The Dragon Circle

by Irene Radford

  “I’ve got to go back to the volcano,” he muttered. Exhaustion suddenly weighed him down. He had to sit a moment. The thought of a return journey to the crater, with twenty IMPs waiting for him with charged weapons did not entice him in the least.

  Letting his mind go blank, Konner wrapped his arms around his knees and contemplated the waves lapping at the shore. Low tide. He guessed the sun was well past the zenith by now. He’d been moving every minute since he arose before dawn from a restless night. He’d been running nearly all of his life. Running from the law, running from Melinda, from Mum.

  Running from himself.

  Who was he when not running? A man more comfortable with machines than with people. And he’d just destroyed a magnificent machine.

  The hairs on his right arm and at his nape tingled with another presence. He looked, expecting Dalleena. He’d only met the woman yesterday. But after today’s adventures, he had grown used to having her at his side.

  Disappointment sat heavily in his belly.

  “Hello, Irythros.”

  The dragon sighed as it settled its haunches into the sand beside him. No words. He just sat beside Konner in companionable silence.

  Konner felt like he should say something more, but the words lumped in his throat, along with his fatigue and his questions about himself and his life and what he needed to do next.

  After many long moments, when the lander was out of sight and its distant roar but a memory, Irythros spoke. (Your sense of duty is strong. Almost as strong as among dragons.)

  “Is that a compliment?”

  (If you wish.)

  “Right now duty and responsibility are not very attractive to me.”

  (They seldom are.)

  Another long silence.

  “I’m just so tired, Irythros. I want to stop running. I want . . . I don’t know what I want.”

  The dragon let him think in silence.

  (I do not understand. You are an honorable man. Yet you flee the enforcers of the law. How can you violate law and remain honorable?)

  “Not all law is honorable.”

  (Law is law.)

  “Not among humans. You saw how Hanassa perverted law when he was priest to the Coros. He created laws at his own whim and called it religion.”

  (Hanassa did not create law. He dictated rules for his own convenience.)

  “Among my people that happens as well. They call it law. They have lawyers, people who do nothing but debate the law and make it more contradictory.” Konner let that thought stand between them for a while.

  The sun crawled toward the west, changing the angle of light. Shadows grew.

  ”When I was about ten years old, my father flew away on business. He promised to come back. We never saw him again. The planetary governor, a man appointed by our previous emperor, decided Mum made too much money from a small shipping business. He wanted that money. So he made up a lie and called it law. He sent armed men to arrest Mum. But a friend warned her. She managed to gather her children and flee. The governor’s men arrived sooner than we expected. They set fire to the house. In the confusion, my sister Katie got separated and lost.

  “Because we fled rather than allow ourselves be arrested, the governor convicted Mum of imaginary crimes in absentia. We lost citizenship. We lost our home. We lost our family. We lost everything.”

  (And what of your lost sister?)

  “Mum is obsessed with finding her. Without citizenship, we don’t have access to resources that will pinpoint her. Without citizenship, we can do nothing legally. So we operate outside the law, always in the hope of one day regaining what was stolen from us.”

  (Your lawmakers act much as Hanassa acted.)

  “And so honorable men like me and my brothers must run from the law. And now the law has found us. I am tired of running.”

  (Then you must stay.)

  “I have duties and obligations.” To his son. To his mother. To the Coros. “And a finite amount of time before I must leave.”

  (Then you must allow your enemies to find what you hold dear and make it dear to them.)

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Irythros did not answer. He rocked to his feet and spread his wings. A few heavy steps with wings flapping and he took flight.

  Konner watched him work his way to a respectable altitude before diving into the bay. He entered the water with wings tucked tightly to his sides, horns folded back. A small amount of splash accompanied him. Three heartbeats later, the dragon shot back to the surface with a huge fish wriggling in his maw. Irythros’ wings snapped out and he took flight once more.

  “I’ll never understand how he maneuvers so much bulk so gracefully.”

