Dragon Talons (Indigo Apocalypse Book I)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: I Wanna Drown Someone On Land

SARAH:
    When Huntor and Sydney left the cabin, Briella and Kitana not in toe, I figured to bounce up to his side, and give him some innocent affection. "So, big brother, do you realize just how much I missed you?" He frowned. "Big brother?" "Yeah, you are older than I am, I'm seventeen by now, but I'm certain you've gotta be nineteen, maybe eighteen." He froze, as if he truly forgot. "My birthday passed twice now, and I never gave it a second thought." "Well you should care, especially in our professions. Every year someone's alive matters." He held out his other hand, and I grasped it. I felt the warmth, felt the love and affection he just couldn't hide from me. I was loved, I was loved by my brother, my lover, my friends, everyone who mattered. We walked aimlessly, three friends wandering in the dark. Then, a light went off in my head, but before I could ask, I looked at his arm, and noticed a slit in the material, in the bracer, where his fin-like knife usually were. 'Huh, Huntor, I never thought there was a slit in your armor." "Huh?" He asked. I pointed it out, placing his other hand over it. "Hmm, usually there was never one there." "And the symbols, the bow and trident cross that usually sits on the backs of the bracers to release the blades isn't glowing." He frowned, and touched it, nothing happened. Again he frowned; and touched it again. Nothing happened, "What in the great skies of Olympus." Then he flexed his wrist. It was the smallest of movements, but a long thing serrated sapphire fin shot out, glistening like Ragni spider silk. Rainbows glittered all along it's edges in the light of the many fires that were burning, courtesy of Wenzi, and along the two and a half inch spikes along it's edge. "I wonder if—" he flexed his other wrist; at the same time, Sydney moved away. Another eighteen inch long sapphire fin shot out, just like his knives. "Ok, now that's cool." He noted. Sydney said, "I wonder if I—" she too flexed her wrists ever so slightly, and just like on Huntor, fins shot out of her forearms, except her's were diamond black, and glittered as if coated in Ragni silk. They shared a primal dauntless look, then retracted their fins. He faced me again. "Now then, you were saying?" "Oh, uh, oh yeah, Huntor, there's someone you should—"Arachne." He said softly. "I hate it when you can just pull answers out of the air. It's no fun for us dramatic people." "Gets the job done though." "Bite me." "Looks like that's becoming a thing." Sydney noted. I dragged them over to a cabin further away from the others, dracons stood guard outside, where she couldn't see them. I gently knocked, and a high shy voice said, "Enter." I opened the door, and saw her. She sat in a corner, staring at a sofa as if she never seen it before. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she hadn't. Shee turned her head toward us, and her depthless black eyes glowed with recognition as they landed on Huntor and Sydney, recognition, and, fear. "You're alive." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of shock. Huntor nodded. "So it seems."
    She threw herself against the wall, her hands up. A silk web line shot out from her wrist and hit the wall by my head. "Hey hey," I chastised gently. "None of that Arachne." "They'll kill me, they want to kill me." She yelled, fear in her face. "No we don't." Huntor said, so gently even I relaxed. "We just wanna talk to you." He stepped toward her, easily avoiding the web lines as they shot out reflexively. He paused, six feet away, and, knelt. "Arachne is your name, right?" She nodded. "Arachnid's your brother?" Tears filled those black eyes. "Yes." She whispered. Huntor looked toward me. "I have a sister, well, had one." Shee frowned. "You did?" "Yes, and, I had a brother as well." "What happened?" She asked reflexively. "My brother died when I was, verry young. Younger than you are, very small." Her eyes shown with more tears, and they spilled. "Arachnid died, he was, he was, he was, he, he, they killed him." "I'm sorry." Huntor said gently. Tears fell from the girl's eyes, those horrifying black eyes. Then, Sydney moved closer, and sat by Huntor. "My name is Sydney." She said. "I know what you've been through." "How?" Arachne asked. "Because I went through it too. I was created specifically to host you're, to host the Dark Queen." "Your mother," was what she'd been about to say. Arachne stared at Sydney, her eyes never blinking. Sydney nodded. "Dargonue, he specifically created me to host the Dark Queen's essence, she needed someone powerful, and I was born for her." "But, but, but—"But I'm not hosting her, nor under her control." Arachne's face was blank, better blank than filled with terror and tears. "We can help you," Sydney said. "I, can help you. I know people, people who can help and take care of you, I know a place where you can call home, be safe, and feel loved."
