Striker (2 page)

"He has had a better life with me than he would have ever had on land," Nethus snapped.

Zeus struggled to control his rising anger. The loss of Canry had wounded his family deeply. Years later, they still mourned for him in small, but noticeable, ways. Especially Meme, who devoutly believed Canry lived and continued to yearn for the youngling taken from her. When they swam in the Waters of Poseidon, their gazes ever searched for the lost son, hoping for, praying for, a single glimpse of hope. Zeus struggled to understand why his family had endured the senseless pain.

"Why was he not allowed to visit? Why has his wellbeing been kept from his blood? What purpose could that have served? Explain yourself!"

Nethus lifted his lip in a sneer. "His destiny is greater than you can ever comprehend. His concept of family must be broader than your little Vondorian pod, otherwise he will falter in his duty. Do not think you can judge us for what you believe you know. I do not have to give an accounting to you."

Nethus swam closer to Zeus, his inexorable gaze boring into Zeus.  It was an expression of haughty indignation. Regardless of the power he sensed in Nethus, and his weaponless state, nothing stayed Zeus’s hand when Nethus attempted to reach past him for Canry. Infuriated, he launched himself at the smirking being in defense of his brother.

"Zeus! No!" He heard Canry's cry, but the call sounded distant over the rushing blood in his ears.

Nethus's triumphant expression turned startled as Zeus’s legs wrapped, snake-like, around his slick waist. Grabbing a barb-pointed ear, Zeus jerked back before delivering a hard chop to the side of Nethus's gilled neck. Nethus bellowed, his skin going from light blue to a tint so dark that the color appeared almost black. Canry's frantic yelling was the last thing Zeus heard before he and Nethus plunged into the deep Waters of Poseidon.

Tentacles attacked his face, suckers pulling and twisting, the barbs clawing at his cheeks and neck. Nethus struggled to remove his locked legs, claws gouging at the flesh of his thighs, darkening the water with blood. Grabbing a handful of tentacles, Zeus yanked them backwards, arching Nethus's neck as Zeus attempted to gouge Nethus's eyes with his free hand.

Canry's yellow fingers grasped Zeus’s wrist. When he glanced at his brother's pleading expression, Nethus managed to land a strike on Zeus’s temple. Stunned by the blow, his legs loosened and Nethus turned him around, pulling his back into Nethus's chest as strong arms secured his limbs to his sides and tentacles wrapped around his throat, strangling him.

Zeus gritted his teeth as he kicked and thrashed about, attempting to strike Nethus in the face with the back of his head. A tentacle strayed across his lips and he bit it, his mouth filling with foul-tasting blood. Canry appeared before Zeus in the blood-stained water, with frightened large, green eyes, and his clawed hands pulling at the appendages strangling Zeus before more surrounded Zeus’s head, again, covering his eyes.

Even as Nethus squeezed Zeus about the neck, cutting off the blood flow to his head and weakening him, Zeus continued to fight, refusing to give up. Suddenly freed of Nethus's death grip, Zeus was pulled into Canry's embrace as he swam frantically away. Canry stared past his shoulder, his eyes impossibly wide, his mouth forming a huge O. Zeus craned his sore neck around to glance behind him, following Canry's awed gaze.

Azaes and Mestor, Zeus and Canry's older brothers, circled Nethus. The twins worked in concert, their black, scaled tails battering Nethus mercilessly as they slithered, serpentine-like, around their quarry. The water frothed with bubbles, clouding the water and making it difficult for Zeus to track what happened.

A movement to the far side of the three combatants told Zeus they were not as alone in the waters as he had originally believed. Something massive approached at great speed. Grabbing Canry's attention with a wave of his free hand, he pointed to the oncoming figure. The worry on his brother’s face became absolute fear and Canry tugged Zeus further away from the conflict.

He attempted to twist out of Canry's iron grasp, refusing to leave his brothers with an unknown threat coming. His struggle seemed to catch Mestor's attention. Zeus quit fighting Canry's hold and began to gesture wildly, hoping that Mestor would notice the dark mass rapidly heading toward them.

No longer fighting Canry's hold, Zeus’s gestures became wilder as Canry pulled him further away. Mestor broke from the attack on Nethus and gave pursuit. A piercing cry, louder than any whale Zeus had ever heard, caused his heart to pound. The fighting halted, Mestor paused in his pursuit, and even Canry came to a stop, only to draw Zeus into a protective embrace. Was it too late to escape? Zeus focused on the approaching being.

