The Magic Wakes

by Charity Bradford

  “Where can we find her?”

  “Deep in the Acaran Mountains, under centuries of stone. The path begins and ends with the waters of change.”

  “What does that mean?” Talia glanced back at Landry, but Calmalder did not speak again. The other trees whispered that he had returned to his slumber.

  “Landry, he’s asleep again. How can we find a dragon with so little information? The Acaran Mountains cover thousands of miles.” All her excitement drained out and a wave of exhaustion filled its place.

  “The path begins and ends with water . . . I have an idea, but we need to get back to the ship so I can look at a map.” His eyes twinkled.

  Talia had planned to gather clean clothes from the house, but with the excitement of finding a dragon, she decided not to waste any time. They settled into the flight deck and Landry set course for the nearest border of the Acaran mountain range. He also pulled up a three-dimensional topography map to study the vast area.

  “What exactly are you looking for?” Talia gazed at the mountain range hoping to see a giant X marking the spot.

  “There’s a legendary waterfall that comes out of the mountain itself, and then plunges a thousand feet to disappear into the valley floor. It’s supposed to be a rock climbers’ paradise, but no one has put it on the map, or proved they’ve been there. I’m looking at all the rivers and tracing them upstream in the hopes of locating the waterfall. It’s said to be deep within the mountain range, out of easy hiking distance.” His fingers traced a blue line of water as he spoke.

  “Begins and ends with water, I get it. Where are you looking? I’ll start on the other side.” A secondary computer screen lit up and linked into his map. They spent the next half hour searching every square mile of river in the mountain range, with no luck.

  “Ok, so it’s not going to be close to an above ground river. Computer, black out sections four, five, eight, twelve, and fifteen.” Landry commanded. “Now we look everywhere else. Black out sections as you go so we don’t double search.”

  The foothills of the mountain range loomed closer. With half of the screen black, they only had the center of the map to explore. Landry set a new course to the border of the unsearched area.

  “I’m not finding anything that looks like the waterfall you described. I might be able to get more information from the trees. If you slow down, I should be able to talk with them without actually getting out, like on the tram.”

  “It’s worth a try.”

  With her eyes closed, Talia expanded her energy until it filled the hull of the ship, and then pushed past it reaching for the trees. It was hard to sense them through the thick metal. At first, the trees refused to answer. Something that she could only translate as snobbery. Another new experience for her.

  Talia went cold and empty with the silent treatment, but she refused to give up. After a few more minutes, the ship passed into a new area with more sociable trees. They were closer to the tram route and remembered Talia. They apologized for the other trees.

  The tramline trees sent out a query. The image of the waterfall location hit Talia without warning. Tall mountains with very little vegetation reached upward. A thundering waterfall spilled out of the side of one mountain, gouging a deep hole in the ground. The view panned out until Talia got her bearings. She opened her eyes and pointed to a place on the map, just northeast of the center sector of the mountain range.

  “Here. This is where we will find the entrance to the dragon’s cave. Landry, we haven’t thought this through. We’re going to wake a dragon. What’s to keep it from killing us?” Images of sharp teeth paraded through her mind.

  “I’m not sure. Call Jaron.”

  It took a while, but Jaron finally answered.

  “Are you on your way back?” His voice sounded as calm and detached as ever.

  “No, Calmalder sent us to find a dragon.”

  “A dragon on the planet? With its help we cannot fail.” Jaron’s voice quickened and went up in pitch. It was the most excited they had ever heard him.

  “Jaron, how do we approach a dragon? After sleeping for thousands of years, it’s going to be hungry. How do we protect ourselves?” Landry asked.

  “Don’t worry, dragons only eat humans as a last resort, but it may kill you even if it doesn’t want to eat you.”

  “Great, that’s reassuring.” Landry mumbled under his breath and Talia waved her hands at him.

  “If it sleeps you have a better chance of survival. While it sleeps, send a focused stream of your life energy into the dragon’s mind to forge a bond with it. It will allow you to speak before being killed.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “Go deep within yourself, and form images out of your cellular energy to send to the dragon’s mind. Instinct will guide you. This is one of your natural gifts. Call me when you are headed home.” And he was gone.

  Talia looked at Landry and chewed on her bottom lip. “Jaron might think I can do this, but some training would be nice.”

  Landry reached over and placed a hand on her leg. “If anyone can do it by instinct, it’s you. We’ll figure it out.”

  They had crossed the mountain range in record time and were minutes away from their destination. Intuition might lead her in the right direction, but that wasn’t something Talia was comfortable with. Straight facts and methodical testing were much easier.

  Landry’s brow furrowed, “If your energy leaves your body, what does that mean for your cells?”

  “I don’t know. What if we share energy? Then we only use a portion of each. I’ll try and absorb extra energy from the sunslight before we enter the cave.”

  “Have you done that before?” Landry asked.

  “No, but Jaron said I should be able to gather suns’ energy any time of the day. Do you know much about biology?” Talia’s mind raced over everything she could remember from biology. Which wasn’t much.

  “A little, not much I’m afraid. This is crazy.” He sagged back in the chair.

