Secrets Bound By Sand

by T. A. White

  "What is this place?" she murmured.

  Ilith dug her claws into Tate's shoulder, using her eyes to peer at their surroundings. Between. But the other side of between.

  Nathan sat up, hooking one arm around a bent knee as he looked around the place with something approaching pleasure. "I'll be damned. He did the impossible."

  Tate was quiet as she watched Nathan. He didn't seem to share her reservations.

  She frowned at their surroundings. Ilith had called it the “between”. She'd called the place the elementals lived the between, too. Was it the same?

  No. Between but not between. Own place.

  That was less than helpful, but she sensed her dragon didn't particularly care.

  Nathan stood and stretched his arms out as if to welcome this new place. Tate climbed to her feet, not liking the thought of him towering over her. Not that it would do her much good. There was nowhere to run. Not unless she wanted to fall into the chasm.

  "I've waited an eternity for this," Nathan breathed.

  "What happened to us?" Tate asked abruptly.

  Emotion was wiped from his face as he slanted a glance her way.

  "I've seen the pictures of our past. We were friends.” She paused. “I think we were friends."

  He looked up at the arches, silent.

  She didn't know why she'd asked that. It wasn't like she could trust anything he said anyway.

  "That was a very long time ago," he said, not looking at her. "In a different age. We're not those same people. It's best you forget about them. It'll be easier on you."

  She didn't know about that. Nothing about this was easy. As long as she could remember there had been an empty spot inside where her memories were supposed to reside. Now that they were coming back in bits and pieces, that empty spot remained.

  She wanted to know why.

  Before she could speak, his shoulders straightened and his lips lifted in a smile that didn't touch his cold eyes. "I'm not here to reminisce about the good old days. We're here for me to unearth the last thing Jax was working on."

  Tate's mouth slammed shut as she watched him carefully. She'd extended a hand and he'd slapped it away. He was too mired in the past to let it go, and she was too much in the present to understand why he couldn't.

  "Whatever war tore our lives apart is over. Has been for centuries. Why not let it go and move on?"

  It was a stupid question considering the lives he'd already taken since waking, but one she had to ask.

  He didn't answer. "Enough of the reunion. It doesn't suit the Nightmare. Let's get moving. Pocket realms are inherently unstable. You wouldn't want to linger any longer than you have to. Might wake some of those baser instincts you're trying so hard to pretend don't exist."

  Tate didn't respond, gritting her teeth as they examined the area. Tate didn't know how he planned to do anything when they were stuck on an invisible platform dozens of feet above the ground.

  He grimaced as he realized the same thing. Tate kept her smirk to herself, not wanting to needlessly antagonize him. At least not yet.

  She'd accomplished part one of her plan, getting him away from potential hostages. Now she just had to sit back and wait for him to give her an opportunity.

  A vibration reached her, almost indistinguishable as she became aware of the sounds around them. Muffled and difficult to pinpoint, as if they were listening underwater to great beings crashing together.

  She glanced down, her eyes widening as she saw the fog swirling and an oblong creature made of metal and light ascended from the depths.

  "Incoming," she said softly.

  Nathan glanced down with a bored expression as the creature zoomed toward them.

  Its body reminded Tate of a centipede. It lacked mandibles or legs but had antennae on what Tate assumed was the head. They flickered and moved as it rose out of the dark. Its body was segmented, the space between the segments glowing the same red as the arches.

  Tate had no idea how it was moving, considering it also lacked the wings it needed to fly. Its body was long, disappearing into the chasm below. It was also metallic, Tate realized. The surface dull, to blend with its surroundings, but it was obviously not a natural creature.

  It hovered, its antennae moving as it observed the two of them on their invisible platform.

  Tate held still, not wanting to incite it to attack.

  Nathan had no such qualms, taking a step toward it as his hands moved to his waist. "It figures he'd leave one of his toys to guard this place."

