Liberator Page 4

  A few of the men murmured, but with a rise of Captain Reed’s hand, the voices quieted. “We will not carry a disease home. You have my sacred word. If we become infected and a cure is not found, we will die here.”

  “He confirms my claim,” Orion said. “Stay here with me, and I will lead you safely home.”

  “As cowardly failures.” Captain Reed scanned the soldiers. “Actually, I will need some men to stay here with Orion. I will not force him or anyone else to march into this invisible danger, but I cannot trust him to stay here alone. If he opens the portal, the disease of fear he could spread back home might be more dangerous than any other.”

  After surveying the men, Captain Reed found six who volunteered to stay, mostly young fathers. Once the matter had been settled, he turned back to Cassabrie. “How will you let us know if a cure has been discovered?”

  Cassabrie nudged the explosive tube in her pocket. “Trust me, good captain. If I am successful, everyone will know. When the cure is ready, I will bring it to you.”

  “Trusting her,” Orion growled, “is like trusting a fox with your chickens. She is a deceiver, a charmer. Even her truths are wrapped around lies.”

  “Ignore him,” Edison said. “It’s time to get going.”

  Captain Reed’s eyes darted back and forth. “Where is Magnar? He was supposed to help us. Fighting without him would double our vulnerability.”

  Cassabrie looked again for the great red dragon, but he was nowhere in sight. His fear of retribution for killing her might be the greatest remaining obstacle to freedom for the slaves. “I know why Magnar left, but it is a private matter. He will likely join you for battle long before you get to the Southlands.”

  “Very well,” Captain Reed said. “I will not pry into it further. Marcelle has already provided directions to Frederick’s wilderness refuge, so even if Magnar joins us late, we will be able to find our way.” He grasped Edison’s shoulder and spoke in a low tone, though not too low for Cassabrie to hear. “With so few men, success appears to be an empty hope, and promises of a dragon ally are tenuous at best. Do you have any counsel?”

  Edison whispered in return, glancing at Cassabrie. “There is another crystal that will open the portal, and I think this Starlighter knows where it is.”

  Both men looked at her, their brows lifted. “Do you?” Edison asked.

  Cassabrie blinked. She had used that peg to unlock the device that held her body suspended in the sanctuary below the Zodiac. Might it still be wedged in the ceiling disk? If not, maybe someone picked it up. Arxad scooped a stardrop from the floor disk, but he was moving so quickly, he could have grabbed the peg without anyone noticing. “I left it in the Zodiac. Maybe Arxad knows.”

  “Maybe?” Edison shook his head. “We need certainty. And since Arxad isn’t around, we —”

  “Wait!” Cassabrie raised a hand. “Allow me to probe Starlight’s tales for a moment.”

  While both men looked on, Cassabrie set her hands at the sides of the invisible crown that provided contact with Exodus. Images streamed in, fast and frenzied. Her time within the star had been so brief. Becoming an expert at sorting through the maze of tales probably took weeks or months. Yet, only moments remained. She had to locate the tale quickly.

  Closing her eyes, she focused on the memory of Arxad’s hurried flight from the sanctuary while she lay on the floor recovering from reentry into her body. The scene appeared, but not at the angle from which she had witnessed it. Her body lay motionless near the stardrop disks. Jason’s tear-streaked face was visible at the side, close, as if he were holding the person viewing the sanctuary. Arxad stood with his foreclaw pinning Shrillet to the floor while she wriggled beneath his weight.

  Cassabrie froze the scene and looked at Arxad’s underbelly. No crystalline peg was lodged there, but one of the scales bordering his vulnerable spot reflected the light in a strange way. With a wave of her hand, she brought the image closer. When she stared at the scale, her own face looked back at her. It wasn’t a scale at all; it was a circular mirror.

  Keeping the image motionless, Cassabrie searched the archives of her mind for an answer. In days past, dragons sometimes exchanged belly scales with each other as a covenant, a sign of trust to seal a promise. Apparently Arxad had made such an exchange with someone who reciprocated with the only workable object he or she had.

