“It is certain. The question is whether they are friend or foe.” Samantha kept her eyes moving. “When in doubt, always assume foe.”
I nodded. “Healthy attitude.”
“It is called survival instinct.”
Bright light let us know we were almost out of the trees, but we didn’t know what that meant for being followed. Either we were both literally and figuratively out of the woods, or we were up a creek. A nagging feeling told me to move the Onyx to its box. I yanked out the box and set the small stone inside it.
“Shit.” I saw the guys before they jumped on us. They grabbed my arms, but I got in a couple of good kicks.
“I would stop that if I were you. That is, if you have any care for your companion,” the man holding my arms said.
I noticed the way several ox-like men leered at Samantha. “Don’t touch her.”
“Do not give us a reason to.”
I nodded, taking my first good look at our captors. The men were large, their tight shirts showing off every inch of their muscles. If they were human, I would have questioned whether they took steroids. I was pretty sure their physique came naturally.
“Listen,” I said. “We are just trying to—”
“We know what you are doing,” the guy holding me interjected.
“You do?”
“You are working for Blake. You wish to turn more of our men into slaves.”
“No. You have it wrong.” Samantha struggled against the man who had her.
I wanted to tell her to stop; it would only get her hurt.
“Oh do we?” The same one laughed.
I fought down my anger as best I could. “Take us to Ollis. He knows us.”
“Ollis? As though he would bother with you.”
“We were on the Pact council together. I’m Kevin Callow… Winthrop, brother of the Essence.”
He started to pat me down, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he found the Onyx. I was unbelievably grateful I’d moved it back into the box so he couldn’t get to the stone. The box barely fit, but I’d managed to zip it into an inside pocket of my coat.
He yanked out the box, ripping my jacket in the process. “What is this?”
I went with honesty. “Our only chance of defeating Blake. Please take us to Ollis. He’ll explain it all.”
“He could be telling the truth,” the younger man said. “Either way, what harm would it do to take him to Ollis? If he lies, we can kill them both there.”
Samantha shivered, and I just wanted to hold her. I’d never seen her show fear. I wondered if those dreams had made her more fearful.
The first man didn’t say anything for a minute, and I was getting ready to start arguing again when he nodded and said, “Fine.”
A year earlier, I probably would have made a smart aleck comment about them finally doing the right thing, but that likely would have just gotten me hurt. They marched us forward until my leg protested so much I didn’t think I could make it. We walked through small strips of forest connected by barren land. I didn’t see any other people and wondered where the population lived.
When we finally reached a village, I thought we might stop, but the men kept moving. From what I could see, it was some kind of mining village. I saw men hauling materials down from a mountain. A few kids ran along beside us, and I wondered how different those kids were from the ones back home. It also reminded me why I was risking my life. With Blake in power, no child was safe.
After walking for another hour, we reached a large city. Evidently, that was where most of the population lived.
“Do not talk to anyone,” the younger man ordered us.
Once again, I chose to keep my mouth shut. We just had to get to Ollis.
They didn’t have to worry about us talking to people. No one so much as stopped. I sensed it had more to do with fear than a lack of curiosity. The people seemed afraid of us. That was a crazy thought, considering how much larger the Kenset people were. Ollis always reminded me of an ox, and although he was on the larger end, even the smallest guy I’d seen was larger than I was, and that was saying a lot since I was six-four.
“Time to find out if you were lying to us.” The first guy pushed me forward into a dark alley.
My instincts wanted me to fight, but I knew that would be stupid. I might have tried something if it were just me, but Samantha was there. It was one thing to get myself in trouble, but I refused to let anything happen to her. I probably would have walked to my death if it meant giving her a chance of surviving.
We walked from the alley into an ornate hall. The walls were lined with portraits of battles and of men in robes. Large sculptures dotted the walkway. We must have been brought in the back way. Either that or they were trying to keep people away from the government. I knew of a few politicians back home that would have loved that idea.
“Kevin?”
A good amount of anxiety rolled off me. “Ollis! Thank God.” Of all the leaders I’d met in Alak, he was one of the few I’d trust with my life, and that was exactly what I was doing.
“You know this boy?” our first captor asked.
“Yes. I know them both. Release them.” Ollis gestured at us.
I stumbled forward as the guy finally let me go with a shove. The younger one holding Samantha released her in a gentler manner. She rubbed her arm where he’d held her, and I could see the relief on her face. I resisted the urge to punch the guy for touching her.
