Protected by Emeralds (A Dance with Destiny Book 5) Read online

  Uriel did not respond. He simply waited for her to finish.

  “Why can I not just go as Vashti, kill the man who is threatening Earth, and be back before you finish your tea?”

  “Because, little one, Earth is not as simple as that,” Uriel said. “You must take care not to cause too many ripples. Look at what you have already done. You chose to let the killer look upon your true face all because the victims reminded you of your dear friends. You made one selfish decision… and now the fate of that world hangs in the balance. If you had simply done your job as you had been instructed, that gun would have never been fired and Prince Suou would have remained blameless. Use your head for a moment and tell me this, Naga. If Suou has been found guilty of this death, who do you think suspicion will fall upon if all his accusers are found slain in their beds? Hmm?”

  She swallowed hard, the truth of his words hitting their intended mark.

  “And not only that,” Jophiel said. “Wait until you hear who it is that requires your attention concerning all this.”

  She met Jophiel’s gaze, a pit forming deep within her, fast filling with dread.

  He smiled. “When you and Vittorio skipped blindfolded into the royal gardens and became the Prince’s unexpected honored guest… you made your next mistake. By accepting the stranger, Kazuto, as your dance partner… you were gracefully twirled about by the eldest son of the man you must now go back and help slay.”

  She gasped, her ethereal pink eyes going impossibly wide.

  “Yes,” Uriel added. “Akio Kazuto is eldest brother to the madman you were initially sent to reap. He is first-born of Lord Kazuto, who now threatens Earth’s realm with all out annihilation. Akio held you, desired you, and would have claimed you right there in the hallway, if Prince Suou had not saved your ass… yet again.”

  “But that’s not all, Kagi Naga,” Jophiel said, smiling. “When you snapped, when you let your anger get the better of you… you emasculated that young man. And in front of a hated rival, no less. When you err, little sister, you make sure to leave a lasting impact.”

  His words cut through to her very core. They were right, and she knew it. She stared blindly at her cooling tea, countless mistakes rolling through her troubled mind.

  “Apologies, Naga,” Jophiel whispered. “But the bitterest truth is better than the sweetest lie.”

  The following silence seemed to stretch on forever, each Angel replaying the demons from their past.

  Jenevier finally looked up at the Arch she always seemed to end up fighting with, and sighed. “What would you have me do?”

  “The impossible,” Uriel said softly.

  “You would so easily send me to my death?”

  He released an exasperated tsk. “Oh, don’t go on so, Naga. These humans will never lay a hand on you.”

  “And if you err?”

  “Then I shall mourn your pain, or your passing… whichever it shall be.”

  Daichi leapt to his feet, growling viciously. All present jumped slightly when his chair crashed to the floor.

  Uriel slowly stood, his blatant smirk now replaced with a look of growing concern.

  “Mark my words, Angel,” Daichi snarled. “One day I will kill you, regardless of cost. What you have only just given voice, is an unforgivable thing. I will never forget it.”

  “Let it go, Daichi,” she whispered. “I brought this on myself. It is as it should be.” She turned to Gabriel. “Can I bring Nilakanta?”

  “No,” Uriel snapped. “Dragons have not lived there for many centuries. Remember you not what I just said about making unnecessary ripples?”

  Jophiel half laughed. “Wait, Brother. I want to hear this. Tell me, Naga. How do you propose walking about with a giant Dragon in tow? Hmm? Even invisible, he is neither weightless nor massless. How could he accompany you, unnoticed?”

  She couldn’t answer the mocking Angel. She could only fight back her coming tears.

  “There is a way,” Munenori said quietly.

  Everyone turned to the mossy lavender Guardian Angel of Jinn.

  “What is he prattling on about?” Jophiel asked Uriel. “He is always inserting himself where he does not belong.”

  “He fancies himself her lover and protector,” Uriel answered his smirking brother. “He dreams of being her saving Knight one day.”

  The two Archs shared a condescending chuckle.

