Melinda caught his hand and pulled it away slowly. “What are you saying?” she asked, frowning at him with suspicion.
“You are the direct descendant of Meztli,” he said. “I sensed it the moment I first saw you – it called to me like a signal. That is how I found you. You are more than an Oracle, Melinda – you are Meztli.”
She blinked and backed away from him. “So that’s why you came to me in my room that night,” she said. “Why you fucked me, and then told me you wanted to keep me for yourself. Not because I’m an Oracle, and not even for me – because I remind you of your dead wife.”
“Perhaps,” he admitted. “Or maybe I did not want Athan to have you. Dragons are, by nature, greedy creatures. We love to hoard what others treasure.”
“Is that what Meztli was?” Melinda’s eyes narrowed. “Oh my God. You didn’t love her – she was just a possession to you. And now you want me for the same reason.” She let out a short, hollow laugh. “I don’t know what’s worse: Athan, for wanting to use me to make him feel superior and help him to live forever…or you, for using me because you can’t get over a woman you used and lost centuries ago.” She shook her head. “I hate to break it to you, Roth, but I am not some souvenir you get to take home and keep. I’m a person. I have feelings, and I also have a say in what happens to me and my body. Letting you and your friends put me in a trance is no different from the guy who roofies a girl’s drink at a party so he can get busy with her while she’s unconscious. Where I come from, that’s called rape. So to hell with you and your entire race, you’re not going to make me do something I would never consent to do. Like I told Athan, I will kill myself before I let that happen.”
Roth became angry again, his rage sparked by Melinda’s. “I have told you that I will not allow Athan or anyone else to have you,” he growled, advancing on her. “I mean to keep my word.” He stared into her eyes, his own seeming to crackle with fire. “And you will never speak of my wife again – or I will kill you, myself.”
He stepped back from her and in another brief flicker of light like the pop of a camera’s flash, he was gone.
Melinda staggered back and fell against the wall, shaking – not from fear, but from the pain and anger, she could feel rolling off of Roth in that last moment, crashing into her like ocean waves during a storm. Her legs threatened to give out from the sheer force of it.
Does this have something to do with these ‘special abilities’ they keep telling me I have? She wondered. She also had to question her sanity, because she felt something else when Roth got right up on her: longing. Why do I still want him?
“Fuck,” she muttered, looking around at her prison. “I have got to get off this planet.”
Chapter Nine
Athan returned for Melinda just before sunrise the next morning. He wore a white robe belted with a red sash.
She saw his frown when he found her curled up in the corner instead of in the stasis field where he had left her. His eyes narrowed sharply. “Come with me,” he told her.
They transported to the Temple of the Sacred Pool. Already, Melinda could see Volosian men lined up outside, also dressed in white ceremonial robes with red sashes, their heads bowed in silent contemplation.
Melinda lagged and Athan grabbed her arm just above the elbow. He propelled her into the grotto. The four members of the High Holy Council stood, two on either side of the circle, waiting.
One pair stepped forward. They reached up and unhooked the pins at Melinda’s shoulders; her dress dropped to the floor in a puddle at her feet, leaving her naked except for her shoes. Immediately, she tried to cover herself with her hands as her face heated with a blush of embarrassment.
“Please enter the circle,” the red-haired Councilman instructed.
Melinda shook her head and started to back away when she felt a strong hand grip the back of her neck. Athan placed his lips close to her ear.
“You will do as you are told,” he hissed. “You think you have nothing to lose, but you still have feelings for people back on your world. Tell me, would you care if your parents died, or did they mistreat you so terribly that their deaths would be inconsequential?”
“You leave my family alone!” Melinda snarled at him. She tried to twist her head around to give him a withering glare but his fingers dug into the base of her skull to keep her in place. She did not doubt he had the strength to crush her vertebrae if he wanted. She imagined him severing her spinal cord and leaving her helpless but alive. He was sadistic enough to make that happen. He might even have the power to bring her back and forth from paralysis if he wanted. She realized then how little she still knew about the Volosians.
