Chapter 14: End of the Sky

Perhaps he could redeem himself. There must be something he could do to earn his family back and his own place in the Sea Palace below the waves. He looked up at the Hunter he had schemed to kill. Why had he done so again? Revenge was hardly a reason to kill another living creature. Even after…

And that creature reminded him so much of himself that he had to move. His body was moving without him, a spell was over his entire self and something was crying in his heart, Love. As he dove into the ocean, nothing seemed to matter but saving one little human in a world of them, one little creature…

The sea burned his wounds and he knew now that he could not be saved. The sea only hurt those it would kill. Life for him would cease to exist and he would have to depart this world. But first… the human female.

She reminded him so much of his Dancing Flower. Her pink hide and bright beautiful purple eyes had been from heaven. And in their time, after they had mated and she had laid the most beautiful opal egg. She had not left its side for months and when it had hatched... He was the second most beautiful thing under the sun. The Goddesses had named him Sea Fire for his mane of fiery hair and scales of deep blue. Everyone had loved him. And everyone had loved Dancing Flower…

The waves of the ocean rocked back and forth violently. Sea foam was knocked back onto the beach, littering many small sea animals and plants up onto the sands. Xochiyotl was giving in to the memory of Cit'lal-I's voice. It was agonizingly beautiful! The numbness in her bones and limbs echoed the sounds of the waves and the cold had gone now. She could feel nothing and it was beautiful and frightening all at the same time.

Yes, little human, go back to the sea, for she is the mother of all things.

Who was that? She recognized this voice; it sounded much like the ocean itself. The Eastern Goddess of the Sea!

Yes. Go back to the hole you came from wretch!

Now that voice she defiantly knew. The moon! Had she asked the Goddess of the Sea to help? Why would she do so? What had Xochiyotl done? The nothingness was still there, hand-in-hand with the numbness she felt in her body. She was drifting away. Her body screamed for air and her limbs felt heavy as lead. She breathed in deeply despite her mind screaming not to. Water filled her lungs and her blood pulsed heavily in her veins. Still despite her body's torment, she didn't feel a thing. This was such a peaceful death, so unlike the torture of life. Why live if it was so easy to die? What was the reason?

She could feel something rough and hard and warm. Teeth dragged her from her peace as a knife would cut a rope. She broke the waves and the hatred of the air came to her, swiping her memories from her eyes and replacing them with the bright of her eyelids. She could hear an angel's voice, the sound so pure it broke her heart.

"Don't leave me all alone again!" it shouted.

She wanted to speak, to tell it that she was okay and that she liked where she had been. But she could not find her mouth and her throat was still. Something splashed her face. Why was the angel crying?

"Xochiyotl don't leave me, breathe!"

Something pounded on her chest, it felt as if bones were breaking and her lungs still did not move. She didn't like this, it hurt! Something still dragged her as she hung on to the moments of only before and attempted to go back to that place.

"Don't you go away!" the angel shouted again.

And then she could feel again, something covered her mouth, spongy and silky soft but toothy and warm. It breathed the life back into her.

Cit'lal-i couldn't think of anything left to do. As soon as the dragon had pulled her out of the water, he had snatched her from its teeth and began to beat the life back into her. Her skin was so cold and hard, like ice. But everything he had just fought himself for was at jeopardy if she died. That nothingness would return. He would lose himself again! She had saved him from himself and now he had to save her. It was his selfishness that wanted her alive, no matter the toile on her. He was, after all, just a Hunter. And when he opened her eyes he saw that they were gone, the spark was only barely lit. So he had continued to beat at her until he knew that a rib was broken. Putting his ear to her chest, there was a resounding silence and he knew. She was gone. With no heartbeat there was nothing in her left to keep beating, to convince her body to keep working. He prayed to the Hunter God to give her back. She had died on a Hunt and therefore she would go to the temple of the Hunter god. After his prayer, he knew of only one other thing he could do to make her live.

"Don't you go away!" he shouted.

And he covered her mouth with his. She was too salty and her lips were disgustingly dry, but he continued anyway. He had to be extra careful of his mandibles and the sharp teeth that protruded from them as well as his teeth he used for biting. This was not how he had imagined their first kiss. Was it really as kiss? The first breath he shoved in her lungs was small, but he saw her lungs rise a little and could tell the water was disturbed. The second caused her to cough up a little. And the third got her. He yanked his head away just in time for her to spew forth seawater and blood from her lungs. Tears ran from her eyes as the spark of life lit again and water poured from her mouth. Using a shaking hand, he sat her upright and supported all of her weight with his arm while he used the other to push on her stomach. Was she really back from the dead? Something sticky stuck to him and for a moment he thought that the Hunter God was back from the waves.

