The Demon's Game (The Guardian Series Book 4)

by Rain Oxford

  “I can’t tell if you’re really bad or really good.”

  “You know… neither can I anymore.”

  Suddenly, Ron and I were back in the castle with Zherneboh. I wrapped my arms around Ron and pulled him back against my chest. “Where is Mordon?” I asked.

  He scoffed. “Whatever defect of this body that prevents me from killing him has won for now. I decided to send him back and keep the two of you instead. The dragon may be willing to obey me in exchange for your wellbeing, but you two have more power.”

  “What are your intentions? Are you going to destroy the universe?”

  “I don’t know what my intentions are yet. I have been asleep for so long. The last time I had any real intentions, it was when I turned the Iadnah against each other.”

  “You started the Iadnah wars? Why?”

  He shrugged. “Boredom, I guess. The void can be terribly boring, and my demons were not powerful enough to entertain me. Life is chaos, so of course I had to meddle in it.”

  “I understand that much. I love chaos,” Ron said, then frowned. “You said your demons… What are you?”

  “You really don’t want to know,” Zero said, grinning cruelly.

  “I do,” Ron argued. “I need to know. I have three goals in life; to protect my family, to make my brother happy, and to become the most powerful being in this universe. Right now, you are more powerful than the gods, and that means you are the one to beat.”

  Zero laughed. “You may surpass the Iadnah someday, but you will never be a match for me. I am the---”

  Surprise showed on his face right before he looked down, where the very tip of a blade pierced the green t-shirt that my father wore. Behind him, Xul appeared, having thrust the magic sword through my father’s heart. Around Xul’s wrist was the metal bracelet. The demon pulled the sword from my dad’s back and retreated several steps, clearly in shock.

  “He would have killed Sydney,” the demon said, as if begging for forgiveness.

  Zero’s surprise faded to a self-satisfied grin. “This will not be the end. You have merely delayed my victory.” He then collapsed, but Xul rushed forward to catch him, as if stopping my father’s dead body from hitting the ground could atone for his betrayal.

  A wave of energy pulsed out from my dad and suddenly…

  * * *

  I was standing in the forest again, surrounded by the demons who had chosen Dylan’s side over Ilea’s. Ron, Mom, Ronez, my dad… everyone was right back where we started. The pulse of energy had tossed most people from their feet, but Dad still stood, confused.

  “What happened? I feel like time has passed. Why is Rasik dead?” Dad asked.

  Rasik was still lying dead in the grass and the book, staff, and sword were missing. Xul stood next to my father, clearly just as confused as the rest of us. “I killed you!” he exclaimed, panicky.

  “Fat chance, dip-dunk. Now what actually happened?”

  “What do you remember?” Ron asked.

  “Rasik shot me with something from a staff, and now he’s dead.”

  “Was it a vision, then?” I asked.

  “Not a chance.” “Who all remembers what actually happened?” Mom, Xul, Ronez, Ron, and I did. “So… everyone who went to the Land of the Iadnah… or possibly everyone who faced Vretial. He must be behind this.”

  “Just tell me you didn’t agree to owe him a favor,” Mom said. Ron dropped his gaze and she groaned.

  “Somebody start explaining before I get mad and cross people off my Christmas card list,” Dad threatened.

  “Am I on this list of yours?” Azenoth asked when he appeared right in front of Dylan.

  “You were. Now, however, I’m not sure. This is your doing, isn’t it?” my father asked, not batting an eye at the eavesdropping of the god.

  “It is. I apologize for the destruction and chaos my Noquodi has caused. I’m afraid I was trying to recreate what Tiamat had with Nano. I wanted my Noquodi to be an informant for me, so I gave him the power necessary to be able to do so. This made him powerful enough to spy on my siblings and myself without getting caught. I relied on his fear of me, and I shouldn’t have.”

  “So Rasik was the one to possess and attack the other Guardians and spy on everyone. He even tried to render the others powerless. It was probably his fear of you that drove him to it. That’s why he was not forgotten when he was ‘lost’ in the void. I trust you will be wiser in choosing your next Guardian.”

