The Emperor’s advisor laughed in a good-natured way. But he stopped himself in mid-chuckle and bowed his head before speaking.
“I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty. As you know, in the world of the Drayoom, one must prepare for every eventuality. Indeed, I have not seen the equal of your building’s security, but my sacred duty requires that no assumptions be made and that no one, not even your employees, is to be fully trusted. It is standard procedure. I hope that you will understand.”
Merrick had a difficult time listening to the rest of what the man said. He was unable to make it past the fact that he had just been referred to as Your Majesty.
“Mr. Kawagishi,” Merrick said, “I am not sure what you’ve been told, but in the United States, and certainly here in the Washington D.C. area, we don’t refer to the heads of companies as royalty. And at Rune Corp, please remember that I am merely the senior vice president, or second-in-command. I’m flattered by your greeting; don’t misunderstand me. But...it would probably be better if you would refer to me simply as Merrick.”
Merrick laughed in the hopes of softening his statement, to make sure the Mr. Kawagishi knew that he was in no way offended. Mr. Kawagishi raised his head and looked relieved.
“You are most kind and humble...sir, but our Emperor regards you as the rightful ruler of the Earth Clan—that you are its Ard Righ. With no disrespect, I must ask you to remember that our most honorable Emperor is visiting you today as the ruler of one family to the ruler of another.
“He also wishes to offer his belated respect for the passing of the venerable Ohman—the previous Ard Righ, of course. I...thought you were made aware of the purpose for our visit already, and I humbly apologize if I did not communicate this adequately to your staff.”
Merrick turned to look at Mona and Betty. Mona looked entirely confused by the situation, but Betty blushed slightly and pursed her lips.
Merrick slowly nodded his head.
“I am honored that your Emperor thinks as much of me. I look forward to speaking with him when he arrives. Thank you, Mr. Kawagishi.”
The man was noticeably relieved and bowed once more before raising his head and smiling.
Merrick led the group into the main conference room where they sat around a large oval table made of ancient, polished wood.
Betty took the lead for reviewing the points of the agenda, while Merrick remained mostly quiet, waiting to speak only if Mr. Kawagishi had a question or required clarification.
“This demonstration from your Alpha Team—” Mr. Kawagishi said. “I am not fully clear as to its purpose.”
Merrick knew that the real reason for the Alphas showing off their skills was to send a subtle message that even though Rune Corp was not a part of the Earth Clan, filled with humans, and not an official family of its own, they were still far from defenseless.
Given the fact that Merrick knew that someone from the Wind Family, probably at the direction of the Emperor, had stolen their cube, he was even more interested in demonstrating his strength to the Emperor.
“Think of the Alphas as Rune Corp’s elite guard,” Merrick said. “They are the best of our warriors. Their demonstration is merely for the Emperor’s entertainment. They will be performing some of their different katas or forms that they study. And...as you have already surmised, they are all human.
“I thought your gracious Emperor would enjoy seeing such a thing. I know that in the Drayoom community, humans using magic is unheard of. We can certainly cancel the demonstration if you believe that your Emperor would not be interested in what I humbly offer for his entertainment and curiosity.”
In his past, Merrick would have responded much differently to the ambassador’s questioning. He would have been defensive and insisted that his team had worked hard and that they had the right to demonstrate their prowess.
But over the last few months, Cara had taught Merrick a lot about the ways of diplomacy and how to speak and to communicate with the different families.
When addressing the leaders of the Fire Tribe, blunt statements with a touch of male ego and bravado were considered proper, or so it used to be before Swella—the local Fire Tribe woman Merrick had befriended—had taken over as the temporary leader of the tribe. With the Water People, none of whom Merrick had ever met or seen, he was told that communications had to be elegantly phrased, and even overly clever to make the correct impression.
But with the Fuugoshujin, communicating was all about respect and knowing one’s place. Family lines and social status were both extremely important to the Wind Family, and messages had to be delivered in deliberate, although often indirect, ways. For instance, it was not uncommon for Wind Family conversations to be riddled with double meanings and occasionally even veiled threats.
Merrick knew that to argue with Mr. Kawagishi about whether the Alphas should give their demonstration or not was pointless and would yield nothing. Instead, by putting the power to cancel the demonstration in Mr. Kawagishi’s hands, Merrick made it so that to do so could easily be interpreted as the Wind Family insulting both Merrick and Rune Corp.
As he suspected, Mr. Kawagishi smiled and agreed that the Emperor would surely enjoy such a magnificent display of human technology and innovation.
Merrick felt certain that Cara would have approved of how he had handled himself in this situation.
As far as the Emperor coming to Rune Corp just to meet with Merrick, Cara would not be nearly as pleased when she learned of that.
He knew from Cara that the Wind Family was very male-centric and that they would not treat her with the same level of respect as him. As Merrick looked over at Mona, he could see that she was already annoyed at not being spoken to or introduced, even though Merrick was only following Wind Family decorum.
