The Silver Token

by Alan Marble

  Jenna looked the man over a little more critically, peering into his wandering eyes, leaning in to sniff at him. “He’s been drugged.”

  “Will he be all right?” Rebekah assisted by pulling the cords away from the incapacitated elder, throwing them off to the side and then helping to hold him up, keep him from tumbling out of the chair.

  “Eventually. Even now he fights the effects of the drug. He is trying to see, trying to become aware of what’s going on around him, and he is trying to say something,” Jenna said, not hesitating to give her own little interpretation of what was happening. “Either way we have to get him out of here, and fast. Ryan, come here and help me get him up and carry him. Jonah, get to the doorway and make sure that we don’t have any surprise company. Move!”

  Jonah jumped a little when he was spoken to, watching mutely while the bald man quickly moved toward the chair and began to help the elder out. Shaking away his confusion he stepped back out of the door and into the dark passage beyond, peering into the shadows, half expecting to see someone lurking there, waiting. He still had no real way of defending himself or the others, and didn’t really know what was expected of him if company did show up.

  He couldn’t help but to imagine that small mountain of a man bounding his way down the hallway with murderous intent in his eyes, that same bull drake who had caused him so much grief. He shuddered with the thought.

  The others came out of the room, the bald guy named Ryan helping to hold up the elder along with Jenna, followed by Rebekah who turned to shoot him a cautious glance. No one spoke, no one had to give the order to start making their escape with haste. A few more turns through the corridors brought them to a pair of double doors that had been thrown open wide, and to their surprise the rest of the dragons were gathered there, waiting for them. It was the rendezvous spot.

  More than one gasp went up among those gathered there at the sight of the elder being carried in, a few stepping forward to help along. For a moment, no one seemed to be in a hurry to speak, only to offer a helping hand.

  “We’ve got him,” Jenna gasped a little breathlessly, her shoulders slumping as someone else relieved her of the burden. “Let’s get going.”

  Abe, who was one of those who had rushed in to help, shook his head. “Hold on. He looks pretty rough; we will have to make sure he is in any shape to fly before we can go any further.”

  She responded with a look of urgency and incredulity. “He is in no shape to stand, let alone fly. He will have to be carried. The sooner we get out of here the better, too, I don’t want to get caught here now that we’ve finally got him!”

  “I believe all of the Syndicate agents here have been taken care of already. Did you encounter any resistance?”

  “Well, no,” she began, frowning, before she was cut off again.

  “Then we don’t need to rush. Let’s make sure that he is in any shape to be moved around, at all. He does look pretty rough, as I said.”

  Relenting, Jenna nodded as the elder was gently laid down on his back, surrounded by the others who stared down at him wide-eyed. The elderly man was still for a long moment, his lips chewing over unspoken words, his eyes unfocused and glancing around wildly. If Jonah did not know that he had been drugged, he would have thought the elder some insane old invalid who was on his way out.

  Abe leaned in, resting a hand on the elder’s chest while he listened to his breathing, looked into his eyes and then nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes, I have seen this before, I have seen this drug used. Distilled from dragonsbane. Causes the mind to close in on itself, shutting it out from the world around. Potent stuff but not long lasting; I think he’s beginning to come to, already.”

  Almost everyone seemed to lean in a little closer at that revelation. At first there was no obvious change, unfocused eyes continuing to wander around aimlessly, but then Jonah realized they were beginning to move in a pattern, back and forth, pausing to look at the assembled, one by one. Trying to focus, leaving him looking a little panicked as he lie there, his mouth moving over and over.

  “He’s trying to say something,” someone whispered. “Hush, everyone be quiet. He’s trying to say something.”

  The old man did, indeed, look as if he were trying to speak. His tongue flicked out and wetted his lips, moving a little faster with each passing moment, closing his eyes as he drew in a breath and exhaled, repeating it again and finally managing to form a single word. “Fools.”

