Chapter 49-Unravel
Tanui's gaze held steady on Cambre as he heard Nethial collapse to the ground. She was far too weak to have fought against him much longer anyway so it didn't concern him that she had passed out. He felt Ladetis nudge gently at his mind, seeking connection with him as if to calm him down and ease him from his rage. If he had his way, there would be no recovery of his sanity. His fury had been held within for too long, his mind having been slowly breaking apart ever since his initial meeting with Tamli in the ruins of Misery's lab.
A scream of rage tore from his throat and he pulled his sword free, pointing its blade directly at the dark dragon that hovered over Nethial. His teeth clenched and his vision wavered slightly as his mind exploded with pain, causing him to shift his weapon so he could clutch his head with one hand. Ladetis again tried to reach out to him but he shoved the dragon's mental attempt aside with a low growl.
Enraged by the feeling of a coming headache that would likely bring memories of the man he was a clone of, Tanui screamed again and tightened his grip on his sword, cringing in pain as he pulled his broken knuckles, the healing wound flaring up angrily in protest. Cambre growled softly, circling around Nethial to land before him, instructing the other two dragons that had come with the ice healer to take the weakened woman away so she would be safe from his wraith. Tanui heard much of the silent conversation through his persisting link with Ladetis and snarled, assuring himself that the dragon hadn't seen the true extent of his anger.
Allowing the two dragons to carry Nethial away, Ladetis following them a moment later, Tanui hissed with displeasure as he noticed he was now left alone with Cambre, the scale-flier gazing at him with a mixture of concern and pity. He didn't need pity or concern for his well-being because no one had ever cared for him anyway since his creation to become Tamli's destruction. Disgusted at himself, he understood he had failed to kill his own template numerous times now but not because he hadn't tried. Tamli was smart, if inferior to himself, but the original had won in their fight only by luck and the use of aura. He wasn't sure why he couldn't use aura himself but he relied mostly on his sword anyway for protection.
Pain burned more fiercely from his skull and Tanui cried out, dropping his blade as he clutched his head in both hands. He fell to his knees, digging his fingernails into the skin surrounding his brain as if it would ease the agony. Never in his years of training by Amia had he been this crippled, this stricken by something so powerful as to leave him ensnared in its grasp. Memories and voices from the past life of original hybrid ravaged him mercilessly, the excruciating misery finally driving him to the ground as he curled into a ball, trembling despite the situation. He heard Cambre snort softly above him, the dragon probably amused by just how low he had fallen. Once the aguish faded, he reasoned as he squeezed his eyes shut, he would see to the beast's death personally.
"Make it stop," he snarled, pressing his palms harder against his skull. "Please, just make it stop!"
Cambre's warm breath assaulted him from above and Tanui squeezed tighter into a ball, shaking now as the pain from his head was starting to block out anything else. He slowly relaxed his grip on one hand, drawing back his arm to smell the lingering scent of fresh blood under his fingernails. Having that smell wash over him only put him over the edge again as he screamed, thrashing around until he landed on his back, lowering his other hand to rest on the grass-covered ground. His eyes cracked open slightly, allowing him to see the dragon watching his every move.
How long have you hidden this . . . weakness? Cambre rumbled as another stab of pain in his skull caused Tanui to cringe and shut his eyes.
"Long enough," he spat back, wishing the aching in his mind would fade so he could be rid of the pesky dragon and get back to claiming his dominance over Nethial.
Attor mentioned to me before his death of your identity as a clone. Perhaps that has something to do with-
Tanui clutched at his head again as he rose to a sitting position, his body shaking so strongly that Cambre abruptly ended his thought and went over to the clone. Shoving away the dragon's snout when it neared him, he managed to force himself to stand back up even as he grimaced. He wasn't on his feet long before exhaustion set in and he collapsed to the ground, consciousness fleeing from him despite how strongly he wanted to wait out whatever was happening to him . . .
Nethial's first memory that came to mind once she regained consciousness was of how Tanui had lost control and had come after her. She couldn't believe he had been going insane since before they had met, but she had to consider the possibly as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. From where she had fallen unconscious, the area that met her gaze looked very much different.
