by Megan Derr
Culebra reached out to pet her, smiling faintly when Ruisenor rubbed up against him. "Did you escape? Or were you sent here?" Ruisenor hissed and turned back to Jürgen. Culebra said gently, "She was sent to track a different shadow child long ago, but found me instead. She is not here to harm you, but she will because you have harmed me."
"That is an awful lot of conversation from one snake," Dario said. "Are these Sentinel things that, I don't know, aware?"
"Yes," Jürgen said, crying out again when Ruisenor lunged back toward him. "I don't—please—the death is slow and painful—"
"And exactly what you deserve for all that you have done to Piedre. We would have welcomed you, called you friend. But you chose to come here and destroy us, and now I am not certain how much pity I have left to give you," Culebra said.
Jürgen shook his head fervently back and forth. "I was fulfilling my destiny. My fate was revealed by the High Seer himself. I am meant to bring Death and Destruction to Schatten."
"And you have," Culebra said. He stepped closer to Jürgen and gripped his head, forcing Jürgen to look him straight in the eyes. "Find rest in death and happiness in your new life." There was a flash, a pulse of magic that made Dario's skin prickle.
Culebra let go of Jürgen and he fell to the ground, dead.
Dario opened his mouth and then closed it again. He watched as Culebra walked back to Cortez's body, still lying on the enormous rose carved into the middle of the sanctuary. He knelt behind her and gently curled his fingers over the terrible wound in her neck. "Two pieces of my soul rejoined, and now only the last piece remains."
"What—" Dario stopped as Culebra looked at him, not certain what to make of the gentle, reassuring smile Culebra gave them.
Looking back down at Cortez, Culebra picked up the dagger that still lay discarded by her body. His voice resonated through the sanctuary and seemed to throb in Dario's chest. Dario did not understand the words, but he recognized the language as Ancient. He did not mind the way Midori gripped his wrist or the way Fidel drew closer to them both as the lights went suddenly dim.
He tried to speak when he saw Culebra raise the knife, but could not seem to move, was not entirely certain he was breathing. They could only watch, curious and terrified, as Culebra finished whatever it was he saying. Then he said in words Dario did understand, "Blood of the living. Blood of the dead. Blood of the god who is both. For my children I once died, and for our children we shall live again."
"No!" Dario and Midori screamed as Culebra slit his own throat, blood spraying and pouring, covering him as he fell back to lie side by side, head to foot, with Cortez.
The lights in the temple went dark. On either side of him, Dario heard the others draw in sharp, scared breaths. He could see nothing. Not the slightest bit of light. No bits of gray that stood out from the black.
It was terrifying. Where had the light gone? How far away was the entrance? Dare they look? What if they got lost in the enormous room? How had Culebra dealt with this every single day of his life? What was going to happen next?
Just when Dario thought he might scream, when Fidel's breathing grew increasingly unsteady on his left, and Midori remained infuriatingly calm on his right, the entire matter grew worse as everything started to shake. He hated the shaking. Hated it. Dario swore as he fell to his knees, swearing again at the pain. He bent over, covered his head, and prayed for it to stop.
"Make it stop!" Fidel shouted. "I can't take it! Somebody make it stop!"
"Midori, are you all right?"
"Fine," Midori said, and a moment later his hand covered Dario's once more and pulled him close. "This is—this is—I don't know. I want it to stop, too." Then it did stop, though it took Dario a moment to realize they were holding still again. "That is terrifying," Midori said.
"I never want to do that again," Fidel added fervently. "What is going on and when can we leave?"
A soft, husky laugh met his words, making Fidel gasp. One by one the soft white lights began to return. As they light gradually filled the sanctuary and finally fell down upon the center of it, Dario stared open-mouthed at the sight before him.
Two figures: Cortez and Culebra, wounds healed, alive and perfectly healthy. They stood side by side, hands twined. There was a black patch over Culebra's right eye and one over Cortez's left.
"Death," Culebra said.