  “You know I can hear you, right?” Munenori raised a single eyebrow. “I am a celestial being, after all.”

  When Raphael spat out a laugh, the conniving pair of Archs turned toward him.

  “What?” Raphael said. “I quite like the little purple guy. He’s got fire. I’ll give him that.”

  Jenevier snickered and Raphael yanked one of her curls.

  “Let’s hear him out,” Gabriel said. “If he knows of some rare magic, let him speak it… minus harassment.”

  Duly chastised, Jophiel cleared his throat. “Very well then, miniature Angel,” he said, earning him several cold glares. “Tell us all you know, and all you do not know, concerning the secret magic of Dragons.”

  Munenori cut his eyes toward the speaking Arch. “And just how in the hell am I supposed to tell you what all I do not know?”

  Jophiel growled, but even Gabriel allowed a muffled chuckle to escape at the smaller Angel’s curt words.

  *****

  Nilakanta stood as she approached.

  Mistress Naga. He bowed low just as she reached him.

  “Is what Munenori says, truth? Can you meld with me, Brother?”

  The Dragon looked up over her shoulder at the approaching Angels, then back down to Jenevier.

  We are bonded, Kagi Naga. If such rare magic is needed, it is possible, yes.

  “Then I’m gonna need you to meld with me, Nilakanta,” she said with a smile.

  But… you are so tiny. And I am largest of my kind. I’m not certain you could handle such a thing as that, little Naga.

  She tilted her head to the side, studying his beautiful eyes. “What do you mean? What happens when you meld?”

  Nilakanta looked then to the Guardian Angel of Jinn. What have you done, Angel? You have witnessed a melding yourself. Why did you put such thoughts as these within her?

  “I stood absent choice, mighty brother. Your tiny bonded Guardian is being summonsed to Earth to do what she can to thwart its destruction. She must go alone. We will not be able to help her.”

  “It could take me years, Nilakanta, years,” she said. “If I must go it alone, you might be old and gray at my return… if I return at all.”

  I hate Earth above all realms, he said to Munenori. Why would you even consider sending her there alone?

  “As I said, we stand absent choice. If Naga is to succeed in this, it will be due to our help here, as much as her actions there.”

  “Will you help Mama, Nilakanta?” Tenshi asked. “Will you go with her and protect her? Will you see that no man lays a hand to her… in anger or in passion?”

  I will always do everything within my power to protect your mother, baby Angel. But you know not what you ask. If such a thing between us is even physically possible, the pain would be unspeakable.

  Jenevier turned to Munenori. “Pain? You failed to mention that part, Senpai.”

  “I cannot speak to the pain,” he said. “I have never melded with a Dragon.”

  Nilakanta growled. Does she know anything of the process, Angel? Did you tell her about the scars she could carry with her the rest of her life? And did you even mention the separation process? If things go as planned, and we both lived through it… we could be irrecoverably changed. Does she or her son know any of this?

  “Forget it,” Jenevier said, holding up her hands. “If this will hurt my Dragon in any way, any way whatsoever, the deal’s off. I refuse to go through with it. I will die before I bring harm unto him.”

  No, Little Fire, you do not understand. No harm will come to me. I will feel no pain. I will bear no scars
. And if I am changed, it will be only for good, not ill. No, dear one, worry not for me. All harm that could come from a melding is for the human and the human alone. For a Dragon… it would be akin to euphoria.

  “This is ridiculous,” Daichi said. “Of course we are not going through with it. Naga would fare better going it alone, then being destroyed by an intended protective melding.”

  I only caution you of the things that could happen, Blessing to my Guardian. Not necessarily that they would happen.

  “If there is even a tiny chance it could harm her, the answer is, no,” Daichi said.

  “Well, there stands more than just a tiny chance she will be harmed while on this mission,” Jophiel said. “Seems to me, she should just pick which harm she prefers. This is one of those times you just strap in and hope for the best.”

  Jenevier cut her eyes toward the smirking Arch. “Jophiel, have I ever told you that I care not for you?”

