Cyré: A World Beyond Maya

Chapter Twenty-one to Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-One

Tuluc's voice wavered and for the first time in their four plus years of friendship, Filinia saw tears begin to stream down his cheeks. All of her anger immediately melted into heartbreak. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Guilt burned a spreading hole in her heart for how she demanded answers. She hadn't realized that when she had opened Pandora's box, so to speak, it would open up old wounds.
"When it was discovered that she was pregnant," Tuluc said after a while and returning Filinia's embrace, "my father's two brothers ki-killed him for daring to mix their blood with a species so egotistical and cruel. My mother was imprisoned for the duration of the pregnancy and most of the nursing period before she was hu-hung for treason, or so I was told many years ago by the king's father up until his death, about 20 years ago."
"Was—is your mother still alive?" Filinia asked, raising her head to look up at Tuluc.
He wiped away the remaining tears that refused to be held with his hand before returning it to the back of Filinia answering. "Her fractured heart broke the moment I was first cradled in her arms. I was very angry and did a lot of things that I'm not proud of for a very long time. And it took some more time after learning the truth to push back the hatred I once held towards everyone I thought were to blame for my parents' deaths. Once the emotion subsided, I made it my life's goal to find a way to mend my parents' honor by serving both the Bellator king and the Alpha of my father's pack."
"How were you able to do that, with your uncles—"
"They were executed a year after my father's murder."
"But how does this re—"
Tuluc gently placed his hand on her lips.
"I may have gained some respect from both parties and though I am one mission away from regaining the honor lost, I'm afraid I will always be seen as an outcast to both. An unworthy creature to know all of the information you seek. As frustrating and nonsensical as it may be to you, trust me when I say that the feelings are mutual. Even more so because after the mission is complete, whenever that may be, I will have to choose which side to be a part of. Unfair as it may seem, I have come to terms and accept it. Now, listen and please allow me to finish. My fear, though this last mission is very important to me, is once you've learned the truth—the whole truth, you won't want anything to do with me. And I don't think I can bear losing you. Because I wasn't expecting you to be different from my diluted expectations."
Filinia's lip gently caressed Tuluc's cheek, taking him by surprise. His eyes closed shut as if to aid him in regaining composure. He was aware that this was not the answer she had been expecting, nor he. Relieved to a certain degree to have her know about this small part of his upbringing, but the other side made his heart race in dread. She'll find out eventually.
"So what can you tell me?" Filinia asked understandingly, as her eyes met his.
"I can only hypothesize," Tuluc said, "but I think it may be possible that the key 'beaconed' its location. To answer your other questions, yes, many of those exiled have adjusted, have more or less given to the rest of Hirclan's ideas, or died. But there are those who, like Romi, have refused to forget. While the latter's numbers are quite small, they may still prove to be a problem, like herding sheep with guns, or rather, fangs."
"Like giving false promises of a better life?" Filinia asked, trying to comprehend as to where Tuluc was going with this. "And with the Havo necklace having been originally crafted to give additional strength, invincibility, the possibility to enslave others, and is a map to the portal in Maya—but wait! You said something about the key being a who and it and the necklace were like 'kindred spirits' or something, right? How?"
"It is good to know that some of what I said was retained," Tuluc said, pulling away from her with a chuckle.
"Ha, ha," Filinia replied sarcastically.
"The necklace won't show the map to the portal without the key's touch and the-the..." Tuluc started to say, his voice faltering again. He shifted his weight as he increased the distance between them. He rushed his hand through his shaggy black hair before continuing, refusing to make eye contact with Filinia and cursing under his breath, "Your mother is going to kill me for telling you all this without her permission... The key's blood on the necklace is what opens the portal."
"Umm, okay," Filinia said, cautiously. "But the key is somewhere else in Maya, right? I mean, it's not like the two are both here in Philly... 'Cause that would be stupid."
When Tuluc wasn't weakly laughing with her, Filinia felt a knot curling tightly around the center of her chest.
"Right?" Filinia asked, hoping for Tuluc to indicate otherwise. But he didn't. "Okay, so where do we find this key and how do we protect it?"
Tuluc reluctantly looked at her with worry and fear, then down at his feet.
"No, no, this seems too far-fetched and ridiculous. Please tell me that I am not the key. No way! Nah-ah! I mean, just because you said that my mother was the last keeper of the necklace, doesn't mean that I'm the key. Right?... Right!?"
"Please understand, I was magically gagged into secrecy," Tuluc said.
"So that taboo, mixed-breed thing was total crap?"
"No! I have never lied to you and what I said was true. You must believe me! You're the first I've ever told about my background," Tuluc said with a heavy heart. "The Drago's are not my real parents and yes, they are pure-blooded Bellators. They were already stationed here by the time I was chosen to guide and train you. After your father returned to Cyré, the Drago's were ordered to act as my parents, all while continuing their work of developing weapons and tools for whenever, or if ever, the banished did decide to finish Hirclan's plans."
