Cryptic Wonder- the Awakening

by Wylder Willis

  The man used this as a chance to get back to his feet. He glared at Naomi as she held her sword in front of her. He still had his sword so he charged at her. Naomi slid one foot back ready to fight as she was planning to stand her ground. She glanced at where Denzel and the leaders were watching from. Leander and Acacia had helped Gwythyr and Topaz get away from the area of the fight. The man swung his sword towards her aiming to slice her from the left . Naomi blocked with ease as his strike was almost predictable, but she underestimated the strength of his swing. Her blade was almost pushed into her face before she managed to force it to hold fast. The man was close enough that Naomi could feel his hot breath. “You will be the first to fall. Caracal bitch. With your death, Hunter will be free,” the man spat with a glowering look.

  Naomi hissed with a wicked grin, “Don’t bet on it; this fight isn’t over yet!” With that, she unclipped the blades and one sword became two. She focused her strength onto the one still holding the man’s sword at bay. While he was distracted by the sudden appearance of a second sword, she flipped the sword in her hand and swung it towards his head. The butt of the hilt slammed into the man’s face sending him backward.

  Naomi clicked the swords back together as she rushed him and grabbed his sword from his loose grip. The man shook the stars from his eyes where he had landed on his rear, only to find two swords aimed at him, and one of the swords was his. He looked up and saw Naomi poised to deliver the final blow. “Yield and I will show mercy for what you have done this day,” Naomi offered with a faint growl.

  “This is only the beginning. War has come for you,” the man said boldly. Naomi looked to Leander wondering what to do. Should she kill him in front of Denzel or let him go? Leander simply looked to Denzel and nodded. Naomi saw Denzel turn away; the man was to die for his crimes. Naomi looked at the man and thrust the swords into his chest. She pulled them out and he fell onto his back, dead, as Naomi dropped his sword.

  With the danger gone the small group gathered back together. Acacia tended to Gwythyr’s injury, while Leander looked to the others. He kept asking Naomi and Denzel if they were ok. Naomi thought he was more of a mother cat than a leader after the fifth time. Denzel laughed at her idea, though Leander seemed a little hurt. They had forgotten one thing though and were reminded of it with a loud thud. A titanium weight pounded the ground right next to Denzel.

  The entire group looked at the weight then followed it to the owner. Esme had gotten closer and was now a few feet away. She pulled the chain and the weight sailed back to her and she caught the weight with one hand. Esme stated in a calm voice, “I will not have a human as the Droga. It will bring war and destruction.” Leander looked at Denzel then to the others. Gwythyr was looking at Esme with worry, he wouldn’t be able to run with his injured leg. Acacia and Topaz were looking to Leander for instructions. Naomi had a hand on the hilt of her sword, which was waiting in the sheath on her hip. She was ready to fight if it came to that but her stance said she was ready to run as well. Leander stepped towards Esme, calm, yet boldly.

  When he was only a few feet away he spoke, “Please put the weapon away Esme. I don’t want to fight you, none of us do, so let’s just talk about it, ok?”

  “When the humans find out the little caracal killed a First Fang they will call for her death, but if we do that then the Droga will die. They are now connected, so if one dies so does the other.”

  Naomi muttered, “Actually we haven’t done the bonding ceremony yet.”

  Leander glanced back at her with a glare as if to tell her “not helping.” Naomi shrugged, her hand finally off of her swords.

  “Then we still have a chance to end this before there is war. Give her to the humans to punish and we will avoid war altogether,” Esme stated a bit too happily.

  Leander answered as he stood his ground, “I’m sorry but we can’t. If she isn’t bonded to Denzel then he will die by sunset tonight. That will be two deaths and I don’t want that on my conscience.”

  “Then I cannot follow you,” Esme retorted as she picked up the body of Denzel’s former father. “I’ll return the body to his people.”

