The Mysterious Coin

by James E. Wisher

  “And Ariel?” Callie asked.

  “They would have killed me,” Lucy spoke as if she hadn’t heard the question. “If Ariel hadn’t spoken up when she did and calmed them, I’d be dead right now. That girl isn’t a tamer, Callie. I don’t know what she is, but her power works differently from mine, I can tell you that for sure. I don’t know how to teach her, and I doubt anyone else does either. She’s unique and that’s both exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Just like all the others with a unique gift. The only thing I can suggest is that she study with the psychics. From the little I can tell, she coaxes more than controls the dragons.”

  A unique talent. That was rare. Maybe one in fifty bards had an ability that fell outside one of the three primary paths. Callie’s own healing ability was a unique talent.

  Anyway, she could hardly tear Lucy a new one when she was in this shape. Clearly there was no danger of her trying to control the dragons again. Which left the problem of what to do about Ariel. Callie had assumed right from the beginning, despite how the little girl described being friends with them, that her ability to control dragons worked the same as a tamer’s. If that was wrong, and it clearly was, how was anyone supposed to help her? Unique talents were the hardest since there was no mentor that could tell you how to use it. It was mostly trial and error, mainly error.

  “Thanks Lucy, are you sure you don’t want me to heal your cut?”

  Lucy reached up and touched the bandage covering her cheek. “No. Let it serve as a reminder for me not to reach for more than I can grasp. Is there anything else?”

  “Not unless you have any more suggestions about…anything.”

  “Sorry, Callie, I can’t help you on this one.” Lucy stepped out of the office, leaving Callie alone with her problems.

  “Damn you, Moz, you’ve left me with a mess.” Callie rubbed her face and stood.

  She couldn’t blame Moz. He did what he thought best for the girl. They were all in uncharted territory here. Somehow, she’d figure it out.

  Callie sighed, pushed away from her desk, and stood. She had Amanda keeping Ariel company in case she was still upset about what happened. It wasn’t fair to Amanda to have her spending all her time looking after Ariel. She had her own studies and abilities to hone. She’d fall behind her classmates at this rate.

  It was lunch time, so everyone should be gathered in the dining hall. That would make it easy to find her. Callie’s stomach rumbled. It wouldn’t hurt to get a bite of her own to eat. The walk from her second-floor office to the dining hall was a short one and her mind was so busy she hardly remembered making it as she walked into the gathering of chattering young people.

  The tables were full, all but one anyway. Amanda and Ariel sat by themselves at a table near the wall. Amanda sipped her soup while Ariel fed bits of meat to her dragons. The little girl was smiling and seemed happy enough. Every once in a while, one of the other students looked toward her table before quickly looking away. Clearly word of the mishap that morning had spread. Things like today would only serve to make Ariel more of an outsider and that wasn’t good for anyone.

  So many problems and so few solutions. Callie went to the serving line and selected a bowl of beef barley soup and a fresh roll. Her mouth watered as she crossed the room. She’d been in such a rush this morning she’d only had an apple for breakfast.

  “Is this seat taken?” Callie asked when she reached Ariel’s table.

  The little girl looked up at her, eyes wide and lower lip trembling. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t quick enough to stop the little ones. They really didn’t like whatever Miss Lucy did, but they still shouldn’t have scratched her.”

  One of the dragons hissed to express what she thought of that idea. How much did they understand of human speech? People knew so little about dragons in this day and age. Had the imperials known more? Callie imagined they did, given how important they were to the empire, but that’s all it was, her imagining.

  “It’s okay,” Callie said. “Lucy should have known better than to try and control someone else’s partner. She’s a snake charmer and couldn’t pass up the chance to test her abilities on a dragon. I hope your friends aren’t too angry.”

  Ariel smiled and fished another piece of beef out of her bowl. One of the dragons swooped in and nipped it out of her fingers. “They’re fine. But it would be best if she didn’t try again.”

