Heart Song (20 page)

The ground was level, covered with grass that poked up between the stone. It held no ceiling, but in front was a small wall and an archway that stretched out towards the sky. Standing on the other side was someone moving—no, pacing. They appeared from one side of the arch, disappeared on the other, and reappeared again. I jogged at a slow pace, feeling lightheaded from the previous excursion.

As I approached, the shape became familiar. The way he took purposeful strides, the hold of his shoulders, and his features—all of them I knew well. I had to memorize the way he moved in order to learn how to defeat him in combat.

“Danst!”
My voice cracked but didn't hide the utter relief I felt when his head turned towards me.

“Relena, thank the Gods! You have no idea what how glad I am to see you.” We met each other in a fond and tight embrace. “We have to hurry, let's go.” I nodded and tried to keep up as much as I could.

We trekked for so
long I thought surely I was going to die. The sky around us was brightening as the hills around us grew into mountains. The ridges capped in snow above the grey rock. Along the lower half of the mountain, it looked like there were windows carved from the face.  The edges were polished, smooth with the area around them left jagged and rough. Rows upon rows of these windows lined the side of the rock. Torches gave light, despite the night fading into morning. Skirting shadows of figures move on the inside, their aura barely seen.

As we got closer, there was a small lake that looked almost black at its deepest. The water trickled along the rough rock from inside the mountain and into the lake. Dark shadowy movements along the surface splattered every now and then where the water trickled in. I assumed it was some kind of fish or just the way that the water hit the surface. Either way, Danst pulled me along by my arm towards a slightly hidden path that lead up a short steep hill to another smooth, polished archway sealed with two large doors that looked thick and heavy. Iron divots secured large iron hinges to the doors and frame.

Two arched windows flanked both sides of the doors with two people in each. They were armed with bows and arrows. I couldn't see the people themselves, being concealed in the shadows of the windows, but I could definitely see their weapons. The sight caused my mouth to go extremely dry and my head to feel light. I thought for sure I was about to faint… or die.

“Announce your business,” a deep voice shouted from within the shadows of the window.

“I am Danst. This is Relena,” Danst said, gesturing to me, “Marren's mate. He's expecting us and won't tolerate you delaying their reunion longer than necessary.”

There were a few shouts and responses in the same language I knew belonged to Marren. Though it did fill me with awe, the enchanting side effect seemed to belong to Marren alone. The doors shuttered with a loud scraping sound, like stone against stone.  They opened out to us and revealed Marren waiting on the other side.

I ran to him, slamming hard into his body, and wrapping my arms around him. My body ached from the force and the exertion but I didn't care.
Especially when his arms wrapped around me and tightly squeezed me further into him.

“Relena, my love.
You're here. You're safe.” His voice cracked and I felt his body tremor. His hands moved along my hair as he twirled me in place.

“I'm here…I'm here.”

He pulled away from me and kissed me fiercely with several pecks all along my face. “I thought I would never see you again.”

“That very worry crossed my mind as well,” I said.

He released me,
then
took a step back. “You look like you've been in Death's clutches for far too long...and smell like it too. Let's get you a bath and get your wounds dressed. I'll have you set up in a room and then you can rest there until you have your strength back.”

“
Wh
-what about you?”
I didn't think to just use our private way of communicating until the words were already out of my mouth.

“I will be around. Trust me.”

My heart gave a sudden leap and then dropped in my chest like a weight. I felt my breath leave my lungs and watched as horror played on Marren's face. Suddenly, it felt as though the world shifted and I floated weightlessly down into the darkened parts of the earth.

I wasn't afraid, nor did I feel at all worried about the lack of control I had over what was going on. I just went with it, surrendering to what was. Then, I felt like I had connected with the bottom of the dark force that had pulled me down.
Comforted in a blanket of cool, soft, silk.

I felt air enter my lungs and leave, slow and evenly. I still felt weighed down to where I was, but it was soft and comfortable. The air tasted sweet and dusty. A smooth breeze came over me and faded away. Somewhere in the distance there was singing and drumming, even some flute playing. It sounded far off but close, almost like it was below me.

I had summoned enough will to peel my eyes open. I was in a dark room. Panic threatened to consume me until I realized I still had my vision, the air was clean and I was lying in a soft bed. I found Marren's shape overlooking the direction of the sound of a celebration. I stared at him for moments, drinking him in, relishing in the sight of him after having been faced with never seeing his beautiful face again.

Just as I felt my heart pick up in beats, Marren turned around and faced me. “You're awake,” he breathed
,
full of relief. He half walked, half ran to me then sat down on the edge of the bed and tightly gripped my hands in his.

“What happened?” I asked. After thinking about the numerous things I could have said, somehow that was what decided to fall out of my mouth.

“You were extremely exhausted. That...thing...it nearly killed you.”

“What thing?”

“Jiren.”

I realized he was talking about me being in the crypt-like prison. “Why was I put there?”

“Jiren wanted to give me a message of who was really in charge and just how easy he thinks it is to catch us off guard.”

“Which he clearly did, but why?”

“I don't know. But I'm going to find out.”

“What was that place?” I asked with a shake in my voice. The all too familiar image brought panic back into my body and made the world start to spin.

“A Tombcell.
A place our kind gets put in for breaking the most sacred of laws. It's not traditionally done often. But, occasionally you do have a rogue that needs extreme handling.”

