"What?"
"I'm letting you know I understand. You need to make a difference and I'm going to help."
"That's not what I'm saying. The most important thing is to get us home safely. Everything here is an obstacle we have to get past."
"Landry, you're the kind of guy that needs to stop bad things from happening. I've always known that. It's who you are. Not acting on your emotions will change you too. We might not be able to do much, but we can help. At least make it an even fight?"
"How do you propose we do that?"
"If Shamaf knows about magic, then there must be people that have those gifts. Whatever we find here, we share with them."
"Will that be enough?"
"I don't know, but it's a start."
"Then we'd better find out how to train people to use their magic."
"Try the archives again?" Her eyebrows arched upward.
"Sure, maybe there's historical data that might be useful in there."
She harrumphed, but followed Landry back to the disaster area. He settled in for a thorough search. Even though they moved as carefully as possible, the clouds of dust continued to grow as the records crumbled. Landry's eyes itched and watered.
The papers were all written in the ancient script of the wizards and thus unreadable. Landry found a stack of newer papers on the bottom of a back shelf. Although written in the same text, they included diagrams. The stack looked familiar. These had to be the papers Jaron made during his stay.
Although brittle with age, they were not as delicate as the other documents and Landry picked them up without damaging them. He had perceived the remnants of magic protecting other papers, but these had been shielded more recently, the magic still intact. The stack of thirty pages or more looked like a magic guide, or lesson manual for several aptitudes. Toward the back were diagrams of dragons.
"Talia, I found Jaron's papers."
Her head popped up from the table she sat at, her gaze intense.
"And?"
"We'll see. Let's take them back to the other room. I can't take anymore of this papery dust." He nodded toward the door.
She sighed and stretched. "There isn't anything else here anyway."
When they reached the other room, she flipped through the papers. Her brows knit and her lips turned down at the corners.
"It's all in that strange language. Every once in a while a word will pop out. I can guess the topic, but have no idea exactly what it says. Why does he have dragons in here? They're like Jewel." She held a paper up for him to see.
"Wouldn't all dragons appear the same anyway?"
"I guess, but I assumed they'd develop differently if they evolved on another planet."
"Jewel said her kin left Sendek through a portal. Maybe they travel that way all the time? These could be relatives of the dragons that lived on Sendek."
"Maybe. Anyway, how is this going to help us?" She waved the whole stack in the air.
"Since Jaron wrote them, the meaning will be inside his memories. We can use these to make a key for the language. Then Craig and the computer will be able to translate the other records we collect."
She put the papers down. "That might actually work. I knew there had to be a reason I loved you."
"And I thought it was my good looks and ability to save you from imminent death."
"Well, the looks are a definite bonus." She winked at him.
"Come on, we have to find food." He turned to the hall. "Let's go to the garden. We can check out the Oracle while we're in there."
"The Oracle?"
"It fills a lot of Jaron's memories. He held it in high reverence. We should see what it is."
The smell wasn't as bad as the first day, the air filters having worked their magic. It still had that sickly sweet odor of decay, but it no longer made him gag. The plants and flowers were overgrown. The path disappeared under its riot of vines and leaves.
"We could fix a few of the garden bots and let them clear the path to the Oracle. It might take a few days." Landry shook his head. "Until then we can try the fruit trees around the edges.
"No, I want to keep moving. Let's eat, visit the Oracle, and leave."
"We should stay a day or two to translate some pages, see if we can use what's in there. It wouldn't hurt to try a few of the spells."
Talia sighed. "You're right, but I can feel the pull of Sendek. This isn't home, and we've been gone so long already."
"I can feel it rolling off of you. Hang in a little longer. Another day here should do it and we can wait for Craig in the forest. Once we meet up with him we can head home."
"After we share what we've learned with Shamaf's people."
Landry picked a long cutting tool from the ground. "We'll see."
The curved farmer's scythe was surprisingly light for steel. The metal handle, inlaid with intricate designs, pulsed with a strange energy in his hand. He bent forward, ready to swing, and the vines curled away from the path.
Talia gasped.
"Is it the blade, or did you reach them?" Landry asked.
"It wasn't me. These plants don't hear me when I talk to them, but nothing else has either."
"Interesting." He walked forward, waiting long enough for the path to appear before them, plants and vines crawling off the stones marking the way.
Talia followed, stopping every once in a while to touch a plant or smell a flower.
"What are you doing?"
"I think they're genetically engineered. They're closer to the automaton than real plants. Can I see that scythe?"
Landry held the blade out for her. She fingered the handle, traced the lines, following them to the base. She gripped the handle and pushed gently on the end until it opened. A tube popped out, glowing soft blue.
"I knew it. This is a battery, and the blade emits a pulse the plants are programmed to recognize."
"Why?"
"They created their own fruits and vegetables. My guess is these are high in all the essential nutrients. It saves time, simplifies the eating process, and makes the compound self-sustaining." She reached out and plucked a dark purple fruit from the bush beside her.
