The Flesh of Titans Read online

  ​“I thought we are going to teleport into the basilica.”

  ​“Impossible,” Nix said. “That place is warded permanently. No one can teleport in or out. You would have to destroy the wards, which itself is almost impossible. These wards were built into the building itself.”

  ​“How do they fuel them?” I asked giving Nix a run for his money. The shock on his face was a reward in itself.

  ​“That… that’s a state secret.”

  ​Our short discussion of the basilica and its wards was interrupted but the appearance of two officials, both wearing sharp suits and giving off mixed scents and flavors. I had trouble recognizing their powers.

  ​“Demi-dragon Nix, demi-dragon Lotian,” the officials tipped their heads but showed restrain in their respect. “Thank you for delivering Flare. We’ll take this burden from you now. Have a nice…”

  ​Lotian approached the man who was speaking, grabbed him by the collar and lifed him up effortlessly. “Call her a burden once more and I’ll throw you off this building.”

  ​The other man’s eyes went wide, but he wisely chose to purse silence. Lotian wasn’t in the mood for discussions, and Nix seemed to ignore his captain’s duties, despite the uniform.

  ​“Lead us to the meeting room,” Nix said before things got ugly. Both men nodded vigorously. We took the plain stairs that led directly into the underground. From there, beneath the street, we walked to the basilica. The tunnel looked bare but clean. No expected odors or rats that were abundant in the Wastelands. And pretty tasty if cooked properly.

  ​Lotian made a disgusted face, as some of my thoughts leaked into his head, but didn’t comment on my culinary thoughts.

  ​Dim green lamps accompanied us in the tunnel. The officials didn’t utter a single word until we reached a tiled basement where two Dragon Soldiers saluted to Nix. He returned a salute. Their uniforms looked better than the ones led by Dramer in the Wastelands and I noticed no reverence in their eyes. It was a bad sign. If they are ordered to attack demi-dragons, they’ll have no objections.

  ​The gray-tiled basement was empty save for the four marble columns. In front of us were wide stairs that led up. The officials didn’t waste even a second. They strode ahead up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, we found an enormous hall with frescoes on the walls and expensive-looking marble floors. That place had a breath of antiquity. The frescoes presented war scenes with mind-numbing details. Pure unicorns and dragons fought Titans in their true and formidable forms. It stung to know that Sol or I should say, Gaia, was one of them. Titans killed billions of humans. If not for the dragons’ and unicorns’ intervention, Earth would be a dead rock. It partially was, as the ever-present darkness ruled outside the walls of the three light-protected cities. Each day the differences in the lives of the Wastelanders and the people of the city, have become more obvious. The Wastelands was an honest place in a very brutal way, but it possessed nothing of the life that had existed before the Titan-war.

  ​The hall was wide enough to accommodate ten people walking abreast. Huge ceramic pots held man-high trees in twenty feet intervals. Far above us were domed ceilings which I couldn’t place anywhere in the building as I had seen it from the roof. They had to be magically extended.

  ​We passed at least fifteen huge wooden double doors. Some were guarded, others not, none were opened.

  ​I didn’t know if the officials counted the doors or had a magical indicator to know when to stop. They did it abruptly without a warning.

  ​“The Council will call you when ready,” said one of them. They were hard to distinguish, also neither of them had introduced himself. “Please, wait here.”

  ​They left through a small door that appeared on the opposite wall.

  ​“This was awkward,” I said dispersing the silence.

  ​“Yeah, the people working for the Council are usually stuck-up assholes,” Lotian added.

  ​“They only trying to uphold the prestige of their office. The Council—”

  ​Lotian snorted interrupting his brother. “Nix, please. If the Council cared about such things, then why aren’t they treating us as nobility? You heard father, this shit here is a farce and he can’t even be bothered with pretending. These two pricks got good jobs and try to make up for their shitty upbringing.”

