by Darren Lewis
The messenger's eyes flicked back and forth between the young woman and older man a few times before settling upon Gabby.
“My Lord Andas offers greetings and extensions of peace on this ground. It is his desire to speak with your leaders to plan for the future of all.” The messenger bowed and then straightened awaiting a response. Gabby looked at McCaffrey who merely grunted his opinion at her. Gabby took a deep breath and walked towards the messenger her eyes searching his, hoping to find a connection she recognised as human. She failed.
“I will hear Lord Andas's words and plans for the future.” Gabby replied with formality, knowing that it was one of the things these dragon riders seemed to enjoy. The messenger's eyes brightened and a small smile danced across his face.
“Very well. If you and any others you wish to escort you will follow me?” The messenger posed it as a question but Gabby knew without a doubt this man intended it as an order. Gabby shook her head and a small fire was lit in the man's eyes.
“I'm sure Lord Andas can appreciate my situation. How would 'my people' look upon me if I simply allowed you to lead me out of here. Regardless of your intentions my authority would be diminished.” Gabby cocked an eyebrow at the man and tilted her chin up, effecting an arrogant stance of her own. The messenger nodded and something bordering on respect cast a shadow on his features.
“Perhaps a neutral venue would be of better service.” The messenger suggested to which Gabby nodded her agreement. “We must survey the area and determine the time and place. I'm sure you can appreciate we do not wish an interruption by those that call themselves Grey Rose.” Gabby gave the man a small bow and watched as he turned on his heel to return to his master.
“Neutral ground?” McCaffrey whispered. “Around here?” Gabby shrugged.
“Well Switzerland is a little far away.”
* * *
“More than likely that son of a bitch will kill anyone we send out there to talk.” McCaffrey commented entering the room with several rolls of paper under his arm. Everyone bar Gabby nodded in agreement.
“Or take them hostage and demand we open up for him.” McCaffrey finished, laying several rolls of technical diagrams on the large table the group was gathered about. Gabby turned to Mary and cocked an eyebrow. Mary shrugged and let out a sigh.
“Whatever we do this problem isn't going away.” Mary leaned forward and placed her hands on the table. She stared at them a few moments before continuing. “We've known this day has been coming for a long time, ever since Gabby's run in with this lot.” Mary's eyes drifted around the table until they met Dr Bilson's eyes. The doctor swallowed and, Mary thought, the man's own fear was outshining the total of all in the room. “We've tried to make plans accordingly but we have to be clear about this, not all of us can leave if we wish to survive.” Mary turned back to her friend. Gabby reached for one of the sheets McCaffrey had laid on the table and tapped her finger on it.
“We'll go with the escape tunnel. I'll get us out of here.” Though the room was quiet before, an absence of sound seemed to shroud the room entirely, coupled with a slight darkening of the light. Mary clapped her hands startling everyone.
“Okay. Let's get prepared and not caught with our pants down.” McCaffrey snorted and shook his head and all except Mary left the room. As the door closed, Mary shoved a finger close to Gabby's nose.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind? What the hell are you playing at?” Gabby took a step back, not in shock at her friend's vehemence but to grab Mary's outstretched hand.
“We have no other moves to make, Mary. We're surrounded here. It's taken them far longer than we thought to find me…us.” Mary shook her head in protest but Gabby stepped forward now and placed her hands on Mary's shoulders. “We've known that time was a gift and perhaps what we know can be helpful to the Grey.” Mary spluttered in contempt.
“The bloody Grey! Great bloody help they've been, useless bastards!” Gabby shook Mary's shoulder's gently.
“That's crap and you know it. We're the ones holding back information, not The Grey. Maybe we should have shared our talents with them sooner but that's a bridge we all burned a long time ago.” Mary rolled her eyes and Gabby responded by shaking her friend's shoulders harder. “Hey! If not for them I wouldn't have made it back here.”