It rested in the palm of her hand, roughly the size of her thumb. She rolled it around and then put it in her mouth. Her eyes closed, her jaw moved as she chewed. A low moan passed her lips.
"Talia?"
"You have to try these." She reached out and collected another one off the branch. "Here."
He took it, but hesitated before eating it. "Eating strange fruit doesn't seem like a good idea."
"What did you think we were going to do in here? Why would they plant anything in here that wasn't edible?"
"For spells or potions? And as for eating, I planned on searching Jaron's memories." He closed his eyes and searched through his memories. "Okay, all the fruit is edible. It's the herbs that get tricky."
Talia grabbed several more of the large berries.
"Come on, the middle can't be too far away." Landry pushed the battery back into the handle and the hum of electricity started again. It wasn't much different than the current that flowed through him when he touched Talia.
They continued down the path as it turned and wove its way to the center of the garden and a round building, made entirely of marble. There were no windows, and the door didn't have a knob or handle.
"There has to be a power source for the door. Or maybe you say magic words like you did for the mountain side?" Talia circled the building.
"Let me think." Landry closed his eyes, and leaned against the wall. When Jaron visited, the Oracle doors were open. "No help in his memories. Did you find anything?"
"Maybe." Her voice came from the other side.
When he reached her, she crawled on hands and knees digging in the dirt. The rich earth came away easily in black handfuls, while little puffs filled the air with its scent. She uncovered a gray tube.
"Is that the power source you were looking for?"
"No, it's a dig
ital data feed wire. Interesting. Wait, here's another one." She dug faster and uncovered several more wires. "One of these is the power. This one, and that's another data feed. I have an idea." She stood and walked back to the door. "Hold the blade up to the door."
Landry did as she asked. The current pulsed stronger, but nothing happened.
"Wait there." She ran behind the building again. "Okay, try now."
Once more he lifted the blade. The pulse thrummed through his fingers and up his arms. His arms vibrated and grew heavy as lead.
"I'm not going to be able to use my arms in another minute." He heard a hiss, and the door lifted from the ground and slid upward and out of sight. "It worked!"
When she came around the building she looked pale, and dark circles had appeared under her eyes.
"What did you do?" Landry dropped the tool and grabbed her as her muscles gave out.
"It'll be all right. Give me a minute to rest. I did the jump-start thing again. The building must not be connected to the main generator." Her breath sounded shallow, but it strengthened as she spoke.
"Talia, you have to stop doing that. Or, at least learn to control the flow better." He pushed her hair back from her face.
"Yeah, but when am I supposed to practice that? Don't answer, help me up."
The chamber was empty, except for a large column in the center and electric candles set into alcoves around the room. The column slowly turned until it revealed a square opening cut into the side at hip level. A control panel blinked white and blue above the maw.
"How do you think it works?" Talia laid her palms on the side of the column, closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against it. Her hands glowed.
"I need help, put your hands over mine," she whispered, and Landry obeyed.
Her mind synced with his. He saw the lines of energy moving through the structure in rivers of blue and green. None of it made sense to him, but he sensed Talia's satisfaction.
"It's functioning perfectly, but I can't tell what it's for or how to use it."
"Let's search Jaron's memories. I remember him being afraid of what he learned here, so the memory is in there."
"Okay." Talia stepped away from the machine and tuned her thoughts into Landry's mind.
Together they sifted through quickly. Memories streaming through a sieve. Landry saw one or two of his fall through and hoped Talia hadn't focused on those.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
"Not sure. I'llknow it when I find it." She strained to talk as the images sped by faster. "Search for the Oracle."
Jaron's memories were tossed around, more of Landry's slipped in and he tried to lock them away tighter.
"What's that one?" Talia whispered. She focused on a memory that didn't belong to him or Jaron. It had been buried deep within the old wizard's mind and unwittingly passed to Landry.
"Did Jaron know these were here?" She moved around the image.
"Probably not. It isn't really a memory anyway."
It more closely resembled a kernel of knowledge, crushed and disfigured as if someone had tried to forget it. This thing wasn't tied to any event in time, but true nonetheless. Talia reached out and touched it.
The kernel exploded. Wave after wave of power, images, sounds and sensations rushed over them. Every muscle tensed as electricity flowed through them. Each second contained a lifetime of information moving so fast they could barely focus on one thing before a hundred more pressed into them. A final burst of gale force images crashed over them before it ended.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Landry sat up and looked for Talia. She'd been knocked down and pushed half way across the room. "Are you okay?"
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but it was powerful. Did you retain any memory from it?"
"An image, an idea about the dragons, but I can't quite--"
At the mention of dragons, Landry's memories fell into clarity. He couldn't understand it all, but he clearly saw the dragons supervising wizards as they built the Oracle. Other images taught him how to use it.
"The dragons put the Oracle here." Landry helped his wife from the floor. "We simply place a drop of blood into the opening and stand for a full body scan."
"Let's try it." Talia held up a hand. "Here, cut my finger with your knife."
