Chapter 35-Ill-Bonded Pair
Tamli's gaze burned brightly as he stared at Raoul, straining to remember all he knew about the illegitimate child he had fathered with Nethial, a union that neither his nor her parental figures had known anything about due to the secrecy he had impressed upon the mother of his son. He wanted so much to speak with the teen over why Raoul had not aged past his seventeenth year of life, yet he silently figured it had to do with the magical skills of his hybrid nature joining together with a normal human to create a joint piece of life that reflected both of them. Indeed Raoul did resemble both Nethial and his father through both looks and mannerisms. Tamli would give his son that much credit. His son's black hair was shoulder length and the identical purple irises mocked him with their warmth and carefreeness as opposed to his which were clouded by misery and pain.
"You know about him?" Dhran asked as he pushed Tamli's hand off his mouth, causing the amnesic hybrid to direct his attention to the man who had hardly given him any time to rest since Finca had begun her return from the lab once more with Raoul to help him regain his memory.
"I wouldn't?" He mocked, smirking as Raoul gave a resounding chuckle of equal amusement. "He is my son, Dhran. I know all there is to know about him. Where is Finca though? I want to thank her for bringing him back to where he belongs."
Airu stood up and glanced around before extending a hand to Tamli. "I'm not sure. Maybe Sitedal would-"
"No!" Tamli hissed, forcing himself to sit up and shoving Dhran's hand away, eyes flickering with untapped rage. "Never bring up the name of that traitor dragon. He tried to claim I was the one who killed his two hatchlings. I could care less about those little ones but he needs to learn his place."
"I agree, father," Raoul added, briefly locking eyes with Tamli as Airu watched with disgust over the family bonding.
Tamli forced a smile as he struggled to position his weight so he could stand without further damaging his shoulder or putting too much pressure on his injured leg. His limbs trembled as he tried to push himself up by using his good arm and leg, only to fall back onto the ground panting for breath. The realization that Amia had done more damage than he had first thought came to him as he steadied his breathing and looked up at Raoul and Dhran, his gaze pleading for their help as he was unable to accomplish the task alone.
"I never wanted this to happen," Tamli muttered as his own son pulled him to his feet, "I only trusted Amia because I had no one else to turn to. Call it stubbornness but I couldn't make myself accept that I, a lonely and frail human, was the mate of a dragoness as powerful as where that got me, a shoulder I cannot even use and a leg nearly unable to support my weight."
"Did Makiar look at you?" Airu asked as he moved to let Tamli brace himself against him while Raoul stood behind them as a backup if something went wrong.
"I doubt, but I don't know. Most of the time I spent with her I was unconscious and wouldn't remember even having her look me over. I suppose she did because this wrapping of my wounds looks similar to your own, Airu."
"Shouldn't we find Finca?" Raoul asked as Dhran took a step forward to make sure he could support Tamli's weight.
Dhran sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Taken care of," he grumbled a moment later as he reopened his eyes. "She's in one of the underground cells although why she's down there I don't know."
"Sitedal, I'm certain it's his doing. That fear-user had gone too far this time," Tamli muttered, clenching his good hand out of anger.
"Father, can't you heal your wounds?" Raoul questioned, surprising Tamli to the point he let loose a low growl like that of a beast before he caught himself and blinked, shaking his head.
He hadn't meant to sound so . . . dragon-like. Maybe the memories he had brought up while with Amia were right after all. But how was he even able to be a dragon if all he knew was what he experienced on his own two feet? Yet another question he would have to ask Finca about when they rejoined each other.
"If I could, Raoul, I certainly would to save me from further agony. Now, Airu, where is Finca?"
"I will take you to her," Dhran muttered, beginning to walk as Raoul followed closely behind.
Tanui slipped quietly back into the dark underground system in search of the dragon hatchling he had failed to kill. He figured it had to be either with its mother or with its father, a dragon who should have been embracing Corruption's darkness instead of trying to fight against its behind a column as two dragons moved past him, Tanui silently listened in on their thoughts.
. . . Did you hear about what happened to the remainder of Verdra's clutch?
No. Why?
The first dragon snorted. Two were brutally slaughtered while in their shells as they started to hatch. She's started to spread the word to stay clear of Tamli. A low growl rose from within its chest. That hybrid monster, what I wouldn't give to put him in his place . . . I can only sympathize with her over the loss.
Did you see that little one she had with her? The second dragon hummed, flickering the dark blue tip of its tail.
