Black Ruins Falls

by Karen DuBose

  He shakes his head at me. “What if it’s too heavy for you or something goes wrong? I want to be there.”

  I give his words a moment to sink in before I answer him. “You have a point. Anything can happen down there. Are you ready? Once we are in the water, I can make air bubbles around us.”

  He nods and stands next to me with his hand in mine. We jump into the water and I make the bubbles around us. We can’t talk to each other, so I point down and he leads the way. I look around my surroundings. I really can’t swim, but I’m good at sinking to the bottom.

  The colors down here are magnificent. Bright greens, pinks, and purples, along with other colors. The plant life down here is amazing too. I watch them sway in the water. They are quite memorizing.

  I feel pressure around me and I look up and see Kiernan gazing at me. I almost forgot why I’m here. He points over to my left. The stone is a lot bigger than I thought. It’s more like a huge dragon egg. It must be thousands of years old. We don’t have any more true dragons here anymore. I would have loved to have flown with them. That would have been awesome.

  I try to sink further but I can’t. It’s like something is keeping me from going any further down. I try again and when I do my bubble bursts open. I barely have time to get air into my lungs.

  Kiernan pops his own bubble to reach me. He grabs me and takes me to the surface. When our heads break free of the water I take in a deep breath.

  “What happened? Why did your bubble pop?”

  I take a few more deep breaths before I answer him. “I don’t know. I couldn’t sink any further and when I tried again it just popped. The only way I will be able to get it is for you to take me down there once my bubble pops. I will need you to get us back to the surface.”

  “I don’t like that idea. Why don’t I just get it and bring it to you?”

  “I have a feeling you won’t be able to get it. Let’s just try my idea and if not, we will try yours. Ok?”

  He grumbles under his breath about women being hardheaded. “You’re mated with me. Get used to it there, buddy.”

  He smirks at me. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, woman.”

  I smile back at him. “I will keep reminding you of that. Now let’s try this again, shall we?”

  I grab his hand before he could argue with me and jump into the water. Wrapping the bubbles around us, I let the bubble sink as far as it will go. I take a deep breath and let the bubble pop.

  I wasn’t prepared to start floating to the top. Kiernan grabs my ankle and drags me back down. He swims to the Dragon Stone and he holds me down by the shoulders as I reach for the stone and everything goes stark white.

  Memories bombard me. I have to close my eyes for the dizziness they were giving me. I watch as one after another fly by. I can barely make out anything. All of a sudden, they stop on one image.

  A Dragon five times bigger than any of us stands there looking out at the world. He is standing at the tip of a mountain. I can feel his anger and sadness. I can see the darkness taking over the world. I can’t tell if it’s smoke or something else.

  I take a closer look. It’s not smoke it’s the demons. They are destroying the world. How is that even possible? If they destroy the world we wouldn’t be here.

  The image fades and I’m back on the surface with the stone in my arms. I slowly open my eyes to see Kiernan looking down at me.

  “I’m starting to think you love trying to give me a heart attack.”

  “What happened?”

  “I should be asking you that question. All I know is when you grabbed the stone you went limp and your eyes rolled in the back of your head. I prayed you wouldn’t take a breath before I got you out of there.”

  “I don’t even remember grabbing the stone. I know I was about too, and a bunch of memories came flying into my head. One stuck out. The Demons. I just don’t know what it all means. According to the image they were destroying the world. How could it been possible for a stone to show me stuff?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know, love. We don’t have all the history of this world. Maybe we will figure it out later. I know we don’t have that much time to get the answers we need. We have to get everyone together and figure out a plan.”

  I sit up and the dizziness washes over me again. My stomach rolls. I have to lay down again hoping it doesn’t get worse.

  Kiernan’s panic voice raises. “Love, are you ok?”

  “I’m just dizzy. I think it’s from the lack of air.” I didn’t want to worry him, but I think it’s this stone that is causing it. “Give me a few minutes and I will be alright.”

