His loins had cried out at seeing the way the gods had blessed the Elots, sending them females when they needed them most, that he had shouted for joy. It was that expression of feeling that had sent the women running to their deaths in the belly of the beast.
It is my fault, Nor’Ak realized bitterly. My fault our gifts from the gods destroyed themselves.
He rose to his feet, staggering in the frigid blast of air his sorrow and outrage was causing. Even though the females were gone, as leader of their people, it was Nor’Ak’s job to take care of the sacred land of their people. He narrowed his clear eyes at the swirling flames, his fists clenched at his sides.
Rage twisted his gut into knots.
If it hadn’t been for the flames, I would not have been summoned here. Perhaps I would have discovered the females in a more natural way . . . a way that would not have caught me by surprise and drawn from me such a mighty roar of jubilation. He strode towards the fire, calling forth the powers of snow and ice that were his by birthright to command. The fire will pay for costing we Elots our mates from the gods.
Flexing his arms, he lifted his fists in the air, commanding a great wall of snow and ice to lift from the ground. The sheet of white soared ever upward, a veritable wave of sharp, jagged crystals of ice.
I will smother the damnable fire, he thought angrily, his heart raw at having gained and lost hope for his people in so small a span of time. His skull ached as his horns grew under the weight of his magic, a necessary pain for calling upon such elemental power as this. He opened his fingers, loosening the wall of snow. Preparing to send it forth.
But just as he was about to flick his wrist forward to send the wall of ice cascading down onto the ball of fire, the strangest thing happened. The fire dissipated, revealing a man holding a small, squirming shape in his arms.
No, he thought, squinting at the shape in the man’s arms. It can’t be.
But the creature squirmed again and cried out, sending chills radiating through Nor’Ak.
Nor’Ak’s eyes misted, and his arms sagged, his muscles quivering from the magic’s demand to let loose his rage, to cast the ice towering above him at some great foe. But it wasn’t a foe that stood before him. It was merely a man . . .
And an infant.
Nor’Ak lowered his arms to his sides, and the great wall of ice fell to the ground, sending a flurry of powder-fine particles gusting into the air. When the stream reached the man and the infant, the babe cried out again, thin tendrils of flame bursting forth to swirl about him.
“No!” Nor’Ak bellowed, charging across the space. It had been many winters since he had seen an infant. Most of the young Elots still remaining on T’lugot were well into adulthood. There were not even adolescent Elots remaining. And to see an infant after all this time?
Nor’Ak would send a blizzard to coat the world in white before he let wicked flames destroy the child.
As he ran, his horns elongated and spiked, their translucence shimmering and catching the rays of the indigo sun overhead, making patterns dance across the ice at his feet. He took a deep breath in, focusing his mind and calling on the powers of the wind and sky. The grey sky overhead darkened and the wind howled, ushering in vicious snow clouds.
“Stay back!” the man before Nor’Ak shouted, angling his body to obscure the infant.
Nor’Ak froze, his chest heaving in his outrage.
“Are you the one burning the child?” he shouted, the words erupting in a great cloud of fog.
The man’s brow furrowed. “Of course not!”
The babe cried out, and Nor’Ak’s heart shattered with agony. He growled, a deep, throaty sound meant to frighten his foe. But the man was not moved.
“Then why does he suffer?” demanded Nor’Ak, his claws breaking past the tips of his fingers. He could not contain the parts of himself that were ready to fight, to battle for the life of the child. Thick, fat flakes of snow began to fall around them, and Nor’Ak crouched low, prepared to strike a deathblow to the strange man. Anything to save the infant in the man’s arms.
“He is not suffering,” said the man through clenched teeth. Smoke rose from the crown of his head, and angry flames shot forth from his eyes. “You are frightening him!”
Nor’Ak bared his teeth, his blood thrumming in his veins. He would relish in killing this flaming demon.
Just as he was about to leap, a loud banging sound erupted from the strange black shape at the demon’s back. The mouth of the great beast began to open again, and Nor’Ak could hear the females weeping.
