Children of the Dragon: Chapter 10

The main difference between Kyrix as a country and Agrentum could be described with the sky itself. There was something special when you crossed the threshold to the country itself. It started with the blanket of night that descended upon them. The sky was pitch black as if they traveled into another dimension. Hanging in the sky were three moons, two small white orbs where no celestial body had previously been, and a third massive one sinking over the horizon in the same position that the sun had once been.

The castle hanging against the side of the mountain was foreboding as they approached. And the interior matched the exterior. Dark stone walls lit by floating torches casting long shadows. Many eyes turned toward them as they walked, all of them a soft red but faces a mask of indifference.

They were escorted through the castle from the entrance at the base of the mountain and through many twisting staircases and long halls. The three teens looked at everything eyes wide. Well, Silva tried to pretend to be more regal with things but even she was at a loss for this new castle.

“It’s like ours but. Darker.” Sefirin said staring at one of the windows overlooking the pitch black sky.

“And sharper,” Sofie said reaching toward one of the spiked torches along the wall.

“Don’t touch anything,” Silva said sharply looking at her sister with her forced cool blue eyes. “It may look like Agrentum but we’re on foreign soil. There’s a process to these things. And we don’t want to cause trouble for una back home.”

“Right.” Sofie nodded quickly and hurried forward to stand beside her. They all looked at their parents who were walking at the head of the line while Olivier brought up the rear.

“Ease up a little o’lela,” Olivier said gently. “All of the kingdoms are at peace with one another. They aren’t our enemies.”

“No we aren’t but we aren’t exactly friendly either,” Silva said glancing at Haseo in front of them.

Haseo stopped in front of a massive archway with a shimmering substance in front of them. It was like a reflection on the surface of the water. They could see themselves in it, moving as they did except for one crucial difference. Their faces were blank. Just smooth patches of skin in the mirror.

Sefirin touched his face while staring at the mirror and his features were still there but it was still unsettling. He saw his sisters doing the same and then looked at his parents who were talking to Haseo.

“They want to talk to you alone Nero. The rest of you stay here,” Haseo motioned behind him to benches that seemed to have just appeared out of nowhere.

“Lily comes with me,” Nero said and didn’t sound like he’d back off.”

Letting out an annoyed sound Haseo nodded, “They expected something like that. Hell I did too. Fine. But just you two. No more.”

“Not even for me, the actual standing queen of Agrentum?” Olivier asked raising an eyebrow.

Haseo lowered his glasses and rubbed his face, “This isn’t a visit that requires royalty. This is something personal.”

“Personal?” Olivier glanced at Nero who was already shrugging. “The things you get into.”

“No idea what I did,” Nero said and looked at the wall in front of him. “Let’s go.”

They both stepped forward and felt the veil wash over them like a gentle waterfall. The sensation faded and what they were in was more like a bedroom than a throne room. There was a large circular cough with red throw pillows scattered across it.

There weren’t windows against the walls, instead high up against the ceiling letting in the moonlight. Aside the couch there were two thrones, slightly elevated off the ground. The throne was gilded gold with plush leather. They could loosely hear the soft sounds of wings above their heads.

On the couch itself were the pair of kings of Kyrix. They were both tall and lanky creatures, all legs and torso. They were wearing similar things, one with black tight pants and a frilly white shirt while the other had black pants and a tighter blue shirt. Both of them had pale skin like snow and gleaming red eyes. The one in the white shirt had long silky red hair and easy gentle features. The other’s hair was much shorter cut and black with sharp eyes and an unamused scowl on his face. Both were in their own way disarmingly beautiful. A fact that always made Nero and Lily blush just being in their presence.

The black haired man rolled over slowly in the arms of the other and looked at the pair of them, “Ah yes. Nero and Lily Niess. It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken to you both. How is the faerie princess doing these days?”

“Dawn is doing well your majesty,” Lily replied. “As is Agrentum.”

“What is the reason that you wished to speak to me?” Nero asked putting his hands in his pocket.

“Straight to the point. That’s familiar,” the other asked. “Just not from you.”

