by Bryan Davis
“Maybe she has,” Arxad said. “Her predecessor displayed none externally until hours before her death. Sometimes the disease killed from the inside out.”
Elyssa walked back to the remains of Exodus, still a head-high ball of radiance, and scooped out another handful of energy. “So my theory,” she said as she returned, “is if I use a stardrop and my pendant, I might be able to cure anyone who is infected if I slough off genetic material as I work.”
“From what I saw when you healed Petra,” Jason said, “the process is draining. There’s no way you could heal that many people. How many are there? A thousand?”
Arxad nodded. “At least. Perhaps twelve hundred. And numbers are not the only issue to consider. Since the resistant genetic material is within you, it is likely in your bloodstream, so a topical application of stardrop material enhanced by manna bark and skin cells might not be enough.”
Jason touched his chest. “If the litmus finger is like a vaccine for me, developing one on a larger scale is our only option.”
“But if I go to the Northlands to give Uriel genetic material,” Elyssa said, “I can’t be here to counter the symptoms. Some people might die before a vaccine could be ready.”
Jason lifted her tresses. “One of us could take some genetic material to Uriel. Back home, hair was enough to open genetic locks.”
“Perhaps,” Arxad said, “but we do not know if a genetic code will be sufficient for developing a vaccine. The finger inside you includes skin, bone, and blood. If the cure involves one of those components, sending hair will be a waste of valuable time.”
Elyssa spread out her fingers. “I suppose I’ll have to do it.”
“Do what?” Jason asked.
“Give up a finger. If Uriel needs flesh, bone, and blood, it’s the easiest way. If you chop a little finger with your sword—”
“No!” Jason said, wincing. “There’s got to be a better way.”
Elyssa raised her brow. “Do you have another idea?”
“I do,” Arxad said. “We can have one immune human go to the Northlands while another stays here.”
Jason glanced between Elyssa and Arxad. “Another? But Elyssa’s the only one. Cassabrie’s been dead for —”
“Maybe that is no longer true.” Arxad spread out his wings. “Mount quickly. It is time to see what Fellina has learned about Cassabrie.”
eighteen
While the battle between Fellina and Shrillet raged in the stakes chamber, piercing the air with shrieks and roars, Petra drew close to Cassabrie’s floating body. Cassabrie studied the devices that held her in place—one glass disk embedded in the ceiling and one in the floor, each radiating stardrop energy. “I think I see where to put the crystal,” she said into Petra’s mind. Petra signed, “Where?”
“The stardrops covered by the disks are arranged in a circle. You probably have to insert the peg right through the middle. But hurry. I don’t think the dragon fight will last much longer.”
Petra set the point of the crystalline peg on top of the floor disk and pushed, but it wouldn’t penetrate. Her head swaying, she raised four fingers and pointed at the stardrops.
“I see what you mean,” Cassabrie said. “Maybe since three are missing, the locking mechanism is broken.”
The sounds of battle eased, replaced by heavy breathing.
Petra spelled out, “What now?” “Look up for me! Quick!”
Petra slid the peg behind her waistband and looked up, giving Cassabrie a view of her body floating directly above. Beyond her head, the disk in the ceiling shone with seven untouched stardrops. “Are you too dizzy to climb?”
Without answering, Petra grabbed a handful of Cassabrie’s cloak and a handful of her dress and pulled herself up. The body sank with her weight for a moment before rebounding. She set one foot on top of Cassabrie’s and vaulted, setting her other foot in the crook of Cassabrie’s arm. Finally, she set her knees on Cassabrie’s shoulders.
“Wonderful, Petra. You’re almost there. Fight my body’s influence. Just concentrate.”
The sound of breathing grew closer, punctuated by growls and grunts.
Balancing herself, Petra withdrew the crystal, set her free hand on Cassabrie’s head, and shifted from her knees to her feet. Now fully standing, she reached the peg toward the ceiling disk. Cassabrie’s body shifted and bobbed, but Petra compensated for every move.
A loud dragon cough sounded from the corridor. Petra wobbled. She rotated her arms, trying to keep her balance. Finally, she thrust herself up to tiptoes and pressed the pointed end of the crystalline peg against the center of the disk, bracing herself.