  “I made that clear,” Callie said between bites of soup. “We’re thinking of having you try training with the psychics. Don’t worry, they won’t try controlling your friends.”

  “That’s good. I don’t mind going to class with Amanda,” Ariel said.

  “Great, that’s settled. You’ll start tomorrow.” What Callie didn’t add was that she had no idea if the psychic master would be any better able to help her than Lucy. With a silent prayer to the gods, Callie resolved to do her best.

  After all, what else could she do?

  Chapter 16

  Leonidas sat in his portable chair below decks on the main flying ship while Jax and Shade alternately described the dragon hybrids and the ape monsters. Everything they said made him more and more certain he was correct about his theory. Rondo stayed silent and listened, a surprisingly intelligent decision.

  It had taken three days for him and Domina to escape the citadel, collect two more squads of mercenaries, and make the long flight. Now that he had arrived and heard their stories, he couldn’t hide his excitement. From their expressions, his subordinates clearly had no idea why he was so excited.

  “What’s got you so worked up, Boss?” Shade asked with his usual lack of restraint.

  “What do you know about the mad emperor, Alexandros?”

  Shade and Jax shared a look, clearly clueless about who he was talking about.

  “He was the second-to-last emperor, right?” Rondo said.

  The newest member of his cadre went up a notch in Leonidas’s esteem. “That’s correct. In addition to his ability to control dragons, Alexandros was a master alchemist. He was also distinctly lacking in even basic morals. He would conduct any experiment that struck his fancy. If it cost the lives of fifty or a hundred people, he wouldn’t bat an eye. I’ve read hints that he had a secret lab far from the capital where he carried out his most vile and dangerous experiments. At the end of his life he was obsessed with finding new types of dragons to add to his army.”

  “If he already ruled the continent and controlled regular dragons,” Shade said. “Why would he need new types of dragons?”

  “Did you miss the part earlier when I said he was mad?”

  “Right, sorry Boss.”

  “Anyway,” Leonidas continued. “Alexandros carried out his experiments in the middle of nowhere since he feared his ministers finding out, killing him, and putting his young son on the throne. I’ve long wondered what sorts of secrets this lab might hold. I further suspect it was built near the tower, so he’d have a convenient excuse for coming all the way out here.”

  “So the monsters we encountered are escapees from this lab?” Jax asked.

  “That’s my guess. Understand, gentlemen, that despite my exhaustive research, this is all speculation. The creatures you fought might be local mutations. Until we locate both the tower and the lab there’s no way to know for certain.”

  “What’s the plan?” Shade asked.

  “We return to the road Rondo found and explore in force. I brought heavy armor and tower shields for your men as well as mine. Shade and I will take one group while Domina and Rondo take the other. Jax, you’ll stay on the main ship in case we need picking up.”

  “What am I supposed to do on my own if the dragon hybrids come back?” Jax asked.

  “I suspect, given when they attacked the first time, that they’re nocturnal predators. But just in case I’m mistaken, we brought the Thunder Dome. Once that’s installed, nothing will bother you.”

  Jax offered no more complaints and it was well that he didn’t. When the defensiv
e magic was operational, he’d be the safest of all.

  Having to wait until sunrise to move the ships into position at Jax’s marker nearly drove Leonidas mad. During the wait, he oversaw the Thunder Dome’s installation, a tricky task even with magic given the weight of the heavy iron hemisphere. It was all the mast could support and then some. The mercenaries changed into heavy banded armor and swapped their light weapons for tower shields and spears. They’d present a walking wall of steel to anything that might attack.

  Leonidas, Jax, and Domina combined their magic to lower everyone in a single go. No ape monsters showed themselves and once they were safely down, Corporal Simms led the way back to the imperial road. No enemy bothered them during that walk, either from the trees or on the ground. Leonidas hoped the larger groups would discourage attacks, but if the creatures were as aggressive and territorial as Shade thought, it was only a matter of time before they struck.

