CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CYLO HYDROS
Four months after the battle, the village was rebuilt. There wasn’t a lot of structural damage to deal with but there was a spirit that seemed to be broken. There was now a mistrust in the air that had not been there before the opposition invaded. But I was doing what I could keep on top of any problems.
“I can’t believe this is where you were sleeping the whole time that I was in that small hut,” Melody teased.
“Yes, you said so when you first came into my chambers. And you’ve said it again every night since,” I teased her back.
“Well, I’m just saying,” she said. She winked at me and then blew me a kiss. “That one is just for you, husband,” she said.
“Thank you, wife,” I said.
We had been married for more than three months now. After the battle and so many deaths, we decided to wait a month to be married, and we’d had a grand celebration that lifted the spirits of the Draqua warriors.
“I must be going now, wife,” I said as I got up and moved to the veranda. I shifted, and my wings curled out from behind me.
“Yes, my king,” she said. Then she stood up and rubbed her belly. It was now a bump that was not easy to hide. “We will be waiting for you when you return.”
“Yes, my queen. I shall return,” I said.
“You always do as promised,” she said.
I kissed her belly and then I flew off the veranda and out to sea. I had a destination: Kila. I landed on the sand where my brother had died for his beliefs. “Baca! Jix! Tell me the news,” I said as I landed.
We were still using the island to meet. It was our private place where we could speak freely.
“It was just as you said. There are remnants of the opposition party alive and well. We tracked them to a planet that I had never heard of before. Jix and I went there to see for ourselves,” Baca said.
“What is the name of the planet?” I asked.
“It is Tiok,” Baca said arching a brow at me.
“That is where I was shot down,” I said.
“Exactly. There is something going on there. We need to stay on top of it,” Jix said.
“Yes, exactly. Tell no one what you have found. It is better that they don’t know we are on to them,” I said. “Good work, you two.”
“Here is the list of those that we saw or heard were on the planet Tiok,” Baca said as he handed me the list.
“We must hope that the numbers do not grow beyond this,” I said.
“Now what should we do?” Jix said.
“We keep an eye out, and if there is evidence of activity, then we strike. I do not want to wait around. That was not a good thing last time.”
“We will inform you as soon as we know,” Baca said.
“And also if you see any visions,” I said, making it clear I wanted to know what he saw even if he did not think it was significant.
“Yes, now go enjoy your queen,” Baca teased. I left their side and flew back to the village to continue my duties as king. I don’t know why I ever gave my father a hard time in doing my responsibilities. I rather liked taking care of the Draqua. It was something that I took great pride and honor in.
But when I finally looked at the list, there was a name on there that sunk my heart. I could not believe it, and I knew that I would have to deal with this in person.
“But you promised not to leave me again,” Melody said as I told her that I had to leave Kelon for a few days.
“I know, but this is very important. If I don’t take care of this now, there will be another uprising, and I can’t have that. I need to take care of it now while the opposition is in recovery mode. I don’t want you and our child to ever be in danger again,” I said to her.
“I am leaving you with, Jix; there is no one that I trust more. I promise that he will watch over you. If you are frightened while I’m gone, stay in the chambers. I will be back. I promise. Don’t I always come back to you?” I said.
“Yes, but now you are leaving the planet,” she said.
“I know but—”
“I know you must go. I will be brave for the both of us” she said rubbing her belly. “I will be strong for the Draqua here,” she said.
“No one must know that I am gone. Jix is going to cover for me and say that I am very busy with the rebuild, handling plans inside my chambers. You must stick with that story too,” I said.
“I don’t like the way this sounds. I’m starting to get scared. Exactly what are you getting into?” she asked.
“I am going to Tiok,” I said.
“Tiok! We almost died there. Why are you going back there?” she asked.
“There is someone there that I need to see. It is very important to the future of all Draqua,” I said.
“Just try to stay away from that lake,” she said.
“Yes, I remember. I will stay away from there,” I said. I kissed her goodbye and Baca and I were on our way to Tiok. I could not believe that I was searching for a traitor that my father considered to be his most trusted advisor.
“Where are we?” Baca asked as we landed the ship on the rocky cliffs, the same cliffs where I had made love to Melody.”
“We are outside the village of Pacu. It is west. See that lake over there?”