“Don’t,” she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek. She loved her family dearly and she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle anything happening to them. It didn’t matter that they did not really understand her or her dreams she was pursuing; they loved her and she loved them. They were good people. How dare Athan or anybody else threaten them? She felt the hairs standing up on the back of her neck as the rage coursed through her. She wanted to curse Athan within an inch of his life, but she tried to hold back her rage and not set him off. As much as she hated to admit it, he held the cards here.
He reminded her of every bully she had ever met in her life. Because she was overweight they thought she was an easy target for their aggression when she was growing up, but they learned quickly that if you crossed Melinda then she would stand up and make you sorry you did, as Ryan Taylor learned the hard way during sixth grade lunch period. She could still remember the look on his face as she dumped her chocolate milk over his head. The entire cafeteria erupted in laughter and he ran out of the room crying like a little girl. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to stand up to a bully and it would not be the last.
“Sit,” Athan ordered, biting out the last letter. He released Melinda and she began to move, slowly, stepping down into the circle. She walked across to the chair sitting in the center, the bright green, emerald candles growing brighter with every step she took until her naked body was awash in green light. She almost felt like an alien right then.
“Turn around,” Athan said.
She did. She glared up at him, tears flowing freely now. It wouldn’t have mattered if I had said no, she thought. Roth was right about that.
The second pair of Holy Councilmen entered the circle and approached her. As they did the candles of green flame suddenly united together, forming one huge green fireball that burned higher and brighter, the flames stretching easily seven feet up in the air. She could hardly see anything except for the green flames. The heat was warm and almost soothing as it floated over her skin with a soft breeze. It was gentle and calming, but she fought it hard. It was just another trick to lull her into a highly suggestible state so she would be more compliant. Not only were they raping her body, they were going to rape her mind as well. This race of beings were pure scum; and Athan was the vilest of them all by far, which probably explained why he was the leader. They lifted her as easily as a child and placed her in the chair. Melinda’s breath hitched as they positioned her legs in the smooth, curved recesses of the supports. They began to chant over her, anointing her forehead, temples, and throat with oil from a silver bottle. The scent of it filled her nostrils and she began to feel lightheaded.
She blinked hard, trying to stay focused. Roth! She glanced around, frantic, looking for him. Where are you? You said you wouldn’t let this happen!
The Councilmen retreated and Athan stepped into the circle, the flames parting to outline his body as he stepped through and then returning to their raging position behind him.. “I will have the first blessing,” he announced. He untied his sash and draped it across Melinda’s belly.
She watched, her chest heaving rapidly, as he shouldered out of his robe, exposing his lean, hard body.
“Yes,” he said, as though savoring the moment. He reached out and ran his hands down the insides of her thighs. “I shall take�
��and you shall give.”
This was it. This was the point of no return. The fear of everything that was going to happen culminated with this act right here; she knew that she was only seconds away from being penetrated against her will by this vile creature. She had to act fast. With Roth nowhere to be found, Melinda took matters into her own hands. . and quickly grabbed the sash off her stomach, looped it over Athan’s head, crossing the ends, and pulled in opposite directions. Athan’s eyes widened in surprise as the sash tightened around his throat. It felt good to see genuine fear invade his mind and spread across his evil face. Melinda leaned back using her weight as leverage to strengthen the sash tighter, but his neck was thick and muscular making it harder to squeeze.
Unfortunately, Melinda’s attempt on his life lasted for less than a ten seconds. Athan dislodged her easily with his superior strength, breaking her hold and shoving her backward into the cradle. His lip curled.
“Stupid child!” he spat, and for a moment she could see the pattern of red and gold scales on his neck and cheek as he raised a clawed hand in preparation to strike her. In that instant, the scent of the oils – or perhaps something else – kicked in. Melinda’s eyes fluttered and rolled back in her head...
