by Oxford, Rain
Shinobu jumped out of my arms in order to hiss at the girl. “Shinobu,” I grunted. “Go find Divina. Protect her.”
She looked from me to the girl and I thought for sure the little animal didn’t understand me. Then, with one more hiss at the girl, she ran passed her victim and ran towards Divina’s place. I managed to get feeling back enough to climb clumsily to my feet.
But just as I did, the black stopped spreading and the skin stopped dissolving. With the injury up to her shoulder and the flesh eaten to the bone, I felt pity for the child. I had never suffered anything that looked so painful. When the damage started to reverse, I remembered that it was me and Divina who were in danger.
After a minute, the little girl was completely healed except for a scar in the shape of a bite mark and she glared at me. “My master will punish you for this.” Her voice was shaking in pain. “He will do far worse than kill you. Now, I can go get the book from your friend myself and kill her, or, you can go get it from her and she can be left out of this.”
I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t just hand over my book, but if it would save Divina… At the very least, she will know what to do. And with her protection, maybe the little girl can’t get through.
“Lead the way,” she said.
I did, slowly, limping, but the girl was staggering even worse than I. She was not completely healed from Shinobu’s bite, which would explain why she wanted me to get the book from Divina myself. As she wheezed behind me, I knew the only reason I was still alive was that she was too injured to kill me.
I followed the springs for about thirty agonizing minutes when I came upon a clearing. The property was much like Edward’s; however, the house looked like something no single man would own. The grass around the cabin was overgrown with many colorful wild flowers, some of the colors I had never seen before. The cabin was low to the ground; the walls were no higher than six feet and made of brick. The roof appeared to be made of straw. It had a little wooden door and two little windows on the front, and a small chimney on the side. A ring of bright red and blue mushrooms surrounded a large rock a little ways from the chimney. It was quite a soft, gentle, small home; one I couldn’t imagine a woman as energetic and exotic as Divina being happy with.
“You cannot give her the book,” Divina said, appearing beside me. I considered her veiled expression, and then glanced back at the little girl, waiting patiently on the other side of the springs.
“I can’t let her kill everyone.”
“So kill her.”
The ease with which she spoke of killing made me uncomfortable, not because I wasn’t already used to it, but because it was the same way the little girl did. The only ones who seemed to take life seriously were Edward and I.
“I don’t kill people.”
“You’re a Guardian; you’re going to kill people. Come inside.” Before I could protest, she had her arm around my arm and was guiding me in.
“They have Edward. The little girl said they’d kill him if I don’t give up the book peacefully. Now, I don’t believe they’d just let him go, but I do believe they’ll kill him if I don’t give them the book.” The door swung open as we approached, then closed behind us.
The inside of the small cabin was a shock. I had expected there to be magic over the cabin, but not so much. The first thing I saw was the large wooden table in the middle of the room, covered with white plates and books and fruit and bread, with pottery of the most unusual sort and pumpkins and knives, not the dining type but the ones meant for blood, also with maps and candles. Next to the group of seven lit candles was a skull I could only assume once belonged to a sago. Six chairs surrounded the table; tall chairs with rich red wood and high, pointed sides. Hanging above the table was a simple chandelier, a circular metal ring with six candles. Across the table was a brick staircase, which also served as a wall for one of the five bookshelves.
The room was not too large; no bigger than fourteen-by-fourteen, but it was nearly twice as large as it appeared on the outside. The fireplace was full of bright flame and crackling wood, although from the outside it emitted no smoke. One bookshelf to the left of the fireplace was full with jars and pottery, while the others were all packed with books. Above the fireplace was a large portrait of a large black horse in the forest. In the corner between the fireplace and staircase was what looked like a small altar of some sorts, with a tall pedestal, an open book, and two well-worn candles.
Sitting on one of the chairs at the table was Shinobu.
“Have faith in your mentor. Don’t you think he can handle himself in a fight?”
“But Ronez… Edward wanted to fight those creatures on Earth to get revenge. What if he allows himself to be captured in order to get to Shio?”
“That’s possible, even likely, but it’s his business. He would be foolish to put his book in danger, but if it’s already in danger, I wouldn’t put it passed him to escalate the problem by trying to satisfy his own anger. You have to focus on protecting your own book.”
“If I can give them the book and make a diversion, I might be able to do something to save the books and Edward,” I insisted.
“You’re in over your head, even as a Guardian. You have no idea how the gods think. You have no idea what a god can do to you.”
And then it just slipped out. “But you do, don’t you, Tiamat?” I asked. Her eyes went wide and every muscle in her body tensed. She was stunned, which only proved what I had figured out. She was right there the whole time and I had no idea.
“What?” Her voice was so soft I wasn’t sure if she actually said it.
“You know things about the gods, you have power you’re holding back, and you’re just too flawless. Even when we were running through the Aradlin, you didn’t run out of breath. You found me on Anoshii, and I figure that you ditched Edward so he wouldn’t get suspicious. When you touched my book, not only did I feel that static stuff and go into a vision, but all of Earth lit up like a beacon at the exact moment. That’s why I feel it’s safest with you; you can protect it better than anyone else and you would never hurt it. When I became a Guardian, you had to come check me out in person. Edward doesn’t know, does he?”
