Legend of the Touched (37 page)

Kat grabbed his face so tenderly, he was taken aback.
He expected her to be angry. All he saw when he looked into her
eyes was tears of desperation.

"Matthias, I want this to end the
right
way.
I'm telling you what I saw. Please reconsider your plans. Try to
make an agreement in a different way."

"They deserve to die. Especially after what they did
to my father!"

She closed her eyes, and tears spilled down her
cheeks. Slowly, she kissed his lips so softly he could barely feel
them. "I love you, so much."

He stared into her dark eyes and kissed her forehead.
"Then understand why I need to do this." Her body shuddered in his
arms as she started to cry harder. Leaving her in such a state
wasn't easy, but he pulled away so he could do so.

"I think they've done something to your brother," she
choked out.

Matt's fists clenched at his sides. "Didn't I tell
you to not mention him again? Why are you trying to hurt me so
much?"

"It's just what I heard," she said and her face
turned away from him. Her eyes stared at the floor and her lips
began to tremble. Then her voice appeared in his mind.
I wish
you'd believe me, trust me more than a child you barely know. When
have I ever lied to you before?

He couldn't think of a time when she had. Kat always
tried her best to be up front and honest, he knew that. What she
was saying didn't make sense though. But maybe it explained what
Jason did. If whoever was hurting his brother caused him to turn,
then maybe there was some hope.

"I have to take the city. It's the only way. I'll be
careful, and I'll come home again. I promise." He gave her one last
kiss, unsure of whom to believe. Why would a holy prophet of God
lie about a divine war? But why would his wife?

Chapter Ninety-One

The Oceina

"We need to go to the cave with the crystals."
Jason's whisper had been strained. Soon after his brown eyes
glossed over to black, and he was lost to them once again—replaced
by the demon. Chris held the young man in place as he tried to lash
out at all of them. It'd been happening off and on. Every few
minutes Jason would quiet down and relax, and then the next moment
he started spasming and spitting. What Jason's words meant, Darien
didn't know. Jason regained control over the demon one more time to
give more direct coordinates.

Taj frowned. "I'm not sure I understand what's going
on."

"He's possessed. Duh," Etz said with a roll of his
eyes. "What I want to know is whose bright idea it was to include
him in the transfer of power because now he has
my
magic. A
possessed dragon is bad enough. Touched is even worse. Touched and
hyped up on all of the elements? Do I need to spell this out?"

"We needed his magic too," Darien said softly. Etz
was right though, and he should have taken that into consideration
and not been so blinded by his personal quest. "Time to go to this
cave."

"And do what?" Jason snarled at them, his voice
barely human and recognizable. "You don't know what you're doing.
All of you are children, worthless, stupid. If you want to win
this, I can give you the power. I just need to be—"

Etz shot a gust of wind at Jason's head and smirked
as it rendered the man unconscious. Darien put his head in his
hands.

"It got him to shut up." Shrugging innocently, Etz
went to help Chris with Jason's now limp body. "I will take him to
this island. You have some unfinished business back home right?
Besides, you said this guy has a twin?" Darien nodded, and Etz
continued. "Yeah, might want to think of a backup plan then."

Darien returned to Sanctuary alone. Lance greeted him
at the door.

"The Inero have moved across the border," he
said.

Taking in a deep breath, Darien closed his eyes. He'd
been expecting the attack to happen quickly after Lynx's death.
Hopefully with the new magic inside of him, he could fight for his
people.

"How much time until they get to the city?" Darien
knew that was going to be the ultimate goal. It was the most
powerful point in the Oceina nation. So long as the Inero were
going on foot, it would take more time. If they were traveling by
car or flying, it would only be a few hours.

Lance leaned against the wall and gazed up at the
ceiling. "They're taking their good sweet time. In fact, he's
openly called you out to come and fight him in the farmland right
before the entrance to the city. Winner takes all. Cute, huh? And
traditional, challenging you to a duel."

Darien grunted a little. "And when is this supposed
to be happening?"

"Tomorrow night."

