by Oxford, Rain
“Protective,” Mordon answered.
Sammy must have realized Mordon was calm now so he laid his head against my chest… hard. I would have another bruise for my collection.
“What’s the status on Vaigda?” I asked.
“My intention was for you to heal three pivotal spots on this world and the healing would spread. Instead, you healed the entire planet with one shot. When Duran and Earth retracted, your magic returned to you, and between the hyperactive god energy, the overload of nominal energy, and the snapping of the link between the three worlds, it was too much for your body. Your powers and your mind are growing and adapting, but your body is still young and not used to magic.”
“I have practiced magic for three years now.”
“Even a Guardian is flesh and blood. You can become stronger, but it will take time, and even when you are as old as Kiro, you will still be vulnerable.”
“Great, you’re almost as encouraging as Kiro. Really, love the pep talks. You can stop now.”
“Glad I could help. When you are rested, I can take you to meet Enki, god of Vaigda.”
“Enki? As in, the Sumerian god of wisdom and water?” I asked. Immediately, I mentally flipped through every book, article, and website I ever read, and every documentary I ever watched on Sumerian mythology.
Shiloh nodded. “Humans have heard of him, yes. Most of the gods can be found somewhere in your history. I am surprised you recognized his name, though. Did you study religion on Earth?” he asked.
“Just as a hobby. Is he going to try to kill me? Apparently all the other gods are.”
“Enki is a kind and wise god. He is willing to hear you out. After you convince Enki that you are not out to destroy the gods, Madus would be willing to listen to you. Madus always agrees with his favorite brother.”
“I am ready to meet him now,” I said. Mordon glared at me.
“Then please come with me. The meditation room is best for this.” Shiloh led us through the halls again, this time into a different dark room.
The only light came from a circular pond in the middle of the room. The water was blue, but it glowed. There were two multicolored fish swimming actively in the water. The rest of the room included a dark padded floor and four cushions sitting around the pond. We each sat on a cushion, except for Sammy, who sat in Mordon’s lap.
“Close your eyes and clear your mind,” Shiloh said.
I tried, but the room had a funny smell that was hard to ignore.
“You can open your eyes now,” a new voice called.
I did. We were in a large white room, sitting in the same positions. Everything was white and there was no point of light, but the room was well lit. I felt the same as when Divina was talking to me in her dream cabin.
Before us was a man. Well, he appeared as a man, and a frail one at that. He had short, almost wild white hair and warm brown eyes. His face had laugh lines and wrinkles that came with age. The black suit he wore was outdated. I could have easily pictured him as a kindly butler… Except for his power.
There was no doubt he was a god, as his power radiated from him like a heavy heat. He leaned gently against the open air. I looked over at Mordon, who seemed very uncomfortable. “What’s the reading?” I asked out loud. I thought it would be impolite to talk in our minds in front of a god.
“He has no smell. We’re not really here, we’re still in that room, so I cannot smell anything from him. I can feel it, though.”
The god laughed a gentle, kind laugh. “If you look with your dragon eyes, you can see what you cannot smell, and you would regret it. You should never look at a god through a dragon’s eye.”
This was not a god who wanted to intimidate us, but he was a god of wisdom, so I predicted a load of riddles. Situation assessed, my drafted plan was to be as blunt and straightforward as possible. Maybe that would discourage puzzles and the runaround.
I stood and Mordon climbed to his feet beside me. “As I am sure you know, I’m Dylan,” I said. “This is Mordon and the little one is Sammy. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, I’m sure you’re busy with the whole universe collapsing and gods turning against each other.”
He laughed louder this time. “It is nice to meet such a respectful Guardian. I was expecting someone like your father.”
I hesitated. “Did you dislike my father?”
“No, not quite dislike. I disagreed with his methods, but from what Tiamat tells me, you are more responsible. Sarcastic if nothing else, but responsible in your job. She also tells me that you will do what you think is right, no matter what the gods demand of you. I must say, I was one of those who thought you should be killed at birth. Then you ended up helping Tiamat destroy Vretial.”
Well, whether or not he was about to spout riddles, at least he was brutally honest. I wanted that when dealing with someone so powerful. “Yeah, I hear I’m not just a Guardian.”
“No. At first you were potential, either good or bad. We had no idea how far your power would reach and we do not like threats. We may not like each other, but we are all that we have left. There was a threat that as you created energy like us, you could become as powerful as us.” As he spoke, he was approached me, until he stopped just a foot away. “You proved that you are a threat by killing one of us.”
“With the help of Tiamat.”
He smiled, and this wasn’t the kind smile he had before. “That’s right. The goddess who fights for you. Erono believes you have tricked her into helping you so that you can use her to destroy more of us. Tiamat is the youngest of us, the least wise. She always trusted Vretial.”
“My turn?” I asked when he paused.
His smile grew a little kinder. “Of course. Go ahead. Make me believe in you as Tiamat does.”
I never prayed. That wasn’t my thing, so I had to guess how to talk to him without being heard by Mordon. I thought really strongly and hoped he caught it. I need privacy.
And just like that, we were alone. “Is that better?” the god asked.
“Are they safe? They can’t hear us?”
