“Wait. June has kais? So she’s the Kairök of Ea and Haakon’s Cairn?” asked Anna, trying to understand.
“No. Not June, Paaliaq. But Paaliaq disappeared after a fight years ago. And they all keep looking for her. They thought – and Haakon still thinks – that June is Paaliaq. But I don’t know. She ignores Ea completely. And Ea has been suffering because of it.”
“So maybe Paaliaq’s dead,” Anna said hopefully.
“No. She can’t be.” Red tossed the rock back onto a patch of dirt. “She didn’t let go of the röks she was holding and if she had died with them, her kais would’ve died too. And they didn’t.”
“But June isn’t Paaliaq. She’s never killed anyone. She doesn’t even eat meat.”
“Not as June, no. But Draak live in cycles, not years. From a human perspective Draak would seem immortal.”
“You reincarnate?”
“No. We just try to look the same as other humans. But we aren’t.”
Anna sat thoughtfully. “Do your parents know?”
“Yes. And your father…” Red took Anna’s hand in his, like he used to do when they were little. “I promised him to protect you. But I should’ve protected him too.” Red traced her fingers with his other hand. “He didn’t just die, Anna. He was killed. By a Draak.” Red squeezed her hand tightly. “And I won’t let that happen to you too.”
Anna’s hand trembled in his. “Who killed him?”
“Yarlung,” said Red. “Rakan’s mother.”
* * *
Rakan leaned against the boulder at the top of the hill, feeling less calm than he appeared. He had felt Anna running down, but she had stopped to speak with Red. And hadn’t come yet even though the bell had rung. He felt June coming up and turned. All the Elythia except for Lysa were gone. And Haakon was still with the Eld. June waved and ran up the hill to join him.
“Welcome back,” she said, giving him a hug. “You’ve been gone a long time.” She was radiating so much happiness that she almost seemed to shimmer in her own light. “You’ve changed,” she said. “You’re more… complete.”
He looked at the halo that surrounded her. “You’ve changed too.” It was brighter.
June turned toward the school. “Aren’t you going in? Or are you waiting for Anna? It’s okay, don’t say anything, I felt the answer.” June looked up the other hill that continued beyond the school where Anna was, even though she couldn’t be seen. “She’ll come.”
Rakan knew that, but he didn’t feel like waiting to see her. “Where’s Erling?”
“His parents asked him to stay after we opened the second gate,” June said, annoyed.
“What gates? You mentioned them before too.” As well as not having her rök anymore after it. His fists clenched.
June’s gaze shifted to the sky. “The gates that mark our union. We have to open all seven before we can become a true Pair.”
“But there are no gates.”
June smiled at Rakan. “To join Erling as his Chosen there are.” She looked back up at the sky. “I can’t even begin to tell you how good it feels. It’s like… being free of everything. You just let go and… the sky dances around you in a symphony of light and sound.”
“It’s not possible.” He could feel her rök. “You’re a Draak.”
Anger exploded around him. June flipped Rakan over her shoulder before he even had time to react. “Never say that,” she hissed. Her eyes flickered alternately blue and green. That, more than her violence, scared him. Eye color never changed.
“Easy,” he said, lying still in the mud. “I’m not fighting you.”
June knelt and helped him up “I’m sorry. I get so…”
“Emotional?” It wasn’t the first time.
June looked away. “I really hate that about myself. I just can’t talk about certain things… and I don’t know why. It’s as if something snaps in my mind.”
“Maybe it does.” Rakan let his mind slip forward gently, wondering what he could say and what would trigger another reaction. “I mean, maybe there are things you no longer are.” He felt a flicker of fear run through June, but it stayed manageable. “Or maybe there are things you just don’t want to remember,” he said softly.
“Like my dreams? The pain? The planet exploding? You think they’re real?” she asked, searching his eyes. “You think they’re memories that I’ve repressed?”
“I don’t know. The planet exploded before I was born.”
“That’s why you don’t have that pain. That’s why we can talk.” She trembled. “I don’t want to feel it anymore.” She spoke, but Rakan wasn’t sure she even registered his presence. “When we’re in the sky, I don’t feel anything.”
