by Bryan Davis
Opening her eyes again, Lauren sang the words, and Joran echoed them while Selah added a harmony.
Your love protects my soul within
And shields my heart from shameful sin;
No flames or fear can steal my love;
It’s safely stored in God above.
So now I ask with mercy’s song,
Unfurl a banner, safe and strong,
The sound of love’s enfolding grace;
We trust in mercy’s warm embrace.
Although the tempest tosses seas,
And evil men encompass me,
Let grace and mercy be my shield,
And love and truth the sword I wield.
The gap between the sonic rods rippled. The sound barrier was taking shape, but two of the people they needed to rescue were no longer close.
At ground level, Walter stood next to Matt, a foot on the gunner’s chest. Several other soldiers closed in on them. His fists flying, Walter plunged into the line. Matt did the same. As the pops of knuckles striking chins and grunts of pain combined with the roar of fire and gunshots, Joran sang on without words, repeating the melody.
A burst of flames shot up at the field side of the dragons’ firestorm. Sapphira appeared in the midst, still waving her arms. Like a slow fuse, the burst spread out, following the perimeter in both directions. The scenery beyond the newly energized part of the wall changed from the snowy field to bare, blue sky. Sapphira vanished, apparently having stepped back after finishing the portal migration.
As the dragons continued orbiting, whenever they flew around one leading edge of the spreading fireburst, they disappeared, only to reappear at the other edge. Near the opposite side of the firestorm, a circle of five soldiers surrounded Matt and Walter as they lay in the mud. One aimed a rifle at them, while the others glanced around frantically, apparently terrified as they pointed their guns at every passing shadow.
“The sound barrier is ready,” Joran said. “We could take it down there and wrap them all up, but if they fight us, the barrier would likely fail.”
Lauren nodded. “Can we wait just a little while longer?”
“I think so. It should last a few minutes.”
The portal-shifting fire continued its circular march in both directions, now reaching three-quarters of the way around the dragons’ cyclone. In seconds, they would all be transported into open air, perhaps hundreds of feet above the ground.
A dragon spewed a stream of flames at the soldier aiming a gun at Matt and Walter. While he burned and two others dodged fireballs, Walter jumped up and decked a fourth soldier, and Matt swept a leg under the fifth. After gaining traction in the mud, Walter ran toward the tank, apparently not noticing that Matt had stayed behind, a rifle once again in his hands.
When Walter climbed to the top, dripping muddy water, he panted. “Thanks for waiting. Let’s do it!”
“Matt didn’t come,” Lauren said, pointing. “He doesn’t know the barrier’s ready.”
Walter touched his cheek. “Matt! Did you hear Lauren? We’re all set! Get up here!”
“On my way.” Matt hustled toward the tank, but one of the fallen soldiers reached out and tripped him, sending him sliding through the mud. The soldier scrambled up and held a rifle to Matt’s head. “Don’t move,” he called out, “or I’ll put a bullet through him!”
Walter picked up the rope. “Keep holding it, Lauren. It might be Matt’s ticket back up here.”
She held up her wrist. “I don’t think I could untie it if I wanted to.”
Semiramis dropped down from the top of the tank, apparently fully recovered. Grabbing Matt’s collar, she jerked him to his feet with strength that belied her size. She set a dagger against his throat and called out, “Give me Lauren. If you do, she and hero boy will both live. If you don’t, I will kill him immediately.”
“Wrap them in the barrier!” Matt shouted. “Don’t trust a word she says!”
The rear tank dropped out of sight, apparently swallowed by the portal. A vacuum slurped the surrounding men into the void. Walter and Lauren tightened their grips on the rope. Still attached to Matt’s waist, the lifeline kept him from getting sucked in. Semiramis hung on to his arm, the dagger poised.
As the ground around them continued to crumble, she locked her fiery stare on Walter. “What is your answer?”
Walter made a twirling motion with his finger. “Joran, wrap Lauren and Selah and yourself up.”