His heart pounded against his ribs. He looked from the stretching mouth to the fire demon and back again.
I will save the child first, he decided, running his teeth over the two long points of his sabreteeth. Then, when the flame demon is slain, I will defeat the giant beast and salvage what females I can. If they are weeping, they are living. There is still hope . . . still time.
Nor’Ak looked up at the flame demon, his chin tilted up in challenge. If he could provoke the demon to strike first, he could counter and attack his opponent’s weak spot—the left side. That much was obvious. But what wasn’t so obvious to Nor’Ak was why the demon no longer faced him; instead, the man with eyes and wings of flame was turned to stare at the yawning mouth of the beast.
Nor’Ak shifted. If the demon is afraid of the looming black beast, it is the greater challenge. The greater threat.
But it wasn’t the beast that held the demon’s attention so. It was the dark female leaping from the creature’s mouth.
“Go back, Clea!” shouted the flame demon, his voice strained and pleading.
The sound made Nor’Ak flinch, but the words made his heart rage. He stared in awe as the fierce, dark woman surged forward, her skin as black as the beast behind her.
“No!” she screamed back, her breaths fogging the air as she ran towards them.
She is fearless, Nor’Ak admired as he watched he run. And then her goal became obvious to him—she meant to race into the flames to take back the child. To fight the demon.
On her own.
Nor’Ak tossed his head back, shaking out his shaggy mane. He howled into the wind, calling his tribe to his side. If the female will fight, we will all fight. Mates as brave as these should mother our offspring.
But while he admired her determination and courage, Nor’Ak was not going to let her fight alone.
He raced around the growing mass of flames and wrapped his arm around the dark woman.
“RELEASE HER!” shouted the fire demon, his voice deep and vicious and deadly.
Nor’Ak turned to face him, shifting to put the female at his back. But he didn’t protect her because she was weak; he protected her because she was important.
She struggled against him, her much smaller claws scraping against the white hide of his forearm. Nor’Ak grinned as he felt each scratch. The female yearns to save the infant. The gods have blessed us with devout breeders. True ice mothers: hard and cold and strong.
“You will not harm her,” he rumbled, his eyes now boring into the infant in the demon’s arms. That was his next target, the next creature he would save. A howl sounded in the distance, and he tried to keep the smug smile from his lips.
The rest of the Elots will be here soon. Then we will vanquish this demon and his great beast. For Nor’Ak had no doubt in his mind that the man of flame and the black beast belonged one to the other. But something he saw did make him doubt.
The infant in the demon’s arms was engulfed in flames, and yet . . . he did not wail in agony. Did not cry out in unimaginable pain.
“Let go of me, you big bastard!” hissed the woman at Nor’Ak’s back.
He craned his head downward, throwing his voice in her direction. “You are safe, female. I will retrieve the infant.”
Suddenly, Nor’Ak’s chest was sweltering. Burning with heat, if not yet with flames. He jerked his head forward again, this time staring into the very eyes of the flame demon.<
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“I said, Release. My. Woman,” screamed the demon, his fires darting out to lick at Nor’Ak’s broad chest.
Nor’Ak frowned. Half of his mind was struggling to process the demon’s words, and the other half was drenched in relief as he felt the presence of his brethren close by.
And then the words clicked.
“The dark one is your . . . mate?” he asked, his pale eyes widening in confusion and awe. The Elots needed mates, fierce breeders like the dark woman at his back who would help repopulate T’lugot and raise offspring to be fighters and stewards of the ice world. But he would not rob another man of his mate. Not even if that other man was a fire demon.
A sharp pain lanced through Nor’Ak’s arms as the female sunk her miniature fangs into his hide. He howled, his arm flinching for just a moment. But a moment was all she needed.
She sprinted out of his reach, diving into the flames to clutch at the demon, who wrapped an arm protectively over her shoulder. She drew down the infant from his chest, her lips brushing across the child’s eyelids and cheeks and brow. When she looked up, her dark eyes were staring daggers into Nor’Ak.