  Jonah hoped he was not the only one confused by the elder’s response. Jenna, again kneeling at his side and stroking her fingers lightly through those wild, unkempt locks, whispered softly back down to him. “Elder, we can hear you, we hear you … what are you trying to tell us?”

  “Fools,” the man managed to whisper hoarsely once again, opening his eyes to look at them with increasing clarity. “What … you doing … here?”

  “We’ve come to rescue you,” she answered, offering him an encouraging smile.

  He reacted by coughing violently, a spasm running over his frail looking body before he clutched at Jenna with a bony hand, pulling himself up into an unsteady seated position. “No,” he muttered, shaking his head, glancing at them all one by one again, blinking away the confusion. “No, no … it is not. Don’t you know … smell … a trap … when you see one?”

  The mention of a trap made Jonah’s blood run cold. Several of those gathered around looked up and around warily, a sense of nervousness about them at all, yet there was no immediate danger to be found. As far as any of them could tell, they were all there alone. “There are no more Syndicate here,” Jenna said, quietly but firmly. “There’s no trap. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  “No,” the old man repeated, shaking his head and waving his hand in front of his face, then pinching at the bridge of his nose in frustration, as if he were struggling to put together the words. “The Syndicate … no. One of you, one of you … a traitor.”

  If the mention of a trap had set some of them on edge, the accusation that there was a traitor in their midst made them all instantly uncomfortable. Jonah watched as everyone paused, taking a moment to look at one another, well aware of several pairs of eyes that glanced in his direction in a searching, scrutinizing manner. It all served to make him feel ever more uncomfortable, the urge to find the nearest exit and head off running rising in his chest.

  “That’s not possible,” she retorted, a little uncertainly, but insisted on getting to her feet and pulling the trembling elder up with her, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, we’ve come this far. We’ve got to get out of here. Everyone. Let’s get moving,” she said, beginning to shuffle toward the other exit of the room, the one that led outside into the cool night air.

  A shadow passed in front of the door, and then the shape of a man filled the doorway. “I’m sorry, but you won’t be going anywhere,” Carolus intoned, stepping out of the shadows and blocking the way.

  The tension that suddenly gripped the group was palpable. For a long moment no one spoke, no one moved, but old Carolus and Jenna, standing in front of him, locked eyes in something of a battle of wills. It was the elder, however, who spoke up, his voice still trembling and feeble but gaining in coherence. “Carolus? You were the one behind this all along, then?”

  “It’s nothing personal, Nathan,” he answered, watery blue eyes turning on the elder as he flashed a crooked smile. “I just couldn’t think of any other way of getting the entire council together in one place to deliver to the Syndicate. I do hope they didn’t mistreat you too badly.”

  “You old snake,” Jenna hissed angrily. “I’ll tear you from limb to limb for this.”

  Carolus frowned dismissively, raising one hand in the air. “Now now, I am hoping violence won’t be necessary here,” he said, as two bulky figures appeared at either side of him. Bull drakes, by the looks of them. Two more appeared as well at the door they had entered by, blocking both exits.

  Several in the room assumed defensive postu
res, preparing for the worst, while Jenna continued to face off with old Carolus, all the while supporting the elder around the shoulders. “Four … five of you against twelve of us. You aren’t that stupid, Carolus. Reconsider what you are doing. Get out of my way before I have to hurt you.”

  “I’m afraid that won’t be happening, either.” This time it was Abe who spoke up, a rueful smile on his face. “A ward has been placed on this room to prevent you from accessing your true forms, and there are more bull drakes and Syndicate mages standing at the ready. You are quite surrounded, outmatched, and outnumbered.”

  Jonah had felt strangely vindicated when Carolus outed himself as a traitor. While he had never imagined the man capable of something like this, he had instinctively distrusted him, and at least now he knew why. But when he watched Abe step over to stand at Carolus’ side, he was dumbfounded.

  Nor was he the only one to be caught off guard. With a disappointed sigh, the elder leaned heavily on Jenna and closed his eyes. “Et tu, Ibrahim?”

