Tasker and Eriunia crossed the courtyard and entered the block house where the Adherent had been placed into a holding cell and approached the man. He was seated on the stones at the back of the cell and looked up hopefully as they approached, but fear filled his face when Tasker entered. This is something they can use, thought Eriunia, as she followed Tasker into the cell. She stepped forward to take the lead and hoped Tasker would follow her.
“We cannot just kill him, Tasker,” Eriunia said loudly as though trying to convince the dwarf of something.
“What?” Tasker said but he quickly caught on to her meaning and his role. “And why not?” he growled and pulled a dagger from his belt. He examined the blade as if assessing its sharpness. “We are rebels after all. They’ve killed so many of our people. You may have fooled those outside, but you can’t fool me, elf.” Tasker stepped forward with a gleam in his eyes. “I’m going to cut his throat from ear to ear.”
“Soon, my friend, soon. Right now, he can still be of use to us,” Eriunia said, and watched as horror blossomed in the man’s face. She stepped between the seemingly blood-thirsty dwarf and his target. “Give me a chance at least to try to convince him to help us.” She turned to the Adherent captain and said, “Don’t move too quickly. I’m not sure how long I can keep him from harming you.”
“Look, I never wanted anything to do with the Temple,” the Adherent said. “It was join them or see my family hauled off to the mines.” He looked around nervously as two burly human fighters entered the cell. Then Braun slipped in and glared at him.
“I’m sure that’s the case, but my friends here have been severely mistreated by people wearing the same robes you now wear,” Eriunia explained. “They want revenge, and right now the only thing stopping them from taking it is the hope that you can tell us why the Lake Huron fleet was steaming here and what you were carrying.”
“We had no idea anything was happening on the Prison … I mean here on Madeline Island,” he stammered. “This was a routine training mission and delivery of …” he licked his dry lips nervously. “Please, if I betray Cain, he’ll have me and my whole family killed.” He broke down and tears flowed freely from his eyes. “I have a wife and three children living on Manitoulin Island under the thumbs of the Temple priests.”
“Well, sadly for you, if you don’t tell us what Tasker wants to know you’ll probably never see any of them ever again,” Eriunia said as she looked back to where Tasker was edging closer, his dagger ready. His face was locked into a fierce scowl, and his fingers twitched nervously.
Keeping an eye on Tasker, the Adherent said, “Look, Cain’s managed to bring back several advanced versions of muskets from across the Divide. It’s taken them years to discover how to make them work on our side, but he finally managed it. The Black Dawn was carrying crates of the new type of weapon. The ammunition was shipped on one of the other ships. I think it was the Moon Dust.”
“Where’s the Moon Dust?” Eriunia asked curiously.
“It was one of the first ships to dock this morning,” the captain responded. “I think it sank when you opened fire on the docked vessels.”
Eriunia motioned to Braun and he nodded.
When the elf was gone, she turned back to the Adherent. “What else were you carrying?” she asked.
“Nothing, ma’am,” he insisted.
His face was pale, and he licked his lips nervously, telling Eriunia that indeed there was more to his story, but she was running short on time. She stepped aside and said, “Fine, Tasker. He’s all yours. Try not to kill him too quickly. Maybe we can get the rest of the story from him once he feels a little pain.” She turned away in disinterest. “After all, he’s just a human. There are plenty more of those around.” The tone of her voice was cold as if she was discussing the death of a flea or a cockroach.
Tasker smiled and stalked towards the captain, his knife held low. “I’m going to gut him. That’s always a nice, slow, painful death. After all, my own family died by an Adherent’s hand. Why shouldn’t he die slowly, knowing his wife and children will never see him again?”
“No, wait!” the Adherent cried. “One of the other ships was carrying something, something meant to patrol Lake Superior in case someone managed to capture an Ironship.” He scrambled backwards, but the rebel guards grabbed him and restrained him so Tasker could move in nice and close. “I didn’t see it, but I heard about it. They said it was a ship that could go under the water and fire its weapons unseen from the surface. There were also rumors Cain was having something really special built at the Isle of Lakes. A ship meant to spearhead his attack when the Divide falls, but I don’t know what it is. Please don’t kill me.” He pleaded as Tasker’s face came to within an inch of his own face.