  “Actually… no. I don’t believe you have.” He tapped his finger against his chin. “You have told me you hated me on numerous occasions, yes. But I cannot presently recall you ever saying you did not care for me.” He smiled then. “I guess that could be considered an improvement. Huh?”

  She only rolled her eyes.

  “Nilakanta, I will never do anything to hurt you… not by choice.” She tenderly rubbed his snout, tears filling her eyes. “It seems I have made a mess of things again.” She sniffed and tried to smile. “You know that summons I was telling you about before? The one I attended on Earth where I removed my mask and then was injured?”

  Yes, Little Fire, of course I do.

  “Well… I screwed up more than I knew. Apparently the lack of magic on that layer has led to something they call science.”

  Yes, this I know.

  “And it seems this science has shown the truth of how the evil one died.” She bit her lip, trying to hold in the flood of guilt threatening to consume her. “They can tell he did not die by my claws, but by the gun of the man who saved me. And now… that valiant young Prince is being held accountable to a madman. I have to go back and fix what I broke.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And… well… I’m scared.”

  Nilakanta’s heart was breaking for his trembling little Guardian. He sensed her sorrow, her guilt, her growing fear.

  Tell me, little one. What can strike such fear in the heart of a Death Angel? You cannot scare fire, Guardian, and you are named thusly. Besides, you have been to that accursed realm many times before. Not once have they managed to scare you. Have confidence, Kagi Naga. Vashti will ensure your victory.

  “That’s just it… I have to do this as Jenevier. Now that I want to don my mask, I cannot. To do so will only make more waves. Now that Valencia is pulling the strings—”

  Valencia! He roared, cutting off her words. Did the Guardians break their promise? Has she been loosed upon the universe?

  “She was not freed, no,” Gabriel said. “Yet she now roams about, unshackled. We know not the whole of it… but it matters not. She has been rallying demons and whispering lies.”

  “The only thing she is good for,” Daichi grumbled.

  “Either way,” Jenevier said. “This all happened because of me.”

  No. She alone is to blame—the she-Guardian. Do not take that vile creature’s guilt upon your heart, little one.

  “But it’s true. She can only do what it is she is now doing because I did not take my summons seriously. Vanity caused me to meet that killer face to face. And a lack of faith was the reason I could not fulfill my duty. So now, I must return to the man who saved me, stand at his side through the coming war, and lay my life down for him… if need be. Although I created the ripple, I have not the power to stop it. Not this time. That destiny belongs only to Suou. Mine is simply to see that he gets to fulfill his.”

  You were born under the wrong stars, little one.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Such is my Fate.”

  Nilakanta sighed. I fear you still do not fully understand what it is you are doing. This will be dangerous—melding with me.

  “You are probably right. But… I trust you.”

  I will ask you once more. Are you certain about this, Little Fire?

  “No.” She half chuckled. “But if I must suffer or die, I would rather it be while you were at my side.” She looked deep into his magical eyes. “Nilakanta, I am scared because…” She swallowed hard. “…I do not wish to be alone at the end of things. I am not afraid to die. I am afraid to die all alone.”

  A giant Dragon tear sloshed to the ground, puddling at her feet, soaking her up to her ankles.

  That is all you had to say, little one. No matter what, I swore to be with you in the end. You do not have to be afraid anymore.

  She lightly kissed his soft snout. “Gratitude, Brother. This means more than you will ever know.”

  His chest rose and fell with a great breath. Naga?

  “Yes, Brother?”

  Forgive me for what is about to happen.

  And with those words, she heard the noise of approaching wings—Dragon wings.

  *****

  “The battle for Earth will soon begin. We are on the eve of it now,” Gabriel whispered to Munenori.

  The mossy lavender Angel only nodded via response.

  Her angelic brethren watched from afar as Jenevier stood before the sapphire giant, encircled by countless waves of pink and gold.

  “What’s gonna happen now?” Tenshi whispered, mostly to himself.

