by Megan Duncan
“It’s so different here,” I commented as we neared the fortress in the center of the city. “In Noire we had high speed trains, television, and shopping malls; and Naos… well we don’t have any of those things but we have modern comforts,” I said, as we passed under another line of drying laundry. “But, Titan…” I wanted to say I felt like I’d traveled back in time. How could people stand living like this? I’d die without running water and electricity.
“Because Titan never believed Baal had been truly defeated he developed his region in an entirely different way,” my father said, pointing the driver to turn to the right. Another gate stood before us, connected by an interior wall that separated the fortress from the rest of the city.
“Why did he want to be so different?” I looked around, noticing that we had the only cars that I’d seen. I mean, Naos was traditional, but we still had creature comforts.
“The last time I spoke with Titan he told me he wanted a city that was far enough detached from the other regions that it wouldn’t be tainted by them. He didn’t want his people to believe in our falsities. He also felt that such things as television were nothing more than a distraction. I can’t say I disagreed with him on that note.”
“Falsities?” I asked.
“I think what he means is, Titan didn’t want his people believing what we believed,” Arrick explained.
“So, he didn’t want them thinking Baal was dead, or did he mean everything we believe?”
“I don’t know. Everything I guess. It sure looks that way, doesn’t it?” Arrick answered since my father got distracted when instructing the other drivers via the handheld device.
“He sounds kind of stuck up.”
At first I totally agreed with Titan’s views on Baal, but disconnecting your region from everyone else like we had some sort of disease was a little ridiculous. But… maybe in his eyes we were a disease? We’d all fallen into a false sense of security believing the world was safe, growing comfortable in our lavish palaces and Château’s when all along our enemy was rebuilding its army. I might not have liked to admit it, but Titan was right.
“Not stuck up,” Arrick laughed. “I think he just didn’t want his people to grow complacent. From what I’ve gathered, he’s all about battle tactics, and training his legion.”
“His legion?” I whispered the question when my father and our driver jumped out of the SUV to meet several guards at the gate of the fortress. I guessed they only defended this gate and not the other, although it was so incredibly tall only a giant could get past it.
“Yeah,” Arrick whispered back, his attention focused solely on the group of guards with my father standing in front of the SUV. “In one of our meetings before coming here, your father said he suspected that Titan has been gathering an army in secret.”
“Really?” I was a bit surprised, suddenly realizing how the other generals from the dark ages could see how Titan was acting suspiciously. Building a secret army was a little shady, but then again, that could be a good thing. A secret army meant forces Baal would never see coming.
“It would work in our favor if it’s true,” Arrick said. “I mean, if you think about it, it makes sense. Each region personifies their king. Nicolae has always been about technology and enjoying the luxuries of being respected as a king. Your father has a deep admiration for history and embracing education; that’s why so many in the region focus on honing their craft and becoming the best at what they do. Titan was engrossed by his thirst for revenge on Baal and his belief that he wasn’t really defeated. It makes sense that instead of developing his society socially, he concentrated on building his forces and training them for the war he knew would someday come.”
“Wow.”
I was not only impressed with Arrick’s insight, but the obvious truth in his words. It did make sense. It was scary, but it made sense. If it weren’t for Titan being paranoid that Baal would return, there wouldn’t be a secret army to fight against him. That is if he agreed to fight with us, which I didn’t see why he wouldn’t. If he hated Baal as much as everyone thought he did, then we were as good as gold.
After the guards instructed us where to park our vehicles, I jumped out of the SUV and clutched Arrick’s hand as he stepped up beside me. We followed close behind my father, as the guards we’d brought with us picked up the rear. The gate into the citadel was slammed closed behind us as we entered into the piazza. Massive torches lit our path as we followed the sentry who guided us.
I squeezed Arrick’s hand tighter as I sensed the waves of nerves bounding off my father. Each step closer toward the citadel, the stronger they became. It wasn’t fear, but he was definitely uncomfortable about being here. Could he be uneasy about seeing Titan? I suppose if I hadn’t seen someone for well over one-hundred years I’d be a little uneasy too; especially if the last time I saw them I accused them of being stark, raving mad.
Scantily clad servants joined us as we were led through a catwalk that looked down upon a covered courtyard blanketed with lattice and bright blooming flowers. I’d seen them before; their glowing, white blossoms were unforgettable. I never would have thought that such a beautiful flower could grow in the middle of the desert.
Arrick and I were directed to a suite that looked out over the courtyard, with my father in another a few doors down. We were instructed to wait in our rooms until Titan was ready to meet with us. It was nice that we were being given rooms, but something told me it wasn’t because Titan wanted us to be comfortable. My father ordered our guards to stand watch at our doors, and Titans guards stood watch at either end of the corridor. I gave them wary glances before following instructions and entering the bedchamber. My father gave a nod of encouragement before I shut the door behind me.
Just as I was about to unload a barrage of questions at Arrick, servants marched boldly into the room. They deposited armfuls of clothing onto the bed, unfolding them to reveal white robes. One servant carried an ivory tray, laden with small crystal cups about the size of a lime, and a fist-sized wooden vessel surrounded by what looked like crackers. They pointed to us, and then to a table on the floor that was bordered with shimmering pillows, trimmed with brightly colored beads. Repeating the action again, they shouted words I’d never heard spoken and Arrick nodded like he understood. He guided me to take a seat among the pillows, and I did so, reluctantly.
