by D K Drake
The dragon dropped his eyes, sighed, and wandered toward the ruins. “Take care, my friend,” Micah whispered. He then mirrored the dragon’s sigh and sprinted toward the bridge.
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The contrast between the green world teeming with life outside the gates and the drab world devoid of any kind of plant life inside the gates astounded Javan. Block after block of blackened buildings assaulted his eyes from every angle, and the depressing atmosphere of the city made the tension on board the Iria right before the gates opened seem like the party of the century.
Dark clouds overtook the sky, and Javan wanted it to rain. His tears alone weren’t sufficient; the sky needed to cry over this place. Nevertheless, the clouds choked back the rain.
They floated through the graveyard called Nahat in silence for nearly an hour. Sections of Javan’s mind began shutting down and he felt his sanity slowly slipping away. Mercifully, it all came rushing back when he spotted a jumbled campsite full of tents on the left hand side of the river and dozens of intact mud buildings connected to docks that looked like warehouses on the right hand side of the river. Life did exist here!
They passed thirty-three buildings before their escort led them to a dock just shy of a sad-looking bridge. If a butterfly landed on it, the thing might just collapse into the water.
“Why didn’t we build our portal right on the water?” Kai’s voice carried up to Javan from the lower deck. “It sure would make Transport Day much easier.”
Javan transferred his eyes from the bridge to the ground. A loud mix of people and animals scurried between wagons and around humminglo plants between the building where they docked and the next building along the river. No one walked on the huge white circle in the middle of the building, though.
Although much of it was covered with stacks of humminglo flowers, he recognized the white circle made of Dawn Stalker scales from the portal in Zandador he and Astor had used to travel to Dusk Stalker territory. Like that portal, this one had a radius of at least twenty feet and could easily accommodate a dragon. Unlike that portal, though, this one only had two triangle holes, not ten.
One triangle hole marked the center of the circle, and Javan concluded that linked to the central portal in the basement of the castle. The other triangle hole was located south of the castle link and had to represent their current location.
If Javan recalled correctly, putting scales shed by a seven-year-old Dawn Stalker into those triangle holes activated the portal. He didn’t understand why the scales shed by the Dawn Stalker at age seven had more power than the ones shed at age six or eight or eighty, but there were a lot of things about dragons and this dimension he didn’t understand.
For instance, why did this portal only have a link to the castle? That seemed strange and unfair for the people here in Keckrick.
“What is the meaning of this?” A gruff, white-haired man with specks of red in his long beard dressed like one of Omri’s soldiers cracked his whip on the dock and stood in the way of Cyr de-boarding the Iria. “All of your cargo ships should have arrived by yesterday to undergo quality inspections before transport to the castle.”
“We encountered a few delays,” Cyr said. “It’s not even noon yet. You have plenty of time to inspect our crop now. I think you’ll be pleased and eager to make an exception.”
“King Omri doesn’t allow exceptions.”
“He will today.” Micah approached from out of nowhere and bounded up the steps to the dock.
The soldier’s face turned whiter than his hair. He dropped his whip, trembled, and bowed.
“Stand up and step aside,” Micah said. “I need a sample of this special delivery to personally present to my father.”
Shock glued Javan to the deck. Micah had made it to Nahat ahead of them yet waited for them to arrive? He could have abandoned their deal and made the soldiers send him back to Zandador right away. But he hadn’t. Why?
Maybe he had developed a conscience while in Keckrick. Or maybe he wanted to take credit for finding the super huge flowers. Javan knew how to find out. He would simply put Varjiek’s scale in his stalker sword and become Micah’s invisible shadow when Micah traveled back to Zandador.
But first he had to see a girl about protecting his dragons during his absence.
Chapter 50
Back to Zandador
“W
elcome aboard, Micah.” Cyr held the gate open for Micah but let it slam back into the waist of the cowering soldier attempting to follow him. “It’s good to see you.”
“Thanks.” He nodded and headed straight across the deck to the door of the cargo area. “Let’s get a batch of these flowers loaded onto the portal, so I can begin negotiations with my father.”
“Micah, sir, I can’t allow this.” The soldier opened the gate for himself and marched over to Micah. His voice cracked and his words shook, making him sound weak and unconvincing. “Only crops that have been inspected can be sent through the portal.”
“These crops have passed my inspection.”
“How is that possible? How is it possible you are even here?” He lowered his trembling voice to a whisper. “We all thought that you were…”
“You thought I was what?” Micah used to relish the fear he invoked in people. So why did this man’s obvious distress make Micah uncomfortable?
“Dead, sir.” The man bowed his head. “We thought you were dead.”
“Oh?” Micah chuckled. “Whoever started that rumor is obviously mistaken. Since I am very much alive, I outrank you and am ordering you to have these plants unloaded and transported to Zandador as fast as possible.”
“You are certain they meet King Omri’s standards?”
Micah wanted to ask what those standards were and what Omri was doing with these plants, but he didn’t want to reveal his ignorance to the cowardly soldier. “Open the door and see for yourself.”
