God of the Abyss (10 page)

“Then why did we forget in the first place?” he
asked.

“Because it was taken from me.”

“What was?”

“I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure exactly what I meant,
only that I was right. “I was supposed to see it, but someone didn’t want me
to.”

“Someone who can interfere with a Guardian dream?”

Just then, Emrys returned with food and drinks. I
took the water but refused the bread and fruit. After drinking a large glass of
water, Mordon took the second glass out of my hand and replaced it with food.

It did make me feel much better, as if the weight of
the food in my stomach settled my head. “Vretial is back… probably. The gods
are unsure, but Ron and Sammy both say he talked to them. Kiro was attacked
trying to call Erono and said it was Vretial.”

“I never met the god, so I have no idea if that was
who attacked us. But I can say for sure that Rojan doesn’t scare easily. It had
to be him,” Mordon said.

“Whoever attacked us is as powerful as me, but really
persistent,” I said.

Mordon frowned at me. “Not violent or destructive or
angry?” he asked. The reason Mordon picked apart my words was because he knew
that I usually said exactly what I meant.

“No, definitely not angry. Violent, sure, he attacked
us… but why? Why would someone attack Guardians?”

“Attacking Guardians? Not just Kiro? What Guardians
have been attacked?” Emrys asked.

“You didn’t know that Nano is missing and Shiloh lost
his magic?”

“No! Is Shiloh okay?”

“I was able to heal him. When was the last time you
spoke with your god or any of the other Guardians?” I asked. Normally, I never
would have expected Emrys to be a turncoat… but we were attacked trying to
leave the world, and woke up in his home. Still, Emrys should have known
something was up.

“He smells off,”
Mordon warned.
“He smells
like a secret.”

Figures.

“I spoke with Ghidorah a month or so ago.”

“Truth.”

“Not your god?”

“I have been busy.”

“Half-truth.”

“Too busy to even contact your god? The gods are
having trouble getting information to us and apparently some of us are
disappearing from their perception temporarily. Nano has been missing for a
while. We need to keep the communication open in order to keep things like this
from happening.”

“You sound like Shiloh now,” he sneered with
hostility.

That was very suspicious. While they argued plenty, I
never heard Emrys speak to or about Shiloh with distain. As far as I knew, they
were like brothers since they were raised together.

“I will check in with Madus tonight,” he promised.

“Truth.”

“Do it now so that I can help if you get attacked.
They are looking for a traitor,” I said. I felt guilty, extremely guilty for
not sending him to Duran with the others, but I could not let him near my sons
if I had any doubt. And to be honest, my instincts were telling me to leave
him.

“I will not be attacked. You can go.”

“Suspicious. He’s trying to get rid of you.”

“You could have phrased that better,”
I said
to Mordon. “Just contact them now so I don’t have to come back and check on you
later. And tell them the password is blueish with an orange twinge.”

“Blush?” he asked.

Not the best with languages, then.
I took a
pen out of my bag. “Hold still,” I said, clicking it. His eyes went wide.
“Don’t worry, I’m just leaving a message.” Not giving him a chance to react, I
carefully wrote,
bluish with a bit of orange
, in English on his
forehead.

“Can the gods read English?” Mordon asked. I looked
at him as I put the pen back.

“They are gods; they can read cat.”

Emrys frowned at me suspiciously for a moment before
closing his eyes and concentrating. I felt him gather nominal energy and use
the power of his world to reach beyond… And nothing unusual happened. There was
no attack. Within a few minutes, he opened his eyes.

“Okay. Talked to Madus. Now I am going to bed.” He
got up and left the room.

“So do you need to go talk to Madus to make sure he
did what he said?” Mordon asked.

“No, I can do that anytime. I’m more worried about
Ghidorah since he has a history of disappearing. Besides, I never met him.”

I flashed us to Skrev as cautiously as possible while
encouraging my magic to take us to the most powerful person there. I was hoping
the most powerful person was Ghidorah and not a monster. On the other hand,
everyone from Skrev was a monster…

When the flash cleared, we were in a cabin with three
people, two of which I knew. The first people we met on this harsh world were
werewolves, and the alpha of the pack was here, kneeling in fear for his life
while his daughter stood pressed against the wall with a similar mien of
desperate panic. Standing in front of the alpha was a very powerful man I never
met, and he held a crossbow to the alpha’s head.

