“And leave hundreds of books and piles of priceless magical resources laying around unprotected with the risk of the Council members stumbling into them? Thanks, but no thanks.” Syrah cut Morok short.
“Even if I lift the space-compressing array, our dimensional amulets are already filled with food and I have no way to procure enough to hold such a massive collection.”
“Or you can trust me. After all, until you learn the basics of Forgemastery and Warden magic, you have no use for the ingredients stored inside the vaults. Also, if you don’t let me take Ryla with me, she has no reason to give you access to my legacy. You’ll be locked out anyway.”
The Fomor put a hand on the latch of her Harmonizer, ready to open it and destroy the only key to reach Glemos’ lab.
“Fine. Who’s the other one?” Syrah raised her hands in surrender.
The books were written in a code that made them worthless and without the Fomors’ cooperation, the deal with the Council would break down.
Ryla disappeared past the wall of white marble and crystals while Lith and the others prepared for the fight of their lives. He had requested Zoreth’s presence not only to protect Bytra, but also to buy the time he needed to bring Garrik to the tower and Warp him away.
‘Solus, is everything ready?’ He asked via the mind link.
‘Yeah. I just need your signal to form the tower.’ She replied. ‘The only thing I don’t like about this plan is that Bytra and Zoreth might see the tower and discover our secret.’
‘I don’t like it either, but without their help, we could never hold so many enemies at bay while defending a child.’
Solus nodded, inwardly hoping that they wouldn’t need the contingency plan.
By the time the Fomor returned, everyone was full to the brim with mana and spells. The black-violet aura of the hybrids flooded the palace of the senate with a thick fog that made it hard to breathe for the monsters and also alerted the guards outside.
Syrah had called everyone to arms, channeling the power of hundreds of warg and twice as many spells. Br’ey and Urhen had charged respectively their crystal and wings, ready to neutralize the enemies’ elemental spells.
Their jaws dropped to the ground and their minds went blank, dispelling all of her abilities, when they noticed the white-skinned child who was walking hand in hand with Ryla.
Garrik stared at everything with eyes full of wonder. He had never seen so many people and none of them looked like him. He wanted to stop to take a good look at all those strangers and maybe ask them a few questions but his mother dragged him on his feet.
“So this is the reason you’ve been playing games all this time!” Syrah growled, making the child yelp in fear and hide behind Ryla’s legs. “You were protecting more than Glemos’ treasures, you were protecting his blood.”
“He’s my blood too.” The Fomor growled back. “What would you have done if Glemos had picked you to bear his child and make him an enemy of our people? What would you have done in order to keep Xagra safe?”
Syrah was taken aback by those questions, her still-dazzled mind had a hard time answering honestly without making herself want to puke.
“I don’t get it.” She said. “You know dimensional magic and your Harmonizer controls Zelex’s arrays just like mine. Why didn’t you bring your son away in secret?”
“Because he’s not like us. Garrik’s life force should become perfect once he grows up, but only if he never steps out of a geyser.” Ryla replied. “Also, Glemos didn’t give me control over the space compressing arrays just like he didn’t give you access to his lab.
“He split our privileges to pit us against each other. I couldn’t bring you to the lab without endangering my son but at the same time even if I wanted to take him away, I couldn’t do it without exposing his existence.
“Before doing something stupid, know this. Only Garrik’s Harmonizer can operate the lab’s arrays. If anything happens to him, they will be lost forever.”
The Hati Queen clenched her fangs at the cruel ingenuity of Glemos’ ploy. With a single move he had driven a wedge between the only people who could fight his tyranny.
Even the rites of passage now made sense. Glemos had established them so that Garrik would never be safe without his father. The hatred that built up with each new generation of monsters was meant to keep his offspring prisoner and the high priestesses obedient.
“Drop the arrays for one second.” Faluel said, breaking the standstill. “It’s all I need to activate my Warping array.”
Syrah moved her eyes from Garrik to the Hydra. The rage he felt for Ikara’s death demanded compensation and even though she knew that Glemos was already dead, harming the child was the closest thing to revenge she could get.
“Think about it this way.” Ryla said. “I didn’t tell the Council about Garrik because I didn’t want them to experiment on him like Glemos did. If Raagu knows about him, she’ll demand to add my son to the terms of the deal.
“You keep my secret and I keep yours. Garrik is both the key to the labs and your guarantee that I won’t try anything funny.”
“You-” Syrah yelped in surprise when something caught her tail.
“Wow. Your fur is really soft and warm.” The boy was holding it with one hand while with the other he was attempting to comb the fur that was bristled in outrage. “My name is Garrik. Are you a friend of my Mom?”
Syrah just glared at the child who due to the lack of social interactions and the excitement from meeting new people was oblivious of her hostility.
“No, she’s not.” Ryla pulled him away, putting herself between the Hati and the child. “Now be quiet for a second.”
“Mom, is he my brother as well?” Garrik was now focusing on Lith’s seven open eyes that were brimming with elemental power like those of his mother and brother. “When do I get my horns?”
“I’m not your brother, little man, but I might as well be. I have more in common with you than Moron here.” Lith used his tail to grab the kid and put him on his right shoulder.
“It’s Morok!” Both brothers said in unison, making the Tiamat smile.
“He’s my brother, though.” Xenagrosh opened her second set of eyes and turned into her hybrid form, gaining a striking resemblance with Lith as she shielded him with his body.
The black scales, the long tail, and the membranous wings typical of the Dragon race gained Garrik’s immediate admiration, making him squeal with joy.
“That’s so cool. How does it feel to have a tail? Can I get one too?”
Despite the deep grudge she held for Glemos, Syrah couldn’t bring herself to hate a child. Everything from his naïve questions to his excitement over trivial things told her many things.
‘That kid must have never gotten out of his room his whole life.’ She thought. ‘Glemos robbed Garrik of many things but from what I can see, Ryla managed to protect at least his innocence.’
