Diviner (14 page)

As she resumed her scratching, he leaned into her hands. “Have you decided what to do about Cassabrie’s body?”

“That is another reason we need Koren,” Taushin said. “Only she can go near Cassabrie’s radiance without harm or hypnosis. I had hoped that since I was able to endure the presence of a stardrop in Koren’s hand that I might be able to approach Cassabrie, but I tried only moments ago, and I could not draw close at all without being repulsed by her energy.”

“It’s not your fault, my king. I went in there again earlier today and tried to move her body, but the stardrops hold her there with great power. My eyesight while in her presence, however, was sharp, and I counted four stardrops in the floor and seven in the ceiling. It’s no wonder that you are unable to approach. Even though I was there only a few moments, I nearly succumbed. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be for a dragon.”

Taushin let out a long
hmmm
before replying. “It must be more than a mere stardrop mechanism that prevents us from coming near or taking her body. The tales Koren animates do not affect me because of my blindness, and I am able to influence her greatly when we are together, so there must be something about Cassabrie herself that makes a difference.”

“Arxad likely anchored Cassabrie there in a way we haven’t yet discovered. If she were to leave the chamber and the presence of the stardrops, maybe you would be able to influence her in the same way you influence Koren.”

Taushin’s ears perked up. “I think I understand. If we were to allow Cassabrie’s spirit to take her own body, she would be more vulnerable. That is an excellent idea.”

Trying to keep her hands from trembling, Zena smiled. “But there is great danger. What if Cassabrie indwells her body and you cannot control her?”

Taushin’s tongue darted out and in. “It is risky, but it might be worth it. She is a cunning girl, so we will have to make a show of resistance. If she is able to take her body without opposition, she will be suspicious.”

“Maybe we simply shouldn’t tell the guard,” Zena said. “Shrillet will be more than happy to provide opposition, and may the more powerful of the two survive. If Cassabrie recovers her body, all is well. If Shrillet kills Cassabrie, then perhaps the Starlighter is not as powerful and cunning as you believe.”

Taushin nodded, though the gesture seemed halfhearted. “Your suggestion has merit. Yet I will hold out hope that Cassabrie is victorious. With her under my control, we will have no need of Koren. Cassabrie is the more powerful of the two, at least while Koren is still learning her gifts.”

“But if Cassabrie doesn’t turn, then —”

“Then we will kill her immediately. You have done it before; you can do it again. It should bring you great pleasure to get revenge on your old enemy.” A grin spread across Taushin’s face. “Again.”

“Yes. Great pleasure. I could even get pleasure out of killing Koren if she proves to be a rebel. Yet as long as she is within Exodus, she will have great power, perhaps more than we can imagine. We cannot kill her. She is out of our reach.”

A knowing smile crossed Taushin’s face. “Not so, Zena. I found the spear.”

Zena swung her head from side to side, searching the room. “Where is it?”

“Hidden. I will reveal it in due time.”

“Where did you find it?”

“In Alaph’s castle, at the bottom of a deep stairwell.” He paused, frowning. “I also found Koren’s boots and dress, so she has shed her outer garments. I will have no way of locating her again.”

Zena looked through the opening in the ceiling. “Knowing Koren, she will make a public appearance soon. She will not be able to resist using her power now that she dwells within Exodus.”

“My thoughts exactly. And when she does, she will learn what her people are really like. She imagines that they will gladly receive and apply the wisdom she bestows, but her wishful thinking will be deflated soon enough. She is in for a rude awakening.”

Zena gripped the fire poker and threw it across the room. It struck the photograph, cracking the glass cover, its point embedded between Magnar and Arxad. “A very rude awakening, indeed.”

Holding a bow over his shoulder, Randall propped open the dungeon gate. Arxad lowered his head and shuffled out into the open. Magnar followed, squeezing his muscular body through the narrow entrance. As both dragons emerged, they stretched their wings and limbs, their eyes flashing brightly and their scales shimmering in the evening moonlight. Even though they hadn’t taken a meal since they arrived, the extane-rich air had obviously given them plenty of energy.

Randall nodded toward a dead stag on the path. A single arrow protruded from its chest. “I didn’t have much time, so I have only this one. I hope it’s enough.”

“Thank you,” Arxad said. “It will be sufficient.”

