Only, it'd be his luck that he'd survive the fall.
Still, the pain would take his mind off the agony of his soul.
No, my love ...
Startled, Daimon drew on his power and shifted.
Far above he could hear the twins yelling, shouting at him, asking where he was going. He didn't reply.
Chapter 24
Showdown
Daimon searched the war room. "Where is she?"
"Who?" an Irod soldier asked.
"The queen. Tell me where she is."
"I believe in the throne room, holding court, but you can't just barge in there," the demon said.
Daimon ignored him.
"Open the doors," Daimon said when he arrived at the throne room.
The demon servants blanched. "No one is to enter when our queen is holding court with her subjects."
"Either you open them, or I do."
"Daimon, what's going on?" Irum asked, as he and a group of soldiers Daimon had spent the last nine years fighting alongside of, flanked him.
"I'm here to speak to your queen."
"I know you're upset about Isla. I am as well, but you'll have to talk to the queen later," Irum said.
Daimon turned away from the sadness in the other male’s eyes. "This won't wait."
As he went to open the doors, the soldiers reached for their weapons.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Daimon asked, his fury building.
They backed off.
"That's what I thought." Daimon opened the doors.
The twins teleported in directly in front of him.
"Daimon," Caro said.
"Don't try to stop me," he snarled.
"We're a team, we're here to stand with you," Elan said, and Caro nodded.
Silence fell as the queen's guard moved in front of him.
Daimon felt his dragon-fire rising and glared at the demons blocking his way. "I'd really hate to turn any of you to ash, but don't think that I won't."
"Let him through," the queen said.
Her guard parted, but stuck close as he strode up to her.
"You lied to me," Daimon said, the desire to scorch everyone and thing around him strong. Stronger than ever.
"I never lied to you."
"A thousand years has passed in my world. When were you going to mention that little fact?" he asked.
"I thought you were aware of the time difference," the queen said.
Daimon laughed, and once again it was without humor but full of all the rage inside of him. "And how was I to know this?"
"My duty is to my people,"
"I get it actually, and I was a stupid youth when we first arrived here, but even so I knew something wasn't right. Your wording in regard to my demand to let the other Ilyium witches return to their homes didn't sound right. Now I understand. They'd have nothing to return too, so why would they?"
Daimon looked around the room at all the faces staring back at him. Demons and humans, civilians, and soldiers. Some wore looks of fear, others were angry, and even more gazed at him with a look that said he'd been good enough to fight for them, but not for anything else. He wasn't one of them.
These weren't his friends. His only friends were the twins who stood at his sides. Meanwhile, his family was back home going through who knew what kind of agony.
He focused once again on the queen. "You need to open the portal now. It’s time we leave."
The queen stood. "In the war room, now."
Her guard followed her as she turned and exited through a door behind her.
With the twins beside him, Daimon went back out the way he'd come.
In the war room, the queen glared at him, then began to pace.
She was silent for so long, that he didn't think she was going to speak.
"I cannot do what you ask," she finally said.
Daimon sighed. He was tired and beyond ready to be done with all this. He looked at the twins, then back at the queen. "I know as the queen you draw energy from your people. Caro and Elan here are siphons, they can help you gather more, whatever is needed to open the portal."
The queen shook her head. "No, it won't work."
Daimon frowned. "It won't be enough?"
"No, you don't understand." She stopped pacing and face him. "I don't have the ability to open the portal."
"What do you mean?"
"It was taken from me when you came through and blew it up," she said.
Daimon thought of the energy inside of him, the one that had grown so small as to be virtually non-existent now. That was her ability that he took? No, it didn't quite make sense. "What exactly do you mean?"
The queen glanced at the males guarding her. "Irum, you stay, the rest of you leave me."
When the room cleared, the queen looked back at him. "I've never been able to open a portal. My mother lost that ability when she had me, so I don't have it either."
"Then how did you open the portal?" Elan asked.
The queen sighed and sat down on one of the stools. "I summoned a primordial god."
"What?" Caro said.
Daimon's blood went cold and he suddenly understood so much. "Celtylight."
"Yes," the queen answered quietly.
Daimon turned away and left the room.
Caro and Elan ran after him. "Where are you going?"
"To do something I should have done a few years ago," he said as he shoved open a door and went outside.
Chapter 25
Fixing Things
Caro and Elan followed Daimon outside. The day was cloudy and gray, as befitting his mood.
"Then we're going with you," Caro said.
"I'd really rather you stay here."
"Not happening," Caro said.
Daimon looked back at them. "Look, this could be dangerous, and I'd really rather not lose anyone else I care about."
"Save it, we're going with you because we feel the same way and are not letting you go off and do whatever it is you are planning," she said.
Daimon knew there was no changing her mind when she was like this, and suddenly he realized how much he loved both of them. They may not be his blood, but they were his family. And he really didn't want anything to happen to them while he was fixing things. "Sorry."
Daimon shifted and leaped up into the air.
When he landed a little later, he was outside the rock-block fortress.