  Hesitating only a moment Leonidas led his group west. There was no way to be sure, but his research suggested that this was the most likely direction to the tower.

  “Be careful, Leonidas,” Domina said before setting out with Rondo and half the soldiers.

  He could only smile at her concern. With the black ring’s power at his command, he was in less danger than any of them. He and Shade marched at the center of a square of soldiers. It would take a determined enemy indeed to get through such a force.

  The journey passed in eerie quiet thanks to the thick layer of needles covering the road. Shade kept a constant watch on the canopy. If an attack was to come it would most likely come from the trees. The group continued in tense silence for several hours before the front row stopped.

  “What is it?” Leonidas asked. He couldn’t see anything behind the soldiers’ rank.

  “We can’t go any further, Lord Black,” the unit commander, Sergeant Shanks, said.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know, I just know we can’t.”

  Leonidas frowned. “Make a gap.”

  Two soldiers shifted right and Leonidas stepped out of the protective square. The path continued on exactly as before, there wasn’t even a branch across it.

  He looked at Shade. “Can we continue?”

  “No way, Boss.”

  “Why?”

  Shade’s face scrunched up. He clearly realized his statement made no sense. “We just can’t.”

  Leonidas raised his right fist and leveled it forward. The green gem flashed and streaks of energy visible only to him got sucked in.

  When the flow stopped, he asked. “Can we proceed now?”

  Shade nodded. “Looks clear to me.”

  “Good. Sergeant, resume your march.”

  “Yes, Lord Black.”

  Shade and Leonidas returned to their place in the center of the square and the group continued onward. The forbiddance ward was a good sign. Hopefully they’d reach either the tower or the lab soon.

  Sure enough, fifteen minutes later the road entered an open space surrounded by a perfect circle of gigantic evergreens. The Dragonspire tower stood in the exact center of that circle.

  The soldiers stopped again and Leonidas asked, “What now, Sergeant?”

  “Company, Lord Black.”

  “Let me see.”

  A gap opened in the front rank. Ahead of them, a single, wizened figure stood in the path. She, at least Leonidas assumed it was a she given the long hair and general body shape under a plain, brown robe. He put her age around ninety and according to his ring she was bristling with magical power. A wizard of some sort then. Not an appointed guardian, not after all this time. Self-appointed maybe?

  “Want me to handle this?” Shade asked.

  “No, she’s a wizard of some sort.”

  “Wizard? If she’s a wizard, why isn’t she trying to blast us?”

  “Excellent question, Shade. Shall we go ask?”

  “You want to talk to her?”

  “Certainly. She might know where I can find the lab. For all we know she’s stuck here and only needs a ride somewhere civilized. Conflict might be totally unnecessary.”

  “I think you’re too optimistic, Boss, but whatever.”

  Leonidas smiled. He didn’t truly believe they could resolve this without violence, but he was willing to be proven wrong. Since whoever waited for them hadn’t struck first, he wouldn’t be the one to break the peace.

  “Wait here, Sergeant,” Leonidas said. “Close ranks and keep a sharp watch.”

  “Yes, Lord Black.”

  Armor clanked as the mercenaries locked shields and set themselves. Leonidas led the way over to the waiting crone. As he moved closer details became clear. Fetishes, clumps of herbs, and a dead bird hung from the rope that served as her belt. Sandaled feet poked out from the hem of her robe.

  Leonidas and Shade stopped ten feet from her. When she offered no greeting Leonidas said, “Good morning, Grandmother. How is it you’ve come to live in such a remote place?”

  “I have always lived here,” she said, her voice high and pure like a trained singer. “I was here when the empire built their tower and later when they added that shop of horrors. I let them despoil my forest in the foolish belief that like all things men build it wouldn’t last. In all my eternal existence, I have never made a worse mistake. Now that the men have gone, I do not intend to make the same mistake again.”

