Dragon Aster Trilogy (33 page)

“You don’t have to worry about what side I’m on,” Gwa said to ease their concerns. “That was settled when my father tried to shoot down my own mother, while she still carried me.”

“Are there no Laws that your race follows?” Loki asked, brought out of the shock of Gwa’s revelation with disgust.

“In the Falls,” Gwa said as he continued to fix the panel, “power is everything. Your status is worth more than gold, and sometimes even more than your own family. When my human mother got pregnant, the Fall’s Elders questioned Mersael’s right to be next in line to rule after Exoir. My father chose to eliminate the threat to it. Jru was by miracle alone near the Gate my mom escaped the Falls from, taking a bullet that nearly killed him to save her. His heart had stopped for five minutes before her skills brought him back. No aeri or Sano.”

Loki and Sybl looked briefly at each other.

“You must go a long way back with Kas then,” Sybl added.

“Yea, you can say that. Kas was an angry kid slapping the bottle out of my mouth before I could crawl,” Gwa said with a short smile.

“Kas? An angry kid? Are we talking about the same Kas here?” Sybl asked.

“Clearly you have never seen him on one of his bad days. Though I don’t think even he is brave enough to take you on with a tantrum.” Gwa finished fixing the panel, and turned the thin screen on. “I’ve fixed so many of these that I’m starting to think that I could do it blind.” He flipped it around for Sybl to see.

On it, was a really bad stick-figure sketch of Kas.

“Shh, don’t tell him I still have this. He really hates Tech. Especially ones with pictures of him as a brat.”

Sybl laughed and Gwa smiled. He turned the panel off and then hid it in a drawer. “Oh, I plan on getting you back for scaring me like that.” She picked up the stuffed owl and shook it at him as a warning. “Until I figure out how to take over the whole world or you both figure out how to for me, I’m taking Fluffy here as my hostage.”

Gwa laughed and lifted his hand to her, for her to do as she would with it. “Happy belated birthday, Sybl. Hey Loki, wait,” he called after him as he left with Sybl.

“I’ll be back. I’m just taking Sybl to her room. Last thing we need is Helios’ renegades jumping her when she’s alone.”

“I can totally handle myself,” Sybl said, as she hugged more confidence from the stuffed toy. “For I am with Fluffy, who was created in perfection to reign in godliness.”

“I didn’t sound THAT bad,” Gwa retorted.

Loki only shook his head, not wanting to add his own thoughts to the topic.

“That has to be the longest I ever saw you look at a bottle without drinking it,” Urio said, as he stepped off the last step and onto the cold, stone floor of the cellar.

Hain looked up from the floor he sat on, with no bottle in hand. “I saw my kid again.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to look at him more often.”

“In his Sylvan form.”

Urio went for the bottle Hain eyed on the rack, and decided to open it for himself.

“I haven’t seen his soul since he was five...when I told him that his mother didn’t give a damn about him. He looks like an eight year old, when he’s a month younger than Gwa.”

“And you’re all upset cause the human Caelestis is responsible for curing him? Well, you suck at sulking.”

“I just hate not being able to see anything of the future. I mean it was fine when Asil was Asil—but now?” Hain said.

“So you want that girl to sprout wings and save the world, with an energy it hasn’t seen for three hundred years. Curse that Black Death for having taken our Serena in the first place.”

“You’re the dumbass who didn’t marry her, or at least read up on it.”

“Who are you calling a dumbass, dark angel? No, you instead get the brilliant idea to fall in love with a daoran instead!”

Hain sighed.

“This is all your fault. We could have died with honor, as Pack should, defending our female. But no, you just had to drag us back here from Hell, to spend the rest of our miserable lives dodging the limbo of the Aeger. If you ever die, I hope Serena spends every given moment plucking you like a duck for the roaster.”

Hain laughed, as he didn’t like the idea of such. “If it makes you happy, you can rest better knowing that I do age.” He pulled out one of his feathers from his back to show Urio as proof. “Eventually the energy gives out, and Awls turn into a poof of dust. Only on Earth we are to some degree immortal.”

“What’s the angle?” Urio asked curiously, taking the feather from Hain. He liked collecting them for his writing quills.

“Hino. He decides which of us glow on, and which of us go out.”

“And you’re reincarnated, right?”

“Nope.” Hain groaned as he used the wall to help himself back to his feet. Then he took the bottle from Urio and had a long sip. “Once it’s over, it’s over.” He looked down the hall as a phelan Custos called out a warning to him that he would soon be dragged out of the Sanctus. He picked out a few of his favorite bottles, before giving them to Urio for safe keeping. “Don’t break any. I want to be able to drink them later.”

“Where will you go?”

“Since I’ll never have the excuse of turning into a fat old dog like you, I have no choice but to just keep doing stupid things.”

“Come back alive.”

“You just make sure you get out of here before Hell hits the fan.” Hain walked past him and upstairs at that.

“Hain, wait,” Urio called after him.

Hain turned on the stairs and looked back at him. “What?”

“Have you ever thought to write a will?”

“A what? Come on, you know I can’t read and write—”

“Then I’ll write it for you, you just have to sign it.”

“You’re talking as if I’m already dead. It’s not like I have anything important to be fought over.”

“Your son.”

Hain sighed, as he forgot that Kenshe could be put on a piece of paper, too.

Loki looked around Sybl’s room, not in the mood to take any more chances with the phelan. “I didn’t know it was customary for humans to give others a gift on their birthday—when they aren’t family or a Bond?”

