“You’re playing right into Tezcatlipoca's hands,” I said. “And if he gets his way, you and every dragon in existence will be nothing more than twisted shadows of your former selves.”
In a blur of speed, he crossed the distance between us and grabbed my throat.
“Silence,” he hissed. “One more word out of your lying, manipulative mouth and I’ll rip it off!” He released my throat and grabbed my arm, ignoring my coughs and gasps. “My treasure horde is where you rightfully belong. You will be mine forever. I don’t need these traitorous birds to see to your needs. Magic will keep you alive forever.”
Treasure horde. I was to be to be a part of his treasure horde. He had told me that before, but he had also added he did not view me as a thing. Now I knew he did.
I didn’t regret warning him, but at the same time I also felt a deep regret that I didn’t run away with Shadow when I had the chance. Tarasque was going to take me to his treasure horde in the dragon kingdom where an entire race was about to be twisted. If I couldn’t stop it, then the last thing I wanted was to see it, to be a part of it as Tezcatlipoca intended.
“No!” I shouted, struggling. “No, let me go!”
He whirled around, raising his hand to strike me across the face. But the blow was stopped when a dark blur collided with him.
“Shadow!”
He barely spared me a glance before lunging for Tarasque, his face a mask of demonic fury. I screamed at him to stop, to run, but before I could even take a step forward, one of Tarasque’s copies grabbed me around the middle. Anger coursed through me at this stupid, blind creature who viewed me as nothing more than a piece of treasure, who wanted to kill my love just to get back at me. I couldn’t remember wanting to cause pain to anyone before. Revenge had always been something that I viewed as pointless and ugly that always came back to haunt you. But right now the only thing in my mind was the knowledge that Tarasque was going to kill someone I loved. And I would not let him.
I slammed my heel back into the copy’s shin with all my might. It staggered only slightly, but it was enough for me to ram my elbow into its stomach and free myself from its grip. Not wasting a second, I seized a small statue of that unusual fairy-like hummingbird creature that Eulathrin had told me was an ancestor of the sirens, and slammed it against the copy’s head. It dropped like a stone.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough for the other. It grabbed me, pinning both my legs and my arms. I couldn’t move, but I could see Tarasque and Shadow battling.
Shadow…I had seen him move before, but this…Tarasque was hurling lightening at him, and whenever the lightning struck his body he barely grimaced before aiming yet another blow, even managing to slash Tarasque across the face. Tarasque seemed stunned by the sight of his own blood (and perhaps that Shadow had drawn it even more so), but he quickly regained his bearings. They exchanged hand-to-hand combat blows for little more than a moment when Tarasque opened his mouth and released an enormous stream of fire that consumed Shadow.
“NO!” I howled.
I couldn’t see Shadow at all in those flames. They were like a hungry maw filled with razor sharp teeth devouring, devouring, devouring…I couldn’t even hear my own screams or feel my own tears over the roar of those flames.
They dissipated after an eternity, leaving behind a hideous stench of burned flesh and smoke. I thought I would die from horror when I saw the blackened heap that had once been my love. And then it stirred.
The only one who was more incredulous than me was Tarasque when Shadow lifted his head, growling. He was burned, but far from severely. In fact his clothing was in worse shape than his flesh.
“Impossible,” Tarasque breathed, and I could have sworn there was genuine fear in his voice. “You could not have survived that. My flames are powered by the strongest magic!”
Slowly, painstakingly, Shadow managed to support his upper body with his elbows. He was grinning.
“It appears your magic serves me better than it serves you.”
I could tell there was a hidden meaning behind that, but Tarasque didn’t appear to notice or care. His incredulity quickly gave way to fury.
“Magic will always be the servant of the dragon king first and foremost,” he snarled. Lightening crackled at his fingertips as he advanced on Shadow. “Watch me, Mercedes. Watch me as I destroy what you most love!”
“NO!” I screamed, struggling and kicking with everything I had. “No, Tarasque, NOOOOO!”
