by Keri Arthur
Kaiden resumed position in the driver seat, flicked a few more buttons, and then glanced at me. “Our guidance systems won't work in the bog, so I'll need you to watch for possible problems. The pod's underbelly isn't as fragile as the scooter’s, but anything big can still rip out her guts and ground us.”
I nodded. “Dare we use our lights?”
He hesitated. “Not until we're some way into the bog. We need them to believe we're still on the train for this to have any chance of working.”
I glanced at the guidance screen again and tension rose. Only a few more minutes to go.
The train began its slow turn. Kaiden reached down and gripped a red handle. As the pod ahead of us finally followed the rest into the turn, he pulled the handle up. There was a metallic snap and the front of the pod shuddered. Kaiden hit the power button and our pod’s engines fired up. As the train pulled away from us, he sped off the road and into the black-clad bog.
I leaned forward. The sliver moon was of little use when it came to illuminating the countryside, and while the stars were far brighter, their light barely touched the shadows haunting the ground. Though bogs were traditionally flat, there were stumps and rocks and who knew what other obstructions scattered about—none of which would be overtly obvious until we were almost upon them.
We'd only traveled a couple of miles when a huge explosion lit the sky to our left. I twisted around and saw a mushroom-like cloud rising toward the stars. A long line of flickering flames was spreading either side of the cloud's origin point.
“Looks like they had fuel cells in some of those pods,” Kaiden commented. “They would have been damn handy had we been able to get them back to Esan.”
“I think it's more important we get back to Esan.”
“A point with which some would disagree, at least when it comes to me. Eyes front and center, if you please.”
I crossed my arms and leaned on the console again, my gaze sweeping ground littered with thick clumps of spiky swamp grass, some of which were so tall it was impossible to see what they might be hiding. “It may seem that way right now, Kaiden, but when the push comes, that line is rarely crossed. Anger and loss always make a parent say things they don't actually mean.”
He looked at me, something I felt rather than saw. “Speaking from experience again, are we?”
I smiled. “I'm not a parent, if that's what you're asking.”
“I wasn't.” He paused. “Did you have a partner in Zephrine? Someone to fly home to?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I raised my eyebrows in silent query, and he grinned. “It means your heart is wholly mine to win.”
“Except there's no guarantee you'll be the one to win it,” I teased. “After all, I've had little chance to explore what this time offers in the way of male companionship. How do I know you are indeed a prime example?”
“You could take my word for it.”
“Or I could not.” I motioned to the left. “Tree stump, twenty feet.”
He adjusted the steering. “I have every faith you will.”
“There's that confidence again.”
“In this case, it's not misplaced.”
It wasn't, but I also wasn't about to admit that. It was far too soon and the future far too uncertain for any such admission.
We continued on through the night, our banter falling silent as tiredness and the constant need for alertness took its toll. But as the stars began to fade and dawn spread tentative fingers across night skies, the throat of Huskain—the far end of the nigh on impassible mountain that dominated the eastern end of Arleeon—loomed on the horizon. The pass itself was invisible from our current position, but the descriptions I'd heard of it said it was a sleek, sideways cut in the mountain—one that was supposedly the point where some ancient eruption had literally torn the mountain apart. Time and rain had given this tear point a smooth finish, making it all but impossible for anyone who couldn't fly to sneak up on the fortress that lay in the heart of the tear.
Another half hour or so, and we'd be safe.
I should have known better than to temp Túxn like that.
Something hit the ground to our right, and the earth exploded upward; the pod shuddered and drifted sideways, scraping rock before Kaiden was able to get it back under control.
I swore and twisted around. All I saw was lights.
Dozens of lights.
They’d found us.
Nine
Another explosion rocked the pod. Kaiden cursed and punched several buttons. Light speared the fading darkness, and the pod's speed increased. He skillfully wove through the stumps and rocks littering the area, his expression one of utter concentration. There was clear ground ahead—I could see it rising to the throat—but reaching it was no guarantee of safety. The bog had to be hampering the Mareritt as much as it was us, but once clear, we'd be easy game. The speed with which they were moving upon us, even in the bog, was evidence enough of that.
Another shell hit to our left, spraying mud and peat across the viewing screen. Kaiden pressed another button, and metal arms swished water across the glass, clearing it. Rock scraped across the pod's side and metal squealed; it sounded too much like the sound made by a dying animal for my liking.
The stumps gave way to trees. Up ahead was a long line of them—a forest of deadness that stood between the foothills and us. We had to go through it—there was no visible way around it—but it would slow us more than it would slow them. The train's control pod was chunkier than the needle-nosed vehicles the Mareritt were using.
I had to stop them if we were to have any chance of reaching Esan.
I scrambled out of the seat. “Get into that forest as fast as you can.”
“That's my plan—what's yours?”
“Prevent them from following us.”
I punched the door release button. The door had barely reached the halfway point when it smashed into a rock and was torn off its hinges. As it spun off into the bog, I caught the grip bar and leaned out. The posse had moved into an inverted V-formation; they were trying to stop us entering the forest.
