I glanced at Savion as we ate at the dining table. This all seemed like a weird dream, but I knew everything had happened for a reason. Blathe didn't want the sombest goddess to take us. Why? Did he really love us enough to marry?
As Blathe admired Savion, it was then that I realized why. I loved him, too. I didn't hesitate to jump in the way to block the swords because I wanted Savion to enjoy a life better than what he was living.
Blathe was more like a dark blue cat, mysterious and playful. His claws could crush my head, but he was gentle as a lamb. I found myself nuzzling in his fur after he had driven the sombest goddess away. His fur smelled like hickory, smoky from the fires, yet sweet from his nature.
His rough paws had scars from battles, and I rubbed them to convince myself that this was real. Blathe was a real person. His body wasn't made of stone, but his chest and abs were hard enough to think so. His crimson eyes held the stories of his past, and I longed to hear them.
Blathe summoned a pair of small, hooped earrings that shimmered blue like the moon. His crimson waves of magic surrounded them like wisps of smoke. The earrings pulsed with energy, and they glowed as bright as the sun before returning to their original hue.
"I made these myself, hoping to meet my true love," Blathe admitted as he handed one to each of us. "Wear it, and be bonded to me for as long as you wish. Should you ever come to hate me and wish to leave me, tell the earring, and it will disappear, along with its partner. As you've witnessed with the arrival of my mother, you will be at her mercy without my protection." Blathe gazed at each of us with a somber expression. "Our marriage will be finalized once the earring has tasted your blood."
"Will you help me put it on?" I queried as I moved my hair to show my right ear.
Blathe cleared his throat as he sidled next to me and brushed my hair with his claws. His whiskers tickled my neck, and I burst with a fit of giggles.
"Hold still, Izilim," he warned, his voice almost whispering.
I scratched his furry chin at a whim, and he erupted with the loudest purrs I had ever heard.
"Will you help me with mine, too?" Savion asked him.
Blathe brought him close with his other paw and sighed in ecstasy. "Shall we have our honeymoon tonight as well?"
"No," Savion curtly answered as he crossed his arms.
Blathe chuckled before he jabbed the earring into my ear. It stung for a second until he muttered a healing spell.
"Will you teach us your healing magic?" Savion inquired.
Blathe tilted Savion's neck and placed his head on his furry chest. "Perhaps, if you treat me more like your partner and husband."
Savion grunted in annoyance as he furrowed his brows. Blathe jabbed the earring in his left ear and healed it. "Will you sing a song for us, Savion?"
"I'm not going to sing for you!" Savion blasted before he wrenched away. He bolted towards the stone gates and tried to open them, but they didn't budge. "Let me out!" he demanded as he faced Blathe.
"It's not safe yet," Blathe responded in a calm tone.
"I don't care!" Savion hollered. "Open the gates! I'll not live in a cage ever again!"
His gasping breaths reminded me of a panic attack, and I held his arm to calm him. I recalled when Heather had told me he had acted strangely in her family house. He had stayed close to the door and didn't step into the shadows. His breathing was erratic now as back then, and his eyes filled with fear. Fear of what? I wondered.
The alchemist kit brightened the cavernous castle with floating white orbs, shrinking the shadows. Savion's breaths calmed a bit, but his focus was on the gates.
"Is there somewhere we can get some fresh air?" I asked Blathe.
He nodded as he conjured a shadow portal. "Follow me." He stepped through it with us on his tail.
Once we reached a spacious meadow filled with wildflowers, Savion squeezed my hand. His breathing had eased, and he stood peacefully in the sunlight.
Blathe shielded his eyes as he regressed to the shadows of the forest nearby.
Savion touched the earring and took a deep breath. He pulled me with him to the forest where we had last seen Blathe.
"Where did he go?" Savion mumbled.
I pointed at dark thunder clouds in the direction Blathe had gone. "Could it be?"
We glanced at each other before responding. "His father, god of the luzinns."
Fast footsteps approached from behind us. The sombest assassin was rapid as he attacked us with his swords. A crimson shield surrounded us, blocking his sharp blades. He soared into the air and landed on a boulder.
Savion didn't have his daggers, but golden ones appeared in his hands. They were longer and pulsed with energy. I tossed him a speed and strength potion that he drank as he dashed towards the assassin. Savion seemed invisible as he moved so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up. I drank the potion as well, and I cheered for Savion before the alchemist kit threw a slowing potion at the assassin.
"Yeah, that would be helpful," I mused.
Savion was graceful as he dodged the assassin's deadly slashes. Even with the slowing potion, the sombest was quick enough to slice Savion's arm and chest. I gasped when I saw Savion lose one of his daggers. The alchemist kit poured a healing potion on Savion, but the assassin was relentless. It made me wonder if this assassin had an alchemist, too.