A mad grin marring his handsome features, he raised his hands to deliver the deathblow. But before that lightening could touch Shadow, Blackhole leaped out of nowhere and landed directly in front of his partner to face the dragon king. With a vicious snarl, the Evanescence leaped again.
He collided with a surprised Tarasque, tackling them both to the floor. Lightening erupted from Tarasque’s fingers, but it only seemed to wash over Blackhole whose lethal jaws were now clamped over Tarasque’s shoulder. The body holding me pushed me away and raced over to assist in the battle. I managed to stay on my feet thanks to instincts screaming at me to get to Shadow as fast as I could.
“Mercedes…” he croaked when I was by his side.
“We need to get out of here,” I whispered.
I helped him up, but we were both distracted by an agonized yelp. With his enormous strength, Tarasque hurled Blackhole into the wall. He landed hard on the floor, a dark, alien liquid dripping from various wounds.
Blood.
“Stay out of his line,” Shadow hissed, gripping me tightly before I could try to go over to the Evanescence. He pushed me behind him, but I could still see Tarasque. He was on his feet along with his two other copies, and that was the only good thing I could say about his state. He was sweaty, dirty, exhausted, and his right hand was clamped over a huge wound on his shoulder. His emerald eyes nearly scorched me with their hatred.
“I should have killed you the moment I saw you,” he rasped at Shadow.
“Correct,” was the venomous reply. “But do not worry, you will not have to regret that error for much longer.” He took a step forward. “For harming Mercedes and Blackhole, you will die.”
Tarasque blinked. “Blackhole…?” His eyes narrowed, but with amusement instead of rage. “You wish to avenge his suffering?”
“I do not wish to avenge it, I will avenge it,” Shadow snarled.
“You consider him your friend,” Tarasque mused. “But he obviously does not consider you his friend.”
“What are you talking about?” Shadow demanded.
“Your friend is a servant to Necoc Yaotl. On his master’s orders, he goaded me into visiting the human world and kidnapping your human beloved. In fact, he was the one who told me you would meet beside that pitiful bush you call an oak tree.”
He wasn’t lying. Heart sinking, I looked over at Blackhole’s wounded form. He seemed to be recovering, but the pained sounds coming from him didn’t seem to originate from his remaining physical injuries.
“Betrayal is unforgivable,” Tarasque continued. “You were wrong to trust Blackhole. But don’t worry. You will not have to regret that error for much longer.”
The dragon king raised his hands, lightening gathering at his fingertips…
Then he doubled over and screamed.
His hand was clutching the bite on his shoulder as he fell to his knees and screamed again. Despite his apparent agony, he didn’t wait for Shadow or I to get over our shock. He looked up, bared his teeth in hatred and fled in a burst of speed. His copies followed behind him.
I just stood there breathing hard, the shock of having narrowly escaped death once again paralyzing my body. But Shadow was the exact opposite of paralyzed. He turned around, fangs bared and eyes glowing blue.
“You…”
Blackhole was now standing on his many legs. He was looking at Shadow and I could all but feel the sadness and shame radiating from him.
“I did not wish for you to experience the consequences of
defying a god,” Shadow whispered. “But you should have realized, my friend, that if you ever betrayed her I would do the god’s work for them.”
Shadow leapt, and my paralysis was instantly broken.
“No!” I screamed, but I wasn’t nearly fast enough to beat Shadow. He was already pummeling Blackhole just as I had taken but three steps. The Evanescence didn’t make any attempt to fight back. He just stood there, immobile, as his friend and partner proceeded to beat the life out of him.
After landing several blows, Shadow flung Blackhole away with a roar. His face was that of an angel of death, not the beautiful dark angel I had always associated him with. There wasn’t a shred of reason or humanity on that face. Only hatred and vengeance.
Blackhole landed several feet beside me, bleeding and moaning. He probably didn’t have the strength to move even if he wanted to. Shadow was already running toward him, this time brandishing a long blade. He was going to kill Blackhole. And there was only one thing I could do to stop him. With all my strength, I jumped to my right and grabbed Blackhole, wrapping my arms protectively around him. Three things followed: a hideous pain in the middle of my back, a bellow of animalistic anguish, and a black wave descending on my vision.