She wandered through the jungle. The sky above grew dark with the approach of a storm, clouds rolling as a brutal wind whipped the treetops into a violent dance. She squinted against the gale and picked her way through the dense undergrowth. She had to find shelter. Her arms curled protectively around her belly, swollen with child. She called out for help but the sound of thunder drowned out her voice.
The familiar beating of leathery wings made her smile. She turned and looked up, expecting to see her husband, only to behold one of Quetzalcoatl’s three brothers: Tezcatlipoca, dubbed The God of Deceit by her people. She watched him lightly before her, his wings shrinking back into his shoulders. He smiled at her. “You are far from home, Meztli,” he said. “You are also alone, separated from your companions.” He clucked his tongue. “Such a shame.”
As she watched, he went down on all fours, transforming into a jaguar in the blink of an eye. His golden eyes glinted and with a roar he launched himself at her. She let out a scream as she tried to run but tripped and fell to the ground just as the skies opened up and the rain began to fall –
Melinda snapped out of the trance with a gasp. She stared up at Athan, trembling. “It was you,” she said, gulping. “You killed her. You killed Meztli.”
Athan smirked. “Yes,” he said, “I did. We were sent to that planet to study, not to fall in love with the natives. It was better when they revered us as gods. When it came time to return to Volos, Roth refused to leave. He had grown too attached to them. But I found a way to make him go.”
He dragged his claws across Melinda’s stomach, just lightly enough to leave a series of four red scratches in her brown skin.
“I simply…cut…those…ties.” He chuckled a low sound that sent chills racing through Melinda’s veins.
“You will find that when I want something, there is no force in the universe to keep me from having it.” His hand shot up and grabbed Melinda by the throat, making her choke out a gasp of surprise. “And now, I will have you.”
He smiled wider as he produced that pair of razor sharp claws, holding them high above her head.
“And now I will kill you,” Athan said.
Chapter Ten
“What? You can’t kill me; you need me!” Melinda screamed.
Athan continued to chuckle. “Yet, another little mistruth. You see a human woman can only reproduce one baby at a time. I’m sure you are aware of this. Possibly more than this on the rare occasion of twins, triplets, etc. This is simply too slow of a process; we quickly figured that out during our early blessing attempts with human women, even ones as genetically gifted as yourself. So, this was very disheartening to us, but we are tenacious people and we persevered and searched until we found an answer. The most brilliant among us have figured out a way to tap into the most ancient and powerful magic’s of the universe and we have discovered a way to harness your power to return our own Volosian women to their former selves. So this way, they can remain fertile. And Volosian women can reproduce at a much faster rate.”
“I don’t believe you… you can’t do this! You can’t sacrifice me!” Melinda screamed as she squirmed underneath his threatening claw. It was now or never.
The rest of the council began to laugh at her cries. They were all evil, weren’t they? They were mad. That was all… all of them mad… where was Roth?
“And without further delay, let’s begin the awakening!” Athan shouted as he raised his claw higher and elicited a cheer from the crowd gathered around.
He was looking away from her for just a split second, his right hand raised in a prepared death blow and his left hand still clamped tightly around her throat. Melinda made her move.
Melinda grabbed at Athan’s wrist with both hands and pulled as hard as she possibly could, summoning strength from every single muscle in her body, but she could not dislodge his grip on her neck; it was like a strong vise with no release in sight She struggled to breathe as he applied the slightest pressure to her airway. Oh God, she thought, he’s going to choke me out.
At that moment, a booming voice filled the temple chamber.
“Release her!”
Melinda looked up – as did Athan and the four Councilmen – to see Roth standing a few feet away. Judging by the look of pure rage on his face, Melinda could tell he had overheard every word of her exchange with Athan, especially the part about killing Meztli.
“Athan, son of Taran.” Raising one arm, Roth pointed at his colleague. “I hereby charge you with the crimes of murder, deception, and acts of treason against my command. By the Laws of Volos, you will meet me in a Battle for Retribution, effective immediately!”
