“Yes, why?”
“What do the Ilyium say about the massacre on Razukeen fourteen years ago?” Sami asked.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Isoul said as they flew back towards the south. Sami waited and a moment later, Isoul said. “Right, well, they gloat of course, it is sickening. That was one of their biggest, er, … most brutal and easiest attacks ever. Are you sure you want to know?”
“I want to know,” Sami said.
“All right, well, the story is that they had three hundred of their most blood thirsty fighters waiting just beyond the wards.”
Three hundred? Zander had left four of his elite guard behind along with fifty warriors to protect the village while he went to a secret meeting of the clans.
“It is said that one of Lord Zander J’arzan’s elite guard lowered the wards and opened the gates, letting them in,” Isoul said.
Chapter Twenty
Gone
SAMI’S HEART BEGAN to beat faster as they flew side by side. That day, the decapitated bodies of two of Zander’s elite guard had been found after the massacre. There had been many more bodies, hacked to pieces and burned beyond recognition, so no one knew what happened to the third guard. However, they all knew what happened to the fourth one that Zander left behind.
Marcius, Sami’s father, had claimed that he wasn’t feeling very good and had asked to be excused. Then, before Sami, Tierney and Jax headed out of the village, Sami had spotted his father leaving their home and heading towards the north gate.
After the attack, Marcius showed up beaten and bloody, saying he’d been knocked unconscious. No one suspected he’d been telling anything but the truth at the time. Now Sami wondered, especially after having seen the huge portion of the wall surrounding Razukeen that had burned down at the north end.
Nausea rolled through him. Although none of them had ever talked about it, Zander must have suspected Marcius. How could he have not? Especially after the way Marcius acted later. The things he did. Sami felt sick at the news, though it really didn’t surprise him. They had recently discovered that Marcius was a traitor who’d been working with the Ilyium on Earth.
Even worse was leaning his father was also a serial rapist who had raped his own daughter. He’d even stooped so low as to sell children to pedophiles, so it wasn’t a stretch to imagine he’d betrayed his own people long before.
“Are you all right?” Isoul asked.
“Yeah. I just …” Sami wasn’t sure what he was. He was angry, disappointed, and sad. He’d often wondered if his father had something to do with the massacre, but he’d held onto the hope that Marcius wouldn’t do something so despicable. Only now, he knew the man would and most probably had.
“If you don’t believe me, find the boy or the girl that he took, surely they’d corroborate the story,” Isoul said.
“What? What are you talking about?” Sami asked.
“The man who let the Ilyium into your village, he took a boy and a little girl. He took them to the Ilyium. I’m not sure where they are now, but the boy was part of the moon prophecy,” Isoul said and a shiver ran through Sami.
Tierney’s brother, Cristoz, a few years younger than her and Sami, was born with Tartaria’s two moons mapped out on his neck like a birthmark, only in blue. It was always prophesied that one born of the moons would reunite the Ilyium with the Dracones and Fallen.
“Isoul, I know I’ve asked a lot of you, but can you do me another favor?” Sami asked.
“If I can, I will,” Isoul said.
HELLFIRE AWOKE AT TWO THIRTY in the morning and glanced at the watch she’d purchased at the drugstore before they left Spokane.
“Shit,” she swore. Sami had said he’d wake her. She looked around only to discover that Isoul and Sami were both gone. “No, no, no.”
She climbed to her feet, heart beating rapidly as she went over to the wagon. Not seeing them, she searched into the dark. All she could see were trees.
“Sami, Isoul?” she called out quietly.
“Where are they?” she muttered as she continued to search the forest. Everything was quiet and there was no sign of them.
Julie and Hinah shifted back into human form and started calling for Sami and Isoul as well. Seeing Brimstone still sleeping even amid the commotion, Hellfire nudged him with her foot.
“Brim, wake up.” She turned and spotted Sami’s pack on the ground where he’d been laying. Heart beating rapidly, she turned back. Brimstone hadn’t moved. “Where the hell are you?” Her words muttered as if Sami and Isoul could hear her. The beginnings of panic started to bubble up inside her.