  “Oh, I will. I want Ronez and Samhail to be my Guardians.”

  “No,” my father refused instantly.

  Azenoth gaped. “But your disdain for both Avoli and Vretial is apparent. I thought you would welcome a better alternative for your sons.”

  “Avoli is wet and Vretial is nuts, but Rasik is the third of your Guardians that you have failed to control. You cannot handle my boys. I will support their decision in whoever they choose, but it will not be you. You may leave now.”

  When Azenoth gawked open-mouthed at the Guardian, Dad waved his hand, much the way Zero had, and the god vanished. Everyone stared in shock at my father.

  “We need to find Edward.”

  “I’ll find him,” Ghidorah said before he vanished.

  “Zeb, get Earth’s new citizens settled.”

  Xul immediately got the good demons out of the forest. That was when things went wrong.

  The Ancient who had been interrupted by Rilryn suddenly appeared again. This time, he didn’t hesitate to attack. Dad was already trying to put a shield over Mordon when a second Ancient appeared. Dad changed his shield to cover himself and the Ancient he faced, so that none of their magic could accidentally hurt anyone else. I put a shield over Ron at the same moment he put one over me.

  Dad struck his opponent with a bolt of pure white energy and the demon burst into ash… only to instantly reform. Mom struck repeatedly at the demon that was trying to get at Mordon, but the Ancient was protected by his own invisible barrier, so Divina focused her fire on Dad’s foe. The shield shattered from the efforts of Divina trying to get at the Ancient.

  After a quick glance at the other demon, he vanished, as did his accomplice. It was a divide and conquer trick; they wanted to get Mordon and Dylan apart. Only it wasn’t Mordon who lay dead on the ground but Sydney, who had jumped in front of him.

  Mordon had her head in his lap and was shaking. His fire lit her body, not hot but healing. It was too late. Xul, having returned in the middle of the battle, stared at her with a numb expression.

  “The demon sent her soul to the void,” Mom said. “I didn’t see it in time to stop her.”

  From the agony on my father’s face, I knew he could feel Mordon’s despair. The love Mordon felt for her was not proportional to the time they spent together, and I knew my father shared Mordon’s grief.

  “Go after her,” he demanded of Xul, failing to keep his voice from cracking.

  “That is not part of our contract,” Xul said. “I will fight for you, I will save the boys, I will even work with Ghidorah, but I will not go back to the void. If you feel betrayed, you can banish me to the void, but I still will not bring her back.”

  Dad didn’t know that Xul had already chosen to forfeit his life for Sydney’s. Why is he refusing now? I realized then that Xul was concealing his own heartbreak.

  Mordon was listening even as tears dripped. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers.

  “Get out of my sight,” Dad said. Xul obediently disappeared.

  Dad used Mordon’s pain to dig his proverbial claws into the fabric of the universe. I could feel Earth’s power waver. Just a little more and the gates would reopen. Earth would be destroyed, but Dad couldn’t think over his brother’s pain.

  Sunlight dimmed, the nominal energy recoiled, and bright light filled the air around us. I broke mine and Ron’s shield and grabbed my brother, trying to hold back the darkness in him. Suddenly, Mom was at Dad’s side, snapping the metal bracelet around his wrist. He had enough time
to turn to her before her magic flooded his defenseless system and he passed out.

  Mom caught Dylan and turned to Mordon, who still held his dead girlfriend. “I’m sorry, Mordon, but I couldn’t let him do it. He would tear the universe apart for you and I won’t let that happen.”

  The man was the epitome of misery, and I felt sympathy, but not enough to disagree with Mom. Ronez picked Dad up and Ron flashed them back to the apartment.

  “I know. But you pulled me out of the void.” There was hope in Mordon’s voice, nearly drowned by tears.

  I had never seen the dragon cry before.

  “I pulled you out of the Land of the Dead, and I can’t do it again. I would have lost Dylan without you. Most likely, Sydney wasn’t as lucky as you to make it through.”