“Why not?” Tasker growled. No longer playing at his anger, he was itching to send this filthy Adherent into the afterlife to be judged.
“Please, I told you everything I could,” the captain blubbered. “I just want to see my Marie again, and my babies, my precious babies.”
Tasker stopped and shook his head. He couldn’t kill someone like this. Eriunia was right. He really wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. If they were to succeed, they’d have to take a better road then Adherents. They would not stoop to their level.
“That was why the back of the grounded Ironship was blown outwards,” Eriunia reasoned. She looked at Tasker. “You know what that means. Someone made it out of the ship soon after she entered.”
“The vessel escaped?” the captain said. “That means he escaped.”
“Who?” Tasker asked curiously.
“One of them was onboard,” the captain said with a shudder. “Hired killers from the old world, bronzed skin and dark hair. They send their assassins out of the hidden fortress and leave daggers as calling cards when they kill.” He was nearly whispering. “You can’t see them when they come for you. All you feel is the cold iron as it enters and takes the life from you. Please don’t leave me alone. If Cain finds out I spoke to you, he’ll send one of them after me.” The Adherent captain completely broke down and had to be restrained as he tried to flee, the terror on his face very real.
“Chain him to the wall,” Tasker ordered. “We need to talk.” He motioned for Eriunia to follow him out the door while the burly rebels fastened chains around the Adherent’s arms and locked him securely to the stone wall.
Once outside the cell and with the door securely shut, Tasker turned to Eriunia, “You know what he was talking about, don’t you?” he said. “We’ve never seen one of their kind here in the new world. Cain’s power must truly be growing if he was able to afford to hire the Brotherhood to oversee his intelligence efforts.”
“This complicates things,” Eriunia agreed. “I must tell Braun. He’s one of the few elves outside our refuge who can match blades with a Brotherhood assassin.”
“If he took Jane and the underwater vessel, he’s most likely making for the Isle of Lakes,” Tasker reasoned. “Twenty ships there against our four. We can’t attack by sea. But where brute force fails, maybe subterfuge can succeed.” He motioned for Eriunia to follow him, and they walked to the end of the passage where they could be alone. Slowly as the evening came and deepened, a plan began to take shape. By night they were making arrangements that would either bring them safely through the Isle of Lakes or leave them rotting in the deepest of Cain’s many dungeons.
Chapter 14
Bella’s Troubles
Evening
Jacob slept peacefully, and his body regained its spent energy. When he awoke, the sun was setting behind the surrounding mountains. Flying Cloud was awake and standing near the small lake. Yerdarva had emerged from her lair and was standing across the lake from them facing the broad opening that led into the heart of the mountain.
“How are you?” Flying Cloud asked and smiled at Jacob.
He smiled back and shrugged, “Feeling better than I was before. Where’s Bella?”
“She went to report
to Tasker,” Flying Cloud said. “We’re going to make the trip with Yerdarva.” She tucked her arm into Jacob’s and edged closer as a chill wind kicked up waves on the lake before them. “Burr, it’s getting cold.”
Jacob hesitated a moment, then put his arm around her and pulled her a bit closer. He used his arm to flip his cloak around both of them. The dragon was doing something in front of her cavern. Suddenly the ground shook. She moved away as a great avalanche of boulders cascaded down the mountainside. The opening to her lair disappeared under a pile of stone.
“What’s she doing?” Jacob asked. He tried to focus on the dragon but found himself more interested in the young woman beside him.
“She’s sealing her cavern for now,” Flying Cloud explained. “Watch.” She pointed. The dragon had loosed a belch of dragon’s fire against the stones. Moments later the mass of boulders fused together into a solid mess of iron and stone. “Any creature would be hard pressed to break through that mixture of iron and stone. Her egg should be safe.”
