A memory stirred inside of me. “Rachel told me once that he was related to the founder.”
“Grandpa was the one who told me of its importance, originally. When I was younger, and I started coming to the hospital for treatment, I didn’t know what was happening. I knew about my powers, so I didn’t understand why I needed treatment. Grandpa said the founder had started up the foundation just for people like me—people with broken hearts and special powers. It makes a sadistic sort of sense, if what you said about him is true.”
“I wasn’t lying.”
“I know. Just as you weren’t lying about the bloodwater.” Her eyes teared up for a moment as she turned away from me and faced the wind. “I had my suspicions then, but even now that I know the truth, it’s hard to believe.”
Another concern came to mind. “You know the meteorite’s been stolen, right?” I asked.
“I remember you mentioned it before,” she said.
“Yeah. I talked to Logan about it.”
“Did you find out who took it?”
“No, no one knows,” I said. “But the police and the mayor were all looking for it. Logan was a bit concerned he would get blamed. Now I have to wonder if Grandpa Odd took it.”
“We’ll have to find out,” Raiya agreed.
Pain began to pinch into my wrist again.
“I don’t know where Grandpa Odd—er, Draco—went,” I said, “but I can tell Asteropy is nearby.”
“We should take care of her,” Raiya agreed, “but I’m not sure if we should stop looking for Grandpa—”
“Draco is not a lovable, kooky grandfather at all, Raiya,” I said, “but a sinister, crazy, power-hungry, revenge-driven devil dragon. I know you would like to think otherwise, but he tried to kill me, he tried to kill Adam, and he wants you to die before you end up killing him.”
“I know, but—”
“I’m sorry. I really am. I hate being mean to you, but I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Angel,” Adam spoke up from behind me.
“Yes,” I said. “What would Adam and I do without you?”
Raiya looked stunned as she stared back at the two of us. “I—”
Elysian’s roar broke through her train of thought. I glanced over and stopped, mid-air, to watch as Elysian wrestled with Draco’s white, flotsam-like skin. “It looks like Elysian’s well-matched,” I said.
“We should go and help,” Raiya remarked. “If we can’t find Draco, we can at least seal away his dragon skin.”
“Can’t be much worse than sealing a Sinister away,” I figured.
“We’ll likely have to weaken it first,” Raiya said.
“Hopefully Elysian’s taken care of some of that for us.”
“True.”
We headed down to the area where Elysian was fighting Draco’s dragon skin. The ghostly figure of Draco’s skin was disturbing.
“Hammy.” Adam’s voice called me back to where we were. I need to find a safe place for him.
Raiya seemed to sense my dilemma. “We’re close to the place where Rosemont used to be,” she said. “I don’t think it’s really safe for him around here. Maybe you should take him home.”
I didn’t want to tell her that I didn’t want to leave her, while Draco was running around and still capable of fooling people into believing he was part human, instead of all scum.
“I’m going to go and help,” Raiya said, pulling out her bow once more. “Draco’s skin won’t be able to fluster me,” she added, probably clearly reading my expression.
“Okay. I’ll come and join you as soon as I take care of Adam.”
“See you soon then,” she said, waving as she took off.
I waved back and allowed myself a moment to just watch Raiya as she headed into the fight. She was certainly strong, and I had to admire her for that.
Plus she looked really good when she fought.
I turned and immediately regretted my inattention to details.
“Well, it’s nice to see you again, Wingdinger,” Asteropy said, her voice silky with anticipation as she stared down at me. She frowned at Adam, no doubt recalling her failure to steal his Soulfire last time.
“What are you doing here, Asteropy?” I asked.
“Why else would I be here?” she crooned, gesturing toward Elysian and Raiya fighting off Draco’s skin. “I’m here to enjoy the show, of course. Although, now that you’re here, I’ll have to see about getting in on some of the action.”
“You can count on it.” I pulled out my sword, desperately hoping I would be able to keep Adam on my back while I fought her.
It didn’t take long for her to figure out my weakness. I had to fly carefully; eventually, I saw a park bench and headed toward it in a random pattern as I continued to attack Asteropy and defend myself.
She can’t touch Adam, thanks to Raiya, so he should be safe from her.
I waited until I scored a hit against Asteropy, managing to strike her leg with my energy. Then, while she cursed and screamed, I shuffled Adam down to the ground. “Stay here,” I said, ordering him as nicely, but still authoritatively, as possible.
“Okay, Hammy,” he replied, and for some reason my heart just melted.
All my brotherly instincts must’ve decided to come in this week, I thought, amused as much as bewildered by it.
But I knew that wasn’t true. I’d been growing closer to Adam for months now, ever since I first tried to manipulate Gwen into watching him during one of my football games.
As I soared up to meet Asteropy in battle, I knew I had to do what I could to protect him.
“Watch out!”
Raiya’s voice called out, and I nearly flinched, until I realized it was Elysian she was talking about. Draco’s skin had managed to tangle him up, slapping him down to the muddy ground.
Asteropy took the opportunity to strike me.
I felt lightning soar through my blood and my nerves, and a surreal feeling took hold of me, as I was able to channel the pain and power and direct it back to her.
