by Ivy Logan
What did mean by his time on Earth is done? Talia wondered.
Despite the searing heat around them, the dragon seemed to be shivering. “Joshua, why are you afraid?” Talia asked. “It’s only Mama.” But the dragon seemed to sense what Talia couldn’t, until finally she felt it too. An unexplained coldness was spreading around them. She could almost feel her own breath grow icy. “What is it, Joshua? What is happening?” she asked.
“They are coming,” said Caitlin, sounding scared too. “The Wraith.”
“Why?” asked Talia. “Don’t they come only when they have to guide a spirit into the Ether World? Damien wasn’t a supernatural, so why are they here?”
“For Joshua,” said Caitlin in a voice laden with sorrow. “The dragon as we see him is an aberration, and such anomalies are not allowed to live on either Htrae, the magical realm of the superanturals, or Earth. It would create an imbalance between clans. It already has, hence the Wraith are here to restore order. They wanted to take him the very day my magic went wrong, but I forced them to give Joshua some more time on Earth, even if trapped in the dragon’s body. Their condition was that the day Joshua got his revenge would be his last,” Caitlin explained.
“And Damien’s death gave him his revenge,” finished Talia, understanding dawning.
Caitlin nodded and continued. “I wanted to save him but I have failed again. I had nothing more to offer them. I am here because I know he will be afraid. I will not abandon him this time. I have let him down too often.”
“Take Joshua away? No, no, it can’t be. It’s not fair. He deserves his life back,” cried Talia. This couldn’t be happening. She had just found her brother yet here was her mother telling her he had to leave again and there was nothing she could do. She wouldn’t stand by this time around and be a hapless victim to her brother being separated from her, but the sadness in Caitlin’s eyes said it all. The Wraith never returned empty handed. They already had Caitlin; now they were coming for Joshua.
As Talia racked her head for a solution, pale, ghostly figures surrounded her, Caitlin and Joshua. Talia neither feared nor venerated the Wraith, the revered spirits of the Heichi sorceresses who watched over the supernaturals rather than walking away into the light of the unknown or the Ether World. For her family, they had always been mere forecasters of doom. They had destroyed her mother’s life and consequently their entire family’s chance at happiness. She wouldn’t let them have the same power over her too.
Talia glanced at Joshua. Deep inside, he is still a child, a startled Talia realized. He looked like a dragon, he could do all a dragon could, but in his heart and soul, he was her baby brother. His strangled cries made Talia realize that Joshua knew they had come for him. He had been through so much. Would his torture and misfortune never end? She had lost him twice already. She couldn’t let this happen for a third time, no matter what the cost.
As Talia watched, another shiver ran down the entire length of the mighty dragon and the Wraith whispered restlessly. They were eager to be gone.
Caitlin had nothing to offer the Wraith, but Talia realized she did. She had something of value the Wraith couldn’t refuse. She fell to her knees before the spirits, and, joining her hands, she pleaded, “Make my brother whole again. It is time for him to live the life he was meant to. Allow him to grow into the wonderful man he can be. Give him the childhood that was snatched away from him before his time. In return, I offer you this. Instead of him, take me,” said Talia. “A life for a life.”
There was silence all around. Nothing could be heard but the whispers of the Wraith. When it seemed like hours had passed but, in fact, it was only minutes, the spirits extended their hands towards her. “Come,” they said. “You will join your mother in her prison.”
Hearing these words, Talia knew the deal was sealed. They accepted her offer. She was so intent on their decision that she didn’t hear Caitlin’s exclamation of shock and Aiden’s cry of protest. Katie and Aiden were locked outside the circle the Wraith had created, but they had heard her plea.
Aiden was shattered. How could she? “No, Talia, no. Please don’t go,” he pleaded. Still carrying Katie, he ran towards Talia. “We will find a way to keep both of you,” he said, tears flowing freely now. But both Caitlin and Talia knew it was too late. The bargain had already been made with the spirits. Talia wouldn’t be allowed to back out now.