  “She was Rojan’s mate.”

  “Yes, she was, and yours as well.”

  “But how?”

  “You’ve never heard of reincarnation? Sometimes the souls in the spirit world are released to be reborn into a new life. She was one of those blessed few.”

  “Then she can come back to me again?”

  There was guilt in Mom’s eyes as she realized that she was only giving him more hope. “I’m sorry. It only ever happens once. The gods have no control over it.”

  Thank goodness.

  “Why do I still remember her? Dylan said that those who are sucked into the void without protection were never born.”

  “You have Dylan’s energy in you. You can remember her for as long as you hold onto it.”

  Mortals are a surprising bunch, I heard in Ron’s head. They each react to love and loss differently, and most of the time it makes no sense at all. Heartbreak is so horribly painful to them, yet they go into love knowing full well that their hearts are probably going to be broken.

  Ron’s thoughts made me feel like one of the mortals. I knew Ron loved me, but I had to wonder if he was too much like his mother. To the gods, love was a weakness.

  “If I can’t have her back… I don’t want to remember. I don’t want to hurt like this. I don’t want Rojan to hurt like this. Please make me forget. I can’t… I can’t take it.”

  This Mom understood, and she was about to grant his wish when I felt the darkness in Ron fire up. His eyes were milky-green; a telltale sign that the balance was in control. He shot white light at Sydney and I suddenly felt the magic of Earth settle. Ron wasn’t trying to heal her, he only prevented a paradox.

  “Now it will be as if she had died instead of as if she was never born.”

  “Can you save her?” Mom asked Ron.

  “No. I have no power over the void. You could go after her, assuming there is anything left of her, but you would likely be destroyed.” He wasn’t my brother right now.

  I knew that between Mordon’s girlfriend and her own life, she would not be going after the dragoness.

  Chapter 18

  Dylan

  I woke to Mordon laying a cold wet cloth on my forehead. We were back in the apartment, I was on my bed, and the lights were dimmed. Even then I could see the tear stains on his cheeks. They were those tears a person just couldn’t stop. There was nothing to say, and I couldn’t ask if he was okay because I knew he wasn’t. I could only hope he would be okay eventually.

  “You can’t take a risk for me like that again,” he said.

  “Oh, shut up. You would have done the same thing if I lost Divina. How is Rojan holding up?”

  “He hasn’t said a word since she…” he choked. “She was his mate.”

  “I know.” The look he gave me made me roll my eyes. “I’m not new to the concept, and it was pretty obvious when you disappear for days to be with a woman you just met. Besides, I’ve seen your dreams of the woman, and Sydney was almost identical.”

  As if the pain weighed too heavily in his chest, he settled down beside me. I took the wet rag off my head and put it on his.

  “Ew. It’s warm,” he said. I laughed.

  * * *

  I woke to the sound of arguing. That’s odd. You’re supposed to be quiet around the nearly dead. Divina’s voice was the loudest, so I tried to focus on her words.

  “Dylan should be at home, where he can rest without interruption.”

  “He will want to get right back to work when he wakes. Doctor work at the hospital will be more restful than chopping firewood on Duran.” That was Mordon arguing, calmer.

  “You are just worried about what he’ll do when he wakes up.”

  “Of course I am. He’s less likely to destroy Earth than Duran when he finds out… He’s awake.”

  Ratted out, I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, but at least the room was dim. When I rubbed my eyes in attempt to clear them, shiny metal caught my attention. “Why is this still on me?” I asked, tugging on the neutralizing bracelet.

  “We were afraid of what you might do… when you found out that…” Divina couldn’t finish her sentence.

  “Edward is missing. Otherwise he would be in the room. So if Ghidorah couldn’t find him, when did he find?”

  As if on cue, Meri walked in through the open bedroom door. “Kiro was attacked by some shadow creature.”

  “Get this off me,” I said, getting out of bed. Mordon moved to help me, but I pushed him away. “Get this off me so I can find Edward.”

  “What are you going to do if you can’t find him?”

  “I can find him! Get this off me now!”

