Cettia's Dawn Read online

  He ends up sitting on the couch and staring at the flames until he can almost see Belua inside of them, his wild, red eyes glowing brighter than the embers themselves and mocking him. Without a second thought, Azrian picks up the bucket of water next to the fireplace and tosses it in, then stomps on the smoldering, hissing remains until his chest is heaving raggedly.

  Belua is gone, he reminds himself. Melior is gone. The Venandi are dismantled and I'm safe in the home I rebuilt. I'm safe in the home I rebuilt. I'm safe in the ho—

  “Az?”

  He whirls around with his fists up but lowers them instantly when he sees Roe’s form in the dark. “Oh. Sorry, Ma. Did I wake you?”

  “No, I wasn't sleeping. I don't sleep very well without the lamps. Did Ronan leave or something?” she asks, peeking around him to see if he's there.

  “He's in his room. I told him he didn't have to light the lamps tonight; I had him build a fire instead.” His shoulders slump as he glances back to the wet logs, then lights a couple of candles so they can see. “I'm sorry.”

  Roe sits and pulls a blanket onto her lap, then pats the seat next to her. “Come here. I know you're upset about that Cogitare lea—”

  “Stop, Ma,” Az says sharply. “He's not just some Cogitare, okay? How many times do I have to go over this with you? How many times does he have to prove himself before you'll stop treating him like the enemy?”

  She blushes in the dim light and straightens her spine. “He hurt you when he left. I don't care who he is or how many times he does something good, I don't tolerate those who hurt my boy.”

  Az softens and joins her, reaching over to take her hands in his. “I appreciate that, Ma. But I hurt him, too. We both screwed up. We both could've handled things better... this is a new situation for all of us. He's spent his entire life alone. How can you blame him for wanting to know his family? How could I?”

  “Easily. He's not my son and you are. You are the only family I have now. My concern will always be for you, not for the strays you bring in.”

  The word is jarring to hear, even if he's used the very same one himself. At least he'd been joking or saying it with a level of affection, but this? “Ma, you're just as bad as every Praediti that judges humans. Not all Praediti are bad people. Kato, Ronan... even Rhix. They're my family, and they’d be yours too if you'd stop treating them like outsiders. Kato loves you; he wants to know you. But you keep him at arm's length, and I know why. Shadows, I do. What happened to you is unforgivable, but it's not Kato's fault. He didn't do it — as a matter of fact, he never would do something like that. I know him. Maybe even better than I know myself at this point, so why won't you give him a chance? Especially since you gave Rhix one?”

  She moves out of his grip and pulls the blanket tighter. “You're right,” she says, and Azrian blinks a couple of times thinking he misheard. “I haven't given him a chance. But now I can’t because he left you. Why isn't this bothering you more?”

  “It does bother me. Every minute of every day that passes without him here, I’m struggling. But I have a responsibility to this family — this whole family — that you put on my shoulders when I was eight years old. I don't have the luxury to lay in bed and cry about the fact that Kato might not come back, but more than that... I have faith in him. This was just a fight. He needs to do this, but he’ll be back when he's ready. And I want you to promise me that when he does come back, you'll treat him like he's a person and not a pariah.”

  He can practically see the war raging behind her eyes, but he hears no further argument. She doesn't agree, not exactly, but the lack of outright refusal is enough for him. He hands her one of the candles with a nod toward her door, then says goodnight and reminds her to put the flame out before she goes to sleep, and he extinguishes the others.

  In darkness once more, he sits, but every creak of the wooden floorboards or clatter of tree branches against the window has him a little more on edge, and he starts to seriously regret telling Ronan no about the lamps. Get it together, Mihr, he scolds himself. There's no danger here.

  And yet, no matter how many times he assures himself of that... sleep just won't come. He nods off more than once, but never for more than ten or twenty minutes at a time, and finally gives up when the first rays of the morning sun peek through to illuminate the kitchen to his left. He realizes that Ronan and Roe likely won't be up for hours, but this will give him time to eat in peace and maybe take a walk to see the Bone Lilies they'd planted or the Eodren sapling just south of the river.

