Liberator

by Bryan Davis

  Elyssa offered Jason a hand, but he shook his head. “Just go.”

  “What do I do?” Elyssa asked. “Make the medicine? Find Cassabrie? Tell Arxad about you being held hostage?”

  “I don’t know. My head’s pounding so hard, I can’t figure anything out.”

  She knelt and ran gentle fingers across his scalp. “We’re a team. I don’t want to do this without you.”

  “I wish I could go.” He covered her hand with his. “Just do what you think is best. I trust you.”

  “Go,” Koren said, pointing at the door again. “I’ll take good care of him.”

  Elyssa glared at her. “As long as you’re in service to that devil, your words are worthless.”

  Koren backed up to Taushin and set a hand on his neck. “If you think him a devil, then what will you do?”

  “I’ll keep my own counsel.” Elyssa shot to her feet and stormed out of the room.

  “Find the chains,” Taushin said as the clopping of Elyssa’s shoes faded away. “We cannot afford to give him time to recover. He is too strong, and his hatred of me will feed his aggression. Then we can complete our covenant, and I will be able to use your eyes instead of my mother’s.”

  Jason rolled from his back to his side. With Solarus still shining into the room, everything should have been clear, but the scene blurred at times, and dark spots danced around in random places.

  At the perimeter wall, Koren laid the sword behind a trunk and threw a loose lid off the top. She fished out a set of chains and manacles and dropped them on the floor. “I saw iron rings embedded in the tiles next to a column. That will be a good place. It’s in the shade.”

  “Of course,” Taushin said. “Since we want no harm to come to him, his comfort is paramount.”

  She scooped up the chains and dragged them to a column. “I couldn’t find the key to the manacles.”

  “Will they lock without the key?” Taushin asked.

  She nodded. “I think they just snap into place.”

  “That will do for now. You can keep looking for the key once he is securely anchored to the floor.”

  Still in range of Mallerin’s vision, Koren helped Jason crawl to the column. She fastened the chains to rings near the base and set a pair of manacles on his wrists. All along the way, she whispered repeatedly, “It’s going to be all right. We’re going to get through this.”

  When the second manacle snapped into place, he grasped her wrist and ran a finger along an abrasion. “I came … to set you free.”

  “I know. It’s not over yet. Just try to trust me.” She backed away slowly, staring at him while biting her lip. “I’m finished.”

  “Good,” Taushin said. “Now while we wait for Cassabrie, we can complete our agreement.”

  “Maybe I should go out and release everyone from the trance first. If Elyssa decides to work on the medicine, I can send someone to guard her. It’s dangerous out there.”

  “That is a minor issue. We can send someone after your vow.”

  “But I said I had to know if my friends from Darksphere are safe before I would complete the vow, and you agreed. If you renege and refuse to let me see to Elyssa’s safety, you are not trustworthy, and I won’t continue.”

  “You were talking about the approaching soldiers,” Taushin said, “not Elyssa.”

  “I am more concerned about Elyssa’s safety. They are well-armed. Elyssa is not.”

  “Very well. I am wary of your stalling tactics, but I will not have my integrity impeached by such a minor point.” Taushin waved a wing. “Restore my mother and climb on my back. I will take you.”

  Koren waved a hand at Mallerin. “Awaken! You need to guide your son outside.”

  Blinking, Mallerin shook her head. “You hypnotized me again.”

  “I did.” Koren took her cloak from the Reflections Crystal and put it on. “I was concerned that in your passion to protect Taushin, you might kill one of the humans.”

  Mallerin growled. “If you do it again, you will be the next human I kill.”

  “I will be careful to honor your wishes.”

  While Koren mounted Taushin, Jason rubbed his eyes, making the chains clink. His vision was improving, and the pounding had eased, though the numbness in his back and legs made walking doubtful, even if he could escape the chains.

  Now on Taushin’s back, Koren looked at Jason. Tears sparkling, she mouthed, “You can trust me.”

  She patted Taushin’s scales. “Let’s go.” He and Mallerin flew out the corridor and disappeared. Their wings provided a brief draft, but the air quickly stilled.