    "Where, who—"You'll meet people like us." Huntor cut in. "People with dark pasts, people who lost everything, and who wanted to live in an environment where they can feel love and affection, and be protected." He glanced at me, as if emphasizing his point. Arachne looked over, spotting me. "It's true then. The place you told me about, you, and, and her." I nodded. "Who else told you?" Sydney asked, so gently that I truly wondered what happened to her, what changed her so quickly. "Death." Arachne said in a voice barely over a whisper. "Kitana." I supplied. I realized I needn't have said anything. Of course Huntor knew who she meant. He wasn't slow or stupid, unlike a certain blonde. Huntor asked, "Would you be alright with going there, with people I personally trust?" She ran her fingers over her wrists, staring hard at the three slits there. "Yes." She said softly. Huntor rose swiftly, Sydney rising with him. "Why can't I go with you?" Arachne asked suddenly. "Because where we're going, there will bee more death, more people, or, creatures dying, and I want to keep you safe." A tear slid down Arachne's face, and she timidly reached out. Huntor gripped her fingers tightly. "Trust me, we will protect you." She nodded. "Because I need you both back home right now." Huntor snapped. He, Leia, and Camille stood in a small group, Camille emphatically arguing with him, waving her hands dramatically and her voice rising in pitch. "I don't wanna go back." She whined. "I wanna fight, wanna go back with you and fight. Leia can take her back." Leia, wisely, didn't say anything. Huntor sighed, "Camille, I don't have the time to argue with you on this. You're going home with Leia, and will personally protect Arachne." Camille snarled, swore viciously, stomped her feet. Huntor observed in silence and I wondered if the girl would throw a true temper tantrum. But after a few more minutes of stomping, she said, "Fine." Leia let out a sigh of relief, as if she was worried Huntor and Camille would get into it, physically. A fight between Huntor, and Camille, and my money would so be on Huntor. Leia opened a portal, and I asked, "How the hell did you find us in the Kingdom? You never answered that." Leia looked back, those lovely green eyes calm. "I don't honestly know, Kimopoleia found you." Witth that, they stepped through the portal, a hand on Arachne's shoulders.
    When they were gone, Huntor turned to the assembled dracon warriors. "We don't have a lot of time left, Kitana, can you use the shadows to travel directly into the castle courtyard?" "Yes." She said. He nodded. "Good, ok, everyone else, we cannot take you all, but, if you fly hard, you'll get there in time." "We should be able to." Decre declared, who'd have thought the Head's name was Decre, practically human compared to Quedesha and Pheequa. Huntor gestured, and we all surrounded him, I reached for Joy's fingers. Her eyes were shadowed, and, as I looked more closely, I saw a bit of pain there. Before I could ask, she turned away. Huntor turned to Decre and the others, who were preparing to fly. "We'll get there, and assess the situation, and then, take out whoever currently has the castle in their grasp. Then, once you get there, we come up with a game plan." "Yes." Decre said. Huntor turned to Kitana. She nodded, and I saw her squeeze Sydney's fingers. Then, she took a step forward, and we were dragged through shadows, black, gray, and white mist, dragged, through death. Then, we were in the courtyard with the castle, superjacent above the city. Those horrifying seven towers glinted strangely in the darkness, as if evil eyes were smiling down at the city, at the capital. For a moment, everything was quiet, for a momeent, everything was peaceful. We stood on the black gravel pathway leading straight for the castle's main entrance. On either side of the avenue, were pathways into gardens, statuaries, and down to the pitch where decre's men and women trained. I glanced behind us, and, saw nothing, no waiting guards, no warriors, no Ragni Di Morte. Then I looked ahead. In the main entryway, were several guards with swords, fans, and spears aimed. High above, archers waited with bows aimed. But when I glanced at Huntor, he merely sighed and said with derision, "Sometimes, people annoy me." He dropped Briella's hand, and with Sydney's in his grip, walked purposefully to the doors. The archer's straightened, their bows groaning, arrows aimed.
