by A D Lombardo
He took hold of the thicker vine and climbed after her. “Very funny.” When he reached the top, she stood and worked the walls of the nest. Her latticework mimicked the pods back in Katori, minus the stonework used to hold a fireplace and distribute heat around the home.
“This is much larger than I thought from the ground. I hope it is strong enough for me once I transform.”
She huffed a puff of white into the cold air. “You doubt my work?”
“Well, no, I just . . .” He waved his hands around as if to show the size of the snow wolf in relation to the space.
The curl in the corner of her lips stopped his protest as she continued to soften the hardscape with the mossy vines and encourage the thick garland to conceal their location. “There, that should do the trick. No time like the present. Either it will hold, or we will find ourselves on the forest floor.” She motioned to the center of the space and stepped back to give him room.
Kai handed her his cloak for extra warmth. “Here goes nothing.” He took hold of his crystal and started to transform, slow and easy in case he needed to change back. The tips of his ears reached the arch above his head, and the vines heaved. He crouched down as low as he could as his transformation completed.
“You are bigger than I thought!” She laughed, stroking his mane as he laid down.
The platform was just large enough that his paws did not hang over the edge. “I will search this side of the forest,” Rayna pointed, and then she started sealing shut the opening with the thick garland vines from top to bottom. “You can search the other side.”
The moonlight disappeared behind the vines she created to seal the opening. Kai shook his head and grunted, hoping she would understand his meaning as he began to search the surrounding landscape. He gleaned over and around felled trees, into a fox den, and through an abandoned shack, but no signs of anyone trying to hide a body. Deeper still, he searched under a pile of leaves and down a frozen creek bed.
After hours of searching, Rayna yawned and leaned into him, resting her back against his fur-covered shoulder. He liked the weight. I am so sorry I brought you into this, he whispered to her with his mind.
“I love you too,” she whispered, pulling his extra cloak around her knees. “I have not found anything, have you?”
He could only shake his beastly head no.
The vines parted slightly at the touch of Rayna’s fingertips. “You are terribly quiet,” she said, nudging him. “Mind sharing your thoughts, or are you staying like that all night?” She sat up, and he could almost feel her looking at him.
This would be his last night of freedom—and his last night with her. The thought sent a shudder down his spine. He could see things so clearly now, but it was too late to go back and undo his choices. Kai transformed and sat cross-legged next to her, staring out the tiny opening. “My mind is a jumble—everything from you to my mother and both of my fathers. Even my destiny haunts me. Not sure I can organize my thoughts.”
“I do not mind listening.” She turned to him and him to her. “Sometimes, saying your thoughts out loud helps make sense of them.”
He knew she was right; he had kept everything boxed away in his mind for far too long.
“I lied to you, and myself, these past few months. I was not working with Basil every day. And I was not imitating my mother’s magical journey to help her recover. Truth be told, I mimicked my mother’s experiences to understand why she did not choose to come back to me. Did she love being a dragon more than being with me?”
A lump formed in Kai’s throat, but he kept going. “Every choice she ever made was usually for the benefit of someone else. Instead of running home to Katori after her escape, she started a new life in Diu with Iver. Maybe she thought returning to Katori would bring Keegan back into her life. Concealing my identity and hiding me from my real father gave me a chance to have a normal life with a man who loved me and treated me like a son.”
New tears welled in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks—Iver was dead, and it was his fault. “Alenga showed me Iver’s fate. Saving my father was never my mission; I now believe that my vision was to help me let him go. I had every opportunity to embrace my future in Katori, but I thought I knew better. In my arrogance, I imagined I could best Nola. Even Riome tried to warn me that Nola’s brainwashing was unbreakable. I wanted to be the hero and save everyone, but instead, I lost everything.”
Unable to control his own words, his inner pain poured out. “Alenga asked me to bring her people home, but I ignored my mission to reunite Katori. Because of my choices, I have lost Katori, too. Rayna, I left you behind because I thought I had to do everything on my own. I was a fool.”
