Eve of Redemption Omnibus: Volumes 1-3

by Joe Jackson

  Sonja nodded. “Things have been changing over the past few centuries, particularly since the Fifth Demon War,” she said. “I think as the mysteries surrounding Gori Sensullu come to light, things will change even more. It may not be soon, but your people will be welcomed among the rest of us eventually.”

  “I know, I simply hope I live to see that day,” the elder male said. “Until that time, we will work to grow stronger as a people, for what else can we do?”

  “Die,” Eryn said evenly. “And that’s not really much of an alternative.”

  Elleraus was shocked, but when he realized Eryn was just making a blunt observation, he gave a short nod and let forth an uneasy chuckle. “Indeed,” he said. “While I would love to hear all about the outside world and your adventures, I am sure you would all like to walk around and feel solid land beneath your feet again. Take some time to see our little village, visit one of the shops, or spend a couple of hours down on the beach. I will be here, waiting to greet the rest of your friends.”

  The three women rose, thanked their host for his hospitality, and left his cozy and comfortable abode to explore the village. It was quaint and homey compared to the cities that each of the three women had grown up in. There were a few score houses, a handful of shops, and numerous gardens where food was grown. The life was simple, Kari could tell, and in a way she found it appealing, as alien as it was to the lives she had led. Kari had done most of her growing up in Solaris, a transition city between the rolling plains and the deep forests of Terrassia. It was a waypoint for caravans crossing from the desert kingdom of the shakna-rir to the elven kingdom of the east, the northern kingdoms of the humans around Dira Ch’Tori, and the fures-rir homeland in the frozen north. Solaris wasn’t as affluent or beautiful as Sonja's home city of Latalex, but it had a large, static population, and saw that swell with the constant traffic headed in almost every direction across the continent.

  The seterra-rir village, whose name was nowhere to be found among its stone streets or the signs that adorned the few shops in the square, was the type of little town that many dreamed of retiring to but never found. The fact that it sat on a tropical island only added to its allure, and Kari sighed wistfully, thinking that perhaps when her adventuring days were over, she might like to live in such a place. She assumed if the people of Salkorum were ever openly accepted in the world she came from again, the island would become quite a tourist attraction as well as a home to those who enjoyed bright sun, open seas, and beautiful beaches.

  Kari excused herself when her two friends stopped at a little general store, and she made her way back down the path to the beach. Along the way she passed the rest of her companions, except for Grakin, being led to the village by the same two seterra-rir brothers. Kari thought about knocking down a coconut to bring back to the ship but decided against it on the off chance the people considered it stealing. She figured it best to ask first and let them either give her one or welcome her to take one for herself. She remembered the taste of coconut well from the few times she had stopped in the shakna-rir city of Awlsabre on Terrassia’s southern coast.

  The white sand of the beach was warm under her feet as she crossed down to the crystal-blue water, and she stepped out to nearly knee-high depth and walked along the strand. Grakin was sitting alone farther down the beach, his black wing-wrapped form a stark contrast to the sands he sat upon, and she moved slowly toward him. The warm ocean breeze caressed her sun-drenched skin and Kari smiled. The beauty of the place reminded her of what she and her friends had fought so hard to preserve. Sonja’s words to her shortly before they left the ship came back to her, and she found there was little place for the shadows of her past under the sun.

  Kari approached Grakin but he didn’t look up at her. She drew up beside him and began shedding her clothes. Even her naked form didn’t earn a glance from him so, suppressing a chuckle, Kari made her way back down to the water and dove under its crystalline surface. The harbor was warm and felt comforting compared to bathing in the mountains for years during the War. The water glided across her skin and she beat huge blasts of water behind her with her wings. The stress was a bit much for her to continue, but she propelled herself with unnatural speed below the surface. She came up nearly a third of the way to the ship and treaded the water, and she waved to Grakin to see if his stare registered her at that distance.