"Really, Vileneequi?" He shouted to the castle. "You really prepared a homecoming present for me, now, do I get to open it, or, slaughter it?" My stomach jittered with sexual excitement. Huntor was vicious, bloodthirsty, completely sexy. Then I remembered Sydney, and that heat cooled. "I'm my own person." I thought. "Not Khione's whore, not a necrophiliac, I'm who I wanna be." I followed Huntor and Sydney, Wenzi stepping up to my side. Six arrows were shot, and Huntor flicked his hand once. Each arrow snapped in mid air and fell harmlessly a few feet away from the avenue's edge. "Really?" He sighed. "No one ever learns." Suddenly, the guards separating, right down the middle. Two dracons appeared, with more behind them. "Vileneequi, and, Veevuqui." I snarled softly. "You're not welcome here." Vileneequi said with glee. She wore very, very, very high heels, as did Veevuqui, as if they were preparing for a party. Earrings dangled from Vileneequi's ears. "You have been slated for death, betrayer, trader to your own people, turncoat of the night, demonic—"Yeah yeah, what have you told these dracons?" Huntor asked, sounding extremely bored, as if he dealt with treacherous creatures daily, which, after Amanda, I guess he was use to it. "We told them the truth." Veevuqui said. "He betrayed our people for gain, joined the Snow Queen to raise the Dark Queen, killed her two offspring, and slaughtered Decre and his forces." "At least she came prepared." I found myself saying. "Though I wish we brought Arachne with us, wouldn't that be a twist of reality." Wenzi commented. "Artifice," Huntor said, with such ease and derision, that the guards looked around nervously. "Let's put it to you this way." He said. "Who, specifically, not only disliked the Queen, but usually never did what Mommy Dearest told him? Oh right, me. Who cared about his servant? I did, whom you, slaughtered." By now the archers had lowered their weapons. "Hello, who worked with you guards? Learned from you? Who tried to be trained like a dracon? Oh right, me. So, before you go around listening to rumors and lies told by the royal family, maybe you should use your heads for once, and, remember." The guards were looking at the two princesses now, confusion evident in their faces. "He's lying." Vileneequi snapped. "You wanna know who you should aim those weapons at? It's those two, Veevuqui, and, Vileneequi." The dracons behind them, the rest of the royal family, stumbled away from them. Huntor nodded sagely. "Lies." Veevuqui whispered. "LIES." She shouted. "You wanna know who's responsible for Daqutos's death? Her." He gestured to Veevuqui.
Now there was outrage, cries of denial, of ire, of fury. Vevvuqui spluttered, and Vileneequi roared in hatred. I was pretty damn certain, Huntor, was responsible for Daqutos's death, but no one else knew that but Veevuqui. And she was currently looking shady, spluttering with curses and turning imploringly at her siblings. Zavala stepped around me, and stood at Huntor's side. "He's not lying, I saw it, Veevuqui was the one who killed Daqutos." "You weren't even there." Veevuqui snapped harshly. Zavala just gave her a fanged smile. "Wasn't I? No one believes you." "The jig is up, and you both have nothing left. Whether or not the royals disown you is on them, but we have details to save this capital and the whole kingdom, and if you don't get out of our way so we can do such things, we will fight you." Now Vileneequi, regaining her composure, laughed. "Oh, let's see, we have several dozen fully trained dracons against, nine or ten half-breed indigos?" "Half-breeds?" Kitana snarled, and immediately shifted into her werewolf form. Claws shot out of her fingertips, while two three inch long claws shot from the toes of her boots. Briella, on the other hand, roared, a roar that made me shutter, and threw herself forward, shifting into a huge lioness. Golden bronze fur, golden eyes, and long claws. Joy and Luna stepped forward, Joy's hands glowing with scarlet power, while Luna's glowed with sapphire blue power. I summoned my favorite ice fans, while Wenzi shifted into her dracon skin, and pulled her own flaming red fans out. Finally, Zavala shifted and roared, a fifteen foot dragon of the most beautiful turquoise. I realized, digressing, that I had never seen Zavala in her full dragon form. Huntor grinned at Veevuqui and Vileneequi. Veevuqui's face was pale, while Vileneequi tried for a condescending look, but only managed to not turn tail, literally, and run.
