Dragon Heat (17 page)

and into the darkness.

Zoricah opened her eyes and assessed her surroundings. The

characteristic mist of Apa Sâmbetei was thick, almost impenetrable. She

heard the sound of water flowing somewhere nearby.
So I am near the first

river
, she thought to herself.

Carefully she took a step forward. She did not have much time; she

had to find Deirdre and get out of there before Ucidere, lord of Apa

Sâmbetei
,
found out she had crossed over. She took a few more steps and

felt confident enough to take a few extra but fell facedown on the floor.

Damn celestial rocks.

Straight ahead of her, through the dense mist, Zoricah saw the

shape of a female walking on the banks of the river.
Deirdre!

Zoricah lifted herself off the ground and started running toward

the female. But the mist was too thick and the rocks kept on making her

stumble. By the time she got to the river, she only saw Deirdre’s red locks

disappearing into the water.
No, by Apa Dobrý, no!

Without thinking, Zoricah dived in after Deirdre.

Once more, Zoricah was blinded by a thousand colors. They were

so beautiful, so inviting. Streams of bright reds, yellows, blues, and greens

crossed in front and around her, as if they were schools of fish swimming

with the current. Her body relaxed, her aching muscles loosened. All she

saw, all she cared about was those beautiful colors warming her up.

Shit! Wake up! Wake up, Zoricah!
she told herself.

Forcing her eyes open, she fought the celestial pull of Apa Sâmbetei

and tried to spot Deirdre through the multicolored current. After a few

frustrated minutes, she caught a glimpse of her friend a few feet away.

She seemed to be unconscious. Swimming in the colors, Zoricah reached

out and grabbed her friend by the wrists.

The colorful currents started changing around them, from deep

shades to brighter tones, until all were so bright they became one.
Time to

jump
, Zoricah thought.

Gathering all her remaining strength, Zoricah willed her body out

of the light, taking Deirdre with her. They fell flat on gray, sandy floor.

The good news was that they had successfully gotten out of the river. The

bad news was that they had crossed to the other side.

As if on a trance, Deirdre stood up and started walking again.

‚Deirdre, Deirdre!‛ Zoricah called out. But Deirdre didn’t slow

down nor did she seem to hear.

Zoricah started after her friend and suddenly was overpowered by

the fantastic feeling of ecstasy. Wow, the sand touching her bare feet was

so soft. The air on her skin was like velvet caressing her cheeks. She

looked up and saw gray clouds, gray skies, gray planets. Everything was

gray, but it didn’t matter because she could feel them all with her skin, her

hair, her nails< The silk kimono on her felt like a lover’s hand caressing

her body.

She sat down and slowly dug her bare feet on the soft gray sand.

What a marvelous feeling! In a complete state of bliss, Zoricah saw the

sand moving deliciously around her feet, her ankles. She laid down and

let the light breeze caress her arms. Oh, it had been so long since she felt

that way. Utterly relaxed, in peace, she could stay there forever, leave

everyone behind. But who was it that she had to take back again? There

was someone waiting for her<

Images of Sam and Yara came to her mind. Yara when she had first

learned how to bring forth her panther and control it. Her loud laughter

echoing triumphantly in the forest. Sam smiling gloriously after passing

her first fighting test. All three of them laughing at something. Then the

scenes changed, and images of two bodies intermingled near bookshelves,

sweating, kissing. Images of Tardieh and the feeling of being complete for

the first time in her life.

Zoricah sat up straight and blinked a few times. Tardieh, Yara,

Sam.
They
were back on Terhem Viahta, the land of the living, waiting for

her. She had to go back; they needed her. But the sand is so soft; the

breeze is so soothing< Too soothing, actually.

Fuck!

With a start, she realized this
was
the second river. She had already

entered it, and that meant that Deirdre was in it, too.

‚No!‛ Zoricah said out loud. ‚Stand the fuck up and move!‛

Keeping her friends’ images in her mind so that she wouldn’t lose

herself again, Zoricah stood up and ran across the sandy field. On the

distance, she saw Deirdre on the ground, rolling on the gray sand like a

child playing on the beach.

Zoricah went to her and crouching down she tried to talk to her

again. ‚Deidre. Deirdre, it’s me, Zoricah.‛

But Deirdre didn’t seem to hear her, nor did she acknowledge her

presence. She just kept on rolling and laughing, throwing sand on herself.

Her long ginger locks covered the ground like a soft sheet.

‚Deidre!‛ Zoricah yelled, shaking her by the shoulders. Nothing.

Nothing could disturb her.

‚She can’t hear you, you know?‛ The deep voice came from above.

Damn it. Ucidhere, the
god of death, lord of Apa Sâmbetei had

found her.

Zoricah stood up and turned around to face the mighty deity.

‚Hello, Father.‛

The razbian’s vision was getting blurry. ‚Please, sire, I am telling

the truth,‛ he begged, but he didn’t know how much of his words had

actually come out. It’s hard to speak when your windpipe is getting

squashed. ‚They surprised us. We wasn’t expectin’ it.‛

His sire’s eyes were completely red with fury. His grip tightened

on the razbian’s throat. ‚I swear, sire. I came to you as soon as I saw the

flames and the big red dragon!‛

‚You mean you ran away like a scared little girl, and when I found

you at the whorehouse, you decided to tell me what had gone down,‛ his

master replied, flashing his teeth at him.

‚Please, please, sire. I try to find you, yeah, but couldn’, yeah?‛ he

lied. The razbian didn’t mind begging for his life. Begging, kissing feet,

changing sides as often as he changed clothes, all of that was part of

keeping his heart beating.