  He waved back at last, and after he sat still for few more moments, Kari beckoned for him to join her out in the water. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he removed his own garments and swam slowly out to meet her. Kari moved in so he wouldn’t have to swim out too far: she didn’t want him to exhaust or possibly hurt himself trying to match her distance if he was still fatigued. They met halfway between the shore and where she had initially waved, and she was surprised as his black eyes met her own for the first time since their journey together had begun. His eyes were full of fire and life despite his quiet and seemingly detached nature, and as she stared into their depths Kari could see – almost feel, in a sense – the warmth and love of the man. She could see the passion that drove him to become a healer, and to follow a deity whose domain – death – often frightened even those who knew what he was like. She could see the burdens Grakin bore, as he was the one ultimately responsible for the life or death of his siblings in their dangerous line of work.

  What surprised her was that she didn’t see the love for her that she had supposed his evasive gaze held. Over the years, Kari had found that men who were enamored with her and not just looking for a night of irresponsible carnal pleasure were unable to take their eyes off of her until she tried to meet their stare. And so she had assumed that Grakin’s evasive gaze meant he felt something toward her. Staring into his eyes, though, she could see that she was only partially right. He cared about her in the same sense that he cared about his siblings, and more than likely all the people he came into contact with. He cared about her life, her comfort and well-being, and her happiness, but if there was romantic love, she didn’t see it now.

  “How do you feel?” she asked him quietly.

  Grakin looked back toward the shore briefly, but then he met her gaze once more and flashed the first true and genuine smile she had seen from him. “The warmth and the water seem to be good for me,” he said. “I feel better than I have in months, or even years.”

  “All that time healing people, and you keep ignoring the most important of them,” she said. She lifted her dripping hand out of the water to stroke his face. He seemed to almost melt at her touch, leaning his face into her palm, and she wondered briefly if what she had thought a moment before was off-target.

  “Service is its own reward,” he said softly, and his ebon eyes filled her with wonder. There was a light in their depths that told her quite clearly that he was not just repeating a tenet he’d heard in temples, but something he truly believed in. “I may put myself last, but my time will come. Everyone’s does, if they but wait; everything comes in its own time. Even death will not stop us from being exalted when it is our time.”

  Kari tilted her head curiously as a smile appeared on the handsome male’s face, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know who I am, don’t you?” she asked.

  Grakin blinked slowly and nodded. “To me it was obvious not long after I heard your name,” he said. “My brothers, they are not as trusting: they still require their eyes and ears and hands to believe things. I am a priest: I take things on faith, because in the end the truth will always be revealed. It was difficult to believe it was truly you, but any doubts I may have felt at first have since dissipated.”

  The terra-dracon woman laughed. “I’m not sure how Erik and Ty could think I’m an impostor,” she said. “I’d have to have been born terra-dracon with black hair and eyes, trained to become a high-ranking demonhunter, and stolen a name without anyone taking offense. It seems a little ridiculous.”

  Grakin dipped under the surface, tilting his head back as he reemerged so that his
hair was out of his face. “Jealousy may be a part of it, as sad as I am to say so,” he replied. “Anger is also an issue in Ty’s case. We have been through much as a family, and Typhonix does not like women very much, hence his disrespect toward you in particular. I cannot apologize enough for the way he treats you…”

  “That’s not your mistake to apologize for,” Kari said, waving off the comment, but then she let him continue.

  “Erik…has a very particular way of viewing the world around him. To him, things are what they appear to be, and many times he fails to look below the surface of what he sees to find what is truly at its core. When he looks at Eryn, he sees only a cold-hearted killer. When Captain Galdur brought us to a strange port and asked us to swear secrecy, he suspected piracy. When you say you are someone who died hundreds of years ago, he sees a liar.”

  “And what do you see?” Kari asked.

  Grakin remained silent for a minute, studying her face and her eyes in particular, and Kari waited to see what he would say. “Salvation,” he said simply.