  “What other choice is there? If you have a better idea now is the time to share it.” Talia growled at him.

  “There’s the waterfall.” He sat up straight.

  The peak of the mountain was broken off at the top and the jagged opening had filled with snow and ice. About a third of the way down from the summit, a deluge of water poured out of an opening, dropping thousands of feet before disappearing into another hole in the ground.

  “There must be a magma chamber in the mountain melting the snow pack. At some point in time, it broke through the side of the mountain forming the waterfall. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” Landry spoke low.

  “It’s amazing.”

  The sheer size of the mountain and waterfall was staggering. Raw power flowed from it. The water had eroded a sizable hole in the side of two mountains that butted together. It left a rounded space that tapered to the point where the water re-entered the ground. Inhospitable and desolate. Landry set the ship down on a ledge two hundred feet above the base of the mountain. Talia stared at him wide-eyed as he stood and headed outside.

  She followed. “How are we going to get down there?”

  “Rappel.”

  “What?” Talia swallowed hard. “You mean climb down?”

  His eyes crinkled in the corners and after a moment the laughter escaped. “You’ve run through hell and come out the other side without complaint, but now a little slide down a rope has you spooked?”

  “It’s a long way down,” she mumbled.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe. I’m good at rock climbing.” He continued to chuckle as he opened a panel and pulled out ropes and harnesses. “I promise not to let you fall.”

  “Gliding and rock climbing. I’m beginning to think you have a death wish.” Talia watched him work. “It’s weird to see how easily you move about Jaron’s ship. Did you know the ropes were in there?”

  “Yeah. It’s strange for me too. Come on.” Once outside, Landry
secured the ropes to the cliff face and the ship. He had to yell over the sound of the waterfall that echoed off the canyon walls. “Come over here and I’ll get you set up.”

  Hugging the side of the ship, Talia worked her way closer to him. He held the harness open and she stepped in, keeping one hand on the ship and one on his shoulder. She stared at the sky as he slid the harness up her legs and secured it around her waist. Luckily, he was too busy getting into his harness and double-checking everything to notice how red her face was.

  Landry talked her through the process twice before she was willing to step closer to the edge. Even though she was getting used to flying, looking down from such a height sent a queasy feeling to the pit of her stomach. She gripped the rope tight with trembling hands.

  “You can do it.” Landry encouraged her to go over the edge. “You don’t weigh enough to pull the ship off the ledge.”

  “Shut up.”

  Taking a deep breath, Talia sat down and let her legs hang over the rim. Slowly, she turned onto her stomach and wiggled over the side. She clung to the rope with one hand and the top of the ledge with the other while Landry joined her.

  “Ok, tell me one more time.” Her breathing was shallow but she focused on Landry’s face instead of looking down.

  He told her how to use the hand brake once more. “You can do this. It’ll be fun.” He slid down several feet and stopped to wait. “Come on.”

  Talia released her death grip on the ledge and dropped a foot before squeezing the brake and jerking to a stop with a shriek. Landry laughed and Talia growled at him.

  Little by little, they made their way down to the canyon floor. By the time they reached the ground, Talia’s arms had turned to putty. They hung limply by her side as Landry unhooked the harness.

  How in the world will I ever climb back up?

  The waterfall thundered and they couldn’t hear each other talk at all. They had another problem too. There were no trees for Talia to pull energy from and the surrounding mountains blocked the direct sunslight. She climbed onto a large boulder and concentrated on finding the energy around her.

  The sound of the water pounded in her head. With her eyes closed and her hands over her ears, Talia reached outward. Her spirit sought out any sign of living energy. She touched upon Landry, who now sat beside her, and moved on. It wasn’t as obvious as with the sunsrise, but she finally found the scattered molecules of the suns energy. They were spread out and moving so fast it was impossible for Talia to grasp them with her mind.

  The suns were getting low in the sky, but Talia didn’t know what to do. She sobbed and hung her head. A jolt of energy shot through her as Landry grabbed her hand.

  Don’t give up so easily.

  Talia took a deep breath and reached again. She envisioned the suns rising to remember how it felt to have the energy find her. Her mind relaxed and her heart called for what she needed. The energy slowed, changed direction, and came to her. It was harder to collect than the sunsrise, but it grew easier as the minutes ticked on.

  She filled herself and Landry. Talia pulled in as much extra as she thought she could hold. When she opened her eyes, she stretched then sagged against Landry. I think we’re ready.

  Landry said, I feel swollen or something.

  That’s the extra energy. It’ll dissipate, but I thought we should be prepared.

  Okay, let’s go.

  They climbed down, and with a little exploring, found a tunnel behind the waterfall large enough to drive a tram through. The walls looked like they had been melted and smoothed to the desired size. Landry pulled out a light and they slipped into the dark warmth of the cave.

  Chapter 31

  Nysyk paced in his quarters. He was sick of watching the monitor while the other Dragumon disposed of the Sendekians. But he had his orders and the mage stayed hidden within the forest for three days.

  The female mage’s green dot finally reappeared on his sensors, moving quickly to the north. She was accompanied by another mage, this one pulsed between blue and green, almost as if it couldn’t decide which magical energies to draw from.