I gave you her. Now give me what I want. Give me a victory! The voice of the Hunter God was loud in his head.

She was still coughing up blood and water but between those coughs and hacks, she began to breathe again. The sound of her inhaling and even the sound of her life was the most comforting thing Cit'lal-i had heard. And something else cut into that beautiful sound, a sort of raspy breathing. The echo of the Hunter God's last words rang in Cit'lal-i's brain. Something to his right clanked on the sand and as he looked he remembered the form of the God sinking into the waves. Looking to his right, he saw the glinting form of the weeping spear. It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time. Silently, ignoring the frightened cries of the Hunters and Xochiyotl, Cit'lal-i stood with the spear in his hand and looked to what remained of the Dragon. His scales were dim and his eye was even dimmer. Cit'lal-i looked to the spear and then him again.

"Do it Hunter. I do not want to live."

"You were the one. I got her and the worm and you got away." Cit'lal-i looked at him again with only slight anger.

"My Dancing Flower." He paused with a choked sob. "Yes. You killed my mate…and my son."

That stumped Cit'lal-i. All this time he had thought that it had been something else. He had not cared and had not given it thought. But now, with a prospective mate of his own, he knew how helpless he had been when she had been hurt and taken. He regretted his hunt for the first time in his life.

"Are their heads on you wall, Hunter?" The Dragon was fading, his voice growing raspier by the second.

"Yes. Both of them, at the top of my wall. They were my pride." His voice was full of regret.

"They WERE your pride? Do you not enjoy having killed them now?" Brave Star hissed.

"No, I regret it. I would not do it now if I had known." Cit'lal-i shook his head and tapped the spear against his temple.

"You hunters never take the time to find out. Honor the life you have taken, and love the ones you have spared."

"The ones I spared? I never spare a kill."

"You spared the green eyed one and now you love her. Do you not?" he sounded like he was laughing.

"I…did. And..."Cit'lal-i was hesitant.

"But your wall is full of other hunters who loved."

"Probably. I didn't care to find out if they had mates or pups." Cit'lal-i frowned.

"Then add my head to it." Brave Star was quickly fading.

"What?" that caught him off guard.

"Add my head to your wall and be proud. You killed a son of the Goddess of the Sea and you killed one who loved as well. I want to hang on your wall with my family. Let me go." His eyes closed now.

There was a silence only broken by Xochiyotl's soft sobs and coughs. Brave Star could already see his Dancing Flower and Sea Fire coming to greet him at the gates of the sea palace. He had one more thing to say.

"Xochiyotl! In my heart there is a stone. Take it when I am dead and use it well! You will know what to do with it." And he relaxed as he waited for the white dragon of death to guide him.

Without saying anything else Cit'lal-i raised the spear above his head and closed his eyes. A feeling came over him much like at a normal Hunt.

This is what hunting was supposed to be like. This is what I created. The voice of the Hunter God echoed in his mind. Knowing what you're hunting and still hunting it. Taking the life of a creature, not just a thing.

With a hard thrust to the neck, Cit'lal-i ended the life of a God of the Sky. The slushy wet sound that ensued was horrible and beautiful at the same time. He watched the life quickly fade from Brave Star's eyes silently until another achingly beautiful sound reached his ears.

"Cit'lal-i?" it was a cry of peace. Something like being at the end of the rainbow.

The God of the Sky's body faded into the sand, becoming numerous sea creatures as It was swept away by the current. Only something remained a large heart and a ghastly skeleton looking very much like a snake. The innards were still there, and amongst them shone the Dragon's heart.

Citlal-I turned away from the beast and toward the small human. His small human. She was shaking, cold, and most pale but her eyes shone green as they could be. He cocked his head and started toward her. Yao-tl stood from her place next to the female. In a way she could have considered herself jealous, the affection shining from this Hunter for this human was far too much. Almost unnatural. She had a mate of her own, but their relationship was far different. They could learn from these ill-fated creatures. Many mates could.

Cit'lal-I reached her and enveloped her, taking care to lift her gently from the corrupted sands. He didn't say anything, looking at her, at her wounds, the soon-to-be infection that would almost certainly follow them, and the depth of her eyes. She hadn't seen him lose himself, but she knew. Just looking at her he could tell she knew everything. And somehow he was ashamed. She smiled a little and turned away, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment.

"Let us return. I have another hunt soon." Yao-tl hissed harshly and turned on her heel. The other two Hunters got up to leave, dismissing the fire and logs of their small inefficient camp.

Cit'lal-I looked at them one by one, standing tall as he could. He looked to the girl, his girl, and watched her close her eyes and breathe evenly. Yes, let's go home, he smiled.