The Guardian was an imposing guy even without the
dense field of power surrounding him. At about six-foot-eight, he was certainly
one of the tallest I had met. In fact, around two hundred seventy pounds
without an ounce of fat could classify him as massive in my book. I had seen a
couple of people on Dios who were bigger, but none who emanated such a field of
threatening energy.

“Hello. Am I interrupting something?” I asked.

“Not at all. Have you never seen an execution
before?”

Mordon

I myself had seen executions; it was one of the
downsides to living in a kingdom. My father’s kingdom was one of the better
ones as far as mercy went. The people of Sujike’s kingdom, not far from my
father’s, could not go down to the local diner for fear of finding toes dangling
in their soup. Hanging was the man’s favorite means of punishment.

However, my friend was sheltered from that form of
extreme penance. Furthermore, he was a Guardian and if there was one thing I
learned in the seven years I was friends with the man, it was that Guardians
hated killing. So why did this Guardian have a weapon aimed at a man’s head?

I inhaled, trying to get a scent for the stranger,
and sneezed. The odor made my nose itch and I sneezed several more times. It
was not a bad smell, more like the sweetness of poison, and it was strong.

Dylan sent me a concerned look. “If I may interrupt,
why is this man being sentenced?” he asked the Guardian.

“He has been using mind control on others.”

“Shouldn’t that call for jail time or something? Do
you have to kill him?”

“If I imprison him with guards, he would just use his
magic to escape,” he answered as if it were a silly question.

Dylan looked confused. “Then strip him of his magic.”
Everyone stared at my friend like he was insane. “What? That would solve the
problem, wouldn’t it?”

“Only the gods can strip a man of his power, and the
gods are too busy to deal with one outlaw.”

Dylan shrugged. “I can do it. Is there proof of this
man’s crimes?”

“He confessed.”

“Under duress?” my friend asked.
“What do you
smell?”

I really tried, but the barest breath caused me to
have another sneezing attack. I backed away from Ghidorah until I could open
the door. “I cannot smell anything over the Guardian. Last time we were here,
the wolf smelled pretty scummy, but nothing worth dying over.”

“Worth taking his powers away?”

“Sure. Do something fast so we can get out of here,”
I said. My friend seemed very concerned with my behavior, but I couldn’t help
it. Ghidorah was messing with my sense of smell and Rojan was growling with
irritation. I needed to have a working nose. Unfortunately, it was dark
outside. Between the promise of fresh air and the threat of the shadow monster,
I shut the door and breathed shallowly through my mouth.

“I am Dylan, Guardian of Earth. If you will let him
live, I can keep him from doing magic for the rest of his life. I need proof of
his wrongdoing, though.”

“He killed my mother,” the woman said.

Rojan had taken her for our pet the last time we were
here. She aged very little since then, her hair was longer, and she wore
clothes this time; a small loin cloth. Dylan made a motion for her to continue.

“He killed the alpha, my father, when I was little in
a fair fight for position. Then he married my mother and became alpha. Everyone
feared and obeyed him. When my mother found out he had used magic to defeat my
father, he killed her to protect his position.”

“I am Ghidorah, Guardian of Skrev, and I will kill
this disgusting excuse for a man,” the man said, rejecting Dylan’s suggestion.

“What a waste. He ruined the lives of three people
and that’s your punishment? He is still the alpha, what will happen if you kill
him? What will his pack say?”

“They will say he was murdered by magic and will be
known as a hero,” she supplied, not happy about it.

I realized then that Dylan was using magic to make me
understand her; she certainly wasn’t speaking Sudo. I hadn’t even felt his
magic because it was so familiar to me. “Are women able to be alpha?” I asked.

“If we fight for the position and win. I cannot
challenge him with his magic; he would kill me.”

“If I got rid of his magic, could you defeat him?” my
friend asked. She nodded. “Would that make up for the damage he caused to your
life?”

“It would not give me back my parents or childhood,
but I would have my blood rights. My father wanted me to be alpha. He made this
pack for me. I would also prefer to kill him myself as he did my parents; in my
beast form.”

Ghidorah lowered his weapon. “I suppose I should let
you have revenge,” he said.