Gray and white appendages, thicker than his waist, wrapped around him and Canry from below. Simultaneously, Mestor, Nethus, and Azaes were similarly ensnared and all of them were carried upwards, lifted high above the water. The bellow came again, the sea muffling the angry call to a low boom. Large tentacles held all of them aloft, separating Azaes from Nethus where he rode Nethus’s back like a barnacle. Behind them rose a creature… a male, larger than any craft or building on Atlainticia. Like Canry, the being's skin was a mixture of thick hide and patterned scales. In addition to the appendages that secured them, four muscular arms dominated a huge barrel-shaped chest. Corkscrew curls of damp, green foliage covered the male's head and lower jaw. Dark, almond shaped eyes stared at them over a flat, shapeless nose.

"Nethus!" The male's rumble caused the water under them to ripple outward. "You drew blood in my waters. Explain yourself."

Nethus, who looked rather the worse for the wear, waved a blue hand at the creature as he glared back at Nethus. "He attacked me. I simply defended myself." Bravado laced Nethus's answer, but he appeared just as frightened of the large male as Canry.

"Attacked?" Those dark eyes took Zeus in. He felt as if he were being weighed and measured. "With what weapon? His blunt teeth or his clawless fingers? Tell me how endangered you were by Zeus, who is one hundred times more powerful on land than he will ever be in my sea? What possible threat does he pose to a son of Poseidon?" The blue of Nethus's skin lightened to a pale green. "Did you forget I hear all in the water? You allowed your jealousy to prod you into provoking Zeus when his only concern was for Canry's safety. Your actions caused a need that almost drew the whole of the Vondorian family into the waters. You are lucky I caught the parents before they followed their sons."

Nethus screamed in fury, causing Zeus’s hackles to raise. Is this what Canry dealt with on a daily basis? "He must break all ties with his past in order to grab onto the future he is meant to have!"

Poseidon frowned. Zeus knew paternal disappointment when he saw it. "You will work on your temper. I have misjudged your readiness to be a mentor. Canry's tutelage will pass to one of your more experienced brothers. His development is too important for this type of dissention."

The coil of concern for Canry's safety eased somewhat at Poseidon's declaration.

"No! You cannot!"

"Nethus, the youngling's development is dependent upon his ties to
all
people of the water, even that of his birth family. When was the last time he visited with them?"

"He spends some days with Shaneva." Nethus avoided Poseidon's gaze.

"Canry." Those dark eyes switched from Nethus to Zeus and his brother. Zeus wanted to shield Canry, but the hold they were in kept him in place. Instead, he tightened his grasp on Canry, glaring in warning. Poseidon's thin lips quirked up at the corners. "No harm will come to him, youngling. I merely wish to question him." The compelling gaze slipped to Canry. "When last were you permitted on land?"

Zeus knew the answer to the question. Never. Glancing at his brother, he met Canry's brilliant green gaze. He gave Canry an encouraging nod. "I am not allowed on land." Zeus wondered what Canry's guilty glance at Nethus meant. Why would Canry want to protect that rude, foul-tempered male? Even if the defeated slump to Nethus's shoulders and now-mottled skin looked rather pathetic.

"Explain yourself!" Poseidon's rage crackled like electricity in the air.

"His place is here with us. I did not wish to lose him to the land, so I forbade him to ever speak of it."

If Zeus had not been held securely by Poseidon, Zeus would have attacked Nethus simply for overlooking Canry's needs.

"That is his choice to make, not yours to take. What has happened to your fair judgment? You know the ties to his family make him stronger. You meddled in something you should not. Only time will tell if you have weakened him. If so, he will fail the tasks set before him. Son," Poseidon gave a tired sigh, the frustration evident in the severe frown that caused deep lines to crease his brow. "Your actions could lead to his death and our demise."

"Father …" Nethus appeared lost, his gaze bouncing from each person present.

The words of warning and the undercurrent of what was left unsaid between Nethus and Poseidon stole any satisfaction Zeus felt at Nethus's comeuppance. He was reminded of why Canry had called him to the waters, the dangers his brother warned awaited them in Valespian space, and Zeus’s promise to call upon Canry when in need. Whatever Poseidon or Nethus believed, Zeus swore Canry would not fail. He would remind his brother that his family would stand beside him, and together, they would weather any challenge set before him.

