by D K Drake
“That’s what Vince told me, but I didn’t believe him, and I don’t believe you. How can you befriend a man who is competing against you in the Battle of the Throne?”
“Actually, Ravier,” Micah said, crossing his arms as though the sword near his face didn’t bother him, “I’ve dropped out of the competition. I was fighting as my father’s proxy anyway, and I’ve decided he doesn’t deserve to retain the role of king.”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you.”
“Then trust me.” Javan put his hands on Ravier’s and pushed his sword to the ground. “Micah is on our team. You don’t have to like him, but you do have to let him live.”
“Why? In addition to countless other atrocities, he tossed both me and your mother in a dungeon, then tried to kill my wife and everyone else in Gri with his dragon.”
“‘Tried’ to kill?” Taliya noted that key word while putting her hand on Javan’s arm. Her loved ones might be dead, but she wanted Javan’s family to be alive and well. “So they are all safe?”
“I am not going to divulge any information about my family in the presence of this Hunter. If you insist on his continued presence, then I insist you keep personal matters personal and heed any warnings I present that indicate sabotage.”
“Micah isn’t here to sabotage anyone,” Taliya said, letting go of Javan’s arm and grabbing Micah’s, “but he is going to help me gather food from the garden while you two chat about private family matters.”
“I am?”
“You are.” She tugged Micah toward the garden behind the cabin, thankful for an excuse to get away from Ravier. That man’s intensity made her nervous, and she wasn’t sure she liked this newest addition to the crew.
◊◊◊
“Well?” Javan questioned his grandfather the second Micah was out of earshot. “What happened to my mom and Hannah? Are they safe?”
“Walk with me.” Ravier offered no indication of an answer and began strolling along the river in the opposite direction of Micah and Taliya. Irritated, Javan followed while Ravier continued talking. “Let me make sure I got this right. You tracked down a Dawn Stalker in Keckrick, brought a Protector back with you, turned Micah against his father, and gained the ability to teleport along the way.”
“That sounds about right.” Javan gripped his Noon sword and said, “I can also become invisible.”
“You can what?” Ravier stopped. “Where did you go? How is that possible?”
Javan let go of his sword and crossed his arms over his chest. “The Stalker Swords you thought I was an idiot for choosing as my primary weapon have some added benefits when you add Stalker scales to them.”
“Interesting. It appears you made a wise choice after all.” He began walking again, apparently done with his limited praise. “Fill me in on some details. How did you know about the Dawn Stalker in Keckrick?”
“Varjiek. Getting across the desert with him was quite the ordeal, and I didn’t know Micah was following us until he showed up with Mertzer at Taliya’s house in the western part of Upper Keckrick. The three dragons got into a scuffle just before a wall of white winds blew me, Micah, and Taliya all the way to the southeastern area of Lower Keckrick.
“We were forced to work together to get back to our dragons with the help of the people of Keckrick and discovered this crazy plot of Omri to use the humminglo harvest from Keckrick to create a mind control drug. If he can control the minds of the people of Zandador, it won’t matter if I win the Battle of the Throne. He’ll be able to turn all the people against me.”
“This is a complication we do not need.” Ravier closed his eyes and rubbed his bald head. When he opened them again, he put his hands on Javan’s shoulders. “Developing and distributing that drug will take time, time you must use to complete your collection. Vince said you had a plan to take a Dusk egg to Earth. That’s risky, but I agree that it’s your only option. Omri probably realizes that as well, and that means the portal will be heavily guarded.”
“That’s why I need you to help me get through and back again.” Javan swallowed and decided it was time to press Ravier for information. “My mother knows how to open the portal. Where can we find her to get her help?”
“We can’t. She is no longer in Zandador.”
“Then where is she? Is she safe?”
“After you left us in Gri, she and I began searching the mountains for your grandmother and everyone else who had fled the town. We found them after two days and determined that the best option was to continue north and find a safe haven in the region of Gibbet.”
