Dragon Talons (Indigo Apocalypse Book I)

Chapter Thirty-One: The Hunchback Of The Ape Isles

HUNTOR:
Exhaustion burned through every inch of my body, through every part of my soul, but, but, but, we'd done it, we'd brought the sun back, or, at least, part of it. Just like the Northern lights in the North Pole on Earth, we'd created Northern Lights here. The Sun Dragon Lights. It still felt strange, to know we'd done it, two torn broken parts made a whole. Sydney and Huntor, both of us, together, created this beautiful wonder. Now, we were hundreds of feet below, talking with Veevuqui, Reequo, and the others, about the fate, of the kingdom. When we'd arrived, via the shadows, thanks to Kitana, Veevuqui nearly, very nearly peed herself. Then, she'd hugged me, hard, and planted a kiss on my mouth. I swear, is everyone going to do that now? Sydney however, controlled her rage, controlled that primal mate's rage. Instead, she just said, "Hmm." "I was so worried about you." Veevuqui said. "We heard no news, couldn't even hear the battle going on." "Well, the Snow Kingdom is abandoned." Seeka said. "It's ugly up there anyway, dead carcasses, and desiccated homes." "The castle?" Reequo asked. "It still stands." I said. "I was right, they would attack the back of the castle straight on. They knew where you were, knew that they wouldn't be able to get to the front of the capital, so, they came in the back." "I'm glad you stopped them." One of the royals said gently. But it was Veevuqui who asked the more pressing question, "Our mother, is she? Is she, is—"She's still alive." I said.
Veevuqui sighed with what might've been relief. Reequo took her hand. "Stay strong, we have to, have to for our kingdom." He said to me, "What's your next move?" "We will return to the human world, to Earth, and prepare them for war, war, with monsters and demons." "You should stay hidden." Kitana said. "There is no telling what the Queen has planned, but you should stay underground for as long as possible." "Don't worry about us," Another royal said. "Dracons may hate underground, but we can hibernate if and when we have to." I nodded. "Good, that's good," I took her hands and squeezed them gently. "Take care of our home for me will you, I wanna return someday." "I will." She promised. Now, my indigos and I stood in a circle, surrounded by the surviving warriors. Decre stepped forward, and said, "Qudorzo, Quedesha, and Pheequa." The trio stepped forward in unison. "I want you three to go with them, to follow them, and protect them, protect them, for the kingdom. Protect them, with, your, lives." They bowed, deeply, and said, "We will." Something hot surged through us both, through me and my mate. Yes, yes they would, they'd protect us, they'd protect us, because they felt the need to, not because we were weak, but because we were the Sun Dragons, and because of that, because of that, we commanded them, commanded all indigos, from every land, from every territory. I faced Kitana, remembering, knowing, sensing, yes, yes, yes, she'd have to face that truth, have to face that task soon, as Kendra would have to face her own. We all had truths and stories to relive, to revisit, if we were going to become the indigos that saved not just this world, or this plain, but all plains, all worlds, all kingdoms, we'd be the indigos who saved Earth, who would save the worlds from the Queen. I turned to Amala and Kamala. Amala, my friend, a friend I had made in prison, in lockup, a friend who taught me, defended me. "Gather the forces I know you've readied, gather them, because she's going to hit the Earth with her full army, and, I want Earth to be ready."
"Don't worry, I, will." She promised. Kamala, whom I didn't know well, but knew of, said, "Don't fail us, and, don't die again. More than just indigos are counting on you to light the way." I nodded, knowing that was as much appraisal as I'd get from her.  I faced my wolf once more, a wolf, not a pup, Kitana, Death's lieutenant, the shadow in the night, the one and only person who might be another key into the Dark Queen's fall. Qudorzo and the others joined the circle. I said to Theia and Seeka, "Go home, make sure Vello's army is prepared, be sure the Molten Kingdom stays standing strong." Theia stepped forward, her hair swaying. "I'll go home, Seeka—"Is going to be the one going home, while you stay here." Theia turned to face her sister. "What? Seeka, you—"I'm well known around Huntor, I can protect him sure, but you are a warrior through and through, you know things I never learned, are better equip than I am. So, I'll go home, tell Vello, help prepare the Molten Kingdom to stay strong and powerful." She faced me, "So long as you and your sexy dearheart come to our home to create those lights." She pointed upward, where the lights danced an endless never-ending dance, to ancient music that sung of an ancient language long since lost. "Actually, forget the kingdom, can you put some of those in my rooms? But I want gold, oh, bronze gold, and red, really deep red, oh and yellow, oh and—"Seeka." Theia said, sounding exasperated. She grinned. "I love you both so much. But yes, come to us, and give us the lights." "We will." We promised in unison. I turned back to my people, to my family, to our family. Kitana, Sarah, Wenzi, Joy and Luna, Briella, everyone newly healed, everyone ready for several hours of dreamless deep sleep. "Let's go home." Was all I said. Kitana merely bowed her head to me, and, before she summoned the shadows, everyone bowed their heads, and said, all in unison, "Draghi, Del, Sole." Then, she summoned the shadows, and, stepped, forward.