"Destruction," Cortez added. "One has now become two, and the power once nearly stolen will be that much harder to take. Fidel ... "
Fidel made a rough noise and sprinted across the room to her, throwing himself into her arms and kissing her hard.
Culebra laughed as he left the stone rose to walk over to Midori and Dario. "Do I get kisses?"
"You deserve a beating," Dario said.
"I agree," Midori said. "I think you just took ten years off my life from terror alone, never mind watching you kill yourself. Um, Holiness. Eminence. I don't know what to call you, I'm sorry."
Smiling, Culebra reached out and tugged them both close, pressing a chaste kiss first to Dario's mouth and then to Midori's. "Culebra is my name, use that."
Dario was afraid to touch him. "So you're a god."
"Yes," Culebra said, then smiled. "You're beautiful. Even more beautiful than I always thought." He touched Dario's face lightly and smiled, and Dario could not think of a single thing to say. Culebra laughed softly and turned to Midori. "My brothers will be amused that I have stolen you away from them, child of the seas."
"Stolen me away?" Midori repeated. "I—I barely even know what's going on or why I'm here. I just wanted to rescue a prince."
"You did," Culebra replied and leaned up to kiss him again, and most of Dario's mind was numb and reeling from all that had happened, but there was enough still functioning for him to admire just how pretty they were together.
Culebra withdrew, chuckling, and turned to wrap around Dario and kissed him soundly. "We shall have to continue this discussion later, unfortunately. I have a more important one ... " His words were drowned out by the rolling, rumbling, and sudden crash of thunder. It was so loud it seemed to make the mountain shake all over again, though it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. Dario shuddered, recalling it. He never wanted to feel the earth shake again.
"What conversation?" Midori asked.
"With our brothers," Culebra said softly as thunder crashed again and the lights flared—and then all went still and four men new men stood in the sanctuary.
Beside him, Midori choked, staring at the strangers with a look of disbelief on his face. "Your highness?"
And Dario realized he was right: in the middle of the cluster of men stood his highness, the long believed dead Prince Nankyokukai.
Chapter Twenty: Home
"Captain Midori?" Nankyokukai asked, looking surprised.
"It's not Captain anymore," Midori said, mind reeling. "I was removed from duty because I listened to you instead of your father, and then you wound up dead."
Nankyokukai flinched. "I see. I am sorry."
Midori made a rough noise. "So, what? You're a god? That's why you vanished? They said the Dragons of the Three Storms had returned, and I believed it because of the storms and because the mermaids have not attacked anyone in two years—but I never knew you had become one of the dragons."
He finally looked at the others and was not remotely surprised to see the other two dragons were familiar as well: the merchant Raiden and Captain Kindan. "You didn't run away to get married and steal your family's power. You ran away to become gods."
"No, I ran away to steal my family's power and return it to the dragons," Nankyokukai said wryly. "Raiden is the only one who was really a dragon from the start. It's a long story."
Midori shook his head, not certain what to think. What to say. "I wish I'd known. Everyone thought you dead. I thought that by leaving you and going to Pozhar, I had contributed to your death."
"I'm sorry," Nankyokukai said softly.
"We're sorr
y," Kindan said firmly. "No one else should have been punished for our actions."
Midori nodded, still floundering. He'd lost everything because of the upheaval caused by their actions. He'd accepted it because he was, ultimately, to blame for the results of his own choices. But it would seem he hadn't really done anything wrong in the end—had, in fact, done exactly what Nankyokukai and the others had wanted. He'd been punished for nothing.
Part of him was angry. Part of him was hurt. Mostly, though, he was relieved they were not dead and he had not made the horrible mistake he'd always believed. It did not fix the fact that he was in trouble in Kundou and in Piedre, that he no longer really had a place to call home … but at least his decisions hadn't killed anyone.
In the end, all he really felt was lost. There were more important matters than his stupid personal problems, he knew that. But he wished someone would tell him where he belonged. The relief he felt at Nankyokukai's being alive did not erase the hurt that he'd been used and then left in the dark for so long.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps and tensed when Nankyokukai walked toward him and stepped back, but then he realized he was trying to retreat and made himself stop.
