by D. H. Dunn
Upala stood, taking a few steps forward into the snow, one hand held out, praying he wouldn’t harm the girl. But of course he would, she knew. Garantika had shown himself capable of anything.
“What do you want?” Drew shouted. From the massive shadowed doorway of the Vault, the huge form of the Speaker bound into the snow.
“Your surrender,” Garantika said, staring with intensity directly at Upala. The terror from her dream whirled inside her like a maelstrom, Lhamu’s panicked eyes mirroring her own from so long ago.
“I demand your surrender, or the girl will die.”
Chapter 22
Garantika’s burned and scarred visage sneered back at Drew, white teeth showing through what remained of his beard. Only slightly taller than Lhamu, the leader of the Line glared back at them from over her shoulder, one powerful arm wrapped around her neck.
Lhamu’s eyes were wide, two small webbed hands gripping the Rakhum’s forearm while her headcrystal blazed a brilliant deep blue. Her stare darted back and forth between Drew and the Speaker.
“I caution you to release her, Rakhum.” The Yeti’s deep voice vibrated across the snowy plain, a current of menace running through his words. “I will not permit harm to the Foretold.”
“No.” Garantika smiled. “You will not, Yeti. It is not within your rocha. Which is why you do not act now. You are uncertain if you can remove the girl before I can kill her. A quick snap of her neck is all it would take.”
Drew held his breath, feeling the heat of his anger pushing into his hands, flames licking his flesh. He could hit Garantika from here, he was certain of it. But could he do so before the man could act?
Next to him, he could see in Upala’s eyes she was coming to the same conclusion with her own abilities. Separating Lhamu from Garantika with a shield might be possible, but the risk was still too high.
Sighing, she shook her head.
“Fine,” Drew said, lowering his hands but allowing the fire to stay there. “What do you want then, Garantika? You’ve lost, the Line is defeated. What is this, petty revenge?”
The man tightened his grip on Lhamu, laughing back at Drew. The frayed remains of his beard fluttered in the wind with the action.
“You think us defeated? You think I am the Line?”
With one hand, he pointed off towards the distant mountains, snow-capped peaks with white plumes streaming from their summits.
“She is the Line!” he shouted. “She is not defeated, you cannot defeat her. She will rain Dragons and death down upon you all!”
“You really think your Rakhum will be spared by the Dragons? Upala cast her hand toward the yawning open door to the Vault. “You think Terminus will step with care as he seeks his revenge? Are you that naive?”
“We shall see,” he said, shaking his head at her. “I watched your brother leave, headed for the north. You think he will take the Helm from her, but I have faith. Faith in my daughter, and in Kater’s foolishness. When they return-“
“Listen, Garantika,” Drew said. “This is-“
“-when they return, Manad Vhan. You will surrender to her, both of you. Surrender to the Line. Once that is complete, I will release the girl.”
“Why would they do that?” Lhamu’s voice was clear as it rang across the small plateau, free of panic or worry. Drew was impressed with the girl’s grit. “You plan to hurt a lot of people, and I am only one person.”
“You are a wise girl,” Garantika said with a chuckle. “But they are not. They cannot make the hard choices needed, pay the difficult costs. As I have.”
“Hard choices?” Drew spat the words back. “Those were not agents of the Line your daughter killed, they were just regular people, innocents simply living their lives!”
“You never trusted these people,” Upala added. “Your people. Never told the Rakhum the truth of the Line. Let them decide if this is what they wanted!”
“What we have done,” Garantika seemed to grind his teeth as he spoke. “We did for the good of the Rakhum. You dare speak to me of trust, god on high? The Line could not afford to trust!”
“That’s your mistake,” Lhamu said, her hands releasing Garantika’s arm.
Drew watched as Lhamu’s eyes locked on his. The colors in her headcrystal dimly shifted from blue to red, a crimson glow building inside.
“You didn’t trust,” she continued, strength flowing through her small voice. “I just met Drew and I trust him. And he trusts me, don’t you Drew?”
Continuing to look directly at him, she winked.
Oh shit.
