God of the Abyss (33 page)

The woman’s voice could barely be heard as the
dragons continued their roars. I went after the cry and Emiko followed until we
found what appeared to be the collapsed house of the woman that had filled
Emiko’s bath. The servant knelt outside the rubble, screaming as she hastily
dug through the stone and wood. Emiko tried to pull her away but she thrashed,
and I understood why. There was only one thing that could make a person scream
like that.

“My son is in there!”

I tried to pull nominal energy into myself. It was
second nature to me to move things with magic… but there was no energy. The
energy all around and inside me had vanished. “The magic is gone.” Emiko
frowned at me with confusion, as she couldn’t understand why I knew that. I
reached inside and felt my fire stir. My dragon magic was still there; it was
just nominal energy that was affected. I helped the woman dig through the
rubble. Emiko shifted and was able to do a lot more.

I felt her land behind me. If there was one thing
Rojan learned as a child, it was to not let Isera at his back. I turned to face
her and she roared. There were no words, but I understood it. The roar was like
a type of speech in a way. She was giving me an ultimatum; submit or die.

“Keep digging,” I told Emiko when she growled at
Rojan’s sister. Isera, who towered over the young queen, had no qualms about
casualties. Emiko reluctantly resumed helping the sago woman and I carefully
approached Isera to draw her attention away from them.

I drew Dylan’s sword. When I could not use my magic,
when my fire and claws were useless, at least I had a sword. And apparently
surprise. Isera must have thought I would never attack her, for I was able to
strike her before she reacted. Blood spread across her chest, even over her
heart, but it was too shallow to be a mortal wound. With a swipe of her paw, I
was on my back.

Between Rojan and Isera, my dragon was bigger, but as
I was unable to shift, I stood no chance. Only Rojan’s strength was enough to
defeat his sister, and I did not have it. She placed her massive paw on me with
her claws just barely digging into my chest. She was taking her time, trying to
make me show fear before she crushed me to death… or so I thought. When she
roared in my face, I knew that it would be more gruesome than that; she would
eat me.

Then the most unexpected thing that could ever happen
occurred. The demon that Dylan fought appeared. In the form of Dylan’s
stepfather, he squatted down beside me, completely unafraid of the dragon.

“Well, I suppose I should be upset that my life has
just become so hectic, but I knew what I was getting myself into. Couldn’t you
have hung onto your life for an hour without my help?”

“What are you doing here?!” I demanded, trying to
ignore the dragon slowly squeezing the life out of me. I would take being eaten
by my psychotic sister over being dragged into the void by a demon any day.

“I think I made a bargain with a devil. No matter.
I’m here to save you, whether I like it or not.”

He obviously did not like it. He placed his hand on
my shoulder and power spread through my body. It was very similar to my fire,
but it was not meant to burn. It felt like strength; pure and unquestionable
strength.

Nothing could stop me as my body grew and my skin
became hide. My bones shifted, cracked, and grew, but it wasn’t painful; it was
natural. It was like in Rojan’s memories. For the first time, I came to be the
best that I could be. There was nothing that could stop me now. I was a dragon,
and not just any dragon. I towered over others, I could strike with lightning,
I could blend in with anything, and I had more than three thousand years of knowledge.
Invincible and immortal, I was free for the first time. Free from everything.

Dragons took to the skies and fled from the power
they could sense. They were nothing; little children compared to me. Isera
turned to flee, but I pounced on her, digging my claws into her wings and
sinking my teeth into her neck. For all the times she tried to kill Rojan, she
lay bleeding beneath me. Rojan was merciful. Isera was a threat to my family,
to Dylan and the boys, and I could never let that pass.

I flew like I had been dreaming for years. My own
mind took a backseat as Rojan reminded himself that he was the master of the
skies. I felt Rojan’s joy. To be unable to fly for so many years was painful to
him, but now he had the sky back. My body was no longer a jail cell for him and
some of the guilt I had been holding for the past five years eased since I
could at least be that much for him. I could shift.

