Treasure (32 page)

Then someone grabbed him, drew him back, and returned him to his place, and Kyo closed his eyes unable to take anymore.

All around him came the wind and rain and thunder, and above all of that noise was Raiden's deep voice, rich with magic and power now, reciting an incantation that made Kyo tremble and wrap his arms around himself.

Then the pain struck, and he screamed as he fell to his knees, clutching futilely at his head as images poured through it:  people he did not know, but who looked like Raiden, people of Kundou in old-fashioned clothes, people of other places. Other times, he realized. Thoughts and feelings flooded him, things he'd never experienced and yet it felt as if he had. Kyo screamed for mercy, sobbed desperately for it all to stop, begging for the storm to cease.

Abruptly, it did. He sat for several minutes before he realized that the horror finally had stopped. The ceremony was complete, and they were at last restored to their rightful place.

They?

Noise drew his attention, the sound of words softly spoken, of someone quietly crying. Kyo forced his eyes open and looked at Raiden, who had knelt before Taka and dragged Taka into his arms. Kyo blinked at them, and then looked down where his own hands were in his lap, so tightly fisted that his nails had drawn blood in his palms.

Slowly relaxing his hands, he grimaced at the blood that covered him, feeling it drying on his face. He tried to stand and failed the first time, but managed it on the second attempt. His limbs were shaky, barely stable; he felt as though he had been swimming nonstop for hours

The presence of power was stronger than ever in his mind, and he gingerly reached out to it, drawing a sharp breath when he felt it in full. Then the memories rose up, of a time and place long past, of when he and Typhoon had tried to warn Arashi that Manchou was a bad idea. Arashi hadn't listened. He'd never been very good at listening. It had always angered Licht the most that Arashi was so careless and arrogant.

Shaking his head, banishing the memories that were and were not his, Kyo looked around. Raiden still held Taka tightly. Kin was looking around in wonder, and if Kyo was not mistaken, he looked even whiter than he had before. But ice and snow had always been Typhoon's favorite toys.

Not Typhoon, not anymore. Kindan. Kyo swore softly, and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "This is going to take some adjusting," he said.

"To say the least," Kin said with a grunt. "I feel like I am two people. I suppose I am, now. I can feel too much, and too much of too much. Ugh."

Kyo laughed and went over to him, ignoring the blood on both their faces to kiss Kin softly. "We'll figure it out. The first part is accomplished, however. Chaos is back in the hands of the gods meant to wield it." He stepped back, threw his arms out, and gave himself over to the power that flowed within him.

High above, the lingering storm calmed and then vanished, sunlight pouring down upon them. Kyo laughed again, delighted, and turned toward Raiden. "How is our dear Eye? If you are now my brother, and he is my brother, does that mean there is some strange incest going on here?"

"Hold your breath," Taka groused, voice rough, eyes still closed. He started to say more, but succumbed again to unconsciousness. Raiden stood up with Taka cradled in his arms.

"He is fine and will be better after some rest," Raiden said, pressing his cheek to Taka's brow, the look of relief on his face poignant, almost painful to look at. "The Eye is properly remade, and the dragons reborn. Three of the nine gods are no longer lost, and now Order has a true fight on his hands."

Kin grunted, turning to look at things only gods could see, eyes flashing like sunlight on snow. "Teufel stirs behind his dome of shadows; he feels the shift in the balance."

"He can't do much," Kyo said. "Not yet, anyway. But the next step belongs to the children of fire. We've done our part."

"Yes," Raiden agreed. "Now we wait for our brothers and sisters to find their way back, one way or another."

"May we learn what went wrong," Kyo said softly. He laughed suddenly. "Do you know, when this all started, I thought I was the child of chaos meant to fix all this?" He remembered those words he had read, faded and broken, in the Book of Storms.

Raiden laughed, and Kin rolled his eyes. "Have you remembered the exact prophesy, then?"

"Yes," Kyo said and softly recited, "To defeat Teufel, the Shadow of Licht, will take a Child of Chaos: someone who can change, who wills himself to change, and instead of succumbing to he who would instill Order—changes him."

