Stygian

  “I’d rather not say, Baba.”

  His father narrowed his eyes, then lifted him up into his arms. “I should beat you for what you’ve done. You could have been killed!”

  “I just wanted to see the sunlight.”

  “And I want to see my sons grow to be men, Uri. Do you understand?”

  He nodded.

  Fisting his hand in his hair, his father held him against his chest so tightly that it actually hurt. “Baba! Pain! Pain!”

  His father let out a fierce sigh. “You don’t know what real pain is, Urian. And I pray to the gods that you never do. You’ve no idea what horrors await you in this world. Terrible things I can’t protect you from.”

  Urian placed his hand to his father’s bearded cheek. “Don’t worry, Baba. I’ll keep you safe from them.”

  His father laughed. “I believe you will.” Then his features turned stern and his eyes red as anger darkened his brow. “But you are never to venture near sunlight again. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes, akri.” He switched to the Atlantean term for “lord and master” that he’d learned from Xedrix and the other Charonte who shared Kalosis with them.

  “Are you being sarcastic with me?”

  Urian wrinkled his nose devilishly, knowing he’d been caught. “No, akri. Never.”

  His father growled and squeezed him. “Oh, you little scamp!” He set him down on his feet. “Off with you! Get cleaned up and head to bed!”

  “Okies.” Urian ran through the portal that took him back to the central hall in Kalosis where they lived, and where his father normally sat, waiting for any strays who might venture into their realm. The dark hall was completely empty and eerily quiet at this time of night. Which was a shame since he was starving because earlier his baba had been gone, and no one had wanted to feed him. They were all too afraid of his weird eyes. Only his baba didn’t seem to mind the fact that Urian wasn’t like other Apollites.

  He should have asked to be fed …

  Oh well.

  His stomach rumbling, Urian headed toward the hallway that led to his room.

  “Urian?”

  He froze at the stern, melodic voice he knew, but one they weren’t supposed to ever speak to directly. That, too, was against the rules.

  Yet no one had ever said what to do if the goddess spoke first. Surely it would be rude to ignore her …

  “Akra?”

  Apollymi appeared in the hallway right in front of him. “Would you like to see sunlight?”

  He bit his lip in indecision, unsure of what his father would say. He’d told him to go to bed. But he also said that they were to always obey their goddess …

  Smiling, she held her hand out toward him. “I promise this one won’t hurt you, and you won’t get into trouble for it. Come, child.”

  Too thrilled to say no, he ran to her and took her hand into his. She screwed her face up at the urine on his clothes. “Your brother is disgusting.”

  He wouldn’t argue that, since Paris had a habit of wiping things on him that oft caused Urian to beat him.

  As soon as her hand closed around his, he was clean and fresh again. “Thank you, akra!”

  “You’re very welcome.” She led him through her halls to her dark garden and toward a pool in the back where black roses bloomed all around and scented the air with their crisp sweetness. Urian wasn’t sure how they managed to grow in the darkness, but for some reason, those flowers thrived in the shadows.

  Two of Apollymi’s winged Charonte demons stood guard on each side of her magical marbled perch. Their beautiful brightly colored flesh made them appear inviting and kind, but he knew firsthand that those looks were very deceiving, as the Charonte were a vicious warrior race more prone to eating anyone or anything who came near them than striking up a friendly conversation.

  Neither made a sound or a move as Urian and the goddess drew near the rippling pool of black water. If he didn’t know how much they loved to eat stray little boys, he’d have thought the demons statues. But Urian was well versed in how much the Charonte lived to dine on wandering Apollites they found in places where the Apollites shouldn’t venture in this domain, as his father had often threatened to feed him to one whenever he or his brothers misbehaved.

  Even so, he sucked his breath in sharply at the beauty of them and the goddess’s garden. “What is this place, akra?”

  “My special looking glass. ’Tis a mirror where I can gaze out and see the world above and what happens in it.”

