Legend of the Touched (26 page)

"Brian," Darien whispered and rushed to his brother's
side.

"The Inero came...with Terran. They attacked
home,"
Brian wheezed in the dragon tongue.
"I...tried to
stop them...big fight. They took Lance and Katelyn and...."
He
stopped to take a deep breath and closed his large blue eyes.

"Tai, please tell me she's okay."

"They have her too."

Darien cursed quietly in the dragon tongue and ran a
hand through his hair. He couldn't think clearly.
They have her.
They have my family. Ethan.
His eyes went wide. "The others?
The kids?"

"Everyone else is...is...safe. The children...they
went...Sanctuary."

A soft sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Let me help
you." He reached out and put his hands on his brother's thick, blue
scales now covered in sticky red blood which made them a glossy
dark purple. The smell churned Darien's stomach, and so did the
warmth of the liquid in comparison to how cold Brian's body was
beginning to feel. His brother was dying. There had to be magic
inside of Darien that could help. He was Touched. Didn't that mean
he was capable of great things?

"I tried...to stop..."

"Don't speak," Darien whispered. "Concentrate on
transforming. It'll help with healing the wounds faster and with
the pain."

"I stopped feeling pain a while ago."

"Please do it anyway." Wide eyed, Darien stared up at
the glass in his brother's head. How deep was it? He conjured up
whatever magic he could think of that might help his brother. If
Brian would only transform, then Darien could use his abilities to
hide the shift. No one was around to see except.... He glanced over
his shoulder, remembering Alex was there. The young man's eyes were
wide, his jaw hung open, and he slowly shook his head as if in
disbelief.

Brian closed his eyes and took in a long breath,
sucking the air away from Darien which caused him to shiver. Then
Brian exhaled slowly.
"I can't. I'm too tired. I just want to
sleep."

"If you sleep, you'll die.
Please.
" Darien
couldn't lose another member of his family. Despite their
differences, Brian was still his brother. Darien still loved
him.

Another groan left his brother's mouth.
"Send me
off...in the fire...like you did father...do not leave me here...
I'm sorry I couldn't..."

Tears filled Darien's eyes and he shook his head.
"You have done incredible things. I will make sure to care for you
tonight, and your family. I'll bring everyone back. Rest and be
with Father, and God."

Brian let out another breath that sounded almost like
a sigh, as though he had been waiting for Darien's permission to
pass.
"Thank you. Sanctuary..."

"I remember the way," Darien said. He pressed his
forehead against his hands that still touched his brother's skin.
The tears spilled down his cheeks as he felt Brian's body exhale
one last time, and then never draw another breath in. Darien bit
back the tears with enough force that he drew blood from his lip.
Now was not the time to cry. There'd be time for that later. He had
to get home, and he had to get to Sanctuary.

Standing, he stared down at his bloodstained hands
and then at his brother's now dead body. He'd promised to care for
it properly. Hopefully, he could return later in the night to do so
and fulfill his word. A dragon body the size of Brian would not be
easy to move. He had always been the largest of the entire tribe as
far as Darien knew.

As much as he wanted to transform on the spot and fly
to Inero in a rage to collect his wife, he knew it was a stupid
idea on multiple levels. The only solace he had was that if the
Inero had wanted to kill them all, they wouldn't have waited to do
so. They certainly hadn't with his father. No, there was another
plan. Darien had time to come up with one of his own.

He walked past Alex and got into his car without a
word. There was a lot to do.

Chapter Sixty-One

The Oceina

The only home he'd ever known was nothing more than a
heap of rubble. The roof was smashed in, and a side of the building
had been blasted away. Several buildings around it were in similar
condition. He didn't want to think about the needless loss of life
that had happened in the fight between Brian and the other tribes.
The damage extended down the street as far as he could see. None of
the skyscrapers had toppled over, though some of their windows had
blown out on the lower floors. Rescue workers were everywhere
trying to put out fires and help those who were injured. He
swallowed, taking the whole scene in.