"At sundown?" He couldn't help but roll his eyes at
the cliché.

"Nine."

With a slight nod, Darien started up the stairs so he
could hopefully get some rest. "I guess I'll be there."

Chapter Ninety-Two

The Oceina

"What do you mean something is wrong and he's not
coming home?" Gwen asked Navi. Tai watched the two women talk. She
didn't know what to think of them. They seemed nice, and not all
too different from the girls she'd met at school. But they were
obviously close, and Tai did not want to intrude on that bond. So
she watched.

Navi put an arm around Gwen hugging her like a
sister. "Chris said you'd understand. They brought him to Shanrea.
And that Jason needed to stay away from you. That's all he'll tell
me."

With a shake of her head, tears began to fall slowly
down Gwen's cheeks. "I can't believe this. He shouldn't have
left."

Tai put a hand on Gwen's arm gently and noticed
Darien walk by. Darien and Tai made eye contact momentarily, and
she took it as a good time to excuse herself. She left the room
quietly, whispering a farewell. When she noticed Darien was waiting
outside of the doorway for her, she couldn't help but smile.

He moved his arm around her waist and pulled her in
close to his chest. "I was looking for you."

"I'm glad you came back to me. Lance told us what's
going to happen." She bit her lip, unsure of how to bring up the,
hopefully, final battle.
If he loses...
She couldn't
continue the thought.

Darien tugged at her to walk with him. "Then it saves
me the trouble of filling you in. When I get back, I..." He
swallowed and gazed into her eyes. "I want to get married."

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head to
the side. "We're already married."

"I know. What I mean is we haven't had a traditional
romance. We didn't date. I didn't have to court you too much. I
want to give you a real wedding ceremony that's beautiful and
happy. Not a confusing ritual where you're terrified. Where we can
say our vows to each other, not to some religious figure." He
kissed her forehead. "And I will be all yours."

Tai let out a quiet laugh then kissed his lips. "When
you get home then, we can start planning something amazing."

"So is that a yes?"

She nodded. "Of course it is."

"I'm sorry I've been so—"

She silenced him with another kiss. "No more
apologies. You have a job you were born to do, and when it's done,
we'll have all sorts of time together. I only wish I could be more
useful. We all hate staying here and waiting."

Slowly, one of his hands stroked her hair. "You do a
lot. You give me a reason to make it back."

Chapter Ninety-Three

The Inero

The Inero Royal Guard spent the entire day
progressing up the road that connected Oceina City to the Inero
border. Matt set fire to a number of forests and buildings on the
way though he made sure to not kill any civilians. After all, he
didn't want to destroy his future subjects. If he could take the
city, being the new Inero Lord was in the bag. He'd be the youngest
Lord since the first dragon. The Oceina resisted his advances, at
first. Once they saw how weak their magic was against the Inero,
the water dragons backed away, practically giving him the
countryside on a silver platter. The Oceina may have been larger in
size, but the Inero were faster. The few water dragons killed had
been easy to slaughter. When the other Oceina saw how fast their
kin were brought down, they stopped advancing and delivered Matt's
message to their leader.

Nine o'clock was fast approaching, and Matt was
waiting in a harvested field of grain. Oceina was much colder than
home. Frost was already gathering on the ground. Soon it would
snow. Matt lit a fire while he waited. Would the Oceina Lord come
and fight for his people? Matt certainly hoped so. He'd love
another go at the man.

About three minutes 'til nine, Matt saw the outline
of a young man in the distance. "Right on time," Matt whispered,
smirking. The young man walked towards him, his fists clenched and
covered in blue fire.

"I accept your challenge. Winner takes all, on the
honor of our fathers and kin?" Darien, the Oceina Lord said.

"Something like that." Matt casually created a red
fire in his hands.

"Just us, no side help."

"Of course."

"I wanted to make sure you understood. Not like your
kin scare me much. I just believe in fighting fair," Darien
said.

