Chapter 52-Protection

Tanui slowly felt consciousness return to him and he opened his eyes, immediately wishing he hadn't as he noticed that the first light of dawn seemed to be rising up from behind him. Specks of white foam clung to his wet wings as he found that he was somehow on a shoreline, possibly having flown the entire stretch of sea travel half-conscious during the night. He didn't remember much after fleeing from Cambre other than a collision with the side of a mountain as he left the island that possibly broke a few ribs. Tenderly lifting his head, he blinked rapidly, clearing his vision and bringing the area around him into better focus.

The lower half of his body was still submerged in crystal clear water, his chest upward laying on pale sand that was constantly being covered by white foam from the ocean's waves. Scraping his claws against the loose ground, he jerked himself forward, only to fall to his belly as searing pain from his left side halted his movement and confirmed that he had injured himself in his escape from Tel-var. Checking around, he sighed as he realized nothing else was damaged, although his wings were incredibly damp from being underwater for some time. He wasn't even sure how long he had been out cold but, from looking around, he could guess it had possibly been only a few hours.

His head wasn't hurting yet but he feared for when that time came. Why wouldn't the voices go away? He had been the one with the most promise, Amia had never said it but he had sensed the hidden pride, yet was it only temporary? He had to show his worth somehow, complete the task he had been given before his master's death. Granted, he had caused the former rider to die but he had acted on impulse, choosing to save the life of the inferior hybrid that he was cloned from. Saving the original template had started all of this, from his mental state decaying to the lives of innocents lost at his unwilling hand. Was he really sorry for killing hatchlings that descended from the lineage of Tamli? He shook his head, snarling softly as he tried again to pull himself up out of the water.

He smelt the blood before he knew something was wrong, his gaze going to his left side to see a crimson tint to the liquid that was spreading rapidly. The wound must have scabbed over, he reasoned as he lay there watching in horror. Was this how his death was going to come? Alone, lost on an island shore he knew nothing about and bleeding to death. A ragged coughing spell caught him unprepared and he jerked upward, tearing open the skin on his side wider as his entire body trembled, the whole sudden movement leaving him nauseous.

Laying his head back down on sand now sprinkled with drops of blood, he closed his eyes, waiting for his death to come. He was so sore, so tired and yet something in him urged him to continue to move. Moving anymore would likely kill him, he noted as he swished his tail under the tainted liquid. Dying here would be how he met his end. Master would not have approved but then again he had killed him in cold blood.

Sighing, Tanui heard the voices start back up, their constant chatter fraying his nerves greatly. Can't you see my predicament? He snarled bitterly within his mind, hoping to strike a chord with the aggravating nuisance that refused to fade away completely. Don't you even . . .

White flakes of sea-foam rushed towards him and he blacked out . . .

White wings glistened under the gleam of the sun as a young dragon swooped upwards, stretching his wingspan to the limit as he twisted in mid-flap, his senses perked by the distant iron-like smell of blood. Sniffing the air for the direction in which to go, the fledgling banked to his left, gliding over the sea beneath him as he narrowed his eyes, the oddly colored teal irises glistening as he dipped the tip of his tail into the water below him. He had been raised by a former-human-turned-dragon and her mated partner-of-heart for nearly six years now, growing strong under their training and guidance. Tyst, as he was known by his father and mother, lifted his tail and rose steadily, flapping as he climbed through air currents to see if he could detect the identity of what had drawn him to it by the scent of wounded half-living vessels.

Coming to a halt, he blinked, staring down at the shallow form of a black dragon laying along the shoreline miles from their home among the high cliffs. How had a scale-flier found its way out this far? Concerned for the beast as he noticed the large pool of blood surrounding its body, Tyst banked sharply around, screeching as he hurried back to go get help for the wounded beast before it died from its injuries.

