Dragon Talons (Indigo Apocalypse Book I)

Chapter Twenty-Eight: I'm Caught Playing Wolves

KITANA:
I ran the brush through my hair, letting it fall in long waves down my back before setting it into a ponytail. I looked out the window, darkness reigned unchecked. Sighing heavily, I turne toward the cabin door. Dracons were making their way after a few hours of uneasy sleep. Urgency was on everyone's mind, urgency, and fear. No matter what we did, no matter how we fought, the Dark Queen was awake, and was setting her armies, even now, on the twenty-four plains of existence over the indigo world. I took another breath, unable to think straight. I, along with the others wouldn't be staying, what was the point. We were returning to our own world, to Earth, and preparing the world for a war against demons and monsters, lead by a humungous spider the size of Utah. Seeka and Theia were going to the Molten Kingdom to tell their father what happened, the Queen's betrayal, and gather their armies to fight. It was impossible, it was useless, but what was the point, we had to fight, Huntor and Sydney died protecting us, and we wouldn't let him down. Neither of them. "Ah, still moping huh, Wolfy?" I straightened, and turned slowly. Audrey was in a mirror, her dracon form out of sight. "What do you want Audrey? Can't you see I'm busy." A pause. "Of course not." I muttered. "Well, I just appeared to tell you Kupoa said his family were going to fight as well." Anger flooded me and I snarled, "You told him." Audrey had the good sense to wince and shift a little in the mirror. "Well, I exactly couldn't keep it to myself, I had to tell someone." "This is why you were demoted from Huntor's second—"Hey hey, I did what I thought I had to—"And got demoted for it. Point is girl you're still a loose canon, even after death and rebirth, you're still off the rails." "Bite me bitch." "Gladly, right in that arrogant mouth where I'll rip that tongue out and make you eat it." Instead of wincing, she sneered.
    I shrugged and said, "You're nothing but a nuisance, to Huntor, Reina, everyone, I don't know why they brought you back." "Maybe because I'm puissant in arms." I laughed. "Do you even know what that means?" "Powerful." She said simply. I sighed. "Why are you here Audrey? Why do you keep making an appearance huh?" "Maybe because I'm simply bored and miss my wolf friend." "Audrey, we were never friends. You always looked down on me, then when you found out I was more powerful than you you still looked down on me." "Yeah well." She tugged at her hair. "He misses me, I hoped that I'd tell him I missed him too." I stared at her, mouth agape. Then, "What the hell? You really thought you'd just keep going mirror to mirror till you found him in the underworld?" "Kinda sorta." She said. I slapped my forehead, hard. "You are so beyond stupid Audrey, seriously. Opening a portal with a mirror into the indigo world is one thing, but into death, have I told you nothing?" "Yep." She replied. I growled. "But it doesn't matter because I couldn't find him anyway." "Or because he didn't wanna be found." "You know, he has or, had, all that power but he never used it to find me, I waited, waited for him to use his power to find me, or use you to find me, but nope, he just morns mee and suffers." "You are well aware that Huntor doesn't like breaking the rules of nature easily. He won't just go around summoning anyone he wants without consequences or major consideration." "You know, you just keep piling on the excuses Kitana." I snarled. Audrey held up her hands. "Ok ok ok fine, but still, you guys should've told us about this huge spider's rise and that the sun would set and never rise again. Told us that there was some major war going on, I swear, if Kupoa didn't—"Wait, you told Kupoa?" I asked. Audrey winced. "Well, I, might have, kinda sorta told him."
