Draiks and Angels: Deity

18 - Parents

Satiya looked at the empty cup on the floor and water spots on the carpet, breathing hard. Even though she knew it was coming, that was scary. She could feel the panic rising in her throat, and swallowed hard to keep it down. Deep breathing, that's what she needed. She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath, shallow and short. She held it for a second, and blew it quickly out her nose. Slower. Another breath, deeper this time, though still too short. It took longer to leave. Breathe in, deeper; breathe out, slower. She dropped her blade and it vanished. Deeper. She knelt on the ground. Slower. Her sight began to darken.

She was looking at her hands. They were shaking. She looked up and a spotlight snapped on in front of her to her left. In it was her father, Michael. She could only see his wings, glowing white and folded tightly, and the back of his head, but she knew it was him. He was, after all, her father. Another light snapped on to her right. This time it was her mother, Cona. Her black, webbed wings were loose behind her, blocking all but the back of her head from view. Together, they turned to her, smiling widely. Cona came forward first and wrapped Satya in a warm hug. Michael came up and patted her on the shoulder at the same time. They stayed together as a happy family for a moment, when suddenly Michael and Cona looked up and away. It was as though they heard something Satiya did not. Michael reached between his wings and grabbed his sword from the sheath on his back. He brandished it at something in front of them, in the air. Cona released Satiya and stepped forward, casting a magical blade like the one Satiya favored. Or that Satiya used because her mother favored it. Her parents jumped into the air with a flurry of wind. Satiya was alone.

Satiya could feel anger rise in her heart. She cast her own magical sword and flew up after her parents. It was like she had flown into a tornado. Winds swirled around her, buffeting her and tossing her this way and that. In the rushing sounds of air, she thought she could hear voices.

"Oh, you're their child?"

"She is such a powerful magic user, I'm sure you will be, too."

"You can do it! Your father would never give up!"

Satiya slashed at the tornado with her blade, shouting, "SHUT UP!"

"What a disappointment. You'd think with such esteemed lineage, she would perform better."

"Your mother united the Draiks and the Angels, can't you get along with him?"

The voices assaulted Satiya until she wanted to rip her ears off. Her anger burned in her throat. She closed her eyes and clutched at her head, as her surroundings darkened.

Just as the last of the vision was about to be swallowed by blackness, everything froze. The wind, the voices, everything. A pinprick of light shone in the corner of her sight and she turned toward it. As she did, it blossomed into a new vision.

It was her parents again, but they were young, younger than her, just barely. They were in a stand of trees and there was a huge, round boulder in front of them. Her mother pulled out a little knife and thrust it into a crack in the stone. Her father wrenched on the blade and the boulder crumbled. She recognized this. This was one of the stories her parents used to tell her about their adventure. She watched it unfold. They dragged the rocks away. They found the artifact. The Shadows attacked. What she wasn't prepared for was the fear and helplessness in their eyes. She watched as her mother stopped moving. The despair on her father's face made her cry along with him, even though she knew it would turn out alright. When his tears cut the Shadow, Satiya felt a trill of relief, and a pang of sympathy. They didn't know it was going to be okay. They had muddled their way through, and it worked out.