“So we get this information to The Grey? And then what? What could they possibly do with it?” Mary blustered, not allowing Gabby to speak. “All these years and bloody Bilson keeping his mouth shut on why this place is here until we were 'allowed' to know, and now we've got a sodding army camped on our doorstep wanting to know why as well!”
Gabby opened her mouth to speak but merely shook her head. She suddenly felt extremely tired. Her eyes didn't seem to want to stay open and her legs trembled fiercely. Mary's expression changed in an instant. She reached out and guided her friend to a chair. Even sat down Gabby's legs continued to shake and as she rubbed her hands on her thighs she knew they would shake too if held up.
“I'm sorry, sweetie.” Mary knelt in front of Gabby and laid her hands on her friend's. “I… you're my family, you know? I wouldn't have survived this place without you.” Tears welled up in Mary's eyes. “And to think I might lose you.” Mary dashed the tears away and sniffed fiercely. “But that's me being selfish. This is your plan; you've got the hardest place in it.” Gabby placed a hand on Mary's cheek.
“They're here because of me.” Gabby raised a hand to stop any protests from Mary. “I know it's not my fault but it's just the way it is. If we can stall them long enough or make them believe what they sense is me, well, who knows? But at least that gives us a chance.”
* * *
The majority of dragons had by all accounts left the area surrounding the power station. Whatever actions they had taken to secure it for their leader had apparently reassured him enough to order three quarters of his army away, not that they couldn't return at a moments notice. Gabby watched from just inside the station's perimeter as the riders left behind fashioned a large tent a short way from the main gate. After a few minutes watching the construction Gabby didn't know whether to scoff or admire. The 'tent' was in fact more of a pavilion, measuring at least ten metres square with a peaked central column that gleamed in the weak sunlight of the day. Slits in two sides of the pavilion walls were opened and tied back with dark red rope and Gabby was able to see through the pavilion and down the road. Approximately two hundred metres distant she saw a green flash of dragon hide and Gabby shuddered automatically in response. She pulled her heavy coat tighter around her neck and placed her hands under her armpits. The cold breeze flowing in from the sea however still seemed to find gaps and holes to infiltrate her warm clothing sending occasional violent shivers through her body. Gabby's breath plumed rapidly in front of her face in the cold and she tried to calm herself and lower the beat of her thrumming heart. Gabby was well aware on her few encounters with these dragon riders that not only were they incredibly formal and polite as underneath burned a volatile being, but they expected their opponents to be just as respectful as them. Professor Eames on learning of this disparity in the dragonriders behaviour told her to imagine a country where everyone had a gun and could carry it around, that would call for everyone to be polite to one another. Gabby, Mary and Brooke had thought about this point for a long time before concluding it was utter garbage, Gabby especially thought so when she imagined her parents shooting up their veins before shooting up a shop for money. With this knowledge in place Gabby knew it was vital for her to maintain an appearance of strength regardless of how hopeless the situation was, it was another thing these riders respected. Gabby shook her head at the folly and strange behaviours of people.
While Gabby's thoughts had drifted the messenger she'd encountered earlier strolled from the pavilion to the main gate. Gabby refocused on the man, but ignoring him this time, effecting the poise of what they considered a leader.
“My Lord Andas requests your gracious presence.” The messen
ger bowed and indicated the large tent behind him.
What an idiot.
Gabby almost laughed aloud her nerves were so taught and her fear close to the surface. In fact, she desperately wanted to relieve the pressure building in her heart and head, to simply show these people how ridiculous they were. But she didn't, the stakes were too high. Gabby bit the inside of her cheek, not enough to cause bleeding but enough to bring her back to the moment.
“Not now.” She whispered to herself wishing, not for the first time, Mary was unable to speak to her in this fashion.
A horn sounded focusing Gabby's attention and staring beyond the tent she saw the one person in her life she felt hatred for, the one person she admitted to herself and to no one else, in the dark of night she would put down and risk her soul to possibly make the world a cleaner place, Lord Andas or as she knew for a short time, Jack.
