Chapter 21 – Zaide
CHAPTER 21
ZAIDE
I didn’t leave the dreamscape after Baelen left me. Still reeling from his ‘gift’ and my reaction to it, I took the time to wander through the gardens in Tartarus like I used to as a child and remembered the good times I had with my siblings in similar landscapes.
It was the picture of a chipped tooth, curly white hair, and blue eyes that shifted the dreamscape around me to the desert of Drakor before I realized what I’d done.
Thos.
Blood pumping loudly in my ears, I hurried through the empty streets toward the barn where I last saw him and prayed that he was still there, awaiting my arrival. When I peered around the doors and I saw nothing, disappointment made my whole body sag.
I hoped he’d be here.
While I couldn’t do anything to save him from his indenture while I was enduring my own capture, I still wanted to see him more than my next breath.
“Thos.” I whispered. “Are you there?”
Silence echoed around the barn and I sat down on a wooden box as I contemplated this. I didn’t call him into my dream last time, since I hadn’t seen drakorian to create that dreamscape. That must have been his dream when I visited. So if I want to see him, I should pull him in. Isn’t that what Baelen taught us?
In my mind, I pictured him and with the magic which was in my very soul, reached for his spirit, the essence of him, and tugged him toward me. My magic responded because in the next moment, I heard a gasp and opened my eyes to see my brother materialized in front of me. He stared at me with a kind of shocked awe and I let out a startled laugh, jumping from the box and pulling him into my arms with a cheer.
“Zaide? You’re here again?” he asked as he pulled away from me.
I smiled widely. “As I explained before, I have discovered I can do a great many things now that I have my soul pair and my soul mate.”
“A soul mate too?” he gasped, his blue eyes wide. “You are fortunate indeed.”
I nodded and assessed him. He was topless, only wearing shorts, but his chest was raw with welts and his legs were black with bruises. It hurt me to know he was suffering, too. I looked forward to the day we were all free, healed and living our lives as we wished to. “You look worse for wear, brother. Tell me what is happening.”
He shook his head and his curls swung around his face. “I won’t burden you with my woes when you can do nothing to help them.”
I blinked. “I can help,” I told him and concentrated on his threads. They were orange and coated his body like a shroud and told me there were more injuries on his back that I couldn’t see. I pushed power into them, turning them yellow and then a pale green before I had to stop. Panting, with a bead of sweat rolling down my face, I apologized, “I’m sorry I can’t do much more.”
Clawdia healed me, but there must have been residual effects from my physical injuries because I suddenly felt unwell.
“Thank you.” He looked awed again, but it made me uncomfortable. “You really healed Emily. Before. It felt like a dream. I didn’t believe it.”
“It was a dream, but the effects on her physical being remain,” I explained. “We are truly talking to each other.”
“You saved her life.” He shook his head as though he couldn’t understand why I would do that.
I frowned. “You are my brother. I’ve spent the years since becoming free searching for you and our sisters. I long to see you all again.”
He swallowed thickly. “I thought … I tried to forget about you all. I didn’t want reminders of the past, since it could never be again. And I didn’t want to torture myself with worry about what you might be suffering. I assumed we all did the same.”
“I could never forget you all.” I told him and squeezed his shoulders as my eyes bore into him. “I should have protected you. It should have only been me, but I watched you all join me in captivity. I’m sorry, but I swear to you, I am going to find you as soon as I can, and the girls. We will be together again and safe.”
A light in his eyes seemed to burn brighter at my words. His back straightened as the faith he lost years ago returned. Faith in me. The sight of his crooked grin, revealing his chipped tooth, took me back to happier days, and I beamed back in response, patting him.
Thos said, “I’m sure you aren’t just here to help me and you don’t look like a male enjoying the rewards of a soul pair and soul mate. What is happening with you?”
“Our situation is complicated. I’m not feeling my best right now. Portals and dragons …” I stopped as I looked at my brother. “You live in Drakor. You serve the drakorians.”
“I do. You already know that, so why do you ask?”
“Do you know about their species? Specifically, the females.”
“Females?” His tone changed and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why do you want to know about them?”
“I need to know if they can be forced to change, maybe by a parental figure, magic or a ceremony?”
“They don’t turn until they have mated. Does not everyone know that?” I shook my head. “It makes sense that it’s hidden knowledge amongst the other realms. They are protective of their females.”
“They don’t turn until they are mated? This can be any male? With a ritual?”
“No, it has to be their soul mate. There’s no other way for the female drakorian to emerge otherwise. They are lazy beasts apparently not coming out unless their partner is there waiting for them.”
