Bliss (29 page)

“As did I, but with the melting ice in the Arctic one of my kind awoke. We mated and now new life begins for my race. You must come close
, Darius, if I am to gift you with my tears.”

“You…you are Gaia?”

The great sea dragon beast nodded. “As old as the beginning of the seas, I am Gaia, Poseidon’s first sea creation. The power he bestowed on my race brought about great change within the seas, and I quickly learned that with great power comes great responsibility. We were Poseidon’s first guardians but one among us wanted more power. When Poseidon learned of this, he unleashed the first terrible war within the sea, all because of the trickery of one of our own. After that, Poseidon cursed us to a life deep within the oceans. If my tears will stop this plague I give them to you freely, but I fear they may not.”

“Why don’t you try to cry and see if it works,” said Darius.

Massive beady, yellow reptilian eyes gave him a slow blink as the sea dragon artfully shook her head. Her scales shimmered iridescent blue to a shocking fire orange in color.

“A dragon can only cry on the verge of death.”

A gasp escaped Darius. Maybe at one time he’d longed to kill the fierce beast, but after he’d cured her infertility and she’d bestowed her gift to him in his time of need, his feelings had changed. Killing her felt sacrilegious. “Surely there is another way.”

“Alas
, there is not. We shed two tears with our death, and there is said to be great power in our death.”

“I can’t do it,” said Darius.

The sea dragon moved closer. Darius hadn’t noticed she carried two golden eggs in her arms. “These, Darius, I trust to your safe keeping. I birthed two in our mating, one to guard each of your children.”

Darius backed
up. “How did you know?”

The telling of this was written long before you were born. Your
freshlings
will be the first bonded to their guardians as it was when Poseidon first created us. The cycle must be complete.

“You’re asking me to kill you. And I have no idea how to take care of baby sea dragons.”

The she-dragon snorted. “My children will not need your guidance. They are birthed with all knowledge of their race and the legends of all time. They will merely watch over your
freshlings
.”

Still he argued.
“But surely there’s another way. I can’t just kill you.”

“You would rather watch your entire family, your
mardom
, wither away and die? Where is the warrior I met with Triton in hand to end my life on that day not so long ago in your past?”

“I’m here standing before you trying to think of an alternative.”

“There is none. To right a wrong, a life must be willingly given. I give you my life, just as you gave my race life.”

Darius swam in a tight circle, careful to keep his eyes always on the dragon. “It feels wrong.”

She blasted him with fire and instinctively he crouched low, barely missing getting his hair singed. The minute he straightened a bellow of rage from a voice he knew only too well filled the cavern.

It happened so fast
that Darius had no time to stop Kassandra from plunging her knife straight into the dragon’s heart. Even as he cried out in protest, Darius knew that if the dragon had truly wanted to live, she would never have allowed that death blow.

“I won’t let you kill him,” shouted Kassandra, her voice a high
-pitched sound that filled him with delight.

“You honor me,
Daughter of the Sea.”

The words
, though telepathically spoken, were loud and clear and Darius knew Kassandra had heard them as well. With a dazed look on her face, she pulled back. The knife looked puny as it jutted out of the dragon.

The dragon arched her head as she lowered her body to the cavern floor. Darius moved forward.

“Darius there isn’t much time. Promise me you will let my children bond with your
freshlings
.”

“I give thee my word and pledge to honor your memory,” said Darius with as much formality as he could muster. Inside him he felt a deep loss.

“What have I done?” said Kassandra, with tears in her own eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

The dragon could say no more. She gave one last gasp, a small stream of steam
that quickly vaporized back into the sea. Two crystal tears the size of pearls formed in the corners of each of her eyes. Darius removed the tears and then turned his attention to the two large eggs lying next to her.

Even within the deep cavern Darius felt the sea’s shift. Turbulent waters roared like
an undersea tornadoe, and he knew that the seas would be at least ten feet high. For a second, Darius wondered if this was Poseidon’s way of expressing his sorrow for the loss of one of the creatures he’d created, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Poseidon hadn’t bothered with his children for so long that even Darius felt like he was more a mythological figurehead than anything else.

