The Changlings (The New Earth Chronicles Book 2)

by J. J. Thompson

  “Oh yes, all great weapons had names back in the old days. Well, those that reached legendary stature, at least. And your sword certainly did. Its history would fill a dozen books of lore. The wars it saw, the monsters it killed. All very epic. Bloody, but epic.”

  “Wow. That sounds amazing.”

  “I suppose so. I'm less than impressed by blood and death, but to each his own.”

  “But how do I learn its name?” Bobby asked. “It, um, doesn't talk, does it?”

  Esmiralla chuckled at the question.

  “Of course not. It's a hunk of metal, not some item out of a fairy tale. As to how to learn its name, all that I can pass along is a rather cryptic hint associated with the blade.”

  “Okay, what is the hint?”

  “It is just an odd little poem and it goes something like this: 'To know my soul and use my strength, then feed me well along my length. I only answer to my name and render death when once I'm tamed.'”

  She made a face.

  “Bad poetry, but I suppose something was lost in translation. In any event, that is all that I can tell you.”

  Bobby stared down at the floor, watching his torchlight dance over the dusty surface.

  “Feed me well along my length,” he muttered. “How do you feed a sword?”

  “I have no idea. I've never used one. Now, please pay attention, young man. Our time is short. I must tell you why I am here and why I wished to speak with you.”

  “Oh. Sorry, ma'am. Please go ahead.”

  Esmiralla gestured for Bobby to follow her again and they entered the stairwell and began descending.

  “Sarah is exhausted, as I am sure you know,” she said as she walked ahead of him.

  Her dress trailed along behind her as she walked down the steps, but Bobby noticed that the dirt on the stairs was left undisturbed. It was definitely a sign that he was actually dreaming, as hard as it was to believe.

  “And because she is so important to the survival of your people, I believe that she should be allowed to continue to rest as much as possible.”

  “So do I,” Bobby told her.

  “Good. Then we are in agreement. However, something is about to happen that threatens to disturb her slumber. Very shortly, a Changling will be approaching this facility, perhaps more than one. I am not certain of their number. They are being pursued and may not reach safety without aid.”

  Bobby felt a stab of panic.

  “Pursued by what? Drakes?”

  “Goblins. An entire troop of them. Fortunately, the group of goblin warriors does not contain a magic-user, or the pursuit would have already ended and your friends would be dead.”

  She stopped and looked back at him. Even though she was several steps below Bobby, her head was almost level with his.

  “They need your help, young man. And they need it now. If you awaken Sarah, she will insist on going with you and will put herself in harm's way. That will happen soon enough, but now is not the time. So I have come to you, alone, to pass on this information. Do with it what you will.”

  Bobby was speechless. Did this strange woman really expect him to just rush out of the bunker and leave their safe haven to play the hero? What exactly did she think he could do? He wasn't a fighter. He could run away pretty well, but fighting? That just wasn't him.

  Esmiralla seemed to read his mind.

  “Remember your anger, young man,” she said softly. “Remember your rage. And use it to your advantage. Fear may be countered by anger, and courage can result from that.”

  “Will they survive if I don't help them?”

  She shrugged.

  “Perhaps. I cannot see the future. But unarmed and exhausted Changlings against hardened and determined goblins? The odds are against them. However, it is your choice to make. But make it quickly or it will be too late.”

  He nervously shifted from one foot to the other.

  “But where are they? How do I find them?”

  “There is a hill not too far from the entrance to this place. Do you know it? It lies to the southeast.”

  Bobby smiled in memory.

  “Yes, I do. The one winter that we spent in the bunker, some of the staff took all of us kids to the hill to go sledding. It was great.”

  “Good. That is where you should go when you leave this place. From its summit, you must look to the east. The sun is rising and you may be able to see your people from that vantage point. The goblins smell blood and will not be deterred by the light of day, but it will weaken them and make them more vulnerable. Use that to your advantage.”

  She turned around and started to descent the steps again. Bobby wanted to ask her something else but the words caught in his throat as he watched her body become misty as she moved away. A moment later and she was gone, just like that.

  “What the hell?”

  Bobby hesitated and then rushed down the stairs. He had to find out if he really was dreaming and if that woman had actually been real.

  He reached the bottom floor, burst through the door and ran down the hallway to the rec room. He skidded to a stop at the doorway and then, taking a deep breath, stepped inside and looked around.

  Sarah was sleeping peacefully on her cot. Her stone glowed gently beside her on the bed and her expression was calm and peaceful in its soft light.

  Bobby smiled at the sight and then glanced at the bed beside her. He gasped as he saw a body sprawled across the cot, snoring steadily. Its head hung at an odd angle over the side of the mattress. It was him.

  “Son of a...” he muttered. “She was right. I am asleep.”

  His body spasmed, as if he'd been hit by a painful jolt of electricity, and then Bobby sat up abruptly and looked around. His head was pounding and his neck was sore, but he was awake again.

  “Wow, that was weird,” he said softly.

  He glanced at Sarah and saw her in the same position that she'd been a moment earlier, when he had seen her from the doorway. He looked in that direction, almost expecting to see himself standing there looking back. But there was nothing. He was actually awake this time.