And that is when it hit him.
The females were not sent by the gods. They belonged to the fire demon.
The hope that had been taking shape in his chest melted under the crushing heat of the realization.
“Why are you here?” asked Nor’Ak as his horns sunk into his skull once more. He took a step back, the heat of the demon’s flames oppressive enough to make his hide ache. And his spirit . . . gods, his spirit was crying out from the agony of feeling each crystal around them melt!
“That is none of your concern,” rumbled the fire demon. It was obvious the man was still in combat stance, even though his flames were receding.
The dark woman rotated her rage-drenched gaze to the demon. “Ignis, we have discussed this. This planet is our only hope . . . our only option. I’ll not raise Kyus any further from Arda.”
Nor’Ak drew in a deep breath at hearing the name of one of their mother stars. Maybe these foreigners do come from the gods, after all.
“There are hostiles here, my love,” said the demon to the female, not taking his eyes from Nor’Ak. “I will not allow you to remain here while beasts such as these roam the snows. The dangerous environment is one thing, but creatures the likes of him . . . No. I will not allow it.”
The dark woman frowned, the lines in her brow creasing heavily. “I will stay. We will all stay.”
“Clea . . .”
“He tried to protect me, Ignis,” the female said, her eyes flicking over to Nor’Ak. Her frown deepened. “I think he thinks you are the enemy. The danger.”
The flames around the demon shrank, the great wings of fire at his back disappearing into his back.
He flared his nostrils at Nor’Ak. “Is that true? Did you think I was a danger to Clea?”
“Clea,” said Nor’Ak, liking the way the foreign word tumbled from his mouth. “Yes.”
The demon called Ignis narrowed his eyes at Nor’Ak. “Why would you think such a thing?”
“You are a murderer,” said Nor’Ak in a matter-of-fact tone. “A villain.”
Ignis let out a barking laugh. “Aye, that I am, ice creature. But how do you know it? And how did you come to find us? My man scanned and found no lifeforms about.”
Scanned? thought Nor’Ak. But he decided to focus on the more paramount concerns.
“I heard the cries of the snow,” said Nor’Ak, his rage mounting. “You cast your vile flames into our world, melting that which we hold sacred. Holy.”
“The skating circle,” whispered Clea under her breath.
Nor’Ak grunted. “I do not know this word.”
“How many of you are there?” asked Ignis, his body still tense with energy. Ready for battle.
Nor’Ak let out a rumble. Should he tell the truth and give this demon an advantage? Or should he speak falsehoods to frighten them all away?
We Elots do not lie, he told himself firmly, dread sinking into his gut. But we do not have to speak the truth plain as the winter winds.
“Not as many as there once were,” he said, his tone hard and cold as ice.
Ignis narrowed his eyes. “How many is not many?”
The distinct song of crunching ice sounded behind Nor’Ak, and he pivoted, taking in the lovely sight of the women who had been devoured by the beast. One had hair as pale as the snow, and beholding her made his member quiver with pleasure. Her eyes drifted down to the area between his legs, and her cheeks flushed crimson.
Nor’Ak cleared his throat and turned back to Ignis. “Why do you want to know our number?”
Ignis drew the dark woman, Clea, closer against his side. “I am considering leaving my mate on your planet, to raise our child in a climate more suitable for her species. But I am disinclined to do so depending on a variety of factors that have just presented themselves at your appearance.”
Nor’Ak nodded knowingly, though in truth, the demon’s words confused him. What was a planet? Or species? There was only one world in all of existence, and that was T’lugot. All else was stars and the realms of gods and demons. Nor’Ak knew not of this planet from whence the females surrounding him had hailed.
Though still hesitant to admit the pathetic state of their numbers, Nor’Ak clicked his tongue, and his brothers manifested around him, the snow shifting on the wind to reveal their presence among the females.