Kin grunted, folding his arms across his chest. "The Child of Chaos could be anywhere and possibly not even born yet. We have no way of finding the Child, not yet. But Teufel could, if he manages to get his minions beyond his shadow walls."

"A problem for another day," Raiden said. "We can do nothing, not until the Lost Gods are restored."

Making a face, Kin reluctantly subsided. "I do not like waiting."

Raiden ignored him, resettling Taka in his arms and walking off. Kyo watched them go, silently hoping that all would finally work out between them. Turning to Kin he said, "I'll keep you distracted." Stepping away, he turned and headed toward the beach where he and Taka had spoken earlier. He threw a playful smirk over his shoulder, laughing when Kin came after him. At the last moment, just as Kin was reaching for him, Kin gathered up his robes and bolted, running full tilt toward the beach, laughing in delight when Kin tackled him and sent them both into the water.

Raiden carefully laid Taka down on the sand, pulling off his own sash to make a pillow. He trailed his fingers over Taka's brow, his cheeks, the fine line of his nose, his lips, finally down to his throat. Only losing his brothers had been as painful as watching Taka die. Knowing he would come back had not helped the sick fear and agony that had torn through him.

He'd only done what had to be done, but he wished there had been a better way. Raiden lightly traced the barely-visible scar across Taka's throat and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his pulse point, relief sweeping through him all over again to have such glaring proof that Taka lived.

Not that he needed it. Raiden could feel every breath his Priest of Storms drew if he desired, but it was not quite the same as feeling the life beneath his lips. He drew back reluctantly, not wanting to take liberties that were no longer his right to take.

Taka had made that agonizingly clear when he had torn off the necklace Raiden had given him and thrown it into the sea. He had added emphasis with the command that Raiden never touch him again. Not wanting to disobey, even if he could not help himself in his need for reassurance, Raiden withdrew and stood up.

He stared out at the sea, swallowing around the lump in his throat that he could feel it all again in a way he had not been able for nine hundred years. The sea and the sky were his again, to sense in a thousand ways, to control, to care for and protect. He could feel the bands of chaos that guided life, struggled against the heavy, binding threads of order trying to confine them.

Raiden banished the thoughts, refusing to be burdened by them for the present. There was time enough for it, now that the first and most crucial step had been achieved. He discarded his robes, pulled the scarf from his head, and raked a hand through his hair.

Looking over his shoulder at Taka, still fast asleep and recovering from the ceremony, Raiden walked across the sand, waded into the surf, and dove smoothly into the deeper water. He swam and swam, until he could barely see land and the ocean was so deep ordinary eyes could not see down into the depths. He dove deeper, loosing his power as he did so, surrendering his human form for that of his dragon, long and sinuous, scales as dark blue as the depths of the sea or a midnight sky.

He roared in the depths, making the world around him tremble and shake, swam and swam, moving in tight circles, twining in and around himself, rumbling as fish of all shapes and sizes came to him, joined him, and welcomed him back.

Eventually, he settled on the ocean floor, sand rising up around him in enormous clouds only to slowly settle again. A long while later, the mermaids began to appear. Raiden growled, forbidding them to approach close enough to touch.
Daughters, you have disappointed us. You were not meant to turn against your brothers of the sea, your siblings upon land.

Father, father,
they pleaded, huddled on their knees, clinging to each other, their silent sobs echoing through his mind.
Let us make amends, then. We were angry for and because of you. We love you, father. Give us a chance to prove that in a way that pleases you.

Raiden rumbled his agreement, and two mermaids broke from the rest to prostrate themselves closer to him. Shio and Shinju, he recognized.
You have behaved better than the rest of your sisters. This is not your burden to take up

We want to take it,
Shio replied.
Please allow us to redeem our sisters.

Very well,
Raiden said.
Only three Vessels remain in the land of Pozhar. Find the last Vessel, protect him from those who would wrong him. Do this and all is forgiven.

Yes, father.
Shinju replied, and then the mermaids were allowed to approach him, cuddle against him, rest with him as they once had so very long ago.