He felt her begin to fade in his arms. Her opalescent trail of three twisted strands dissolved. A new trail, almost like an Elythia’s, took its place. Shining a bright emerald green. He gripped her arms tighter. “No,” he said. “Don’t do that.” His own trail caught his eyes. Running through the middle was a triple twisted strand. Just like June’s. “June, snap out of it.” He shook her.
She looked blankly at him, her eyes shimmering orbs of emerald light. “Sverd and Verje will appear shortly.”
“Did they just tell you that?” asked Rakan, trying to meet her eyes. Trying to get her attention back on him, back on the world around them. Her rök was fading.
“No, I can see it,” she said, her voice echoing slightly. “And just before they appear, you will attack me.”
“But I don’t want to attack you. I want to help you be yourself.”
“But this is me,” June said with a sad smile. “This is what I want to be. And when you see what that is, you’ll attack me.”
“No,” Rakan said. “I won’t. June, stop.”
The air shimmered around her and she stood before him in a white gown. But it wasn’t a dragon gown. It was made of particles of light. And she had two enormous wings of green feathers. Her face radiated peace, but in the split second before her rök disappeared, he had felt dozens of röks throbbing below the surface. He panicked. They’d die if she turned into an Elythia. He lunged for her. A flash of purple and green light erupted around him and he was flung against the rock.
She was gone.
Rakan howled in rage and shook his fists at the green and purple lights that played in the sky as if nothing was wrong. June was Paaliaq. Or she used to be. She was changing, becoming an Elythia. But at what price? He wouldn’t just stand by and let Paaliaq’s kais die.
Chapter 28
Choices
LYSA AND DVARA SHIFTED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN front of Rakan. “What happened?” hissed Dvara, pushing Lysa out of the way, ready to fight.
“Why did you attack her?” asked Lysa. “You said you wouldn’t.”
“I saw her kais.”
“What?” said Dvara. “Why didn’t you kill her?”
Lysa threw a punch at Dvara’s face, but Dvara blocked and counter attacked. Lysa dodged her attack so quickly he almost thought she had shifted, except she hadn’t. Dvara snarled and the two lunged for each other.
“Would you knock it off?” Rakan pushed them apart and received a double hook for his trouble.
Red appeared. “What’s going on? Where’s June?”
“The twins were sent to get her,” said Lysa.
“What do they want now?” asked Red, his fists clenched.
“She needs to pass the Test of Refusal,” said Lysa calmly, her eyes only half focused on Red.
“What?” Red threw himself at Lysa but she flashed out of his way, leaving him stumbling where she had been standing. He growled and spun around to face her again. “Where are they?”
“What’s the Test of Refusal?” asked Anna, breathing hard from her run. “And why are you all fighting?”
“Liv refused to pair with Erling, even though she was born to be his Chosen,” said Lysa as if reciting a lesson. “My brother chose Paaliaq and Liv chose Haakon.”
“So what’s the probl
em?” asked Anna.
“Elythia can only pair once,” said Lysa. “It’s a lifelong bond.”
“What?” Dvara said. “And if you make a mistake?”
“You can’t,” said Lysa. “Only beings whose energy match can merge.”
“But what if they don’t love each other?” asked Anna.
Lysa looked down. “Love is a fleeting emotion that blinds.”
“What happens during the Test of Refusal?” asked Rakan.
“I don’t know,” said Lysa. “Liv and Erling never bonded. But they were supposed to. No Pair has ever refused their match before. This will be the first in our history. I hope a test of strength will suffice.”
“Between who?” asked Red, his voice barely more than a growl. “Liv and Erling?”
“No. I don’t think so. Liv is the one who officially refused, since Erling is the Inheritor. So I assume it will be between Liv, the Refuser, and June, the new Chosen.”
Red lunged again for Lysa. But she wasn’t there. He spun around and hissed.
“I’m not responsible,” said Lysa from where Red had been standing.
“But you know where they are,” he said. He strode over to her. “Take us there.”
