Chapter 7
A Cruel Goodbye and an Unlikely Competition
Zandra was miffed when Anani picked her up and rushed her out of the room. They were out the front door before anyone could notice they had left. “And just what do you think you are doing?”
“You are fading, and there is nothing that they can do to help you.”
“What if I don’t want help?”
“I won’t accept that for an answer.”
“You don’t really have a choice or a say.”
“I don’t?” He stopped just outside the city, the dirt rising from where he had moved, and the banners still flapping from the speed through which he had moved the air. “What about you sticking around as long as I need strength? Are you going to go back on that like you went back on your promise to Akeno?”
The words were like a sledgehammer to her stomach. Zandra began to wiggle, trying to get out of his grip. “Put me down. Put me down this instant. You can’t do this to me.”
Anani glared at her. “Apparently, you have no problem helping people you barely know, but you refuse to do anything for the people who profess their love to you. This is the woman who won my heart?”
Zandra stopped for a moment and stared at him, not entirely sure what he meant. Choosing to ignore the last part, she snapped back, “How could I sit by and do nothing while a city died around me?”
“I seem to remember that never being a problem for you before.”
“I was little more than a child when Lekkining was quarantined.”
“The girl back there was younger than you were when Lekkining fell.”
“You can’t compare my life to that of a human’s.”
“Because they are lesser?” The color in his eyes swirled as Anani glared at her.
It should have cowed her, but Zandra found she could no longer remain silent. Something inside of her snapped. “Yes. Humans are lesser than humanoids, and it is obvious in everything they do. In everything they think. In the way that they die. We tolerate them because we are better, but they will never change. That is why they are lesser.”
Anani gritted his teeth and shook his head. “I swear I am surrounded by the worst friends in the world. I should return to the mountains and let the world fall apart. It is no less than you fools deserve.”
“No one is stopping you.”
His eyes flashed, and the small electrical discharges flew from his body. “You are right, no one is stopping me.”
Without another word, Anani placed her gently on the ground, turned on his heel, and disappeared before Zandra could say anything else.
For several moments she was rooted to the spot, staring into the distance. There was no way for her eyes to follow him, particularly as she realized that she could no longer see as well as she had a few days earlier. Running a hand over her face, Zandra knew that she had to move faster. After the encounter with the medics in Naucratis, she knew that a follow-up with the organization in Sukhothai would be pointless. Even now, Dakota was likely preparing information and sending word out about Zandra. The witch gave a dry laugh that sounded more like a cackle to her own ears.
“Let the bastards blacklist me. I won’t be alive long enough for it to reach beyond Sima.” Looking around, she noticed that no one was coming or going from the city. Placing one of her wrinkled hands over her eyes, she looked toward the horizon and Sima. Akeno’s home was just a little more than a day’s journey if she used magic.
But she had made a promise. With a sigh, Zandra lowered her head, then turned to re-enter the gates. She walked toward the stables where she knew there would be messengers resting and waiting for their next job. Walking up to three who were talking and drinking water as their horses rested, Zandra grabbed their attention.
“I wonder if I could get the three of you to each deliver a letter for me.”
The three young messengers looked at each other, then smiled back at the old woman. “Sure we can, grandma. But are you sure you need all three of us?”
“Oh, you are quite right. I only need the fastest one of you.”
Suddenly the looks from the three faces were a little less friendly as they looked at each other.
“That would be me,” one of the young lads stepped forward.
“In your dreams, Johan. I could whip his ass as I ran circles around him,” said the second boy.
The girl spoke next. “And while they fight it out, I could have your letter delivered and be back in time for supper.”
“Oh, could you now?” Zandra smiled at her. “Why don’t we find out?” She handed each of them a letter. “You,” she pointed at the first boy, “I need you to deliver that to Yuesulton.”
His eyes bugged out. “But that will take two days!”
Ignoring Johan’s words, she handed an envelope to the second boy. “That needs to go to Shrinton, the larger.”
“That’s nearly a four-day trip!”
Again, she ignored the words as she held out the third envelope. “That needs to go to Antakya. And I would make sure to keep your identity hidden if you want to make it back.”
The young woman turned pale, but accepted the letter without a word.
Zandra nodded, then pulled out her purse. She handed the first 1,000 gold, the second 2,000 gold, and the third 5,000 gold. The three looked at the sums, then back at the woman, waiting for whatever she had to say.
“Well, what are you waiting for? You’ve got your pay and then some. If you are as fast as you claim, then this should be easy enough. I need the letters delivered as quickly as possible. Each of those needs to make it into the hands of the head medic at each of the outposts. Don’t give it to anyone who doesn’t know what happens when nightshade is mixed with tincture of raspberry.”
“That will kill you!” the young woman exclaimed.
“Exactly.” The young woman looked smug for a minute. “If that is the response, or some similar combination, ask for someone with more experience.”
The three looked at each other, perplexed. Finally, Johan asked, “What is the right answer?”
“The medic will tell you, and that will be your bonus.” She looked at them expectantly. “What are you waiting for? Go. Shoo.” She began to wave her hands at them. They ran over to their horses and began to prepare them for their respective trips.