  With a groan, he swung his legs off of the cot and sat on the edge, holding his head in his hands. His skull felt like it was about to explode and he held it with both hands, waiting for the pain to subside.

  When it had faded enough for him to move slowly, Bobby stood up and stretched. He moved quietly so that he didn't wake up Sarah.

  There were several cabinets along the walls filled with clothing from the old days and he searched through them, looking for something to wear that was cleaner than the stained, ripped jeans and t-shirt that he was still wearing.

  Fortunately, some of the adults had stored their spare clothing in the rec room and Bobby found a pair of black pants and a gray sweatshirt that fit him fairly well.

  He slipped into the clothes as quickly and quietly as he could, glancing over at Sarah several times to make sure that she was still sleeping.

  When he was dressed, Bobby walked back to his cot and fastened the sword-belt around his waist. He settled it comfortably on his hip and paused for a moment to watch Sarah affectionately as she slept.

  She is going to be so mad when she finds out that I've left, he thought regretfully. But what can I do? Our friends need help and she needs to stay here to coordinate with everybody who is trying to reach the bunker. I just hope that she can forgive me.

  “I'm sorry,” he whispered to her. “But I have to do this. Sleep well, Sarah.”

  Before he could change his mind, he spun around and hurried out of the room. If Esmiralla was right, the others were running out of time and he had to get there as soon as possible.

  When Bobby reached the main entrance, he hesitated for a moment. What if the dream that he'd had was a trick? The goblins had mages and a wizard with them, according to Magnus. What if one of them had sent the dream to draw him out of the shelter. Could they do that? He didn't know.

  Or maybe there were drakes just waiting to pounce on
him of the other side of the portal. As soon as he thought of that, Bobby imagined that he could hear slow, muffled breathing through the thick metal door. That was ridiculous, of course, but it made him even more nervous.

  Get moving, you idiot, Bobby told himself sternly. What are you waiting for? Lives are at stake.

  He stuck his torch in a bracket next to the door and took a deep breath as he faced the locking mechanism. He spun the wheel on the door and braced himself as he pulled it opened, groaning at its immense weight.

  When the door was open just enough for him to slip through, he exited and looked around, almost expecting to be attacked immediately.

  But there was nothing waiting for him inside the building. Esmiralla had been right. The place was beginning to brighten in the early morning light and he was able to leave the torch behind as he closed the blast door.

  “Time to move,” Bobby said out loud.

  He held the sword steady on his hip with his left hand as he trotted through the building. He squeezed through the door that had been damaged by the drake and finally stood outside under the open sky.

  The dawn air was cool but smelled of earth and growing things and he paused to take a long, deep breath. The scent invigorated him and helped to wake him up fully. He paused to slip on his dark sunglasses and adjust them. His eyes were too sensitive to handle even the early morning light.

  Once he had the glasses firmly settled on his nose, he turned right toward the hill that Esmiralla had mentioned and began to hurry toward it.

  The hill wasn't very high, but it was fairly steep. It was crowned with a circle of trees that Bobby didn't remember being there before. Things had obviously changed in ten years.

  As the sun slowly peeked above the horizon, he squinted in the sudden light and his trot became a steady run. He had to find out where his friends were as soon as possible.

  How many were coming? Were they even still alive, he wondered fearfully. Had they been caught already?

  The thought made him run even faster and he began to pant loudly as he reached the bottom of the hill and started to ascend the slope.

  The sheathe was bouncing against his left leg and threatened to trip him as he ran. Sweat began to run down his face and he shook his head a few times to keep it out of his eyes.

  Oh man, am I out of shape, Bobby thought desperately as he staggered up the hill.

  Somehow he managed to reach the copse of trees and stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He leaned over, putting his hands on his knees and just breathed. Little sparks danced across his vision and his heart thundered in his ears. It took a minute to slow his breathing and then he stood up, took off his sunglasses for a moment and wiped the sweat from his eyes.

  Okay, he thought. Now, where are they?

  He hurried around the clump of trees towering over him until he was facing the rising sun. Esmiralla had said that the fleeing Changlings would be approaching from the east, directly from Ottawa and he squinted into the light, looking for any sign of movement.

  The land to the east was mostly trees and scattered barns and farm houses, now surrounded by the ever-growing forest. The main highway from the city could still be seen cutting through the thick woods. There were abandoned, rusting hulks scattered along its length, the remains of cars and trucks that had died the day that technology had finally failed.

  The road serpentined its way past the south side of the hill and a narrow, secondary road split off of it, crossed in front of him and led around the hill toward the Diefenbunker. The trees were thinner there and Bobby could easily see the narrow strip of cracked asphalt.

  If his friends were still coming, they would probably be using the main highway, he reasoned. It would be the easiest route to travel on and it would keep them from getting lost in the forest.

  He got down on one knee and shielded his eyes to block out the sun as much as he could as he scanned the length of the road.

  At first he saw nothing moving except for birds flitting and soaring above the trees. A movement on the right side of the road made him gasp, but he recognized the light brown coat of a large buck before it disappeared back into the shadows of the forest.