I flexed my fingers and glanced ahead. Three minutes and we'd be in the trees. Heat burned through my blood in readiness, but the bog was too damp to set alight, and there were too many vehicles in our wake to attack. I might cinder three or even four, but doing so would deplete me and leave us virtually defenseless.
Two more explosions hit; the force sent the pod skidding sideways and almost launched me out of the door. It was only my fierce grip on the bar that saved me, but the sudden stop all but ripped my shoulder out of its socket. I swore and lunged for the bar with my free hand, my body swinging wildly in time with the pod’s movement and my boots digging a trench into the soft soil.
“Nara?” Kaiden shouted. “Do you need help?”
“No. Concentrate on getting through that forest.”
I swung one leg up into the pod and then awkwardly hauled my butt back inside.
The first of the dead trees sped past. Branches flicked through the open door, only to be snapped away and sent spinning when they hit the rear frame.
Another explosion. Earth and wood sprayed high and then rained down, thudding against the roof of the pod and spearing into the ground all around us.
I pushed upright, gripped the bar again, and then called to the heat in my blood.
“How long until before we leave the trees?”
“Three minutes,” Kaiden replied.
Another explosion, this time to our rear. The Mareritt were closing in; it could only be a matter of seconds before they had us dead in their sights.
“Keep this thing moving,” I said. “I’m about to set the world on fire.”
Flames immediately erupted across my fingertips; I formed them into a lance, sprayed it across the nearby trees, and then sent it spinning behind us. Flames leapt from tree to tree, their dry and rotten carcasses quickly succumbing to the heat. Soon there was nothing t
o see except a wall of fire.
It would delay them, not stop them. The Mareritt hierarchy had always worked on the theory that the greater the loss, the greater the gain. They wouldn't think twice about entering an inferno if, in the process, they took us out.
All around us trees burned, and thick smoke plumed into skies that were gradually brightening. The drakkons would soon be awake...
Awake now, came Oma's thought.
Can you fly in this light? Kaiden might have said the drakkons weren’t night blind, but I wasn’t about to order them out if they were going to have any trouble seeing.
Can fly anytime. Problem?
The Mareritt are attacking us.
We come. Leave some to burn.
A smile twitched my lips. I don't think that's going to be a problem.
See smoke.
I set the forest alight.
There soon.
Good.
An explosion ripped the trees to our right apart and sent a wave of fiery wooden splinters into the open door of the pod. I cursed and threw myself out of the way. Felt the prickle of pain and the flush of warmth and saw the deep gash that ran across my hand, just below the knuckles. Evidence of just how close I'd come to more serious injury.
“The drakkons are on their way,” I said. “How much longer will it be before we're out of this forest?”
“We’re hitting open ground now.”
The long line of fiery trees gave way to gently sloping fields, and the pod sped up once again. I braced against the wall, tore off my left shirtsleeve, and quickly wrapped it around my hand to stem the blood.
Yet another explosion. This time, it was so close the force of the blast spun the pod around and threw me sideways and down. I cursed and flung out a hand; my fingers caught the edge of the weapons locker, and I hung on tight as the pod continued to spin. Then the stabilizers kicked in, and the spinning stopped with an abruptness that had my head smacking back into the locker. Stars briefly danced, but I shook my head and scrambled over to the door.
Some Mareritt vehicles had made it out of the forest.
I gathered fire and sprayed it across the leading three. Two jagged sideways, but I hit the third front-on. Fire punched through the view glass and set everyone and everything inside alight. A heartbeat later, the entire vehicle exploded, spraying metal and bits of Mareritt into the brightening skies.
One down, over a dozen to go.
But the ache in my head was beginning. I threw another lance regardless, taking out two more vehicles, but the effort had the mote in my eye bleeding. I sucked in air, trying to calm the racing of my heart and the fear that was building into panic, and then ran to the weapons locker. Rifles weren't going to do a lot against the vehicles chasing us, but they were a better option than draining myself to the point of unconsciousness.
“Will Esan see our plight and come to our rescue?” I returned to the doorway, braced as best I could, then raised the rifle and began to fire, aiming for the view screens rather than the vehicles themselves. If I could take out a driver or two...
“Maybe,” Kaiden said.
“Why maybe?” I bit back. “It seems pretty obvious to me that anyone the Mareritt are so desperately trying to kill might be someone you'd want to rescue—if only to uncover why.”
“That might have been the case in your time, but the Mareritt have used the decoy ploy a number of times over the last hundred years or so. We've learned to be cautious.”
“That damn caution could get us killed. Is there no way we can signal them?”
Another blast rocked the pod. As grass and dirt and heat sprayed across my body, I cursed fluently and fired every damn bullet in the chamber. It didn't do much other than waste bullets, but it made me feel a whole lot better.
Then, from out of the sky, dropped two red-gold figures of flaming destruction.
Here, Oma said, rather unnecessarily.
Burn, Kiva said. Burn all.
They swept down, wingtip to wingtip, their flight so precise, so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. As one they flamed, creating a wide line of fire from which no vehicle escaped. Some exploded instantly. Some melted. Others simply glowed so hot that staying within them was impossible. As the Mareritt within scrambled to escape, the drakkons swept up, around, and began another fire run.
No Mareritt escaped.