The circle of ghostly figures seemed to be coming closer. One smaller figure broke away from the circle, his body made whole again by magic. He ran forward straight into the dragon, merging with the beast. The dragon gave a cry of pain. His large body began to shake and quiver. The separation of Joshua’s soul from the dragon had started. Very soon, Joshua would no longer need the dragon, his host, for he would have his own body back again.
This also meant that it was time for Talia to go.
“Don’t cross their circle,” Talia shouted out to Aiden. She could see the desperation in his eyes. Fearful of the harm that could come to him and Katie, she begged, “If you love me, stay back.” Her voice filled with both regret and determination, she said, “My parents and brother sacrificed a lot for me to have this life with you. Joshua’s childhood was taken away from him so cruelly. I have to do what I can to give him a chance at life. I know I am asking a lot from you, but if I don’t do this, I can never be whole again. A part of me will die with him. Please allow me to save him. Please be there for him,” said Talia, her cheeks damp with tears. Aiden shook his head in denial and defeat. His dilemma was great. He couldn’t leave Katie alone, neither could he cross the circle with her. It would be too dangerous. What if the Wraith decided to take her away too? He had to save Talia? He couldn’t live without her.
Meanwhile, Talia turned to Katie. “Katie, my love, Mama has to go away, but you have a new brother, Joshua, who will be coming to live with you. He is only a few years older than you, so you will now have lots of company. You must be brave and remember I love you very much,” sobbed Talia.
“I want a brother, Mama, but please don’t go. We need you too,” pleaded Katie, but it was too late.
The Wraith stared at Talia. “I won’t go back on my word,” she said. Her voice quivered as she turned to Caitlin. “Mama, help me be brave.” Caitlin immediately held out her hand to her daughter as she too cast one last loving look towards Joshua.
From the beginning, both of them would have given anything to protect Joshua. Caitlin had bought him time on Earth by going against her own clan, and now Talia was going to save him from the Wraith. Their only regret was for the loved ones she would never see again.
The spirits kept their word. Joshua would soon be whole and human again. He must never know Talia had sacrificed herself for him. As for the dragon, would it be able to return to Htrae, to its old life? Hopefully it would be happy, the conflict between soul and nature finally over. It had sheltered Joshua for so long and lent him its strength when he needed it the most. It deserved a chance at happiness too.
Talia turned towards Aiden and Katie for one last look. “Goodbye, Aiden, my love. Take care of the children. I will always treasure the memories we built together…wherever I may be.” Her fingers briefly linked with Aiden’s through the circle of the Wraith, and then she brushed Katie’s soft cheek.
****
The Wraith appeared to be little more than wisps of smoke as they began to depart as quietly as they had come. All that remained behind was the fulfilment of their vow in the form of a boy only a couple of years older than Katie with Talia’s eyes.
The mighty dragon gave one last roar of farewell and flew away. Higher and higher it went. Joshua stared at the retreating dragon. His mind felt clear but strangely empty of the burden of memories humans tend to grasp at. He only remembered that he was called Joshua. Another name tugged at his consciousness; he knew it was important. How, he wasn’t quite sure, but he knew that he had to hold on to it. His body felt drained and weary but free and exulted at the same time. Having no memory of the
past, he couldn’t understand the unexplained connection he felt with the gigantic creature he could see flying in the distance.
“Goodbye, my friend,” said Joshua as the dragon became a distant speck in the sky. Where am I? What is happening? he wondered. Maybe he knows something, thought Joshua as he looked at Aiden standing in front of him. The rising temperature of the ruined maze had him scurrying straight to Aiden.
“Do you know who Talia is and where can I find her?” Joshua asked Aiden, panic filling his voice. Talia’s name and his own were the only things he had to hold on to. Katie sensed the boy’s confusion. She bent from her father’s arms to clasp his hand. “Calm down,” she said. “It is going to be okay. Talia is your friend but she had to leave. I will be your friend; father and I will look after you.”