  “Oooo!” He leaned over and reached with one finger to touch the black water that ran backward up the stone wall instead of down, toward the pool. “How does it do that?”

  Wrinkling her nose at him, she winked. “Magick!” she breathed.

  He giggled.

  With a kind smile, she took a seat on the marble at the side of the pool and motioned for him to join her.

  Urian skipped to her side.

  Reflected in the midnight ripples of the pool’s water, he saw the deep sadness in her silver eyes as she looked down at him and brushed her hand through his straight hair. Hair that was as white as hers. “Why are you so sad, akra? Is it because I’m not as handsome as Paris?”

  She pulled him into her lap. “Don’t be silly, Urian. You’re far more handsome than your brother could ever be.”

  “Not what others say.”

  “They’re wrong.”

  He would argue that, but even he knew better than to argue with a powerful goddess who could kill him with a sneeze. “Then what hurts your heart?”

  She brushed her hand across his cheek in a gentle caress that caused the Charonte demons beside them to stir in nervous alarm. “You remind me of a boy I once knew. He was curious like you and forever getting into trouble.”

  “Was he named Urian, too?”

  “Nay.” She touched him lightly on the nose. “He was named Monakribos. But I called him Kree.”

  Those were strange names. “What happened to Kree?”

  A tear fell from her cheek where it turned into a bright diamond against her pale skin. Urian marveled at the sight of it. “He fell in love, Urian, and the gods killed him because they are cruel. You must promise me that you’ll never fall in love. For love is a stupid, harmful emotion and it destroys everything it touches.”

  “That’s what Baba says, too. He says that love makes people crazy and weak.”

  She nodded in agreement. “He’s right. Your father is a very wise man.”

  “Then I shall never love.”

  “Good boy.” Kissing his head, she leaned down to dip her hand into the black water of the pool so that she could stir it in a circle. “Now close your eyes, Urian, and think about the sun you want to see.”

  “But I don’t know what it looks like.”

  “You don’t have to. The pool knows your heart and it will find what you most desire, and show it to you.”

  Urian made a large O with his lips at the thought of something so incredulous. It was good to be a god and have such tools. And it was why he didn’t understand why his grandfather had been so cruel as to curse them. How could anyone squander such gifts? He’d never understand how anyone could toss away things so precious.

  And speaking of …

  Closing his eyes, he did as the goddess instructed, then opened his eyes to see the rippling waves forming a beautiful landscape awash in vibrant colors the likes of which he’d never seen before. They were unlike anything he’d ever imagined. Glorious! But the bright light hurt his eyes terribly.

  He lifted his hand and squinted in pain. Tears swam in the corners as he tried his best to study every detail.

  “That’s the sun, Uri.”

  “It’s blinding.”

  “It can be.” She stirred the water again so that the light was less intense and he could see it better.

  Urian lowered his hand. “Have you ever seen it, akra?”

  “I have.”

  “Did you like it?”

  She shrugged.
“In truth, I thought nothing of it, one way or the other.”

  “Then do you miss it?”

  Her sadness grew as she let out a ragged sigh. “It’s not what I miss.”

  How could she not? “Then what?”

  “You’re too young to understand the pain that haunts me. Sadly, you won’t always be and that saddens me most of all.”

  Urian didn’t understand her grief, but it ran so deep that he felt it. Wanting to comfort her, he stood up on the edge of the pool, put his arms around her neck, and hugged her close.

  Both of the Charonte stepped back.

  Apollymi tensed at first and then held him tightly against her breast. She rubbed his back and laid her head against his shoulder. “Anytime you want to see the sun, you come to me, Urian, and I will show it to you.”

  “Okies. And anytime you need a hug, akra, you come to me and I will give you one.” He pulled back to smile at her.

  She cupped his face in her cold hands. “Your father’s right, you are a scamp. And you shouldn’t tell him about this.”

  That only confused him. “Why not?”

  “He wouldn’t like it. Best to keep our meetings a secret between us, okay?”

  Urian nodded. “Okies.”

