Rion

by Susan Kearney

  “Not to my knowledge.” She began to shake.

  “Hey.” He started to touch her, then pulled back and clenched his fingers into fists. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “I damn well hope so.”

  “Look, when you first dragonshaped, it took awhile to get the hang of telepathic communication, right?”

  “Not really. I just used the same communication that Lucan and I always used.”

  “What about the group telepathy?”

  “At first I just did that, too. It’s like shouting instead of speaking. But then I learned to narrow down and direct my communication. If there’s a group, I don’t have to send to everyone. I can pick and choose who will receive.”

  “Maybe sending emotions works the same way. With practice, you may eventually choose who will receive the emotions you send.”

  “Maybe.” Frustration laced her words. “But how am I going to practice?”

  He chuckled. “With your ability to take away pain, there’ll be no shortage of volunteers.”

  She shook her head. “This is so not funny.”

  “Sorry.”

  “In the last six months I’ve been around a lot of dragonshapers. No one’s ever picked up my emotions unless I was with you. Not until I kissed you or made love to you. And if you make one crack about having to kiss me for the sake of your country, I’ll deck you.”

  He was smiling inside, but he held out his hands, palms up. “No jokes.”

  “Good.”

  He patted the pillow, glad she couldn’t see his face in the dark. “Come on. We both need sleep.”

  THE FLASH WOKE Rion in the middle of the night. One moment he was staring at the ceiling, the next he sucked in his breath.

  The Holy Grail floated within a glass case. Made of burnished metal, it glowed with an unmistakable inner beauty and a patina that depicted its ancient age.

  The Holy Grail. A legendary healing cup reputed to be as old as the galaxy.

  The same Holy Grail Rion had once held in his hands.

  Four men wearing Unari uniforms stood guard around the case that held the Grail. Behind them were monitors. Rion couldn’t read the language. But one screen showed a star map, with a course plotted in.

  According to the monitor, the ship was part of an armada and heading straight for Honor.

  Stars. The Unari were escorting the Grail to Honor.

  Rion awakened as the sun came up. His flash last night had left him certain that time was running out for his people. The Unari wouldn’t risk bringing the Holy Grail to Honor, not until they’d enslaved every single Honorian.

  He left Marisa to sleep and met the rebel foraging party and Erik at the front entrance. Someone had built a fire in the hall, and the men were drinking hot tea.

  “Erik!” Rion stepped into the room. He had no difficulty picking his cousin out of the crowd. They shared the same height, the same dark hair and gray eyes, the same broad shoulders. But there the resemblances ended. Erik was rail thin, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. His skin had been burned by the sun and wind. He had a scar down his neck, but it was his eyes that had changed the most. Rion’s fun-loving, luxury-craving cousin had been replaced by a serious and stern man. Rion clapped Erik into a bear hug. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  Erik broke into a warm grin. “They told me you’d come back. With a woman. Knowing you—she’s pretty.”

  “That she is.”

  “She’s an offworlder?” Erik asked.

  “What of it?” Rion tried not to bristle.

  “Just guard her well. Ever since the Unari invaded, outsiders are not exactly welcome.”

  Rion introduced himself to the other men, who soon went off to their beds after their night mission. Finally, he and Erik were alone. Rion had dreamed of this meeting, but now that it had arrived, he sensed Erik was uncomfortable and sought to set him at ease by telling his story. He summarized his escape from Honor, the crash on Pendragon, the journey to Earth, then Tor, and back home.

  “That’s quite a tale. I fear mine is nowhere near as exciting.”

  “How did you escape the Unari?” Rion asked.

  “They kept us weak, starving us of platinum so we couldn’t humanshape. But some of the men went without their platinum, so I could…”

  “Do you know how many times I wished you’d come with me?” Rion shook his head and sighed. “Your staying behind so I could get away… I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”

  “I don’t, either,” Erik jested, but his eyes didn’t smile. “The Unari took over the city in one day. An hour after they landed, they’d installed the Tyrannizer. Chivalri fell in two days. We didn’t stand a chance.”