She’d had a restless sleep. At first, she had thought of moving over to where Sami lay and snuggling into his arms, but the stare he’d given her earlier had stopped her. He’d looked at her as if she disgusted him. Hurt, she had turned over and closed her eyes. Her night then spent in a fitful sleep, battling with herself over her decision. Now, she kicked Brimstone again, harder this time.
“Come on, we need to get going,” she said with impatience. Julie walked back over.
“I’m sure they will be back,” she said watching Hinah walk further into the woods.
Hellfire started to kick her brother again.
“Okay, okay, I’m getting up,” Brimstone snarled as he climbed to his feet then he glanced around blinking his eyes. “Where’s Sami and Isoul?”
Hellfire let out a frustrated sigh. “They aren’t here. I don’t know where they are.”
Brimstone frowned. “But, how are we going to—”
“I don’t know. That’s why we need to go—now. We need to try and figure out a new plan, one that doesn’t involve them,” Hellfire snapped.
“Mother?” Julie called out, and Hinah appeared a moment later.
“They flew away,” she said, staring at her daughter with narrowed eyes.
Julie shrugged. “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“What wasn’t?” Hellfire asked then she shook her head. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. We need to go,” she said and began to hurry towards the fortress.
If we miss the guard change …
They stopped just inside the tree line, close to where they had surveyed the place the day before, and waited. It was three in the morning.
“The guards should be changing shifts any minute now,” Hellfire said as they all stared at the fortress. Once again, sword wielding robed men walked up the road to the gate where they stopped and milled around, waiting.
It was silent at first then they heard a few murmurs. The men were wondering what the hold-up was. Finally, someone called up to the guards on the parapet, asking why no one had let them inside. Hellfire and none of the others could hear the answer. Five minutes passed and nothing happened.
“Shit,” Hellfire swore, and then she crept a little closer, hoping to get a better view. It was useless. Ten minutes later the gates finally creaked open. The robed Ilyium shuffled inside and then they closed again.
“Where are the other guys?” Brimstone asked. “They should have left.”
“This is not good,” Hinah said.
Julie nodded. “No, it isn’t. I don’t understand why Sami and Isoul aren’t here either.”
Hinah pursed her lips and shook her head in an, I told you he couldn’t be trusted gesture. Julie ignored her.
“Well, we still need to get Nix out of there,” Hellfire said.
“Yeah, this is just great. Now we have what, a hundred of them fuckers to fight?” Brimstone griped.
Hellfire shook her head, worried and pissed. “Stuff it, Brim, or I’ll have your balls.” Then she turned away. “I will kill Sami for taking off when I see him.”
Brimstone looked at her incredulously. “You stuff it. If this doesn’t work and you get Nix killed … and really, after what you’ve got planned, you’re mad that Sami left?”
“What plan?” Julie asked.
Hellfire blinked. “I—”
“She planned to trade Sa
mi for Nix,” he said, then glanced back at his sister. “He probably heard you talking, or read your mind or something,” he said, glaring at his sister.
“Shut up, he wasn’t even around, he couldn’t have heard me. Besides, I was just talking shit, I didn’t really plan to do it—” Hellfire began when Hinah snorted.
“Dracones have exceptional hearing,” the older woman said.
Hellfire’s heart sank. He couldn’t have heard, could he? Sami was such a good guy. Would he really take off even if he had heard? Hellfire growled. “Fantastic. Well, I hope this works then, ’cause I got nothing else,” she muttered and shifted into her Phoenix form.
Brimstone did the same while Hinah and Julie shifted into their wolf form.
Hellfire drew her invisibility around her. “Come on.” With her wings spread, she shielded the others as they made their way towards the front gate.
They stopped when suddenly a shadow blanketed them in darkness. Just as quickly it was gone, and they glanced up to see a giant bronze dragon swooping down almost on top of them.
