Chapter 77-Hybrid

Tamli had refused to move from the spot he had let Finca escape from as his eyes stared blankly at the wall above the main entrance to the replica of their old home. He had been so terrified when he had seen her become consumed by her anger and rage but had frozen up upon seeing what, or rather who, she looked like. Tanui . . .The memories of the twisted clone killing his son and then mate ravaged through his mind on an endless loop as he found it impossible to turn and hide from the damage Amia's project had dealt him. Mirage had left sometime after the event with no word on when he would return but the hybrid cared little to know as he was distracted by other things.

He could have stopped Finca, prevented her from leaving to cause havoc, but he had grown soft and had released her without doing her any harm. Mirage couldn't even talk her down from her path of self-destruction but, then again, it had seemed to him that his father refused to even try to put up a fight. Shaking his head, he sighed and swept his tail behind him to temporarily distract him until his mind replayed those terrible moments he had been forced to watch as family members he loved were tore from him by a mad copy of himself.

. . . He was supposed to have been watching Nethial through the night but he had grown tired resting in the semi-soft chair and, before he knew it, had fallen asleep. It was blissful unawareness of the area around him until his own high-pitched scream abruptly woke him and he jolted upright, chest heaving as he realized that he was back in the muddy field with smoke filling the air to the point that it made it hard for him to breathe . . .

"Tamli?"

There was a rough shake of his shoulder as he could feel the flickering raindrops hit him and burn against his scorched skin. It was the ring of smoldering ash that held his attention as he coughed, falling to his chest as his back twisted painfully and he cried out. He had told no one of the conflict that was to happen between him and Tanui and now there was only one left standing - although with severe wounds that needed treatment.

"Tamli, hey! Tamli? Listen to me, you need to open your eyes. Do you hear me? Look at me!"

He had failed to come to Finca in time to save her and had nuzzled her cold dead body before seeking vengeance. Only the clone had chose to kill himself by self-electrocution rather than face death honorably. The smell of burning flesh startled him and he jerked to the side, screaming as the motion jarred his injured back and shoulder. It should have been his death instead of him feeling the pain of his soul mate passing from the world, he reasoned as he whispered it out loud to make it sound more like the truth. Survival had been far from his mind when he fought the psychotic clone and yet he was choking on the thick ashy smoke that filled the area and made it difficult to get a clear breath of air.

"Tamli!" A hard slap across his face broke him from his swirling mass of emotions and he found that he had somehow gotten down out of the chair and was laying on his belly in the middle of the floor with Nethial sitting next to him looking very irritated for some reason.

"Net . . . What happened? I know I was supposed to be keeping an eye on you but I got tired and fell asleep for just a little bit and then jolted myself awake by my own screaming before . . ."

"Before what? Where did you go, Tal? I tried to shake you out of it but you kept crawling until you collapsed onto your stomach and started coughing. It worried me that you were going to start coughing up blood . . ." Nethial confessed, expression softened as he got his arms under him with palms flat against the cold stone floor.

Her fears weren't far from what had actually happened, he realized as he remembered a few nights before that he had spent much of the nighttime hours stuck in the bathroom spitting up his own blood as his back burned with enough pain to bring tears to his eyes. The Dragonisicm extract in him was slowing his healing rate and making it harder for him to move about quickly, something that aggravated him beyond all measure. He, Tamli Dragonsbane, was a human-dragon hybrid that was supposed to be a leader of the dragon race yet how could he be in charge of them when he could barely walk across his own bedroom without gasping for breath?

Nethial touched his face tenderly before he blinked and forced himself up onto his hands and knees, biting back a scream of pain as the sudden movement irritated the damaging shards embedded in his back. He must have shown his discomfort because she patted his shoulder before struggling to her feet, mentioning that he felt hot and sweaty and deserved a warm shower. Even with his breathing labored, he chuckled softly at the idea of using something he had never operated since returning to life as he had always chosen to clean himself in a stream or other body of water out in the open air.

"Stay where you are, Tamli. I promise a shower will do you some good. Just let me get it started and then I'll help you over to it." Nethial gave him a quick smile before going to start the water, leaving him to struggle to his hands and knees.