The words were barely out of his mouth before Dylan
shot a burst of energy at the alpha. I shifted my eyes to follow along and
immediately regretted it. Ghidorah’s soul was as bright as the void. Normally,
people’s auras were colorful and I could see what kind of person they were.
Ghidorah was as powerful as Edward and Emrys, but not necessarily good… not
necessarily bad. I just couldn’t tell because I had never faced something like
it before.

I have,
Rojan said.
We need to get out of
here. Now.

Is he a threat to Dylan?
I shifted my eyes
back to normal to watch my friend still stripping the alpha of his ability to
use magic.

No. He is not as powerful as a god, but he is much
worse. Leave Dylan and go.

Dylan, oblivious to our conversation, relaxed his
energy. I considered the stranger as if his face would explain my dragon’s
problem. Rojan was acting strange, but I trusted him. On the other hand, I
would never leave Dylan and run, and I couldn’t believe Rojan would ever
suggest it.

“Is his magic gone?” the woman asked.

“He will never be able to draw energy again,” he
said.

She pranced right up to the alpha, who was still
kneeling on the ground, and kicked him in the face. He went down hard and she
grabbed him by the hair. “I challenge you for this pack!” she demanded. She
dragged him towards the door by the hair and kicked it open before tossing him
out. The woman briefly gave Dylan thanks before walking out and slamming the
door shut.

Dylan smirked at me. “Dog fight.”

When I met Dylan, we were barely adults. Around two
to three years ago, once Dylan was physically mature, he stopped aging, which
was common for the Guardians. It was similar to the dragons. Mine and Dylan’s
immortality was a little unsettling to me until Divina reminded me that even an
ancient person could act like a child sometimes.

I rolled my eyes. “We don’t have time. Remember,
we’re trying to warn the Guardians.” He pouted. “When we get home, you can
watch Hobble and Shinobu duke it out.”

This placated him and he turned to Ghidorah. “Nice to
meet you.”

“And you,” he said, holding out his hand for Dylan to
shake. “I have heard quite a lot about you, much of which is contradictory. I
assume you are here because the universe is in trouble.”

“Not yet. Right now it’s just the Guardians. When was
the last time you spoke with Araxi?” Dylan asked.
“Araxi doesn’t trust
Ghidorah because the Guardian argued and ignored him, and that would make
Ghidorah more difficult to clear than Emrys.”

“Two days ago. Araxi wanted me to check out a problem
with a town’s food supply.”

“What was the problem?” I asked.

“I didn’t go. If people want to pollute their food,
that’s their problem and they can solve it on their own. I prefer to deal with
individuals that use magic against others.”

Get out. Get away from that thing
, Rojan
growled at me.

He’s a person, not a thing
, I argued.

Everyone from Skrev is a beast or has a beast
inside them.

“Mordon, pay attention. You really can’t smell
anything from him?”
Dylan asked me.

“Nothing,”
I answered. I felt useless. The one
thing I brought to the table, the one thing that made me invaluable to Dylan,
was that I could smell and see things no one else could. I had dragon senses,
it was all I was good for, and Ghidorah kept me from using them.

“Araxi mentioned that you have ignored him before.”

Instead of answering, Ghidorah studied me until Rojan
shivered. “Are you not going to introduce yourself and your dragon?” Ghidorah
asked. Ghidorah turned his hard stare on Dylan and I knew he was reading my
friend. It was probably exactly what I did, but his eyes didn’t change.

“He’s my brother. You got a problem with him? There’s
an Ancient trapped in the void who can attest that Mordon is the wrong person
to mess with,” Dylan said, stepping between me and the Guardian.

I sighed. “Dylan, you know that little thing inside
your head that keeps you from saying things you shouldn’t?”

“The brain-to-mouth filter? Yeah, it died. Or maybe I
sold it for magic beans. No, wait, I traded a plastic cow for the beans… They
were duds, though; my beanstalk was like, three inches tall.”

“I hate you,” I groaned. Dylan had figured out I was
bothered by Ghidorah and was trying to settle it with his familiar rambling. It
worked; not even Rojan could talk over a rambling Dylan.

He grinned. “No you don’t.”

“Interesting,” Ghidorah said. He turned and walked
across the room and I noticed our surroundings for the first time. We were in a
small cabin, not at all cozy, that was dark but cool. There was no fireplace,
no rugs on the wooden floor, and no bed. The only furniture was a large table
with three chairs and a wooden chest. Ghidorah sat heavily on one of the
chairs, which creaked under the weight.

