"The pages on dragons?"
"Orek's history spoke of dragons communicating with the early wizards. I saw an instance of that yesterday with the Oracle. They also planted scientific and magical ideas, but when men warred over whether science or magic would govern the people, the dragons left Orek."
"That's similar to what Jaron found in Sendek's history." Talia stared at the drawings sitting on the table.
"Jaron suspected the dragons originally came from somewhere else. Here, this is a list of planets he believed the dragons had visited over the eons." Landry held the last page for her to see and pointed to one name in particular.
"Akora-chi," she whispered as she took the page from him. A shudder ran down her spine, and she remembered the taste of blood on her tongue. Shishali, the red Dragumon had shared the memory of killing on that planet. "Nibiru. Medago. Demaria! Landry, they exiled the Dragumon to another world they had visited."
"It appears so. If Jaron was right about his theory."
"But why move from world to world? Why leave them behind?" Talia asked.
"They always left when the humanoid population reached a certain scientific knowledge. Maybe there's a tipping point tied to our evolution that causes the dragons to move on? Here's the thing, Jaron never saw the dragons as a threat to man. When I search his memories, I get the feeling he held them in high regard, almost religiously."
"Jewel mentioned a faith revolving around the dragons." She handed the paper back, and he put it in the stack.
"We have so much to learn. And so little information." Landry stretched.
Talia looked thoughtful. "Okay, let's see if we can work any of the spells. If you want to start a revolution on this planet, we may need a few more weapons in our repertoire."
"All right, how about the one about portals? That came in handy for getting away from the Dragumon." Landry put down his papers and joined his wife. "All we have to do is visualize the destination, expand our energy to fold the space between our location and the endpoint. Then we open a rift in the fabric of here and now."
Talia laughed. "Yeah, that sounds easy. There's a reason we haven't developed a ship as advanced as Jaron's. We don't know how to fold the fabric of space and time, much less tear it so we can step through it. The amount of energy needed to power such an opening is phenomenal." She threw her hands in the air.
"Maybe not. Maybe it's magical."
"Kind of like Jaron's ship?" She calmed back down. "Their ships are way beyond ours, but not as efficient as magically jumping through a portal. We're missing something."
"We always will be. Let's try it and see what happens. Do you want to go first?"
"Sure." She looked around the room. "Okay, I'll stand in the corner and try to move myself to the door."
She walked to the far corner and closed her eyes. After a few minutes of nothing she opened them again.
"I don't know what I'm doing. Why don't you try? You at least have Jaron's memories to pull from."
"All right." He traded places with her.
Landry studied the area of the room closest to the door for several minutes, memorizing every detail, marking the distance between him and the walls. When he closed his eyes, he envisioned the room and with another part of his brain reviewed Jaron's memories. Unfortunately, Jaron opened portals instinctually. Landry needed more instruction. He tried anyway.
He pushed his energy outward, feeling it expand to fill the room. Then he imagined himself by the door. Nothing happened.
How do you fold space? He tried to imagine the room folding in half. The bottom of the floor dipped downward in the middle of the room, drawing the door closer to him as the floor fell farther away. In his mind, the door was one step forward, but when he stepped forward he hit a solid barrier.
"I hit some kind of barrier. Think that's what I need to tear through?"
"Maybe?" Talia moved to stand beside him. "What does it look like?"
"I can't see it." He took her hand. "What if we tried together?"
The familiar wave of energy filled him at her touch, and the swirl of whispered thoughts coalesced into coherent words within seconds.
"How far did you get? I couldn't figure out how to fold the space." Talia's inner voice sounded in his mind.
"I folded the space but couldn't get past the barrier."
"You lead then."
Together they expanded their energy into the room once more. Talia shared the vision of the door as Landry dropped the floor. It snapped quickly with the extra power.
"Cool."
"Talia, lead us forward. Maybe since the ship flies for you, portals will work for you too."
"Okay, here we go." Talia stepped forward and the familiar pull of the ethereal realm sucked them forward.
"It worked!" Landry hugged her. "I'm a little sad I can't do it on my own, but you need to practice. It'll make me feel better knowing you can step through a portal to safety if needed."
"I'll practice portals if you practice the mind control Jaron said you could do." She held his face in her hands.
"I won't ever do that." He shook his head.
"Do it for me, for no other reason than you need to understand how it works in case someone tries it on you."
"I'll think about it. We should leave tomorrow. Craig must be well enough to travel by now, and they won't know how to get past the magic barrier. We need to be out there waiting for them."
"There's one thing we still haven't figured out. How did Orek combine magic and tech successfully?"
"The cities should have historical archives. We'll try and access one before we leave."
"Landry, how are we going to do that with the Controllers looking for us?"
"Carefully."
"Maybe we shouldn't. We've been lucky so far, but I haven't forgotten the dream."
"It'll be fine."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Landry and Talia stood outside the mountain door in the brisk winter air. A light dusting of snow had fallen while they searched the mountain, but the day's sky remained clear. Both suns hung low in the sky, dipping ever closer to the horizon. The world smelled of frozen mud and the faint traces of a fire carried on the breeze.