  “You were part of the slave labor?”

  Erik nodded. “The Unari are forcing dragonshapers to build a huge structure. I worked on one wall for three years. It’s bad. They only feed the prisoners when they dragonshape. And it’s never enough, so they are too weak to humanshape, and remain trapped in slave labor.”

  “What do you know of the machine?” Rion asked, his voice gentle, his heart heavy. He suspected Erik had suffered much that he wasn’t saying. The man was nothing but skin and bones.

  “The more you resist obeying Unari orders, the worse the pain.”

  “You’ve never seen the Tyrannizer?” Rion asked, and when Erik shook his head, disappointment filled him.

  “But I’ve heard rumors.” Erik’s eyes turned hard. “It is said that our best warriors are kept in a room with the Tyrannizer. That the Unari torture them and then the machine absorbs their pain and projects it across all of Honor.”

  Ever since Rion had learned Erik was with the rebels, he’d been counting on his cousin to help plan a revolt. But the Unari had beaten Erik, like everyone else, down to a ghost of his true self.

  “I’ve heard rumors that your father…” Erik couldn’t meet his gaze.

  “They torture him?” Just saying the words hurt.

  “It’s only rumor,” Erik said. “If the Unari find out who you are, they’ll turn the countryside upside down until they find you.”

  “And my mother?”

  “She died in the initial takeover, trying to protect the children.” Erik’s eyes teared. “She was a great lady. Even if she was from Tor.”

  “Yes.” Rion’s throat closed with grief. He hadn’t grown up in his parents’ household, but he’d visited often. He remembered falling and skinning his knee and his mother cleaning it and telling him how brave he was to let her wash it. She’d smelled like violets, and her smile was like sunshine. But her eyes were often sad. She must have loved him very much to have given him up to save his life. Now she was gone.

  He told himself that at least she hadn’t suffered for three long years. But that fact did nothing to ease the hot ball of anger in his gut.

  “They threw her body to the dogs.” Erik shuddered, and Rion turned away to hide his tears. “You shouldn’t have come back. There’s nothing here but starvation, torture, and death.”

  “We’re going to kick the Unari off this world.” Rion spoke past the tight ache in his chest, past the huge lump in his throat.

  Erik raised eyes that shone with hope. “If you have a plan, count me in.”

  If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can increase your success in battle.

  —HONORIAN GENERAL EMERAT

  21

  As the small group of rebels left Winhaven, Lex cautioned Rion and Marisa, “Stay on guard. If the Unari have learned about our group in Winhaven or our route into the city, they may attack without warning.”

  Darian took point, Mendle the rear. Lex walked beside Rion and Marisa when the path’s width permitted. But often the trail narrowed and forced them to march through the forest single file. They kept a steady pace through the thick trees, and she soon lost sight of Winhaven.

  The men obviously knew this forest well. They stopped frequently to fill water bottles from swift-flowing streams. The temperature
change from mountains to valleys was more severe than on Earth. Yesterday it had snowed, but today, at the lower altitude, she didn’t need a jacket—but this was no pleasure outing. The blaster on her hip reminded her that danger could come from any direction.

  Rion had given her a quick lesson. Basically all she had to do was point and shoot. With no safety mechanism, she’d been a little nervous about handling the blaster until she’d understood it took a strong trigger finger to fire bursts of energy.

  Their course sloped downhill, and by the time they reached the valley, the sun had risen higher and the temperature had edged up at least ten degrees. She saw no sign of the Unari and was grateful for a chance to stop, take a drink of water, and catch her breath.

  Lex pointed to a stone ridge about half a mile away. “That’s where we go underground. Be careful to keep your voices low. Sounds can carry long distances here. As far as we know, the Unari aren’t aware of our route, but they have spies everywhere.”

  Rion peered into the distance, and Marisa caught sight of a bird soaring overhead. Merlin had rejoined them.