Magnar stretched out his neck and looked Randall in the eye. “I heard some of your conversation with the new governor, but you intentionally kept your voices low during much of it. What were you hiding?”

“I kept my voice down for Orion’s sake. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

While Magnar consumed the stag, Randall related the conversation. Although he had pondered Orion’s conditions many times during his hunt, recalling them out loud gave the words more substance, as if spilling them into the open air in front of the dragons solidified them, transforming them from vaporous secrets to unavoidable realities. It made no sense to hide anything from either dragon. Orion’s concerns were reasonable.

As soon as Randall finished, Magnar swallowed a huge mouthful. With blood dripping over his chin, he looked at Arxad, who hadn’t eaten a bite. “You expected this offer,” Magnar said. “Is your counsel unchanged?”

Arxad nodded. “Any leader would have the same concern Governor Orion has. I urge you to take this opportunity to make peace with Darksphere’s rulers and fight our common enemy under these judicious terms. There is no reason to insist on your original plan.”

“True. A scouting cadre of humans will report that we have told the truth. Yet surely Taushin realizes our plan by now. He could delay his ultimate weapon until he is certain all the forces against him have arrived.”

“Hold on a minute,” Randall said. “What ultimate weapon?”

While Magnar continued eating, Arxad kept his focus on Randall and spoke quietly. “As you might expect, we would not request an army unless we anticipated great danger. Taushin hopes to unleash a weapon that will kill every human on Starlight, including invading forces from Darksphere.”

Randall rolled his fingers into a fist, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with Arxad. Catching glimpses of Magnar greedily crunching bones made this news all too believable. “What exactly is this weapon?”

“A hovering body of light we call Exodus. Taushin hopes to use Koren the Starlighter as its pilot to spread a disease that is always fatal to humans.”

“Koren wouldn’t do that,” Randall said, shaking his head. “At least not intentionally. She’s on our side.”

Magnar swallowed again, scowling as a huge lump rode down his throat. “How little you know. Starlighters are unpredictable. Cassabrie and Zena proved that. Koren now wears the dark vestments and is doing Taushin’s bidding. I knew this could happen. That is why I insisted on her execution, but Arxad, in his mercy, prevented me from averting this crisis.”

“Why didn’t you subdue Taushin?” Randall asked.

“He’s blind, right?”

“Arxad hoped to keep Taushin free because he alone knew how to seal a hole in Exodus and make it rise. Implementation of that knowledge would allow the star to fill the atmosphere with pheterone, the gas you call extane. With pheterone abundant, we could release the slaves and send them home. We hoped to learn the secret for resurrecting Exodus, work out a way to implement it without spreading the disease, and then subdue Taushin before he implemented it himself. That is why we are here.”

“But you didn’t have a way to get here until you found the portal peg. This plan could never have worked without it.”

“I
did not have a way to get here,” Magnar said. “Because of a curse, I am unable to pass our barrier wall to the north or the mountains to the south. If we had been unable to find the crystal, Arxad would have guided the human army through a portal that emerges in our world in the Northlands.”

Randall drew his head back. “A curse? What kind of curse?”

Arxad waited for Magnar to nod before explaining. “In our region of Starlight, we have constructed a wall on three sides, which the slaves believe to be a way to keep them in. That is true to a point, but the wall, combined with a mountain range on our southern border, creates a barrier that keeps something out, as well. These borders have been the site of many battles, so in order to establish peace, Magnar agreed to a mutual exile for the kings of the opposing sides, and a curse is the sealing enforcement. Our king, Magnar, is unable to cross the barriers, and in exchange, our opponents are unable to enter. Not only that, the curse sent our opponents to a place of captivity we know little about, and their king has been separated from them for as long as the curse is in effect. Because of this agreement, we live at peace.”

“You have opponents that could threaten dragons?” Randall let out a whistle. “What kind of creatures are they? Another dragon species, or something else?”

Magnar thumped his tail on the ground. “Enough! We will talk no more of this. It is irrelevant to the matter before us.”

“Okay, okay!” Randall stared at Magnar. This king he thought so cruel had made a sacrifice for his people. What kind of odd blend of goodness and evil could incite someone to cause so much harm while still being selfless in other ways?

Shaking off the thoughts, Randall nodded. “It’s all coming together, except for one thing. How could a newly hatched dragon know a secret that no one else knew?”

