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Author: Denigoddess2001
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com
Fandom: Gargoyles
Saga: Reflective Realms Continuum
Episode: The Stone King
Rating: PG
Date:
Author's notes: Anything appearing in brackets [ ] indicates character's thoughts or telepathic communication.
The night following the wedding feast.....
Ashatsinu felt nagging hunger gnawing at her stomach and an angry growl answered it. Fire and dryness made her throat raw and swollen from not having water for two nights; thirst was another monster the Princess battled to keep at bay. The moisture and darkness of her small, cramped prison cell was a tomb threatening her mind with invisible beasts lurking in the shadow. Ashatsinu kept reminding herself that those beasts were just rats and spiders, yet nothing banished the terrified thoughts filling her mind. Alone, enchained, cold and wet, Ashatsinu cursed the nine hells that brought her to her father's dungeon. Ironically, the structure was only four seasons old, but it was an ancient entity delighting in tormenting her. She cursed Halmu's name a thousand times, but it brought her little solace.
Visions haunted her of her impending, fated execution. Ashatsinu knew well the barbaric, bloody destiny awaiting her. Her father's private guards would come for her, removing her from the tiny, dank cell and leading her through Amor's granite-cobbled streets. Images of the final walk filled her jumbled thoughts as she envisioned the rock quarry where death anticipated her arrival. She remembered well the large white granite obelisk used for putting to death those who defiled Amor's laws. She remembered the deep crimson stains soaked deep into the stones, the blood of those condemned before her. She knew that chains awaited for her in their final embrace. She silently prayed that death would come quickly and painlessly. Ashatsinu prayed that the first stone cast strike her temple so that unconsciousness claimed her final thoughts.
"Fate is a fickle mistress, Queen Ashatsinu." A resonant voice lilted quietly from the darkness surrounding her. "You neither give nor receive quarter to allies or enemies. No god or man commands you. Destiny remains confused by your incomparable fortitude and Fate avoids doing battle with you.""
"Fate always claims victory in the end, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble across the cool stone floor, watching it bounce along the crevices of the mortar and the cobblestones. "Halmu's death came not by my hand, I assure you. "
"A myriad of questions torment you without promise of resolution." The answer from the shadows echoed rapidly off the stone prison walls.
"Who are you, taunting me in my final hours before death?" Ashatsinu sneered at the spectral voice cloaked by night and dimness. She said with far more bravado than she possessed
"Show yourself, be you my conscience or assassin. Let me see the face of death before I die."
"Nay, Queen, I think not. Suchlike gods bless you, therefore I embody your deliverance." Ashatsinu listened attentively to the serene timbre of the speaker's words. The surreal voice emanated a magnificent reverberation, a melodious pitch lulling her disconcerted thoughts into reverie and repose. "I choose anonymity for the moment. Much weighs upon your mind and I refuse to bring further burdens to your troubled heart."
"I thank you for that small kindness." Ashatsinu picked up another stone and made repetitious marks upon the floor of her cell. "Nonetheless, your appearance will not inspire hysterics."
"In the visage of hardship, you remain composed; truly the mark of a strong ruler. Discovery of my presence here jeopardizes my life. I risk much visiting you, nevertheless I deem it a advantageous choice." The mysterious voice gently responded. "Many call me mad but never obtuse."
"You speech bears the mark of an educated man. Are you one of All-Father's prophets?" Ashatsinu turned her head toward the darkness, straining her eyes to find the contour of his silhouette. "I can barely make out your form in the darkness, but you appear robed."
"Your senses are keen and your sight sharp." The cheerful mood of the stranger's voice lifted some of the gloom stalking her in her thoughts. "Impressive, for a Human."
"You never answered my question." Ashatsinu redirected the focus of their conversation on her interrogation of the faceless stranger. "Are you one of All-Father's clerics? Only they wear robes with hoods that hide their faces."
"No. I tell you this, Queen; I know firsthand the wrath of All-Father. He deserves no such title because he is not the Father of All but a chosen few humans hiding in the shadows like frightened rats. My tribe merely calls him Enki." The voice's bitterness wiped away any lingering traces of cheer that it had formerly held."
"You sound resentful of his blessings."
"I suffer from the worst of curses." The voice was curt, cutting through the darkness with the swiftness of a sharp scimitar. "He cast me out long before your birth."
"Then you and I share a similar fate, Stranger." Ashatsinu raised her wrists toward the shadowed form, displaying the heavy shackles that chained her to the wall. "My father denies my life by keeping me in this place. My execution takes place shortly before sunrise. Tell me, what crime landed you in this hellhole?"
"Defiant truth, Queen."
"What was your crime?"
"Blasphemy. I am no prisoner here; no walls hold me. I move through them as mist though stone."
"You speak in riddles, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble in his direction. She heard it dance and skitter along the stone floor. "Are you a scribe of the court?"
"You ask too many questions and that is a sign of defiance."
"You are a talking conundrum." Ashatsinu retorted sharply, struggling to her feet. Fatigue overwhelmed her and she slumped against the damp stone. A growl of sheer frustration echoed off the damp walls of the dungeon cell. "Wise men are silent while fools prattle. Show yourself or leave me in peace."
The raw agony from talking caused a raspy, guttural coughing in her desiccated throat. Two hands, pale and slender, appeared from the darkness holding forth a wineskin. They held the skin's mouthpiece to her dry lips. Ashatsinu clutched the wineskin and drank eagerly. A warm, thick fluid filled her mouth; its salty, metallic taste brought bile to her throat with each swallow. She tried throwing the wineskin aside but those slender hands held it fast to her lips. His voice carried a commanding authority that compelled her meek compliance. "Drink now and argue later, Queen. For once, simply accept a gift and put your rebelliousness aside."
The undeniable domination in his voice overrode her desire to wretch. Ashatsinu silently screamed, as her body betrayed her will and forced her parched throat to obey, gulping down the repulsive liquid. She found strength after that first swing, disgusted with her weakness, thrust the bag away. With each sanguine drop descending from her lips to her throat, a thousand comprehensions filled her being. The one holding the wineskin defied life. This stranger defiled the sacred natural order of all living things by his existence. "That was blood."
"Clever girl, you learn quickly. From my veins it flows upon your full lips, tainting the color of an Akkadian nightfall." The figure knelt beside her and corked the wineskin. "Let us leave this place."
"I will walk in the Shadowlands before I leave with you." Ashatsinu's wry chuckle accompanied the metallic clinks of her shackled wrists. "Circumstance decides that I remain here. Besides, a death shroud clashes with my complexion."
"Arana's tutelage has failed in teaching you to hold your tongue."
"Humor is the ultimate act of defiance." Ashatsinu barked, considerably astonished by the fact her thirst and fatigue were nearly gone. She rose to her feet and yanked at the chains securely embedded within the stone walls. In an act of childish unruliness, she kicked the granite wall. Defeated and decimated, she slumped into a sitting position on the damp stone floor. "You have me at a disadvantage and my patience grows short. If you can release me from these manacles, we can leave. By the Dragon's tail, I have to ask and I think I already know. Who are you?"
"I will tell you when it is time." The voice silenced any further questions. "Queen Ashatsinu, you have few options available to you." The cloaked man stepped into her sight, faintly illuminated by the moonlight shining though the tiny window above them. She glanced upward and saw that he, whoever he was, towered over her because she barely came to his chest.
"Your gift for exaggerating the obvious amuses me." Her cutting remark elicited another chuckle from him.
"You possess mother's biting sarcasm. I always adored that about her." He pressed two tapered fingers to her lips. "Yet, I find it infuriating when it falls from you're your mordant mouth. Be silent."
"Try again, Stranger. Who are you?" Ashatsinu dared inquire once more.
Two pale, slender hands emerged from the long draping sleeves of his forest cloak. They came to the cobalt trim adorning the cowl concealing his face. Pushing the hood back, he revealed a finely chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones and a pale complexion. His black goatee framed full lips and accented his aquiline nose. Thick, dark brows accented eyes the shade of clear ice, giving him a nether worldly mien. Indigo tattooed markings adorning his brow and left temple showed him as a member of her father's tribe. One gold hoop hung from his left ear and the metal glinted in the cold moonlight when he turned his head, smiling at her.
The smile lit the small cell in an eerie luminescence, prompting Ashatsinu's utter stillness. Ashatsinu saw a thick, glorious mane of raven hair falling to his shoulders. She remembered renditions of a similar in ancient scrolls written by All-Father's clerics. She recalled their lessons well. She thought him haunting handsome and yet there was a baleful demeanor that inspired a primal terror within her wilding beating heart. Only one tribe possessed such striking, exotic features and she knew that those primordial kinsmen were no longer human. "Utakku."
"You know me."
"I know about you." She spoke slowly, seeking calm within her self and finding nothing but disbelief. The darkest of her father's adversaries stood before her in all of his cadaverous glory. "Mother used to tell me stories about your kind and those same stories ensured my good behavior throughout my childhood. Your kind and mine are natural enemies."
"Let us be forthright, Ashatsinu. Your father holds lands belonging to my heirs and descendants. He slaughters my people on sight and wishes my eradication from the face of the earth."
"Is this how my father's desires my death?" Ashatsinu felt tears stinging her eyes. "He delivers me into the hands of the enemy?"
"I am not your enemy, Queen." Utakku spoke with a tenderness that defied his menacing presence. He placed his slender fingers upon the iron shackles, the cold iron with the intimacy of a lover's caress. With a loud click, their locking mechanisms released and empty shackles clattered noisily when they hit the stone floor. "At least, tonight I am not your adversary."
"You're Soulless." She replied grimly. "I may die, but I do not want to die at your hands, Utakku. I'd rather be pummeled by stones until my flesh falls from my bones."
"I thought you were more of an optimist."
"I see you find my situation hilarious, Vampire."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT AGAIN." His bellow accompanied eyes burning with an unholy fire. Ashatsinu saw his lips pull back in a feral snarl, revealing pearly fangs. His Inhumanity brought forth a primal fear that inspired a shrill scream that reverberated so strongly that the scuttling of the rats ceased.
The ice blue fires burning in Utakku's eyes dimmed, revealing a clear gaze. "The DeMahri call my kind Ahl-Kemehn. Say it with me."
"All KAW Maine." Ashatsinu found her tongue betraying her with its stuttering. "Clan of the dark dragon,' better known as Tiamat's children."
"Very good. You speak Draconic well." Utakku nodded in grudging admiration. "You are as intelligent as you are comely; an exceptional amalgamation in a woman."
"Charming and deadly: a lethal mix for most of your victims, I am certain. Why are you here, Utakku?" Ashatsinu's pithy derision sounded abrasive to her and elicited an amused smirk from her kinsman. "What do you want of me?"
"I want armistice between the Ahl-Kemehn and the Amorites. Kenan chose war and Halmu chose defiance, thus death. You are now Sodom's rightful queen and Kenan swears fealty to the Tribe of Azazel. Common knowledge decrees Halmu is without and an heir leaving you as the sovereign of the richest city in the realm. I know you hold good sense and sound judgment. Listen to my proposal and then decide."
"Then speak your mind, Utakku."
"Amor is my by finesse or by force. Now, I advocate an arrangement beneficial for all: save your people and vow allegiance to me. As Amor's princess and Sodom's queen, you wield influence and power over countless people. Thus, persuade them a peaceful surrender insures prosperity and survival for your people and a bountiful existence for mine."
"What do I have to do, marry you?" She cringed at the thought of forced marriage to a vampire.
"No. Simply pay tribute to me, ally yourself to me in front of your people, and both cities shall become protectorates under my... administration." He explained. "In return, you exert undisputed authority over Sodom and Amor."
