Songs of the Earth (14 page)

Gregori said, "It will protect me from the wolves."
Juan stepped up next to Gregori, who seemed to stand taller next to the warrior.
Without warning, the wolves with Craig charged us. I moved into a ready stance as the Earth screamed underneath me. The shock wave brought me to my knees. Ushna stepped in front of me, calling my name.
I tried to answer him, to let him know it wasn't me who was hurt, but I couldn't speak. The Earth groaned beneath me in agony, and I searched for the cause. I found it under Craig. He was clutching the dirt with his hands. He was pouring energy into the ground, tunneling down twenty feet, forty feet, sixty, eighty, one hundred feet. I felt his triumph as he harnessed his power to something. The Earth screamed and quaked underneath me as he started to bring it up. Water. He was drawing up ground water, forcing it through the soil, tearing through her. I didn't know what his purpose was, but I had to try to stop him. Shirdals screeched war cries from the skies overhead, wolves howled, and my warriors transformed into their Lupe battle form.
The magic that rolled off the warriors called to me, causing me to vibrate as I responded to the call of the Lupe. Each warrior was anchored to this world through me; it was both terrifying and humbling.
I'd felt the power, the inherent magic of the Lupe form in small quantities up until now. Twice I'd felt the force of the call of my consort, first in Seattle, and then when Ushna fought the God Enki in the test circle. I'd sensed the pull and call at the river with the six Lycans who'd tried to protect me from the Shirdal. The pull of magic from the Lupe forms had reached out to me, their alpha, the only one who had the supremacy and willpower to anchor them to Earth, allowing the warrior to control the beast of the third form. I'd thought the pull was strong then, as the force of six had tugged at my core, awakening my predator. I'd had the strength to secure them to the Earth and yet deny my need to transform into my Lupe in response to their need for the command of their alpha. Neither incident compared to the power of the call of thirteen warriors turned Lupe. Their energies buzzed through me with the swiftness of an electrical current and I deftly reached out, grabbed their individual strands, and anchored them. It was then, with sweat on my brow and trembling limbs, I could truly appreciate kings who were strong enough to call, command, and control whole armies of Lycans in their Lupe battle form.
The part of me that was their alpha, their king, rose, pushing my battle form forward. I couldn't change along with my men because I didn't know what it would do to the new life I carried. Today would be dangerous enough for our unborn children, so I suppressed the Lupe within me and turned my attention to the intruders.
The Lupe battle form made my warriors stronger and faster than the wolves we fought. Some of the invaders were also warriors and they tried to mimic the Lupe transformations of my men. They had forgotten where they were and who they were challenging. I'd make them know who I was. I was their king, and they would answer to me. With a vicious mental tug, I wrenched away their battle form. They howled and snapped at the air, feeling my denial like a physical blow, and as I had not only denied them their Lupe form, but as their alpha, I threw them out of their wolf form.
They stopped. Everyone fell to the ground, writhing as they fought my forced transformation, human jaws snapping at the air in anger, fingers clawing the soil, alltoo-human bodies slowly climbing to their feet. They were more vulnerable now, but still they continued to charge across the field.
I turned my attention to Stoiler and realized I might not be able to stop what he was doing. Ground water burst into the air, but it wasn't a geyser. The top soil fifty feet around Stoiler blew up and out, mixing with the ground water that flew up and pooled in the air above him. There was no question now who the Avatar was. I reminded myself Avatars could be killed. It was hard to believe when enough water to fill an Olympic-size pool hung motionless in the air with more water coming out of the ground by the second.
I had to put my fear aside. People were depending on me. My mind started running through possible solutions. Earth magic was powerful but slow. I could build a wall but the water would still come over. I could push a wave of soil into Craig to dislodge him but it wouldn't stop him from pulling water out of the ground. He'd drown us if I didn't stop what he was doing. I had to be able to get close enough to kill him without him seeing me.
I remembered my father, Ramsey Janick, throwing me up in the air as a child. I had squealed in delight as we repeated nursery rhymes together. In that singular moment, I missed him terribly. Although he'd kept my identity from me, he'd trained me how to be a king and he had armed me with what I would need.
I started pulling power from the ground, singing a battle song I remembered my father teaching me when I was a pup. The Earth, in her agony, rallied, closing off the ascending ground water by placing dirt and stone in its path, causing the land to rumble and shake. People were thrown off balance, some crouching close to the ground to wait out the quake. Stoiler's howl of fury sounded above everything else as his ability to pull water from the ground was cut off. He shouted orders that spurred his followers to attack.
