When all of the cells were empty, Jacob looked around and noticed there was one more door still locked. He motioned to it, “Who’s in that one?”
“I never saw them enter it,” one of the fairies piped up.
“Open it up. Let’s see what’s inside,” Jacob motioned for Baenn to open the door. He hefted his shield and readied his sword, unsure of what to expect. When the door swung open, a chill filled the air, and a pair of red-rimmed eyes looked back at them. The inside of the prison cell was completely made of cold iron, and when Jacob stepped inside he shivered.
“And who might you be? Do you come to fight me with your dragons scale shield and mighty sword?”
“I don’t come to fight anyone,” Jacob declared as he looked at the old woman with glowing eyes who sat calmly before him. He looked down at her curiously, and then opened his mouth again.
“Who am I, you ask?” the hag said before Jacob could say anything. She smiled at him. “I am the witch of Endor. I am she who has seen a thousand years. I am known by many names.”
“We should leave her here,” Baenn muttered. “She is evil.”
“Good … Evil,” the old hag said with a cackle. “Would you leave an old woman here in this cold iron cell to rot for the rest of her life?”
“What is she?” Jacob asked. He turned his head slightly to look at Baenn
“Banshee …” Baenn started. “Look Out!”
Jacob was about to answer when suddenly the old woman erupted from where she was sitting and literally flew from the room with a wailing shriek that drove them all to their knees. The sound bore into Jacob’s ears so powerfully that he nearly blacked out. Then as quickly as it came, it faded, leaving them dazed. A shout of alarm from outside brought Jacob struggling to his feet. He glanced out the main door that led into the guard house and saw the remaining Adherents running towards there position.
“We have company coming,” Jacob cried as he shouldered the front door and slammed it shut. A barrage of thumping sounds—the Adherents firing a volley of magical blasts aimed at where he had been a moment before. “Hold them off as best you can!” Jacob called to Baenn. “I’m going to go get help.”
Baenn nodded as he grabbed a musket from the rack on the wall and tossed it to one of the men who had been freed. Jacob disappeared into the Divide only to appear a moment later outside the building and near the small iron guard house. He stuck his head around the corner and chuckled to himself when he saw how many Adherents were facing the guard house. Six, and those men seemed confused by the odd absence of the other soldiers to help them. On the far side of the castle he saw Bella and Flying Cloud making their way slowly towards the nearest of the distracted soldiers, so he turned back to the building before him. The door was solid iron and set on posts with a mantel designed to withstand anything.
“She said it would cut through anything,” Jacob muttered under his breath as he drew back and swung his sword with all his might at the massive lock holding the door shut. He braced his body against the coming blow and was pleasantly surprised when the blade passed through the iron and severed the lock completely. There was a dull thud as the bottom of the lock fell to the ground, and Jacob reached out and pulled with all his might, drawing the door open slowly. Inside the small iron building he found a perfectly round dragon’s egg that glowed with an inner fire. Carefully Jacob approached the egg and hefted it in his arms. It was surprisingly light and about twice the size of a basketball. He hurried from the iron building and took a deep breath. He was tired from running in and out of the Divide. He needed someone to guide him through the mushroom rings.
“Bella,” Jacob said out loud. He needed the fairy now, and she was on the opposite side of the castle. He was growing very tired and needed his last bit of energy to make it through the gauntlet of musket fire.
Chapter 11
Into the Mushroom Circle
He took off running as he clutched the great egg. As he passed a long building against the wall opposite him, suddenly the door opened, and four more Adherents boiled out of the portal. His legs burned with effort but he forced away the pain and kept moving. Confusion helped him get to cover, but a volley of shots splattered against the iron building, one so close he nearly dropped the egg. After a few deep breaths, Jacob sprinted away towards where he had seen Bella last. A shout came behind him, and he ducked his head and ran for all he was worth. Amazingly he made it to the side of the bigger building where Baenn and the others were making their stand and slipped around the side.
