the shadows get you? You're whining, and that's not the psychotic Daimon I know so well. I'm thinking you got hit by one of the SODs."
Her eyes were filled with uncharacteristic despair. "How would I know? Oh, what does it matter? We're doomed anyway. Even if we succeed, we'll fail."
Oh yeah, that had SOD all over it.
"Dee ... stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere. Why bother? It's all useless, anyway."
Growling low in his throat, Falcyn tried to think of some way to get her back to normal.
It was hopeless. Like she said. Everything they did turned to shit.
Ah crap ...
He now had it, too.
10
This was so bad, and on so many levels. Falcyn turned around slowly as he tried to think of how to combat the SODs. But like Medea, he felt an overwhelming sense of doubt in his abilities to do anything at all, and the ultimate despair.
Never had he known such.
I am drakomai!
Yeah, so what? So are a lot of dragons....
What makes you a special snowflake?
He had to drive this shit out of his head before he went mad from it. And from the depth of that madness, there was only one place he could think to go.
"Medea?"
She glanced up at him. "I hate this feeling, dragonfly. How do you fight it? I want something external that I can kill!"
So did he. This was so insidious. Like a madness eating away at his will and desires. He was so tired from it. As if a weight pressed down on not only his will, but his entire body.
He needed Blaise or Brandor to explain to him what the mortal enemy of these bastards would be so that they could use it against them and end this. "Everything has a weakness. We can find theirs."
"How? We can't even see them. It's hopeless. Impossible. We'll never win."
In that moment, he hated his brother Max more than he ever had before. Why? Because the next words out of his mouth came straight from his brother and he knew it. He could practically hear Max's voice over his own as he spoke the dreadful happy words that sickened him. "Nothing's ever hopeless."
Yeah, he wished he was back at Sanctuary so that he could beat the utter shit out of that ever-optimistic bastard.
How he hated Mr. Merry Sunshine.
As bad as Max had been before these past few weeks, he was twice as awful and sanctimonious now that he had his dragonswan and children with him. There were times when Falcyn was sure he'd puke from the saccharin overload of being around the lot of them. Only thing worse than Max was his kids and wife.
Especially that optimistic son Seraphina had dared to name after their brother Hadyn.
Dear gods, it was like someone had cloned Max.
He shuddered. And Hadyn would shit a brick to meet his happy Opie Taylor-acting namesake.
With a sneer, Falcyn tried to wipe the ick off physically with his hands, but it was no use. No matter how much he scratched at his skin or rubbed it, the sensation remained. "What drives away doubt?"
"Confidence," Medea said. "A leap of faith. Sledgehammer to the face of whoever made you doubt yourself. Personally, I like the latter."
He laughed at her surly tone and words that rang home to him, as he'd like nothing better.
Then he sobered. "That's it!"
"What? I get to sledgehammer someone? I'm game if you are. Just point the bastard out."
He quirked a grin at her sudden happiness and what had caused it. "As long as you're naked, you can sledgehammer me all you want."
She rolled her eyes at him and snorted. "Is that really your solution?"
"No, but now I have an image of you naked on top of me again and I completely forgot my original train of thought."
"Seriously?"
"Sadly, yes. You're terribly distracting to me. What was I saying?"
"Oh my God, Falcyn! Really?"
Screwing his face up, he groaned. "Yeah. Where was I going a minute ago? I seem to have lost my way in the deep valley of your shirt plunging between your breasts."
She popped him lightly on his stomach. "We were talking about driving away doubt. Remember? I said confidence and leaps of faith."
"Oh yeah ... yeah! Had a thought about that. Leaps of Faith. You know?"
Medea scowled at him. He said that as if she should understand some arcane meaning behind that phrase. But it meant nothing to her. "Yeah? Okay..."
He deflated before her eyes, and shook his head. "I keep forgetting you're an Apollite. With no real experience among the fey."
"Sorry. We're not on their party lists."
"Trust me, you're better off. Last time they came out to play with your people, they made the Were-Hunter race."
She scoffed at his oversimplification of that major historical event. "Dagon wasn't a fey creature. And I do believe, as a Sumerian god, he'd be highly offended at your categorizing him as such."
"True. But as his brother, I'm morally obligated to bust his chops every chance I get. Which he'd appreciate if he were here and would return said insult with gusto. And probably a punch or god-bolt."