  With the reappearance of the mage, Nysyk called his team and prepared to resume pursuit. While he waited for his team to arrive, Nysyk watched the mage turn east within the large mountain range that had once been his home. He thrilled at the thought of leaving this drab city of metal and glass and returning to the mountains. Maybe after taking care of the mage he would visit the caves of his childhood.

  Half an hour later, he was on his way to the mountains.

  At the same time, Kansisi took a small raiding party into one of the towns south of Joharadin. With only ten Dragumon, he gathered eight hundred men and women. The humans tried to fight, but after watching their skyscrapers melted to the ground and thousands die in agony, the fight drained out of them. They begged for their lives, and Kansisi offered them the option to serve the Dragumon as an alternative to death.

  It was all very easy.

  The best part was that the Dragumon recorded the whole thing. The feed was bounced to the orbiting satellites with a warning.

  “It’s useless to fight. Send slaves when instructed or the Dragumon would come to collect them.”

  It grew warmer as they walked deeper into the cave. The magma must have been close to the surface to warm the mountain the way it did. The sweat rolled down Talia’s back, and pooled behind her knees. The moist air smelled moldy, but as they made their way deeper, the air dried out and took on the acrid smell of sulfur.

  Talia and Landry took shallow breaths through their mouths and hoped it didn’t get any hotter. Their skin baked in the heat. They turned a corner in the tunnel and noticed a disturbance in the air. Talia gagged and covered her nose with her hand.

  “What is that?” Talia’s voice rasped out as the warm breeze moved by in even intervals.

  “The dragon’s breath? Ugh, the smell is awful.”

  He was right. The dragon might have slept for thousands of years, but the smell of rotting meat still filled the caves. Landry paused and reached for Talia’s hand. Their energies mingled and strengthened their resolve to go on.

  A few more feet and we can try to send the message. Talia trembled from head to toe, but kept moving forward.

  Will it work if you’re not in sight? Landry asked.

  I don’t know, I’ve never done this before, remember?

  The warm light of the magma chamber spilled out into the tunnel a few yards in front of them. Landry put his light away and they inched forward into the oppressive heat of the orange glow. Several yards from the opening sat an outcropping of rock. They stepped behind it and out of the direct force of the heat, but they knew they couldn’t stay for long. They had already stopped sweating.

  On the other side of the rocks, the tunnel opened into a huge chamber. The floor was a pool of magma that rolled up in sluggish bubbles. A stone shelf jutted out of the far wall above the magma, and a large green shape lay curled on the shelf. The rush of fetid air corresponded with the rise and fall of its massive sides. The head remained tucked under a large leathery wing and the tail curled around its legs, making it hard to guess the full size of the beast.

  Let’s get this over with. Talia stood to make eye contact with the dragon.

  She kept Landry’s hand clasped tightly in hers while she closed her eyes and tried to envision what Jaron had described. Starting with her arms and legs, moving toward her center, she moved inward. Down to veins and arteries, to the blood flowing through them.

  Landry hovered on the edge of her consciousness, a part of that larger familiar world. Talia knew he waited to pull her back if she lost her way. He followed her journey through their link all the way down to the cellular level. Their combined knowledge of biology was barely enough; Talia concentrated until she could see the energy flowing inside and between her cells as they communicated with one another. Her inner self scooped up some of that energy, molded it into the shape of a butterfly, and released it t
o fly to the dragon.

  Nothing. The dragon stirred, but did not wake.

  Talia dug deep and gathered more energy. What can I send that represents me?

  It had to be something to forge a bond between her and the dragon. She avoided science related things and settled on the image of Keeta this time. Once again the dragon moved and then settled back down. Not even her love for the little fuzz ball had been enough.

  I need something stronger. Although she thought she had scooped small amounts of cellular energy, her body had begun shutting down. Her legs threatened to collapse beneath her and she could no longer feel Landry’s hand in hers.

  Landry moved down to his cellular energy. When he reached it, he blew some of it toward Talia. The moment it crossed between their fingers, her cells absorbed it hungrily, and continued to pull from his body.

  Talia knew she was draining him and she tried to close off the energy flow, but Landry blocked her.

  Talia, one more, from your dreams.

  Yes. Her body jerked as if she physically hurled the image she had shaped toward the dragon. As the image left her mind she threw all her concentration into stopping her body from draining Landry’s life force.

  She wanted to balance the energy they had left between the two of them, but she forgot to breathe. She didn’t feel herself spinning or falling.

  Chapter 32

  Talia blinked several times, but the light remained strange, orangey. And it was hot. Her head rested on Landry’s lap, but his blurry form was not focused on her. He gazed into the chamber.

  “The dragon is awake.” Landry sounded calm, but every muscle in his body was tensed to run.

  “Yes, and hungry. I have left you uneaten out of curiosity. Where have you seen the image you sent to me?” The dragon’s voice echoed and rang as if it was too big to fit inside their heads. Landry winced and Talia jerked.

  She pulled herself to sitting and a wave of dizziness slowed her reply. “I’ve dreamed of the Dragumon my whole life, and now they are here on the planet. They are killing everyone and we need your help to stop them.”