Tani's Destiny (Hearts of ICARUS Book 2) (40 page)

“All right all right, Wily,” Tani said, laughing.  “I get it, you missed me.  I’m sorry I was gone for so long but I’ve no doubt that you were taken care of properly so ease up a bit.”

Wily clicked a little more, then suddenly froze.  “Oh, you finally noticed huh?” Tani asked, smiling.  Wily shifted a little closer to her neck and peaked around at the Dracons, then ducked backward a little.

“These are my parents, Wily and they aren’t going to hurt you.  Now come on out and be polite, please.”

Wily climbed slowly down Tani’s arm, pausing every few steps to look at the Dracons’ warily before continuing.  By the time he reached Tani’s hand she wasn’t’ sure whether to scold him or laugh at him.

“Good boy, Wily,” she said when he folded his wings on his back and looked up.  “This is my mother, Princess Lariah.”

“Hello, Wily,” Lariah said.  “I’m very happy to meet you.  Thank you for saving our daughter’s life.”

Wily raised himself a bit higher on his front legs and pushed his little chest out, then nodded slowly.  Tani laughed, then gave him a little kiss on the top of his tiny head.  After that the introductions went well.  Wily felt safe enough to climb onto each of them in turn, checking them out as thoroughly as they did him.  By the time they were finished Steel had joined them. 

“How’d it go?”

“Good,” Steel said.  “Everyone is willing to turn things over to the Jasani if they’re willing to help.”

“We are,” Garen said.  “We’re currently transporting the data from the mine office to our ship, as well as a canister of the metal, the android, the controlled Nomen, and some of the other clone remains.  Please be assured that all of those items still belong to the Khun of Garza, and will be returned to you immediately on request.”

“We don’t want or need any of it, Highness, but thank you,” Steel said.  “All we want is a chance to live our lives in peace.  To accomplish that, we must find a way of discouraging the Nomen, and whoever controls them, from returning here.”

“Don’t worry, Steel, your people are no longer alone,” Garen said.  “Now that we know what’s been happening here, we’ll see to it that you have all the aid necessary to accomplish that goal.”

“Thank you,” Steel said, bowing solemnly. 

“And, don’t forget that the magic is complete now, which could turn out to be a valuable asset,” Tani said.  “I think it’s time for the Khun to discover what changes have been made.”

“Agreed,” Steel said.  “We’ve just been waiting for you to return.”  He turned and raised one arm into the air and signaled.  The Khun were obviously waiting because there was an instant rush as everyone hurried down to the valley.  Steel excused himself and went to help with the women who were still weak from their year at the mine.

“He’s certainly excited,” Lariah said.

“Yes,” Tani said.  “And for good reason.  Their alter form isn’t powerful enough for them to protect themselves against the Nomen and, until this past year, they’d never learned to fight.  What they do know, they’ve had to teach themselves.”

“If they intend to remain on Garza, they will need more than the ability to shift, Daughter,” Garen said.

“I know,
Ata
,” Tani said, smiling up at him.  “I’ve begun teaching the women how to use hand lasers, and giving some advice to the men on different things.  They’re natural warriors and quick learners, and have already improved a great deal.  I’ll teach them more and, perhaps one day, we can get some masters to come here.”  She shrugged.  “I was going to try to get a med-tech or two to come here, but Khurda self-healed yesterday after being shot, so I’m hoping there won’t be a need for them.”

“Med-techs?” Val asked.  “What need have the Khun for med-techs?”

“The Khun have some outdated, but fully functional, medical equipment, but the only med-tech they had was taken to the mine, and died there.  I’ve been teaching Astra what I know, but that’s not much.  Being able to heal has come in very handy, especially when Dirk was injured.  Without it, he would have died.”

“Wait,” Trey said.  “Are you saying that they cannot self-heal at all?”

“That’s right,” Tani said, frowning.  “I’m sorry, I thought I mentioned that.” 

“You did, but I don’t think we understood exactly what you meant,” Lariah said.  “It is difficult to believe.”

“I know, it shocked me at first too.  I assumed that, since they’re shifters, they should be able to self-heal.  But there’s a big difference between the Jasani and the Khun.  Clan Jasani use magic during the shifting process, but they’re shifters on a physiological level too.  The Khun’s ability to shift is pure magic, and until now, that magic has been incomplete.”

“But after you released the magic yesterday, one of them was injured and self-healed?” Trey asked.

“Yes,” Tani said.  “That gives me hope.  Especially for the women.  They’re still so weak.”

“There are so few of them,” Garen said softly.

“Yes, I know.  About half of their women have died in the past year, most of them starved to death by the Nomen at the mine.  There are only about a hundred and twenty left, and some of those are past their child bearing years.”

“It reminds us of our own situation before we discovered your mother, Tani,” Val said. 

“We will do all that we can to help you, and the Khun, Daughter,” Garen promised. 

“Thank you,
Ata
,” she said, blinking back tears as she gave him a tight hug.  “That means a lot to me.”  She looked around at the gathering people, then back to her parents.  “I hope that whatever happens next, they’re not disappointed.”

“I’m so very proud of you, Tani,” Val said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking down into gray eyes that exactly matched his own.  “Do not worry.  All will be well.”

“Thanks,
Popi
,” she said, smiling.  He kissed the top of her head and stepped back when Steel joined them, nearly vibrating with excitement. 

“We’re ready,” he said.

“Astra?” 

“She’s helping with the children,” he said.  “Do you want me to call her?”

“No, I just wanted to be sure she was here,” she said, then turned to Wily who was now sitting on Lariah’s shoulder.  “Wily, fly over there and stay with Dirk, please.”