Returning to the black dragon a half-hour later, Tyst landed gently on the shoreline, glancing up at the dragoness he had brought with him. Her white scales were tipped in black, a symbol of her former status as a human prior to her transformation into a dragon. She hummed in reassurance before diving in under the wounded scaled creature and shoved it up on the sand. He watched her come up moments later and then moved to flank the unconscious beast, trying to avoid being in her way. The female got to work immediately, pressing her snout against the dragon's torn side as energy flowed from her, stitching back up the rib cage and smoothing over the affected area. Healing that one spot took most of her energy and she stepped back, trembling as Tyst took it upon himself to drag the visitor under a shade tree feet away, rejoining her minutes later and nuzzling her gently.

His wound was far worse than I've experienced before, the dragoness commented as her irises, each a different color, narrowed in suspicion. Who is he and why would he show up here?

You healed it, right? The wound, I mean. Tyst glanced up to see her sigh and quickly gaze at him, the green and blue of her irises still intriguing him even after six years of living with her.

Somewhat, she snorted as her interest returned to the stranger. I fixed his broken ribs and put new skin in that area but I can't do much for the blood loss. How long did you say he looked to be unconscious for?

Tyst growled, unsure with where she was going by asking the question. An hour, maybe two.

Good, good. There's still hope then. Let's take him back to your father. I have a feeling they might like to talk.

Death didn't feel like he had expected it would. In fact, it almost seemed as if his spirit wasn't quite ready to give up yet. He heard the sounds of growling and wingbeats but it never occurred to him right away that he might still be alive. Once there was complete silence and the noise stopped, he dared to open his eyes.

He found first off that he had somehow shifted back into his weak human forme, his clothes in tatters and a large area of gauze pressed tightly against his left ribs. Tanui blinked, wondering why he had changed back and then realized he couldn't recall anything past waking up on the shoreline where he had torn his wound open further and passed out from the blood loss. Whoever had bound his injuries knew what they were doing, he noticed as he saw that the knuckles on his right hand had been wrapped tightly and that he couldn't move any of those fingers.

The area he was in was small and made of brown sandstone, barely able to even be a room for a fledgling dragonet. The ceiling hung low and he was on a raised groove in the wall but he welcomed the confined quarters, finding it easier to be lost in the darkness around him. The single entryway was covered by something that looked like to him a long piece of cloth.

Snarling under his breath, he sat up, immediately clutching at his head as his vision swam and pain exploded from within his skull. "Why is this happening?" He growled through clenched teeth, hearing the sharp click of claws against stone right outside.

The cloth was brushed aside by a large white dragon, its irises a strange mix of yellow and purple that seemed familiar to Tanui. Inclining its head, he fought back the urge to flinch as the scale-flier sniffed him before growling softly, eyes narrowing.

You will find your wounds are bound. Its voice resounded deep in his mind, stirring to life memories of a hatchling of the original hybrid he had not considered would still be alive.

"Rados?" Tanui rasped, too much in shock over his discovery to think over the issues his knowledge would likely bring. "How? How are you still alive? You disappeared after Finca was attacked, after she left you the white egg from the two she had laid . . ."

The dragon, Rados, snorted, locking eyes with Tanui. How do you know me? He asked, growling softly as he pressed the issue.

"I . . ."

Talk, human.

'I see you have faired better then most with your ailment.' The voice of the dead dragoness Misery whispered from within his mind, her words, although spoken to Tamli before his death, seemed to make sense of the situation Tanui found himself in.

"I know you because of who I am," Tanui whispered, glancing down at his bandaged hand as he heard the voices begin their distracting nonsense once more.

Rados snarled, snapping just inches in front of Tanui's face. That doesn't make sense. Roylezn said she felt something familiar about you but I dismissed it. Maybe she was right? The dragon drew back his head, glancing towards the opening of the room. Come with me, there's someone I'd like you to meet.

Sliding off the hard stone that had been his cot, Tanui stood up and took a step forward, only to clutch at his head in agony. Hissing in pain, he dropped to his knees, the motion aggravating the wound to his side and jarring his knuckles. Rados halted at the room's entrance in expectancy, obviously waiting for him to follow along. Pushing himself forward despite the aguish, the clone returned to his feet and silently trailed the dragon as it led him outside of the narrow chamber.