I didn’t come here for a snack! When were we going to speak with Titan?
I purposefully pinched my arm to distract myself from my irritation, and to keep from clutching the stone for comfort. We were coming here to ask for their help and losing my temper would certainly not help. Sensing my feelings, Arrick leaned into my neck, kissing the delicate skin that bounded above my pulsing veins. I was anxious, and my heart always hammered wildly when I was anxious. His kiss immediately calmed my nerves unlike any pinch ever could, sending the growing passion between us to alight inside me. When the servants finally retreated I found myself locking lips with the sexy man beside me. Several minutes passed by before I peeled myself away from his delicious lips. The more time we spent together, the harder it was to hold back. I knew Arrick was the one, but now wasn’t the time to give in completely to our desires. I’d already decided that until this war was over, the lust between us would have to be satisfied with good, old-fashioned making out.
“I take it the kiss worked?” Arrick asked, breathlessly. “I could feel you getting frustrated.”
“I think you know the answer to that,” I replied, smirking before the last haze of lust faded away. “What’s going on? Why are they making us stay in these rooms?”
“My guess is that Titan doesn’t entirely trust us,” he said flatly, rising from his seat to inspect the room. “You should probably eat, there’s no way to know for sure how long we’ll be here.”
“Eat what?” I asked, confused.
Arrick strode back to the table on the floor before me, and lifted the lid off the small wooden pot. An aromatic aroma of sweetn
ess was released and I peered inside to see its contents. Mushy, red jelly jiggled as I adjusted my weight, bumping my knee into the table.
“What is that?” I stuck my finger in and looked at it curiously. It smelled marvelous, but it looked absolutely disgusting. Dark, crimson globules squished between my fingers as I inspected it.
“It’s an ancient traditional dish made of pig’s blood, berries and organs,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Ewe!” I flung the gunk back into the pot and searched for something to wipe my finger on. I might have been a vampire, but that didn’t mean I’d eat organs!
“Don’t knock it till you try it. I hear it’s actually quite delicious,” he smiled at me, grabbing one of the crackers and popping it into his mouth. I watched as he made his way over to the bed and examined the clothing that had been laid out for us.
As if on cue, hunger began to build inside me. I was going to have to eat, soon. I stared at the open container and swallowed hard. I didn’t want to eat it but I knew I’d have to. Plus, if we were going to be here a while I’d need my strength. It was hard enough to control my temper when I wasn’t hungry; it would be even worse if I didn’t eat. I gave one last glance over to Arrick, wishing I could feed from him. I knew I could if I really wanted to, but it was really just for emergencies. Drinking from him left him weak, and we still didn’t know the situation here yet. Plus, my father was just down the hallway and drinking from Arrick would make my longing for him uncontrollable.
I lifted one of the wafer thin crackers and dipped it into the jar, wiggling it around to coat the edge. As I pulled it out and brought it to my lips I kept trying to tell myself that it was just strawberry jelly, but that really didn’t do much considering I didn’t eat strawberry jelly anymore. To my surprise the revolting concoction was wonderfully tasty. I grabbed another cracker, dipping it generously into the mixture and popping it into my mouth before making my way over to the bed.
“I’m guessing we should probably change?” I asked, lifting up the sleeve of the robe on the bed, rubbing the delicate fabric between my fingers.
“That was my guess too, but I’m not too happy about it,” he said, leaning against the wall and glancing out the window with his arms folded across his chest.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think you’ll look great in it,” I joked, holding up the tunic-like top in front of him and imagining him in it. The fabric was a creamy off-white, and slightly sheer. I imagined the sight of his tan muscles threatening to burst through, and my cheeks reddened.
“Is that so?” he asked, a seductive grin pulling at his lips. He looked me up and down, heaving a heavy sigh before turning back to staring out the window.
I shrugged my shoulders deciding to tease him instead of giving him an answer. Snatching the beaded tunic off the bed, I snuck behind a screened panel and began to undress. It was significantly warmer down here than in Naos and I was eager to change into something cooler. Arrick paced the room, peering through the windows as I undressed. Draping my sweater over the top of the screen, I stepped out of my pants before pulling the beaded tunic over my head. Nervous that the stone would be visible, I looked down to see that it was hidden behind the beaded trim on the neckline. Whew! The top was thin, but a bit itchy, and it was long; fitting much like a short dress. Going down to mid-thigh, I felt it was long enough to skip the pants. They’d only make me itchier than the top did, but at least I was cooler. A knitted sweater probably wasn’t the best choice of attire, and it didn’t help that, as far as I could tell, this place didn’t have any air conditioning.
“Your turn,” I teased Arrick, making my way toward the window, hoping there was a cool breeze to be had. He rolled his eyes, pulling off his shirt and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from launching myself onto him. The plain tunic looked as attractive on him as I thought it would. It clung to his pecs, and strained around his biceps. Like me, he skipped the pants, choosing to keep his jeans on, not that I minded. He did look amazing in them.