She wasn’t even looking at me anymore; she was staring out the window. “No. He would have told you. I was never this careless. I never made mistakes, and no one figured me out. Except…”
“Ronez. Why didn’t he tell Edward?”
“I asked him not to. When he couldn’t keep the secret any longer, he started a fight with Kiro so he could leave.”
“Three years ago?” I asked. She nodded. Everyone has skeletons in their closet. She had a damn cemetery. “Why did you choose me? Why was I the best one to be a Guardian?”
“It was destiny, Dylan.”
“Destiny made a mistake. Why?”
“You just are. You don’t get it. I did not make you a Guardian, you were born one. I just let you live,” she said.
I closed the gap between us, but she didn’t react. It was incredibly frustrating. She was lying to me the whole time, and she came to me in the first place because she didn’t trust me. But still… I couldn’t get over how I felt about her, and I wasn’t even sure what it was.
“Where’s the book? I need to go before they kill Edward.”
She reluctantly pulled my book out of her backpack. It wasn’t really my book; it was hers.
“There’s nothing I can say to convince you to let Kiro go?”
“You mean, let them kill him? No. I have to go. Can you make another book? Like a fake that I can give them until I can get to Edward?”
“No, they would know. What do you plan on doing when you get to him?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t show me how to travel yet.”
She turned to me and held out my book. I took it slowly, but she put her hands over mine so I couldn’t put it away. We were so close and she was so warm that it was playing havoc on my priorities. Everything was supposed to be different kno
wing who she really was, how much she lied, and it only made sense that I would push her away. Instead all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms.
“Then I’m going.”
That snapped me out of it. “But can’t Vretial kill you?”
“He can destroy me, yes, but I can’t imagine being left powerless is any better. I have to protect this book. Vretial hasn’t taken over Duran yet; we would know. There’s still a chance. It doesn’t take a greater amount of power to beat someone like Vretial; it takes the right magic at the right time. I’m going. You stay.”
She tried to take the book back but I slid it into my bag on reflex.
“No. You need to keep the other gods informed of what’s going on. If you go and he defeats you, there’d be ten confused gods, two of which will have no worlds. If I go and he beats me, there’s eleven pissed off gods, three without worlds, but still with power. You would still have power, wouldn’t you?”
“Not nearly as much. If you go, you’re sure to fail.”
“I’m not so sure. If you go, there’s more to risk.”
“What do you mean you’re not sure? You think you can best Vretial?” she asked. When she put it that way, it sounded stupid.
“Like you said; it takes the right magic at the right time. I think I know Vretial.”
“Getting a little ahead of yourself are you? What makes you think you know him?”
My answer was not meant to be sarcastic, but it could have seemed that way. “Guardian’s instincts.” I reached for the door when she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me around to face her. I had in mind what to say, but it vanished from my lips when they met hers.
She was sweeter and softer than I could have imagined and my mind was instantly consumed by her. I’d never felt or imagined anything that was even remotely as mind-numbingly wonderful as what I was feeling then. My body acted of its own accord to wrap around her. I had my arms around her and I wanted to never let her go.
She broke the kiss but my lips found their way to her neck. “Damn. I’m doing it again.” Her voice was so beautiful I wasn’t sure what she had said for a few minutes.
“Doing what?” I mumbled into her sweet skin. I didn’t care; I just wanted her to keep talking.
“Falling in love, and dragging my Guardian down with me.” Her words didn’t register on me until she pushed me away. I still couldn’t think clearly, but reality was flooding back.
“You’re falling in love with me?” I asked. My words were slow as I tried to force my thoughts to reorganize.
“Stay here and protect the book or I’ll make you.”
“Not even the book could make me protect it against my will.”
“The book is very powerful, Dylan. I am a god. I can make you do anything I want,” she said.
I knew she could, but I didn’t know if she would. The threat sure helped to clear my head, though. “You can’t deny my logic, but if we both go, one of us could create a diversion. No matter how little help I could be, if any, it would be best for me to come. Think of your book. Think of Earth. Protecting me isn’t worth the risk of losing Earth. Where is Erono anyway?”
She turned away. “That fool… he’s stubborn enough for us all. When Vretial has taken his world, he’ll still believe he has Vretial beat. He is so suspicious of Kiro that he will believe the opposite of whatever Kiro says.”
“Warn him. You’re one of them.”
“He doesn’t listen to me. He never liked me and won’t even take me seriously since I took a sago body and made a home here.”
“Why did you?”
“I wanted a life.” She looked at me. “You have no idea how boring it is in the Land of the Iadnah.” She opened the door and headed out, leaving me to follow her.
Both the little girl and her older brother were standing only a few yards away from the house. They looked exactly like they had in my vision, except the brother was leering at Divina. He reminded me of Hiroku.
When I tried to get between them and Divina, she put out her arm to hold me back.
“We let ourselves in; we just felt uncomfortable standing outside without so much as a barrier to keep us out,” the little girl said.