Dylan ignored the comment. “Have you had any trouble
lately talking to Araxi or any of the other Guardians?”

“I have not spoken to the other Guardians in a long
time, but the absence was intentional. Should I expect trouble?”

“Shiloh and Kiro were attacked while trying to
contact the gods. Nano is missing. There have been instances where the gods
can’t get ahold of their Guardian or their Guardian is missing. The gods
suspect one of us is betraying them.”

“Thank you for the heads up.”

“Kiro and Shiloh are on Duran. I want to get the
Guardians together in order to keep anyone else from disappearing. We can help
each other, but not from across ten worlds.”

Ghidorah pulled a knife out of his boot and started
picking his nails with it. “No, thank you. I will take my chances alone.”

“Kiro thinks it was Vretial that attacked him,” Dylan
said. Ghidorah glanced at him, then returned to picking his nails. “You want to
face him alone?”

“Kiro is wrong; Vretial is gone for good. I
understand you have been a Guardian for less than half of your life. It makes
sense that you are optimistic about saving the world, but the Noquodi are not
naturally inclined to help each other. Each of us stands for our own world and
our people, but most of us dislike each other and would sooner see the others
drown than lift a finger to help them.”

“Well, that’s something I guess I need to put an end
to. Nano is a friend of mine, and he’s missing. Kiro and Shiloh are friends of
mine and they were both attacked. I will get to the bottom of this. It would
make my job a lot easier if everyone was in one place so I know if someone was
attacked or taken.”

“Dylan, I don’t want him to go with us. I need my
sense of smell. I don’t trust him.”

“Guardians have to learn to watch each other’s
backs. That’s the whole point of Shiloh’s council. The gods are in support of
it, and I agree when Nano’s been missing and nobody even knew it. If we can’t
get them all in the same room, there is no way the council can work.”

“It isn’t your council. You’re not vested in
this.”

“They are Guardians, like I am, like my father
was. In the two thousand years they’ve been around, they’ve been on their own.
Serving their god, facing powerful enemies, defending their worlds… I have
Edward, you, and Divina. Edward and Ronez had each other.”

“They are used to it. You can’t decide for each of
them how to live.”

“No, but I can give them the option of having
backup. Plus, Sammy will be the Guardian of Lore when he gets older, and he
needs to know he has people to turn to who have his back.”

“You want all of us to work together? All ten of us?”
Ghidorah asked. He laughed and stood when Dylan nodded. “I will go with you
just to see Samorde and Emrys in the same room. If you can convince them to get
along, I will help anyone you want.”

Dylan looked at me expectantly. If I pushed to leave
Ghidorah here, Dylan would give. Being a Guardian was in his blood; he had
instincts to help people and create a better future for everyone. He was also
young enough and open minded enough to succeed where others failed. All the
same, I was his friend and if I insisted, he would take my side over his own.

Leave him
, Rojan insisted.

“Bring him
,
”
I said.
“Just don’t be
upset if Rojan eats him.”

I would never eat that.

The room filled with light and I felt the world
disappear from around me. Of all the ways I have moved from world to world, the
flash was my favorite, for it was the fastest method and didn’t make me dizzy.
However, I learned to close my eyes the instant my friend started, because the
light was blinding.

I felt Duran’s energy reach for me before the soft
ground formed beneath my feet. The gravity took hold gently and the light
faded. Even though it was Edward’s home we stood in front of, it was my home
world and I was happy to be back. Traveling for vacation was nice, but when I
was traveling for work, there’s a moment of peace when I first arrive home.

Making it even more peaceful, Sammy and Ron were in
the yard playing fetch with Hobble, Edward’s pet gargoyle. Sammy would throw
the ball, Hobble would wobble after it on his permanently injured leg and take
it back to Ron, who would toss it to Sammy to throw again.

Edward, Shiloh, and Edward’s girlfriend were sitting
in chairs at the porch, watching them. Hobble forgot about the ball and
staggered over to Dylan. It occurred to me that Dylan’s healing power might be
great enough to repair the gargoyle’s stone limb. Dylan patted both heads of
the little gargoyle while trying to avoid being licked. Before I even realized
he had moved, Edward was shoving Dylan behind him and growling at Ghidorah.