"So that you can make them into slaves or bleed them dry?" How Ashatsinu wished at that moment that her eyes glowed crimson and that cobalt flowed through her veins instead of red. A DeMahri knew immunity to a vampire's bite and never knew a Soulless existence. [Menash Kah! From the boiling cauldron into the fire pit, this cannot be happening to me!]
"The world is harsh and we do, as we must, to survive." Utakku's lips pursed together in a grim, stoic line. "This war between Amor and my people claims too lives on both sides."
"Did you kill Halmu?" Ashatsinu inquired frankly. She brushed back a stray black tendril from her dirt-covered cheek. "How did he die?"
"Very quickly, My Dear." Utakku met her gaze. "He fulfilled his purpose and I no longer needed his services. A wise woman brought him a quick end at my urging."
"Niza!" Her sister's name came out in hiss.
"Yes, she is a cunning, but valuable, ally." One long, slender finger languidly stroked her cheek. "Your mother loves you and wants your birthright restored to you. I do this for my people's betterment and because your mother desires it."
"My mother died of a plague sent by All-Father for defying my father, Uttaku."
"Did she, Queen?" His condescending tone brought Ashatsinu's irritation to a point approaching explosion. Utakku gestured with a flattened palm toward, silently seeking her patience. Utakku's eyes warmed and warmth entered his voice. "Niza summoned me shortly before her supposed death and begged for your mother's life. I bestowed upon Tizir Tiamat's deathless legacy."
"You turned my mother into a soulless sycophant." Ashatsinu snarled. "If you loved her, then how could you?"
"I adore her, Ashatsinu." Utakku spoke gently. "We are not Soulless creatures you regard us. We are outside of Fate's Design and Time's reach; we are creatures of intelligent design. We know life without injury, infirmity or death. Nevertheless, we are vulnerable because we have hearts and we feel love."
"Love!?" She shrieked. "By the Dragon, Utakku, you murdered her! Then, you condemned her to an eternity of blood and death."
"Tizir dances beneath her goddess' moon. She knows her goddess' love and good blessing. Your mother holds you and the DeMahri in high esteem. Upon her council, I consider the DeMahri as neutral and protect her youngest daughter in exchange for life with me."
"So, now she worships Tiamat." Ashatsinu's obsidian eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"No, she is a devout follower of the other dragon." Utakku cast his frigid blue gaze skywards. "Your mother intrigues me with her anecdotes of the Dragon goddess, Skylaris. She claims that the goddess is a fair and just deity with compassion unmatched. At your mother's bidding, I come to you this night and consider your goddess with grave solemnity."
"Skylaris?" Ashatsinu's voice came out barely more that a squeak.
"Indeed. We are not the evil, bloodsucking monsters you think us, Ashatsinu. Your mother thinks that there is room beneath Skylaris' protective wings for creatures of the night besides the DeMahri."
"Really?" Ashatsinu thought herself mad for listening to the rantings of a monster.
"Let me tell you a story, Ashatsinu. All-Father cursed me because I defied him. My brother brought him the finest kills of the hunt whilst I brought the finest crops springing from hard labor and tender care. He made me this way and now I am eternally destined to remain as such until the Final Judgment. Worse yet, my children and their descendants are doomed to accommodate Enki's whims until time ends."
"Please pardon me if I have no sympathy." Ashatsinu sniffed.
"It was that ageless legacy that saved your mother's life when Enki decided her life belonged to him. Niza took Halmu's life with one of her potions in his drink so that death missed you on your wedding night. He and I had an agreement: he married you and gave me Amor, and I gave him continual life free of injury, infirmity, death and disease. Your All-Father's curse is a gift to some. Tiamat's patronage makes my people strong."
"You have killed my people for centuries!"
"You people have killed us simply because your deity demands it. Has he given you any good reason for doing so?" Uttaku's eyes burnt with a gleam indigo flame. "We take only those that war against us. No innocent becomes a slave in my city. We do not kill or deliver children to the Legacy for the Legacy forbids it. We only invite those we deem worthy to join us in immortality."
"Tiamat demands blood sacrifice!" Ashatsinu choked on the heavy, sweet haze of myrrh surrounding Utakku. "You offer her the hearts of condemned prisoners so she'll bless you."
"And Enki demands your finest animals to keep him pleased. Those same animals that grace his altar would do better in the stomachs of the poor and the hungry! Your deity demands gems and gold that would do better to feed the starving and clothe the naked. Deny him those sacrifices and he brings plagues and curses upon you." He countered. "Enki and the Dark Dragon are not so different, and Tiamat is more honest in her demands and more forthcoming with her favors."
"She turned you into ...whatever you are." Ashatsinu motioned toward Utakku, at a loss for better describing his unique condition.
"Listen to me, Queen." He roughly grabbed her shoulders. "In simplest terms, I offer a truce. Join me in a treaty of peace and I give you my word this war ends tonight. Peace and order will reign, not bloodsheld. Your numbers are few and my warriors are powerful. Yet, I tire of seeing my people weep for their slain children and murdered mates. Your father follows the demands of a deity that insists that insurgents, be they men women or children, fall upon the sword if they choose not to worship Enki." Utakku's face contorted in disgust. "Women and children must never know bloodshed or death."
"How do I know what you tell me is true?" Ashatsinu pushed her body from his grasp.
"You will have to decide that for yourself."
"Your people have hunted mine like animals."
"And you murdered one of my daughters the night Arana and you fought three of my finest warriors."
"They attacked us!"
"They thought you and Arana to be spies." Utakku slammed his fist into the stone wall, out of sheer frustration.
"Will you not listen to reason?"
"I need proof that what you are telling me is true."
"And how do I provide that, Ashatsinu?"
[He has a point.] Desolation filled her. Blind faith was complete stupidity when dealing with a vampire, no matter how honorable he might seem. [If only Gesham were here. He can figure out when someone is lying. After all, it is a gift from his goddess.]
A glimmer of hoped sparked a flood of inspiration within Ashatsinu. "We need an arbitrator."
"Who?" His brow furrowed in suspicion.
"I no more trust you and your god than you trust me and mine." Ashatinu folded her hands together in contemplation. "We both hold Skylaris in esteem."
"True."
"I offer you this: let us both approach the DeMahri goddess, Skylaris in her sacred grove. Let her will be judgment. She is wise and fair and I...hold some favor with her for some unknown reason."
"She cares little for human affairs." Utakku scoffed. "Why she?"
"She is neutral between Tiamat and Enki. Neither god dares disturb the balance of power of the pantheon for she is also the patron protector of elves, djinn, and the shape shifters. Enki cursed you, your descendants and fellow tribesmen. My people follow him more so from fear than respect. The DeMahri protect my people based upon the oath of Promise made between Kenan and the DeMahri tribe. She demands no blood sacrifice -in fact, she forbids it. She may also be able free your and your people from Enki's curse."
"You speak of things beyond your power and reckoning." Utakku gently stroked a stray tendril away from Ashatisnu's grimy face. "Your idealism is admirable, but gods are a fickle lot, Queen, that you soon will know."
"She has been kinder to me than any other save for Gesham and Arana." Ashatsinu's sharp retort surprised the vampire. She lifted back the long, dark strands of hair to reveal a small golden birthmark, glistening with brilliance of pure gold. "I bear her mark. I offer that secret to you in good faith."
"How do you know that she will not annihilate us on sight? Skylaris forbade humans long ago from entering her sacred grove. My goddess will destroy my city should she catch wind of the treason I commit."
"I don't know that, Utakku, other than I have faith in Skylaris' righteousness and integrity; she knows the truth of all souls before they speak aloud. All falsehoods reveal themselves in her presence. If you will turn away from Tiamat and swear fealty to Skylaris, I will do the same and I will join you in armistice."
"You ask more than the moon and the stars and you do it with courage." He gave her a smile. "You truly are meant to be Queen."
"Then, we have an agreement?"
"I consent to travel with you to the sacred grove." He drew the cowl of his cloak over his face. "If this is trickery, Ashatsinu, remember my wrath is boundless."
"So be it." The young queen answered without hesitation. A long nail appeared on Utakku's left pinkie and the sharp edge sliced the thin skin of his inner wrist. Ashatsinu coughed in indignation. "There is no way in Sheol I am mingling my blood with yours."
"My blood flows though you now." Utakku smirked. "What is another drop?"
"I do it with a handshake."
He growled in frustration. "You are your father's bane."
"Cross me and I will be yours as well." She retorted.
Utakku slowly extended his hand. Ashatsinu looked warily at the tapered fingers and reluctantly clasped it. The shook twice and firmly and replied in unison. "By Skylaris, we seal this pact and may her wrath be upon us if either proves traitor to our agreement."
Utakku paused and studied the svelte human before him. She neither gave quarter nor demanded it. Unlike her sister Niza, Ashatsinu possessed a conscientious character and thoughtful nature. She faced danger and death with as much courage any Ahl-Kemehn. Her defiant conviction and diplomatic expertise brought reason to a futile war. Still, she was Human and not to be trusted too much. Kenan's blood flowed through her veins and the made Utakku wary of this bold sovereign.
"You will have your proof, Queen." He nodded curtly. "Let us leave this place and find Skylaris' grove.
Vainglory and hubris betokened her inmost demons, now she sought their presence for forbearance that eluded her. Ashatsinu's ancestor spuriously defied All-Father with his each word and deed. Now the young Queen dared follow her unhallowed bloodline with their contemplated covenant. She made her face stoic as that of a DeMahri warrior; aligning her shoulders, she stared forthwith into Utakku's gaze.
"The moon is full and waning toward morning. We have little time to arrive at her sacred grove."
"Oh, really?"
"The cantors of the Gargoyle clan say that Skylaris' sacred grove is located on an island beyond the end of the world. It supposedly lies on the edge of the Western Ocean." She mused. "It is said that when worthy warriors know death, their spirits travel to the Summerlands."
"Summerlands?" Utakku looked rather bored at that moment with her religious prattling.
"The everlasting dominion where Gargoyle souls know peace and contentment." She watched Utakku sneer in disdain. "Mock it if you will, but you will never know serenity or paradise."
"You will know it soon enough if you do not silence that chattering tongue." His sinister chuckle chilled Ashatsinu to her core. "Your lovely throat is pulsing, throbbing with life. I crave nothing more than to bury my fangs in your skin and drink my fill until you walk amongst the pale and the dead."
"Not as long as I breathe will you have me." She suppressed the overwhelming hatred simmering beneath her carefully constructed façade. "I forgot that you are a heartless beast."
"Just commit to memory that I am no man, and my heart is dust." Utakku's glare froze her soul with its frigid, unearthly fire. "You are still alive because you serve a purpose and you fulfill a need. Be thankful for Tizir's love of you."
"So be it." Ashatsinu longed for the sais she wielded prior to her imprisonment. At that moment, fury became sublime sweetness at the thought of driving them into his unliving core. She vowed that Utakku would be nothing more than a sandy, ashen feast for the scorpions come sunrise had she a say in the matter.
"Just a reminder time is short, Queen. Save the spiritual platitudes for the worshippers." His scathing reply chided Ashatsinu silent. "Now, how do we arrive there?"
"You're the undead eternal, infernal being here, not me." She let a sly smile slide across her chapped lips. "You find the solution."
"Then, it's time you put your education to use, Queen."
"How do I do that, O Great One?" She sniffed.
Utakku abhorred her contemptuous condescension. He cursed silently for promising Tizir that he would guard this virago and lead her to safety. He sighed heavily in exasperation and reached deep within the billowing folds of his velvet cloak. He withdrew a small scroll: the length of his hand from fingertip to wrist. He held it out to the shrew before him. "Niza said you could make sense of this."
"It's a Cleric's scroll." Her brows furrowed in suspicion. "How did Niza get hold of such a thing?"
"She acquires countless trinkets in her studies and travels." Utakku gave her a dismissive wave. "Can you read it?"
