by M. R. Forbes
"It remembers. It is Jeremiah."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Eryn
Eryn followed Worm back to the reactor's entrance. The dragon's assault had left the small room partially caved in, with just enough space for them to crawl through the rubble.
"I can move it all aside," Eryn said, pointing at the fallen rock.
Worm shook his head, motioning towards the jagged stone path to the light beyond.
"Why not? The reactor is feeding my power. It won't take much effort at all."
He shook his head again, running his hand over his arm. You'll change.
Eryn stared at him. How did he know? Who was this tattooed man, who was immune to magic and stronger than General Spyne despite his small size?
Worm held his hand out to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking it and letting him lead her to the small opening. The mountain shook as the dragon hit it again, and the passage into the reactor vanished behind them in a tumble of stone.
Eryn moved to her hands and knees and began crawling through the rubble ahead of Worm. If she could get out fast enough, maybe she could collapse the tunnel on him and escape.
She shimmied along the rock, picking her way around the sharpest edges. She was almost to the other side when her haste caused her to slip. Her knee came down on a jagged stone, and she clenched her teeth, expecting to feel it bite through her clothes and into her flesh. Instead, she slid off it unharmed, protected by the garum she was wearing.
The protection made her more bold, and she scrambled ahead, glancing back a couple of times to find Worm a good ten feet behind her. She started calling on her magic even as she neared the end of the passage, feeling it gathering in her.
She reached the edge and pushed herself out, dropping four feet to the ground and rising as quickly as she could. The magic was ready. She could bury the strange man without much effort.
She didn't. She couldn't. It was true that he had killed people. It was true he had been one of General Spyne's Historians. But there was something about him. Something curious that she needed to know. How was he immune to magic? Why had he saved her life? Where was he taking her?
There were so many things she didn't understand. About the Shifters and the enemy General's insistence that she was their Queen. About the reactors, and Genesia. About Oz and Jeremiah.
So many questions, and she had a feeling he could answer at least a few of them.
She relaxed herself, letting the power of her Curse subside unused. Worm appeared a few seconds later, dropping from the space and rolling to his feet. He looked at her with a small smirk that told her he knew exactly what she had been thinking. That he had invited it, and challenged her to make the decision once and for all. To stay with him and follow him wherever he was leading, or to put an end to him and escape.
A scream echoed across the mountainside from above them as the dragon pounded the mountain once more. Eryn looked up, finding it there at the same time its head turned and found her.
As if it knows where I am. Always.
It's wings shifted, and it launched into the sky, turning a wide circle over them before tucking in and heading in their direction.
Worm grabbed her arm and pulled her along at a run, back down the slope of the mountain through the crevasse. The dragon howled as it dropped towards them, coming in faster than Eryn could have imagined.
"It won't fit in here," she said.
Worm didn't respond, continuing to guide her.
The dragon was close, so very close, when its wings spread wide and caught the air, slowing its descent as its hind legs dangled down into the space. It was trying to reach her, to grab her. Worm pulled her to the ground as huge claws swept over them. She could feel the hot air whoosh past her head as she fell on top of the painted man.
They slid to a stop as the dragon screamed and rose for a second pass. Eryn's face was only inches from Worm's.
"Thank you," she said, looking into his eyes. His face was like a mask, but his eyes... She could see the intellect there. She could see the resolve. She could see the pain.
He stared back at her for a moment before turning his head to escape her gaze. She rolled off him, checking the sky again. The dragon was turning, preparing to make another attempt.
"How do we escape it?" she asked.
He bounced to his feet and pointed down the slope. Run.
She did.
Down they went, as fast as they dared without risking a crash. The crevasse began to fall away, leaving them exposed. The dragon screeched, and she saw it was diving towards them once more.
Worm pointed to a large stone a hundred feet away. They angled towards it, desperate to escape.
Down it came, eyes focused on her, wings against its body. Once more it spread them as it neared, catching the air and dropping its hinds. They were close to the rock.
Not close enough.
Clawed feet reached for her. Worm pushed her down once more, but he didn't follow this time. Instead, he turned and grabbed the edge of a giant claw as though he could grapple with a beast a hundred times his size. As Eryn rolled to a stop and turned over, she heard the dragon bellow in pain and saw it launching skyward. Worm was standing unharmed among the stone.
What had he done to it? She hadn't seen. Was his touch enough to drive it away? It was another curiosity.
Whatever he had done, the dragon seemed to have given up on her. It retreated to the top of the mountain, landing on the summit where it had already battered the stone and changed the shape of the peak. It's head trailed back towards them, and she knew it was looking at her once more. It wanted her, but not enough to challenge Worm again.
He turned and walked towards her. He was smiling now, showing a full row of white teeth that gave him the look of a boy who had just won a wrestling tournament. She noticed the tattoos on his body looked different now, as though they were glowing. It was subtle, and she wondered if it was visible to anyone who wasn't Cursed.
