by C E Johnson
“I keep telling my bondsmate that I’m not as young as I used to be, but he doesn’t listen,” Iscar laughed while rubbing a rim of dark fur that extended down Tengu’s back and shoulder. Tengu swiveled his dark, ashen-brown eyes to study Malachi once again. Iscar moved to the tall stand of stone next to his throne that resembled a tree carved from a massive boulder, where he placed Tengu upside down clinging to a stone branch. “He doesn’t like to be far from my side,” Iscar chuckled.
“I like him,” Amanda whispered to Malachi while gesturing toward Iscar with her head. “In fact, I like Brytam, too, even though she’s prettier than I am.” She pursed her lips and whispered one more time, “If Drogor is like the two of them, maybe this won’t be all that bad.”
“Drogor isn’t like the two of them,” Malachi whispered darkly.
“Welcome to our new home,” Iscar called out. He dashed forward to shake their hands. He was middle-aged, in fairly good shape with broad shoulders. His hair was cut short in a military-style, and it was dark, but peppered with streaks of silver. His eyes studied each of them in turn. When Malachi looked into his irises of gray, he could see flecks of black, yellow, and brown dancing happily in their stormy sea. I like him, too, Malachi thought to himself.
As do I, Vuk whispered while rubbing against Malachi’s leg. He isn’t truly evil.
“Is this your throne room?” Amanda asked as she whirled around in place, studying the ceiling.
“Yours and mine,” Iscar said while gesturing toward Malachi. Pointing to a second throne at an equal height to his own, he continued, “I think Drogor made that one for you. I thought we could share everything, if that’s okay with you.” He appeared almost bashful. “I took several of the rooms for my staff, but we can switch up things if you really like something in a certain room.”
“I’m fine with whatever,” Malachi stuttered. “I’m really not one to make a big scene.” He glanced at Amanda sheepishly. “You’ll see how embarrassed I get at the wedding tomorrow. I wish I were a stronger warrior like your Ullr.”
“You’ll do fine,” Iscar slapped him on the shoulder. “Ullr has gone out to get the other ten of your ruling council. We have to do all of this by the book, but I wanted to talk privately with you before you bring Drogor back to life.”
“About that,” Malachi began in a hushed voice. “The whole process is really scary. In fact, all of my council members are a little worried about how we’ll do. We’re all magicians, and we’re getting stronger, but I’m not sure if we’re going to bring everyone back the way they want.”
“You’ll do fine,” Brytam said. “It’s not a complex spell.” She moved forward and gave Malachi an encouraging kiss on his cheek. Malachi could feel the color coming back to his face. “I can tell you’re very intelligent and I’m sure you’ve studied Drogor’s precise orders as we have.”
“Yes, I have, but I’m sure I’ll do something wrong.” Malachi continued to roll his blackstone in his hand. His throat, feeling as if someone had dumped a large glass of acid into it, was still sore.
“I’m not worried about that part at all,” Iscar said while squatting on his knees to pet Vuk and Atarah. “By the way, I love your bondsmates. They’re very impressive.”
“We just received the vinculum blessing recently,” Amanda volunteered. She kneeled excitedly on the stone floor next to Iscar gazing at him with admiration as he tenderly rubbed the bondsmates.
I like him a lot, Vuk whispered as Iscar rubbed him behind the ear in the place that he liked best.
“What I’m worried about is Drogor,” Iscar admitted as he stood back up. “I’ve only met him during our meetings in Ater, but sometimes the wraith of my great-grandfather scares the crap out of me.”
Malachi nearly fell on the floor in shock. “He scares the crap out of me too,” he said hesitantly in a low voice, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.
“Good,” Iscar smiled. “I like that you’re bringing him across. You seem honest. You have obvious integrity, but I believe you will need to set some strict guidelines right away. Bind him with every protection you can imagine before and after we send down his victims. I want you to be in control because if that thing is unleashed upon Earth and Acacia, I don’t think there will be much left after he gets done.” He rubbed his strong jaw thoughtfully. “Although he is family, I think he’s been changed into something horrid by his long years in that purgatory land.”