“It’s not going through,” Cassabrie said.
Petra shook her head, alternating between looking at the disk above and her precariously balanced feet below.
“Since you swallowed a stardrop,” Cassabrie said, “I thought you might be able to push it through. At least that was my theory.”
Petra spelled out “think fast” with her free hand.
“Let’s see if I can give you a power boost.” Cassabrie searched the energy fields. Radiance from four sources made their way into her mind — strong flows from the disk above and below, as well from as her lifeless body, and a weaker one from inside Petra. Extending her spirit’s energy toward the source within Petra, she concentrated. Somehow she had to overcome the weakening effect her own body’s radiance caused.
A panting, scratching sound drew near. Shrillet was probably only seconds away.
Pouring all her energy into Petra, Cassabrie cried out, “Now, Petra! Push as hard as you can!”
“Get down from there, you foul human!”
Petra gasped. With a leap, she thrust the peg as hard as she could. The point plunged through the center of the disk, and it embedded firmly within. Her feet slipped and slid down Cassabrie’s chest. Petra threw her arms over Cassabrie’s shoulders and hung on.
Blood oozing from one eye, Shrillet stomped toward them, a noticeable limp in her gait. “I told you to get down!”
Above, radiance flooded the implanted crystal. It shot a beam directly into Cassabrie’s head and through her feet. In a brilliant flash of light, both disks shattered, and Cassabrie’s body dropped to the floor in a mass of limp arms and legs. Petra landed on Cassabrie’s chest, cushioning her fall.
“Now hang on,” Cassabrie shouted. “I’m coming out of you and going into my body. Get one of the stardrops and make me swallow it. Shove it down my throat if you have to. I’ll try to stimulate the muscles to force it into my stomach.”
Petra wrapped one arm around Cassabrie’s body and groped for the floor disk with the other.
“Oh, no, Petra! My body’s on top of the disk!”
Shrillet whipped her spiny tail around and smacked Petra’s cheek, but she hung on tightly.
“Let go immediately!” Shrillet teetered, still showing the effects of the energy that radiated throughout the room.
“Don’t Petra. She’ll roast you! The only reason she hasn’t done it already is because you’re hanging on to me. You’ll have to drag my body off to get to a stardrop. She’s hurt and losing control. She can’t last much longer.”
Petra dabbed her cheek and set her bloody fingers in front of her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Petra, I know it’s dangerous—Get down!”
Petra ducked. Shrillet’s tail whipped over her, brushing her scalp. Then Shrillet’s teeth clamped down on her side, snagging her tunic and digging into her ribs. The dragon lifted, but Petra hung on to Cassabrie, moaning as she dragged the limp body along.
“Now, Petra! I’m transferring now! The disk is uncovered.”
With a jerk of her head, Shrillet gave Petra a toss. She and Cassabrie’s body flew several feet, then rolled completely over, leaving Petra on top again.
As the dragon advanced once more, Cassabrie poured out through Petra’s chest and into her own. Petra moaned, louder this time. The transfer out was as painful as the entrance, but Cassabrie h
ad no choice. The only way to save Petra from the dragon was to resurrect herself and fight.
“If you do not release her immediately,” Shrillet said, her words now slurred, “I will sever your head from your body with a snap of my jaws.”
Petra scrambled on all fours, jammed her hand into the floor disk’s broken glass, and yanked out a stardrop. Shrillet blasted a stream of flames at her, but Petra lunged out of the way just in time. With the stardrop in her fist, she leaped back to Cassabrie, forced open her mouth, and pushed the shining sphere deep into her throat.
Shrillet snapped at Petra. She ducked again, but the dragon caught her hair, jerked her away from Cassabrie, and threw her against the wall, slamming her head on the stone surface. Petra slumped in a sitting position, her eyes closed.
Cassabrie pinpointed her energy on the throat muscles behind the stardrop. Push it down! I have to revive and help Petra!
“Now to dispose of this troublemaker!” Shrillet stomped toward Petra.
Cassabrie poked her head out of her body and screamed, “No! Wait!”