"Again, you are facing fully trained warrior that—"Oh comee on." Joy said, tossing her hair in annoyance. "You've gotta be kidding me, right? You see this?" She waved her scarlet hands. "We aren't just indigos, we, have, powers stupid, powers." She dragged out the last word. "I swear, we can kill you all without leaving this spot." By now, the other royals had backed far away from Veevuqui and Vileneequi. "Huntor?" I asked. "May I?" "Go ahead Khione." I grinned savagely. Before anyone could guess what I was about to do, I aimed my gaze at Vileneequi, and said, "I've always wanted to do this." I blew into my palm, dropping my fans, and flicked my fingertips. Two needle thin blades shot out, and I smiled at her. "Those are some pretty earrings you've got going on there. They were, heavy chains with blood red stones hanging. Vileneequi said, "Excuse you, you—" Then she cried out in pain as the earrings fell, along with her earlobes. I caught them with telekinesis, and brought them over to me. "Now, do you think that was a lucky shot?" I asked, aiming two much larger ice blades at her. Huntor said calmly, "You have a few choices, three, surrender, stay and fight, and most likely die, or, confess. Hmm, hmm, hmm, make that two. Surrender, and, confess, or die, and get innocence killed in the process." "We'll never–"We surrender." Veevuqui said. Vileneequi spun to face her. "What?" She snarled. "It's over." Veevuqui said imploringly. "They'll tell them the truth, we're already done for, we already lost, might as well loose with honor." "NO." Vileneequi yelled. "I've too much to loose to turn back now." She lashed out for Veevuqui's throat, talons extended. There was a flash of yellow-gold on my tongue, and her talons froze, two inches from Veevuqui's throat. Veevuqui stared at the death hovering inches from her, and Huntor asked lazily, "Shall I kill her?" Veevuqui stared at him, those dark blue eyes watching, assessing, determining, then, "No, let her go." Huntor shrugged, and flung Vileneequi aside into the wall of guards, who caught her, and held her fast. Vileneequi lashed out, her tail crashing into the guards. Some opened their fans and sprung for her. She snarled, snapping her teeth aggressively. Veevuqui backed away, her face paling even further. Huntor and Sydney just stood there watching, Sydney's face deadly serious, Huntor's viciously amused. Then, Vileneequi roared and shifted. The guards nearest her were trampled by sharp slashing taloned claws and a long vicious tail. Sharp spikes swept around, spikes that had to be near to a foot and a half in length. Blood sprayed, and yet, Huntor and Sydney didn't, do, anything. We all stood there, watching, observing, the guards swarmed around her, trying to detain her, but, she slashed wildly, and guards fell back. Shee sprang forward, but she didn't go for Huntor and Sydney. Instead, she went for Veevuqui; Veevuqui froze, and I saw, very clearly, the daunting fear in her dark eyes. She raised her hands placatingly, as if trying to plead with Vileneequi. The purple dragon flew over the marble, her talons sending up small bits in her wake. "Move." Joy muttered. "You're acting like a freaking deer in headlights." But Veevuqui didn't move, didn't do anything but hold out her hands to her sister. The other royals didn't approach either, as if struck dumb just like everyone else. Vileneequi leaped, and crashed into Veevuqui. They slid across the marble, Veevuqui crying out in both shock and pain. Vileneequi snapped her jaws over Veevuqui's face, and, brought, her, jaws, down. The world hushed as she lowered, lowered, and, froze, saliva dripped onto Veevuqui's face and neck. Vileneequi's jaws were gaping, wide enough to rip her sister's head right off, but she stayed frozen, as if some bond, some inner bond that kept her from killing her sibling. Then, she roared in fury, and, bit, down. Her jaws snapped, and Veevuqui screamed.
    Vileneequi's jaws froze, half an inch from her sister's face and neck, and I, tasted, telekinesis. Veevuqui stared directly at Huntor and Sydney. They both drew close, neither of them displaying any clear sign of using their telekinesis. Powerful, they had to be super powerful to be able to stop a raging dragon half an inch away from a kill, without directing their power with their hands. "Now, do you want me to kill her?" Sydney's voice was so serious, so void of emotions, nothing like the girl from earlier, nothing of the cuddly thing who laid on Huntor's shoulder like it was the most normal thing in the world. Veevuqui just stared, stared at her sister, who, clearly, wasn't pulling away, but was trying to fight Huntor, trying to sink her teeth into her. "Yes." She whispered. Huntor shrugged. Sydney's face gave nothing away, but Huntor's grin widened, and He said, "I've always wanted to do this, since I first met you." Vileneequi began thrashing, completely forgetting about Veevuqui. She was thrown by a powerful telekinetic force. She flew out the main doors and over our heads. She crashed into the pathway behind us, and roared so loudly that the castle grounds shook violently. Oh, ha ha, horrible joke. Vileneequi, violently, Ahhhh I'm so funny. She continued to thrash about, her maw frothing, then, she keeled over, her body spasming once, twice, thrice, then was still. After a few seconds, water trickled out of her maw, pooling around her jaws. "Woah." I murmured. "Holy fucking shit." Joy whispered. I stared, stared at that pool. He'd choked her, literally drowned her on land, out of water. Without any training, without any practice, Huntor drowned her. "I have to learn to do that." I said. "If he can do that," Wenzi said. "Then I can burn someone, from the inside out." Two guards helped Veevuqui to her feet, and she stared at Huntor and Sydney, "I owe you both a life debt." She bowed her head. "Be ready for the day we collect."