She was ready to ask him about them when his smile vanished, and he collapsed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Eryn
Eryn watched him tumble to the ground. Immediately, she ran to him, dropping to her knees at his side and putting her hand to his neck. She could feel his pulse there, along with a charge of something wherever her bare skin touched one of the tattoos.
"Worm," she said. She looked back up at the dragon. It had resumed its assault on the mountain and was no longer watching them. She needed to get him moving before it saw that he was out. "Worm."
He didn't respond.
She straddled him, tucking her arms around his chest and lifting. Between the years of helping her father at his forge and her months of training with Talon, she was more than strong enough to pick up the small man. She brought him up and over her shoulder, trying to ignore the hot sparks of energy that seemed to pass between them wherever the tattoos touched her skin.
She was unsteady at first, taking a few hesitant steps before getting a feel for the weight of him over her shoulder. She picked up the pace as she adjusted to it, not moving as fast as a run, but escaping to the cover of the rock to check on the dragon one more time before continuing down the slope.
She could barely believe how things had gone since they had escaped Varrow. Reunited with Loshe, a new friend in Frieda, and the realization that Oz was once more than a man of metal and magic. Having it all stolen away so suddenly, and then being saved by this strange man who was so powerful and dangerous, and at the same time seemed so innocent and helpless. It was almost more than she could bear, and only thoughts of the promise she had made to her parents - the promise to survive, gave her the strength she needed to continue.
Eryn kept going for two hours, nearly reaching the bottom of the mountain before her body finally gave out from exhaustion. She found an overhang of rock and dropped Worm beneath it, falling from her feet to sit next to him.
"This would be easier if I could use magic on you," she said through quick
, heaving breaths. Her muscles were sore, her legs quivering, and she was thirsty. Very thirsty. There was water further down, but none nearby.
Worm was still unresponsive though she could see his breathing had deepened over time. He looked peaceful rather than injured, more like he was sleeping.
She leaned her head back against the stone behind her. She needed water. So did he.
She looked at him, knowing she would have to leave him there and make her way to a stream. The way her muscles were complaining she would rather have stayed there and rested, but she knew neither one of them would survive that way.
"Amman, give me strength," she said, gathering herself and standing once more. Her legs felt like they would give out at any moment.
"You don't need Amman. You need a sword."
A man appeared a dozen feet in front of her, circling out from behind a thin line of brush and taking her by surprise. He was handsome, with a narrow mustache and dark hair. The bleeding red eye of the Empire was emblazoned on his shirt, resting over his heart.
Where did he come from? That grass is too thin to hide a man.
"Who are you?" Eryn asked, forcing herself to stay calm. She reached for her magic, preparing to defend herself.
"My name is Thornn," the man replied.
Eryn noticed the scabbard hanging from his waist, and the pommel that jutted out from it. The glint of an ircidium blade was obvious in the space between the two.
"Thornn," she said. "You're one of the Nine."
He smiled. It made him even more handsome. "My reputation precedes me, does it, Eryn Albion? As does yours. I take back what I said earlier. I'm well aware you don't need a sword."
"Then let me ask you, General Thornn. What are your intentions?"
"Not intentions, my Lady. Orders." His eyes flicked up the mountain. "I'm to kill a dragon, you understand. Those are my orders. Not to capture you, or kill you, though I'm sure he would be grateful if I did one or the other. General Spyne promised me that if I helped him reach you, he would help me slay the beast."
He paused, locking his gaze on Worm.
"I was on my way up the mountain to get a better vantage point of it when I saw you coming down with that one. It made me wonder why you would be alive, and he would be alive, and you would be together? My understanding was that the demon was one of Spyne's. Then I remembered the rumors. They say you can turn any man against his master with the softest shift of your hips." He rocked his own, laughing as he did.
"You aren't like the others," Eryn said.
"My brothers?" He laughed again. "No, I suppose I'm not. Do you know why, my Lady? It's because they had to change to become the weapons that we needed. They weren't warriors. They weren't killers. Not even Spyne. Oh, but don't tell him I told you that. I'm not supposed to remember that part. Except the procedure didn't work the same on me as it did on them. You see, I was already a killer. A murderer. A true murderer. I was imprisoned when the Shifters came for plotting to assassinate the President. They didn't want to make me one of the Nine, but they were desperate, and I was compatible."
Eryn couldn't hide her surprise. "You know what happened to you?"
His jovial expression darkened. "Yes. I remember everything about it. Every second of pain that I thought would never end."
"Then you know that he is Jeremiah."
Thornn shook his head. "Jeremiah? My Lady, where did you get that idea? No, I don't remember the face of the one who pulls my strings, but I am absolutely certain it isn't Jeremiah."
Eryn felt her heart jump at the words. Not Jeremiah? "That can't be. His journal. I have his journal. And his assistant was the one who repaired Talon in Genesia. Talon spoke to him."
"No. Jeremiah was a wizard, yes. He studied the Shifters and perfected the procedure to turn metal and magic into juggernauts and juggernauts into men. He cannot be him because he is dead."
The smile returned to his face.
"I should know. I killed him."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Eryn
"What?"