"Give me some time." Ashatsinu's fingers quickly untied the leather strap keeping the scroll tight. Unfurling it, she scanned the inscriptions upon the heavy parchment with intense scrutiny. "Yes, I can read it. It's a Draconic incantation for travel."
"Cast it, for if I were to do so..."
"The natural Magick of the scroll would fry you crisper than a scorpion at high noon." She finished for him. "Utakku, do you have any precious metal or stone on your person?"
"Yes." He unceremoniously removed the single gold hoop adorning his earlobe. He quirked a brow in curiosity. "Why?"
"Watch, Ancestor of mine, and learn the meaning of divine conjuring." She took some of the blood from the wine skin, dipping the earring in its crimson density.
"You practice the arts?" Utakku questioned skeptically. "I thought you above such things."
"I am no cleric, Utakku; my talent is limited in scope and ability. However, it suffices in times of need. We are in DEFINATE need. Please remember that Niza's Magick is of the Abyss, while Arana's Magick comes from the Spiritual realm. Therefore pray to whatever goddess you call Mistress that Niza's Magick has not contaminated the purity of this consecrated scroll." Ashatsinu expectantly held out her hand. "All dragons like gold and that gold hoop will do nicely in getting the Great Lady's attention."
She took a stray shard of stone granite lying on the cold floor, using it and etching several scratches resembling hieroglyphs and archaic symbols. Ashatsinu placed the gold hoop in the center of the elaborate inscriptions and returned to Utakku's side. She motioned to a spot beside her. "You do not want to be very close when this manifests."
"I cast this circle once around
All within by Magick bound
Beyond the Tigris and the Nile
Wend us upon her Blessed Isle.
A sacred haven blessed and divine
Celestial by Intelligent design.
A sacred space, a healing place
Guarded from harm by Skylaris' grace."
The glyphs drawn upon the prison floor enkindled with damson flames, a spectral aura enveloped them. The haunting drone filled the room with the swarming buzz of a thousand dragonfly wings. Ashatsinu returned Utakku's compelling gaze, taken aback by how the violet flames danced in the endless depths of frigid azure eyes. Uncertain, of the effects of such a powerful incantation, Ashatsinu hurriedly took Utakku's cool hand in her warm grasp. "Wrap your cloak around us so that we will not be separated."
"I abhor flying." Utakku muttered through gnashing teeth. "Let it be over speedily."
"You have my deepest sympathy." Ashatsinu retorted hotly as she led him into the center of the circle. The opaque amaranth shimmer surrounding them emitted lavender sparks that caught on the hem of Utakku's ebony velvet cloak. The horror of fire searing his skin inspired a rough, hoarse gasp from the sycophant.
"These flames will not burn you." Ashatsinu whispered. "Have faith in the Lady. No harm will come to you, Utakku."
The violet inferno frolicked as a fiery wall around them. A piercing blast of wind gusted, violently rending away the stone wall with ease. The roar of a sandstorm filled Ashatsinu's ears with the ferocious majesty of the DeMahri goddess. Giant, jagged shards of granite circled them in a vortex of sand and stone, harmlessly bouncing off the wall of protective Magickal purple blaze. Clouds raced over the horizon, overcast and heavy, eclipsing the moonlight. Argent lightning came in one deafening bolt, striking Ashatsinu and Utakku where they stood. One feral masculine howl stopped mid-scream as all around them became black.
Utakku dared open his eyes and found that he stood on a flat plateau under bright moonlight. He heard rushing water behind him and turned to see a rushing waterfall to his left. Above him, the black silhouettes of DeMahri starkly contrasted the blinding golden moon hanging full in the night sky. Lush verdant vegetation surrounded them; the heavy perfumes of exotic flowers fill the air with their aromatic, kaleidoscopic blooms.
"Where are we?" Utakku whispered, thoroughly agape from the vision of paradise surrounding them.
"This is near her sacred grove. Humans are forbidden here and only Simianites and DeMahri walk here." Ashatsinu straightened her dirtied clothing.
Resolution became impenetrable armor shielding Ashatsinu from the increasing fear and bafflement burgeoning within her. Question ran through her mind at with rapid velocity, as she doubted her sanity for sealing a pact with her tribe's sworn enemy. With each passing night, life became additionally bizarre and disquieting. Ashatsinu longed for simple things beyond her lot: well-being and affluence for her tribe, love with her beloved Gargoyle, sanctuary from the humanity's lunacy and quietude from angst and fretfulness. Now, she stood at the beginning of a pearled path that marked the end of life she knew.
Ashatsinu conceded stoically that with that first step she left behind her beloved tribe and deity. All-Father demanded her complete obedience, silence and submission, as she became a pawn between warring nations longing for a victory in a long, thirsty war. What lay at the end of the pearled path transmuted all she knew into the Great Unknown. The Queen berated herself for deficiency of faith and a disconcerted, panicked mindset.
''Is this best for both our peoples?" She spoke aloud, breaking the rushing reverie strident in her thoughts. She turned and looked at Utakku, studying his serene carriage. "Tiamat is a vengeful goddess and Enki is a tyrannical deity. Do we endanger innocent lives whom we love by commencing with this....insanity?"
"A mutual adversary formulates unusual alliances." Utakku enigmatically replied, his face half-hidden by shadow. "You are vexed?"
"That's an underestimation of my current mind." Ashatsinu scoffed.
"Then you must decide to trust me and trust this goddess of whom you speak so graciously." Utakku drew his cloak closer around him. "Time grows short."
"Of course." She stared at the iridescent, translucent footpath stretching out before her. "Arana told me seeing the pearled path is rare for the dead and nearly improbable for the living. However, its best that we adhere to the legends of the Path."
"What are those legends, Queen?" Utakku's smirk made Ashatsinu long for solid smack against his cheek, ridding his classically handsome features of that horrendous sneer.
"We must walk the path pending arrival of her hallowed lake. Nothing may lead us from the path -we must not stray. This place is also sacrosanct and blessed, so, remove your boots."
"My boots?" His indignation inspired a barely concealed chuckle from Ashatsinu.
"Only the steps of a devout adherent walk along the Pearled Path." Ashatsinu fell to her knees and pressed her cheek to the ground. Utakku watched felt certain that the young woman was quite insane. She eyed him disdainfully, then tugged at the hem of his velvet cloak. "Kneel."
"I kneel to no god."
"Put aside that arrogance and pride of yours and do as I bid you." She glared at him.
"You should be one to talk."
"At least I'm barefoot." Ashatsinu stuck her pink tongue out in his direction.
"Lady of Night,
Protector of the DeMahri
I beseech you, I beseech you, and I beseech you.
We have traveled far
and I beg you to appear."
"Ashatsinu, I know you." Came a melodious voice from the darkness. "Follow the path and come to me."
"Thank you, Great Lady." Ashatsinu found no strength to stand at the voice's prompt reply.
"You, Uttaku of Gomorrah, seek legitimacy from me. Will miracles never cease?" The quixotic salutation sailed to them on a balmy breeze laden with the heavy scent of exotic spices, leaving he and Ashatisinu experiencing an exhilarating, euphoric awareness. "You give 'walking death' an entirely innovative significance."
"Thank you, I think." One raven brow quirked in genuine confusion.
"Great Lady, I implore you to hear us." Ashatsinu cried out to the voice in the night. "Please, you found it in your heart to favor me with a blessed mark upon my brow. I have nowhere else to turn."
"Is your faith strong, Utakku of Gomorrah?" Skylaris' husky contralto spoke softly to him.
"Ask of me what you will." He spoke loudly in the darkness.
"Let the sweet waters of life cleanse you." The tender tone brought alive his curiosity. "Come into my lake."
Utakku gathered the fatigued, breathless queen in his arms, tirelessly carrying her down the luminescent stones of the pearled path. Never had he seen such a place alight with the fires of light: each bloom from every flower glimmered with a radiance of hue so pure that it brought sanguine tears to his frigid azure eyes. The gentle sigh of the clement night zephyr beget peace to his troubled mind and the tuneful twittering of birds in the trees sang a song sweeter than ever any he previously heard. The warm, white sands caressed the callused soles of Utakku's bare feet. At last, he stood at the shore of a still lake. Silenced by its beauty, he watched the moonlight refract with argent beams upon the still surface of the water.
"I am the giver and keeper of The Waters of Life." As the voice resounded throughout the night, a rush of water crashed against the pristine white sands of the lake's shore. "I am the Life Incarnate. The air beneath my wings bequeaths the breath of living. The fire from my tongue creates souls without end. My crashing waves bring forth the essence of being and the stone beneath my feet gives fortitude. I am more enduring than the mountains and older than the world, Utakku. I am the Mother of Stone, heed my words well, Ahl-Kemehn."
"And talented at lengthy dialogues." He muttered through gritted grimace.
The clear violet waters rippled, then parted. Utakku took several steps back as a long elegant neck emerged from the waves. Emerald scales twinkled in the moonlight every tint of lush verdant green to the deep forest hues surrounding them. The front of the creature's neck was a brilliant golden crest of feathery scales that appeared akin to feathers rather than scaly hide always attributed to dragons. Sparkling amethyst scales gleamed intermittently amongst the others, but what caught Utakku's attention held him fast. Luminous amethyst eyes framed in dark sooty lashes stared down at the strange duo.
"Bravery becomes you, Utakku, I'll give you that." The goddess leaned forward and sniffed him and the Princess. "Prior to our parley, you are taking a bath. The stench of death surrounds you and I just had dinner."
"What?" He stood slack-jawed at the Dragon's unceremonious candor. It was not the speech he expected from a draconic deity. "A bath?"
"You reek." A long, slender tail slithered out from the lake and lithely wrapped around his waist. His eyes flamed with vampiric fury at the sudden attack. "Oh, lose the wrath-and-rage façade! You are just going for a dip. Just put 'Shatsu down and humor me."
"You are not what I anticipated." He spoke cautiously, smoothly laying Ashatsinu upon the pristine sands.
"I'm for more talented than just giving lengthy speeches." Her lithe, agile tail resoundingly smacked his backside. "Now, you need a good dose of humor. Gothic and macabre are not my ways of doing things."
Utakku let out a surprised yelp of indignation as Skylaris abruptly dunked him several times in the lake. She leaned over, inhaled, and crinkled her nose as if his scent repelled her. If a dragon could make a face of disdain, Skylaris did it well. She breathed upon him and the redolent fragrance of orchids surrounded and permeated his being. She submerged the outraged vampire several more times until he seemingly met her satisfaction. Drenched, and looking more akin to a drowned rat than an unearthly fiend, she nodded her head in approval. "Now, you're clean. Let's dry you off....Hold still."
"What?!" She let loose a column of violet flame that came with rapid speed toward Utakku. A scream filled the night and yet he stood within the flamed unharmed. He recollected Ashatsinu's words of how Skylaris' flames would bring him no harm. He glowered at the colossal serpent as she blew dry his person.
She came forth from the rippling waters, Utakku stared agape at the dragon's vast wingspan. He guessed her length from head to tail measuring nearly a hundred cubits. Unlike the acidic demon his people revered, this incredible entity was the embodiment of splendor and innocence. Brilliant in color and glorious in presence, he fell to his knees. "Rise, Utakku. You have bathed in my sacred pool and stand cleansed of past iniquity. Plus, you smell far better than you did before."
"What of Ashatsinu?" Somehow, he found his voice and spoke.
Skylaris' serpentine head gently nudged the sleeping Queen. "Rise, Little One and be refreshed. You've suffered much and followed your heart to this good end and new beginning."
Dark eyes fluttered slowly opened. "Great Lady?"
"I know why you've come and faith had made you strong." Skylaris' pointed teeth shone brightly in the moonlight. Utakku realized at that moment that the goddess was smiling. It brought a peace to his soul that he had ceased knowing in the past several centuries.