“Yes,” Baca said.
“Stay away from there. There is a creature that likes to pull you into the water, and he also comes on land,” I said.
“Noted,” Baca said laughing.
“From here we will fly into the village under darkness. I know my way. You ready to follow me?” I said.
“Yes. Let’s do this,” he said.
“I don’t know how prepared I am to look him in the eyes, but I know it is what my father would want me to do,” I said.
“Yes, I think so too. I think you are doing the right thing.”
Baca and I flew to the outskirts of the village. Then we took on large cloaks and pulled the hoods over our heads. Now we blended in with all the other aliens in the area.
“This way,” Baca said. “We saw him this way last time.”
I followed him to the center of one of the many markets. “That is why humans and aliens should not mix! It is not what was intended for any of you! Mixing Draqua with alien will kill off all the Draqua! The hybrids are young and indulgent. They know nothing of self-sacrifice!” a familiar voice shouted as the crowd cheered him on. I went to the back of the crowd. Baca looked at me. I looked at the speaker that had the attention of a few Draqua and more diverse aliens than I had ever seen in my life. The Draqua that was giving the speech was the reason that I was here. It stung to see him up there. He was betraying my father, and he probably had been doing so his entire life in service to my father. The Draqua was Candris. He was my father’s right hand and my father had sent him to an outpost to work for him. I wondered if he had just vanished from the position or was going between his post and this post to run the opposition. Now it all made so much sense. I looked at Baca and nodded. Baca disappeared to deliver my message. When we were done, we waited on the cliffs by the lake with the monster.
“Cylo! I am surprised to see you here, son,” he said with a smile.
“And I am surprised that you can betray my father the way you have. It was you all along, wasn’t it?” I sneered at him.
“Yes and no. Your father was a good king, but it wasn’t enough. Then the opposition appeared, and I shared the same views, so it was only natural for me to take control of that group and turn it into something big. I knew the most about your father and the kingdom, working with him all those years, and I knew how to bring it all down.”
“Well, you failed, Candris. The kingdom still stands, and I rule over it,” I said proudly.
“Does it? Your father is gone, and your brother turned on you.”
“Shit! Now it makes sense. How could you do it? You were like a second father to us. You are the one that got to Greia. You convinced him to believe what you wanted him to believe!” I shouted at him.
“Yes, it was easier than I thought it was going to be. He was of a weak mind. He was very jealous of you, but he did love you. It took time to make his jealousy overshadow the love, and when it did, he was ready to be taken over. I was going to have him overthrow the king and then I would join him at his side and eventually get rid of your brother too,” Candris said.
“Why? Everything is going so well in our village and on Kelon, and we should not have the fear that you have brought upon us,” I said.
“I did it because of the humans, Cylo. The humans do not have a place with us. You do not know them like I do. They are ruthless. When they discover our existence and that we have been taking human females, they will retaliate, and their retaliation will destroy all of Kelon.”
“The humans?! There is nothing to fear there. They do not know of our existence.”
“No, but they will, and you will be the reason for it. That is why I must stop you, all of you,” he said. He pulled off his cloak, and he shifted into a purple dragon. I threw off my cloak and Baca and I both flew in opposite directions. Candris came after me. I zig-zagged all over the place as he shot streams of fire at me. Candris was an older and stronger dragon. His range was very far. “I know what I am going to do with you,” I whispered to myself.
I lead him to the side of the lake on the shore, the same shore where the monster from the lake had grabbed me. I faced the lake and landed on the sand. I backed up away from the lake. Candris landed in front of me as I slowly walked backward.
“This is the end for you, Prince Cylo!” he shouted. His dragon voice was thick and harsh. He was one of the few elder Draqua that could speak while in full dragon form.
“It’s King Cylo now!” I shouted to him.
“Not for long,” he shouted. He took a step toward me. Boom! The ground shook. I looked at the pebbles that shook on the ground. This was a good thing. Boom! He took another step.
“Say goodbye, Candris. You will hurt me and my family no more,” I said.
The dragon let out a hearty laugh. But then… Whoosh! Large tentacles wrapped around the purple dragon. In seconds the dragon was being crushed in the lake serpent’s jaws. Then the creature dragged the dragon into the water. I flew up into the air as soon as I could so as not to be its next meal. I flew straight up to the cliff where Baca was waiting.
