Legend of the Touched (13 page)

I get the first two, but not the last one.

They're my comfort food. They make me feel safe
and at home. That's how I feel when I'm with you. And since I'm too
tired to indulge in
you
, I have to settle
for the food version. A lot.

I didn't realize....

We'd only be interrupted anyway.

Probably.
Though he hated to say it. He'd give
anything for one good night with his wife where they could be
together and do more besides talk for ten minutes and then try and
sleep.

I want that too. Those things.

I'm trying.
The balancing act was hard.
You
never told me what the dresses were for.

Not anything that matters to me,
she said a
little too sharply and it made him wonder if she was lying.

Darien poked at the dead cat some more. He'd let the
issue drop for now.
Just asking.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Inero

Jason had been busy researching when his brother
decided to contact him. Normally, he had more patience when dealing
with his twin, but not so much at that moment in time. Something
about this Leo living in his head wasn't sitting right with him.
The way he worded their deal felt sneaky to him, and Jason was
already regretting having made it without thinking it through more
carefully. It did buy him some time and some quiet. How conscious
was this other entity in his head though? How powerful? Leo
couldn't take control of him through force could he?

First Jason looked up everything he could find on
possession. The library on Shanrea wasn't anywhere near as large as
the one back at the castle. There weren't a lot of books on the
topic. Most were ancient and hard to read. Some were even written
in the dragon tongue, something that surprised Jason. Why would the
island have a book made for dragons in its collection?

"Possession occurs when weakness is detected in the
human soul," Jason read aloud. He kept his voice low in case anyone
else happened to pass by. Unlike the castle library, the islanders
enjoyed spending time there. Gwen was off in another section
looking for things to read. He made sure to tell her he needed his
space.

Weakness in my soul? My soul isn't weak.
He
scowled a little and continued to read. "Only dark spirits have
been recorded as possessing a human. While spirits of light have
the same abilities as those of dark, they will not enter a human
and violate their right to free will. They have been known to speak
through dreams and visions."

Jason's voice shook when he spoke next. "Only dark
spirits...." He continued a little further. "Pure humans have been
known to be possessed and transformed into beings of darkness. They
are preferred hosts because their transition from light to dark is
so drastic. Once a human falls to the darkness, it is hard to bring
them back out again. Only a spirit of light can evict a spirit of
the dark." He closed the book, not liking what he was finding.

"So," he wondered out loud. "I'm either a weak spirit
or a pure one. What would be more beneficial to a dark host though?
A pure one? Maybe?" He frowned as he thought that over. It made
sense, but it didn't seem quite right to him. Something in his gut
was telling him otherwise. "Maybe I'm both?" Was that even
possible? To be weak, but pure? "I don't see why not...." He was
trying to keep his thought process verbal and out of his internal
monologue in case this thing possessing him decided to start
listening in. "He said to call him Leo...." He started to skim
through the book for that name and found nothing, and did the same
for all of the others he had gathered. Nothing was coming up.

Frustrated, Jason went to go and find a computer so
he could search the library database. "Leo, dark." He typed into
the search field and then hit enter. A few articles appeared, but
nothing that seemed relevant to his project. "What's another name
for dark spirit?" He chewed on his lower lip, and typed in "Leo,
demon." A number of results showed up, but the one catching his
attention the most was a newspaper article from twelve human years
ago. Four dragon years.

Clicking the link, he swallowed, readying himself for
anything. "Valerie, aged fifteen, plead guilty to four counts of
murder...." He skimmed through the article and stopped, taking in a
deep breath at what he found. "The girl made claims that she was
influenced by a demon named Leo. While priests attempted to
exercise the demon from out of her, she died from a heart attack.
The only survivor of the attacks, an eight-year-old boy named
Seth...."

The same Seth that's my father's prophet of
God?
The name and the age lined up. Seth was twelve now. It
couldn't have been merely a coincidence. "No, not the prophet of
God...." That felt wrong to him. "False Prophet...." He went back
to his stack of books and grabbed the Holy Book, going on gut
intuition alone, or maybe it was a faded memory still trying to
linger in his mind. He turned to the book of the Great Prophet
Iguial, the First Great Inero Lord. The man was best known for his
writings about the coming of the Great Dragon, as dictated to him
by God Himself, supposedly.

The lack of faith is what makes me weak.
He
didn't like that realization. "Well, I'm going to change that now.
If I'm possessed, I'm going to need it to save me. Now let's
see...." He skimmed through the texts until he found what he was
looking for. "And the False Prophet of the Great Evil will come,
causing men to go astray. Though he tries to stop the coming of the
Great Dragon, nothing can prevent God's will from being so. Do not
be frightened oh children of God, for even though the False Prophet
will cause the Great Evil to enter the realm of humans, this is the
first sign of the Great Dragon's coming. All those with a true
heart will not fall to the Great Evil's ways, though he shall try
to corrupt many who are pure to bring about his manifestation. The
Great Dragon shall be born of Inero blood in the city where the
waters meet...."

Jason stopped reading again. Perfect timing because
Gwen was coming back with a stack of books.

"I think I have a week's worth of reading here." She
smiled, and it put his heart at ease. His fears started to melt
away. "Did you find everything you're looking for? Or do you need
some more space?"

He closed the Holy Book and put it under his arm,
standing from his research station. "I have what I need for now.
I'm going to check this one out, so I can take a look at a few
things."

Gwen peeked at his book cover and raised an eyebrow.
"The letters on it look strange."

"They're written in dragon. Only priests and dragons
can understand it. Some day you'll be able to know what it says."
After they made love, she'd become like him.

"What is it?"

"The Holy Book."

"It doesn't look like any of the one's I've
seen."