Stoiler's pack of humans clashed with my warriors. Within moments it was pandemonium. Growling and screams of the dying filled the air. Some of the assailants fell quickly to the expert strokes of sharp blades. The sheer numbers of Stoiler's pack were able to overwhelm and pull a few warriors to the ground, the weight of the bodies burying my fighters beneath the attackers. The Shirdals screamed battle cries that made some of the humans stop and look. The fierce lion-eagles circled in the air, swooping down to assist the warriors. With deadly precision, they plucked targets from my overburdened Lupes, carrying the screaming combatants into the air before finishing them off with beak and talon. A group of humans broke away and headed toward the house, followed by a Lupe. Snipers picked them off.
The golem stepped in front of Gregori. The movement of its joints was a grating sound, high-pitched and grinding. There were small tremors in the ground when the golem put its foot down. His presence caused more than one man to choose another to attack. Those who were stupid enough to continue charging Gregori were met with a sweep of the golem's massive arm. It was like watching a bowling ball demolish a set of pins. In one hand, the golem carried an oversized axe, using it to chop at the fallen bodies. Anyone fortunate enough to make it past the golem met their end at the point of Juan's sword.
"Gregori!" I yelled over the noise of the battle and earthquake. "Make Stoiler move two paces to the left!"
A wall of fire five feet long erupted next to Craig, causing him to step hurriedly away from the heat and flames into the entanglement trap. He ignored the vines latching onto him, anchoring him to the ground. He commanded water to put out the flames.
I had only moments to get to Craig while the vines still held him fast. There was only one way I could get to him quickly. I looked up at my lover, standing in front of me like a hero of old. "Ushna," I called as I staggered to my feet. He turned to me immediately, and I drew his left arm around my waist and yelled, "Hang on and hold your breath!"
His arm tightened around me and the Earth sucked us down, swallowed us, and hurtled us toward the man who'd started it all. Encapsulated, we flowed through the Earth, aware of the ground around us as we passed through but not burdened by the pressure of it. The song of life embraced us, and strangely, I was unafraid of the dark. Up, out of the Earth we burst, dust and rock exploding around us.
Craig Stoiler looked worse close up. His green mottled skin hung on his skeleton as if he'd lost all muscle, and the putrid stench of rot surrounded him. Craig stared at me as I stood battle ready in front of him. He was trapped in the entanglement of the enchanted vines. His manic eyes showed white in his possession, and I had a fleeting moment of regret for him. Had
he
murdered all those people, or had it been the God who'd possessed him?
But it was only a moment of regret. I plunged my bastard sword, glinting green in the setting sun, through his poisoned heart. With the swift surety of the warrior that I was, I withdrew the sword and cut off his head in one swing. The body swayed but remained standing. Out of the bloody neck came a thick, black, tar-like shadow. Shadow or no, the damn thing hissed in contempt at me, causing my hair to stand on end. I took an involuntary step back, into Ushna's chest.
My name was screamed from across the field: Gregori. I looked up at the water suspended above us, liquid and dark, shining in the setting sun. I experienced a moment of awe before the water fell from the sky. Ushna crushed me to him as he pushed me into the ground, his body a shield around mine as the water came crashing down, flattening us to the turf under its massive weight before we were swallowed once again by the Earth.

Ushna hadn't let go of me since the Earth spit us out at Gregori's feet two days ago. Exhausted and muddy, I had tried to stand up, only to be hauled to my feet into a crushing embrace by Ushna. He smelled like blood and sweat but I didn't care.

"Never again," he repeated over and over into my ear.
I didn't answer him. I couldn't promise him I wouldn't do something that reckless again. I had gambled and surprisingly, I'd won. I'd do it again if it saved lives. I let him hold me and told myself any trembling I did was because I was cold from the water and not scared out of mind at what I'd done. Odd as it may be, I took a moment to lament the loss of my sword. I'd known it wouldn't last beyond the dawn's light, but I'd really liked it.
I hadn't stepped outside since the battle with Craig Stoiler. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Ushna worried I'd overextended myself with magic, causing possible harm to the babies. Uttu reassured him I was fine, the babies were fine, and all I needed was rest.
Singing to the Earth was an act of magic. I couldn't imagine not being able to answer her greeting. In a short period of time, I'd come to need the contact. A part of me still echoed with her screams from the battle night. I was still in contact with her from the house. The connection wasn't as strong, but it was still there and let me check on her.
My pasture now had a lake in it. The water displacement had caused the ground to collapse so it now cradled the water the Avatar had pulled out of the ground. I'm not sure what happened to his body. I half-expected it to float to the surface any day now. I ignored the tiny voice that told me the remains would never surface in that water.