Check the forest, I said. It's possible there are still vehicles coming through it.
Kiva peeled off to do that. Oma swept toward us. Hurt?
No.
Movement ahead. Mareritt?
I twisted around. “Kaiden, Oma says there's movement—”
“I know.” His voice was grim. “Esan has fallen out.”
“That's a good thing, isn't it?”
“Not necessarily. Not when we're in the company of drakkons.”
“I'm not losing the drakkons.”
“I'm not suggesting you do. Just making you aware of a possible problem.”
I snorted. “It'd be the mother of all ironies to have safely traversed the entire breadth of Mareritten only to be killed by the very city we're trying to reach.”
“And it’s just the sort of kick in the guts Túxn would enjoy.”
Which basically echoed my earlier thoughts and deepened the trepidation. “What are we going to do?”
“I don't think they'll fire—”
“Is that another of your grand statements I need to take with a grain of salt?”
He flashed a grin over his shoulder. “Maybe. But they've seen the drakkons attacking the Mareritt vehicles and protecting us, so they'll be on amber alert rather than red.”
“And the fact we're in a Mareritt vehicle?”
He hesitated. “Could make them trigger-happy.”
I grunted and glanced around as Kiva swept down. Mareritt burned.
The regret in her voice was due to the fact that she hadn’t been responsible for their death. I smiled and said, There will be more.
Those ahead?
Are not Mareritt. They're friends.
Don't look friendly, Oma commented.
Because we're in a Mareritt vehicle.
If hate Mareritt, won't burn, Kiva commented.
Good, because we'll need their help if we're to free other drakkons.
I pushed upright and walked to the front of the pod. The throat loomed large, and the Eastern Slit was now visible. It was indeed an angular break between the two sides of the mountain; water tumbled from the edge of the upper slice and hit the lower, becoming a leaping, silvery stream of water that plunged into the deep pool at the base of the mountain and then rushed toward the distant sea. It was the upper slice that held the aeries, and they were all but inaccessible aside from the fly-in points for the drakkons. There was one stairway that ran from Esan to the aeries—and that entrance was heavily guarded. Or at least it had been in my time; I guessed there was little point in doing so now.
But it did make me wonder just how the Mareritt gained access to the eggs, given Esan never fell. Or was that where they first used the drakkons they'd bred themselves?
I didn't know. I suspected not even those who lived in Esan really knew.
I dropped my gaze to the fortress that was barely visible through the wash of rainbow spray. The great wall rose at an angle, a thick blot of darkness as smooth as the sides of the mountain it spanned. If the Mareritt had ever attacked it with tanks—and I had no doubt they had—there was no evidence of it. Arleeon might not have been blessed with a huge number of earth mages, but those who’d survived Zephrine’s fall and the Mareritt takeover of Arleeon were being put to good use here in Esan.
Five squat tanks had hunkered in front of the deep, wide pool that dominated the entrance into the pass, and at least another dozen armed men stood in front of these.
Kaiden powered down the pod. “I think it best if we stop and I go talk to them.”
“I’ll ask the drakkons to land and go stand with them. Maybe it'll spook your peop
le less.”
“Not when you look Mareritt. Besides, nearly everyone within Esan has lost someone to the drakkons, be it in the past or the present. It's not something they'll get over easily.”
“This fortress was once manned by drakkons and kin—surely that can't have been forgotten so swiftly?”
“Two hundred years isn't exactly swift.”
The control pod settled onto the ground a quarter of a mile from Esan’s forces. I suspected we remained within their range.
Kaiden climbed out of the driver seat, then paused and raised a hand, gently thumbing away the last remnants of blood from my cheek. “It's rather disturbing to see your eye bleed like that.”
“It's the price we pay for the blood heat.” I frowned. “If three of your sisters have the mote, why would the bleeding be foreign to you?”
“Because, as I said, no fire runs through their blood.” His hand slipped to my neck, then he leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. He tasted of sweat and desire and all that was good in this crazy world. “I'll see you soon.”
“Only if they don't shoot first and ask questions later.”
“That depends entirely on whether my father is out there or not.” The twist of his lips suggested he wasn't entirely joking. “I'll wave you in when it’s safe.”
“And the pod?”
He hesitated. “It's probably better if you leave it here and walk. They've more time to adjust to your coloring.”
“Looking like a Mareritt is not something I want or desire.”
“I know, but the fact remains, it'll spook just as many as the drakkons—at least initially.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Tell me again why we bothered coming here?”
“Because it's our best option of finding a means to free the drakkons.” He kissed me again, fiercer but altogether too briefly, then released me and jumped out of the pod. I grabbed my sleeping roll and pulled out my flight gear. The Mareritt might not have recognized the uniform, but Kaiden had, and that surely meant others in the last remaining drakkon stronghold surely would. Whether they'd believe it was actually mine or something I'd either been given or stolen, I couldn't say.
Once I'd switched clothes, I stepped out of the pod, moved to one side, and called in the drakkons. They spiraled down lazily, using the breeze more than their wings, and landed either side of me. Oma snaked her head around, offering her eye ridge for a scratch. I complied, and she rumbled happily.