“And don't even think about short-changing your horses. You don’t get to rest at their expense. If you rest, they rest. When you eat and drink, they eat and drink. If I find out that you mistreated them, I will take my money back and take their pain out on your hides!”
The three heads turned to look at her, their faces whitened. They nodded in unison, then took off in three different directions.
Zandra stood by and smiled as the dust from the three horses clouded the air. Suddenly her heart felt heavy as the image reminded her of what she knew would be the last time she would see Anani. He had entered her life like a tempest, upsetting everything she believed about herself. If Akeno was the logic and wisdom that she had needed to survive, Anani had been the heart that she had thought she didn’t need. Akeno had been there for her for everything. Anani had been there to show her what life was like. Not that Akeno was a saint. He had a mischievous side like no one she had ever known, but he was not impulsive or impetuous as Anani could be. There was always some ulterior motive, some reason for what he did, and in the end that was why she chose him over her heart. Zandra knew that she was severely lacking and that she needed a measured personality to balance her own.
She had played them both, and they had both reacted as she knew they would. Anani swore he would never forgive her, that she had betrayed him. His anger at Akeno had been less volatile, but he had been cruel in his choice of words because Akeno had known about what Zandra was doing. His best friend had known and done nothing to stop it. Zandra actually had not realized it until Akeno admitted to it, but she realized that she should have known that he would figure it out. He always figured her out, no matter how hard she tried to hide her misdeeds and faults. In the end, his desire to help her had cost her everything.
She was determined that Anani would not die for her sins as well. Zandra knew that no matter whom she chose, Anani would never have accepted her. He loathed being lied to, and rarely dealt with people who had hurt him. Others of his kind were a special exception, which proved that even he had blind spots that marred his ability to be entirely objective. Then again, dragon shifters were rare. Even water dragons, who were easily the most populous type, numbered fewer than 500 in the world. At least that was what she had heard. Even if the numbers were four times that, that still made them very rare. The fact that dragon shifters tended to live in seclusion helped to preserve them, but it also meant they were more vulnerable when one lost its mind. Dragons rarely attacked humans, but dragon shifters sometimes turned violent. It happened more with the reds than any others, but it still happened in the Seven Kingdoms. And it was always detrimental to their kind. Dragon shifters in the Seven Kingdoms tended to spend more time mingling, with the exception of the ground types who were rarely seen among other species. In nearly 100 years, Zandra had never met one. But when one dragon shifter turned violent towards humans and humanoids, all dragon shifters suffered. It was what had reduced their numbers over the millennia, and why they ensured that their existence was all but forgotten. Such raw power was almost impossible for people to comprehend, and the very idea of it inspired fear and a lust for more power.
Anani’s caution and understanding with his own species may have been narrow, but it was very much understood. Everyone who knew of the existence of dragon shifters guarded the secret as if their own lives depended on it. Dragon shifters were extremely perceptive when it came to gauging a person’s personality, and only revealed what they were when they deemed it safe.
If Zandra was honest with herself, the allure of having a dragon shifter as a lover had been one of the original inspirations for her interest in Anani, but over time she had grown to love him. Like the air, he could be hot and cold. It was very similar to her own approach to life, but unlike Anani, she was weak. Her powers were incredibly limited for a witch, and it had caused her a lot of pain growing up because she had been an object of ridicule by both humans and others of her kind. She had learned to use people for what she could get and to charm everyone she met, just in case she found a use for them later. About the only creatures weaker than Zandra were humans. It was through this similar weakness that she had learned to blend with them and understand their perspective. The fact that they still looked on her with suspicion still hurt, but she could at least understand, unlike so many others. When they revolted, she would leave. Ultimately, they would be wiped out while she sang in a city far away. No matter how powerful, a few witches and wizards could not fight an army. She had seen it happen four times in her life, and always with the same outcome. They wouldn’t listen to her, calling her a human sympathizer, once hurting her so badly that she had nearly died.
That was when she had met Carcerous. She was only 22 at the time, yet he was there as she wavered on the brink of life and death. For three days he kept her alive just enough that she was aware of the pain, but not enough that she would want to die. By the end of three days, he had persuaded her to act as one of his agents – an agent of low-level, demonic chaos.
She had been good at it, too.
As a low-level demon, Carcerous had known how to read souls to find their weaknesses, and turn it to his advantage, just as Zandra had done during her early years. She was only 13 when she witnessed her first magical uprising. She had fled then out of fear that she would be used as bait, then be discarded once she was no longer of use. The second time, she felt she needed to stand up to the flawed thinking of her peers. Humans weren’t as bad as they said. It was all a matter of perspective. Her failure to reach them was used as proof by Carcerous to help turn her against everyone and everything.
And then Akeno happened to her. She was celebrating her 25th birthday with an underground orgy when he strode through the door. The party goers had stopped just long enough to try to tempt him, but Akeno had charmed and lulled them back into their own encounters. He had approached Zandra and pulled her away from the three men carnally feasting on her body. As soon as she was removed from them, the three men merged together like she had never been there. It had been upsetting because she was meant to have been the center of attention. Even at her own party, Zandra was barely more than a passing creature.