“I take on traits of my better halves Joseph,” Nero smirked.

He flashed fang in a minor snarl but a pale hand turned him to look down at him. “Patience Jojo. We do not want to cause a scene.”

“He’s disrespectful Stefan.”

“He is simply himself. Something I value.”

“Just because Reditus owes him a debt does not give him free rein to enter our territory and cause the damage he’s caused.”

“Hey we didn’t cause that,” Nero glared at Joseph and the black haired king glared back at him.

“It’s hard to believe that given the evidence of what’s happened,” he retaliated. “You come into our territory. One of our villages has come under attack from a dragon. A problem that we have never had up until this point. A problem that has solely been yours since the beginning.”

Nero glowered at them and before he could say something Lily took a step forward. “King Joseph I understand your concern and I understand how things look. But we sent advance word of our arrival and the nature of it.”

“We did receive the message,” Stefan sat up slowly he wrapped his arms around his chest and put his chin against his shoulder. “You and your children were arriving with the knowledge that no other had right now. Involving these strange portals and the dragons in our territory.”

“And as you’ve seen we were not lying about that,” Nero said quickly. “There are over three dragons on your doorstep. Two of them even have riders.”

“Yes we have eyes Nero,” Joseph said curtly and Stefan turned his head slowly but Joseph pulled back gently focusing his red eyes on them. “But what we also know is that you know more than you’ve told us. What is the red dragon doing here with no master? Why was that village destroyed? What are you hiding? You will answer our questions.”

Stefan looked at them and nodded slowly, “I would have worded it better but yes. Joseph is right. You will answer our questions or we will have to ask you to leave Kyrix. And that does not include the red dragon.”

Nero’s eyes widened, “What? That dragon is an innocent.”

“It’s a dangerous creature with blood on its hands. It will be dealt with by our decree unless you can give us a reason otherwise,” Stefan told him.

Lily looked at him and said softly, “Nero. We have to explain it to them. There’s no reason to keep them in the dark.”

“I know,” he closed his eyes slowly and took a steadying breath. He looked at the pair of kings and shuddered under their gaze. Like he was prey to them. But he turned his eyes to their draconic coloring and saw them for what they were. Gaunt, wirey haired, sunken eyed ancient creatures.

Vampires.

“Let me start from the beginning your majesties. Almost twenty years ago my family was attacked by a spell caster named Daze. He came after me specifically to take back the sword of ten souls, the sword I used in the war against the nil.”

“I remember that legendary blade in times past,” Stefan said. “It was beyond powerful. Continue.”

Nero nodded, “Daze dropped off our radar for all these years until now. Recently we’ve learned that Daze’s actions have stirred up the magic that pervades Reditus. Creating rifts that have connected our country with the land of dragons. Yours isn’t the only land to have this happen. It’s just the first and only one for us to be directly involved.

“When we arrived, we were attacked again by Daze. He’s made his intentions clear. He is hunting for the souls of a dragon rider. What he wants, I don’t know yet. But from how he threatened my daughter the portals that are allowing dragons to traverse their territories may be the first step. I think he wants to force another rider to be born so that he may hunt them and take the power of that bond.”

The vampire kings stared at him for a long time and then looked at one another. There was something between them, a shared thought in the caress of their fingers, the way their eyes flitted across one another. Nero could barely hear the hushed whispers of what they were saying.

Finally, Joseph seemed to be suggesting something but whatever it was it was enough to bring out a dark and angry face from Stefan. Unperturbed Joseph continued talking and calmed down the normally amicable vampire but the damage was done to a degree. Joseph looked back toward them as Stefan slid out of his arms.

Joseph asked, “Does the name Arkoria or Octavia mean anything to you?”

“Arkoria yes. Octavia no,” Lily said softly. “That’s the land adjacent to us correct? The place where Daze was born.”

“Indeed,” Joseph nodded slowly and glanced at Stefan who was still leaning away from them. He scowled hard and glared at Nero. He whispered in a language foreign to them both and a small burst of red light flew from his index finger as he raised it.