“There is only one final matter, sir,” Mr. Kawagishi said. “You, of course, may speak to the Emperor as an equal, but it would show our family great honor if you would abide by our protocols. We would be especially thankful regarding this point, considering we are visitors in your home. It almost shames me to make this request, but I am uncertain how much your employees are educated in matters of diplomacy.”
“I understand,” Merrick said. “There is no need to apologize. My people have already been informed of the proper procedure for addressing your Emperor and are more than pleased to do so in order to show our respect. I know that it was difficult for you to bring that up to me, and I appreciate your attention to detail. A wise mind keeps one eye on his immediate surroundings, but allows the other one to look ahead.”
Mr. Kawagishi’s smile widened, and he seemed genuinely relieved that he had negotiated such an important, yet tricky topic successfully.
After the group finished reviewing the final agenda item, Mr. Kawagishi rose from his chair. He and his team bowed before following Betty and Mona out of the conference room. The plan was for the combined group to wait downstairs, outside the building, for the Emperor to arrive. Because he would be descending from the sky, they would use a combination of Earth and Wind Magic to shield his arrival from human eyes.
As Merrick stood up, the woman with the scars turned to him and bowed her head so that the shadow of her hat covered even more of her face.
“Merrick, as you wish to be called, I am known simply as Tamami. Please pardon my direct nature, but I see you wear the crown of leadership with much hesitation. The Emperor does not share your uncertainty in this matter. I would offer you a parable, if I may?”
Merrick nodded, even as he realized that she probably could not see his gesture.
“Of course, Tamami. Please tell your story.”
“There was once a pair of monks who were washing their bowls in a stream,” Tamami said. “A nearby scorpion fell into the water, and the one monk immediately scooped it up in his bowl and set it safely on the ground. In the process of doing so, the monk was stung. Shortly thereafter, the scorpion fell in the water again, and the monk once again rescued the scorpion and was also
stung yet again. His brother monk asked him why he kept saving the scorpion when it was clearly in the animal’s nature to sting him? The first monk responded by saying that he understood the true nature of the scorpion, but that, likewise, it was also in his nature to save the creature.”
Merrick smiled, although he was not sure exactly what the woman was trying to tell him.
She laughed softly beneath the shadow of her hat.
“Many apologies,” she said. “Allow me be less vague. You may not believe that you are the Ard Righ of the Earth Clan, and that of course is your choice. However, much like the monk in the story, it is in your nature to be a leader for your people, regardless of your desires or what you think might be best.”
Tamami lifted her head and made eye contact with Merrick. Despite her scarring, the rest of her face was like beautiful, sculpted ivory.
“Good day, Merrick,” she said. “I must join my family members now, but I look forward to speaking with you again.”
Merrick watched as she turned and left the room. He felt guilty for noticing, but unlike her face, her body was a thing of pure beauty that flowed with poetry as she walked.
Although he had forgotten to ask her who she was, his mind was busy mulling over what she had said. He had certainly entertained the idea of whether or not he should make an attempt at becoming the Earth Clan’s Ard Righ. But not only was the Queen, his mother, still in power, but he was also finally happy in his life and wanted to stay that way.
He had a great job, a woman he loved, and most of all, a purpose in life.
He didn’t want to give any of those things up.
When the Emperor arrived, Merrick would be ready to address any questions the ruler of the Wind Family might have, but he would have to be very careful about how he disavowed the Emperor of his assumptions concerning Merrick’s status. It would be a delicate conversation, and Merrick thought that perhaps it was better after all that Cara would not be there when it occurred.
As he mulled things over in his mind, he wondered if the Wind Family had somehow learned of Cara’s trip to the Earth Clan and moved up the time of the Emperor’s arrival on purpose, so as to exclude her from their discussions.
CHAPTER 14
MERRICK WAS JUST as the Abbess had predicted he would be. Tamami knew from the moment she saw him that he was the one to help her fulfill her own destiny among the Drayoom. However, she was afraid that her younger brother, the Emperor, would also see the same greatness in Merrick and be threatened by his existence.
Now that she had met him, Tamami was also sure that he was the one of whom the prophecy had spoken. Both he and his deceased brother, Eudroch, carried the blood of Terrada and Sigela, and together they had indeed been the Sons of Earth and Fire. When they had come together for their final confrontation on the island of Annoon, they had combined the magic of both dragons and produced a power that had not been seen on this earth for thousands of years, since before the four families had divided and mating between Drayoom families had been outlawed.
Tamami remembered the first time she had ever heard of Merrick—a Drayoom prince who had been raised by humans, thus joining the Earth Clan and discovering his inner power very late in life.
She also remembered how the mere existence of the two brothers had been enough to frighten all of the Drayoom families, regardless of whether or not they had been willing to publicly admit as much.
The mighty battle between Merrick and Eudroch had been witnessed by only a few, but its story had been told by many over the last six months and had spread throughout all of the Drayoom families. The way Tamami had heard, the love between Merrick and Mona, not Merrick’s awesome powers, had defeated Eudroch in the end.