“Absolutely. They are back on Vaigda and we cannot be overheard.”
“Mordon doesn’t know Tiamat is Divina, and that’s not my secret to tell.”
“And if he knew Tiamat was your lover, he would know she is Divina. I understand, but why do you keep that from your friend? Don’t you trust him?”
“Of course I do, but until Divina does, he will never know. It is her secret that she can do with what she will. Now, to my defense… First of all, there is nothing on heaven or Earth that can change that woman’s mind. She may act like you can change her mind, but she’s only letting you think you’ve won. I could never make her fight for me. I couldn’t make her love me.
“But you did. Twice.”
“Both times were her own doing. She thinks I’m cute, so that may have been a factor, but I can’t help it.”
“And how do you know her love for you is true? She’s been known to seduce men for selfish reasons before.”
“Because she hates that she loves me.”
He frowned, stepped back, and then wandered slowly. It never occurred to me before that a god would pace or move around compulsively.
“How does someone hate loving another? I was under the impression that love is a positive emotion.” He paused his movement and looked at me as if waiting for me to confirm his notion.
“It isn’t always. You can actually love and hate a person at the same time, or love someone you can never be with. I know people on Earth who would do anything to stop loving someone.”
“I see. But that can’t be the case with Tiamat.”
“She doesn’t hate me, but of course she hates loving me. I am a weakness. Because of me, she has to fight the other gods. I know she loves me because of that look in her eyes the moment she wakes and looks over at me as if to be sure I’m still there. I know she loves me because she will ask me to open a jar for her as if she weren’t strong enough.
I know she loves me because she looks ill every time I hold a weapon. And I know she hates that she loves me because sometimes she turns away from me when things are going so well. I have been with her for three years; I have seen her as a goddess, as a person, as a warrior, and as a mystery somewhere in between, but I have never seen her as a fake.”
“But you know she is hiding something from you. Is that her secret to keep as well?”
“I believe she will tell me if I need to know.”
“Really. What if I told you? I know her secret.”
“Then you must need to know more than me right now. If she wants me to know, she will tell me, and only she has that right.”
He turned and walked away. He seemed to be thinking, but I was worried he might still decide to kill me. After pacing for a few moments, he faced me again. “Are you as committed to being a Guardian as you are to Tiamat?”
“Yes,” I said.
“And you…” He looked at Mordon, who was suddenly standing beside me. “Are you committed to helping this Guardian bring the worlds back to peace?”
“I will stand by Dylan to protect him.”
“Why would you put your own life at risk for him?”
“Because I know he would never abuse it. My own father spent his whole life forcing as many people as possible to serve him. Dylan will spend his whole life trying to make the world better for everyone, including me. If he needs another life, I know he would only use it for good.”
“And why is that?” he asked.
Mordon looked at me, then back at the god and smiled. “I can smell it. I can smell the immediate intention of every person and creature I have ever crossed paths with, but I can also smell every intention Dylan has ever had.”
The god stared at us for a few minutes. “I will relay this conversation to my brothers. Most of them are reasonable, so I think for now that you will not need to fear them. As for me, if Tiamat trusts you and you trust her as it appears, you would not hurt her by turning against the rest of us. Make sure you sign Vaigda’s book so you can hide out here if you need to.”
“Thank you.”
And we were suddenly back in the dark room.
Sammy wrapped his arms around my knees. Mordon turned to me. “You made him send me back,” he accused.
“I had to talk about some of Tiamat’s secrets.”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I started to respond when I saw his fist clinch and a tick in his jaw and he ground his teeth. “No, I’m not,” I said. His fist lowered in hesitation. I took the opportunity to pick up Sammy and get as far away from Mordon as possible. “I am, though,” I amended.
He growled. “Put the baby down and get over here so I can hit you.”
“You want to teach Sammy that hitting is okay?”
“Yes! Sammy, hit Dylan.”
“Dada!” The baby giggled and rammed his head into my chest. I nearly fell.
“I would suggest more rest. You have had quite an afternoon for someone who just woke from a coma,” Shiloh said. Mordon rushed to agree before I could deny it. “But first…” He pulled out his book and a pencil just like mine.
Mordon signed it first, but I was hesitant because I remembered what happened when I signed Nano’s book. On the other hand, I was already on Vaigda. When I signed it, all I felt was the familiar cold spot on my shoulder. I looked at the fading mark, similar to the other marks that were faded on my shoulder but etched forever in my mind. Like battle scars. But why had I reacted so drastically to Dios’s world?
I could feel Vaigda’s magic respond to both of us. Mordon’s eyes went wide. “The magic is warm. That feels so weird.”
“Vaigda has never had a person of the dragons before. It can see that you hate the cold and wants to protect you from it.”
“What do you mean, a person of the dragons?” I asked. That was probably the most unclear way to say what Mordon had to do with them.
“He has the power of a dragon.”
“Why?” Mordon asked.
“That is a question you should ask your father,” he said cryptically.
“Well, I don’t exactly have a communication device in my back pocket.”
“You’re supposed to say, ‘I haven’t got him on speed dial,’” I interjected. They both stared at me until Sammy slammed his head into my chest again as if to tell me to shut it.
