I cut through the wall of brush with a short sword. Marcus had demanded I take more than my usual arsenal, so I’d added two short swords and a band of throwing knives that wrapped around my leg.
I stepped out of the woods and into a massive clearing. Across a huge field of blue and red grass, waist high dandelion-like plants, and random puddles of purplish water was another forest. We were surrounded by colorful life, and the cloudless sky above us shone with one blue and two yellow suns. The merging colors created a gorgeous green backdrop and the suns’ rays washed over me with warmth — a welcome change from the cooling temperatures of my world.
Vincent paused at the edge of the clearing, hiding partly behind a tree. He was squinting so much that I couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open. Sunlight poured into the field behind us in streams of blue and yellow, but he hesitated in the shadows.
“Come on, Vincent,” I said, talking to him like he was a puppy. “You can do it, buddy. Just step out into the light.”
“Don’t taunt me, Mr. Williams. The outcome will not be favorable for you.”
“Spare your threats, Vinnie. I saved your life and now you owe me, so move your ass.”
“Forgive me if I seem hesitant. I am a born vampire. If you haven’t put two and two together, that means I’ve never set foot in the sunlight unscathed. Can you even fathom this moment for me?”
I stared blankly at him. I didn’t really care what he was going through. We were on a tight timeline. Time on Drakar moved much slower than it did on earth. I couldn’t afford to be away longer than absolutely necessary.
Vincent shook his head and released a low growl. “Five hundred years I’ve lurked in the shadows, always cautious and aware of the moment the sun might rise. I’ve never enjoyed what I imagine is the beauty of a sun setting over the ocean. Never known the warmth it can provide on a hot summer’s day. I’ve spent over five centuries in darkness, and now the moment I can walk in the light has come. I apologize if my desire to savor this hinders your patience.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. He was right; I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him. To live centuries in the shadows and then in the blink of an eye have a lifelong hindrance no longer be an issue would be…overwhelming. Guilt tugged at me for a moment, and then I remembered who he was.
This was Vincent Taryk, one of the many reasons we were here in the first place. He gave us the address to find the hunters who were kidnapping demons. He made us discover the sanctuary and get him the scroll—the scroll that nearly cost us our lives and left a tattoo covering every inch of my back.
Anger pulsed through me, and if I’d had the energy, I knew the fire would be begging to be released, but I didn’t. I was exhausted and we’d only just arrived. I swallowed my anger and took a deep breath. After all, even I knew it wasn’t all Vincent’s fault.
I’d spent a lot of time the last few weeks working with Marcus. To achieve control of my elements, I had to have control of my emotions. I was hot headed; I always had been. But the past few months I’d made some really stupid decisions. Decisions that got people I loved killed. My emotions decided how I would react, and so far, I was on a losing streak. That wasn’t going to happen anymore.
I’d spent years hating the world, and almost everyone in it. Being bitter hadn’t done anything but hold me back. Now I was letting Marcus share his knowledge and trying to find peace inside myself. That had been the first good choice I’d made in a long time. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t keep dumping all the blame. I would take my share, but Vincent was who he was. Betraying people was second nature to him. That hadn’t changed.
Vincent was the one who told the Underworld about the ring. The same ring he tried to steal from me. This was the vampire who’d taken Willy hostage and threatened every one of us multiple times. No, I wasn’t going to feel guilty. Vincent didn’t have my respect and he didn’t deserve it. He was a killer, a monster, and as I was reminded of the type of person he was, I regretted saving him, but I knew leaving him wouldn’t be right either.
“Just make it happen,” I said.
Vincent sighed and moved forward. He reached his hand out into the light and held it there, admiring the sight of it. He brought his hand back and covered his mouth, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before he stepped forward and emerged from the trees.
“Fire!” I yelled. “You’re on fire! You’re melting, Vincent, you’re melting!”