As content as he could be while his treasure still hated him, Raiden closed his eyes and, for the first time in nine centuries, enjoyed real rest.

He woke some time later when he felt Taka's anxiety. Immediately stirring, Raiden bid the creatures piled around him farewell, slowly unwinding his coils and heading for the surface. He broke the surface with a roar, water cascading all around him and raced for the beach, shifting back to his human form as he reached shallow waters.

Taka stared at him wide eyed, the robe he'd been holding slipping forgotten from his fingers. "Y-you were a dragon. Like Kyo."

"I'm still a dragon," Raiden murmured, looking at him hungrily, unable not. Taka was beautiful, perfect in his eyes, and the fact that he was also the Eye only made him brighter, sharper, and more precious. Raiden wanted to touch him, hold him, but he was not stupid enough to try it. Instead, he bent and retrieved his robe, shaking the sand out before shrugging into it. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I should have stopped drinking a lot sooner than I did, and my throat feels raw. Sensitive." He curled his fingers around his throat, visibly shivering. "Kyo slit my throat."

"Yes, with Kin's help," Raiden said. "You were magnificent. I do not know of anyone else who could have endured that. Even Kyo could not, at the end, and needed help to finish it."

Taka laughed shakily and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. "I never want to do that again."

"You won't have to, my trea—" Raiden broke off and turned away. "You won't have to," he tried again. "You are the Eye of the Storm, my Priest of Storms. Once upon a time, only two people were a match for you in power.  I doubt they will be replaced, though anything is possible."

He thought Taka would ask who they had been, but only silence met his words. Raiden stifled a sigh and decided it would be best if he returned to the sea, maybe returned to Kundou and got his business back in order. The thought made him tired. He loved and thrived on being a merchant; his business suited him and what he needed to do, without causing a fuss or using his power overmuch.

But he didn't want to do just that, anymore. Not the way he had for the last one hundred storming years. He had looked forward to not being lonely anymore, to having his brothers back—and he did have them, or at least new brothers who would mean as much to him. He had also hoped fervently to have once more a Priest of Storms, for after his brothers his Priest had been his best friend.

He had looked forward to having that family again.

Raiden had not counted on falling in love with his potential Priest of Storms, but the moment he had seen Taka ... And of course he had messed up. Again. How long would he have to go before he found someone else? Would he ever find anyone who actually remained by his side?

He was beginning to doubt it, and doubt was something he had hoped never to feel again. He didn't like it. The dragons were restored, chaos was no longer almost completely dominated by order ... Yet, instead of triumphant, he just felt lonelier than ever.

"So what happens now?" Taka asked.

"Nothing," Raiden said. "At least, for us. Our part is done for the foreseeable future. It is up to the other countries to set right their own wrongs. We will wait and see what Pozhar chooses to do." He finally forced himself to look at Taka again, and it hurt as much as he had feared because they might as well have been an entire ocean apart. "Did you want to travel home by ship, or would you prefer I take you somewhere straightaway?"

"You can do that?"

Raiden smiled, laughing softly. "There is very little I cannot do now, Taka. Takara," he corrected. "I am certain you must be tired of sailing—tired of everything. I know you want nothing from me, but I can give you one of my homes until you decide what you want to do."

Taka sighed softly. "What does one do when he can literally do or have anything? Why would anyone want the world? It leaves too many options."

"You are certainly free to reject most of it," Raiden said, not quite able to keep all the bitterness from his voice. He had made mistakes, his entire existence seemed comprised of mistakes, but he was not completely awful. He had given Taka the world, would give him more, if Taka had not made it very clear that all he wanted was never to see Raiden again. "No different than a banquet, Taka. Admire everything before you, but eat only the bits that are of interest. If you do not want me to take you somewhere, then I suggest you head back to the ships. Dark will be falling soon, and the island is treacherous enough for walking during the day."

He started to head for the sea, reaching up to discard his robe again, when Taka's word drew him up short. "What if I already threw away what I wanted? There doesn't seem to be any way to get it back."