“What?” Shrillet pivoted, nearly toppling. “Who said that?”
“I did.” Cassabrie ducked back down and watched the confused dragon through her body’s open mouth.
Shrillet shuffled close and extended her neck. She set her snout over Cassabrie’s face and sniffed. “There is no life in this human.” Drawing back, she looked left and right. “Who is here? I heard you speak.”
Cassabrie stimulated the throat muscle again. The stardrop moved down the esophagus slowly … too slowly.
“If you do not answer, I will make a torch out of this girl.”
Cassabrie called out through her body’s mouth. “It is I, Cassabrie. Do not harm her.”
“What? Impossible!” Shrillet drew close and sniffed again. “I detect something warm but no breathing.”
The stardrop fell into Cassabrie’s stomach. The energy field expanded, filtering through the stomach lining and then throughout the body. She spread her spirit, sending her arms, legs, and head into their proper places. Now if the attachment were to be made and Petra saved from the dragon, it was up to the Creator. There was nothing she could do but watch and wait.
“Someone is deceiving me.” Shrillet marched back toward Petra, her gait still hobbled. “Whoever is here, you have until the count of five to show yourself before I kill this girl … One!”
Cassabrie felt her body filling with energy, but it was so slow!
“Two!”
Her heart felt warmer, but it still wasn’t beating. What might jolt it enough to get it started?
“Three!”
Heat filtered into her arms and legs, but they still wouldn’t move. This was worse than any nightmare!
“Four!”
Her mind felt strange, like something was sucking it from her spirit. Could this be the attachment? Or might it mean the approach of final death—the journey to the afterlife? She had to shout, reveal herself, stop Shrillet! But she couldn’t speak. Nothing seemed to work.
“Five!”
A blast of fire lit up the chamber. Cassabrie gasped. Her heart thumped. She shot to a sitting position and looked around. Flames covered Petra’s clothes from her knees to her neck.
Cassabrie screamed, “Here I am, you monster!”
Shrillet turned. As she reared back to blast fire again, Arxad burst into the chamber and smashed into her. Jason followed. In a mad dash, he leaped for Petra and rolled her on the floor, desperately trying to smother the flames.
Arxad pinned Shrillet’s head with a foreclaw. “Be still or die!”
“Human lover!” she snarled. “You have always favored the rats over your own species.”
Randall hustled in, his sword drawn. “I’ll watch this one,” he said, pressing the point against Shrillet’s underbelly. “You’d better find Deference. Fellina needs her.”
With a beat of his wings, Arxad flew past Cassabrie, snatched a stardrop from the floor, and burst through the exit, creating a bigger hole than before.
Cassabrie struggled to her feet, her legs wobbly. As she staggered toward Jason and Petra, throbbing darkness veiled her vision.
Jason sat with Petra cradled in his arms. He looked up at Cassabrie, tears running down his sooty cheeks. “She’s alive, but I don’t know for how long. We need Elyssa and her pendant. She’s with Fellina in the room with the stakes.”
“I’ll get her,” Cassabrie said.
In a burst of movement, Shrillet jerked away from Randall’s sword and slapped him with a wing. He fell to his backside and flipped into a somersault. Shrillet jumped to her feet and aimed her snout at Randall. “Human! How dare you threaten me with that puny weapon!”
Randall smacked her face with his sword, but it just bounced off her tough scales. Jason slid Petra out of his arms, shouting, “Randall! I’m coming!”
Shrillet swung her tail and smacked Randall’s face with a spine, knocking him flat on his side. As the dragon drew in a breath, Cassabrie thrust out both arms and yelled, “Stop!” Like a wave of pure light, radiant energy burst from her hands and slammed into Shrillet. The force shoved the she-dragon to the wall and pressed her against it, keeping her pinned as new ripples pulsed from Cassabrie’s hands. “Jason! Strike her down! I can’t do this for long.”
Jason leaped to his feet and snatched up Randall’s sword. Cassabrie lowered her arms, extinguishing the energy field. While Shrillet slumped to the floor, Jason drove the blade into her belly. His jaw clenched, he twisted the sword sharply and jerked it out, leaping away from the gushing fluids.
