Taming the Hellbeast

    Stumbling on some loose rocks, she tried to regain her footing while pressing her precious cargo against her chest. She had been running for hours, it was still dark, but she kept running. Stumbling and fighting her way through the forest on the mountain side. Her feet ached, her legs were cut and her clothes were torn, but nothing could make her stop. She knew she had a small head start and she was going to make the most of it, her baby’s life depended on it. Finding the cave entrance was not easy in the dark, if she only had her powers, she would have been able to use them to guide her but giving birth and healing the child had taken all her magical essence. It would come back, all she needed was to rest. Rest. She sorely needed rest, if only she could take a breather just for a moment it would be ok. Time was of the essence and rest would have to wait, she knew her fate, she would get plenty of rest soon enough. Her husband had gone away on official business, she had been planning for weeks waiting for the right moment after he had left. He had to be far enough away for her to complete her plan or he would return in time to stop her. She still had two full lunar cycles until the baby was supposed to arrive, but that was not time she had the luxury of waiting, if she did not risk the unthinkable her baby would be doomed. Everybody would be doomed. For years, her husband had slowly but surely taken over their world. Fighting a brutal war against the other species for their territory, he had slaughtered everybody in his way to gain full control. The senseless war against all creatures had been heightened when he gained control of the portal to the other worlds, he sent his forces through the portal to claim more and more territory and in the end he wanted all worlds to submit. There were still territories which stood their ground refusing to give in, but he was ruthlessly gaining momentum to take over. All of the worlds would be lost if he won the war and annihilated the other species and their way of life. Her husband and his entourage had left a few days earlier, she knew where they were going and knew how long it would take them to get there, and how long it would take to get back. Which would be significantly shorter if her husband were in a hurry to get to her. She had sent the servants away with the excuse of a headache due to the pregnancy and asked for quiet time to sleep and sneaked out to the cabin in the woods, not before she had stolen the one thing which could make her plan a success. In the isolated cabin she had used her powers to initiate the birth. Her first contraction would automatically alert her husband through their mate bond, and she knew he would move heaven and earth to get back to her. Of course, he would not know that she was forcing the birth, he would think she was in trouble because it was too early for the baby to come. Despite everything he was, he did love her, he would never want to see her hurt. Mate bond or not, he had loved her from the first day, and she had loved him right back. Instigating a birth that early was dangerous. It was a terrible strain on her body and the child was in danger from start to finish, especially since she was doing it all alone. With all her might she had pushed the little life out of her. He was not fully developed, which she had anticipated, he was already dying. She had saved her powers for that; she could easily have spent some on making the delivery process easier on herself and the baby. But what she needed to heal her baby and force time for it to grow and develop into a full, healthy newborn, had been grueling and depleting her magic. She had done it, though. Had given him life and sped up his development. It had taken everything she had to do it. She had no magic left. And barely any energy. And there he was. Her son. He was beautiful. Chubby little legs and arms, soft skin and the face of an angel. He had a small tuft of silky white hair and a blue birthmark on his temple and his eyes were silvery grey. So fantastically beautiful. And so dangerous. Her husband being a werewolf/lycan direct descendant and herself being a witch of light from both parent’s sides, the child held immense powers. She had felt the powers in him when she had conceived him. Felt his unique combination surge through her as he grew. It had scared her to death. She had felt how the child had an all-consuming predetermined pull towards the dark which he undeniably got from his father. His abilities would be devastating, she had known. But she also felt the light in him, the craving to extinguish the darkness. The balance was marginal, it could go either way depending on how he would be influenced during his upbringing. If her husband got his hands on the baby and learned what powers he one day could unlock it would be catastrophic. He would use the boy as a weapon, groom him and use him to take over the