“When she’s done destroying the body of my brother.
This is my apprentice; you will leave him alone. You and I need to have a
little chat. You sent Shio to kill my brother,” he said.
Vretial smiled. “Yes, I did.”
“I’ve already killed Shio. I want to destroy you
myself, but I can’t.”
If word of Shio’s death bothered Vretial at all, he
hid it well. I myself was upset that Divina was destroying the body of my
father. I felt the sudden and foreign desire to have been the one to kill Shio
myself; he killed my father, and Vretial sent him. I wanted to hurt them.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I am protecting my apprentice.” He looked at me.
“You have that look in your eyes that Ronez had; the eyes of a warrior. You
want to kill Vretial, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I was still shaking.
Edward nodded. “You can’t. Vretial is too powerful,
and he isn’t a part of your fight.”
He sounded like the wise person he was expected to
be. He was my mentor, and my uncle. I trusted him. Ronez was my father, but he
was Edward’s twin brother. I was angry, but Edward’s pain was much deeper.
“I get it,” I said.
“Good.” He turned back to Vretial. “You’re screwed
up. The universe relies on balance, which means that there is something as
powerful as you, fighting against you. Neither you nor the force against you is
good for the people.”
“I am perfectly balanced. What makes you decide what
is right for the people?”
“I am the people. Dylan is the people. We live on
these worlds with the other inhabitants. You don’t. You look at a little girl
crying and you offer to remove her ability to feel pain. Why not offer to
remove her problem?” Edward demanded.
Vretial calmly sat down in his chair to listen to
Edward thoughtfully. “My way is quicker. What makes your way better than mine?”
“The little girl does. And if you don’t believe it,
ask her,” Edward said.
I wasn’t following along too well, but it sounded
like he was talking about Tomie.
“Well, I can’t very well do that, now can I? You took
away her memories.”
“I made it so she can start over. Divina gave her
back her emotions and we took away her immortality. She’s free now, so don’t
try to come after her.”
“I had no intention to do so. It took many years to
make her what I wanted and the fact that you washed it all away so quickly is
quite frustrating. I would have broken Shio in also, if you hadn’t killed him.
So frustrating. I would kill you, except that I think it would be a waste. I
think it’s only fair, since you took two of my servants, that you become my new
servant. You’re amusing as you are frustrating to me. Your apprentice would
die, though. Too bad you couldn’t protect him.”
“I haven’t failed to protect him yet. Oh, and one
more thing; I’m not only here to protect Dylan, I’m also serving as a
diversion.”
“For what, if you don’t mind my asking?” Vretial
smiled.
“For me.”
Tiamat
To say I was sorry for the way things turned out
would be an understatement. Everything I touched was ruined, everything I loved
was lost to me, everything that once made sense was so wrong. My brothers
thought power was all that mattered and that they were better than the beings
they created. In all honesty, we began creating creatures for entertainment and
scenery, and then as competition with each other. I was the youngest, the most
different, and therefore, my brothers believed I was the weakest… all but my
oldest brother. Vretial encouraged me and taught me to outshine my brothers.
When the universe was still young, he taught me to see beauty in it. When the
gods each created a world, I took my time. I wanted the most beautiful world
with the most incredible creatures and vegetation. I made mistakes, but my
brother would laugh it off.
Most of my brothers hated Vretial. They said his
power was wrong. Erono thought it would be a great idea to close the gates
between worlds and create books instead. He convinced us all after some
unwanted pests learned to walk freely from world to world.
When Vretial attacked our brother, I was devastated.
At first, I refused to believe my eldest sibling would do such a thing, but he
confessed to me. I told him to never talk to me again. My brothers banished him
and worked together to trap him to the two worlds he controlled. Avoli had been
the only other brother who cared for me, but he would see no one. He was just
as hurt by the betrayal.
Despite my warning him to never contact me again, I
kept an eye on Vretial. He changed. The power changed him, poisoned his mind.
This is when I created the body of a sago to live in. While the body of flesh
dampened my powers greatly, I discovered something so much better and more
beautiful than power; life.