I didn’t fall unconscious, however. I remained somewhere in between, almost like I was in another dimension where time moved so slowly. Something warm and wet pressed painfully against my mouth as a desperate, while a pleading voice spoke nonsense to me. My tongue tasted the coppery liquid and the familiarity of it made my throat swallow it all on its own accord. As I drank, the black wave lightened and awareness came back. Shadow’s anguished, guilt-stricken face was the first thing that came into focus.
“Shadow…?” I croaked.
“Oh, bless goodness, bless goodness, bless goodness,” he babbled, stroking my face. “Mercedes, I…I’m so sorry, I swear to you I never intended…I would never…”
But his voice seemed to lock in his throat when he saw the way I was looking at him. I knew how I was looking at him: like I was seeing him for the very first time.
I disengaged myself from his hold. He didn’t try to stop me as I walked over to Blackhole and gently lifted him into my arms. Relief flooded me when I saw that he was still alive, merely unconscious. I started to walk out of the room, but stopped to look back at Shadow. He was on his knees turned away from me, but I could still see enough of his face to make out the blank devastation on it.
I walked out of the room without looking back again. In the hallway, I met Eulathrin. She blanched at the sight of Blackhole in my arms and my blood soaked clothes.
“Mercedes what happened?” she demanded.
“I’ll explain on one condition,” I said.
Her brow rose. “What condition?”
“Get me out of here, Eulathrin. Get me as far from here as you can.”
***
Brandon
The royal family made no announcements, but I could feel that war was brewing in the air. Andre had informed me only yesterday that the portal would be ready for testing very soon. Brilliant as Andre was, the royal family had hundreds of skilled technicians and far more resources at their disposal. I knew that their portal was already ready and that they were preparing to use it.
“Meaning they’re going to find that girl before us,” Morgan pointed out.
“If they haven’t found her yet, then there’s still hope,” I countered. “I’m not going to give up on her. I—we owe it to her and to Shadow.”
“But we don’t even know where they are,” Morgan said. “All that Evanescence told us was that they were safe. Safe where exactly?”
Before I could reply, a harsh knocking sounded at my door. I rushed over to answer it. It was a very apprehensive Andre.
“You two need to come with me now,” he said before taking off in the other direction. Morgan and I quickly followed.
“I’m ready to run the first test,” Andre explained once we were safely in his lab. “Since this is a secret project, you two are the only witnesses I’m allowed.”
“Like a human child at those primitive science fairs,” Morgan muttered to me. I had to hide a smile as I watched Andre bustle around his work. The comparison did have quite a bit of merit.
“What amazed me most about the frequency,” Andre spoke as he made adjustments to an unusual device on the floor that was hooked up to many wires and cables, “is that we wouldn’t need a strong, solid surface in order to make one. In fact, any strong, solid surface would break under the pressure unless it was made from a titanium alloy of sorts.”
“Do we really need this device?” Morgan asked. “Couldn’t we just implement the frequency into another Chaos wand?”
“Not yet,” Andre said. He hooked up a few more cables. “Like I said, this is powerful stuff we’re working with. A Chaos wand, any Chaos wand would explode if I tried to transmit more than the frequency's code into it. I would know. I tried it five times,” he added with an almost sheepish smile. “But the good news is that I believe we aren’t far from inventing a Chaos wand powerful enough to hold portal patterns of this magnitude. If I could just invent one all by myself…” He shook his head as if unable to believe what he was about to say. “All Outcasts could be free. We could go where no one would ever find us. Not even the royal family. Maybe they have the frequency also, but there are probably millions upon millions of dimensions out there. So many to choose from…”
His eyes grew over bright. I too felt a strange tightness in my throat. Though I had regained hope for a better life, I never would have contemplated finding a new home free of persecution, abuse, and judgment.