“My gosh,” Amanda gushed. “You make me feel so much better about all of this.” She licked her lips lightly. “So, who are the victims?” she asked hesitantly. “I hate that someone has to die.”
“Magicians that we had to scour the Earth for,” Brytam revealed solemnly. “Drogor wants to be a vampire, so we had to find an extremely powerful black magician for him to kill. Loff Retz has always wanted to be an ogre for some reason, so we have a very strong yellow magician for him to draw from. In fact, each person on Drogor’s council had very strict requirements for the magicians they wanted us to locate.” She pointed to a caged-off prison of stone in the corner of the room. Malachi could see powerful auras just as Brytam had described between the cracks in the rock.
“Let us go!” a female magician screamed from the pen. “We don’t want to die!”
“Quiet!” a goblin roared at the woman. The half-dead poked at her with a spear.
Malachi turned away from the prisoners rapidly, he didn’t want to think about their impending death too much or he worried he might vomit on the clean floors. “What do you think about the alter room?” Malachi whispered in a conspiratorial manner. He wanted to keep his voice low, so the goblin guards wouldn’t listen to everything he was saying. Like Amanda, he didn’t trust all of the half-deads.
“I haven’t actually seen it,” Iscar admitted in a low voice. “I’ve read all about the details and I’ve seen select sections of the blueprints and all of that, but there are specific instructions that I can’t go down there. In fact, no one can except for the stone mages who created it all, and your council … and the victims.”
“I wonder why,” Amanda mused softly while looking at the entrance to the alter room which was in the center of the floor of the throne room. She continued to twirl her hair on her finger nervously. Malachi could tell she still wasn’t totally at ease.
“As Iscar mentioned, I think Drogor has probably gone a little crazy after being in Ater so long,” Brytam spoke in a similar hushed voice. She put her hand on Malachi’s and gave him a warm squeeze. “Please bind him tightly, Malachi. I don’t think we want this half-dead going berserk.”
Malachi nodded and swallowed hard. At that moment, Ullr walked into the room with Malachi’s ruling council. Each man and woman in his cabinet was flanked by their bondsmate. Malachi had paired each with their link, and they had all given him their dragon-oaths in return. Appearing extremely uncomfortable, Malachi could smell their sweat through Vuk’s nose.
“Are you sure about all of this, sir?” a black magician asked Malachi. “I don’t really want to do this.” The man’s aura had tendrils of virtue and loyalty.
“Drogor predicted all of this unease and concern,” Brytam answered for Malachi. “That is why you were all given bondsmates to ensure you would give Malachi your dragon-oaths. Unfortunately, you must follow him into the alter room and do your duty. After your task is complete, we can finish off this war and unwind in a global world of peace.”
“Don’t worry about this,” Malachi spoke in a firm voice to his ruling committee. He wanted to appear strong and brave for Amanda and Brytam. Studying each of his council members in turn, he continued with more iron in his tone, “I’m sure I’m feeling even more scared than all of your fears put together, but we need to do this.”
“What if someone is down there waiting for us?” Malachi’s minister of defense spoke up. His red aura was as powerful as Malachi had ever seen it. The man was gaining strength daily. “There could be a monstrous half-dead down there just waiting t
o kill us.” Fibers of analytical thinking and intelligence were woven into his aura.
“I’ll go down and check it out for you,” KC volunteered. He took out his pistol and checked to make sure it was loaded. “I don’t think killing you all is part of Drogor’s game, but I don’t mind looking.”
Malachi looked to Iscar. Iscar stroked his chin thoughtfully before he spoke, “This goes against all of Drogor’s protocols, but I like the idea.” He flashed a winning smile at Malachi. “If that’s what you want.”
“Check it out, KC,” Malachi urged. He was enjoying the companionship he was forming with Iscar. They were becoming a team, a team set to put limits on Drogor.
Iscar gestured to a squad of goblins wearing black leather armor with a dragon embossed on the breastplates. “Let him see the rooms,” he ordered.
“Are you sure?” the lead goblin asked. “Didn’t Drogor say we should keep the chamber pure and untouched until the ceremony?”