  “I’m going to get Oceana. I will be right back.”

  “No. I will be fine. Just go get everyone together so we can leave. Ok!”

  He hesitates a beat before he nods. His worried face tells me he doesn’t believe me. He leans over and kisses me before he stands and does as I ask.

  “Ok stone why did you show me that image? What are you not telling me?”

  I think that was the wrong question. I’m back in the memories, this time the dizziness is worse, and I lose what is left in my stomach. I try to breathe but it’s hard to do that when your stomach is making sure there is nothing left in there.

  The image stops this time on a picture of a demon. He looks like he is having the time of his life. At the ground of his feet are animals from dragons, bears, and lions all dead. It makes me even sicker to my stomach.

  Is this what will happen if we don’t kill them? I won’t and can’t let it happen. I will find a way to make sure this doesn’t happen somehow. I never believed in miracles but if there is one, we could use it right about now.

  “How can I stop this? What can you show me that will stop them?” I ask the stone. This time it didn’t show me anything. I get frustrated and sit up, which makes my stomach turn some more. I sit there taking deep breaths and letting them out.

  I hear footsteps, just as I look up Kiernan, mom, Oceana, Bexley, Gracen, and Naya come out of the trees. I know I’m not hiding how I feel very well because all four of the women rush to my side.

  Oceana lays her hands on me and closes her eyes. “The stone is making you sick. It is pulsing too much magic into you.”

  I try to give the stone away, but it refuses to leave my hands. I’m starting to get worried.

  “Look at her stomach! It’s growing too fast!” mom shouts.

  I look down and I look like I’m going to burst at any moment. This can’t be happening. Runes can’t be born right now. This world isn’t safe for her yet. I try throwing the stone and it just reappears in my hands again.

  “Get this stupid thing away from me!”

  Kiernan tries pulling it out of my hands. Light whips out of it knocking him away from me. I’m freaking out, I need to get rid of it somehow.

  Gracen gets in front of me and takes my head in her hands. “Listen! You freaking out isn’t going to help you or Runes. Let us try and see why it won’t leave you. Ok?”

  I nod my head holding back tears and my fear.

  “Ladies! I will need all of you. Let’s see what it wants and how we can help them both.”

  They all surround me, placing their hands on me. I don’t know how they plan on getting any information from the stone, but I’m willing to try anything.

  “I need you to relax Dariya. Open your mind and let us in. Don’t fight us.”

  Easy for her to say. “Ok!” I close my eyes and try to relax. I think of happy thoughts to get my mind off of what is going on.”

  “That’s it keep doing what you’re doing.”

  I think back to when Kiernan first talked to me. I thought I was daydreaming again. I still can’t believe he is mine. I think about all the things Kira and I did and me trying to fit in and not embarrass her. I know now nothing I could do would embarrass her. She is a true friend and I’m thankful for that.

  Gracen speaks softly. “Dariya, you can open your eyes now.”

  I sl
owly open them and see Gracen and Naya holding the stone. “What does it want?”

  “Runes bonded with it. That is why it didn’t want to leave you. It was feeding her its magic. We need to figure out how to use this soon. It isn’t willing to stay away from her for long.”

  I look at Gracen with a dumbfounded look. “How did she bond to it and how is that stone alive to tell you that?”

  Gracen laughs. “It’s not a stone. It’s a dragon egg. There is a baby dragon in it. Don’t give me that look. I have no idea how long it’s been in there or how it has even survived.”

  I have no words for this. A real dragon is in that stone. How are we going to use it? I place my fingers on the bridge of my nose. I just can’t right now. “I don’t even want to know how Runes bonded herself to it. I’m telling you, she is going to be the death of us. She isn’t even born and she can do all kinds of things.”

  I stand up and notice the dizziness is gone. I don’t even care right now. I start to pace back and forth. I notice the extra weight every time I turn. I stop when something dawns on me. “Are you telling me that my daughter is bonded to it like a mate?”