  (You must learn to make air and sea a part of your soul,) the dragon chuckled as he flew away.

  Before Konner could think of a retort, a shout from the embankment behind him drew his attention.

  “Dalleena!” he cried as she trudged through the sand toward him.

  His body and mind felt lighter. She was safe. He did not fully trust the dragongate he’d thrust her into because he did not understand it. He had not built it, did not know its specifications and vagaries.

  He should have known she would be safe. This woman could survive many tribulations and learn from them.

  “Dalleena,” he said again and gathered her close to his chest. Where she belonged. He kissed her hungrily, as if he had the right. As if her familiar response to him had been a part of their lives forever.

  Suddenly he knew what he had to do.

  “Let’s go surrender to the Imperial Military Police,” he said.

  CHAPTER 18

  THE AIR LIGHTENED within the shadowed arch of a branch of a Tambootie tree in the clearing across the river from the village. Konner took a deep breath of lava-heated air through the opening wormhole. He waited on a count of one hundred. The greens and browns of the forest shifted, brightened, took on reddish tones. Luck smiled upon him. The dragongate opened.

  “This won’t be easy, but it’s our only choice,” he reminded his brothers.

  “Let’s go.” Loki bent his knees, ready to launch into the dragongate the femto it fully opened.

  “I still don’t like this idea,” Kim said sotto voce. “Someone could get hurt. Even killed. I don’t like leaving Hestiia alone.”

  Konner grabbed his arm and dragged him through the swirling colors of the portal. He would not think about taking a life. Any life. All life was sacred. Even the IMPs believed that.

  Kim grabbed at a low-hanging branch to keep from stumbling. Konner pulled harder to get him through the portal.

  He lost contact with all of his senses. He thrust out his arms for balance. But his body was not there to respond. I will not panic, he told himself. He tried breathing deeply and regularly. Even though he could not feel his body responding, his mind calmed. The pattern and rotation of the wormhole began to make sense. If he followed this particular eddy of red . . .

  He fell out of the portal into the narrow tunnel next to the lava pit.

  Sweat streamed down his face and chest. His stomach turned sour in the heat. The smells of hot dust and sulfur could not mask the scent of his own fear. Fuzziness surrounded his vision. His knees wanted to give way. But this was his plan; he had to appear strong and determined for his brothers.

  Kim still held the broken branch of Tambootie. A rash began to form where the essential oils in the bark and leaves had penetrated his hand. That should not have happened so quickly. Unless the dragongate intensified the reaction. Or Kim’s system was saturated with Tambootie and only needed a little bit more to turn toxic.

  Konner took the branch away from Kim. He considered dropping it back into the pit. But the leaves tugged at his senses. He concentrated on breathing, deeply, regularly. His mind cleared. Objects near at hand jumped into focus so clearly and precisely, they appeared to be almost enhanced digital images. He lost the limitation of periphery.

  “Let me scout ahea
d,” Loki whispered at the head of the tunnel. He peered out of the opening, took one step, and then two toward the rusting hulk of the generator.

  Konner dropped Kim’s arm. His left hand began to burn and itch where he held the Tambootie. He transferred the branch to his right hand. Instinctively, he sucked on the worst of the developing rash. Was this the irritant that had caused a similar breakout among the children? If so they had not been playing by the wetlands as they claimed, but had crossed the river and played in the forest against orders from every adult in the village.

  Tambootie oils burst upon his tongue. His ears popped and cleared, his eyes honed in on the details of the cave. The solidified lava that encircled him paled and lost density. He peered right through the barrier to the larger cave system. Shadows of men and women wandered past. He saw insignia on collar and sleeve of each uniform, knew the ranks, specialty and . . . and name of each of the techs who prowled the lower caves for hints at the origins of the machinery left by the original colonists.

  “Five down below. Confused and uncomfortable. Resentful of that discomfort,” Konner said quietly. “They’re worried about the water in the creek. The lieutenant issued orders not to drink it.”