Asteropy, shocked at my redirection, plunged for cover.
Elysian roared, painfully, and I headed over to help. Just then, Draco’s skin turned toward me.
It snarled at me, as I came closer, my sword out in front of me. I held firm as it flew toward me, and I raced toward it …
Only to have it fly over me.
“Huh?” I looked back and saw that it was headed for Asteropy. It picked her up and nudged her onto its back. She lapped it up like cream, of course.
“Well, it looks like you haven’t managed to defeat either of us,” she said. “And now, together, we will be invincible!”
She gripped onto the horns of the head, rearing up in a celebration of power.
What she didn’t count on, I think, was that Draco had plans of his own.
Asteropy reared up on Draco’s back, but he bucked at the next moment. Surprised, she fell forward—right into his awaiting jaws.
“No!” Asteropy screamed as the dragon skin consumed her, adding another color to the rainbow in its eyes.
Asteropy was captured, and it was very anticlimactic. Her scream eventually died away with the rest of her being.
When silence more or less returned, Raiya and I exchanged glances, and even as far away from each other as we were for the moment, I could tell she was just as confused as I was.
Elysian seemed to have more of an idea of what was going on.
“Draco,” he sneered, a scowl twisted onto his angry dragon face.
“Miss me, brother dear?” Draco’s voice boomed out from behind him.
As soon as we heard his voice, we were ready Raiya loaded up another arrow, and my sword was immediately out. On some level, I was relieved to see him, even though I knew this was the absolutely last chance we had to stop him from getting his skin back.
Elysian, still tangled up on the ground, hurried to rearrange himself into a more battle-prepared position. “Let’s see,” he cried back, a
nd sent a shower of celestial fire racing toward Draco’s humanlike form.
Draco dodged it, making it look easy, even though I knew it wasn’t.
“Keep going, Ely,” I called. “Let him have it!” I pulled out my sword and dropped into a fighting stance as we met. Draco slid away from me, my sword hitting nothing but air as he twisted and twirled away from its double-edged blade.
“Coward!” I said.
“Better a coward than a fool,” he retorted. He gathered a ball of energy between his hands. “What about you, Wingdinger? Are you a coward or a fool?”
He took aim, and I dug my feet into the ground, ready for anything.
A second later, one of Starry Knight’s arrows pierced through Draco’s energy, shattering it and splintering it into Draco’s body. He cried out and flames erupted from his cloak, spilling smoke all about him.
He cried out as Raiya came and landed beside me. “He’s not a coward or a fool,” she said. “He’s a good friend and ally.”
“And a lucky man,” I told her with a smirk. “Thanks.”
She nodded and we turned our attention back to the smokescreen before us.
Only to see Draco had gone.
“Where is he?” I wondered aloud.
I heard Adam scream behind me. “Adam!” I yelled and hurried away, instantly running to the defense of my brother.
I turned to see that Adam had been approached by Draco’s skin, but much like Asteropy, it was unable to touch him without getting burned or scorched.
Elysian, thankfully, managed to tackle it a moment later. The phantasm-like body shifted away, moving slowly, almost like it had taken the blow personally.
Adam’s safe. Thank goodness.
And then I heard it.
Raiya gasped.
I didn’t have to look to know what had happened. I didn’t have to turn to feel the sharp nails clawing at her heart.
I didn’t have to see her expression to know she was helpless. I didn’t have to watch as her Soulfire blazed with spirit as Draco pulled it free.
All I knew was that there was nothing else in the world that mattered more than saving her.
“Raiya,” I muttered, and then I hurried toward her, faster than I thought possible. As the blood splattered out from beneath her armor, I managed to catch her. With the force of my arrival, I was able to knock her Soulfire out of Draco’s hands and simultaneously send him flying.
“Take care of her, boss,” Elysian called. “I’ll take care of him, and his stupid dragon skin!” Elysian stepped up; from the look in his eye, he was as determined to destroy Draco as I was to save Raiya.
As he charged Draco, following up on my attack, I hurried to get Raiya back to her usual self.
Her eyes had glazed over, and I panicked enough at the sight. She looks dead, I thought, half-wondering if this was how I looked when Elektra had almost managed to pull out my Soulfire. If so, I could understand, all of a sudden, why Raiya had been absolutely so afraid at the sight of me.
“Come on,” I muttered, using my power to pull her Soulfire to me.
I’d always wondered what my Soulfire looked like, and I’d gotten a chance, a couple of times, to find out; it wasn’t fun, but it satisfied my curiosity. (And thankfully, I never had to do that again.)
Looking at Raiya’s Soulfire was enchanting. Mine had been a blood-colored flame, surrounded by fire and light. Hers was not really the opposite, but more of a complement to mine; her Soulfire shined a slivery color, with a blue flame at its core, while shimmers of light, like moonbeams, gave off a pearl-like glow, more subtle than blatant.
How did she manage to bring me back before? I’d never thought to ask. Mostly because it had been an extremely awkward situation, and that meant if I was going to ask, the question was going to sound awkward too. And it wasn’t like that was part of the Awkward Game!
“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “Stop going crazy.”