"Why do you get to do everything first?" Landry pricked his own finger and moved her aside.
He squeezed his finger until the blood dripped onto the plate inside the opening. Then he stepped back and stood on a stone darker than the others. "Now you push the top button on the panel over there."
Talia pushed it and a deep red light engulfed him. Instinct screamed at him to move away from the pulse, but some unseen force kept him rooted to the spot. A slow moving current started at his head and worked its way to his feet. A low monotone voice filled the room.
Strength untapped. Tested to the brink of despair. Follow your heart and all will be repaired. The cost is great, but the sacrifice must be made.
The light faded and Landry regained control of his muscles. A scroll materialized in the dark hole and Talia picked it up.
"It says the same as the recording." She held it out to him.
"Not very helpful. There's always unmet potential, and sacrifice is part of my military career."
"It doesn't know you're in the military." Her hand remained stretched out.
"What?"
"Give me the knife. I want my fortune read too," she teased.
He reluctantly passed it to her. She repeated the process and stepped onto the stone. The red light flickered and turned green while she stood waiting for the voice.
Sadness and joy, joy and sadness. Pain begets growth, growth leads to truth. Loss will lead to the creators and the gift you crave most.
Talia shuddered as the light disappeared. "That doesn't sound like much fun."
"It doesn't mean anything. There are probably lots of pre-programmed prophecies based on blood type and iron levels. Have you seen enough?"
"Yeah. Let's go back to the computer room. We can take a hard drive back to the Vis Vires, let Craig work his magic on the way home."
"It would be good to know what part the dragons played in all of this. They keep popping up." Landry followed her back into the garden.
"Maybe I can contact Jewel through a dream tonight. Ask her about dragon history."
He nodded, but found himself wishing he could speak with the dragon again too.
Later that night, Talia closed her eyes and pictured the only dragon she'd ever met. It didn't take long before she felt weightless. She squeezed through the eye of the needle and shot across the galaxy. When she opened her eyes, she stood on a rocky cliff beside a sea. Mountains rose in the distance. There were trees a few feet away. Sentient, loud, boisterous trees! Talia reveled in the sound of them deep in her soul.
"This is getting to be a habit." The voice of the dark haired woman came from somewhere behind Talia.
"Where are you?" Talia turned slowly but couldn't find her.
"Here." Jewel dropped from a low branch, landing effortlessly on the ground in her human form. "What do you need Talia?"
"Why do you keep taking that shape?"
"Does it bother you?"
"No." Talia rubbed her necklace. "Maybe a little."
"Why?"
"You look so much like Landry. Why would you choose to do that?"
Jewel laughed and sat on a rock. She waved Talia to another one. "Believe it or not, I wasn't always a dragon. I was a woman named Della. Sometimes I miss being her and in the dream realm I can put on her form again."
"I don't understand."
"Of course not. The dragon lords didn't plant the seeds of religion on Sendek."
"But we have religions. Lots of different ones."
"Men need something greater than themselves to believe in. Often they create their own supernatural devices to justify their actions. If you're lucky those beliefs lead you to be kinder to
those around you, but no one on Sendek knows the truth anymore."
"Does the truth have to do with dragons?" Talia leaned forward, watching the eyes as blue as her husband's. "That's why I'm here. I need to know about the dragons on Orek and Sendek. Are they related?"
Jewel's musical laughter blended with the trees. "There's not nearly enough time to cover that, but all the dragons in the universe are related."
"Okay. You said you were a woman. Did you live on Sendek?"
"Yes. Oh so long ago." Jewel studied the ground, her brow furrowed. "We held great potential in those days, but we weren't ready."
"Ready for what?"
Jewel shook her head and smiled. "Nothing. Did you want to ask me anything else?"
"Jaron became obsessed with the dragons on Orek almost as much as the Dragumon. Why? What did he know that we don't?"
"Talia. You're not ready for what he suspected. One day you might be, but not now. It's time you returned to your body."
"But it's only been a few minutes."
"A few minutes here, but hours there. You should leave the mountain and return to Sendek."
"But--"
Jewel strode out of the trees, headed for the cliff edge. Talia followed. When they reached the edge, Jewel looked back.
"Be patient. You will know all soon enough." She turned and leapt from the cliff. Her dragon form burst out of the human skin and she stretched her wings and glided away.
Talia thought of her body. She remembered the familiar pull and found herself settling into her own skin again.
"Glad you're back." Landry murmured against her cheek. "Now we can both sleep."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Landry reviewed the papers while reliving Jaron's memories, slowing them enough that Talia could write the words flowing through his mind.
"Landry, this is exactly what we need." She continued to transcribe the explanation on opening portals. They had already translated several pages on types of magic and spells.
"It also outlines a theory the Orekian council had been researching. This is what took Jaron from Orek and saved his life." Landry mentally flipped through Jaron's studies and concentrated on the ones in the back.
Dawn of the Mages (The Magic Wakes Book 2) Page 18