  Raphael gently patted the younger Angel on the shoulder.

  “Once they get prepared, the melding will only take an hour or so,” Munenori said, then turned to Daichi. “You must be ready to receive her. When the chanting stops, swoop down there and get her as fast as you can. The most important part will fall to you.” He looked back out on the growing sea of Dragons. “Whether the melding is successful or not… all will be lost, if you cannot heal her.”

  “There is no fear in that, Angel.” Daichi sort of snorted before looking back down to her. “My touch will always heal her.”

  Chapter 13

  Kagi Naga

  (KAH-jee NAH-gah)

  The giant pink Dragon had pity in her eyes as she looked down at Jenevier.

  Apologies, little one. Had I known this would be your fate, I would not have been so jovial at our first meeting.

  Jenevier hugged her soft, pink snout. “No matter what my fate, Adalin, being Guardian of Dragons has been one of the most delightful things that has ever happened to me. I would not trade even a moment of such rare joy.”

  Come, Kagi Naga. It is time.

  She turned to her bonded Dragon. “What do I do?”

  Stand in front of me. I need to get a good look at you… decide where best I will fit.

  She giggled. “Where you will fit? Am I now to be the one carrying you about?”

  In simple terms… yes, Naga, you will.

  Jenevier could feel the blood draining from her face. “…What? What did you just say?”

  You will need to disrobe now, Empress.

  She didn’t even turn to see which Dragon was speaking as she numbly did as she was told, her mind racing through a slow-motion movie of the strange event.

  Hold out your arms, Kagi Naga.

  She did.

  Now turn.

  She obeyed.

  Now to the side.

  And again, another Dragon said.

  She did all that was asked of her, seeing nothing, yet hearing every word.

  All had been quiet for some time before she found her voice. “Shall I get dressed now?” The whispered words just fell out of their own accord.

  No, Naga. We are about to begin, Nilakanta said. Adalin, I believe it will be best from this angle.

  Yes, the she-Dragon said. I cannot see how else it will even be possible. Were she built as is her son, this would not be an issue. What about the…

  Jenevier quit listening to them and looked toward the
palace, and the large Angels standing upon her balcony.

  Tenshi?

  Yes, Mama?

  I’m scared.

  Me too, Mama.

  Kiss Lala for me. Tell her how much I love her and how proud I am to be her Obaasan. Hug Mika for me. And tell Yui…

  She couldn’t finish what it was she wanted to say to Yui.

  Don’t worry, Mama. He already knows. But I will tell him anyway. Stop fretting so. Nilakanta shares a magical bond with you. Trust in him.

  Her cheeks felt cold as the soft breeze swept over her tears.

  Naga… I love you. The deep voice rippled through her quivering soul.

  I love you, too, Daichi.

  Are you ready, Little Fire? Nilakanta’s words broke through her distracted thoughts.

  She quickly nodded her head, once, unable to speak.

  Very well, little one. And again… apologies.

  When the low chanting started, she squeezed her eyelids shut and braced for the unknown.

  It started out as simply a warming sensation across her back. Slowly, the heat increased, becoming rather uncomfortable, but still tolerable. It crept up over her left shoulder blade, down along her chest, and halfway around her neck.

  When the sensation started to actually burn, she released the breath she had been holding and began breathing rapidly in and out through her open mouth.

  The burn crept down her left leg ever so slowly, winding around her thigh, stopping at the center of her calf.

  The pain was so intense at times, she had to remind herself to stand still and just breathe. Even though every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to run away from the danger, from the mind-reeling pain.

  *****

  Daichi was the first to hear her faint whimpering. He leapt upon the banister.

  Munenori grabbed his wrist before he could take flight. “Not yet, son. She has a ways to go. The melding has only just begun.”

  Yui stepped out onto the balcony, followed closely by Goemon.

  “So, it is true, then,” Yui said, gripping the banister and staring down at the tiny woman shaking, trembling amidst an ocean of glittering scales.