“I’ve been told not to.” Her face went distant. “It just started. Oh, no. Not like that.”
“Like what?” asked Dvara.
Lysa’s eyes glowed pale green. “June and Haakon are to fight the twins. Liv and Erling are watching. They’ve joined their energy. I don’t understand. June’s not fighting. She’s watching Erling and Liv. The twins have attacked Haakon. This is wrong.”
“Haakon is fighting the twins?” asked Anna. “They’ll kill him.”
Red grabbed Lysa. “Show me where they are. I’ll go on my own.”
“No. They have to fight. And then June and Erling can become the Inheritors.”
“No,” hissed Rakan. “Her kais will die. I saw them. They’re suffering.”
“You saw them?” said Red, spinning to face Rakan. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it,” said Red. He took a deep breath. “Lysa, you have to help us stop this. June can’t become Erling’s Chosen. She doesn’t even know she has her kais anymore. Even if she survives giving up her rök, her kais won’t. Ea will die. They’ll all die.”
“I know that,” said Lysa, clenching her fists. “But we can’t intervene. My brother has chosen June.” Lysa groaned. “Why won’t she fight? They’re crippling Haakon.” Lysa punched Red in the chest. “Why won’t she free her kais? Why didn’t you get Haakon to do it for her?”
Red took the punch without reacting. “Because he can’t. We’ve tried.”
“Why do you even have Kairöks? It’s a ridiculous system.” Lysa shimmered. Pale green light emanated from her. “This is wrong. They’ll kill Haakon. It’s gone too far.” A blaze of light burst through Rakan. He lost all sense of where anything was. The material world had vanished. He couldn’t even morph.
* * *
Suddenly, they were on a dune in a desert and Anna stumbled into Lysa. They scuttled out of the way of the three dragons snorting and stomping beside them. She recognized Rakan’s coral-colored orange. He stood on his hind legs, wings outstretched. He howled in rage and Anna ducked to the ground holding her ears. The larger, brick-red dragon next to him felt like her cousin. The shorter, more compact one was Dvara. Anna took a few more steps back. They were huge. And Dvara’s pitch black crest instilled a fear in Anna that she couldn’t control.
An opaque dome shimmered like a mirage on the desert below. But before she could ask Lysa what it was, Lysa disappeared in a flash of pale green light that merged into the dome. The dome flickered and the sounds of the fight burst in her ears. Lysa was undoing the shield. The dome paled and she could see them. The twins were pulverizing Haakon.
It was as Lysa had said. June was staring at Erling and Liv. They stood, their wings outstretched in two different shades of blue, on a dais. A circle of blue light surrounded them all. Anna did a double-take. The light was coming from Liv and Erling. Why weren’t they stopping it instead of standing there as if they were about to open a ball? Haakon fell to the ground. He stood back up and lunged for one of the twins, only to be sent flying once again. They were killing him. Anna screamed and ran towards the barely visible dome. Rakan morphed back to human and ran after her.
“Don’t touch it,” he yelled. Coral-colored sparks flickered in front of him as he approached the dome.
Anna ignored him and ran through it. After a split second which felt like being skinned alive, she was inside the circle. The smell of blood and anger throbbed everywhere, choking her.
“Do something,” she yelled at June. She pushed her friend fiercely. “Stop the twins before they kill Haakon. Why doesn’t Liv do something? Doesn’t she care about her boyfriend?”
June’s eyes snapped to Anna and she came to life, roaring in rage. Anna stumbled backwards as June morphed into an enormous emerald green dragon with a magnificent gold crest. She bellowed and the ground trembled as if a gong was ringing deep within the earth. The circle fell suddenly silent. All eyes turned to June. She twisted in rage and flew at Liv, her black claws outstretched and her jaws ready to snap.
“No,” yelled Anna. “Don’t kill her!” She lunged toward the dais, desperate to stop the fighting, but a flash of opalescent light blinded her and she fell to the ground.