“There might not be a ceremony if we don’t check it,” Iscar said with a hard glance.
“Do it,” Ullr ordered. He had moved up next to Iscar’s side and glared at the goblins as he spoke harshly. The goblins moved forward immediately. Together eight of the half-dead goblins strained to lift open the block of stone that was sealing the entrance. A white stone ladder could be seen descending into the gloom. The lead goblin handed KC a torch, and the brown-haired warlord gave Malachi a wink before descending. After a time, he returned.
“It’s like a crypt down there, but it’s definitely empty. There are twelve small adjoining rooms where I guess each of you will do your spells. It will be tight when you send down the prisoners, but they should fit down there with you and with the creatures you create. I don’t see any monsters hiding in there under the bed.” He laughed charmingly, and Malachi could tell he was hoping to ease their discomfort.
“Do we really have to seal it when we go down?” Amanda asked. She was so child-like in her sincerity that Malachi wanted to take her into his arms and rock her gently. “I don’t like tight places. I get a little claustrophobia.”
“Drogor was very particular about that aspect,” Brytam murmured thoughtfully. “I’m not sure how we can fix that point.” She sipped on a glass of wine that Ullr had brought her. She moved closer to Malachi again and whispered in his ear. “Bind him, Malachi,” she repeated fervently. “Iscar and I are counting on you.”
I wonder if she’s had too much wine, Malachi thought to himself nervously. Brytam licked her full lips as she met Malachi’s eyes. Malachi shivered as a chill went through him. He thought he caught the scent of meat cooking in an adjacent room, and he wondered if it was for his pre-wedding feast tonight.
“I guess we should go down now and get this over with,” Malachi stammered. He didn’t like how it felt as if he were forcing the words out of his mouth. He knew he should go first, so straightening his back, he started toward the opening.
“I love you, Malachi,” Amanda said breathlessly as she rushed forward to give him a kiss. “I can’t wait for our wedding tomorrow. I can’t wait to be your wife.”
Malachi held her for a long moment while taking a deep breath. She felt softer and sweeter than a dream. She smelled of vanilla and heaven. “I love you too … forever,” he whispered into her ear. He wiped the sweat from his brow and descended slowly from rung to rung into the first compartment of the alter room, the common room. Murmuring the words of a light spell he glanced around at a small room with clean smooth marble walls. Two hallways containing six rooms each split from the main room. From there Malachi walked hesitantly to the last room on the first hallway, room number one, and he closed the stone partition as Drogor had instructed. Unfortunately, now he couldn’t see Amanda who he could hear entering the adjacent cell in room number two. An invisible lock clicked as she locked her partition. This is small, he thought. His head began to ache, and he felt a numbness in his mind. Maybe I have claustrophobia, too.
You’ll be up to me before you know it, Vuk encouraged his link from up above. I wish I could be there with you. Malachi wished Vuk was there also, but Drogor had been extremely adamant about keeping bondsmates out of the alter room. Vuk began updating Malachi about the process in the throne room giving Malachi visual pictures that soothed his mind and eased his fears. Everyone on your council is down with you now, and the goblins are sealing you in by putting back in that big stone piece. Vuk showed him the scene. They’re bringing out the prisoners and lining them up. Iscar is telling them they will go down into the alter room in a few minutes. He’s explaining that they will merge minds with a new creation, and that when they return, they’re going to have a new life as princes and princesses on Earth. He’s telling them they will be stronger than they can imagine. Malachi’s heart felt as if it would break as he listened to the inner tension of his friends on his council in the adjacent rooms. He could hear Amanda softly weeping next to him. He didn’t know what to say.
Let’s get this over with, Malachi thought anxiously. Suddenly his fear of the wedding didn’t feel so bad compared to the stress he was currently undergoing. He thought over what was about to occur. Malachi would bring over Drogor, Amanda would bring over Loff Retz, and each of his own council members would bring over the rest of Drogor’s council in turn.
Concentrate, Malachi, Vuk warned.