“You didn’t have protection over us?” I asked Divina, trying not to sound rude.
“I was a bit distracted.”
“No matter.” The little girl grinned up at her brother. “If he refuses to cooperate, can I kill the girl myself?” she asked.
“Hush. At least find out if the Guardian is going to cooperate. And take a better look at the female. There is more than meets the eye,” the man said.
I really didn’t like him.
“You are both sago,” Divina said, surprised.
The little girl seemed angered by that. “What business is it of yours?” she demanded. When she took a step forward and raised her right hand, her brother pushed her hand down and pulled her back using the same grip.
“Behave,” he said. She stopped struggling and just glared at Divina. “I am Krael. This is my sister, Tomie. Don’t take offence of anything she says.” He looked at me. “And you are?”
“Not happy,” I said, aggravated, and silenced every sarcastic and rude comment that came to mind. “Dylan. And this is Divina. Why are you working for Vretial?”
“He offered. He took us in when nobody else would help. He saved Tomie’s life.”
“You’ve seen what he did to the outlands and you still help him?” Divina asked.
“He’s not destroying anything. He’s going to unite the worlds in peace,” Krael said.
I suddenly realized what was bothering me after meeting with Vretial. “By taking away free will,” I said. Divina and Tomie gaped at me, but Krael grinned.
“Precisely. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get going before my master gets impatient.”
“Hang on, you’re speaking English,” I said to Krael. Unlike with Tomie, where it looked like a bad dub job, Krael was clearly speaking fluent English.
“That is your mother language, isn’t it? You’re human.”
“You learned English? I thought Vretial translated for you.”
“I never trust the translation abilities of magic when I can learn the language myself.”
He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it through the air at me. I reached out on reflex, caught it, and instantly regretted it. It was some kind of small disk that burned so badly I was sure it had burned off my skin before I even realized it was hot.
I released the disk with a sharp yelp and saw it was covered in my blood as it fell from my hand. Divina grabbed it before it hit the ground, grunted in pain, and tossed it back to Krael, who caught it with no sign of pain and clinched it tight. Tomie grabbed his other hand.
The ground started to shake and the trees swayed. The ground in front of me actually split open and a wall of bright light rose. The shaking settled. That’s when Shinobu came running out of Divina’s house and placed herself firmly in front of me. I picked her up to cradle in my arms, but Divina gently took her from me.
“She should stay.” I opened my mouth to object, but she went on. “She’s so protective of you that she may attack Vretial on sight. He’d kill her.”
I nodded that I saw her point and she took Shinobu back to the house.
“After you,” Krael said when she returned.
Divina hesitantly went into the light, but didn’t come out the other side. She disappeared. Krael regarded me patiently and I started forward. Expecting to fall into the cracks of the Earth, I closed my eyes and entered the light.
Chapter 15
The gravity was too light to be Duran. I opened my eyes and stared straight into the dark brown eyes I had learned to trust. “Edward!” I exclaimed foolishly.
He blinked. “Who?”
That startled me as much as I had clearly startled him.
“Ronez,” Divina whispered breathlessly behind me.
I would have guessed that too, if he weren’t dea
d. I examined the man in front of me, who resembled Edward less and less by the second. For one, his hair was several inches longer. Unlike in his brother’s description, this man was dressed in a sleeveless, loose, tan shirt, dark brown slacks, and black boots.
Not surprisingly, we were in the same cave Edward and I had been in during our vision. Divina was behind me, Undead Ronez was beside me, and Tomie and Krael were about ten feet in front of us. Edward was nowhere to be seen.
Undead Ronez leaned in and put his hand on my shoulder. “Impressive hiding. You have been very… entertaining up until now.” He slid my book out of my bag.
That didn’t sound like something an ally would say.
Undead Ronez backed away, still facing me as he handed my book to Krael, who took it with a grin. “We’ll leave them to you. Don’t do anything stupid,” Krael said.
Undead Ronez growled but let Krael and Tomie walk off into the dark. I risked a glance behind me to make sure Divina was unhurt, and she was glaring daggers at the Ronez imposter.
“You’re not Ronez, so who are you?” I asked.
“I am the one who killed him. You can call me Shio.”
Shio killed Ronez… and apparently took his body. “Where’s Edward?” I asked. Shio rolled his eyes, which was almost creepy because Ronez and Edward really were identical twins. “Kiro. Ronez’s twin brother. Where the hell is he?!” If my anger concerned him at all, he didn’t show it.
“If you are referring to the other Guardian, he is currently in one of the many dungeons. You will join him soon enough. That is, unless you make a good impression on Vretial. As for you…”
He took a step towards Divina and I placed myself in between them, glaring at Shio. He was skinnier than Edward, almost unhealthy, but apparently the fierce expression ran in the family.
“You have got a lot of nerve for a human.” Especially for a mortal.
I blinked. It took a few seconds before I realized that he hadn’t said that in my mind; I had read it in his. I was just about to say a sarcastic response when it occurred to me that his thoughts were unguarded.
“How do I get out of here? Which way do I go?”