For hours I flew in the sky and it was really the
most amazing feeling I had ever felt. It was even peaceful when Emiko followed
me. She was not a threat, and seemed to need the air as much as I did. However,
something was calling me back… The only thing I would listen to at that time.

Nila

Dios was once a world divided into nations. These
factions would barter for the most luxurious resources, fight over territories,
and build weapons to defend themselves. People would kill for jewels and gold,
or even trade their children for lovely silks and potions. Unfortunately, there
was a darkness in the people of Dios; they were greedy. Love of material goods
and fortune grew to be the entire focus of our race. People didn’t only want
the best of everything; they wanted to have more than anyone else. The ruling
families were the worst offenders.

When the last war began, Dleso Zyen was the most
powerful wizard known besides the Noquodi. He was also said to be one of the
kindest and wisest rulers Dios has ever had. While other rulers worried about
protecting their money and trinkets, Zyen used his magic to build a magical
refuge for woman, children, and any man who did not wish to fight. Nano helped
him only after he realized there was no hope for the majority of the
population.

Not everyone outside the haven died from the
fighting, but the aftereffects were devastating. Disease, starvation,
radiation, and an atmosphere that was poisonous to breathe drove the survivors
underground to face creatures even more powerful than Zyen. Trolls accepted the
new population, but the goblins saw people as prey. New rulers were quickly
appointed and cities formed like the nations that have always divided the
people.

Many of the survivors had taken the time and risk to
collect their beloved belongings, but they soon realized such objects were of
little value here. In this dark world where just surviving the day was a
battle, our culture changed. When people once traded honor for silk, they now
traded hard labor for meager scraps of food. Rations were not enough, yet most
city kings would make their people work for half the water or food that they
were owed.

Zyen did his best for everyone, even to the point
that he was starving. The grateful survivors gave him the highest title, but he
would give his food, which was barely enough to keep him alive, to children on
the street. He tried to teach people to be kind, responsible, and to love each
other instead of objects.

Nano designed ways to grow plants using magic in
place of the sun, then imported water and animals with the help of other
Guardians. It was not a lavish life, but people were no longer dying. Zyen
recovered enough to have a son, who he taught the history of our world. Revered
for his father’s deeds and even more powerful, the High King’s son was not
kind.

Zyen began to make plans with Nano to rebuild the
surface world. The High King knew he would lose his position if people were to
return to their land, but he was happy with that.  Unfortunately, the dark
curse in the soul of the people of Dios was also in the soul of Zyen’s son,
Atos. On the day the king’s son turned sixteen, Zyen and his wife were found in
their bedchambers, dead. The next morning, Atos took the throne and crushed the
movement to rebuild our lands.

*          *          *

Eight years ago…

My half-brother, Adre, was seriously getting on my
nerves. He was an angry and suspicious man who, when not trying to assassinate
me, was constantly ridiculing me. The man would give me orders and scold me
like a child in front of my guards, or pat my head condescendingly when I did
something he approved of. I put up with it for our father’s sake.

Our world never had a chance to thrive under my
father’s rule, for my mother used to tell me he was a cruel and miserable man.
She never chose to marry him, nor have his child, so she jumped at the chance
when Nano offered to take me from her. I was sad at first, because I always
thought she would someday forgive me for my genetic flaw and love me. She had
never been openly cruel to me until she discovered I was a void, so I looked
forward to waking every morning, hoping that she would suddenly feel as a
mother should.

Most people fear voids and think we are inherently
evil because of our blood. In a way, they are correct.

My blood and soul became bonded with the void by
magic I never really understood, due to my father’s murder. For me, there was
nothing evil about the void, but I could see how others believed differently.
The void consumed life, but the universe itself could not be sustained without
it. The only reason I didn’t hate my father for being the cause of my curse was
that I still believed that were he alive, he would love me. Instead the only
person who ever loved me was my uncle, who actually wasn’t related to me at
all.