“We can’t leave Matt!” Lauren strained against the rope. “I won’t leave Matt!”
The wind swept the remaining men away, leaving only one tank, its riders, and Matt and Semiramis.
With dragon fire still swirling, Walter shouted at Lauren. “Do what I say! Now! I’ll hang on to the rope.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Walter turned to Joran. “I’m counting on you to save Lauren and Selah. Like I said, wrap them and yourself in your barrier.”
“Not you?” Joran asked.
“Of course not. I’m going to try to save Matt.” Walter shifted his focus to Semiramis. “Ease up on that dagger, and we’ll talk. In the meantime, I’m going to protect the kids.”
Joran unhooked his arm from Selah’s and, holding his sonic rod high, began walking around Lauren, wrapping her in the vibrating ribbon. When he finished the circuit, he guided Selah and himself inside and touched the rods together, completing the shield.
Lauren checked the advancing fire. Only a few feet to go before the edges met, maybe fifteen seconds. With the melodic wall singing the Listeners’ lovely hymn, all other sounds fell silent.
Walter kept both hands on the rope, leaning back against the pull, easing the tension on Lauren’s wrist. He appeared to be talking to Semiramis, but even Lauren’s sensitive ears couldn’t pick up the conversation.
Lauren looked at the expanding portal. If Walter didn’t hurry, he and Matt would fall into open sky. Was Semiramis blind to what was going on? Was Walter playing a high-stakes game of “Who will blink first?” Whatever he had in mind, she wasn’t about to untie the rope. If Walter slipped, she would remain Matt’s lifeline.
“Open the barrier,” Lauren whispered to Joran. “Just a little so I can hear.”
Joran moved his rod away from Selah’s and shifted his body, allowing Lauren to squeeze between them.
“There must be a reason you want Lauren so badly,” Walter said, shouting to compete with the wind. “I can’t believe you’re going to let yourself plunge into an unknown world.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Semiramis dug the blade into Matt’s throat. Blood streamed around the edge. “You have five seconds to decide.”
As tingles spread across Lauren’s back, a whisper entered her ear. “Lauren, the rope’s still tied to my waist. You and Walter can reel me in. Don’t worry about Semiramis cutting me. I’ve been trained to handle this. Just do something that’ll distract her for a split second.”
Lauren jumped between the rods and shouted, “Semiramis!”
When Semiramis flinched, Matt shoved her arm, snatched the dagger from her hand, and elbowed her in the ribs. She fell away, sucked into the growing hole.
Lauren grabbed the rope behind Walter’s gripping point. The advancing edges of the portal joined, and the circle of fire disappeared. The ground under Matt crumbled, and he flew back, hanging in midair, the dagger still in his grip. The knot at his waist held firm, and his body pulled against the rope like a kite battling a gale.
As the tank began to sink beneath them, Lauren and Walter strangled the rope and pulled, but the suction was too strong. “It’s slipping!” Walter called. “Hang on!”
Wind whipping her hair, Lauren set her feet and leaned back. “I am!” The rope slid through her fingers until only the loop around her wrist kept it from breaking free.
“Stay here!” Joran shouted at Selah. He, too, joined the pulling effort, while Selah held both rods.
�
�Let me go!” Matt flailed his arms. “Save yourselves!”
The tank now nearly submerged, Lauren strained with all her might. “Never! If you go, I’m going with you!”
As Matt gazed at her, a new whisper rose into her ears. “I love you, Lauren. It was great being your brother, even for just a little while.”
With a flick of Semiramis’s dagger, he sliced through the rope and flew away.
Lauren, Walter, and Joran fell backwards, nearly colliding with Selah. Lauren scrambled up and looked for Matt in the blue expanse, but he had already disappeared. “Matt!” she choked out, barely able to breathe.
“Get in!” Walter grabbed her arm and pushed her and Joran into the barrier. He reeled in the rope and shouted, “Now, Joran!”
Joran took one of the rods from Selah and closed the barrier around them, blanketing everyone in silence. They stood on solid ground instead of metal. Somehow the foundation had closed after the tank submerged.