"Someone's close." Landry stretched out his senses, but the fire starter hovered out of his range. "Hopefully it's Craig and Shamaf with a warm place to sleep tonight."
"I can't wait to show Craig our translation. It shouldn't take him long to confirm what we figured out." Talia shifted the weight of her packs.
She carried Jaron's original documents as well as their transcription. The second bag held fruit from the garden. Landry carried a pack of food and one of the computer hard drives they'd taken from inside the mountain.
"Let's get going. We'll circle around that way and try to approach the camp from the cover of the trees."
They walked along the mountain face, away from the fire before passing through the holographic cover into the field. A quick glance around didn't reveal any threat, but Landry pushed them toward the trees. When they reached them, he searched for the emotions from the camp. He found them, fuzzy and distant, but strong enough to separate two people.
"We need to get a little closer to be sure, but it's a good chance it's Craig." He pressed forward.
The snow and leaves crunched under their feet. Landry waved at Talia to stand still. He reached for her hand. "We'll never be able to sneak up on them. Let's see if I can reach farther with your help."
"What should I do?"
"Nothing." Landry allowed Talia's life energy to meld with his. Once more he tried to feel the surrounding emotions.
"There. One is very impatient, anxious even. The other is amused by it, but his patience is laced with hope. He's also got the same calm signature Shamaf had."
"Craig and Shamaf then?" Talia asked aloud.
"Yep. I'm ninety-five percent sure of it." Landry kept her hand and they broke a path through the trees until they saw the light of the fire.
"Yo
u make an awful lot of noise for a military man." Shamaf stood with his hands stretched to the warmth of the flames, a pot of murky liquid simmering in the coals. The smell of garlic and meat broth mingled with the sooty smell of the fire.
"It's these blasted Controller boots. Glad you found us." Landry nodded at Craig. "How's the shoulder?"
"Healing quickly. They've got good medicine if nothing else."
"How did you get in?" Shamaf nodded his head toward the mountain. "We couldn't even reach the base of it."
"It's a long story." Landry set down his bags and took Talia's from her. "We brought more food."
Shamaf reached behind him and produced two coats from a cart. "I thought you might need these."
"Thank you, Shamaf." Talia took one of the thick woolen coats and put it on. "I don't know what it is about Orek, but I feel like I'll never be warm again."
"It's the damp season. In a few months it'll be nicer." Shamaf passed out a fat loaf of bread and four bowls. "Have a seat and we can continue the discussion that got interrupted a couple days ago."
"Have you been waiting long?" Talia sat on a log that had been rolled over to the fire.
"Yes, we've been freezing to death for two days waiting for you." Craig didn't appear that cold bundled in his coat with a blanket wrapped around his legs.
"Why did you come so soon? Are you really doing okay?" Talia moved closer. "I could heal you the rest of the way if needed."
He scooted away and almost fell off his log. "No, no. Shamaf's people did a good job. I'm fine."
"In that case, wait until you see what we brought you from the mountain." She returned to her original seat.
Once everyone had a bowl of soup and some of the fruit from the mountain, Shamaf said, "Tell me about the mountain. Legend says that's where the wizards lived, where they kept all their knowledge."
"What do you know about the wizards? You don't sound afraid of them," Landry asked.
"Magic used to be a part of life here. No one alive remembers that time, but the stories have been passed down. We talk about those times and wait for someone brave enough to reveal our secrets."
"Your secrets?" Talia looked from Shamaf to Landry.
"Some of you can still feel the magic, can't you?" Landry set down his bowl.
"Yes, but we're too scared to do anything about it. If we're caught it's the death penalty. And some of us don't have useful magic." Shamaf poked at the fire.
"Do you have magic, Shamaf?" Talia put her bowl down too.
Shamaf looked at her and nodded. "It's useless though. When Malik brought you to the house I could see the aura around you. I knew you both had great magic potential." He pointed to Landry. "Your aura looks similar to most of us here on Orek, but hers..." He stared at Talia once more. "Hers is different. I didn't notice it at first, but after her dream I could see it better. All reds and yellows."
"Well, she's one of a kind on our world too. We're not sure why, or what that means, but I'm not letting her out of my sight. Have you ever been in the mountain?"
"I've never been inside. Did you find lots of information there?"
"No, but we hope the little we did will be enough." Talia finished the fruit and tossed the core into the underbrush. "You can see magic potential in people. Anything else?"
"Unfortunately not. See useless."
"Maybe not." Landry looked at Shamaf closely. "If we're going to start a revolution you're going to need as many people who can do magic as you can find. At least they can't lie to you about it."
Shamaf laughed. "So you've decided to help me get things moving in that area have you?"
Landry shrugged. "We can't do much, but we'll share what we found about magic from the mountain. See what we can do to take out the Controller leadership. That'll be the fastest way to change things."
Craig had sat in silence throughout the conversation. He poked at the soup, but didn't eat any. Mostly he stared at the ground. At the mention of staying, he looked up with a scowl. "I'm grateful Shamaf and some of his friends helped me, but this isn't what I signed up for. We need to get back to the ship and go home."