“Bella!” Jacob risked being heard and was rewarded with a shout of warning from a sentry still pacing the walls. The Adherent raised his musket but suddenly clutched his shoulder and dropped his weapon. With a frightened look on his face he ducked inside the tower next to him and disappeared from sight.
“Jacob!” Flying Cloud shouted back as she waved from where she and Bella were hidden behind a stack of firewood piled near the wall.
Jacob looked around before he ran toward the stack of firewood. It looked clear so he sprinted as only a star football player could. He heard a shot and felt the energy ball as it closed in on him. Then he was flying head over heels in the air towards the firewood. His side felt like it was on fire, and the egg flew from his grip. Time seemed to slow as he caught a glimpse of the egg falling towards the rocky ground. It disappeared, and he crashed head first into the chunks of timber.
Flying Cloud saw the musket blast as it exited the weapon and flashed across the castle grounds. She saw it strike Jacob on the side and send him flying, and even worse, she watched the crimson dragon’s egg jarred from his grasp. She lunged forward with her arms outstretched and got her hands and arms under the orb. It bounced once on her arms and tapped against the ground slightly, then rolled to a halt almost against her face. From inside the egg she felt a slight shudder as the life within the hard shell rebelled against the treatment it just endured.
There was a chorus of shouts across the gravel, and then Flying Cloud scrambled back behind the stacked logs while Bella launched an arrow from her bow.
“Get Jacob,” Bella shouted.
“I’m trying!” Flying Cloud called back as she set the egg carefully on the ground. She glanced around the wood and noticed that Jacob was crawling weakly towards their shelter, his arm and leg on the right side flopped weakly as he pulled his body with his left arm. She crawled around the side and grabbed Jacob’s outstretched hand and pulled him back until they were both protected by the firewood once more.
“Thanks,” Jacob said as he lay on the ground with his head resting in her lap. “I didn’t think anything could feel this bad.” His right side felt like it had been hit with a sledge hammer. His muscles ached and head hurt.
Flying Cloud touched his face gently and wiped away the dirt smudges from his face. She reached out to him and placed her medicine bag on his chest once again. Slowly the reddish bruises and burns across the right half of his body faded, and Jacob began to move his arm and leg again.
“Are the Adherents coming this way?” Jacob asked when he could finally move. He raised his head and stood carefully. “Thanks, Flying Cloud. I feel much better.” He reached down and helped her to her feet, noticing how soft her skin felt in his hands.
“No, the prisoners you freed have been firing muskets from the doors and windows,” Bella replied. “We’re pretty much at a stalemate. They have the entrance to the jail well controlled, but we can harass them enough that they can’t move very well either.”
“Bella, can you take us through the mushroom ring to Ringrose Peak?” Jacob asked as he picked up the egg. “If we can return this to Yerdarva, she’ll be able to help us.”
“I think I can,” Bella replied. “The trails under the world are twisted, and traveling through them takes a quick eye and an even quicker mind.”
“There’s a small gate leading outside,” Flying Cloud pointed to the north of where they were. “We should make for it now before more Adherents arrive and
block our escape.”
“Are you ready?” Jacob asked.
“I should be asking you if you’re ready,” Flying Cloud said with a smile.
“Whatever you did to me I feel like a million bucks,” Jacob said as he stretched. They heard a shout from across the grounds, and two energy shots slammed against the wall behind them.
“Watch out,” Bella said with a snort. She leveled her bow but held her shot as the only target she could see was well beyond the range of her weapon. Her quiver was more than half empty already, and they still had hours left before midnight, so she saved the arrows she had remaining.
“Ready?” Jacob asked them. He had managed to pull his shield and sword over to where he could grab them. He checked the straps one last time. “Stay close and stay behind me. The shield will block the shots.” He placed his sword back in its sheath and once again took up the egg.
Flying Cloud and Bella crouched behind Jacob, awaiting his signal.