  Abe continued to smile apologetically, shrugging. “I’m afraid I’m with Carl on this one. This war has gone on long enough and I see no other way of ending it. I had hoped to find another way, something less dramatic. I tried to offer you a solution but none of you would take it. I’m sorry, but it’s out of my hands, now.”

  “Bastards,” Jenna spat, the rage plainly visible on her face, echoing the sentiment that the rest of the assembled were feeling. Angry, betrayed, and suddenly helpless. “Don’t go hiding behind these Syndicate lapdogs. Come in here and lets handle this like dragons, and I’ll show you another way of ending this.”

  “This is precisely why I had to do this,” Carolus said with a dour frown. “With attitudes like yours, peace with the Syndicate is something that can never come about. You have forced my hand in this, Jenna, you and those like you.”

  “Liar. What have they promised you, Carolus? More money? Agree to put you in some position of power?”

  “Please.” This time it was the elder who spoke, his face suddenly tired, his voice exhausted. “Please. I can not bear to see brothers and sisters at each others’ throats this way. It pains me to witness the downfall of the clan, come at the hand of our own,” the old man said, shaking his head. “Carolus. You have known me since you were a whelp. Your lust for power is no secret to me, but this? You are capable of selling your family for this?

  “And you, Ibrahim. For centuries you have been my most trusted friend and most reliable confidant. You were more than a brother to me, you were more than a clanmate. You were my best friend. How could you do this to me, do this to the rest of us?”

  Abe looked genuinely remorseful but merely shrugged. “I’m sorry, Nate. I just don’t see any other way.”

  “Nevertheless,” the old man continued, shaking his head sadly. “It is by your hand that we are delivered to our destruction. Please, whatever fate you have in mind for us, make it swift. I have suffered much at the hands of the Syndicate; honor me at least in promising that the rest of my clan will be spared such injustice.

  “The rest of you,” the elder said, turning his eyes over the others. “I beg of you to surrender peacefully. I do not wish to see any bloodshed tonight.”

  Jenna seethed, and spoke for the rest of the crowd. “I’m sorry, elder, but how can we do that … we must fight as we always have …”

  “Please. Honor a dying old dragon’s wish. Let us meet our fates with our heads held high and our dignity intact. Let it not be said that bloodlust brought about the end of our kind.”

  A sickening hush fell over the group, their spirits seeming to be crushed by the quiet one by one, the fires in their eyes going out. The gravity of the situation had caught up with them, the futility of their escape becoming evident; Jonah, who had begun to feel some fire of his own felt it die out just as quickly. They would surrender.

  Carolus gestured with his hand again, and the bull drakes began to step their way into the room, looming over each of them in impassive yet threatening poses. “Take them to the holding areas. We will begin dealing with them tomorrow,” the old man muttered rather impassively, watching as the big men began to escort the defeated dragons away.

  Just as one of them was reaching for Jonah, the old man called out again. “Not that one. Jonah, you come along with me.”

  Instantly he felt eyes burning on him, accusatory, hateful stares coming from the dragons who were being led out. Jenna, the woman who always seemed to scowl at him, now regarded him with something more akin to open hatred. The elder, who he had never before met, regarded him with sad, watery eyes. Rebekah stared at him with unmitigated contempt, her green eyes boring holes right through him.

  “I’m not a part of this,” he croaked in a lame protest.

  “Nonsense.” Carolus smiled at him and beckoned, a gesture that made him feel sick to his stomach. “You aren’t like them, Jonah. Come along with me.”

  He wanted to protest again, wanted to run away, just wanted to go home. The hatred and animosity that the others were showing for him burned him deep to the core, and he wanted to yell after them that he had had nothing to do with it; he’d just been dragged along unwilling the whole time.

  None of them turned to look at him anymore. They all marched out of the room, heads hung low, leaving him alone with the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Carolus reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder.