"Does he speak truth?" Ashatsinu asked quietly and simply.
"He does, given his current state of perspective." The dragon cast her gaze upon him. "You follow my daughter's path of blood and destruction, Utakku and if you wish to follow the Gargoyle Way, I won't stand for it. Spilling blood for Magick, murder, and sacrifice is abhorrent to me. I forbid it."
"Then he truly desires an end to this war?"
"He does, Child. Indeed, he has also lost loved ones." The heartrending sadness poured from the dragon into Ashatsinu's heart, bringing hot tears to her eyes. Skylaris turned to Utakku, tilting her head that he thought it to be a gesture of resignation. "Enki's supremacy is still too powerful, but, it is waning. If you wish to end this war between your people and the free tribes of man, I will give you my blessing. Enki's curse remains in place, far too powerful for my complete removal of it. Still, I will remember the favor you grant me on Ashatsinu's behalf. Aid and advise her with forthright truthfulness in this life, and I promise you a steadfast, enduring alliance...with a few conditions. Interested?"
"Intrigued, actually." Utakku stroked his goatee in contemplation. "Speak to me."
"Not all of your kinsmen drank of Tiamat's blood. In essence, their curse is incomplete. Said, such curse can be altered, perchance, undone. Help my DeMahri, adhere to the convenant between we three and I promise this: Your children will still fear fire; sunlight will be their blight. Yet, those not unequivocally touched by your curse will know some freedom from it."
"I ask nothing for myself, Dragon, only peace and prosperity for my people." Utakku's grave response touched Ashatsinu's distraught spirit. "Why do you desire in return for truce and this alliance?"
"For Tizir's sake, I'll entertain the possibility of taking under my wings." Skylaris' form shimmered in the moonlight as she ambled toward a thick grove of green bushes. "Let me get into something a bit more comfortable. Give me a minute."
Ashatsinu and Utakku stared at one another slack-jawed with bewilderment. The Ahl-Kemehn leaned over and murmured softly, "Is this goddess always so impertinent?"
"The polite words are sassy and mischievous." The young queen gently chided him. "She cursed one of the Gargoyle's with flatulence for a month when he blasphemed her and called her a toothless old hag."
"She is a wily and sly trickster."
"I think of her as formidable when given just cause." Ashatsinu covered her mouth to stifle a girlish giggle. "Laughter is a gift I wished she gave more readily to her DeMahri children."
"I agree." He flashed the Queen a genuine smile.
The duo turned their attention to the soft rustling of leaves of the bushes near them. An ethereal aura of gold and lavender shown between the leaves and the scent of fresh lilacs filled the balmy night air. The sound of pealing chimes entwined with the harmony of the crashing tide and the nocturnal choir chirping in the forest surrounding them. The night breeze carried a scent of wild berries so sweet that one current brought the taste alive upon Utakku's dead, untasting tongue. For the first time, in centuries, he felt lively and joyful.
An exquisite, slender woman came forth from the lush, verdant grove of leaves and exotic blossoms. Her tawny complexion was smooth caramel and without flaw or blemish. A thick cascade of delicate jet braids fell to the small of her back. Opalescent pearls and sparkling amethyst beads adorned each intricately woven braid. Two delicate pearly horns daintily adorned her brow and beneath them, a slim platinum circlet designated her divine caste. Delicately arched brows and thick lashes framed lavender eyes the color of Amaranth blooms. Draped in jade and violet silk, there stood before them a Nubian immortal truly breathtaking in her resplendence. She bore no semblance to the colossal dragon eclipsing Ashatsinu and Utakku in previous moments.
"Where were we?" The goddess asked cheerfully. She watched silently as Ashatsinu fell kneeling at her feet. Skylaris placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Child, rise and look at me."
"I knew you could tell me." Ashatsinu wiped the tears from her eyes. "I had heard the tales about you when I a child, but I never knew...."
"Ashatsinu." Skylaris' soothing, tender voice calmed the unrest in the young queen's heart. "You have walked the pearled path and you are here. You have done much for my children and I deem that the truest walk of the Gargoyle Way."
"Please, Great Lady, help us."
"Dry you tears, Child." Skylaris gently lifted Ashatsinu's chin so that her dark gaze met hers. "Your devotion is steadfast. Be my child always."
"Yes, Goddess." The Queen's meek reply was barely more than a whisper.
Skylaris turned to Utakku. Her stern gaze slashed through all of his Magick and dominion, leaving him bare and defenseless against her majesty. "You love Tizir and I account that as part of your deliverance from my daughter's authority. Lives have fallen into oblivion, the DeMahri suffer great losses because of your campaigns against Kenan's tribe."
"I fight for my people because Kenan seeks our destruction. I make no apologies." Utakku resolutely met Skylaris' gaze, standing audaciously in the face of the goddess' unyielding examination. "I serve Tiamat because she strengthens my people."
"Yet, Tizir's love brings out probity that many thought lost when my daughter enslaved you with her darkness. Enki's curse reduced you to little more than a demon preying upon innocent souls and that I find abhorrent." Skylaris chided him as though he were a small child.
"I have no regrets." Utakku stood defiant in the face of the goddess' relentless scrutiny.
"You are prideful and arrogant and it annoys me." She sneered. "Yet, I have seen your heart, Son of Blood. You desire innocence and goodness returned to your people. You aided my beloved Ashatsinu and though you did so inasmuch as Tiamat bade you, I chronicle as courtesy to me. You grow weary of blood and death surrounding every night of you your bleak, lifeless existence and seek a better way."
"True." Came Utakku's curt answer. Ashatsinu carefully studied the Ahl-Kemehn.
[Is he trembling?!]
"Utakku, you followed Tiamat for power and prestige. You loved Tizir and such affection restores a sliver of your lost humanity. The Waters of Life from my lake take away the taint of Tiamat's mark upon you and leave you renewed in my eyes, Utakku. Commit no more cruelties for pleasure or entertainment. Leave the Dark Way behind you."
"How can I?" He asked quietly.
"Why can't you?" Skylaris countered. "Do you wish it?"
"I make no vows, Lady Dragon."
"Then start anew. Your heart aches for life as you feel now. Your soul longs for kindness, honor and strength from compassion. I offer it."
"How do I become this philanthropic creature you think me to be?" A crimson bead streaked down Utakku's cheek. "Enki's curse makes me death incarnate."
"I am life incarnate, Son of Blood." Skylaris' husky voice filled the night. "The Gargoyle Way is path the devotion, honor and the wellspring of life. All who walk that pearled path must pass though the Gate by my invitation alone. Yet, it is welcome to all who desire a Greater Good."
"You must think me a sentimental fool." Utakku stared directly into the amethyst gaze of the goddess.
"Because Skylaris adores this realm so much that she brought the DeMahri to walk amongst all creatures. Walk the Gargoyle Way, keep the covenants within your heart, knowing the pearled path leads to a greater good and an eternal home upon the Blessed Isle."
"A taste of goodness." He nodded in simple understanding.
"Invite Life into your heart, embrace the Gargoyle Way of your own will and I will bestow renewed life to your kinsmen. You and they must follow faithfully the Tenets of the Way with sincerity or my blessing will be revoked." Skylaris' stern words made Utakku understand there was no room for negotiation or compromise. "No Enki and no Tiamat, I expect no less of you than I do my Children of Stone."
"Lady Dragon, I shall call no one master." Utakku growled. "But, I give you my word I will honor this alliance."
"For now, that is sufficient. Your heart is a dried husk rotting away inside a corpse. May your love for Tizir resurrect it anew. Let each soul and every heart elect its one, best destiny." Skylaris laid a hand upon his chest. "From this moment, your heart beats. The day will come, Utakku, when I shall bestow the Blessing of Renewed Life upon you, but you must first put aside your pride and arrogance. I see greatness within you and I see it prospering in Ashatsinu's presence."
"I remain like this for the rest of my days?"
"The time will come quicker than you think, Ahl-Kemehn. First, you must learn patience." She shook her head. "You carry Enki's mark, and now you also bear my mark upon your person. You are no longer a vampire of Old Curse. If you drink blood of a willing donor, you will be able to walk in the light of the sun unharmed. You will again know love and beauty, pleasure and happiness. Drink from an unwilling victim or of an unknowing innocent, and the sun's light will sear my blessing from your skin. Your kind may now procreate and give birth, but only once per century to keep their numbers you kind from become too dominant. No longer will you enslave the tribes of man or keep them enslave for labor, sacrifice or food. Your kind started out raising four-legged livestock, return to that way of life. Use your gifts of ken and skill; bring Humanity into their finest potential and additional blessings will find their way to your people. Yoke Humanity for your own benefit and Gomorrah will go down in flames."
"I promise to do as you command."
"Smart man. Those who never chose Tiamat's blood as their fate know my blessing from this moment until time's end. Teach them the Gargoyle Way."
"I will speak of it to my people."
"Always a skeptic, aren't you, Utakku?" Skylaris' chuckle came out more a strident roar than a laugh. "Here is a sign of my pledge to you. Today, watch the sunrise without your skin becoming flaming ash."
"I reserve my judgment, Lady Dragon." His guarded reply sounded almost...hopeful.
"Now, for you, Ashatsinu." Skylaris turned her attention to the young queen. "I've seen the misery of your people in Amor. I hear their cries for deliverance from Halmu's evil troops and his appalling ways. Therefore, I will remove his influence from your fair city and expand the oasis surrounding Amor. Let it be a dominion bountiful with fresh game, sprawling forests filled with ripe fruit and rivers teaming with many fish. The sweetest nectar will come from abundant blooms and ambrosia shall give your people long life. Let this beloved haven be sanctuary to your neighbors -the Canaanites, Hittites: all and any who espouse the Tenets of the Gargoyle Way. "
"How will we know them?"
"Simple -Here is the first Tenet and the greatest of them all." Skylaris' stepped from them. She sank slowly into the still waters of the silvery lake behind them. "Adhere and adore the Gargoyle Way fiercely and well without hesitation or reservation. Cherish all life as you do your own. Quest for the Greater Good."
"Utakku and Ashatsinu, take my Tenets of the Way to your peoples. As long as they do this with sincerity of heart, strength of conviction and dedication of purpose, they will for all time know my blessing." Skylaris sank beneath the churning waves of the lake. The twittering of the birds ceased, the wind stilled and the first brilliant rays of sunlight danced upon the lake's eastern horizon.
An explosion of crimson and violet burst in front of them. The sands smoldered at their feet, causing the duo to stare at each other in astonishment. Two large crystal orbs lay in front of them, nested securely in the sand. Immediately, Ashatsinu grasped the large sphere and held it to the light. Her eyes scanned the globe rapidly and within a prismatic cloud swirled. Etchings appeared upon the smooth, flawless surface of the orb. "Here are the Tenets of the Way, Ashatsinu. Take the orbs to Amor, Sodom, and Gomorrah and give the Tenets to your people. End the war, vanquish the evil there, assume your rightful throne and protect my Beloved DeMahri."
"Yes, Great Lady." She murmured solemnly.
"Do so with great speed, Gesham is in need of your aid."
"But, Great Lady, how? It is nearly sunrise." Ashatsinu's hope fled when she noticed how much time had passed. "We'll never return to Amor in time."
"On a dragon's breath so shall you and Utakku return. Dragon's speed to you, Little One, I am with you always. Utakku, do not leave her. As long as you remain faithful to my ways and honor your promise, both of your peoples shall prosper and know peace. Guide her well in the ways of sovereignty."
"I understand and obey, Lady Dragon." He nodded curtly to the vanishing voice.
"Now, go to it."