    I snarled harshly. "What in Thanatos's name were you thinking?" "He'd have found out anyways." Audrey said defensively, her voice rising in pitch. "He was asking questions and you know how he gets. When he heard Briella was there and not on Earth, I had to tell him the rest. It's not my fault." She shot out defensively, ever Audrey to the last breath. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone kid, you were suppose to keep your big mouth shut. Don't tell me Hecate—"No. Ironically she was pissed at me too for telling Kupoa, but what was I suppose to do—"Try keeping your word for once child, try putting the family ahead of your own selfishness." Audrey spewed. "I, what, you arrogant bitch, I, don't, no, you." As I said, Audrey to the last. I turned away. "Great, now not only will he worry about his mate, but he'll hunt her down and try to make his way here." "He can't, he doesn't know where the hell you guys are, and neither do I." "Good, because if you told him that, I'd kill you myself." She sneered again. "You can try." "Ha," I laughed. "You may be a dracon now girl, but you neither know how to use that body nor control it, hence why I didn't bring you here, and for more than one good reason." "Oh yeah, just talk about every reason why you couldn't bring me along, I could've helped, I could've killed some of those things—"Audrey, this is not a battle for you, you need to train, to get use to your new body, to learn to harness your powers. You aren't human anymore, or half human, you're a dracon now, and therefore, need to learn how to be one." She let out a snarl. "Now, get the hell out of the mirror, I have to go get the others and prepare to use the damned shadows to travel back home. I—" I paused as a commotion rose like wildfire, and I heard exclamations and shouted. Excited shouts, as if something good was happening. Audrey tilted her head, "What's that?" "You know," I said, thinking fast. "I wish you'd use the iPhones instead of mirrors." "But where's the fun in that?" I waited silently. "Ok ok ok, no more mirror use, fine fine fine." She honestly sounded like a petulant child at that point, irritated she had to share her favorite toy. "I don't know how Huntor could stand you as long as he did." I sighed, then went still as I heard something, heard, him. "No, not possible." Audrey said. "But it is." I whispered. I moved to the door, and it flew open by telekinesis. Camile shouted, "KITANA, GET YOUR WEREWOLF ASS OUT OF THAT BED. STOP HAVING SEX WITH KENDRA AND GET OUT HERE." I winced as Kendra laughed. Audrey quirked her eyebrow. "I'm glad I didn't appear while you had your fingers in you—"Audrey." I said quietly. "Ok ok." She said. Then, in the firelight that flickered, I saw them. Sydney and Huntor were walking this way, Huntor's hair long and braided, hands clasped. Camille, Briella, Wenzi Sarah, Joy and Luna, and the rest were all around them, flocking like dragons. I was about to throw myself out there, when I remembered Audrey. "Get out of here." I said hurriedly. "No, he needs to know." "Yes he does." I said, "But not now." "Yes now." She countered. "No, go." "I'm staying Kitana." "Audrey, if you don't, I swear I'll make you pay." "Go ahead." She crossed her arms and I snarled to myself before Huntor stepped closer to the cabin. My mouth fell open in surprise.
    Huntor and Sydney looked different. They moved, different. They walked with fluid grace, like they were moving through water. I remembered the grace Huntor started walking with back before the end of the keeper war, but this was different, it was like Seeka and Theia, like every move was a calculated deadly thing. Then there was the horns. Sydney and Huntor had horns on their heads. Two horns, one on either side, curving from their hairline to protrude over the backs of their heads a few inches. Serrated with inch long teeth. Huntor's were sapphire blue, while Sydney's were pitch black. They walked up the steps to the cabin and my emotions got the better of me. I screamed, quite indignantly, and threw myself into his arms. He squeezed me tight, but oh wait, it gets better, I grabbed his face with both hands, and, kissed, him. My fangs slid out of their own accord, and nipped his bottom lip. Oh but wait, it still gets better. My tongue, of it's own accord, slid out and pressed against his lips, swirling around and around them. Oh but wait, it still gets better. As I kissed him, all I could think was, "Wow, just, wow, woah, woah, woah, if I wasn't as bent as a circle, I'd so have gone for Huntor." But oh wait, it still gets better. Camille wolf whistled and said, "Holy fuck, holy fuck, HOLY FUCK, I can't wait to tell Ken this." Finally, I pulled away, breathing heavily. Huntor stared at me, and another thing hit me, he made eye contact with me, as if he could truly see mee with that one eye. Then, he said, "I hope Kendra won't kill me or you for that." "If I'm still debating on it." Kendra said. But she was smiling. "I missed you." "I've been getting that a lot." Huntor said. He gave me one more squeeze and let me go. I turned to Sydney, who's green eyes were frozen chips of ice. I froze, and saw the fury, the bone deep rage in those eyes. Sydney wasn't just pissed, she was raving mad. "Sydney?" I asked hesitantly. I never before was afraid of the girl. She was gentle, sweet, had bad tempers, sure, and could loose it, but she was gentle. But this wasn't that Sydney. This Sydney was furious of someone else's hands on her mate, raving mad. Then the ice warmed and she wrapped me in a hard hug. "Kitana." She said, resting her head on my shoulder. I relaxed and pulled them in the cabin. Huntor told us how he and Sydney landed in the waiting place, and how he and her met Draco and Draconna. "Freezing Dracon Talons." Theia murmured. "The first dracons." "Yeah, and they were spitting images of us, or, more like, we were spitting images of them." Huntor said. Then said the full prophecy. "Well now, that explains several things." Wenzi said. "Yeah," Huntor said, Sydney's head on his shoulder, his fingers combing through her hair absently. "It explains why we died, and that we were suppose to be reborn." "And the symbols on your foreheads." Sarah wanted to know. "Abbreviations of the name Sun Dragons. The Greek letters D and A." He used a talon and carved them into the armrest of the sofa. "You do realize," Decre said. "That there haven't been sun dragons for millennia?" Huntor nodded. "That's what they said. That in these dark times, sun dragons were chosen to light the dark."
