Chapter 7

"I watched him die. He isn't really there. This isn't real."

Setsunai looked at Hieronymous with haunted eyes. "You are not real." She drew her knees to her chest and began to sob.

Hieronymous knelt in front of Setsunai. "What you saw was not me being killed but a changeling that looked like me." She shook her head and continued to sob. Sam grinned at Hieronymus. His black eyes glinting with sadistic glee. "Please look at me" He whispered. She sniffled loudly but refused to look up. Hieronymous pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of a way to pull her out of her shock.

"Ask me something that only you and I know." He reached out and placed his hand on her knee.

She sighed her eyes fixed on his hand on her knee. "What happened when we were selling candles for the school fundraiser." Her voice sounded raw from all her crying and screaming.

"You almost passed out from standing too long and I caught you. I took you to The Glen so you could recuperate. It was my way of apologizing for my blunder." He gave a half smirk. "Even though it was your fault for not bringing to my attention how long you were standing there."

Her eyes met his and the tears began to flow freely again. Making a shushing noise Hieronymous reached out and wiped away her tears.

"I still don't know how anyone could get that engrossed by a book to not notice that I was standing for six hours."

"It was a very interesting read on.. never mind that. I will loan it to you if you would like to read it." She laughed weakly.

"Would you like to hear how the House of Grabiner came by such a nasty curse?" Setsunai nodded. Hieronymous shot a look over to Sam. "No throwing daggers at me." Sam gave him a vague shrug in reply.

"Many believed that the Otherworld did not exist until wizard-kind needed a place to draw additional magic from and that the council created it so that we would have an endless supply of energy. I for one disagree with that assumption and through many years of research have discovered the origin of the Otherworld." Sam raised an eyebrow at the statement but said nothing. "My obsession with the Otherworld started after I got over the shock of losing the one that I loved due to a curse that I new nothing about." He said bitterly.

"The Otherworld is as old as if not older that the human world. The first of wizard-kind went to the world we call home now as refugees. It was all because of one of my ancestors and a hair brained scheme to become immortal." He paused for a moment. "I will get to that shortly."

"The land we are standing on now was not always called the Wastes. The soil was not this unforgiving and the wind was not scorching and gritty. This land was lush with rivers twisting lazily through it. There were great trees and thick blankets of emerald moss on the ground. All sorts of magical folk and beasts lived in this land peacefully. This land was once referred to as being the heart of the Otherworld. The land was looked over by two keepers. The Keeper of the Land who ruled the living things and all that was good and bright and The Keeper of the Sky who ruled over darkness and death but as foreboding as that sounds he was not an inherently evil being. Life and death are part of the whole, the two sides of the coin so to speak.

Thousands of years went by where the balance between the two Keepers was maintained. Then one day the Keeper of the Sky heard news that his second in command had fallen for and began to court the Keeper of the Land. He at first thought it would be a fleeting affair but was soon proven wrong when his second in command asked to be released from service so that he could marry his love. Angered that he would be abandoned so easily by one who was deemed his most loyal servant, he decided to propose a challenge. If his servant could beat him in single combat not only would he let the love sick fool get married but he would also let him become the Keeper of the Sky. They agreed to hold the match in a few months time.

Not wanting to be bested by his servant, the Keeper of the Sky put a devious plan into action. He encouraged rumors that the Keeper of the Land was the key to everlasting life. He also taught some of the natives how to open the portals between worlds to encourage trade as a sign of good will between the magical beings of both worlds. He hoped that the rumor of everlasting life would draw fortune hunters to the event. The end result of said plan was successful beyond his wildest hopes."

Hieronymous ran his hand through his hair as he tried to phrase the next part carefully. "One of my ancestors heard the rumor The Keeper of the Sky put forth and decided that he wanted to be the one who would claim such a treasure for himself. So he traveled to the Otherworld and began to scout the source of the tale. A week before the match was to be held The Keeper of the Sky contacted my ancestor and told him how to obtain what he wished." Hieronymous looked up at Sam with sad eyes. "That the source of immortality was not an object but the heart of a living breathing creature. Not just any creature either but the Keeper of the Land herself. When my ancestor found out what was required to have everlasting life he grew squeamish. The Keeper of the Sky was not happy with this, so he then offered to reward my ancestor with immortality if he could sabotage the upcoming match. For the longest time there have been debates as to what my ancestor did to sabotage the match. I came across the answer just earlier this year by accident."

Hieronymous pointed in the direction of the Manus. "After my father gifted me with em I decided to question em about the times of old and the differences in magic now compared the magic of ancient times. E let slip that e was there when my ancestor made his blunder. I soon planned to do a memory link ritual shortly thereafter. It did not go as planned but I still acquired the knowledge that I needed at the time... and a wife." The corner of his mouth twitched up as he leveled his gaze at Setsunai. Her eyes grew large and her cheeks began to turn pink.