  ​Nix said nothing to that. I agreed with Lotian. The Academy did the same. They pretended as long as it paid off to do so. Status and importance? It mattered when convenient. For six months my rights have been respected until the Council decided to show their cards. It angered me to no end that some people in the world simply did what they wanted without consequences. Like Dramer. Though I forgave him a long ago. He couldn’t have the slightest idea of where this would end.

  ​The massive door cracked open and an old graying man stepped out. He looked harmless, wearing a worn black suit. “Miss Flare?” His voice was warm and friendly, but weak. “Please, join us inside.”

  ​We prepared to face the Council of Light in the Celestial Chamber. The same place where the famous Trinity Pact was signed. As the door swung wider, it became clear, we had been outmaneuvered.

  ​“That’s the fucking Lincoln Room,” Lotian snapped. It turned out that the laws have applied differently to different rooms and chambers within the basilica. Wasn’t that fucked up enough? Well, there was more.

  ​The Lincoln Room has been used so rarely that most of the magical legislations were a gray area. I steeled myself for what was coming. Despite the ‘room’ in the name, it was more like a massive chamber with many layers for witnesses on each side. Far in the front was a douting white marble platform with four marble thrones that represented four Prime Powers.

  ​Mirenne was like a beacon amongst the four representants, distant but shining like a star. On her left, sat a grumpy man in the red-scaled armor, his long black hair was ruffled, his face harsh and bearded. It had to be Atrax. Nix’s and Lotian’s father. On their wings sat representants of elementals and fairies. Both didn’t look much different from Heads of Houses. Their powers were substantially lower than the two Pures. It was strange that amongst the Four Prime Powers, two of them didn’t possess the Pures. During the six months of my time in the Academy and despite having the History of the Prime Powers, no explanation has been given that could answer that mystery.

  ​Everything below the marble increase looked worn and poor in comparison.

  ​In the middle of the chamber was a rostrum.

  ​The door behind clicked softly. The old man hobbled to the side, taking a seat on an empty bare wooden bench. Above him, seats for the witnesses looked much more comfortable, though no obvious way to get. Still, we could wield magic and there was no excuse to keep the old man in such an uncomfortable spot.

  ​Not a single witness in the room, except for Nix, Lotian and the old man.

  ​“Your presence is not required,” Atrax said in a self-important and commandeering voice I remembered from the conversation with his sons.

  ​“Nevertheless, we will stay,” Lotian answered in the most composed manner he could muster at the moment. In his head, he must have been playing the same scenario where at the end of this questioning I was going to be taken away into custody. His nerves were frayed as much as mine. “Father.”

  ​Nix inclined his head as we’d discussed earlier. The protocols in the basilica were based on the room, though the gist of them should remain the same. I could only hope to follow the right one. I’ve known what was coming, but I wouldn’t make it any easier for the Council.

  ​As Nix and Lotian took the seats next to the old man, I approached the rostrum, then bowed as much as required. The dragon’s rage inside me flared suddenly. Didn’t Sol say I was a daughter of the King of Dragons and the Queen of Unicorns? Didn’t it mean I belonged to royalty? I couldn’t care less about titles and status, but my blood fumed.

  ​Become greater by becoming smaller. You can rise only by falling.

  ​I w
hirled, hearing a voice deep in my head. It didn’t belong to my men, nor Selene or Mirenne. It was too alien. I turned back to find four hostile faces, nimbly hidden behind the veils of indifference. They couldn’t be more obvious.

  ​I gave them nothing they had been expecting. No comments, snarls or extravagant clothes…

  ​“Attendants called into the Lincoln Room should wear black,” said a woman whose hair seemed immaterial. The longer I looked at her, the more translucent she became. Almost, as if she was an elemental of air. I squinted at her but didn’t comment.

  ​“The pigment of her clothes doesn’t matter, Geraldine,” Mirenne said. Though her expression and voice were neutral, it didn’t add up with her inner aura. I betted that she was furious over this questioning. “I’d rather ask why the Council of the Light goes so low as to question someone of her status?”

