The Magic Wakes (28 page)

Landry moved down to his cellular energy. When he reached it, he blew some of it toward Talia. The moment it crossed between their fingers, her cells absorbed it hungrily, and continued to pull from his body.

Talia knew she was draining him and she tried to close off the energy flow, but Landry blocked her.

Talia, one more, from your dreams.

Yes
. Her body jerked as if she physically hurled the image she had shaped toward the dragon. As the image left her mind she threw all her concentration into stopping her body from draining Landry’s life force.

She wanted to balance the energy they had left between the two of them, but she forgot to breathe. She didn’t feel herself spinning or falling.

A rush of images flooded Talia’s mind. She wasn’t sure where they came from, but she could see hundreds of green dragons lounging on mountain ledges. Soaking up the sun. She saw nesting sites and young dragons playing under the watchful eyes of the she-dragons. Landry’s hand swept up her back, and rested on her shoulder. He watched the images too.

The pleasant scene changed. Green, red, blue, and silver dragons lined the sides of a massive cavern. A mage and several Dragumon stood in the middle of them. Pleading? It was hard to tell since the image was quickly replaced by another. The dragons circled a mountain top opening a portal in a valley for the Dragumon to walk through. And then the dragons created their own portals and flew out of Sendek’s knowledge.

A name sounded in Talia’s head.

“Jewel.” Talia gasped.

“Yes.” The dragon gazed at the two humans.

“You knew the Dragumon. What were they like? Can we reason with them, find some way to end this peacefully?”

Jewel stood and stretched her hind legs, then leaned back to stretch her front legs. She unfurled one wing and stretched, tucked it back by her side and repeated with the other wing.

“Would you be able to co-exist with such creatures?”

Talia paused a moment. “I don’t know. I really don’t, but I’m willing to try.”

Jewel jumped from the ledge and stood in the opening to the cave. Her body blocked the light from the lava, as well as the sweltering heat.

The sudden cooling was like a last meal before an execution. Landry and Talia clung to one another and waited to die as the dragon’s breath washed over them.

The jade green dragon stepped over them and disappeared up the tunnel toward the surface. The light from the magma chamber lit the tunnel and the heat engulfed them again as the giant haunches disappeared around the curve.

“The female is weak and must gather strength, and we have company.” The dragon called back to them.

“Does that mean she isn’t going to eat us?” Talia asked.

“I’m not sure.” Landry rolled to his feet and pulled her with him.

A wave of dizziness overwhelmed Talia and she clung to Landry. He pulled out his light and they followed Jewel away from the draining heat.

Landry whispered, “I wonder what she meant by company?”

“I don’t know. How are you holding up?” Talia concentrated on each step up the tunnel. “I couldn’t control the exchange.”

“Don’t worry about it, although you worried me at the end. I thought you would use us both up.”

“My cells just took what they needed. Did you block me from closing the connection?” She watched Landry shrug. “What if I had—”

“Shh, you didn’t, and hopefully we’ll never have to do that again.”

Talia trembled from head to toe, but let the conversation die. She needed all her concentration just to take another step. When they stepped out from behind the waterfall, Jewel was nowhere to be seen. Talia’s heart sunk when she saw two of the moons directly overhead. There would be no energy for her to draw from.

Something doesn’t feel right.
Landry pulled her back into the shadow of the cave entrance. The tension in his body reminded Talia of the first day they met. He was that tightly wound coil of strength waiting to spring. His training settled on him and for a moment he looked like a stranger as he scanned the moonlit crevice in front of them.

What is it?
Talia asked
.

I’m not sure, but we’re being watched.

It’s probably Jewel.

No, there are multiple emotions. They’re not quite human.

Talia’s heart stuttered before speeding up. The Dragumon were here. There was no way to fight them. Their strongest weapons lay two hundred feet above inside the ship and they were too weak to climb.

Jaron should have taught us how to defend ourselves
, Talia lamented.

Landry searched through every option he could think of for a plan of escape while Talia tried to follow his thought processes. The best option was no longer available. If the suns had been up, Talia could have gathered energy to focus into a weapon. The thought made her cringe. Could she really do that?

The battery to Landry’s cloaking belt was charging in the ship. He was too weak to carry Talia anyway. They had nothing to help them. No knowledge about the Dragumon weaknesses, and even Jewel had abandoned them.

At the thought of weaknesses, a file in Landry’s brain opened. Jaron knew of a weakness. His people had fought the Dragumon. They lost in the end, but they did find a way to kill them.

Landry and Talia watched as a scene opened up in their minds. A vast army of humans grappled in close combat with the Dragumon. They fell by the thousands.

Despair engulfed Talia and Landry as they watched. But then, the scene zoomed in to one man. He swung a heavy broad sword upward to block the grasping hand that reached for him. The tip of his sword caught the edge of the scales on the Dragumon’s chest.