I did, the first dragon, a dark green female with brown underscales, growled softly. He's adorable and so brave, considering he barely survived the murder of his fellow nestlings.
I hear Verdra say his name was Ladetis. What is it? The green dragoness had halted and her gaze had turned to where Tanui stood hidden by the column's shadow.
Nothing, she snorted, directing her attention back to the light blue with dark-blue underscales female. I just thought for a second that I smelled something out of place, a scent that seemed to be of shadows and darkness but I suppose I imagined it. Should we inform Makiar of this development of that monster's character?
I believe so, Kuris.
Very well, I shall be off. Best of luck to you in your new role as a mother, Rena.
Rena snorted, tapping the end of her tail on the floor under her. Best of luck to you as well. When both of our clutches hatch, should we let them intermingle?
I see no harm in that. Now I must find Makiar.
With that both she-dragons left and Tanui was able to breathe a sigh of relief at not being discovered by either of carefully ventured back out onto the main path and pondered over what he had overheard. Ladetis was the hatchling's name and it was with Verdra, spreading the word to stay away from Tamli. A slight grin crept onto his features, brightening his reddened eyes at the thought that Amia would be pleased to have known that Tamli was already losing the respect and loyalty he once held through a series of most unfortunate acts. Tanui tightened his white cloak around him and made sure its hood was over his face, masking him from all he had no interest in destroying at the moment, before heading off tothe location he had ravaged during his last visit.
Once Dhran had helped Tamli to find Finca, the hybrid and his dragon returned to their cave, accompanied by Raoul as the man supported the weight of his father. Tamli sagged against the wall as they entered, sliding down the blackened wood and placing his head in his hands. Raoul watched with caution as Finca scanned the room, snorting in disgust after a moment.
Someone has entered our chamber that I am not familiar with; the scent is foreign to me. Raoul, do you know of anyone coming in here?
Raoul shrugged before leaning against the wall opposite his father, Finca between them. "Not that I know of but I didn't even know where this cave was when you brought me in to see Tamli. It is possible that someone could have entered but I wonder why . . ."
Finca turned her head to the entrance of the room and hissed, directing her attention at a figure clothed by a white cloak with a hood. Raoul could make out the red eyes and mentally informed Finca of his discovery. Her low snarl made it clear to him that she had heard and now knew who it was that had interrupted them.
The last of the clones ventures forth from its deserted lab to rear its pitiful head. She took a step forward toward Tanui. Do you know the damage you've caused? You're nothing but a failed creation of Amia and Misery. No one can clone what my mate-of-soul-and-mind is, no one!
With little emotion showing on his face, Tanui drew back his cloak and pulled out the black-pommeled red-jeweled sword he had copied from Tamli's rider's blade. Finca snarled louder and crouched, her belly touching the floor as the tip of her tail twitched in eagerness to start a fight between them. Tanui ignored her display and glanced at Tamli who had been driven to see what was going on by Finca's actions.
Tamli frowned then, as realization came to him about who it was that was angering his dragon, glared at the man, mentally whispering to Raoul to help him stand. Once he was on his feet, the original blade he wielded slid into his hand by instinct and his right hand curled around it protectively. One glance at Finca and she backed away slowly, unsure if he could handle the pressure of being on his feet for so long. A low hiss from Finca caught Raoul's attention as he backed away to stand by her side and he looked at her before his gaze was redirected to Tamli. White light circled the hybrid and the wound to both his leg and his shoulder were being healed by the flowing power that was radiating from the man.
"Bring it," Tamli taunted as he gripped his sword tighter, swinging it up and pointing the blade at Tanui.
The clone growled and rushed forward, passing his blade to his left hand as a spasm of pain jolted through his right at being moved, only to be matched by Tamli with a defensive block. Sparks flew from the two swords as clone and original backed off and came back together, the metal locking together right in front of the men. Raoul observed with a calm gaze how his father fought against one as skilled as Tanui, impressed by how the weapon was used by both hands as either offense to attack or defense to block a strike. The original hybrid withdrew first and lashed out quickly. A lightning fast slash that was blocked by trembling hands as Tanui slid back from the force of the strike. The clone pulled his sword up and brought it back down, the blow nearly hitting Tamli but it was blocked with only seconds to spare.