For that matter, I was also changed, and I became
weaker in the eyes of my brothers. When I became infatuated with my own
Guardian, I thought there would be no greater shame. I was wrong.
All through time, there were rumors of powerful
people and prophesies of master magicians. None of these amounted to anything
to the gods. When the ancient beasts of the void started whispering of a new
Noquodi, we turned a deaf ear. The idea of a child who could overpower every
other Guardian was preposterous.
Ronez’s youngest son created a ripple in the
structure of all things the moment he was born. He was impossible. I had my
suspicions immediately about what he was. After the fire in his bedroom the
night of his birth, my brothers believed that the balance of the universe would
end the little child. They believed he would die before he became a threat.
Ronez was killed and I could not stop it. Living
contently in a sago body on Duran, I was not fast or perceptive enough. And
then I had to go and fall in love with his son.
I could blame my emotions and love on the body, but
more likely, I was just too adapted to living a real life. This is the only
explanation for being willing to give up this life. I was willing to kill the
only family who ever loved me or die myself for the life of my new Guardian. My
brothers were right about me.
* * *
Arriving in the outlands was like sinking into the
middle of the ocean. This body would suffocate in the energy swarming, but my
being wanted to drink it in. Yes, the power was wild and uncontrolled, but I
was a god.
Dylan stood between me and the snake inhabiting the
body of my former Guardian. While I was adapting to the shock and the magical
current, Dylan did not know that Ronez was actually his father. I focused on
the fact that they would soon be reunited, even if only for a small amount of
time. Vretial arrived, smug and more insane than ever. When Vretial grabbed
Dylan’s arm, I angrily told him to let Dylan go, but there was nothing I could
do against my more powerful brother. He took my arm and flashed us into an
elaborate bedroom.
The room was dim but full with a large bed and
wall-to-wall bookshelves. I sat down on the soft bed, covered in a burgundy
satin blanket and watched my brother hesitantly.
“You will stay here,” he commanded. He was nothing
like he once was, but so very powerful.
“For how long?” I asked.
“Forever. You will stay here and I will keep our
brothers away. You are the only one I liked, anyway. You can even be my second
in command as I overpower the others.”
“Why would I do that?”
“You are my sister.”
“But you are not my brother. The power you gained by
taking control of two worlds has broken your mind. Why did you do it?” I asked.
He grinned, but it was not a happy grin, and I
suddenly knew I was not the only one to keep secrets in our family. Then he
flashed out.
I felt around the compound. This structure was made
half from man and half formed naturally. Dylan was being led towards Kiro by
Shio. Tommie and Krael were walking together. I needed to get Dylan by himself
to meet Ronez. I knew Dylan could handle Shio, but then Kiro started heading in
Dylan’s direction. I had to keep them apart; if Kiro got to his apprentice, he
wouldn’t leave Dylan’s side. I felt bad about keeping Kiro from his brother,
but Ronez was going to have enough trouble with the wild energy. Kiro’s energy
would push him away. Besides that, Kiro had other matters to attend to.
“Kiro, wait,”
I sent to Kiro’s mind.
“It’s
not time. Dylan can take care of him. You need to follow Krael; he has Dylan’s
book. You’ll get your chance with Shio later. Trust me.”
I sighed with relief when Kiro headed towards Krael.
Krael, now alone, was headed towards me. I could feel that he desperately
needed to talk to me. Luckily, Dylan was able to deal with Shio very quickly.
I knew Kiro was going to growl at me for this.
“Go,
now to finish off Shio.”
“I haven’t gotten the books yet,”
he answered
predictably, with frustration.
It occurred to me to confuse his senses, but he
needed them at full strength for what he would face.
“I know. Not now. Now
is your chance to kill your brother’s murderer.”
He started towards Shio as
Dylan headed away. Unfortunately, Dylan went straight for Tommie.
“Dylan?
You have to turn around. Dylan!”
