Legend of the Touched

by JF Jenkins

  "I'm positive." Clove took in a slow breath. "It glowed in the darkness. A deep, brown and red glitter, flowed through it. At first we thought it was the lighting of the moon and how it hit the water. When we touched it, however, it burned our skin. The same kind of pain felt when we're hit by the Terran's earth magic. Maybe you haven't experienced it personally, but it's a unique sting. One I will never forget. My hands absorbed the glow. It took days to disappear."

  Lance shook his head and leaned back in his chair. His hands waved in front of his chest. "So you're trying to tell us they had Terran magic in their water? Why? More importantly, how?"

  "The how I'm not sure on, but the why seems obvious. We are weak against the Terran. There's more. We followed the stream and watched as Inero guard members produced weapons and armor. Molten hot pieces were being cooled in the water. The residual magic is what drifted down stream, making the water undrinkable by the people. I don't know if they have a way to fix this. I'm not sure magic is supposed to be infused with objects to begin with."

  "I would agree," Darien said. His voice was caught in his throat. No words were coming to mind to say anyway. "Wow."

  His brother looked at him with wide eyes, and he asked the exact same question on Darien's mind.

  "What do we do?"

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Inero

  Matt knocked on his father's chamber door. Lately, that was where the man preferred to do his business. It made the meetings more personal, but he knew the reason Lynx wanted to stay in wasn't for that. They had the meetings there in case Navi returned. Matt didn't know how to tell his father that she wouldn't be coming back on her own accord. Deep down, the man must have known it too. If the worst ever happened and Kat left him, Matt would delude himself in fantasies as well.

  "My son, come in and make yourself at home." Lynx ushered Matt to sit in the den then took a seat nearby. "Tell me, is it almost time?"

  "Yes, father. With the last of the Oceina spies executed, we will not have to worry anymore about them seeing something they shouldn't. Now we can focus our energies on selecting who will be a part of the first wave of attack. The infused armors are finally ready, as are the magic enhancers." He thrust out his arm proudly to display the glowing olive green metallic bracelet he wore. "Naturally, I had to be the first to test it now that it's been deemed safe."

  "Do share." His father's dark eyes seemed to light up and he leaned forward in his chair.

  Shifting in his chair slightly, Matt made himself comfortable so he could focus. The Terran and Inero specialists who had been working on this technological breakthrough had told him it should work similar to his own natural magic. Nerves tingled in his stomach as he closed his eyes. With a snap of his fingers, he signaled his own fire magic. Something he'd done a million times in his lifetime. Then he thought about the new earth magic inside of him and summoned that instead.

  "It's beautiful," his father whispered.

  When Matt opened his eyes, he gasped in surprise. He'd been expecting to see either the red fire he normally conjured, or a flame the color of the Terran magic. What he saw instead was a mix of the two. He focused on taking away the Inero fire and watched the flame change from a rusty brown to the olive green.

  "Amazing," he breathed.

  "Truly. What else can you do?" Lynx asked.

  "I'm not sure to be honest. No one knows. They were just thrilled the magic stopped leaking from the metals."

  "So there is no pain? No problems?"

  "None, it's incredible. If anything, I feel even stronger and more alive than I ever did before with my magic." Matt played with the small green flame, watching it dance between his fingers as he moved his hand.

  Lynx let out a happy sigh. "Everything is coming together so well."

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The Oceina

  Things were getting out of control and fast. Darien wasn't sure how to prepare. Get the army ready? Even if his military officials did finally decide to listen to him, how was he supposed to stop the Inero? Not only were their numbers greater, but they were allied with the Terran, the Oceina's weakness. They wouldn't be able to be stopped, not without some kind of help. He punched the wall with his fist.

  Why is this happening to me? The Inero had planned this out for a long time. His father had known about these plans, and that was part of why the enemy had him assassinated. What Orion didn't do before he left was leave a plan, a guide, something, to help Darien figure out how to defend his people.

  "You said you were going to help me," he whispered. "Where are you?"

  The water; he had summoned his father's spirit through that method before – surely he could do it again. He knew he had to get back to Tai, but this was a lot more important.

  I promise I'm almost done. I have to do one more thing and then I'm all yours for tonight, and as long as you want me for tomorrow too, he told her. An hour and a half had passed since his meeting with the spies. Much shorter than he had anticipated it lasting, but that was fine by him. The rest of the meeting was spent in a lot of silence. Raife and Clove were exhausted and wanting to return to their families. The information they provided was priceless though.

  Take your time. I'm just getting into the bath. It should hopefully help me stay awake, she said.

  He wished he could join her. It'd been longer than he liked since they last made love, an intimacy he wanted more than ever lately. Not for purely hormonal reasons, but that connection with her was important. The ability to be united with her soul. The more distant they became, the more he desired her. Did she feel the same way?

  Maybe I should be with her. He looked down at his hands. The one which had punched the wall was scratched and red, though he didn't remember it hurting. He waited to see if she replied, but there was nothing. Once more he was alone with his own thoughts. Some kind of leading might have been nice. But she seems to understand. And so he went up to the top floor of the building where the pool was.

