The Dragon's Eyes

by Oxford, Rain

  He nodded. “I trust you, Dylan, but I cannot help you. I do not know how to open the void.”

  “Do you remember Mordon?” I asked him. His expression, pained as it was, told me he didn’t. “My friend was pulled into the void and I need to find him. Can you tell me how to find him? What to look for or anything?”

  “If your friend was pulled into the void, he was never born. Being misplaced in time is worse than being misplaced in space. If you do anything, it creates a paradox and can instantly tear the universe to shreds or worse. If you are very, very lucky, and he is very, very strong, his soul will make it to the spirit world.”

  “How is that a good thing?”

  “Because the Land of the Dead is part of the universe. If his soul makes it there before it is lost to the void, he can be in peace. But the void is like poison to souls. Even if he makes it there, he will still have no place in time.”

  “Maybe I could find him there and bring him back.”

  “There would not be enough time, even with your Iadnah magic.”

  “You know about that?” I asked. Before he could speak, he moaned in pain and clutched his stomach. He was sweating profusely and had a yellow tint to his skin. “Why are you suffering? How do I fix this?” I grabbed his arm and tried to send my healing magic into him, but my magic refused to respond.

  “Too many questions, Dylan. You ask questions you have the answers to because you want different answers. Easier answers, and there are none. This will not be easy. Many people will die today.”

  “Nobody will die. Not today.”

  “Are you stronger than death?” he asked me.

  “Today I am.”

  “Then you have the answers you need. Know the resources you have.”

  He might have said more, because the young king that I knew never spoke in riddles, but he passed out. I backed away from him and tried to flash us back to Dios. If I could go with him, I could get him some help. Nothing happened.

  Before I could try anything else, Divina appeared. There was no flash or anything, she just appeared. “You are so stubborn,” she accused. “I’m going to fix the damage you caused, then deal with you.”

  I was expecting more, but she grabbed Nila and they both vanished. I don’t think Divina had ever been so angry with me.

  Assured that Nila would be fine with Divina’s care, I focused on the little girl. Apparently I remembered her very well, or maybe I just wanted it more than I thought, because I instantly flashed and appeared in front of her. As rude as it was, I paid no attention to the room or even greeted her properly.

  “I need help.”

  She was startled, but nodded. “What can I help you with?”

  “My friend was pulled into the void. I need to get him back.”

  “I will do what I can. But how did you do that? How did you flash? You are not one of the gods,” she said.

  “I agree. I just figured it out on my own,” I said. She gave me a confused and worried frown. Her words came back to me and I got it. “You haven’t met me yet, have you?” She shook her head. “Well, my best friend and I are working on healing the worlds from damage caused by a god being killed. We helped you, you helped us. Mordon was pulled into the void, and now nobody remembers him. I need help.”

  “I lack a lot of control and sophistication over my power. I think we should wait until we are on solid ground,” she said hesitantly.

  I finally took in my surroundings and realized we were in a small cabin on a ship. There was a minor window, but it was pitch black outside, so the only light was provided by a candle on the tiny table.

  “You didn’t realize you were over water, did you?” she asked.

  “More important things on my mind. I can’t wait that long. We have to do it now.”

  “Why now?”

  “Because no one even remembers him. Please.”

  After a few seconds of considering, she nodded and held out her hand for me. I took her hand and the air crackled. My magic reacted instantly by sending an electrical current towards the perceived threat. She yelped and pulled away, but only for a second. I was able to pull my mercurial energy back inside before she took my hand again. The air crackled, more violently this time.

  “Remember your friend. Concentrate on him and nothing else,” she said. When there was a break in the pressure, when the room lit with the vicious light of the void, I looked into the light and called to him. All I saw was the light, though. There was no response, no Mordon.

  Then everything pretty much blew up. The ship collided with something strong enough to knock us both off our feet. The light grew brighter for an instant before collapsing, taking the light of the candle with it. Before I could do anything, the room lit up, but I was no longer on the ship; I was lying in Divina’s cabin.

  She stood over me with Sammy in her arms. I climbed to my feet and knew I was in trouble when she glared at me. She slapped me. “You stupid idiot. Are you trying to die?!” She was controlling herself, probably because of Sammy.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t careful, but I have to---”

  “Stop talking! Just stop! He’s not the most important person in the universe!” she yelled.

  “He’s a person, and that is enough.”

  “It isn’t anymore. Stay in here until I can look at you without hitting you again.”

  She walked out the front door and slammed it behind her and Sammy. I could hear and feel the energy field close over the cabin. I tried to flash back to Earth, but I was completely blocked. I sat down to think for a bit, all the while knowing that I was wasting… time? Was time the issue in this case? Nila had said I would not be fast enough.

  The door opened, but it was Edward, not Divina who walked in. Sitting on the floor in despair probably didn’t help me appear confident… I just put my face in my hands. “She’s trying to protect you,” Edward said. “Since she met you, she has been trying every day to protect you.”

  “This isn’t about me, or who I am, or what I’m supposed to do. This isn’t about magic, or destiny, or demons. I’m the only one Mordon has right now and she’s not letting me save him. I love her, but she is making a mistake. If I can’t save Mordon, I will never trust Divina again.”