Speaking of my uncle…

Hioji Nano entered my gilded cage with a suspicious
energy, like he had a surprise for me. As always, I ran to hug him, because he
always hugged me back. I tried to control my strength, but I was excited, for
it had been months since I last saw him.

“How have you been?” he asked.

“Fair. I have some new ideas for rebuilding the
surface.”

“And you want me to share them with Zer?”

“If you can manage it. I hate to ask for more work
from you,” I said. It was for the sake of my brother that I acted so formally
with Nano. I knew he would do whatever it took to help save Dios, but we both
realized Adre was trying to thwart my plans.

Nano stepped away from me just slightly so that he
would regain the magic he lost while in contact with me.

In order to disguise his action, we both turned to
the young man who followed him in. The first thing that struck me was that he
looked like a much younger Kiro, but with vivid green eyes and softer muscle
tone.

“Nila, this is Dylan. He speaks English, and he’s
human. He will be the new Guardian of Earth,” Nano told me in English.

That was not an easy language for dile to learn, but
I always tried to learn what Nano taught me. “That is Tiamat world, is it?” I
asked in English.

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet. Call me please Nila.” Learning the
vocabulary of a new language was easy; memorize words. Grammar took time, and
usually a decent understanding of the culture in question.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he said, shaking my hand. I
made a mental note to add a “you” to the end of my introduction. His English
was clear and elegant, but not soft or feminine. He pronounced the words slowly
compared to Dego, but I assumed that it was just for courtesy. As he touched my
hand, I felt something odd, like a rush of adrenaline. If I didn’t know better,
I would think it was what sensing someone’s energy felt like.

Obviously, Dylan was either a poor wizard or knew
very little magic, for he didn’t react at all to my void blood. Normally, a
wizard was horrified to realize my very presence would consume and destroy the
magical energy around me, and they could always sense it.

Dylan just smiled kindly.

Nano said he was a Guardian, so he must have been
very new, because there was no way a goddess would allow a weak wizard to serve
her.

As Adre began arguing with Nila over bringing a human
to see me, I contemplated this young Guardian. There was something so eerily
familiar about him. By the time I could finally get the human alone, my brother
and uncle were ready to duel. It didn’t matter to me.

Dylan was friendly and funny, young and innocent, but
not too horribly naïve. I explained to him to the best of my linguistic
abilities, the history of my world. He had a curiosity about him though, and
the subject of my curse surfaced in our conversation.

It wasn’t until we left that I began to suspect
something else. I didn’t understand it, not even a little bit, but I could feel
what he was. I asked him to do something impossible, but since he didn’t know
it was impossible, he attempted it… and succeeded. The skill with which he
could control magic was uncanny.

While my blood destroyed magic energy, I never
actually felt it myself. I did have a connection with the void, and that was
why I could feel what Dylan was. Unfortunately, that meant others of my kind
could as well. Testing him was just conformation of what I already knew.

When it was time to say goodbye to Dylan, I didn’t
fret, because I knew I would see him again. Before they left, Nano whispered to
me that Adre confessed to killing my father and promised he would be back to
dispose of the man. Then he left me alone with the one who was responsible for
my curse.

Finally, I knew for sure.

I opened the door as Adre moved to intercept me. With
one arm, I blocked the blow, and with the other, I beckoned the guards in. I
closed my hand firmly around Adre’s wrist in a grip he couldn’t break. The
guards restrained him, despite his shouting and thrashing, but all it took was
the barest touch from me and he was powerless.

We led him to the dungeon, which I thought was
redundant in an underground castle, and I called for a physician. Adre renewed
his efforts to escape when he realized I wasn’t waiting for Nano. Adre was my
brother after all; my responsibility.

The physician arrived and Adre began pleading. He
begged over and over for mercy, promising to leave and never bother me again. I
told him it was okay, that I wasn’t bothered by him or angry with him. After
all, he was my brother. I was responsible for him.

