The Dragon's Eyes

by Oxford, Rain

  Edward gaped as if he suddenly got it and I could feel Rojan’s mind working. We never got the entire story of what had happened since I was pulled into the void.

  “Mordon, look at Sammy.”

  I didn’t hesitate to shift my eyes and look at the baby in Divina’s arms. I realized too late that looking at a god’s soul was dangerous. There was nothing to describe Divina, no human or sago descriptions. She was not evil or good or innocent or anything; at least not at a level that I could understand. Her intentions were difficult enough to read; actually seeing her was something I never wanted to do again, just because the power was too great.

  Sammy was the picture of innocence and goodness. He was what I expected Dylan to have looked like as a baby; nothing in front of him but a life of doing good and helping people. I could smell every intention Dylan ever had, and now I could see every intention Sammy ever would have.

  And both of them had Iadnah energy filling them. “That is very strange,” I said. I had seen it before, but had assumed it was Dylan’s energy that transferred to him. I shifted my eyes back.

  “Sammy cried because he remembered Mordon, and he remembered because he sees the universe the same way we do. He’s just like me, isn’t he?”

  She wouldn’t look at him. “Avoli is rebuilding his world, and jumpstarting the process by importing people from many worlds. Therefore, he needs a Guardian. Afraid of what happened before happening again, he asked me for help. Obviously he couldn’t have you, but you were more powerful than any other. You are exactly what he was looking for, so he convinced Zer to introduce Nano to a human woman.

  “Avoli thought that since your father was a sago and mother a human, he had to somehow recreate the event. Erono refused to allow Kiro to be used, but Zer will agree to anything. Avoli tried to find a woman with similar genetic traits to your mother, but Nano met his mate and said he would not accept anyone else. Amazingly, it worked. We still have no idea how; perhaps it is a human thing. Maybe humans have some recessive ability that I did not design or know about.”

  “That explains why his development is a little… advanced,” Dylan said. We all looked at Sammy, who was sitting still and listening intently. After a few seconds, he hid his face against Divina’s chest. “But Ronez has many children that are half human, and Edward has a few. They can’t all be like me, because the gods freaked out over me.”

  “No one is like you. I’m sorry, Dylan. I have no idea how you have the magic you do, or Sammy. None of us do. We pretty much mixed red and blue together and got gold… twice. It makes no sense. We dislike the threat this poses, but we are not curious by nature. You are driven so solve mysteries. We aren’t.”

  Divina was a secretive person, powerful above all others, and used it to get what she wanted. The love Dylan had for her was tangible, and I would never doubt it, but I couldn’t imagine that she was right for him. They looked amazing together, of course, the way they acted and reacted to each other. Only having been together for three years, they could feel each other. When one walked into the room, the other would stop and look. Dylan once told me that even when he couldn’t see her, he knew when she was near because it felt like the air was empty until she was there.

  I had no idea what he loved so much about her. She was dominating, bordering on bullying and violent, she lied to him and kept secrets, she never hesitated to use her power against him, and she obviously didn’t love him as much as he did her.

  You do not see what goes on behind doors, Rojan said. Her love is just as strong as his, and their relationship is in complete balance. Your dragon instincts drive you to protect him, even from his own decisions, but this time you must trust that he knows what is in his heart.

  “So is he going to live with his parents or monks?” I asked.

  “It would be cruel to his mother to keep him from her,” she answered. “Dylan, it wasn’t that I was trying to keep this from you. I honestly didn’t know how he would develop, or how you two would react to each other. Both Avoli and I were hoping you would be a role model for him.”

  “Dada,” Sammy called, reaching out for Dylan.

  Dylan sighed. “Nano’s going to hate me. I’m not mad that you didn’t tell me, Divina. I know you don’t always tell me stuff, but you always have a good reason. Like it or not, I trust you. I mean, I don’t trust you to tell me the truth, but I trust you to tell me what I need to know before it gets me killed.”

  Ronez laughed and Edward covered his brother’s mouth before the dead Guardian could say anything. Then he gave Divina a glare, which she deliberately ignored.