Jacob looked with awe as the dragon loosed several more blasts of fire against the mountainside and sealed away her cavern. When she seemed satisfied, she turned and rounded the lake with great leaping bounds that brought her to them.
“In the morning we’ll head east before the sun rises,” Yerdarva said, her voice a rumble of anger, and her eyes narrowed to mere slits. “Tonight I will hunt and eat my fill.” She leapt into the air, and the sound of wings flapping filled the night. Then silence descended once again.
Jacob and Flying Cloud stood talking for almost an hour near the shore when a sound drew their attention. Jacob turned to see the mushroom ring circling wildly, the lights dancing around and around. Then Bella erupted from the portal and fell limply to the ground. She seemed exhausted. Jacob and Flying Cloud rushed to her side.
“What happened?” Flying Cloud asked as she carefully picked up the limp fairy and cradled her in her own arms. The fairy was panting in exhaustion, and her small body was covered with cuts and bruises.
“A Brotherhood assassin was waiting inside the mushroom circle near Duluth,” Bella panted. She shivered. “It’s cold here,” she whispered.
Jacob grabbed the corner of a warm blanket and cut a section of it for the fairy, carefully wrapping it around her. Then he noticed one of Bella’s wings was badly ripped, and small drops of blood spilled to the ground.
“Her wings,” Jacob whispered to Flying Cloud. “Can you help her heal?” His heart beat wildly in concern as Flying Cloud turned Bella onto her side and looked in horror at the torn wing.
“I don’t know,” Flying Cloud whispered. “Hold her while I get some things from my bandolier bag. We must move quickly before she loses any more blood.” Carefully she wrapped the blanket so that it would not touch the torn wing, then handed Bella’s limp form to Jacob.
“I got lost on the way back and jumped out at Duluth to get my bearings,” Bella murmured. She seemed beyond pain, and her eyes were glassy. “He was on me in a rush, but I managed to stick him once with an arrow. His knife caught my wing as I went back into the circle …” She paused a moment and coughed. “Almost didn’t find my way back …”
“Hold her steady,” Flying Cloud said as she crouched down to where Jacob cradled the fairy. “We have to stop the bleeding.” She held her medicine bag tightly in her hand. She produced a small vial of liquid and poured a small amount into her hand. Carefully she allowed the fragrant oil to touch the wounds. Almost immediately the bleeding stopped. She then reached inside her bandolier bag and pulled out a small crystal.
Jacob cradled Bella’s limp form, while Flying Cloud prayed desperately and carefully placed the crystal against the torn parts of Bella’s wing. With the flow of blood already stopped, she focused on the wing. As she examined it, she saw the wing was torn almost completely from Bella’s back. Carefully she passed the crystal over the fragile, torn membranes, hoping that the crystal’s magic would bring the torn flesh back together.
Jacob’s arms cramped from holding Bella still, and for a while he was not even sure he could still see her chest moving up and down, but after some time she coughed weakly. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled slightly at him.
“I think she’s going to make it,” Jacob said to Flying Cloud.
“I’m glad,” Flying Cloud said weakly. Exhausted, she swayed on her feet, nearly collapsing into the embers that still remained of their campfire.
Jacob managed to free one of his hands and carefully guided Flying Cloud down to the ground next to him. He sat down with his back against a moss-covered tree and managed to tip a log onto the fire with his foot. Next to him, Flying Cloud pulled a blanket up around herself and half across him before she fell into an exhausted sleep with her head resting on his left arm. In his right arm, curled almost into a tiny ball, Bella slept peacefully, her mangled wing limp against her back. It was back in one piece but had not moved once.
Jacob dozed off and on, awaking with a start when Yerdarva returned from her hunt. The dragon looked satisfied and blood dripped from her jaws.
“What happened?” the dragon asked as she walked daintily into the campsite and lay her massive body down next to the fire.
“Bella lost her way and came out of a mushroom circle near Duluth,” Jacob said quietly as he tried to restore feeling to his arms without waking either of the sleeping figures. “She said a Brotherhood assassin was waiting for her and cut her with a knife as she was trying to escape.”
