by Andi Van
“You have been dreaming of Triv?” Falcon asked, her mouth twisting in thought. “That makes no sense. What have you been dreaming?”
“I’m aware it makes no sense,” Zaree said as she stood. They’d stopped at what Falcon had declared to be the halfway point in their journey to rest, but the stone floor hadn’t been the most comfortable of places to nap, and she hurt to her very bones. “But it’s still happening. This time I dreamed of Triv summoning Rin.” She let out a long sigh. “I never thought I’d miss that obnoxious brat’s chatter, but I do.” Now wasn’t the time to lament, though, and she shook her head in an effort to clear away the last of the emotions the dream had brought up. “Have you reached Denekk yet?”
“No,” Jorget said, his disquiet over the silence from his mentor obvious. “He’s got to know that everything we contact him about right now is important, but I’m getting nothing but fog from the mirror.” He swallowed hard, then looked at Zaree, the fear in his eyes piercing. “What if something’s happened to him?”
Don’t borrow trouble, Daro advised. Denekk is a smart man. It could be that he’s simply had to hide the mirror because the king is being more paranoid than usual. And if something has happened, remember that Denekk is a smart man. He can take care of himself.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry,” Jorget snapped, glaring at the wolf, who met his gaze calmly. “The man raised me.”
I’m not suggesting you not worry. I’m simply suggesting you not allow yourself to panic blindly.
“He’s right,” Kelwin said before Jorget could argue back. “I know it’s hard, but we need to stay objective. For now, let’s keep trying to contact him. If we can’t, we’ll worry about it when we get to Archai.”
“But—”
Zaree sighed, rubbing at her temples. This whole ordeal was giving her a headache of immense proportions. “Jorget, we’re underground halfway in between the capitals of two different kingdoms. Even if something has happened to Denekk, there’s nothing we can do about it right now. Just keep trying him as we walk. Please.”
Something in her expression must have given away her annoyance, because Jorget hesitated, then nodded. “Okay,” he said. “You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just….”
“He’s important to you,” Emlynn finished. “We know. Keep trying. I’m sure you’ll get through eventually.”
Zaree was glad for the magic infused into the walls as they ventured forth. It kept them from having to use dimmer light sources, and the path was clear. What she didn’t like was how monotonous the whole thing was. While she recognized that it was better for the journey to be boring than exciting—because exciting for them would probably mean being chased by some random, dangerous creature—it made the trip seem longer than it probably was. So she felt no small amount of relief when Falcon finally announced they were nearing the other end.
“Wait!” Jorget yelped. “I think I’ve gotten through.”
They waited as he stared into the mirror, then watched as his eyes went wide and all the blood drained from his face. Zaree thought he was about to faint and started to move toward him, but Jorget held up a hand out of view of the mirror to stop her. Whatever he was seeing couldn’t be good.
“I see, so it’s you.” The voice was definitely not Denekk, but she couldn’t place it. Zaree looked at the others to see if they recognized it, but they looked as clueless as she was.
Right up until Jorget answered whoever was on the other end of the connection with “Your Majesty.” Then Zaree went cold. Oh Maker. He knew.
“I knew it had to be one of his apprentices,” the king continued. “So many of you are in and out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. But you… I pegged you as being too stupid to be a magic user. Or perhaps it’s the smallness of your brain that allows you to be one of them. I suppose that’s a good theory.”
Jorget’s Adam’s apple bounced as he swallowed hard. “What have you done with Denekk?”
“I’ve put him and his friends to use. You see, we’re aboard the largest ship in my fleet, with a few others trailing behind. There can’t be many of you, so I figured I wouldn’t need all of them. No point in wasting my resources when I’ve probably just got a small handful of children to rid the world of. Funny how that disgusting elf I thought I’d had put to death is still alive to be behind the whole thing. But that’s okay, Denekk is paying for that error in judgment by safely getting me to the pile of rocks your friends call home. I might even let him live after you’re all dead.”