  “Damn it, where are they?” he whispered. “Please, please, please let them still be alive.”

  He waited and waited and the sun rose steadily as the time passed. Was it possible that Esmiralla was wrong? Maybe he really had been dreaming after all?

  Bobby stood up and stretched. He lifted his sunglasses and wiped his eyes again and licked his lips. He wished that he'd thought to bring his canteen with him.

  It's gonna be a hot day, he thought absently. If the goblins are still chasing the others, maybe they'll give up in the bright sunlight.

  Yes, Esmiralla had said that they were out for blood, but surely even goblins would reach a point where they would stop chasing people. Or were they just too stupid? Maybe so.

  He turned slowly in a complete circle. The trees on the crest of the hill blocked his view of the west, but he could see for several miles in the other directions. It all looked so peaceful and beautiful. Bobby had never realized just how much the world had changed outside of the city over ten years. He thought that he remembered the country around the bunker, but this sea of green was foreign to him.

  “I'm a fish out of water,” he said quietly. “A city boy lost in the country. If it wasn't so scary, I suppose it would be funny.”

  The faint echo of a distant call made him spin around to look down the length of the old highway. Was something moving?

  Bobby narrowed his eyes and concentrated. Were those little shapes actual people? They had to be.

  I could be wrong, but they might be my friends, he told himself as he began to walk down the slope. I just can't wait any longer.

  He decided to get down to the edge of the side road where it merged with the highway and wait for them there. Then they could all travel the rest of the way together.

  As Bobby descended, he picked up speed. The slope was steep and the grass-covered ground was broken and rough and he had to watch his feet as he slipped and slid down toward the road.

  Near the bottom of the hill, he stumbled to his knees and skidded along the grass. His sunglasses went flying and Bobby cried out as the intense sunlight burned into his eyes.

  He frantically scrambled around in the grass, trying to find them with his eyes almost closed and tears blurring what little vision he had left.

  “Damn it, I'm so frigging clumsy!” he exclaimed angrily as he flailed around in a panic.

  Without the sunglasses he was basically helpless.

  By sheer luck, his hand slapped against the glasses lying on the grass and he grabbed them like a drowning man grabbing a life preserver. He wiped his eyes, jammed the glasses onto his face and looked down the road frantically.

  He'd been right. There were figures racing down the old highway toward him, and he finally recognized them as they ran straight at him.

  Goblins.

  Chapter 17

  Bobby froze in shock as he saw the goblin troop stomping down the length of broken asphalt. They were about a mile away. Dozens of abandoned cars and derelict trucks scattered along the highway blocked his view of the entire group. For a heart-stopping moment, he was sure that they were charging right at him, but then he realized that the creatures were actually not running at full speed. Instead, they were trotting along in their leather and metal armor, waving swords and spears in the air as they looked from one side of the road to the other. They were barking and shouting at each other and that must have been the yelling that he had heard.

  He remained on his hands and knees to stay out of the goblins' line of sight and tried to figure out what they were doing. The monsters looked just as evil as they always had, with their bloodshot eyes and gaping mouths filled with broken and rotting fangs. The goblins had skin as pale as a week-old corpse and none of them were over five feet tall.

  But they were muscular and wore random bits o
f mismatched armor and they were always armed. Bobby counted six of them and noticed that two or three carried bows across their backs. He'd never seen a goblin using a bow before. It was worrying.

  What are they looking for, he wondered. Some of our people?

  He carefully crawled to the left until he was hidden by a small clump of young trees next to the road.

  Are they tracking the others? How? They're looking into the forest but staying on the road. That's weird.

  He watched intently as the entire troop slowed down and then stopped. They gathered around one warrior who was larger and even more evil-looking than the others. He was holding something in his twisted hands and staring down at it.

  The goblin lifted the object up to shoulder height and began to move his arm from side to side. If Bobby didn't know better, he would have thought that the creature was using some sort of compass and trying to get his bearings. Somehow he doubted that that was the case.

  Some kind of magical tracking device maybe? That would explain why the others were watching their leader so eagerly. They were waiting for him to locate their prey, whoever that was.

  I have to move while they're distracted, Bobby thought quickly. If some of my friends are trying to reach the bunker and those goblins are chasing them, they must be close. They're probably staying within sight of the highway to avoid getting lost, but which side are they on? How far away are they?

  Bobby decided to take a chance. He moved northward along the edge of the side road until he was out of sight of the goblins and then crossed it and entered the trees that lined the side of the east-west highway. With any luck, he would be able to see or hear anyone fleeing the enemy. Of course, if he was wrong, the goblins might actually find him instead. But he had to risk it.

  One last glance at the goblins made him grin suddenly. They were yelling at each other and waving their arms in the air. Apparently whatever magical device they were using was either not working or was confusing them. Goblins weren't known for their intelligence.

  He started moving forward cautiously. The underbrush was thick and Bobby almost felt like he was creeping through some thick jungle somewhere. Since the return of the magic to the world, nature had exploded and seemed determined to engulf the entire planet. It was both amazing and somewhat frightening at the same time.