"I believe in doing what's necessary. But I'm also a
man of my word." With a flick of his wrist, Matt changed the color
of his fire from red to olive-green. He loved the feeling of
summoning the Terran magic. It sent an amazing surge of power
through his entire body. He then hurled the fire at the Oceina
Lord, tingling with anticipation to see the man fall. The water
dragon crossed his arms in front of him to shield himself from the
attack.

There was a flash of light, and when Matt could see
once more he noticed the man was still on his feet without a
scratch. Even his clothing was only slightly disheveled.
Disappointed, Matt threw another ball of earth energy at him, a
larger one. And then he quickly tossed another three to follow
after for good measure. Darien did fall this time, but there was
another bright white light that protected him from what should have
been an incapacitating blow. Matt remembered that the man was
Touched as well, but Matt was throwing some strong spells. Granted,
he was going a little easy on the guy, not wanting to overexert
himself. It was time to take the gloves off.

Before Matt had a chance though he was hit with a
white orb of light that crackled with something like lightning.
When it hit him, Matt felt a slight sting, but also a small surge
in his own magic—his fire magic.
Is it possible? Does he have
another element too?
No, Matt was certain the Oceina did not
know how to create such a bond. And even if they did, what Aero
would sacrifice his life to make it happen?

Another ball came flying at him. Matt rolled to dodge
it, creating a small shield of fire around himself. Defensive
spells had never been his specialty though. No matter how many
times Jason had tried to teach him, he couldn't figure out how to
make them work to his liking. Then the water dragon did something
new. Just as Matt was regaining his footing, he noticed a wave of
ice rushing towards him. It hit him with a powerful force, sending
him back several feet through the air before he landed on the
ground with a hard thud. He struggled to stand again, his head
spinning. Darien was soon standing over him, more ice in his
hands.

"I learned some of your tricks," Darien seethed. He
reached down and put a hand over Matt's foot. Matt struggled, at
first, but the cold of the ice both burned and calmed him at the
same time. "Do you yield?"

"I'd rather you kill me," Matt spat. His body
shivered. "I d-don't surrender."

"If you wish, I can. But you need to help me with
something else first."

Matt was about to snap that he'd never help an
Oceina, but Darien struck him hard across the face with his fist.
And with the one blow, Matt was out cold.

Chapter Ninety-Four

The Oceina

Darien took Jason's twin to the coordinates of the
crystal cave. He didn't know what was going on exactly, but after a
brief conversation with Chris earlier he figured it had something
to do with keeping the demon inside of Jason at bay. Why they
needed the brother, Darien didn't understand. Out of all the
horrible things the man had done though, he might have enough good
left in him to help his own flesh and blood. Darien hoped so at
least. Jason was his friend.

The cave was breathtaking and mystical with the
beautiful crystals looming overhead. The next thing Darien noticed
upon entering was Jason bound tightly in chains lying on the floor.
He writhed and squirmed in place, trying to free himself. Darien's
heart sank.

"What is this place?" Darien approached Jason with
caution so he could put Matthias down nearby.

"Careful, the punk bit me earlier," Etz said.

"You deserved it. You can't keep me here. Unchain me
and I'll spare your pathetic excuse of a life," Jason spat, his
voice deep and gritty.

Etz rolled his eyes. "Stuff it." He looked over at
Darien and pointed to Jason. "See how nervous we make him? He's
been cussing and whining ever since he came to. Tried to blow Chris
up and everything. I'm glad I came for all of this fun." At first
Darien thought he was being sarcastic, but then he realized Etz was
being completely serious.

"Yes, exploding is my idea of a great time," Chris
mumbled as he combed through a book with Taj.

Darien walked over to them and read over their
shoulders. "Exorcisms. Interesting, but why did you want me to
bring
him?
" He gestured at Matthias. Darien would have
preferred to have him locked up in a cell than there.

"From what I understand of this possession, it
happened when his brother was present. They opened this portal
together, so they both will be needed to close it," Chris
explained. "I'm having a hard time understanding the language in
the book though. It's ancient and rough, not the standard dragon
tongue."