He laughed. "Humans have a different one than the
dragons. The human priests took the dragon copy and translated it
into human. In doing so they changed a great deal of the meaning in
the text so that it's more applicable."

"Interesting, care to tell me what has you interested
in it?"

"It has to do with my problem. That's all you need to
know right now. I don't feel comfortable diving into it at the
moment. I think something has happened, and it all ties
together."

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Oceina

Tai tried on another dress and scowled, growling a
little in frustration.
This one wouldn't work either.
All of
the tight, form-fitting gowns that were considered in-style would
not be flattering for her. She was starting to carry more fat.
While Darien insisted she didn't look any different, that it was
still too soon for anything substantial to be seen, she noticed it.
Everywhere. Her hips, her face, her thighs, her butt, and
especially her breasts. The size six she used to be comfortable in
was a little tighter than she would have preferred. Maybe nobody
else would look at her and think "pregnant", but they'd still
notice she was heavier. By the time they'd wonder if she was in
fact pregnant or not, she'd be done carrying the egg. That was
still around four months away though. Too long.

With a sigh, she grabbed a different dress from her
pile. This one was a strapless pale pink, almost white, one that
flowed out once it reached her waist. There were tiny
snowflake-like designs that were covered in glitter. It wasn't
poofy, so it would blend in well with the semi-formal feel of the
dance. Putting it on, she felt like a flower in it, but what she
saw in the mirror made her happy.
I actually look amazing in
this one.

You always look amazing,
Darien said.
Just
had to let you know in case you forgot.

She shook her head with a big smile on her face. As
much as she wanted to buy it, she didn't know if she should. So
instead, she took one last turn spinning in front of the mirror,
engraved the image of herself looking so stunning into her mind,
before taking it off to hang it back up on the rack. If there was a
way for her to buy it without Darien knowing, she would have.
Then again, what if he does ask and I come back and it's
gone?

When the other girls went up to pay, she joined them,
without the dress. As tempting as it was to buy, she didn't want it
to go to waste hanging in her closet. Pink wasn't exactly her
favorite color either. It worked for this time, especially with how
creamy and soft it made her light skin look. Another color would
have been preferred all the same.

"Let's get something to eat. Besides, I told my
brother I'd meet him at the food court in about ten minutes because
he's driving me to skating practice," Allegra said.

Tai swallowed. Allegra's brother was Alex. Not
something she had been anticipating.
Looks like we're wrapping
up and going to the food court,
she told Darien. Whether or not
he was at the mall yet himself, she didn't know. They'd agreed to
meet up in around an hour. She thought it might take that long. If
they were going to be parting ways earlier though, then he could
come find her sooner.

Allegra looked at Tai and then at her empty hands.
"Nothing? Didn't find anything you liked?"

"She's not going," Alivia said, speaking on her
behalf and Tai wished she hadn't. Especially not to Allegra of all
people. "She didn't even know about it."

"Oh."

"Things were different back home," Tai mumbled unsure
of what other excuse to give.

"That's okay. You should still think about coming
even if you are alone. They decorate the halls beautifully. Lots of
lights are strung up. It's magical," Allegra said.

"If I change my mind, I'll let you know."

"Okay. Because it's a week before Festival Break, so
there should be no family excuses," Alivia teased.

Tai didn't say anything to that. She was married to a
dragon. Maybe they celebrated the festival differently and that was
why Darien hadn't mentioned the school dance. They could already
have other plans. The dragons played a huge part in the occasion
all over the country. She couldn't believe how quickly time was
passing. Two weeks and it was already time for the festival? The
coming of winter holiday lasted for a month. Students returned
shortly after the beginning of winter.

"Anyway," Alivia said, putting an arm around Tai,
"It's been great having you with us. How about I buy you dinner to
help make up for you missing out on all of the fun?"

"That's not necessary, but all right. I won't decline
offers of free food," Tai teased.

Cheese fries,
Ethan's voice said.

That sounds like an excellent idea.
She
smiled. He was almost always agreeable with her which was wonderful
because Tai didn't know if she could handle anything else. The more
like Darien he was, the better.

A few minutes later she had her fries smothered in
cheese sauce and a root-beer float. She listened as the girls
talked accessories and dates. Normal girl things. There wasn't much
to say, but she loved to eavesdrop.

"Park said he got us reservations for a pretty swanky
restaurant. As much as we'd love to join you for dinner, Allegra, I
can't pass that up. I almost forgot it's going to be our one-year
anniversary! Can you believe I forgot and
he
remembered?
Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Alivia said.

"Usually," Tai said. Though she wasn't one to talk
because she had no clue when her and Darien's anniversary was.
Would it be the day they first met and consummated their marriage?
Or would it be when she finally accepted him as her husband? Too
many "what ifs" were in play.
I guess I should ask him what he
thinks.

As if on cue, Darien appeared at the entrance to the
food court. They made eye contact and he smiled brightly. It always
gave her butterflies when she saw him smile like that. When he was
happy, it was as if the world was frozen in that moment with him
and everything became better. He expressed his emotions with such
purity they were contagious. She returned his smile and she could
feel Ethan growing excited inside of her. There was no other way to
describe the experience. She couldn't feel the baby move exactly,
but his emotion started to pour into her to the point where it
saturated her. A second ago she'd only been smiling. That soon
changed to her bouncing in her seat, and she fidgeted with her
hands on the table.

Daddy!
Ethan said.

Yes, that's him.
She couldn't help but laugh.
Both Alivia and Allegra stared at her with a raised eyebrow before
exchanging a look with one another. Tai waved a hand.

"I just remembered something," she said. Hopefully
she wouldn't have to explain anything further.