Passing through a large corridor of brown sandstone, Tanui followed Rados as the dragon moved down the hallway and out into a much wider circular area that looked to be the main entrance to a cave. Sunlight streamed in from the large hole in the rock before them and the clone squinted, lifting his good hand to shield his eyes from the glare. It wasn't until a few moments passed that he realized they were not alone in the room, rapidly glancing around to see three other dragons each lingering near the dark walls.

The first dragon his gaze was drawn to was a female with black-tipped white scales that lay by herself against the wall farthest from the open air. Something about her seemed familiar to him but he couldn't place why as he glanced at her eyes, one blue and one green. From just the eyes alone she resembled Roylezn, the girl who had bonded with Rados shortly after the death of his siblings by Mhetra and Meta. It couldn't be possible that he had found both dragons, could it?

Ignoring the thoughts that pestered him further on the subject, Tanui turned his attention to the two other scale-fliers that lingered just inside the cave, each one laying protectively close to the other. The one closest to him was a grey fledgling, possibly no older than five months at the least. From the narrowed head and slender body, he reasoned it was a female, taking into account its crisp blue irises that shimmered like sapphires. The second dragon was obviously a male from its broad shoulders and boxy snout. Its teal irises watched him carefully as it rose, white scales glistening as it walked over to them.

I see he's awake, the young dragon growled as its gaze shifted to Rados for a brief second. While it is nice that you show him around, shouldn't he still be resting?

A brief surge of mental pain rammed into him and Tanui hissed, grasping his head in his good hand as he took a step back. Within a few seconds the sensation had passed and he relaxed his arm, only to find that every eye was now focused directly on him. He noticed that the dragoness with the tipped scales seemed concerned the most and watched as she rose from her position, irises glistening as she stood there in silence.

Rados snarled softly at him as Tanui suppressed a shudder. I appreciate your concern Tyst, and you as well my sweet Roylezn, but I asked all of you to meet me here for this one moment. Malie, come here.

The grey hatchling immediately got up and walked over, her eyes narrowing as Tanui found her gaze drawn to him. She stopped several feet away and quickly glanced at Rados, growling softly, before her sapphire irises fixed on the clone once more. Tyst retreated to Roylezn's side even as Rados took a few steps back to give them room.

You will find that my daughter is quite gifted, Roylezn growled within Tanui's mind, her soft voice stirring up the memories Tamli had of the girl when she was still human and had first bonded with Rados. This will not harm you, so long as you do not fight against it.

Unsure of what to expect, Tanui quickly glanced at Roylezn to see her nod at Malie, the hatchling closing her eyes as he took another step back. A gentle mental presence invaded his mind and he could sense she was not trying to be harmful by touching his thoughts. He waited as he felt her slowly flip through his memories, cringing as he realized she would soon learn all about who he was and what he had been created to destroy. Trembling, he stared at the dragoness as her eyelids fluttered, slowly hearing the voices begin their chatter.

He panicked, stumbling back and tripping over his own feet as he threw up mental walls, driving her away as the back of his skull throbbed. Raising his hands to his head, forgetting that his right was bandaged to keep movement to a minimum, he squeezed his eye shut as he heard Malie snort angrily. Crying out, he screamed as his mind exploded with pain and he pulled his broken knuckles as he leaned forward . . .

Tanui wasn't quite sure when he retched as the agony had been overwhelming and he was still lightheaded from the blood loss. All he knew was that his ribs burned and spittle hung from his mouth as he opened his eyes, lifting his gaze slowly as he found that he had somehow rose into a kneeing position and that his hands were resting on the floor. He tasted bile and blood in the back of his throat and he swallowed, blinking as a taloned forepaw pressed down on his back, shoving him to the ground.

It was Rados who had pinned him to the floor and Tanui smirked, biting back a remark about the dragon's rude behavior. Since Malie could not complete her examination of your mind, we'll do this the hard way then. Who are you and how do you know so much about my father?

"Because I am him," Tanui spat, lifting his head and craning his neck to stare at the dragon's ivory claws that dug into his back. "Because I am a clone of Tamli Dragonsbane."