  Rion raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. “That’s a train tunnel?”

  Lex nodded. “Most of the system collapsed after the Unari bombed the transportation system. But with the help of several rebel groups, we’ve cleared the underground route right into the heart of the city.”

  “The old trains still work?” Rion asked, his eyes gleaming with interest.

  “The Unari appropriated them.” Lex gestured them forward and Marisa sensed he was trying to prepare them for what they could expect. “We stole a couple of antigravs—”

  “Antigravs?” She frowned at Lex. “Will they prevent us from dragonshaping?”

  He shook his head. “Only the Torans modify them that way. We’ve salvaged doors from bombed houses and antigravs from factories. So we have crude transport platforms to ride on.”

  “You salvaged doors?” she asked, wondering if Lex was jesting.

  “We’ve had to improvise. And wood is in short supply. They’re nothing fancy, but at least we can ride the rest of the way.”

  The tunnel had no tracks. But waiting for them was a chain of doors, nailed together to make enough seats for their entire group to ride. Headlights shone forward and toward the rear. This primitive train was far superior to anything on Earth. The rebels had fastened antigravs onto one side of the doors, causing the doors to float above the path. As their tiny rebel group sped through the tunnel, wind whipped through her hair. Her eyes teared. But there wasn’t much to see. Just lots of dark rock and concrete, with the occasional tree root breaking through.

  When the antigravs slowed to a gentle stop inside the tunnel, she jumped to the ground. Gravel crunched under her feet. But that was the last normal sound she heard. The terrible noise of dragons moaning sent fear trickling like ice through her veins.

  The sound of wounded animals, tortured souls, screams from thousands of throats raw with agony filled the air. The low moans, the high-pitched whistles, the abject misery turned her stomach, and she swallowed hard.

  The horror in Rion’s eyes fed her own anger. How dare the Unari do this? They had no right to invade and subjugate Rion’s people. No one, absolutely no one, should have to endure the kind of pain that produced those sounds.

  The noise rumbled through her, settled into her brain, and took up residence. She no longer wanted to go outside and see what was going on—not when the sounds alone had her knees knocking and her gut churning.

  Lex and his men must have heard the broken rumble of tortured dragons many times before, but they were not immune. She could see them gritting their teeth, bracing their shoulders before they exited the tunnel and headed outside.

  Marisa couldn’t wimp out and remain behind. She forced herself to take deep breaths and slipped her hand into Rion’s. She had to be strong—for his sake.

  But no amount of courage could prepare her for the sight that met her eyes. From the hillside above the city they had a perfect view of… hell.

  Dragons flew through the sky, pulling pyramid-sized stones supported by antigravs. Although the stones were weightless, they still had mass, which meant stopping and starting the stones’ flight required huge amounts of effort. Dragons flew, placing their bodies between the stones, straining to position the rocks into enormous walls that formed a pit as wide and deep as the eye could see.

  Everywhere, dragons worked, suffering under Unari whips. Many sported huge scars where the stones had torn into scales and flesh. Rion had told her of Erik’s scar, and she knew he’d worked here, or in a place just like this one. Some dragons had open, oozing wounds. A few were missing limbs, eyes, or parts of their tails. None had the energy to fully spread their wings or fly properly. Their ribs protruded through bony chests. Their wings looked broken, the color a faded puce instead of brilliant purple.

  “Half starved, maddened by pain; it’s a wonder they can work at all,” Marisa said.

  Lex sighed. “If the Unari lower the pain levels, our people fight back.”

  Her throat tightened with tears. She didn’t dare let a sob escape. They had to do something to stop this ghastly display. Anything.

  But what was even worse than the dragons’ mutilated bodies and starved frames was the utterly defeated look in their golden eyes. She didn’t see one spark of hope. As if the Tyrannizer’s pain wasn’t enough, the Unari had beaten down their spirits, whipping any dragons they deemed slackers with pulsing energy rods that zapped and burned the skin.