  Cassabrie waved the scene back into motion. Randall burst into the room and pushed the point of his sword against Shrillet’s underbelly. “I’ll watch this one,” he said to Arxad. “You’d better find Deference. Fellina needs her.” Arxad leaped toward the stardrop disk embedded in the floor, dipped a claw through the broken glass, and used another claw to scoop up something from a pile of shards at the side.

  Cassabrie focused on the second item. It was the peg. Arxad did grab it.

  Keeping her eyes closed, she lifted a hand. “Give me another moment. I have to find Arxad.” She concentrated on the entry to Arxad’s cave, where he was probably nursing Fellina back to health. Within seconds, an animated image came to mind, Arxad flying from the cave’s opening, then soaring high over the barrier wall at the river gate. Something glinted in his underbelly scales, but it was too far away to see. A few seconds later, he entered a cloudbank and disappeared.

  Cassabrie opened her eyes. “Arxad is heading north, and he has the crystal. I suggest that you begin your march now and stay out in the open where he can see you. After you ask him to open the portal for your soldiers, perhaps you can continue marching in the forest in order to approach the Southlands with stealth. Arxad is familiar with ways to breach the barrier wall, so he can provide guidance.”

  “With our numbers,” the captain said, “stealth is essential.”

  Edison set the toe of his boot next to the missing crystal’s hole. “Someone from our ranks will have to return to the portal and let the new arrivals know what we’re doing and where to find us, and how to signal us that they have arrived.” He took a step closer to Cassabrie, squinting as her radiance flooded his face. “Will you accompany the reinforcements? With your gifts, you will be able to guide them in our direction.”

  Cassabrie sighed. “I wish I could, Edison, but I am called to another duty. When you meet Arxad, he will provide counsel as to where you can wait, and he will inform your soldiers when he opens the portal.”

  “Not the best solution, but a workable one.” Edison turned toward Captain Reed. “I suggest that we march south immediately and make further plans along the way.”

  “I agree, but for these advance troops, the mission will be extremely dangerous.” Captain Reed grasped Edison’s shoulder. “You have looked death in the eye more any of us have. Will you speak courage to the men?”

  “Gladly.” Lifting his sword, Edison faced the troops. “Men, we have arrived at a turning point in history, an opportunity to pierce evil in the heart, to grasp the throat of wickedness and cut off its breath. When we strangle this beast, we will cleanse this world of the filth of slavery and oppression. Every dragon that lashed an innocent back with a whip will feel the sting of our swords. Every dragon that forced a starving child to bear cruel loads will feel the weight of our boots on his neck. And every dragon that sent a disabled slave to the grinding mill will become food for our dogs.”

  As cheers erupted from the men, they whipped out their swords and clashed them together. In the midst of the chaotic noise, Cassabrie guided Exodus closer to Edison. “You are here to stop Taushin,” she said. “Randall and Marcelle promised Magnar and Arxad that the army from Major Four would topple the usurper in exchange for freedom for the slaves.”

  “We will take care of Taushin, but we’ll also exact a bit of justice. We have to make sure Magnar will never again dare to enter our world. We will spare his life and Arxad’s, but we never agreed to spare them all.” Edison waved his sword. “Men! Let us march!”

  Led by Edison and Captain Reed, the army tromped through the mud and slush, heading due south. Soon only Or
ion and those guarding him remained. When the sound of sloshing footsteps died away, Orion turned toward Cassabrie, a semicircle of men hemming him in. “Now that you have sent innocent men to their doom, what do you intend to do?”

  She kept her face expressionless. “If you think me a deceiver, why do you ask me a question?”

  “Because I know who you are. I understand your motives. Earlier, I proved that I can repel your charms.”

  “Is that so?” Cassabrie crossed her arms. “Then who am I?”

  Orion’s face contorted. “You are the demoness who set my home ablaze when I was a child. You lured me away so that I couldn’t rescue my family.”

  “I admit that I led you away from your home,” Cassabrie said quietly, “but I did so to keep you alive.”

  “You are a deceiver.” Orion kept his arm rigid, his finger still stabbing the air. “You would never bear witness against yourself.”

