God of the Abyss (6 page)

Rojan felt sympathy for me that I could feel his
memories, but never know the feeling myself. “They have never known any other
way. Mordon’s family does not know what they are missing.”
Unfortunately,
you do.

I’m okay not being able to fly. I wish I could
shift because I know you miss it, but it’s not in my blood like it is yours.

We share the same blood,
he insisted. I
shrugged mentally. “Where did you get the magic to hide from me?” he asked.

“Isera found a plant that disorientates dragons.
Well, it was from another world, so it wasn’t the real plant, just a bit of
dust. Isera got a wizard to make it useable. It was such a low dose that we
became immune to it, so we can now use it to hide from other dragons. I am
confused as to why you didn’t know that.”

“Why would I know you have plant matter that affects
dragons?” Rojan asked.

“Ishte-mor, your sago’s father? He came about two
months back. He found us as if someone told him exactly where we were and asked
us about the plant. We told him we had no idea what he was talking about, but
we assumed you sent him.”

“I didn’t even know you were here. I had other things
to worry about than dragons.”

Marnd’s expression was wounded. “You are a dragon.
You may have spent the last twenty-six years with people, but you are one of
us. We waited for you. Even your sago was always welcome. Should I call you
Ishte-mor Rojan?” he asked.

He was basically asking where he stood as my friend,
since it was inappropriate to call someone who wasn’t close by their first
name. Still, this tradition was not practiced by dragons, since dragons had no
family names. I shook my head as I took over, careful not to let Dylan fall. “I
gave up the Ishte name and the title of mor when I left the kingdom.” Mor was a
title for royalty and I shivered at the idea of being addressed as such. “I was
given the family name Yatunus, and I carry the title of so.”

“A wizard title? I know dragons are thought to be
extinct, but is calling yourself a wizard not disgraceful?”

Rojan huffed at his old friend’s ignorance, but I
still had control over my mouth. “I am as much a sago as a dragon. Rojan and I
are separate beings; Rojan is a dragon while I am a wizard. There is nothing
disgraceful about it. You can call him Rojan, but you lost his friendship with
your betrayal.”

We were shown to a small cavern and left alone. I
laid Dylan down on some furs and got food from the bag for the boys. Sammy took
his boots off and shook the sand out of them at the mouth of the cave, then did
the same with Ron’s boot.

“I don’t like Rojan’s friend,” Sammy said. “Marnd
needs someone to lead him, and the others do, too. Rojan shares your distaste
for leading others, because it makes him feel chained down. However, he is a
dragon, immortal and ancient, while you and Dad are so young. That has to make
him feel a kinship for his childhood friend. How hard would it be for you to
turn Dad down when he really needed you just because you didn’t want to do something?”

“They have Isera to lead them. Your father is
different because he needs a little bit of help sometimes, and he is always
willing to help me if I need it. Being king is like being a feeder for leeches.
Yes, your people do as you command, but they do it because they think they
must. Dylan and I are like brothers; we help each other and it’s not a
one-sided thing.”

“But Rojan’s people need him.”

“You are correct about Marnd, but not about Rojan.
Although Marnd is his kin, we are his clutch, which is always more important to
a dragon. No matter what pressure he is put under, his loyalties will always be
with us.”

“Like yours will always be with Dad?” Ron asked. I
nodded. “Can you tell us about Rojan’s mate?”

Rojan mentally clinched up. Twenty-six years wasn’t
enough time, I guess. He never really talked to me about her; I just got
glimpses of memories and stray thoughts. “Maybe another time.”

Dylan

I stood before all of the gods, Vretial not included.
Eleven of the most powerful beings in the universe formed a sort of half
circle, as imposing as all get out. Divina looked like she wanted to come to
me, but I knew the best move for her was to stand with her brothers. I needed
to be on their side, not draw her to mine. The seriousness that tainted their
expressions told me that the universe was once again in trouble.

“Hello, Dylan,” she started. “How are the boys?”

“They’re okay. What’s this about?”

“One of the Noquodi appears to be a traitor. Perhaps
more than one,” Araxi said.

He didn’t sound too concerned, so I figured there
must have been something bigger that was bothering them.

In the past four years, I learned quite a bit about
many of the gods. All of them were seen as aloof and arrogant to their
Guardians. This was an appropriate estimation, really. The gods were above
their people and the Guardians, who they truly felt were mere servants. When I
was born, I had the potential to be a threat, but the gods believed that the
universe would balance itself by killing me off. It didn’t.

Seven years ago, I helped Divina defeat Vretial and
the gods realized that I was here to stay. At the time however, I was only an
untrained Guardian. Then, five years ago, a simple mission to save a child from
an ancient demon led to a new path in my life. The universe was damaged due to
the imbalance from Vretial’s demise and while fighting to help it, I discovered
what the gods had been afraid of all my life; I had the ability to produce the
same magic as them.

Instead of killing me, the gods let me prove myself,
which I did. Furthermore, I was Divina’s mate; the one she chose to live her
immortal life with. The gods slowly changed their opinions towards me and seemed
to let me into their club.