“I’m so sorry
, Darius,” said Kassandra, eyes fixed on the dragon.

Darius turned and looked at her. She was on the verge of tears herself. “Don’t be.
This was for the best. I think she knew I couldn’t do it. That’s why she allowed you to be the one to end her life.”

“I honestly thought she was getting ready to fry you.”

“Maybe she was, but she’s served her purpose. Now I must keep to the promise I have made.” Darius picked up the first of the large dragon eggs, noting how the outer shell was made of solid gold. “Kassandra you’re going to have to carry the other one.”

“These are really her eggs?”

“Yes. They are miracles in themselves. She was thought to be the last of her kind. She has gifted us with her young, and she’s asked that we allow them to bond with our children.”

Kassandra raised her eyebrows. “Not sure I like the sounds of that.”

“I’ve never heard of it before but I think she means for her children to be their guardians. Let’s take them home and I will seek counsel with my Father.”

“Do you think her tears will really save your family?”

“I’m not sure. But I will follow through with what needs to be done.”

Darius felt hope simmer through his being for the first time in years. Two precious sea dragon tears, small as pearls, he held fast in his pouch. The minute they got home
, Darius left Kassandra to seek out his father.

“Father, I have the cure,” said Darius, entering his father’s throne room. As always the room awed him.

His father didn’t move from his throne. Instead he urged Darius forward. The worry lines on his father’s face were etched much more deeply than they had been even a day ago.

“How fares Mother?” asked Darius.

“I feel for the first time I could lose her. Let’s hope your cure does the trick.”

Darius removed the precious tears from his pouch and handed them to his father. His father
gave them a slightly incredulous look.

“These feel extremely powerful. What are they?”

“They are Gaia’s tears. Gaia was the sea dragon, and on her death she gave up two tears that, according to legend, might help end this plague.”

“So how do they work?”

Ah, that was the crux of things. “I’m not really sure.”

“I know exactly how they work,” said the loud
, baritone voice coming at Darius’ back. He whirled around in a battle-ready pose.

“Retan
you honor us with your presence, again,” said King Sadok, standing up to greet the Titan formally.

Darius didn’t know this
Titan but from the mere look and feel of him, Retan was powerful. The red sash around his chest said he sat on the Sea Guardian Council.

“Gaia bequeathed you, Darius, her life. You and yours are blessed.”

“Yeah, well we’re only blessed if these can stop the plague.”

“Oh, they most certainly can stop the plague. I will take them and see that all is set right.”

Darius frowned. He wasn’t buying into that. After all the trouble he’d gone to in securing the powerful tears, he certainly wasn’t about to let another Titan walk in and claim them. Especially a Titan he wasn’t trusting one hundred percent.

“Are you saying, Retan
, that the Council has decreed these will help find a cure for this plague?” asked King Sadok.

“The Council, as in most cases, is proving useless but I believe I know of someone who best can use these tears to cure things, or at least set things
back as they should be.”

That statement wasn’t comforting. “And who would this person be?”
Darius demanded.

“The Sister of the Future, my wife,” said Retan, flooring both King
Sadok and Darius.

“Your
…wife?”

“Yes. Before she was the Sister of the Future
, she was my wife, but a wrong turn set things in motion. She has been trying for decades to intercede to set things back on their natural path.”

“That’s great
. So how can Gaia’s tears make things right?” asked Darius, still trying to puzzle out all the connections.

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but she knows.”

“You know, I met your wife recently,” said Darius. “She was the one who pointed me in the direction of Gaia’s lair. Why didn’t she get them herself?”

“What did you have to do
, Darius, to get Gaia to give up her most powerful magic?”

Darius looked past his father taking a moment to think how best to answer. “Gaia had to be killed
,” he answered finally, his voice rough with emotion.