The procession came to a halt and thrust their spears, point down into the ground. Lord Andas remained in the semicircle created by his guards a moment before following suit with his own spear. Gabby cocked an eyebrow at the man she had briefly known as Jack. He was dressed in a way a far cry from the simple hooded robe he had been wearing during their first meeting. The majority of his ensemble was a form of steel, resembling a knight's suit of armour but with many added weapons, barbs and hooks crafted into the shoulders, elbows and knees. On his head was a steel helm that left his face visible but on the crown of the helmet was a large curved blade giving the impression that someone had tried to cleave the owner in two. A cape of green and black hung from his left shoulder to his knees, though currently it was billowing like a sheet in the wind from the growing harsh breeze off the sea. He entered the pavilion alone and stepped to the centre with his guards taking position at the entrance.
Gabby took a long slow breath as he studied her in almost minute detail. As she was wrapped in heavy clothes she knew he wasn't interested in her physical attributes, at least not in a heterosexual fashion, but he did want something from her, something she would not give. Gabby waited until he was done and then she lifted her chin to stare upon him in what she hoped was an imperious resolve. He inclined his head and beckoned her forward with his hands outstretched slightly to his sides. Gabby nodded in return and strode into the pavilion to face Lord Andas.
* * *
“It's so good to see you again, Cassandra.” Gabby noted he still used the name she had lied to him about those three years past. “For a while there I thought I'd never find you.” Lord Andas, or Jack smiled and Gabby thought he was actually genuinely pleased but she made a point to remind herself why he was pleased.
“Thank you. Now may I ask why your army is camped on my doorstep?” Jack gave a small laugh that contained no humour.
“Technically these are my lands and of course my brethren's, I seek no permission nor require it. One reason I am here; to educate, to inform and to bring everyone together.”
Well that's three reasons already. Gabby thought sourly.
Jack clasped his hands behind his back and ambled casually around the pavilion, as much as his armour allowed. “In the past I have been guilty of taking the offensive too quickly. Of not hearing out those who don't understand me and mine. I never thought to try and instruct them first but merely punish them.” He stopped and gave Gabby a quick look. Satisfied she was still listening he continued. “So much has been lost these last fifteen years on dragon and human side. The war is over but still many continue to fight because they don't understand.” Gabby frowned at the young leader.
“What? Understand what?” She asked. Jack shook his head as if amazed that even she didn't comprehend his statement.
“That you lost. Humanity lost.” Jack's eyes went distant as he looked into his own past. “At first it was decreed that any defiance from individuals, villages, towns and even cities would result in complete annihilation.” Jack gave a contemptuous laugh. “As if they could stand against us? We'd already disposed of the military and any weapons left behind were useless against us.” Gabby felt a chill not caused by the increasing breeze from the sea and she too looked beyond the walls of the pavilion and imagined the destruction brought by this man and his dragon army. “So many died simply for refusing to yield. Regardless of how many, age or sex they all met with the same fate.” Gabby's chill was slowly being replaced by the heat of anger. Those small flames of anger were being fanned by her imagination as she heard the desperate cries and wails of millions. Mothers screamed and babies cried. It was the imagined sound of a baby crying for its mother that stoked Gabby's outrage.
“Fine.” Gabby's comment was barely audible as she ground the word out through clenched teeth. “So what is the other reason you're here?” Jack turned his full gaze upon her and Gabby saw the righteous fire blazing from the man's eyes, brought on by his very own words.