  He hesitated, then kneeled on the floor in front of me. “You never asked me how I met Divina.”

  I looked at him. “I always got the impression it was a bit of a secret between you two.”

  He scoffed. “You look so like your father that I expect you to act like him. Then you say something like that. Your father would never let a secret go.” He ruffled my hair. “I’m glad you’re not so much like him. And you’re right; it is kind of a secret. The point is…I knew she kept secrets, but I trusted her. I always trusted her. But something changed. When she absorbed Vretial’s power and lost her mind… I know she recovered, but she isn’t the same. There’s something about her that makes me hesitant.”

  “I know,” I said. He gave me a doubtful look, but I smirked. “I can feel it; there’s something a little sinister about the look in her eye sometimes. Still, I love her, whether it’s good for me or not.”

  He stood. “Just be careful.” He left and shut the door quietly behind him.

  I listened for the sound of his steps walking away. There had to be a way to get out, to get to Mordon. I could ask one of the gods for help, possibly Madus.

  As I sat pondering my options, or lack of, I felt something pulling me. It wasn’t a physical pull, but it was definitely pulling something inside me. The world around me melted and reformed in a bright white room. I was beginning to hate the color white.

  Regivus stood glaring at me, not managing to induce the same amount of fear as Divina had with the same glare. Or maybe I was just done being afraid.

  “After watching you and listening to my brothers, I have decided to allow you access to Enep in order to heal the damage you and Tiamat have caused,” he said in Enochian. His tone was meant to make me feel that I owed him and he was d
oing me a favor by allowing me to heal his world.

  “No thanks. I’m busy,” I said in English. He looked startled; he must not have been watching me that closely.

  “Your mission is to heal the worlds. Enep is one of the worlds you need to heal,” he said as if talking to a slow child.

  I really didn’t care what he thought at this point. “I have a new mission that comes first.” His blank stare told me he really had no idea what I was doing. “My best friend was attacked by the demon and pulled into the void. I will save him before anything else.”

  “The dragon child? You would risk the people of my world for one person?” he asked, not actually with disapproval.

  I think I had him confused at this point. With enemies and children, it was best to keep them as confused as possible at all times. Regivus was not my enemy or concern at the moment, though, and I had no interest in battling wits with the god.

  “Mordon was not just killed, he was never born. He’s my best friend, the best person I know, and basically a brother to me for the last three years, and no one even remembers him. To die is horrible, but to never have lived is unacceptable. To not even be remembered is unacceptable. I will save him, and I will do it before I help anyone else.”

  “People of my world are being taken from time as well,” he argued.

  “And I will help them, but after Mordon. That demon has taken someone I care about and I will not let anyone get in my way, not even you. The demon will die. If you can’t help me, then don’t bother me. I am officially off the call list until I destroy that demon as painfully as possible and get my friend back.”

  “The demon can easily kill you.”

  “Not anymore. I will make him regret ever coming after us. When I’m done with him, he will cower with fear in the smallest corner in the universe. My name will be his nightmare, and the nightmare of anyone else who messes with my friends or stands in my way.”

  “I was told by several of my brothers that you were extremely peaceful and would never refuse to assist anyone. It is against Noquodi nature to refuse to help people.”

  “Not when it comes to my family. A member of my family has been attacked and all bets are off. I will hunt down, fight, and kill anyone who comes after my friends or family. It doesn’t matter who is more powerful than whom because I am more angry than I have ever been and nothing will stop me.”

  Regivus was a powerful god who probably always got what he wanted. I could imagine he was a leader to his siblings and was hardly ever denied. He could do anything he wanted to me as powerful as he was; he could kill me, force me to obey, or even strip my magic away. The gods could control minds.

  But not today. Not now, not before I could save Mordon. The gods could wait, but Mordon couldn’t.

  “In order to save your friend, you would have to open a way to the void. It would be extremely difficult and dangerous,” he said, his voice just a little softer. “Does your goddess approve of your priorities?”

  “No, she doesn’t. I’m currently grounded in her house.”

  He laughed. “She is trying to protect you even from yourself.”

  “Yeah, she’s trying to protect me, Edward is trying to protect me, and Mordon wouldn’t even be in this mess if he didn’t protect me, but no one else is trying to protect him. No one remembers him, so even his father isn’t trying to protect him, if the poor bastard is even still alive. I know Mordon has saved his father’s life several times. He only has me on his side now, and I have no idea how to help him. I don’t know how to open the void.”

  “Then Madus was right about you. I will show you how to open the void, but the consequences of your actions are your own. If you have the abilities of a god, you have the responsibility to use it wisely. Otherwise, we will destroy you as you had Vretial.”

  “Understood.”

  He advanced until he stood inches from me and put his cold hand on my forehead. His presence was overwhelming, causing shivers down my spine, but I couldn’t let that deter me. Before I could ask what he was doing, I was distracted by an unfamiliar sensation. It wasn’t memories, images, or even energy that the god sent me. I could abruptly feel the void, and I could see why the gods were wary of it.