“And that is something my wife would and could not do. She needed you to set things in motion for her to succeed
, and we are forever in your debt.”

A lot of people seemed to be in Darius
’ debt lately, and that might be all good, but what he really wanted was his mother, brother and the rest of his
mardom
to be cured.

“Will you give them to me so I may give them to her?” asked Retan, giving Darius his full attention.

What choice do I have?
“Fine. Take them. I had best not be making a mistake.”

“I am sure Retan knows what’s best,” said King
Sadok, looking more at ease than when Darius had walked in.

“Thank you,” said Retan. “I would stay and chat but time is ticking away and we must act quickly to utilize the power within these tears.” And with that Retan bowed formally and then departed quickly.

Darius looked at his father. “I hope I didn’t just make the mistake of a lifetime.”

“What other choice did you have?”

And that was the crux of things, and it left Darius feeling unsettled. He didn’t like being without choices.

Retan felt triumph for the first time in eons
. He moved through the seas in a blur of speed. Only when he’d reached the place where everything had begun did he stop. Holding Gaia’s tears in his hands, he waited two heartbeats and prayed the entire time for the gods to listen to his heart.

“Thank you.”

Sesta’s voice felt like warm water as it slid through his senses. He’d done everything within his power to bind his wife, his soulmate, to him, but still she had eluded him.

“If I give you these
, will you stay?” Retan wanted desperately for that answer to be yes, but he feared that would not be the case.

“The will of the
gods and the deed I must atone for has to be paid,” said Sesta.

Retan watched as his beautiful
Siren, his true love, forced her Siren body to solidify. Time seemed to stand still as he looked at her. Maybe that was her power as the Sister of the Future.

“We were meant to be together,” said Retan, feeling the power of the tears thrum through his closed hands.

Sesta shook her head and her dark, ebony hair swirled around her. Her skin was flawless and as polished as a white shell. Her tail was the only thing that had changed with time. Unlike the tails of most Sirens, her sleek tail held deep hues of purple and even red. The markings were a product of the power she wielded.

“Will you give them to me freely, Retan?”

Retan grinned. “For a price.”

Her deep emerald green eyes appraised him
, and then she slowly returned his smile. “Name it.”

He moved closer, needing the feel of her in his arms. She didn’t budge. Instead she met him
with a warmth that touched something he’d thought long dead inside of him. “Do not think to leave me,” he begged.

“
It is not up to me. I wish I could stay, but you and I know that the only way to stop this plague is to do what must be done. I had hoped the price you had in mind might be a kiss.”

What Retan had envisioned was a lot more than a kiss
, but pushing her wouldn’t do. He’d already tried that when he’d whisked her out of the sacred Hall of Mirrors to his realm.

“I will take a kiss if you promise you will come back.”

“Do not ask that of me.” Her voice faltered slightly.

“I would ask that and a lot more if I thought it would change the course of what I fear you might do.”

She smiled up at him while her arms encircled his head. “I could make you forget all of this, you know.”

She actually couldn’t
, but he wasn’t about to enlightened her. She had her power, and he had his. “But you wouldn’t would you?”

“No, Retan
, for you I wouldn’t. Please give me Gaia’s tears so I may finish what I began.”

“You must forgive yourself, Sesta. You did know that you would set this course for yourself.”

“If ignorance was bliss I’d be grateful, but it’s not. I will do what has to be done to save them.”

And us.
He ached for her to say it, but he knew she wouldn’t. Duty was too ingrained within her soul of souls. She might die a hundred deaths but she’d always do the right, moral thing, whereas he’d do everything to win. And win her he must.

Retan held out his hands. “Take them, Ses
ta, and may the gods be with you.”

“And you are not bargaining a kiss. I feel slightly offended.”

He leaned closer, inhaling her unique salty-flower scent. “Do not be offended. But you should know that what I want from you, Sesta, I will get.”