  Unlike most pools, this one was filled with nothing but pure water. No chemicals were added to it to keep it clean. It made the upkeep of it a little more difficult, but it was worth it. Darien himself was allergic to chlorine, and any water dragon preferred the most natural form of the element as possible. He stripped off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers on. For a moment, he gazed into the clear water, taking in its serenity. Then he dove into the water.

  At its deepest end, the pool was twenty feet deep. It was one hundred feet in length and gradually progressed in depth starting at a few inches. The idea was the dragons could enjoy the pool while in their lizard form, but also bring the babies and women along as well to enjoy the luxury.

  He swam down towards the deepest part of the water and lay along the floor. Breathing wasn't a problem. It was as if he became one with the water any time he touched it. He could breathe the water as if it were air. The cool freshness caused his skin to tingle, and he felt a new energy fill him where there used to be exhaustion. It helped in lifting his spirits some.

  As he stared up and through the water at the clear night sky, he prayed. God, help me. What do I need to do to keep us all alive? Because right now it's not looking so good, and there are no obvious options.

  Darien's eyes drifted close as he settled into the peaceful stillness of the water. He was isolated from the rest of the world, something that didn't happen too often anymore. As he settled into the darkness, stars began to twinkle brighter in the distance. At least, he thought they were stars at first, but when he opened his eyes once more he noticed they were much closer and slightly blue in color. Then they began to move. Each blue sparkle moved towards the center of his vision until they created a small circle of light. Suddenly it charged towards him, kissing his skin and filling him with warmth.

  "Four is one. One of four. The Touched shall bring the change," said a voice that sounded an awful lot like his father. It'd been a long time since he last heard the man's voice, so he couldn't be so sure. T
hat fact alone made him sad. Darien didn't want to forget so easily.

  "Thank you," Darien somehow managed to whisper. He had questions, but he wasn't sure if he could ask them because as quickly as the lights appeared, they faded once more, blending into his skin. In a way, it made him feel a lot less alone than before. Almost as though his father had become a part of him. It wasn't an answer though, he didn't think. The last time he had been blessed with his father's spirit for guidance, he had been specifically told that no direct answers would be given. Darien hated it, but he didn't make the rules. At least he had a start.

  I think it's time I finally do some research on what being Touched really means.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Inero

  The last of Gwen's purse was packed up, and soon her sandals were on. "Jason honey, if you don't hurry, we're going to be late for our reservation." Gwen glanced up briefly to see just where her husband was. A strange term for her to use since they still hadn't made love, but they were legally declared so. The emotions were there, so it worked well enough. It wouldn't feel official though until they acted completely like a married couple.

  "Sorry, I'm having a hard time finding a good pair of socks that match," he said from the bedroom.

  "Just put on any pair then. The dinner is more important than your footwear. Besides, I hate to break it to you but I won't be looking down there anyway. So if you're trying to impress me with your coordination skills, don't worry about it. If you're trying to impress someone else, then I think we need to be having a serious talk." She tapped her arm lightly as she waited.

  "Well in that case...." A second later he came out of the bedroom and put on his dress shoes. "You're wearing that dress again."

  She nodded, smiling and glad he noticed that she had on the same dress from the night she had baked the cookies. The one he had gone nuts over. Hopefully tonight would be a more pleasant memory with it, even if they didn't quite make it all the way. She was worried about him. All of his talk about a voice trying to control his actions confused and concerned her. Scared her a little even, but she wasn't sure if it was something that should have or not. That part she couldn't figure out. It put her on edge though. She had to be prepared for anything.

  "As always, you look amazing," he added and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her forehead firmly. Then he got the door and made a sweeping motion for her to go first.

  "It's a natural gift of mine." She waited for him outside in warm, breezy night air. The weather had been near perfect so far. She held her hand out for him to take and a wide smile spread across her face when he did, wrapping his fingers in-between her own.

  He gave her another kiss. "Are you ready to prove we aren't brother and sister to these people?"

  "Yes, I think Kevin at the meat market is about ready to propose to me."

  "They sure are gaga over you."

  "You as well. I think it's the stranger appeal. Similar things happened back home when new people settled in. Most of it is in good fun. Fresh blood, it's enticing for some reason or another." She laughed remembering the days back in the town where she grew up. There was hardly ever a new family that moved in, and even more rare was a new young couple. Single newcomers were unheard of. The fascination was mostly in the fact that these people had come from someplace else.

  "I guess?" He shrugged. "I still don't get it."

  "You're from the city. It's so obvious. How many of the people here do you think have been there? Probably none."

  "It's not that great there."

  "Depends on who you ask I suppose. I thought it was interesting. I feel culturally enlightened. There are things about it I miss, but I'm happy here."

  "I am too. This is the happiest I've been in my entire life I think. Actually, I think that started when I first met you."

  Heat started to fill her cheeks, and she tried to hide the blush that was no doubt forming on them by turning her face away to stare at the city street. He cupped her chin in his fingers and turned her attention back to him.

