Invasion and Dragons

by Jekka Jones

  It gave Landon hope that Sri’Lanca said “harder” and not “impossible.” The more Landon thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. Sure, it was easy to destroy things with the Seal, but it responded to Landon’s thoughts and attention. It wouldn’t automatically obliterate every weapon and armor in the area, just the ones that he saw.

  “I’ll need to be up high,” Landon said. “It’s the only way I can see enough to disarm the guards and soldiers.” Sri’Lanca and Myra gave him questioning looks, and he explained what it was like to use the Seal. Their faces grew more strained, the bond more clogged with Sri’Lanca’s dismay, when he finished.

  “So, Landon will be taking on every soldier and guard by himself. You will be holding off the dragons, and I will have to get thousands of sick and wounded people to safety,” Myra said slowly. “And then we’ll have to put up defenses as fast as we can in case anyone slips past the Seal.” Her face paled and she looked sick. “Oh angels. How are we going to do that?”

  The dragon was quiet, deep in thought. “I don’t know,” he admitted after a minute, “but it is dark enough that I feel safe to fly. Let’s continue this discussion later. Nothing like the wind on your snout to jog your brain.”

  “Or terrify it,” Landon grumbled. Now that his fear and anger were being directed to something productive, he remembered how much he hated flying.

  When all four of Sri’Lanca’s feet touched the ground, Landon couldn’t hold back a cry of relief. He slid to the earth and sprawled on his back. For a second his distraught emotions dulled, and he felt his homeland whispering to his heart.

  Myra came over and lay down beside him. “It’s good to feel Nircana again,” she said, “even if she’s telling us to flee.”

  “Is that what she’s saying to you?” asked Landon. “I feel like she’s asking us to save her.” A soft rustle of sacks being searched drew his attention. Landon arched his back, rolling his head so he saw the world upside down. “What’re you doing?”

  Sri’Lanca sat on his haunches, a sack lying open at his feet and a wheel of cheese on each of his four claws on one foot. He gave Landon an affronted look. “We haven’t eaten all day, and I’m hungry. I insist you eat something too. We can eat and work out the final details of our plan.”

  Landon wasn’t hungry, but he also wasn’t in any mood to argue with Sri’Lanca. Both he and Myra joined the dragon. They didn’t light a fire, but ate the cheese, some apples, and a small loaf of bread. Sri’Lanca kept urging the two humans to eat more.

  “Why?” asked Landon. “I’m stuffed. I don’t want any more.”

  “You’ve eaten half an apple, and a smidgeon of bread and cheese,” said Sri’Lanca. “You need more. You too, Myra.”

  Myra nudged an apple, looking at it as if it were crawling with maggots. “Not everyone has a dragon stomach, Sri’Lanca,” she said.

  “That is the shock speaking, Myra. We need to eat as much as we can tonight because I will not be able to stomach a breakfast tomorrow. If I won’t be able to eat then, I know for certain you two won’t either.”

  Grudgingly, Landon finished his apple and ate another hand-sized chunk of cheese. It tasted like paper and wood in his mouth, but he managed to choke it down with some water. “There. Happy now?”

  Sri’Lanca huffed. “Good enough.”

  They resumed their planning. None of them considered waiting a day or two, it wasn’t an option. Every hour, every minute, was precious. Landon tried hard not to think about how many people would pass away that night.

  Their plan came together faster than he expected. He, Myra, and Sri’Lanca found solutions to the problem of the weak and sick the moment they began talking.

  “All right,” said Landon, rubbing his hands together. “We wait until mid-morning when the Dragon Guard is well out of sight. But we won’t wait as long as noon in case they send them back into the cages to eat. Our people need to be in the hell hole with their tools when we come.”

  “We fly in,” Myra continued, “Sri’Lanca drops Landon off on the centermost cage and me in the hell hole. Landon will take care of the armies and their weapons, and make sure they can’t attack our people. While he does that, Sri’Lanca and Ti’Luthin will protect our people from the air, and steal weapon carts for us. I’ll send people to help those in the cages and others to defend the edge of the hell hole.” She kept rubbing her stomach, which worried Landon, but he knew better than to badger her about it. His innards were tying themselves into painful knots, and he felt like he was going to throw up.