She lea
ned in to him and her mouth gently touched his. All thoughts scattered, and the power Retan held in check unfurled. He latched on to the love of his life and kissed her with all his might, hoping his passion would be enough to hold her to this realm. She returned his kiss with skill, but within seconds Retan felt her hold shift.

With reluctance he released her lips to catch his breath. He was
Titan enough to enjoy her flushed face, and the fact she touched her now-swollen lips pleased him greatly.

“I will never forget you,” said Sesta.

Before Retan could say, “You never will,” she had disappeared with Gaia’s tears held tight in her hands.

Retan had prayed to the
gods all his life, but now he did the one thing he knew for a certainty would get them to grant him an audience. Taking the Triton he’d dropped when Sesta arrived, he plunged it deep into his abdomen, reciting the ancient powerful words of sacrifice he knew Poseidon would listen to. After all, if there was one thing the God of the Seas loved, it was a sacrifice made in the name of love.

Poseidon stirred in his bed, feeling the silk sheets tangle around his legs.
He tried to ignore the jolt that cut through him as he rolled over in bed, but the burn of the power quickly had him bolting to his feet.

“Get out, Zeus.”

“Poseidon, why are you letting your children die?”

Die?
Poseidon had no intention of letting his begotten die, but he’d be damned before he admitted anything to the one brother he loathed beyond eternity.

“They are fine.”

“They are not. When was the last time you checked on them?”

“Why
, Zeus, you are sounding like an old man with this lecture. I’m not in the mood.” But the question gave Poseidon pause. He’d been preoccupied lately with thoughts that maybe he should pay attention to his creatures, but it felt like wasted effort. Everything he had created, had eventually disappointed him. Why even bother anymore?

Zeus solidified inside Poseidon’s bedroom. They’d been feuding for eternity
, but now even that seemed like a wasted effort.

“Tell me
, brother, why are we fighting?” asked Poseidon as he snapped his fingers, transforming his bedroom into his throne room.

Zeus smiled. “
Gods are supposed to fight. And don’t you want my head or my realm or something?”

Poseidon looked at his brother. He hadn’t aged a day.
The ancient god still looked like he was in his mid-twenties. His blond curly hair framed his rugged face and those piercing blue eyes still looked young and innocent. Of course, there was nothing innocent about Zeus. Poseidon smiled when he realized his brother still wore the black leather pants he’d always felt most comfortable wearing.

He
settled on his massive throne which was shaped like a giant scallop shell. “No. I don’t want your realm or your head. I think I want peace.”

The laugh that came from Zeus wasn’t funny.
Maybe I do want war,
he thought in annoyance. But as Poseidon waited for Zeus to settle, he realized something. He did want change. He wanted what the humans had – love. And not just any love. He’d once had a wife, but it had been a political alliance. After her death, his only feeling had been pride that at least she’d given him a beautiful daughter.

Zeus moved closer to Poseidon’s throne.
“Peace. After eons of battle this must be a trick.”

“Maybe. But like the humans you won’t let me near
, I seek something more.”

“Do tell
Poseidon, are you soon going to be quoting poetry to me?” said Zeus as he walked around Poseidon’s throne room.

“No. And you are correct. I’ve neglected my duties. Be gone, Zeus. I am busy.” With a wave o
f his hand Poseidon willed his brother from his realm and was pleased to see a look of surprise pass Zeus’ face for a change.

Standing tall, Poseidon flashed himself into his
Titan form and sighed with pleasure. Using his powers, he willed himself to where he had felt the jolt that had initially awakened him from his slumber.

Retan pried open his eyes. The loss of blood was affecting his vision, but he knew the Titan appraising him was none other than Poseidon. Only a god could look so calm and beautiful as he bled to death.

“Why?” asked Poseidon.

“I needed to get your attention,” answered Retan.

“
Well, you have it,” the god said dryly.

Retan hated to ask the
god to heal him, but if he didn’t stop bleeding, he wouldn’t be able to talk. Like the god understood his dilemma, Poseidon laid a hand on him, and instantly Retan was fully healed.