  ​Atrax tapped armored fingers against the marble armrest. His cold red eyes drilled me with intensity. His eyes weren’t like Saaron’s. The pure dragon’s eyes were like dried blood. The other man who I suspected was a fairy, said nothing and only watched me from beneath his bushy eyebrows.

  ​“The Council of the Light isn’t a place for ordinary discussions,” Atrax agreed. “Nor is this girl ordinary.”

  ​Mirenne twitched, an almost imperceivable wispy motion, but Nix’s and Lotian’s voices in my head confirmed that they’d noticed it too. What was she expecting? That they’d invite me for a chat about the weather? For a pure unicorn, she was ostentatiously stupid.

  ​She quickly regained her composure almost becoming like the hard seat she sat on.

  ​“What do you mean, Atrax?” Geraldine asked. “To my senses, she is not even a demi-dragoness. What is the matter with her?”

  ​“Exactly,” Atrax snapped with a surprising amount of emotions. “No one beyond the walls should have this much dragon’s blood. We have been searching every nook and cranny of the Wastelands for the past years. So how did she slipped through so close to the city?”

  ​An oppressive silence descended on the chamber as his words slowly sank in. Wasn’t him who was responsible for this? I was about to ask when one of the councilors twitched.

  ​“Are you saying that she is working for the Titan God?” Geraldine asked unsurely. A gleam in her eye showed a new interest.

  ​My hands started to sweat and my legs were about to turn into jelly. From the close proximity, I sensed rage flaring inside Lotian. Nix held his anger at bay, the same as me.

  ​Stop it, Lotian. Don’t give them ammunition. Since when was I the rational one? Lotian should calm me down, not the other way around.

  ​“All I am saying is that she is a security threat. No traceable origin. Issues in the Academy since she has joined. And now she fucks the captain of the Dragon Corps. How does it look like to you?”

  ​The wooden platform snapped in my hands. It happened unconsciously.

  ​Lotian raised from the seat. “Father…”

  ​Nix’s hand stopped him before the flame-haired demi-dragon made a step too far. The situation could turn ugly any second.

  ​Tell Lotian that Atrax is trying to provoke us! A message came from Nix.

  ​I relayed the message. Lotian sat down but that only prompted his father to push it further.

  ​“It seems that she has two of my sons wrapped around her finger. And half a year ago she was where? Doing what?” Atrax stood up. He was freaking large. Taller than any demi-dragon. The rage that woke up inside him could burn the fire itself. Nothing, not even demi-dragons, could stand the heat this man had inside him. “Until further notice, the person in question is deemed as the security threat. Nix, do your job.”

  ​Nix stood up then shook his head. “I cannot, father.”

  ​Geraldine and the unnamed fairy showed the emotions at last. They were shocked, just like that. Mirenne held it, understanding that Atrax wasn’t stupid to reveal my true identity.

  ​In truth, I had no other choice. All the books we had gone through agreed upon one thing. The Council of the Light had nearly unlimited power. If we challenged them now, then the next second the three of us would be arrested on some stupid charges and no one would be the wiser. I knew that Lotian and Nix were not going to let them take me. Perhaps, I’d never meet them again. Didn’t Selene say that chains will herald my coming? Wasn’t this situation fitting? I gathered the strength to tell them who I was—

  ​The door behind us banged open. I couldn’t turn because I knew who just entered the chamber.

  ​Oh my god, he’s here.

  ​Dramer.

  ​

  Chapter 3

  “What’s the meaning of this?!” Dramer roared. “I’m away for six months only to return to find my Flare being questioned by the Council, why?”

  ​Dramer’s power surged, his rage sang so loud it made my blood boil from excitement. I wanted to spin on the heel and bury in Dramer’s embrace. Except I couldn’t face him. Not after what I did with Saaron. This felt like cheating on Dramer. Strangely my relationship with Lotian and Nix seemed different.

  ​Geraldine stood up her power level matched Dramer the same second. I tried to keep my mouth shut and eyes squinted but what the fuck? She was insanely strong. Way stronger than Watermane. So the other two members of the Council weren’t only the figureheads.