Vincent didn’t stop. He launched himself back in the forest. Orange and blue leaves shot into the air as he dove into the bushes. Branches shook and leaves fell from their stems as he struggled to pull himself through the other side.
I couldn’t contain myself; laughter spilled from my lips and I bent over, gasping for air. I dropped down to one knee, trying to catch my breath, but it was too much. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
Tiki’s disapproving glare aside, I basked in this moment: the panic that had covered Vincent’s face, the fear that filled his eyes…it had all been worth it.
The leaves clapped together and the bushes rattled as Vincent struggled to his feet. After a moment of fighting the wooden limbs, Tiki reached into the bush and pulled Vincent out and into the sunlight.
“It is fine, my friend,” Tiki said.
Standing in the sunlight, Vincent’s eyes were scrunched up so tight they were nearly closed. He covered them with his hand and cracked them open.
“Thank you, Mr. Williams. Only you could manage to destroy a moment so beautiful.” Vincent picked off yellow and green leaves that had stuck to his blood stained shirt while Tiki pulled a few broken twigs out his unstyled hair.
I was still chuckling, but after a few deep breaths, I regained my composure. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I smirked. That wasn’t true; I wasn’t sorry at all. In fact, I’d happily repeat that moment in my mind for the rest of my life.
“I’m happy you find amusement in what would otherwise be a life-changing moment for me.”
“I really, really do.”
Vincent didn’t respond. He shook his head and kept a hand against his forehead to block the sun from his eyes. Even with the shade of his hand he still couldn’t open them very much. Living in the dark for five hundred years had apparently caused his eyes to grow a touch sensitive.
“How far to the market, Tiki?” I asked.
Tiki turned in place, absorbing his surroundings. “That way. It’ll be about a day and half’s walk.”
I shook my head. “Not with Rai it won’t.” I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled.
Rai cawed and her tiny form burst from the forest. Gliding in the air around my head, she chirped.
“It’s time, girl.”
Electricity was static in the air; a charge floating around us with nowhere to go. Rai’s sweet chirps turned into ear shattering squeals as she began to change.
Her legs creaked and stretched, growing long in the air. Tiny feathers exploded around her and her body expanded, growing larger by the second. Light flashed around her like sheet lightning as her talons touched together, and the ground shook as she planted them into the earth.
In a few moments, there was a massive version of her standing in the field. White and gold feathers wafted down from the sky, contrasting with the blue and red grass around her. Lighting flashed in her bright blue eyes and the three suns shone a green glow over her white and gold coat. Her bright orange beak was massive and curved to a sharp point as she pecked at the feathers on her chest.
“That’s my girl,” I said, reaching towards her. “I bet that feels good, doesn’t it?”
Rai stretched out her wings, although the injured one was bent at a hard angle. She pushed her head against my hand, letting me run my fingers through satiny feathers. I stroked the side of her beak for a moment and smiled. We’d be at the market in no time.
Chapter 9
Rai’s voice boomed through the sky and her massive wings rose into the ai
r. She broke into a run and her wings flapped hard, shooting powerful gusts of wind around us. After a few long strides, her talons plunged into the earth and she ricocheted into the sky. Her wings beat heavily, pushing us higher and sending warm air over our faces.
The wind grew cooler the more altitude we gained. Rai leveled out somewhere between comfortable and too cold. My teeth chattered off and on, and a chill shuddered through my body. I pulled myself tight against her feathers, using them to shelter me from the wind.
Soaring above the landscape of Drakar, there were fields of red and blue, lakes of purple, forests of red and yellow, and valleys of orange. So many textures rolled beneath us, and they all carried the sweet smell of fruit and honey.
I could see wooden booths, carts, and brown and white tents, in the distance. The market was in sight, and it was full of creatures that looked like ants from above.
As we neared the market, I could see the perfect stone arch I’d come through once before. It looked random and out of place—a massive structure protruding from the earth at the head of a long alleyway of tents, carts, and huts. It stood at the top of a hill at the far end of the market, but I knew the power it held.