“You two, listen.” Andre came up to us, his voice deadly serious. “My hopes are in the stratosphere right now. I think I can do this. Really, I do. But you’ve got to keep it a secret. No one can no. No one. Not even our fellow Outcasts. If one of them gets tortured by an elite…every one of us will share their fate, especially me. And our remaining brothers and sisters will live a life that makes this look like heaven in comparison.”
“It will be our secret,” I said. “The three of us.”
“Great.” Andre directed his attention back to his work. “Okay. Power on. Let’s see what we get.”
He flipped a switch on a control panel and stood back along with Morgan and myself as a deep humming noise began to emit from the device. I gripped her hand as we both stared at the potential salvation of the Outcasts. We nearly broke each other’s fingers when, ten seconds later, the air above the device shuddered before becoming a deep black. It just hovered there like a flawlessly round black mirror. A portal.
“Don’t get me wrong, Andre,” Morgan said throatily. “I’m a vampire. Shadows are my life. But that looks like a portal to something worse than hell. Nothingness.”
“And that’s why I’m not using vampires to test it,” Andre said.
“You’d better not be using humans,” I warned. “I won’t let you.”
“Relax,” Andre assured me. “I have something far more sturdy in mind.”
He disappeared behind a door for a moment. When he returned he was carrying a cage containing a small dog.
Of course. Andre may have to keep his technical skills secret, but his love of dogs was an entirely different story.
“Loki here is going to see if it’s safe.” He smiled and set the cage down. “Don’t trust Evanescence, but man’s best friend is a different story.”
“What if he dies?” I asked sharply.
“He won’t,” Andre assured me before unlocking the cage. “I’ve tripled checked everything. And I’ll be putting him on a leash. Anything goes wrong, and I’ll pull him right back out.”
“But he could still be seriously injured. This is an untested portal—”
“Hey!” Andre snapped. “I don’t like this anymore than you do. But the time for testing is now. Remember, this could be the salvation for all Outcasts. If we’re not willing to make sacrifices, then we’ll never be
free. Or do you think I should use a human? Or a vampire?”
“No,” I said. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dog who was now licking his master’s hands as a metal leash was tied around his neck. “But I know how the royal family tested the first portals. And we all know what happened to the Evanescence who went inside faulty ones.”
Andre stared at me, then down at Loki. He ran his hand tenderly down the furry back while Loki nuzzled his knee.
“We don’t have any choice,” Andre whispered and I caught a hint of tears in his eyes. He picked Loki up and carried him over the portal. “Now, boy, you know what to do. If you feel anything wrong, rattle the chain and I’ll pull you right back in. Okay?”
The dog barked an affirmative. Andre gave him a gentle shove while keeping a firm hold on the leash. Breathing was something I rarely had to do, but it felt as if my lungs had been encased in solid granite when the dog disappeared inside the portal. Andre slowly gave him some slack. Morgan grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Her mouth muttered incessant prayers. I too found myself praying, but I didn’t know to who. Lord Chaos and Lord Order would always favor the elites first and foremost. Quetzalcoatl abandoned us to torment and death. What was the point in praying? What entity could possibly take pity on us?
I didn’t know. I didn’t even know if such an entity existed. But I still prayed.
The leash suddenly straightened out on Loki’s end. Andre grinned.
“What is it?” Morgan asked breathlessly.
“He wants to go in further.” Andre’s smile now threatened to split his face. “He’s not scared or in pain. He wants to go in further.”
Morgan cried out in sheer joy. She grabbed me and kissed me hard on the lips. “It’s going to be okay,” she babbled, tears streaming from her eyes. “Oh, love, it’s going to be okay. We’ll find someplace to go…to be safe…safe…”
I hugged her hard as tears threatened my own eyes. Maybe we didn’t need prayer after all. Maybe all we needed was hope and each other. I could definitely live with that.
“I’m bringing him in now,” Andre said. “I need to check him for injuries or poisoning, but if he’s not…” He turned to the both of us. His cheeks were wet. “I think our salvation may be closer than we thought.”