Embers of Destruction

by J. Scott Savage

  It was almost 4:30, and they still hadn’t made it into the cave.

  Studying the speed and compass, Trenton turned their course more to the east.

  “Do you have any idea where we are?” Simoni asked.

  He looked at the map and checked their speed again. According to the pitmeter log, a device that measured the rotations of the propeller, they should be close to the cliffs, but he had the feeling it wasn’t working the way it was supposed to. It was one of the things he’d been hoping to test before taking the sub out for an actual voyage.

  “Can you turn on the switch to your right?” he asked. “The one labeled echo generator.”

  Simoni flicked the switch, and immediately a bloop filled the submarine, followed a few seconds later by a slightly quieter bleep. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Something else I haven’t had a chance to test.”

  The bloop and bleep sounded again, and he tried to time them to see if they were any closer together. “I got the idea from a book about lighthouses. It said they sometimes had bells that rang underwater. Sailors attached horns to the underside of their ships to pick up the sound.”

  The bloop, bleep came again. This time he was almost positive it sounded closer.

  “I send a noise out of the front of the sub. It bounces off anything in front of it, and the horns pick up the sound on the way back. I have no idea how well it works, but I’m hoping it will at least warn us when we get close to the cliffs.”

  For the next few minutes, they listened intently as the echoes sounded slightly closer each time. Soon they were going to have to surface to see where they were. The problem was, Plucky would lock the tower in fifteen minutes. They would have a short window of time after that to blow up the lab.

  “Trenton,” Simoni said quietly. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but once we’re inside the cave, I’m going into the lab with you.”

  “But—”

  She cut him off. “Don’t even try to argue.”

  Trenton recognized the look on her face. She had made her decision, and she wasn’t going to change her mind. He’d promised Angus that he’d keep Simoni safe, but it was going to be hard when nothing they were doing could be considered safe. “We’re nearing the cliffs,” he said. “We have to surface.”

  Simoni was quiet for a moment, then she asked, “Are we doing the right thing?”

  Trenton craned his neck to look back at her. Her face still looked greenish, but he couldn’t tell if it was from the submarine lights or being sick. “Of course. The only way to free the people who have been brainwashed is to destroy the monarch and all of the white dragons. We have to do it, whatever the cost.”

  “I know.” She shook her hair from her face. “I want to tell you something first. I understand that people look at me and see a pretty girl who gets her way by being sweet and agreeable.” She gave him a small smile. “The thing is, I am that person. I learned early on that if I could make people smile, they’d give me what I wanted. And if things had stayed the way they were in Cove, I might never have changed. Then you showed me the dragon”—she paused—“and I betrayed you.”

  “You thought you were helping me,” Trenton said. The echoes came again, much closer together this time. He started to bring the submarine up. “Check the underwater periscope and tell me as soon as you see anything.”

  Simoni raised the glass and put it to her eye, but she didn’t stop talking. “I did think I was helping you, and instead I nearly killed us all. That’s when I took a close look at myself. And I didn’t like who I saw looking back.”

  “Let’s talk about this later,” he said.

  The echoes were coming fast now.

  She turned the glass left, then right. “The thing I’ve always admired about you and Kallista is that you don’t accept things the way they are. You try to make them better. That’s the reason I came on this trip.”

  Something dark appeared in the sub’s lights.

  “You never asked me what I do best,” she said. “I didn’t know myself, until now. But what I do best is—”

  Whatever she was going to say was lost when she screamed, “Look out, Trenton! Look out!”

  He pulled the submarine up sharply, expecting to see the cliff face. Instead, as he cleared the water, he saw the cave entrance a hundred yards ahead. They were on a perfect course.

  Just then, a piercing howl came from outside the sub. The echo system went crazy. Bloop, bleep, bloop, bleep, bloop—

  Something heavy crashed against the side of the sub, spinning them like a top.

  “Back up!” Simoni shouted.

  He shoved the sub into reverse when another crash came from the other side. A huge ­purple limb smashed across the viewports, and he turned to see a monster looking in the window. A birdlike beak punctured the side of the ship, ripping through the metal hull like a drill bit.

  It was the dragon he’d seen in the lab—the one with wings that looked like fins. There were dragons that could swim?

  A tentacle as thick as a tree smashed across the top of the submarine. Barbs gouged the metal, and the periscope was torn from Simoni’s grip. She fell backward, blood gushing from her nose.

  There was the sound of tearing metal, and the top of the submarine was gone. Trenton looked up in time to see lightning flash as water began to splash inside. He hit the button to empty the water of the ballast tank. That, and the buoyancy of the ship, might keep them floating for a while, but not long.

  Fighting to turn the sub, he saw the cave nearby. If he could get inside, maybe they’d still have a chance before the monster ripped them to pieces.

  He pushed the throttle full ahead; a crunching sound came from the propellers. Something hot sprayed over the top of the sub. The vessel pulled from the creature’s grip and leaped forward.

  A waved pushed them from behind, and they were racing toward the cave. It’d be a tight fit, but maybe they could make it.