  As soon as he spoke, red light flared from the antennae, flattening into a focused sheet before scanning them. Tate sucked in a breath, remembering the last time one of the ancient’s toys had done this.

  It had not been pretty.

  The light snapped off and Tate tensed. This was the part where the creature normally would attack.

  No such aggression was forthcoming. It sank back slightly before one antenna swiveled as if pointing.

  Tate followed where it indicated and blinked dumbly as a man formed out of the haze. He stood in midair, larger than life, with his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes inscrutable as he observed the two of them.

  Nathan barked a laugh at the sight. "You were always a bit narcissistic."

  "And you hid your psychopathic tendencies well, Nathan," the avatar of Jaxon Kuno said distastefully.

  "The same edge to your tongue as always," Nathan responded.

  "Did you think bringing her would get you past my defenses?" Jaxon asked. "Arrogant. And sloppy."

  "I wonder how much of himself he left behind in you," Nathan mused. "Obviously his memories are there. Did he leave behind his emotions too or did he leave those out?"

  Tate was jarred out of her surprise at seeing Jaxon's face, his body, experiencing his expressions, ones she knew to the core of her being were his. This wasn't like the lake where the guardian appeared similar. This was the Jax she remembered, the man she'd ached for without knowing why.

  "How is this possible?" Tate whispered, feeling off-balance, as if her world had just been tilted on its axis and given a good shake.

  Jax's eyes moved to her. The skin around them relaxed as his expression softened. "Allegra, it is good to finally see you again after all this time."

  "And if you don't give me what you've hidden here, you'll watch her die too," Nathan remarked casually.

  Jax flicked a glance at him, his expression smoothing to its former unreadable lines. "I see we didn't bury you deeply enough during our last encounter."

  Nathan smirk was cruel. "Your own worshipers dug me up. They thought I was Alexander, of all people. Don't worry, I was quick to correct that assumption."

  "Why do you disturb my sleep?" Jaxon asked.

  "I'm here for your Apportens Mortis. I know you created one," Nathan said. "I want it."

  Jaxon said nothing for several seconds as he watched them with an inscrutable expression. "You want to see what I left behind. Have a look."

  The sound of stone breaking reached them. From below and beside them, small chunks of metal ripped loose from where they'd spent centuries gathering dust. The pieces flew through the air, coalescing at a spot just a few feet from them.

  It was like watching a puzzle form, though no hand assembled the pieces.

  When it was done, a cube hovered in midair, only slightly bigger than the size of Tate's two fists held together.

  Nathan shifted closer, his eyes burning with a sick excitement.

  There was a click and then a scene formed above it.

  Jaxon appeared, his face older, gray in his hair and the skin around his eyes wrinkled with fine lines. He looked distinguished, nothing like the young man he was often depicted as.

  "Allegra, if you're watching this it means you've finally awakened," the older Jaxon said.

  "What is this?" Nathan demanded as the younger version of Jaxon looked on.

  "A message for my dear friend."

  "No, this isn't what you
were working on. Where is the Apportens Mortis?" Nathan shouted, his voice billowing from him. He sounded like a monster from the deep, power crackling along his body in visible lightning strikes. "Where is my weapon?"

  Jaxon watched as Nathan raged, a small smile playing around the edges of his lips.

  "This is not your final working," Nathan said, calming suddenly as he stabbed his hand at the cube. "You would not have created that riddle unless you were hiding something here."

  "How was that riddle solved?" Jaxon asked.

  "By a song," Tate answered.

  "And what song was that?"

  "Our battle cry," she said, shutting her eyes. She remembered now. This had been the song they played before every battle, a secret joke between the two of them.

  "No," Nathan said.

  "I gave a riddle only Tate could solve," Jaxon said, continuing. "Why would I do that if not to leave behind an important message?"

  "This isn't right," Nathan said. His posture shifted, danger suddenly pouring off him in great waves.

  Ilith hissed silently in the back of Tate's mind, a warning and threat.