  He scarfs down some dried meat and leftover berries from dinner the night before and laces up his boots, then hurries out as quietly as he can. Nut and Axis are relaxing near the tree line, so he makes his way over to them and pets Axis’ head. “Morning, guys. I'm gonna go for a walk, do you want to come?”

  They're unable to answer verbally without Kato around, but Axis stands and nods his head while Nut squeaks out a whine and rolls over onto his back. Azrian knew the raccanis wouldn't want to come, so this isn't surprising to him in the slightest — but he bends down to rub his belly all the same. “I know you miss him. I do, too... he’ll be back soon, okay? You just stay here. Ax and I will bring you back some of those leaves you like, okay?”

  Nut coos, then rolls back onto his feet and disappears into the woods. Azrian grips the thickest part of Axis’ fur and begins to walk without a clear destination in mind; he's already forgotten the Eodren sapling and the Bone Lilies. He just needs air, space, and the comforting presence of the valianis that refuses to leave his side despite the fact that his mission is over.

  The sun is high in the sky by the time Axis starts urgently nudging him back the way they came. He tries to ignore him, but it becomes clear quickly that something is wrong. “Ax?” Azrian begins walking in the direction Axis is pushing him but keeps his eyes on the slightly glowing pattern on Axis’ face. “What’s the problem? We’re going, it's not like we have anything to—”

  Axis snarls at him as his skin begins to burn — not from the sun, but from the power radiating from Azrian’s hand. The power he'd given up months ago... the power he isn't supposed to have. “Wh-what the...” It fills him, making him shudder from the sudden surge of power in his gut that spills out from his fingertips and falls in destructive droplets to the ground around them. Panic follows soon after as he realizes it can only mean one thing: whatever Cettia meant all those months ago is finally coming to pass.

  He barely has time to think before Axis dips down and scoops him up, and it's all he can do to avoid hurting the valianis as they dash back toward the house. Azrian's heart is hammering in his chest so brutally that it's almost painful by the time they get there, but it only gets worse when they see the scene in front of them.

  Ronan’s in the front yard with his own hands filled with silver Videre light, but he's not alone. There are two men standing opposite him — as they get closer, he makes one out as a Cogitare and the other as Kato’s brother, Tripp, but nothing about this makes any sense.

  “Hey!” Az yells as Tripp attempts to get closer to Ronan. “Back off! Ronan, run!” He straightens up on Axis’ back and hurls a blast of energy in their direction, but he's too off balance to aim well. Both men dodge the attack, and by the time Azrian’s getting to his feet after sliding off of Axis, Ronan’s standing still with a far-off look in his eyes.

  “Be a good boy and come with me,” the Cogitare says, but it's not accompanied by the usual knee-jerk reaction to obey. “I’d rather this didn't get messy. I don't care for messes.”

  “Too bad,” Azrian mutters, then charges after the Cogitare with white-hot heat in his hands. He lunges, but he's bodily knocked to the side by the sudden appearance of Tripp. He lands so hard it knocks the wind out of him, but he doesn't hesitate to grab the man’s face and force as much of his energy as he can into him. He screams, disappearing once again — but as Azrian whirls around wildly, he can't see him anywhere.

  “That was rude,” the Cogitare tsk
s. “I see I was misinformed about you, Azrian. I was told by multiple sources you were just a human now... but I can clearly see otherwise. Now, I'll say it again. Come with me.”

  This time, Azrian’s feet begin to move on their own. He struggles to regain control as the beginning effects of a panic attack take hold, and the warning Ronan yells out sounds muffled to his ears as he comes to a stop directly in front of his attacker. From here, he can see the gray swirls inside those golden irises. “Who—”

  “My name is Syphon,” he says casually. “You may have heard of me? Brother to the useless band of idiots that my mother spawned in Deadrun?”

  Realization dawns as Azrian’s stomach drops to his toes. He struggles harder against Syphon’s grasp, sending plea after plea up to Cettia and wondering why in the shadows Axis isn't doing anything. “Let me go,” he grunts out, and sheer panic for the man he loves ebbs and grows within him until he's screaming, screaming so loudly that Syphon covers his ears. It's just enough for him to lose focus and drop his hold, and all at once, his front yard is alight with silver energy and the whir of Axis’ huge body as he tackles Syphon to the ground.

