by D K Drake
That woke the okties woke up. Their screeching outdid Kisa’s roars. They knew they would be the dragon’s breakfast if they didn’t get away and flew in confused circles around their tied perches in the trees. Kisa stomped toward the camp, trampling everything in her path.
The soldiers in the tents began to emerge. And run. The blur of Micah and Mertzer slashing through the trees and tents added to the chaos. A stampede of life-saving insanity shook the ground, a stampede that took everyone away from the portal.
Leaving the people to the dragons, Taliya dashed across the rocky ground to the cliff. Ravier was the only one standing in front of it.
“You get the portal open,” he said. “I’m going to make sure the soldier on top of the cliff doesn’t give you any trouble.”
“I appreciate that.” Now alone with the intimidating wall made from pieces of dragon scales that glowed softly, Taliya took out the four full-sized scales from her bag and stepped up to the left of the massive colorful octagon. She found what she was looking for at eye level: a small circle with four open triangular slots. The four points of the triangles touched in the middle, resembling a giant four-leaf clover.
“Here we go.” With trembling hands, she started to place the Dawn and Dusk scales in the right and left slots. “Whoa. That’s not right. This is the southern portal. I have to put the scales in one at a time two seconds apart, not simultaneously like in the northern portal.” Correcting herself, she placed the Midnight scale in the top spot, the Dawn scale in the right slot, the Noon scale in the bottom slot, and the final Dusk scale in the left spot. Then she drew in a giant breath that she didn’t dare exhale and pushed.
The octagon on the wall beside her blinked to life with a brilliant flash of blue. A blurry rainbow of colors followed, and the four scales in front of her blinked off and on.
“Blue,” she mumbled, studying the pattern of the flashes. “Blue is the dominant color. Now to figure out how long to hold the scales down and how many times to tap each scale.”
She stepped back, forcing her eyes to focus on the pattern of the flashing colors of the portal and willing her ears to ignore the commotion behind her.
“Hey!” A voice from above interrupted her focus. “No one is authorized to touch the portal. Cease! Cease your actions immediately!”
“Cease my actions?” She craned her head upwards to see a uniformed figure staring down at her. She didn’t feel the need to respond with similarly flowery language and simply yelled, “Not gonna happen.”
“I said cease!” He aimed his Jolt Blast at her and fired.
She dodged the lightning bolt and looked to the sky. “Javan, where’s my cover?”
“Right here.” Flames appeared in mid-air, and the soldier scrambled away from the ledge to escape Varjiek’s fiery breath. That scramble must have chased him right to Ravier because Taliya could hear swords clashing above her.
Hoping Ravier could indeed fight left-handed, she realized the pattern was repeating and knew she needed to enter the code before it cut off.
She stepped back to the four scales and tapped the Dusk scale. Then she pressed the Dawn scale three times, Noon seven, Midnight four, and Dusk five. “No, no, no. Six. I need to hit it six times.” But it was too late. The portal went dark. The activation scales spun round and round. Then fell out.
She caught them as they fell, knowing she only had two more chances to get it right.
Chapter 30
Swift Action
“S
top!” Sensing that something was wrong, Micah commanded the speeding Mertzer to halt his tirade. It took the dragon a few steps to slow down, and they finally skidded to a stop in the middle of the crazed camp.
Something was wrong. The portal had stopped glowing.
Not that anyone else seemed to notice. Their plan to create chaos couldn’t have worked any better. No one whose sole job was to ensure that portal didn’t activate ignored they portal that was being activated. They were instead running in the opposite direction to steer clear of Kisa as well as the random bursts of fire Varjiek blew down from the sky.
Except one soldier with an axe strapped across her back moved against the crowd. She walked quickly. Calmly. Confidently. Unfazed by the craziness around her. Toward the portal. Toward Taliya.
“Mertzer, you keep creating terror. I need to take care of the rogue soldier.” The dragon nodded and dashed off as soon as Micah’s feet hit the ground.
Micah zig zagged against the flow of people as Taliya restarted the activation process. With the burst of light came a burst of recognition. He wasn’t following just any soldier. He was following the Destroyer, the same woman who had almost killed him in his own backyard.
He broke into a jog, determined to reach her before she reached Taliya.
◊◊◊
“Haha!” Taliya clapped her hands, proud of herself. This time, she recognized the code instantly. “Get ready, Javan! I’ll have the portal open in less than a minute.”
She rubbed her hands together and skipped to the four scales. Noon three. Dusk two. Dawn five. Noon one. Midnight six. Noon four. Then Noon and Midnight together and—
A hand that did not belong to her pressed the Dusk scale. Once again, the portal darkened and the activation scales spun out. Taliya caught the scales in disbelief and turned to find the Destroyer staring down at her with her arms crossed and no expression on her face smooth, flawless face.
“How dare you!” Taliya shoved the taller, stronger woman. The woman didn’t flinch. “You need to back off right now or Javan will have his dragon incinerate you!”
“That won’t be necessary, Taliya.” Micah stepped between them with his sword drawn. “You get the portal open. I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you again.”
“Finally.” The Destroyer flipped her axe over her shoulder and squared off with Micah. “You’re the real reason I’m here, anyway. Glad you decided to come play.”