world and her boy would forever leave the light. She could never let that happen, she would rather kill him and then herself. Having already signed her death warrant by what she was doing, there was no turning back. She wanted her baby to have a life, to live a meaningful life and chose his path for himself. If he chose darkness, so be it. But he should have the option, it should not be forced on him. That was why she was running for his and her own life. Going to the only place where she could get help. Where she would have to ask the one thing nobody ever should. She already felt her husband and his men closing in on her. She felt him reaching out to her through their mate bond, but the anger she felt meant he had figured out she was not in danger but doing something he would not approve of. Time was not on her side anymore. And she was deadly exhausted. Everything she did after leaving the cabin was done with the fierce protective instinct of a mother. If she had not had that it would have been futile. Her throat burned in dryness from breathing so hard, sweat was dripping from her body. She could feel the blood running down her legs from her torn insides, draining her. She was tired, so incredibly tired. Still she kept going. Her darling baby somehow sensed her desperation and did not fuss at all. He laid in her makeshift carrier against her chest and cooed lightly from time to time listening to her racing heart. Not one cry or outburst, his little hands just gripping tight at her shirt and his soft head resting at her bosom. There it was. The entrance. The entrance into The Eternal Mountain. She could smell it. She climbed in and began the trek into the dangerous depths hoping to reach her destination in time. The smell made her reel and her eyes water, but her son seemed unaffected. “I wish we had some light, my darling,” she mumbled frustratedly feeling the walls for direction with one hand and protecting his head with the other if she should bump into the dark walls. She had tried, but she had not regained enough power yet to conjure light. It was a faint light, not more than a firefly in size, but it gave her what she needed. She looked down questioningly and he gave her a big toothless smile. “Oh, my darling,” she muttered out of breath. “You’re so powerful already and only hours old.” She kissed his soft head and breathed in the newborn smell. “Thank you.” He was looking at her with big eyes. He was not even supposed to be having his eyes open that shortly after his birth, but he was no ordinary child. Then he gave out a laugh. A tiny sound, but a laugh it was, and the light grew a little brighter. The firefly led her through the passages in the mountain. The smell got stronger and she knew she was getting close. Suddenly she could not feel the wall anymore and the firefly hung in the air in front of her. She had reached her destination. “Zendaya?” she whispered. Nothing happened. “Zendaya, are you there? I need you.” Still nothing. “Please!” she screamed, making the sound echo through the massive cave and her son to make a little startled jump against her. He looked up at her in surprise but cooed lightly when she rocked him to calm him down. That did the trick. She heard the rumbling. The ground shook and the smell of fire and brimstone got more intense. Then she emerged, the frightening green eyes shining threateningly in the dark and then light burst through as the fiery glow in her throat lit up the cave. Zendaya was the last of her kind in their world. A dragon. An ancient life. There were other dragons and dragonkin out there in their world, but they were half breeds, mixed races. Zendaya was the last known of the real dragons, a pure blood dragon. But she was not just any ancient dragon. She was The Guardian of Worlds. The Time-Lost Drake. She held the power over time itself, she could bend it to her will. Zendaya was a powerful being even without her control over time. Her mind reading and mind control was and always had been unmatched. She had rapid healing powers and elemental wielding. Fire being her strongest as she was a fire dragon. Her gift of foresight was her least powerful ability, she sadly did not see the possible futures as well as seers and oracles. She was huge. She unfolded her enormous wings posing her maroon scaly body in a battle stance position. Without warning she shot fire at the torches high on the cave walls lighting the place, then narrowing her eyes on the intruder. “My queen,” she said respectfully and bowed her head. “Zendaya. I need help.” With big steps Zendaya came towards the little human in her cave and shifted into her almost human form. Maroon scales covering her female parts, but otherwise stark naked. She was taller than the queen, but an equally beautiful woman despite her age. She was thin, with long limbs. Her maroon colored hair fell down her back to the ground and her green eyes were the same as when in dragon