Just as Melinda’s vision began to gray out, Athan let go of her. A rush of air suddenly whooshed into her body, only adding to the dizziness that she felt. The world around her was going in and out from the brightest light to total darkness as she tried to regain her equilibrium. Her body rejected the rush of air at first, forcing coughs to erupt from her bruised and aching throat. She coughed, sucking in air, and rubbed at her bruised neck, feeling the muscles in her abdomen tighten as they tried to aid in the inhalation of large quantities of air, scraping and chopping her already tender throat passage. She watched Athan turn and climb out of the circle, seemingly unconcerned with his nudity.
“You were not fit to command,” Athan sneered at Roth. “You allowed personal feelings to come before duty. I should counter-charge you with insubordination, as I am now your commanding officer.”
He stabbed a finger in Melinda’s direction. “You violated the Oracle before she could be prepared for ritual presentation. I could smell you had been in her chambers on board the ship.”
“I claimed her as my own,” Roth said, lifting his chin. “She is mine, now.”
“We shall see about that,” Athan said. He treated Roth to a sinister smile. “I accept your challenge to battle. It will be a pleasure to put an end to your miserable existence.”
“So be it,” Roth said and nodded. “We shall convene to the arena.”
“Oh, but why wait?” In an instant, Athan transformed into a large dragon with red and gold scales and great, dark red wings. He reared his head back and spat a ball of fire at Roth, who jumped out of the way just in time.
Roth leaped up into the air with lightning fast speed, his eyes glowing with a raging intensity that terrified even Melinda as he swiftly changed into Dragon form and flew right towards Athan, rearing a vicious and deadly claw back, ready to strike him down.Chaos erupted. The High Holy Councilmen scrambled, shouting at Roth and Athan to respect the Sacred Circle and to leave the temple immediately.
The two beings completely ignored them as Athan sidestepped Roth’s claw strike and countered with one of his own, which connected to the side of Roth’s h
ead. He used the momentum of the strike to flip around and deliver a heavy spinning back kick into Athan’s stomach sending him sprawling backward several feet. Athan caught himself in the air and launched again towards Roth’s head, breathing a ball of fire that he caught and threw at him at well over a hundred miles per hour. Roth barely managed to leap to the side before the fire consumed him, hitting the green flames of the circle at its base and leaving a large gap in the fire. The entire room was now filled with a strong burning, ashy smell.
Melinda used the distraction to her benefit. She dropped out of the chair and tumbled onto the floor, and made her way across to the steps. She found her discarded dress and quickly pulled it on. The thin fabric clung to her sweaty, clammy skin but at least it covered her.
She looked up to see the two dragons engaged in a fight to the death. Streams of fire erupted from their throats, setting the surrounding foliage and tapestries ablaze.
I’ve got to get out of here! She thought and searched frantically for the exit. Suddenly the gap in the fire was gone and a wall of flame blocked her path once again. She tried to find the Councilmen but they had vanished. Probably blinked out of here – God, I wish I could do that!
The deafening shrieks from the dragons echoed off the walls. Melinda clapped her hands over her ears. She watched Roth slam Athan up against the cavern wall, leaving a huge hole as several large pieces of the wall broke off and tumbled to the floor below them.
A large chunk of stone plummeted from the ceiling and landed right in front of her, almost breaking her toes. She jumped back instinctively with a scream.
Her outcry proved to be a dangerous distraction – for Roth. His head swung around, faceted eyes seeking Melinda. In that moment, Athan got his jaws around Roth’s throat. His long, deadly-looking fangs sank in. Blood welled up, and Roth let out a shriek. His pain went out like a shockwave and Melinda dropped to her knees, gasping for breath from the sheer force of it. The rumble of his humongous voice echoed deeply inside of her body, and it felt like her insides were being torn apart by the sheer velocity of a bomb exploding in her lap. She tried to recover and focus on what was happening. If Roth died then she was as good as dead too. As she watched, Athan flung Roth to the floor. Blood dripped from the red dragon’s mouth as he hovered over his opponent’s unmoving form.
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