Drew’s heart pounded in his chest. There were so many ways this could go wrong, but he felt his head nod.
“I do, kid.” He tried to keep his voice calm. “I trust you.”
Lhamu smiled, a grin that could have been a mirror of Nima’s.
Her crystal suddenly blazed into crimson brilliance as she thrust her head up and backwards, smashing into Garantika’s unexpecting visage with a crunch.
Drew heard the man’s cry of pain as he released Lhamu, both hands rushing up to his injured face. As Lhamu dropped to the ground and rolled away, Drew raised his hands and let two fireballs fly towards Garantika.
Both impacted precisely where he had aimed them , striking the startled man in the chest and knocking him over.
Lying on the ground, Garantika began rolling to put out the flames, as Upala’s crimson shield enveloped Lhamu. Drew charged forward, letting the fire bleed away from his fists.
He wanted to hit Garantika himself, no magic. No escapes or blinks away this time.
There was an explosion of purple energy as the Speaker materialized in front of Drew, blocking his access to the Rakhum. Rage in his eyes, Garantika was just struggling to his feet as one beefy paw reached out, a muscular, white-furred arm suspending the man a few feet off the ground.
“My daughter-“ Garantika struggled to speak with the Yeti’s hand around his throat. Behind them, Drew heard Upala tending to Lhamu.
Drew looked up at Garantika as he hung there suspended, the architect of so much that had gone wrong. He hated him, hated him for all the pain he had caused. Still, there were more important things than his anger.
“Speaker,” Drew said. “Let’s be careful here. He could know things, about Tanira’s plans. About the Vault.”
“That is immaterial.” The Yeti pulled his white-furred paw closer, bringing the struggling Garantika’s face up to his own. “This one has used our rocha for his own designs. He has misled the Yeti, and proven a consistent threat to the safety of the Foretold.”
“You!” Garantika now looked down at Drew, his eyes wide with panic as the crystals on the Yeti’s shoulders began to pulse. “You cannot allow this to happen. You-“
“Your continued presence cannot be permitted.” The Speaker said, and vanished in a plume of lavender sparks, the leader of the Line disappearing with him.
Drew’s protest died on his lips, the bitter winds of the mountains ripping into him. He sighed and turned away from the view of the cold peaks. Whatever the Yeti intended with Garantika, it was literally out of his hands now.
Upala knelt with Lhamu nearby, the girl’s headcrystal now returned to a greenish glow, with a more reasonable level of intensity.
Running over, Drew tried to imagine what Nima would have said had anything happened to the girl. He supposed her fury might rival the Speaker’s
“Lhamu,” he said. “Are you all right?” He admired how the Caenolan was already back on her feet, brushing snow and dirt off her leather garments as if she had skinned her knee.
“I’m fine,” she said, still grinning. “I knew I was safe. Nima told me to trust you, and she was right.”
Upala laughed at this, the sound of her amusement more healing than anything Drew had heard in days. Even if it was only for a moment, it was good. He put his arm around Lhamu, rustling her sea-green hair.
“Well you did great, kid. It was a really brave thing to do, and you probably
saved us all!”
“Really?” Lhamu’s dark eyes went nearly as wide as her smile. “Please tell Nima that!”
“Will do,” Drew said with a chuckle. He spied a flash of lavender energy out of the corner of his eye.
“Say, Upala,” Drew tilted his head towards where the Speaker had returned. “Why don’t you take our hero back inside and get her cleaned up?”
Upala followed Drew’s gaze and nodded. She took Lhamu’s webbed hand and began to lead her back towards the massive open door of the Vault of Terminus.
“I’m a hero?” Lhamu exclaimed, the green tint to her crystal growing even brighter. “We need to tell Nima that too!”
Drew walked away from them, heading towards the Speaker.
The Yeti stood before Drew and silently regarded him, his expression as stoic and inscrutable as ever. The huge beast’s red covered paws told Drew everything he needed to know.
“Was that really necessary?”