  Leander nodded thanks, glad he didn’t have to fight her. Acacia helped Gwythyr rise to his feet and then they headed to the portal doorway across the field. Leander helped Acacia carry Gwythyr until they reached the portal. Topaz, Denzel, and Naomi followed along. Before Leander opened the portal door he spoke a password, “Atakelie versoom.” They headed through the portal rather quickly.

  They stepped out of the portal and found themselves in a secret mountain hideaway known only to the leaders. The building looked like one of those old Chinese temples, but newer. The edges of the roof were turned up in sloping horn-like points. The outside shined like gold in the fading sunlight. At the top was a spire that looked like it pierced the sky, as the tip vanished into some clouds. The main building was huge and probably held many bedrooms on the nine floors. There was a smaller building connected to the main one by a short open-air pathway. It was similar in design except smaller and didn’t have a spire. It had four floors and it shined in the sun just like the main building. But the most eye-catching thing wasn’t the buildings--it was the mountain. It wasn’t so much a mountain as a gigantic stone spire with a flat top; the mountain was a couple of thousand feet tall, surrounded by other smaller and pointier spires. Surrounding the base of the temple spire far below was something big, white, and scaley. Naomi could tell the scaley thing was alive because she could hear the occasional shifting of a giant scale against the stone. She was glad it was down there and not up near the temple.

  They all headed inside the main building. Acacia and Leander helped Gwythyr inside and into a bedroom on the main floor. The inside looked like a mix of ancient Japanese style and Arab style. The dining table was low to the ground and the chairs around it were mats. The table was ancient redwood and the mats were a deep black color. The bedrooms had thick mats as the beds. The bed mats were simple white but surrounded by a bed board made of ancient redwood. The living room, or center room, had more modern furniture but with old designs of Arabic symbols had been long forgotten on the cushions. The fabric was a simple black while the symbols were red.

  Naomi and Denzel sat on the soft couch in the center room. Topaz joined them and sat on one of the nearby chairs with a worried look on her face. Acacia and Leander came out and joined them once they had placed Gwythyr on the bed. Leander and Acacia both sat in chairs on opposite sides of the group.

  Naomi asked, “How is his leg?”

  “The wound is deep minimal soft tissue damage, but it will take time to heal. Time I’m worried we won’t have. The humans will be mad that we killed a First Fang, especially a leader, and some will think that they have a right to the Droga as the new leader,” Acacia answered. Leander sighed feeling guilty for having given Naomi the signal to kill the man.

  Denzel looked to Leander and spoke hoping to reassure him, “You did the right thing when you had Naomi kill him. He attacked and committed a crime, what you did was right. He left you no choice, but if it does come to war I will gladly fight alongside you all.”

  Naomi smiled at him, impressed. Denzel smiled back glad to have made a friend out of a former enemy--at least he hoped she was a friend.

  Leander noted the look the two gave each other, and said, “Before we do anything else, let’s complete the bonding ceremony so that there is one less thing for us to worry about.”

  Chapter 12

  Naomi and Denzel had been led outside for the bonding, as Acacia had called it a bit of a messy ceremony on the way out. They stood together facing one another, almost like the Humans’ wedding ceremonies, but they were in battle armor, thanks to Naomi’s little transformation remote she had been hiding when they were readying to take flight from the arena.

  Topaz began singing a slow, yet joyful tune. Her song--while in an old forgotten language-- seemed to speak of love everlasting and eternal happiness. Meanwhile, Acacia was spea
king in Latin as she sprinkled them with some sort of herb mixture, Naomi only recognized one ingredient in the mix: rose petals.

  While they did their parts, Leander was crafting a soul work to bind them, the metal had been easy for him to find as he had simply grabbed a chunk of silver ore that had been placed in the house as a decorative piece. From what Naomi recalled, a soul work was a metal work that was made without flame and in the presence of the two about to be bonded so the metal could forge on the auras of the two about to be bonded.

