Jordan

by Susan Kearney

  “Hello,” Vivianne said, careful to modulate her tone to what she hoped sounded friendly.

  George lifted his leg and christened one of the plants. Vivianne hoped these people wouldn’t take offense.

  “Now what?” Gray asked.

  “We wait,” Jordan murmured, and she had the feeling he’d done this a time or two before.

  “Wait for what?” Vivianne asked.

  “For them to lose their fear of us.” Jordan seemed certain of the protocol, and it made sense.

  But Vivianne wondered what would happen if these people never lost their fear. Would they attack?

  Nose to the ground, George sniffed and wagged his stub of a tail. Quickly, he found the limit of his leash, then yanked.

  “Easy, fella.” Vivianne pulled him back. “Sit.”

  George paid no attention to her command. She suspected she had to make her voice more firm, but she didn’t want to frighten the natives. So instead, she pushed down on his lower haunches. “Sit.”

  George sat. She straightened, and then he promptly stood up and tugged toward the natives again. Frustrated, she bent and pushed on his hindquarters, again. “Sit,” she repeated.

  George sat, then again bounced to his feet and tugged the leash.

  One of the natives chuckled.

  Vivianne smiled, sat down cross-legged, and lifted George into her lap. “We might be less intimidating if we’re more their size.”

  Gray kneeled, and Jordan squatted next to her, but, if the natives attacked, his legs looked ready to lunge. She heard whispers and soft hoots from the natives, but her translator couldn’t pick up their words.

  George grew tired of sitting and yanked, straining to the limit of his leash to explore. This time when she tugged him back, there was much laughter and the tension eased from her shoulders.

  “I’m glad we’re so entertaining,” she said. “How much longer—”

  “George is winning them over.” Jordan petted George behind the ears. “Good boy.”

  “Someone’s coming,” Gray murmured.

  Although her cheeks began to hurt from smiling, Vivianne didn’t change expression as one of the natives slowly shuffled out of the grasses. She’d assumed these people were small, but the man slowly straightened to a willowy six feet.

  He was quite human in appearance, with the usual number of limbs, but he was extremely slender, almost delicate, his knees and ankles seemingly double-jointed as he approached with a graceful gait.

  “Don’t make any sudden moves,” Jordan warned.

  George didn’t listen. He stood, tugged on the leash, and wagged his tail, eager to greet the stranger.

  Vivianne was about to jerk him back when the native reached out to the dog, pushed his hindquarters down, and said, “Sit.”

  George sat.

  Everyone in the audience clapped their hands in applause. Many stood to see better, their fears seemingly forgotten.

  “Hello.” Vivianne pointed to herself. “Vivianne.”

  “Viv?” the man repeated.

  “Vivianne.” Jordan pointed at her, then at Gray, saying, “Gray,” and then at himself, “Jordan.” Then he gestured to the man.

  “Pez.” The native puffed out his thin chest.

  Once again, Jordan pointed to all of them and said their names. This time, Pez repeated them, too. And then, eyebrow lifting, he patted George.

  “George,” Vivianne told him.

  Pez motioned for Jordan, Gray, and Vivianne to follow him.

  “He doesn’t seem hostile,” Vivianne said.

  “Don’t make assumptions,” Jordan murmured. “For all we know, he may have decided we’re the perfect food for his pet lion.”

  “Somehow these people don’t seem the type to domesticate lions,” Vivianne said. “But why aren’t our translators doing their job?”

  “Sometimes it takes a while for them to work,” Jordan said. “The syntax or grammar here must be very unusual. If we can get them to name other things, it might speed the process.”

  Jordan touched his nose. “Nose.”

  Then he gestured for Pez to give him the alien word. But Pez said, “Nose.”

  And no matter what Jordan said, Pez didn’t seem to understand their wish to learn the native language. Eventually he gave up. “I’m no linguist.”

  “Mind if I try?” Vivianne asked.

  “Go ahead.”