“I wondered that for centuries,” Arxad said. “We have a prophecy that foretold his ability, but we could only guess at how he would learn something no one else knew. Not even the king of the Northlands knew. He told me so himself.”

Randall looked from one dragon to the other. “Do you know now?”

“We have a theory. Zena used another Starlighter’s finger to communicate with Taushin while he was yet in the egg. That Starlighter, Cassabrie, was powerful, and even in death it is clear that her body radiates the mysteries of Starlight. Through a single finger, she might have communicated to Taushin the key to sealing Exodus.”

Randall shuddered. “How do you know her body is powerful in death?”

Arxad and Magnar glanced at each other. With a sparks-filled sigh, Magnar nodded. “We have told him everything else.”

“We also have an ultimate weapon,” Arxad said. “We have preserved Cassabrie’s body. If we could restore her spirit to her body, we would have the more powerful of the two Starlighters. Cassabrie would be a force Taushin could not overcome, even with Koren fully on his side.”

“Even if Taushin unleashed the disease?” Randall asked. “Are Starlighters immune?”

“Koren wasn’t immune, but …” Arxad’s voice trailed away.

“Wasn’t
immune?” Randall cocked his head. “How could you know that unless she contracted it? And if she contracted it, then how could it always be fatal?”

“Take care, Arxad,” Magnar growled. “The human’s questions will never end until he learns everything.”

“This will be the last response.” Arxad refocused on Randall. “She did contract the disease, and she died, but that story is one you need not hear. For now, we should—”

“Wait a minute! You can’t spring that on me without explaining it. How could Koren have died? She’s alive …” Randall squinted. “Isn’t she?”

“She is alive, but if I tell you that story …” Arxad looked at Magnar.

“No,” Magnar said. “I draw the line there. We cannot allow the humans to know. Not yet.”

Randall pointed a finger at Magnar. “Listen. You’re asking us to fight
your
battle, for
your
kingdom. Don’t tell me —”

“For the lives of
your
people,” Magnar barked. “And I will share
my
knowledge at
my
discretion. If lacking an answer to a question keeps you from a rescue attempt, then by all means stay here with your fellow soldiers, and we dragons will do what we must to save our planet. If the lives of human slaves are lost in the effort, then so be it. I will tell them that the people of Darksphere abandoned them because of their insatiable curiosity about tangential matters.”

Randall grasped his bow and shook it. “Don’t play me for a fool. I’ve watched my father’s political maneuvering all my life, and I recognize a brow-beating dodge when I see one. You’re the ones who kidnapped my people and enslaved them in the first place, so don’t give me that verbal excrement about curiosity. You should be thanking us that Orion didn’t order an immediate invasion to wipe out your species from the face of your planet.”

Magnar spat out a ball of flames that sizzled past Randall. “You fool! If you knew the truth, you would drop down on your knees and beg for forgiveness! You are indebted to us for your life, especially to Arxad, so—”

“Stop!” Arxad spread out his wings, blocking the mouths of both combatants. “This is senseless.”

Magnar used his own wing to knock Arxad’s out of the way. “You and I both know that he is the senseless one. He barks at the howling wind, an ignorant mongrel who knows neither the source nor the direction of the breaths that gave him life.” With a huff, he stalked back toward the dungeon gate. “If you can speak sense to him, then do so, but you may not tell him about his origins. You have said too much already.” After squeezing again through the opening, he disappeared inside.

Arxad’s wings sagged, uncovering Randall’s mouth. He curled his neck and lowered his head, bringing his eyes level with Randall’s. The two orbs lacked their earlier spark. “There is much you do not know, and you lack even the knowledge of why you do not know. Do not allow your curiosity to overcome your commitment. Trust me. Learning these secrets will not help you.”

After a long moment, Randall nodded and loosened his grip on his bow. He hadn’t wanted Magnar to win the verbal battle and set the agenda. Humans needed to be in charge, and with dragons in control of the knowledge department, it seemed impossible to gain the upper hand. He didn’t need to know all the secrets, but the fact that Magnar wanted to keep them hidden was troubling. “There is one piece of information I’ll need to know right away—the location of the other portal. If I am to lead Orion’s scout team, I have to tell them how to prepare. A long march? Cold weather?”