  They were nearly to the entrance when the water dragon gripped them in its tentacles. It heaved them in the air, and they flew sideways above the water. Metal crunched against rock, and Trenton felt himself falling. Icy darkness closed over him. It took him a moment to realize he was no longer in the submarine.

  A wave smashed over him, and saltwater filled his mouth. He choked, coughing and spitting. Pain like fire raced up his ankle as he struggled to stay afloat.

  Lights shined down on him from on top of the cliff, and he heard men’s voices shouting. For a moment, he thought he saw dozens of purple eyes staring down at him, but that was impossible.

  Where was Simoni? He looked for the sub, but saw only pieces of broken wood. The submarine was gone, and so was Simoni.

  What was taking so long? Kallista checked the clock on the tower. It had only been a minute or two since they’d sealed the tower, but it felt much longer. Lights flashed both inside and outside the tower wall. She could hear people shouting but couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  A roar shook the tower, and a blast of violet light ripped a hole in the door on the top level. The metal bulged outward, and, a second later, the door exploded in a flower of molten steel.

  Plucky scratched her head. “That didn’t work out so well, yeah, yeah?”

  Alarms began to blare across the city. Had Trenton and Simoni been caught? Were they still in the lab? Had the submarine sunk?

  Angus jumped into the quad. “Something’s happened. We have to get to the tower.”

  “We can’t,” Kallista said.

  The shutters on the dragon towers were opening across the city, dark shapes soaring in the direction of the white tower. The monarch flew out of the destroyed door, which still glowed orange from the heat of the blast. It flew to the top of the tower, spread its massive wings, and roared.

  A blast of purple energy so bright it seemed to illuminat
e the entire city shot out of its jaws. Lightning crackled out of the clouds, striking a building a mile to their left. Immediately the building burst into flames.

  Kallista backed away. Had they really thought they could defeat this dragon?

  A quad filled with guards rumbled through the intersection to their right, and Kallista and the others ducked down. As the vehicle raced past, one of the men turned in their direction, and his eyes glowed purple in the darkness.

  Clyde gasped. “What was that?”

  “Nuts,” Plucky whispered. “His eyes looked like someone lit a purple fire in his head, didn’t they? Gives me the shivers.”

  Kallista turned to her three friends. “We have to go to the meeting place.”

  “Are you kidding?” Angus shouted over the wailing sirens. “Simoni is in trouble. I’m going to help her.” He started the quad, but Kallista grabbed his arm.

  “How are you going to help her when you don’t even know where she is? For all we know, they could be heading to the meeting place right now. We have to stick to the plan.”

  “She’s right,” Clyde said. “I want to help them as much as you do, but first we should go to the docks and see if they’re there.”

  Angus jerked his arm away. “All right. But if they hurt her, I swear I’ll go into the white tower and—”

  A quad came rattling around the corner, and Kallista dove into the seat behind Angus. “Go!” she yelled.

  Plucky grabbed the back of the quad and flipped herself into the seat next to Kallista.

  Angus gunned the engine as Clyde scrambled to get in. Angus reached out and yanked him into the front seat.

  Clyde sighed. “Thanks.”

  “Just don’t fall out,” Angus barked.

  Slashing rain pelted them, and the quad’s metal feet slipped on the wet stones as Angus took a sharp right and an immediate left.

  Plucky looked behind them. “Them dirty hog-grubbers is still behind us.”

  As they came to an intersection, another quad full of guards turned the corner in front of them, and Angus had to go up on the sidewalk to get past.

  The guards turned to give chase, and they were so close that Kallista could see the blank expressions on their faces, lit by the purple glow of their eyes.

  The purple glint was the same color as the white dragon’s eyes. Did that mean it was controlling their minds more directly? Could the monarch see what the guards were seeing? She hoped not or they were doomed.

  “Which way?” Angus yelled as they came to a fork.

  Gripping the edge of the quad as though his life depended on it—which it probably did—Clyde rose out of his seat. “That way,” he shouted, pointing to the left.

  Angus turned sharply, grabbing Clyde’s arm and pulling him back into his seat.

  “They’re getting closer,” Plucky yelled.

  Kallista looked back. The other quads seemed to be more powerful than what they were driving, with extra feet that had better traction on the wet ground.

  Angus cursed, and Kallista turned to see a pair of quads blocking the entire street in front of them. There were no side streets and, with two quads behind them, no way to turn back.

  At the last second, Angus cut to the right. “Hold on,” he shouted as they flew over the edge of a set of concrete stairs. The quad’s legs bounded and chattered, unable to get a grip on the uneven surface. They started to flip to the right, and Angus steered into the slide. “Not this time,” he muttered.

  One of the quads behind them lost control and rolled down the side of a hill, throwing the guards into the air.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Angus hit the brakes, and they slammed onto the street so hard that sparks shot from the vehicle’s metal feet.

  Kallista looked back, hoping the second set of guards had given up, but they were closer than ever. They had to lose the guards before they reached the water.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of three smoke bombs she had left. She didn’t have a punk to light it, so she climbed back toward the engine and opened the hatch. The flames from the steam engine were just out of reach. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned over as far as she could.