Sanctuary, he had to focus on getting there. Then he
could get his plan and the backup he'd need to go and save his
family, to save Tai. When his father had built their home long
before Darien had been born, he put an enchantment on it. Or
rather, Darien's grandfather had placed it on the building,
creating a gate between their home and Sanctuary where his
grandfather lived. It was a place of refuge, and the castle where
the first Great Oceina Lord once reigned. No one besides his
grandfather knew where it actually was. It's location long
forgotten over all of the years. All Darien had to do was find the
magical portal.

He made his way to the front door, stepping around a
huge chunk of fallen concrete to do so. The once grand lobby was
covered in dust from the rubble, the chandelier was on the floor
completely shattered, and there was a large hole in the ceiling.
There had been a portal on this main floor in a coat closet. All of
them were well hidden. Orion had once told him there were a hundred
of them, so they would be prepared for anything. The story went his
grandfather Lucca had sacrificed all of his magic to create
them.

All Darien had to do was stand on the portal and
focus. The only thing he didn't know was if he'd be able to come
back to the city. It was a risk he was going to have to take. He
walked into the closet, found the glowing sigil of the water dragon
still intact on the far wall, and pressed his hand to it. Eyes
closed, he focused on going to Sanctuary, a place he'd never been
before. He felt his body disperse into water molecules and in a
flash of blue light he stood in the corner of a large, stone
entryway.

"Darien?" Tony asked from nearby. His voice echoed in
the room. When Darien turned around, he saw his brother sitting on
a grand stone staircase.

"Yeah, it's me." He walked over slowly.

"Leena is a mess. We lost Brian, didn't we?" Tony
choked on his words.

Darien nodded slowly, taking a moment to hide his
face in his hands.

"Lance, Katelyn, Tai?" Tony asked.

"Captured."

"You're bleeding."

Darien shook his head, still not showing his face.
"It's not mine."

Tony was quiet for a moment. "What are we going to
do?"

"
We
aren't going to do anything.
I'm
going after them. You need to stay here."

Tony's jaw tightened and his usually bright blue eyes
were filled with a new kind of fire Darien had never seen before.
This was not his gentle, peace-loving brother in front of him
anymore.

Tony slammed a clenched fist onto the stone stair
where he sat. "I can't sit back and do nothing. You're going to
need help."

"I am, but what about your boys? They've already lost
their mom, what if something happened to you too? Besides, I need
you to do something else for me." Darien did his best to not raise
his voice to his brother. Tony was usually slow to anger and quick
to understand. Moments like this where he became irrationally upset
were rare. Hopefully by distracting him with another task, he'd be
able to get his brother to calm down but also feel useful.

For a minute, Tony didn't say anything. "Fine, you're
right. But Ashley was there today. She led them to our door, I'm
sure of it. Our connection isn't strong anymore, but I should have
been paying more attention. I missed it. I could have warned
everyone, or something. She needs to pay for this."

"She will, but I can't risk losing you too, and
neither can your sons."

"She tried to hurt the eggs in the nursery. Lance's
took a good swipe, but Asher seems to think he'll be okay. The
damage was minimal, thank God."

"So all of the eggs are—."

"Fine, yeah. There are incubators here. None of the
children were hurt beyond the one. Arthur is on his way. He also
received a message from the Inero, but it was a lot less
violent."

Darien lifted his head up and looked at his brother.
"Good, I'll need his advice and his connections to get the others
back. Until then, there's a lot that needs to be done. First
though, I want to see my son."

Chapter Sixty-Two

The Oceina

They landed on the roof of a mighty castle just as
the sun was setting. The land of Inero looked desolate and empty.
It gave Tai shivers. All she could see as they flew was nothing but
desert for miles. The leader grabbed Tai and dragged her away from
Katelyn and Lance. If they could at least stick together, she'd
feel stronger, but that must have been the point in splitting them
up. While the other two had a swarm of guards watching them, Tai
only had the one. He pulled her into the castle and led her through
its cool stone walls. It was dark inside, and the decor suggested
the owner of the castle only wanted to display power. There was no
homey feel to it. The apartment back home lacked the homey touch,
but there was at least an attempt at making it feel welcoming.
There had been a few pictures hung on the walls, and artwork,
plants even. Here the only decoration she saw was a tapestry or a
portrait of a man in a strong pose of some kind.