“Are you saying my father is part dragon?”
“No, he was not related to the dragons, but I really know very little. I asked Enki about you myself because I wanted to know what you are. Unfortunately, Enki was not very clear on the matter. Most of the gods are not very clear on things; it has to do with how they see the universe. They can see the past, present, and future, things that should happen, things that shouldn’t, and things that must not happen. I think that makes it difficult for them to relay information in a way we can understand. The person you should talk to about it is the Guardian of Skrev.
“What I know about dragons is rather limited. I do know they are powerful, and I know that dragons are not so much a species as a group or type of species. Just like how every god created a type of person, some of them created a type of dragon long before people. Duran and Earth have dragons left, but they have all died out on the other worlds.”
When Sammy started fussing, we returnedd to our room and put him to bed. Mordon went to make himself some food while I sat down on the bed to take my shoes off.
“Are you coming?” he called.
“In a minute.” Once I got my shoes off, I leaned back for just a second and fell asleep.
* * *
I woke, once again, to the sound of Sammy fussing. Mordon walked in before I could even sit up and removed Sammy from the crib. When he set Sammy on the floor, the baby tried to crawl up onto the bed. Somehow, he made it. The snuggly little worm rolled all over until he found a comfy spot with his head on my chest and his arm in my face.
“If you drool on me, you will have peas for dinner,” I threatened.
“Don’t threaten him,” Mordon said, holding up a stuffed dragon toy. “Shiloh brought this for him.” He handed it to Sammy, who held it against the other side of my neck.
I picked him up and set him on the floor. He frowned at me like he couldn’t believe I had just putting him down, then held up his arms to be picked up.
“No, you can walk. You can walk with us to get breakfast.” His face twisted up like he was going to cry. “Don’t start. If you want to be held, you have to talk.”
His face relaxed, he sat down on the floor, and cuddled his dragon. I dragged a reluctant Mordon out of the room and into the kitchen. We were halfway through our breakfast when Sammy walked in.
He came right up to me and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Hungry.” He didn’t cry or whine, just calmly said what he wanted.
I sat him in the highchair and gave him a little bit of bread, eggs, and fruit.
“Why do you think everyone keeps referring me to dragons?” Mordon asked.
I shrugged. “Well, you can smell intentions, your eyes turn black, you have incredible power over fire, and you have claws. Oh, and you have a dragon tattoo. I can’t imagine.”
“I forgot about that!” he said, running into the bathroom. I followed him to find him looking in the mirror with his shirt off, trying to see the tattoo. And it was there. Between his right shoulder and his spine was a small, dark green dragon. The wings were spread out and with the tail curled towards the front.
“It moved,” I said.
“What? Tattoos cannot move.”
“I agree, but it did. Before, it was on your shoulder.”
“You saw it wrong,” he insisted.
“I didn’t, though. Its wings were closed, too. Look at it with that eye thing you do,” I said. He stared at me through the mirror for a minute.
“It’s hard to do sometimes.” Finally, when his eyes opened from a blink, they were solid black. He looked back into the mirror. “I can’t
see the dragon this way,” he insisted.
I looked at his unmarked back. “That’s because the dragon is gone. Turn back to normal.”
He closed his eyes and concentrated. I knew the moment he was back to normal as the dragon reappeared, just a little closer to his shoulder. He opened his eyes and stared at it.
“My father hates dragons. He insists they don’t exist. And I know neither my mother nor father had anything to do with dragons. So I don’t know why Blood seems so familiar to me.” He put his shirt back on and walked out. When I entered the kitchen, he was slumped in a chair, looking really bothered by it. I wasn’t sure what to say. All I knew was that we are what we are, whether we know it or not, so he has always been this. Nothing has changed.
“I don’t know what you are, but I know what you aren’t,” I grinned. “You aren’t the next-in-line king of Mokii,” I said.
He thought for a second, then smiled wide. “You’re right. I may not be completely sago, but I am free. I have limited options as far as a career, but it will be my choice.”
About an hour later, we were ready to leave and find Shiloh when sirens went off. I put Sammy back in the papoose I was still forced to wear while Mordon grabbed mine and Sammy’s bags. Outside, there were people running about. Some were still in sleep clothes and some were fully dressed, but everyone looked panicked.
When Sammy started to cry, Mordon dug through the baby bag. He finally pulled out some baby-sized ear muffs and put them on him. As Mordon’s hands covered the tiny ear pieces, I felt energy draw into him. He was using a powerful spell, so powerful I was worried about him using the energy; if we were in danger, we both needed to be at our best. On the other hand, Sammy stopped crying.
We followed the crowd to find the majority of people taking turns in groups to get on the elevator. These people were polite; even though they were startled and the alarm still blared, they each waited patiently for their turn. As soon as we got in line, the older woman in front of us looked from Sammy, to us, and back at him, before pushing us in front of her, quickly croaking out that children should go first. Others pushed us further up the line as well. We were not the only ones with a kid to protect, and soon the entire front of the line consisted of families and scared children. Sammy just frowned at them like they were all insane, but he probably couldn’t hear the sirens over Mordon’s spell.