Sam snorted at the couple and put his hands on his hips. "Being long winded must be a family trait." He grumbled.

Hieronymous broke eye-contact with Setsunai and continued with his story. "I learned that my ancestor contacted The Keeper of the Land and told her what The Keeper of the Sky was planning. She called her personal guard." He vaguely pointed in the direction of the Manus. "Together my ancestor, the Manus and The Keeper of the Sky devised a plan for her survival. She decided to fake her death and let my ancestor and the Manus seal her away using a focusing crystal. All went well in the beginning. They used a nasty piece of magic that made it look like she was lying dead in her room. It was so strong that when one would walk past the threshold of the room their mind would convince the observer that they were really there in the room interacting with her body and her belongings. As a reward for warning her and keeping her safe my ancestor became the proud albeit oblivious owner of a Manus. She told my ancestor how to reverse the seal on the crystal and when it would be safe to do so.

My ancestor in his infinite folly decided to make the meeting that was arranged with The Keeper of the Sky in hopes that he would be able to reap an additional reward. The Keeper of the Sky decided that he would benefit the most by detaining my ancestor as the scapegoat that he wanted him to be. The Keeper of the Sky called his second of command to him and notified him of the death of The Keeper of the Land and gave the prisoner to him. The Second decided that instead of putting my ancestor to death that he would like to inflict the pain he was living with to my whole bloodline. The Keeper of the Sky gave The Second his wish and cursed my whole bloodline."

"My bloodline was decimated within a year. For over a thousand years there has only been my fathers direct line alive and it has been through a series of arranged marriages that were built on keeping the line alive versus love. My Father had no issues with avoiding love and believed the family curse to be a string a really bad luck. It wasn't until Violet and I proved him otherwise that he began to take it seriously."

A harsh laugh drew everyone's attention to Sam. "And what of Melusine! Where is she now." He began to pace like a caged animal. A wild glint in his eye said he was moments from madness.

Hieronymous cleared his throat nervously. "She is hidden in a dimensional pocket somewhere in the Ether. The crystal my ancestor had is the key to tracking her."

"Where is the crystal." Sam hissed in a dangerous voice while tilting his head in a reptilian manner.

"I am not sure. I have been corresponding with my father about ancient family heirlooms for a few months now and he has not told me much." Sam started stalking towards Hieronymous a flickering purple energy began to collect in his hand as he began to mutter an incantation.

"There is no need to look." The Mauns said as e teleported between Sam and Hieronymous. "I was given it in order to keep it safe. I am immortal and my original master though it would be easier to keep track of if one being was in possession of it for the whole time. It would have got lost if your ancestors were to keep it."

Sam growled in anger and flung his spell skyward. Shortly after a screech was heard and a harpy fell to the ground. Its feathers were blackened and smoking from the force of the spell. Setsunai gasped in fear as she took in the sight.

Sam looked at the Manus. "After all this time I am told that I was misled and lied to. That it was not an errant wizard that killed my Melusine but that she is alive? That my Master caused this all and I have lived with grief and anger for over a thousand years! This was all for naught!" He began as a whisper and by the end of his tirade he was roaring in anger.

"My kind may be able to bend the truth but we can not tell an outright lie. She is alive and my new masters bloodline is not to blame." The Manus said in an eerily calm voice. "My master and I can bring her back to you."

Sam flung his hand at Setsunai. She curled up and groaned as she grabbed her head in pain. "You vile beast! We are trying to help you!" Hieronymous yelled at Sam as he drew his sword.

"Its ok! I am ok! He just gave me my magic back." Setsunai gasped with surprise as the magic began to flow through her body.

Surprise passed over Hieronymous' face for a split second before he slowly lowered his sword. Still shaking with rage Sam nodded to Hieronymous. "I will not say I owe you human. Consider us even." Sam took a few steps away from everyone. He spread his arms wide while chanting an incantation. The air grew thick and the wind began to whip around him. Static began to crackle through the air and his form began to change. There was a flash of light and a loud boom at the end of his spell. Setsunai was knocked over by the force of the spellwave as Heironymous struggled to maintain his footing.

When the dust settled there was a collective gasp. Sam was no longer there. In his place was a very large, very angry dragon. He had deep red scales with a pale underbelly. The same black soulless eyes looked back at the group as he tilted his head considering them for a moment before he let loose an earth shattering roar. The pebbles on the ground shook from the sound and the ground cracked as he used his hind legs to launch himself into the sky. He began to soar towards a huge bank of clouds in the distance. The harpies screeching in fear has he belched flames at them as he flew past.

"Dragons are real?" Setsunai asked in a daze.

"It would not be a trial without one." Hieronymus answered in a flat voice.

I would like to thank you all for the reviews, they keep me going when I want to give up. I am sorry that I have not responded to many. Life has kept me away from writing for a while. Thank you again ~Aedori