Wily clicked and nodded, then spread his little wings and flew to where Dirk stood with Drya.  Dirk smiled at the tiny wyvern, then looked up and waved at Tani.

“We’ll fly up to the cliff top and watch from there,” Garen said.  Then he bowed to his youngest daughter, fist to heart, with Val, Trey, and Lariah following his lead.  “Fly true, mighty Dragon.”

Tears stung her eyes so unexpectedly she didn’t have a chance to stop them.  She placed her fist over her heart and returned the bow.  “Soar high, beloved Dracons,” she replied in a choked voice.  She watched as they shifted and flew up to the cliff, then wiped her eyes and turned her attention back to the people around her. 

“Is everyone ready for this?” she asked.

“We’re ready,” Steel said, but she barely heard him above the shouts of all the others.  She looked around at the Khun, her new people, and felt pride in them.  They’d gone through hardship after hardship for centuries, and yet they’d never given up. 

She stepped back, shifted into her dragon, spread her wings and bowed her head to the Khun, holding the position until they understood and, in absolute silence, returned her bow.  She straightened, folded her wings, turned her gaze to Steel, and waited.  It took him only a moment to realize that he, as king of the Khun, needed to be the first to shift into whatever their new alter form would be.  He drew a long, nervous breath, then cleared an area larger than his
mahrac
would ever need in hopes that his deepest wish for the Khun would be realized. 

Then, looking into Tani’s eyes, he summoned his
mahrac
. 

“
Not
bad
,” Tani’s voice said into his mind.

“
What
?” he asked, then looked down to see that he was bigger even than Tani, his flesh covered with deep black scales that shone like glass in the fading sunlight. 
“I thought I would be red, like you.
”

“
No, you’re the Dragon King,”
she replied, not knowing precisely where the information was coming from, but knowing it to be true.

“
Does that mean I can spit fire like you do?”
he asked.

“Yes, Steel, you can do
everything
that any other dragon can do,”
she said.  “
As can I.”

“Does that mean that you’re the Dragon Queen?”

“It does
.”

“Perfect,”
Steel said.  He spread his wings and leapt into the air, stunned by how simple it was, how light he felt, how fast he went!  He sped around the valley, then flipped over and spun around in circles, Tani laughing in his mind the whole time.  Then she joined him and they took off, side by side, toward the mountains. 

“
This is a good place to try
,” she said.

Steel agreed.  He opened his mouth and breathed out, surprised when a thick stream of something white and icy cold came out instead of flames.  His icy breath froze solid in the air and fell to earth with a thud, shattering into a million slivers of ice.

“Well, that wasn’t fire,”
he said, disappointed.

“No, it wasn’t, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that freezing things is any less dangerous than burning them.  Try again, only put an image of flames in your mind first.”

A moment later Steel pointed his nose skyward and roared with joy after melting a pile of rocks into lava.  “
Finally
,” he said.  “
Thanks to you, Tani, I have the power to protect my people
.”

“It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?”
Tani asked.
  “Shall we go back and see how the rest of your people are doing?”

“Our people, Tani,”
Steel said.

“Our people,”
Tani agreed happily.  They could fly so fast now that it took just a few moments to return to the valley in front of the caves.  They were both thrilled to see the air above the valley filled with dragons of all sizes and colors except for red and black.  Those two colors were reserved for the king and queen.  The women were on the ground, looking up, but they were dragons too, big and formidable, some spitting flames, some ice, their combined joy filling the air.  Never again would a puny Nomen be able to force them to do anything.

“
Congratulations, Tanjelia,”
Garen said. 
“We are honored to have witnessed this event, and our hearts are filled with happiness for you, and your new people, the Khun.  We will now return to the
Ugaztun
for the night and will see you in the morning.  Enjoy your celebration.”

“
Thank you,
Ata,” Tani said.  “
Goodnight Mom
, Ata, Dede, Popi.”

“Goodnight, Tani,”
Lariah replied, and then they were gone.

“What are those words you call your fathers?”
Steel asked as they soared above the valley, watching some of the men race each other in the darkening sky.

“
They all mean
father
, or
dad
,”
Tani said. 
“When you have three fathers, you can’t call them all
Dad
because it’s just too confusing.  It’s customary for the eldest to be called
Ata
, the second
Dede
, and the third
Popi
.”

“I wonder if our children will come singly, or in threes,”
Steel said.

If Tani had been walking, she’d have stumbled.  As it was her wings froze for a long moment in shock.  Then she turned away from Steel and flew toward the cliff top where she landed and shifted.  She heard Steel land just behind her but she didn’t face him.  Instead she walked away, struggling to sort out her emotions.

“Tani?”

“Yes?” she asked, not turning around to face him.

“Why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry,” she said with an exasperated sigh.  Suddenly Steel was in front of her, blocking her way.  He waited for her to look up, then searched her face carefully.

“Tell me,” he said.

“Remember earlier when you asked what you didn’t know?”

“Yes,” he said, surprised.  “I’d forgotten.”

“I know you did,” Tani said. 

“Please forgive me,
Khalute
,” Steel said.  “I swear I don’t mean to be difficult, but I am so confused right now.  I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, or what I’m supposed to say and I know that if I haven’t already said or done the wrong thing I will any moment now, and I don’t mean to do that either, I promise, I’m just very…,”

Tani silenced him by pressing one finger lightly against his lips, her eyes dancing with laughter.  “I love you, Steel.”

“I love you, too, Tani,” he said, smiling against her finger.

“I have a question.”

“Yes?”

 “It concerns children.”