Her jaw dropped at something she'd been completely unaware of. "You're not really his brother, are you?"
"I am, indeed. Half, anyway. His mother's Hekate. But we share the same piece-of-shit sperm donor."
"Is that why he joined the Sumerian pantheon?"
"That was mostly a bad bout of teenage rebellion ... or, more to the point, a bout of midlife crisis for a god." Falcyn paused to consider it. "Or maybe, given his current extreme old age, it would best be considered a prepubescent tantrum?"
She laughed at the way he summarized things. The dragon had a unique phrasing and perspective. "You have an interesting family tree."
"Says the woman related to Apollo and the king of the Daimons."
"And you're off point again.... I've noticed that you tend to do that. A lot." She gestured at the trees around them. "Leaps of faith? Where were you going with that?"
"Oh yeah. Sorry. Faith is a modern word for fey. And 'leaps of fey' was once a slang term for fresh, running water gathered in a stream, as opposed to a well."
"Okay..." She still had no idea where he was going with that.
"I'm thinking if we gather some, we can use it to get rid of them."
Ah! That made sense. Running water was often used to chase away malevolent spirits. Hence the propensity of throwing holy water for exorcisms. And why some paranormal species couldn't cross streams or rivers. "It's worth a shot."
"It's what I'm thinking."
"But what if we don't find any?" She sighed heavily. "What if it doesn't work? What if it's hopeless and we're stuck like this forever?"
He growled deep in his throat. "You're doubting me?"
Medea gave him a no-duh stare. "I'm possessed by the spirits of doubt. You think? Of course I'm doubting you. And thanks for this wonderful experience, by the way! So much better than a trip to Disneyland. I can't believe I left home for this."
He let out a "heh" at her continued sarcasm. "Just help me find some fey water."
"That doesn't explode when we touch it."
"Exactly."
Sighing, she followed him as they looked for a stream or brook. "I guess I should be grateful, all things considered."
"How so?" Falcyn asked.
She pointed up at the dim, gray sky. "At least I'm not bursting into flames in the daylight."
He drew up short at her words. "Do that a lot, do you?"
"Well, I was banned from it as a girl. After Apollo made his curse."
"But not anymore?"
"That demon blood you smelled in me?"
He nodded.
"It allows me to tap into their powers and shields me from his curse. With it, I can walk in daylight. Not for long. Just enough that it leaves me with a nasty sunburn and no exploding flesh. And I'm completely immune from his curse in other realms, like this one." She crossed her arms over her chest. "The demon blood at least gives me time to do some damage in the human realm to go after enemies where and when they're most vulnerable."
"You like being a villain, don't you?"
That was a no-brainer. "I played by the rules and what did it get me? A broken heart and murdered family. Busted body. Fuck that. So yeah. I learned to harden my heart and give as good as I get. With relish."
He pulled her to a stop. "I know the feeling."
"I'm so sorry that you do. I would never have taken your son from you. Especially not like your brother did. If you want, I'll help you kick his ass."
With a tender expression, he brushed his thumb against her cheek. "And I would never have allowed the humans to harm yours, or you."
A tear fell from her eye as those sincere words singed her. "We will find your Maddor for you. You should meet him at least once in your life."
"I don't know if that's a good idea."
"That's the SOD talking."
"No. It's common sense talking. I'm sure he hates me for what my brother did to him. Hates me for not finding him sooner." He drew his brows together in deep consternation. "You're right. That might be the SOD talking and not me."
Rising up on her toes, she kissed his cheek. "You're adorable when you blush. Uncertainty looks good on you."
Falcyn savored the gentleness of her touch. "Why are you being so kind to me?"
"I have absolutely no idea. It's really not like me. I'm usually a major bitch to everyone." She smoothed down his collar. "But something about you makes me want to leash my claws."
He fingered her ear. "Yeah. I feel the same with you. There's a calmness inside me whenever you come near. And I don't understand it. Even now. Most bring out the beast in me. But you ... you seem to bring out only the best."
Those words made her eyes water. Even stranger, they made her feel giddy like a girl again. Something she hadn't felt in countless centuries.
More than that, he made her feel safe in a way no one ever had.
It was so peculiar. Not unwelcomed.
But strange nonetheless.
"What are you like in your dragon's form?"
"I'm sure you don't want to know. It tends to terrify the natives."
"I'll bet you're beautiful."