“The Yeti mislike violence,” the Speaker said. He looked down at his bloody fur, his words taking a tone Drew might have interpreted as regret. “In this case, our rocha demanded the protection of the Foretold.”
“The rocha, huh?” Drew looked off into the mountains around him, the snows streaming off their peaks like smoke. “Okay. We’ll just add that to the list of mysteries I hope you’ll answer for me someday.”
The Speaker looked down at him for a moment, brows furrowing as if he could not understand how Drew could have any questions for him.
“At least try to clean your hands off before the kid sees you,” Drew said, giving the Speaker a smile he hoped was a peace offering. “I know you did what you had to do.”
The Yeti continued to squint its dark eyes at him, Drew slowly realizing the Speaker was not looking at him, but over his shoulder and past him.
Drew whirled around to follow the Yeti’s gaze as he looked down the snow-covered sides of Everest. He couldn’t make anything out against the blazing sun’s light as it reflected off the snow, but the Speaker seemed focused all the same.
“What is it?” Drew asked. “What do you see?”
“Someone approaches,” the Yeti said, keeping his back to Drew as he continued to watch the horizon.
Drew felt his pulse rise.
Shit. It was too soon, they were too tired. He supposed they would have to be ready enough.
He stared in the direction the Yeti was looking, but still saw nothing but snow-covered mountains and crisp, blue sky, same as always.
If the Speaker saw Tanira that meant Kater and Nima had failed. He allowed himself one silent hope for Nima, that she might at least have lived.
“Is it them?” Drew asked, his heart in his throat. “Is it the Dragons?”
“No, it is not our foes, it is Trusted and Arrived. They appear to be injured.”
Nima and Kater! A great wellspring of relief and hope rose up inside him, despite worries about Nima’s injuries. They were safe, and maybe with a little luck, they had the Helm with them.
Rarely did Kater speak where Drew did not want to punch him. Despite the fact that Kater had failed in his goal to take the helm from Tanira, here he was criticizing Drew.
“That is it?” the old man exclaimed. “That is your plan?”
The group had gathered in the large main chamber of the vault, with the massive form of Terminus’s torso hanging overhead.
Nima sat with Lhamu nearby. Drew had worried for her the moment she had arrived. The Sherpa woman favored her side slightly, but seemed less outwardly injured than Kater. She had given Drew a smile, but it was a tired grin and he suspected it was Nima’s effort to show him what she figured he wanted to see. He knew her connection with Tanira was complicated and had hoped to talk to her about what happened, but Kater’s rants had begun quickly.
Kater stood in front of Drew and Upala, the suspended Dragon behind him as a backdrop. He bore a long cut across his forehead, another gash down his arm. He had refused any attention from the Speaker, preferring to quickly launch into his criticism of Drew’s intended trap for Tanira.
“Brother,” Upala said, putting up one hand as she rolled her eyes. “We need your help here, not your derision. You know more of the Dragons than anyone. Perhaps spend more energy on giving us suggestions and less of criticism.”
“Yes, since the big expert here did such a good job with Tanira already,” Drew said, regretting it immediately. Escalating things with Kater wasn’t going to help anything. It was just so hard not to hit the old bastard back.
“Drew, Kater,” Upala raised her voice. “Let us all focus on what is ahead of us. Now, where is Tanira? I would have expected her to be right behind you.”
“Indeed,” the Speaker said. “The Trusted’s limited teleportation device is too slow for them to have arrived first. The End of the Line must not have directly pursued you.”
“They ran from us!” Kater shouted. “Had Nima not grabbed my ‘limited teleportation device’ I might have defeated them then and there.”
Nima stood from where she was sitting with Lhamu. “That’s not true! You were fighting them well, and bravely. I think they were even afraid of you, but you’re hurt and there were three of them. Tanira left but she could have come back. I got you out of there to save you. Again.”
Kater shot Nima a glare, brows furrowing as he pulled at his wire thin beard.
“Regardless, we are here now,” Drew said. Upala was right, their time was limited, and they were wasting it. “So, Kater. Without insulting anyone, tell us what we need to know. What do we need to prepare for?”