It wasn't long before he heard the sound of running water and he sighed as she returned and helped get him on his feet. Tamli hated being too weak to even do the simplest of things and it irritated him even more to see that Nethial, the very one he should have been waiting hand and foot on due to her risky pregnancy, was the one aiding him. He knew his steps were shaky as she guided him to the bathroom and then left him to undress and get into the walk-in shower that had been built into one of the corners of the small room and located right next to the sink.

His skin was pale white as he removed the black tunic and pants he had slept in, realizing as he looked briefly into the mirror that hung above the sink that he could still see the numerous scratches and cuts he had gotten during the fight with Tanui even after a couple of weeks had passed since the encounter. Doing his best to push the thought out of his mind for the time being, he finished undressing and stepped into the narrow shower he had never used until now. As he let the warm water wash over him and clean him of the sweat that had been brought on by his visions, he closed his eyes and tilted his head up to allow the rushing liquid to run over his face, breathing a sigh of relief that he could still enjoy the pleasure of a bath without his back pain flaring up and making it impossible to appreciate the kind gesture from Nethial. His hair was a mess, he had seen that much when he had looked at himself in the mirror, and he realized it needed a trim as its length was now even with the top of his shoulders in places.

Closing his eyes proved to be dangerous as he briefly flashed back to watching Rados and Roylzen get slaughtered by Tanui. A groan rose from the inner depths of his soul as he braced a hand against the slick walls of the shower and trembled, hearing his breath momentarily catch in his throat. Tamli knew from the slight pause what to expect as a coughing spasm took what little breath he could get and made it impossible for him to draw in a large enough amount of oxygen for at least a minute. Wheezing as he felt his chest heaving with frantic efforts to give him a decent breath, his hand slipped from the wall and he promptly fell against it, jarring his injured shoulder and causing a jagged scream to tear from his lips.

His lungs burned as he forced himself upright and stepped backwards out of the path of the water, sinking to the smooth floor of the shower as his fingers brushed along his arms and felt every cut that still remained from the fight. Why was Nethial being so nice to him when she wanted nothing more than to kill him for thousands of years as her dead spirit dwelled on the very thought of revenge? He wasn't deserving of her mercy after all the damage he had done to her and to countless others over the years. The wounds he carried now were only a reminder of the greater destruction he had caused by even having his hybrid nature revealed and learning the truth about who his parents really were.

Tamli buried his face in his hands as a choking sob worked its way up from deep within him and a few stray droplets of water splashed on his head to run down a couple thick strands of long hair that fell into his face. He was all alone now with Finca being dead and his conflict with the clones over after Tanui's self-inflicted death. Nethial was still living with him until more permanent arrangements could be found but he still felt as though no one knew exactly what he was going through. The Dragonisicm in his back burned at times like a living fire and yet he was more concerned for his former love who just happened to be pregnant with a hybrid fetus from the clone he had loathed until the day it died.

He could feel the sharp jewel-like poison extracts react to his body's attempt at healing and he grimaced as he turned around to lay on his side. The water raining down on him reminded him of the muddy conditions of the field again and he fought to keep himself in the present as he wrapped his arms around his chest and shivered despite the warmth filling the small space. There was nothing he could do for anyone that didn't involve moving around and risk crippling himself further, he solemnly realized as he closed his eyes and pulled his legs in close to his body. As great as he had been back in his prime, he was now just a weary fool being driven to death by a substance sucking the life from him with each day that passed.

"Tamli? Is everything okay in there?" Nethial called out from the bedroom as he shivered again, curling up tighter as the pain flowing from his back threatened to drown out everything else around him.

When he didn't respond, he knew she would be worried and hissed as he heard her open the door to the bathroom. He had fashioned a dark green cloth to function as the curtain for the shower and felt his breathing quicken as footsteps advanced towards him. Tamli knew he couldn't let her see him this broken but he was drowning in sorrow and misery and unable to break away from the painful moments of the last few months. As she pulled aside the curtain after asking again and receiving no reply, he dimly stared up at her as he trembled and she cut off the water.