  “I may have something I need to tell you. I wanted to make sure before… and I wanted my brothers to be on your side…” she said. Dylan moved around Edward to sit next to Divina and wrapped his arm around her.

  “Wait,” Edward interrupted. We all looked at him. “We need to deal with the demon first. How do we defeat it?”

  “Without a body, it is undefeatable. Even when the beast is in a body, you have to destroy it before it can escape,” Divina said.

  “It is an ancient demon, yes?” Ronez asked. “Powerful enough to tear holes through the universe, but cannot do nearly as much damage as it can when it is in a body? In the universe anyway? In the universe it needs a body to integrate with, and that is the only time it is halfway vulnerable?”

  Divina nodded.

  “So we need to find some poor bastard to sacrifice that we can trap the demon in and kill it? Absolutely not!” Dylan demanded.

  “I know what to do,” Ronez said. “This demon desperately wants Sammy. How far is he willing to go to get him?” he asked.

  I didn’t like where this was going.

  Chapter 16

  Dylan

  Spending the last few days with my father, with my whole family, was great. Unfortunately, it was becoming tense, because we all knew we had work to do. When my father told us he had an idea on how to defeat the demon, I cringed. This would not be good; I could feel it in my blood.

  “I can possess someone. Hear me out,” he said. He regarded me with a seriousness I had never seen from him. Of course, I had only spent a few days collectively with him my entire life. “I can possess Sammy and let the demon come. Basically, surrender. He will try to possess Sammy and I can destroy him from within. Sammy will be fine as long as I destroy the demon quickly.”

  Mordon, Divina, Rojan, and I shot that idea down immediately.

  “Rojan said to let the demon possess us and he can fight it,” Mordon suggested.

  I shook my head. “He already knows the dragon is in you and that he can’t win. He won’t try again.”

  “Me, then,” Edward suggested. We all shook our heads.

  “You are a powerful Guardian, sir, and I mean no offense, but you are just sago,” Mordon told him.

  Edward glared at him and I smacked Mordon’s arm. For a man raised to be a king, he made some stupid verbal errors.

  “Oh, what I mean is, the demon burns the bodies out. I survived because I have dragon blood, and Sammy and Dylan probably can because of their god energy, but you have nothing except your nominal energy. You are definitely one of the most powerful people I know, but I think it would be too much that you fight a demon and heal yourself constantly from its burn.”

  “Dada…” Sammy said.

  I looked at him and he put his fist to his mouth, giving me a very telling gaze. He really was afraid of being an outcast for his abilities, even in front of a god, two Guardians, a former Guardian, and a dragon.

  Some psychologists didn’t believe a child was really alive until they had a self-conscious, which could only be measured by the child’s acknowledgment of social customs and the actions he took to blend in.

  Sammy was less than two years old, but his cognitive development was unnaturally advanced, enough so that he understood the concept of being abnormal. Whether it was his magic that caused him to be like this or his genetics, I wanted him to be happy and accepted. It was his cho
ice how he achieved that.

  He silently begged me with sad eyes and I knew he wanted to help. Yes, I wanted him to be happy, but his safety was more important. I shook my head and he turned his pout on Mordon.

  “What if the demon attacks while everyone is asleep? Or when Sammy goes back to his parents? We have a chance to get the one-up on the demon,” Ronez said.

  “You can’t guarantee he won’t be harmed,” I argued.

  “I can guarantee if we don’t do something, he will be,” Divina said.

  After an hour of arguing, it was decided that nothing more could be done that night, so we went to bed. Seeing as how there were only two beds, we camped out in the living room.

  My father and I stayed up late into the morning chatting about things. I wasn’t upset with him that he wasn’t there when I grew up; I felt sorry for him. Being near me was too dangerous for both of us, and he had to stay away. If I had a son and I was forced to stay away from him, I would be miserable.