“What the?” Brimstone said as the dragon passed within feet of them to land right in front of the gate.
They moved in close to the wall and watched, not sure what was happening. A moment later the gate creaked open. Hellfire sucked in a breath as Isoul appeared with a group of guards. Julie, still in wolf form, gave a tiny whine at the sight but Hinah nipped at her to be quiet. Together, they watched dumbfounded as Isoul walked through the gate followed by two guards holding a bedraggled young blonde woman.
“Nix,” Hellfire hissed and started to go to her sister, but Brimstone held her back.
“Just wait,” he whispered.
“You better run little Phoenix, because if we catch you around here again, we will come after you, trade or no trade,” one of the guards said and shoved Nix away from him. She slowly backed away, keeping her eyes on everyone.
Hellfire watched as two more guards who were carrying another man, this one barely conscious, stepped through the gate as well. They glared at the dragon.
“Here, this is who you wanted?” one of them asked.
The dragon shifted into his half-form. His body was human, but he still had wings and long talons along with spikes all over his upper torso. His hair and beard were both long and bronze.
Well! He’s handsome in a rugged wild-man kind of way, if you’re into that kind of guy. Hellfire thought absently, still stunned at the turn of events.
“It is,” the Dracones shifter said with a sneer to the guard.
“We wouldn’t normally hand over one of our own to our enemy, but this piece of shit betrayed us. Besides, we’ve been assured he won’t live long anyway, so do your worst,” the robed Ilyium said as they dropped the injured man to the ground.
Then the guard who’d spoken turned to Isoul. “Good doing business with you,” he said before he and the guards walked back through the gate and closed it.
Hellfire could feel the power of the wards rising once again. “C’mon,” she whispered and they hurried over to Isoul, Nix, and the other two.
Assured that the guards were gone, Isoul turned, and crouched down beside the wild Dracones who was staring at the man on the ground with tears in his eyes.
“Ever,” he cried and shifting fully into a human, he touched the young man’s brow.
Figuring he must be family, Hellfire sucked in a breath at the anguish in the Dracones’ eyes.
“He needs a healer, ours is away,” the wild, bronze-haired man said to Isoul.
“No, dad,” the man on the ground whispered weakly.
“Yes. You need to rest so you can heal,” his father said. “Where is your wagon?” he asked Isoul as he gently picked the man up in his arms.
Nix, who’d been watching the three men, turned and wrinkled her nose. “Helly?” she whispered, a frown on her face.
“I’m here, sis,” Hellfire said, turning off her invisibility.
“So am I,” Brimstone said stepping away from Hellfire’s side, while Julie and Hinah both shifted back into their human forms.
“We need to get away from here before they change their mind,” Isoul whispered. Covered by Hellfire’s wings and invisibility, they hurried towards the forest.
“That’s your father?” Julie asked, catching up to Isoul.
Isoul glanced behind him. “Yeah, and my brother, Everheart,” he said, leading the way back into the forest and away from any watching Ilyium eyes.
Once safely hidden in the forest, Hellfire pulled Nix into her arms. “Oh my god, I thought we’d lost you. We were so worried.” She held Nix at arm’s length and inspected her. “Are you okay, did they hurt you? Did they—?”
“I’m okay, I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me, they were saving me for—” She gasped when Brimstone grabbed her and hugged her tightly. “I’m happy to see you both as well,” Nix said when they finally let her go. “But I can’t leave my friend back there.” She glanced back toward the fortress.
“We need to get Ever to a healer,” Isoul’s father said as they made their way down the path.
Isoul sighed. “I can’t take him to my place. Lewta will be there.”
His father nodded and cussed under his breath.
“We can take him to my place,” Julie spoke up then she nodded at her mother. “My mother taught me some healing, maybe I can help?”
The bronze man glanced at Isoul with a raised eyebrow. Isoul nodded. “This is my friend Julie, I’ve told you about her,” he said. Then Isoul looked at Julie and the rest of them. “This is my father, Rhodan Dark Azi, the Thundrace of our clan, and my brother, Everheart.”
