by Aidy Award
Kady tapped into that most authentic piece of her soul and added its power to this battle.
She was a warrior.
Each shadow warrior was sucked into a bubble of light. Their shadows shrank, cowering and fading to nothing more than the shadow of a rat.
Cult of the Dead dude recoiled and stumbled, first putting his hand over his heart, staring at the dark green swirls coming off his skin.
“What are you doing to me, you bitch?” He held his clasped hand out and Neo’s soul shard dropped and dangled. It glowed like a flame at midnight dark thirty.
Kady reached out for it. That was hers and this guy was defiling it just by touching it.
He grasped the pendant in his hand and closed his eyes. Sweat beaded on his forehead and Neo’s shadow warrior rose beside him, vibrating with hatred and dark power.
“Neo.” A terrible sadness rushed over Kady, smashing against her, dragging her own soul into darkness.
Cultie thrust his fist forward and the shadow warrior that was Neo charged at her, screaming louder the closer it got.
The bitter taste of fear blistered the back of her throat. She pushed it down and closed her eyes. She called up that power inside, the part that was the lover, that the soul of her true love brought to the surface.
She wrapped the charging warrior in a field of it, stopping him mere centimeters from her. She peeked one eye open and peered into her bubble of love. “Neo, are you in there? Can you hear me?”
It screamed and screeched, lashing out at her. So much pain prickled across their connection that it stole her breath away.
“Fool, it can’t understand you, they are stupid, barely conscious.”
Kady shot her hand out, releasing one of the other shadows, and this time it did her bidding, spurred by a power buried deep inside of her, ancient and beyond powerful.
It charged the asshole and engulfed him. His gray green soul rose from his chest and his body dropped to the floor. The shadow warrior didn’t relent, continuing to scratch and pull and bite until a fine dusting of ash was all that was left of the leader of the short-lived and stupidly named Cult of the Dead, and his ugly soul.
Before she could envelop the remaining shadow warrior, it streaked past her and through the rock wall of the cave, disappearing.
The cord and pendant that contained Neo’s soul shard sat on the ground next to the ash. Kady crawled across the floor and picked it up. The red sparks of fire inside were the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
She slipped the cord around her neck. The pendant fell between her breasts, resting over her heart. A warmth like a fire on a cold winter’s night pooled inside of her and her skin glowed with light and heat.
The trapped shadows shrieked, cowering from her light.
All except one.
Neo’s shadow warrior stared, transfixed by her and the radiance emanating from her, lighting up the room.
The words of a spell whispered into her mind. She held the pendant in her open hand and chanted the words. “I am yours and you are mine. Together, forever, will we shine. The spark of your soul, over my heart will lay. Come and be with me now, in your heart I will stay.”
Neo’s soul pulsed with a luminescence, fluctuating from an empty dark absence of light, to purple, then blue, green, to yellow, orange, and finally to the rich red tones that matched his light. She pulled him into the pendant, barely containing all the energy inside.
“Kady?” Jerkwad propped himself up on an elbow and looked around at the fiery orbs of light containing the remains of the shadow warriors. “Fucking hell, woman. Is that my soul magic?”
She nodded. The orbs swirled and the red light that was the part of his soul she’d borrowed for the battle danced and jumped across the room and back into Jerkwad’s body.
The form of his dragon shimmered and then receded. “Fire above and below. Glad you’re on our team.”
“I have his soul, Jerkwad. Are you hurt? Can you move? We need to get to Neo.”
“Yeah, I can, but how is the question. We aren’t going back out the same way we came in.” He stood and pointed to the tunnel they’d dropped down. The metal was mangled and, in some parts, melted to the side of the wall.
“I don’t remember doing that.”
“No, that’s the effects of dragon fire. Looks like the Black Dragon Brotherhood had quite a battle while we were down here. I don’t know what we’ll find up top.”
A rumble began on one side of the cave and rocks fell from the ceiling. Jerkwad grabbed her and pulled her back. “Take cover.”