That's impossible! Rados snarled as he pierced Tanui's back with his talons, the clone hissing under his breath at the pain. Father would never have agreed to such a thing. You-

"Tamli never knew." Tanui coughed, trying to get the taste of his own blood out of his mouth as he felt warm liquid moisten the gauze over his left side. "His genetic material was taken through months of his decline. By the time he could have guessed at what was going on, he was already dead."

The disease was used to gain the proper genetic material needed for cloning then, Roylezn snorted softly. Who in their sick mind would think of cloning him though?

I couldn't discover much but I think Amia Nekita was the one behind the process and also a dragoness named Misery, Malie hummed as Tanui lowered his head to the floor, his vision swimming as a sudden loss of strength made it nearly impossible to do anything.

"Master would have been proud . . . so proud of what I accomplished. Inferior template should have died . . . should have let him get killed by Master . . . Master wouldn't be dead now . . . Shouldn't be falling for a woman that inferior fool loved . . . Only a tool . . ."

There is much darkness and hate inside him. Some of it comes from being a clone but most . . . most stems from his rage at the original template. Yet despite his distrust of the world around him, there is a blossoming love growing between him and the former love of his original self, Malie growled, informing her parents as Tanui found his gaze unfocused and disorienting.

A clone. Rados snorted, finally lifting his taloned foreleg off of Tanui's back and moving away. They would be so brash as to clone my own father. Did Amia ever realize what would come of his attempt if it backfired?

The clone blinked, silently listening to Rados rant about the unfairness of the situation. He hadn't wanted a choice if it had ever been asked of him. None of the copies would have, but Amia had never made it a question. Obey their creator or die. Either way they would meet their end when their usefulness was done.

Laying there, Tanui realized the voices in his mind had fallen silent, giving him a quietness he had not experienced for weeks. He was grateful for the stillness but, as he tried to get up, a stab of pain from his wounded side forced him back to the ground. Hissing, he inched his good hand down and felt the wrapping, lifting his fingers away to notice that blood had soaked through the bandage.

Apparently Roylezn had heard him shift positions on the floor and it wasn't long before her snout brushed up against his back. She nudged him gently to assure him that it was her but the slight movement only made the agony worse and he let out a muffled cry, using the sandstone under him to mask the sound. The claw marks on his back burned as he tilted his head to see the dragoness out of the corner of his eye, watching her as she snarled her displeasure at Rados for injuring him further.

He is still in a very uncertain condition and you mar him with this, she hissed venomously before Tanui found himself gently picked up by her maw and carried back the way he had been taken.

He slept for the first time in days. A good, restful sleep that helped to mend his broken body. Roylezn had fixed what she could but not everything damaged was external. Tanui knew his mind was still in pieces but it didn't hinder him from relishing the peace he had gained since being found by Tyst and taken in among them.

No longer was he curled tightly into a ball, although the wall he was up against made it difficult to do much more movement besides that, but he still trembled, thrashing around violently in his sleep. He dreamed of destruction, of a wasteland where he killed the original's dragon and made the inferior one come to him.

Tamli might have been the original hybrid he was cloned from but he was vastly superior in every sense. He had broken free of the memories and lived his own life, abet for a time until the decay had begun. Amia would have been proud, had he not killed the man.

Rolling over, he was jarred awake by a collision with the cold floor under him. Snarling out a stream of curses, he sat up and slid back against the sandstone that formed the walls and the base of the shelf used as his temporary bed. Hot tears ran down his cheeks as he shook his head, bringing his knees up and crossing his arms over them to rest his chin on the ragged flesh. His left shoulder throbbed softly with muted pain, the deep marks of Ladetis's claws still visible under the ripped cloak he still wore.

His gaze drifted to the room's opening, almost wanting one of the dragons to visit him and check on him, no doubt having heard his violent wake-up. A dull ache lingered at the base of his skull, continuing to remind him of his mental state and how he had gotten in such bad shape. He noticed that his right wrist was secured tightly into a wooden brace, the quality of the details impressive for having a scale-flier carve the material itself to fit his small frame. It seemed Roylezn had kept her medical knowledge sharp since becoming a dragon, he reasoned as a slight click right outside the chamber drew his attention.