  * * *

  I woke up to arguing, predictably about our demon hunting plan. Since when was I the kind of person who went after demons? I remember being the kind of person who stayed in bed on Saturday mornings until two, watching dirty cartoons and throwing paperclips at my cat. In fact, if Edward had a TV… and would ever let me get away with not doing my chores… I would still be that person. Oh, well. Magic was cooler than TV anyway.

  Ronez had convinced Divina and Edward that his was the right plan, but Mordon was still vehemently arguing against it. Everyone sat around the table with Sammy in Edward’s lap. I sat down across from Mordon and they all turned their attention on me.

  “Tell them we’re not putting Sammy’s life in danger,” Mordon insisted.

  “Dylan, it’s your choice. Between all of us, we can keep him safe, but we have to end this. He can’t spend his life running from a demon,” Ronez said.

  “His parents should be deciding this.” There was an awkward silence, for everyone disagreed with me, but no one was willing to speak first.

  Divina looked away when I tried to meet her gaze. She always had an opinion, but this was choosing the lesser of two evils, and she didn’t want a say in this any more than I did. On the one hand, Ronez was right and I had no other idea how to trap the demon. On the other, it was Sammy’s life at risk.

  “Dada,” Sammy said gently. I looked at him and his purple eyes flashed.

  “He can see the future,” Divina explained.

  “Sammy, is this the right thing to do?” I asked him.

  His eyes flashed again. “Yes,” he said.

  “What if you hide him with his parents and we do something?” Mordon asked. “We could go to Earth. Surely the demon would assume he’s with us. He would possess whoever is closest that he can, probably Edward.”

  “I think he’s tracking Sammy, not us,” I said. “But maybe we can trick him. If the demon is actually tracking Sammy, then it would be his energy the demon is scenting. My pentagram absorbs energy. Maybe we could use it as a decoy.”

  “Dada!” Sammy cried. “Hide.”

  “He’s coming now?” I asked. Mordon’s eyes shifted and he jumped back when he looked at Sammy. “What is it?” I asked.

  “His energy is going nuts.”

  Sammy covered his face with his hands and I could feel confusion fuming from him.

  “I hide and he comes. In the dark he finds me. I don’t want to hide.”

  “Dylan…” Mordon said, hesitantly as if the words hurt to speak. “Maybe we should go with this plan. I trust our chances of protecting him better when he’s with us than when he’s out of our sights.”

  “If you’re sure,” I said. I agreed, but I really didn’t want to speak the words either. I had to be the worst person in the world to use a baby as bait.

  “Let’s do this outside so we don’t burn any cabins down on top of us,” Ronez said.

  Edward handed Sammy to me and we headed outside. All of us were miserable about the decision; even Divina looked sick to her stomach. It didn’t help when she had to go back inside to throw up. As well as I knew her, I was surprised to see a god so unwilling to risk an infant.

  Ronez sat cross-legged in the soft grass and I sat across from him with Sammy in my lap. “Ready?” he asked.

  I shook my head, but he closed his eyes and I felt the energy stir. My Iadnah energy cringed away and tried to react by protecting Sammy, but I had to push it down. Soon, Ronez pitched forward and Sammy shuddered.

  I was expecting something that looked as horrific as it was, but Sammy was calm. “Are you okay?” I asked Sammy.

  He frowned. “Weird, Dada. Too many minds. Not enough space.”

  “I can project his magic so that the beast can find him,” Divina suggested. “Make sure Ronez can handle it. Mordon?”

  He shifted his eyes back to normal before looking at Divina. “I can see his energy and it appears settled. Can someone mention how creepy this is? Please? Anyone?”

  Everyone cringed, but no one said anything. Edward busied himself with laying Ronez’s body back and I had to look away.

  “Shut up, Ronny,” Sammy demanded. We all stared at him, more surprised at Sammy calling Ronez “Ronny” than anything else. “Ronny says he’s good to go.”

  “Keep watching him,” Divina told Mordon.

  He shifted his eyes back and focused on the baby. He was being careful not to look at Divina with his dragon eyes and I had to wonder what he saw in her soul that he couldn’t face. Sammy glanced up at me for reassurance.