Please send all flames, praise, commentary and questions to Denigoddess2001yahoo.com
Author: Denigoddess2001
Addy: Denigoddess2001yahoo.com
Fandom: Gargoyles
Saga: Reflective Realms Continuum
Episode: The Stone King
Rating: PG
Date:
Author's notes: Anything appearing in brackets [ ] indicates character's thoughts or telepathic communication.
The night following the wedding feast.....
Ashatsinu felt nagging hunger gnawing at her stomach and an angry growl answered it. Fire and dryness made her throat raw and swollen from not having water for two nights; thirst was another monster the Princess battled to keep at bay. The moisture and darkness of her small, cramped prison cell was a tomb threatening her mind with invisible beasts lurking in the shadow. Ashatsinu kept reminding herself that those beasts were just rats and spiders, yet nothing banished the terrified thoughts filling her mind. Alone, enchained, cold and wet, Ashatsinu cursed the nine hells that brought her to her father's dungeon. Ironically, the structure was only four seasons old, but it was an ancient entity delighting in tormenting her. She cursed Halmu's name a thousand times, but it brought her little solace.
Visions haunted her of her impending, fated execution. Ashatsinu knew well the barbaric, bloody destiny awaiting her. Her father's private guards would come for her, removing her from the tiny, dank cell and leading her through Amor's granite-cobbled streets. Images of the final walk filled her jumbled thoughts as she envisioned the rock quarry where death anticipated her arrival. She remembered well the large white granite obelisk used for putting to death those who defiled Amor's laws. She remembered the deep crimson stains soaked deep into the stones, the blood of those condemned before her. She knew that chains awaited for her in their final embrace. She silently prayed that death would come quickly and painlessly. Ashatsinu prayed that the first stone cast strike her temple so that unconsciousness claimed her final thoughts.
"Fate is a fickle mistress, Queen Ashatsinu." A resonant voice lilted quietly from the darkness surrounding her. "You neither give nor receive quarter to allies or enemies. No god or man commands you. Destiny remains confused by your incomparable fortitude and Fate avoids doing battle with you.""
"Fate always claims victory in the end, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble across the cool stone floor, watching it bounce along the crevices of the mortar and the cobblestones. "Halmu's death came not by my hand, I assure you. "
"A myriad of questions torment you without promise of resolution." The answer from the shadows echoed rapidly off the stone prison walls.
"Who are you, taunting me in my final hours before death?" Ashatsinu sneered at the spectral voice cloaked by night and dimness. She said with far more bravado than she possessed
"Show yourself, be you my conscience or assassin. Let me see the face of death before I die."
"Nay, Queen, I think not. Suchlike gods bless you, therefore I embody your deliverance." Ashatsinu listened attentively to the serene timbre of the speaker's words. The surreal voice emanated a magnificent reverberation, a melodious pitch lulling her disconcerted thoughts into reverie and repose. "I choose anonymity for the moment. Much weighs upon your mind and I refuse to bring further burdens to your troubled heart."
"I thank you for that small kindness." Ashatsinu picked up another stone and made repetitious marks upon the floor of her cell. "Nonetheless, your appearance will not inspire hysterics."
"In the visage of hardship, you remain composed; truly the mark of a strong ruler. Discovery of my presence here jeopardizes my life. I risk much visiting you, nevertheless I deem it a advantageous choice." The mysterious voice gently responded. "Many call me mad but never obtuse."
"You speech bears the mark of an educated man. Are you one of All-Father's prophets?" Ashatsinu turned her head toward the darkness, straining her eyes to find the contour of his silhouette. "I can barely make out your form in the darkness, but you appear robed."
"Your senses are keen and your sight sharp." The cheerful mood of the stranger's voice lifted some of the gloom stalking her in her thoughts. "Impressive, for a Human."
"You never answered my question." Ashatsinu redirected the focus of their conversation on her interrogation of the faceless stranger. "Are you one of All-Father's clerics? Only they wear robes with hoods that hide their faces."
"No. I tell you this, Queen; I know firsthand the wrath of All-Father. He deserves no such title because he is not the Father of All but a chosen few humans hiding in the shadows like frightened rats. My tribe merely calls him Enki." The voice's bitterness wiped away any lingering traces of cheer that it had formerly held."
"You sound resentful of his blessings."
"I suffer from the worst of curses." The voice was curt, cutting through the darkness with the swiftness of a sharp scimitar. "He cast me out long before your birth."
"Then you and I share a similar fate, Stranger." Ashatsinu raised her wrists toward the shadowed form, displaying the heavy shackles that chained her to the wall. "My father denies my life by keeping me in this place. My execution takes place shortly before sunrise. Tell me, what crime landed you in this hellhole?"
"Defiant truth, Queen."
"What was your crime?"
"Blasphemy. I am no prisoner here; no walls hold me. I move through them as mist though stone."
"You speak in riddles, Stranger." Ashatsinu threw a pebble in his direction. She heard it dance and skitter along the stone floor. "Are you a scribe of the court?"
"You ask too many questions and that is a sign of defiance."
"You are a talking conundrum." Ashatsinu retorted sharply, struggling to her feet. Fatigue overwhelmed her and she slumped against the damp stone. A growl of sheer frustration echoed off the damp walls of the dungeon cell. "Wise men are silent while fools prattle. Show yourself or leave me in peace."
The raw agony from talking caused a raspy, guttural coughing in her desiccated throat. Two hands, pale and slender, appeared from the darkness holding forth a wineskin. They held the skin's mouthpiece to her dry lips. Ashatsinu clutched the wineskin and drank eagerly. A warm, thick fluid filled her mouth; its salty, metallic taste brought bile to her throat with each swallow. She tried throwing the wineskin aside but those slender hands held it fast to her lips. His voice carried a commanding authority that compelled her meek compliance. "Drink now and argue later, Queen. For once, simply accept a gift and put your rebelliousness aside."
The undeniable domination in his voice overrode her desire to wretch. Ashatsinu silently screamed, as her body betrayed her will and forced her parched throat to obey, gulping down the repulsive liquid. She found strength after that first swing, disgusted with her weakness, thrust the bag away. With each sanguine drop descending from her lips to her throat, a thousand comprehensions filled her being. The one holding the wineskin defied life. This stranger defiled the sacred natural order of all living things by his existence. "That was blood."
"Clever girl, you learn quickly. From my veins it flows upon your full lips, tainting the color of an Akkadian nightfall." The figure knelt beside her and corked the wineskin. "Let us leave this place."
"I will walk in the Shadowlands before I leave with you." Ashatsinu's wry chuckle accompanied the metallic clinks of her shackled wrists. "Circumstance decides that I remain here. Besides, a death shroud clashes with my complexion."
"Arana's tutelage has failed in teaching you to hold your tongue."
"Humor is the ultimate act of defiance." Ashatsinu barked, considerably astonished by the fact her thirst and fatigue were nearly gone. She rose to her feet and yanked at the chains securely embedded within the stone walls. In an act of childish unruliness, she kicked the granite wall. Defeated and decimated, she slumped into a sitting position on the damp stone floor. "You have me at a disadvantage and my patience grows short. If you can release me from these manacles, we can leave. By the Dragon's tail, I have to ask and I think I already know. Who are you?"
"I will tell you when it is time." The voice silenced any further questions. "Queen Ashatsinu, you have few options available to you." The cloaked man stepped into her sight, faintly illuminated by the moonlight shining though the tiny window above them. She glanced upward and saw that he, whoever he was, towered over her because she barely came to his chest.
"Your gift for exaggerating the obvious amuses me." Her cutting remark elicited another chuckle from him.
"You possess mother's biting sarcasm. I always adored that about her." He pressed two tapered fingers to her lips. "Yet, I find it infuriating when it falls from you're your mordant mouth. Be silent."
"Try again, Stranger. Who are you?" Ashatsinu dared inquire once more.
Two pale, slender hands emerged from the long draping sleeves of his forest cloak. They came to the cobalt trim adorning the cowl concealing his face. Pushing the hood back, he revealed a finely chiseled jaw, sharp cheekbones and a pale complexion. His black goatee framed full lips and accented his aquiline nose. Thick, dark brows accented eyes the shade of clear ice, giving him a nether worldly mien. Indigo tattooed markings adorning his brow and left temple showed him as a member of her father's tribe. One gold hoop hung from his left ear and the metal glinted in the cold moonlight when he turned his head, smiling at her.
The smile lit the small cell in an eerie luminescence, prompting Ashatsinu's utter stillness. Ashatsinu saw a thick, glorious mane of raven hair falling to his shoulders. She remembered renditions of a similar in ancient scrolls written by All-Father's clerics. She recalled their lessons well. She thought him haunting handsome and yet there was a baleful demeanor that inspired a primal terror within her wilding beating heart. Only one tribe possessed such striking, exotic features and she knew that those primordial kinsmen were no longer human. "Utakku."
"You know me."
"I know about you." She spoke slowly, seeking calm within her self and finding nothing but disbelief. The darkest of her father's adversaries stood before her in all of his cadaverous glory. "Mother used to tell me stories about your kind and those same stories ensured my good behavior throughout my childhood. Your kind and mine are natural enemies."
"Let us be forthright, Ashatsinu. Your father holds lands belonging to my heirs and descendants. He slaughters my people on sight and wishes my eradication from the face of the earth."
"Is this how my father's desires my death?" Ashatsinu felt tears stinging her eyes. "He delivers me into the hands of the enemy?"
"I am not your enemy, Queen." Utakku spoke with a tenderness that defied his menacing presence. He placed his slender fingers upon the iron shackles, the cold iron with the intimacy of a lover's caress. With a loud click, their locking mechanisms released and empty shackles clattered noisily when they hit the stone floor. "At least, tonight I am not your adversary."
"You're Soulless." She replied grimly. "I may die, but I do not want to die at your hands, Utakku. I'd rather be pummeled by stones until my flesh falls from my bones."
"I thought you were more of an optimist."
"I see you find my situation hilarious, Vampire."
"DO NOT CALL ME THAT AGAIN." His bellow accompanied eyes burning with an unholy fire. Ashatsinu saw his lips pull back in a feral snarl, revealing pearly fangs. His Inhumanity brought forth a primal fear that inspired a shrill scream that reverberated so strongly that the scuttling of the rats ceased.
The ice blue fires burning in Utakku's eyes dimmed, revealing a clear gaze. "The DeMahri call my kind Ahl-Kemehn. Say it with me."
"All KAW Maine." Ashatsinu found her tongue betraying her with its stuttering. "Clan of the dark dragon,' better known as Tiamat's children."
"Very good. You speak Draconic well." Utakku nodded in grudging admiration. "You are as intelligent as you are comely; an exceptional amalgamation in a woman."
"Charming and deadly: a lethal mix for most of your victims, I am certain. Why are you here, Utakku?" Ashatsinu's pithy derision sounded abrasive to her and elicited an amused smirk from her kinsman. "What do you want of me?"
"I want armistice between the Ahl-Kemehn and the Amorites. Kenan chose war and Halmu chose defiance, thus death. You are now Sodom's rightful queen and Kenan swears fealty to the Tribe of Azazel. Common knowledge decrees Halmu is without and an heir leaving you as the sovereign of the richest city in the realm. I know you hold good sense and sound judgment. Listen to my proposal and then decide."
"Then speak your mind, Utakku."
"Amor is my by finesse or by force. Now, I advocate an arrangement beneficial for all: save your people and vow allegiance to me. As Amor's princess and Sodom's queen, you wield influence and power over countless people. Thus, persuade them a peaceful surrender insures prosperity and survival for your people and a bountiful existence for mine."
"What do I have to do, marry you?" She cringed at the thought of forced marriage to a vampire.
"No. Simply pay tribute to me, ally yourself to me in front of your people, and both cities shall become protectorates under my... administration." He explained. "In return, you exert undisputed authority over Sodom and Amor."