form, though they were not slivered like a reptilian when in her human form. She stepped forward not minding the shackle around her ankle. “Who do we have here?” She gently tickled the baby under his chin and was rewarded with a baby chuckle. “My son.” “It’s too early?” She kept playing with the baby and he fearlessly grabbed her long clawy nails and held on to them with his little hands trying to put them in his mouth. “I initiated the birth. I need to save him. If King Gormarin gets him we’re all doomed.” “He has powers?” “All of them. He’s already using them they’re not even dormant. I have to save him.” Zendaya smiled at the queen trying not to show her worry. The queen was a beautiful soul. Her light shone through her. She could never be consumed by the darkness, why she had been mated with King Gormarin nobody had understood. But maybe that was why, her light balancing his darkness. She was beautiful for a human. Blond hair and grey eyes, almost like her son. She was small in stature but a strong woman and an even stronger witch. “Queen Areida, there’s no saving him. His life will have to be led. We can’t stop it. His fate is sealed, he will battle the sides.” “I know. But we can postpone it. We can keep him safe until he’s old enough to take on his father and save the worlds.” “Do you believe he will choose the light?” Areida looked down at her son. She had no idea, his innocence in that moment was clear, but what he would grow into she could not foresee. “I believe he has the potential. But he needs to live. To grow up untainted. Then my child can find his way. Make his own decisions.” Areida was pleading for her son’s life and future, she was pleading for her world and the good in it. “You can give him time.” “Alas, my queen, with the restraints your husband has on me, I’m powerless to do anything.” From her torn clothes Areida pulled a little pouch, she had stolen from the castle, and shook its content out in her hand. The diamond key and the obsidian key shone in the light from the torches. “Whether you can help him or not I wish my last action to be one of mercy. Free yourself, rid yourself of his control. Be happy, my beloved friend.” Zendaya was speechless. Her slim hand shakingly reached for the keys. The obsidian released the shackle around her ankle freeing her from the cave she had been trapped in. The diamond key released the powercontrol necklace the king had placed around her neck. She took in a deep breath. For the first time in a very long time she was free, her powers surged through her. Revenge boiled in her blood. “I’m in your dept, what is it you need?” “I need my son safe from him. You must know a world where he can be safe?” “I know of many worlds. Many species he could be raised with. But they would all influence him.” She thought about it. Tracking the worlds of the multiverse in her mind. Matching compatibility and possibilities. “You know what you’re asking me?” “I do. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t a matter of survival for all races.” “You’re sure he’s that powerful?” “Hi, darling,” Areida whispered to her son and ignored Zendaya’s question. “Mommy’s thirsty.” His grey eyes studied her closely, he listened to her words and felt her heartbeat. Then his face broke into a smile and he moved his chubby arm. A second later they heard the wall in the cave crack, the rumbling of stones falling to the ground shattering all over the place. Shocked they looked towards where the sound came from. They waited and suddenly a stream of clear water flooded out from the cracked wall. Areida went to the stream of water and cupped her hand catching some water and drinking while she was looking at her baby boy. “Thank you, my darling.” He just laughed happily and stopped the waterflow with another wave of his arm. “I’ll do it,” Zendaya finally spoke. Her brows furrowed and for the first time in centuries she had fear in her eyes. “Sweetheart,” she murmured at him and smiled. “I think I know where you’d be safe. I see a good many futures for your success there.” It was the one world she never visited or opened a portal to, the one where she had left her heart and the one thing most precious to her. Of all the possible worlds that one was the best for their prince. The irony. He looked at her quizzically absorbing her words. His chubby face split into a grin then he looked up at his mother and cooed at her trying to communicate. “You like that idea, don’t you, my darling?” He gave a tiny laugh in reply. “Come with me.” Zendaya led them through the cave to the center where a large stonelike arch stood from the ground. It was larger than her dragon form and had an ominous dark color opposed to the greyish stones the cave was made of. The material, unknown even to Zendaya, pulsated with its own life. “You need to unwrap him for this, my queen.” Areida carefully loosened the fabric holding her son to her body and held him in her arms. “Mommy