“What’s wrong with doing that?” Sybl asked, and sat down on her bed.

“Well, if you were my Bond for starters, I’d be rather mad and jealous of that griffin giving you a toy. Especially as you aren’t a child.”

Sybl laughed. “You don’t have to give me something to compete, Loki. It’s just an Earth thing.”

“Well, I respect Earth’s differences. Particularly their women.”

Sybl pulled on the toy owl’s wings. “What was my mother like?”

Loki looked at her, surprised by her question. “She was just like you. A bit more fragile and gentle, and she didn’t like fighting at all. Simera would curl up into a defensive ball when she found a wound on him. It was the only time he would appear weak. She was hard to get angry, but then nothing could save you when she did.”

“It’s so strange… To wake up one day and find that your entire life was a lie, and that you aren’t who you always thought you were. It almost feels as if I’m watching myself from afar.” She let her gaze drift to the brown carpet.

“Well, I’m here for you. You have friends and family here, and while this place,” Loki continued as he looked around, “is an awkward palace for a Princess, at least its not a godless one. One day I will bring you to your true castle. I think that is the only gift I can conjure in my mind that would be worthy for giving to you.”

“I want you to be a Prince because I believe you should be, not to impress me—or anyone for that matter.”

“Is this because of something you saw of the future?” Loki asked in concern.

“I can’t see the future. I can only see what has happened to make us who and what we are.”

“But in theory, you can see the future. Fay are supposed to be able to use both energies.”

“I don’t know if I want to see the future. If it’s horrible and I lose all hope, then I could end up being no different from Damek.”

Loki settled to a sit against her door as he fell into thought on the topic of Toria’s true Prince. “When I was in Mer City, I saw their Tech images. Right after you were born, they sent you through the Gate to Earth, and Nafury—I mean Damek, back to the surface with Serena for Simera to find. Lintrance said something about binding your memories to a kyrie as well. I’m going to guess it was the one that tried to kick down my castle.”

“Sial,” Sybl said.

“But the question is why? If Vanir wanted the caels all dead, why didn’t he just have you killed then?”

“He didn’t have the intention to kill me in Mer City, either. Likely because I would just reincarnate again and he would have to start all over with finding me. Tenu is working for him. I don’t think he, or anyone for that matter, was aware that Nafury was Damek. It’s possible that Tenu wanted to save me, and never told him what she saw.”

“So is he gone forever?” Loki asked.

“The Nafury you knew, yes, I think so. I saw Damek when I was dead-like, and he was nothing like the memories you and Cirrus have of him. I can only assume that Cael’s immortal memories and character win out in the end.”

“Are you scared that the same will happen to you? What happened to Nafury?”

“I was not a good person in my past, Loki.”

“You were the Caelestis of War. I mean, you can only be so ‘good’ and get anything done at the same time.”

“I mean, I didn’t care,” Sybl replied. “I didn’t feel much of anything.”

“You just needed more who loved you,” Loki said assuringly. “Sylvan return the feelings you give them, maybe even more than humans do. If the Texts are right, Solar had turned everyone against you. Much like she is now.”

“Maybe.”

“So are you good for a bedtime story?”

“Weren’t you just complaining about Gwa treating me like a child?”

Loki smiled. “Well, as long as you are still willing to play, I know I have you as Sybl and not a Caelestis of War. And there’s one I know, but until you appeared, no one knew just how accurate it was.”

“Alright, let’s hear it,” Sybl said, and tucked herself under the covers of her bed.

“Once upon a time there was a beautiful world where everyone was born as twins,” Loki started. “No one was ever born alone or without someone to love. They called the firstborn the Mei, and the second to be born, the Aliyr. The Mei was considered the shield into the world, and the Aliyr the sword. As such, the female was almost always the shield and the male, the sword.

“But there were exceptions. Asteria was unlike all the others of her kind, and was born alone. They called her a Sylph, which were considered to be gods as they were able to survive entirely alone. She wielded great power and wisdom despite that. As she made the world flourish in prosperity and peace, they named it after her; Aster. But this did not mean she wished to be alone, so when a Sentry of Earth fell in love with her, she agreed to be his wife.

“Daath gave her a beautiful Unicorn on her wedding night, in which he Threaded the names of all 3000 Eminor loyal to him in its horn. From its horn that was also a curved, bladed staff called a festra, she could command the dark army as she pleased. He in turn, would have her to please him. But the army’s primary purpose on Aster was to devour and destroy any nightmares to come near her. They became known as ‘Nightmare Eaters.’

“But it was a world of peace, so the Eminor lived alongside the Asterians like their Ancients did, aiding them with their powers in exchange for their life energies. When they were unneeded, they would sleep peacefully entertained by the Asterian’s few nightmares.

“There was no hunger, suffering, pain or disease as the Asterians could wield the spirits like magic. They could cure and build almost everything, limited only by their imaginations. Every once in a while, they would stir up Earth’s humans for inspiration by influencing their love for each other and war. There was no need for their own kind to wage war, for they had the power of psi, where they could see into the minds and feelings of those around them. Where a dispute lay, it was quickly settled by the power of their own spirits.

“The most powerful Dreamer would always intimidate the other to yield, and the conflict would be settled. Or the opposition’s spirits would be devoured, and the host exiled to continue their pursuit of misery on Earth. Many became or returned to being Sentries.