by Melanie Ray
He closed his eyes, feeling something seep through him. He opened them, watching a strange green smoke wrap around him and disappear.
His whole body felt light and his head was dizzy. He looked toward his hands. They sparkled a slight green. He didn't know anything about the magic he should now possess, but it only occurred for Guy during the most desperate moments. That was probably how it would be. At least now he didn't feel so useless anymore, which was important.
Because he was about to do something he never thought he'd have to do. "Guy. When we reach the Warno Kingdom, I need you to keep going with Tigeravich."
"Majesty?" Guy was clearly confused. "I don't understand. Didn't you want me to wait with your daughter?"
"I need you to go to the Waryes Kingdom. We can't make that trip easily, not like this." Yed gestured to his hands. "Not in this shape. I can't leave Muin out there for a month, and the car is risky. Once we get there, take Tigeravich." He handed him the paper he crumpled up last night. "My father's number is on that. Tell him I sent you. He'll take care of you and his grandson, I know he can. Just watch out for Xiam." He doubted he would mess with his father, but it was another reason he wanted to send Guy to get there quicker. "If he's there, tell my father the truth."
"Yes, your Majesty." Guy took the paper, but he was nervous. "Are you sure? I've never gone so close to the Waryes Kingdom. I...what if I..."
"Change." It was a risk, but everything had been a risk. "Bottom line, we can't make it without you taking him."
"King Fayu wants the boy so bad, what if he's watching extra close? What if I take Carressella?"
"Is anyone ever going to include me into this conversation?" Ezra spoke out. "It is my son too!"
Yed looked toward her. "I didn't want to alarm you. We have to trust him at some point, or this won't get done, Ezraponia." He looked toward Guy again. Carressella. Her future had made him weary of bringing her out of his sight. "He wants an heir, he doesn't care boy or girl."
"But-the evil red inhibitor!" Guy was frantic. "Majesty, I don't want to...please don't make me."
"Let him watch Tigeravich in the Warno Kingdom," Ezra said. "He would feel better, he'd be far from the inhibitors, and King Fayu I bet would rather have a male heir than a female."
Yed looked toward Guy. He looked flat out spooked. Maybe the inhibitor could influence him again if near enough. They didn't even know exactly how Ezra's scent had affected him. "Fine. Take the car to the Warno Kingdom with Tigeravich. Ezra, we'll have to walk back to the wall. Once there, I'll take Carressella to her spot."
"Thanks, your Majesty." Guy looked relieved. "I will do my best to watch your Prince Tigeravich. What about Prince Regwallis though?"
"Yed father?" Regwallis spoke up. "Where do I go?"
Having someone standing to help bear the weight of the baskets was helpful, but he had enough to defend if he ran into trouble. Yed gestured to Guy. "You should go with Guy."
"Back to the castle?" Regwallis sounded unsure. "Back to my..."
Ezra came over and nuzzled his cheek. "I know it's not easy, but Yed's right. It will be easier to keep it a small group.
"Okay." Regwallis' voice was weak but he got into the car.
"The castle veers too far right, it will be complicated finding our way to the safe house," Yed said. "We need to say goodbye now."
Ezra nuzzled Regwallis once more, and then nuzzled Tigeravich. "My big boy, I haven't spent a whole day without you before. Oh, I wish mommy could hold you one more time in my own arms before you left."
Yed rubbed Tigeravich's head. "You. You're a strong boy, I've seen you. Don't get too wild without me around." His son grabbed his pinky with his whole little hand. "You get going, Tiger. I'll see you again soon, I promise."
He stepped away from the car with Ezra, holding Carressella. Xiam had tried twice for Tigeravich, Ezra was right. He had to get over his fear, both of them had to go somewhere.
"Goodbye my sweethearts," Ezra said softly as the car pattered away.
"The direction is too out of the way," Yed reminded her, knowing what she had been thinking. "It'll be faster on foot back to the safe house, near the wall. That's where you should stay. Tigeravich will be in position in less than a day. All that's left is you and Carressella.
Ezra nodded. "What about your father and Xiam?"
"Ezzy. If I see him..." Yed couldn't finish, she already knew. "Let's get going."