"I'm truly sorry," Nankyokukai said, looking up at him. "I did not know the repercussions of my actions—our actions—would be so great. I can fix—"
Midori shook his head again. "No. I understand, I think. You're gods now. The gods are returning. That's worth whatever sacrifices we all make."
Nankyokukai nodded, smiling gently at him. Midori recalled the days when he would have done anything for a smile like that from Nankyokukai. Right then, it did nothing but remind him of all he'd lost, all that had been taken from him. It reminded him of a place that no longer felt like home.
Raiden and Kindan drew closer as well, and Raiden said, "Whatever we can do to help now, Captain—"
"I'm not a captain, anymore," Midori said, looking at the three of them. He licked his suddenly dry lips and said, "I don't want to be one. I've had enough of the sea for now, enough of Kundou. It made me what I am, but ... but then it left me to drown, too. Everyone knew getting rid of me was wrong, but still they sent me here. You sent me off with Culebra and probably never thought of me again."
Guilt flickered across Nankyokukai's face. "That isn't—"
"It's true enough," Midori said quietly. "And I'm not saying I resent you for it. I even understand. But I'm done, I think. You've moved on in your way. It's time I did the same."
Nankyokukai nodded. "I am sorry, however little those words are worth. I never wanted to hurt anyone."
"Nobody sails without getting hurt," Midori said roughly. "It's the chance we take. But I think it's time I sailed a different ship."
The sadness that filled Nankyokukai's face then almost made him back down, but he could feel Culebra's steady gaze, Dario's curiosity. He was not sure what he would do if this proved to be an ill-fated decision as well, but he had spent his whole life making careful decisions. A sailor did not rise to captain of the royal navy by making foolish ones. He had to trust he was making the right one.
"Midori, you will always—"
"I don't want to belong to Kundou anymore," Midori cut in, a ring of finality to the words.
Nankyokukai dipped his head in acknowledgment. "A piece of you will always remain because no man can ever leave his past behind completely, but as you wish." He looked at Culebra and Dario, then back at Midori. "Is Piedre where you want to be?"
Midori looked at Dario, looked at Culebra, and when they smiled, he smiled back. "Yes."
"Then I give you over to the land of stone and into the protection of the god of death." Leaning up, Nankyokukai rested one hand against his cheek and kissed the other, and as he stepped back, Midori felt something in him being drawn away.
Before he could ask what was going on, Culebra stepped forward and twined his arms around Midori's neck, leaned up, and kissed him full on the mouth. He tasted like the earth, with a hint of honeyed wine. Just as he had felt Nankyokukai taking something away, he felt Culebra giving him something in that kiss. It left him hot and dizzy as Culebra finally pulled away. "What ... what just happened?"
"You belong to me now," Culebra said with a smirk that made Midori want to kiss him again. "The Dragons of the Three Storms are no longer your gods or your protectors. That right and privilege is mine." He reached up and combed a hand through Midori's hair. "I rather like the black hair."
"Black?" Midori said, blinking. He reached up, not certain what that would accomplish.
Dario stirred and moved hesitantly closer, reaching out a hand himself before he caught the action and stopped it. "Your hair is black. Your eyes are blue, I think, but so dark they almost look black as well. It's very different, but just as beautiful." He smiled hesitantly, as if not sure how Midori would react.
"Why did my hair and eyes change?" Midori asked, baffled.
"It's merely a side effect of the shift from being a child of the seas to a child of stone," Culebra said. "No different than the way that jumping into water will make you wet, or standing too close to a fire will make you hot. It just signifies that you have become one of mine. But I can alter it for you, if you want."
"We can figure it out later," Midori said.
Culebra smiled at him and lightly stroked his cheek. Midori smiled back and bent to kiss him and dared to hope that maybe everything would actually work out. He had just seen a single god reborn as two and four other gods stood in the room. After that, and the past weeks, anything seemed possible.