  Azrian runs for Ronan and shoves him toward the door, giving him explicit instructions to get Roe and head straight out the back door for the trees. He hesitates a moment too long though and Tripp blocks his path when he reappears — and this time, he's not alone. “Shadows,” Az hisses, but the sound of Axis’ whimper takes precedence over anything and everything else. He turns slowly, but no amount of bracing himself would be enough for this.

  The valianis is slumped over, his chest rising and falling too shallowly to mean anything good, and Syphon is standing over him with his hand still wrapped around the handle of the blade he’d stuck in Axis’ ribs. His face is bloody and his shirt is torn from those heavy, sharp claws, but no amount of injury in the world would've been justice for this.

  Rage, consuming, dangerous rage, explodes inside of Azrian and forces its way out of his body through his fingertips. He sees nothing, hears nothing, feels nothing but the surge of that immense power until it's all expelled and his knees give out, forcing him to drop to the ground. When the light clears, Tripp and the man he brought back with him are on their backs, but Syphon’s now got that bloody blade to Ronan’s throat. “He better wake up,” he spits, his eyes briefly flicking to Tripp. “Or else this is going to get a lot messier.”

  “Yeah?” Azrian asks through labored breaths. “Thought you didn't like those?” He sees Tripp’s foot twitch in his periphery and knows he has to do something fast, but before he can even attempt to muster the energy to attack him again, Nut launches himself up from behind Syphon and wraps himself around his head, scratching and clawing at his eyes until Syphon finally drops the blade. Ronan scrambles to Azrian’s side, and together, they form a ball of light that Cettia would be proud of.

  Syphon flinches from the brightness and grabs the other two, and the three of them are gone before Az and Ronan can release their attack. The light dissipates and Ronan crumples to the ground in exhaustion, but Azrian’s concern is for his fallen valianis.

  He stumbles over next to Axis’ body and sobs with relief when he feels that mighty chest rising and falling. The fur there is matted with blood, but the faint patterns etched into half of Axis’ face are still glowing with the creature’s magic, and Azrian has to hope he’s healing himself. “It's okay, Ax. It's okay. Just... just hang in there, I'll get help.” He looks around wildly for colwort or willowbark to help with the pain, but they're too far away from the tree line and he doesn't want to leave Axis’ side. The erratic, half-formed thoughts in his mind jump around until he lands on one that might help — Kato's a Sana, Kato can...

  Kato!

  8 The Damage

  Fear grips Azrian so tightly that he can't breathe anymore. He tries, tries to drag the air around him into his lungs kicking and screaming — but he can't get relief, can't get even an ounce of the stuff to save his life.

  Ronan’s small hand clasps his shoulder, and when Azrian meets his eyes, he remembers he's not alone. He reminds himself that if he doesn't get himself under control, more than just Kato will be in danger.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Ronan asks.

  “I'm okay.” He gives Ronan a once-over and confirms he's not hurt either, then stands up and looks around desperately for Nut. The raccanis is cowering near the porch and nursing one of his paws, but otherwise looks unharmed and Azrian is nearly overwhelmed with gratitude for the chubby critter. He stumbles over and kneels down to kiss his fat head, still shaking from adrenaline and panic. “Thank you. You saved us, Nut. I'll never kick you out of bed again.” Nut chitters something that sounds rather annoyed, but he nuzzles into Azrian’s hand all the same. “Okay, boy. You go on inside, can you walk?” The look he gets suggests Nut would attempt to scratch his eyes out if he had the energy, so Azrian scoops him up and carries him into the house.

  When he returns outside, Axis is sitting up. Az doesn't immediately understand how that's even possible, but Axis tips his snout toward the sky — and there, in the middle of the day, is Cettia. It's such a strange sight that all other thoughts temporarily abandon Azrian, but Ronan taps his shoulder incessantly until he looks back down.

  “Those were Kato’s brothers, right?” he asks.

  “Yes, and obviously, Teagon and Aleon were right about them. Kato's in danger, we have to help him,” he says, surprising himself with the calmness of his voice. “We should pack. Are you okay to travel?”

