Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Eighteen: Who Wants To Play The Blame Game?

KITANA:
I stood, facing the mountain, that mountain that we had to climb, the mountain that lead out of Dodona, and into the rest of the great continent. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I felt my mate, felt and scented her before I actually saw her. "It'll be one hell of a move." I nodded mutely, my hand resting on my belly. Kendra slid closer and placed her own hand over mine. "Can you smell it? The babe growing?" Again, I nodded mutely. "Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Kendra within the glass bowl between us. "Why didn't you say anything, as soon as you knew?" "Because I was terrified." I thought. Showing her the first time I vomited. The first time I felt winded after just running ten miles, the first time I really took stock of my body. How I kept vomiting after every morning, how I felt different. "I was terrified and confused. There shouldn't have been a way, this shouldn't have been possible." "The word impossible is thrown out the window when it comes to the indigo." "That's what Huntor says." I muttered. "And he's right." She slid her hand over my breast, my shoulder, my cheek. I shivered. Though there was nothing lecherous about the touch. "Deep down, I hoped for a baby of our own. We have Holly, but she's growing at an exponential rate, and can be construed more as our sister than daughter. But to have a life we made with each other. Can you imagine it? Will the babe have my eyes, your eyes? Will they be able to shift into a wolf, or carry my traits and shift into any human form?"
I sighed. "I've wondered the same thing." I ran a hand over my belly. "Amala said, a long time ago, or so it feels, that werewolfs had one of the strongest genes in the world. Right behind the dracons. Of course this was way back when she was a human and thought of herself as a werewolf." "And now?" Asked Kendra. "Now I know I'm pregnant, what are the set backs? Can I still fight like I use to? Can I kill the same way? Slay with death? Am I still considered as the Uccisore Della Morte? Or not. Will I even be able to slay the new Ragni Di Morte?" "Yes." Said Kendra simply. "You sound so confident about everything. How do you even think that we're going to win?" Kendra looked behind us. At the indigo-gods who were making camp, readying to bed down before moving across this mountain. "Because Huntor wouldn't let us down. Wouldn't have left unless he absolutely had to. Because there's something to be said about the Sun Dragons, but about you too, daughter of Death, about Wenzi, with her gifts over fire, about Sarah, her gifts over water and wind, Alexandra and her sound wave powers. All of us are gods in our own right, and yet we're all here, ready to wage war with beings we've only dreamed of." I breathed, and leaned against her. "I love you." "I love you too."
The next two days, we scaled and crossed the mountain, and gaped at the range ahead. At the dozen upon dozen of mountains that marched off into the distance. "It's impossible." Muttered Audrey. "Utterly impossible." I remembered what my mate had said about that word, "Impossible," and thinking, I stared at the range. "It would be the obvious thing, to cross each peak, to go over them." "No duhhh. What do you think, we have enough wings to fly?" Asked Audrey, twitching her own wings. "Me flying anyone over here is soo out of the question. Same with Sarah." "Excuse you." Muttered Sarah. "What can you?" "Well no but still." "Well alright then." Audrey faced me. "Kitana this is so impossible, we can't get over these peaks, not in the time Huntor may or may not have implied." I frowned. "It would be the luculent, obvious thing to cross them. But." I turned, and spotted Reina, her gaze hard on the mountains. "Come here girl." Her eyebrows shot up as surprise lashed into her eyes. She stepped through the crowd of gods and werewolves and rogue dracons. Amala was smirking, as Kamala was grinning outright. "Yeh—yes?" "Touch the soil here." I gestured. Now looking slightly bemused, Reina knelt, and placed her hand on the ground. "Ok, what am I supposed to be doing next?" Audrey sighed and rolled her eyes toward the sky. "Behave." Zavala said, nudging her with an elbow. I gestured for Wenzi to come forward. Her hand lit with flames for light. "Do you feel anything?" I asked. "I feel dirt." "You're an indigo-god Reina, I meant with your mind, not your hand girl." "Oh." Reina closed her eyes and concentrated.
After a few moments, Reina reeled backward. Alexandra swept in and caught her before she could slam against the dirt. "What?" "That's just it." Reina got to her feet. "There's a whole network of tunnels and caverns and caves right under us. And, there's, there's, there's people moving around down there." "And there's the eureka." I thought. "The reason why these mountains are here are to hide a whole civilization." I looked at Amala. "Isn't that right." Amala nodded. "You knew this?" Exclaimed Audrey, spinning to face her. "And you didn't think to say something before now?" "Careful." Said Kamala quietly. "Bite me Bitch." Snapped Audrey. Kamala snarled. "Anyway." I said, before Audrey and Kamala could get into it. "I think that these are what Huntor wanted us to find." I looked at Amala. "Yes, the Gigaians are a very powerful force." "Gigaians?" Reina asked in a small voice. "Would they maybe have something to do with Gaia?" Kamala looked at Reina with mild interest. "What do you know of Gaia?" "The oldest of the ancient Greek deities. I read her story, a long time ago." Though I knew that was kind of a lie. Veronica had told Reina the story of how she and her and Sydney came to be, at least, as she knew it. Never mind that it was a lie, and that Dargonue had created Sydney if not to appose Huntor, then to team with him and bring back Arachne. "Gaia is one of the Gigaians." Said Amala. "She was born as a queen, and took over the gigaians when her mother was slaughtered in a battle. Gaia lived for many many centuries after that, however her time was coming to a close, and she knew it, and, as the tale goes, she left her country in search for a successor."
Every word slashed through Reina, truth after truth. Another Queen of another country, meant to come home. First Brooklyn, now Reina. For several minutes, Reina just shook her head, unable to fathom what she was being told. "I'm sorry." Amala's voice was gentle as she reached out and stroked Reina's face. Reina just shook her head one last time, and said, "For Huntor." Then, she brought her arm down, and the ground rumbled beneath us. For a few seconds, Reina's face filled with concentration, then, as if a great beast was tunneling toward us, the ground shook. Then, a tunnel caved itself open like a great maw. "They're coming to investigate." Said Reina as she rose. "I'd better go in first." So saying, without complaint, she stepped into the maw of the tunnel, and padded down it, her green and black boots making no sound. I followed after her, Amala by my side. Reina slid her hand over the rock face as we moved deeper into the tunnel, the gods behind us, Amala's army mixed among them. Suddenly, Reina froze. Down the tunnel, rumbling vibrated. "Oh God." She murmured. Amala spread her stance, not threatening, but defending. I imitated her. Three dozen feet down the tunnel, another tunnel opened like a great maw. Dust swirled in the maw's wake, and for a moment, we all stood there, silent, watching. Then, footsteps could be heard. Then, one male appeared.
    "The fact that there was only one sent a vast message. These things were powerful, powerful enough that one was warranted, one, and only one. His hair was long and caked with mud, his eyes were as dark as ebony. His face hard but not unpleasant. He stared at us all, marking each face, then the faces behind us. His feet were bare, and he slid one foot forward. Reina countered the move, almost reflexively. The ground rumbled between them. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. The ground rumbled again, but there was a wonder, like the ground was speaking. I couldn't make sense of it, but Reina looked shocked, as if she could. "What—" another rumble, as if demanding she listen. More rumbling, dust fell from overhead. She pressed her palm into the wall, the ground, the tunnel rumbled. The male gestured and turned to walk back down the tunnel. Reina sighed in relief. She took a deep breath, and followed the male down the tunnel, us behind her.