“That means my mom and grandmother are alive and well?” Javan hugged Ravier. “That’s amazing news!”
“Maybe not.” Ravier unhooked Javan’s arms from around his chest and eased him back. “Your mother was weak from the time she spent in the dungeon and had become quite ill by our second day in the mountains. She was alive when I left the group to return to Zandador, but I am not sure she survived the grueling trip to Gibbet.”
“Oh.” Javan bit his lip and choked back tears. He only had a few memories of his mother since she came into his life a mere two months ago. Surely he had hadn’t saved her from execution simply to have her die in the mountains from sickness. To keep his mind from dwelling on that depressing thought, he changed the subject. “Why didn’t you go to Gibbet as well?”
“I needed to be around to keep track of you. Vince helped me set up a new identity as a soldier in the small fishing town of Ziz south of Japheth.”
“What about Astor and Hamilton?” He hadn’t seen his old, wise mentor and big, burly fighting coach since right after he collected Varjiek. “Where are they?”
“I’m not sure. I left a message for them to go to Gibbet but had to cut off contact once I entered Ziz.”
“Okay, then.” Javan inhaled and let his breath out slowly before continuing. “We’re going to assume Hamilton and Astor are safely in Gibbet with Hannah and my very alive mother. Once I collect these next two dragons, we’ll bring them all home.”
“Javan, if your mother’s not--”
“Stop.” He held up his hand. “I need to believe she’s fine, and I will continue to believe that unless I have evidence that proves otherwise. We aren’t to speak of this again until I have both a Dusk and Midnight Stalker in my collection.”
“Then let’s talk about where we go from here. Where’s this Dusk egg you want to take through the portal?”
“It’s safe…somewhere in Dusk Territory.”
“Are you telling me you don’t have possession of an egg yet?”
“Calm down. I may not have an egg, but I do have a map that shows where the eggs are. There’s just one slight problem.”
“What’s that?”
“The map makes no sense.” Javan had studied the map that Taliya’s dad provided, but with its random pictures and odd poem, he had no idea where to begin to look for the supposed stash of Dusk eggs. “I’m hoping Taliya can figure it out, but first we need to get back to Dusk Territory.”
“All right, but this time I ride on your dragon’s back.”
“Of course. We all will.” Javan wasn’t looking forward to the crowded ride back and wondered how angry he would make everyone if he teleported there ahead of them.
◊◊◊
Micah yanked ear after ear of corn off the tall stalks in the garden and threw them in a burlap sack. He didn’t even like corn. It just happened to be the only food growing around him that wouldn’t squish or splat when he pulled, squeezed, and flung it into the sack.
He had been utterly foolish! How could he have let the Destroyer get that close to him? Why couldn’t he sense that she was trying to kill him? Had he gone soft and lost his edge since becoming one of the “nice” guys?
Seeing Ravier reminded him of his heartless past and the truly awful way he had treated not only Esmeralda and Ravier when they were his prisoners but also anyone who hadn’t done exactly what he wanted when he wanted in the way he wan
ted. He could hear the cries of children as he carted their parents away to prison for some minor infraction of the law and the ear-piercing shrieks of the soldiers who had died in Fury’s Pass because of his self-serving orders.
Ravier should hate him. He hated himself. He had chosen to treat people without respect or common decency. He didn’t belong with people like Javan who treated people well.
A breeze whipped a stalk of corn into his face as Varjiek flew over the garden, skimmed over the river, and landed in the grass near Javan and Ravier.
What were those two talking about? Was Ravier trying to convince Javan to toss him aside? If so, where would he go? What would he do? He wouldn’t be safe anywhere as long as his father wanted him dead.
If he wasn’t safe, Javan and Taliya wouldn’t be either. Maybe it was time to part ways. Working together had been convenient and mutually beneficial for all of them when they were in Keckrick, but that didn’t make them friends or erase the fact that he was now more of a danger than a help.
