Dragonvein - Book Three (23 page)

“Who are you?” asked Ethan. “Where am I?”

The voices offered no answer. Instead, a tiny point of white light appeared in front of him. At first this seemed to be a long distance away, but gradually, it moved closer, steadily increasing in size until he felt as if he could reach out and touch it.

“Child of Earth and child of mine.” The voice that came to Ethan this time was that of a grown woman. It was soft and fluid, yet commanding and strong. “Why have you come here before me?”

“I don’t know where
here
is. Or who you are.”

“Of course you do,” she told him. “You just have to look deeper within your soul. Do so and all will become clear.”

Ethan considered her words and then focused his thoughts inward, just as he had done when calling out to Martok. In a flash, understanding entered him, causing the darkness to vanish. He found himself standing in the heart of a lush forest. Thick vines climbed their way high up into the tree canopy, and everywhere he looked, soft moss and thousands of delicate flowers carpeted the ground. Just as he'd heard earlier, a swift flowing brook was only a few yards away. The light remained, only now it had taken the form of a woman. He tried to make out her features, but could not penetrate the brightness sufficiently to see any more than that she was indeed female.

Ethan looked down, suddenly realizing that he was completely naked. And yet he did not care. It was as if in this place, to be otherwise would be unnatural. “You are…her. You are Lumnia.”

“In a way, yes,” she affirmed. “I am her voice.”

“Am I…dead?”

Her laugh was melodic and soothing. “Not at all. Your body is exactly where it was. Lotheri has given you the power to hear me.”

A vision of Keira thrusting the knife into her father’s heart flashed through his mind.

“Do not weep for Lotheri,” she said, sensing his thoughts. “He is with us now. His daughter ended his life before his spirit could die.”

Though Ethan didn’t entirely understand what she was saying, her words eased his troubled mind. “So what happens now?” he asked.

“Now you must rid this world of the pestilence that plagues it,” she replied. “And through Lotheri’s sacrifice, you can now do so.”

“How?”

“You must find Shinzan’s source of power and destroy it.”

“I already know that,” he said. “But what I don’t know is how to fight him.”

“Yes you do. You have the knowledge within you. But only you can find the strength to use it.”

“Will you help me?”

She moved forward, her body floating just above the ground, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her touch was warm. “Yes. But my help will not be as you imagine. Nor will it come without a price. In the end, you must be the one to decide whether or not to accept it.”

Having told him this, she backed slowly away and her form began to dim, along with the surrounding forest.

“Will I see you again?” Ethan called out.

Her laugh sounded once more. “When you wish to see me, all you need do is simply open your eyes.”

The light continued to fade until he was left in total darkness again. For a short time, it was as though he were suspended in a void. Then, little by little, he began to realize that he was lying on his back and someone was holding his hand. When his eyes fluttered open, he saw Kat kneeling beside him.

He blinked. “How long have I been out?”

“An hour or so,” she replied. “Keira told me where to find you.”

Ethan sat up and took a close look around. There was no sign of Lotheri’s body. “Did she tell you what happened?”

“Only that her father was dead. And that you should join her once you woke up.” Kat frowned. “What happened? Is her father really dead?”

Ethan nodded, then recounted the experience.

“How does it feel?”

“Strange,” he replied. “A bit like when I bonded with the dragons, but more distant and scattered. I can feel the energy coming from everywhere. I can almost see it. But it’s all out of focus…like seeing something through ripples in the water.” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “That’s the best way I can describe it.”

“Has it made you any more powerful?”

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out soon enough. One thing is for sure. I can feel the elves. If I concentrate, I could possibly even tell you where each one is standing. And I understand their connection to Lumnia now. It’s like they’re not really separate, and yet at the same time, they are. They can hear its will and feel its pain.”

He pushed himself to his feet. “Whatever all this is, I hope it was worth Lotheri giving his life.”

“And I hope Keira can forgive you,” Kat remarked. “She looked really upset.”

“I know. I can feel it. She misses her father terribly, but she doesn’t blame me. In her heart, she knows he did what he felt he had to do.”

Kat took his hand and they started back toward the camp. Once they were in sight of the dwarf army, King Halvar came striding out to meet them.

“What is this I hear about Lotheri being dead?” he demanded. “They are saying that you had something to do with it.”

“I was involved,” admitted Ethan. “But I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I am most happy to hear it,” Halvar growled. “This alliance is fragile enough without that.”

“This alliance is stronger than you think. The elves won’t break it.”

“And how do you know this?”

“I just do.”

Still not entirely convinced, Halvar summoned four of his guards to accompany them before moving on into the elf camp.

All eyes fell on Ethan as they threaded their way to where he knew Keira was waiting. She was standing at the far edge of the camp, a wooden bowl in her hands. Beside her stood three elf women, each of them dressed in white robes with silver stitching that formed interlocking circular patterns down the front. Keira regarded him for a long moment, then closed her eyes. Behind them, the elves were gathering in reverent silence.

“What is she holding?” whispered Halvar.

“Her father’s heart,” Ethan replied.

A horrified expression crossed the king's face. “You mean she…cut out her own father’s heart?”

“Their ways are different,” said Ethan. “But I understand them now.”

He stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of Keira.

Her eyes snapped open and she spoke in a loud clear voice. “My father gave his life so that you can understand the mother in a way no human ever has. You have become a part of her…and a part of us. And though I have lost a father, I have gained a brother.”

She cast her gaze over the crowd. “As have you all. Through our kinship, we shall defeat the evil which has plagued our world for far too long. Still, my soul is in pain. Lotheri was more than just my father. He was a wise and strong leader. His absence will be keenly felt. But we must press on and choose another to lead in his stead.”

Filial stepped forward. “I say that you, Keira, daughter of Lotheri, should lead us.”

His proposal was acknowledged with a resounding chorus of agreement.

Keira’s eyes remained fixed on her father’s heart for a short time. She then nodded and looked directly at Ethan. “And what say you, Ethan Dragonvein? You are now a part of us and have the right to speak.”

“I think you will make a fine leader,” he told her. “I only met your father briefly, but what he gave to me allows me to know that this is what he would have wanted.”

Keira removed the heart from the bowl and held it aloft. “Then I accept this burden…in Lotheri’s name.”

No sooner had she spoken then the heart suddenly burst into flames. Tiny bits of blazing tissue dripped onto the ground as the organ slowly melted away. Amazingly, even after it was completely consumed, there was not the slightest sign of injury to Keira’s hand.

The elves burst into a cacophony of hoots and cheers. Ethan glanced over his shoulder. There was a deep scowl of disapproval on Halvar's face, but Kat simply smiled at him. After bowing to Keira, he backed away until he was able to reach out and take hold of Kat's hand.

“What happens now?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Elves don’t get hung up on ceremony. Lotheri is dead and Keira takes his place. That’s pretty much it.”

“But will she honor our alliance, I wonder?” muttered Halvar.

“She will,” Ethan assured him. “She would not dishonor her father by breaking it. Whatever promises he made, she’ll keep them.”

“I certainly hope so,” the dwarf king said, his doubts still showing. “And tell me, just what was it that Lotheri gave to you that now makes you a part of his people?”

Ethan smiled. “Understanding, Your Highness. Nothing more.”

King Ganix stared in awe at the six magnificent dragons circling the platform. “Such primal beauty,” he mused. “To think that they once dotted the skies.”

“And hopefully they will again,” remarked Renald. He tossed the rug from which Lylinora would open the portal up onto the platform.

Ganix and his party had made it back to the cabin just as Renald and the others were about to leave. By then, the injured dwarf was running a high fever from the infection in his wounds, prompting Lylinora to rapidly set about tending to him. As much as the dwarves were wary of human magic, they could not help but be impressed by her skill. In no time at all, Broyhul's injuries were healed completely.

Now, in the final moments before being parted, Lylinora and Markus were talking quietly a few yards away from the platform edge. She was doing her best to look brave, but her apprehensions were all too clear. Nearby, Jonas was checking the small pouch on his belt containing the money Markus and Ethan had brought back from their last visit to Earth. In addition, it also contained several gold coins and a few gemstones.

It had been decided they would waste no time once they located the last mage. Markus had a hunk of rock stuffed in his pouch. At the very first opportunity, he would smash the rajni stone and transport them all back – a lesson hard learned from their previous trip.

Renald climbed up and called over to Lylinora. With everything in place, he closed his eyes and concentrated. At once, he could hear the thoughts of Maytra in his mind. “It’s time,” he whispered.

Lylinora gave Markus a final passionate kiss before ascending the platform and tying the Rope of Making around her waist. Renald gasped as the power of the dragons cascaded over them both. He marveled at the sheer intensity of their magic. He had always possessed a certain level of connection to them. But now, since tasting their blood, it was defined and raw.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Markus asked Jonas.

He took a deep breath. “I'm nervous…but ready.”

Markus nodded to Lylinora who knelt on the rug and began to chant the incantation. Within moments, the familiar disk of blue and black swirling light appeared a few feet away. As it grew in size, Markus felt Jonas take hold of his hand. The old servant's palm was sticky with sweat.

“We’ll be fine,” Markus assured him.

Jonas sniffed, trying hard to mask his fears. “Of course we will.”

Only seconds later, the portal was already of sufficient size. Still hand in hand, they eased their way up to it. Markus counted down. “Three...two...one...go!”

With Jonas tightly holding his breath, they leapt through.

* * * * *

Markus staggered blindly forward until his hand touched something hard. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart. Not as bad as last time, he thought.

He called out Jonas' name. A weak moan came in the way of an answer.

The air was bitterly cold, and though still unable to see clearly, he could tell that it was night time. There was a crunching sound as he shifted his feet. Snow. How he hated the damn stuff!

With his sight gradually clearing, he could see that he was facing the side of a two-story cinder block building. All around him were evenly spaced oak trees split in two by a cobblestone path. Jonas was flat on his back a few feet away, his clouded breath billowing out of trembling lips. Neither of them were dressed for the cold. Markus cursed himself for being ill-prepared. Still a bit dazed, he stumbled over to Jonas and lifted him into a seated position.

“Can you stand?” he asked.

It took a few moments, but eventually Jonas threw an arm around Markus’ shoulder and struggled to his feet. “Can you tell where we are?” he asked.

“No. But wherever it is, it’s cold as hell. We need to get out of this before we freeze.”

Markus spotted a street lamp near the corner of the building and started toward it. The headlights of a car about fifty yards away caught his attention – though he could not make out the road from their position. Around the corner was a walkway that spanned the entire front of the cinder block building, with another, shorter path leading straight up to the entrance. Twenty yards further along was a small parking lot. A man in a thick jacket was pacing around in front of the main door, smoking a cigarette. After a moment, he tossed the butt into the snow.

“Stay here,” whispered Markus.

After making sure Jonas was steady on his feet, he rounded the corner and strolled casually down the walkway. The man spotted him when he was about halfway along and opened his coat, producing a hand held radio.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, in what Markus thought to be a Boston accent.

It was a relief to hear English being spoken. Drawing nearer, he could see the word 'Security' written on the breast of the jacket. “I’m a bit lost,” he said.

The man scrutinized him for a moment. “Lost? How the hell did you get lost?”

He knew he needed to think fast. This guy may not be a police officer, but the radio he was holding might be able to call one quickly enough if he got too suspicious. “My car broke down up the road,” he said. “I’m looking for a phone.”

“Don’t you have a cell?”

Not knowing what he meant, his mind scrambled for a lie. “I left it at home.”

“Sure. I guess that’s where you left your coat too,” he remarked acidly.

“Yeah. I didn’t think I’d be getting out of the car.” He could tell the security guard wasn’t buying his story. “Look, if you can just tell me where I am.”

“Hang on,” the guard told him. His radio screeched as he pressed the button on the side. “Yeah, Matt? This is Larry. I'm outside of Building Four. Can you send a car down here? I gotta guy with me who says he’s lost. He might need some help.”

The reply came though quite clearly. “Is he giving you trouble?”

“There's no problem. Just send a car.” He turned to Markus. “Don’t worry. We'll see if you're on the level or not. If you are, my buddy will help you out.”

Markus cursed silently. So much for being inconspicuous. Plastering a smile on his face, he said: “Thanks fella. I appreciate it.” He moved closer to the guard, blowing his breath into his hands. “You don’t happen to have a cigarette, do you?”

“Did you leave your smokes at home too?” the guard sneered. Nevertheless, he shoved the radio into his left coat pocket and reached into his right.

The moment he did this, Markus took a quick hop and landed a solid right to his jaw. The man stumbled back, his free hand flailing and the other one trapped deep inside his coat pocket. Two more rapid strikes send him flat on his back. Surprisingly, there was still some fight left in him. As Markus moved in, a snow covered boot shot out, striking him in the stomach. Had he been a touch closer, it might easily have been enough to knock the breath out of him. As it was, it made him jump back far enough for the guard to clamber to his feet.

With both hands now free, he threw a looping right. Markus had to give him high marks for toughness, but as far as skill was concerned, he was out of his league. Markus ducked under the blow and landed a succession of devastating punches to his gut and ribs. A bone jarring uppercut then sent the guard down once again. Not about to make the same mistake twice, Markus moved in from the side this time. A flurry of solid strikes sent his opponent into complete unconsciousness.

The response to the radio call was quick, and he could already hear a car approaching somewhere off to his right. He had just seconds to get himself and the unconscious guard out of sight. More out of hope than expectation, he checked the front door behind him. To his surprise and relief, it was unlocked. Lifting the guard by the shoulders, he managed to drag him a few feet inside the doorway an instant before headlights appeared. A sedan with emergency lights on the roof and the word 'Security' written on the doors pulled into the small parking lot.

A tall, thin man exited the vehicle and looked around. “Larry?”

Markus remained absolutely still. There had been no time for him to close the door without the movement attracting attention. But inside, the building was pitch black, effectively obscuring him and the unconscious guard from view.

Receiving no reply to his shout, the new arrival retrieved his radio and pressed the talk button. “Larry, where the fuck are you?”

Markus cringed as Larry’s radio crackled to life. The sound was more than enough to catch the newcomer’s attention. The man moved toward the sound, but stopped abruptly on seeing the obvious drag marks in the snow leading right up to the open door. Wide-eyed, he stood rooted to the spot for an instant, then ran headlong toward his still idling vehicle.

Cursing as he went, Markus burst full speed through the doorway after him.

When nearly at his car, the panicking guard turned to heave his radio at Markus' head. But his hasty aim was well wide of the mark, and this delay was all that Markus needed to catch up. Without slowing, he shoulder charged the guard low in the chest, slamming him violently into the side of the vehicle. The man, though badly stunned, tried to retaliate by raining a few blows down on Markus’ back and neck. But it did little to save him. Shrugging off this irritation, Markus rose up and grabbed the guy with both hands by the back of the head. This was then dragged hard down to meet the full force of his sharply rising knee. Virtually out on his feet, the guard staggered around with blood pouring from his nose. A bone crunching blow to his temple then put him completely out of his misery. Like the first guard, Markus did not expect him to be waking up any time soon.

“Why the hell did you do that?” called Jonas, running up from the corner of the building.

Markus simply flashed him an annoyed look and set about dragging the guard inside. Once there, he removed both of his victim's jackets. On finding a pair of handcuffs in each of these, he used them to secure both men to the door handle. Inside their wallets he found a total of thirty-three dollars and two Massachusetts driver’s licenses. The dates on the currency ranged from 2004 through 2009. Also, each man was carrying a strange rectangular, electronic device. When Markus touched a small button on the side, the face lit up to display four rows of numbers. The first three rows counted from one to nine, with a single digit – zero – at the bottom. Not sure what to make of these, he tossed them aside along with the radios out of the guards' reach. By now, Larry was starting to groan, though he was not yet showing any signs of movement.

“Well, at least we have an idea what year it is,” Markus said while putting on one of the jackets and nodding for Jonas to do the same. “And we're in the good old U.S.A.”

He pulled the amulet from beneath his shirt. As before, it glowed with a pulsing blue light. After stepping outside, he swept around in a circle until the pulse quickened slightly. Satisfied, he then ran to the car and jumped into the driver’s seat. Jonas followed more slowly and remained outside the vehicle, staring at it as if it were some great metal beast.

“Are you sure it's safe?” he asked.

“A whole lot safer than waiting around here,” Markus replied. “So get in. We need to hurry. And this will be much faster, I promise you.”

Reluctantly, Jonas climbed into the front alongside him. The radio was silent for the moment, but Markus knew that could change in an instant once the two guards woke up. It would take them a while to free themselves, but when they did…

The voice of old came to him.

You know what you have to do, don’t you?

He flicked an irritated gesture. “Shut the hell up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” said Jonas.

Don’t be a fool. What’s more important?

Markus squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out Specter’s voice.

If you are caught, you will never see Lylinora again
.

He turned to Jonas. “Wait here. I need to check on something before we go.”

Jonas started to object, but Markus was already out of the car and racing back to the building.

Both of the men were now shifting slightly and groaning. Markus drew the small dagger he had tucked away in his belt. It had to be done. He knew it. If they managed to free themselves too quickly, or if someone simply happened by, the chances of being caught were high. If that happened, there would be no way back.

“I’m sorry about this,” he said, pressing the blade to the throat of the first guard.

Blood trickled down even before he pulled the cold steel across. The man gasped and jerked, but only for a few seconds. The second guard was then dealt with in similar fashion. Throughout, Markus was careful not to get any blood on his hands or clothes. As he wiped the blade on the second guard’s shirt and tucked it back in his belt, an involuntary smile formed. The sight of blood spilling onto the white tile floor was making his heart beat fiercely.

The sound of Jonas' voice urgently calling to him from the car broke into his almost trance-like moment.

“What the hell are you doing?” the old man demanded. “Let’s go before we are seen.”

Seconds later, Markus was back in the car. It took a few minutes for him to figure out how the damn thing operated. There was no clutch. Just a brake and a gas pedal. This unfamiliar set-up, combined with the fact that he hadn’t driven in decades, wasn't making things easy.