She was inside a darkened room, a single candle beside her barely providing enough light for her to make out the contents of the chamber she had awoken within. From what she could gather, the four walls of the area were a light brown, with the door leading outside a much darker shade. Her bed was propped up against the corners of the southern and western walls, the entryway apparently located on the northern one. The candle she saw that was next to her was sitting on a small table, its wooden surface covered with carvings and splatters of something she thought might be paint.
Suddenly a commotion outside her room sparked her interest and Nethial sat up to better hear the voices beyond the door. Listening for a moment, she realized that the individuals she was hearing were using a language she was unfamiliar with and that trying to understand and translate it was starting to make her head hurt.
A sharp knock on her door startled Nethial and she hissed, reaching down to her waist to draw her sword . . . only to realize it wasn't there and neither was its sheath. Her mind preoccupied by the loss of her weapon, she failed to see the door open and admit a large dragon into her chamber. Only when she heard the sound of its tail swishing over the floor did she glance in its direction to see two grey eyes staring back at her.
'Cambre,' she whispered softly, mostly to assure herself that it was him. 'How did I get here? Where is here?'
The dragon snorted in amusement, crossing over to lay down beside her bed. Patience, broken one. I had Valur and Satyr bring you here after you collapsed, hoping to get you away from Tanui for your own safety. You are still shaky from your encounter with him earlier, correct?
Nethial nodded, admitting that she was still conflicted over his behavior as she rubbed her neck gently and felt the presence of fabric bound around the area. She hesitated at first but then reached along her chest to find that the searing touch left by Tanui had left large burns that had also been wrapped up to prevent infection. Cambre growled softly in comfort and understanding before confessing to his one-on-one with the clone and how he wanted Tanui to be kept under strict security until they figured out what to do with him.
"I want to see him," Nethial requested as she slid out of bed, her metal feet touching the floor with a small click that brought a faint smile to her face.
Of course, Cambre hummed, nudging her with his snout as the warmth in his eyes calmed her racing heart over meeting the one that had tried to kill her. I see you have now taken to using your voice instead of metal communication, very impressive. I would like to accompany you, just to be safe though.
"You wouldn't be so impressed if you knew why I finally opened my mouth again since my rebirth," she whispered softly, "but, nonetheless, I would have asked you to come with me anyway." Cambre growled softly in understanding and then stood, following her out of the small room after pausing long enough to give her a black cloak to put on to mask her injuries that had been bandaged to prevent questions from arising.
It felt like a thousand pins were burrowing deep into his skull, Tanui realized as he awoke to find himself laying down and chained to a brick floor, his legs free but his hands held by cuffs that were shackled down to the ground before him. The area he was in was small, a four-walled jail cell with metal bars placed so he couldn't squeeze through them. He wanted so badly to cradle his head in his hands, so much so that he rested his forehead against the cool stone under him in hope of finding relief. Upon the sudden opening of his cell by the way of a small section of one of the side walls, he barely looked up, choosing to remain pressing himself against the refreshing surface.
You might want to get up, Cambre snarled as Tanui's gaze dropped to study the brick laying before him, hearing two different set of footsteps enter the room before the door closed again.
"I prefer my current position," he retorted, the pain in his skull flaring up strongly as he caught Nethial's scent wafer and mingle with the earthy tones of the dragon's odor. "Besides, I thought you wanted to kill me. Why bring an audience to witness one death?"
Cambre snorted angrily, his tail sliding within inches of Tanui's face. I'm not here to kill you. I want answers, and so does she.
Hearing the dragon mention Nethial made Tanui take enough interest to angle his face so he could see her. She was lingering closely to Cambre's side, a bandage around both her neck and her chest that was mostly covered by a black cloak that she had somehow found between their last meeting and now. He knew why she would need one for her throat, to cover the bruises left by his near-strangling of her, but he wasn't sure the reason for the wrapping on her ribs.
"How long have you known something wasn't right about me?" Tanui asked, dropping his gaze from her as he felt ashamed of what he had done.