"What happened? You were doing fine when I left, Tal. Please tell me what's going on. I just want to-" Nethial helped him uncurl himself and sit up before going to find a towel. As she returned, she must have had a view of his scarred back because she sharply inhaled and then screamed as he heard the sound of a bone breaking.

Unconcerned with getting the tile of the bathroom wet, he crawled over to her and caught her as she crumbled to the floor. Her breathing was labored as he placed a hand on her abdomen to check on the baby and he hissed in displeasure when he realized the fetus had reacted to his back and had kicked her in protest, breaking at least one of her ribs. Grabbing the towel she had found for him, he tossed it over his back and lightly ran a hand along her cheek as she inhaled and then winced, glancing down at her side as if sensing something was wrong.

"Is the baby okay?" she asked softly as he shifted in position to make her feel more comfortable against the cold tiled floor.

"Yes, it's fine," he assured her, "but it broke a couple of your ribs. I shouldn't have let you talk me into that shower . . ."

"It wasn't your fault," Nethial corrected him as he glanced away and dropped his hand from her face, bracing it against the wet tile under him as his other arm helped to cushion her body.

"Things were fine until I closed my eyes," Tamli admitted as she touched his chest in worry. "I was back watching Tanui murder Rados and Roylzen . . . I could have saved them. I should have saved Finca . . ."

"Guilt is a powerful emotion, Tal. No wonder you've been quiet these last few days. All that Tanui put you through is eating you up inside and it's doing you more harm than good."

Turning his head, he sighed as her words cut deep. "I can manage it, Net. This will not beak me."

Nethial patted his chest lightly before he found the strength to get to his feet and pick her up, sitting her down on the toilet seat. Her pregnancy wasn't that noticeable yet but he was still cautious - although she had done a good job of hiding it so far from the general population of the Compound . . .

"Still in the same spot you were when I left," Mirage noted as Tamli jolted back to the present and saw his father entering with a solemn look in his eyes that foretold bad news. "Having visions of the past again? You told me that you would let me know if they started bothering you once more . . ."

"And they aren't," Tamli rasped, wondering why he had been drawn back to that particular memory. "I'm fine, Father. Please leave me alone."

Walking up to the steps that led to the throne, Mirage shook his head. "I can't do that, Tamli. You know I can't stand having you distant after what happened to your sister . . . As much as I regret having to say this, I bring disturbing news back from the world of the living. Dhran is dead, killed by Finca who is unable to find Nethial. I fear for the life of your former love, my son."

"Nethial will find a way to survive. I doubt Finca will kill her but I suspect my sister may consider torture as a way of getting back at her for the injustice she feels Net has caused with her return into my life," Tamli remarked as he turned and stepped up onto the throne, curling up on it as Mirage joined him.

"Tamli, don't close yourself off from me. You shouldn't try and fight my help. We both know you are still dealing with-"

Tamli lifted his head, glaring down the old dragon. "I am aware of what is bothering me, Father. Yes, I still have the guilt and shame of not saving my son and then my mate from my own irritate psychotic clone but I am coping with that heartache and misery just fine."

"And where has that coping gotten you?" Mirage asked, walking around to stand directly in front of Tamli. "Your way of dealing with it has only made things worse, my son. I know very well that you were raised to confront a problem at its start . . ."

"Now this becomes a lecture?" Tamli snarled, standing up and jumping down from the throne, keeping eye contact with Mirage as his father moved to the side to give him some space. "I am more than capable of handling this myself!"

"My son . . ." Mirage began but was cut off by the hybrid's low growl of warning.

"Don't you even start acting like you care, Father! We both know the damage seeing Finca's new form brought me. I can't even recover from the destruction Tanui left in his wake and now my own sister becomes as twisted as the clone I failed so miserably to kill . . ."

Mirage hesitantly took a step towards him, lifting and unfolding a wing from his back to comfort Tamli as the hybrid collected himself from his violent outburst. "He would have killed you . . . Whatever hesitation caused him to strike you to the ground with his staff instead of ramming it through your head played a key role in the way he chose his own demise. Tanui was doing you a favor with that blow . . . even if he didn't know it himself at the time. There was humanity in him but it was hidden so deep behind the wraith's anger and malice, much like how Finca is now. I never expected her to slaughter an innocent simply out of spite."