I placed my hand over her heart, recalling how she’d done that to me. I could feel her heart beneath her armor, beating wildly.
Using my other hand, I took hold of her wrist. I couldn’t hold onto her power very well, at least with my hands. So maybe my power would work?
It did.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I pushed through, moving past myself and heading further on into her heart and her world.
As I opened my eyes again, I saw that Raiya’s heart turned out to be a lot like I expected, even as it was something I could never expect.
The realm of her heart was full of fluff and color and painted edges of what I’d assumed, once upon a time, to be a fantasy world. Juxtaposed beside it were stark, angry lines of reality, where scenes of memories alternated into focus.
I saw her Soulfire floating above me, and all around me. I sighed in relief, even though I knew it was supposed to permeate this hidden world.
“Come back to me,” I said, remembering how she called me back into myself through her pleas.
More of her soul seemed to settle in beside me. I was relieved. It’s working!
I grew nervous as I heard echoes of her weeping, felt the silence of her functional distress, and saw the pain manifested inside her heart.
Raiya, along with others, told me before that when things don’t work the way they were supposed to, bad decisions were made, and bad things could happen.
I could literally see it. Her soul was shattered. Her heart was broken, her emotions scattered, and her will seemed confused—like she should know what do to do, but it was hard to do it, when it shouldn’t have been hard to do it at all.
“Her soul is broken.”
“Adonaias.” My eyes went wide, and I felt the call to retreat to my own self at Adonaias’ words. “Can’t you help her?”
“She has been broken for me.”
Before I could ask him to clarify, Elysian slammed into the cement, not even a hundred yards away from us.
“You always were so desperate to try to keep up with me,” Draco called, taunting Elysian.
Elysian whipped his tail across Draco’s path, hitting him strong across his side. “No, you were just desperate to get away from me.”
“You’d hate it too, if your brother was foolishly falling at the Prince’s feet. You worshiped him, and it was disgusting!”
Tension crept through me as Draco and Elysian continued fighting; I wondered how much longer I would be able to keep Raiya safe while they fought.
Glancing behind me, I saw Adam sitting on the ground next to a tall building. He was out of trouble—for the moment.
Raiya let out a small sigh. Whirling around, I saw her Soulfire settle into her body again, and I saw her breathe. Raiya’s eyes blinked along with mine, and we were both back in the real world.
I’m going to have to come up with a better name than “real world” for that, I thought.
“Raiya?” I asked. “Are you alright?”
She placed her hand over her heart, her fingers brushing up against mine. “I will be,” she said, her voice weary. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” I said. Behind us, I could hear Elysian and Draco still fighting.
“Do you want me to reach up and grab you and kiss you, like you did to me that one time?”
I laughed, more out of relief than humor. “Yes,” I admitted, “but I’m not sure you should move in this kind of—”
Raiya interrupted me as she kissed me. Not passionately or desperately, as I’d done to her before, but softly and sweetly. It was more than a meeting of our lips; it was a tender caress of the soul.
“Well, I guess you’re able to get back to work if you’re well enough to do that,” I said.
Raiya sat up and sucked in her breath. “I’m still bleeding,” she said, more to herself than to me.
“Why?” I asked. “Can’t you heal yourself?”
“This is a broken heart of a different kind,” she said. “It might need some time to heal.”
Another barrage of shouts behind us made me w
orried again. “We don’t have time,” I told her. While she tried to get her bearings in order, I picked her up and carried her over near Adam.
I glanced over at my shoulder, watching nervously as Draco’s skin and Draco began to move closer together.
Elysian let out another cry behind us, pulling himself up from the ground. I felt the heat of his fiery flames, as they erupted toward Draco’s phantom skin.
☼21☼
Battle for Love
“You’re pathetic,” Draco cried as he fended off the stream of celestial fire from Elysian’s attack.
“I’m not the one who’s been parading around as a human for the last several generations,” Elysian shot back.
“I can’t expect you to understand,” Draco replied. “It takes nothing of our energy, does it, brother dear, to transform into a reptilian creature, no matter the size. But transforming into a human takes unbelievable power. Do you have any idea of how many human souls I’ve had to drain to maintain my cover?”
“Is that why you’ve stayed hidden for so long? To chase after human souls?”
“Demon blood is a rarity in this world,” Draco admitted. “And I needed to coordinate my attack, so I could have the best chances of survival when Justice finally came.”
He gestured toward the floaty-phantom of his skin, which hovered on the other side of our established battlefield in front of the old Rosemont school ruins. “I’ll feel much more powerful once I get the other half of myself, thanks to the sacrifices of the Sinisters and Orpheus.”
Raiya pushed at me. “Go, help Elysian!” she ordered.
I paused. “I don’t want to leave you and Adam defenseless,” I said.
“We’re not,” Raiya promised. “I can’t move that well, but I can still shoot.” She pulled her bow out, and even though I could see the cringing pain in her expression, I knew she was right.
“Adam,” I said, turning to face my brother. “Stay here, and listen to Starry Knight.”
“Angel,” he said, sitting down next to Raiya. His trusting brown eyes were full of resolve, as if he’d actually listened to me.