  Nathan seemed lost in his thoughts when suddenly his head lifted, his expression determined. "I'll tear this place apart until I find what I know is here."

  "It won't be so easy this time, deceiver," Jaxon said, his voice deepening. "I had adequate time to prepare for you and those of your ilk."

  Power flooded the platform. Armor boiled out of Nathan’s skin, shielding his body within seconds.

  A sword the deepest black appeared in his hands. It ate the light as ice frosted the ground beneath it. Even several feet away, Tate could feel the biting cold.

  She drew in on herself. She really hated being cold.

  Jax remained unmoved, his expression neutral as the sounds of chittering came from below.

  "You will not win this," Jax informed them.

  Nathan snarled, his eyes alight with the thrill of battle. "It has been many years since our last battle. I've prepared for this one."

  Jax inclined his head. "So be it."

  Movement from below was the only warning they got as metallic centipedes surged up from the deep.

  Nathan swung the sword, a black void ripping out from it and cutting the leading centipedes in half before they fell broken on their brethren.

  Tate edged back. Ilith snarled inside, hating the feeling of being trapped. She wanted out, to spread her wings and open her jaws so she could rip Nathan apart.

  Tate fought to keep her contained as Jax joined the battle, his expression that of an avenging warrior, power gathering in his hands before he sent it crashing down on Nathan. Adding her highly unpredictable dragon to the would be unwise right now.

  She ached to get her hands on the cube. The short glimpse she'd had of its contents weren't enough. She wanted—no needed—more. Her past lay in there. A reason for the sharp turn her life had taken.

  She edged closer as a slight scrapping sound warned she wasn't alone. She whirled, her stomach dropping as a centipede loomed, its segmented body dwarfing hers.

  She froze for a split second before reaching for Ilith. It wasn't going to be in time.

  The centipede swarmed over her as she ducked, crouching in anticipation of being crushed by its weight. It flew past her, its passage ruffling her hair as it speared toward Nathan.

  She opened an eye to see the segments moving over her, inches from her head.

  Bugs are crunchy, Ilith said. Tate got a brief flash of the dragon's teeth closing around the middle of its body and breaking it in half.

  "Not this bug," Tate told her.

  Ilith's teeth didn't have a hope of penetrating it, and Tate didn't want the visual of snacking on centipede parts in her brain.

  Nathan stabbed his blade into the ground at his feet. Dark light flashed as a sphere encompassed him and his immediate surroundings just as two centipedes closed around him. Their bodies thrashed before they disintegrated into ash.

  Nathan and Tate focused on the cube in the same second. She dashed toward it as another onslaught of centipedes overwhelmed Nathan. She crossed the platform in several short steps, coming to an abrupt stop as she teetered precariously on its edge.

  She was too far away, she realized. No amount of stretching would put the cube in her grasp.

  Her gauntlet tingled as if telling her she had options.

  The gauntlet responded to her mental wishes, sometimes acting on a subconscious level, especially when she was in danger. Until recently she’d had little experience activating it on purpose.

  No time like the present to try.

  Tate concentrated on the feel of the gauntlet, the individual patterns embedded deep in her skin. This was easier because of the time she’d spent strengthening her connection with Ilith.

  There, the slightest niggle of a connection.

  Tate nurtured it, filling it with her will as a thin line stretched between her and it. She poured all her power into it. Only when that line felt like it'd snap did she nudge it into the form she wanted it to go.

  A chain lengthened in her hand, its links glowing white hot.

  She flicked her hand and the chain wrapped around the cube, jerking it to her with little effort on her part.

  She gaped down at the small object that had caused so much pain as it landed in her hands.

  "Tate! Give it to me," Nathan demanded.

  Tate faced him, the cube clutched to her chest. Nathan took a step toward her, bits of the centipede's body in pieces, ash blowing around his feet. He held his hand out to her and made a give me motion.