Filinia waved her hands to stop Tuluc from continuing.
"Whoa, hold on. You've known where my dad went all this time? And you never told me because basically you were sent to Maya to be like my bodyguard? I thought we were friends? Or was that merely just an act so you could 'watch over' me?" Filinia yelled.
"Filinia, calm down. I told you, I was magically gagged into secrecy until your birthday. And yes, in layman's terms, that was why I was originally sent to this world by your father. But our friendship is not a lie. I genuinely care for you, more than any other creature. It hurt me to not be able to tell you where he was," Tuluc pleaded.
"Friend's don't keep something this huge from each other. You know how hard is to trust anyone of the opposite sex because of him," Filinia yelled.
"You have every right to be angry with me and I'm telling you now, despite the fact that your mother will most likely kill or punish me for disobeying her orders," Tuluc said calmly.
Filinia paced back and forth. She knew she had indicated that he wouldn't lose her when she had given him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. But this was too much to bare. Was she in some young adult fantasy novel or was this real? No, Tuluc had never lied to her and when she looked into his eyes, she knew he had been telling the truth. But there was still a small part of her that felt a bit betrayed. She wondered so many sleepless nights of why her father had left without a single word...
"Magically gagged? Why?" Filinia blurted in angered disbelief.
"To ensure I wouldn't 'accidentally' reveal something I shouldn't until you were 'ready to hear it,"' Tuluc said, biting his lower lip. "If I had any choice in the matter, I would have told you sooner. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, least of all you." Tuluc cautiously walked closer to Filinia. "If it will make you feel any better, you can punch me in the face," he continued, trying to lighten the mood.
Tempted as she was, her fingers curling tightly into her palm, Filinia just couldn't do it. Even with his bow to allow her to make it an easy shot, Tuluc's eyes closed, waiting and willing to receive her punch. Because at this moment, she realized that she would have to ask one important question—how could she feel betrayed? Not just from her only and best friend, but from everyone who reciprocated her love for them. As selfish as she wanted to be in only thinking about all of this new information from solely her perspective, if she were in their shoes, she might have done the same things. And if Tuluc really had been magically gagged—could he really be at fault?
"I'm sorry for snapping at you—it's just a lot, you know?" Filinia said from the other side of the kitchen.
Tuluc nodded, biting his lower lip.
They ate the pizza in silence. There were no more words to be said as though the overwhelming tension in the air had sealed their mouths shut and needed time to settle down before releasing them again. It wasn't until the two had returned to the gym and picked up the wooden staffs again, readying to continue the same exercise prior to lunch, did either of them speak.
"I want you to disarm me with your mind," Tuluc said.
"Do I look like a young Mark Hamill to you? How do you propose I do that, Mr. Guinness?" Filinia scoffed.
"Yes, and these are not the droids you are looking for," Tuluc said in a British accent, waving his fingers into a light fist. "Come on. You did it before back at the art museum. Unknowingly, of course. But I believe you can do it again with a little practice."
"Oh, you think so?" Filinia asked sarcastically.
Tuluc nodded and said, "Focus on the staff in my hands as we spar, and disarm me."
Filinia rolled her eyes and after a few hours to no avail, Tuluc's grip firmly on the wooden pole, she was ready to give in. She was never going to do the task her friend asked of her, no matter how he put it. He managed to get the upper hand of each round and she would have the bruises to prove it, so what was the point? The sweat drenching her clothes and frizzing her pure white curls wasn't helping either. Romington might as well come and spill her blood now because there was no way she would be able to defend herself from a vampire older than Tuluc and her put together. Unless Tuluc has any better ideas, which seemed very unlikely. She decided to omit defeat to her apparent fate, whatever that may be, by lying down on the blue mat as she tried to catch her breath.
"Can we just call it quits for today?" Filinia asked between breaths.
"Nope. Not until you disarm me, at least once," Tuluc said with a chuckle.
"Not going to happen."
"Alright."
"Alright? Tuluc?—Tuluc?"
Filinia turned herself over to face Tuluc, only to find him gone. She listened for a few minutes, thinking that perhaps he had disappeared into the closet to put away the staffs. When she remembered that hers was still in her hand, she stood up and started to walk towards the closet. However, she didn't make it halfway before she felt a hard object gently shove her in the back. She quickly turned around. No one.
I could have sworn that there was—Filinia thought, frantically searching around the gym.
Suddenly, another phantom push, this time in front of her, that nearly made her lose her balance.
"Tuluc? If that's you, it isn't funny," Filinia shouted, trying not to reveal the fear starting to rise in her shoulders and neck.
"Reach out with your senses," she heard Tuluc say from her right.