Chapter 87
SHEDDING TEARS
Xiam picked up Yed's cell. Now to safety, he knew that the group would be back at least halfway. Even with a car, they would be heading to the Warno Kingdom first with Carressella. He dialed the number Yed gave him. As soon as he heard a greeting he said, "Yed sent me."
"Yed? Are you a friend?"
"Yes, well no. Sort of? He doesn't trust me right now because of King Fayu. Look, I-I need help. He's got my wife."
"Yed?"
"No, King Fayu. Her name is Iridescent and she's the sweetest, most loving woman in this world! He's making her bear him a child if I don't take one of Yed's children."
"My grandchildren? Okay...I-I still find a lot of this unbelievable, the whole time travel thing. Oh."
"Please, please, you're the only one who can help! Yed said you could help, can you help?"
"Okay, I'll try. Slow down. What's your name?"
"Xiamipoc Cattral."
"Oh. Her brother."
"Her brother what?"
"Nothing, um...you need to trim the fur off your tail. I'll bring some eye contacts. I'll meet you at the wall, near the safety house. Once you’re in the kingdom, we can decide what to do. I will try and help you with your wife, no one deserves that. However, I can’t get real involved. It was risky enough letting a few Protectors go. My family depends on me. I love them, like you love your wife. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Okay. I will be there in a few hours."
Xiam debated telling his father about Yed. He deserved to know. Shortening that distance with another vehicle would be a swell idea. The car couldn't get through too much more. Who knew how much that acid had affected it? He looked outside and watched it start to rain.
Were the Chronicles protecting Muin and Ezra enough? Were the children covered in blankets, were they in a car? He didn't know any of those answers anymore. He may never again, if Yed never forgave him. Ezra would never go against him, even for him. Especially since it was her children at risk. Oh, if only he would have told him sooner. The only proof he had admirable intentions was at the camp they made.
He watched as the car pulled up. Xiam ran outside and met him.
"Shaved tail, good." Yeducavich Senior pulled out a pair of eye contacts. "You can't go with smooth with a shaved tail, the hair is different. With pink eye contacts, you won't even have to talk." He looked at Xiam directly. "Oh."
"Oh?" Xiam asked. "Oh, what?"
"Your eyes are already slightly pink. Oh." He put the contacts away. "Have you been exposed to pink inhibitor?"
"You know about it?" Xiam looked toward the contacts. "Yes, King Fayu kept it near me with red, and a little bit of green."
"How much is a little on the green?"
"I don't know. Why?" Xiam questioned.
"I..." Yed's father hit the wheel. "I'm sorry. I'll get out your wife, but you can't get back to her."
"Why?" Xiam asked. An urgent feeling came over him.
"You're becoming a Pink," Yed Senior said. "I'm sorry. The process is slow, but you had too little green. I can't stop it for you."
"Wait, what's a Pink?" Xiam felt his eyes.
"It's a waryes. It's the closest thing to pure there is. You'll lose your ability to speak, and you won't be able to think except for...it's not easy. Have you seen the pink-eyed waryes?"
Oh, no. Oh no! "I can't become that, I won't become that." Xiam shook his head in denial. "Never."
"Your eyes are already pink. Your tail will be next. I've seen it before, too much exposure." Yed Se
nior tapped the wheel. "What would you like to do?"
"I can't become a monster like that." Xiam felt his eyes start to cry. "I won't."
"It'll happen slowly, at first. There'll be minutes of time missing, where you don't know what you did. Two, three days tops." Yed Senior started the car. "Xiamipoc Cattral, it's your choice. If you want me to give you something to end your life, I can. You're pretty much dead when you become those soulless things."
"Leave me here." Xiam got out of the vehicle. He pushed the door close. "Save my wife, and tell her I love her. I love her more than anything in the world. Tell Yed, when you see him, that I'm sorry about everything. After you make sure she's safe...go out towards Golden Sanctuary. Yed needs you more than ever. He's stuck on all fours, some kind of experiment. He can't fight."
"What?" Yed Senior turned off the vehicle. "All fours?"
"Like wild animals, yeah. He can only open one of his hands because he crushed it. They need to get to the wall, and they need to get to the Waryes Kingdom. A rhyme their adoptive son Regwallis told them."