Slowly getting to his feet, Tanui inched towards the cloth that obscured the room from the world outside. Placing his hand on the soft fabric, he pushed it aside gently and was met with the teal irises of Tyst. The dragon snorted in surprise and took a step back as the clone stood still, his ravaged mind distorting the scene before him and taking him back to his early days of training at Amia's cruel hands.

He saw . . . Amia engaging him into a sword fight, blades whirling as he relied on the flashes of memory he had of Tamli's own training to guide his hand. They had traveled to an isolated forest for the fighting to take place, a fact that was not lost on him as he dodged a strike from the former rider and felt a stray leaf touch his shoulder. Backing away, he led them into a clearing, letting the warm rays of sunlight brush across his bare back.

Amia had asked that he only wear a pair of shorts and, with the heat pressing against the pale skin of his back, he was glad he had agreed with his Master's idea. Red eyes narrowing, he passed his blade to his left hand and went on the offensive, pushing the once-rider back with devastatingly powerful blows. Locking their swords against each other, a slight grin gave away his intention as he took a step back, flipping into the air and shifting in mid-air into his dragon forme . . .

Releasing his hold on the cloth, not realizing at first that he had clutched to it like it was the only thing keeping him on his feet, Tanui blinked, retreating back into the darkness of his small chamber as the pain in his skull grew worse. Tyst pushed aside the fabric and followed in after him, growling softly as the clone sunk back onto the edge of the cot.

Do I need to get my mother? The fledgling asked as Tanui glanced at him with unfocused eyes, trembling slightly.

"No," he whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor and sliding up on the stone shelf, tucking his legs under him. "Leave me."

We just want to help you, Tyst protested as Tanui pressed his back against the stone that formed the cave system, lowering his head as he raised his left hand to gently press against his skull.

"No one can help me," the clone snarled, red irises blazing under heavy brows as he glared up at the white dragon that had entered into his personal space. "Why would anyone want to help? Just a failed creation . . ."

Tyst snorted. That's not true. You may be copied from another but you have a purpose-

"Do I?" The hesitation in Tanui's voice surprised Tyst as he interrupted the dragon. "Is that what you think, dragon? I have nothing to accomplish . . . Nothing to do after I prove my superiority and destroy the one I was made from."

You have someone you care for, isn't that reason enough?

Tanui laughed softly, shaking his head. "She loved him, not me. My saving her from her madness only made her reach out to me." He sighed, closing his eyes. "Why can't my isolation be peaceful? I know what is to come from watching the others slowly die. Insanity, psychosis . . . Is that all I'm destined to descend into?"

Tyst growled, glancing back at the opening to the room for a moment. You think this is isolation? What are you running from? Tell me.

"You want to know?" He questioned, barely opening his eyes to gaze at the dragon through tiny slits. "I ran . . . I ran because I can't control it anymore. Everyone from the start knew I was the best of the clones, figured I could separate his memories from my own. No one expected this to happen, least of all to me."

Hanging his head, Tanui swallowed, blinking back tears as the discussion brought up his fears at losing all of the work he had put into separating himself from the inferior original. Amia had been thrilled with his progress and had put him in charge of the weaker copies lingering around the ruins of Misery's lab, the same place he killed his Master. He was fading so quickly . . . How long would it be before he attacked his own dragon?

"I can't . . ." Tanui stammered, sliding off the stone self and falling to his knees on the ground of the cave.

Tyst hummed, nudging him softly before backing away. We want to help you but we can't if you don't let us.

Tanui raised his head, red irises narrowing. "Leave," he hissed, quickly glancing beside him for a moment as if he had seen something out of the corner of his eye.

Lingering for a moment longer, the white dragon finally did as Tanui asked and left him alone in his silent misery. Once he was sure he was completely isolated, the clone sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor, allowing the disjointed rambling of voices and memories to haunt him again. He couldn't hold himself together much longer. Something would break and when it did . . .

He only hoped he wasn't in contact with any dragons when the final restraint broke loose. There would be bloodshed and it wouldn't be his.