When she looked up again they were gone. Rakan scooped her up in his arms and squeezed her to his bare chest, his Maii-a flashing wildly. Dvara tore at the ground where the dais had been, snorting and bellowing in rage. Out of nowhere an indigo blue dragon with a flashing platinum crest slammed into Dvara, his jaws on her neck.
Anna screamed.
“Let T’eng Sten deal with Dvara,” Rakan said, holding her tighter. “She’s gone wild.”
“But he’s killing her,” she yelled. She thrashed in his arms.
“Anna, listen to me. Sh. Calm down.” He surrounded her in a warm mind-touch. “You’re going wild too.”
“What?” Anna felt sick as the tension washed out from her body. She leaned into Rakan and held onto him. “Where are they? Are they still fighting?”
“No. It’s over,” he said into her hair. “I thought you were going to kill yourself running through the shield like that.” He held her tighter. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Dvara stopped struggling. The ground was covered in blood. Anna pushed out of Rakan’s arms and went over to her. “Is she okay?” Anna asked, reaching out to touch Dvara’s vermillion dragon face. It was nearly as big as Anna’s torso. “Did you kill her?” she yelled at the indigo dragon. She recognized him as Torsten even before he morphed back to human. Dvara’s eyes flashed open. She melted into the ground. “Dvara!” Anna yelled.
* * *
Anna’s pain pierced through Rakan. “She’ll be okay,” he said. He wrapped her in his arms and she trembled against him.
“She needs time,” said T’eng Sten.
“I thought you were in the Hold,” Rakan said without letting go of Anna.
“The Eld ruled to set me free once the Meet started again.”
“But then how did Haakon get here? The Eld would never have stopped the Meet for this.”
“I don’t know. They stopped the Meet just before the Ascended called for Haakon.”
“They know about the Elythia, but don’t say anything?”
“Do they ever say anything?” T’eng Sten came closer. “Do you?”
“He won’t say anything,” Anna interrupted.
“I heard about your blood pact, Rakan’dzor.” T’eng Sten’s nostrils flared. “How could you have been so stupid?”
“I didn’t think she was Paaliaq.” Rakan held his ground. “You should have told me.”
T’eng Sten snorted. “Telling you at the time would’ve been equivalent to telling Yarlung. Or have you forgotten? You’re the one who should’ve told me about the blood pact when
it was made. I might have been able to deactivate it. It’s too late now.”
“Wait,” Anna said. “What blood pact?”
“Rakan swore with his own blood to kill Paaliaq. And if he doesn’t, any dragon anywhere can kill him.” T’eng Sten stiffened. “Damn her,” he said and disappeared.
Rakan pushed Anna behind him and faced the east just as Khotan and Yarlung appeared with Yuli and Nima’kor right behind them. He searched quickly with his mind-touch, wondering if Dvara had gone and told them. But he neither smelled nor felt her trail on them. Damn Yarlung, he thought, echoing T’eng Sten.
“Where is she?” hissed Yarlung, scanning the desert.
“I don’t know.” Rakan cursed himself for not having shifted Anna elsewhere.
“I felt the poison react when she morphed,” said Yarlung. Her dress sparkled a blindingly pure white. “She was here.”
“What poison?” asked Rakan.
“The one you so kindly gave her when she neutralized yours,” said Yarlung, her voice silky sweet. “I made it especially for her. I knew she’d get close to you.”
Rakan’s fists clenched of their own accord but he bit down his anger. He needed to protect Anna.
Yarlung smelled the air. “I’d know her smell anywhere, even after all these years.” She twirled to face Khotan. “How could we have missed her? I thought you said the trigger would be immediate.”
“The shield slowed it down,” said Khotan, pointing to where the Elythia ring had been. “Or we would have been here when she was most vulnerable.”
“I can’t even see where she went,” hissed Yarlung, walking around the circle. Her eyes fell on Anna. “Is this the little human?” Yarlung’s mind-touch flicked out like a snake and smashed through Rakan’s protective shield. Anna cried out in fear and clung to Rakan. An indigo flash sent Yarlung flying backwards. Nima’kor launched into the air, morphing into a bright yellow dragon, turquoise claws outstretched.
Dragon Fire Page 33