  The void was truly outside the universe, outside time and space, but things could live in it. The place the dead went was like an inside-out bubble. It was a bubble of the universe in the middle of nothing, and there were other bubbles, too. None of these bits of universe were possible; none of them made any sense.

  The gods didn’t really even understand the void, since it existed before the universe did. While the universe that we knew grew, the void was infinite and all-consuming. It wasn’t necessarily an evil thing, just something that should never be in contact with the universe or anyone in it. And with my magic, I could tear open a way into the void.

  I could feel it from a god’s perspective. When I transported Mordon, Sammy, and myself from Dios to Vaigda, I had created a protective bubble and tore through the void without realizing what I was really doing. Now I knew exactly what my magic had to do. But the ability to tear through the universe wasn’t all I was shown… Regivus showed me how to bend time and space itself.

  Whereas I was running on instinct before, I could now control my magic. It took a few moments for me to absorb what I learned, but Regivus waited patiently for my attention. “You are at a turning point in your life, and the Iadnah have a decision to make. We could help you and train you and keep you from becoming our enemy, or we could let you stand with your goddess behind you and keep getting more and more dangerous with no direction. I am taking a leap of faith in my sister and in you. Prepare yourself. Now go and save your friend so you can get back here and heal Enep.”

  “Thank you.”

  I wasn’t actually somewhere new; my body was still in Divina’s cabin. It was my soul, part of my soul, or my consciousness that met with the god. When Regivus let me go, I simply woke up… but I was learning.

  “I will kill him,” Divina growled. She stood at the door, still with Sammy in her arms. He wasn’t crying anymore at least. “He had no right.”

  “He helped me,” I said, getting to my feet.

  “He helped you commit suicide.”

  “You have no faith that I can do this?”

  “No,” she answered. Even as she opened her mouth to continue, I had heard enough. I flashed out, breaking her shield without a second thought.

  The one place I could think of that wasn’t on Earth or Duran was Dios, but midway through my traveling, I felt Regivus pulling me somewhere else. Seeing as how he had just helped me, I let him. Unfortunately, the landing was horrible.

  I hit the ground hard and gravel fell on top of me. I was sort of dazed and confused even as I was being unburied. “Welcome to Enep,” Samorde said. “Regivus figured you would have better luck opening the void on a world that you had not yet healed. The barriers are weaker here.”

  “I will thank him when I see him again,” I said.

  “I am sorry; I do not speak that language,” he said hesitantly.

  I hadn’t even thought about what language to use. Whatever language he spoke sounded like a good choice, so I repeated myself in a language I could understand and speak, but had never learned.

  “Let me show you to a room where you can safely open the void.”

  We were underground, but the world felt different than Dios. For one thing, the gravity was comparable to Duran’s. It also looked less civilized, at least where we were; the tunnels were smaller and unlit. Samorde guided the way with a basic torch.

  Nominal energy swirled through me, curious about the stranger. I let my Iadnah energy respond gently. It was a very timid planet, full of docile, wounded people. Even worse was the wounds inflicted by the ripples in the universe. It was like walking through the ICU at the hospital, knowing that strangers just a few feet from you were dying and leaving loved ones alone in the world. It felt wrong, even disrespectful to speak or make noise a
mong those suffering.

  Samorde opened a heavy wooden door that seemed as if it had appeared out of nowhere. Inside was a place of meditation and magic, where small candles were placed strategically in the room and the floor was marked with circles and symbols. Several cushions lay against the dark walls. “I will guard the door from outside and make sure you are not disturbed. If the demon escapes, please scream loudly so that I can run away.” With that parting, he left me alone.

  It took a moment to calm down enough to really concentrate. I focused on the void, the emptiness of it, the impression that Regivus had shown me. The nominal energy cleared away as if afraid of my thoughts, but I could feel the damage all around me. It was against Noquodi nature to allow anyone to suffer… it was against my nature to hurt anyone.

  I reached into the worst wound I could find within the immediate area and tore at it. The light filled the room slowly, right in front of me, while the air stilled and grew cold. When the void was open enough to form a door, the light spread apart.

  I gasped in shock from what I saw.

  Chapter 15

  Mordon

  With my eyes shifted, I could see the crack opening just in time to push Dylan out of the way. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting the demon to reach out and grab me. As I felt the burning claws sink into my skin, I couldn’t regret anything.

  Over the stabbing pain, over the blinding white emptiness, over the loss of any conscious thought, I heard Sammy calling for me.

  * * *

  I came aware in a room I was intimately familiar with; my bed chambers at my father’s estate. However, I wasn’t alone. My father sat on my bed, gazing at the picture of my mother that I had always kept on my bedside table. When I packed to leave, that was the only one I left behind because she looked so sad in the picture. It was the same expression my father had on his face.

  He didn’t see me there, though he should have. Before I could say anything, the door opened and my father’s advisor walked in. “Rojio, I have told you a hundred times to knock before coming into my room!” I scolded on reflex. Many times I thought he was trying to catch me doing something disgraceful and possibly traitorous.