  Cassabrie spread her arms, fanning her cloak. “Then shall I show you the rogues from Tarkton who approached your home when you were a boy? Shall I show you how a Starlighter who didn’t have a chance of opposing them awakened you with a song, hoping your family would follow you to safety?” Even as she asked the questions, the scene appeared in the forest—Orion as a boy skulking from a modest home in a rural setting. As soon as he reached the forest, Cassabrie held him entranced while eight men stole into the house, looted its contents, and set it on fire. Once the men departed, she let Orion return.

  “I wept with you that night, but the evil of those events has twisted your memory.”

  “No.” Closing his eyes, Orion clapped his hands over his ears. “You are a deceiver. You will say anything to keep control. You didn’t weep. You laughed. I remember your evil grin.”

  “You remember your nightmares.” Cassabrie guided Exodus slowly backwards. “I leave it to you men to decide who is telling the truth. Believe what you will. You have no power to stop me.”

  She turned and flew the star to the river and settled over it. Still flowing around islands of ice, the water gurgled and splashed, seeming to shout for joy at its newfound freedom.

  Cassabrie sighed. If only everyone could find such freedom. With Orion’s conspiracy exposed, Major Four had loosed its chains, and with a determined army marching south, perhaps the slaves would enjoy liberation soon. Only time would tell.

  She withdrew the tube from her pocket and read the words once more—Danger. Explosive. Sighing again, she pushed it back in place. If everything went according to plan, only the liberator would suffer permanent loss. Now to gather courage. Only one obstacle remained to be lifted. Success wasn’t guaranteed. She could sacrifice everything and not save a single life. With Magnar’s curse broken, chaos would soon reign, so time was running out. He had to come. He just had to. She was probably the only remaining hope for the world, and only Magnar could unleash her power.

  Edison led the soldiers over a rise and looked southward into a meadow. In the midst of green grass and flowers, a lone boy walked toward them. With shoulders low and head down, he appeared ready to collapse.

  “Halt!” Edison said, raising a hand. “Will someone with an eagle’s eyes report what he sees?”

  A young man stepped up to the front and, shielding his eyes with a hand, peered at the boy. “He is a boy of about twelve, sir, perhaps thirteen. It appears that he has only one eye. He carries a sword but does so clumsily. He is not a warrior.”

  “One eye, you say?”

  “Indeed, sir. That is quite clear.”

  “I have heard about this boy.”

  Captain Reed walked to Edison’s side. “If he is an escaped Dracon slave, he might have the disease.”

  “True,” Edison said. “The rest of you stay back. I will greet him.”

  “But the disease.” The captain grabbed Edison’s wrist, but he pulled away and strode into the meadow.

  When he drew close, he slowed. The boy staggered from side to side, then fell to the ground.

  Edison leaped ahead and knelt at the boy’s side. “Son, what’s wrong?”

  The boy’s one eye blinked. He slid away, pumping his legs. “Don’t come near me. I have a disease.”

  “That’s the least of my worries.” Edison grasped the boy’s wrist and hoisted him to his feet.

  The boy gave him a sideways stare. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Edison. Are you Wallace?”

  He nodded. “How did you know?”

  “My son is Jason. He and Elyssa told me about you.”

  “Good. I was hoping for some help.” Wallace brushed off his clothes. “I was traveling with your son Adrian, his friend Marcelle, and two girls, Shellinda and Regina. Magnar came by, and Adrian flagged him down and asked for a ride to the castle. Magnar couldn’t take more than three, so I volunteered to walk. Magnar said it isn’t much farther.”

  “Marcelle was with Adrian?”

  Wallace nodded. “Why?”

  “Oh, nothing really. I’m just a little confused about Marcelle’s whereabouts.”

  Wallace looked past Edison. “So where are you and those men going?”

  “To the Southlands to wage war against the dragons. We have come to free the slaves.”

  “Why are they standing so far back?”

  “They’re afraid you have a disease.”

  “Why aren’t you afraid?”

  Edison laid a hand on his shoulder. “Son, I came here to fight to the death for your freedom. I’m not going to cower at an invisible enemy.”

  “You sound a lot like Adrian and Jason.”