  “Remember, Landon, you must free Ti’Luthin first,” Sri’Lanca repeated for the second time. “That has to be the first thing you do or else we fail. And do not kill any soldier or guard bearing the dragon mark. That marks a soldier as a tamer,” He nibbled on a wheel of cheese, looking like a large, scaly mouse with wings. “What?” he said when he spotted Landon staring. “I eat when I’m nervous.”

  “We’re planning the biggest prison break in history and you’re eating cheese,” said Landon, half laughing, half annoyed. “Can’t you nibble on something a bit more intimidating?”

  Sri’Lanca glared. “Like a freshly butchered lamb? Ice no! I’m going to nibble on my cheese and you can deal with it.” He took a larger nip and said, “Back to our discussion. I will do my best to protect our people from the air, but I need Ti’Luthin. With his help, he and I can steal the weapon carts and bring them to our people.”

  “As soon as I see him, I’ll do it. But what if he can’t fly?” Landon asked, repeating a concern that kept nagging him.

  “He can, trust me. A dragon can go for days without eating and still fly, and he is being fed. It’s not much, but he will have the strength to fly and breathe fire. He will be strong enough to fight with me.”

  “So long as the Dragon Guard takes their time,” Landon pointed out. His stomach squirmed at the thought. Their plan relied on his people being able to act and organize quickly. Normally, he wouldn’t have a doubt they could, but that was before his people were forced to work under torturous conditions. The anxiety coming from Sri’Lanca revealed that he was thinking the same thing, Myra too, but it was a sign of their hope that no one voiced that concern. They had tried to come up with a solution, but there was none. That part was all in the angels’ hands.

  “We should get some sleep,” said Myra. She forced a smile and clapped her hands. “We have a big day tomorrow!”

  Landon chuckled nervously. In less than twelve hours, they were going to battle against six armies to rescue an entire nation from slavery. Landon’s soul quailed at the prospect of what they were about to do, but he shoved those fears aside. He had the Wizard’s Seal, Sri’Lanca, and Myra. They would succeed.

  They had to succeed.

  Chapter 28

  Landon sat at the mouth of the cave, staring east. The sky was dark indigo with a thin yellow band clinging to the horizon. The sun hadn’t begun to peak into view, and it would be at least another hour before it did. A few clouds hovered in the sky, thick and white, but too far away to offer shade against the coming heat. Landon was anxious for the sun to appear, to signal the start of a new day, yet he had to wait. Just like yesterday, he had to exercise patience.

  “What are you thinking?” asked Sri’Lanca. The dragon crept up to Landon, stepping carefully around Myra’s sleeping form. He settled next to his tamer, all four legs tucked under his body and his long neck folded against his shoulders like a swan’s.

  Landon shook his head. “Nothing. Everything. Sri’Lanca, this rescue mission is either the bravest or stupidest thing ever attempted.”

  “It’s downright insane, Landon,” Sri’Lanca replied softly, “but what else can we do? If we hide and run, then we do so for the rest of our lives and another nation becomes extinct. I . . . I do not wish for that to happen again. There is no glory in death.”

  Landon nodded, thinking about Hondel and the burning shack. “I want to hide the notebook in a better place before we leave,”
he said. “It shouldn’t be left lying around for someone to find.”

  He sensed more than saw Sri’Lanca nod. “I agree.” The dragon’s head turned a bit to peer at Myra. “At least Myra is getting sleep. Do you know if her wound was bothering her?”

  “I think it was,” said Landon, “but she won’t admit it.” He looked up at Sri’Lanca. “Sri’Lanca . . .”

  “Hmm?”

  “What if—what if we don’t succeed? What if we only get a couple thousand out? They’ll kill anyone who’s left behind.”

  “Then we leave no Nircanian behind,” said Sri’Lanca. Terror laced the bond, and Landon felt him trying to stomp it out, trying to replace it with confidence. “It will work, Landon. Ti’Luthin and I will be able to fend off the dragons.”

  “That’s what worries me,” Landon said, and the fear that he had been suppressing rushed from him. “Two dragons against thirty, and all of them can breathe fire. How do you hold them off?”