“I also need my stuff back.” I wasn’t going anywhere without that box.
Ollis smiled. “A little pushy, are you?”
“We found it, Ollis.”
Although I hadn’t talked to Ollis, the Resistance had. They knew all about the Onyx. It had been smuggled out through their nation to begin with.
“Give him his things,” Ollis said. “And leave us.”
“Even this?” The first guy held up the box. “What is it? He claims it can defeat Blake.”
“Especially that.” Ollis took the box, examining it for a moment before handing it to me. “It is what is inside that we need.”
The two men put down our packs and left, closing the door behind them.
“Have you opened it?” Ollis asked.
“Yes.”
“How? I do not see a latch.”
I touched the front of the box, and it popped open.
Ollis grinned. “Would you look at that? Made only for a Winthrop, I see.”
I smiled at Samantha. She’d gotten it right.
He held out a hand. “May I hold it?”
Even though I trusted him, I hesitated before handing it over again.
He must have sensed my unease. “It will not leave your sight.”
I nodded. “All right.” I gave him the box.
He didn’t remove the stone, just gazed down at it. “The Onyx in person. I never thought I’d see the day.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“Most important things do not. What does love look like?”
I didn’t miss the way he glanced between Samantha and me, and I wondered how many drinks he’d had already. He handed the box back to me.
I closed my hand around it. “Can you get us back to Energo? We need to meet Charlotte.”
“I can, but it is not going to be easy.” He scratched his beard. “Blake has the borders sealed.”
Samantha straightened. She always did that when she wanted someone to listen to her, as though she thought they’d respect her more if she were taller. “We do not have a choice.”
“A woman of conviction. You have done well for yourself, Kevin.”
“Thank you, but she’s right.”
“Of course I will help. Did you ever question it? But first, can you stay for a drink?”
I shook my head. “Not now. How about we have one the next time I’m in town?”
He laughed from deep in his belly. “I do hope you come back. I would love to show you the land.”
�
�I’d love to see it when I’m not being treated as a prisoner.”
“I am sorry about that. As you can imagine, we do not get too many outsiders here. And with Blake… we cannot be too careful.”
“Next time, put me on a safe list.”
He laughed again. “You have the finest sense of humor, Kevin. It is one of my favorite things about you.”
“Glad to know I have something good to put on the table.”
He got a weird glint in his eyes. “Are you guys up for a rather exciting form of transportation?”
“Exciting?” Samantha and I asked in unison.
“We had some eggs hatch a few weeks back. They would have been useful in the battle in Energo, but you cannot look back, only forward.”
I shook my head. “What are you talking about, Ollis?”
“Dragons,” he said theatrically. He really would have been a terrific storyteller. His excitement was pretty contagious.
“Dragons?”
“That is what I said.” His face didn’t hold a hint of a joke. He was dead serious.
“But you mean the mythological creatures that fly and breathe fire?” I wondered for the second time just how much he’d had to drink.
“Mythological? No, but they do fly and breathe fire. The flying part is why they are useful for transportation.”
I tried to maintain some composure. Laughing at the man wasn’t going to help our cause. “Are you suggesting we fly dragons into Energo?”
“Absolutely. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but they are pretty easy to control. The best part is that these are babies and have not developed any issues yet.”
“Issues?” I could feasibly accept there were dragons. We’d seen a lot of crazy things. But actually flying on one seemed pretty out there.
“You do not need to worry about those. Mostly attachment, anger, you know the usual.”
“Okay, so theoretically, if we were interested in flying these dragons, where would we find them?”
Ollis grinned. “Just follow me.”
Samantha touched my arm. “We may have just found our ticket home.”
I nodded. “Or our death certificate, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Just saying the word “death” made me think of Dad and Monty. Was there any chance they were still alive? Was Monty really a bad guy? I pushed the thoughts away. I couldn’t afford to get too distracted.
Ollis led us out of the room and down a narrow corridor. It started off wide enough, but the farther we went, the more it narrowed. The place felt as though it belonged in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I’d have to tell Liam. That was his favorite movie when we were little. By the time we reached the end of the hall, Ollis had to turn sideways to fit through the doorway. Then he ducked. I guessed that, like the alley, it was meant to deter people from going in that direction.
We walked through some sort of greenhouse. One half was full of plants that produced fruit. Under different circumstances, I would have asked questions, but we didn’t have time for that.