He plucked one more ear of corn off the stalk and tossed it in the bag, resolving to detach himself from the group. He would return with them to Dusk Territory, meet up with Mertzer, then hide somewhere in the hills away from his past and any hope he ever had of a future.
Chapter 22
Deciphering the Map
Excitement coursed through Taliya’s veins as the purple water and bronze sand of the Dusk shore came into view from her perch at the base of Varjiek’s neck. This time she was here to hunt dragon eggs and no longer had the dread of facing her parents looming over her soul. Once she put eyes on Kisa, they could officially begin their egg-hunting adventure.
Varjiek landed on the soft sand just south of the Zandadorian portal. “Kisa,” she yelled, “we’re back!” She blew her Kisa-summoning whistle that fortunately had not been taken from her in Oer, unhooked Micah’s arm from around her waist, kicked her feet over the saddlebags of food, and slid off the dragon ahead of the three men who had squeezed together behind her. Within seconds, the white dragon gingerly walked onto the sand from behind the trees. “Hello, girl. It’s good to see you! It’s okay if you want to stay in the woods. I know you don’t like the sand.”
Kisa nodded and retreated back onto the solid grassy surface of the woods. Satisfied that Kisa was safe, she turned to Javan. “Javan, where’s the map?”
“I’ll show you after I get my swords back.”
“Oh. Right.” She unbuckled his surprisingly light sword belt and held it out while he freed himself from his spot between Ravier and Micah. She had demanded he give it to her before they left to prevent him from teleporting ahead of them. “Aren’t you glad you made the flight with us?”
“Thrilled.” He walked stiff-legged over to her and snatched his belt. “I think I’m taller and thinner after being jammed between two men twice my size for nearly four hours.”
“It wasn’t exactly a dream ride for me, either,” Micah said, stretching his arms and moving his neck from side to side. “I was trying not to crush Taliya while wondering if Ravier was going to stab me in the back.”
“If I’m going to stab you,” Ravier said, “I’ll do it when you’re looking. I’m no coward.”
“Gentlemen, enough!” Taliya was not about to let the arguing dampen her good mood. “We made it here safely with a good chunk of the afternoon left to begin our search for the eggs. Let’s focus on that rather than your mutual hatred for one another.”
“Deciphering this map is definitely going to take some focus.” Javan pulled the rolled up parchment out of the waistband on his back and spread it out on the sand.
“This is the map my father gave us?” Taliya expected to be looking at a layout of the Dusk Territory terrain with a clearly marked area showing the location of the dragon eggs. Instead, the “map” contained an assortment of random pictures that included an upside-down waterfall, a bird, odd-shaped trees, a mole, a tunnel, a figure eight, and stepping stones all drawn around a poem in the middle of the page. “How are we supposed to find anything using this?”
“You mean this doesn’t make sense to you?” Javan asked.
“Not a bit. Should it?”
“You’re the Protector. Don’t you specialize in deciphering codes?”
“Portal codes, yes. Map codes?” She threw her hands in the air. “I didn’t even know that was a thing!”
“Calm down,” Javan said. “Maybe if we read the poem, we can all figure this out together.”
“Okay,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “You read. I’ll listen.” She sat in the sand, closed her eyes, and waited to hear the words written on the map.
◊◊◊
Javan’s hands trembled as he picked up the poor excuse for a map, but he refused to let his voice falter. He needed to sound confident that they could make sense of the poem. He cleared his throat and began reading the words written on the page:
“Start where water falls up.
Follow the twisting trees.
Travel down through the ground.
Yell where you cannot hear.
Push when the stone yells back.
Duck to enter the cave.
Leave through the one-way door.”
“Nope,” Taliya said, getting to her feet. “That didn’t help. All I have are questions. For instance, where are we supposed to follow these twisting trees to? How do we know when to travel through the ground? For how long? Why won’t we be able to hear anything? How will a stone yell back? What are we supposed to push when it does? Where is this ‘one-way’ door? Why would we need to leave through that? Why can’t we go back out the way we came?”