  I watch as Kiernan's face turns white as a ghost. I rush over to him as fast as my wobbly self will let me. I embrace him to let him know I’m here for him. Plus, I need his touch right now to calm myself down.

  Oceana is the one who answered. “Not as a mate yet, but yes. The same as you two were before the ceremony. This dragon will hatch at some point. I just don’t know when. The faster we get answers the better. Now, let’s get back with the others.” She looks at my huge stomach. “Before she decides she wants to make an entrance.”

  I look at her and shake my head. “Not going to happen. She is going to stay in there for a while longer. Let’s go.”

  I grab her hand and wait for everyone else to place a hand on her. We need to figure this out now.

  Chapter Eleven

  We land just outside of a cabin I’ve never seen before. I take a moment to look around. The forest that surrounds us is lush. Not as lush as the Black Ruins, but close. The color is dull in comparison. Looking up at the cabin, I see it’s in shambles.

  “Have they really been staying here?” Taking a deep breath, I take a step toward the cabin door. I take the first step and the door opens. I look up in time to see Kira running toward me at full speed. I brace myself for the impact.

  Before she could get to me Bruno scoops her up. “Baby, you could have hurt her.” Bruno spins so Kira is facing me and when she looks at me and my huge belly she gasps.

  “How are you that big? When you left you were big, but not this huge. What happened?”

  I scanned the people around me and they all have worried looks on their faces. I know how they feel. I’m scared out of my mind too.

  “It’s a long story. The short story is Runes bonded with the stone, which turns out is a dragon egg. There is a baby dragon in there and it will hatch sooner or later. Its magic is feeding Runes making her grow faster,” I say as fast as I can to not make myself sound insane.

  There wasn’t a peep out of any of them, which made me nervous. “Are any of you going to say anything?”

  Kira grabs my hand. “What do you want us to say? It’s not like we are surprised anymore. At least for me, I can’t speak for everyone else. I just want to know how we can stop her from being born sooner rather than later?”

  “There is no stopping it. We have to defeat the demons and the Elders soon or we will have more problems, we don’t have time to figure out.”

  Bruno sets Kira down. “I think I have a plan about the demons. But none of us are going to like it. We need bait and the only one they really want is you, Dariya.”

  Before I could say anything, Kiernan is in Bruno’s face. “The hell if we are going to use her as bait. She can barely walk let alone get out of there before they kill her.”

  Bruno holds his hands in the air. “I wasn’t even going to suggest it be her. If we could use her magic to turn one of us into her, then I think we should try. I’m willing to be the bait.”

  Kira smacks him in the chest. “Listen here, buddy. I already almost lost you once. It’s not happening. Let someone else be the hero for once.” Her anger is rolling off of her in waves.

  “I will do it.” We all turn to face Rome. He has his arms crossed and his chin out.

  “You even try and I will kill you myself.” We all turn to face the unknown voice. A beautiful woman stands there with her arms crossed. Her long, straight brown hair blows in the wind behind her. I watch as her crystal blue eyes pierce right through Rome.

  Rome walks toward her with his mouth hanging open. “Keva! What are you doing here? It’s not safe!”

  “I’m tired of hiding. I want to be with my husband even if it gets me killed. I can help and you know it.”

  Rome rubs his hands down his face and starts pacing. “Why must you always be so stubborn, woman!”

  “If I wasn’t you wouldn’t love me as you do. Now, what needs to be done and when do we start?”

  I stare at her like she lost her mind. I thought I was the only one who talked to him that way and got away with it. Oceana is the one to tell her the plans and catch her up. I went to go sit down. The extra weight is killing my back.

  As I sit down I look over at Keva. “I like you already. I’m not the only one who is going to give Rome a hard time. I think you just became my third best friend.”

  She looks in my direction. “You must be Dariya. It’s nice to finally meet you. Rome tells me you are to be our next ruler. What can I do to help? Please don’t tell me to go back to that awful mountain.”