loves you so much,” she whispered love plastered all over her face. All he did was smile at her displaying the same love all over his face. He had such devotion towards her, and their connection was almost palpable. “I’ll seal the mountain.” Zendaya moved back and shifted. She flew up and crashed into the walls over and over making the pathways from the outside collapse. She did not stop until she felt like all entrances had collapsed. It was a rush to be able to fly again after having been shackled for so long. She blew fire all around fusing the minerals together making them impenetrable. Then she flew back and landed gracefully in front of the queen and her son. He was smiling from ear to ear and made grabby hands at Zendaya urging her to come to him like she was a cuddly pet he wanted to touch. He was not afraid at all. He squealed with joy when Zendaya bent her giant head down close to him, before shifting back. His disappointment when she changed in front of him was evident but after careful examination of her face and recognizing her eyes, he continued with the grabby hands at her. “We need to name him.” “What’s your name, sweetheart?” Zendaya asked him. “All you have to do is think it and I’ll know.” Most thought names were given by the parents, in reality it was the child who knew its own name and communicated it to its parents. The names had been sealed by the gods within every being from the day of their conception. It was as if the boy understood. His little face scrunched up in concentration as he looked at Zendaya. “Oh, I see. That’s very beautiful. I wonder why the Gods chose that for you.” She tickled his stomach with her claws gaining a chuckle from him. “I’ll give you your name then. It’ll burn a little, but you’ll be fine,” she said in a calm voice hoping not to scare him. But he just looked at her and smiled. Zendaya exposed his chest holding his birth wrapping to the side. Concentrated fire rose in her throat and she blew out a controlled burst of fire onto his stomach scorching his skin below his left n****e. He let out a scream and then quieted down instantly like nothing had happened. She blew on the scorched skin with hot air until the letters appeared like it had been burned into his skin as a branding tattoo. It was small and looked like scribble, but as he aged and grew the letters would show his full name. “Areida, my queen, it’s time. If you have anything to say to your son, do it now. I’ll gift him the memory, he’ll be able to access it when he finds his true mate.” “Are you sure he’ll find his true mate?” Areida asked nervously. She was afraid her baby boy would never remember her. “I’ve seen many futures where he finds love. Sadly only a few involves his true mate. It has to be her. Only from the truest and purest of loves will he be able to connect with the memory of your love and the sacrifice you make for him.” “I know you’ll find her. Whomever she is and whatever her species may be, promise me you’ll love her and protect her. She’s the greatest gift you’ll ever receive.” He looked at her with his silvery eyes a thoughtful little frown formed on his forehead. Then he smiled and broke into a laugh. “He heard you, Areida. He understands. It’s time.” The queen sat down on the dirty cave floor holding her son. “You, my darling baby, are the most special being ever to have been born. The power in you is unmatched by any. You can do whatever you want and do it however you want,” she began. Her soft voice encasing him in a cocoon of love. “I’ve seen the light in you. So much light and such potential for good and happiness. And I’ve felt the darkness in you. You can do damage beyond what anybody can imagine, you can destroy all the worlds with your powers.” His smile disappeared. If they did not know better, it was as if he was weighing the possibilities already. His eyes flashed red then white for a second and then his silver came back along with a smile. “I’m a creature of light, my pull will always draw me there. It’s my wish that you find yourself and make the choice. I cannot make it for you, and I cannot be there to guide and help you. The choice will be yours alone. Choose wisely, there’s no going back if you choose darkness.” She smiled. “And don’t be afraid to make mistakes, nobody’s perfect. It’ll take time to harness what’s in you and you’ll have to be able to forgive yourself.” This time he grinned his toothless grin at her. “I love you, my darling. From the moment I knew you were growing inside me and until now at the end of my life, I have loved you. Take my love and my sacrifice with you. Know that you were worth fighting for.” Areida kissed his head. Memorizing every detail of the wonder she had created within her. Saying goodbye. “Always remember, mommy loves you.” The cave fell silent. None of them made any sounds. The time had come. “Goodbye my beloved friend.” Areida smiled thankfully at Zendaya one last time, then she