A few moments later Tamli dodged a lunging stab by Tanui and twisted his sword downward, driving it in the side of his foe before ripping it back out. The copy screamed and dropped his blade, hands going to his bleeding side as Tamli raised his sword to come down on the man's neck. A bellow from Finca snapped the rider back to his senses and he lowered his sword to the ground before glaring at Tanui, pained as the man was with the weapon slicing through a good chunk of flesh.
"Leave or worse will come to you." The command was spoken gently but Raoul knew the underlying threat was much more severe and would cost Tanui his life if he lingered much longer.
Tanui glared at Tamli through his pain and angrily slammed his sword back into its sheath as he stood and pressed his right hand against the bleeding wound between the ribs on his left side. "Fine but this isn't over. The days of the pure dragon race ruling over everything are coming to a close. You better decide what side you're on."He halfway turned to leave. "And I hope for your sake it's the right one."
A few moments later the clone had left and Tamli tore a piece of cloth from his robe, using it to wipe his blade clean. Finca snorted and lightly bumped her snout into his back, eager to discuss what they were going to do now with Tanui's threat hanging over them.
"I don't know," Tamli admitted as Raoul sat down on the floor, Finca laying down and curling around behind him. "I won't choose between my natures despite what he said. One half of me is dragon and the other is human, choosing one over the other is a path I will not go down unless there is no other choice."
"Father, I was thinking about something while I watched you beat Tanui."
"What stirred within your thoughts while you observed the fight my son?"
"Well, it's something Dhran talked with me about while you were still unconscious. He said that, and I hate to repeat this while you are here Finca, she hasn't been right in the head for years. Is that true or is what she told me real?"
Finca hissed, slapping her tail on the floor. Watch it hatchling. Airu is not in a place to discuss my mental condition with his future wife expecting their first child in a matter of months. But to answer your inquiry, my words were true. Raoul started to speak up but a low growl from her silenced him. Yes Tamli did have no other choice but to agree to Amia's wishes and leave the city, thus leaving Nethial and you unclaimed by wedlock. However, if anyone had tried to seek a relationship with your mother, Attor would have scared them off as he and I knew her heart was always for your father.
Tamli watched his dragon as her words resonated with him, somewhere deep within his amnesic mind stirring to life another memory flash . . .
. . . His vision blurred by tears, he hugged a thin teenage girl, her shoulder length black hair swept up into a bun and held by a string of pearls. Behind her a white dragon, smaller than what he recognized as Finca, although she was younger and less majestic than the dragon he knew now, as she stood next to an orange-eyed also white-scaled dragon. The two were nuzzling each other and finally the woman pulled away from him, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"I'll be fine. The child will be raised with the best of care, Tamli."
With no more spoken between them, the girl turned and climbed onto her dragon, the beast giving Finca one more brief touch of contact between them before taking to the air as the thin rise of dawn gave the morning light a bittersweet feeling. Finca moved beside him and lowered her snout to where their eyes met, her massive yellow orbs connecting with his purple irises. A low mourning growl rose from within her throat and he patted her shoulder tenderly.
"The day comes, Amia is . . ." . . .
The vision suddenly ended, leaving Tamli breathless for a moment as he tried to understand what he had seen. Who was the woman he had seen? Had it been Raoul's mother? He relaxed, opening his eyes as he realized he had closed them while experiencing the memory flash. Finca and Raoul both looked at him with concern and he attempted a slight smile to calm their fears.
"Another memory flash," he replied in response to the feeling of worry that was passed to him from Finca, her concern over his well-being warming him. "I saw . . . Raoul's mother and another dragon . . . one that was interested in you, Finca."
Nethial and Attor, your girlfriend and the dragon she obtained thanks to you protesting that she was worthy of a Guardian, Finca informed him, smoke rising from her nostrils. Is that all you saw? I don't like to press the issue but I would like to know, love.
"It is all I saw but, why did I feel a drain in strength as soon as my sword slid into my hand before I faced Dragonsbane?"
"His name is actually Tanui, or so I heard while being held by them. I think that you called upon your aura and healed your wounds subconsciously," Raoul explained as he quickly glanced to Finca to make sure he was telling it correctly.
Finca snorted. You fought as if you had never been struck with the damage Amia had given you in payment for all the evil he claimed you caused to come upon him after your first meeting, I am proud of you.
"My wounds are healed then?"
Your fighting was a test of that and it appears you have been restored to the condition you were before Amia took you to the lab.