"I didn't know right away . . . it took time for me to start to realize there was something going on. Ladetis never told me," Nethial admitted, her soft voice washing over him like a cool breeze, soothing his agonizing skull by some amount. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
He ignored the question, realizing he had to tell them the truth. "Amia thought I was the best of the clones he created, a true 'perfect' match for Tamli. He didn't realize how dangerous I really was," Tanui muttered, closing his eyes as he waited for his damaged mind to start playing tricks on him by showing him more images of the past he struggled so hard to forget.
Only when he didn't feel anything did he continue, "I guess the first moment came when I witnessed Tamli and Amia enter the place my master had said could be our refuge. He had left me in charge of nine other clones, each more inferior than the one before it, but I managed to get them to spy on the two as they made their way through the destroyed lab. Once he threatened the life of the one he used to make us, I just snapped . . . losing myself for the first time and going in there without much of a plan at all besides protecting the hybrid."
He paused, taking an opportunity to glance at Nethial to see how she was enjoying herself in learning about his downfall. Her face was a mask of silence but he could see in her eyes that she pitied him for what had happened to him. Curling one hand, he drew a breath, only to have it hiss out a moment later as a spasm of agony rippled through him, making him get to his knees and strain frantically to cup his head in his hands.
Nethial's cry of shock numbed him, reminding him that he had nearly violated her when they had been alone and the first strains of his madness had crept back over him. How could she still find it within herself to care about him when he might have easily killed her? After a few moments, the feeling passed and he dropped back to the ground, sweat breaking out on his forehead as he sought out Nethial through weary eyes.
"I . . . killed Amia during the fight. I had to, otherwise he would have destroyed Tamli and something in me couldn't stand that happening. Looking back on it now, I suppose I should have fought against my impulse to save him and consider the situation first before jumping into the fray. Anyway, I felt normal for most of the time after that until I slaughtered two of the three eggs Verdra had laid, being interrupted before I could finish and leaving only one that turned out to be Ladetis's egg. I was so enraged that I had failed so miserably to kill all three dragonets that I punched a wall in my anger and shattered the knuckles of my right hand, a damage that is still healing . . ."
That explains your pained grimace when you moved your sword to your right hand to place your left on your head. I thought that you were merely . . . going mad, Cambre confessed as Tanui closed his eyes, struggling to sit up into a kneeling position.
"I was losing it when I did that but it was mostly to try and soothe my aching skull," Tanui whispered, returning his head to the floor as a new surge of agony rattled through him. "I struggled to control myself after then, finding it more of a challenge once Ladetis bonded with me and our minds became linked. I still remained surprised he never questioned me about the times when I would drift off and stay still for hours . . . But despite that, the challenge to keep myself together grew even harder when I first met you, Nethial. I saw how unhinged you were and tried to reason with myself on my own mentality, hoping you wouldn't discover and turn away from me."
He heard a quiet sob from Nethial and fell silent, wishing he hadn't said anything now with how upset she had to be towards him. She had nearly been killed by him and yet he was admitting, in not as many words as he would like, that he loved her. It had to be a hard time for her with all that had gone on recently.
"I'm sorry, Nethial. So sorry for everything I've caused. If you don't want to forgive me then I understand."
Closing his eyes, Tanui trembled as distorted voices ravaged his mind, making him forget he was being questioned by the woman he loved and the dragon he had sworn to kill. He heard Amia's cruel laughter all around him and he growled, shaking his head and pulling at the chains that kept his hands secured to the floor.
"No," he snarled, his eyes forcing themselves open as his pupils contracted into tiny specks, leaving his red irises wide with fear and hysteria. "No! Leave me alone!"
He screamed, pulling the chain frantically as flashes of the original hybrid's life marred his thoughts. The muscles in his neck bulged as he raised his head, his gaze unsteady as he searched for something he couldn't even see. Ominous laughter further rattled him and he squeezed his eyes shut, shaking in fear of his own mental breakdown.