"Regwallis? King Regwallis?"
"Yed is a king, but he doesn't accept it. Anyhow, he needs you." Xiam patted the vehicle. "Tell him that...I'm sorry."
"I am sorry too." Yed Senior's expression lingered. "What will you do?"
"It's not safe here, I'll head to the Waryes Kingdom." Xiam looked at the path ahead. "The rhyme is supposed to make everything better. If it doesn't work, you have my permission to take me out. I have to really have faith now that it will work. If not, I'm dead."
Oh by Pagnia. He was going to turn, and he couldn't stop it. He waved to Yed Senior, and went back inside for a sheet of paper.
Xiam shed so many tears on the paper, it was soaked before he finished writing his farewell. He looked at a mirror to his right. His eyes were pure pink, no one could know if he'd been crying or not. He got up and left the note on the door.
He left. He didn't think or care about where he was going. He just walked, and he'd continue to walk until he was eventually taken out, or was in the Waryes Kingdom.
Chapter 88
One Way Or Another
"Oh, Yed." Ezra groaned and lied back down. "My hands are bleeding so much, I need a break."
"It's not far." Yed tried to keep the pace quick, to keep them out of the rain. Still, it came. It didn't cause any burning, but they both felt drained. The Chronicles could only protect the areas they covered. "We can't lie down in this rain, Ezra. Come on, Ezzy, up. We're almost to the wall."
"It hurts so much." Ezra looked at her hands. Her knuckles were cut and bleeding, probably infected. Yed reached his hands into Carressella's basket and felt around. He should have some disinfectant. Once he found it, he tried to spray some on her hands. "I'm sorry, Ezzy, it's almost over. I swear, once we hit that hill, you'll be able to see it."
"It's so bad." Ezzy groaned as the wind picked up even higher. "The winds never died down! It wasn't just the mountains, everything's breaking apart!"
"Just a little further," Yed pleaded. "We can't stay in the rain, and this wind is wickedly bad, I'm sorry! I don't think you should think of it that way though. Think about it!" The wind picked up even more. "It started as we get closer to the mountain! We already had one in place, we're getting the others!" He tried to shout over it. "Maybe the wind is the result!"
"I can barely hear you!" Ezra shouted back. "The wind is because of the rhyme?!"
"The children! No Chronicles! Maybe their true power is being tapped by where they are being placed!" Yed held her hands tightly. "We need to move on!"
"What if it's not?" Ezra's hair whipped around her, she had choked on her own hair a second. "What if this is the end of it all? What if this is the waryes' final strike?!" She tried to lift herself, but the wind was so powerful. "Yed!"
"We're almost there, it's okay, keep up!" Yed insisted. "I've got Carressella, she's the last one! It's almost over, Ezzy!"
"What if it doesn't work?" Ezzy pulled Yed close enough to hear her. "This is it. This is perhaps our last days, isn't it?"
Yed pulled even closer. "Yeah, it is." He could see the fright and relief in her eyes. "After I get to the Waryes Kingdom, something will happen or it won't." His breathing became rapid and he pulled away. "Ezra! Your scent is driving me crazy, you need to stay back from me!" He moved forward further. Her scent, it was on overdrive. The wind was stirring it all through the air, and all around him. He heard her call out to him, but he couldn't do that. "Just come, now!" He fought his instincts and saw it. The wall that hid his safety house. Even way up there, the forest was too thick to see it. No wonder it survived all those years untouched. She called out to him several more times, and he just ignored her. He looked back at her several times, but she was okay. He continued to carry Carressella. Opening the secret wall, he burst in, ready to get away from her.
Any less of a male, and Ezra would be toast right now. He bounded straight into the safety house.
Out of the wind, he felt his nose begin to clear. When Ezra came in, the scent had died down. The wind and her scent. He was positive the wind was being created by the children, but it was her scent that would take the waryes down. Guy was only one, close enough to be affected. She had practically hid down there, too scared to be around strangers in a secluded house without him.
What would save them, was the one thing Ezraponia hated. Her strong pheromones. Her regal pheromones, no wonder she was so strong and pure. Her mother, and her grandmother must have been the same way. Even Queen Trivelle had a strong scent, and that was even with the addition of medication to tone it down.
