Shieldwolf Dawning (23 page)

"Eshgranna has escaped and Cass is missing."

"Really?" He frowned. "Oh no."

"The Elders are sending out a battlegroup to find him. Irik's in his room using the Sight to see where Eshgranna has taken Cass. I've been waiting for him to come out."

"You must be worried."

"Of course I'm worried. I have to find my brother."

"How are you going to do that? They'll never let you go with them."

"Who says they have to know?"

"What do you mean?" Ryeno scrunched up his face quizzically. "You're not planning on looking for him by yourself, are you? That would be dumb."

"I wouldn't be by myself." Samarra pointed at the Shieldwolves. "I thought I'd follow them from a distance."

Ryeno chuckled as if he knew something that wasn't already obvious. "You won't get out of here without being seen." He gestured at the glowing dome. "Shieldwolf Proper is going into lockdown."

Samarra controlled herself and said nothing. She watched the area like a hawk. "Stay where you are," she told him after a while.

"But—"

"Just wait here." When Samarra was sure Ryeno would do as she asked, she crept to a window that looked into Irik's quarters.

Dim yellow light illuminated Irik, who was standing in the middle of the room as if in a dream state. His unseeing eyes were wide open and he held a glowing moonstone ball: "She has taken him into the Caverns of Azalor, beyond the Pits of Sand. Her Watchers protect her, but the Ikajarri are elsewhere." Irik's voice sounded deeper than usual. "The Son was alive on entry into the caverns. The Flux has marked him…"

Samarra's breath fogged the window. She moved to a new spot and stood on the tips of her toes to get a better look. Irik held the moonstone closer to his face. "What are her plans for him?" he asked, then answered, "She has cast a veil over her thoughts..." Irik's whole body broke into a seizure when he snapped awake. He doubled over in pain and fell to the floor, gasping for air. "I see no more." When Irik left his quarters Samarra followed him to Merganser and Croak.

"The Ikajarri are not with Eshgranna in the caverns," Irik reported. "However, she has summoned an army of Watchers to protect her. Worse still, the Flux has already marked the Son."

Merganser and Croak gasped.

"All is not lost," Irik went on. "There is still time to save him, but it will be complicated and dangerous. Eshgranna has cast a shield around the caverns to block us from phasing in."

"Not the best news," Merganser said bleakly.

"This forces us to move by air," Croak pointed out. "Much faster than on foot, but it will take some time, perhaps two days."

Merganser focused on Irik. "Is she aware that we know her whereabouts?"

Irik shook his head. "I do not know."

"How many Shieldwolves must we send this time?" Croak asked.

"As many as we can spare," advised Merganser. "Let us not forget what she is capable of doing."

"After all these years in sleep, she will be weak," Croak pointed out. "She will not have the strength to control the Flux effectively."

"Do not underestimate her," Merganser cautioned. "We would be wise to over prepare."

"How soon can the battlegroup leave?" Croak asked.

"They are in their quarters charging their staffs." Merganser spoke in hurried tones. "They can be ready to leave within the hour. We cannot afford to fail. There is too much at stake."

"I will speak with Thomas Longmane. He leads the first wave," Croak said.

Irik touched Croak's arm. "Make it clear that they must avoid using magic for as long as possible. Eshgranna will sense a disturbance in the Reflection. If she can feel us coming for her, she will send him elsewhere … or worse."

Samarra raced back to Ryeno.

"What did they say?"

"They're going to leave within the hour. I have to be ready, too."

"I'll go with you." He popped his collar. "You're a girl, and you need my protection."

"You're not coming with me. And I don't need your protection, thank you very much."

"Well … if you don't take me with you, I'll report you to Elder Croak. Then neither of us will go."

"You're bluffing." Samarra was not in the mood to be bullied into doing something she didn't want to do. However, the moment Ryeno stood up and took a step in Croak's direction, she changed her mind. "Sit down." She pulled him by the seat of his pants.

"Ouch, that hurt."

Samarra wiped her hand on her fatigues as if trying to clean off years of grime. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Aww." He rubbed his backside. "How can I resist such a pretty face? You're forgiven, princess. You can make it up to me with a kiss."

Samarra groaned when he puckered his lips. "No thanks."

Ryeno sighed deeply as if her rejection of him was unbearable. He lowered his head and sniffed in despair.

Samarra felt sorry for him. "Okay, okay, you can come, but you have to promise to stay out of trouble. Otherwise, you're on your own."

"I promise." A broad grin lit up his face.

"Now, all we have to do is come up with a plan."

Magic Dust

"I've got it," Samarra said.

"You do?" Ryeno inched closer to her. Samarra backed away.

"I know how to get out. There's a chance of getting caught, but we should be okay if we're careful."

"How are we going to do it?"

"Have you ever been into the bunker?" Samarra pointed out the trapdoor.

"I haven't. Are you saying we go in there? How's that supposed to get us out of Shieldwolf Proper?"

"There's a tunnel down there that leads outside, to a ravine. If we can get to the ravine, we should be able to get to Cass."

"That's a fantastic idea. I knew you were special. You're not like all the other girls."

Samarra ignored his flattery. "There's one small problem."

"What?" All hope seemed to drain from his face.

"The mountains that surround the ravine are huge. We won't be able to climb over them."

Ryeno slumped his shoulders dejectedly. "Oh."

"It's not that bad, though. Have you heard of Suthum?"

"Yes, I have." Ryeno trembled at the thought of the dragon. "Suthum is dangerous."

Samarra shook her head. "I've met her and she isn't dangerous. Maybe she's a bit… umm, odd… but not that bad. You shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"You're so brave." Ryeno batted his eyelashes at her. Samarra grimaced.

"Suthum lives deep in the ravine," she said in her most serious voice. "The Shieldwolves have pinned back her wings with magical chains so that she can't fly away."