He watched Kater’s eyes shift from Drew to Upala and back. The old man wanted to argue, he could see that. Hell, so did he. He could see Kater chomping back the next thing he wanted to say, even he apparently realizing the time was past for that. Kater walked over to the far wall and sat against it.
“She has the Helm, and it is powered. She was able to use it. I had hoped she would not have the stamina, but she did. Each Dragon she adds will compound the strain upon her, but I underestimated her.”
“Thank you, Kater,” Upala said. “I am sure that was not easy to admit, but this Tanira seems to be unusual.”
“Or Rakhum aren’t as weak as you think,” Nima muttered, Lhamu nodding her agreement.
Drew absently wondered if Lhamu really understood what she had agreed to.
“A fair point, Nima,” Upala said, a little color coming to her cheeks. It only made her more beautiful. “What else?”
“She has three Dragons now. There was one outside when we got there, it was scared of us for some reason. Inside, she had that Dragon from the bridge, the Thread, Kater called it. And she freed the Voice. The Voice seemed crazy until Tanira took over. It attacked the Thread at first. I think they were both hurt.”
“They were hurt by me,” Kater said, pride in his voice. “Nima is correct though, Tanira has the Thread, Voice, and Weight. As long as she controls them, she may use them as a precision instrument. Kill her though, and the threat goes away. That should be our focus.”
“Your focus should be on what else she is recruiting,” the Speaker said. “If she is not here, she may be freeing other Dragons. Now that you have attacked her, she knows you will try to stop her again.”
“The only thing that matters is keeping her from Terminus,” Kater shot back, pointing his finger at the Yeti. “That is what you all seem to be missing. Kill Tanira, kill this woman and the problem is over. As long as she does not awaken that,” he pointed a bony finger at the huge torso dominating the room.
Drew gave his face a slight slap, trying to keep his sluggish mind in gear. The Weight, the Voice. Terminus. There was too much he didn’t know.
Upala nodded. “Your point is valid brother, yet to stop her we need to anticipate what she will bring with her. What other Dragon could she reach from Ish Kalum?”
“The Claw, the Worm,” Kater frowned, his wiry beard bristling. “Anything else would be too far. The longe
r she waits, the readier we will be. For Adley’s benefit, according to Orami Feram, the Claw is physically the strongest Dragon after Terminus. The Worm cannot fly, but can move underneath the ground at great speed.”
“Great,” Drew said. “Fantastic.” This was getting worse by the second, and they still had not discussed if they were going to change their plan. “Maybe we should consider getting Nima and Lhamu back to Merin and Rogek Shad while there is still time. Perhaps the Speaker could-”
Drew stopped talking as Lhamu walked past him and around the form of the great Dragon, her eyes glazed over. The crystal in her head burst into illumination, bathing the chamber in a brilliant white, casting the shadow of Terminus upon all of them.
“It is too late,” Lhamu said. “They are here.”
Chapter 23
A single drop of sweat ran down Drew’s back at Lhamu’s announcement, sending icy chills down his skin as it descended.
Not now! They were too tired, he had pushed them for too long. They simply weren’t ready.
It didn’t matter, this was general quarters and the torpedoes were in the water. He took off for the entrance of the long hallway in a run, barking orders in a manner to make his old boot-camp commander proud.
“Nima, get Lhamu back to that empty room! Speaker, get in position and get ready for Upala to get her shield up. Upala, let’s go!”
He cast a quick look over his shoulder at the torso of Terminus, glancing at the chained limbs and wings above him. He said a quick prayer that they never saw this thing alive.
“Kater, you wait here. If they get past us, you’re all we have.”
“I will not be ordered by you!” Kater said, folding his arms. Still he stood where Drew wanted him, and Drew knew that whatever else happened, Kater would not shirk from a battle with the Dragons if the time came. Of course, if Tanira got to this room they were probably already sunk.
“Lhamu!” he yelled back. He was now deep in the long main hallway, his voice echoing into the larger chamber. Only the surprising acoustics of the Vault allowed Lhamu to hear him from such a distance away.