  Jason stared at the floor. The image of Koren’s face stayed in his mind’s eye, earnest and passionate. Her lips formed You can trust me again and again.

  The image warped. Koren’s face remained visible, but it now resided within a black oval, the portal viewer in the chamber next to the underground river. Their first meeting seemed so long ago, but the memory was still fresh. The overflowing river had risen to his chest, but if he had taken his fingers from the wall holes the river would have changed course and drowned Elyssa.

  Jason read Koren’s lips. If only I could pull you out. She extended a hand, pain streaking her face as a manacle tore her skin. I … can’t … reach … any farther!

  He lifted a hand and looked at one of the manacles. So much had changed, yet so much remained the same. Elyssa was gone, again seeking help. He was alone, unable to help himself. Koren again spoke to him with silent lips, this time from atop a dragon instead of from within a reflection of the egg that hatched him.

  He let the chain fall noisily to the floor. And now he wore the manacles—no worse really than the holes in the wall. There was no choice but to wait. The situation was out of his control.

  Another vision came to mind, his last view of Koren as he succumbed to the flood. She buried her face in her hands. Blood streamed from her wrists to her fingers as she wept. She was Taushin’s prisoner. And now she remained his prisoner, and she still had no way to escape from his grasp.

  “Jason?” A glimmer of light appeared, taking the form of a swaying girl.

  “Deference?” Jason kept the chains motionless. “Am I glad you’re here!”

  “What can I do to help?”

  Jason lifted a manacle, dragging a chain with it. “See if you can find the key. The chains came from a trunk next to the wall, so it might be in there.”

  “I’m on my way.” In a flash of light, Deference zipped toward the wall.

  Jason leaned back against the column and allowed himself to smile. Hope remained. Between the efforts of a valiant girl from home and a glimmering girl from Starlight, maybe there was a chance to get out of this mess after all.

  Seventeen

  Edison, Captain Reed, and the other soldiers stayed close to the forest’s north-flowing river. Earlier, it had split into two streams,

  one of which exited the forest to the east, while the one they now followed flowed from the south. Not far to the west, the barrier wall ran parallel to this stream and provided a guiding boundary. At least they wouldn’t stray too far to that side.

  Trees towered over them all around, and thick brambles hugged the trunks and spread out in between. No obvious path appeared anywhere, so they had to forge a path of their own. Listening to the persistent chopping of blades against wood, Edison shook his head. They had opted to stay deeper in the woods to avoid detection, but at this rate they should have traveled closer to the eastern edge of the forest, where the undergrowth was thinner.

  Edison hacked with his sword at a low-hanging vine. When it dropped, a hefty snake fell with it and flopped to the ground. After lying stunned for a moment, it slithered into a cluster of low bushes.

  “I am not familiar with the varieties of serpents here,” Edison said, “but I think we should assume they are all venomous.”

  “Agreed.” The captain nodded toward a clearer area about twenty paces ahead. “Magnar landed. Let’s see if he has a report.�
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  They hacked their way through the brambles and broke into a brighter section of the forest, where Magnar sat looking up through a thin network of branches. Fewer trees and bushes grew here but enough to make maneuvering difficult for a dragon.

  “Is there trouble?” Captain Reed asked.

  “A great deal of trouble.” Magnar kept his focus on the sky. “Fellina and a rider are coming. I guided them to this spot. They should arrive at any moment. To the east, the Benefile are battling those of my race. It is an air battle, but it is difficult to see through the smoke.”

  Edison sniffed. “I smell it.”

  “The section of forest under the battle is ablaze.” Magnar backed out of the center of the clearing, crushing brambles and small trees in a cacophony of crackling branches. “They are coming.”

  The beating of wings filled the air. Fellina plummeted through the trees, breaking branches along the way. With a desperate flurry, she slowed enough to avoid smashing into the ground, but her momentum threw her into a tumble.

  A man flew off her back and hurtled into a bramble bush, sending it into a violent shake. When it settled, a weak “Ouch” rose from the thicket, then a sigh.