I had first met Tiki on the other side of that stone arch. We’d crash landed when I jumped through the portal after Riley. The way it had happened was still strange to me, but I chalked it up to fate. I wasn’t sure I believed in fate, but I had no other explanation.
My body jerked as Rai hit the ground running. Massive talons ripped into the earth, sending orange dirt and colored stones shooting behind her. After a few strong strides we began to slow and she approached the stone arch.
“Where are we?” Vincent asked, sliding down Rai’s tail to the ground.
“The Drakar Market,” Tiki replied. “Let’s see what they have today!” He sounded excited and started the climb up the hill.
“And what exactly are we doing here?” Vincent asked.
“We’re here to find a seer. One who can hopefully help us,” I said, following Tiki. “Come on, girl.” I patted Rai’s beak and chased after him.
A burst of light flashed behind me and a few seconds later, the small form of Rai clung to my shoulder.
The market was filled with pure bloods, none of which I knew the name for. The first demon I saw was a robust creature. Black skin sparkled in the green sunlight like a wetsuit emerging from the water. Pink stripes intermittently covered his dark skin and his teeth looked like thick wooden planks, brown and splintered, but each perfectly square. His lips were swollen and pink, moistened every few moments by a yellow tongue. He stopped and stared at us as we neared him, solid white eyes sending a shiver down my spine.
Demon after demon with long tusks or an extra pair of eyes stopped and stared. We were a walking circus sideshow to them. The only other half-demons here were tied to posts with chain or rope. A few of them had dark metal clasps locked around their neck, and some were being beaten at the side of the path by their masters. Most half-demons were slaves in Drakar, only existing to satisfy the whims of the pure bloods. And as far as I knew, that’s the way they were in all the Underworlds.
Tiki had explained this to me before, but I’d never seen it quite like this. The first time I was here I’d had tunnel vision. I had been there to save Rayna and nothing else had mattered.
Now that I saw the way they were treated, I felt sorry for Tiki. His own family treated him like that. He had been their slave, and if these demons were anything like his family, they were disgusted by him.
Tiki had smooth skin and a gentle voice. He didn’t know what toothpaste was when he came to earth, so I don’t know how he maintained it, but his smile was perfect.
In my dimension, half-demons and humans both drooled when Tiki walked by. His medium frame was firm and chiseled, his caramel skin was a sought after tan, and his respect for everything around him was craved by every woman he spoke to. In my world, Tiki was a god among men, but here, he was a pathetic excuse for a demon. Something you spat on as you walked by—which is exactly what they did. Gobs of green and yellow spit pelted us from the sides, and it took Tiki’s strength and willpower to keep both Vincent and me from retaliating.
When we reached the end of the market, a small, childlike demon with blonde hair and green skin launched some type of fruit or vegetable at us. Vincent and I both turned to chase after it, but Tiki’s thick arms held us back and shoved us down a short alleyway, away from the market.
“Unbelievable!” Vincent yelled. As he touched a gob of liquid clinging to his hair, he gagged. A thick string of demon spit stuck to his hand, stretching as he pulled it away. Finally the string snapped, but it dropped down and clung to the side of his face. Vincent dry heaved again. “This is revolting.”
Vincent glared at Tiki and a demonic noise rumbled in his throat. His pink lips turned a dark purple, and his skin cleared, showing the throbbing veins and clenching muscles in his jaw. Thick black veins pulsated around his eyes and rippled across his face, spreading over the transparent skin and down into his open shirt. His demon was coming out.
“You must be calm,” Tiki said. “This is the Underworld. You are not an all-powerful vampire here. The demons in the Underworlds rank their half-breeds below their own fecal matter. I can imagine this is difficult for you, but we are less than nothing here. You must accept this if you wish to survive.”
“I could tear those demons apart limb by limb.” Vincent’s voice was low, reverberating in his throat. “Hell, I could make them tear themselves apart.”