It was then that I remembered the dream and what my mother had said.
I had a spear in my dream to fight off the shadows.
The alchemist kit seemed to read my mind as it formed a golden spear. It was heavy in my hands, even with the potion. We had less than three minutes. We had to make it count.
My spear seemed to have a mind of its own as crimson magic enveloped it. I felt connected to its past, when it was in Blathe's hands. I hollered as the spear bolted towards the assassin. There was a loud crack of thunder as blue lightning blasted the area I had leapt to.
The sombest snarled at me as the spear and I worked in tandem. The sombest's swords were fast, but Blathe's spear was faster as it blocked his slashes and knocked one sword out of his hand. Before Savion could interfere, the spear pierced the assassin's chest. His black blood spurted as he tried to stand, but he crashed to his knees. His sapphire eyes were filled with regret as the wraps loosened, revealing the gripebell that was hiding on his chest. It hissed as it flew away, uncovering the assassin's true luzinn form. Savion ran to him and held him in his arms. "Brother!" he cried. "I thought you were dead!"
The luzinn's skin paled as the blood flowed out, creating a morbid puddle in the grasses. "I knew you could set me free," Savion's brother whispered in a hoarse voice. "Don't lose her."
Savion's tears washed away the sombest disguise, uncovering the luzinn's orange and golden hair. A crimson aura surrounded us, and I gasped as the luzinn's wounds began to close. Blathe's healing capabilities were amazing!
A cry of pain shot through me, coming from where Blathe had gone. I had a feeling that Blathe was in trouble and needed our help. "Savion!" I started. "Something's wrong!"
We stared at the forest as yellow lightning arced through the canopy. A thunderous roar reminded me of Blathe.
"Use your alchemist kit to bring Resion to safety," Savion ordered. "I'll check it out."
"I'll be right behind you," I nodded.
Savion grabbed his other dagger and stepped into the forest.
The alchemist kit gently placed Resion on a bed in Blathe's castle. It wasn't long before I was able to dash after Savion.
The forest was quiet as we ran, following Blathe's footsteps that dented the leaves. A clap of thunder sounded to the right of us. Blathe's pained roar tore at my heart.
"Blathe!" I shouted. There was a clearing ahead where the clouds had parted, allowing sunlight to beam in calming rays. Groans led us to Blathe on the ground, bleeding from his chest. "Blathe!" I gasped. The alchemist kit poured the strongest healing potions, but none of them worked.
Blathe turned to me and smiled. "Izilim." He gulped as he clenched his fur covered in blood. I tried to stop the flow, but the wound was deep. "You must burn me in a pyre and bury the ashes," he whispered.
My tears escaped me as I refused to believe it. He couldn't die!
"Don't leave us!" I pleaded.
His crimson eyes closed, and his breathing staggered before he took his last breath.
Savion held me as I wept for him.
"You're coming with me," the sombest goddess declared from behind, her shrill voice unmistakable.
I whipped around with the spear so fast that Savion jumped back in alarm.
"You shut your mouth and show some respect!" I blasted. The alchemist kit protected us with a golden shield as she attacked with shadow magic.
The moment she paused, the spear and I knocked her to the ground, the point on her throat.
"Leave us alone or you won't live our next encounter!"
The goddess glared at me before she scowled. "All right! I'll leave you crazy fools alone! Now, get off me!"
Savion stood beside me with his daggers at the ready. I was surprised to see his eyes glistening with tears. Losing Blathe hit both of us hard.
"Damn idiots," the goddess grumbled as she approached another body on the ground. She lifted her hand, and the golden essence of the luzinn god swirled around her before dissipating. The body crumbled into ashes and was taken by the wind.
Savion and I wrapped Blathe's body in linen, and the alchemist kit used the lumber in its storage to build a pyre that reached the canopy. We placed his body at the top and watched as it burned throughout the night.
It was morning when the alchemist kit gathered the ashes and brought Resion to join us for breakfast.
Savion and I weren't hungry, but Resion was another story. He ate every full plate the alchemist kit set before him. Hearty beef stew, pulled pork slathered in sweet sauces, and dinner rolls dipped in garlic butter. His bulging stomach brought a much needed smile to my face.
"What happens, now?" Resion queried as we sat beneath the oak tree at the edge of the village. Blathe's ashes were in an ornate ceramic urn that I cradled in my hands.
"Let's bury him here," Savion suggested as we gazed at the rustling leaves.
"Yeah," I responded as I glanced at him. His hands clutched the earth beneath a root. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. We buried him together, and I felt a sense of peace wash over us.