"My mate is no longer in her right mind. Finca has become a threat to us all and she must be stopped. I must stop her." Tamli walked down the steps, stopping in the middle of the hall leading up to the throne. "Nethial and Raoul are in danger because of me . . . because I failed to listen to her all those years ago. Finca tried to warn us back then but neither of us paid her any attention. I have not forgiven you for what you did to her but I am learning to move past it after hearing your reasoning, Father. You and Silver did the right thing by containing Makiar where she would be unable to harm anyone else. Now if only I could have done that for Tanui . . . then Finca and Rados would both still be alive."

Following after Tamli, Mirage stepped down off of the steps as he lifted his head high and proud. "Tamli, think this through. Finca is stronger than you are right now. Her channeled anger only makes her more powerful-"

"Is that why you failed to even lift a claw against her?" Even with his back to his father, Tamli could still sense the old dragon seem to quiet at his admittance that he knew what was going on. "You could have helped me stop her and prevented Dhran's death but you chose to stand there and let her escape from us! An innocent life is gone because we did nothing when we had the chance."

Whirling around to face Mirage, Tamli felt his breathing quicken and knew he wasn't far from having either another series of rapid flashbacks, which had plagued him throughout the night since Finca had become a wraith, or a panic attack. "Finca was not as far from the truth as you think. The trip to examine the toxic plant was ordered through the Great Dragon Leader at the time, of which was yourself. Surely you must have suspected something prior to my exposure to the Dragonisicm. I hope that knowledge stung you like burning-hot coals for years, Father. If you knew all the way back then, why not stop it before my life was put at risk by a tradition held by those stubborn cowards!"

Mirage noticed Tamli's scales darken to a light gray as he growled in feeble reply, "I was not aware that you were my son back then! Had I known, I would never have put you in that position. You know how deeply I valued the lives of all those under my rule-"

"Oh ,yes, I know quite well. Your leadership brought about the darkest hour we ever had! Concern for your subjects far outweighed your interest in the lives of those most close to you," Tamli snapped back, feeling a surge of power flood his body as he rose up and pounded his forelegs into the floor.

The resulting impact sent dozens of cracks along the floor and the walls, collapsing a few columns as the elaborate throne cracked in half. Several chunks of rock fell from the walls and the hybrid raised his head to breath smoky blackness at the ceiling to cause it to inwardly collapse. A quiet snort of amusement rose from Tamli as he glanced around and saw the damage that his sudden blow had done with Mirage quickly avoiding a falling pillar and flaring his wings, taking to the air with the ground being so unstable.

"What are you doing?" Mirage snarled as Tamli shook himself to get rid of some dust before walking over to a still upright column.

"Setting things right so I can take care of the problem my beloved sister has become," the hybrid replied as ice coated his tail and he slashed it against the base of the standing structure , watching the mass of stone topple over onto the older dragon.

Jumping back from the collision of the broken pillar with the floor as dust temporarily blinded him, Tamli lightly coughed as he advanced to see how much damage had been done. A part of him truly didn't want to hurt his father but he knew the only way to keep the older dragon out of it was to cripple him. His eyes soon fell on the struggling form of Mirage as the aged scale-flier lay trapped under the heavy weight, his right wing shattered as he glanced up at Tamli in pity. The rush of power that had caused him to violently shattered the replica of their former home now swirled around him as his scales faded to black and his eyes flickered to blood red as he let out a sigh of relief. It had been quite some time since the poison that the dragon Nira had injected him with had seized control over him but the feeling brought only a sense of release and he welcomed the change from the fear and unease that had gripped him so frequently recently.

"You will not follow me," Tamli remarked coldly as he turned and walked away from Mirage's struggling form as the elder dragon tried to get out from underneath the massive pillar. "Finca has become my responsibility and I will not have a repeat of what happened to Tanui occur again. This time, the threat will be stopped! Once she is taken care of, maybe my nightmares will finally end . . . "