  Ronan’s eyes widen as he nods quickly. “You're going to let me come with you?”

  “Of course. I'm absolutely not leaving you alone after what just happened, and you deserve to come with me. You love Kato too; this isn't just my fight. And... I know it's not fair, but I need your help. I don't think I can do this alone, especially if Axis isn't up to traveling.”

  “I'll do it,” Rone says instantly. “I don't want to be alone either, and if Kato's in trouble, I want to help.”

  He nods, then wonders if it's even safe to leave Roe alone. “Come on. We need to pack and get my mom somewhere safe... maybe Rhix will stay with her or let her stay with him?”

  “We need Rhix to come with us.” Ronan starts toward the house, almost jogging to keep up with Azrian’s urgent steps. “Think of how useful he'd be! There were three of them here, but what if there are more wherever they have Kato?”

  Azrian stops dead in his tracks. Wherever they have Kato. “Shadows! Ronan, we don't even know where they are! We can't —” he stops, rubbing his jaw as he races to find an answer, “—We need Teagon and Aleon. They'll know, right? Did they say anything to you about where Syphon lives other than just Rostya? Or even where they live, more specific than Bridgehelm?”

  “No, just that. Should we send an avisim? They'll be able to find them, right? No matter where they are?”

  Avisim costs money and takes time, but it's the only option they have. If they commission one now, hopefully the message will reach Aleon by sundown, and if that's the case they could be at Syphon’s house by nightfall. “Yes, we have to,” Azrian confirms. He drops the satchel he'd just picked up and changes course, heading for the door. “Stay with me.”

  Roe seems to still be sleeping, or maybe she's not home — either way, Azrian doesn't have time to search for her. He hits the ground at the bottom of the steps and takes off at a run toward town with Ronan on his heels, and they reach the outskirts in less than twenty minutes.

  “Shadows,” he huffs, bending over and grabbing his ribs. “Why’d we... build the house... so far?”

  Ronan just giggles, seemingly unfazed by the long run. “Maybe you should sit down and have some water. I can go send the avisim.”

  “No, no,” Azrian says through gaspy breaths. “I got this. I'm fine, it's fine. Just a... little cramp.” He winces as he takes a step forward but shakes it off, then heads for the Aviary.

  They keep the message as short and sweet as possible and give
the bored-looking avisim the best description of Aleon and Teagon as they can, then pay his handler an obscene amount of coins and watch until the beast disappears into the clouds. With that done, they know they're on limited time — they have to be ready to leave when Aleon either shows up or sends a message back, so they immediately head for Rhix’s shop. It doesn't occur to Azrian until they come across the dark, empty shop that Rhix won't be in today because it's a weekend, so they change course and head for his house, instead.

  Rhix answers the door half naked, his shirt slung over his shoulder instead of on his body where it belongs. “You two look like hell,” he grunts. “What happened to you?”

  “Syphon happened,” Az says, then quickly catches him up. By the time he's done, Rhix’s eyes are flashing with anger, and Az actually finds it comforting. He knows Rhix will have his back before he even says it.

  “Where's the Cogitare? Still with them?”

  “As far as I know,” Az confirms. For the first time, it occurs to him that Kato might not be there anymore — maybe he realized they were no good and is trying to find a way back to them right now... or maybe something much worse happened. The latter hurts to think about, so Az sucks in a breath. “We have to assume he's still there, anyway. We have to go get him.”

  Rhix looks between them and clenches his jaw, then slides his shirt on. “Your mom probably won't wake up for a few hours, if you know what I mean.” His smirk makes Azrian gag, but he waits not-so-patiently as Rhix leaves a note for her and steps outside. “Where are they?”

  “Yeah, about that,” Ronan mutters. “We don't actually know; we’re still waiting to find out. We sent a message to the two brothers that were here before so hopefully they'll tell us soon.”

  Other than a few grumbled curses, Rhix doesn't protest as he gathers a couple of things from inside his house. He ends up putting together a satchel not unlike the one he gave Az and Kato before they set off for the Simbian Forest, but it's not quite as big — especially once they remind him that Aleon is an Itinerae.