wrapped her baby in his birth wrappings and laid down on the ground under the arch curling up in fetal position with him close to her chest. She began to chant the old language of the witches. Casting the incantation from the secret book of life, a forbidden incantation. “I, Areida Jeromeillon, Queen of The Eternal Mountain and all the worlds, protector of the light and daughter of Keiran the light warlock and Otrona the light witch, offer you, my darling son, my life essence. May you one day live and become the greatest of us all. I love you!” The light in her began to shine brighter and brighter until a blinding light engulfed her and the baby lighting up the cave entirely. Then slowly the light faded as the light was absorbed by the little body in her arms. It faded while her body turned pale and greyish. The light and life sucked out of her until she was nothing but an empty shell around the child who now shone with the light of his mother and the fully replenished energy from the life that was once in her. He did not cry or move. He made little sounds as he was trying to get the kind voice back, wanting more touches and listen to the heartbeat that had disappeared. Tears glistened in his eyes as he cooed at the once vibrant woman who had made him. Lightning formed in his little hands and he let out a long piercing cry of despair. It had been many a year since Zendaya had last cried, but she shed tears for her friend and for the destiny of the child. Life would not be easy for him when he returned to it. But she did not shed any for herself. She had lived for too long; she was the last. She was ready to leave this reality. She scooped up the baby and its mother into her arms, soothing him until he stopped crying. His eyes sad with realization as he rested his head against her chest. She crouched over holding them to her chest. “I wish you all the best,” she mumbled to him. “It’s time for me to meet my ancestors. I’m tired of being alone.” With a large fireball from her throat she activated the arch. A flimsy blueish, shimmering foil appeared within the arch creating a portal. “Even with my protection you’ll not be safe in this world. But I know a place where you’ll stand a chance of growing up safe. Where you can harness your powers, until you’re ready to come back here and save us or destroy us. She will be there.” His lips quivered in response. In a low tune Zendaya began to hum. The vibrations left her in waves and waves of harmonic sounds as she tampered with time. She slowed heartbeats and growth. She pushed the waves again and again until she felt them resonate back to her from the ends of the world. Everything living had been affected by her time control. Time in this world would not return to normal until the rightful king reclaimed his throne and brough balance to the worlds and its species. She stepped through the portal leaving her world behind. The cave looked exactly the same on the other side, only difference was the smell. The air was stale, dust everywhere and the familiar smoke smell from her own cave was not present at all. It was safe. The boy looked up and reached for the foil of the portal with mesmerized eyes. “You want to touch it?” she asked in a hushed tone. His small hands kept reaching for the foil and she brought him closer for him to touch. The foil began to shimmer brighter and change to an orange glow. He laughed and looked up at her with pride. “Your gifts are impossibly strong. Remember what you’re capable of.” Carefully she stepped back, and the foil changed back to its original blueish color. With yet another fireball the foil turned blinding white voices and sounds of all the worlds could faintly be heard through the portal. Zendaya breathed in hard and covered the child’s ears before she let out a thundering roar which carried to all supernatural beings of every world in existence alerting them of her presence and her impending death. Letting them all know she was passing on her title as Guardian of Worlds to the next in line. The one she had not seen since the day of his birth. Her son. She removed her hands from the child’s ears; and he looked at her, sadness etched in his features as if he knew what was going to happen. “May you rest in this world until it’s your time, and when you’re ready, you can make your choice.” With a wave of her slim hand she made the portal within the arch disappear.  “This is my gift to you!” She breathed in hard. Building the fire within her until the melting point. She felt the cracking of her skin and forced the final shift of her long life. The scales came out and locked the child in a dragon scale egg made from her body. With her remaining energy she gave him the gift of his mother’s last words and actions to him along with a gift of her own. While the fire burned around them consuming them both in immortal flames, she lulled the baby boy to sleep. “Styx.” she whispered with her very last breath.