As they exchanged names, Hinah cut in. “Where is Samarias?” she asked angrily.
Isoul sucked in a deep breath and let it out. Hellfire turned to him with a frown as sudden understanding filled her with nausea.
No, no. He couldn’t have!
“I heard what that man said. What did you do? Where’s Sami?” she asked, suddenly remembering they were still a man short—a very important man.
“I tried to talk him out of it but after we found out that the Ilyium had tightened security, Sami said it was the only way we could get your sister and my brother out,” Isoul said, looking guilty. “I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“You mean he’s in there?” Hellfire glanced back at the fortress.
Isoul nodded bitterly. “Yes. He gave himself up willingly. He said that it was what you wanted.”
At his words, Hellfire’s world tilted and she suddenly felt ill. She blinked but all she could see was Sami being tortured, hurt, or worse.
“I’ll meet you back at the camp,” she said then shifted, drew her wings close, and shot into the air, blasting through tree branches and into the night sky.
What did I do? This can’t be happening.
Once in the sky, Hellfire circled around and over the fortress, then once more. He couldn’t have … why would he do such a thing? Why would he even care about her sister or Isoul’s brother? No one did stuff like this, so why?
Oh …
The desire to fly gone, Hellfire landed not far from where she’d taken off. Devastated, she shifted back into her human form and dropped to her knees. Her stomach heaved but nothing came out. When she was done, she moved away and curled up on the ground. Giant sobs tore from her. How could she have let this happen?
“What have I done?” As soon as the words had left her mouth last night, Hellfire knew she could never go through with it. Even while she argued with Brimstone, she’d only been trying to convince herself that it was the only way, but it hadn’t been. It could never be the way. She knew that in her heart. There had to be some other way to get Nix out of there. Now they’d never know. Now, their enemy had the one person in all the universes that she truly loved with her whole heart and soul. Her body shook as she cried, hating herself more than she’d ever hated herself before.
Brimstone picked her up a couple minute
s later and cradled her close, as he carried her back to camp. “I’m sorry sis, I know how much he means to you,” he whispered.
“You couldn’t have. I didn’t even know until now,” Hellfire said, wiping away her tears. She didn’t deserve to cry over him.
Feeling numb and broken, she never noticed as Brimstone sighed and set her in the wagon beside Everheart. Nor did she notice when Everheart’s father shifted into his dragon, and took off, after telling Isoul to keep him apprised of his son’s condition, nor when Nix climbed in beside her.
Hellfire lay in her brother’s arms, staring up at the black starlit sky. For some reason, the stars seemed much closer. Their patterns were also different from those seen from Earth. Random thoughts ran through her mind until the three suns and the two moons began their ascent into the sky as morning arrived. Instead of the sky lightening up though, it stayed a dark pink, streaked with orange and red.
“When will the super eclipse happen?” Hellfire heard Nix ask.
“By late tomorrow afternoon,” Hinah, who sat up front with Isoul, responded. Julie sat beside Brimstone with Everheart’s head in her lap.
Self-loathing pumped through Hellfire’s veins and by the time they arrived back at the cabin, the blood red suns were high and the moons were creeping up on them. It really was incredible. The thought vaguely passed through her mind.
Yeah, and because of you, Sami isn’t going to get to enjoy it.
Angry with herself, a stray tear escaped and slid down her cheek.
When Isoul dropped them off, Brimstone tried to pick her up and carry her inside but Hellfire pushed him away. “No, I can take care of myself,” she said, getting to her feet.
She didn’t deserve to have anyone care for her. Jumping out of the wagon, she hurried over and opened the door to the cabin. Grateful that Drakayeh was nowhere in sight, she made her way to the bedroom she shared with Sami.
Outside Isoul drove Julie and Everheart to her home.
More tears trickled from her eyes as she curled up on the bed. She wished she had shared more with him, but now it was too late.
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