The young man stopped in front of a large oak door
and knocked, hard. It opened, revealing a young woman close to
Tai's age. She may have been a couple of years older. Her dark eyes
were surrounded by puffy flesh, clear signs she had been crying.
She tried to hide it by pushing her dark, curly hair, in front of
her face.

"Who's there?" A male voice called out from
inside.

"Matthias," the woman said. "He has a guest."

"Oh, good he's returned with—" The man came into
view. He looked to be in his late forties, early fifties with
chin-length, black, greasy hair streaked gray. His dark eyes landed
on Tai, narrowed, and then looked her body up and down. "Who is
this? I thought you would be bringing me the Great Lord."

"He wasn't there," the young man who had captured her
said and he lowered his eyes. "This is his wife."

"Even better." The older man licked his lips. "Come
in dear and sit. Welcome to my home. I am Lynx, Lord of the Inero.
This is my bride Navi, and my other wife Lenora will be along
shortly."

Two wives? Tai crinkled her nose in disgust. Looking
at the woman he introduced as Navi, she couldn't help but wonder
why they had even married to begin with. He was so much older than
her. Was it forced? Or was something else in it for her? Tai did
not want to sit anywhere in his home and be comfortable. The way he
watched her sent shivers down her spine because she was almost
certain he was starting to lust for
her
. Darien had told her
it smelled like cinnamon. She was picking up on something awfully
like it from the man.

"He invited you to sit." The young man gave her a
sharp nudge in the back.

She took a step forward and searched for a chair that
was far away. The only thing she could find was the couch. She took
a seat on the floor where she stood.

Lynx laughed. "I suppose that's acceptable. And
appropriate. You already have respect for your soon to be new Lord.
But, please, come, right here." He patted the couch beside him.

The one called Matthias pulled on her arms to get her
to stand again, and practically pushed her to the couch. Lynx
caught her, his hands groping her waist more than she would have
preferred, and forced her to sit on the couch practically on his
lap. Tai's eyes widened, and she tried to not let him know how
afraid she was. The woman called Navi came over as well and
did
sit on the man's lap. She wrapped her arms around his
neck and he looked at her with a smile. Tai was surprised by the
affection he held in his gaze. Navi did not return it, but she
faked it well enough. Tai almost believed the woman cared for him
too by the way she gently stroked the stubble on his chin. But
there was a tightness in her jaw and a slight fire in her eyes.

"I don't intend to hurt you," Lynx said. "I have only
hurt one woman in a way she did not deserve, and as you can see
she's forgiven me for such behavior. So long as you are
cooperative, you will be treated as a guest. Trying to escape will
land you in my dungeon, and I don't know what the guards will do to
you down there."

"The others who were brought with you will be killed
if you do not cooperate," the one called Matthias said coolly. "We
have the First Council and his wife."

"Ah, yes, see? The First Council is useful to me. The
girl is not. She is easily expendable. I'm sure you've grown to
care for her as a friend over your time there. And she must also
have children. You wouldn't want to be responsible for them no
longer having a mother would you?"

"No," Tai said through clenched teeth, already hating
the man more than she did two seconds earlier. It disgusted her
that he would dare to try to manipulate her by such means. There
was no honor in that.

"Such a smart girl," Lynx said. "Navi, why don't you
show her to your room so she can rest? I'm sure it's been a long
journey."

"Yes, my Lord," Navi said and took Tai's hand ever so
gently. The woman stayed close, almost as if she were some kind of
guardian angel. She took Tai to a room that was lavishly decorated.
The four-post-bed had black curtains hanging from a golden rod. The
comforter on the bed matched this as it too was black, and the bed
itself was covered in a multitude of gold and black throw pillows.
All of the furniture was made from a dark wood. There were tiger
lilies in vases giving the room an exotic touch. Navi sat Tai on
the bed, and then gave her a hug that Tai couldn't help but
reciprocate.