  The ore was transforming with no heat as Leander molded it with his bare hands, his eyes closed as he focused on an image of Naomi and Denzel. When he was done shaping the ore he held two silver rings in his hand and poked Acacia so she could sprinkle the rings with her herb mixture. Once the rings received the herb mixture Leander handed the rings to Naomi and Denzel. Denzel had been given Naomi’s just as she had been given his ring. Leander stepped away to show they could give each other the rings. Naomi took Denzel’s hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger and he did the same, the silver cold and smooth against their skin, yet gleamed as if it had been made by an expert silversmith. At the final words of Topaz’s song and Acacia’s Latin, the rings glowed and bonded Naomi and Denzel in life and death. Naomi’s ring dimmed and revealed a tiny carving of the Droga’s wild form. Denzel’s ring also cooled down, but had a tiny carving of a caracal. Leander spoke with a smile, “You are bonded now in life and death. Congratulations, you two!”

  Chapter 13

  There was not time for an extended celebration, though, and the five unharmed Cryptics returned almost immediately to their earlier discussion.

  “Let’s not call for war just yet. We don’t know how the humans will respond to the First Fang’s death. They might understand since he did attack and destroy our property,” Acacia reminded.

  Topaz countered, “Actually we don’t know that he destroyed the carriages. It could have been someone else.”

  Leander suggested thoughtfully, “Either way, we should find out what the humans are planning--whether it is war or a fractured peace. I’d like to know before anyone is killed as a message.”

  Naomi had a point of query for Leander, “How do you suggest that? I doubt we can just ask to join their peace or war council… Wait, you're not thinking we spy, are you? You're insane, none of us would be able to get close to any of their meetings.”

  Leander said with a hopeful grin, “I know someone they won’t notice. We’ve sent him to spy on the humans many times before. His name is Luca; he is a raven Anansi. The humans see him so often around their town that they named him ‘Ray the Raven.’ They think he is just a regular raven, since bird Anansi never go into the human world; he is perfect to spy on them.”

  Acacia countered, “I doubt they will be very welcoming to him as he is an animal and we are connected to animals in some way. If they don’t think he might be a Cryptic now they might still think we can mind control birds or something.” Leander sighed as he leaned back in the chair, knowing she was right.

  They sat in silence thinking what their next move should be. Denzel looked at each of them quietly thinking, when Naomi got up to go check on Gwythyr. She returned after a few moments and sat back down in silence.

  Denzel got an idea after watching her. “What if we sent Naomi and me to the human town, under the guise that we are there to formally apologize.”

  “That might work or at least it will get us inside the town, but we can’t go in there with weapons. They will definitely not trust us then,” Naomi pointed out.

  “Actually you can go in there with weapons, we just need to disguise your weapons. Leander does it all the time, so he can teach you! Though I don't like the idea of sending you two alone,” Topaz chimed.

  “I’ll go with them,” Leander volunteered. They all looked at him surprised, then nodded. It was decided. Naomi, Leander, and Denzel would go to the human town under the guise of a formal apology with hidden weapons in case things went sideways. Leander taught Naomi and Denzel how to disguise their weapons for half an hour in another bedroom. They quickly figured out how to turn their weapons into common items. Naomi with three taps on the hilt transformed her double-bladed sword into a second hairpin. Denzel with a shrill whistle transformed his saber into a tiger pin. Leander transformed his three-pronged whip into a belt with a three-toned whistle. To transform them back to weapons was easy as well. All they had to do was say the word “ Umballa ,” and the items would transform back into weapons.

  Once everyone was ready and the weapons were hidden, Leander, Naomi, and Denzel walked outside and through the portal as Acacia waved them good luck. They arrived near the edge of the human town in a clearing. They followed a deer path that led towards town, Naomi hiding the remote, for her dress and Denzel’s outfit, in her bra. It wasn’t long before they reached the human town, and they quickly made their way to the town hall where a few humans seemed to be heading, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, covering their ears and tails to the extent they could, with the cloaks they had grabbed on their way out of the temple.

