The Forgotten Zodiac

Valley, who had been sitting beside him, rested a hand on his shoulder. "Riordan, my dear...are you quite alright? Zex brought you upstairs...you've been asleep for almost an entire day." She stroked his hair gently, feeling his forehead for a fever. "You're burning up, too..."

"I'm fine," he said brusquely, sitting up and throwing the covers back, standing quickly and moving over to a mirror with his hand still covering his neck. He removed it after a moment, peering intently into the mirror, then sort of went limp and gave a weak sigh.

There was a mark on the back of his neck.

It was bright orange, shaped like a sun created with the shape of a triangle in the mind of its maker as they had laid down each individual little piece. It wasn't big enough to cover the entire back of his neck, but that didn't mean it wasn't visible from a distance. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, making no effort to hide the tattoo-like thing from his wife.

Valley ran her slender fingers over the mark, frowning slightly. "I didn't think he would know how to activate it...did he do it on accident? Or was it...did Veros do this?" She tutted, rummaging about in her drawers. She withdrew some makeup. "I can cover it for you. Temporarily, certainly, but--"

"Veros would like you to meet his newest subjects," Zex said from the doorway. "They are waiting out in the courtyard. Veros thought it would be best if Ink did not see these two just yet..."

The king stood, taking a thick scarf from a stand nearby and wrapping it about his neck, saying to his wife "Perhaps later. For now, I should see to this." He turned to Zex, saying "Lead on. I'll follow." He exchanged a small look with his wife, then sighed and moved after Zex, already resigned to his task.

Riordan glared at the two - mostly at the female - then straightened his scarf and said "No, please, do explain. As I stated at the beginning of this whole ordeal, I am willing to do whatever it takes to attain our goals. I cannot help much if I don't know what we're even doing. So please..." He did his best to smile. "...do tell."

Zex stared at Riordan for a long moment, then pulled his mask down, taking a bite of a piece of bread. He normally didn't need to eat, but he needed the spare energy for the trip. The awful gash that revealed his teeth was as horrid looking as ever. "Understand that some questions are better off not being asked. Some things are better unknown. You have your own task to do, which Veros will explain in due time...and we have ours."

"Oh, don't be such a stickler, little boy," The female tutted.

"Shut it, Lancer. He doesn't need to know." Zex growled. "Just be prepared for our return, Riordan. It will take a few days, but..." He finished off his bread and pulled his mask back up. "You also might want to prepare another room for these jokers when we get back. You don't want them wandering about freely, and Veros has determined that they would be unsuitable company for Ink."

"Hmph! The only reason you are is because you're just a kid," Lancer snorted. Zex didn't respond, rubbing his chest.

((I FORGOT THE BAD DRAGONIAN'S NAME.))

((Kage. Is he the third person? If not, I'll change it.))

Riordan growled, now turning his attention onto the third being. The last was a tall black dragonian who looked as though he had been burned severely, along with having his chest ripped open with a knife. His sharp teeth parted into a disturbing smile, and Riordan immediately felt the strong urge to keep his wife far from this man.

((Oh no, he is. :3))

Zex sighed, once again seeming to read Riordan's mind. "Again...prepare a room for them upon our return, and I shall ensure that they do not endanger our mission. Rest assured, harming your wife would endanger the mission. Because then you would refuse to work with us. You would become uncooperative, and we need you as much as we need Veros." He turned to the Dragonian, frowning. "Do I make myself clear, Kale? You aren't to touch Valley, or any woman within the castle grounds. And you're not leaving the castle, either. Is that understood?"

The dragonian studied him for a moment with a cool, calculative stare, then once again smiled and said "I understand completely, however tempted I might be. I often find myself...overcome with uncontrollable urges..."

Riordan shuddered, saying to Zex "Fine, just get them out of my sight. Especially this, er...gentleman." He turned and strode away, saying over his shoulder, "I'll have rooms prepared for them at once. Just keep them on a tight leash."

Kage gave a slightly wider smile, baring his toothy fangs.

"I don't mind him," Lance purred, looping an arm around Kage's shoulders.

"We'll leave at once." Zex bowed slightly. He turned to the other two servants of Veros. "Let us go. Veros prepared a carriage for us. It waits there," He turned on heel and led the way to the courtyard's back gate, where a dark carriage with scrawny looking horses waited.

"That looks awful," Lance made a face. "Are those horses going to be able to take more than two steps?"