  “By flying smart and quick.” Sri’Lanca nudged him with his tail. “Don’t forget, I eluded the Dragon Guard for a month before you tamed me. There were some close calls, I admit, but they didn’t catch me.”

  “You were running away from them, not trying to fight them.”

  Sri’Lanca snorted. “Trust me, Landon. Ti’Luthin and I will be able to take care of the Guard. I just want you to focus on the armies.”

  “But how can I help you?” asked Landon, desperate for a plan. It was the only thing that would ease his mind. “If the dragons overpower you, what’s the safest way to stop them without killing them?”

  Sri’Lanca stared at him, and Landon knew he was listening to both the bond and Landon’s voice. “If it comes to that, then somehow knock off their tamers. That’s how I escaped when they nearly had me cornered. Or give them wing pains.”

  “Wing pains?”

  “Cause their wing muscles to contract. It is very painful but not lethal. The dragons won’t fall to their deaths because their wings will lock up and they’ll be able to glide to the ground. Once they’re down, you can release the muscles. They won’t be able to fly again for an hour, and then it will be slow and painful for them.”

  Landon frowned. “You’re saying I give them charley aches in their wings? That’s what we call those muscle spasms. I sometimes get them in my calves and it’s not fun one bit.”

  Sri’Lanca smiled. “Charley aches. Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying.”

  Landon nodded, feeling better than before. Sri’Lanca nudged him again with his foot. “Be strong, Landon. I feel Balaam is covering us with his wings, and your angels are with us.”

  “It’s a good thing you can’t lie, or I’d call you a liar.”

  “I have faith and hope, Landon. Neither of those are lies.”

  A smile flickered on Landon’s face, but it died. His stomach hurt from anxiety. He couldn’t consider nibbling on some form of food without wanting to vomit. He wiped his hands on his trousers, wishing his palms would stop sweating. Sri’Lanca’s wings rustled softly, as they always did when he was nervous.

  It wasn’t until the sun was fully in the air that Landon got to his feet. “I’m going to hide the notebook,” he said. He looked at Myra. She was still fast asleep on the bed of blankets. A surge of jealousy flooded through Landon, and a second later it was joined by an equal torrent from Sri’Lanca.

  “If one of us were to have the blessing to sleep like a hatchling, it would be Myra,” the dragon mumbled. He got to his feet and waited for Landon to grab the notebook. He also grabbed the Seal’s pouch and slipped it into his pocket. The Wizard’s Seal was hot, anxious to be used. He wondered if it sensed when it was being thought about, or if it constantly burned to grab his attention.

  They wandered around the area for several minutes, keeping the cave in sight. Landon didn’t know what he was looking for, but he wanted to be able to find the notebook again. He was determined to show it to his parents once they were freed. That place came in the form of a large, gnarled pine with roots that sprawled up and into the granite slopes. In the places where the roots were wedged in the cracks, the rock had eroded into a series of nooks and pockets. A simple glance didn’t promise anything, but when Landon cautiously put his hand inside a few, he found they were quite deep. He slipped the notebook inside one that was at waist-level.

  “One moment,” said Sri’Lanca, and he used a claw to scratch a tiny ‘D’ into the root below the hole. “D for Dayn. That will help me remember.”

  Landon took in the tree, the roots, and the cliff face until he was sure it was etched into his memory. “You think Myra’s awake by now?” he asked.

  Sri’Lanca shrugged his wings.

  Myra wasn’t awake, so Landon and Sri’Lanca sat outside the cave, watching birds and insects go about their daily lives. Myra woke up an hour later and joined them. She and Landon sipped from a canteen, but didn’t bother with eating. Landon was too nervous to eat.

  When the sun was almost to its noontime place, Sri’Lanca got to his feet. “It’s time,” he whispered.

  Landon and Myra rose, buckling their weapons to their waists. His hand went to the pouch in his pocket. He hoped he wouldn’t have to kill with it.

