| You must not ignore what you see, whether you see it with your eyes or otherwise. -Rules of Life, pg. 57 Part 37 I dashed through the castle, almost running Zidane over. [Zidane!] � Come on! We have to find Dagger!� I chased him down unfamiliar hallways, looking back and forth hurriedly. We had very little time. The castle was on fire and just about everyone had gotten out. There were only two who were still missing. Garnet and Tiovex. Eventually, we came out into the front hall. A dead silver dragon, Kuja�s silver dragon (however he got it inside), laid in our path. Wild with panic, Zidane leapt over it and stared up at the overhead walkway. Tiovex stood on his rear legs, snarling down at Kuja. Hot orange blood rolled down his scales and burned holes in the floor. Kuja was only smiling evilly. � You think you can beat me?!� Tiovex shook his head. � You will not win. No matter what you do, they will find you and kill you. I pray that the August Dragon sends you to the darkest pits of Hell for everything you�ve done.� With a snarl, Kuja sent a spear of magic right through Tiovex�s heart. I shrieked. Tiovex looked over the rail at us. He smiled weakly. [Retribution for all that you�ve done, Kuja.] Pulling together the last dregs of strength, Tiovex lunged at Kuja, speeding his death even as he dealt a final blow. Raking fangs and talons over Kuja in a desperate search for his throat, Tiovex tore a large hole in his cheek and then dropped to the floor. Due to fallen, burning ceiling, we couldn�t get up the stairs. Zidane leapt onto my back and I flew up the stairs to land on the overhead walkway. Kuja grinned and picked up an unconscious Garnet. Without even taunting us, he slit her throat and dropped her like she was so much garbage. Zidane fell to his knees, eyes wide in disbelief. � . . . No . . .� Then he clutched his head and wailed, � No~!� Dizzy from the smoke and the pain of a double loss, I staggered a few steps forward. � Coming to die?� � Never!� I pulled my head back, then threw it forward, releasing supersonic sound right at him. He covered his ears and backed away as if he actually heard it. I followed him until he ran into the doors at the end of the walkway, then intensified the scream. Suddenly, the floor gave underneath us. I landed on my stomach on something that had been on the wall and was not sharp but easily penetrated my stomach plates. Lifting myself off it proved to be a feat all its own, but I did it. I crawled to Zidane, who was spitting mouthfuls of blood at an alarmingly frequent rate. Even more blood covered him. So much that I didn�t know where it was coming from. He was dying. With more strength than I thought I had I pulled him close. � Mother . . .� he whimpered. � I�m sorry,� I whispered, nuzzling his hair. � I�m so sorry, Ziaden.� � I�m afraid.� � Don�t be. I�ll be right there with you, I promise.� � . . . I love you.� � I love you too.� He went limp in my arms. I glared at Kuja. I couldn�t fight, but I could speak. And if I could speak I could curse him. [By the power of the August Dragon,] I began in a hiss, [I damn you to an eternity in your own private Hell. And when you die, that Hell shall become reality and will be your final resting place for all time.] Then my eyes closed and . . . A scream reached me from across the camp and permeated the haze of sleep I was currently in. I leapt to my feet and bolted over to where Zidane had evidently fallen asleep while he was thinking on his own. Vanel, Vivi, and Eiko were already there, but Zidane was curled in on himself and wouldn�t speak. I put my hand on Zidane�s shoulder and found my arms full the next second. � He killed them, the murderer,� he whispered, shaking his head. � He killed them. Dagger . . . Tiovex . . .� [And he killed us.] � You . . .� I nodded. [I did.] � I�m scared.� I changed to my human form, knowing I would be holding him all night. Even if he weren�t so shaken, I would do it for my own sake. So I knew he was there and alive, could feel and hear him breathe, could feel his heart beat. � I�m scared too, Ziaden.� I looked up at the others. � Go on back to bed. I will stay with him.� They did as I ordered, which was very unusual for Eiko, and returned to the tent. Moments later, however, Vanel returned. [Zidane, Kitiane, may I stay with you?] [Why?] I asked, concealing my anger. [I saw it too. I couldn�t do anything, but I saw it.] Now why didn�t it occur to me that she would experience the dream as well, considering her link with us? Without a word, Zidane scooped her into his lap. He stroked her head comfortingly as he murmured incoherently. Leaning back against me, he closed his eyes and listened to my wings close around him. That apparently comforted him, because he fell asleep almost right away. He�d exhausted himself with his trembling and crying and now, completely worn out, he slept soundly. Vanel also, now in the safety of familiar presences, fell asleep. I, however, was not so lucky. The dream was too vivid to set aside for later. Frowning, I tried to figure out if it was happening right then, was a foretelling of what was to come, or was symbolizing something almost as equally devastating as that event would be. I stayed awake all night working on it, and in the morning we continued on to Treno. <--Part 36 Part 38--> |