Nero and Lily both flinched, “What the hell was that?”

“What I’m about to tell you does not leave this room. Is that clear? If you utter it to another living creature, you will feel pain like nothing else you’ve experienced. You may tell your wife and no one else. Are we clear?”

Lily and Nero exchanged glances with one another shocked by the king’s sudden words. Even more so by the promise he was asking of them. They met one another’s eyes and Lily tilted her head while Nero shrugged.

“We swear,” Nero said.

“We swear,” Lily echoed.

Joseph looked at them with his crimson eyes narrowed until he was satisfied. He turned to look at Stefan again and finally said, “Before I was the king of Kyrix alongside Stefan, I was the husband of a woman named Octavia. Though to call her a woman is to do a disservice to who she truly is. She was the Queen of a kingdom that rivals our own with a people very similar to ours.

“I left Arkoria and my family for many reasons that I need not explain to you two but I bring it up because Daze. Daze is a man that shouldn’t exist in this time. He caused trouble centuries ago. Before any of you should have even known his name. Before his name even was Daze.”

“You came from Arkoria?” Nero asked his eyes wide. “And you knew Daze?”

“I fought Daze. After his defeat at the hands of Heinial.”

“Heinial?”

“The name of the Father of the Sanctum. He may not tell his so called ‘children’ his name but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it. And the chip on Daze’s shoulder from him is massive. He’s looking for revenge but how do you enact revenge on a God?”

“I have no idea,” Nero said perfectly fine admitting this had gone over his head.

Joseph let out a disgusted sound but Lily picked up for her husband. “Destroy what the God has built.”

“I always knew you were the intelligent one. You and the faerie princess. How you fell in love with him is something I can’t fathom.”

“Please refrain from insulting my husband in my presence your majesty.”

Joseph clucked his tongue and Stefan finally turned back to him slowly putting a hand on his chest, “A simple request that I am sure you can fulfill.”

Joseph turned toward him and dragged his finger across his jawline and his eye softened for a moment as he nodded, “For you yes.”

Stefan turned toward them both and motioned to one of the windows above their heads, “Daze is dangerous. But my husband and I can conceal our home from him. If a dragon rider awakens in our land, we still find and protect them. But If you think a dragon and rider’s soul are the only fuel that he seeks you are mistaken. There are beings more powerful than riders but not quite Gods and they are ripe for Daze to harvest.”

With that bit of cryptic messaging, the pair of them were dismissed from the chamber of the kings with their oath still intact. Neither really knew how much they could divulge to their children so they told them the very abbreviated versions.

Without much hindrance, they were allowed to part ways. The red dragon, despite the damage he had caused, was allowed to return with Nero and his family. The kings sighted that removing a dragon of his size would be too much hassle with repairs already on their plate. And the red dragon didn’t complain about potentially avoiding death.

With nothing left to do here in the cold land of the north, they started the journey back. It was the same couple days of flying through with twice the number of flying beings. The moment they arrived in Reditus they split up, Nero and Lily going straight to Dawn along with Silver and the red dragon. Sefirin went back to school while Silva and Sofie remained in the castle.

Emeralda flew to find a clearing to sleep in and was told to sleep properly in a bed. She complained but her dragon was not going to hear it. Silva and she would return to their dorms in the morning and for now, would sleep in their old rooms. So she was led back to her room by her sister and ended up collapsing in the bed. And the moment her head hit the pillow she felt like she’d hit solid ground instead.

She blinked rapidly and glanced around. Lifting her head up slowly she squinted at the bright white light all around her. She pressed a hand against the ground and watched as it ripple outward like water. She got to her feet slowly and turned back and forth.

She was in an empty white void, each step she took making another ripple. The sky had floating shapes hanging around it. Cubes, diamonds, and spheres. All a faded grey. She walked and marveled at her new surroundings but started to realize quickly that she’d been walking for some time and had gotten not much of anywhere.

“You’re much younger than I anticipated you being. Though perhaps that is a good thing.”