  While Magnar shuffled toward Fellina, Edison ran to the bush. An old man crawled out, his clothes and gray hair filled with thorns. “My mother didn’t raise me to be a pin cushion,” he muttered.

  “Well,” Captain Reed said, “if it isn’t my old friend, Tibalt. Back in my days as a dungeon guard, we had quite a few long talks.”

  Tibalt plucked a thorn from his nose. “We did, but you never believed a word I said.”

  “Believe Tibber the Fibber? Why back then I’d just as soon —”

  “Cease the foolish chatter,” Magnar growled. “Do you care nothing about an injured dragon? Fellina is Arxad’s mate, one of the few who thought of your kind as something more than vermin.”

  Edison helped Tibalt walk to the fallen dragon. She lay with her neck curled back toward her body and a trickle of blood oozing from her mouth. Tibalt knelt at her side and stroked her neck. “Fellina’s been flying all around those mountains to the south, and a bunch of dragons have been chasing her. Then they saw Frederick herding the children this way, so they took off after him.”

  “Frederick?” Edison steeled himself. “My son?”

  “The same. Those white dragons flew in from the north and attacked, and then it was like someone opened a jar of chaos. Flames and ice shot everywhere, and the trees caught on fire. I guess those kids are somewhere in that blaze. When Fellina saw Magnar, she headed this way, hoping he could help.”

  “Where are the children now?”

  Tibalt pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “That way, near the forest edge, due west of one of the mesas.”

  “We can follow the smoke.” Edison grabbed the hilt of his sword. “Captain, another double-time march! Magnar, lead the way!”

  “What about Fellina?” Tibalt asked. “We can’t just leave her here.”

  Magnar let out a growl. “Does only one human have compassion for our kind? Will you leave Fellina to the birds of the air?”

  “I have to rescue children.” Edison whipped out his sword. “When it comes to a choice between Fellina and —”

  “Do not say it!” Magnar glared at Edison. “This is madness. I go to fight against my own kind for the sake of those who care nothing for the condition of the grandest of all she-dragons. If only Arxad were here so he could see what his beloved humans are really like.”

  “We can’t do anything for Fellina,” Edison said, “but we have to protect the children from fire-breathing slavers. If you want your kingdom back, we’ll need your help.”

  Tibalt stripped off his tunic and pushed it against a wound in Fellina’s belly. “I’ll stay with her. No buzzards can get her while I’m around. They’d probably eat me first. I’m easier to tear apart.”

  Magnar snorted. “At least one of you has sense.” He beat his wings, raising a debris-filled breeze, and lifted into the air. As he circled over the treetops, he called out, “The children are not far. March in the direction I go, and you will arrive in moments.” Then, he flew away.

  “March!” Edison shouted, pointing his sword in that direction.

  He ran through the forest, clearer here than in the earlier section. Still, the terrain stayed rough as he dodged trees and leaped over roots and logs. From ahead, a low murmur reached his ears and quickly grew to a tumult — dragons roaring, children screaming, and flames crackling. With every step, smoke thickened. The noise spiked. The soldiers coughed but kept the pace.

  Soon, children came into view, huddled in the midst of the densest smoke, coughing and choking. A man swung his sword at a dragon snaking its head toward them between two trees. From each side, a few of the bigger boys hacked at its neck with broken branches. Flames leapt all around, engulfing trees and underbrush. Dragons flew above, darting this way and that as streams of orange and white filled the sky.

  Edison ran past the children, leaped in front of the man, and jammed his sword into the dragon’s snout. Screaming, the dragon’s head shot back and disappeared. Captain Reed and the other soldiers formed a line between the children and the retreating dragon, their swords, spears, and shields raised.

  The man grabbed Edison from behind, spun him around, and pulled him into a tight embrace. “Father!”

  “Frederick?” Edison drew back and caressed Frederick’s face, scruffy and covered with cuts and bruises. “Is it really you?”

  Frederick nodded, then coughed several times. “No more time,” he said, his voice pinched. “These dragons want the children.”

