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Meridian

Both ninjas eased out of their fighting stances at the mention of that name.

With narrowed eyes, the large one growled, “How do you know that name?”

“It’s the name of the greatest man I’ve ever known.” Meridian sheathed Whisper. “He told me that when I faced a master who fights until the end…to speak the name of the beginning.”

Meridian was away for one of his times of peace and rest.

He was well-known in the small village a few miles from his hideaway in the Aydos Forest.

The people knew him as the dark keeper of justice, and he always came to their aid when called.

Ahmet, a sweet kid who ran errands for him, barely made it to the outskirts of his property, where Meridian was meditating, before he collapsed.

Meridian hefted the young boy in his arms a second before he fell. Careful of Ahmet’s numerous bruises and cuts, he ran as fast as he could to his home.

When the kid managed to speak in his thick Turkish accent, his voice was barely audible through his cries of pain as he pleaded, “Black one…my home…help…please.”

Meridian laid him on the dozens of pillows on the floor, cloaked himself in his Raven colors, put Whisper in her compartment, threw on his hood, and took off toward Velibaba.

He pulled himself from the memory and relayed to them what had happened that day.

“When I reached the bottom of the mountain, the raiders had already destroyed and killed so many. Violating the women, stealing, and torturing. But there’d been a man in black warding off the insurgents from the elders and children. He was hurt on his left side and fought with one arm, taking hit after hit, but he never fell.”

Meridian closed his eyes, reliving every detail.

“I could tell he was their champion. I stood beside him, fought on his right side.”

This guardian had stared at Meridian through a midnight mask, revealing midnight-colored eyes lined in black kohl.

“I deflected bullets aimed at him, shot and killed the ones who refused to retreat. Once the threat was neutralized and the elders and children were safe, their champion dropped to his knees. His clothes were soaked in blood, his arm broken at the elbow and dislocated at the shoulder. He’d been fighting a long time before I arrived. I knew he was someone important, so I didn’t leave him.”

The serpent came closer. “I know of the time you speak. We encountered an American legion who called themselves the Beastmasters. It was twelve to two. The odds were not in our favor. I was able to retreat underground, but I lost Alpha.”

“I got him to our healer, a shamanist I trusted and knew would hide him, but I stayed with him, guarded him in case others came,” Meridian said.

“And he told you who he was?” the big one asked.

“No,” Meridian answered. “He was unconscious for days but alive.”

Ex moved closer to him, giving him his silent presence. It was a story he’d never told him either. Not because he didn’t trust Ex with the memory, but because… Meridian sighed. He didn’t know why.

“The shaman reset the bones while reciting healing spells and layering his wounds with turmeric and opium-soaked aloe leaves before she bathed his body in tea tree oils.”

“Was his identity protected? Did anyone else see him?”

Meridian noticed a hint of moisture forming in the snake’s eyes.

He shook his head.

“She kept him shielded behind a veiled curtain. And she never left her hut nor spoke while she performed her rituals. I waited days in silence for information on if he would survive.”

“Did he dream?” the beast asked.

Meridian frowned, wondering why he’d asked that particular question.

“He did. He had intense tremors and jerks while he slept, muttering words in a language I’d never heard. The healer said he was speaking in the old tongue and revealing prophecies to come.”

Meridian swallowed roughly. This story had always been difficult to recount in his mind. Speaking it aloud was soul-wrenching.

“His fever receded, and the mutterings got louder, then I finally asked her who he was.”

Meridian had needed to know before he left. His time of rest had been coming to an end, and he’d needed to return to his responsibilities. Return to Ex.

“She said he was honorable of all men. I didn’t request her to elaborate. Instead, I asked her what he was saying, and it was hours before she answered. She said his heart wanted his cherished, and his soul was calling to him in his dreams.”

It was the first time Meridian had felt compassion since becoming a Raven.

“He woke about a week later, sweating and shaking but alert.” Meridian shuddered from the haunting memories. “He opened his eyes and stared at me for a long time, and, for reasons I still don’t understand, I was unable to look away.

“Then he unveiled himself. He was beautiful, his skin a perfect honey-brown, and he had the darkest eyes I’d ever seen that looked right through me. His ink-black hair was so long it hung past his waist.”

“What did he say to you?” the large one asked in a worshipful tone.

Meridian would never forget.

“He said I was destined for greatness and that men all over the world would fear me.”

He’d been right.

“He told me his name and that he was the beginning and that one day, I would meet the end. And at his side would be his cherished protector, the triumphant one. I never saw him again, except for when he visited my dreams.”

The two masters approached him, stood close enough that Meridian could smell their sweat, and removed their own covers.

“I am Omega, the end. My name is Eriktor, the Saw-Scaled Snake of Imuma Aga Kahn. With me stands my cherished, the Lion, Firuz Nikahd, Persian for man of triumph.”

Audible breaths circled the dusty room.

The Lion had no doubt gotten his name from his fighting style, but it could’ve easily been given because of his looks.

Features unlike any Persian Meridian had ever seen.

The hood concealed his long golden mane that didn’t have a single strand of gray. His fair skin and high cheekbones could rival a model’s.

Never had he seen eyes so hazel, that reflected back at them as if they were beams of sunlight.

Omega stared with light-gray eyes with a mysterious yellow tint splitting the irises.

“Ravens”—Meridian turned to Grace and Mirage—“remove your hoods if you wish to show them respect.”

Meridian didn’t know if they would do it, but slowly, they all revealed their identities.