  Kari was taken aback and waited to see what else he would say, but after a silent moment, Grakin simply leaned forward in the water and kissed her chastely on the side of her snout. The terra-dracon woman almost melted, her ebon eyes wide in shock, and she stared at him in wonder. She wondered what had prompted such a statement, or the kiss that had tickled her to the core. Her emotional compass was spinning heedless of direction, and she was unsure if her initial thoughts were correct. Was he not interested in her, as she had assumed when they’d first met in the water? Was the chaste kiss one of friendship and admiration, or was it his gentlemanly way of telling her he was, in fact, interested?

  His eyes were near impossible to read, showing wonder at knowing who she was, but there was something darker behind them, something she couldn’t read because he was preventing her from doing so. She reached up to touch his face again, and tears welled in her eyes as he rubbed his cheek against her palm. Kari realized in that moment that he was, in fact, interested in her, but there was something else that kept him from pursuing her. It took her only another moment to recognize what it was he saw in her, what he didn’t want her to see in him, and what his siblings apparently never saw. “How long have you known?” she asked quietly.

  Grakin looked down, but Kari slid her hand under his chin and lifted it so that he was forced to look into her tear-laden eyes once more. “I am sorry, this is my burden to bear; you have already been through this once before,” he said, trying to look away once again.

  Kari shook her head, grabbed his chin more forcefully and met his gaze more intently. “No,” she said sternly. “Don’t turn away, that’s the same mistake I made as a young woman. This is your burden to bear but that doesn’t mean others can’t help or comfort you. I pushed everyone out of my life because I didn’t want to hurt them, when pushing them away is what hurt them. Don’t push me away, Grakin. Let me be here for you.”

  His own eyes began to well up with tears, but he steeled himself and sighed, and met Kari’s gaze evenly. “All right,” he said quietly, forcing a smile, and he wrapped his arms around Kari as she hugged him.

  Grakin held her for a few minutes, and with the warmth of the sun, the water, and his tender embrace, Kari lost herself in the happiest of her memories. It brought to mind the love that she had shared with Suler Tumureldi, and how safe she had felt with him, the first and only man she had ever truly loved. Nine months of bliss saturated her being as she clung tightly to the priest, and she even recalled Trigonh, who – though she’d always felt his love was misplaced – had guarded and protected her during their time together. She separated from Grakin slowly, and when their eyes met, a part of her understood that she had found something special once again.

  Kari leaned her head to the side slightly. After the barest of hesitations Grakin took the invitation and leaned in to kiss the base of her neck. His arms encircled the small of her back and he pulled her in tight to him again. She lost herself in his embrace and the softness of his tender kisses again, and she laid her head on his shoulder, keeping her eyes closed as she soaked up the moment. He stroked her wet hair and kept one hand between her wings, keeping her close to him, and he kissed her again at the base of her neck. She moaned contentedly against his shoulder, and drew back to run her hand along his jaw after a few more moments.

  “Would you like to find someplace more private?” she asked him. He was clearly shocked at the suggestion, and Kari regretted asking. She was relieved when his expression melted back into a warm smile and he stroked her cheek.

  “If you wish it, I would like nothing more,” he said simply. She led him back to the shore to collect their clothes, and after looking around for any of their companions, they headed into the woods to find a more secluded place.

  A while later, after taking a short dip in the water to wash themselves and their clothes, Kari and Grakin sat at the tidemark. They cuddled in the warm afterglow of their passions, and Kari leaned against him while they watched the sun make its way to the western horizon. “Do your siblings know?” Kari asked quietly, taking his hand. She didn’t want to ruin the afterglow that surrounded them both, but wanted to be sure she didn’t break his trust by accident.

  “No,” he said with a slight sigh, but the smile remained on his face. “No, our work is important, and I have never wanted to impair or slow down the group because I am ill. I do my best to take care of myself, but other considerations have to come first.”