  She strode up to Pez with George. She patted George’s head. Then she patted her own head and said, “Head.” Then slowly she reached out to Pez’s head.

  “Tskky.”

  Vivianne clapped her hands. Then she touched her nose and said the word. Then touched his.

  “Brrighgt.”

  Again she clapped. Then she touched the ground, pointed at the sky, held up one finger, then two, then three. Each time the man gave her a word. But then he seemed to tire of the game and she didn’t press.

  “That was perfect,” Jordan told her, and his compliment made her feel good.

  “The translator still isn’t working,” she said, because she could hear these people talking among themselves and she couldn’t understand them.

  “Patience,” Jordan said.

  “I’m working on it.” She supposed that after living so many years, patience was something he’d acquired.

  Pez led them through the farmer’s field and onto a winding two-lane dirt road lined with homes that reminded her of English cottages with thatched roofs. On top of the roofs were what she at first assumed were weather vanes. But instead of a pointed arrow at one end, there was a circle and on the opposite end was a square. The shape seemed familiar, but she didn’t know why.

  She glanced at Jordan. His blue eyes were focused on the roofs, too.

  And then she remembered. “Those things on the roofs, they are the same shape as one of the indentations on your Ancient Staff.”

  “The proportions look identical to one of the missing keys.” Jordan rubbed his forehead, his expression thoughtful.

  “What does that mean?” Gray asked.

  “It means we aren’t on Shadow by coincidence.” Jordan’s tone was threaded with excitement.

  “I don’t understand,” Gray said.

  “We jumped out of hyperspace to avoid colliding with those metal cubes,” Jordan reminded them. “Those cubes may have wanted us to find this world.”

  “Why?” Vivianne asked. “Do you think your missing keys are here?”

  “I don’t know.” Jordan’s pace remained steady. “But from the beginning, Shadow has not been what it seemed.”

  All the natives who watched from their yards and houses joined in the procession, falling in behind the group from the field. At least four hundred men, women, and children followed in that odd gait, reminding her that although these aliens looked human, they had probably never seen anyone who looked like Earth people. Children held one another’s hands and chattered under the watchful eyes of their parents. Most of them wore tan shirts and slacks, but one little girl had a pink ribbon braided into her hair. Another wore a simple bead bracelet. Contributing to the carnival-like atmosphere, several boys played catch, running back and forth, never getting too close to the strangers.

  She glanced back at their retinue. “I’m beginning to feel like the Pied Piper.”

  “Where do you think Pez is taking us?” Gray asked.

  “To their leader.” Jordan seemed certain, but he’d told them not to make assumptions.

  Vivianne frowned as they headed straight through the tiny village and into a dense forest. “Wouldn’t their leader live among them?”

  Jordan shook his head. “Leaders in many cultures live apart. The king in his castle. The medicine man in a hut just outside the village.”

  “The minotaur that demanded a blood sacrifice every spring,” she said with a tiny shudder. Maybe it was the shade, or the odd shape of the trees, but she didn’t like leaving the town or traveling so far from the Draco.

  “Surely they hav
e food in their village.” She glanced uneasily over her shoulder. “Why don’t we try and trade for the food we need and get out of here?” Get out while they still could.

  “Easy.” Jordan moved beside her and whispered into her ear. “I need to find out why those key-like objects are over the roof of every home. There’s no need for anxiety. These people aren’t armed. They aren’t carrying so much as a paring knife.”

  “That doesn’t mean we should go along with their plans for us. They might want to sell us off to their neighbors in the next village,” she warned him.

  “Let’s give them another half hour,” Jordan suggested. “That way we can still make it back to the Draco before the sun sets.”

  His suggestion sounded reasonable. But the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Sensing danger in the dark forest, she kept peeking over her shoulder, staring into the bushes, searching for something menacing. But she saw nothing beyond a couple of feral cats that George tried to chase.

  Shadow’s weather changed quickly. The wind keened through the trees. And the air chilled and darkened as dark clouds blocked out the sun.