Poseidon set them all down in the water. Azaes and Mestor slithered across the surface, and Zeus met them with a hiss-click greeting. The time of dawn now long past, the sky bloomed with varying colors of deep blue, the remaining stars slowly winking out.

"Visit with Canry while you can. Your time in the waters will soon come to a close. Nethus will bother you no more. Canry, come to me when you are done here." Poseidon and Nethus withdrew, sinking below the water once again, causing small waves to rise with his passing.

Canry floated a short distance away, and Zeus felt a sharp pang of compassion at the clear expression of longing his brother directed at the twins. He beckoned Canry forward, but at his brother's hesitancy, Azaes and Mestor converged on him. Zeus joined them in greeting Canry with pressed foreheads. A poignant song lifted from their lips; the harmony spoke of finding the long-lost while the twins took turns embracing their shocked brother. Zeus laughed with overflowing joy and joined in the song, greeting Canry formally before embracing him.

"Meme will be so happy to know you are unharmed." Azaes cupped Canry's face between his palms, his black scales dark against the yellow of Canry's skin.

"You have been treated well?" Mestor took Azaes's place, brushing his nose tenderly against Canry's chin.

Canry blinked rapidly, a tremulous smile touching his lips. "At no time have I been harmed. I adore my home and the people within. Please, never wonder if I have been abused or molested."

"Nethus?" Zeus hissed.

Canry squeezed his hand. "No. He would not ever lift a hand to me. He believed he did what was best for me. He loves me, I think, and instead of confessing, he holds onto me too tightly."

Zeus huffed. That kind of possessive infatuation often turned dangerous. He shared a look with the twins. The predatory expression on their faces told Zeus that they agreed. Nethus would find his pursuit of Canry difficult, possibly even blocked completely. Son of Poseidon or not, Zeus would give Nethus no mercy.

"When will you visit? Meme and Father would love to see you," Zeus asked, ready to take advantage of the cessation of the ban that kept Canry from land. Their father sojourned on Valespia, arranging for Azaes's ascension to the Atlaintician throne after the commitment ceremony to his future mate, Ariafella. But Canry could call on Meme. She remained at home to prepare for the upcoming wedding.

"I will visit soon," Canry promised. "There are issues I must settle first."

Zeus sensed the tug, the signal his body called to his soul. He could not deny the insistent command. Embracing Canry once more, he pressed their foreheads together before kissing his brother on the nose. He thought he heard Canry whisper—"I will see you soon. Remember your word,"—before he pushed away to be set adrift upon the water.

Zeus woke to the sound of frantic whispers, garbled and unclear, but the urgency in Dargon's tone made him struggle to open his eyes.

"I feel him coming around,"
Alpha’s soothing voice eased Zeus.

His eyes felt crusty. He wrinkled his nose, a wave of pain washing over him as he attempted to roll over. Hands upon his chest firmly held him on his back.

"Do not move." Dargon's voice sounded close, but Zeus still could not open his eyes. "Mayra is on her way to tend to your wounds. She stopped for assistance, since your brothers are strangely injured as well." Alarmed, Zeus attempted to move again, but Dargon's strength outmatched his at the moment.

"The twins?" he gasped through the pain.

"There is so much blood. At least the bleeding slowed."
Alpha sounded terrified.

"Who is bleeding? My eyes, I cannot see." He refused to panic. The overpowering scent of too much blood filled the air.

"Give me a moment." Dargon's heat retreated as the staying hand left his chest.

For the first thirteen years of his life, Zeus had been blind. He grew up honing other forms of sight. He stretched out his other senses. Breathing close by, low and even, told him someone lay unconscious. No, two people who breathed almost in unison. The twins, Mestor and Azaes, by the scent. Why were they in Dargon's cabin?

Quick footsteps headed his way, Dargon's gait identifiable even in his hurry. "I am placing a steamed cloth over your eyes."

"What happened?" The hot material came close to burning his skin, but Zeus held it to his face anyway.

Fingers gently prodded his throbbing thigh. "Alpha woke me when he sensed something different about you."

"
Your body was here, but you were not. We could not rouse you, and so Dargon contacted Azaes. By the time your brothers arrived, you were thrashing about. When they touched you, they collapsed. We could not wake them. The Monticore are outside the door …
"