  She held her hand up. “We need to swear on this.”

  He spit on his hand. “Okies, akra.”

  She bit her palm until she was bleeding. “A blood oath is stronger than spit.”

  His stomach rumbled at the sight and smell.

  She arched her brow at the sound. “Are you hungry?”

  “Very.”

  Apollymi held her hand out for him. “Then go ahead and feed, Uri. That will be our bond. Let no one know of it. And you will be like Achilles. Made stronger than the others of your kind. Even though I’m not an Apollite, my blood can feed you. And it will keep you safer, until the day comes when you will repay me for it.”

  Urian was too hungry to think about what he did, but the moment he tasted her blood, he realized that he would never be the same …

  March 20, 9522 BC

  My baba’s dying …

  Urian couldn’t breathe or think as he ran through the darkness. Blinded by tears and pain, he wasn’t even sure where he was headed as he sought an escape from the death that constantly stalked his people.

  He didn’t even know what had happened to his father. All he knew was that they’d brought him home a few minutes ago, barely alive. Everyone had been angry and screaming as they sought to stop his father from bleeding before he died of it.

  So much blood …

  He’d never seen his father weak before. Never seen him so pale and trembling. Even now, the image of Trates carrying his father through the door was seared into his mind.

  How could the fierce and mighty Strykerius be unable to stand on his own?

  And though he knew his parents didn’t love each other, his mother had taken his father’s bruised and bloodied hand and wept. That alone had told him how dire his father’s condition was.

  When Urian tried to see him, Archie had shoved him out of the room. “No one wants you here, Uri! Go away!”

  The doctor had concurred. “You’re underfoot, boy! Move!”

  And so he’d run out the door, into the street. With no destination in mind, he’d just kept going. Now …

  His lungs ached from the crisp chthonic air that kept them safe. The muscles of his legs protested his long sprint, while his grief choked him with a vicious grip that threatened his own life. Unable to deal with it all, he collapsed on the damp ground and gave vent to all his misery that screamed out in silent agony.

  He couldn’t lose his father. Not like this.

  I love you, Baba!

  Suddenly, something shifted near him in the darkness.

  Urian sat up on the dark ground with a gasp and a hiccup. “Wh-wh-who’s there?” he demanded, his authority undercut by his ragged tears.

  Something warm brushed against his cheek so fast that he couldn’t see it. He could only feel it swipe at his tears, like a warm, dry lick. And it left in its wake a glass figure in his lap. One placed there so gently that he barely felt the drop against his linen chiton.

  Confused and baffled, Urian picked it up to see an image of a small soldier, perfectly formed. It was amazing. So real and detailed that he half expected the man to move. The hoplite even had a spear and shield.

  Sniffing back his tears, he drew a ragged breath and wiped his eyes.

  Do you feel better now?

  Urian glanced around at the soft, sweet voice he heard in his head. “Who are you?”

  I’m the guardian of the Atramentian Falls. You’re not supposed to be here, you know. The goddess would punish us both if she knew you’d trespassed into her special sanctuary. I’m supposed to eat anyone who dares cross the dark borderlands.

  Urian scowled at the worlds. Eat?

  That piqued his curiosity immediately. “Are you one of the Charonte?” They had their own lands here in Kalosis where they didn’t normally interact with his race, unless Apollymi was angry and set them loose as punishment. And while he couldn’t quite remember which direction he’d run, he was rather certain he wouldn’t have been so stupid as to head toward their section.

  Only Paris and Theo were that dumb and suicidal. Urian always took care to give the demons a wide berth.

  Nay, I’m not a Charonte.

  He arched a brow at that. Not a Charonte?

  What else was there?

  Clutching his gift, Urian pushed himself to his feet so that he could peer into the shadows where he’d seen the movement earlier. “Are you a god?”

  A soft, gentle laugh sounded in his head. You shouldn’t come any closer. Else you’ll be afraid.

  Of what? “Why? Are you a monster?”

