\u201cYou\u2019re a fool, Zacky boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zacharias glared at Tharon. His chosen demon was almost his height this time, his eyes glowing blood orange, his blackened lips pulled back in a feral grin. He didn\u2019t want to ask, but the hairy bastard wouldn\u2019t go away until he did. He would risk being forced to watch Tharon feast again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy am I a fool this time, demone?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tharon giggled. \u201cYou think she\u2019ll save you. She can\u2019t. Even if she could, she wouldn\u2019t want you. No one out there does. It\u2019s not your realm.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cSmettila di darmi fastidio, idiota.\u201d Zacharias snapped.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOoooh! \u2018Stop bothering me.\u2019 No. Let it go, Zacky. The King will never release you. You have been his prize possession for thousands of years, and you\u2019re too much fun to hunt. And that ass! Who would let that go?\u201d Tharon stretched a taloned hand toward him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTouch me and I\u2019ll throw you into the water.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tharon shuddered. \u201cNo fair, Zacky.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cGo away, Tharon.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about this, Zacky boy. Even if you could get out, which you can\u2019t, what will Daddy do when he finds out you\u2019ve returned? You think he\u2019ll welcome you? He forgot you, just like everyone else.\u201d The demon vanished in a fiery flourish.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBastardo.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zacharias walked toward the door between his realm and hers. It was still early on her side; she wouldn\u2019t be patrolling yet. He could slip through the door and feel the sun on his skin for a little while, before he was pulled back into the dark.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He stepped through and smiled when the light hit his face. He paused, concentrating, and stretched his wings to their full span. His laughter echoed on the hill.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re losing me, Oscurita.\u201d he told the air around him, hoping the King couldn\u2019t hear across the barrier. His wings hadn\u2019t worked since he struck the earth so very long ago \u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wait.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Struck the earth?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He\u2019d never remembered how he came to live in the Forgotten Realm. Even though she\u2019d told him what she remembered, it didn\u2019t seem real.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, it was coming back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He sat with his back against the Oak where he\u2019d left the book of poetry for her. He picked up a stick and absently drew in the dirt as memories trickled back to him. The argument with Father that split the skies, sending him to the Darkness, erasing him from every memory, including his own \u2013<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGods.\u201d It was about them all; the ones he\u2019d never met but wanted to, the ones who were here before Father. The ones he insisted deserved as much honor as Father did. The ones he knew would be welcoming, willing to work with Father, with all of them, to help the mortals \u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Father\u2019s stern voice echoed in his memory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have no son.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The explosion, the clouds opening beneath him, her scream \u2013<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Zacharias held his hands over his ears and choked back a scream of his own. The last glimpse of beauty he saw cried for him as he fell, but she couldn\u2019t save him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n No one could.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He remembered hitting the earth. He remembered standing, looking around, with no knowledge of what had happened, where he was, or even his own name. The Realm had him from the moment he struck the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI had a mind of my own.\u201d he whispered softly, not realizing he was writing it in the dirt as he said it. \u201cAnd for that, you took my name from me. You took everything from me because I questioned you. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Zacharias rocked to his feet and looked over the hill toward where he knew she lived. \u201cI will see you when the sun rises, Dea. Lo prometto.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He could run. He knew he could. The King would send someone, something, for him, and he would fight, and ultimately lose. He wasn\u2019t strong enough yet. He didn\u2019t know where he would go if he did escape.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And he knew he couldn\u2019t be the only one in the Realm. He\u2019d never seen anyone save for the King and that miserable Tharon, but that didn\u2019t mean they weren\u2019t out there, wandering, wishing someone would remember them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know who I am.\u201d he said as he wrote his name in the dirt next to his drawings, hoping she\u2019d see them. \u201cI am Zacharias, and I didn\u2019t fall.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He took a deep breath and slipped back into the Forgotten Realm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSono stato spinto \u2026 I was pushed.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cYou\u2019re a fool, Zacky boy.\u201d Zacharias glared at Tharon. His chosen demon was almost his height this time, his eyes glowing blood orange, his blackened lips pulled back in a feral grin. He didn\u2019t want to ask, but the hairy bastard wouldn\u2019t go away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8059,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","portfolio_category":[39],"portfolio_tag":[127,128,129],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_page\/8109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_page"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio_page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_category?post=8109"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leighgrissom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_tag?post=8109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}