They ducked and crouched next to the nearest wall, and the room shattered. Light streamed in from the outside and a full-size tank crashed into the room.
Ace and Trip stood on the sides, at the ready. Match and Fallyn rode on top and Cage drove the monster machine.
Jerkwad shook his head. “Nice timing dickheads. Kady already saved the day. Where the fuck did you get a tank?”
Ace jumped down and rushed to Kady’s side. “Did you find Neo?”
She nodded and smiled, grasping the ember in her hand.
“Then let’s get you to Rogue.” Ace turned back to the rest of the gang and the tank. “Herbie? You know what to do.”
In a blink, Kady’s old red and white pickup truck appeared where the tank had been. The guys and Fallyn dropped down into the truck bed.
“I seriously have got to get me a Herbie,” Jerkwad said, shaking his head.
“What about those guys?” Ace asked, indicating over his shoulder with his thumb, pointing toward the trapped specks of shadow.
“I’m pretty sure those cages will hold them until we are away. Not forever, but long enough.”
Kady climbed into the front seat and didn’t even have to turn the key in the ignition. Herbie took them out to the field next to the tower. Everyone hopped out and shifted into their dragon forms, including Herbie. They were all safely airborne again within moments. They couldn’t get to Rogue fast enough for Kady. The small towns and farmland flew by in a blur. When the ocean came into view, she knew they were close.
The was nothing but trees as they dove toward the Reserve, then in an instant the town appeared. Ace flew them through the streets of the town and came in for a landing outside of a pie shop.
Neo was there, standing next to a display case of pies. Niko and Zara were by his side.
Kady slid off Herbie even before he touched down. The wind blew her hair and she hit the ground running, needing to be with Neo as soon as she could.
Herbie, now back in broom form, scooped her up and pushed the glass door open, dropping her a few feet away from Neo. She stood there for a few breaths, needing a moment. What if this didn’t work?
She had his soul, but could she get it back inside of his body, and would he be the same man she’d fallen in love with?
“Good luck,” Zara whispered. She grabbed Niko’s hand and stepped away.
“Neo.” He looked at her, like a child or a puppy when its name is called. “Lower your head, let me slip this around your neck.”
He did as he was told and Kady placed the pendant over his head. She helped him to stand up straight again and prayed for his soul to reunite with his body.
Nothing happened.
“Please universe, please put my heart back together again.” Kady placed her hand over Neo’s heart, pressing the sparks into his skin. It glowed at her touch, but nothing more.
“Neo,” she whispered, “you listen to me, now. I was lost and alone until you crashed into me. You helped me find the power living inside of me. I understand now it was there all along, but without you coaxing it out with your kisses and your love, I might never have known. I want to share this joy and this love with you.”
Had the light beneath her hand grown brighter, or was it only Kady’s own magic, or wishful thinking?
“Come back to me, Neo. Share my life, be my love, I’ll give you my soul in return. Come back to me.”
She pulled Neo’s head down to hers
, touching her forehead to his, then a kiss to his lips.
He was soft and warm, then the place where they touched grew hot, tingling, burning, scorching, but not in pain, but in pleasure.
Neo wrapped his arms around her, pushing his tongue into her mouth, sucking at her lips, pulling at her soul.
“Kady?” he whispered her name.
Nothing had ever sounded as joyful and sweet.
Together, Forever
Neo spent an afternoon in the wolves' clinic under the care of their healer. Doc was competent and capable, and his strange brews did help him feel better. But he had to get out of there.
Because in the bed next to him lay the body of Yvaine, so pale and ethereal.
The sight of her soulless body was painful, but not as much as seeing his friend, his mentor, his Wyvern without the spark of life in him as he watched over her. Jett had always been the strongest of them all. He was the one true savior of the Black Dragon Wyr and had fought countless battles for hundreds of years to free them.