  "I like when you do that," he said. "You don't need to hide it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I feel the same way, you know."

  "I've yet to see you blush," she said softly.

  "I'm better at hiding it than you." He winked and she felt her cheeks get even hotter. Something she didn't even think was possible which was hilarious to her seeing as how she had gotten pretty warm the night they had almost made love. The way he had touched her, the feeling of his kisses against her skin, it was almost too much for her to take. How could he keep holding back when the desire was so strong? He'd seen enough of her body to make her self-conscious, but that night she didn't blush one time. Now he was winking at her and making silly talk and she could almost guarantee she'd look like a tomato if she saw her own reflection.

  She stared into his eyes for a minute. "I guess you are."

  "Which is a shame, because I want to feel completely transparent with you Gwen. I try so hard to be nothing but honest. Me being able to hide things isn't a skill I want to have."

  "Then stop hiding it and let me see next time. I bet it would be adorable on you. You're so handsome as it is, and there's something about a man being vulnerable about his feelings that's sexy." She made sure to put extra emphasis on "man." His family had a lot of obscure ideas about adulthood, and she wanted him to be positive that she saw him as an independent and capable adult regardless of his still-pure state of body.

  He glanced at her. "And here I thought it was more manly of me to keep my stoic demeanor."

  "Depends on the moment. I don't want you to be a crying wreck, but a little empathy can go a long way as well. When you've shown me your softer sides, those were the moments where I started to fall for you more and more. They're beautiful."

  "I'm a guy. I don't know if I want to be adorable or beautiful." He gave her a side-glance, but still smiled so she could tell he was only joking around.

  She gave him a slight nudge. "There's nothing wrong with being adorable sometimes, and let me rephrase the beautiful to handsome. The point is more, it's a touching experience."

  "I can show you a touching experience." He smirked.

  "I'm sure you could." She coughed and looked down. Again she was trying to hide the blush that was still on her cheeks. "This isn't fair. You're getting me riled up, and I can't get you back."

  "I welcome you to try and make me blush. If you do, I'll make it worth your while."

  "What will I get?"

  "I haven't gotten that far yet, but I do promise it will be awesome."

  "Challenge accepted." She laughed. He seemed to be in a lot better spirits than he had been the past few days. Ever since they met, he'd been a bit quiet. The more she got to know him and the more comfortable they were with one another, the more he dropped his guard. Instead of being strong and silent, his humor came through. When they played these games, it meant he was relaxed. He hadn't been that for a long time. Actually, she couldn't remember a time all summer when he'd been completely relaxed. There was always something happening to keep him from it. As far as she could tell, the only thing keeping him stressed now was this voice he claimed was inside his head. He seemed to be convinced he was possessed. While she supposed it was a possibility, she didn't know how serious to take him. Anything could have happened during the ritual, and she didn't understand what the whole ceremony was about either. But gazing up at his face and seeing the innocent sparkle in his dark eyes, she had a hard time believing it to be true.

  How could someone so wonderful be controlled by something bad? She'd know. It would be obvious, right?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The Oceina

  "I saw the perfect dress the other day when I was shopping at the mall with my mom. Oh, my, gosh, it was teal, and gorgeous!" Alivia said. She was one of Tai's acquaintances at school. They were almost friends, but the lack of ability to hang out or even converse much outside of classes kind of hindered the progression of
their friendship. If she was ever going to have a female a best friend, Alivia would be the closest thing to it.

  Tai nodded at her, picking up her apple and taking a bite. Her mind was only half there though because she was too busy thinking about Darien's meeting with the spies from the night before. He didn't give her every detail, but enough for her to know it was all bad news. She wished she could only be as blissfully unaware as Alivia was.

  "Why didn't you get it?" Tai asked at last.

  "I'm going to, but I wanted to go with Allegra and Rhiannon and you. Get a girl's opinion. If you can come I mean. I know your family is kind of tight on the leash, but we can work around whatever restrictions they put up?" She was trying so hard; it was obvious by the way her eyes went wide and glossy as if she were pleading.

  Tai gave her a small smile and held back a gasp of surprise. She was touched to the point of tears, though that may have just been her pregnancy hormones kicking in. "I would like that. Let me ask about it and get back to you. When were you thinking of going? What's the dress for anyway?" She must have gotten behind on the gossip.

  "Oh Tai, you are so cute. What do you mean, what's the dress for? Festival of Tears is coming up. There's always a big dance right before the holiday break." Alivia giggled, nudging Tai gently. "Did they not have those at your old school out in the middle of nowhere?"

  "They did, but not for the Festival of Tears. We had one for the harvest, and the spring blessing of the fishermen. I mean, the Festival of Tears is supposed to be a sad holiday right?" That's how she remembered it at least.

  Alivia nodded. "It can be. It's a celebration too. Of the lives which touched ours, and the joy they brought when they were still alive. Plus it's supposed to symbolize the coming of winter. The dragons always come and breathe snow onto the city. It's beautiful. We remember those of the past, and how to keep pressing on for the future."