Unquiet Slumber

by Paulette Miller

  Seth gasped and said in alarm. “Brothers in arms, they’re here. I can smell them.” They all could feel evil approaching. Gabriel and Marcus grabbed their swords as Gabriel started to bark out orders.

  Seth quickly made up a bed in the middle of the camp and Nathaniel laid Tianna carefully down on top of the blankets. Marcus cursed noticing where they had set up camp. He couldn’t imagine why they would have chosen this spot. The trees were too thick for any of them to be able to fully shift and still move around safely. It was as if they had been carefully steered into a trap.

  Seth was ordered to remain in human form and protect Tianna. He took his position, brought his sword to the ready, and prepared to protect her with his life. Marcus, Gabriel, and Nathaniel shifted into half dragon form. Since they hadn’t shifted in a while, they found that they were stiff and weaker than normal.

  They all stood silently watching the trees around them, deep with shadows. The air was still and deathly quiet.

  The ground began to shake and they watched helplessly as sections of dirt started to bubble up. First hands reached out, followed by arms and then full bodies emerged. Within moments, they were surrounded by twenty five or more hideous creatures. They looked like they may have once been human, but someone took them apart and didn’t put them back together quite right. Their skin was rotting in spots and they gave off a horrible smell of death. These creatures of the dirt swayed where they stood but didn’t attack.

  Marcus announced with disgust in his voice, “They’re the Dregg warriors of legend.”

  Tianna was now very awake and aware of what was going on around her. She slowly stood and, even though a little unsteady on her feet, she held her ground. She shook and fought back nausea as she stared into the eyes of the things that had haunted her dreams for so many years. Her protectors all told her to stay down, but she knew what was coming for her and she wanted to fight.

  She pleaded, “You must let me protect myself. Let me try to use the gifts that my mother has given me.” She gave Gabriel a look of desperation.

  Gabriel couldn’t let her face their enemies unarmed, so he tossed her his knife.

  They all turned when they saw a dark figure glide into their small clearing. This stranger stood the same height as Nathaniel and was well built. He was wearing tight leather pants and a black silk shirt that was open to his bellybutton. He had short black wavy hair that was slicked back and a perfectly groomed mustache that grew down into a small goatee. His skin was a striking contrast to his hair as it was as white as his hair was dark. His most striking feature was his eyes, which were solid black and gave no reflection.

  Tianna took in a deep breath as she caught his scent. It was the scent from her dreams, and it was calling to her.

  Feeling Tianna’s reaction, the dark figure turned to look directly at her and filled his lungs with her scent saying, “Mate, your lovely scent calls to me. You want me. I can taste it.” He closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and drew in another deep breath. As he returned to his original position, he stared at Tianna and said, “Thank you, mate, for leading me to you. I’ve been calling you for so many years.” He held out his hand and added, “Come take my hand so I can finally take you home.”

  Tianna grasped the dagger in her hand until her knuckles were white with the strain. She spoke with a shaking voice, “I saw you shift in my dream. You’re Draak, but who are you?”

  The dark stranger spread his arms asking her to examine his body. “Don’t you recognize me? I’ve been coming into your dreams since you were a little girl, but you’ve always hid from me… until tonight. I’m Kai. I’m your mate.” He gave her a deep bow.

  Everyone shuttered at the name. Could this be the Kai of legend? The Draaks instinctively began to growl.

  Tianna examined Kai’s body. He seemed to be the same age as Marcus. “You can’t be Kai of the Wizard Sett. He’s long dead.”

  “I am Kai, the Draaken of the Wizard Sett. I’m Black as are you.”

  Tianna shot back quickly. “I’m nothing like you!”

  He chuckled. “Mate, you may not be all Black Dragon but you do hold a part of me within you. You hold the scent of my Sett, therefore you’re mine.”

  Tianna didn’t know how to respond. Could she have a part of him within her? She felt his draw and, even now, she had to fight to not run to him.

  He glared at each of the warriors surrounding her and asked, “What are you doing here with these Draaks? They don’t want you. They’ve been plotting these last few days to leave you while you slept. They mean nothing to you. Leave them and come with me. You belong by my side.” He stared deep into Tianna’s eyes and began to growl.

  A burst of power shot out from his body making everyone stagger, everyone except for Tianna. When the power hit her, she threw her head back and gasped as she felt a sharp sting just behind her eyes. This feeling was quickly replaced by a new sensation. This sensation felt like fingers were gently caressing her whole body. She closed her eyes and moaned softly.

  When she stood back up straight, her eyes were glassy and unfocused. She gazed deep into Kai’s eyes. Although his lips didn’t move, she heard him speak within her mind, “Come with me.” His voice was so clear it was as if he stood next to her and whispered directly into her ear.

  Her pulse sped and she found herself smiling. She dropped the dagger and took several steps toward him. She wanted to be by his side and needed his real fingers touching her.

  Nathaniel quickly grabbed her arm and his touch gave her strength. She snapped out of her trance and stopped moving forward.

  Kai commanded, “Don’t touch my mate!” and the ground shook.