Lauren sobbed. “Oh, Matt! Why did you do that? Why did you cut the rope?”
As if a door had opened to the outside air, cold wind assaulted Lauren’s face and lifted her hair. She opened her eyes. Two dragons appeared, flying in a tight orbit but no longer blowing fire. The barracks and field beyond them lay quiet under a mounting blanket of snow. The tanks, the soldiers, and the world of open sky were gone.
Holding his sonic rod, Joran hustled around the group, stripping away the sound barrier. When he joined his rod with Selah’s, the melody silenced, and all was quiet except for the whistling wind.
“Is all well?” Sapphira asked as she walked toward them, her white hair aglow.
Lauren fell to her knees and sobbed. She couldn’t answer, not even a word. She just stared at the loosely hanging rope, still tied to her wrist.
Walter crouched and laid a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “We lost Matt. He sacrificed himself to save the rest of us.”
“Could you see where he went?” Sapphira asked.
“No. He just flew into open air. I had to hustle everyone into the barrier, so I couldn’t watch for long.”
Legossi flew down with Ashley and Gabriel on her back and landed with a slide in the snow. “The military convoy is closing in,” Legossi said. “They have more tanks and men. We do not have enough healthy dragons to carry everyone away.”
“And Billy’s in no shape to ride,” Ashley added as she slid down Legossi’s flank. “We left him in the research building with Elam.”
Walter stared at Ashley. He swallowed, but just as he was about to speak, a new voice broke in.
“I’ll take care of the convoy.” The Captain limped from between two barracks, a phone at his ear. Sooty burn marks and a pained expression covered his face. Now without his parka, he wore only a long-sleeved T-shirt and muddy camouflage pants. “This is Captain Boone. Call off the mission. Everything is taken care of. I have all the anthrozils in custody, and the dragons are under control. … Verification? Why? … Colonel Baxter was killed in battle. I’m in charge. … C’mon, Charlie, it’s me. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. … Yeah, it’s a terrible night. Get the men home while you can. … Sure, I’ll keep you up to date.”
He tucked the phone into his pants pocket and scanned the remaining crowd. Setting a hand on his hip, he offered a weak smile. “If only I knew an hour ago what I know now, I could’ve spared a lot of young lives. It’s going to be hard writing letters to bereaved mothers and spouses, and I still have to carry Tucker’s body from that frozen field.”
“Speaking of hard,” Walter said as he helped Lauren rise, “telling parents that they lost a son they recently found after fifteen years might be hardest of all.”
“Lost a son?” Ashley glanced around. “Where’s Matt?”
Walter’s face flushed. “Gone. Swept away in the portal.”
As their eyes met, Ashley’s face twitched. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “I think my brain is choking.”
“I had hoped for a happier reunion.” Walter spread out his mud-coated arms. “But we’re finally together again.”
She walked into his embrace and pressed her cheek against his. Sniffling, she rubbed his back. “Will these days of sadness never end?”
Walter kissed her, then touched her nose with a finger. “Knowing you, you’re already planning a way to get to wherever this new portal leads.”
Ashley stepped back and began counting on her fingers. “I’ll need a spectral analyzer and the Apollo device. Then when Sapphira opens the portal, we can look into it safely and—”
“First things first,” Gabriel said as he flew from Legossi’s back and landed next to Ashley. “From all the bleeding cuts I see, it looks like you have quite a bit of stitching to do. We can ask Carly and Shelly to send the technical stuff you need, but for now, we’d better get everyone inside.” He laid an arm around Ashley and drew her close.
She returned the hug and kissed his cheek. “I think I can do more surgery.”
“Just a second.” Walter touched his jaw. “Jared, you can fly right into the prison to pick us up. Land wherever you can. … That’s right. The area is secure. … That’s fine. We can wait. If Larry says the storm will be over in a few minutes, you can believe him. We’ll see you soon.”