He laughed bitterly. "Bet you'd scream."
"Bet I wouldn't."
"Never met a woman yet who wasn't a dragon who didn't scream at the first sight of me in my real body."
She boldly stood before him, hands on hips, to face him. "You never met me."
Growling low in his throat, he felt the dragon in him rise up. The beast was hungry and fierce. He expected nothing to come of it.
Yet this time, it worked.
In the blink of an eye, he changed into his shimmering red dragon's body.
Medea stepped back. Not out of fear.
Out of respect. He was a massive, dangerous beast. Even larger than she'd ever expected. His red scales gleamed as if they held speckles of gold in their red color. Long, bright gold talons and curved tusks protruded, reminding her that he was a predator of the top order.
Indeed, his head alone was larger than her entire body.
Fearless. Breathless, she approached him until she could lay her hand on his large snout.
"You are beautiful," she breathed, stroking his cheek, beneath his large serpentine red eye. She assumed his scales would be dry and cold to touch, but rather they were soft like rose petals, and yet as hard as warm steel. "Can you understand me?"
I understand you.
She laughed out loud. "You can still talk to me?"
I can.
"This is amazing! Can I ride you?"
His deep rumble washed over her. You already did that, Lady Apollite. I told you that I'm always at your disposal.
She shoved playfully at his snout. "Not what I mean and you know it!"
A saddle magically appeared on his back. Climb aboard.
Yet the moment she started for him, the shadows came closer. At first she thought nothing of it.
Neither did Falcyn.
Not until one snatched her back and they both realized it was a SOD. Wrapping around her, it forced her away from him and covered her body.
Furious, Falcyn changed back into his human's body.
But it was too late.
The fey demon had her.
11
Furious, Falcyn attacked the shadows, but it did him no good. Not even with his god powers. Because they had no solid form for him to strike and destroy, they couldn't be killed by conventional or any other means. Rather, they disintegrated as soon as he made contact, only to reappear as quickly as they vanished. Sometimes within nanoseconds.
Over. Behind. One even tapped his shoulder, just to be an asshole.
And all the while they laughed and mocked his efforts. Which only made him angrier.
More determined to find some way to do them harm.
How dare they! He punched and twisted, trying his damnedest to end them. Or at least wring a groan from their throats.
Nothing worked.
"Falcyn!"
Suddenly, he heard Blaise's shout, along with Urian's. But he didn't acknowledge them. Or let their voices slow him down in any way. He had to keep trying to fight and scatter his attackers and reach his Daimon. Nothing mattered past freeing Medea. He was consumed with a frenzied madness to save her, and drive these bastards away.
His blood pounded in his ears. He tasted bile and sweat. One minute the shadows were consuming her and in the next, she was finally in his arms, holding him. Bringing him slowly back to sanity.
She blinked, her gaze filled with total disbelief as she reached up to place her cold fingers to his chin. "Falcyn?"
He could barely breathe as he stared down into those dark eyes. Cupping her head in his palm, he pulled her against him and held her tightly. His breath came in ragged gasps. "Are you all right?"
She glanced about as if in a daze herself. "They were trying to infiltrate my mind ... to take me over and make me think their thoughts. It was awful! I was sure they had me."
"I know. So was I."
"How did you get me free?"
Brandor rudely cleared his throat to indicate the bottle in his hand. "I threw fey water on them to make them solid, and he beat the utter shit out of them while they were weakened. We were trying to explain to him what to do. But he didn't listen."
"He didn't need to," Blaise added with a laugh. "Apparently, you can just wail the bloody buggers out of any wet body. Good old Falcyn. There's no problem so big that it can't be solved with an adequate supply of canned whup ass."
Falcyn reluctantly let go of Medea and snorted at the uncharacteristic term from Blaise, which showed that he'd been spending way too much time at Sanctuary lately. "You know, I've never really understood that expression. Seriously. If someone says they're going to open up a can of whup ass on you, it means that someone out there is actually canning whup ass. Truth be told, that's the guy I'd be most afraid of."
Urian laughed. "Valid good point. Next time Nick or Dev uses it, I'll have to bring it up to them." He jerked his chin toward Medea. "You feeling better?"
She cast a nasty glare at Brandor as she pushed herself to her feet. Dusting herself off, she grimaced at him. "Aside from the water some thoughtless bastard slung all over me, yeah."
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