  Leonidas revised his theory. This was either a mad wizard or something far older and more dangerous, a forest spirit from ancient times. Whatever she was, magic was magic and his ring would deal with whatever she tried to do.

  “I have no desire to harm your forest,” Leonidas said. “I do require access to the tower, but once I’ve done what I need to do, my people and I will be on our way.”

  The crone shook her head. “I will not allow the dragons to be enslaved again. Hear my offer, for it will not be repeated. Leave now and do not return. Do that and you will not be harmed. The empire is dead. Let it remain so.”

  Now it was Leonidas’s turn to shake his head. “Resurrecting the empire has been my life’s work. I can’t quit until the task is complete. I won’t. While I have no desire to fight you or anyone else, I will if I must.”

  “Then you will die, like all those who came before.”

  Her power surged into the earth. Roots ripped from the earth and struck like giant serpents.

  Leonidas raised his hand and the Black Ring pulsed.

  A wave of anti-magic surged out. The roots collapsed a foot from his feet.

  When Leonidas turned his attention back to the crone, he found her gone, only the robe remained where she’d been standing.

  “Shade?”

  The assassin had his daggers drawn. “I don’t know, Boss. I blinked and she was gone.”

  If he had any doubts that he was dealing with something more than human, those doubts were gone.

  “You have great power for a human,” the spirit’s voice came from everywhere. “But I am the forest. Every tree, blade of grass, bird, and beast is your enemy now. By dark tonight, every one of you will be food for my children.”

  The following silence was more nerve-racking than her threat.

  “Form up,” Leonidas said. “Into the tower, quickly.”

  The mercenaries closed ranks around Leonidas and Shade. This close he could protect everyone with his Black Ring. The group quick marched to the tower door and Leonidas tapped out the rune sequence to unlock it.

  As the door silently opened, it never ceased to amaze him that the emperor, for all his power, used the same lock code on each tower. It seemed a foolish and lazy risk. Or perhaps just arrogant. The emperor probably never imagined anyone would dream of entering one of his towers without permission.

  When everyone had piled inside, Shade pulled the door shut. “What now, Boss?”

  “Now I’ll activate the spire and we’ll go find Domina and her team. She should be strong enough to hold out for a while, but eventually the spirit will wear her
down, then they’re all doomed.”

  Rondo couldn’t say he was thrilled to be paired with Domina again. And by not thrilled he meant it was about the worst partnership he could imagine. From her silence and determined effort to ignore him, he suspected Domina agreed. Not that either of them would argue with Lord Black. For her part, Domina couldn’t stop looking back over her shoulder every five seconds even though the other group had moved far out of sight. The best thing for Rondo to do was keep quiet and watch for trouble. Not only was it the best thing, it was the only thing he could do.

  At least Corporal Simms was having no trouble following the path. He just scuffed his feet, revealing the hidden stone as they walked. So far, they had seen neither ape monsters nor dragon hybrids. That would certainly change eventually. Rondo’s rotten luck pretty much guaranteed it.

  At least the weather was nice. He nearly banged his head on the armor of the soldier in front of him. That was the best thing he could think of? Rondo’s sigh was cut off by a high-pitched screech. Was that a dragon monster? Lord Black seemed certain they only hunted at night.

  “Sir?” Corporal Simms asked.

  “Keep going, Simms, and fast,” Rondo answered.

  Domina shot him a poisonous look but didn’t see fit to counter his order. The mercenaries increased speed to a quick march. No further noises broke the quiet. Whatever that noise had been, apparently it wasn’t directed at them.

  They managed several hours of peaceful, if tedious, marching before Simms stopped.

  “What is wrong?” Domina asked.

  She shoved her way past the wall of soldiers and Rondo slipped out behind her. In front of them the path ended at a cube made of mortared, gray stone blocks. A simple iron-banded door was built into the front to allow entrance.

  “If that’s the lab, it’s awfully small,” Rondo said.