"So that you can make them into slaves or bleed them dry?" How Ashatsinu wished at that moment that her eyes glowed crimson and that cobalt flowed through her veins instead of red. A DeMahri knew immunity to a vampire's bite and never knew a Soulless existence. [Menash Kah! From the boiling cauldron into the fire pit, this cannot be happening to me!]
"The world is harsh and we do, as we must, to survive." Utakku's lips pursed together in a grim, stoic line. "This war between Amor and my people claims too lives on both sides."
"Did you kill Halmu?" Ashatsinu inquired frankly. She brushed back a stray black tendril from her dirt-covered cheek. "How did he die?"
"Very quickly, My Dear." Utakku met her gaze. "He fulfilled his purpose and I no longer needed his services. A wise woman brought him a quick end at my urging."
"Niza!" Her sister's name came out in hiss.
"Yes, she is a cunning, but valuable, ally." One long, slender finger languidly stroked her cheek. "Your mother loves you and wants your birthright restored to you. I do this for my people's betterment and because your mother desires it."
"My mother died of a plague sent by All-Father for defying my father, Uttaku."
"Did she, Queen?" His condescending tone brought Ashatsinu's irritation to a point approaching explosion. Utakku gestured with a flattened palm toward, silently seeking her patience. Utakku's eyes warmed and warmth entered his voice. "Niza summoned me shortly before her supposed death and begged for your mother's life. I bestowed upon Tizir Tiamat's deathless legacy."
"You turned my mother into a soulless sycophant." Ashatsinu snarled. "If you loved her, then how could you?"
"I adore her, Ashatsinu." Utakku spoke gently. "We are not Soulless creatures you regard us. We are outside of Fate's Design and Time's reach; we are creatures of intelligent design. We know life without injury, infirmity or death. Nevertheless, we are vulnerable because we have hearts and we feel love."
"Love!?" She shrieked. "By the Dragon, Utakku, you murdered her! Then, you condemned her to an eternity of blood and death."
"Tizir dances beneath her goddess' moon. She knows her goddess' love and good blessing. Your mother holds you and the DeMahri in high esteem. Upon her council, I consider the DeMahri as neutral and protect her youngest daughter in exchange for life with me."
"So, now she worships Tiamat." Ashatsinu's obsidian eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"No, she is a devout follower of the other dragon." Utakku cast his frigid blue gaze skywards. "Your mother intrigues me with her anecdotes of the Dragon goddess, Skylaris. She claims that the goddess is a fair and just deity with compassion unmatched. At your mother's bidding, I come to you this night and consider your goddess with grave solemnity."
"Skylaris?" Ashatsinu's voice came out barely more that a squeak.
"Indeed. We are not the evil, bloodsucking monsters you think us, Ashatsinu. Your mother thinks that there is room beneath Skylaris' protective wings for creatures of the night besides the DeMahri."
"Really?" Ashatsinu thought herself mad for listening to the rantings of a monster.
"Let me tell you a story, Ashatsinu. All-Father cursed me because I defied him. My brother brought him the finest kills of the hunt whilst I brought the finest crops springing from hard labor and tender care. He made me this way and now I am eternally destined to remain as such until the Final Judgment. Worse yet, my children and their descendants are doomed to accommodate Enki's whims until time ends."
"Please pardon me if I have no sympathy." Ashatsinu sniffed.
"It was that ageless legacy that saved your mother's life when Enki decided her life belonged to him. Niza took Halmu's life with one of her potions in his drink so that death missed you on your wedding night. He and I had an agreement: he married you and gave me Amor, and I gave him continual life free of injury, infirmity, death and disease. Your All-Father's curse is a gift to some. Tiamat's patronage makes my people strong."
"You have killed my people for centuries!"
"You people have killed us simply because your deity demands it. Has he given you any good reason for doing so?" Uttaku's eyes burnt with a gleam indigo flame. "We take only those that war against us. No innocent becomes a slave in my city. We do not kill or deliver children to the Legacy for the Legacy forbids it. We only invite those we deem worthy to join us in immortality."
"Tiamat demands blood sacrifice!" Ashatsinu choked on the heavy, sweet haze of myrrh surrounding Utakku. "You offer her the hearts of condemned prisoners so she'll bless you."
"And Enki demands your finest animals to keep him pleased. Those same animals that grace his altar would do better in the stomachs of the poor and the hungry! Your deity demands gems and gold that would do better to feed the starving and clothe the naked. Deny him those sacrifices and he brings plagues and curses upon you." He countered. "Enki and the Dark Dragon are not so different, and Tiamat is more honest in her demands and more forthcoming with her favors."
"She turned you into ...whatever you are." Ashatsinu motioned toward Utakku, at a loss for better describing his unique condition.
"Listen to me, Queen." He roughly grabbed her shoulders. "In simplest terms, I offer a truce. Join me in a treaty of peace and I give you my word this war ends tonight. Peace and order will reign, not bloodsheld. Your numbers are few and my warriors are powerful. Yet, I tire of seeing my people weep for their slain children and murdered mates. Your father follows the demands of a deity that insists that insurgents, be they men women or children, fall upon the sword if they choose not to worship Enki." Utakku's face contorted in disgust. "Women and children must never know bloodshed or death."
"How do I know what you tell me is true?" Ashatsinu pushed her body from his grasp.
"You will have to decide that for yourself."
"Your people have hunted mine like animals."
"And you murdered one of my daughters the night Arana and you fought three of my finest warriors."
"They attacked us!"
"They thought you and Arana to be spies." Utakku slammed his fist into the stone wall, out of sheer frustration.
"Will you not listen to reason?"
"I need proof that what you are telling me is true."
"And how do I provide that, Ashatsinu?"
[He has a point.] Desolation filled her. Blind faith was complete stupidity when dealing with a vampire, no matter how honorable he might seem. [If only Gesham were here. He can figure out when someone is lying. After all, it is a gift from his goddess.]
A glimmer of hoped sparked a flood of inspiration within Ashatsinu. "We need an arbitrator."
"Who?" His brow furrowed in suspicion.
"I no more trust you and your god than you trust me and mine." Ashatinu folded her hands together in contemplation. "We both hold Skylaris in esteem."
"True."
"I offer you this: let us both approach the DeMahri goddess, Skylaris in her sacred grove. Let her will be judgment. She is wise and fair and I...hold some favor with her for some unknown reason."
"She cares little for human affairs." Utakku scoffed. "Why she?"
"She is neutral between Tiamat and Enki. Neither god dares disturb the balance of power of the pantheon for she is also the patron protector of elves, djinn, and the shape shifters. Enki cursed you, your descendants and fellow tribesmen. My people follow him more so from fear than respect. The DeMahri protect my people based upon the oath of Promise made between Kenan and the DeMahri tribe. She demands no blood sacrifice -in fact, she forbids it. She may also be able free your and your people from Enki's curse."
"You speak of things beyond your power and reckoning." Utakku gently stroked a stray tendril away from Ashatisnu's grimy face. "Your idealism is admirable, but gods are a fickle lot, Queen, that you soon will know."
"She has been kinder to me than any other save for Gesham and Arana." Ashatsinu's sharp retort surprised the vampire. She lifted back the long, dark strands of hair to reveal a small golden birthmark, glistening with brilliance of pure gold. "I bear her mark. I offer that secret to you in good faith."
"How do you know that she will not annihilate us on sight? Skylaris forbade humans long ago from entering her sacred grove. My goddess will destroy my city should she catch wind of the treason I commit."
"I don't know that, Utakku, other than I have faith in Skylaris' righteousness and integrity; she knows the truth of all souls before they speak aloud. All falsehoods reveal themselves in her presence. If you will turn away from Tiamat and swear fealty to Skylaris, I will do the same and I will join you in armistice."
"You ask more than the moon and the stars and you do it with courage." He gave her a smile. "You truly are meant to be Queen."
"Then, we have an agreement?"
"I consent to travel with you to the sacred grove." He drew the cowl of his cloak over his face. "If this is trickery, Ashatsinu, remember my wrath is boundless."
"So be it." The young queen answered without hesitation. A long nail appeared on Utakku's left pinkie and the sharp edge sliced the thin skin of his inner wrist. Ashatsinu coughed in indignation. "There is no way in Sheol I am mingling my blood with yours."
"My blood flows though you now." Utakku smirked. "What is another drop?"
"I do it with a handshake."
He growled in frustration. "You are your father's bane."
"Cross me and I will be yours as well." She retorted.
Utakku slowly extended his hand. Ashatsinu looked warily at the tapered fingers and reluctantly clasped it. The shook twice and firmly and replied in unison. "By Skylaris, we seal this pact and may her wrath be upon us if either proves traitor to our agreement."
Utakku paused and studied the svelte human before him. She neither gave quarter nor demanded it. Unlike her sister Niza, Ashatsinu possessed a conscientious character and thoughtful nature. She faced danger and death with as much courage any Ahl-Kemehn. Her defiant conviction and diplomatic expertise brought reason to a futile war. Still, she was Human and not to be trusted too much. Kenan's blood flowed through her veins and the made Utakku wary of this bold sovereign.
"You will have your proof, Queen." He nodded curtly. "Let us leave this place and find Skylaris' grove.
Vainglory and hubris betokened her inmost demons, now she sought their presence for forbearance that eluded her. Ashatsinu's ancestor spuriously defied All-Father with his each word and deed. Now the young Queen dared follow her unhallowed bloodline with their contemplated covenant. She made her face stoic as that of a DeMahri warrior; aligning her shoulders, she stared forthwith into Utakku's gaze.
"The moon is full and waning toward morning. We have little time to arrive at her sacred grove."
"Oh, really?"
"The cantors of the Gargoyle clan say that Skylaris' sacred grove is located on an island beyond the end of the world. It supposedly lies on the edge of the Western Ocean." She mused. "It is said that when worthy warriors know death, their spirits travel to the Summerlands."
"Summerlands?" Utakku looked rather bored at that moment with her religious prattling.
"The everlasting dominion where Gargoyle souls know peace and contentment." She watched Utakku sneer in disdain. "Mock it if you will, but you will never know serenity or paradise."
"You will know it soon enough if you do not silence that chattering tongue." His sinister chuckle chilled Ashatsinu to her core. "Your lovely throat is pulsing, throbbing with life. I crave nothing more than to bury my fangs in your skin and drink my fill until you walk amongst the pale and the dead."
"Not as long as I breathe will you have me." She suppressed the overwhelming hatred simmering beneath her carefully constructed façade. "I forgot that you are a heartless beast."
"Just commit to memory that I am no man, and my heart is dust." Utakku's glare froze her soul with its frigid, unearthly fire. "You are still alive because you serve a purpose and you fulfill a need. Be thankful for Tizir's love of you."
"So be it." Ashatsinu longed for the sais she wielded prior to her imprisonment. At that moment, fury became sublime sweetness at the thought of driving them into his unliving core. She vowed that Utakku would be nothing more than a sandy, ashen feast for the scorpions come sunrise had she a say in the matter.
"Just a reminder time is short, Queen. Save the spiritual platitudes for the worshippers." His scathing reply chided Ashatsinu silent. "Now, how do we arrive there?"
"You're the undead eternal, infernal being here, not me." She let a sly smile slide across her chapped lips. "You find the solution."
"Then, it's time you put your education to use, Queen."
"How do I do that, O Great One?" She sniffed.
Utakku abhorred her contemptuous condescension. He cursed silently for promising Tizir that he would guard this virago and lead her to safety. He sighed heavily in exasperation and reached deep within the billowing folds of his velvet cloak. He withdrew a small scroll: the length of his hand from fingertip to wrist. He held it out to the shrew before him. "Niza said you could make sense of this."
"It's a Cleric's scroll." Her brows furrowed in suspicion. "How did Niza get hold of such a thing?"