"I see. Raoul, can you tell me more about yourself? Of what I do know, it is only bits and pieces, nothing complete. I would be honored to know more about you and about your mother since I apparently was the reason she got a dragon in the first place."
Raoul smiled, sliding across the floor to go sit beside his father. "Of course, I would be happy to tell you all about Mother and I."
Tanui walked away from the room, angry at himself and at Tamli as he pressed his injured hand against the wound the hybrid had given him. His sword fighting had been at its best but what enraged him the most was that he had been beaten by the person he was a clone of, despite the limitations of Tamli prior to their battle. Amia had managed to weaken the former rider but, by using his aura Tanui guessed, the damage had been healed to even the odds. He was ashamed that he was defeated by a man with no memory, a person who was only a shell of his former self. A sigh escaped him and he quickly hid behind a column as he heard the sound of approaching dragons.
From down the hallway that had Tamli's chamber built out of it, two dragons ventured the way he had been going. One of them was black with purple eyes, a female he assumed by its lean shape, while the other was much smaller and barely rose to halfway up its leg. Its scales were white and its irises were a molten topaz from what Tanui could see. He felt an attraction toward the little hatchling, despite the fact that he had murdered its fellow nestlings to inflict misery on its parents.
Young one? He asked as he sent a probing thought toward it, curious to see if it might respond to him.
Ladetis squeaked and turned his head toward the column, coming to a stop as Verdra glanced over at him. A low growl rippled from her and the hatchling lowered his head, starting to move once more by her side. Tanui grumbled softly under his breath and pressed the thought harder, doing his best to prevent attracting the attention of Verdra. The dragonet came to a halt again and glanced in his direction, bringing a faint smile to Tanui's lips.
Tanuifocused, struggling slightly to send another thought toward the hatchling. Come here.
Verdra blinked before nudging her hatchling with her snout, trying to get him to continue moving with her. Ladetis squeaked in protest and pushed his way past her, venturing over to the column where Tanui stood hidden by its shadows. The she-dragon growled softly and lightly tapped his flank with the tip of her tail, trying to bring his attention back to the task at hand. Tanui watched as the dragonet ignored the motion and finally made its way over to where he was, resulting in a sharp hiss from Verdra before she turned to pick him up by the nape of his neck.
A flash of metal split the air between son and mother as Tanui stepped out of the shadows and held his sword even to protect Ladetis. Verdra first snorted in confusion then realized who it was and roared in anger, concerned over her child being so close to who she thought was Tamli. The newborn dragon fanned its wings out and turned to face Tanui, curiosity felt by the clone as the hatchling's mind touched his.
Ladetis, Verdra warned. Step away from him. He caused the murder of your siblings. He might have tried to kill either me or your father next, or even Seraphina.
The dragon barely flickered a glance at his mother before Tanui felt its scaled snout press against his right hand as it still pressed tightly against the wound Tamli had inflicted on him. He gasped and took a quick look at Ladetis as the hatchling looked up at him with warm eyes. Its mind was open to him; they had bonded without him having to harm the dragonet's mother.
I trust you. The voice was deep for a dragon of its age, yet Tanui knew that the outward appearance of a dragon's size meant nothing compared to its mental voice.
"You should find that he is no longer speaking with you," Tanui whispered softly to Verdra, lowering the hood of his cloak, "and that I am not Tamli Dragonsbane. To find out who I am, ask your mate, if you're brave enough."
Verdra's harsh snarl was enough to bring out a faint grin onto Tanui's face but Ladetis's soft snort diminished the joy his rider had over the female's disgust. A gentle mental nudge from the newly bonded dragon returned the clone to the fact that he was now like his original in more ways than he had intended. The emotional bond between the dragonet and himself was already becoming stronger, leaving Tanui with doubts as to why he should make Tamli's life miserable.
Master? Ladetis growled softly, his tone questioning but not harsh. Should we not venture out of here before Father sees you?
It took Tanui a moment to understand his dragon's words but finally he nodded and re-sheathed his sword, letting his gaze linger on Verdra for a moment. Her frame was modeled much after Finca's: the same drawn to a point snout, the long graceful tail. He wondered why she brought out the good in Ladetis's father as the dragon was a gifted fear-user and heir to Corruption's power upon Arxa's death.
Tanui sighed and motioned for Ladetis to follow as he turned and started back down the path he had come from, determined to leave before Sitedal found them. I suppose you're right. Having the anger of your father on me wouldn't be pleasant.