When we appeared back at home, everything was silent. The dinner hall, where we appeared, was empty, the kitchen doors dark and closed. Some lights remained on in the hall, but where we stood, on the plateau, the reflection pool glittered. "A portal." Sarah murmured. "Who'd have thought that, that, that pool would be the key into the indigo world? That it was an easy pass into any world, into the true indigo world?" I shrugged. "No idea Sarah." Theia stared at that pool, as if feeling the obligation she gave, and wishing she were back at home. I took her hand, "It's ok Theia, I understand what it's like, to wanna be in the thick of it, to wanna be there for every battle. But you need rest, as we all do. Take this time to get that rest, to heal, and become stronger." "You're right." She said, then, "But I'm not going to fawn after you or obsequiously chase you." I laughed, truly laughed. "Geez Theia, if you did, I think I would be scared." I felt and saw her crack that small smile. Zavala stepped to my side, her hand sliding into mine, squeezing reassuringly. "You have a family now Theia." She said softly. "You have us, as much as you have Seeka and Vello. As much as you have the royal house, you have us too." She nodded, and Pheequa said, "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm tired, Huntor, dear friend, where can we find our rooms?" I smiled at her, "You know, Decre was right to put you and Sarah together. I'll let her show you the way." Sarah indeed bounced to Pheequa's side, and they both jumped off the twelve foot plateau and walked out the hall. Everyone else started to disperse, our family showing the dracons where extra rooms were being made for them. I turned, taking Sydney's and Zavala's hands. "Briella, go, find your room and mate—"How did you know?" She asked. "I can smell him on you, smelled him when you came to war, felt him, and your bond." "Holy fucking shit." She whispered. "We didn't think we'd have a bond, but, but, but," She spun, as if prepared to run to him. "Plus," I continued. "You shifted into a full lioness, fur, fangs, everything, I knew you couldn't before, so, there had to be something major that caused the true feral part of you to balance the human in you and overcome it." On that word, the doors burst open, and three figures flew in. Two, humongous, apes, and, one, feral, human teen. He ran across the floor, his feet silent in the quiet hall, the apes leaped from table to table, their breaths not so silent as they flew for us. "Kupoa." Briella stammered. Then she was flying off the plateau, and my smile widened as the two crashed together, rolling across the floor, snarling and nipping each other.
I smiled even wider as the apes beat their chests and huffed excitedly. Kupoa, her mate, her friend, everything Briella wanted and was, rose, and faced me. I stepped off the plateau, and landed in a silent crouch. Sydney and Zavala landed on either side of me. "We are the light," Kupoa said softly, his accented voice thick. "We will fight the darkness, we will keep balance." The apes by now were holding rank around him, as Sydney and Zavala did. "You." I said softly. "Me." He answered. Then, he gave a feral primal grin, one that I knew came from years of living in the wild, from facing death every day and spitting in it's face every time. I returned the grin and said, "Welcome to the family, Tarzan." He frowned, "I've been called that, by this one." He gestured to Briella, his mate. "I don't know of this Tarzan, but it seems to amuse her." "I've explained it to him." She said. "But he is just, extremely, stupid, too many years living with monkeys." One of the apes snarled viciously. Briella just rolled her gold eyes and said, "Shut up Ameeque, you sound like you're constipated." Zavala choked a laugh. Ameeque, whom I was guessing was the larger of the two apes, snarled viciously, and loped toward Briella. "Calm your balls." She said simply. "I don't feel like having a snarling match with the Hunchback of the Ape Isles." Ameeque roared anyways, his jaws opening seriously wide. Briella just waved her hands in front of her face and said, "Do you all ever use toothbrushes? Or toothpaste? Because that breath is so, so, so, awful and repugnant." Ameeque let lose what might've been a chuckle, and loped toward Kupoa. Kupoa stepped toward me, and I realized he was tall, at least six foot six, tall and muscled, like a leopard. Muscles that wrapped around every inch of his body. "I wanna know who you are." Kupoa said. "Know where you started from." "As do I." I said. "But right—" Kupoa's head came around, and I heard it too a millisecond later. The sound of silent feet on wood. Then, she, entered the hall. "Kupoa seriously?" Audrey Magdalena Kylie called into the room. "Can you not keep your ape brothers on a tight enough leash, I swear, I can hear them all the way from Africa, and that's not to mention—" her sentence died away, as she realized more than Kupoa was standing in the room.