"She acquires countless trinkets in her studies and travels." Utakku gave her a dismissive wave. "Can you read it?"
"Give me some time." Ashatsinu's fingers quickly untied the leather strap keeping the scroll tight. Unfurling it, she scanned the inscriptions upon the heavy parchment with intense scrutiny. "Yes, I can read it. It's a Draconic incantation for travel."
"Cast it, for if I were to do so..."
"The natural Magick of the scroll would fry you crisper than a scorpion at high noon." She finished for him. "Utakku, do you have any precious metal or stone on your person?"
"Yes." He unceremoniously removed the single gold hoop adorning his earlobe. He quirked a brow in curiosity. "Why?"
"Watch, Ancestor of mine, and learn the meaning of divine conjuring." She took some of the blood from the wine skin, dipping the earring in its crimson density.
"You practice the arts?" Utakku questioned skeptically. "I thought you above such things."
"I am no cleric, Utakku; my talent is limited in scope and ability. However, it suffices in times of need. We are in DEFINATE need. Please remember that Niza's Magick is of the Abyss, while Arana's Magick comes from the Spiritual realm. Therefore pray to whatever goddess you call Mistress that Niza's Magick has not contaminated the purity of this consecrated scroll." Ashatsinu expectantly held out her hand. "All dragons like gold and that gold hoop will do nicely in getting the Great Lady's attention."
She took a stray shard of stone granite lying on the cold floor, using it and etching several scratches resembling hieroglyphs and archaic symbols. Ashatsinu placed the gold hoop in the center of the elaborate inscriptions and returned to Utakku's side. She motioned to a spot beside her. "You do not want to be very close when this manifests."
"I cast this circle once around
All within by Magick bound
Beyond the Tigris and the Nile
Wend us upon her Blessed Isle.
A sacred haven blessed and divine
Celestial by Intelligent design.
A sacred space, a healing place
Guarded from harm by Skylaris' grace."
The glyphs drawn upon the prison floor enkindled with damson flames, a spectral aura enveloped them. The haunting drone filled the room with the swarming buzz of a thousand dragonfly wings. Ashatsinu returned Utakku's compelling gaze, taken aback by how the violet flames danced in the endless depths of frigid azure eyes. Uncertain, of the effects of such a powerful incantation, Ashatsinu hurriedly took Utakku's cool hand in her warm grasp. "Wrap your cloak around us so that we will not be separated."
"I abhor flying." Utakku muttered through gnashing teeth. "Let it be over speedily."
"You have my deepest sympathy." Ashatsinu retorted hotly as she led him into the center of the circle. The opaque amaranth shimmer surrounding them emitted lavender sparks that caught on the hem of Utakku's ebony velvet cloak. The horror of fire searing his skin inspired a rough, hoarse gasp from the sycophant.
"These flames will not burn you." Ashatsinu whispered. "Have faith in the Lady. No harm will come to you, Utakku."
The violet inferno frolicked as a fiery wall around them. A piercing blast of wind gusted, violently rending away the stone wall with ease. The roar of a sandstorm filled Ashatsinu's ears with the ferocious majesty of the DeMahri goddess. Giant, jagged shards of granite circled them in a vortex of sand and stone, harmlessly bouncing off the wall of protective Magickal purple blaze. Clouds raced over the horizon, overcast and heavy, eclipsing the moonlight. Argent lightning came in one deafening bolt, striking Ashatsinu and Utakku where they stood. One feral masculine howl stopped mid-scream as all around them became black.
Utakku dared open his eyes and found that he stood on a flat plateau under bright moonlight. He heard rushing water behind him and turned to see a rushing waterfall to his left. Above him, the black silhouettes of DeMahri starkly contrasted the blinding golden moon hanging full in the night sky. Lush verdant vegetation surrounded them; the heavy perfumes of exotic flowers fill the air with their aromatic, kaleidoscopic blooms.
"Where are we?" Utakku whispered, thoroughly agape from the vision of paradise surrounding them.
"This is near her sacred grove. Humans are forbidden here and only Simianites and DeMahri walk here." Ashatsinu straightened her dirtied clothing.
Resolution became impenetrable armor shielding Ashatsinu from the increasing fear and bafflement burgeoning within her. Question ran through her mind at with rapid velocity, as she doubted her sanity for sealing a pact with her tribe's sworn enemy. With each passing night, life became additionally bizarre and disquieting. Ashatsinu longed for simple things beyond her lot: well-being and affluence for her tribe, love with her beloved Gargoyle, sanctuary from the humanity's lunacy and quietude from angst and fretfulness. Now, she stood at the beginning of a pearled path that marked the end of life she knew.
Ashatsinu conceded stoically that with that first step she left behind her beloved tribe and deity. All-Father demanded her complete obedience, silence and submission, as she became a pawn between warring nations longing for a victory in a long, thirsty war. What lay at the end of the pearled path transmuted all she knew into the Great Unknown. The Queen berated herself for deficiency of faith and a disconcerted, panicked mindset.
''Is this best for both our peoples?" She spoke aloud, breaking the rushing reverie strident in her thoughts. She turned and looked at Utakku, studying his serene carriage. "Tiamat is a vengeful goddess and Enki is a tyrannical deity. Do we endanger innocent lives whom we love by commencing with this....insanity?"
"A mutual adversary formulates unusual alliances." Utakku enigmatically replied, his face half-hidden by shadow. "You are vexed?"
"That's an underestimation of my current mind." Ashatsinu scoffed.
"Then you must decide to trust me and trust this goddess of whom you speak so graciously." Utakku drew his cloak closer around him. "Time grows short."
"Of course." She stared at the iridescent, translucent footpath stretching out before her. "Arana told me seeing the pearled path is rare for the dead and nearly improbable for the living. However, its best that we adhere to the legends of the Path."
"What are those legends, Queen?" Utakku's smirk made Ashatsinu long for solid smack against his cheek, ridding his classically handsome features of that horrendous sneer.
"We must walk the path pending arrival of her hallowed lake. Nothing may lead us from the path -we must not stray. This place is also sacrosanct and blessed, so, remove your boots."
"My boots?" His indignation inspired a barely concealed chuckle from Ashatsinu.
"Only the steps of a devout adherent walk along the Pearled Path." Ashatsinu fell to her knees and pressed her cheek to the ground. Utakku watched felt certain that the young woman was quite insane. She eyed him disdainfully, then tugged at the hem of his velvet cloak. "Kneel."
"I kneel to no god."
"Put aside that arrogance and pride of yours and do as I bid you." She glared at him.
"You should be one to talk."
"At least I'm barefoot." Ashatsinu stuck her pink tongue out in his direction.
"Lady of Night,
Protector of the DeMahri
I beseech you, I beseech you, and I beseech you.
We have traveled far
and I beg you to appear."
"Ashatsinu, I know you." Came a melodious voice from the darkness. "Follow the path and come to me."
"Thank you, Great Lady." Ashatsinu found no strength to stand at the voice's prompt reply.
"You, Uttaku of Gomorrah, seek legitimacy from me. Will miracles never cease?" The quixotic salutation sailed to them on a balmy breeze laden with the heavy scent of exotic spices, leaving he and Ashatisinu experiencing an exhilarating, euphoric awareness. "You give 'walking death' an entirely innovative significance."
"Thank you, I think." One raven brow quirked in genuine confusion.
"Great Lady, I implore you to hear us." Ashatsinu cried out to the voice in the night. "Please, you found it in your heart to favor me with a blessed mark upon my brow. I have nowhere else to turn."
"Is your faith strong, Utakku of Gomorrah?" Skylaris' husky contralto spoke softly to him.
"Ask of me what you will." He spoke loudly in the darkness.
"Let the sweet waters of life cleanse you." The tender tone brought alive his curiosity. "Come into my lake."
Utakku gathered the fatigued, breathless queen in his arms, tirelessly carrying her down the luminescent stones of the pearled path. Never had he seen such a place alight with the fires of light: each bloom from every flower glimmered with a radiance of hue so pure that it brought sanguine tears to his frigid azure eyes. The gentle sigh of the clement night zephyr beget peace to his troubled mind and the tuneful twittering of birds in the trees sang a song sweeter than ever any he previously heard. The warm, white sands caressed the callused soles of Utakku's bare feet. At last, he stood at the shore of a still lake. Silenced by its beauty, he watched the moonlight refract with argent beams upon the still surface of the water.
"I am the giver and keeper of The Waters of Life." As the voice resounded throughout the night, a rush of water crashed against the pristine white sands of the lake's shore. "I am the Life Incarnate. The air beneath my wings bequeaths the breath of living. The fire from my tongue creates souls without end. My crashing waves bring forth the essence of being and the stone beneath my feet gives fortitude. I am more enduring than the mountains and older than the world, Utakku. I am the Mother of Stone, heed my words well, Ahl-Kemehn."
"And talented at lengthy dialogues." He muttered through gritted grimace.
The clear violet waters rippled, then parted. Utakku took several steps back as a long elegant neck emerged from the waves. Emerald scales twinkled in the moonlight every tint of lush verdant green to the deep forest hues surrounding them. The front of the creature's neck was a brilliant golden crest of feathery scales that appeared akin to feathers rather than scaly hide always attributed to dragons. Sparkling amethyst scales gleamed intermittently amongst the others, but what caught Utakku's attention held him fast. Luminous amethyst eyes framed in dark sooty lashes stared down at the strange duo.
"Bravery becomes you, Utakku, I'll give you that." The goddess leaned forward and sniffed him and the Princess. "Prior to our parley, you are taking a bath. The stench of death surrounds you and I just had dinner."
"What?" He stood slack-jawed at the Dragon's unceremonious candor. It was not the speech he expected from a draconic deity. "A bath?"
"You reek." A long, slender tail slithered out from the lake and lithely wrapped around his waist. His eyes flamed with vampiric fury at the sudden attack. "Oh, lose the wrath-and-rage façade! You are just going for a dip. Just put 'Shatsu down and humor me."
"You are not what I anticipated." He spoke cautiously, smoothly laying Ashatsinu upon the pristine sands.
"I'm for more talented than just giving lengthy speeches." Her lithe, agile tail resoundingly smacked his backside. "Now, you need a good dose of humor. Gothic and macabre are not my ways of doing things."
Utakku let out a surprised yelp of indignation as Skylaris abruptly dunked him several times in the lake. She leaned over, inhaled, and crinkled her nose as if his scent repelled her. If a dragon could make a face of disdain, Skylaris did it well. She breathed upon him and the redolent fragrance of orchids surrounded and permeated his being. She submerged the outraged vampire several more times until he seemingly met her satisfaction. Drenched, and looking more akin to a drowned rat than an unearthly fiend, she nodded her head in approval. "Now, you're clean. Let's dry you off....Hold still."
"What?!" She let loose a column of violet flame that came with rapid speed toward Utakku. A scream filled the night and yet he stood within the flamed unharmed. He recollected Ashatsinu's words of how Skylaris' flames would bring him no harm. He glowered at the colossal serpent as she blew dry his person.
She came forth from the rippling waters, Utakku stared agape at the dragon's vast wingspan. He guessed her length from head to tail measuring nearly a hundred cubits. Unlike the acidic demon his people revered, this incredible entity was the embodiment of splendor and innocence. Brilliant in color and glorious in presence, he fell to his knees. "Rise, Utakku. You have bathed in my sacred pool and stand cleansed of past iniquity. Plus, you smell far better than you did before."
"What of Ashatsinu?" Somehow, he found his voice and spoke.
Skylaris' serpentine head gently nudged the sleeping Queen. "Rise, Little One and be refreshed. You've suffered much and followed your heart to this good end and new beginning."
Dark eyes fluttered slowly opened. "Great Lady?"