Seeing his confusion, Aiden quietly stepped ahead and enveloped him in one-armed hug. Seeing how forlorn and lost Joshua looked, Aiden added, “She isn’t here, but I am, and I promise you I will get her back one day.” Joshua’s vulnerability reminded Aiden of Jesse in his younger days. No wonder Talia had been so fond of his nephew. She had always seen her beloved Joshua in him.
Katie whimpered, “I feel hot, very hot.” Her words made Aiden conscious of the fire blazing around them, spreading through the maze at an alarming speed. He was responsible for the two children. He had to leave and get them to safety. One day he would get Talia back, but for now, Joshua and Katie came first.
Aherin was whinnying into the wind. Was it the heat, or did the Arabian also feel the loss of Talia’s departure? As though hearing his name, the frightened horse galloped towards Aiden.
The flames were rising as though appealing to the heavens and trying to trap the motley group of victims in its embrace. Aiden lifted Joshua and Katie onto Aherin, and with one last glance behind, even though he knew Talia was no longer there, he mounted Aherin too. Sheltering the children within the circle of his arms, Aiden told them to hold on tight. They had to get out of the maze before the entire thing collapsed.
The fire or the smoke: which would get to them first? Hopefully neither.
“Jump, Aherin,” said Aiden. Without needing another command, the usually temperamental horse started galloping towards the outer wall of the maze, leaving the last vestiges of the past behind. Despite the heat engulfing them, Aiden realized that this was the first time Aherin had obeyed him. It only served as a confirmation that his Talia was truly gone.
The smoke must have blinded and suffocated Aherin, but still the faithful mount continued moving swiftly towards the high walls of the maze. His hooves must have started blistering from the scorching heat on the ground, but his steady gallop gave no indication of it. With his passengers holding on for dear life, suddenly he was airborne and they were flying through the air and over the maze.
The soldiers rushed towards them. There was Andrea with Ellie by her side waiting to take a dazed Katie and Joshua from Aiden’s arms.
“What are you doing here?” Aiden managed to ask, wondering if he was hallucinating. With so much supernatural power all around, he needed to confirm that the vision before him was indeed his own flesh and blood sister and not some phantom trying to steal the children away. The children were special and all he had left.
“Talia wrote asking us to come. She said you may need us,” said Ellie simply.
“She said ask no questions but be there for Aiden, and that is just what we are going to do,” said Andrea.
Joshua allowed himself to be enveloped in a warm hug by Andrea. He didn’t know who she was but she seemed kind. With each child in the custody of one of the women, the party of rescuers and the rescued made their way back to the castle with tired feet and blackened faces. All except for Aiden, who found himself unable to leave.
Aiden stood watching the flames burning brightly. Had he lost Talia forever? No, he wouldn’t allow that.
You wanted me to keep Katie and Joshua safe. They are. Damien is no longer a danger to them. Soon I will soon be riding out to find you. We are meant to be together. Guide me if you can. Aiden didn’t know if Talia could hear him or not, but he knew that one day he would be reunited with her whatever the cost. The spirits had taken his very reason for living. He had to get her back.
As the wind whispered around him, Aiden was almost sure he still sensed Talia in the silence of the burning flames.
CHAPTER XXVIII
I never believed that this was possible. The two men I love—one who put his life on the line for me, and one who taught me how to live again—would meet and would have a common purpose: finding me.
Talia
A MEETING OF MINDS - MICHAEL AND AIDEN
“You never did tell me what happened with King Damien. Why did you collapse? What brought it on?” asked Luigi.
When Damien initially told Talia that seeing what happened to his son killed Michael, Talia had taken it to mean Damien was talking about her brother’s death. Michael had indeed collapsed. Taking him for dead, Damien threw Michael’s inert body and the badly starved and injured Luigi beyond the castle walls of Aberevon. The two men were then taken outside the castle gates and their bodies dumped in a nearby forest for the animals.
When Luigi stood before him, Damien said, “Do not claim that I did not reward you for your work. Despite your treachery, I am giving you the gift of your life. Go and be grateful.”