"Well that was easily settled," said the man who until then had watched the proceedings in silence. He was as short and slight as Fidel, but almost pretty in appearance. His eyes glowed like burning embers. He could only be Zhar Ptitsa, the Firebird. "So one Basilisk is now two. An interesting split, and I think a wise one. I hope it makes you happier."
"It will," Culebra and Cortez said together. "But that's not why you've come."
Raiden nodded and said, "We are happy for you, brother, sister, but you're right. We came mostly because we want to know what happened to you nine hundred years ago. You, of all of us, should have been able to remain standing. What slayed the God of Death?"
"Poison," Cortez said flatly, moving to stand with Culebra and taking his hand. They really did look like siblings, light and dark versions of each other. Had they always looked so similar in appearance? Had becoming gods changed their appearances that much? "Not long before everything went wrong, we ... entered into an affair with Licht."
Raiden and the others all frowned—scowled. "You were sleeping with Licht? But he had Teufel. Why would you do that?"
"Loneliness," Culebra said bitterly. "The dragons had each other and their myriad lovers. The guardians had each other. Zhar Ptitsa had his adoring little priest. Licht had Teufel. No one wanted to be close to the god of death. Until Licht came along and told me that he and his living shadow were not as everyone thought. That he wanted me. He preyed upon me and I let him."
Cortez said, "Everything went well for nearly two years. No one ever noticed our affair, and he insisted it be a secret. We agreed because we were happy enough just to have someone. Until we began to fight because of his dissatisfaction with the world we had built. He constantly spoke of starting over—"
Kindan swore loudly and colorfully. "That's what this was about? He wanted to steal your powers to destroy the world?"
"Only because he could not convince us to do it," Culebra said, and the temple shook slightly with the force of his anger. "We were lonely and bitter, but we did not hate anyone—and certainly not enough to destroy them. When Licht realized we would not be persuaded, he left. We did not see him again for three months. When he returned, pretending that he wanted to make amends, he gave us a bottle of wine that poisoned us. Fatally. We took one sip and our death was sealed. We told him to surrender the antidote, but he wouldn't unless we agreed to give him our powers. We clearly were dead no matter what we chose to d
o. We fought and killed him, for not even gods are necessarily immune to the power of our eyes. After we killed him, we managed to fracture our soul before we died."
Fury filled the faces of all the gods, and they looked so fierce that Midori recoiled, taking an involuntary step back and bumping into Dario. "Poisoned," Zhar Ptitsa said flatly. "There is nothing on this planet that is poisonous enough to kill a god. We're not that stupid."
"But one of us is that talented," Raiden said, looking devastated. "I'm sorry we were not there for you. We all failed quite miserably."
Culebra and Cortez shrugged. "Our mistakes were our own where Licht was concerned. As gods, we failed our children, but we are beginning to set that to rights."
Midori hesitated because he was not certain he had the right to interrupt a discussion between gods, but the question would not leave him be. "Who could make a poison to destroy a god?"
It was Culebra who quietly replied, "Of the nine of us, one was most responsible for our more exotic creations. She helped to craft the golden apples, the mermaids, and the temples. Many of the ideas were hers, and she refined others. If anyone could design a poison that could fell a god, it is the Faerie Queen of Verde."
"The Faerie Queen ... but she's a god of life," Dario said. "Why would she murder one of her own?"
"That we do not know," Cortez said. "We will not know the answers until somebody manages to break the terrible cycle of the Tragedy of the Oak."
"It's next year," Kindan said. "We will have to wait and see if the faerie children can at last restore their gods, or if we must wait another hundred years."
Zhar Ptitsa shook his head. "Longer than that if they fail. The child of chaos will not live forever, and there is no telling how long it will take for another to be born."
As one, the dragons whipped around to glare at him. "You know the identity of the child of chaos?"
"Yes, and I'm not telling you, dragons."
"Who or what is the child of chaos?" Dario asked. "What is all this about?"