He quickly found the same entrance he and Isla had used, and crawled inside.
The crystal continued to pulse in the center of the structure, but upon closer inspection, Daimon could see that it was at less than half the energy as the first time he'd been here. Careful of the tethers, he made his way up to it, and then taking a deep inhalation, steeled himself.
Then he laid his hands on the crystal and closed his eyes.
He could feel the energy under his touch, and drew on the small kernel that buried deep inside of himself.
He was no longer scared, and in fact didn't really even care what happened to him.
If it took him over, then so be it.
The energy inside bloomed, warm and sweet, a bright light that would have blinded if it weren't internal. As if feeling his acceptance, it swept through him, warming him all over.
"I'm sorry, I should have done this so long ago, but I didn't know what would happen if I did."
Sheer love flowed out and all around him in an overwhelming wave, but it hurt to feel, because his own love was no more. Unaware, a sheen of tears covered his cheeks and dripped off his chin.
The energy encompassed him and wrapped him in warm, soothing arms that reached deep into his frozen dead soul. All will be well dragonsworn guardian, you just need to remember.
A shock jolted through him at the same time that the crystal pulsed.
Daimon opened his eyes as the energy inside him settled down.
He gazed around in awe as one by one, tiny butterflies hatched, then left the fortress.
After the
last one was gone, the crystal turned completely black.
Daimon made his way back outside.
Then he stood, completely uncloaked and in plain view. “You want me? Come get me you big blue mutant butt-face freaks. I’m here, I dare you!”
A group of MB's fluttered around above him for a moment, then turned and swept all the tiny baby butterflies into the middle of their swarm. Then they all flew up to the tree above.
Disgusted that he couldn’t even provoke them into attacking him, Daimon turned away, and found the twins waiting for him.
“What in all demon-land were you doing?” Caro asked, eyes blazing at him.
Daimon shrugged. “Does it matter? It didn’t work anyway.”
Her eyes softened. “Well, you can try to leave us behind again, but I can find you, so don’t even bother.”
"I'm not done," he said, realizing it was the truth. He’d thought he was, had hoped to get the Rhapaskiru to end him, put him out of his misery, but was now glad it didn’t work.
"You're going back to creepy spider-land, to release the energy back into the Celtylight, aren't you?" Elan asked.
"Either that, or I give it back to the demon queen so she can open the portal." Daimon raked a hand through his hair. "It doesn't belong to the queen, and she should never had taken it.
"We definitely agree on that," Caro said.
"But if I do this, then we and none of your kin will ever leave this place."
"It's the right thing to do," Caro said. “Besides, they are all happily settled. The demons are their families, and any they had back home are all long dead. They have no one waiting for them.”
Elan nodded.
Sadly, Daimon knew it was true. "Right. Well, there's a chance that I won't make it out of this alive. I honestly have no idea what will happen.”
"We will be with you, and will make sure you live," Caro said.
Daimon didn't doubt it. "Okay then." He shifted. Not into a purple dragon, but into his black-born one. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
They climbed up into the saddle on his back. "We're ready."
Daimon flew hard and fast back to creepy spider-land. "You can both wait out outside the forest for me."
"We're not waiting outside creepy-spider-forest for you, knowing the danger you're walking into," Caro said.
Daimon felt his heart warm. They'd been through so much together. They really were his friends.
"I have an idea, why don't we use our shield," Elan suggested. "We cloak ourselves and use our shield."
"That's a great idea," Daimon said as he landed in the same spot as he had the first time.
Once they were ready, they moved as a well-oiled team into the forest. Some of the creatures paused what they were doing, but no one set off an alarm.
Within minutes, they were in front of Celtylight.
"Are you ready for this?" Caro asked quietly. She stood at his side, one eye on him, while keeping track of their surroundings.
"No, but it has to be done."
"We've got your back," Elan said on his other side.
Daimon put his hands on the tree, and immediately inside himself he felt the energy begin to warm him as it expanded. He closed his eyes.
Celtylight, please come forth. You don't belong in me, and I am eternally sorry that I've kept you locked within. He could feel the energy in every molecule of his being—white hot, yet cool. Again, it soothed as it filled his whole body, and he felt reformed, refreshed, and like he was dissolving all at the same time.
"They know we're here," Caro said. "Whatever you're doing, you need to hurry up."
His hands began to glow, and he could feel the energy traveling through and around him, then it raced in a stream through his hands and into the tree.
"You might want to get back," he warned his friends, as he felt the pressure begin to build.
His heart began to race, but he couldn't remove his hands. Not yet.
Power, so much power traveled through him, stunning in its intensity, then it slowly became less and less, until all that was left, was what he’d been born with.
Thank you, guardian.
Beside him, Elan gasped.
Daimon opened his eyes and drew in a sharp breath. Celtylight was completely lit up with all the colors of a rainbow. Power pulsed and shot in waves up and down the trunk, while above them, the branches began to sway.
When his hands stopped glowing, Daimon let go and moved back.
Spiders ringed them, but none tried to come close.