Guilt was a funny thing. It had a way of giving your mind clarity while punishing your soul. Kai pulled his stone from inside his shirt and let it dangle between his fingers. “Now that I know a Beastmaster can transform without their crystal, as painful as it is, it means that my mother chose to stay trapped. All this time, I thought she did not have a choice, but she did.”
Rayna touched his arm. “Your mother was thought to be dead. You know as well as I that she could not return to Diu without revealing the Katori secrets. What other choice did she have?”
Hearing the truth did not make it any easier. “Recently, I imagined what would have happened if my mother did come back and stole me away. We would have spent our lives on the run unless the Elders welcomed us back. Which I am sure Keegan’s spies would have discovered us, surely he would have returned to Katori for my mother and discovered me.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. There was so much raw emotion bubbling inside Kai; he felt as if he would crack if he opened his mouth again. Rayna seemed to know his next thoughts, and she let them out slow and easy so he could accept them in small bites.
“I cannot begin to imagine the shame Mariana felt given what Keegan did to her—knowing what her country thought of the man, and how she carried his child. I understand why she never returned to Katori, and why she lied about your origins. She was lucky Iver found her.” Rayna must have sensed that her point had settled in his soul, and she continued. “I cannot presume to know her reasonings beyond keeping the Katori secrets, but your mother spent a decade trapped by men who used her as a weapon. What a terrible life.”
His mother’s sacrifices were etched across his imagination. Was he strong enough to make the same? His time on the ship with Keegan showed him the horrific life he might have lived had his mother not given up her heart’s desire to live in Katori—and maybe even return to Ryker. All to save him from his father.
“There is something I do not understand,” Rayna said, interrupting his thoughts. How did Mariana’s crystal force her to become a dragon and pull her across the ocean to Iver?”
“When I first awoke on Keegan’s ship, feelings of anger and hate overwhelmed me. The room was thick with desires that were not my own. The scariest part was when my dragon claws sprouted from my fingertips, then receded as though they were never there. Our crystals are connected to our magic—to us specifically. For us, the stone amplifies magic; it softens the raw nature of power and provides the ability to enhance our gifts. And, it would seem, the wielder: us or another can control part of our magic.”
Panic bulged Rayna’s brown eyes. “Do you mean to say, with our stones, anyone could control us—use our own magic against us?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I thank Alenga nobody has discovered this–otherwise, all Katori could be weaponized against our will. If Keegan had witnessed my hand change while he held my crystal, we would be in a totally different sort of trouble now. My father seemed to hope he could use the power within my stone to his advantage for more power; his disappointment was obvious. I asked my grandfather Lucca what happens to the crystals after death. He said the stones are crushed and the magic returns to Alenga. All of Katori believes they only channel magic, and while that is true, the crystals are also tied to the owner.”
More truth poure
d from Kai’s thoughts. “My mother was in a no-win situation. She must have understood the same thing when it happened to her. When I was old enough to listen and not cry, my father told me a story. As he sailed across the Caprizian Sea, maybe a half a day’s journey out from Port Anahita, pirate vessels attacked his ship. They outnumbered him three to one. Fearing he would not ever see my mother and me again, he held her necklace and wished for the old days when dragons fought alongside Diu. And as his story goes, a dragon came to him and saved him and his crew. I never knew he kept the dragon and wielded her like a weapon. I guess that explains his success. He and his dragon secured trade routes and brought in wealth to our kingdom. No ships dared attack a Diu vessel in those early days for fear of his dragon.”
“What a miserable life.” Kai could see the empathy in Rayna’s eyes as she spoke. “Torn between keeping the Katori secrets and being with her husband and son.”
The weight of his mother’s decisions and his own made it hard to breathe.
“Are you sure you want to return to Diu without proof?” Rayna asked. “We did not find Iver’s body, we did not find this third person. They will hang you tomorrow. Can we not run? Disappear?”