She slashed at Micah’s throat, but he blocked her attack with his sword. “Hurry, Taliya.” He pushed the Destroyer back and lunged after her.
With the clash of Micah’s steel sword against the Destroyer’s iron axe handle ringing in her ears, Taliya began her third and final attempt at opening the portal. If she got the code wrong this time, she’d be greeted with a shower of acid rather than darkened scales. But if she got it right, she would be headed to Earth.
Choosing to focus on the positive, Taliya stepped back to watch the new pattern emerge. “Is that three-two-two or two-three-two?” She wasn’t sure! The pattern wasn’t clear. She watched it again. And the third and final time. “Two-three-two. It has to be two-three-two.”
At least she hoped so. Still not certain but certain she had to make a decision, she began. Dawn two. Dusk three. Dawn two. Noon one. Midnight four. Dawn two. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and winced as she then pressed all four scales at once.
Expecting acid to burn her skin, she found herself surprised when the once solid wall turned soft. Almost watery. “It’s open,” she mumbled. “The portal to Earth is open.”
“I knew you could do it, Taliya!” Javan yelled from above and let Varjiek show himself as they flew through the portal.
“Stop gaping and go,” Micah said, blocking another of the Destroyer’s blows.
The ping of the axe striking sword drew Taliya’s attention away from the portal. Micah was holding his sword in front of his neck while the axe blade almost touched his nose. He didn’t look like he would be able to hold his defensive position much longer. Taliya had to help. She reached for her slingshot. “Give me ten seconds and I’ll have a dart in that pretty little neck of hers.”
“I got this. Just go!”
“I can’t--”
“Go!”
She jumped at his order and plunged face first into the watery wall.
◊◊◊
“You got this?” The Destroyer laughed in Micah’s face. “The only thing you’ve got is an axe about to take your
head off.”
“Not likely.” Micah’s arms ached, and his sword shook against the relentless pressure of the Destroyer’s axe. He’d been in plenty of swordfights and won every single one. Once he figured out how to defeat an opponent wielding an axe instead of a sword, he would win this one as well.
“Aren’t you cocky.” She pushed harder. The edge of the axe grazed his nose. Blood began to drip over his lips and onto his chin. “So am I. For good reason. With you out of the way and Javan in another dimension, my job of killing the rest of the dragons will be easy. I have all the backing of Omri and no resistance from anyone.”
He couldn’t die here. He refused to die here at the hand of an assassin with the light from the open portal warming his skin.
The open portal.
That was it. That was his way out. He steadied his hands and smiled. “Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
Micah took advantage of that tiny flicker of confusion. He swiped her ankles with his foot and pushed out with his arms. Maintaining control of his sword with his left hand, he caught the off-balance Destroyer with his right arm. He wrapped his around her waist, picked her up, and carried her through the portal to the only place where he was certain the dragons of Zandador would remain safe from her bloodthirsty axe: Earth.
Chapter 31
Earth
Sticky water. Gooey mud. Squishy soup. Bolstered by an icy wind, Taliya felt like she was walking through a combination of all three of those things as she made her way from Zandador to Earth through the portal. She savored every sensation and let her curiosity surge her onward.
What was she going to see first when she made it to the other side? Mountains? Oceans? Deserts? Forests? Glaciers? What would the air feel like? Would it smell different than the air in the Great Rift? What about animals? If dragons were unique to her dimension, what kind of animals would she encounter that were unique to Earth?
So many questions that demanded answers, answers she would discover when she stepped through the colorful wall up ahead. Earth stood on the other side of that wall.
A spine-contorting shiver shot through her when she finally emerged from the sticky, gooey, squishy portal. The shivers continued as she took in the unimpressive scenery of a cave. Varjiek’s large body took up more than half of the space. His claws rapidly tapped the stone floor, and Javan sat atop the dragon’s twitching body. Laughing. Uncontrollably.
The sounds of the tapping and the laughing bounced off the high ceiling and ragged walls. “What’s so funny?” Taliya managed to ask between echoes and bodily shivers. She also wanted to ask if the eggs were okay, but she couldn’t get the words out.
“Nothing.” Javan cackled. “Absolutely nothing. I just…haha…react this way…haha…when I travel…haha…through the portal.”
“Oh. Right. The portal effect.” Taliya vaguely remembered reading about how no one could get through the portal without experiencing some sort of physical reaction from the interdimensional travel. Apparently her body responded by shivering. She told her toes and her knees and her hips and her hands to be still, but they weren’t listening. The noise from Javan and Varjiek didn’t help. “Think you can tone it down a little? Your laughing and Varjiek’s twitching make it really loud in here.”
“I’m sorry.” Javan covered his mouth. His body shook from the muffled laughter, and Taliya found herself starting to laugh at the sight of the silently hysterical Javan.
“Just let it out, man.”
He did. His ear-splitting laugh tore through Taliya’s ears at the precise moment two more people burst through the watery wall. The wall solidified, and the four scales appeared in the activation wheel on this side of the portal. Taliya couldn’t stop shivering long enough to grab them and instead watched Micah wipe at the tears streaming down his face.