    We sat in a conference room, the head of the castle guards sitting with us. Veevuqui laid a map of the castle and it's surrounding grounds on the huge table, while another sibling laid a map of the capital on the table beside it. "There's a bunker underneath the castle, one that can hold the whole of the kingdom, and is kept fully stocked and furnished. We can start an immediate evacuation into the bunker, set up extra protection around the castle and around the outer walls." "Are there any other entrances into the bunker?" Kitana asked, leaning forward. "Seven." Veevuqui said, pointing them out with a talon. "It can withstand an invation force, and can supply necessities for several months, perhaps four years if needed." Huntor nodded, his only sign of agreement. "Wee need extra protection in the bunker." Kitana said. Veevuqui frowned. So did the other royals and the head guard. "I was in a war," Kitana said. "I know these things. The Dark Queen is not heading this army, wanna know who is?" "Our mother." Said one of the others, so quietly, as if he was ashamed to even consider it. "Exactly, she knows about the bunker, knows it's ins and outs, and knows of any possible weaknesses. So, we need extra guards there, at all it's entrances, then on the castle, because she is most likely going to use a back door into the castle if she has to. Since there is only one was truly into the bunker, she'll use it if she can't get through the underground." "But why?" Asked the head. He was young, or at least, he didn't look like he'd aged much, not like Decre, the true head of the guard. "Why attack the people at all? Why attack the kingdoms?" "Because," Kitana said patiently. "The one way to kill a dragon is to remove the head. Kill off the people, no revolution, no revolt, kill them, she can return and start again. I'm sure she has gold stashed away, money that can buy a whole new land, buy more citizens who can live under the pincers of the Ragni Di Morte." They all shivered, all, except us. As if they were so afraid of them that just the mere mention of the name caused them all to flinch, as if this was Harry potter, and they were afraid of Voldemort. "So, we bring them into the bunker, then what?" "Then," Huntor said, speaking at last. "You let us handle it." He leaned forward, and the letters on his forehead glowed gold in the light of the torches. Δ, α, sun dragons, the abbreviation, in Greek. Everyone leaned away. Everyone, except us. Since seeing those marks, since they stepped into the light, and everyone realized who they were now, everyone treated them with the highest respect, as if bound to. As if, being sun dragons, meant that they had to be treated with such praise, such ambience, such honor, as if they were gods. Then again, in a way, they truly were. Amala had named Huntor the Dio Indaco, the Indigo God, and now, now he was an actual god. So powerful that he didn't need to gesture to command his powers, him, or Sydney. "We are powerful enough to wipe them all out with just a breath, and we will. But we are going to organize this annihilation so that A, the casualties are light, or, as light as possible, and B, so that we can showcase our power and strength, in working together, instead of us two just blasting power everywhere, and C, because we won't just bee the only ones fighting, so, we'll organize a force." Silence reigned for a time after his words, then, "That sounds like a perfect plan." Reequo, Veevuqui's younger brother, the brother next to her, was the one who spoke. He watched Huntor's profile, as if too afraid to meet his gaze head on. "Thank you." Huntor said. Reequo nodded, looking surprised to be noticed. The head took the maps down, and said, "We'll start the evacuation, Hunt, Sun Dragons, thank you, thank you for caring about our kingdom. Especially after everything the ruler and her family put you through." Huntor didn't remark on how he had corrected himself, how he was going to say, "Huntor," not sun dragons. Instead, he said, "You are welcome, and we will never let any territory suffer." Sydney said gently, though her face was serious. I swear, I truly wondered where that other Sydney was.