“What the hell was that?” Baca said.
“It’s an old friend,” I said.
Boom! Bam! “What the hell?!” I shouted as I saw a ship get into range and shoot at us. “Go! Hide!” I shouted as we flew quickly into the rock and hid in the brush.
Boom! Our ship was blown to pieces. Another ship landed on the cliffside. Three Draqua emerged. They were looking for Candris. I looked at Baca. He whispered to me “If we don’t take care of this now, then they too will be a problem later.”
I nodded yes to him. We waited until the Draqua were close. Then “Aah!” we charged at them. A full fight broke out.
“Why are they not shifting?!” I shouted at Baca when I got close enough to him as I flew by.
“I don’t know,” he said. We fought, and we fought hard, until there was only one left. The Draqua threw its blaster gun and threw its hands in the air.
“Get on the ground!” I shouted to it. The Draqua laid on the ground and Baca and I flew to it, landing on the cliffs.
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Yeqit,” it said.
“Why did you and your friends not shift? It is a much fairer fight that way,” Baca asked.
“Because we can’t shift,” he said. Baca and I looked at each other stunned.
“What do you mean? Do you mean you cannot shift into full dragon? Are you hybrids with humans?” I asked.
“No, I mean we cannot shift at all. We cannot shift into full dragon, and we cannot shift into hybrid like you. We are not human,” he said.
“Holy shit. What the hell is going on out here in Tiok?” Baca whispered to me. I sighed. I had no idea, but this could not be good.
“If you are not with human, are you full Draqua?” I asked.
“No,” he said.
“Then what? Stop fucking around and tell us!” Baca shouted.
“We are hybrid with Aeriwana,” he said.
“What?! No!” I shouted. “Fuck!”
“Yes, Candris has been overseeing the breeding program,” he said.
“Candris…why would he do such a thing?” I said.
“You will have to ask him yourself,” the Draqua said. I looked back at the lake; that was not going to happen.
“It is a little late for that,” I said to myself. Then the Draqua began to speak. “Maybe it is too late for you too. Since you are going to fight to the death. Fight now,” he said.
“What?” I laughed. “Don’t be absurd.”
Bam! Baca hit me on the jaw.
“Baca what the fuck!” I said holding my sore jaw. I saw the look in Baca’s eyes. He was not there. “Oh shit! Baca, snap out of it,” I shouted.
I could hear the Draqua on the ground laughing. “Hit him.”
“No! Don’t do it!” I shouted. I realized that this Draqua that was mixed with the alien race of Aeriwana had the same powers that I did. He had mind control, but I was only able to use it on humans, and not other Draqua. It seemed that Candris was purposely trying to breed a super Draqua. I knew what I had to do. I grabbed a big stone off the ground and flew straight up into the air. Baca followed and I had to use evasive flying to stop him from hitting me. I flew straight down. Bam! I hit the Draqua’s head with the stone. Baca landed on the rocks. “What the hell just happened?” he said.
“Shit. This Draqua had mind control, and he was using it on you,” I said
“What? I thought that did not work on other Draqua?” Baca said.
“So did I. It does not work for me, but it seems to work for these Draqua that are crossed with Aeriwana. This is what Candris was doing out here. He was using the diverse alien races that live on this planet to create a Draqua that he can use as a weapon, and persuasion is a very powerful weapon,” I said.
“Shit. We better get out of here before more come,” Baca said.
“Good idea. Looks like we will be taking their ship back,” I said. We climbed into the ship and made our way back to Kelon.
“When we arrive, tell no one what we have discovered except for Jix. I do not want to create panic among the Draqua on Kelon. They are barely starting to trust each other again, and I don’t want them to think they have to be wary of a new breed of Draqua that can make them do things they don’t want to do.”
“I understand,” Baca said.
It was a stressful voyage. I had to face a close friend and someone I considered to be a second father only to discover that he was a traitor. He was the cause for it all. He was the cause of the opposition uprising, and now I did not see that cause going away. It was only getting stronger. Then I had to deal with the new information that there was a new Draqua out there that was more dangerous than any I had ever known. I wondered how long it would be before they showed up on Kelon. It was probably only a matter of time