“They have no dragons unless they meet a soul mate. Have you ever heard of a magic which can produce soul mates for another?”
“I’m sure it would be the most powerful magic in all the realms if it existed, but I don’t believe it does. Why do you ask all this?”
“An evil dragon has promised a female to help her dragon emerge as long as she helps him in his mission to consume all the magic from otherworld descendants in the human realm. I don’t think it is possible and you have just confirmed my thoughts. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to have helped.”
“And the males?” I asked, suddenly thinking of Charlie and Clawdia. “When they find their mate, what happens? Does it cause changes in a female which is not drakorian?”
“I’m not sure,” he scratched at his chin. “There are only drakorians here. There isn’t much travel or diversity. But when they find their mate, it is usually explosive, their skin shimmers with scales and they change to show the female their dragon form, take her to their hoard and ask for her acceptance of the bond. But why do you want to know about the males?”
“We are dealing with more than one dragon, and any information is a necessity at this point. Thank you again.”
“You are my brother,” he replied simply, a repeat of what I told him earlier, and I smiled.
I didn’t want to wake up; I didn’t want to leave him, but seeing him unhurt, calm and somewhat happy made it easier to part.
A nagging feeling in my mind, coupled with weakness seeping into my soul, suggested something was happening in the waking world.
I knew what awaited me there, but having seen all my favorite people gave me the strength to face my fears, knowing that someday they will just be distant memories. And my soul mate will double their suffering when gets his hands on them.
Heat rose in my cheeks as I remembered our kiss and the passion I felt. I could fall for him just as easily as I did for Clawdia, and it surprised me slightly. Not because he was male but because he was akari. His kind tortured me. A flash of fang was enough to send me into a flashback. But he used his violence to aid me. He gave me something I didn’t know I needed. Something I hadn’t thought to ask for and couldn’t have done myself. And now those fangs, and his red eyes, seemed dedicated. Loyal. Mine.
It was a good thought to wake up to, but, sensing people around, I kept my eyes closed, assessed the situation and listened.
“He healed completely in his sleep?” A finger trailed my naked chest, and I tried not to shudder. I don’t remember being naked before. Have they stripped me in my sleep? I hated being treated like an object, an experiment, even more than I hated being treated like an animal. I continue to find my tolerances for the most heinous behavior.
Another hand on the other side of my body plucked a needle from my arm and I gritted my teeth against the flinch my body wanted to do in response. They’d been draining more blood from me in my sleep. No wonder I struggled to heal Thos.
“If he’s healing in his sleep, then we’ll need to keep him from it. It’s ruining our research.” The voice on my right said.
“How do you propose that?”
“The normal methods. Loud music. Pain.” More torture. How original.
“Sleep is regenerative for every creature. If we keep him from sleeping, he may not heal at all.”
“Then we will be careful with how much he needs to heal. Start small.” His voice drifted away as he took away the buckets of my blood, but then returned and seemed to come from near my feet. “I can break something now while he’s asleep, see if it heals instantly.”
“Good idea.” The other hunter chirped heartlessly. “Yes, do that.”
I prepared myself for the pain but I couldn’t help my reaction as my leg was smashed. My back bowed, and I howled with anguish loud enough that I was certain I damaged their ears. Tears streamed from my eyes and my mind went dizzy as I looked at the male in a bloodied, white lab coat holding a hammer and wearing a cruel smile that seemed to take up his entire face.
“A leg isn’t something small.” The other one harrumphed and crossed his arms as I tried to calm down my breathing and distance my mind from my body and the pain.
“Whoops.” He shrugged and waved the hammer.
“It doesn’t seem to heal instantly.” The unbloodied one shook me. “Titan. Titan. Tell us, do you heal instantly? How is it you healed overnight?” I couldn’t heal instantly, but I would be damned if I’d tell these evil creatures that. I wouldn’t let them hurt another in my place.
The hammer wielding monster sighed. “He will not answer us. They never do.”
“It would really help with our results if they just told us. We can’t afford to kill this one since we don’t know when or if we’ll get another.”
A cheery female voice greeted them, “Good morning gentlemen,” as the door opened.
“Mary. Why are you here?”
“Just checking in on my favorite golden guy. I heard he healed overnight. Isn’t that interesting?” She stared at me with intense, knowing eyes as she entered the cell, stepping over the bar and coming to my side.
“What do you know?”
She was all too happy to tell them my secrets. “I know this titan has found his soul pair and that it’s likely to have been her that healed him.”
“A soul pair match? Where is she? There was no entry to his cage. How could she heal him from another place?”
“When a soul pair form a bond, titans get their power back. Who knows what he has?” He has. She doesn’t know that Clawdia also shares in our power.