  “How did you know that?” Loki whirled to face him. “Reading minds is my talent.” He sounded almost accusatory. Jealous.

  Konner thrust the Tambootie branch at him. Kim intercepted it. He looked at the bright green leaves, thick with oil. They’d lost the pink mottling of new leaves.

  “We tried this once before, just before Hanassa tried to burn Kim as a sacrifice,” Konner reminded them. “It enhances psi talents.”

  “The drug helped me listen to Hanassa’s thoughts and comprehend his motives and his plot,” Kim said. He looked back at the silent dragongate. “I knew then how to counter his megalomania. Perhaps, if I listen hard enough, I can find his ghost and the second beacon.”

  “Later. We need to concentrate on the IMPs. Give me a leaf. We need all the help we can get for this lumbird-brained plan.” Loki grabbed the branch and began chewing on a leaf without bothering to strip it from the stem.

  “Let’s get on with this. I promised Hestiia we’d be home in time for supper. A promise I intend to keep,” Kim said.

  “And I promised Dalleena,” Konner whispered, almost hoping his brothers did not hear him. At the same time he wanted them to know of his growing attachment to the Tracker.

  “I vote we surrender to the most junior and gullible of the forensic techs. They have no authority.” Loki marched forward.

  “Inflate his ego with our surrender and he’ll protect us with his own life,” Kim chuckled.

  Loki walked right up to a smooth-faced recruit—young enough to be on his first assignment—with a receding chin and dark blond hair plastered to his skull with sweat. More sweat stained his uniform shirt.

  Loki tapped the boy on the shoulder.

  The tech jumped and nearly dropped the instrument he pointed at a column made from cave drip.

  “Easy there, son.” Konner caught the instrument. He stared at the screen, saw a decimal point out of place and adjusted it. “It will read easier now.” He handed the palm-sized gadget back to the boy.

  They all stared at each other, shuffling their feet. The tech’s mouth hung open in surprise.

  “We surrender,” Konner said. The corner of his mouth twitched.

  “Su . . . surrender?” the boy gulped.

  Konner did not need to read his name tag. “Yes, Mr. Saunders. Surrender. We are tired of hiding out in these caves and decided to let the Imperial Military Police feed us. Mighty hot down here.” He wiped sweat from his brow.

  The boy mimicked him.

  “Mind if we get a drink?” Loki asked, taking his cue from Konner.

  “I . . . I . . . my canteen is empty,” Saunders apologized. He swallowed heavily, as if he had little spit to lubricate his throat.

  “That’s okay, we’ll just get a sip from the creek.” Konner began moving toward the stream. They had a lot of cave to traverse before they reached it. But the tunnel upward was right beside it. The Tambootie made him feel as if he could float there, or maybe fly.

  “What does the kid want most?” Kim asked Loki on a whisper.

  “What all nineteen-year-old men want.” Loki shrugged. He looked at the boy long and hard. “Only he’s twenty-one. Just inexperienced and socially immature. But good at what he does with forensics.”

  Saunders stumbled behind the three brothers. He touched his left hip as if expecting a weapon to be holstered there. He was a tech, armed only with instruments. He jerked his hand back and blushed.

  “Inefficient of the lieutenant not to issue weapons to all personnel on a dirtside mission,” Loki muttered. “Or at least provide more Marines to protect these kids.”

  “You never know when three desperate outlaws will surrender to you.” Konner grinned back at his older brother.

  At last they approached the creek. Beside it stood the muscle of the patrol. A squarely built woman surveyed the lower caves. She had a corporal’s two chevrons on her sleeve and a stun rifle in her hands. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight, no-nonsense bun. As Konner and his brothers approached, with Saunders in tow, she watched them warily, bringing her weapon to bear and pointing it squarely at Loki’s chest.

  He raised his hands in mute surrender. Kim and Konner mimicked him.