Speaking the words of the spell Drogor had taught him to perform, the ukcabala, Malachi began the process. All at once everything became gray and Malachi was suddenly in Ater. The world was different ‒ there was an urgency in the air. Instead of coming as a visitor, Malachi was on a mission and he felt different. The very ground seemed to rumble and groan. Spirits flocked to his light, but Malachi quickly outdistanced them as he sped toward Drogor’s mountain home. Entering the meeting room, Malachi found twelve wraiths sitting at a long stone table eating a gruel-like shadowy substance together.
“Malachi, you’ve arrived,” Drogor crowed joyfully. “Have you decided to give me your dragon-oath?” A silence descended, and the room became still. The council stared at Malachi awaiting his answer. “What is your final decision?”
Malachi’s mind was instantly filled with the words of Emily Dalton and visions of his mother and his uncle. “I appreciate my bondsmate that you gave me with all my heart,” Malachi blurted. The air became thick with uncertainty. “I need a little more time,” he stammered, “if that’s okay with you.”
“Very well,” Drogor said slowly. He exchanged a long look with Loff.
“What’s done is done,” Loff said in a voice so low it sounded like a rumble from the depths of Ater. Loff nodded to the members of the council and the members all began to exchange knowing glances.
“Please, take me home, my boy,” Drogor said firmly. “I’m ready.” Drogor was clothed in black shadows. His face was featureless, but Malachi imagined Drogor was fixing a cruel countenance upon him. The other wraiths scurried to stand in a line behind Drogor and Loff Retz.
“As you wish,” Malachi whispered while wondering if he had made the right decision. He reached out a wisp of a hand, and Drogor took it. Fire rushed through Malachi’s soul and he imagined Drogor was burning apart the veins and arteries in his spirit. Malachi felt like a black blister of pain. He didn’t like the feeling.
You are in control, Vuk whispered in his mind. Don’t falter.
I didn’t know you could come to Ater with me, Malachi blurted to his bondsmate in a rush. Thank you, my link.
Vuk sent love and understanding across their connection. Remember, you dictate the rules to Drogor’s creation, Vuk instructed. Be strong.
Vuk was right. “Stop hurting me!” Malachi roared to Drogor with newfound confidence. This was his spell. Brytam had told him to bind Drogor, and he would. Drogor visibly winced and immediately lessened his hold on Malachi.
“I’m sorry, Malachi,” Drogor spoke in a much milder voice, but there was still cruelty peeking around the edges of his meek manner. “I promise to be gentler.”<
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Malachi liked Drogor’s reaction, but he still felt off-kilter. “Very well,” Malachi said slowly. Uncertainty filled his mind and blurred his perceptions. He glanced around the room and he thought he saw Amanda’s spirit enter to take Loff Retz to Earth, but his memory was becoming an empty cavern.
“To Earth,” Drogor pleaded with a voice that was gentle and docile. “I don’t mean to hurt you. It’s just that I’ve waited an eternity for this moment.”
“Remember to follow my orders,” Malachi warned. Malachi liked how subdued Drogor had become.
“I’m your servant,” Drogor answered smoothly, “and I always will be.” Drogor’s voice was now trembling and submissive.
Malachi felt his spirits begin to soar. “Brytam will be proud of me. She’ll think I’m a mighty magician.” He sped back to Earth with Drogor in tow. All at once he was back in the small room.
Are you okay? Vuk asked urgently.
I’m fine, Malachi answered Vuk proudly. This is the moment Drogor described to me, Malachi taught his bondsmate. There’re a few seconds of lag time before Drogor will materialize as a Mavet raa. All at once, his mouth became dry, and he felt dizzy. There was an ice-cold chill in his heart and in the room. Abruptly a dark shadow fell upon him. He put more magus into the magelight flowing from his finger, but the light wasn’t really increasing. Instead, the glow from his hand turned gray as the formation of Drogor’s Mavet raa seemed to suck all the vitality from the room.
“Ahhhh,” the Mavet raa screeched in pleasure as it continued to solidify. Every hair on Malachi’s body stood on edge as Drogor formed. Malachi pulled his cloak tightly around his body. The demon reeked of a fetid stench. It was overpowering in the small room, making Malachi think of putrid, slimy mold. Retching and gagging, he attempted to concentrate.