“Oh I think you know.” He took a step closer to Gabby, his eyes gleaming with that strange red tint she remembered from their first encounter, causing her to back away a step. “The power surrounding you that night in the village remains just as potent, if not stronger here. That is why I was interested in you.” Gabby stayed silent and Jack took it as a sign to carry on. “Dragons have their own kind of magic, well, we view it as magic, to them it is merely an ability to move from place to place without covering the distance between the two points.” Jack stepped past Gabby to look at the station. “But you? My dragon identified a powerful energy within you, something akin to his own. After you fled that day I've sought you, followed your trail until it went cold.” Jack turned to Gabby, a grim expression now on his face. “Oh I punished those who offered you rest and food. Those who did not answer my questions were dealt with more permanently.” Jack's voice had dropped to a whisper as he observed the growing horror on Gabby's face. Jack shrugged. “I continued until the trail of that energy disappeared. But imagine my incredulity when I discovered another.” Jack walked quickly to the side of the pavilion he had entered by and signalled to his escort outside. Gabby heard a multitude of clanking sounds as four guards in Jack's escort came into the pavilion. Once there they parted and revealed the bound form of another of Gabby's companions over the years, Brooke.
“Let her go!” Gabby demanded with no hesitation, allowing her anger to show freely in her voice. Brooke's eyes were red and distant and her face and clothes covered in dried mud. “What have you done to her?” Gabby yelled, grinding the question through her teeth. Jack put his hands in front of him in in an effort to calm Gabby down.
“No harm has come to your friend, I promise you. We located her in a village not too far from here. Actually one of the villagers betrayed her location to us which I found odd as I believe it's a village you trade with.” Jack's eyes now seemed to glow intensely red. “I despise humans like that. But anyway,” he said waving his hand as if the incident were nothing more than a troublesome insect, “we intercepted your friend and laid out a fitting punishment for those involved. Your friend was kind enough to witness what happens to those who offer solace.” Jack smiled at the memory until he saw the look of horror on Gabby's face. “Oh don't worry it wasn't that bad. Remember the village when we first met? Well we simply removed the hands of the men and boys.” Gabby's hands trembled but she didn't know if it was more from fear or anger. She stepped swiftly to Brooke, only to be stopped by a rider's arm blocking her way. Gabby was quicker and with one hand grabbed the man's wrist while she placed her other hand flat on the man's elbow. With one forceful twist of his wrist and a push on his elbow the man cried out in immediate pain and fell to his knees. The remaining members of the escort closed in to help their fallen rider but a sharply barked order from their Lord brought them to a stop.
“How dare you bar this woman from her comrade?” Gabby looked up and saw Jack's face burning red to match his eyes. Jack stormed forward and Gabby quickly released the rider, pushing him away. The rider stumbled upwards and fell into Jack's hands, who spun him around until they were face to face. “I ga
ve strict orders that no harm would befall a guest of mine in this pavilion!”
The rider tried to answer but Jack leaned back slightly and backhanded him with his wicked looking gauntlet. Gabby gasped and turned away as blood and flesh were splattered across the ground. The rider screamed immediately, grasping his lacerated face. “Take him away. He is not fit for duty with me any longer.” Jack gave the rider a final push and before he could hit the ground the riders caught him and dragged him out of the pavilion. A strained roar came to them and Jack tilted his head, listening intently. Gabby watched and saw Jack's lips moving as he conversed with a dragon some distance away. Jack finally shook his head and sighed.
“My apologies. To disobey an order during wartime may be excused depending upon the outcome but during a truce is unforgivable. Tonight many riders and dragons will mourn the loss of two brothers.” Gabby was only half listening as while Jack was hell-bent on a grand apology she'd moved to Brooke and tried to get a response from her. The young woman's face was free from any injury, her eyes were red and swollen but Gabby assumed what Brooke had witnessed involved a great deal of tears. Gabby smiled softly and gently laid a hand on her friend's cheek.
Are you okay?
This guy is totally crazy! The things he did to those villagers!
Brooke began to tremble as fresh tears welled in her tortured eyes.
“You're safe now.” Gabby whispered and she drew Brooke into an embrace. A few seconds went by and then Gabby felt Brooke's arms moving upwards to return the gesture.
“Splendid!” Jack enthused. “I'm so glad we could reunite the two of you.”
You're safe now. I need you back in the station and tell everyone we'll proceed with the three of us and the tunnel.
Gabby leaned her head back and saw the interest and concern in Brooke's watery eyes.