“Yes, sir.” The man slowly opened the door. And gasped. “I have never seen such large humminglos! Where did you find these? King Omri is going to be so pleased!”
“Of course he is.” Micah hoped the soldier was right, but he kept the doubt out of his words in order to retain his authoritative tone. “You have ten minutes to get the first batch unloaded and onto the portal.”
“Thank you, Micah,” Cyr said, shaking Micah’s hand. “We owe you our lives. If there is ever anything we can do for you, let us know.”
“I will.” Micah returned Cyr’s strong handshake and exited the boat without saying goodbye to anyone. Although he had grown to care about the crew, he had a reputation to uphold and couldn’t let the soldiers see that he had made friends among the natives.
As Micah walked toward the portal, he felt like he was walking away from the only friends he would ever have for the rest of his privileged life.
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Javan activated the invisibility mode of his stalker sword and slipped off the boat just behind Micah. Ten minutes didn’t give him much time to find and chat with Taliya. Too bad the electronically challenged people in this dimension didn’t have cell phones. Being able to call or text Taliya at a time like this would come in handy, especially considering the chaos that gripped the ground around the portal.
Soldiers scattered among the people emptying wagons full of plants were yelling at and pushing the workers. The mules pulling the wagons snorted and stomped and kicked up dust. Large dogs carried flowers on their backs, and other random animals such as pigs and chickens roamed about with no discernable purpose. Flies and bees buzzed around the smelly animals and dried out flowers piled all around the white circle.
The clouds kept the sun from beating down on the messy scene, but Javan preferred the blazing sun to the stifling humidity. If he wasn’t in such a hurry to find Taliya, he’d take a dip in the river to cool off.
Four minutes ticked away before he finally located Taliya among the crowd. She was standing at the bottom of the bridge and loading her slingshot. He followed her eyes
to a young soldier shouting at an old man shriveled on the ground from obvious fatigue.
The soldier deserved to be shot with one of her sleeping darts, but Javan couldn’t let Taliya get arrested. He was too far away from her to keep her from shooting, so he opted for Plan B.
Making sure to remain invisible while keeping his sword close to his body, Javan sprinted toward the soldier. He rammed the soldier from behind and sent him tumbling face first into a pile of humminglo plants as Taliya’s dart whisked through the air. The dart lodged into the dirt not far from where the soldier had been standing, just missing a squealing pig.
Before the surprised soldier could figure out what happened, Javan retrieved the dart and ran toward Taliya. “Shooting at soldiers?” Javan asked as he approached the bridge. “How is that going to help keep the peace?”
Taliya startled to attention and hid her sling. Then her brain must have registered what was going on because she relaxed and said, “That soldier is so mean that even his buddies wouldn’t have been upset if he took a little nap.”
“You might have a point.”
“And you might be easier to talk to if you let me see you.”
“Fine.” Javan put his sword back in its sheath and handed her the dart. “Better?”
“Much.” She put the dart back in her pouch. “You pushed that soldier, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” A loud bang and flash of pinkish purple momentarily rendered him deaf and blind. Once the swirling colors fizzled and his hearing returned, he noticed the soldier from the boat ordering a parade of people to place the Iria’s cargo on the portal.
“I hate the way these soldiers treat us,” Taliya said, twirling her slingshot in her hands.
“I agree.” Javan put his hands on hers to keep her from fiddling with the slingshot. “So help me stop them.”
She shook her head. “I already told you that I’m not coming with you.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Excuse me?” She jerked her hands away from his. “Are you trying to order me around?”
“No. No, that’s not what I meant.” Javan brushed his hands through his hair and tried to salvage his plea to recruit Taliya. He had to hurry. Micah was taking the scales he needed to activate the portal from the white-haired soldier.
“Here’s the deal,” Javan said, talking fast. “Kisa doesn’t want to come back to Zandador without you, and neither do I. You’re smart. You’re strong. You know all kinds of things about dragons that I am clueless about. I need you on my team. I can’t win the throne without you. So please. Please join me.”
“Uh.” Taliya rolled her eyes. “I can’t handle this begging nonsense. If you promise to stop sounding so desperate, I’ll come with you.”
“Awesome!” Javan gave her a quick hug. “Can you please look out for the dragons? Varjiek should show up anytime, and Kisa is hiding in the forest outside the gates. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
He drew his invisibility sword and began sprinting away.
“Wait. What?” Taliya tried to grab him, but he was already out of her reach. “Where are you going?”
Javan paused and turned toward her. “To Zandador. I have to make sure Micah upholds his end of the deal.”
“Then you better hurry.” Taliya pointed to the portal. “Micah just put the first scale in the Nahat slot.”
“Oh, no. Gotta go.” Javan spun around and ran through the crowd as Micah walked across the portal and bent down among the surrounding piles of humminglo plants to put the scale in the center slot.
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Micah knelt in the center of the portal, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The sweet aroma from the flowers around him calmed his nerves, and the cool triangular scale he held in his hand revived his sense of control. The scale gave him the ability to travel without relying on a boat or dragon to get him where he wanted to go.