“But, I'm not a rogue and I don't think there is anything extreme about me,” I said.

“Well, it seems Jiren thinks of us as enough of a threat that he tried to tip the scales in his favor. Though I can't prove he was the one that did it, it's covered in his stench. The other Ancients have been notified and have arranged for a meeting in two days. We will get to the bottom of this,” Marren promised.

I nodded, unable to think of anything better to do or say.  The rush of the events from that night came flooding back and I realized that I wouldn't have been able to escape without the help of Neyr and the
werecat
. “I think that
werecat
died trying to save me.”

“Tobias? He's sulking right now, down by the fire.” He nodded towards the open window.

“Tobias. Now I know his name.” I tried to sit up with a stabbing pain going into my hands. I collapsed back down to the bed and lifted my hands to see that they were heavily bandaged.

“He told me what you did.” His eyes were on my bandages. “You really never cease to amaze me with the things you can do.” Not only could I see his smile, but I heard it too.
Full of pride and wonder.
 

“And Neyr?
Did she make it back?”

“Neyr's allegiance to me isn't a secret, but she is bound by duties that I cannot override. She‘ll be along soon though.”

I realized, while trying to scratch an itch, that most of my torso was bandaged as well. I was also wearing a different set of clothing, leather pants and a loose fitting tunic.  As if answering thoughts I really wasn't thinking, Marren said, “You got pretty banged up. The decay that you were exposed to sickened you momentarily, exhausting your body beyond its normal capacity. You've been out for a few days.”

“You must have been worried.”

“I would only worry if your heart stopped.”

He stood from the bed and walked back to the window. I watched him as he motioned with his hands in an up and down fashion. The music quieted. Marren climbed in bed next to me, curling up. The warmth of his body seeped into mine and filled me with the relief of his touch and his closeness. I could tell that he was holding back, not fully letting himself lean into me or even touching me very much. It still bothered me that, after what we had just been through, he still wasn't willing to touch me as much as I wanted.

“My people are very traditional in the old ways. We cater and cling to them desperately. Because we were forced to cross over to this realm, and after having lost so much as it was, the traditions are all that we have that can't be taken from us.”

“What traditions are you speaking of?” I felt a peck on my ear. It sent warm tingling down my spine.

Before I had realized it, Marren's words became distant and slurred together, blending into one another. In place of his words, a vision appeared before me, of a massive celebration between two people.
Both smiling as if there was no end to their happiness.
The woman's back remained facing me, except every now and then I would glimpse the side of her face, her cheeks puffed and reddened from the love that filled her and the heat from the fire that burned high into the sky. The man reminded me of Marren with a few changes, he was in continuous human form, he was somewhat thinner, and his hair was shorter. It barely touched the edges of his covered shoulders. He wore a vest lined with fur that laced up the front, over a thin, white, long sleeved tunic.  The woman wore similar clothing with a leather skirt instead of pants. A dance surrounded them as they swayed together around the fire until the thumping beats of the drums ceased and they were finally together, joined not only in body, but by spirit.

The vision shifted again, to a woman whose belly swelled with life. She lived alone, distant from her mate. She didn't seem bothered at all by it. Instead, she was comforted in the thought of the small life growing within her, clear in the way she held her belly. Her mate was always nearby, careful to not get too close and hurt her or the baby.

The vision dissolved, revealing the image of three.
The same couple and a child.
A girl, around five, with intense black eyes.
They looked as though they saw more than just what was on the surface, absorbing everything seen and unseen. Her hair was parted into two braids on either side of her head with a band of colorful beads on each. She turned her head towards me, nearly stilling my heart. She didn't seem bothered by my appearance, instead she seemed
happy. A gentle smile stretched her lips that struck me deep inside my chest. 

Then darkness shadowed the vision, growing thicker and heavier around the child. At first I thought it was clouds, but it became clear that it was a black ink that blotted out the sun. It swallowed the heat, and caused my heart to jump and race. A thick ball of fear formed in my stomach, holding me frozen and unable to move.

What could all of this mean?
I tried to ask out loud but nothing came out. My words echoed thoughts, muted at my lips.

I struggled to move but couldn't, still
frozen
in place. The darkness increased and grew until my eyes filled with a thick black ink, drowning out all sources and hints of light. It became extremely hard to breathe. My heart pounded so hard, little stabs of pain shot through my chest with each beat.

With the last of the image gone, I was stuck inside the sea of black. Frantic, unable to move, I laid there waiting for the heaviness of the dark to lift. The vision forgotten, replaced by a greater fear that weighed on the back of my mind...

Did I make it out of the crypt, really? Or did I just dream it, stuck inside the hopeless realm of my demise, struggling to keep my clutches on life? Would I really be able to wake from this, if it was a dream? Had Jiren made it so he would win? What about Marren and the immortal races?

Relena...

I sucked in a deep breath, feeling my heart jolt at the slightest whisper of my name.
A whisper that came from Marren, somewhere in the distance.
I tried to ignore the desperation that tinged his voice.

Relena...wake up.

A massive wave of air blew around me, bathing me in cold layer of sweat. Then I smelled the air, the dust of the stone, the feel of the bed, and my clothes that were caked to me. I opened my eyes and found Marren's face. His lips were pressed firmly together with a worry within his eyes and I knew then, he felt what I felt.

I moved, wrapping my arms around him tightly, and sobbed into his shoulders.