Rayna's urgent plea and fear were understandable, but he knew that would be no life for either of them. “I failed to understand the loyalty my mother demonstrated to the Katori people all those years ago. Now it all makes sense. I am ready to stand up for my mistakes, but it is not my place to reveal the Katori secrets. My mother spent a decade of her life in torment to prove her loyalty. Could I not do the same? I promised to return to Diu, and my word is my bond.”
Rayna grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. “Kai, I found something—or rather, someone. A body buried in the woods. He is fresh, if you know what I mean.” Her other hand slid through the vines like a knife through butter.
Mind racing, Kai took hold of her elbow. “Where? Show me.”
“Take hold,” Rayna pointed to one of two hooked vines dangling next to the opening. She grabbed one and the vines wrapped around her as she stepped off.
Anxious to follow, Kai grabbed the woody hook and stepped off. Thick vines slithered down his arm and around his waist, easing his descent. As his feet touched the snow, the vines retracted, setting him free to chase after Rayna.
She was nimble and quick on her feet, considering they had not slept since yesterday. She darted around trees and rocks with lightning precision. Vaulting over felled trees and stomps, she ran farther away from Diu. Before Kai could glean the area, she dropped to her knees without a sound and pulled him down beside her.
“Shhh,” she whispered, pointing into the shadows. “Do you see him?” Rayna directed Kai’s attention to the thick underbrush in the woods in front of him, but he saw nothing, only snow flurries dancing amongst the shadows.
Thump, thump, thump. Kai heard someone pounding the ground. “This is our last night together,” a man’s voice resonated through the trees. “I am done watching you rot. Nobody will ever find you here. I promised to hide you well and bury you deep. She made me promise, and I always keep my promises.”
Controlling his pounding heart, Kai gleaned the darkness. Deeper into the woods, a man scooped dirt with a shovel and pounded the ground to flatten the clump. Curious, he gleaned what the stranger had buried—a man with a stab wound on his left side just below his heart, his face too damaged to be identified. Goosebumps covered his skin and pricked the hair on the back of his neck.
The stranger heaved the last of the dirt over the unmarked grave and brushed a few sticks and leaves for good measure. “Good riddance—you will not be missed.” The man stood and dusted his hands and knees.
Did this person work for Nola? Was this another person doing her bidding? Had she been the one to arrange the removal of Iver’s body from the palace? A million questions shot through Kai’s brain at once, and unable to control himself, he darted into the night after the stranger. Fear and excitement pounded in his chest with each step. Could this be Iver? He did not want to lose this person, a possible witness of Iver’s murder. Without care or stealth, he stormed through the woods, focused on the grave and the gravedigger.
Smack! Something struck Kai on the side of his head, sending him to the ground. “Darwin, you idiot!” the man standing over Kai shouted.
Kai squirmed on the ground. Stars danced around his head.
“Carter!” Darwin, the gravedigger, yelled with a Milnosian accent. “What are you doing out here?”
“Looks like I am saving your hide,” said Carter with a thick Port Anahita draw, towering over Kai. “What do you want, boy? Who sent you? Speak, or I will put you in a grave of your own.”
Scattered moonlight offered a meager glimpse of Carter’s features. Covered in hunting gear and furs, he was an ox of a man with stark-white hair blending into a long, white beard. A short wooden staff bounced in his hand. “Speak, boy, or I will thump you again with my stick.”
Head pounding, Kai tried to stand, but Carter knocked him back to the ground with his boot. “I said, what do you want, boy? Tell me or this is as far as you go.”
Considering Darwin spoke with a Milnosian accent, Kai decided to do the same. “I came for my father,” Kai gasped, pointing to the makeshift grave, thankful his disguise hid his true identity. “Who is in that grave?” He tried again to stand, this time ready for the blow that never came.
Carter chuckled. “You are a long way from the streets of Milnos, boy. I doubt he could be your father, illegitimate maybe, but I doubt it. You are too filthy to live the way this man did, I am guessing you grew up in the navel district by your twang. Trust me, this man had fine things, and you, well, look at you. Go home to your mother. You have no business being out in this storm. I do not know you, and you do not know me. Let us keep it that way.”