“You won’t—”
“Won’t what? Get away with it? Oh, but I already have, because you have no way of getting back in time to stop me.”
Zaree jerked her head around to look at Emlynn, and Em nodded. She’d assumed the same thing from the king’s words. He didn’t know about the gates, and he clearly didn’t think they were as well organized as they actually were. The tiniest bit of hope began to bloom in Zaree’s chest.
“Well, on that note,” the king said.
The words were followed by a shattering sound, and a moment later Jorget looked at them. “Pretty sure he just broke Denekk’s mirror,” he said as he thrust his own mirror into Emlynn’s hand. He staggered a few steps away and bent over to purge his stomach of its contents.
Zaree grimaced at the sound, but Emlynn calmly went to his side to steady him until he was done. When he showed no signs of going another round, she offered Jorget her flask. “Rinse your mouth out,” she said gently. They waited until he’d followed her instructions, let her wipe his face with one of her enormous handkerchiefs, and led him back to them. He kept a firm grip on her arm, practically hanging off her, and his face was a deathly gray.
Kelwin reached him before Zaree could move, putting one hand on either side of Jorget’s face. “He’s alive,” Kelwin said. “And as disgusting as it is to us, he’s useful to the king right now. That will keep him alive.”
Jorget swallowed hard and gave him a small nod.
“We planned for something like this,” Kelwin reminded him, and Zaree wondered when that had happened. She hadn’t heard of any plan. “Contact Arin. He’ll notify my village, Em’s village, and the Gyrn. Then contact Josephina so she can let Vashk know Archai is on his way and that there are more coming. Maybe he can figure out how to get the storms to part just enough to let Sireti through without aiding the king in the process. Vashk said he’d made it so Sireti could get through the storms and the shield around the isle, but I don’t know what will happen if the king is also there.”
“He doesn’t know about the gates,” Zaree said. “That’s what I got out of it, anyway, when he said we had no way of getting back in time to stop him. So we can free Reikos and his men, take them through a portal to the guild to help guard our home, and then go speak to the Maker. Maybe she’ll be able to help us somehow.” This was all assuming the king hadn’t killed Reikos or his men, but Zaree forcefully shoved that notion out of her head.
“And we’ll have to be careful,” Emlynn added. “Wherever this tunnel ends, we have to assume that if there’s someone nearby, they are not our ally.”
“We are perhaps five hundred yards from the other end,” Falcon said in a hushed tone. “And sounds carry. It may be too late, but let us make as little noise as possible.”
They fell silent then, and continued down the corridor without another word.
I’m going to go ahead, Bahz said, startling Zaree so much that she actually jumped. My wings are silent. Should we have company at the end, they will not hear me.
It was a good plan, and Zaree nodded, gesturing for him to precede them. He leaped from Mistral’s back, where he’d been resting, and soared effortlessly down the tunnel. Zaree squinted as she tried to keep an eye on him until he reached the end, then realized she was having a hard time seeing him because the end wasn’t as bright as it should have been. The wall that should have been a dead end, assuming they had to climb upward out of the tunnel, was dark.
We’re going to have to dig. Our way has been blocked. The good news is that it’s likely muffled sounds to the outside.
He returned to them, landing on Emlynn’s shoulder and showering them with dust in the process. Zaree accidentally breathed in a lungful of it and sneezed violently, making her eyes water. “Where did all this come from? Did one of the walls fail and let in dirt?”
I don’t think it’s dirt, Bahz said, sounding grimmer than Zaree would have liked. It smells of charred bone to me.
“Oh Maker,” Jorget said, frantically dusting himself off. “They’ve been using the tunnel for garbage disposal from the furnaces. Probably for longer than anyone can remember, because the passageway certainly seems to have been forgotten. What do you want to bet they dumped remains down the hole to the tunnel before Denekk and Reikos were able to fake the executions?”
Zaree gave him a horrified look. “Great Zargant’s third nutsac,” she blurted out. “Are you seriously telling me I just snorted dead people?” She frantically grabbed the handkerchief Emlynn offered her and blew her nose so many times she was surprised it wasn’t bloody when she finally stopped.
