Water Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Thirty-Two - Darien

It felt like hours before his brothers arrived to help him. Brian, Asher, and Lance were the ones who came. They approached him slowly. Fear stung Darien's nostrils as they got closer. The sharp sour smell was so strong it made him nauseous. When he met Brian's gaze, he saw pure shock and awe. Lance was the first to Darien's side.

"You okay?" he asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Darien shook his head. "They didn't get a chance to touch me."

"Who?" Brian asked.

For the time being, Darien ignored his brother's question. He didn't want to dive into all of the details just yet. There were so many of them he was trying to remember in the first place. Were there any markings on the Inero that he could identify? Scars, shapes, voices. How many were there? Unfortunately, the only way for him to get those answers meant reliving the moment again in his mind. He wasn't sure he was ready to do that, either.

Asher sighed as he finished checking their father's vitals. "I'd been hoping maybe I could help bring him back. Can't fix this, though."

"No," Brian said. "The person who did this meant to kill."

Yes, duh. But Darien couldn't be mean to him. How was Brian supposed to know? He hadn't been there, and Darien hadn't exactly been forthcoming with information. Meant to kill. Those words sent shivers down his spine and he hid his face in his knees again, feeling a lot like a child. Being strong felt impossible. How was anyone supposed to keep themselves together after witnessing such a grotesque event? He knew his brothers wouldn't fault him for his actions—or lack thereof. At least not all of them. Brian was becoming increasingly more difficult to read.

"What happened?" Brian demanded. He gazed down at Darien with narrowed eyes, though not of anger. Frustration? Confusion? His glower was always present even if it meant different things. The only thing Darien was certain of was that his brother was mad—yet.

Darien took in a slow breath, urging himself to think of something useful to say. "I...we were...a-and...t-t-t-hey..."

"Let's go home, get you cleaned up and check one more time to make sure you're okay," Lance suggested. "Then we can talk." He shot a glare at Brian. "Come on, I'll help you to the car." He pulled Darien to his feet by the arm. "Do you all have any ideas on how we're going to uh, do this?"

Brian and Asher exchanged a glance before moving to grab their father.

"Put him over my shoulder," Brian said. "Then we'll put your sweatshirt over the blood." He pointed to Asher's hooded sweatshirt. It had a zipper going down the middle.

Asher seemed reluctant as he took it off. "Think we can pass it off as him being passed out?"

"It'll have to do. We only have a couple of blocks to walk," Brian said.

What would they do once they got home? Where was Orion going to be put until he could be buried properly? Would it be possible to enter the building without any of the kids seeing? Could they make it to the building in the first place without being stopped or considered suspicious?

With some help, Brian and Asher were able to put the sweatshirt on their father's body before lifting him onto Brian's shoulder. Orion didn't look quite so dead, but he didn't look well either.

"Let's go," Lance said. He tugged on Darien's arm again, leading the way at a brisk pace. "Try to remain calm. You're glowing."

Darien blinked a few times. "I'm what?"

"Glowing," Lance said through clenched teeth. "Magic. Also, walk with your hands over your chest. You've got some blood on your shirt."

Magic, blood, Darien had forgotten about those. He did as his brother suggested. The four of them cut through the park using the lesser-known trails to get to the side entrance closest to the condominium. Outside of Brian slipping on the grass and nearly falling, the journey back was thankfully uneventful.