"That's not good."

"No, it's not, but if we dispel the chains, we might be able to convince her to take us over the mountain ranges. What do you think?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ryeno covered his mouth with his hand and burped. "If we set her free, what will stop her from eating us?"

"We're gaians, she won't eat us. Suthum only likes archeop. She told me so. We have to take a chance. There's no other way."

Ryeno scanned the area. When he was satisfied that the Shieldwolves weren't looking his way, he said, "All right, how do we set her free? I can do this—" he jumped up and demonstrated his wobbly attack moves, "—and this." Next he showed off his not-so-high kicks before he sat back down. "But I don't know how to dispel magical chains."

"Ahh, but I do."

"You do?" Ryeno was wide-eyed.

"The magic dust that dispels the chains is in the vault."

"Are you serious? The vault's guarded by steel golems; everyone knows that. You'll never get past them."

"It'll be tricky, but there is a way." Samarra furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. "Do you know how to get to the vault?"

Ryeno nodded.

"Good. That's one thing we don't have to worry about. I think I know what to do next. Follow me."

Samarra led Ryeno to her favourite place in the biodome: the library. The front door was open as always. She peeked inside. The room was empty. Samarra went to Delphi, placed her staff on the ground, and settled into a chair; its soft padding adjusted to fit her body shape.

Ryeno seemed genuinely perplexed. "How are you supposed to save your brother like this?"

Samarra gave him a dirty look. "We're about to find out how to get to the Caverns of Azalor." A holographic screen flashed on in front of her. "Keep an eye on the door, will you?"

"I love it when you act all bossy."

Samarra ignored him and read the text that appeared on screen:
Input.
"
Delphi, please show me a map with directions to the Caverns of Azalor." At once, a map appeared. "Look, Ryeno, the caverns are up here." She traced the path from Shieldwolf Proper to the caverns. "Can you remember the directions in case I forget?"

"I think I can."

"That's good enough, I suppose. Once we've left Suthum's Cradle, there's a winding road to the west that will take us into the Jade Forest. At the other end of the forest is a path that goes north. That's the one we have to take to get to Cass. Got it?"

"Got it." Ryeno went to the entrance and looked outside.

"I just have one more thing to do here."

"Okay, but hurry up. There's a patrol headed our way."

Samarra nodded. "I'll be quick." She leaned forward and whispered: "Delphi, show me what you know about Eshgranna."

The screen populated with hundreds of search results. Samarra selected Eshgranna/Aletheia and read out the text that appeared on screen:

Eleven years pass,

A master awakens.

The
hidden Son rises,

And all flux is purged.

Our hero in battle

Is the shepherd of wolves.

Samarra stared at the words on the screen.
If the Son is Cass, the master must be Eshgranna
. She sank back in the chair and touched the asterisk at the bottom of the screen. Dozens of thumbnails popped up, but before she could get a better look at the images, Ryeno appeared at her side.

"Hurry, we have to hide." He scrambled around for a hiding spot. "They're almost here."

Samarra jumped out of the armchair and the screen went dull. She grabbed her staff and ducked under Python's desk seconds before the patrol walked past the library. Samarra waited until she could no longer hear the Shieldwolves talking before she felt safe enough to stand up. "We're going to the lab next."

"When are you going to tell me your plan?" Ryeno was growing impatient.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"But—"

"I'll tell you in a minute," she said on her way to the courtyard.

The Shieldwolves were busy preparing to leave, a patrol had just walked past, the trainers were in the bunker, and the Elders were nowhere to be found. Samarra and Ryeno headed for the lab with no interruptions. During her time at Shieldwolf Proper, Samarra had not been inside the lab as it was off limits to swains. She opened the door and entered the room.

Mixed scents of lavender and orange permeated the air and calmed her nerves. Even Ryeno looked more relaxed than he had before. Against each wall were heavy silver shelves stocked with jars of assorted herbs, spices, natural oils, and boosters of various colours. A range of instruments lined the two large tables in the centre of the room. Green liquid boiled and steamed in a beaker that had been set up on one end of a long worktable.

Samarra went straight for the boosters. She ran her finger along each label until she found the one she was looking for. There were three left. "Vapour form: v4.3." She crammed all three vials into her pockets.

"What are you going to do with those?"

"Let's get out of here first."

Ryeno followed her out of the lab. "Do it soon. I know you're trying to be mysterious, but all this waiting is annoying."

Samarra exited the main building and ducked behind a bed of rosebushes. She showed Ryeno a vial. "With this, I can sneak in and out of the vault without getting caught."

"How?"

"Drink booster. Turn invisible. Walk through wall."

"Are you serious?" Ryeno looked skeptical.

"Dead serious."

"Have you tried one before?"

"No, but Cass told me about them. I think they last for two minutes. So I have to be quick."

"How can you walk through walls and carry things around at the same time? That doesn't make sense."

"Doesn't make sense to me either, Ryeno, but it's worth a try. What do we have to lose?"

"I was going to say our bodies, but never mind. So what do
I
do while you're in the vault?"

"You just wait in the hallway."

"What? No chance. I want to do something more exciting."

Samarra gave him a booster. "Here, you hold on to the spare one. That's exciting."

Ryeno examined the vial looking unconvinced.

Samarra waited for him to pocket the booster and beckoned him to follow her. In no time they were in the tower. They tiptoed down a set of winding stairs to the bottom floor and snuck down a long corridor until they reached a dead end.

Ryeno pointed at the gilded steel wall. "That's it."

Seeing the vault made things more real to Samarra. She started to have doubts about her plan, but she was quick to dismiss her second guessing and focused on doing whatever it took to find Cassian. "Is there magic that protects the vault? This seems too easy."