  “You know I can’t.”

  “Then get Ghidorah in here!”

  “Settle down, kid.” Edward was suddenly standing in the doorway behind Meri. He looked like he had been in a bad fight; his black shirt and pants were torn, he had bruises on his knuckles, and his lip was busted.

  “What happened?”

  “Rasik attacked me and tried to strand me on Kahún. I made it back here only to be attacked by the demons and locked in a rundown lab. Fortunately, Ron and Hail have some young allies that distracted the demons long enough for me to get the upper hand.”

  “Who?”

  He moved aside and I peered into the living room, where four children as well as Drake were speaking with Ron and Hail. Two of the strangers were blond, clearly siblings. “Apparently, they were trying to rescue Ron and Hail, but found me instead,” Edward explained.

  * * *

  We took the rest of the week off of work and school to grieve and deal with our new “army” against the demons and Zero. Every man, woman, and creature who was willing to fight with us against the demons deserved at least a welcoming dinner. Ghidorah, Nano, and Araxi had been planning for days to get these people here, and being popped back and forth wasn’t easy on anyone.

  Many of them had never been to Earth before, like Nila and the horde of Dios warriors we suddenly had the support of. A cluster from each tribe of Malta wanted to assist us as well, so the gods helped arrange meetings on Earth and we tried to make their visits pleasant and not frightening. The dragons were a huge help in hosting the visitors, since our apartment wasn’t appropriate.

  My mother was the most shocking person to see, but I was more than a little upset by how she constantly eyed Ishte-mor, who demanded to stay and help Mordon through his grief. I thought telling him that Mordon’s dead lover was a dragon would scare the king off, but he was faithful in his support. Although I was happy that he was showing his son love, the last thing on Earth or Duran anyone needed was for my mother to hook up with Mordon’s father.

  Mordon was concerned that Ishte-mor was using a cane. The dragon wanted to confront Emiko, assuming the injury must have been caused by whatever Emiko did to the king before she imprisoned him, but Ishte-more shrugged it off. After some heavy arguing between father and son, the king admitted that it was Rojan’s sister, Isera, who attacked him in dragon form.

  Krael and Tomie made an interesting addition, especially since the little girl tried to kill me. Of course, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. When Taylor made a pass at her, I thought Krael was going to burn
the town.

  It turns out that the people of Dayo were mortal enemies of the people of Kahún. If that wasn’t bad enough, keeping Emrys from killing Samorde proved more difficult than keeping the fire users of Malta from building an alliance with the dragons. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the fire tribe and the dragons being friends, it was just that they were trying to build an alliance against the water tribe. I hadn’t even realized there was an animosity between them, but Mordon rolled his eyes when I voiced my thoughts. Finally, there was the problem between Vivian and Nano.

  As much as I loved Divina and would never betray her, I couldn’t sit by and let my ex-girlfriend be miserable. I took her and Nano to the apartment for some privacy. “Explain to Vivian that you love her and would never betray her,” I said to Nano as I shut the front door.

  “You can’t be serious,” Vivian said.

  “I will support you, Dylan, but I cannot spill my soul to you,” Nano said.

  Nano was not as tough as Mordon emotionally. Unfortunately, Vivian had the kind of personality that could kick a man where it hurt most. She was an extremely giving and loving person, but it was sometimes difficult to see. Vivian had one of the strongest personalities I knew, which could be a wonderful and terrible thing. Luckily, I knew exactly where she was coming from.

  I shrugged. “Okay. If you don’t want her, I’ll take her back. She deserves someone who will love her, and I do.” I just didn’t love her the same way I loved Divina.

  His jaw dropped.

  “Dylan!” she shrieked.

  “You said you loved me. We can try this again,” I said. “I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” I knew her well enough to know that she had to be coerced into confessing her feelings. Her self-doubt will make her push and push Nano to test his love for her. I also knew her love for him was strong enough to overcome her fear as long as he was strong enough to handle her.

  She slapped me on the chest. “Of course I love you, you asshole, but not like that! Not anymore. I love Nano like that.”