Now he sat at Yvaine's side, his trembling hands wrapped around one of hers, silent and defeated.
This was why Match had made Neo the new Black Dragon Wyvern. He had enormous shoes to fill.
Neo laid a hand on Jett's shoulder just to lend him strength. The man who would always be his King looked up at him with such pain Neo could feel it radiating off of him. “Save her.”
The sound of his voice struck Neo hard. Even creaking and broken, it contained the remaining power of the alpha Jett had been. Neo almost buckled under the force of the demand to do the impossible. Jett said no more and turned back to Yvaine. He laid his head on her belly and was silent once more.
Those two small words, said in his Wyvern's alpha voice, had taken all his King had.
Neo would not let him down. He also couldn't do it alone.
Inanna, dressed in a nurse’s outfit, walked into the room and fussed about Yvaine, wiping a cool cloth across her brow and placed a hand on Jett's bowed head. “Everyone always thought I didn't like him because he wasn't mine. What a silly thing to even consider. I love him as if he were my own and my heart is breaking for the two of them and the special spark of soul they've created together.”
Neo didn't realize Jett and Yvaine knew any gnomes. Maybe they'd come from Yvaine's land of Tír Na Nog and that was the connection. “I know, mine as well.”
Inanna smiled up at him and in a swirl of white light, filled with the particular joy brought forth by the pure magic made in earth, fire, water, sun, sky, and love surrounded and imbued them all with the power of the Goddess.
Suddenly she wasn't just an adorable gnome who loved her garden and her husband. She was the goddess of love, the goddess of war, and the White Witch, mother of dragons. “You've got a hard task ahead of you, Neo Black Dragon, but Kur and I know you and your brothers are up to it. It's why I worked so hard to bring you to my lost dragon's daughter. She and her sisters are the only ones who can save the world. They can't do that until they understand who they are and that they are loved for themselves.”
“Yes, my lady. I love Kady with all that I am. I will protect her and fight for her.”
A solid hand slapped Neo on the back. When Neo looked to see who was lending him their strength as he had Jett, Kur the garden gnome grinned back at him, but from the eyes and body the First Dragon. “Good. I knew we could count on you, son.”
Neo stood proud before his maker. He could hardly believe he was getting advice and guidance from the first among them all. His mouth hadn’t yet caught up with his brain and he couldn’t even say anything.
Probably for the best since the First Dragon was still laying the good stuff on him. “We will do what we can to help your brotherhood find the right mates, but the battle is not ours this time. We've made our peace with Ereshkigal. It's Nergal you've got to worry about. She never should have become his consort. Destruction is simply his nature and combine that with the realm of Hell and you've got... well, our current shitshow.”
The White Witch and the First Dragon clasped hands and their forms began to fade before Neo's eyes. “Wait. Who is Nergal? How can we defeat him?”
The First Dragon rolled his eyes. He pulled the White Witch into his arms and nuzzled her neck as if demonstrating the answer. The White Witch licked her lips and leaned into her dragon. “With love.”
Neo blinked and didn't remember how he'd gotten to his house. He must have walked here from the clinic. The town of Rogue had recently added a new neighborhood and it wasn't that far. So why was it dark out when only a moment ago he was sure it was only mid-afternoon?
The gnomes had set up their tiny house containers in a circle at the end of one of Rogue’s streets that ended at the Reserve. Inanna had already planted flowers and trimmed back the trees, recreating the garden they’d left behind.
They gifted the house that looked like the land and sky to Neo and Kady upon their triumphant return. A permanent rainbow shone in the sky above where Neo stood, and he couldn’t care less about any of it.
The only beauty that meant anything to him was the light and the love shining in Kady’s eyes. He never wanted to be without his warrior witch again. He wouldn’t be, if he could help it.
There was a black place inside his soul that he’d worked hard to suppress since his rescue from Hell, but yesterday he’d lived there once again, in the dark. It couldn’t be ignored. The demon part of him was much closer to the surface and it, and his dragon, were in a fight for dominance of his entire being.