“Here we go!” Jacob called. He bent almost double and began to move quickly towards the distant gate. It was less than one hundred feet, but it was the longest race he’d ever run. Balls of energy careened off his shield and splattered into the wall behind them while other shots dug furrows into the ground and spat dirt into the air.
Jacob saw one Adherent stand to take a better shot, but he was knocked back by a musket volley from the well-defended block house.
“We made it!” Flying Cloud laughed as they skipped out the small gate and ducked around the edge of the wall away from the view of the castle grounds. The castle was on the southern arm of the land surrounding Big Bay. As they ran down the sloping hill, they entered an area filled with swamps and pools of standing water.
“Ick!” Flying Cloud muttered as they forced their way through the swamp, quickly getting covered in mud and muck. When they finally broke free, Bella was the only one not filthy. The only thing clean on Jacob was the egg, which he had held high in the air.
“Come on,” Bella cried. “It’s not too much further.”
The mushroom circle was on the northern half of the island. They ran through the dark forest and stamped through heavy brush until it finally came into view.
The circle was atop the only hill in the area, and it stood about two hundred feet above the lake surface, Jacob panted wildly as they ran up the slope. By the time they reached the top, he was completely winded, and his side hurt worse than running sprints during football practice.
“It’s over here,” Bella said excitedly. She pointed across the top of the hill to where a small circle of trees watched over the mushrooms.
“Wait a second,” Jacob replied as he turned and looked back at the castle. Two big Ironships were pulling into the docks, and they could see the small figures of Tasker’s freedom fighters leaping down to the docks and rushing into the castle. But far out on the lake he saw an ominous grouping of lights that looked similar to those on the Ironship Tasker controlled.
“I think someone is coming,” Jacob muttered. “And I don’t think it’s good.”
He turned and rushed to the mushroom circle, “It’s all up to you Bella.” He grabbed Flying Cloud’s hand and put his finger out to where Bella could grasp the digit in her tiny hand. With a flash of light, the mushroom circle opened and the landscape around them was gone.
* * * * *
This time Jacob’s trip through the tunnels that connected the mushroom rings was much different from when Tasker had taken them through it. They careened off walls, and twice Bella was forced to do what Jacob thought looked like a huge loop to catch a turn they had missed. When the growing circle of light finally showed that they were approaching an exit, Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. Then they were forcefully expelled from the mushroom ring, and Jacob sprawled out on the ground holding the egg high to avoid damaging their precious cargo.
“We made it!” Bella squeaked, and she sounded surprised.
“I knew we would,” Jacob said with a big grin as he climbed to his feet. “I always had faith in you.”
Bella blushed and fluttered over to sit on Flying Cloud’s shoulder. Her face reddened, her wings curled around her and hid all but the tips of her toes behind them.
“Come on, let’s deliver Yerdarva’s egg,” Jacob said excitedly. He reached out to Flying Cloud and took her hand. Together they jogged around the lake towards the distant gash in the great mountain. The energy that Jacob had gained began to wane as they ran, and he struggled to even keep pace with Bella’s excited fluttering.
“Young Runner!”
Jacob stumbled as a great voice shook the mountain and brought them to a halt. He stood with his legs trembling as the great red dragon emerged from her lair and moved towards them in great leaps. When she arrived, he carefully held out the egg to her and watched as she daintily took her offspring in her talons and turned back towards her lair.
“Wait here,” Yerdarva instructed them. Somewhat slower then she had arrived she walked back to her lair and disappeared inside.
They waited for nearly an hour until the dragon emerged again with a leather pack held in her mouth, she walked to where they were and laid the pack on the ground. “Here is food and water. You need to rest while I arrange the protection of my offspring. Then I will show you the foolishness of kidnapping a dragon’s child.”
“Cain’s forces are closing on Madeline Island. They’ll soon have Tasker trapped behind the castle wall there,” Jacob explained as the dragon turned back to her mountain again.
“We will make it there in time, Runner,” Yerdarva said quietly. “That I promise. Once my baby is safe, we will rain fury on Cain’s forces.” Her voice went from quiet to thunderous and drove the three of them to their knees.