  “Hold my legs!” she yelled. Kallista felt Plucky’s hands close around her ankles, and she stretched out her arm until the wick of the clay ball touched the flames. The wick hissed, and Kallista handed it back to Plucky.

  One of Plucky’s hands let go of Kallista’s ankle as she took the bomb. A moment later Plucky yelled, “Rust and oil, I missed.”

  Kallista grabbed the second smoke bomb and lit it.

  Plucky took the ball from her hands. A moment passed, then she heard Clyde call, “Good try.”

  Angus took a turn too fast, and Kallista slammed against the side of the engine compartment. Pain flashed along her arm, and she jerked back from the hot manifold.

  “One more try.” Holding her breath, she lit the last bomb and handed it to Plucky.

  “You can do it!” Clyde yelled.

  Kallista wiggled out of the compartment in time to see Plucky’s arm sling forward. The last smoke bomb flew through the air. For a moment, it looked like it was on track to land directly in the guards’ laps. Then their vehicle jagged to the left, and the bomb hit the front of the quad. It bounced in the air, spun, hit one of the soldiers in the head, and then dropped inside the car. A cloud of smoke billowed out, and the driver looked down as though trying to find the bomb. As he did, the road veered to the left.

  Angus yanked at the controls, barely managing to stay on the road. The guards weren’t so lucky. By the time the driver looked up, it was too late to make the turn. There was a shriek of metal on stone, and the quad disappeared. A second later there was loud crash.

  “I think that’s the last of them,” Plucky said.

  Angus pulled to the side of the road and wiped his arm across his face. “Now what? I’m completely lost.”

  “Wait here,” Clyde said. He hopped out of the quad and shimmied up a nearby tree with more agility than Kallista expected. He stopped about fifteen feet up and looked around. “There,” he called, pointing down and to the right. “I see the rock where we’re supposed to meet.”

  Once he was back in the car, Angus drove the quad quietly down to the shore, keeping one eye up for dragons and one down for guards. At least they didn’t have to worry about the Ninki Nankas they passed. The eucalyptus trick was working perfectly.

  When they reached the rock, Kallista scanned the beach, hoping Trenton and Simoni were there. But the shore was empty.

  Angus leaped out of the quad and ran down into the water until his legs were wet to the knees. He scanned the dark ocean. The wind and rain had finally stopped, and the waves were calm, but there was no sign of the submarine.

  He pounded his fists against his thighs. “They aren’t here. I told you we should have gone to the tower.”

  “And died there?” Kallista asked. “How would that have helped Trenton or Simoni?”

  “Give them time,” Clyde said. “I’m sure they’re on their way.”

  Kallista wasn’t so sure. With every minute that slipped past, she became more convinced that something terrible had happened. Some locked windows in the white tower wouldn’t generate this kind of response from the guards and the dragons, would it?

  For all anyone knew, the storm might have caused the malfunction. But the white dragon hadn’t acted as if it was an electrical short, and the guards were obviously searching for someone.

  Yet the laboratory hadn’t exploded, which left only two possibilities. Either the plan to blow up the generator hadn’t worked the way she’d thought it would or the submarine had failed to reach the lab. Trenton and Simoni were dead or captured.

  Maybe Angus was right and they should be headed toward the white tower. Right this minute the dragons could be torturing Tre
nton to get information out of him.

  Angus marched back and forth, his feet splashing water with each stomp. “We’re wasting time.”

  “Stick with the plan,” she whispered to herself. Then she said it louder for everyone to hear. “Stick with the plan.”

  Kallista searched the water for any sign of movement, listening for the rumble of the submarine’s engine, but there was nothing except the crash of waves and the constant howling of the alarms.

  As the minutes crept by, a sense of dread sank deeper and deeper into her bones. Without warning, the sirens shut off. The silence was almost worse.

  Angus continued pacing, smacking his fists against his thighs and muttering to himself until at last he spun around. “You three can stay here. I’m not.”

  “Where are you going?” Clyde asked. “We need to stick together.”

  Angus glanced out at the dark ocean. “Simoni is out there somewhere. We’re not going to find her standing on the shore.” He looked toward the docks. “I’m getting us some transportation.”

  They’d seen several boats leave the harbor since they arrived, but now, with most of the guards following the white dragon’s command, the docks were nearly deserted.

  “I’ll helps you,” Plucky said. “Time to fleece the coup, yeah, yeah.”

  Trenton looked desperately around in the darkness as waves tossed him left and right. He’d never had any reason to learn how to swim in Discovery, and despite his thrashing, he kept slipping under the surface, sucking in mouthfuls of saltwater.

  A piece of wood from the hull of the submarine slammed against him, and he instinctively reached out to grab it. Clinging to it like a raft, he paddled around the opening of the cave. On top of the cliffs, spotlights panned left and right across the ocean. As one of them passed by, he caught a glimpse of red hair floating on the water.

  “Simoni,” he called, paddling toward her.

  The hair disappeared under the waves, and Trenton released the plank, kicking with his feet and pulling with his hands to propel himself forward. It was too dark to see anything under the water, and he waved his hands, feeling blindly before him. He touched Simoni’s arm, but she slipped away from him. He grabbed again, closing his fingers around her wrist.