“What’s with all the laughing?” Micah looked at his wet hands. “Why am I crying? This is ridiculous. I don’t cry. Ever. I’m not even sad.”
“I’ve got a better question,” Taliya said between shivers. She nodded at the Destroyer dangling over Micah’s shoulder. The woman held on to her axe so tightly her knuckles turned white. The only part of her that moved was her eyes. She was blinking as fast as a hummingbird flaps its wings. “Why did you bring the trained dragon killer to Earth?”
Micah responded by sobbing. While he cried and Javan laughed, she forced her shivering hands to take the scales from the activation circle. They had also made the trip from Zandador, and she would need to use them to return. As she put them in her bag, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of a small crevice in the wall to her left.
◊◊◊
The sight of Micah carrying the Destroyer cured Javan of his desire to laugh. After checking to make sure the eggs had survived the trip without cracking, he slid off Varjiek and marched over to the tearful Micah. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay in Zandador and care for Mertzer and Kisa, not bring the woman who wants you and all dragons dead to Earth. What if she tries to kill our dragons as soon as they hatch?”
“We were fighting. I was losing. The portal was open.” Micah spoke in short sentences between sobs. He took a deep breath, dropped the Destroyer on the floor, and continued with more control of his emotions. “I figured it would be easier to keep an eye on her in unfamiliar territory than it would be to chase her around Zandador trying to stop her from killing all the Midnight Stalkers before you got back. I really don’t want to have to hunt for more eggs and do this trip to Earth thing again. I’m not sure how many times the army will fall for the hungry dragon trick.”
“At least take her weapon away from her.” Javan snatched the axe from the blinking Destroyer. “What’s your name?”
Her eyes slowed to normal blinking range. She narrowed them at him but didn’t say anything.
“Javan asked you a question.” Micah pulled the woman to her feet and turned her to face Javan. “Tell the man your name. While you’re at it, why don’t you tell me what my father promised you if you killed me.”
She slowly crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips. She cocked her head slightly to one side as if to say she wasn’t about to say anything. Javan fought to keep his composure under the cold stare of the silent woman.
“What is this thing?”
Taliya’s question gave Javan a good reason to turn around. She was holding a Ziplock baggie with an iPhone trapped inside it. “A phone!” He snatched the bag from her hand, took it out of the plastic bag, and turned it on. While he waited for it to power up, he asked, “Where did you find this?”
“In the wall over there. This was with it.”
He took a folded piece of torn notebook paper from her and opened it. It had only two words scribbled on the middle of the page above a series of numbers: Call me.
“What’s a call?” Taliya asked. “What are the numbers for? Who do you think left the note? Was it meant for you or someone else?”
“That’s too many questions at once, Taliya.” A picture of Kenton’s smiling face popped up on the phone. His silver hair draped onto his shoulders from beneath his leather hat, and he had a red bandana wrapped around his neck under a collared shirt. In the background of his great-great-great grandfather’s selfie were two grey dragons floating in the air above the Grand Canyon.
“I know that man.” Taliya took the phone from him. “He’s the one who went with my father to Earth the night they took you through the portal as a baby. Has he been living on Earth this whole time? With his dragons? They’ve been able to survive in this atmosphere?”
“I know him, too.” Now Micah took the phone. “That’s Kenton, my father’s greatest rival. What’s this about him bringing you to Earth? Is that how you remained undetected your whole life? You were hiding on Earth?”
Kenton has Skylark, Varjiek chimed in. Does that thing you are holding say she’s okay? Do you think she’ll remember who I am?
“Enough!” Javan’s scream echoed off t
he walls and silenced everyone. The bombardment of questions were giving him a headache. He retrieved the phone and continued in a softer voice. “Let me make this call, and then we can play question and answer time.”
He pushed the round button at the bottom of the phone twice to bring up the passcode screen. Using the numbers on the sheet of paper, he accessed the phone. The battery life was at eighty-three percent, and he had one service bar. Hopefully that would be a strong enough signal to make the call.
The only contact listed in the phone’s directory was for Kenton, so Javan touched the call button. It rang three times before a voice answered and said, “Who’s this?”
“Javan.”
“Javan! I wasn’t expecting you to come back for me yourself. That’s a mighty humble act for a king. I feel honored. Let me put my house in order and gather my dragons. Skylark will be happy to hear she’ll be able to eat her noon meal in the Land of Zandador today!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.” Javan had to close his eyes to stop his head from spinning. “I’m not here because I won the throne.”
“You gave up? Unbelievable! Don’t you understand how important you are to the Land of Zandador?”
“Please stop jumping to conclusions and let me explain.” Javan switched the phone to his other ear. “I’ve collected a Noon Stalker and a Dawn Stalker. I have a Dusk Stalker with me. Kinda. It hasn’t hatched yet.”
“You brought an egg with you? Fascinating. Why didn’t you say so, my boy? I’ll get the incubator ready, and Skylark and I will be there in a few hours. Don’t wander out of that cave until we get there.”
Kenton hung up before Javan had a chance to say goodbye. That’s when he noticed that Taliya and Micah were both staring at him like he had grown a second head.