  The scent of burning scales hit her full-force. For a moment she closed her eyes, but the images had been branded into her mind: tiny babies, their wings stressed almost to the breaking point, flying to deliver mortar to smooth between the gigantic stones. Female and male dragons screaming in shrill bursts when a line broke and giant stones tumbled onto dragons working below—crushing some, the others bellowing death rattles. And the Unari, monsters who looked like ordinary humans, ignored the thrashing injured and forced the remaining dragons to keep building the walls right on top of their dying comrades’ bodies.

  “Can you send out a message?” Rion said. “Ask the dragons if they know where my father is.”

  “I can try.” Marisa dragged her attention from the horror before her. She had to be strong for Rion and for all these poor souls. Trying to control her breathing, she focused on one simple question. Where is the king?

  The pain from thousands of minds zapped her.

  The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground, cradled in Rion’s arms, her muscles jerking. “Wh-what happened?”

  “You passed out,” he said. “Are you all right now?”

  She nodded. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t get through. The backwash of so much pain overpowered me.” She pushed to her feet. “I’ll try again.”

  “Not yet.”

  She recoiled from the sharpness in Rion’s voice. “But that’s why I’m here.”

  He shook his head. “I won’t risk putting you through that kind of pain again without a better plan. We have to know more about what we’re dealing with first.”

  Although she didn’t admit it aloud, she was glad for a reprieve. Echoes of the agony she’d suffered still stung her nerves. She pushed to her feet. “So what do we do now?”

  Rion studied the hellish landscape. “We try to figure out what the Unari are doing.”

  “Maybe they’re creating some kind of city,” Lex suggested.

  “The Unari aren’t building a city.” Rion’s voice was tight, low, and angry.

  “If it’s not a city, what is it?” Lex asked.

  “They’re erecting a building to protect the Holy Grail,” Rion said.

  “What?” His claim drew her attention from the terrible sight. Years ago, her brother had found a map—a star map that located the famous city of Avalon, where King Arthur had enshrined the Grail, not in England, but on another world. Because Lucan hoped the Grail would solve Earth’s infertility problem,
he had talked the Vesta Corporation into funding his mission to the stars. During his journey, Lucan had found a cure for Earth’s infertility problem, but others had wanted the Grail, too. Had the healing cup fallen into the Unari Tribes’ possession?

  Rion frowned at the Unari building. “This structure’s very similar to the obelisk on Avalon that held the Grail. Only it’s so much larger, I can’t take it all in.” He muttered under his breath, “No wonder I couldn’t find the Grail.”

  His words confused her. “But you and Lucan found the Grail, then lost it.”

  “After I figured out how to use the transporter at Stonehenge,” Rion told her, “I returned to Pendragon and searched. The Grail was gone.”

  Her eyes widened. “When you took me through the Stonehenge portal, it wasn’t the first time? You’d used it before?”

  “Yes.”

  She shook her head and sighed. How many more secrets did he have? A dragon howled in agony and shot a chill down her spine: she supposed Rion’s keeping some information to himself didn’t matter so much in the giant scheme of things.

  “If the Unari have the Grail, why wouldn’t they keep such a valuable object on their home world?” Marisa asked.

  “Lots of reasons,” Rion explained. “Historically, the planet that houses the Grail often comes under attack from those who seek to take the healing cup’s powers for their own.”

  “The Unari have enemies who will come for the Grail?” she asked.

  “It’s very possible that over the centuries the Unari have made more enemies than Honor, Pendragon, and Tor. And the Unari don’t care if my people die, or if my world is destroyed. Better for them to fight here—than risk their own people.”

  “The Holy Grail? It’s not a legend?” Lex asked.

  “I’ve held it in my hands.” Rion spoke with authority. “I believe this entire structure is being built to house it so the Unari can tap its powers. We have to stop them before they finish and drink from the cup. Because once they place the Grail inside this edifice, they’ll become so powerful, we’ll never oust them.”