"We don't have to stay long. Don't you want to help them?" Talia asked.
"No. Cooley's dead. We've been here a week and I've been shot. Now I'm wet and half frozen. I want to go home. Not get killed for people I don't know."
The emotions flowing from Craig surprised Landry. He'd been anxious, but Landry never would have pegged him for a coward. "Fine. You don't have to help. Go back to the ship and hide if you want, but we're going to do what little we can."
"I'll gladly go back to the ship." Craig stood. "But Talia should come with me."
"No way. I'm not splitting up from Landry. If I do the dream will come true." Talia stood too and placed her hands on her hips.
"Don't be stupid." Craig spat the words out. "Running off to play hero will get you killed and then Sendek will end up like this world. Is that what you want?"
"Say what you really think, Craig." Landry barked back.
"If you get killed I'll be stuck here forever."
Talia shuddered as his words sank in. She looked to Landry. "We can do this. Right?"
Landry reached for her hand. "Piece of cake, remember?"
"Why do you think this is going to be easy? I need to know." She spoke low, almost in a whisper.
"Because I've completed similar missions on Sendek." Talia swallowed, and Landry felt her acceptance. "You suspected?"
She shrugged. "You said once that peace was an illusion in Algodova. It's the way you said it."
"Talia, you know I--"
"I don't need to know anything about it. I know why you do it, and I've seen into your heart. It's enough."
"Great. Both of you are determined to rush to your deaths." Craig threw his hands up and turned to pack his things. "Do what you want. You're condemning me to death as well as leaving all the mages on Sendek at the mercy of the non-mages. How long do you think they'll be able to keep peace?"
Shamaf listened with furrowed brow. "What's going on with your world?"
"We may have survived the Dragumon's attack, but they didn't leave us unscathed." Landry held Talia's hand while Craig packed.
"You mentioned that before. We've got all night for stories." Shamaf sat back down. "Craig, you should at least wait until sunsrise as well. Even with your maps and geospatial locator you'll regret traveling in the dark."
Craig kicked his bedroll a couple of times. "I hate this place."
Landry noticed Shamaf's mouth twitch. The big man put more wood on the fire. The flames sputtered before jumping higher, the heat flowing outward.
Talia led Landry back to their seats. "We'll tell you about Sendek, and you can tell us all you know about the, what did they call him?"
"Kalto Bargoron."
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
"Sounds like you've got problems, but they aren't that bad." Shamaf tossed another log on the fire.
"Not yet." Landry sat with his arm around Talia, keeping the blanket wrapped around her. "We're trying to keep it from getting worse."
"I can understand that. It wasn't so bad here in the beginning. The first hundred years or so were hard, but people worked together. There were a few wizards that had been off planet. As the ships returned, so did they."
"And no one blamed them?" Talia asked.
"Not at first. We needed them."
"What changed?" Landry asked.
"There weren't a lot of wizards, and most of them were older. As they died, we lost the use of various tech. The scientists had to work extra hard to make up the difference, but they did. I guess people started to realize we didn't need magic to have nice things."
"But your people combined technology and magic before that time?" Talia's eyes sparkled in the firelight.
"That's what all the stories say."
"It's as we thought. The star drive wasn't the only thing that needed both." Talia spoke to Landry's mind.
"But it d
oesn't tell us how they did it."
"I know. If--"
"That's what they do, Shamaf." Craig spoke from his bedroll. "They talk to each other in their heads and leave the rest of us out."
"I'm sorry, Craig. I forget when I get excited." Talia tried to soothe him. "We already figured out that the star drive in our spaceship works on a combination of magic and science. We simply don't know how."
"They might have research records in the Archives. We lost the ability to travel between stars when the wizards withdrew into hiding." Shamaf stroked his beard.
"When did that happen?" Landry shifted his weight and tried to get comfortable.
"Before Kalto's time. His father was an outspoken man. He might have been the most charismatic of the magic naysayers. As the anti-magic sentiment grew, those who were known for magic moved out of the cities and into the countryside. They were the first outliers. By the time Kalto rose to power we could only fly to the moon and back. Over time I believe Kalto connected the dots."
"Is that why he's testing for magic with the virus?" Talia wiggled out of the blanket and stood.
"Need something?" Landry asked.
"A stretch, and maybe a softer bed." She winked at him. "What do you think Shamaf? Is Kalto trying to get back into space travel?"
"Possibly. He started out fairly decent if twisted in his view of the wizards. Originally people had to be elected to the office of Bargoron. Kalto's campaign centered on getting back to space and learning what had become of the Dragumon. He promised to protect us by finding and destroying them."
Craig spoke up again. "That doesn't sound so bad. All we have to do is tell him they're already dead, end of story, no revolution needed."
"Maybe that would have worked if you'd arrived in the first five or ten years of his reign. His mind has been warped over the last seventy years."
"He's been in office seventy years?" Talia sat back down beside her husband.
"No, he's been in for eighty."
"How old is this guy?" Landry asked.
"He looks to be in his thirties, but that's because he's using magic or medicine to stay young."
Dawn of the Mages (The Magic Wakes Book 2) Page 19