  Edison blinked at the stinging smoke. “Why?”

  “To protect themselves.” Frederick pointed in the direction the dragon had gone. “They’re fighting the Benefile out in the open and flushing us out with fire, hoping to gather the children around them. They think the Benefile won’t hurt the children.”

  Edison coughed through his reply. “If we don’t move … the children will suffocate…. Some of the men … will engage the dragons…. The rest will lead the children to safety.”

  Frederick waved at the thickening smoke. “If you know where safety is, I’m all for going there.”

  Edison lifted his tunic and covered his mouth and nose, muffling his voice. “The way I came isn’t clear, so you’ll have to stay close to the forest edge. Lead the children toward the village. We’ll keep a line of men between you and the dragons.”

  “I’m on my way.” Frederick limped toward the children and began herding them out of the smoke.

  Amidst a clamor of screaming dragons and crackling flames, Edison ran to Captain Reed. The men’s eyes aimed toward the sky, their heads swiveling as they followed the dragons in flight. More fire shot into the branches, then rivers of white. Crystals rained on their heads.

  Captain Reed caught some in his palm. “Snow?”

  “Ice.” Edison brushed crystals from his shoulder. “Let’s see what’s going on out there.”

  As he led the way toward the forest boundary, the men followed. The screams intensified. Flashes of orange looked like lightning, and the falling crystals grew into a virtual hailstorm.

  When they reached the edge, Edison walked out into the open. At least ten frozen dragons littered the plateau, some sitting on their haunches with their necks curled as if ready to strike at a target above, and some lying on their bellies with wings spread as if fallen from the sky.

  He touched the closest dragon. Coated in frosty ice, it looked like a snow sculpture.

  Above, thirty dragons or more flew in all directions, swerving and diving, all beating their wings furiously. Three white dragons flew among them, each one faster and more agile than their Southlands counterparts. One of the white dragons blasted a geyser of ice that slammed into a reddish dragon. Like a slithering white blanket, the ice wrapped around him, freezing him in flight. He dropped to the ground with a thud. Although crystals splattered,
the ice held fast.

  A new barrage of fire poured into the trees. One of the Southlands dragons dove at Edison, spewing flames. Magnar swooped in between and blocked the volley. “Hide yourself!” Magnar yelled. “Unseen is safe for now!”

  He swerved and flew directly at the attacker. Edison ran back to the soldiers and waved toward the north. “Stay in the woods, but keep moving. The dragons are too busy with each other now to be concerned about us.”

  As the men marched, their feet pointing north and their weapons and shields pointing east toward the open area, Edison kept a watchful eye toward the west. Deeper in the woods, the tail end of the line of children came into view. An older boy carried a tiny girl, his head low.

  Above, the circles of dragons widened, and the entire field of wings, scales, and claws drifted southward.

  “They’re moving with us,” Captain Reed said as he marched next to Edison. “Any idea why?”

  “The village is that way. Maybe the Benefile want everyone to go there.”

  A frozen dragon dropped through the trees. Branches cracked and fell, and the stiff body slammed into a bush, flattening it. A white dragon swooped low, gave the men a quick look, then flew back to the battle.

  Edison kept a steady pace. “They are clearly the superior fighters, so they might be intentionally guiding the other dragons.”

  “Why not destroy them out here?” the captain asked. “Why the delay? Why would they follow us?”

  “I think they want us to follow them. Maybe they intend for us to deliver the final blow in a symbolic setting, such as the Zodiac. Remember what Arxad said. They have strange ways, and they will see us as allies in their cause.”

  “Unless they find out that we already have the disease among us,” Captain Reed said. “Then we might transform from the protected to the targets.”

  Edison nodded. “We will have to keep that secret as long as we can.”

  As soon as Taushin landed in front of the Zodiac’s exterior doors, Koren dismounted and ran to the portico’s front edge between the two main support columns. From this point, every entranced person was in view—Randall to the left, and the ragged line of slaves stretching from near where he stood to a point well down the road toward the grottoes on the right. She waved her cloak, pivoting in place as she shouted, “Awake! All of you!”