“You overlooked the most obvious question,” Micah said. “Where does water fall up?”
I know the answer to that.
Javan turned to see Mertzer inching his way toward the group. “Oh? Where?”
The hilly terrain in the middle of the Territory is home to dangerous waters.
“What’s he saying?” Taliya asked.
“I’m not sure yet. Go on, Mertzer,” Javan urged. “Tell me about these dangerous waters.”
They seem to be perfectly peaceful lakes, but you never know when the water will explode up. I have seen animals drinking from these lakes die from the explosions. It is why I only drink from small streams and am terrified of large bodies of water.
“Can you take us there?”
Only if my Master allows me.
“Of course.” Javan turned to the team. “Mertzer knows where water falls up, but Micah, he needs your permission to lead us there.”
“Water really does fall up? That’s a thing?”
“Sounds like you’re stalling, Micah,” Ravier said. “Are you not wanting your dragon to assist us?”
Micah shot Ravier an irritated look, marched over to Mertzer, and climbed on his dragon. “Mertzer will take us there, and we leave now.”
“Great!” Javan clapped his hands together. “Taliya, you ride on Kisa. Ravier, you and I will take Varjiek. Let’s go!”
With the mystery of where to start solved, he began pondering the second problem: follow the twisting trees.
The last time he had entered a forest of twisting trees when he was exploring the area with Astor, the trees had won the battle. With that experience in mind, he wasn’t sure how they were supposed to follow the twisting trees without setting off a maddening series of tree tremors.
◊◊◊
“Micah, slow down!” Taliya’s throat hurt from yelling those words for the hundredth time. Kisa struggled to keep up with the speedy Mertzer, and Taliya once again lost sight of the dragon in front of her. If it hadn’t been for Javan constantly reeling Mertzer back from his spot on Varjiek in the sky, they would have been lost long ago. “This terrain is tough on Kisa.”
They had already weaved their way through a forest of huge, colorful trees, zipped across a narrow valley between two daunting mountains, traversed a long stretch of rolling hills, crossed countless streams, and
wandered through flat plains covered with gorgeous flowers, pausing only briefly along the way to give the Dusk Stalker a chance to eat. Now they were headed up a rocky mountainside in the fading light of day.
“Everything okay?” Javan asked from the hovering Varjiek above her.
“No. Kisa is tired. I’m hungry and cranky. We should be setting up camp, not trudging up a mountain this time of day.”
“We can camp on the wide ridgeline on the other side of this mountain. You’re gonna want to see why we shouldn’t stop here.”
He flew away, and Taliya mumbled to Kisa, “I’d rather have you teleport us back to the flowery meadow for the night, but let’s go find out what campsite Javan has picked for us.” She bent closer to Kisa’s ear. “If you get me to the top of this mountain in the next three minutes, I’ll personally make sure Javan cleans your scales before he gets any sleep tonight.”
Kisa nodded and picked up her pace. They made it to the peak while a few rays of sun still lit the sky. That provided just enough light to show a vast valley filled patches of silver sand, sparkling lakes, and giant, ragged rocks.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Javan asked, walking up to them. Varjiek was floating lazily in the sky while Ravier and Micah each sorted through a sack of food with their backs to each other. Mertzer curled himself in a ball away from everyone with his head facing away from the valley of lakes. “Mertzer says this is the place, but this ridgeline is as close as he’ll get to it.”
“Is he sure? That water appears to be perfectly normal. None of it is falling up.”
“It will. At least it should. Apparently it’s not a constant thing.” Javan shrugged. “I figure we can get some sleep, then begin looking for twisting trees in the morning.”
“Whatever you say.” Taliya tapped Kisa’s neck. The dragon lowered her front legs, allowing Taliya to easily slide off. “By the way,” she said, putting her hand on Javan’s shoulder, “you owe Kisa a bath.”