  “I know that feeling,” she said, and silence fell between them. They watched the waves slide up onto the sands. Though Kari clearly remembered suffering from the illness, there was a numbness that surrounded those memories, and she wasn’t sure how to share them with Grakin.

  “Was it painful?” he asked suddenly.

  Kari met his gaze and knew that it would do no good to lie. “Sometimes, especially when I got close to dying,” she said. “Most of the time you just feel weak or tired for no real reason.” She sighed and touched his face tenderly, and he rubbed his cheek against her palm again. “When you die, you’ll stand before your lord alone, but you don’t have to die alone. Let your siblings and your friends be there for you.”

  She was amazed when he smiled and kissed her lightly on the side of the snout, which he already seemed fond of doing. He took her hand in his and held it tight to his breast, and Kari could feel the strength of his heartbeat. She didn’t understand how a half-guardian contracted Dracon’s Bane in the first place: she assumed it was something specific only to terra-dracons. Whatever the case, she was pleased to see that knowing his fate didn’t dampen his spirits – at least not in her presence – and she figured his service to the god of death had a lot to do with it.

  “You pushed everyone away when your time came?” he asked.

  “Not entirely,” she said. “I was with Trigonh and my friend Carly Bakhor when it happened, but I spent a lot of effort keeping people at a distance for years so they wouldn’t be as shocked when I was gone. I knew Carly could handle it. She was probably the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”

  “Saint Carly Bakhor?” Grakin asked, looking at her sideways. “You knew Saint Bakhor when she was alive?”

  “We traveled together for over a year and a half. Our group even killed a red dragon once,” Kari said. Grakin’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped in astonishment. “We only stopped working together when she got pregnant and settled down in the elven lands of Laeranore to have her baby.”

  Grakin shook his head, his smile growing even wider. “You are just full of surprises,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  “I know, but don’t you be,” she said, her expression becoming more serious. He looked at her quizzically, and she took up both his hands in hers. “You need to tell your siblings. This isn’t something you want to go through alone, and you’ll want their strength to keep you going. This is a path you have to walk, but you don’t have to walk it alone.”

  “I walk no p
aths alone. Kaelariel is with me everywhere, always,” Grakin said. He held his hand up to stifle her reply and continued, “I will tell them, I just do not know how or when. I do not think my brothers are ready to face such a thing, but Sonja might be. Just please say nothing until I have. Please?”

  “Of course. You have my word,” she said, and she pulled his snout down slightly to kiss his forehead. She saw so much of her younger self in the way he was dealing with his illness, and she was determined to keep him from making the same mistakes she had. “I’m always here for you if you have questions. I’m here if you need me.”

  Grakin stroked her face affectionately, and in his eyes she could see that he felt the same way she did. “You are a good woman, and a good friend,” he said, but he stopped speaking when they heard a call from down the beach.

  Erik approached, and he slowed to a stop a few feet away when he noticed the two were naked. His brow furrowed momentarily and he folded his arms across his chest, looking out over the water briefly before meeting their gazes. “Elleraus would like us all to gather for a meal, and to assign us to some of the citizens’ houses for tonight,” he said. “If you two are done swimming, I want you to come to the village now.”

  “Of course,” Grakin said, and he and Kari rose to their feet to get dressed. Erik’s scrutinizing gaze stayed over them the entire time, but he said nothing. Once they’d dressed, they walked with the larger male back to the village, silent and apart, though Kari’s thoughts remained fully upon Grakin.

  *~*~*~*

  The island cooled off nicely as night descended. The air was thick with the sounds of birds and insects, and the western horizon was painted a fascinating array of purples and pinks. Kari sat on a rooftop with the seterra-rir couple that had agreed to house her for the night, and she sipped from a cup of rum as she sat with her gracious hosts. They were young – she guessed not much older than twenty – and the female was obviously carrying a child. She and her mate reclined together on a towel, watching the sunset along with their guest.