Zoe didn't want to believe it, didn't want to witness it, but the
aftermath...
Just as Neva reared her head, shot forth blast after searing
blast of fire and brimstone, the evil Dato responded with lightning bolts. What
got to Zoe was that the dragon's fiery blasts, certainly fatal to any human, did
not even faze Dato. He stood there, laughing wickedly, while flames engulfed his
body. No burns, not even a singe. Who is this guy?, Zoe wondered to
herself. In defense, Neva managed to stave off Dato's electric discharges with
more firepower. All the during this intense battle of might and wills, Zoe
stayed a safe distance, praying that Neva would emerge victorious. She had no
idea who Dato was, and why he assumed Steve Dix's identity. And she wondered
what happened to the real Dix. Perhaps this Dato was Dix all along, dealing with
her father, playing the dutiful lawyer. How much does Dato know about me, about
my family? We've done nothing to him! He's a vengeful man who's got it in for
Neva. Can't let him win!
That voice again...growing stronger within me...what does it mean? Why won't
it leave me alone? Why do I feel so strange?
That was a good question, and Zoe fought with all her strength and will not
to give in to the disembodied voice within. Perhaps, to Zoe's thinking, Dato
planted that voice, making me think I'm going crazy. No! I won't give
in!
"Come on, Neva," Zoe urged out loud, "let him have it!"
Another blast of flame, followed by another bolt of lightning. This time,
however, Dato's charge was far stronger than the previous. Neva, caught
off-guard, took the full brunt, sending her into a writhing frenzy of pain. She
lay in the street, thrashing and crying out in agony. That is when Zoe rushed to
the dragon's side, tears streaming down her sepia face.
"NOOOOO! NEVA! GET UP!"
She threw herself over the dragon's flailing body in efforts to comfort her
friend. She cooed and cried words of comfort. "It's going to be all right,
Neva," she said through her tear-choked voice. "Don't die on me. You have to
take me home. I want Daddy and Nathan to meet you...Come on, Neva, get up! Don't
let this guy win!"
Neva stilled her body, though quite wracked with pain. She
raised her huge golden eyes to Zoe's deep brown, saying in a weakened voice,
"You have to let her out, Zoe. For only she, and you, can stop him." Zoe didn't
understand. "What do you mean, let her out?" It suddenly dawned on her why that
voice wouldn't let her be and kept egging her on to action.
Neva, still weak
and shaky, managed to raise herself upright. She looked at Zoe then, from her
own nostrils, breathed a purplish mist over the girl. At first Zoe couldn't
comprehend why Neva was doing this, but at once she felt herself grow stronger,
more fearless. It was the sound of Dato's wicked triumphant laughter that
hastened the transformation. Zoe, not wanting to face him, heard him say in a
dark sinister voice, "O hapless girl! Behold your friend! For now, I intend to
finish her off. You, my dear signorina, shall watch her die piece by
piece."
And with that, he raised his hand once more, once more to deliver the
death blow. But Zoe, now in full throes of a remarkable transformation, took on
a different persona. She, still rational of the changes taking place, marveled
how the dragon's violet mist enrobed her, changing her into the person to whom
the strange voice belonged.
Dato, now alarmed, no longer the swaggering villain boasting of his triumph
over the dragon, watched in horror as Zoe's form quickly transformed. He
blanched at once, in full realization who this person was standing before
him.
This was no longer Zoe Kendall, the young beautiful daughter of a
Chicago real estate tycoon, but a woman of towering height, muscular physique,
dark ebony skin, black eyes that rained righteous anger and spit. Her clothes
were no longer the stylish Kate Spade togs recently purchased. Instead, her
raiment was decidedly early 16th Century – a simple white dress embellished with
a kente sash, the colors of her people. The hair, no longer straightened by hot press,
but thick, wild, kinky raven tresses that stood at attention as if impregnated
with her defiant spirit. The voice, that same voice which welled inside Zoe,
boomed. It was a deep, disturbingly dark voice that made Dato tremble. She stood
before the villain, saying, "So, we meet again, Dato, only this time I appear to
you as my descendent, the slave Inez. Prepare to meet your end, O evil
One!"
Dato remained frozen to the spot where he stood. He knew that
voice, as it spoke to him more than 500 years ago. But this person standing
before him is a woman. How can that be? He finally had to say something.
"Who
are you? For your voice is obviously masculine." He shot Neva a hot look, saying
warningly," If this your idea at 'revenge', then it is not working. Whatever
you've done to this girl is just another of your pathetic attempts to avoid the
inevitable."
Neva looked at him and shook her head. She knew what Dato did not know – that
the gift of immortality was not meant to be. Dato believed he could never
die, but the truth always escaped him. "And that, Dato," said Neva, "is why you
will die, not at my hand, but from the very thing you fear." She nodded to Zoe,
now in the persona of Inez, and said, "It is time."
Inez looked squarely at Dato, then told him a few truths, truths he totally
forgot many centuries ago. "It is true, that an evil wizard, who went by the
name Iroth, placed a curse on the dragons. Why? Because an oracle said that he
would be brought to a violent end by those close to them. So he cursed them,
forced Neva's mother to destroy her eggs, save one." She watched for Dato's
reaction then continued.
"You were a follower of Iroth, indulged in the dark
arts, sold your very soul for immortality. Let me say to you, and I believe you
know this, that Iroth was soundly defeated by Ottah, my ancestor."