“I have so many questions revolving around that statement,” Jorget said. “Who is Zargant, why does he have an unnatural number of scrota, and why is it the third one that’s involved in that curse?”
“Gyrn legend,” Zaree said as she wiped at her nose again. “He’s a god, supposedly. The first set of testicles produce human children, the second produce four-legged animals of varying species.”
“And the third?”
“The third was used to impregnate his enemies with a nightmarish creature that ate its host from the inside out.”
Jorget made a face. “Lovely.”
“You think that’s bad, try being a toddler whose father thinks the legend makes an excellent bedtime story.”
“As fascinating as your incredibly bizarre bit of Gyrn trivia is,” Kelwin said, breaking into the conversation, “let’s go take a look at our pile of ash and see if it’s possible to dig through, shall we?”
“I can dig,” Yldost told him, shifting effortlessly back into their draconic form. “I believe Mistral would help, as well.” They held up one of their large clawed hands and shrugged. “We are well equipped for it.”
Mistral let out a muted chirp and nodded.
“Why not just use magic?” Jorget wondered.
“Because we do not know what’s on the other side of that pile,” Yldost said patiently. “What if there is no barrier between the dirt and the dungeon, and we’re immediately caught? What if perhaps it’s lending stability to the floor above us? Certainly, I could use magic in fractions, but that would take more time than digging. The easiest way isn’t always the correct way.”
“If the easy way isn’t an option, having the two of you makes things worlds easier,” Zaree said. Not only because they would certainly be faster than the rest of them, but because it would lessen the chance of Zaree once again breathing in something she didn’t want to think about. “Thank you.”
“I am glad to be of some sort of help,” Yldost admitted. “I am not the most useful entity to have along on this journey.”
False, Daro said. Please give yourself more credit than that.
“Indeed,” Emlynn agreed. “Even if there were not physical things that you could do, such as digging us out of our current situation, your input has been exceptional.”
Yldost brightened, their feathers fluffing out in pleasure. “Truly?”
“Truly,” Zaree agreed, smiling as she rested a hand on Yldost’s neck.
The dragon nosed at Zaree before turning to Mistral. “Shall we?”
The two headed for the end of the tunnel, and Zaree thought Yldost’s saunter had more than a hint of smugness. The dragon had earned it, though, so she wouldn’t tease them. The rest followed, and Kelwin fell into step next to Zaree.
“I’m going to tell Tasis you were snorting cremated remains,” he said in a low voice.
“Don’t you dare,” Zaree hissed back. Tasis would never let her live down the story, and Kelwin knew it. That’s exactly why he was suggesting he’d tell her brother.
“Unfortunately for you, I do indeed dare,” Kelwin replied cheerfully. “He’ll laugh for a month.”
Considering Zaree would give just about anything to hear that laugh again, she let it go. When being teased about it got old, she could just smack one or both of them.
They stopped a respectful distance away to keep the ash off them and watched as the two made short work of the sizable pile. In very little time, they could see what appeared to be a trap door in the ceiling. It wasn’t as large an opening as the one in Chadar had been, but Zaree thought it was still large enough for Mistral to get through. She glanced over at the hatchlings, who watched their mother curiously but kept their distance. They didn’t seem too keen on being covered in ash, either.
There used to be a ladder, Bahz said. It appears to be gone now. Is there any chance the remains can be stabilized enough to be used in its place?
Zaree sighed to herself. Bad enough she’d breathed it in, now she was going to have to walk all over it. She couldn’t put to words how disrespectful of the dead it seemed to her. Maybe when all this was done, she could make sure the remains could be taken care of properly, not left forgotten in a tunnel.
“I believe so,” Yldost said, answering Bahz’s question. “Let me see what I can do.” The dragon murmured under their breath, then stopped after several minutes. They reached out and pushed against the pile to test it, and there was no movement. “There,” they said with a nod. “That should hold. Let us take a peek and see what we can see.”