Sofie jumped and spun around facing the owner of the voice but was shocked to see that she was no longer alone. There was a woman there with her now. A woman in a long black dress, with a grey shawl around her shoulders, and a beaded black veil across her face stood. She had dark brown skin and through the veil, Sofie could see black eyes that almost bored into her.

Sofie took a stumbling step back feeling frozen to the spot. This strange woman seemed to fill her vision despite not being that much taller than her mother. The woman took a step forward raising both her hands and reaching out to her. She touched Sofie’s cheeks tilting her head up slowly and looked down at her.

“So you are the one he was hunting? A victim of circumstance instead of power I’d believe. But I’ve been surprised many times by your kind. Alpha always told me to never underestimate humanity despite never being a part of them. I never understand the allure.”

Sofie finally shouted and pushed herself away, falling down against the ground. She crawled away getting to her feet quickly. “Who? Who are you!”

“That’s a rude question to ask. Then again, the humans that got this far away don’t really remember their roots much either. And I can’t blame them. We weren’t the most attentive mothers to some of our children.”

“What are you talking about? Where are we?” she said trying to get her voice under control her eyes shifting to yellow as she tried to force them back to blue.

She looked closely at Sofie her eyes widening behind the veil. She appeared in front of her again, keeping a hand on her head to keep her still, and looked into her eyes. The messy color of them finally turned fully and became a deep sickly yellow.

“Vampires. The wulves. Merfolk. Dragons. And then there’s you. Faerie. Not quite fully faerie but the blood is in you. I should have paid more attention to the lands beyond early Arkoria.”

The woman stared at Sofie and saw her fear, “You’re trembling. Poor thing.” She turned to the area they were in and snapped her fingers. The area flashed a bright white and suddenly they were in a bedroom. It looked like her room except a lot whiter.

She started to take a step back and let out a soft scream as she fell back against her bed. It bounced back and she lay against it. The woman walked away toward one of the dressers and while her back was turned it let Sofie catch her breath and try to figure out where she was. She just remembered being in bed, asleep, when suddenly she was here.

“Omega.”

Sofie blinked quickly, startled, and looked at the woman. “What?”

“You may refer to me as Omega,” she said plainly. “That is the name I chose. It is what my sister refers to me as and what I allow my children to call me. Now what is yours?”

She blinked rapidly, turning her head to the side, and finally said, “Sofie. Sofia but I prefer Sofie.”

“Sofie,” she smiled turning to her. “Cute.”

“Where are we?”

“My own dimension that I share with my sister Alpha and my children,” she said. “I don’t imagine our names mean much to you. A mother will do anything to defend and protect her children. But we’ve been poor mothers to you all. And yet here I am asking you for help.”

“Me? What can I do? I’m not very talented. Or powerful as a spellcaster.”

“Perhaps but you are a dragon rider. And from what I can tell you have heart. And that’s more important.” She turned around to face her. “Far away from here is the country of Nerodala. There resides the Zodiac.” As she spoke twelve symbols appeared on her hands.

“Nerodala? The Zodiac?”

She sighed, “You wouldn’t know of them yet. They would like you greatly. They are good children but they are in danger.” The symbols disappeared and in their place manifested Daze. A visage she’d only seen once but already haunted her. “He failed in attempting to hunt you all. So he has turned his sights elsewhere. They will not be able to stop him on their own. They’ll need your help.”

“Me? Why me? Why not daddy or una? Or even my sister or brother.”

“Because the stars don’t lie little one. And the stars have a great destiny set in stone for you.”

“The stars? A destiny?” she repeated shaking her head back and forth using the bed to stand up properly. “What are you talking about?”

Omega chuckled softly as the room began to fall apart one piece of furniture and ceiling at a time. Sofie began to panic but Omega chuckled looking at her the entire. “You’ll understand soon enough child. For now, remember my words. Come to Nerodala. The Zodiac need you.”

“What? Wait? I don’t understand!”

But a piece of the ceiling collapsed above her head, covering her vision. She reached out to the woman but another piece of the block came down covering her entirely and everything went dark.