The Protectors: New Generation Book 1

22 - Rybka - Dominic POV

A sharp pain pierces my skull. My body crumples to the ground.

Blackness ... Blackness ... Waves crashing against a boat ... blackness ... smell of salt ... blackness ... zvezda moya ... blue skies ... salty mist sticks to everything including my tongue ... squawking seagulls hover around a dock ... sun reflects off the swell of the ocean.

A man with black hair and green eyes like mine seems to be talking to me.

"Rybka, ne ubegay." The man joins someone who looks like him on the deck of a boat. The man who talked to me holds up a net, while the other holds up a rope.

"U tebya cho ruki iz jopi rastut? chow tiki is hopi rastut?" A deep laugh comes out of the tallest man, while the other punches him in the arm before joining in laughing.

Warm room ... the smell of yeast makes my stomach growl ... a slender woman, in a simple blue dress, with brown hair stands at a counter with a bowl and spoon ... she turns around and talks to me. "Gde ty byl, rybka?" She giggles and bends down with a cloth in her hand. She starts wiping my face. "Ty snova pomogal pape?"

"Da, ya khochu odnazhdy stat' bol'shim i sil'nym, kak papa."

She laughs and finishes wiping my face. "YA uveren, chto odnazhdy ty budesh'."

Blackness ... just blackness.

"Mama! Papa!" Tears sting my eyes ... I'm clutching onto another boy with black hair and green eyes; his face streaked with tears ... He looks at me with trust but sadness clouds everything else ... blackness ... a kind face of a woman with blue eyes and blond hair. "Sleep, Ängeli"

I bolt upright. A deep breath fills my lungs. Lavender and orange scent the room with the only light coming from the open window.

"You aren't dead." Tanner.

"Jerk! Now's not the time to be funny." Jonah.

I open my eyes to see Jonah staring at me. I grip my pounding head.

"You okay, Dominic?" Jonah asks.

I don't answer the question. My head is groggy from the pain. "What the hell happened?" 

"You collapsed as soon as the ceremony was over."

The pain intensifies. "It's finished?"

"Sure, but you weren't the only one acting strange. Mick was too."

I look up quickly. Pain shoots across my skull. Shouldn't have done that.

His hands raise up. "Don't ask me. I've been here the whole time."

I turn to Tanner.

"She's faring better than you. She was moving around almost immediately."

My brow creases. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours."

Pain stabs me again.

"Mia?"

A soft voice comes from a chair in the corner. "I'm over here, Ängeli."

I narrow my eyes at her. "You were there."

"Of course I was. The Elders performed the ritual to block your memories and give you your powers."

I cover my face and tremble. Soon tears soak my shirt.

"Did you know them?" My voice cracks.

"I met them a few times when I had to go to Triton for a meeting, but I didn't know them personally. The Rybakov family was highly respected."