Selah slid her hand into Lauren’s. “Joran and I were taken into another world long ago, and it saved our lives. There is still hope.”
Lauren kissed Selah’s cheek. “Thank you both for all you’ve done.”
While Joran played a melancholy tune on the lyre, they trudged to the research wing. Makaidos and Thigocia helped Roxil through a dragon-sized hole at the front door. Once everyone made it inside, Elam, Sapphira, and Gabriel rode Makaidos, Thigocia, and Legossi away to Second Eden. With Tamiel unaccounted for, they wanted to make sure the new portal to that world remained secure. They would keep it open for now and guard it well.
Captain Boone brought all the necessary supplies to the Healers’ Room—scalpels, bandages, suture thread, and topical anesthesia. With the storm settling, the power came back on, providing plenty of light and heat.
While Ashley removed the candlestone from Roxil, everyone else showered, though Ashley insisted that Selah stay with Lauren in the female wing’s community shower room to make sure she didn’t pass out. While warm water poured over Lauren’s head, Selah stood at a nearby sink where, after learning how to operate the faucet, she washed her hands and face.
Their conversation began in a somber mood with Lauren lamenting her adoptive parents’ deaths, the fact that she had killed a guard, and especially the loss of her brother. Selah, her attitude as effervescent as ever, sang a beautiful song about freedom from bonds and flying above sorrows and strife. As her words echoed in the room, they seemed to try to massage Lauren’s soul but without much effect. Grief crushed her heart, and no song was capable of easing her pain.
The men showered in another wing, and Captain Boone provided prison-issue clothing while one anthrozil-friendly staff member laundered the soiled garments. With the Captain now in charge, the prison felt like a hotel, though one remaining guard seemed wary. During the cleanup time, the Captain ordered that guard to drive Stella, still unconscious, to a nearby hospital. Both would be out of the way, at least for a while.
Soon, Ashley had everything she needed to begin stitching the human warriors. It seemed that everyone who had stayed behind suffered a significant wound somewhere. By the time Lauren lay on one of the hospital beds for her turn, loss of blood had taken its toll. Dizziness made the walls turn around her. With the door propped open, it seemed that the bed might spin right out of the room.
The sway added to an unsettled feeling. So much remained to be done; so many mysteries lay unsolved. Finding Matt, Bonnie, and Portia, of course, stood as the top priorities, but what about Mardon’s role? Just moments ago, Walter had filled her in on Mardon’s scientific know-how and his relationship to Semiramis. If Semiramis was able to transform to a ghost whenever s
he wanted to, could Mardon have the same power? With his expertise, he might put more obstacles in their way.
While Ashley prepared to work on Lauren’s wrist, Walter, Joran, and Selah looked on. The son and daughter of Methuselah stared, apparently mesmerized by yet more new revelations—hypodermic needles, modern beds, and electric everything.
Billy lay on the adjacent bed, his face clean-shaven, though pale and gaunt, and his ragged hair freshly washed. With his upper body propped against pillows behind him, he looked at the cell phone Lauren had taken from the Colonel’s remains. “So is this Portia?” Billy asked as he studied the screen.
Lauren nodded. “She was in the weapons control room when the dragons attacked, and we haven’t seen her since. We’re wondering if she got transported somewhere.”
“Well, her name isn’t really Portia.” Billy turned the phone around so Walter could see the photo. “Do you agree?”
Walter squinted at the image. “Looks like she’s lost quite a bit of weight, but there’s no doubt about it. We’ve been wondering where she’s been.”
“Her name is Tamara.” Billy turned the phone toward himself again. “She was once Sorentine, the first dragon-turned-human Devin killed.”
“And also the first pregnant dragon he killed,” Walter added. “A few years ago, Tamara begged to help with our rescue efforts by going into the prison undercover, but I thought her … um …”
“Speech impediment?” Ashley offered.
“Right. I thought her speech impediment would get her in trouble, so I said no.” He shook his head sadly. “Maybe I should have done more to discourage her.”