‚I pay you to
expect
attacks to my properties. I don’t fucking care if

it’s a bunch of freaking flying bees. You have to be ready,‛ his sire yelled,

accentuating the last five words with a tighter squeeze on his throat. His

voice had a strange dark vibrato quality to it, as if two people were talking

at the same time.

The razbian started seeing black dots, and a wave of panic hit him.

‚Oh fair Soartas
,
please don’t let my destiny be this. I gonna be good man

from now on, I swear ta ya!‛ he begged for one more miracle in his

thoughts. The sound of a cell phone ringing froze his sire’s deadly grip.

Without taking his hands off but slacking his grip slightly, his sire

picked up the phone and checked the caller id. Swallowing dry, he

answered the call.

‚Yeah?‛ Pause. ‚Well, we are a little behind schedule. Hmm,

something came up. We had to relocate.‛ Another short pause. ‚Of

course, I am. We are really close to finding it. I tell you, the—‛ Another

pause, longer this time. His sire seemed strangely nervous. ‚Yes, I will.

Don’t you worry, I am. No, no. There’s no need to send your guards over.

I guarantee you I have everything under control. That draconian

demigoddess will have a nice surprise waiting for her next time she

decides to burst into one of my farms again.‛

After another tense pause, his sire ended the call and looked back

at him. The razbian guard chuckled nervously. ‚Bummer getting flogged

by the boss, hein?‛

His sire leaned closer and said with icy cold voice. ‚Yeah, too bad

your boss’ whip is burning with the flames of Hiad.‛

The last thing that came to the razbian’s mind before feeling his

windpipe being completely shattered and the agony of not having enough

air was that he shouldn’t have bought those lottery tickets the day before.

He would never be able to claim the money if he won.

‚Hello, daughter mine,‛ Ucidhere greeted Zoricah.

That was the last thing Zoricah needed. Every time her father

showed up, something went amiss.

‚She will not respond, no matter what you do,‛ he said calmly,

referring to Deirdre.

Zoricah looked at her friend who seemed to have gone back in time

a couple of centuries. She was rolling on the gray sand, building sand

castles while laughing out loud.

‚Why?‛ Zoricah asked her father. ‚Why can’t she hear me? Others

have.‛

Crossing his arms in front of him as if he were a bored bouncer and

she a teenager wanting to jump the queue, he said, ‚Because she has made

her choice.‛

Ignoring her father, Zoricah kneeled down beside Deirdre and tried

again. ‚Deirdre, we need to go back. You are needed back on Terhem

Viahta.‛

Deirdre sat up straight with fear in her eyes. Suddenly she stood up

and started running across the gray desert.

Zoricah bolted after her. ‚Deirdre, no!‛
Damn it!
She cursed under

her breath.

Reaching Deirdre was no problem, but stopping her from running

again was another question. As soon as Zoricah tried to block her, Deirdre

started screaming and kicking like a spoiled brat who didn’t want to go to

school.

Long white fingers touched Deirdre’s shoulders, and she stopped

struggling against Zoricah’s grip immediately.

Taking a breath, Zoricah said to her father, ‚Thank you.‛

Ucidhere regarded her gravely. She took the hint and confronted

the unspoken command. ‚I
can
take her back. She hasn’t crossed the third

river yet. She is not officially inside Apa Sâmbetei.‛

The three rivers of Apa Sâmbetei acted like dimensional portals.

The more one crossed, the farther away from the Terhem Viahta one

became. The third river was the final gateway. Once crossed, the inimă

could not return to be encased by a physical body any more, even if it

wanted to. The rivers changed the composition of the soul; they cleansed

it. Of course there had been cases of people who tried to cheat, and despite

belonging to Hiad,
the underworld, they had tried hard to cross the three

rivers. But the rivers did not release anyone who was not spiritually clean

enough to be in the gardens of Apa Sâmbetei. So those inimăs got trapped

inside the rivers forever. It was Ucidhere’s job to guarantee balance was

maintained by ensuring each inimă went to the correct place.

Ucidhere caressed Deirdre’s shoulders, and Zoricah saw her friend

relax even more under his powerful hands. ‚She will make a great

addition to my garden.‛

Oh, for crying out loud! He still called Apa Sâmbetei
his
garden?

Zoricah could not contain her desperation. The longer Deirdre stayed

there, the more her inimă would be changed. Soon, even if Zoricah did

manage to drag her friend’s ass back to Terhem Viahta, she would not

‚fit‛ into her unclean body. And Ucidhere was counting on that.

Slapping her father’s hand, she said sternly, ‚That’s cheating.‛

Ucidhere gave her an innocent look. ‚Why? She was enjoying it so

much.‛

Zoricah narrowed her eyes at him in response. Giving it one more

shot, she placed herself in front of Deirdre, who seemed to be still

enjoying the lingering feelings left by Ucidhere’s hands. Trying to capture

her friend's eyes with her own, Zoricah said slowly, ‚Deirdre, the

nightmare is over. You don’t have to go back to that torture anymore. You

are safe.‛

Deirdre started giving out signs of distress again. Her brows

furrowed; then her eyes went wide. But Zoricah quickly added. ‚Drew is

there, waiting for you.‛

Deirdre froze and, for the first time, looked straight at Zoricah.
Yes!

That was the key to get her out of there. On the corner of her eyes, Zoricah

saw Ucidhere shuffle in agitation, so she continued. ‚Drew needs you,

Deirdre. She won’t make it without you. And if she takes her own life, she

will never be accepted in Apa Sâmbetei
with you.‛ No inimăs
who tried

avoid the trials the Soartas had set for them by killing themselves were

allowed in Apa Sâmbetei.

Zoricah wasn’t exaggerating. She knew Drew would not want to

live without her second half. Zoricah had had the opportunity to see their

connection on one occasion, a hundred or so years before. The twins had

been flying over El Salvador when Santa Ana Volcano erupted. Its