He should want to go back to Zandador, so why was he hesitating? In a matter of moments, he could be standing in the presence of his father to deliver a flower that supposedly would make Omri very happy. Omri would be even happier when he heard Micah’s plan to give the king power over two more dragons.
Pleasing Omri had been Micah’s sole objective in life, and now he finally had a chance to meet and surpass his father’s expectations. Micah should be elated, not hesitant.
He had to forget about the people here and what it felt like to have friends. “Move on, Micah,” he mumbled to himself. “Better things are waiting for you in Zandador.”
A gust of wind toppled a pile of flowers in front of him. He ignored the mess and placed the scale in the center slot. A pop turned his world orange, and he felt himself being pulled through the wormhole that led to the Land of Zandador.
Chapter 51
Familiar Faces
Javan jumped onto the portal and into a pile of humminglo plants seconds before Micah inserted the destination scale in the middle slot. He heard a gentle pop rather than the loud bang he expected and became lost in a swirling bath of orange streaks.
The streaks spun faster and faster and seemed to suck him through a hole like a pin being devoured by the hose of a vacuum cleaner. The spinning made him dizzy, and the dizziness made him queasy. He had to close his eyes and cover his mouth to keep from re-tasting his breakfast. He didn’t want to find out what would happen when an invisible man puked in a portal.
He kept his eyes closed even after he felt the spinning subside to give his body time to adjust to being still. Gawking sounds of oohs and aahs floated through the air, accompanied by actual words of awed strangers. “Unbelievable.”
“Impossible.”
“Miraculous.”
Javan thought the people’s words referred to the plants, but when he opened his eyes and adjusted them to the brightness of the place, he noticed that the eight soldiers in the cavernous oval room all had their gazes fixed on Micah.
It took Javan a moment to realize that the light came from the portal beneath him. It glowed a dazzling yellow, then shifted to varying shades of pink, purple, red, and orange before returning to yellow.
A three-foot high wall in front of him that curved with the shape of the portal was also covered with Dawn scales and radiated the same colors as the portal. An array of equally colorful buttons topped the six foot long and two foot wide wall. The only man not in a soldier’s uniform stood on the other side of the short wall and spoke the first real sentence.
“Leave it to Micah to deliver a batch of humminglos unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.” His commanding voice had a familiar ring, and the green shirt he wore over his wide shoulders made his hazel eyes shine against his tan skin. His well-trimmed beard added an air of sophistication that his bushy dark hair detracted from.
“Hello, Vince.” Micah puffed out his chest and picked up a plant near Javan’s head. “I came across them while hunting dragons in Keckrick and knew they would please my father.”
Vince. Why did Javan know that name?
“Strange that your hunt took you to Keckrick, but these may please your father more than ten thousand dragons ever could.” Vince stepped over the wall and reached for a plant Javan was sitting on. Javan rolled out of the way and kept himself from grunting when his back hit the wall. And when he remembered why he knew Vince.
This man was his great-grandfather. The family traitor. The reason his father was banished to the Land of No Return and his mother was imprisoned by the Dark King when she was pregnant with him. But he was also the one who orchestrated his mother’s escape several months ago and sent her to find him.
“This is incredible.” Vince inspected the plant from top to bottom, then gave a handful to a nearby solider. “Take these to Barath’s lab for immediate testing.”
The soldier nodded and exited the room. At the same time, the rest of the soldiers began unloading the plants remaining on the portal and sending them through a hole in the floor in the back of the room to what Javan guessed was a su
b-basement storage area.
“I’ll have Barath conduct some tests to be sure,” Vince said, ignoring the commotion, “but I believe one of these plants is valuable enough to save an entire region. Did they come from Upper or Lower Keckrick?”
“I prefer to save that information for my father,” Micah said. “Where is he?”
“In the throne room discussing battle plans with the captains of the Justice Units.”
“Great.” Micah stepped through the piles of plants and made his way toward the door. Javan stood and followed him but had to pause mid-step when Vince’s words stopped Micah.
“I should warn you that your replacement is in that meeting,” Vince said.
“My replacement?”
“King Omri appointed your half-brother Theo as Captain of the Dusk Stalker Unit a few days ago.”
“What? Why would he do that?”
“No one has heard anything from you for three weeks. You and the Dusk Stalker Mertzer were presumed dead. The land mourned your loss at your funeral last week.”
“My funeral? Everyone thinks I’m dead?” The horror on Micah’s face caused bubbles of laughter to burst inside Javan’s chest. He had to hold his breath to keep from expelling his squeals of delight and therefore revealing his presence.
Too bad invisibility didn’t come with a sound proof feature. Refraining from laughing made his lungs hurt, but he was able to regain his self-control once Micah began moving.
“It is good to see that you are very much alive,” Vince said. “What of the dragon?”
“Mertzer is well and waiting for me in Keckrick. I will bring him home once I speak to my father.”
“Then go. You will need to take the stairs. The lift to the top floor is currently being repaired."
“Great.” Micah left the room in a hurry, and Javan had to scramble to keep up with him.
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