Regivus, known for his fierceness, was the greatest
surprise to me; he was the first to offer his guidance and knowledge. He was
very good at teaching me to use my magic and even better at helping me make
wise decisions.

Araxi was very careless of his people. He made them
strong and planned to have little more to do with their fate. He was brash with
his Guardian, who I had not yet met. He had a rather gruesome mind sometimes,
and would sooner kill everyone than reason with them. It wasn’t that he was
vicious, it was just his way. Gods were not people, and they did not think like
us.

Enki and Madus were similar in their friendliness.
Madus was just a little bit odd, like his Guardian, but both of them spoke to
me as if I were one of them, not a Guardian. Neither of them wanted much to do
with their people and had made their people very self-reliant.

Avoli was by far the friendliest and always wanted to
keep the peace between his siblings. He was busy trying to build a new world, but
his brothers acted as if he were daft. The fact that he shrugged it off with a
smile made me agree, which was not good when I was regarding a god. This was
going to be my son’s god, and I wanted him to be able to stand his own. Perhaps
that was why Vretial had preyed on Avoli. As horrible as it made me, I didn’t
want my son to be the Guardian for someone who had already failed to protect
his world. Unfortunately, Divina often took up for him, which meant I couldn’t
bring my opinion to her.

Zer was pretty indecisive and agreed to whatever
anyone else said, but I never really got to know much about him. Azenoth was
more of a loner and only joined with the others to argue and offer suspicions
and judgment.

Roshne was always polite and treated me respectfully,
but was rarely open about himself around me. Mreje, god of Dayo, was quiet and
offered nothing that would give me an idea of what kind of god he was. I had
not met his Guardian, Rilryn, or Azenoth’s, named Rasik.

The Guardians seemed to each know little about their
own god, and nothing but rumors and generalities about the others. One thing
they were correct in, however, was that the gods would mistrust their Guardians
if there was any cause.

“What makes you think a Guardian is a traitor?” I
asked.

“Do you remember that Shiloh wanted to set up a
Noquodi council?” Enki asked. I nodded. “We were originally against it, but he
had some interesting points to make and we decided to let him attempt this. It
would have made communication between the Noquodi more efficient. Shiloh tried
to get ahold of several others, including you, but could not. That was the last
I heard of him.”

Madus took it from there. “Most of us have failed to
contact our Noquodi several times lately. Sometimes it would work, sometimes they
would hear nothing. Sometimes we cannot even locate them, as if they are
hiding. We must conclude that one or more of them has somehow learned to hide
from us.”

“We already know they can because Kiro has,” Erono
said.

“That was only when his book was missing. I doubt any
Guardian would willingly be cut off from his book like that,” I said.

“Most of us are very selective about what we share
with our Noquodi because they can be used as spies,” Erono said, shooting Zer a
quick glare. Divina wouldn’t meet her brothers’ eyes, since she was the one who
used Nano as an informant.

“The disappearance of the Noquodi is a problem
because if they are trying to hide from us, we must assume they are betraying
us,” Divina said. “The worst case scenario is that they have information we do
not, and at this time…”

“There might be a bigger threat than renegade
servants,” Mreje said.

“There always is. Let me guess; someone is trying to
open the gates,” I said. “Oh, wait. Vretial is back, and trying to open the
gates.”

Avoli looked at my mate. “Is he always this quick?”
he asked. Regivus snickered and Divina nodded.

“We don’t know he is back. We cannot find him or even
sense him anywhere, but there are some signs that the gates are being tampered
with and we can’t think of anyone else it could be. Well, except for you, and
we know you wouldn’t do that.”

“How do you know I wouldn’t try to open the gates?” I
asked.

They all stared at me like I was stupid. “Because you
had the opportunity already and did not take it,” Erono said.

That was all it took for them?

“How did you figure out Vretial is back?” Mreje
asked.

“You mean, other than him coming after my older son five
years ago? How about him coming after my younger son today?”

“What?!” Divina shrieked. “You said they were okay!”

“They are. Vretial didn’t do anything to Ron, he
just… warned him,” I said. Everyone had the same reaction on their face that I
felt.

“Warned him of what?”

“That we were walking into a dragon trap set for
Mordon. Why would he warn Ron?” I asked. I had a suspicion, but I didn’t want
to give them anything more to be paranoid about.

“He must want something from Ron. Or maybe from you,”
Zer said.

“Or he wants Ron to trust him,” Divina said. Figures
she would come to the same conclusion as I. “He might see Ron as a way to get
inside secrets.”

“That would suck for him,” I said. “He would never
get through to Ron; he would have to get Sammy on his side, and Sammy is being
protected by Ron. Sammy fears Vretial and would never let Ron listen to him.”

“But surely Vretial knows about the spell. If he
could get Sammy away from Ron, would he be able to get through to him?”

“If Vretial could somehow convince Sammy that he
could help Ron.” If Vretial saved Ron from something, then got them separated,
Sammy could possibly be swayed. “However, if Vretial caused Ron any stress,
Sammy would go on the warpath. Sammy nearly killed a man who held a knife to Ron’s
throat.”

Divina’s eyes glowed eerily and her energy stirred
with anger. “Who held a dagger to my baby’s throat?” she asked.