  “Sorry, fella.” She petted the dog, and he whined, then tried to bolt. If she hadn’t been holding the leash tightly, he would have escaped. He kept pulling hard and started barking.

  Pez stopped and almost backed into them, fear shadowing his eyes to a dark chocolate. Trembling, he dropped to his knees.

  Jordan picked up the dog and held him under his arm. “Next time we leave him on the ship.”

  “George broke the ice with the natives,” she reminded him.

  “George also either saw or smelled something over there.” Jordan pointed with his chin.

  Thunder boomed. The natives grabbed onto one another, their thin bodies swaying in the gusts.

  Gray muttered, “Probably just another cat.”

  The treetops rustled, the branches shaking. Vivianne tugged on Jordan’s shirt. “Over there. There’s something big hidden in those trees.”

  George kept barking. Jordan tensed and placed his hand on his Staff, almost as if it was a weapon.

  The natives chattered. The children kept playing. Surely if there was a danger, these people would recognize it and protect their children?

  Yet something had shaken those tree trunks.

  It was big.

  And moving straight toward them.

  A true friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world runs out.

  —HIGH PRIESTESS OF AVALON

  12

  Jordan tensed and peered into the forest. While he didn’t believe the villagers had brought them out here to murder them, he also knew better than to accept that Shadow was what it seemed. There were no footprints on the dirt path, as if no one had passed this way before, but this close to the village, how likely was that? There was no buzz of insects in the forest, no humming mosquitoes, no fluttering butterflies, no crawling ants. And the natives themselves were a bit generic.

  Artificial world. Artificial people? If so, had someone created this world as a trap?

  Ever since he’d spotted the blatant key shapes atop the thatched roofs, his imagination had soared with outrageous possibilities.

  When a golden dragon flew down from the treetops, Jordan automatically reached for the Ancient Staff. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d used the energy contained in the Staff as a weapon.

  The dragon possessed huge spikes and dark purple eyes, and with his golden coloring, he had the exact opposite of Jordan’s purple dragon form. But this golden dragon sported the same clawed forearms, thunderous hind legs, and long, spiked tail as other dragons he’d known.

  “A golden dragon?” Vi turned to him, eyes wide with wonder.

  “Rumors about such creatures have drifted around the galaxy for eons,” Jordan told her. “I thought they were legends.”

  “What kinds of legends?”

  “Supposedly, the golden dragons are guardians of the four kingdoms, Soil, Space, Wind, and Fire.” He tightened his hand on the Ancient Staff.

  “He’s done nothing hostile.” Vivianne placed her hand on his arm.

  “Not yet.” Jordan stepped forward and placed himself between the dragon and Vi, Gray, and the villagers. “Dragon, we have come for the key.”

  The dragon roared fire, but the flames shot over their heads. Oddly, the treetops didn’t catch fire, but the natives retreated and disappeared into the forest.

  “Now what?” Gray asked.

  “We wait?” Vivianne raised an eyebrow.

  “It won’t be long.” Jordan sensed the dragon’s impatience.

  George didn’t even bark. He curled up at Vivianne’s feet, rested his head on his paws, and closed his eyes. Either the dog was very accustomed to dragons, or the animals were communicating on another level.

  “Should we dragonshape and try for a telepathic connection?” Vivianne asked.

  “I’d rather not show our hand,” Jordan said. Besides, changing shape took energy, energy that he’d have to tap from the Ancient Staff.

  As thunder rolled and lightning clapped and the first drops of rain began to fall, the golden dragon morphed into a man. Blond-haired and black-eyed, his bronzed skin tight over bulging muscles, he stood naked for only a moment before his nanoclothing produced a loincloth to cover him low on his hips to his powerful thighs. He wore no weapons, and from the set of his shoulders, he feared nothing.

  With dark eyes he perused them, his nostrils flaring, his high cheekbones softened by full lips. “I’m the last scion of the House of Tarpon. You may call me Devid.”

  “You may call me Jordan.”