"If you held any semblance of intelligence left, Lance, you would have heard me say that this carriage is from Veros. Yes, they will get us to Alastor, and in good time. Now shut up and get in." Zex snapped.

Kage smirked and turned, saying "If you insist, your majesty." He said it mockingly and Zex knew it, but they didn't have the time to argue over it. The dragonian spread tattered wings and leapt high, turning several loops in the sky, as if he hadn't done it in ages.

Which he hadn't, as he had been dead.

Zex sighed heavily, climbing into the driver's seat of the carriage as Lance slid into the back. "See you soon, Riordan. Oh, and Ink recently discovered how to play hide-and-seek. So don't panic if you don't see him at first glance around his room, the next time you visit." He looked up, watching Kage for a moment before pushing the horses into motion with a crack of the reins. The Dragonian would follow, whether he wanted to or not.

((Also, I hope you realize that both Kage and Lance have attempted to resurrect someone before. Best decide who that was now. For Lance, it was her fiance. For Kage, it was... -drumroll-))

((Probably his sister, Kali. She was the only one who kept him sane after the loss of their parents. Once she died, he reverted into this.))

The king nodded, watching as the carriage departed at high speed, with Kage zooming along behind it. Riordan snorted and shook his head; nothing good could come of that dragonian, he knew. But he didn't care, so long as the lerloch stayed away from his wife.

Riordan turned and strode back into the castle, rubbing the mark on his neck once more.

((Okies. That works.

Heh, I just realized that Zex will probably pour out his heart and soul to Luna. That will be how the readers learn about the servants' origins, how he died, who Spy is, all that stuff. 9u6

Also, in her introduction post, I accidentally said LanceR instead of just Lance. It's supposed to be Lance. No R. Just so you know.))

"Thanks for the fly about, Naybrin. Now...you should probably see to what Zephyr and Vuker wanted. It's not often they visit, to my understanding..." Werr ran his fingers through his hair, straightening the windswept locks before turning and pushing open the castle doors. He was greeted by laughter as Vuker, as a human boy, was attempting to learn how to run. It involved a lot of falling over, but he was getting quite good at it.

"Ah! Naybrin's back!" He stood again, brushing himself off. "Your majesty, look at me! I'm tiny!"

((Got it.

And he's cool. xD))

The First King craned his head back in a stunned sort of way, blinking his large green eyes down at the boy. He looked up as Zephyr walked out, smiling in a sheepish sort of way. "He...um...had a little encounter with someone," the second king said, brushing his nose against Naybrin's foreleg in a sign of respect for the elder.

Naybrin gave a small purr and bent his head to blow Vuker's hair back, saying "Well. You're improving already, I see."

Vuker fell over with the sharp gust of wind, clearly not balanced well. Werr frowned. "Encounter? And it turned him into a human?" He looked up at Zephyr, then back to Vuker. He helped the boy up, sighing a bit. He didn't say anything.

Rather, he thought it, knowing that Naybrin would hear. The last time this happened, Zephyr was turned human. The one who did it was a certain Demigod...

Naybrin sighed and answered the boy quietly.

I know, Dark-Eyes. I do not wish to cause Vuker to fear, however, so I mention it not before him. But...it troubles me greatly... If Snider is here, causing trouble, then he must have something in mind that he wants, and if Snider wants something, it won't be good for the rest of us.

He lifted his head, now asking "We should gather together all of our number. Trust the mere sight of no one. Allow me or Zephyr to mind-touch them and we will know if they are true or not."

"Right." Werr nodded. He turned to a waiting maid. "Please go and find the others. Call a family meeting in the throne room." He sighed, straightening his shirt. "That...certainly explains the screaming...a-and I saw Welk, before I passed out, earlier. I thought I was losing my mind, I was even more depressed..."

"Do you feel better after the fly about?" Vuker tried purring, but it didn't sound right out of his human mouth.

"Yeah. I feel better. Thanks, Vuker, I owe you one..." Werr sighed. I'm actually surprised at how better I feel...I think Snider wanted to drive me insane, That's why I'm hearing this screaming...right? I'm surprised he didn't try to stop you from leaving with me...

He might not have known, Naybrin answered, sighing. After all, even a demigod can't watch everything at once. And yes, it most likely is him trying to cause you pain. I can only hope that you try and pay it no heed. Welk...would not want you to be unhappy. But I'm sure you know that.

He bent and pressed his nose to Werr's cheek, closing his eyes and humming softly.