  Indeed. Hence why I eat children who come into my domain.

  More curious than ever, Urian glanced down at the soldier in his hand. Strange that a monster would give him a present while he’d been upset. It seemed incongruous and thoughtful for such a beast. “You must be a lonely monster, then.”

  Pardon?

  Wiping his nose on the back of his hand, he drew another ragged breath. “Just that you don’t seem scary, is all.” Rather, she was nice.

  He felt the air around him stir again.

  I assure you, if you saw me you’d be quite terrified.

  Urian snorted at the challenge. “Bet I wouldn’t. Show yourself.”

  At first, he didn’t think she’d meet his dare. Not until the brush in front of him began to shake.

  And not just a little.

  A lot.

  An awful, awful lot. The ground beneath his feet shook so much that he was unbalanced by it. Just how big was this monster?

  Urian wasn’t sure what he’d expected, given her warnings. But it definitely wasn’t the large, silvery-gold orange dragon in front of him.

  “You’re beautiful.” Those words were out before he could stop them. After all, it might not be the smartest thing to call a dragon beautiful given that they liked to be thought of as fierce. Yet he couldn’t help it. She was.

  For that insult alone, she might eat him.

  He swallowed hard as he waited for her anger to manifest.

  Instead of being offended, she pulled back in surprise. Beautiful? You think me pretty?

  “Well … yes. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”

  She shook her head. Are you not afraid of me?

  “Not particularly. But that’s because my brother says that I don’t have enough sense to be afraid of anything.”

  She laughed. What’s your name, pido?

  “Urian. And yours?”

  Sarraxyn.

  It was as beautiful as she was, and it sent another hot wave over him. He moved closer and held his hand out toward her. “Nice to meet you, Sarraxyn.”

  She reached out to brush against his skin.

  Urian expected her scales to be cold and slimy. Yet they were surprisingly warm
and soft. “You smell like lilies.”

  You are a cheeky one, aren’t you?

  “That’s what everyone tells me.”

  Her black wings twitched as if she were silently laughing. You’d best be on your way, Urian.

  Too bad he didn’t want to. He’d rather stay and talk to her. But he was smart enough to know better than to stay where he wasn’t wanted. “Very well, but thank you for my gift.”

  You’re most welcome, Lord Urian, and have no fear. Your father won’t die tonight.

  He gasped at her words. “What?”

  She inclined her head to him. Part of what I guard is the goddess’s sacred tree of life. She already sent Xedrix here to fetch sap to save your father’s life. By the time you return, he should be much improved.

  With a cry of relief, Urian launched himself at Sarraxyn and hugged her. “Thank you!” He gave her a tight, giant squeeze before he ran off to check on his father.

  Only he didn’t go far. After a few steps, he came rushing back to her. “You’re not a monster, Sarraxyn. You’re beautiful!” With a quick kiss to her scaly cheek and a shout of happiness, he dodged away.

  Sarraxyn watched in baffled awe as the Apollite ran off. Her jaw slack over his actions, she waited until he was out of sight to return to her human form. Still, the warmth of his hug and kiss clung to her skin.

  No one had ever shown her such affection before. No one.

  Few had ever been kind. Only a small handful of her brothers—Falcyn, Max, Illarion, Hadyn, and Gadryn.

  In fact, it’d been her own brother, the bastard Malstrom, who’d sold her to the Atlantean war god, Misos, to serve here in his realm. The last thing she’d ever wanted was to be enslaved as an eternal guardian for the sacred Haxyn where she wasn’t allowed to see anyone or do anything other than rot in absolute loneliness.

  She hated this dark, dank realm of eternal night. While dragons were supposed to be solitary, she wasn’t quite the same as others of her ilk. Most females weren’t. They were more social than the males of her species. And she more so than even the average female drakos.

  To be enslaved here without family or friend made this more of a hell realm than it already was. Damn the Atlanteans for their cruelty.

  The Charonte were the only visitors she ever had, and they came rarely. Maybe once every century.