Maylin's Gate (Book 3) (35 page)

Arber flew a dozen feet lower skimming the tree tops. The guardian loosed a series of high chirps and fluttered to the ground.

Had Arber found someone? A lump formed in her stomach. She couldn’t afford any more complications. She shot a quick glance toward the ventilation shaft. Empty. Keely should've arrived by now. She never should've let Keely go to Dravin's house alone.

She arced a hard right and set an interception course for Arber.

The crystal footpath came into view and Arber walked in human form toward a bank of dark green shrubs. The guardian's hand raised as if in greeting.

Had Brees come alone? She landed on the ankle-high grass beside Arber and shifted into human form.

The shrubs rustled and a blond-haired man struggled from the branches. Jeremy tripped and fell face first into a bed of pine needles.

"Jeremy." Her pulse accelerated and she hustled along the path toward the shield knight.

Jeremy stood and a sheepish grin spread across the knight's reddened cheeks. "That wasn't quite the entry I imagined."

She stopped before Jeremy and twined her fingers in his.

Jeremy pushed away the robe’s hood. "I don’t know how anyone can operate in one of these things." The knight tugged at his obsith robe.

She brushed away pine needles stuck in Jeremy's hair. "What are you doing here?" She said in a low whisper half-glancing toward the garden's closed door.

"Brees brought me here an hour ago," Jeremy said.

She assumed Jeremy would arrive with Brees. "Yes. That makes sense."

Jeremy peered over her shoulder and scanned the treetops. "Where's Keely?"

Her chest tightened. "She's searching Dravin's house."

"What?" Jeremy's eyes widened. "That's a suicide mission."

"I tried to tell her," she said. "But, she insisted. She said this was the one time she could guarantee Dravin would be away from home. She wanted to search for the heartwood."

"I tried to go with her," Arber said. "Again, she insisted I stay with Danielle."

"We don't have much time." She glanced at the sky through the crystal rooftop. "They'll be here any minute."

"What's the plan?" Jeremy said.

The garden door creaked and sputtered open. She shot Arber a quick glance. "Hide him." She faced Jeremy. "No shields. Do you hear me? They'll see them."

Jeremy nodded and leaped into the shrubs. Arber shifted into a chipmunk's form and scooted under the bush with Jeremy.

She shifted into a green forest sparrow and perched on the shrub's sturdiest limb.

Jeremy's arms and legs twisted at odd angles while the knight writhed.

"Stop making so much noise. I'll come back for you in a few minutes." She spoke loud enough for both men to hear. "That means you too Arber. If we're caught, we'll lose the heartwood tree forever."

Jeremy's blue eyes simmered with frustration. The knight glanced through the evergreens and nodded once.

She fluttered upward past the pine tree's cluttered limbs. With a final burst, she pushed into the open air high above the garden.

Ormond stood on the crystal stones inside the entryway. The shaman glanced around the sanctuary while Brees and Dravin filed in behind.

The sorcerer eyed Ormond with a leery expression before closing the garden door. A hard click sounded from the door latch.

She settled onto an oak limb not far from the entrance.

The tree’s broad leaves provided excellent cover.

She tapped into her guardian’s magic and changed her coloring until she blended into the tree.

Ormond waddled ahead a few steps then paused. The shaman’s gaze shifted among the nearby treetops.

She tracked Ormond’s progress across the meadow. The shaman would have an easier time finding a vein of gold than stumbling across her in the treetops.

"Are you expecting someone," Dravin said with a tone of irritation.

Ormond’s hood fell away revealing a mop of sweat-soaked hair. The shaman’s meaty fingers mauled the glasses perched on his bulbous nose. "Expecting someone? No, Dravin." A nervous smile slid across Ormond's smug face. "I'm merely taking precautions. The emperor guards this secret, above all others, with the utmost care."

She adjusted on her perch.

"Get on with it." Dravin shifted a shoulder pack straining at the seams.

She leaned forward and focused on the sorcerer’s bag. The antidote? She could have the three of them constrained in seconds. No. Until Ormond led her to the tree she would wait.

Ormond's gaze lingered on Dravin's shoulder pack.

"Get on with what?" Brees said. "What are we doing here Ormond? I'm sure the emperor would find a problem with our trampling his prized garden."

A nervous chuckle bubbled from Ormond's throat. "Yes. While the emperor's temporarily detained, I thought I might act in his stead." Ormond waddled forward and spread an arm across the sanctuary. "Did you know many of the trees and flowers you see here came from your father?"

Brees frowned. "He never mentioned that to me."

An ember of heat sparked in her belly. Did Ormond have no shame? She would enjoy wrapping the shaman in vines.

Ormond chuckled. "I'm sure he didn't. Some came from secret missions. Others started off as dormant seeds that the emperor coaxed to life. A few came in as sprouts or offshoots, but nowhere in Obsith will you find such a treasure."

Brees glanced around the sanctuary and shrugged. "That's great. If I'm ever in a place where I have enough diamond to buy my own private forest, I'll come back here and grab a few plants."

Ormond’s body shook with laughter. Waves of flesh rolled across the shaman's padded midsection. "There's more to it my boy. More by a long shot."

"Get on with it Ormond," Dravin said.

Ormond glanced at the satchel and back to Brees. "You've spent these past years aloof spending your time tending to the needy. A noble cause, but limited," Ormond said. "Your father’s vision extended far into the future. A future he meant to share with you."

She found herself caught in Ormond’s rhetoric. Was there truth hidden in the man’s words? A sprinkle of truth grew the best lies, and Ormond appeared every bit the seasoned gardener.

Brees stared at Ormond stone-faced, but anger brewed in the shaman’s eyes.