  Edison took in a quick breath, pushing down a surge of pride in his sons. “How sick are you?”

  “Not too bad. Regina died of it on the way, but she was kind of sickly already. I guess I caught it from her.”

  “What about Adrian and Marcelle and the other girl you mentioned?”

  “Shellinda? They might all have it by now, but they weren’t sick when I last saw them. That’s one of the reasons I volunteered to stay behind. I didn’t want them to catch it.”

  Edison nodded. Good news and bad news. At least Adrian and Marcelle had been spared for a while. He patted Wallace on the back. “You’re a brave young man, the very sort that I want on my side.”

  “Then can I come with you?” Wallace raised his sword. “I can whack pretty hard with this thing.”

  “I’ll bet you can.” Edison looked at Wallace’s bare feet. The poor boy had to be cold. “Will you abandon your journey to the castle?”

  Wallace shrugged. “Adrian wants to take Marcelle back to his world. I’d rather stay here where the action is if I can.”

  “Then so be it.” Edison looked to the north. Captain Reed closed in, leading the soldiers. “He has the disease,” Edison called. “If you don’t want to get it —”

  “No need to warn us,” the captain said, waving his hand. “We’ve already been shamed down to the soles of our shoes.”

  The young soldier with the eagle eyes spoke up. “I see a cart well to the south. If the boy is tired, I’ll be glad to push him.”

  “Thanks,” Wallace said. “I might need that, for a while anyway.”

  Eagle Eye pointed at Wallace’s stomach. “What is that behind your tunic?”

  Wallace lifted his tunic, revealing a small block of wood behind his trousers waistband. It had been carved into a human shape, rough but recognizable. “It’s a girl named Regina who died of the disease, but it’s not finished. I like to carve, but I don’t usually have a knife.” He withdrew a small knife from the back of his trousers. “The dragons don’t like it.”

  “Well, come along with us.” Edison waved a hand southward. “A slow march until we get to the cart. Then be ready to accelerate. We have a long way to go.”

  Four

  Taushin sat on a boulder near the base of a mountain, his head low. With Mallerin’s wing draped over his head, the cool breeze rolling down the snowcapped peak stayed clear of his face. Viewing the world through hi
s mother’s eyes had proven to be a chore. Untrained and unreliable, she rarely knew what to focus on without being told. Her years of banishment in the grinding mill basin had clearly not produced a cunning she-dragon. She knew little more than brute force and bloodshed. It was no wonder Magnar got rid of her. Having a dullard for a mate had to be taxing to the point of insanity.

  Still, with so few dragons, every male needed to find a proper mate to help populate Starlight, and only one or two intelligent females remained available. One of the barrier wall guardians, Berkah, displayed high intelligence, but she was not pliable enough. Only one female displayed an excellent blend of intelligence and naïveté that allowed her to be manipulated, and soon it would be time to inform Xenith of the good news that she would become queen of the Southlands’ dragons.

  “Mother,” Taushin whispered, “kindly look at my subjects. The time has come to address them.”

  “Very well, but do not think you can treat me like a slave. I am not Zena.” Mallerin’s vision focused on the gathered dragons, allowing him to scan them through her eyes from their elevated position. Nestled in a depression between two mountains in the southern border range, all fifty-four remaining dragons sat in various resting poses, some on their haunches and some stretched out in the stubby grass.

  “I would never treat you as I did Zena, Mother. She was a foul human, a former Starlighter. She was useful for learning, but her value as a vision vessel was minimal. I used and disposed of her. You, however, I value above all others, and my loyalty to you should be unquestioned. Did we not make a thorough search until we found you?”

  “Arxad’s cave was an easy guess.”

  “True, but that does not minimize my desire to find you. In any case, one tidbit of information I learned from Zena will allow me to lure and control one of the two Starlighters. It seems that the Reflections Crystal in the Zodiac’s dome room attracts Exodus with a powerful force. In fact, that crystal is the very reason Exodus found its way to the bottom of an old volcano tube in the Northlands mountains, but that is a story for another time. The point is if the dome is opened, the crystal will draw Exodus to itself, trap it, and begin absorbing its power.