Yesterday, Ki appeared on my front porch. The guards didn't allow her entrance though she insisted she needed to speak to me. I was done with her. I wasn't going to give her the opportunity to do something else to us.
Gregori, Ushna, and Uttu went out onto the porch with me. Ann stood there with her arms crossed, trying hard to give the appearance of a human in jeans and a Tshirt. I knew better. I'd never be at ease around her again.
Ki started talking before I had both feet out the door. "Before you say anything, Tristan, I have some information for you and hopefully after you hear me out, you will give me another chance. The royal line always finds their Twin Flame and in the past, only the Twin Flame became the king's consort. Ushna should have never become your consort, but after seeing the ring and his Caduceus, I went in search of answers.
"The magic that binds you to your consort did not look for the claim of the Twin Flame. You chose Ushna. You gave yourself over to him. Ushna fully and completely returned that commitment, allowing the magic to return to you, completing the binding. He balanced you. If Ushna had not, the magic would have never worked. You would have been lovers, nothing more."
Uttu crossed her arms. "Ki, tell them the rest."
The Goddess looked like she'd rather do anything than go on. "There is an ancient prophecy that was written by the first human man created by Enki, who was named Adapa. Over time, all but a few pieces have been lost. It's about a king and his consort who will change the Heavens and the Earth. Your Caduceus was black, like that of your predecessors. Then I saw the ring Ushna wears and his Caduceus. Consorts are never graced with the Caduceus. Then your Caduceus changed, Tristan, and became striped. I knew then the prophecy was about you and your consort."
Something wasn't adding up. From the beginning, Ushna had known his Caduceus was the sign of the king's consort. I said not a word though and held the knowledge close.
"Is that why you brought up having children?" I asked, wrestling with my rising temper at her obvious manipulation.
"It is a very real possibility the both of you will die. The prophecy is incomplete. I am the guardian of your line and I needed to make sure the royal line remains unbroken."
"Why do you think we may die? That we may cause changes in the Heavens and Earth could have many different and non-violent meanings."
"More than your alpha was bound by the spell, Tristan. Your magic and the ability you have in talking to the Earth were bound as well. I am not sure what was unleashed when the binding spell unraveled. When a Magi uses magic, can you feel it?"
"Both Ushna and I can feel it. I can see it."
"The Earth has true affection for you. She talks to you. With others, she only responds to requests. She seeks out your touch. Can you feel her without touching the ground?" Warily, I nodded. "You reached through the Earth and spoke to the Shirdal, and I heard you and Ushna traveled through the ground. You called the Earth to battle through song. These are not the normal abilities of the king and his consort. It is imperative you and I start your exercises immediately."
I gave an ugly snort. "No."
Ushna drew me to his side. We'd already discussed this. Despite these new revelations, Ki meant nothing to me. I didn't give a damn about her partial prophecy. She'd used it as an excuse for her actions, which had been careless and thoughtless.
Ki looked stunned. "What do you mean, no?"
"Just what I said. No, I won't work with you. You can go eat your prophecy. All this information you found is intriguing and answered some questions I had, but it wasn't imperative. Ushna is my consort, and I am thankful. That he and I are doing things others have not is interesting, but I'm not going to live my life in fear of an incomplete prophecy interpreted by you. Any help I accept from you will be self-serving on your part."
The Goddess looked as if she was at a loss for words, but was working herself into a temper. Uttu stepped in front of me. "You know what you are supposed to do. You must summon Ashur and charge him with teaching Tristan."
"It is my responsibility," Ki countered.
"One you have failed at. Ki, there was an Avatar here trying to kill your charge. Where were you that you did not know he was in danger?"
Ki looked into the distance, her anger at Uttu's words growing instead of diminishing. Ushna and Gregori stepped in front of me, catching the Goddess's attention.
"I would not hurt Tristan," she snapped.
"You already did, twice," Ushna countered, unafraid.
"You have lost their trust, Ki. You have to hand the tutelary over to Ashur," said Uttu.
"I'm not sure I want another," I told Uttu.
"Ashur is necessary, Tristan."
I wasn't sure what she was trying to tell me. "Fine. We'll talk later about what that means," I replied.
I left Ki on the porch with Uttu. Gregori stayed with them as Ushna followed me inside. I was still tired and the stressful chat with the Goddess had worn me out. I'd talk to Gregori and Ushna later about what Ki had said. I knew Gregori would want to know more about the prophecy. I couldn't care less what someone thousands of years ago may or may not have said about the color of my snakes.
Uttu had it right. I'd made choices that had led to Ushna becoming my husband and that was where I wanted to be. I wouldn't allow myself to be tempted by prophecy. I refused to measure all my actions and decisions against it.