"I made your father a promise," Ormond said. "A promise backed by the emperor's own word. In fact, the reason we're here today is because of that promise made all those years ago." Ormond paused wearing a stoic expression.

She glanced to the celling high overhead. If the room filled with any more hot air, it might blow off.

“What promise?" Brees said.

"I thought you'd never ask." A grin smeared Ormond's oily face. "It's about your legacy. The legacy your father intended."

"Any legacy my father intended would've passed to Aren," Brees said. "To hear Aren's own words, he'd developed a special bond with the emperor. I can’t imagine the emperor held anything but contempt for me."

Ormond nodded. "All true. But, as I said, I promised your father this gift for you. Not Aren. He was clear on that point."

Had Ormond ever kept a promise that didn’t benefit him? She doubted it.

"I'll ask again," Brees said in a flat tone. "What legacy? What promise?"

Ormond's eyes widened in delight. "I'm glad you asked. I'll show you." The shaman strode toward the emperor's vegetable garden.

Brees followed shooting a quick glance toward the pine trees. With a subtle shift, the shaman's head nodded.

Her heart raced and she shot downward through the branches. She skimmed the grass and beat her wings as she crossed the stream and angled toward the garden.

Dravin shot a last glance toward the green door and followed Brees.

She landed in the grass and shifted into a forest chipmunk. With a quick hop, she bounded forward careful to keep a safe distance.

Ormond paused beside the garden's edge and studied the neat rows laid out before the group. "Ah yes," the shaman muttered.

“Where is it?” Dravin’s eyes narrowed.

“Patience Dravin.” Ormond waddled forward tiptoeing along a line of string beans. “Everything worth having comes with a steady dose of patience.”

She stood atop her hind legs and peered over the high blades of grass. Ormond stood a few feet away teetering between the vegetable rows.

"Climb on," Ormond said waving the group forward. "Everybody must climb on for this to work."

"Climb on?" Brees's eyes narrowed. "Climb on what?"

"On the garden my boy," Ormond said. "It will all make sense in mere moments." A nervous grin split Ormond's face.

Like a wharf rat, Dravin scuttled forward while peering toward the garden door.

She didn't trust Dravin. Why did the sorcerer keep looking toward the door? She craned her neck toward the trees where Arber sat high on a maple limb.

With Arber gazing in her direction, she pointed to the green door. She needed Arber to guard the door against intruders. A man like Dravin wouldn't come to this place alone. Not with so much at stake.

Brees walked ahead avoiding the narrow rows of vegetables.

"That's it," Ormond said. "Make sure you hold onto something." The shaman dropped to a knee. Heavy grunts and wheezing came from the obese man. Ormond's palm pressed into the soil near the garden's center.

She hustled forward squeezing between a pea stalk and paused.

A loud click and a low rumble came from beneath the garden. The rumbling intensified, and the garden sank.

"What's this?" Dravin said turning in quick circles.

"I've told you. It's the entrance to the emperor's inner workings."

Brees scanned the vegetables rows until the shaman's gaze locked on hers. A grim smile crossed Brees's face.

What had she gotten herself into? She glanced across the meadow to the long-limbed maple.

Arber flitted near the treetops as if uncertain how to proceed.

She dared to stand atop her hind legs and feed a trickle of guardian’s energy into her body. Warmth flooded her muscles and she grew an inch taller. Her chipmunk's head laced through the pea plant and her gaze fell on Arber. She pointed her forelimbs toward the garden door.

Arber pitched higher fluttering toward the green door.

Satisfied, she released the magic and turned to face Ormond. She wouldn't let Dravin or any of Trace's toadies ambush her wherever this ride ended.

The garden rattled downward leaving the plants draped in shadows.

"How do you know of this place?" Brees said.

A greasy smile cut through Ormond’s weighty jowls. "An honorable man doesn't reveal his source.”

The whirring and rumbled continued for five minutes longer.

A ball of flames appeared in Dravin's palm and the amulet around Ormond's neck glowed orange. The flames drifted from Dravin’s palm rising high into the air.

Ormond muttered a few words in an unknown language. The flames paused hovering a few yards above the vegetable garden. "Thank you for your assistance Dravin."

"How much further?" Dravin said glancing toward the surface.

On cue, the rumbling stopped and the ground held still.

"We've arrived." Ormond waddled along the row and stopped at the garden's far end. The shaman pressed a wall plate and the garden shifted.

She turned in tight circles searching for any sign of attackers.

Whirring and rattling came from beyond the stones walls. The garden moved in a slow arc and stopped with a loud click.

The ball of flames drifted toward the garden's far end and hovered a few feet over Ormond's head. "I'll advise you both to mind your step before moving into the emperor's power chamber. The room is laden with traps that I alone can maneuver."

She rolled her eyes. How convenient.

Ormond waddled a few steps forward and paused.

More rumbling came from beneath the garden. White light appeared under the innermost rows.

Dravin pushed past Brees toward the light. The sound of sloshing liquid came from the bag attached to the sorcerer’s back.

Ormond's palm pressed outward as if to halt Dravin's advance. "Mind your step Dravin. Allow me to move into the chamber first and intercept the emperor's traps."

"Enough of your rattling," Dravin said stealing a glance upward. "Get on with it."

Ormond turned and stomped over rows of peas, tomatoes, and ripe squash. The shaman paused before the entrance and glanced behind. “Do not enter until you hear my signal.” Ormond waddled forward and disappeared down the stairway.

Brees shot her a quick glance then moved toward the stairway.

Dravin stood at the opening and peered into the room.

She hopped forward lagging a few feet behind Brees before pausing beside the shaman.

Blue and white light flashed in the room below. The sound of sizzling energy and the hard scent of ozone hovered over the garden.