  “Corporal Sanchez, mind if we get a drink?” Konner asked. The woman’s name had jumped into his head at first sight of her. Strange that she thought of herself in terms of her surname rather her given name. He had to search a moment to come up with Paola.

  The Tambootie still sang in his blood.

  But what did she want most in life?

  “Promotion,” Kim whispered to him. “She wants control over those who don’t measure up to her standards.”

  “Queen bee with a whole bunch of drones at her beck and call,” Loki finished. He scowled. Konner knew Loki had never liked strong women with opinions of their own.

  You don’t know what you are missing, Konner sighed to himself with thoughts of Dalleena leading the others over the dunes with her hand extended until she spotted the one she tracked. Konner. She had not given up on him when he pushed her through the dragongate. He loved that she took action when she saw the need and never looked back with regret.

  Kim looked at the cave ceiling and rocked back on his heels. A light whistle escaped his lips. His wife Hestiia also knew when and how to make decisions, take action, and defy the world when it needed changing.

  From what Konner had heard of Loki’s lost love, Cyndi, the planetary governor’s daughter, she never decided anything—even the selection of a day’s wardrobe—without long and deliberate consideration of all the options and the ramifications of each. Then she’d ask for a dozen opinions before selecting and changing her mind three times.

  Loki stooped to take a drink, Sanchez followed his movements closely, keeping the rifle pointed directly at his back.

  “Report,” she barked.

  “Th . . . they surrendered,” Saunders stammered.

  “Surrendered? Unlikely,” Sanchez growled.

  “True. We surrender,” Konner said. He took one step closer to the creek. As foul as the water tasted, he really could use a drink. The heat from the lava core made him long for the hot days of summer in the desert as a relief. He noted the sweat stains on Sanchez’s uniform, smelled the rawness of her discomfort as well as her frustration at being stuck down here when the action was supposed to be taking place above this cave.

  “We need water. We’re tired of hiding out and spending our lives on the run.” Konner said. Both true statements.

  “This water isn’t safe,” Sanchez spat.

  “Sure it is. We’ve been living off it for weeks,” Loki said. “We cured a plague with this water.”

  “If you’ve been here so long, then you must know where this machinery came from.” Sanchez gestured with her rifle toward
the various generators and transformers.

  “Left behind by the original colonists,” Konner said. He, too, stooped beside the creek. He took several long slurping drinks, then splashed more water over his face and hair, letting it drip down onto his vest and naked chest. The slight cooling helped banish his doubts about this plan.

  Sanchez and Saunders licked their lips and swallowed. Konner deliberately took another long and noisy slurp of water from his hand.

  “The remnants of the first colony are scattered all over the planet in small tribal groups,” Konner continued. He splashed some more, making sure that some of the drops reached Saunders’ pant leg. They evaporated quickly, but not before the kid felt a tiny dot of relief at those spots.

  The young tech succumbed to the temptation of the water. He pocketed his sensor and crouched between Loki and Kim. He spat out the first mouthful and screwed up his face in disgust. But then thirst and dehydration overcame the taste of sulfur.

  “Very few of the tribal groups are united. The people seem thirsty for leadership,” Kim said, looking pointedly toward Sanchez.

  “Saunders, hold this,” Sanchez ordered. She handed the tech her rifle. Dutifully, the boy stood and aimed the weapon in the general direction of the three brothers while the corporal drank. She was made of sterner stuff and swallowed her first taste of the nasty brew. She looked as if she might gag on it, but she kept the liquid down and took more. She, too, doused her face and head, then sighed in momentary relief.

  Loki leaned back and looked directly at Saunders. “You know, I’m mighty grateful for the relief you are going to get me. Nothing like a nice long space voyage back to civilization to recover from this planet.”

  “Re . . . recover from what?” Saunders gulped.

  ”Being treated like a god by superstitious natives.

  I don’t know about you, but after the first two dozen virgins, the routine gets a little boring. I’m ready for a woman of experience. But the locals don’t think such a woman is worthy of one of the Stargods.” He almost could not keep his chuckles under control.