The more Carter spoke, the more Kai needed to know who Darwin had buried ten feet from where he stood. Could they be speaking of Iver? These did not look like Keegan’s Caroco men, and they were not Katori. Darwin’s Milnosian accent confused him. Was he one of the Regent’s men? Maybe Keegan was not involved. Had Nola arranged these two men to dispose of the King to further the war?
Kai looked at Darwin, hoping this man might be more reasonable. “My father was very well off, and his wife had him murdered, stabbed in the side.” Kai pointed to his ribs. “I need to know if this is my father. Please, sir.”
Darwin stepped back, and Kai got a better look at the other man. His navy cloak had a fine edge, embroidered in gold and silver, and his trimmed auburn beard angled to a point below the chin. “I am sorry for your loss, boy—but you are not his son. She is a powerful woman, and removing this man was the only way I could get close to her.”
“Shut your mouth, Darwin,” Carter snapped. “We do not know who this sewage rat is, but there is no way he is this man’s son. Do you want him turning you in? You hired me to help you bury a man, not to become an accomplice in a highborn murder. I will not be locked away, even if I have to kill you both.” He swung his short staff, preparing to strike the first man to move as he retrieved a large hunting knife from a leather sheath.
As Carter’s gaze passed from Kai to Darwin, Kai stuck the hunter in the knee cap. The sweeping motion knocked Carter’s leg out and sent him falling backward. In the same movement, Kai liberated him of his weapons and pinned him to the ground. “I do not care what you think of me—I am nobody—but I will have my answers. Who lays buried in this grave?”
Darwin’s eyes swelled with fear, and he turned to run. Kai tossed the short staff, striking the man in the head, dropping him to his knees. “Answer me!” Kai shouted.
“I do not want any trouble, young man—” Darwin rubbed the newly formed lump on his head and raised a hand in submission “—but Carter is right. There is no way this man is your father. To say this man had status, well, again, no offense, but you do not appear to move in the same circles.”
Rage boiled beneath Kai’s skin. He was so close to freedom
he could almost taste it. These men were the proof he needed. Carter squirmed; in desperation, Kai applied more pressure. “I only need one of you,” he seethed, dragging the knife along Carter’s jawline, carving deep enough to draw blood. “The first one to talk lives another day.”
“The man buried there is nobleman Barton Manzini, his wife is Louisa Carmelo-Manzini, cousin to the Grand Duke of Diu, Dante Carmelo,” Darwin blurted. “Please do not kill me!”
Sadness and disappointment broke Kai’s heart in half. Carter took advantage of Kai’s relaxed grip, tossing him to the side and freeing himself. “Not the name you were hoping, boy? But now that you know, well, I am afraid I will have to kill you.” Carter pulled a cylindrical metal device with a solid wooden handle, a familiar weapon from Kai’s past.
There was no time to think. Unwilling to kill Carter, Kai tossed the hunter’s knife at the man’s kneecap—it sank deep, dropping Carter to the ground. The unfired hand cannon fell into the snow as Carter writhed in pain. Kai retrieved the blade. “I have no time for your misdeeds, but now you will have a permanent limp, if you ever walk again. Justice will find you, both of you. This much, I promise.” He turned to Darwin and cut free one of the monogrammed buttons securing the man’s cloak as proof before darting away into the shadows to find Rayna.
He found her hidden in a thicket a few yards away. As he approached, she motioned, and he followed. They ran for miles, putting distance between them and the murderous Darwin and Carter. The speed blurred the tears in his eyes. Heartbroken, he wept, not for Barton Manzini , a man he knew well, but for his father. He was faced once again with the realization that his father’s death was his fault, and he had no proof to show otherwise. Tired, he stopped and dropped to his knees.
Holding his face, he sobbed. This had all been a waste of time, and now as a wanted fugitive, he could not even turn in the murderers of a family friend. He felt Rayna wrap his cloak around his shoulders. She never said a word, just held him tight.