“Let’s eat and give her the time she needs,” Flying Cloud said as she put her hands on Jacob’s arm. “You need some sleep too. It’ll help you get your strength back.”
“All right,” Jacob muttered. He enjoyed being near the Lost Ojibwa girl but each time she touched his arm or smiled at him, he still saw Jane’s face frowning at him. He was torn. Both were beautiful and sweet and he liked each of them for different reasons. Jane was exciting, and she was from his world. Flying Cloud was quiet and mysterious, but she was from this world. It made him feel like she was forbidden, but that only made him more interested in her.
They ate fresh fruits and nuts and drank fresh mountain spring water out of skins. Yerdarva had provided several blankets, and when they had finished eating and had brushed off much of the dried muck, they all lay down and were asleep in no time.
* * * * *
Tasker, Eriunia, and Jane ran up the docks, across the wooden structures and through the gates into the castle, following the disorganized horde of goblins and freed slaves. The few Adherents still moving about were captured immediately, and a shout of surprise came from the beleaguered defenders inside the block house.
“Braun,” Eriunia called out when the elf man stepped out of the block house. He waved to her and smiled widely. “It’s good to see you. Does this mean my father has re-opened the passages to this world?” She offered her hand as he knelt and kissed the tips of her fingers reverently.
“No,” Braun replied as he rose to his feet and motioned to the rest of his fellow defenders out of the block house. “A group of trackers begged to be sent out to find the lost princesses, but the Adherents knew we were coming. Thirty set out from Tir Na Nog. The five of us were taken captive, and the rest were scattered to the winds.”
“Something feels wrong,” Jane muttered suddenly from where she stood behind Tasker. She turned and walked away from the small cluster of freedom fighters and the happy reunion. The air felt chill to her, and the night seemed gloomy without Jake or even Flying Cloud. He could be so irritating and yet so likable at the same time. Her mind wandered as she slowly climbed the narrow steps just inside the gatehouse that led to the short squat tower on the left. The stones were thick and looked old despite the claim that the cas
tle had only recently been built. She leaned on the outer parapets and looked out over the moon-lit lake. Away from the lights and smog of the city, she was able to see for miles. Below her vantage point and set in the walls were eight ports where cannons could be fired, four of them sported the flared barrels similar to the muskets, and she shuddered to think of the effect that a blast of that power would do if fired against their rising rebellion.
“Nothing here,” Jane muttered. She was about to turn away from the quiet lake when a flash of light drew her eye. It came again out across the waves, a small flicker of light. Then it began to spread as a long line of warships marched out of the depths of Lake Superior from the east.
“TASKER!” Jane shouted. “Get up here!” Jane turned back to the water and counted until she reached twelve, a dozen of the great iron behemoths. The advancing force was more than a match for their two Ironships even if supported by the big cannons built into the fortress.
“What is it?” Tasker asked as he hurried to the top of the wall. His voice fell as he looked out at the advancing forces. “Close the gates and get our two ships around the far side of the island.”
“We’re horribly outnumbered and have a six to one ship disadvantage.” Puck pointed out. “We can’t win this fight.”
“FINE! Go if you want, but I stop running here!” Tasker erupted. He stamped his foot on the unyielding stones. He turned to the rebels gathering below and motioned for silence. More than five hundred faces looked up at him from inside the fortress, five hundred men, elves, and dwarves along with a sprinkling of other races all waiting for him to speak. “This is where we make our stand. It appears, however, that we have stung Cain more than we thought. He has decided to bring part of his Lake Huron Fleet north to deal with us, but this time he underestimates what we have accomplished. He thinks he can simply walk over the Prison Isles and turn us all back into just that—prisoners.” Silence filled the courtyard as the gathered rebels waited for him to continue. “Do you want to go back to being forced to work for the black robes?” There was a muttering of anger that slid across the gathered rebels.
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