He watched the lights racing up and down the tree, glad he'd finally done it, even if it meant they'd never leave Kalesai. He turned away and looked at his friends. "Ready to go home?"
They nodded, but he hadn't taken a step, when he felt light touching him, enfolding him in a warm embrace.
He turned back and smiled. "Celtylight."
"That I am." It was sound—a voice, but not a voice. It was all the whispers of the universe. Happiness emanated from the tree, then before his eyes, an apparition made of pure light emerged. It resembled a pale haired female with long white hair, wearing long flowing gossamer robes. "Guardian, you freed me at your own expense."
"I'm only sorry I was too scared to do it before," Daimon said.
All around them all the forest critters watched in silence, and Daimon realized their cloaking was completely gone.
"Do not fear, they will not harm you," Celtylight said.
"What happens now?" Daimon asked.
"I will return to my home and mate," she said and before their eyes, everything around them began to fade and drift upward into the sky. The tree was the last to go.
"Mate?" Horror washed through him. It was bad enough she'd been ripped from her world, but she had a mate left waiting for her.
"Moordark. He is my balance. The darkness to my light."
"The thunder, lightning, and fog, that's your mate, isn't it?" Daimon asked.
"He believes I left him, he's angry."
"And the butterflies?" Elan asked.
"They are my children, my young. All of life is."
Daimon nodded. It all made so much more sense now. "You better get back then, they all need you."
"They do. Daimon, you have a bright, pure soul. I would give you what your heart desires if I could, but I cannot. Only you can give you what you seek.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Just remember, Daimon.”
“Yeah, I’ve been hearing a lot of that lately.” And he had an idea what it meant as well, but being stuck in this realm could make things difficult.
“I can help you with that," Celtylight said.
He frowned, about to ask what she meant, when a bright light appeared directly in front of them.
"The portal," Caro said.
Daimon looked back at Celtylight. "I have no way to repay you.”
“You have already repaid me. Now I help you.”
The portal grew bigger and bigger, until it was large enough for them to walk through.
Daimon looked at the twins. "I would understand if you don't want to come back with me. You've made a world here, you have friends, and nothing waiting at home for you."
"Forget that," Elan said, anger in his voice. "You're our family, and besides, we have to go back. The war between our people won't stop until we return."
Beside her brother, Caro nodded. "And I apparently have a mate waiting for me. Elan as well."
Daimon raised an eyebrow at that news. "Another vision?"
Elan nodded, then they linked hands.
"Thank you, Celtylight."
They emerged on the other side in a snow-covered clearing.
A large bear of a man, someone Daimon recognized immediately by his energy as a portal guardian, ran out of the forest and stopped dead. "Who ...?"
As the portal began to snap and close behind them, the man stared at them as if he'd seen a ghost, or three. Then he dropped to his knees. "You're all alive, and here. Ho
w is this possible?"
The three of them glanced at each other and grinned.
"We're home."
They were taken to his family. At least, to where those of his family that was still alive and residing on Tartaria.
"I'm so glad you're finally back," his older brother Zales said as they stood atop a mountain shaped like an angel. Below them was the dracones and fallen community of An Bell.
"I'm happy to be home as well," he replied, though he'd been shocked to learn about the new race of dragon shifters that had been born due to what happened to him and the twins. He tried to focus on that—the good things to come of all this, rather than what had happened to devastate his family.
"Do you have any idea of what you'd like to do now that your back?" Zales asked.
Daimon knew his brother was part of a rebel group fighting against the Ilyium.
Though the curse had been broken the minute they'd returned, not all Ilyium were willing to let go of their hatred for dragonkind. Only, it wasn't just dragonkind now, it was all supernatural beings they hated.
Caro and Elan were determined to help them end the war, as was Daimon.
But first. "I'm going to find my mate." For the last week he'd heard whispers on the wind—a voice calling his name—telling him to find her. That she was waiting.
He remembered. He was to find Isla, his mate.
She was out here, waiting for him. He could see her already.
He shifted into his dragon and began to fly. She was a beacon in his heart, lodged deep in his soul, directing him straight to her.
The End.
Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed this story, I'd love if you'd leave a review.
And yes, do not fear, Daimon will get his own HEA story.
About the Author
When she wasn't bringing home stray animals, Sheri-Lynn used to pretend she was racing horses around the yard. As a teenager, the dream of riding racehorses became a reality. At the same time her love for reading kicked in. No matter where she was, or what she was doing, Sheri-Lynn always had a book. A few years later she discovered her niche in the vivid and exciting paranormal romance and fantasy worlds. But in 2008, after reading a book that annoyed her to no end, Sheri-Lynn almost fed it to her dog. Don't panic, she didn’t, that would've given the poor animal indigestion. Instead, she challenged herself to create her own stories. Inspired by her favorite authors and TV shows, Sheri-Lynn decided upon immortals who change into dragons. Tierney, Jax, and Sami came to life, and the Dracones were born. Now she flies dragons in her dreams.
Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology Page 82
