Week Six: Discovery

  Vile stood at the open window. It had a latch that opened outward so that there was an easy escape route to the night sky when either Xeq or him decided to go out for a fly. He stood on the frame and let the wind hit his face. He made sure Gwyne was fast asleep before he took off to the skies. He had even fallen asleep with her for a bit.

  Gwyne and him weren’t dating. As much as he’d love to he didn’t see how she, a normal human, could bare his child or even him. So instead, they slept together. It wasn’t much of a difference except when he found out that she was planning on dating someone.

  It struck him harder than he thought. Her being someone else's… He let the cool night temperature judge him. He was starting to doubt if he should go. They were at his house after all. He planned to make it quick. He had no school until Monday. However, leaving her here all alone would look bad on him. He made sure to leave a note on the table saying that he had gone downtown to get something for her and would be back around twelve. He had his central time watch on. He had to make sure he’d be back by then. It was midnight. He had twelve hours to do this.

  “Vile?” a feminine voice muttered as she groggily walked into the room and rubbed her eyes. “What are you..?”

  Vile turned at a haste, his shimmering blue eyes met hers. “Gwyne…” He said. Crap. I thought she was asleep.

  “What are you doing standing on the window ledge? You’ll fall. Get down from there.” Her voice was soft. He almost forgot that he was about to do something irrational.

  “Gywne.” He said with a sigh. It was dark, so she couldn’t see the gills that engraved the water dragon inside him. Getting down from the ledge, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

  Letting go, Gwyne attempted to place her hand on Vile’s cheek. Taking her hand, he pulled her closer and stared deeply into her eyes. “You don’t want to do that.” He said sternly but playfully.

  “Why? Where you are you going?” Gwyne wondered, not completely awake still.

  “Are you escaping because I’m dating Felix?” she said with a hint of pain in her voice.

  Felix?! My best friend? The one we always made fun of for being a Yankee? Vile intertwined his fingers with hers as he held in the thoughts. You’re cheating on Felix with me? He felt complimented knowing that she liked being with him in bed rather than Felix but she still was dating him. If he had known sooner…

  “Vile?”  Gywne asked sounding ashamed. “Should I go?”

  “No.” Vile said as he kissed her and picked her up wedding style. “Stay with me.” He said feeling a ping of guilt as he imagined his friend Felix glaring at him.

  “I’ll be back in the morning.” He whispered to her as he kissed her forehead and slipped to the window again. His breath was heavy still taking a toll from his last attempt to put Gywne to sleep. Diving into the sky and changing slowly he remembered what she whispered to him the night after her first date with Felix.

  “He doesn’t have to know.” She didn’t say who ‘he’ was, and she was avoiding it because she knew that he might fight for her. “We can be together in the dark.” She said soothingly as they knew what each other wanted and went for it. “Would you say that you love me?”

  The question hung in the air as Vile spread his wings and darted for the skies. He was faster in the water but his brother, if anything, would take to the skies. Where are you? He thought as he searched for any hint that may give Xeq’s trail away.

  He thought about the Hydra. What was it that breached Xeq and his communication? Hydras were distinct by their multiple heads. That was the first hydra on land that Vile had seen since… The thought occurred to him. He never had seen a hydra. Vile glanced down to see the ocean. He was over the Atlantic.

--

  “Are you sure?” The voice was Zamer’s.

 “Yes. It’s the only way. I can’t let him die like this.” Xeq pleaded.

  The two weren’t going out at the time. Vile laid still, chest barley rising.

  “Please.” Xeq was holding Vile’s hand now. “I can’t let my brother die.”

  Zamer stared at Xeq and glanced at Vile. “Normally, the one who needs healing allows me to take their significance from them. Not the person who cares so much allow it.” She spoke with sympathy in her voice but directness.

  “He may lose the memory of you ever being his brother if that’s significant enough.” She warned. “But he’ll lose something he may not want to lose.”

  “His life?”! Xeq spat. This was one of the few times that Xeq ever lost his cool and even one of the fewer times that he would yell at Zamer.

  “My brother means everything. If he doesn’t remember me, the blood that we share is altered, or whatever you say he’ll lose is lost then he can blame me. I’ll teach him who I am again. He just needs to live.” Xeq was in tears this time.

  “He’s been away from them for too long, Xeq. Your brother. There is no blood bonding.”

  Xeq growled as his eyes shimmered silver. “Don’t say that.”

  “He is not your responsibility.” Zamer said flatly as she slowly transformed into her phoenix self. “He is his own.”

  Backing away, Xeq watch quietly as she embraced Vile in her phoenix wings. She let out a cry as Vile began to glow. He was half in reflection form and half not. Transforming back into her reflection self, Zamer laid Vile back on the bed. He was now in full reflection form. She glared at Xeq as she stood at the frame of the door but then turned away, with the memory not that never was.

--

  “Say what?” Vile said as he gasped for air but inhaled water. He could still breathe. He was no longer in the air but in the Atlantic.

  “Protect the underworld.” He heard a voice say.