Eryn's mind struggled to make sense of all that Thornn was saying. Was it the truth? If the man were a self-admitted murderer, he could easily be a liar as well. Either way, it didn't change anything. Whether he was Jeremiah or not, he still had to die.
"I killed him. After the war, of course. I may be a murderer, but I didn't want to see humankind go extinct to the monsters. I cornered him in his laboratory in Genesia, and I jabbed him in the neck with a poisoned needle. No witnesses, no trail." He shrugged. "It's all academic at this point, my Lady. That was a thousand years ago, and I am and will continue to be his puppet."
"Why?"
"Why did I kill him? I think that should be obvious. He was a problem."
"No. I mean, why do you follow his orders? You don't have to, and if you remember the past, then you have as much reason to hate him as Talon does."
Thornn rubbed at his chin. "An interesting perspective. I don't choose to follow his orders. I am... compelled? Resistance brings only pain, and I'm rather adverse to pain. Besides, it isn't a bad life. I can do pretty much whatever I want when I'm not under command. I'm not as violent as Spyne, or as self-righteous as Talon. I have finer tastes."
"You must still hate him?"
He smiled. "I suppose."
"Then help us kill him."
Thornn was silent, considering the request. Finally, he shrugged again. "There are two problems with that approach, my Lady. First, neither you nor I happen to know where he is."
"Oz knows."
"Who?"
"Oz. It's a juggernaut. A one zero."
Except Oz is dead. Destroyed by Spyne. He doesn't need to know that.
Thorn wrinkled his brow. "A juggernaut knows where he is? How odd. Hmmm... Well, even if that is the case, there is still the second problem." He pointed back up to the dragon. "I can't leave without killing that dragon. Which means I can't help you unless you help me."
"You want me to help you kill the dragon?"
"It isn't a question of want. It's a question of priorities. As I said, I'm compelled. Where do your priorities lie, Eryn Albion?"
She bit her lip, hesitant to answer. She could help him fight the dragon, and maybe they would even succeed. Then what? She would need to use so much magic to do it, and leave herself weak and at either the mercy of the General or the tattooed man.
And she didn't have any more of the cure.
"Will you let me go?" she asked.
"I'd prefer if you helped me slay the monster. However, if your goal is to kill him and killing him may yet set me free, then I have no good reason to stop you."
She allowed herself a small smile. "Thank you, General Thornn."
He returned the gesture. "Don't mention it, Eryn. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and check on my quarry. Be careful with your strange bedfellow. He has always been an enigma, and his apparent connection to you only thickens the stew."
He laughed one more time, bowed to her, and then continued up the slope of the mountain.
Eryn finally let herself breathe again. She had no idea if she was strong enough to defeat General Thornn by herself, and even if she was, how weak would the confrontation have left her?
Even so, he had shed more light on the truth in a few minutes than they had discovered on their own in months. What else might he know? What else might he remember?
She looked back in the direction he had gone. Maybe it would be better to go and help him destroy the dragon? The creature was a threat to the Empire, though not as much as he was.
No. Oz was gone, the subroute and her path to both Talon and him with it. Worm knew something, she was sure of it. Did he have the answers she sought? Or did he have answers to questions she had yet thought to ask?
She returned to his side, leaning over him again.
"Worm?"
He didn't open his eyes, but his hand shot up faster than she could even see it, wrapping around her neck and squeezing.
/>
"Worm," she said again. It came out as little more than a gasping whisper, and she gripped his hand and tried to pry him away.
His eyes opened wide in fear and shock. He let her go, withdrawing his hand and rolling over onto his stomach.
Eryn fell backward and started rubbing her neck. Her eyes moved to Worm's back, every inch of it covered in tattoos. She was mesmerized by it. The intricacies of the lines, the patterns created by the whorls and crosses, the sharp edges and soft arcs.
She saw it then, hidden deep within the mystery of the ink buried beneath his flesh. A pattern unlike the others, a secret creation disguised from fearful, cursory glances.
A symbol she had seen before, in a place forgotten by the passage of time.
Genesia.
She leaned forward, reaching out towards his back to touch the spire, standing resolute amongst the chaos of his skin. Her fingers were just about to touch it when she realized that he was shaking.
Crying.
"Worm?" she said, taking her hand away. "Worm, it's okay. You didn't hurt me. I'm okay."
The shuddering continued. She reached out for him again.
Before her hand could touch him, he scrambled away, only then rolling over to reveal his red eyes.
"Worm?"
Who is this man who can kill without emotion, yet cries at the thought of bringing me pain?
He responded by wiping his eyes with his forearm and rising to his feet. He pointed south.
"You're ready to go?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Where are we going?"
He pointed south again, and then east, making an arc with his hand. Over the mountains.
"To Elling?"
He nodded, and then waved. Past Elling. Then he made a rocking motion with his hands.
Eryn stared at him. He stood completely still, his face losing all of its expressiveness once more.
"A boat?"
He nodded again.
"You're taking me to the Unknown Lands."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR