Legon Ascension (36 page)

“That sounds like something an Iumenta would do, but how do you make it through your days now with those memories?”
 

To this she laughed a bit. “Sorry, it’s not funny, just a little unbelievable to me is all. When Legon took those memories, that’s really what he did. I can relive them if I choose to, but he freed me from them. Now, in many ways they don’t feel like my memories anymore, more like a nightmare. Also if I am being honest, Keither loves me with the purest intent. My past has no effect on how he sees me, and when I’m in his mind I have nothing to fear or to be sad about. That is how I can live my life without fear.”
 

* * * * *

Sasha hated hearing the pain in Sara’s voice and then even worse was seeing her memories. The brutality of Peg and Jean’s rape and subsequent deaths was almost unreal. It was as if they were being attacked by animals and not men. Iselin turned green and started to cry. Sydin looked like he could kill someone, and Opes’ face was blank.
 
“Going to kill them all,” he muttered. For her part, Sasha felt like Iselin, wanting to vomit. She vowed to herself that she would never let Sara suffer like that again.

Legon shook himself. “I think we can see that these aren’t regular men that are in the care. They have been brainwashed or something.”

“Opes, what are you thinking?” Sydin said.

Opes clinched his fist and spoke in a low, deadly voice. “I think the Impa Empire has re-instituted its training programs, but with a twist.”

“What programs?” Iselin said.

Sydin looked confused for a moment, and then somber, “I think you may be right, old friend.” He spoke to the rest of the room, “One of the big contentions with the Impa and Pawdin Empire prior to the War of Generations was that the Impa Empire was trying to train humanity, they were looking for slaves. One province was known for it—”

“That’s it!” Opes interrupted.

Everyone looked at him as if he’d gone mad, but he went on. “The ship that attacked us on our way back from picking up your family was from the Oris Province.”

“The Impa naval province?” Sasha asked.

Opes explained. “Yes, but remember the Impa Navy was more of an afterthought. Even when they had lands that bordered the ocean they rarely ventured out to the sea. The Oris were most famous for their work on training humans and their schools of thought on how to handle what they called “ape Issues.” It would make sense that they would be involved. They would be up where all of the people from the care are going.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Legon said. “We need to send people to go and take a look. I want to know what town it is that people are being sent to, and what part of the Impa Empire we think they are headed to, if any.” He directed his words to Sydin. “Send Barnin, Ankle and Heath. We have to have people we can trust, but tell them not too deep into Impa land. I would like to have them back.”

Sasha wasn’t happy about Barnin putting himself in harm’s way, but Legon was right, there wasn’t any other way. Now they would have to wait. It would take Barnin some time to get that far north, but Sasha suspected that in the meantime Legon and the rest of the house was going to be busy.

Chapter Twenty-One

Wind and Brush

“True horror is not what nature inflicts, but rather what we do to our own.”

-An Island of Sorrow (Author Unknown)

Barnin made his way up the side of the dome with Ankle and Heath. This wasn’t going to be a good day, he could tell. Humans never went into the dome, and if you did it was because security was an issue or you were invited to some social gathering. Since Legon wasn’t in town, he was pretty sure it was the latter.

“What do you think it is, sir?” Ankle asked.

Barnin shrugged. “I honestly couldn’t tell you, but we’ll find out.”

They were met at the top of the dome by an Elf with long brown hair that matched her flowing dress. She smiled slightly as they made their way to her. Barnin was accustomed to Elves. He’d been around plenty of them, but Heath… Barnin looked over at him and watched his face turn red as his hair when she greeted them.

“Hello, you must be Barnin, Ankle, and Heath,” she said, her voice like music.

Heath looked elated that she knew his name, and Ankle a little miffed that she knew his nickname.

“That’s us, you know our names, so I assume you know why we are here,” Barnin said.

“Yes, right this way, please let me know if you need anything while you are here,” she said, leading them into the dome.

This was Heath’s first time inside the Dragon Dome, so he was a little shocked upon seeing the hangar floor. Whoever the woman was that was guiding them patiently answered all of Heath’s questions as they walked to command.
 

“Are you a Venefica?” Heath asked.

“No, I’m not. You are a class two, correct?” She said.

“Yes, I am, how did you know that?” Heath asked.

Barnin rolled his eyes. “Heath, come on buddy, we are here by invitation. I had to submit both your names for whatever mission we are going on. I’m sure whoever this is has been given information on all of us so she can make our time here more pleasant.”

“That is correct, and my name is Leena,” she said.

“And you’re a magic user, so if we were a threat I’d bet you’d be the first one to go,” Barnin added.

Heath balked. “Come on, she’s not a Venifica—“

“No, he is correct Heath. While the chances of you being a threat are almost nonexistent, if you were a problem you would be the first I’d kill,” Leena said, as if she was talking about the weather. “But since you are being brought in for a special mission, I’d say you are trustworthy.” She looked back and winked at Heath.
 

Barnin was sure Heath was hyperventilating by this point, but he tried to push it from his mind, because Leena had hit the nail right on the head. They were here for a special mission, which most likely meant it was going to be dangerous.
Wonderful,
Barnin thought. They entered a conference room and Leena asked if anyone wanted anything to drink.

“Poti for all of us please,” Barnin said.
 

She left to get the drinks. When she returned Tuneal was with her. “Thank you, Leena,” he said, dismissing her.
 

Barnin moved his chair closer to the large conference table, waiting for Tuneal to begin.
 

“Thank you for coming. I will get right to the point. First, everything said today and in the mission is to be kept secret. This mission is voluntary only. It will be dangerous and difficult. You will run a high risk of capture or death. If you don’t want to be part of it, please leave now.” Tuneal paused as all three men took a drink. “Very good. We have reason to believe that the Iumenta have started a training program for humans. Before you ask questions, let me explain. In the War of Generations, the Impa would try and turn humans into the perfect slave. They did this by brainwashing them. We think they have a new program like that now, and we think this is where the Dark Warriors have been coming from.

“We need to find out more information. Unfortunately, we cannot send Elves to gather more information due to the difficulty for us to blend in. You three are to go north. You will be going to a town called Mors up there. From there you are to find out what the Iumenta are up to, and what type of threat Mors may pose, if any. It is probable that you will have to venture into the Impa lands. Heath, this is why you are to come.
 

“You will train here in the dome for the next three days. You will then travel by ship up north and to your drop point. Any questions?”

Ankle raised his hand. “Yes, sir. How are we getting to shore?”

Tuneal smiled. “That is a good question, and the answer is you won’t be going to shore. The Iumenta have their pants around their ankles right now. They are patrolling the south with much diligence, but up north outside of the Impa lands that is not the case. One of our most highly trained Ascended will be flying you inland under the cover of darkness. You will be at a high altitude so that folks on the ground cannot see you. Once over your insertion area, you will free fall to the earth. You will each have a belt with a crystal that will stop you once you get close to the ground. By the looks on your faces, I can tell this is new to you. This was something that was done frequently during the War of Generations, do not worry. Once you drop off, the Ascended will clear the area and tap into the jump crystal on the ship you came in on. They will jump from the area and no one will be the wiser.”

Barnin wasn’t all that convinced that the mission would go as smooth as Tuneal said it would, but it didn’t really matter. Getting them there was the Elves’ problem.
 

After some of the most intense training Barnin had ever received, they boarded a ship and made their way north. He had always wondered why the Elves and Iumenta didn’t jump more until he saw the crystal.

Jump crystals were normally only on carriers, and even then rarely active. The ship they were on now, while not a carrier, had been fitted with a jump crystal for this mission. To save weight, the ship had been stripped of most everything else. The crystal was in the main hold and it was massive. Furthermore, unless connected to a constant source of energy, it would lose power quickly.
 

“So, how does this work again?” Ankle asked, looking at the crystal.

A raven-haired Ascended glided up next to them. “Ascended can communicate over long distances Once we leave the ship, we will head out to sea as fast as we can. The connection I will share with the others will be faint by the time I drop you off. Once you are on the ground, I will clear the area, and then the jump crystal will be activated. Under normal circumstances there are two crystals—one at the end point and one at the beginning. The one on the ship will have to function at full power for me to make it back. Once connected, the ship will put the crystal at full power, and I will have five or six seconds to lock onto the ship’s position and jump.”

“How common is this?” Heath asked.

Umbra smiled. “There aren’t many of us who are capable of this. We are part of a single squad that can handle a mission like this. You see, there are many of us that can make the jump. It was common in the War, but slipping into the enemy territory and back without detection is difficult. I was dispatched here from House Coreen for this assignment.”

That made Barnin curious. “Can you tell us more? How old are you? How many are in the squad?”

“That’s a lot.” She smiled. “There are eight of us. We are all class sevens and black when Ascended. We have all turned our horns, claws, spikes and teeth black as well. We use magic to keep our scales from sparkling. In short, on a dark night not even an Elf or Iumenta can see us when we are high overhead. We train for centuries in the art of stealth and speed. Don’t worry, you’ll see.” She winked again. Barnin never thought he’d see the day when he met a cocky Elf, but he was pretty sure he just had.

Finally, the night of the drop came. Barnin, Heath and Ankle clothed themsElves in regular attire with rucksacks, so they appeared to be trappers. Before going on deck, they all put on the belts that would stop them before hitting the ground, and black cloaks with cloth masks. On deck the sun was almost gone. Umbra was in her Ascended form. Barnin looked her over. Everything was black on black like she had promised, but unlike a regular dragon, there was nothing that was reflective on her. Her massive form almost slipped into the dark background of the sea.
 

Barnin climbed onto Umbra’s back, wrapping a strap around one of her back spikes. He laid flat down the length of her back, with Heath lying behind him and Ankle on the other side. There was still room for maybe six or seven other people, if situated right.
 

Once everyone was situated, Umbra spoke in their minds. “Make sure your strap is connected. I can only use minimum magic, so I can’t stick you to me. It’s going to be a long flight, so I hope you all went to the bathroom,” she thought, with a playful edge at the end.

Barnin rolled his eyes. “We’re ready, let’s go.”
 

He was excited. They’d been on so many dragons back at the dome in preparation for this mission, but now they were in a combat situation. Umbra unfolded her wings and leapt off the edge of the ship. This take off was different then any other Barnin had been on. Umbra shot forward with increasing speed and power. He felt the harness holding him to her dig into his back as she propelled herself at greater and greater speeds. After she stopped accelerating, her wings made almost no sound at all. They were silent wraiths soaring over the black water.
 

The night air bit at him, growing colder as the night wore on. There was a new moon and there was cloud cover, so Barnin couldn’t see the water at all, but the sound of waves hitting a shore caught his attention. He looked up. The outline of mountains rising from the water was barely visible. Umbra zigzagged left to right as they reached the coast and Barnin realized with a bit of a start that she was avoiding rocks. Umbra hugged the ground, and as Barnin’s sight focused in the dark he started to see just how close they were to treetops and hills. Still, Umbra rushed forward at an incredible velocity. She never seemed strained by their weight or by the sheer energy required for this type of flight. After several hours of being jostled around, the excitement was starting to wear off. Umbra was using just a bit of magic to keep them from getting motion sickness, but it was cold and they hadn’t moved in hours. Barnin was stiff and his teeth were chattering. Finally, something changed.

“I am going to go high now in preparation for dropping you,” She said.

The drop zone was near the city, and worse, it was next to Iumenta populated areas, which meant that Umbra had to fly at a high altitude in order to not be discovered. This meant that they would be jumping off of her at a high altitude, and free falling to just a few hundred feet before the crystals in the belt slowed them.