Just when he thought he couldn't handle it anymore, he felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder. He gasped in surprise, opening his eyes slightly to see that Nethial had walked over to him and was now comforting him. She must not have been too upset at him, he reasoned as she noticed his gaze had fallen on her and she smiled.
"I want to forgive you but give me some time," she whispered softly in his ear, squatting down beside him to rub his back as he relaxed and hung his head in shame. "You shouldn't have to bare this alone, Tanui."
Despite himself, Tanui sniffled and shook his head slowly, unable to meet her steady gaze. The voices in his mind snarled angrily at his weakness and urged him to shove her away, wanting him to fight back and kill both of the inferior beings in the room. He had to hold onto his sanity for as long as he could, for both of their sakes.
"No one else knows," he muttered, mostly directing the words at himself for how he had hidden this from Nethial for so long. "I try to stay sane but I feel it constantly tearing away at who I am. Maybe Cambre should have killed me anyway? You wouldn't have to deal with an insane clone then . . ."
Nethial's grip on his shoulder tightened, her nails digging into his soft flesh and making him hiss in pain. The laughter quieted slowly, further tormenting him as he kneeled there grimacing in pain. He couldn't cushion his aching head in his hands as he wanted to and it angered him but he realized Cambre probably had been smart when ordering that he be chained to the floor. His energy was all but drained from him anyway yet the dragon couldn't risk him going on a killing spree in a bout of insanity.
"You are who you are, sane or not. Cambre and the others will find a way to help you-"
"And if I don't want help?" He snapped back, his vermillion eyes finding her grey irises and locking onto them. "I don't know how long I have until my sanity completely vanishes!"
While that explains much of your lack of attention when I went to retrieve you after Nethial's reconstruction I still want more answers. However, I feel you have been through enough . . . My views may not be right on this but we must take that risk, Cambre interjected, humming softly as the bindings around Tanui's wrists fell away in a clatter of noise.
Rubbing his arms, his body tensing as he feared the return of the voices again, Tanui sighed in thanks to the dark dragon for releasing him from his confinement. Cambre's snort of amusement moments later, however, darkened his mood and he placed his hands on his knees as a slight quiver shook his exhausted frame. Nethial lingered by his side a few minutes longer before she stood and went over to the side of the cell that had let them enter.
"Get some rest," she commanded gently before she left, waiting for Cambre to follow after her before the cell door slammed shut, the noise taking the last bit of sanity he had been holding onto while they had been with him.
The voices immediately started back up, their disorientated disturbance driving him to cover his head with his hands to block out their ravings. A moan escaped him as he slid back against one of the walls, his hands lifting away from his skull to cross his arms over his knees before he bowed his head into the pocket he had made with his own body. He felt terrible all over, not just because of the situation with himself but also because of how he had treated Nethial when she had come to get answers about his mental state. He honestly loved her but he was afraid he was now driving her away instead of trying to hold together enough to be with her. Attacking her hadn't helped his situation nor had pushing away his dragon when it only wanted to comfort him.
"You really thought you had a chance with her?"
Hearing the unexpected voice caused him to raise his head, blinking back tears as he glanced around to see no one in the prison cell besides himself. "Who are you? Show yourself!"
"This is a hopeless venture you know." A different voice replied, sounding as if it had come from right beside him.
Tanui jerked his head toward the sound, only to see nothing beside him. He snarled, forcing himself to his feet as the room spun around him, his hand reaching out to grasp the bars beside him for security. Once his head cleared and the chamber seemed to come to a stop, a ragged and distorted scream ripped from his throat at his predicament.
The same laughter from before pricked at the back of his skull and he whirled around angrily, only to catch himself on the metal bars to prevent himself from passing out. His limbs burned and small flashes of pain bursted through his mind, driving him to his knees as he hung his head in defeat.
"How could a dysfunctional clone know anything about being normal?" The voice taunted as Tanui lurched forward, slamming into the steel that held him inside the room, the impact knocking the wind out of him.
Dazed and barely conscious, he struggled to get his breath back and respond with a sharp remark. Unfortunately, his body had taken enough stress from the day's events and he soon collapsed, darkness falling over him . . .