“You knew all this about our patient and didn’t think to share?” He waved the hammer under her chin.
She wasn’t intimidated. She lowered it and replied happily, “I’m sharing now, aren’t I?”
“We’ll need to do some more research on the theories about soul pairs and titans before we experiment any more. We are basing all our results on a titan who is more powerful than others. It will not be accurate.” His gaze refocused on her and he glared. “While we reassess this new information, you find the soul pair. If she’s here somewhere, we’ll need them together to get a better reading on their power.”
“Oh, I’m more than happy to help,” she said and smiled down at me. I clenched my fists and shook from the anger she caused to riot under my skin.
“And if we come across anything in our research, you’ll be able to fill in any blanks.”
“My knowledge is yours. I want nothing more than to serve your cause.”
They both stared at her before the science one said, “Our cause is to find the weaknesses of supernatural creatures so we can kill them more efficiently.”
“I’m aware. I love supporting the underdog.” She gave a little fist pump, and they shook their heads at her before leaving, slamming the door behind them and abandoning me to the clutches of this evil witch.
“That looks painful,” she said with mock sympathy as she examined my leg. Even from my angle I could see the bone poking out from the skin and I swallowed thickly against the nausea rolling in my stomach and the lightheadedness.
Without preamble, I took my shot at tearing her down in the only way I could.
“Female drakorians only gain their dragons once they consummate their bond with their soul mate,” I whispered.
Mary’s reaction was exactly what I wanted. She stopped mid-motion, her hand inches from my injury, and tilted her head to indicate she was listening.
“I asked someone who has lived in Drakor for many years now, and he told me female dragons are rare. They don’t emerge unless for their bond. Fafnir cannot help your dragon emerge unless he knows the location of your soul mate, but I doubt that is the truth. Honestly, he doesn’t know much about his origins and has most likely made this up to force your action. You are falling for his game.”
“And what game are you playing?” She sneered and pressed painfully on my leg.
“Survival,” I gritted out my body, rattling the chains loudly from how badly I was shaking. “I am not asking you to do anything, but I want you to doubt him.”
“Even if what you say is true, it must be different for us.” She shrugged and smiled smugly, as though I was the fool. “We are his descendants. He knows how to help us. He wants our dragons as much as we do, which is why he’s captured the other one.”
Captured the other one? Charlie?
“You are a fool.” I couldn’t say anymore.
“I don’t have bone pointing through my skin right now. You are the fool to think telling me this is going to change my mind. I left my family to follow Fafnir. I killed my girlfriend to create the perfect weapon for him to defeat his enemy and I am aiding hunters. I am not on your side and I never will be. I know what I’ve chosen and I’m prepared for the benefits. Because that’s what I will get. Fafnir has promised me more than anyone ever has, and I want it.”
I lay limply on the bed, my limbs chained and shaking, knowing she was right. She would never turn to our side, but gave her this parting remark, “He’s promised you more because it’s unachievable. You won’t ever be a dragon.”
I didn’t know how right I was.
But like the fool I accused her of being, she replied, “We’ll see about that.”
I hissed as I woke up. My body throbbed and my mind struggled to understand why. I tried to shift and searing pain shot down my leg and I bit down on my lip to stop from screaming.
My eyes turned to the person next to me and I blinked a few times, assuming I was seeing things, but he remained the same, frightened, blackened and dirty witch that had helped us. Laurence.
“I thought you were dead,” I said in a low, pained voice. “Charlie said you were dead. Be gone, spirit.”
“I’m not dead yet,” he told me in a dull, detached voice. “But we are about to be.”
I certainly felt like I was about to die. But I looked at my arms and legs and noticed there wasn’t a large chain around them any longer. However, I couldn’t move easily. The bone and blood were still visible on my calf and my head tilted to one side, squashed against the wooden lid of a box.
“What do you mean? Where are we?” I asked Laurence.
“We are in a crate on the stage in the hunter compound. They are going to murder us. He kept demanding that I shift, but I can’t shift. I’m not a dragon.”
“What?” I asked, shocked. He thought it was Laurence that was the dragon? Does he know it’s not now? “Did you tell him it was Charlie?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he turned to the sound of footsteps walking past us, across the platform. I could see just enough through the small slits to know that we were, in fact, surrounded by hundreds of hunters. The crowd quieted as a voice boomed out across the courtyard.
“Friends. Colleagues. Soldiers. We’re gathered here for a demonstration of our newest weapon. Many of you have seen the news. When a dragon was sighted flying across the skies of Sweden, like the true warriors you are, you came to fight, to bring it down on its tirade of terror. And yet, despite the numbers here, the opportunities, you followed orders not to touch it. Understandably frustrated, you still respected the leadership of the hunters and listened because you know that we have a greater purpose in mind.”