Ollis turned to look back at us. “It is just through here.”
I nodded. “This had better not be a joke.”
“No joke, kid. No joke.”
“Kid? I’ve been demoted to kid?”
“You look younger now. Maybe it is because you are in desperate need of a shower. I would have offered you a place to clean up, but you seem to be in a hurry.”
Samantha brushed a hand through her hair. “We are.”
Ollis smiled at her. “I was calling him dirty. You look fresh as a spring morning.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
“If Kevin had not already claimed you, I would have introduced you to one of my sons.”
She blushed about ten shades redder, and I put an arm around her. “Yeah, it’s too bad.”
I didn’t miss the smile she threw my way. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was acknowledging we were together or that she didn’t like the thought of dating one of Ollis’s sons. Maybe it was both. Either way, I liked it.
We emerged from the greenhouse, and moved into a courtyard with high walls covered in bright green vines.
“Here we are.” Ollis opened a set of double doors on a circular stone building. “Easy now, little ones.”
It took me a minute to realize he wasn’t talking to us. I peeked inside the room and stepped back. Right on Samantha’s foot.
Before I could apologize, she saw what made me step back. She didn’t flinch. “Wow. He cannot really mean for us to ride on those, can he?”
Four enormous winged creatures covered in iridescent scales lay stretched out in a spacious arena. Sharp spines outlined their wings and tails. Two of the dragons were blue with green stripes down their sides. One was red, and the last was orange. They looked up at us, probably trying to decide whether we were of any concern. I hoped they were lazy dragons.
Ollis pointed at the pair that looked alike. “I would suggest the twins there. They are the gentlest, yet fastest flyers.”
“They’re the gentle ones?” I didn’t think they looked particularly gentle. At the moment, they were both eyeing me with less than friendly expressions.
“How do we approach them?” Samantha was already talking about approaching them? Maybe she was braver than I was. I kept expecting fire to come out of their nostrils.
“I will call them out for you. These boys will not hurt you as long as you are careful.”
“Boys? They’re male dragons?” I didn’t know why that surprised me.
“Yes. That is why I suggest them. The girls”—he pointed at the other two—“have more of a bite to them.”
“Bite. Lovely.”
Ollis smiled. “Should I get them saddled up for you?”
I got the impression that he liked seeing me so uncomfortable while Samantha might as well have been jumping up and down with excitement.
I nodded, trying to appear more relaxed. “Saddles? Right. Sure.”
Samantha whispered in my ear, “I have not seen you afraid of anything in a while. It is kind of cute.”
“I’m not scared.” The real question was why she wasn’t afraid. She was really okay just walking up to a giant animal who could probably kill us without moving its head?
I kept quiet as Ollis brought out the twins. We moved outside and waited while two men put saddles on them as if they were horses. Giant, brightly colored horses with scales and wings. Right.
Samantha walked right up to one of them and touched his nose. “Hello. My name is Samantha.”
The dragon made some sort of noise that actually sounded kind of happy, like a cat’s purr or something.
She gestured for me to join her. “Come here.”
They both snarled at me.
She laughed. “Maybe they do not like males.”
“Figures,” I grumbled.
“Hey, you act the same around Talen.” Her eyes twinkled.
I joined her and tentatively touched the nose of the second one. Upon closer inspection, the shiny scales showed an eerie reflection of my face. “I’m really not trying to move in on any of your women. I already have one.”
Samantha laughed. “And he is modest, too.”
The dragon lowered his head slightly. His hide actually felt kind of cool. Covered in rough scales, his skin was slightly warm to the touch.
Ollis walked over. “Can I trust you to bring these boys back when you are done? Dragons being rare and all.”
Samantha nodded. “Yes. We will bring them back as soon as possible.”
“Good to see you.” Ollis surprised me with a hug. “Take care of your lady. You will not find another like her.”
“I know.” I patted his back. “Good to see you, too.” I turned back to the dragon. “So how do we get on these things?”
The dragons snorted.
“Sorry, on these dragons,” I corrected.
The one I’d been petting slowly lowered his head. At first I thought he was going to bite me or somet
hing, but then I realized the movement was so I could climb up into the saddle. I awkwardly put one leg on its back and pulled myself up. Samantha did the same thing with hers. It took me a moment to situate myself. There were reins, but I kind of wanted to hold on to something with more substance. Could I really hold on to a dragon’s neck?
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