Because of Eudroch’s death, it was commonly believed that Merrick successfully prevented the prophecy and turned back the mighty Sigela before she could rejoin with the Earth.
Tamami was constantly surprised at how poorly people understood such things as prophetic doctrine. By their very nature, prophecies—the true ones at least—were destined to come to pass somehow, even if it wasn’t always in the literal ways first imagined.
Tamami believed that the prophecy of the Sons of Earth and Fire had not actually been avoided; nor had it been thwarted.
Instead, she believed that it was still playing itself out.
As the Abbess had taught her, the prophecy of the Sons of Earth and Fire spoke of two brothers with the blood of both Sigela and Terrada in their veins. There were very few who doubted that Merrick and his brother, Eudroch, were those brothers. However, the Fire Tribe also interpreted one of the prophecy’s translations as saying that a being of mixed blood would hasten Sigela’s return to the world.
And their translation did not specify that the mixed blood would contain magic from only two of the dragons. That is where Tamami believed that she might yet play a part in how the fate of her family and of her species would unravel.
She shared more than a few traits with Merrick, even though many of those were kept hidden by her family. Foremost among these secrets was the fact that Tamami, like Merrick, had the blood of two dragons flowing through her veins.
Merrick had the blood of Earth and Fire inside, whereas Tamami possessed the blood of Wind and Water. She was the product of a union that, although not condoned, was the result of the love between her father and a beautiful woman of the Water People.
That is what her father had told her at least.
Because of her mixed blood, her brothers had always treated her as impure or, even worse, as an aberration.
Then one day, as a young adult, Tamami had walked the Earth without supervision and had been kidnapped by men from the Fire Tribe. These men abused her for months, both physically and mentally, before she was finally rescued. Although thankful that her imprisonment had not resulted in an illegitimate child, she had not escaped without both internal and external scars that would mark her for life.
When she finally returned to the Wind Family, the incident was used by her youngest brother, the Emperor, as proof that Araki viewed her as being impure. Why else would the great Wind Dragon allow such a thing to happen to a princess of the royal family?
To remind the Wind Family of this, Tamami’s face bore scars from her abductors that had been seared into her flesh with hot fire divinium, producing a set of wounds that no magic had ever been able to heal.
The Emperor was so ashamed of her and how she had allowed herself to be sullied by her captors that he cast her out of the royal family and forced her into the life of a monk of Araki. The plain robe that she wore in place of the ornate outfits befitting a princess demonstrated her commitment as a devotee to Araki.
The significance of her scars ensured that no male member of the Fuugoshujin would ever desire her. It was also understood by all that since Drayoom children of mixed blood were often both powerful and mentally unstable, Tamami might bear horrible monsters if anyone was to ever dare to begin a family with her.
But when Tamami looked at Merrick, she forgot her past and saw only a world of possibilities on which she had previously given up.
There was so much potential with him that it hurt to think about it.
But unlike the delusional Eudroch, she did not wish to use Merrick’s power to destroy the planet. In fact, Tamami did not hope for Sigela to return to the Earth in a literal fashion at all—unlike the way most people translated the meaning of the prophecy.
Instead, Tamami interpreted the ancient words more symbolically.
She believed that the prophecy would not culminate in the end of the world from its collision with the Sun, but that Sigela’s return would manifest itself in a time of renewed inspiration and aspiration for her people. This would in turn result in the rise of the Drayoom to their rightful dominion of the world and its species, as it had been once before during Abred’s time.
Just like any Drayoom, she had repeatedly been told the creation story of Abred throughout her childhood. She remembered being
taught about how Sigela had bestowed many gifts upon Abred, foremost of which were his internal fire and passion. The Fire Dragon gave Abred and his descendants the motivation to achieve…and the ability to love, and Tamami believed that Sigela would do so again.
In fact, Tamami was counting on it.
CHAPTER 15
BRADLEY TRIED with all of his might to focus on the fact that he was regaining his limb and to block out the sharp, relentless pain that was overloading his nervous system.
He knew that in any other situation, his missing leg would stay missing.
It was only because of his unique situation and because of magic that he was watching his leg grow back, knitting itself together fiber by fiber.
Of course, it was also because of magic that he had lost his leg in the first place.
Even as Bradley tried pointlessly to control his breathing, he teetered on the edge of unconsciousness.
In all, there were three healers working on him—all women. Only by focusing on the chanting of the main healer was he able to keep from blacking out.
He recognized her words as being from Terrada’s tongue just from the way they sounded, even though he had never heard any of them before.
The other two healers were busy with a combination of holding him down and uttering their own therapeutic words to lessen his misery. He knew they were doing their best, but the pain was so raw that it felt as if he wasn’t being sedated at all.
As he watched, his quadriceps muscles finished layering themselves, followed by veins and then skin slowly wrapping around the upper part of his leg.
Next was his knee.
As soon as it started to form, seemingly from nowhere, Bradley stopped remembering for a few moments as everything went black.
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