  "We don't have to be enemies," he said. "We can let the past die or we can resurrect it and correct the mistakes of before."

  Tate didn't move, her thoughts racing as she calculated her options.

  Jax's face was creased with pain and his form flickered in and out. Whatever Nathan had done to him had taken a toll. She didn't see him being able to hold the ancient back much longer.

  The smart thing would be to hand over the cube and pray Nathan would spare her for old times’ sake.

  Dewdrop and Night would have been happy to tell him Tate rarely did what was easy or smart. She made a habit of sticking her nose where it didn't belong and taking the hard way, because it was the right thing to do.

  Her mouth firmed, her decision made.

  He read it on her face and shook his head, disappointment touching his features before vanishing. He shrugged. "Ah, well, I'd have had to kill you eventually anyway."

  Tate didn't say anything as she teetered on the edge. Ilith, be ready.

  Ilith's snort held disdain. I'm always ready.

  There was her dragon, arrogant, cocky. Tate wouldn't have it any other way.

  "You're welcome to try," Tate challenged Nathan, cocking a hip and channeling a confidence she almost felt. "Maybe you'll be more successful this time."

  He studied her with narrowed eyes, his grip on the sword shifting. He planned to use the void strike against her as he had the centipede's, she realized.

  Her muscles tensed. She'd only have seconds once this started.

  She held up the cube and his posture relaxed just slightly. "You want this. Go fetch."

  She tossed it over the edge as music filled the chasm, welling up from deep below, the distinctive notes of the March of the Fools vibrating around them.

  Nathan roared in rage, his sword whipping up as the black shot from it. Armor, similar to Nathan's formed on her front. Still, it wasn't enough to completely protect her as that power hit her chest with the force of a thousand battering rams.

  A cry of pain escaped her as the gate opened and a dragon the size of a large cat arrowed through. It landed on Nathan's head.

  Tate teetered over the edge, gravity and momentum pulling her backward just as Ryu stepped through, fire glinting around his hands. Their eyes met for one agonizing second before Tate fell.

  The grief and loss in his expression being overwhelmed by a feral rage w
as the last thing Tate saw.

  Our turn, Ilith's strong voice whispered in her ear.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The dragon's wings snapped out, stopping her headlong descent. But not soon enough. The scales on her belly scraped against sharp rocks as she turned her nose dive into a semi graceful glide. The spires she ran into snapped and fell with a thunderous crash.

  Didn't hurt, Ilith thought with satisfaction.

  They were dragon. Invincible. Indestructible.

  A large rock outcropping appeared in front of her. She bounded onto it, using her legs to push off. She landed on a towering cliff, digging her claws into it and beating her wings for thrust as she scaled it at a breakneck pace, the sounds of the battle from above lending urgency to her movements.

  Once she hit the top she leapt, gliding over the ten-foot gap to one of the inverted arches, scaling them as her mate and the Creator fought.

  Neither one seemed to see her as she bounded up the side, her powerful legs making the climb easier than had she been two-legged.

  Ryu danced in and out of Nathan's range, dodging the black blasts and erecting a fire shield when he couldn't move fast enough. His dragon wove in and out of the battle, picking the best times to swoop and duck. Ryu threw fire with his palms, the entire platform glowing white hot from their combined assault.

  Their attacks synchronized. Together, they were more powerful than if they'd only relied on one form. They were holding their own, but just barely.

  The dragon was quick and nimble, complementing Ryu's more powerful attacks.

  Ilith didn't dwell on the fact that the dragon existed outside of Ryu. There would be time to analyze that later.

  She approached the top of the arch as Jaxon appeared only feet in front of her, standing on the arch like it was a flat surface.

  "You need to knock him into the portal," he said.

  She bounded through him like he wasn't even there, reached the top and leapt, arching until she was diving head first.

  She kept her wings tucked against her body, picking up speed. A hawk could dive at one hundred and twenty miles per hour. Ilith was faster.