  They reached the hall and saw there was someone standing next to the open door, waving people in. Naomi looked to Leander for instruction, Leander urged her forward. They walked towards the man at the open door, and the man noticed them as they drew near. He put a hand to the sword at his hip.

  Naomi glanced at Leander as he spoke when they stood before the door guard. “We come in peace with a formal apology as well as to explain what has happened.” The man took his hand off of his sword and walked them in. They stood with the guard at the side of the meeting hall.

  The hall had a raised platform, many long benches like pews at a church, and a pedestal for the speaker. Mica’s widow was at the pedestal looking out over the crowd as the last humans entered and found their seats. Denzel saw his sister sitting in the front row looking at the large table on the platform.

  On the table was a large white sheet covering something. Naomi figured it was probably Mica’s body. His widow spoke, beginning the meeting, “ Welcome my friends, I bring grave news. Our leader, Mica, has fallen. He was killed while we visited the Cryptic world to watch one of their ceremonies and was returned without the head of the guilty. My husband was a good man. A kind man who wanted only peace and they cut him down. Not only that, but they took away my son and have turned him into one of them.”

  The crowd talked in agreement; it didn’t look good to Naomi. The humans looked mad and were agreeing with everything the woman was saying.

  Naomi looked to Leander and Denzel. She could tell they were thinking the same thing, “What have we walked into?” Just as they thought it the woman caught sight of them and glared at them.

  The widow challenged, “Looks like the Cryptics have come to show off their new toys. My son and his freak of a life partner. Who is she to think she has any right to even stand next to a human of such power? She should be kneeling to him as he is to be our new leader. The human Droga, who will lead us to victory and help us take revenge for my husband.”

  Naomi was annoyed now and it was clear in her tone as she walked forward, “I am Naomi the caracal Anansi, life partner to Denzel the Droga . We came to formally apologize and explain the death of Mica.”

  The woman glared, seeming not to like that Naomi said the name of her husband, yet she stepped aside to allow Naomi to have the stand. Leander and Denzel stood on either side of her as she spoke.

  “We apologize deeply for the death of the First Fang Mica. We had no choice as he attacked and destroyed our leader’s property and threatened me. He died with honor and we will remember him for his bravery and as a great leader.” Naomi gazed out over the humans as she spoke, keeping silent notes on the eyes watching and listening. A few just glared at her, a few made sure a small weapon was hidden; others seemed to calm down from the rage the widow had spread with her words of hate. When Naomi finished she did a slight bow of respect and headed down the center aisle w
ith Leander and Denzel in tow.

  They had almost reached the exit when the widow spoke with concealed rage, “You come here and accuse my husband of attacking, threatening, and destroying property. Yet it is you who committed the worst crime, monster. You kidnapped and turned my son, you probably brainwashed him to be your little puppet. You are the true criminal!”

  “Your son asked for Brazen claw to protect you and your family. We are sorry we had to break the promise for Mica, but that just means we won’t be able to even lay a finger on you or your daughter unless for self-defense. Now please calm down ma’am and let us remain at peace,” Naomi turned to face her challenger with an emotionless face. Naomi was searching the woman for any weapons with her gaze, but found no obvious weapon.

  “You kidnapped him because you wanted a weapon against us, you demon! Well, the joke is on you, as he will be our leader--not your weapon,” the woman countered, stepping down from the platform into the center aisle. Naomi slid her right foot behind her just to be ready in case the woman attacked. Denzel saw this and walked to stand between them both as he spoke.

  “ENOUGH! Stop this now, please. Mom we came only to apologize and make nice, please don’t cause war when there is no need. How do you expect me to lead the humans when I'm not one anymore? I’m a Cryptic and I'm happy, please accept that.”

  His mother looked at him surprised, but just glared past him at Naomi. “You see what they have done to you, son? They turned you against your own family, they brainwashed you to think you’re named Denzel. But, you’re Hunter--my son, and our leader!”