  “Remember,” said Sri’Lanca, while Landon and Myra climbed onto his back, “we have to act fast. Surprise is our advantage, but any amount of hesitation and—”

  “We lose,” Landon finished. “I’m going to touch the Seal before we get to the hell hole, that way I can free Ti’Luthin the moment I see him.” He pulled the pouch out of his pocket and gripped it in his right hand. For once, he was looking forward to having the Seal diminish his emotional nerves. He wouldn’t be terrified of flying or challenging tens of thousands of soldiers—three of which were Seers.

  Sri’Lanca eyed the pouch with one yellow eye. “Balaam be with us.”

  “Ah-men,” agreed Myra.

  Landon reached behind him and grabbed her hand. He squeezed it, gazing into her blue, terrified eyes, and said, “I love you.”

  Myra smiled. “I know.”

  “I’d kiss you but we’re—”

  Sri’Lanca leapt into the sky. Landon screamed and released Myra’s hand in a flash. He clung to Sri’Lanca’s spike, swearing as loud as his terrified voice allowed. He heard Myra laughing behind him, a crazed laugh that reflected her terror. Landon worked the pouch open, gripping it until his knuckles turned white.

  Like the previous day, Sri’Lanca kept close to the trees, flying on the southernmost slopes. Landon waited until Sri’Lanca turned north and the armies came into view before he dumped the Wizard’s Seal into his left hand. His and Sri’Lanca’s fear, terror, and exhaustion flared then vanished. The familiar cold of the power battling the bond suffused his chest. It roiled and tumbled inside him, already seeking out things to destroy. Landon shivered, and Sri’Lanca shivered as well.

  “I hate that thing,” said Sri’Lanca in a voice loud enough to carry to the riders. “You feel far away from me right now. It’s like you’re on the other side of the continent.”

  Landon also couldn’t sense Sri’Lanca’s emotions. He knew that should worry him, but it didn’t. He didn’t need a dragon to take care of him now that he had the Wizard’s Seal. “At least I’m not scared of flying,” Landon replied. He had the power under control, or as close as it could be. He twined his fingers through the silver loop, anchoring himself to the amulet.

  “I would rather feel your terror than nothing at all.” The dragon sucked in a breath. “This is it!”

  Sri’Lanca crested the last slope. The prison camp and armies spread before them. The Nircanians were already in the graveyard, quarry, and construction site, with their guards shouting at them. He thought there seemed more people in the cages than yesterday, and more carts laden with corpses. Grief flickered through the storm of power within him, but it was pushed aside. Now was the time for revenge.

  Landon’s eyes immediately found Ti’Luthin, and the power surged towards
the dragon’s chains. There was no sound or flash of light. The chains simply dissolved into a cloud of gray dust. The five guards that had been standing around the dragon jumped back in surprise. Ti’Luthin shivered.

  “He’s free,” Landon shouted, already turning the power’s attention to the guards. The power surged and began disintegrating the flails, batons, armor, and any sort of metal the soldiers wore.

  Sri’Lanca was shouting, bellowing at the top of his lungs. “Fly, Ti’Luthin, fly! Take to the sky and save our people!”

  Landon resisted the urge to see if Ti’Luthin was moving. He had to focus on the guards. The power was so excited to destroy things that it was obliterating armor and weapons ten at a time. The icy spot in his chest flared with each surge. All the while, both Sri’Lanca and Myra screamed at the Nircanians to fight.

  “Landon!” cried Sri’Lanca. “Slide off my back in three . . . two . . . one!”

  Without hesitation, Landon slid off Sri’Lanca’s back. He fell for a few feet, his knees loose and ready while the roof of a cage rose up to meet him. His feet hit the rough wood, and he allowed his momentum to send him into a roll. Pain flared in his ankles and knees, but the power swept it aside. He rolled halfway across the flat surface before he came to a stop. He leapt to his feet.

  The cage was perfect. It was directly in front of the construction site and gave Landon an excellent view of everything around him. He didn’t waste a moment but found a group of guards gaping at the sky. He sent the power at their armor, willing the metal to break into a cloud of dust. The guards shouted and coughed. He moved onto the next group, and then the next. As he destroyed their armor, he noted if it had the dragon insignia on the left breast. So far he hadn’t seen a single Dragon Guard, and was beginning to assume they were with their dragons.