“What now?” As much as I wanted to try and relax, I couldn’t help being anxious. We came here for a reason, and the more time we spent not talking to Titan, the more time Baal had to prepare another attack. We needed every spare minute we could get. Everyone was trying to play it cool, but I knew they were as anxious as I was. Who knew when Baal would make his next attack? We needed to be ready.
“We wait,” he replied with a heavy breath before snacking on another cracker. I dropped myself onto a pile of pillows, folding my arms and frowning. I was never a fan of waiting. After a few more turns around the room, and staring out the window, Arrick finally joined me. We finished off the jelly-like spread, and spent more than an hour talking about the city.
Arrick did the best that he could, telling me what he knew and answering the countless questions I had, but he really didn’t know that much. What little facts he knew about Titan were limited only to the memories my father had of the place. He had shared as much as he could remember during meetings before we left, and during the ride here, but since arriving I hadn’t seen him. I stuck my head out in the hallway a few times, but his door remained closed. Arrick questioned our guards and they confirmed my father was still inside and no one had gone in. It was both relieving and disconcerting. A tiny part of me was hoping my father had been speaking with Titan all along, but if he was waiting just as we were there was really no telling how long we’d be here.
After what felt like another hour I was on the verge of barging out into the hallway for the tenth time when the door flew open and Mikel, one of the King’s Snake, entered.
“Come with me,” Mikel said in an irritated tone.
“Where?” Arrick questioned, just as I was opening my mouth to say the very same thing.
“Apparently they’re ready to speak with us,” Mikel answered, growling.
“It’s about time!” I barked out. Mikel nodded his agreement, and Arrick clapped me on the behind as we made our way out into the hallway. My father stepped out of his room as well, and I gave him a quick hug. “Why did they make us wait?”
“Just his way of showing me who’s in charge down here; he always did have a flare for the dramatic,” my father said, with amusement in his voice. It surprised me really; I’d have thought he’d be just as annoyed as I was.
“Great,” I groaned as we made our way through countless hallways. Unlike back home, Titan wasn’t adorned with fancy portraits and paintings, nor lined with extravagant rugs and fragrant flowers. Instead, the walls were cold plaster with the only artwork in the shape of swords, arrows and decorated shields. Arrick was right; they were all about fighting down here.
Several long hallways, and numerous turns later we entered a throne room unlike any other. The ceiling rose above us at a dizzying height, completely covered in glass, revealing the splendid night sky. However, it wasn’t the shock of the stunning ceiling that surprised me most, but something else. Entering the Titan throne room was like walking into a tropical forest. It was like the Noire blood bank, but a hundred times more plants. This throne room looked more like a giant greenhouse than any throne room I’d ever seen. The leafy foliage of the plants was bigger than my head, and covered every wall. Had I not known better, I would have believed we had stepped outside, but the floor was paved stone, and tiny sections of the wall were visible between the vegetation. Winding vines swung from plant to plant, making me half expect to see a monkey pop out at any minute. Massive blooms protruded from cracked clay pots that were hugged by even more vines. Had the vines not been there, I suspected the pot would crumble to pieces. The floras weren’t delicate in any way; their petals didn’t whisper silken softness. Instead, they looked almost harsh, like a flower version of a maul. The petals jutted out in all directions like a cactus’ barbs. Guessing it probably wasn’t safe to touch, I kept my distance, deciding to stand beside a small winding tree whose trunk twisted like mangled fingers. Tufts of greenery topped each ‘finger’, giving the illusion that several trees
were planted there and not just the one.
When the guards finally broke away and my father marched further forward on his own, I was able to see Titan in all his glory. He sat atop a throne made of solid gold, but its beauty in no way took away from his brilliance. As my father reached the steps leading to the throne Titan stood, reaching nearly seven feet tall with broad shoulders and a bare chest exposing rippling, tan muscles. Titan was wearing nothing but dark brown pants, adorned with a thick, leather belt and tall brown boots. His pecs flexed in time with his tense jaw, and tattoos clawed across his flaxen-haired chest like a tiger mauled him furiously. The unyielding, harsh expression set on his face told me that no tiger could have ever gotten close enough to him to do that. Leather bracers wrapped around his forearms and as he adjusted his weight the hilt of a broad sword revealed itself as it hung from his hip. Now I knew I had really gone back in time.
Shockingly, my father bowed to Titan, and by his reaction I noted that I wasn’t the only one who was surprised. I’d never seen my father bow to anyone. It was always the other way around, but maybe he was just trying to show his respect? The rest of us followed his lead and knelt before Titan whose surprise turned into amusement. I bit my lip to keep my sigh of annoyance from exposing itself. I looked up to see his dark sable eyes scanning us with intensity as we rose to our feet. Titan swept his long, chocolate dreads over his shoulder before resting his hands on his belt. An air of arrogance and superiority emanated from him without restraint. My normal reaction was to sneer at him, but from what I’d been told, and the pure power that was evident in the curve of every muscle, the multitude of displayed weapons and his colossal size, I knew that he had every right to demand such reverence.