"Oh." Audrey said in a slow breath. "Oh, oh, oh." The last one was long and deep. Audrey's hands went to her mouth, one over the other, then, "Audrey." I stepped toward her, my voice echoing in the silence. "No one, no, one moved, no one even breathed." Sydney stepped with me, her hand on my arm. Zavala stepped to my other side, not touching me, but being a solid wall, the third I needed, no, the second I needed. I stopped, stopped a few feet away from her. She raised her hand in a babyish wave, a wave that Sarah picked up on. For a moment, I just stared at her, took in that all too familiar scent she always had. Through the inferno between us, I felt Sydney's calm, gentle, serious facade like a solid weight, a weight that reminded me, filled me with gentle thoughts, calming words, and smooth resolve. "Audrey." I said again. "Huntor." She whispered. Then, I said, "Show me." "Huh?" She asked. "Show me your dracon form." Audrey took a breath, then, her scent began to change. Wings grew from her back, deep violet wings. A tail grew and long talons grew from her hands, changing them into talons, her fingers shrank, and scales grew all along her arms and body. When it was done, I waited, waited, waited, for any residual lust to kick in, any feeling beyond that ease, that calm. But no, nothing. "I see." Was all I said. I smelled her disappointment, but she shifted back into her human body. "Come here." I said gently. Audrey stepped toward me, closing the space between us. I held out my arms, stopping her. "We may never be what we use to be. May never be lovers again, will never share a bed in that sense again." Tears fell from Audrey's eyes, and she brushed them away. "I know, I hoped, wanted, but, deep down, I knew, I, knew." I squeezed her shoulders, then pulled her into a hug. She gasped, and breathed deeply, wrapping her arms around my ribs, just like old times. In the inferno, Sydney said gently, "I would allow it, if it helped any. If, for whatever reason, you both needed it, and it hurt her, I'd allow it, at least once." I looked at Audrey, then at her. Sydney, who wasn't the broken defeated girl I met in that cell. Sydney, who became a strong being, a strong, beautiful being, with a dark past, but who accepted it, and used it to make herself stronger. I ran my mental hands through the inferno, and heard Sydney's mental purr. I squeezed Audrey one last time, and let her go.
"Tomorrow," I said. "Tomorrow, we'll catch up, all of us. Tomorrow, we'll work on rebuilding this new world, tomorrow, we'll work toward it, because evil is on the horizon, war, is on the horizon. And we need to prepare for it. We need to convince the countries about this new threat, and get as many on our side as possible, because, if we don't, then Earth will fall into permanent darkness." "Fucking right." Briella said. I turned to Ameeque, "Your ape brother I'd take it?" "Indeed." Kupoa said. "Yeah, definitely Tarzan." I said. "Which reminds me." Briella said. "We gotta get you to watch that movie, The Legend Of Tarzan, you may enjoy it." Kupoa scowled. "She tells me we all have, like, bandit names." "They're more like indigo names." "Well, she says mine will be Tarzan, is that fact?" "Unless you have some objections." I said simply. "I'd rather not be seen, or thought of as a naked, or half naked apeman." "But that's what you are Love." Briella said with venom sweetness. "No, I am more than just some apeman. I am the embodiment of the jungle, I speak to all animals and command most, if not all of them." "Which, is, what, he, can, do." Briella said. Kupoa sighed exasperatedly. "Don't worry Love, I won't disavow your claims, much." Ameeque huffed in a challenge. Briella just snarled back. "We'll discuss names and what nots tomorrow, but for now, we need to rest." Briella nodded. Audrey said, "Huntor, can we talk, please?" Her voice was a plea, a desperate plea that spoke of lost things, of things needing to be said, of things that pained her. "Tomorrow my little sister." I said, running my hands up and down her arms. I pulled her in for one more hug, then let her go.