The women began screaming, and the flames were back around the demon again, his eyes wide and fists raised. Clea sank in the snow, rocking the babe back and forth, back and forth.
“Calm down, Kyus, baby. Momma can’t hold you if you get upset.” Tears misted her eyes, and her lips fluttered across his face once more. “Please, baby. It’s alright. It’s okay.”
“Generals!” shouted Ignis.
Nor’Ak felt heat at his back then, and he spun around to see three more balls of flame burning in the mouth of the great black beast. The Elots growled, their horns already at their full length, shimmering like spears of ice in the faint light of the sinking blue sun. The snow clouds had begun to disperse, but one of his brothers called them back, blotting out the sun and sending snow to swirl around them all.
“Orders, Commander?” asked one of the balls of flame.
Nor’Ak stared in amazement as the wind blew. At the core of each mass of flame was another man . . . another demon.
Ignis’s words slowly started to sink into Nor’Ak’s mind. They want to leave their females here. Their unclaimed, available females. The small bit of hope started growing in his chest once more. This is a gift from the gods! his mind shouted as his fellow Elots growled menacingly. If only we can control it.
“Wait!” Nor’Ak shouted over the chaos and the howling wind. But no one listened. The Elots were crouched low, creeping up to the beast’s mouth where the other demons stood sentinel. The females were screaming and weeping, clinging to each other in fear. And the lead demon, Ignis, was shouting orders to his fellows, commanding them to lash out at the Elots with their flames.
No! Nor’Ak looked around at the women . . . at Clea with her child. They seek refuge. Safety. And they could be our women, if we provide for them!
“Wait!” he bellowed again, but still the madness ensued. The balls of fire were walking out of the mouth of the beast. Nor’Ak planted his feet in the snow. He threw back his head, sending the sole word rippling out into the world. “WAIT!”
To his relief, everything and everyone ceased. Even the infant Kyus stopped his pitiful whines.
Nor’Ak stood looking at them each in turn, his chest heaving from the effort of forcing out his determined cry. When at last he could catch his breath, he said, “We have become enemies.”
“No shit,” said one of the three demons behind him. In response, the Elots growled.
“Enough!” commanded Nor’Ak and Ignis at the same time.
The two men looked at each other
, Nor’Ak with his heart still filling with hope. Ignis with . . . well, with something else entirely.
Determination.
A long moment passed with no one saying anything, the air growing thick with the clouds of breath from each being assembled. At last, the leader of the demons spoke.
“What have you to say?” asked Ignis, thick yellow and orange flames still surging up from his back.
Nor’Ak grunted. “Send your flames away.”
Ignis narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“You are burning our world,” said Nor’Ak. He paused, taking a bracing breath. It truly was a lot, to ignore the pain four separate fires was causing to the ice around them. “Your flames are melting that which we hold to be holy.”
Another moment passed. Nor’Ak kept his pale eyes on Ignis’s fiery ones. At last, the demon nodded his head.
“Call them back,” he said softly, looking at each of his fellow demons in turn.
When the last bit of fire was gone, Nor’Ak and the other Elots gave a sigh of relief. The women rose from the snow around them, still clinging to one another in fear.
This will not do, thought Nor’Ak as he took in the sight. His gaze fell on the female with hair like snow, and his loins throbbed.
“We do not mean you any harm,” said Ignis, surprising Nor’Ak.
He looked at the demon, now looking only like a hairless man without his flames. Not a demon at all. “But your fires . . .?”
“They are part of who we are,” explained Ignis. He took a step forward, his hands outstretched as if to show he held no weapon. “We can control them, but sometimes they flare if we feel that danger is close at hand.”
Nor’Ak tilted his head. “And you find we Elots to be dangerous?”
“You did appear out of thin air,” said Clea, the babe Kyus wrapped safely in her arms. “And you growl like beasts. Animals.”
Nor’Ak and his brothers laughed.
Stars, Snow and Mistletoe: A Holiday Naughty List Collection Page 28