  Vivianne stepped into the testosterone-charged air. “I’m Vivianne, and this is Gray. We’re visitors to this world.”

  “It took you long enough to arrive.” Devid gestured them to follow him, turned, and walked deeper into the forest. “Let’s get out of the rain.”

  Vivianne didn’t hesitate. While Jordan released the hilt of his Staff, he followed more slowly. For now he’d let Vivianne negotiate… while he watched for treachery.

  Devid strode through the forest, and as the storm rolled in, the rain became a downpour. The canopy of trees prevented them from being soaked to the skin, and soon they reached a cave. Set into a hillside of rock, the opening shielded them from windblown rain, yet there was no welcoming fire, no food, no utensils of any kind. In fact, there was no indication that man or animal had ever used this site before.

  “Please sit.” Devid turned and frowned as if noticing the cave’s lack of creature comforts.

  Chairs and a glowing fire suddenly materialized in the space of a heartbeat. Logs crackled, and Jordan could feel real heat from three feet away.

  Gray gasped. Vivianne kept her expression serene and took a seat. But her fingers clenched the arm of the chair as if to make certain it was real. “I’ve heard of machines that materialize matter, but I’ve never seen one in action. Are they available for purchase or trade?”

  “I’m afraid not.” Devid folded his arms across his chest, but he didn’t sit.

  Jordan also remained standing.

  “So you’ve been expecting us…” Vivianne let her voice trail off.

  “Yes.”

  “What do you want?” she asked simply.

  Jordan noted how she had yet to mention their need for food. Clearly she was testing Devid, without displaying their weakness.

  “I don’t want anything from you.”

  Devid’s answer might have surprised Vivianne, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she lifted her hands to the fire. “It’s good to be out of the rain.”

  She allowed a silence to descend while the wood crackled and popped, and Jordan suspected Devid was waiting for them to say or do something.

  Jordan figured it was time to make a move. “During our walk through the village, we noticed wind vanes on the thatched roofs. Each vane had a square at one end and a circle on the other. I have been searching for an object like—”

/>   “Finally.” Devid smiled. “You seek the second key to the Ancient Staff?”

  “Yes.”

  Vivianne’s gaze sought Jordan’s, and the questions in her eyes weren’t hard to read. How did Devid know what they sought? How did he know about the Ancient Staff?

  Devid spat out words as if in a great hurry. “When Trendonis stole your Ancient Staff, he learned it was indestructible. So he removed the keys and hid them throughout the Galaxy. On Tor you found the Key of Space.”

  “Is another key here?” Jordan asked. “Is that why Shadow has the Wind Key weather vanes?”

  “The weather vanes are merely indicators that you are on the right path.” Devid glanced at the Ancient Staff in the sheath Jordan had made. “The Key of Wind that you seek can be found on the hurricane planet in the next star system.”

  “You have coordinates?” Gray asked.

  “They’ll be in your nav system by the time you return to your ship.” Devid snapped his fingers. “Oh, yes. I’ve seen to ample food supplies, as well.”

  “Thank you.” Vivianne spoke graciously. “What can we do for you in return?”

  “Just find the damn key.”

  “Why is our success important to you?” Jordan asked.

  “Your mission’s important to every dragonshaper in the Galaxy.” Devid’s arrogance vanished. “Trendonis of the Tribes has a master plan. Once he and his ilk got hold of the Grail, they set the rest of their evil plans in motion. They seek to destroy the light in the Milky Way Galaxy, and they intend to expand into the Four Kingdoms.”

  Vivianne shot him a puzzled look. “What are the Four Kingdoms?”

  “Other galaxies. The Tribes want them, too, and must be stopped.”

  “How do you know so much about us and our enemies?” Jordan asked.

  “I’m not permitted to answer that question.”

  “Why not?” Vivianne asked, her eyes flashing with banked exasperation.

  “You have yet to prove yourselves worthy.”

  “Of you?” Jordan frowned.

  Devid snorted. “I’m only the messenger.”

  “This world,” Jordan asked, “is not yours?”