  Tianna staggered and tried to clear him out of her mind. She shouted back. “Stop calling me mate! I’m not now, nor will I ever be, your mate. I won’t come to you. Not ever. I belong in this world, not yours.”

  Kai smiled. “You can’t deny me. I felt your mind and have connected with the Black within you. It’s only a matter of time before you come to me, and when you do, I’ll take that body of yours and make you my mate. You’ll beg me for it. With our children at our side, we’ll rule this world. I’ve seen it.”

  Tianna stood tall and glared at him, saying as a matter of fact, “I’d rather die.”

  He chuckled. “Such spirit. Maybe the death of your protectors will make you change your mind.” He turned to look at each of his creatures and commanded. “Kill them all except for the female. She isn’t to be harmed.”

  The creatures drew swords that magically appeared at their waists. Tianna retrieved Gabriel’s dagger as the creatures moved in from all sides and attacked. The warriors gave out loud war cries and the fighting began. Sword blades slashed through the air, crashing into each other, letting off sparks likes lightning bolts. The Dregg were ruthless and seemed unnaturally talented with the sword, but Gabriel’s skills in battle were unmatched. He sliced through the enemy in a blur of speed, the Dregg in his path screeching and exploding into a cloud of smoke.

  On the other hand, Tianna was no match for the creatures’ skills. Deciding to call on the gifts within her, she backed up until she was able to touch the trunk of a tree. As Seth stayed between her and the enemy, Tianna willed the tree to become her sword.

  A large branch took life and sliced through the air. Tianna willed it to slash at one of the creatures that was about to stab Marcus in the back. The branch swung down and split his chest in two. The creature gave out a scream and disappeared into black smoke. She willed some vines to grow and wrap themselves around the legs of several creatures and hold them tight. Gabriel took a long swipe and the creatures’ heads rolled into the fire. The remaining bodies shook and exploded into ash.

  Tianna continued to ask the forest to help her, and the trees happily complied.

  As the fighting continued, Kai, flanked on both sides by his creatures, began to move slowly toward Tianna. She didn’t notice him coming because she was taking out a creature that had Nathaniel trapped a
gainst a tree.

  “Come with me mate or your warriors will be lost.” She quickly turned when she heard Kai’s voice next to her. His words caressed her mind.

  Tianna fought his draw and replied angrily, “I won’t go with you!” She tried to get her branches to hit him, except it was as if he was standing in a giant bubble that the limbs couldn’t penetrate.

  He chuckled, the sound making a shiver run up Tianna’s back. He continued forward and said, “Mate, you’re a stubborn female. Maybe the loss of this young one in front of you will adjust your attitude.”

  Seth had been fighting a creature that was trying to get Tianna away from the tree. Before Tianna could react, Kai’s hand flashed in the air and came down into Seth’s back. Seth screamed and fell to the ground.

  Tianna tried to drop to his side, but Kai stopped her fall by wrapping his arms around her waist. She raised her dagger to protect herself, and he grabbed her wrist. His touch made her catch her breath as her body filled with fire. She was mesmerized by his stare and by his scent. He pulled her hand holding the dagger to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. She instantly dropped the dagger and went limp in his arms.

  Kai pulled her in tight and leaned in close, rubbing his cheek on hers. He breathed in deep and started to growl. The sound made warmth start to build within her, and she pressed herself tighter against his body.

  Seth let out another scream of pain, which snapped Tianna out of Kai’s mental hold. She yelled, “Get away from me!” and weakly pushed against him, trying to separate herself from Kai’s arms.

  Seeing Gabriel heading his way, Kai knew he had to leave. He chuckled. “I’ll leave you here to watch your Draak die. I’ll come for you again once your mood softens.” He kissed her hard on her lips.

  Tianna felt like she had been struck by lightning and the world went black. When she regained consciousness, she was lying on the ground next to Marcus, several paces from where Nathaniel was attempting to heal Seth. Kai and his walking dead were gone. She quickly scurried to Seth’s side, offering her help.

  Protruding out of Seth’s upper right shoulder was some kind of large black shard. Seth was screaming from the pain. Tianna put her hands near the shard and felt power pulsating off of it. This weapon was made of magic and she knew it could only be removed by magic. She directed Nathaniel to focus his attention on easing Seth’s pain. She yelled to Marcus to get the wizard book and he returned within seconds.

  Tianna quickly flipped through the book to the spell she was searching for. She recalled reading it in the advanced spells section, but she had never attempted the magic before. Given its original purpose, she would need to improvise to make it work for Seth’s situation.

  Seth was fading fast and went completely still. Nathaniel checked his pulse and said, “He’s passed out from the pain, but he’s still alive.”

  Tianna replied quickly, “Keep using your blue fire. You must keep Seth breathing.”

  He replied, “I’ll keep him alive as long as I can.” He peered deep into Tianna’s eyes and encouraged, “You can do this.”

  For the spell to work, she had to believe in her skills. She closed her eyes and recited the words of the spell. The air began to swirl around her and, although the shard began to hiss and shake, it remained buried deep in Seth’s shoulder.