  “Dylan, you shouldn’t have him in your lap when we do this,” she warned.

  Sammy’s bottom lip wobbled dramatically.

  “For my sake or his?” I asked. Her expression told me I could risk it. I held him tighter to my chest and he buried his face against my arm. “Bite my arm if it hurts, honey. Get this over with, Divina.”

  I could feel his magic projecting. It felt off, like it wasn’t really him, but it took less than two minutes for the demon to take the bait. When he came, it was like an overwhelming heat and presence. It was powerful, ancient, and determined.

  Sammy gasped. I could almost see the soul of the powerful creature enter the baby, and though I wanted to fight it off more than anything, that would be detrimental to the plan. I looked at Mordon and he shook his head. Sammy started hyperventilating, sweating, and squirming. He tried to squirm out of my arms, but I held him tight.

  Edward sat down in front of me and handed me a cold wet cloth. I patted him down gently, not wanting to cause injury from the cold, but he took the cloth from me and put it over his face. The temperature around us dropped quickly and it started snowing, directly and exclusively over the two of us.

  I glanced at Divina, who was making it snow, then to Mordon, who shook his head again. “Ronez is handling it.” The temperature drop helped for a few minutes before Sammy suddenly started convulsing. “It’s taking too long! I think I can take the heat away.” He reached towards Sammy, but I grabbed his arm.

  On instinct alone, I reached into Mordon for his fire, for that feeling that I got when he was pulled into the void. My vision changed until I could see Sammy’s soul. My mother could have convinced me of angels if I had seen Sammy’s soul years ago.

  Two other souls hindered his, though. One I knew was my father’s. He was a decent man who has done some great things as well as some things he regretted. He was also very powerful, old, and wise. The demon, even more ancient and powerful than my father, was not wise; all the demon wanted was to conquer and destroy.

  Using Mordon’s ability to see souls, I poured my magic into the baby, tore the demon from him, and pulled the ancient being into myself. The heat was overwhelming. I knew I was supposed to feel pressure or something, but all I could feel was my body burning inside and out. Even trying to heal myself was impossible with this pain.

  Someone was saying something to me and I was grabbed roughly. Then, as quickly as the heat flowed into me, it vanished. My energy
flooded my body, instantly cooling and repairing the damage.

  Mordon was on his knees in front of me with his eyes closed and teeth clinched. His expression calmed and his muscled relaxed as he stood easily.

  “Are you okay?” I asked quietly as my voice was sore from the heat.

  He grinned. “Very warm. I like it.” His grin faded away and he wobbled a little bit. “Flash me somewhere else. He’s trying to take control. Flash me somewhere that he can’t hurt anyone.” His voice was very calm and controlled.

  Divina took Sammy from my arms, despite the baby’s struggles to cling to me, and I flashed Mordon and myself to the hot springs. Mordon inhaled deeply and exhaled smoke. His eyes and claws shifted.

  “Rojan can handle the demon, but he can’t hold it inside me. Trap---” His words were cut off and he was clearly having trouble controlling his mouth.

  When Mordon’s eyes were shifted, they were entirely black; no white at all was showing. Any normal human would freak, but I was on Duran, my father was sago, and I knew Mordon. Mordon was good.

  “Give up the child and I will leave your friend alive.” The growl was even more guttural than Rojan when he was angry, but it was the language that made my skin crawl. The words and even some of the sounds were unrepeatable, but because of my Iadnah energy, I could understand.

  “So you can finally talk,” I said in Enochian. It felt like Enochian and the language that the demon spoke were opposites, not just in sound, but meaning.

  “The dragon is strong enough to live in until I get the child, but your sago friend will die long before I am forced to relinquish the body. Give me the child.”

  “Now why would I do that? Rojan can handle you. Yeah, you may be older and more powerful, but you are in his home territory and he has more fight in him,” I said. I started pacing a wide arch around him, back and forth as the wheels in my brain turned. This was my calmest moment. With my enemy at my front and my friends accounted for, even the hostages, I had the advantage.