    "Like the Egyptian god Amun-Ra, or, just Ra." Camille said. "First off," Briella said. "I'm surprised you know about that, about him." "I know things." Camille snapped loudly. "I know many things." "Anyway." Huntor cut in. "Due to her rise, she literally eclipsed the sun, for good. We, together, have the power to stop her and bring balance. But first, we have to save the twenty-four plains." "Indigo Apocalypse." Zavala said quietly. Since finding out Huntor was alive, and with Sydney, Zavala was actually very calm. She sat closest to him, as if she were his body guard. Huntor nodded. "It means our people, indigos of all kinds going to war against darkness. To stop the Queen before she hits Earth." "If she does that," Qudorzo said. "She'll have the numbers and the strength to rule the indigo world and Earth. "No human can face her." I said. "Short of blowing spiders up, they have no fire power, no streength against that. They don't have the super strength of the indigo, nor to avoid getting slaughtered." "Which is why we have to stop her before she can get that far." "Ok," Wenzi said. "Say we do stop her, stop her from taking the plains, what if she hits Earth and it's not enough, what if she stays there and takes the planet?" "Then we do what we have to." Sydney said. "We fight." Huntor added. "So, we must head back to the Snow Kingdom capital. Go there to head her army off, how much time do you estimate we have—"Five hours and thirty-two minutes." Sydney said. "You sound sure." Briella noted. "Another gift from them. We can tell time in any world, and be able to judge when a threat is arriving somewhere." "That's awesome." Camille breathed. "Will I be going?" Silence reigned after Audrey's words. I had completely forgotten she was there, listening with wrapped attention. But now everyone looked around at the mirror, everyone, including Huntor. "Holy shit." Ken whispered. Huntor rose slowly, Sydney raising her head, confusion on her face. Huntor approached the mirror and stared into it, as if he saw her, could truly see her. "Audrey Kylie?" He asked in a murmur. She gave a babyish wave. "Hi, uh, surprise." "Sarah," Huntor said calmly, too, calmly. "Would you please get everyone ready to leave, I'd like a few minutes with Kitana and Briella." My heart froze when he said my name. Seeing Briella's terrified face, I knew she felt it too. Huntor slowly turned toward us, and his eye was frozen, frozen, with ice cold rage. Sarah rose and ushered everyone out. Camille tried arguing, but felt the temperature drop. She hurried out, and the door closed gently. Sydney sat, her head in her hands, just like Huntor.
    Huntor just stood in front of the mirror, his face cold, void. "How long?" His voice was so quiet it made me shiver. "For a few weeks now." Audrey supplied quietly. "Since the day you left." I clarified. Huntor's face snapped to me and his eye was frozen with ire. I quelled under that look. "So, you're telling me," He said calmly. "That all this time, all this time, Audrey was alive? That they brought her back? That, you didn't text me, or call, saying she was alive? Either of you?" "I told her you should've known from the start." Audrey said. "Audrey Magdalena Kylie," Huntor said softly. "Shut up, I didn't ask you." Audrey went silent. I never knew she even had a middle name, let alone the fact Huntor knew it. "We, well, I thought that if you knew, it would impede you, somehow." He just stared at me, into me, and I wilted, bowing my head under that frozen stare. I saw Briella wilt too, though his gaze wasn't on her. Sydney was the only one who wasn't effected. Finally, Huntor looked at Audrey. "You're a dracon now." He said. "How do you know," Audrey paused. "Of course you know that." "From what I can tell." He said. "You haven't changed a bit." "Is that a good thing, or bad thing?" "Depends on who you're asking. He said dismissively. "Hey." Audrey protested, but Huntor returned his attention to us. "Who else?" "Hecate." I said. He just stared at me, then shrugged and said, "No one knows when we'll be home, we have to stop this Queen. I'd suggest, Kylie, that you do whatever you can to protect the new Symbol." "I will." She whined. "Those, are my orders. Now go." Without hesitation, Audrey waved her hand and vanished from the mirror. Huntor turned back to me and said, "We leave soon, however, I'm very very furious with you Kitana, and you Briella." Then he walked to the door, Sydney rising to leave. They held hands as the door opened, and, they, walked, out.