He grabbed Randall’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Are you all right?”
His cheek and chin dripping blood, Randall nodded. “I think so.”
“You help him,” Cassabrie said. “I’ll help Petra.” She grabbed a stardrop from the floor disk and scooped Petra into her arms. “Don’t die, precious girl. I’ll get you to Elyssa.”
Her face as black as charcoal, Petra moaned and raised her burned hands. Slowly, painfully, she signed, “You’re … alive. You aren’t an angel … after all.”
“No, dearest one.” Cassabrie’s voice quaked as she hurried through the tunnel. “I think when you see a real angel, you’ll know it.”
Petra’s fingers began a reply, but they relaxed and dropped to her chest. Cassabrie ran faster, her heart pounding. Though the stardrops had kept her physical muscles from atrophy, it felt very strange to be fighting gravity after so many years.
When she reached the stakes chamber, she slowed to a halt, panting for breath. Elyssa knelt next to Fellina, who lay motionless on her side. Arxad sat on his haunches, his neck swaying with his head. He seemed to be sweeping his gaze from one end of Fellina’s body to the other, apparently too nervous to stay still.
Elyssa’s pendant glowed fiery red as it dangled below her neck. Koren sat against a wall with her knees pulled up to her chest and her hood raised over her head, shadowing her eyes. She appeared to be weeping.
“Koren!” Cassabrie called. “I have Petra! She’s hurt!”
“Petra?” Her face twisting in pain, Koren struggled to her feet and limped toward them. “How did you get your body back?”
“Later.” Cassabrie laid Petra close to Elyssa. “Can you try to heal her with the manna pendant? I have a stardrop in case hers is too weak.”
Still kneeling, Elyssa looked up at Cassabrie. Tear tracks stained her cheeks. “It didn’t work on Fellina, at least not very well.”
Koren dropped to her knees and combed her fingers through Petra’s hair. “Petra! Can you hear me?”
Petra made no sign, but her chest still rose and fell … barely.
“Is Fellina dead?” Cassabrie asked.
Elyssa shook her head. “Close, though. According to Deference, Shrillet severed an important artery in Fellina’s neck. Arxad can’t move her, or she’ll die for sure, and we have no surgeon. Deference is trying to repair the artery by stitching it with some of Koren’s ha
ir, but she can’t hold on to things very well, and I can’t get my hands between Fellina’s scales to touch the artery.”
“Do you have enough strength to try to save Petra?” Koren asked.
Elyssa clutched her pendant, her eyes weary but determined. “I’ll do my best.”
Cassabrie touched Koren’s cloak. “Where is Exodus?”
“Near the Basilica,” Koren said, pointing upward. “It’s sitting on the ground, deteriorating.”
Cassabrie knitted her brow. “You’re no longer attached to it. It must have a Starlighter dwelling within, or it will dwindle down to nothing, and the world will forever be without a guiding light.”
“Does it matter?” Arxad asked, his head now still and drooping. “Humans and dragons alike have rejected wisdom. We deserve to be without pheterone and without a guide. It is a lost cause.”
“I don’t believe in lost causes.” Cassabrie set her fists on her hips. “And I’m not going to let Starlight perish into ultimate darkness.”
Jason walked in, supporting Randall with a shoulder under his arm. “What can I do to help?”
“Water,” Deference called, her glowing head appearing near Fellina’s neck. “We need water for Petra’s burns.”
Cassabrie stepped in front of Arxad. “Is the fountain in the Zodiac still flowing?” she asked.
Arxad stared at her blankly. “It ran dry shortly after you perished. The butcher’s barrel is likely full.” He let his head droop again. “Every calamity has happened because I hesitated to oppose the evil around me. I assumed that patience rather than aggressive opposition would bring about the Creator’s desired ends.”
Cassabrie stamped her foot. “Don’t play the despondent dragon. I know you too well. You have defended justice too many times to surrender now. If you want to lament about lacking aggression, then do it while making up for your passivity. Fellina is in the Creator’s hands now, so it’s time to show a little faith.”
Jason joined them and slapped Arxad’s flank. “It’s time for action! Take me to the butcher’s shop!”