  ​“You’re standing before the Council of the Light! Such an impertinence must be punished. I’m going to strike this one down, Atrax. I don’t care if he’s one of your whelps…”

  ​I flexed my own muscles ready to join the fray. I sensed Nix’s readiness though Lotian for a change hesitated. The relationship between him and Dramer was nowhere near of that with Nix.

  ​The fairy only swung a leg over a leg, looking rather bored with the spectacle, while Mirenne tensed visibly. This was going too far.

  ​Dramer stopped a few feet behind me. His power pulsed tangibly in the air. I was surprised that the floor hasn’t started to crack yet.

  ​“Flare…” Dramer rumbled. I felt the tension in his voice. Instantly the fever-like mating call appeared inside me. Memories poured in. The first time Dramer and I came close. It was such an intense moment that has profoundly changed my life. Never before I had looked at any man the way I did at my demi-dragons. The more I thought about it, the less certain I was if our unique relationship was completely natural. Before me stood a pure dragon. He was older than his sons, but in many ways as handsome as them. Did he stir my heart? Not at all.

  ​When Dramer’s hands touched my shoulders I heard Lotian’s growl in my head. He knew that Dramer was the first to wake up that lustful fever in my loins and move my heart, and yet he couldn’t stand seeing his older brother touching me. I liked it when my demi-dragons were jealous but not like this. If they started fighting against each other, then nothing good would come out of this. Dramer and Saaron were notorious for brawling which had left part of the city and the Academy destroyed. Lotian was chilled but had temper outbursts. Dramer, on the other hand, was a pure hothead.

  ​“Dramer…” my hoarse voice cracked as I spoke his name. The longer his hands remained on my bare skin, the more appetite in our bodies awakened.

  ​“This is a disgrace!” Geraldine shouted and dissolved in the air. For a split second, I thought she was gone, then suddenly, Dramer’s energy shot through the roof. His grip on me steeled and without warning, he shoved me behind him.

  ​“After I beat her, we can finally be together. Now stay back, Flare.” Dramer squinted at his father. “I’m going to kill that elemental!”

  ​Atrax sat back on the marble throne. His face regained nonchalant expression which now matched the other two members of the Council. “If you can survive Geraldine’s onslaught, then the Council will forgive you this intrusion, otherwise, Geraldine is free to kill you and whoever comes to your aid.” He meant Nix who flexed his muscles. No way. Is he for real? Does he not care about his sons’ lives?

  ​Geraldine’s form
appeared in the middle of the room. Her body turned solid out of thin air. She had a white dress with strips which endings were wispy like clear smoke. Its mesmerizing effect held my attention long enough to be caught off guard by a strong invisible current. If not for Lotian’s quick reaction I’d hit the wall.

  ​When I raised my head, I saw a sphere of fire around Dramer and beams of solid air that smashed it time and time again. Geraldine gave me the vibes of Watermane. And as Dramer countered with his dragon’s fire, it became apparent that Geraldine was like the air itself. She didn’t move out of the fire’s trajectory. The thick rods of molten fire shot through her without inflicting any damage. How the fuck one could beat the air? Dramer’s power expanded as he moved with startling speed. I saw Nix’s posture. He was on the verge of joining the fight.

  ​“Fight me, bitch!” Dramer shouted. His angry voice echoed in the massive chamber.

  ​In an answer, her hair turned from black to bronze to blonde and then they became translucent. She disappeared in a flash as a shockwave came out of Dramer so volatile that the poor floor smashed to pieces. Lotian moved, intercepting the destructive wave from hitting me. I didn’t believe that it could hurt me anyway.

  ​That idiot will destroy the basilica if he won’t stop this, Lotian hissed in my thoughts.

  ​You were ready to do the same, weren’t you? I reminded him, which struck him harder than I’d thought. He looked at me as if there was something knew about me.

  ​“I’m sorry, Flare. You’re right. I shouldn’t stand and watch my brother fighting for you. I must join him.”