I hesitated. I had planned to go after the man when
my boys were away, but if I told her who it was, there would be nothing left to
punish. However, there was no way I could keep a mother from seeking revenge on
a man who held a knife on her child. I sent her an image of the dragon in
person form, and that was all she needed.

Communicating telepathically was one of the first
lessons I learned after helping Divina defeat Vretial. It was one of my more
difficult lessons, but when I discovered the natural ability to speak to Mordon
in my head, telepathy became a lot easier.

“So some information isn’t getting around and Shiloh
is missing. Sometimes communication isn’t getting through and sometimes
Guardians can’t be found. Do you have anyone in particular that you suspect?” I
asked.

“Shiloh, since he wanted to set up the council,” Enki
supplied.

“Ghidorah, because he has argued against my orders or
even flat out ignored me,” Araxi added.

“Nano, because of that human mate he has,” Zer said.

“Kiro,” Erono said gruffly, as if he dared me to
argue. “Because he has already successfully hidden himself from me.”

“On my world, I would like to add,” Azenoth said.
Azenoth and Erono were both extremely brash, angry, and suspicious. “But you
would never investigate him, would you?” he growled at me.

He was no grouchier than Edward when woken too early.

“Of course I would. How else would I clear his name?”
I asked. “Mordon and I will go around from planet to planet, checking up on the
Guardians. Is there any particular message you want me to spread?”

“Just have them each contact us when you find them.”

Divina had an idea. “If you suspect them of treason,
tell them to say the color orange. If you suspect they are clear and devoted,
tell them green. If you have no idea, say blue. That way we know what you are
sending us.”

“And if you want us to kill them immediately, tell
them to say red,” Roshne added. Divina and Araxi nodded their agreement.

“What if they say the wrong color?” I asked.

“Then they deserve what they get for being
incompetent,” Regivus said.

“If you see Vretial, call us. Don’t try to face him
on your own,” Divina said. Regivus rolled his eyes.

“I guess I’ll be off to work… One little problem,
though,” I said. “How secure is this place?” They glanced around as if they had
no idea what place I could possibly be talking about.

“This is the Land of the Gods; it is impenetrable.”

“That’s good. I mean, it sounds good. Impenetrable
sounds good. But what does it mean? Does it mean that no one can get in? Or
that no one can listen in?” I asked. Nobody answered.
Look at that; I have
the gods in silence.

“What are you getting at?” Divina asked me.

“Nobody realized how dark it’s gotten in here?” As
soon as I said it, the room lightened to its original condition. The worry in
Divina’s eyes gave me chills as I woke.

*          *          *

Mordon was asleep with the boys pressed against his
side. They liked warmth while they slept. I was on the other side of the chilly
cavern because I didn’t. The noise of my movement woke Mordon and I heard him
sniffing the air.

“How was the meeting?”
he asked.

“Not too good. How would you like to go on another
adventure?”

“The last time I said yes, I ended up having never
been born.”

“I saved you, though. Well, Divina did. But I
would have,”
I insisted. Divina had really hurt me by telling me she didn’t
think I could do it. Mordon would yell at me for attempting to go into the void
after him, but he never said out loud that he didn’t think I could have
succeeded.

“If you hadn’t been able to, Divina would have
left me there. What do we have to do now? Not another demon after a baby?”

“No, just dissention in the ranks. There are some
gaps in communication between the Guardian and the gods. The gods suspect
treason, so I have to go tag them good or bad.”

“That sounds boring. I think I’d prefer another
demon.”

“You could stay. You don’t have to help me.”

“Are you kidding? You would get eaten within two
days without me and Rojan. Now go to sleep.”

*          *          *

Before I became a Guardian, I had dreamt normally. I
missed it when I found out that Guardians had no dreams, but I was also
relieved I didn’t have nightmares anymore. It was a mystery to me and the other
gods that when my son was born, I started having them again. They were rare at
first, but as the years passed, they were increasingly frequent.

More and more lately, when Mordon and I were
together, my dreams would be a mixture of gods, dragons, fire, kings, and
childhood. When it first began, I couldn’t understand why I dreamed of flying,
but when Mordon told me he was having dreams of my wife that were far too
intimate, I realized that somehow our ability to speak to each other in our
minds crossed into our sleep. We were sharing dreams.

Unfortunately Mordon’s childhood was, for the most
part, as bad as mine. My sleep was shallow and mostly involved a major dragon
fight. The weird part was that I was Rojan and I was fighting Vretial… who was
also a dragon. We would both alternate between person and dragon, but he kept
trying to step on me.

*          *          *

I woke to the sound of huffing, hissing, and
snapping. I immediately assessed my condition, but couldn’t find anything
wrong, so I opened my eyes. Three feet from the mouth of the cave were two baby
dragons dueling. Mordon sat watching them with Sammy and Ron eating some bread
and fruit behind him. The boys were both fascinated by the dragons. If either
of the battling reptiles got too close, Mordon would snarl and they would back
off.

Mordon tried to hand me some fruit, but I didn’t take
it. “I’m not hungry,” I said. I wanted to get going, to get to the bottom of
this. There was no way a Guardian could be a traitor.