  Tianna concentrated harder. She adjusted the words of the spell as she hovered her hands over the shard. Calling on her blue fire, her hands instantly began to glow. They continued to glow brighter and brighter until Nathaniel had to look away when it became blinding.

  The shard started to shake hard and slowly pulled itself from the wound, yet it still wouldn’t come all of the way out. The wind swirling around them picked up and soon it was like they were huddled in the middle of a storm.

  A woman’s voice sounded at a distance in Tianna’s mind. Tianna pleaded in desperation, “Mother, I know you’re out there. Please help me.”

  Marcus and Gabriel were standing on each side of Tianna. During the struggle with the creatures, her nightshirt had been torn exposing the top portion of her mark. They noticed a light coming from her back as several of the symbols started to glow. The brightness grew with the wind and there was a loud crack as Seth screamed.

  Everyone, except Tianna, was blown backwards several paces. The wind and the light were gone, leaving them in complete silence.

  Tianna, who was still hovering over Seth, saw that the shard was no longer in his shoulder. She quickly scanned the ground in a panic and saw it laying a few paces away. It was still intact and vibrating.

  Tianna yelled, “Blow your fire on it, now!”

  Both Marcus and Gabriel didn’t hesitate. They burst out of their clothes as fully shifted dragons. There wasn’t much room for them to move, nonetheless, they managed to adjust themselves enough to breathe their dragon fire on the shard.

  While they continued their flames, Tianna stood and spoke the words of a banishing spell. The shard hovered in the air for a moment, then in a flash of light, dropped to the ground as what resembled a burnt stick.

  Tianna yelled again, “Keep your fire on it until it turns to ash!”

  They continued their fire until a breeze blew the shard’s ashes away.

  While Tianna focused on destroying the shard, Nathaniel had returned to Seth’s side and was using his healing fire. He looked up at Tianna and seeing the fear in her eyes said, “Thanks to you, he’s alive. His pulse is slow but steady.”

  Tianna fell to his side in relief and exhaustion.

  Nathaniel kept his fire hovering over the wound. Tianna followed his movements by placing her fire covered hands on top of Nathaniel’s. They remained in this position for several minutes. Everyone felt the tingle from the power they were emanating together.

  Seth began to stir and said one word with a weak, shaky voice, “Ouch.”

  Everyone laughed, releasing their inner tension. Tianna and Nathaniel took their hands off his shoulder and fell backwards onto the ground. They were both quite weak since they had given Seth all of their energy. Gabriel and Marcus helped Seth roll over and sit up.

  “How are you feeling?” Marcus asked.

  Seth responded with his voice still shaky, “Like I was hit in the back with one of Gabriel’s right hooks.”

  Gabriel patted him on the head and let out a barking laugh. The Draaks’ heads were continuing to clear. They felt like themselves for the first time in days.

  “Seth,” Marcus called. “You just earned yourself your first battle scar.”

  They gathered around and examined Seth’s scar. Seth asked them to describe it since it was on the back of his shoulder and he couldn’t see it. The scar resembled the black shard that had stabbed him except the black edges were bleeding out from the wound like spider webs. The skin in and around the scar was white like all life had been drained from it.

  Tianna asked, “Does it hurt when I touch it?” She gently caressed the wound.

  Seth shook his head saying, “It’s numb. I can hardly even feel your touch.”

  She guessed that the nerves had all been destroyed. She wasn’t sure this was good or bad and feared that feeling may never return to that section of his shoulder.

  Nathaniel gazed at Tianna and spoke with adoration in his voice, “You were amazing.” He stood up and moved to her side, watching intently as she thumbed through the book. Once she found the spell she was searching for, she tried to stand. When she staggered, Nathaniel took her hand to steady her.

  She said, “I need to secure our camp. I’m a bit weak. Can you help me?”

  “You never have to ask me that. I’ll always be at your side whenever you need me.”

  Tianna started to move toward the outer edge of their camp with Nathaniel close at her heels. Marcus and Gabriel quickly joined them. Tianna read the words of her spell and began to walk the outer edge of their camp sight. They moved together as one, sharing energy directly into Tianna.

  When Tianna made it all the way around t
he camp, there was a small flash and a thud, like the closing of a door. They were secured.

  They were all physically and mentally weak, so they decided they would discuss their situation in the morning. They all survived the battle and that was all that mattered for now.

  They grabbed their bed rolls and laid them out into one large bed. They all laid down and slept huddled together like a big pile of puppies with Seth and Tianna in the middle. Although she remained dressed in her night clothes, she made sure every inch of her exposed skin made contact with someone else’s skin. She drew and offered back energy throughout the night, her body giving off a constant but faint glow and a gentle purr.

  Chapter 18 - Eden

  At first light, everyone started to stir. It was hard to move at first since everyone’s legs and arms were tangled together. Once they returned all body parts back to the person that owned them, they stood and stretched, feeling energized from their contact with Tianna. After they cooked and ate their meal, they gathered near the fire.