  Jonah had never felt more alone, more wretched, or more abandoned in his life than he did at that moment.

  SEVENTEEN

  “I suppose you’re expecting some kind of explanation, aren’t you.”

  Jonah had watched as the members of the clan had been marched away one by one to parts unknown. The whole time he had just stood by with a lame sort of expression, unable to do anything to help, unable to so much as meet their gazes. There didn’t seem to be any way to convince them that he had no part in the deception; standing there next to Carolus had been enough of an indictment for them.

  The old man had led him away from that room and back into the building, accompanied by two of the bull drakes. Neither of them had been the one who had been hunting him but the similarities were enough to set him on edge. He’d half expected some further deception, half expected that one of them would pluck him up off the ground at any moment, snap his neck as well, finish the job that their compatriot had failed.

  Carolus had led him down a flight of stairs and into a section of the compound that bore more resemblance to a modern office than anything else. Well lit, well appointed, clean and in obvious use. Stepping into a side room with leather couches on either side, the old man had settled in comfortably, offering him a drink.

  He had declined, and had remained silent while Carolus poured himself a glass of whiskey Even when the old man mentioned expecting an explanation - which, he in fact, found that he did not care to hear - he offered no response other than to scowl quietly. While he was not especially fond of most of those in the clan who had been dragged away, he did not have any interest in playing part in their betrayal.

  After waiting for a moment the old man shrugged, sipping at his drink. “It’s for the good of the clan, after all. Of course none of them will see it that way, not at first. But you understand where I am coming from, don’t you Jonah? How did you put it? Better to work for them than run and hide all of the time? I came to that same conclusion myself. Years ago.

  “The others? Too damned idealistic to see past their own pride. Give them a few more centuries of it - a millennium of running and hiding will change the way one sees the world. But by then it would be too late. The Syndicate would have wiped them out. This was the only way. I’m certain you understand.”

  Until that night, Jonah had not felt any real connection, any real loyalty to the clan. He supposed that hadn’t really changed yet, as most of those who had been captured were still effectively strangers to him, many of whom he did not even know by name. Still, he had finally come to recognize the f
act that they were like him, and he like them. They did, at least, share a common bond.

  Bonds notwithstanding, he could not help but to feel that they had been wronged when they were betrayed by Abe and Carolus. “You’re just trying to justify your actions.”

  “Am I, Jonah?” The old man shifted in his seat, smiling crookedly in that way that made his skin crawl. “Come now, you haven’t been among them so long as to be blinded by their fanatical dedication to the cause. Truer words were not spoken when you dared loose your tongue and suggest we work with the Syndicate. And now they will. Peace will be had.”

  “What do you want with me?” Jonah folded his arms over his chest, impatient.

  Carolus chuckled a little. “Straight to the point. Very well. I need your help, Jonah.”

  Scowling at the old man, he shook his head. “I don’t see any reason to help you. Besides, it looks like you’ve won this battle, what could you possibly need me for?”

  “Winning a battle does not mean the war is over,” he prattled. “There are still others to be convinced. Members of the clan who are not a part of the council, who were not here tonight. Without the council they will be leaderless and directionless, and will probably lash out in irrational strikes against the Syndicate. They will be their own undoing.

  “They need leadership. Ibrahim and myself are … well, tainted. They will believe we have done this for our own selfish reasons, and rebel against us. But you? The newest member of the council, young and headstrong. You would be better suited to convince them of their follies, convince them that they must lay down their anger and come into a peaceful accord with the Syndicate.”

  Jonah frowned. “You’re trying to tell me that there’s nothing in this for you, that you’re doing it all out of the goodness of your heart?”

  Carolus laughed again, sipping from his glass. “Please. I don’t wish to be known as a liar. No, I will be rewarded for my service to the Syndicate. When the dust clears from this, when we have convinced the others of the need for peace, the mantle of leadership will fall to me. I will be the elder of a new clan, a stronger clan, a clan working in tandem with the Syndicate to advance our common goals.”