The Dios people had the disposition to kill for power
and wealth. It was my responsibility to keep people from that, to give people
the chance to return to a good life. All the survivors of the war except for
Nano were long dead, and I hoped they took their greed with them.

The doctor drew some of my blood into a needle and
handed it to me. He knew I took my responsibilities seriously. The guards held
my brother in his chair.

He shook his head. “Don’t do this. You don’t want to
hurt me.”

“Of course I don’t. This will not hurt you, it’ll
just keep you from hurting anyone else.”
Once a killer always a killer,
brother.

“Please.”

“Tell me you did not kill our father.”

I leaned my head against his, waiting for the lie to
come from his lips. He would lie, I knew, because he always did. The needle was
warm in my hand, and I clutched it tighter, waiting, knowing what he would say.

“He wasn’t my father.”

“Tell me you didn’t kill him.”
Please lie to me.
Just this last time, I want to hear the lie.

“He deserved it. You never knew him. You never knew
how horrible he was. He was a horrible person, a horrible king, and a horrible
father.  You don’t know how lucky you are that I killed him. He kept your
mother imprisoned, and he would have done the same to you.”

You couldn’t even give me this once.
“And the
attempts on my life?”

“You are his son. I was trying to rid this world of a
king who would grow up to be just like him. The world is better off without
you.”

I stuck the needle in his arm and pushed the plunger.
He screamed, as if in agony, so much that I wondered if it hurt. Energy that
was destroyed in my body never hurt, so I was curious if he was screaming in
pain or just fear. It couldn’t have been regret, because my brother was a
murderer. Surely he could have no regrets.

Dios had suffered enough at the hands of murderers; I
couldn’t let even one slide, even if he was my brother. Oh, I wasn’t horrible
enough to actually inflict him with my curse; wizards could use magic on him
just fine. My blood was not bonding him to the abyss or anything so drastic,
merely destroying his bond with magic. From that moment on, he would never be
able to so much as feel nominal energy again, let alone use it.

I may not have taken the instinct to kill out of my
brother, but he would never be able to use magic do it. The process left him
very weak and he had to be carried to his cell by the guards. Obviously, I
couldn’t let him go just yet; he was to remain locked up until I knew for sure
he was powerless.

Nano returned and I told him Adre ran away. Nano
would have killed him for sure, and that would have made him no better than
Adre. Instead of being upset, Nano seemed entirely unsurprised.

“I need to ask you something,” he said. “When you
were alone with Dylan, did you notice anything suspicious?”

“Something to suggest he is working against us?”

“No, nothing like that. Tiamat trusts him, so that’s
good enough for me. I just think there might be something weird about him. His
father told me before he was even born that the gods wanted him dead because he
was so powerful. There are prophesies about him and his power… but he didn’t
seem all that powerful to me.”

“Zer didn’t tell you? I thought he told you
everything.”

“He is being pretty private about the young Guardian.
Now, as the son of Ronez, I expected the guy to be unusual… but there’s
something about him.”

“Like his magic comes from inside him and not from
the book?” I asked. Since I was High King of Dios, it only made sense that Nano
would confide in me the secrets of the Guardians as his god confided in him. I
was very interested in these prophesies, but that could wait. 

“It’s exactly like that; like he’s more powerful on
the inside than he should be. But I saw him, and felt him, draw energy into
himself.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know his true power yet.”

“That makes sense; he’s so new to this. But just how
much power is he holding back? What did you see of him?”

“He is more than a Guardian.”

“Do you think Dylan is a god?”

“No. I think he’s something else, but I don’t know
what yet.”

*          *          *

Five years ago…

Being a void was often a curse. I could never do even
the most basic magic. If I were a child in school instead of the king of the
entire planet, I would have been teased severely. Still, most people either
thought of me as a cripple or a demon. During my gloomier days, I would often
fantasize of being able to move something with my mind or even light a candle
with magic.