“We brought Darren into the leadership fold only a few weeks ago, and I know many of you have also questioned this. You don’t know him and he has changed things in our community quickly. He ordered the capture of an island of witches that had all gone into hiding when usually such a mission would have been a massacre. He also introduced supernatural colleagues who have produced the shields which protect us now while we all meet, and keep the supernaturals in our prison powerless.
It’s been a difficult transition, but you have been loyal, patient and obedient. Everything we expect from our hunters. Today we explain the reason for these changes and demonstrate the need for such within our walls. But first, a little history. We spent our existence as an organization working in isolation to defeat the supernaturals. We weren’t recognized as one until the second world war where we met others and formed a network across the globe of humans who actively hunted supernaturals.
Decades ago a man spoke at a proposal meeting of a project which was laughable. The seniors almost jeered him from the room. But his idea had merit, and was based on a stone which he’d found here in Sweden. He was a scientist and explained that a myth around Sigurd and Fafnir could be true and that the dragon could be brought back to life, and would be, by witches. But this dragon could be harnessed for our own purposes.
It was a revolutionary idea, and the result has been immense. It turned the organization on its head with innovations in weapons, medicine, knowledge, and more. We are a better organization because of this project. There’s no denying that. And now to introduce the work of his ancestor. Darren Jensen.”
There was a polite applause that quickly died down. “Thank you for the warm welcome. Today we welcome a new age. Today, I introduce just some of the work my ancestor began years ago, which has been so successfully taken on and developed. As you know, I have introduced changes to this compound in the short time I’ve been here, starting with using witches to create wards and the capture of an island full of supernaturals. This is different to you and I thank you for your patience. These supernaturals were brought here for a reason. And the reason is this.”
I listened to the gasps of horror and fear, but I couldn’t see what they were all so shocked about. I tried to peer through the cracks of the crate, but moving hurt too much. Yet, I heard the beat of wings and Laurence trembled like a leaf, and curled into a ball, covering his head with his hands as though the sound alone scared him.
“Please stay calm,” Fafnir shouted at all the hysterical hunters who were just as shocked by the dragon as I was. “He will not harm humans. He only feeds on supernaturals. Do not be afraid. He obeys me.”
Wait. If Fafnir just said that, who is the dragon? I blinked and, ignoring the blinding pain, I tucked myself close to the gaps in the crate to stare out onto the stage. And there next to Fafnir stood a dragon who looked exactly the same as Fafnir did in his drakorian form. But it made little sense. There had to be a spell on one of them. Someone was using magic to trick the hunters, otherwise this was another dragon. A female? One of the witches? Mary?
I hoped with every fiber in my being that it wasn’t.
Then a roar shook us, quieting the courtyard, and wetness trickled along the bottom of the box toward me. Laurence mumbled to himself and blocked his ears. Avoiding his accident, I leaned across to touch him gently. He opened his eyes, but they were clouded with fear and I knew he didn’t truly see me. I couldn’t heal myself but I attempted to heal him, yet something stopped me, probably another ward preventing me from using my gifts and I let out a frustrated sigh as Fafnir began speaking again.
“There was a supernatural planted within the hunters many years ago as an experiment. We wanted to see if we could use a supernatural ability within the community, indoctrinate one and then cut out its poison from the organization when its purpose had been fulfilled. For the past few years, you have worked alongside this colleague and suspected that his ability to find the supernatural was supernatural itself. And you were right. Michael Lloyd is supernatural. And today we cut him out.”
“Michael?” someone gasped.
“Cut him out how?” another hunter called from the muttering crowd.
“With this dragon, a mindless supernatural beast, we can hunt supernaturals in the same way Michael has been doing his entire life. This beast cannot help being from another realm. It is not supernatural, just natural to another realm. You wouldn’t kill a bird because it had migrated from other parts of the world. But Michael is supernatural, has been using his power around you, and has been sympathetic to the supernatural cause. It was him who has been asking questions and even today I heard he willingly allowed a familiar into the compound.”
Clawdia. Clawdia is with this hunter, so perhaps she is close. Perhaps she will save us in time. It wouldn’t be the first time that we survived by the skin of our teeth.
“Laurence,” I whispered. “It’s going to be all right. Do not fear.”
“We are dead. We are dead,” he whispered and rocked in place, clearly traumatized and lost in his mind. I couldn’t judge him for it.
But when a loud weapon fired, causing everyone to scream and the dragon to roar, I had to wonder if he was maybe right.