Vincent’s power came alive, and I turned my eyes away. My arrogance had put me at the edge of his rage once; I was smart enough to know not to make eye contact again.
“Stop that!” Tiki stepped towards him. “This is not a game of cat and mouse. These demons are strong, each of them powerful in their own way.”
“Tiki’s right,” I said, grimacing at the thick pile of goop that was stuck to my shoulder. I wanted to wipe it off, but I didn’t want the viscous fluid on my skin. “We have to get this done.”
Vincent’s breathing was heavy and his eyes were a solid black. I could see hints of his fangs just behind his lips, but they slowly retracted. His clear skin faded and the black veins vanished beneath his returning milky shell.
“Good,” I said. “Now Tiki, where do we go?”
Tiki shook his head. “We are here.” He pointed to the end of the alley, but it only consisted of a hard, clay-like wall. “If she were here, this is where she’d be.”
“Dammit!” I ran a hand through my hair and clenched a fist. “So that’s it? She’s just gone?”
Tiki shrugged. “She is either here, or she is not. There is nothing else.”
“Do you have any idea where else she might be? What dimension?”
“Krulear spends her time traveling from world to world, offering her guidance. There is no pattern to her travels, and how long she stays in one place varies. It is how she stays hidden from any who may wish her harm.”
Vincent looked back and forth between us. “I have endured blinding light and scorching heat. I’ve suffered the mouth secretions of a demon far less than I, and been hit in the head with a foreign fruit by what I can only describe as the most hideous child I’ve ever seen, and it is all for nothing?”
“Yeah, that’s what he’s telling you,” I said.
“I cannot believe this,” Vincent said through gritted teeth.
“But on the bright side, you’re alive and not on fire.” Tiki smiled.
I expected Vincent to lash out at Tiki, and I was prepared to stop him, but he didn’t. Instead, his eyes pierced through him before he shook his head. “Does that mean we may leave?”
Tiki shook his head. “Perhaps these demons, although unfriendly, may be of some assistance. Perhaps one of them knows where she has gone.”
Vincent’s snarling lips drooped and his mouth opened in shock. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“But I have not made a joke.�
� Tiki stared blankly at Vincent.
“How can you even think of talking to these…things?” Vincent asked. “They’ve shown something far more than disrespect. How can you even fathom asking for their help?”
Tiki smiled. “These are kind gestures compared to what I’m used to. You forget I was once a slave for my people. What you’ve seen here is a gentle caress over what happens in my world.”
“Who is this guy and where did you find him?” Vincent turned to me, looking disgusted.
“I am Tikimicharnikato, of the Suriattas Clan,” Tiki said.
“I know who you…” Vincent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t understand how you can let people treat you like this.”
“Just as you are used to living in darkness, I am used to this behavior. This treatment is still better than what I received most of my life. It does not bother me.”
“How can it not? You are strong and your demon ferocious. You could crush them!”
“Yes, I am strong, but it is about more than physical strength. With water, this mucus will wash away, but if I let their torment in and react with anger, it will pull their darkness into my soul. They cannot torture me if I do not allow it.”
Both my eyebrows rose and I was left speechless. Tiki was impartial to everything; he would shrug his shoulders and be undecided. Whenever there was a choice to be made, even one as simple as what movie to watch, he would say “whatever you want.” Tiki was selfless and strong, but I never thought him to be wise.
Vincent pursed his lips and examined Tiki as though he were seeing him for the first time. He ignored the goop that had slid down his hair and was dangling off his ear. He had nothing to say; he simply nodded his head as though lost in a trance.
“If you will excuse me, I will see what I can find and return in a few moments,” Tiki said, seemingly unaffected by the awe he had inflicted.
“That was…” Vincent started, but his voice trailed.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“He couldn’t really have been treated worse than this for years, could he?”
Release (The Protector Book 3) Page 7