These scales were not as closely knit as dragon scales, and they sloughed off with the pressure of the swing. A thin line of blood seeped from the pale gray skin that lay bare. The Dragumon’s eyes grew wide, but the man seized the moment to thrust his sword through the weak area.

The scene faded from their minds.

How does that help? We don’t have a sword or anything comparable.
Defeat laced Landry’s thoughts.

“I can use it.” Jewel’s voice startled the couple.

She had been listening to their thoughts the whole time. Landry and Talia stared out into the open night trying to see where Jewel was in relation to the Dragumon. The moonslight flirted with the shadows along the mountain side. Talia found Jewel clinging to the side of the cliff halfway between the ship and the crevice floor by the rappelling ropes. The dragon moved smoothly from the silvery glow of light back into the shadows.

She moved diagonally down the rock face toward another shadow. Movement within revealed a Dragumon in hiding. Landry and Talia sensed more than heard the sound of talons scraping against scales.

The thundering water masked the sounds of the Dragumon’s death, but they watched its body fall to the ground in front of them. The green scales glittered in the moonslight, but a dark area slashed across its abdomen. Blood drained out onto the rocky ground. Paralyzed, Talia stared at it until another body fell from the cliff face.

Talia hid her face in her hands and didn’t see the third Dragumon run toward her, but Landry did. He shoved her out of the way and met the mass of muscles and scales head on. Talia scrambled up, watching helplessly as their hands locked around each other’s throats in a death grip.

It would only be a matter of time before one of them lost consciousness, and she had little hope Landry would come out on top. Talia searched the ground for something she could use as a weapon. All she found was the flashlight. Its weight felt heavy and solid in her hands.

Talia tightened her grip and approached the Dragumon from behind. She raised the metal light high and brought it crashing down on the green head with all her strength. A satisfying crack, vibrated up through her arms, rattling her teeth. Her relief was short lived as the flashlight shattered in her hands. The Dragumon let go of Landry and turned its attention to her.

The moonslight flashed off its eyes, paralyzing her. It reached out with large hands, grasped her shoulders, and flung her against the cliff face.

The air rushed out of Talia’s lungs. Her shirt and the skin on her back shredded as she slid down the rock to rest on the ground. She panted for air and her eyes watered. A sharp pain in her chest dulled the ache in her back. The tips of her fingers tingled and sparkles danced at the edge of her vision. A blurry form stalked toward her.

Talia willed her muscles to move as she struggled to suck in more air. Her body was spent and there were no reserves to pull from. She watched death approach and wondered that it was different from her dreams.

The Dragumon reached down, wrapped its hand around Talia’s neck, and pulled her to her feet. Sharp talons pierced the sides of her throat. Talia grabbed hold of its arm as her feet left the ground. She tried to wiggle her fingers between the vice-like grip.

She needed air.

Her heart raced and she found herself counting each beat.

How many do I have left
? The roar of the waterfall faded to the background.

A great weight fell from above, knocking Talia to the ground once more. Talia watched as Jewel pinned the Dragumon down with her strong back legs and sliced upward with her front talons. The Dragumon’s scales fell to the ground in a glittering shower. When Jewel brought the clawed front leg to her mouth, something dangled from it. Long and white, the coiled intestines uncurled as she slurped them down. Jewel paused, part of the entrails caught in her teeth. She popped her head upward and the stringy material bounced, landing in her mouth.

No one should die that way. Talia’s stomach churned as the smell of warm blood washed over her. She tried to stand, but found it harder to breathe with each move she made. The darkness closed in and she no longer fought it back. Before losing consciousness, Landry’s arms slipped around her followed by the comforting presence of his mind.

I’m sorry.

Talia’s entire body ached. The metallic smell of blood filled her nose, and she tasted it on her tongue. Water thundered somewhere nearby, but it didn’t sound as loud as her last dream.

Was it a dream
? A shudder ran through her body and she squeezed her eyes tighter. Not a dream. She still couldn’t breathe. Her face was pressed against Landry’s chest, which didn’t help.

He hovered around the borders of her mind.
We need to get you into the autodoc.

How am I alive?

Jewel. I thought I had lost you, but she did something and you came back to me.

Why?
Talia took shallow breaths and tried to look for the dragon.

“I have my reasons.” Jewel’s voice vibrated through their bodies.

Thank you.
Talia and Landry breathed the thought as one. He held her tighter, but backed off as the pressure sent a new wave of agony through her.

Each shallow breath sent shooting pains through Talia’s chest. Her arms and legs tingled as they lay limply by her side. Through their connection, she could feel Landry’s weariness. There was no way they could climb up to the ship.

What are we going to do? I can’t heal us before dawn
.

“Jewel told me how to create our own energy.” Landry spoke close to her ear, but she could barely hear him over the thundering water.

“That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Jewel corrected.