Akeno had swept her up. “You are more than that to me.” His soft voice had soothed her aching heart a little. It was not the first time they had spoken, and she had never thought much of him because she could not see a way to manipulate him to her purposes. He had no contacts that she could see, and his ideas were too difficult for her to grasp. Until that night, he had barely registered in her life, but she would learn later that he had been stalking her for years before finally making his move.
As he carried her out of her party, Zandra thought she might finally have her way to him. Turning her most coquettish look on him, Zandra had said, “You hardly know me. We can fix that, though.”
He had laughed and distracted her with other things. When the morning dawned, she lay asleep in his lap as he stroked her hair. Their entire time had been spent staring at the stars as he explained the constellations, taught to him when he was young. Of course, kitsune had different constellations than other species, but the thought had never occurred to Zandra. He introduced her to an entirely different existence, and he had helped her fight her way out of the darkness that defined her early life.
He had made her want something more, and taught her that life wasn’t a series of events that defined who she would be. Her actions could be changed, and she could be whatever she wanted if she worked hard enough.
Their relationship had been that of a mentor and student for nearly 25 years.
And then she had met Anani.
For the first time in a long time, she wanted someone. Then she had gotten to know Anani, had seen his power, and felt the way he treated others despite that power. She had fallen in love with him, and she believed that she could steal him away from his people if she played the role just right.
And then Akeno had made his move. One night as she headed home from a rendezvous with Anani, Akeno had been waiting for her just outside her home. They lived in homes next to each other because he said it was improper for them to live under the same roof.
As she approached, he got down on his knees and asked her what he could do to win her heart. At first, she had stared at him, trying to figure out what kind of test it was.
“I am in earnest. I love you, Zandra. I know that you do not see me that way now.” His diamond-like eyes sparkled in the moonlight, and for the first time since the party, Zandra saw his potential for something more. His smile widened, “I know that over time your heart can grow to accept me.”
“But, my little Akeno, what about my lessons? How can I learn if I am distracted by you being my lover?” The smile spread across her lips, and she did not expect him to have a response to her question.
Faster than she had ever seen him move, Akeno had stood and pulled her to him. “There are many lessons that I can teach you that are only possible if we are lovers.”
She giggled and let him kiss her, expecting him to give up and laugh at how silly it was.
Instead, the kiss had grown more passionate, a sensation that she had not felt since her party. Zandra’s heart tried to force her to stop, but her body responded to every touch as his hands explored her. He took her inside and they did not leave until the morning more than a day later.
At the time, Zandra thought she could play it both ways. She had tried to hide her interest in Anani from Akeno, but he was far more intelligent than she had realized. It took nearly two decades to get Anani to finally consider making a move because he was so averse to the idea of love, though he never explained why. Finally, Anani seemed ready to admit what she knew he felt, and then everything had fallen apart. He had come to her home unexpectedly, while she and Akeno were making love. The look on his face was still etched in her mind so many years later. Of course, Akeno had set it up, not as a way to hurt Anani or to show that she was his, but to convince Zandra that she could not toy with others.
Anani had disappeared after that. For two months, she had fumed and cursed Akeno for chasing away the man she loved. Two months to the day, Akeno couldn’t take it anymore. Zandra blamed him for everything, and whether or not he believed it, Akeno had felt that he no longer had a place in her life.
When her mentor and lover disappeared, Zandra felt alone for the first time in a long time. The friends she had made were little more than playthings, despite what Akeno had tried to teach her. Zandra was still too selfish to see what she was doing to others. With the loss of Akeno, the witch was finally forced to look at herself through the eyes of the one man who had always loved her. At first, he had loved her from afar, planning how to draw her out of her own destruction. Then he had loved her as a mentor. When she finally showed that she was ready to love, he had tried to capture her heart. It was the only thing that she could never fully give him.
She traveled on her own for more than 15 years, but it always felt empty. No man whom she had had inspired passion or burning desire. No woman made her long for something more. Zandra knew that the door to Anani was shut, but she prayed that Akeno had left his heart open to her. That first night in Melzi he had proved that he still held out hope for her and that he would still love her if she would have him.
The tears were free flowing as she remembered those last few months. How she had continued to return to his bed during those early days, then how she had snuck him into hers wherever she was staying. It hadn’t been as exciting as their early adventures when he had become her mentor, nor did her heart race the way it had when she was with Anani. But Zandra had learned that sometimes love didn’t need to be exciting or new to be worth it. She loved Akeno in every way that was important, and that was the last lesson he taught her. She brushed away the tears as they streamed down her face.
Not caring how much time it would remove from her life, Zandra took off toward the horizon, her final purpose firm in her mind. There was nothing left for her in this world, so finally falling into the abyss that was waiting for her upon death may not be so terrible. She would never be with Akeno again, but she could stop the pain. Her thoughts were dark as she sped toward the only resolution her life could have.