  “I don’t know what you can do, unless you know someone willing to look like me to get the demons rounded up. I would do it myself, but as you see I’m outnumbered here and they won’t let me.”

  I look at each of them with a stern look and they look back at me with fierceness. All of them are hard headed and it makes me want to scream. Now I know how they feel when I put my foot down.

  I really would do it myself if I wasn’t carrying precious cargo. I won’t risk her for anything. I’m not willing to put someone else’s life on the line either. We are at a standstill for now and that isn’t sitting well with me.

  “I will do it. I can transport myself out of there in a second.” I’m about to protest when she lifts her hand to stop me. “Who else here can do it besides Pim?”

  She has a point, I don’t like it, but what choice do we have. We need them dead so I can go kill those hags once and for all.

  “Fine! I don’t like this just for the record. Where is Pim anyway?”

  “He went to go check on, as you call them the hags. He has been keeping an eye on them. Now that you are here, they will be able to find you.”

  “I forgot about that part. Is it even safe for me to be here?”

  She sighs. “I don’t know. Pim and I can cast a cloaking spell when he gets back and see if it works.”

  Great, just what we all need right now for them to show up without warning. I close my eyes to rest for a few minutes while they all talk about who is doing what.

  “Why do I have a feeling we will be in the middle of all of them at the same time?”

  I don’t even open my eyes to answer Brody. “Because that is just my luck.”

  He laughs at me. “I’ve missed you around here.”

  I laugh this time. “What did you miss? My witty comments or my stubbornness?”

  “All of it. I never know what will come out of your mouth. I love it.”

  I shake my head at him and open my eyes. “I’ve missed you too. What have I missed?”

  “Where do I even start? Pim and Jax have been keeping the peace around here. Some of your new pack members have been at each other’s throats. They aren’t used to being cooped up. Brice has surprised me by helping out and not losing his temper. I’m proud of him for that.”

  “I knew there was more to him than anger. Anything else?”<
br />
  He chuckles. “Not unless you call watching me beat all of them at cards then no.”

  My mood seems to drop. “Soon we won’t be cooped up. We will be fighting for our lives.”

  He nudges me with his shoulder. “We have always been fighting for our lives, this time it will mean something.” He stands up and winks at me before he heads over to the others. I watch and try to listen to what they are saying but I’m just so tired.

  Taz notices me and walks away from the group. “Are you ok lil’ sister?”

  I smile at him. I love it when he calls me that. “Yeah, I’m ok. Just tired is all. It seems I start to recover from one thing to get pushed to the limits again. I don’t see a break anytime soon. We need to get the hags and the demons before they get us and we can’t go after the Elders until they are dead.”

  He nods his head. “Yeah, it seems like a never-ending battle doesn’t it?”

  “You have no idea. I can’t handle any more right now. I feel like this whole fate thing is set to destroy me.”

  “I know it feels like this is coming down on you, but I believe this is all happening for a reason. I think it’s a test.”

  I made a sarcastic laugh. “I think I’m failing this so-called test. I mean, look what has happened so far. I almost died twice. Well, I did die once. We lost Hiram. I don’t know what more I can take.”

  He wraps me into his arms and hugs me. Tears fall from my eyes landing on the ground between us. I feel like I’m going to crack soon. There is nothing I can do to bring Hiram back, but I swear I won’t let his loss go in vain.

  “Shh! I’m not going to lie to you and tell you everything will be ok because I’m not the one who can see the future. Have you had any more visions that didn’t involve death?”

  I shake my head no. It seems that’s all I ever see anymore. He nods his head in understanding.

  “What did you do to make her cry this time?” I hear Cicero say. I look up at him. He is towering over Taz, like he is about to kick his ass. I chuckle at that. I know who would win and they both know it too.

  “At least I got you to smile. Where’s my hug? Why am I always the last to get one?”