Yerdarva shook her head sadly. “The Brotherhood is an evil organization steeped in dark power. If they’re now employed by Cain, that’s a bad sign. They’re masters of the art of moving in the shadows and killing in silence. They’re as cunning as vipers and deadly as cobras.” The dragon looked down with pity on the tiny fairy. “She’s lucky to have survived the attack and made it back to us.”
“They need sleep,” Jacob said softly as he looked down at the slumbering figures.
“We’ll stay here tonight and leave in the morning,” Yerdarva said. “Rest, Jacob. I’ll watch over your sleep. Tomorrow at first light we’ll move.”
* * * * *
Jacob awoke the next morning with a start as the memories of the night before flooded back to him. His arms were both stiff, but Bella was still sleeping quietly wrapped in a corner of the blanket and Flying Cloud was moving slowly about the camp watching over a pan filled with sizzling potatoes and strips of venison.
“Will she be able to fly again?” Jacob asked softly.
Flying Cloud frowned. “I do not know. The wing was torn so badly, and I’m not the healer my grandpa is.” She carefully took the pan from the fire and dished out portions for each of them. Down by the lake, Yerdarva was sipping water. Now and then she’d flip her head back and send a fish slipping down her long throat.
Jacob sat up. The movement roused Bella, who sat up slowly and craned her head around to look at her wing.
“I can’t feel it at all,” Bella said quietly. Her face showed strain as she tried to move the appendage and failed. She stretched out her feet to the ground as Jacob leaned over and set her down. After a moment her balance returned, and she was able to walk without aid, but the injured wing refused to move. It hung limply at her back even as the other wing beat the air furiously.
“I’ll carry her,” Yerdarva said as she returned from the lake. She fastened a rough harness to her upper back with straps that stretched back to where they would sit.
Jacob and Flying Cloud ate quickly and then kicked dirt over the fire until it was completely out. After gathering what supplies they could carry, they climbed onto the dragon’s broad back. Bella sat before them on the dragon’s powerful shoulders while they got settled.
“Hang on tightly,” Yerdarva said over her shoulder. “The take-off can be a bit rough,” She warned. The dragon gave two great bounding leaps and worked her wings in strong strokes that sent them rocketing into the air and forced Jacob and Flying Cloud to hang on for dear life. B
ella had not stayed on the dragon’s shoulders, but was tucked inside Jacob’s cloak and clung to him tightly.
“How long will it take us to get there?” Jacob called out over the rush of wind. They were circling the lake as the dragon gained altitude. Finally she banked away from the mountain and began streaking over the forest of pines that covered the lands below the mountains.
“Much of the day,” Yerdarva called back as she headed east across the mountains. It was chilly this high up. Despite the sun, the air’s chill left them shivering. “We’ll pass over the Isle of Lakes. I plan to give the Adherents something to think about besides what Tasker and the others are up to.”
“We know Jane’s sister’s being held there,” Jacob said loudly. “Maybe the two of us can sneak in and free her while you provide a distraction.”
“Oh, I’ll be doing a bit more than distracting them,” Yerdarva growled. Bits of smoke puffed from her mouth as she rocketed over the hills and vales. She weaved deftly through passages between mountains and dipped down in valleys unseen. They worked their way east and south stopping only once at the Bighorn Mountains while the great dragon killed several mountain sheep and ate them in great rending bites.
Jacob turned away while the dragon ate. It wasn’t the blood that bothered him, but the flashing of her massive teeth. They made him nervous. When her hunger was sated they remounted the dragon and were off again, soaring over the wide expanses of what would have been North Dakota. Later in the afternoon they passed over a small encampment that hugged the banks of the Red River and began flying over the forests that covered Minnesota. It was odd for Jacob to see the state in such a pristine condition—no highways or power lines cris-crossing the landscape. The rolling hills and forests were broken only by expanses of deep blue water, trademarks of the land of ten thousand lakes.
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