The only thing that made him forget how close he'd been to destruction was having Kady in his arms. She was waiting for him inside their strange house that was bigger on the inside than on the outside. He picked her up in his arms and took her straight to the bedroom.
They fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms before they could make love. Turned out having your soul ripped from your body, turned to shadow, and then returned again was exhausting.
Neo had awakened much later, restless even though he was bone tired. He wanted to reach for Kady and lose himself in her and her love. But he wouldn't be her burden.
He had some shit to figure out on his own.
Neo went outside to stare up at the night sky. The stars and the Milky Way reminded him of the billions of bright shining souls he had been able to detect when he was a shadow. The element he had power over had given him life and had almost taken it away. He was this close to becoming a monster.
The Dragon Warriors’ last war with Hell had been about the balance of dark and light. Somehow he hadn't realized how that battle was the exact same as the one for his own soul. He couldn't be a true leader and a true warrior of the Black Dragon Brotherhood without acknowledging his own darkness.
But how could he lead with everything that had happened?
How had Jett done it himself for so long? Neo prayed to the First Dragon for help and guidance. He needed a sign that all was not lost, that he could be the Wyvern of the Black Dragons.
“Neo?”
Kady came out of the tiny house, wrapped in only a light blanket. It barely concealed her lush hips and ripe breasts. The sight of her stirred a longing and desire in him so deep for a moment it pushed away the darkness in his soul. She was his shining light, his savior. She was his sign.
The pendant with the sliver of his soul hanging around his neck, lit up, shining its light on her. Her own scarlet glow responded, swirling around her.
“Sweet fire, come let me wrap my arms around you. Enjoy the beauty of the night with me.”
Maybe he would never be as good a leader as Jett had been, or maybe together he and Kady could rescue Yvaine and save his true Wyvern's soul in the process. Whatever came to pass, he knew that he and his one true love would make a life together here in Rogue. They would fight against the forces of Hell together.
He would continue to hope that someday they could forget about battles and war and think of bottles and babies.
Would Kady understand the
sacrifice they would both be making to fight against Hell? He hugged her close and stared up at the stars. “I understand the shadow now in a way that no one has before.”
She snuggled into him. “Yes. I can feel the difference in you.”
He couldn’t look at her yet. He needed her to understand. “For the first time, I think we’ve got a shot at beating them.”
She touched his face, not looking at the sky at all, but up at him. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
The love in his heart overflowed, but he tempered it. “Yes. But, Kady, my heart, my soul, I don’t know what to do. How do I go to my brethren and lead them into battle knowing Yvaine is out there still stuck in an existence worse than Hell? She and Jett are the reason I get to be here with you. I'm so—”
Dread, fear, and sadness stole his words away.
Kady stiffened in his arms. It must be hard for her to know that he wasn't the fearless warrior she thought she was getting. She took a long breath. “I will help you save her. But you should know, I'm never giving you up. You'll have to put away your past with her, because you're mine now. Sorry if that sounds bad, but it's how I feel. I'll fight for her, but I'll fight for you harder.”
Neo's heart went ka-thud against his chest as if it was smacking him for being a dumbass. He grabbed both of Kady's hands and stared into her eyes. “You are the only woman I love, have ever loved. I spent a millennium in Hell, living only for the spark of hope that someday I could escape and find a mate of my own to complete me, to save me from my miserable existence.”
“And Yvaine saved you. I know, I get it. But I'm telling you, she can't have your heart anymore. It's mine.” Kady poked her finger into his chest staking her claim.
He wasn't getting the message through to her. “Kady, listen, I beg you to hear this, from my heart to yours. I do not love Yvaine, never have, never will. I am forever grateful to her and Jett, because they are the reason I and my brethren escaped Hell. But gratitude is the only feeling I have for her. It's you I love, you I need, you I can't live without. You're the realization of all the hope I've ever held onto.”