No response. Dylan could not hear me,
probably because of Ronez. It was okay. I could feel Ronez’s presence grow
strong with Dylan. My young Guardian was protected.
But Kiro felt that Dylan was with the evil girl also,
and he turned to go to his apprentice. Absolute worst timing.
“No! Dylan is
taken care of! Let him handle it!”
I yelled.
“He’s my apprentice; I’m not letting that thing
kill him.”
Foolish, stubborn Guardian never listens, just
like his damn brother.
“Have faith in him.”
I encouraged.
“It isn’t about faith! He has barely had any
training. I don’t care about timing or faith. He’s my apprentice and my brother
can rest uneasily for a few more minutes for me to protect my apprentice.”
“He’s taken care of! If you interfere now you’ll
make things more complicated! Let him be, I swear she won’t so much as scratch
him. Trust me!”
Kiro stopped.
“Why?! Why should I?”
I didn’t
have an answer.
“When this is over, you will explain to me how you know what
you do and why I should trust you.”
“By the time this is over, you will know.”
This
I knew for sure. My secret was too big now. Kiro continued on his path to find
Ronez’s murderer. Just in time, a gentle knocking came to my door. “Come in.”
Krael walked in and shut the door softly behind him.
“How likely is it that you can defeat Vretial?” he asked without preamble.
“Very unlikely,” I answered honestly.
“What about your friends? Can they help you?”
“Less likely. Do you want me to defeat Vretial? Are
you willing to stand up to him?”
He sighed and leaned against the door. “He took my
sister from me. I used to think he had a good idea, a plan for a simple and
peaceful life for all. If he wants to make others like my sister, he is wrong.
I plan to lose against him, but I cannot stand by and do nothing. Ronez was my
friend.”
It was the last part I believed. The longing I heard
in his voice… Ronez was an amazing man who inspired loyalty and courage to do
what was right in everyone. “Give me the books,” I said.
He nodded and pulled out my book. “I do not have the
other one; Vretial took that one himself. However, I might be able to get it. I
know where Vretial keeps both of his.”
I thought for a few minutes. It was a good thing I
was also keeping an eye on the others. Dylan and Ronez were headed for the
books, but they would run into Kiro, who was still with Shio, first. “Good, but
I need you to do something else, first. I need you to keep Dylan away from
Kiro. Intercept him. I myself cannot go after the books, as Vretial would
immediately be onto me.”
“Right. So, I need to keep the young Guardian away
from the other Guardian and then try to get the books.”
“Yes. Can you do it?”
“I can try.” He left.
No wonder I could not stop Ronez’s death; keeping
track of three people was difficult enough. This body made me sluggish and less
capable.
I watched Dylan and Ronez fight Krael. While I knew
Krael was just acting as a distraction, I grew angrier with each injury he
caused Dylan. Dylan would win, but I still did not like seeing him hurt. I
stopped watching them as I checked on Kiro, who was just finishing up with his
brother’s revenge.
I told him his apprentice made it just fine and
directed him to the corrupted child. Kiro easily found Tommie where Dylan had
left her incapacitated. His thoughts swirled and I knew he was on the right
track.
When Kiro asked me to help her, I flashed into the room,
hoping Vretial would not intercept me. Surely he did not mean for me to stay in
that very room. It was very easy for me to suck out the girl’s immortality, but
all of her unnatural and much of her natural power was also revoked.
Once all of the dark power was removed, I destroyed
it. While nominal energy was impossible to destroy for anyone else, gods
created an even more powerful energy, and so we could extinguish it. “Your
turn.” I sat down on a chest next to the bed.
Kiro knew what and who I was. We spoke for a moment
about Ronez and trust and I knew we would never be the same. I was spoiled,
undoubtedly, for I had what no other god had; a friend.
“I spent a lot more time with you than them, so I
learned to trust before I had to deal with faith. After how we met…”
I often wished I could have made him forget the story
of how we met without breaking the trust between us. That was a story I never
wanted anyone to hear. “You will never tell Dylan that, will you?” I asked.