"I know why you've come and faith had made you strong." Skylaris' pointed teeth shone brightly in the moonlight. Utakku realized at that moment that the goddess was smiling. It brought a peace to his soul that he had ceased knowing in the past several centuries.
"Does he speak truth?" Ashatsinu asked quietly and simply.
"He does, given his current state of perspective." The dragon cast her gaze upon him. "You follow my daughter's path of blood and destruction, Utakku and if you wish to follow the Gargoyle Way, I won't stand for it. Spilling blood for Magick, murder, and sacrifice is abhorrent to me. I forbid it."
"Then he truly desires an end to this war?"
"He does, Child. Indeed, he has also lost loved ones." The heartrending sadness poured from the dragon into Ashatsinu's heart, bringing hot tears to her eyes. Skylaris turned to Utakku, tilting her head that he thought it to be a gesture of resignation. "Enki's supremacy is still too powerful, but, it is waning. If you wish to end this war between your people and the free tribes of man, I will give you my blessing. Enki's curse remains in place, far too powerful for my complete removal of it. Still, I will remember the favor you grant me on Ashatsinu's behalf. Aid and advise her with forthright truthfulness in this life, and I promise you a steadfast, enduring alliance...with a few conditions. Interested?"
"Intrigued, actually." Utakku stroked his goatee in contemplation. "Speak to me."
"Not all of your kinsmen drank of Tiamat's blood. In essence, their curse is incomplete. Said, such curse can be altered, perchance, undone. Help my DeMahri, adhere to the convenant between we three and I promise this: Your children will still fear fire; sunlight will be their blight. Yet, those not unequivocally touched by your curse will know some freedom from it."
"I ask nothing for myself, Dragon, only peace and prosperity for my people." Utakku's grave response touched Ashatsinu's distraught spirit. "Why do you desire in return for truce and this alliance?"
"For Tizir's sake, I'll entertain the possibility of taking under my wings." Skylaris' form shimmered in the moonlight as she ambled toward a thick grove of green bushes. "Let me get into something a bit more comfortable. Give me a minute."
Ashatsinu and Utakku stared at one another slack-jawed with bewilderment. The Ahl-Kemehn leaned over and murmured softly, "Is this goddess always so impertinent?"
"The polite words are sassy and mischievous." The young queen gently chided him. "She cursed one of the Gargoyle's with flatulence for a month when he blasphemed her and called her a toothless old hag."
"She is a wily and sly trickster."
"I think of her as formidable when given just cause." Ashatsinu covered her mouth to stifle a girlish giggle. "Laughter is a gift I wished she gave more readily to her DeMahri children."
"I agree." He flashed the Queen a genuine smile.
The duo turned their attention to the soft rustling of leaves of the bushes near them. An ethereal aura of gold and lavender shown between the leaves and the scent of fresh lilacs filled the balmy night air. The sound of pealing chimes entwined with the harmony of the crashing tide and the nocturnal choir chirping in the forest surrounding them. The night breeze carried a scent of wild berries so sweet that one current brought the taste alive upon Utakku's dead, untasting tongue. For the first time, in centuries, he felt lively and joyful.
An exquisite, slender woman came forth from the lush, verdant grove of leaves and exotic blossoms. Her tawny complexion was smooth caramel and without flaw or blemish. A thick cascade of delicate jet braids fell to the small of her back. Opalescent pearls and sparkling amethyst beads adorned each intricately woven braid. Two delicate pearly horns daintily adorned her brow and beneath them, a slim platinum circlet designated her divine caste. Delicately arched brows and thick lashes framed lavender eyes the color of Amaranth blooms. Draped in jade and violet silk, there stood before them a Nubian immortal truly breathtaking in her resplendence. She bore no semblance to the colossal dragon eclipsing Ashatsinu and Utakku in previous moments.
"Where were we?" The goddess asked cheerfully. She watched silently as Ashatsinu fell kneeling at her feet. Skylaris placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Child, rise and look at me."
"I knew you could tell me." Ashatsinu wiped the tears from her eyes. "I had heard the tales about you when I a child, but I never knew...."
"Ashatsinu." Skylaris' soothing, tender voice calmed the unrest in the young queen's heart. "You have walked the pearled path and you are here. You have done much for my children and I deem that the truest walk of the Gargoyle Way."
"Please, Great Lady, help us."
"Dry you tears, Child." Skylaris gently lifted Ashatsinu's chin so that her dark gaze met hers. "Your devotion is steadfast. Be my child always."
"Yes, Goddess." The Queen's meek reply was barely more than a whisper.
Skylaris turned to Utakku. Her stern gaze slashed through all of his Magick and dominion, leaving him bare and defenseless against her majesty. "You love Tizir and I account that as part of your deliverance from my daughter's authority. Lives have fallen into oblivion, the DeMahri suffer great losses because of your campaigns against Kenan's tribe."
"I fight for my people because Kenan seeks our destruction. I make no apologies." Utakku resolutely met Skylaris' gaze, standing audaciously in the face of the goddess' unyielding examination. "I serve Tiamat because she strengthens my people."
"Yet, Tizir's love brings out probity that many thought lost when my daughter enslaved you with her darkness. Enki's curse reduced you to little more than a demon preying upon innocent souls and that I find abhorrent." Skylaris chided him as though he were a small child.
"I have no regrets." Utakku stood defiant in the face of the goddess' relentless scrutiny.
"You are prideful and arrogant and it annoys me." She sneered. "Yet, I have seen your heart, Son of Blood. You desire innocence and goodness returned to your people. You aided my beloved Ashatsinu and though you did so inasmuch as Tiamat bade you, I chronicle as courtesy to me. You grow weary of blood and death surrounding every night of you your bleak, lifeless existence and seek a better way."
"True." Came Utakku's curt answer. Ashatsinu carefully studied the Ahl-Kemehn.
[Is he trembling?!]
"Utakku, you followed Tiamat for power and prestige. You loved Tizir and such affection restores a sliver of your lost humanity. The Waters of Life from my lake take away the taint of Tiamat's mark upon you and leave you renewed in my eyes, Utakku. Commit no more cruelties for pleasure or entertainment. Leave the Dark Way behind you."
"How can I?" He asked quietly.
"Why can't you?" Skylaris countered. "Do you wish it?"
"I make no vows, Lady Dragon."
"Then start anew. Your heart aches for life as you feel now. Your soul longs for kindness, honor and strength from compassion. I offer it."
"How do I become this philanthropic creature you think me to be?" A crimson bead streaked down Utakku's cheek. "Enki's curse makes me death incarnate."
"I am life incarnate, Son of Blood." Skylaris' husky voice filled the night. "The Gargoyle Way is path the devotion, honor and the wellspring of life. All who walk that pearled path must pass though the Gate by my invitation alone. Yet, it is welcome to all who desire a Greater Good."
"You must think me a sentimental fool." Utakku stared directly into the amethyst gaze of the goddess.
"Because Skylaris adores this realm so much that she brought the DeMahri to walk amongst all creatures. Walk the Gargoyle Way, keep the covenants within your heart, knowing the pearled path leads to a greater good and an eternal home upon the Blessed Isle."
"A taste of goodness." He nodded in simple understanding.
"Invite Life into your heart, embrace the Gargoyle Way of your own will and I will bestow renewed life to your kinsmen. You and they must follow faithfully the Tenets of the Way with sincerity or my blessing will be revoked." Skylaris' stern words made Utakku understand there was no room for negotiation or compromise. "No Enki and no Tiamat, I expect no less of you than I do my Children of Stone."
"Lady Dragon, I shall call no one master." Utakku growled. "But, I give you my word I will honor this alliance."
"For now, that is sufficient. Your heart is a dried husk rotting away inside a corpse. May your love for Tizir resurrect it anew. Let each soul and every heart elect its one, best destiny." Skylaris laid a hand upon his chest. "From this moment, your heart beats. The day will come, Utakku, when I shall bestow the Blessing of Renewed Life upon you, but you must first put aside your pride and arrogance. I see greatness within you and I see it prospering in Ashatsinu's presence."
"I remain like this for the rest of my days?"
"The time will come quicker than you think, Ahl-Kemehn. First, you must learn patience." She shook her head. "You carry Enki's mark, and now you also bear my mark upon your person. You are no longer a vampire of Old Curse. If you drink blood of a willing donor, you will be able to walk in the light of the sun unharmed. You will again know love and beauty, pleasure and happiness. Drink from an unwilling victim or of an unknowing innocent, and the sun's light will sear my blessing from your skin. Your kind may now procreate and give birth, but only once per century to keep their numbers you kind from become too dominant. No longer will you enslave the tribes of man or keep them enslave for labor, sacrifice or food. Your kind started out raising four-legged livestock, return to that way of life. Use your gifts of ken and skill; bring Humanity into their finest potential and additional blessings will find their way to your people. Yoke Humanity for your own benefit and Gomorrah will go down in flames."
"I promise to do as you command."
"Smart man. Those who never chose Tiamat's blood as their fate know my blessing from this moment until time's end. Teach them the Gargoyle Way."
"I will speak of it to my people."
"Always a skeptic, aren't you, Utakku?" Skylaris' chuckle came out more a strident roar than a laugh. "Here is a sign of my pledge to you. Today, watch the sunrise without your skin becoming flaming ash."
"I reserve my judgment, Lady Dragon." His guarded reply sounded almost...hopeful.
"Now, for you, Ashatsinu." Skylaris turned her attention to the young queen. "I've seen the misery of your people in Amor. I hear their cries for deliverance from Halmu's evil troops and his appalling ways. Therefore, I will remove his influence from your fair city and expand the oasis surrounding Amor. Let it be a dominion bountiful with fresh game, sprawling forests filled with ripe fruit and rivers teaming with many fish. The sweetest nectar will come from abundant blooms and ambrosia shall give your people long life. Let this beloved haven be sanctuary to your neighbors -the Canaanites, Hittites: all and any who espouse the Tenets of the Gargoyle Way. "
"How will we know them?"
"Simple -Here is the first Tenet and the greatest of them all." Skylaris' stepped from them. She sank slowly into the still waters of the silvery lake behind them. "Adhere and adore the Gargoyle Way fiercely and well without hesitation or reservation. Cherish all life as you do your own. Quest for the Greater Good."
"Utakku and Ashatsinu, take my Tenets of the Way to your peoples. As long as they do this with sincerity of heart, strength of conviction and dedication of purpose, they will for all time know my blessing." Skylaris sank beneath the churning waves of the lake. The twittering of the birds ceased, the wind stilled and the first brilliant rays of sunlight danced upon the lake's eastern horizon.
An explosion of crimson and violet burst in front of them. The sands smoldered at their feet, causing the duo to stare at each other in astonishment. Two large crystal orbs lay in front of them, nested securely in the sand. Immediately, Ashatsinu grasped the large sphere and held it to the light. Her eyes scanned the globe rapidly and within a prismatic cloud swirled. Etchings appeared upon the smooth, flawless surface of the orb. "Here are the Tenets of the Way, Ashatsinu. Take the orbs to Amor, Sodom, and Gomorrah and give the Tenets to your people. End the war, vanquish the evil there, assume your rightful throne and protect my Beloved DeMahri."
"Yes, Great Lady." She murmured solemnly.
"Do so with great speed, Gesham is in need of your aid."
"But, Great Lady, how? It is nearly sunrise." Ashatsinu's hope fled when she noticed how much time had passed. "We'll never return to Amor in time."
"On a dragon's breath so shall you and Utakku return. Dragon's speed to you, Little One, I am with you always. Utakku, do not leave her. As long as you remain faithful to my ways and honor your promise, both of your peoples shall prosper and know peace. Guide her well in the ways of sovereignty."
"I understand and obey, Lady Dragon." He nodded curtly to the vanishing voice.
"Now, go to it."