Luigi couldn’t believe he had survived King Damien’s dungeon only to face death in a forest. He stared in shock at his friend’s body, sorrow sweeping through him knowing that because of him, a family was in shambles. Let the girl be safe, was his prayer.
Damien didn’t realize he was inadvertently setting not one but two men free.
As Luigi lay weeping over his friend’s body, he felt Michael’s shallow breathing. His friend still lived.
Luigi was quick to use his familiarity with ancient medical texts and traditional healing methods to bring Michael back from death’s doorstep, nature providing him what he needed.
Before he regained consciousness, Michael lay suspended in a sort of vacuum as his body healed. Fire kept the animals at bay, and when Michael finally found himself well enough to make a short journey, they set off for a tiny hamlet on the other side of the forest. Close to Aberevon but yet forgotten by its stately occupants, it was the perfect sanctuary for the two men.
Both men had believed that only their tortured and dead bodies would leave the dungeon. It had taken some getting used to the miraculous fact that the both of them had made it out alive.
When Luigi asked Michael what had happened, Michael had a question for him in return. “The dragon down there with us, the one chained in a large cell of the dungeon, do you remember him?”
“Of course I do. Who could forget the rumbling and the roars emerging from its cell, especially at night? I didn’t even know dragons existed. But if sorceresses can, I suppose dragons can too. But why do you ask?” said Luigi.
“That…the dragon…it was my lost boy, Joshua,” stammered Michael.
“What do you mean? I thought Garcia killed your boy. He boasted about it to me. How can a huge, monstrous dragon be your son? You are not making any sense at all, Michael. You saw your boy’s body. Isn’t that the reason you collapsed?” Luigi asked, fearful that Michael had caught a fever.
“I am not hallucinating, Luigi. I am telling you the truth. Damien took me to the dragon’s cell. I thought he was going to feed me to it. He laughed and said he was saddled with a stupid dragon that refused to eat humans. He then asked me why I couldn’t recognize my own son. I didn’t understand at first, so he explained that Joshua had been dying and in order to save him, my wife had used magic, magic that was poison to our son. Imagine my little boy right in front of me hissing in anger, cowering in fear of Damien and totally unable to recognize me. Can you imagine what it felt like knowing he was alive but lost to me forever?” Michael said in anguish. “But that’s not all,” continued Michael. “If the shock of seeing Joshua like this w
as not enough, Damien told me he had found Talia and was going after her, and if she doesn’t do as he wants, he is going to make the dragon kill her. The thought of my son killing my daughter…I couldn’t bear it, Luigi. I couldn’t breathe. I was terrified. Panic must have brought on the attack.”
Luigi looked thoughtful. “So now what do we do? We can’t rush in to save your daughter. We don’t even know where she is. Hopefully she has been resourceful enough to save herself.”
“It has been more than a year. My fear is that sometimes Talia is too resourceful. She always puts others before herself.”
“Just like her father,” commented Luigi. “First there is something else we may have to worry about. We will need to move from here soon. I fear there is someone out there looking for us. I’ve been so careful I can’t understand how the king’s men may have found us.”
“Were they asking for you or me?” asked Michael sharply. “Damien thinks I am dead, so he would only be looking for you.”
“I am pretty sure the men were asking about you. One was tall, well-built, dark haired with a generous beard. The other of medium height with fair hair and a moustache.”
The beginning of a smile began to appear on Michael’s face, confusing Luigi. “Resourceful as you are, you wouldn’t have happened to catch their names, would you?” Michael asked, hope resonating in his voice.
“Adil and Beni,” said Luigi. “Do you know them? Are they enemies of yours? They have been going around and asking for you. There is a third man with them but he has been very secretive about his identity and is rarely seen with them, but I am quite sure that they know him. Would be quite a coincidence for this little place to be suddenly beset with strangers. Luckily, no one has seen you except the physician, and he is unaware of your real name. I’m afraid they could be spies or hunters of the king.”