“Do you remember a trap door in that room?” Kelwin asked Zaree as they climbed carefully behind Jorget and Emlynn, who were guiding the hatchlings up. The ash may have been stable, but it was still an awkward trek, making Zaree wary of falling.
Zaree shook her head. “Most of what I remember doesn’t involve as many details as I’d like. At first all I could think about was killing the hot guy who’d helped murder my brother. Then when I realized Tasis was alive, I was still pretty distracted by the hot guy.” She shrugged when Kelwin snorted. “Yeah, it’s shallow of me, I’ll admit. But it’s not often an attractive man pays that kind of attention to me, and he did kind of help save Tas. That goes a long way toward earning my affection.”
“As it should,” Kelwin agreed. He helped push her the last bit of the way to the top, then hauled himself up beside everyone else. He reached up and tested the door before turning to Yldost. “Can you lift this just enough for us to see into the room?”
Yldost nodded and maneuvered themself onto their haunches, pressed the palms of their hands to the wood, and pushed slowly. The tips of their claws dug into the wood, and then it moved. Zaree half expected a loud squeal from the ancient hinges holding the thing, but it lifted silently, just enough for them to see if someone else was in the room. They could see at least one pair of boot-clad feet, and there was no guarantee someone else wasn’t nearby who they simply couldn’t see.
“Do you think you could put them to sleep?” Zaree whispered.
Yldost looked up to the door they were holding and cocked their head in thought. “I can, but….”
“Let me try,” Falcon whispered. “I do not know if I retain my magic in this form, and I’ve been afraid to find out.”
Zaree nodded, and Falcon took a deep breath. When she let it out, it carried the words of the spell with it. “Sefil tor.”
The room’s occupant landed on the floor with a heavy thud, and they all winced. When no one came running, Falcon cleared her throat. “My magic still works,” she announced sheepishly.
“We might have noticed,” Jorget said with a chuckle.
Zaree looked at the hatchlings, then Mistral. “I’m thinking you should stay here,” she told the gryphon. “That way your babies stay safe and we have someone guarding the tunnel, just in case. What do you thin
k?”
Mistral clacked her beak and nodded. Zaree had the distinct feeling she was relieved at that suggestion, which made her feel better about leaving Mistral behind. “Do you think Reikos and his men are in one of the cells?” she asked Jorget.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he said as Yldost lifted the trap door enough for them to crawl out.
Emlynn went first, looking around her as she did. “It’s clear,” she announced quietly and reached down to help the others out one at a time.
“Where to from here?” Kelwin asked Jorget. “Zar and I were only here once, and we didn’t stick around long enough to learn the layout.”
“What, didn’t appreciate the ambiance?” Jorget asked. “I just don’t understand.”
“Cut the chatter,” Zaree said. “No offense, but I want to get out of here as quickly as possible. The king’s probably left orders for us to be killed on sight.”
“Likely,” Jorget agreed, crouching to pat down the slumbering guard. “Damn. I was hoping he’d have a set of keys. Well, there’s probably another guard in the dungeon itself with them.”
“If not, I can open the locks,” Falcon said.
“You mean there’s a spell for that?” Emlynn asked, her expression shocked.
Falcon let out a snort and shook her head. “I used to practice on the locks down here. While I’m certain they’ve improved over the last thousand years, I would bet the basics are quite similar.”
“Possibly,” Zaree agreed. “But if not, we can go from there.”
Jorget nodded. “Come on,” he said, moving to the door and cracking it open.
“See anything?” Kelwin whispered.
“No, but that doesn’t mean there’s not someone on the other side.”
“Let me go,” Yldost, once again in their bipedal form, suggested. “I am much harder to hurt than the rest of you, and if there is someone there, I can do as we did with this one.” They gestured to the guard, who still lay unceremoniously on the floor. Zaree bet the guy was going to have a serious neckache when he woke, considering the angle his head was at, but she wasn’t going to bother to fix it.