The royalty wasn't just about line. The first king and queen, had they been crowned simply because of their scent? The past had been buried for so long. If so, maybe that's why of all citizens, Io was chosen to shelter him.
The royal family had been playing him since he was a child. While they destroyed Ezra's family, they made sure she somehow got away, and to the same place as him.
"Yed?" Ezra came over closer, but moved quickly to the carpet. Relief on her fingers from the ground. Finally. "There's a note on the door."
Xiam probably. Yed headed to the door, not ready to discuss the pheromones with Ezra. He ripped it off the door, and then closed it.
Dear family,
I'm sorry about what happened. I love all of you so much, and I never wanted to hurt anyone. It turns out that the inhibitor is turning me into a waryes called a Pink. I'll be a monster, the worst of its kind. I am leaving out toward the Waryes Kingdom.
If the rhyme doesn't work, please find me and put me out of my misery. The only reason I'm not one of the hurt now is because I don't want to be. I can't do it yet. I still want to live. But, I don't want to become one of those things.
Please. If it doesn't work? Yed, you've got to end it for me, and take care of Iridescent. Don't let King Fayu keep her.
Your brother and friend,
Xiam.
Xiam. Yed held the paper tightly in his hand. Xiam was turning into a Pink. A mindless, freaking Pink monster. He watched Ezra as she read it from his hand. She couldn't read all of it, and tried to tug it from his hand.
"What's it say, what does the rest of it say?" Ezra demanded. "Yed?"
"I have to. If it doesn't work." Yed handed her the paper. "He's turning."
"Oh no, he can't be. It's impossible, it takes generations! It's-" Ezra looked at the paper. "It's not fair. It's not fair!"
"I know." Yed watched her crumple to the ground. He removed Carressella from around his neck and nuzzled up to Ezra. "I know."
"You can't." Ezra sniffled. "Not my brother."
"If he turns, he's not your brother." Yed rubbed her hair softly. "Ezra, if I have to, it will be a mercy killing. I won't do it if he hasn't changed, I swear."
"Not before everyone's in position too," Ezra warned him.
"Of course not. Never, I won't do it until then." Yed nuzzled her. "I'm not looking to do it, Ezra. I swear, we were extremely
close. I'm not pursuing him. Not until long after."
"You say this right before you have to leave me?" Ezra gestured toward the door. "What if you run into him?"
"I'll avoid him, until I have to confront him." Yed pushed his hands through her hair one more time. "It's almost over, Ezraponia. I swear." He smiled at her, but was surprised as she stole a kiss.
"There. This time, I'm to blame." Ezra looked toward the ground. "Don't be long, Yed."
Yed tasted his lips after the kiss. "Yeah. I'll keep her safe. You stay in here, but near the wall. Okay?" He placed his neck beneath the basket's handle again. "Time to visit her grandfather."
"That's exactly true."
Yed looked behind him and saw his father emerge from the next room. "Dad?"
"Need a ride? Xiam declined it for you. He was a decent guy, I'm sorry about what happened." Yed Senior came over toward the basket. "Grandchildren. Heh, she's cute. What is her name?"
"Carressella." Yed grinned and patted his fathers shoulder since he was near the ground. "Congratulations."
"Congratulations to you too, Yed." His father returned the favor of placing his hand on his shoulder. "I'll never know what happened, but I can tell by your eyes time has affected you. Are you okay?"
"Fine. Just." Yed gave him a nod. "I'm glad you're okay." He looked toward Ezra. "Apparently I have a ride."
"Are you sure your female shouldn't come?" Yed Senior looked toward her. "Ezra, right? I could probably get you guys adjusted again. Waryes technology, it's advanced."
"We'll take you up on that later," Yed assured him, "but she needs to stay here. I need to go with Carressella." He looked back toward Ezra. "It'll be okay. Tug might even still be around." It was a strong might. If Tug believed it was the end, hanging out in a house for survival might not be how he wanted to go out.
"When? If something's supposed to happen, when?" Ezra questioned. "Right away? A day? A week? A year?"
"I don’t know. I better go." Yed nuzzled her cheek. "Next time I see you, this whole mess will be over. Remember that. Happier times are coming." He laughed. "One way or another, it's all over."