Then, "It
was you who knew there was one dragon left alive. One of her kind, the last of
her kind, who would spell the end of you. You wanted that egg, paid the
Frenchman Abelard, another of your minions, to bring that egg to you, only for
you to destroy the very life within. Abelard stored the egg on the Doña Lucia,
en route to Venezia, to you. Alas, that was not meant to be, for the navigator
made wrong calculations which caused the ship to veer far off course."
Now
Dato had to speak. "Of all the cursed luck! Abelard deserved his fate!
Absconding with the egg so he could have it to himself!"
"No!," boomed Inez,
"he had every intention of bringing that egg to you, but it was Facio..."
"Facio d'Armano," said Neva, "freed me from my prison. He bestowed upon me a
name. I thought I was safe within this yet to be discovered country, but no, you
hunted me down."
"Yes," said Inez, "Neva is free, and free she will
remain."
"Never!," screamed Dato, who raised his hand again to deliver a
death blast to both Inez and Neva. "You've evaded me for the last time, O
wretched beast!"
With that, wave after wave of energy coursed from his hands.
But neither Neva nor Inez were harmed, as if they had a protective field to
deflect the blasts. And it was divine protection from absolute evil.
"It is over, Dato. Give yourself up," said Neva, knowing that the spell Zoe
was under would soon wear off. It's now or never, Zoe, let Inez come shining
through. Give Dato his eternal reward he so rightly deserves!
Inez laughed, looked straight into Dato's eyes, raised her hands as if
calling forth the avenging gods and said, "You wanted immortality, but never got
it. What you earned was long life. You will die – this very moment!" Her form
grew taller, more frightful. Her costume melted away to reveal a more primitive,
ancient fashion. It was decidedly African, with flowing kente robe, bone and
shell ornaments in her hair, an ebony staff with the head of a fierce lion
carved on top. She raised the staff, pointed it at Dato, and pronounced:
"Take heed, O denizen of the underworld, for you shall be thrown into a den of savage beasts and sent back where you belong!"
Within seconds, Dato found himself besieged by dozens of monsters of which Dato had before never seen in life. What sort of creatures are these? Lizards with a long razor-sharp claw on the hind foot...
They attacked him, slashing his midsection with their deadly claws. Dato
screamed for mercy as the beasts devoured his flesh – he was very much alive as
they began to eat him. Too late to beg for mercy now; Dato sealed his fate the
moment he sold his soul. When the beasts finished, Dato was a lifeless heap of
hideously mangled human flesh. Neva wanted to turn away from this disgusting
scene but fully knew that she had to witness her nemesis' final defeat.
What's this? Dato, in spirit, is rising, more defiant than ever. He laughed
wickedly, saying in taunting tones, "You sic your reptilian monsters on me, make
me suffer the worse pain. Ha! I'm still with you, dragon!" He turned to Inez,
saying, "And with you, you black witch!"
Inez was not fazed. With a wave of
her hand, the very street heaved open, revealing the pit of Hell itself. Molten
lava and flames shot forth, indicating the gruesome fate awaiting the Venetian
nobleman. Then, a band of grotesquely formed demons, denizens of Hell, rose up
from the depths, surrounding the twisted, condemned soul. Soon their hands were
upon him. It finally came to Dato that the price had to be paid, and this was
the end. With a resounding, "NOOOOOOOOOO!", Dato was dragged down, down, down,
far into the pit. He screamed over and over, his mouth emitting blood-curdling
oaths and curses. The eternal torment and torture awaited him. Both Inez and
Neva could still hear him scream as the concrete concealed again, sealing
forever Dato's cursed immortal soul.
******
"Where am I?" Zoe Kendall found herself back in familiar territory – in
Neva's secret chamber beneath the Centralia.
"Hush, child, try to get some
sleep."
"But what happened? One moment I was in Steve Dix's clutches, then he
pulls a gun on me, then...Oh my God! Did it really happen? Did I see Dix change
into some medieval guy, and didn't he almost kill you?"
Poor Zoe was so full
of questions. She had almost no recollection of the past hour or so since Neva
brought her back to the chamber. Perhaps it was all for the best. The evil
Venetian Dato finally has been defeated; Zoe's future, and that of her family,
is secure at last. But Neva had reservations about harboring secrets surrounding
the House of Kendall. In time, once Zoe is safe within her father's arms, the
dragon will finally reveal Zoe's family history, and how that history impacted
so many: Neva, Facio, Dato, and the Kendalls. She will also reveal how she
survived in this country for more than five centuries without ever making human
contact. There are so many stories to tell, so many impressions of the red
letter events observed.
But there was one more thing Neva had to do before
returning Zoe home. She promised him she'd do it, and the dragon was not one to
break a vow.
"Zoe," she said gently, "I must leave you momentarily. Promise
you won't leave this place until I return."
"But, Neva," protested a very
exhausted Zoe, "where are you going? Why won't you take me home?"
"You will
return to your father and beloved tonight, but I must do something for
Eldon."
"Oh, Bud! I forgot to ask what happened to him."
Neva smiled,
revealing her sharp, perfectly white teeth, saying, "Do not worry. Eldon is
safe, but I promised I'd do this for him..."
What was this promise? And what does Neva mean by, "Eldon shall get his wish."
TO BE CONTINUED...go to chapter 9!
COPYRIGHT © 2003, 2004 BY P.R. PARKER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED