Diviner (20 page)

A building appeared. Constructed out of roughly cut logs cemented by thick mortar, it looked to be large enough to house ten to fifteen humans, depending on their size and how closely together they slept. An adult human stood near one corner of the building while several children watched a fire that blazed under the carcass of a small animal.

With a wave of her cloak, Cassabrie swept the scene away, leaving behind an empty clearing, the moss-covered stone, and three huddled, shivering human younglings.

Xenith blinked. The children seemed far away, as if she were looking at them through the wrong end of Father’s sky scope. The clearing wobbled. Cassabrie’s glow brightened as she spoke again, now with a voice that echoed throughout the forest. “If you will accept my request, I will make sure these little ones find this refuge. They will be warm and well-fed, cared for by humans. Here, they will be cold and hungry, and, although you are a noble and good dragon, they will not be as comfortable with you as they would be with their own kind.”

Xenith shook her head hard. That helped clear her vision, at least a little bit. “The images you conjured are comforting, but I cannot be sure they reflect reality. I have heard that Zena was once able to do the same thing, and she convinced people of lies with her dark arts.”

“Zena was a counterfeit Starlighter. A real Starlighter obtains power from the way the Creator fashioned her. For me, telling vivid tales is as natural as breathing. A counterfeit calls upon the forces of evil to mimic this gift, and it is a harsh, primitive copy that is motivated by the desires of fraudulent forces, not the desires of the Creator.” Cassabrie pushed back her hood and walked closer. With each step, the green in her eyes brightened. “Arxad and Fellina will not come here soon. I know this to be true, because Arxad brought me to the village, and he and your mother are returning to the Northlands.

“I walked the rest of the way here. I plod along on foot. You fly faster than the eagles. I am but a breath of air, a spark of light that is blown about by the wind. You are the daughter of Arxad and Fellina, strong and capable, one of the few noble dragons remaining on Starlight.”

Cassabrie stood so close, her radiance filled Xenith’s vision. Her face shone with ivory light embedded with two brilliant emeralds. When her lips moved, her words came forth riding on sparkling jewels. “Xenith, without you, all could be lost. I cannot do this great work by myself. I beg you to help me.”

Xenith stared at the lovely visage. Father had talked about heavenly angels, beings who could take the form of humans or dragons—radiant, resplendent, beautiful beyond description. Maybe Cassabrie was an angel. How could anyone object to fulfilling such a request?

“Very well,” Xenith said, lowering her head close to the ground. “I will do as you ask.”

thirteen

 

J
ason opened his eyes. Covered with a linen sheet, he lay on his back atop a bed, not his own bed, yet strangely familiar. Above, a dull gray backdrop spread across his field of vision, making the room’s size impossible to gauge. Light came from somewhere, steady but dim, enough to give shape to his surroundings but too little to make anything clear. An object floated over his face, dark and vague, maybe close enough to touch.

As he reached, a sharp pain stabbed his side. He let his arm drop to the mattress. Whatever that thing was, it would stay a mystery for now.

Moving slowly, he lifted the sheet. A bandage wrapped his midsection underneath his inner shirt. Memories flowed into his mind—the grinding mill, his father, battling the dragon, breaking his ribs. Koren.

Jason felt for his pouch. Gone! Had Koren taken it? Had she figured out what it was for?

Then a soft light emanated from somewhere close by, growing brighter. A human female form appeared far away, an aura surrounding her, like one of the servant girls in the Northlands castle.

Ah.
Everything was coming together now. He lay in the tree room. The object above his head was an extended hand from one of the healing trees. But where was Father? Had he survived transport to his own healing tree? Maybe this girl would know.

Gathering his breath, he whispered, “Have you seen my father?”

“Jason!” The girl rushed toward him. “You’re awake!” Her voice blew the fog away. As her lovely, strangely radiant face filled his vision, he smiled. “Elyssa? Is that you?”

“Yes, Jason!” She grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly. “How are you feeling?”

“Not great, but I think I’ll live.” He tried to sit up. “Where is my father?”

“Don’t worry. He’s fine.” She gently pushed him down. “He was pretty badly injured, but he’s up and around now.”

“Good.” Jason breathed a sigh and let his body relax again.

“We were worried about you. You’ve been unconscious for a long time. Are you hungry?”

“Not really. Thirsty, though.”

“The trauma probably spoiled your appetite.” She stooped, then rose again with a mug in her hands. “Drink this. Deference left it here for when you woke up. It should quench your thirst and give you an energy boost. I had some, and it filled me right up.”

As she helped Jason rise to a sitting position, he hooked his fingers around the mug’s handle and inhaled the vapors. “Thanks. It smells good.”

While he took a long drink, Elyssa reached up and touched the healing tree’s extended hand. “These trees are amazing. With their help, I was able to use a stardrop to repair your ribs.”

Jason searched his mind. He had dreamed about her rubbing sparks of light into his body. Did it really happen? After tipping the mug back and draining the last drop, he set it down at his side. “I remember. It hurt a lot, but most of the pain is gone now.”

“That’s good.” Looking at her fingers, she touched the hem of his sheet, a shy smile appearing as she glanced at him without lifting her head. “Do you remember what I said while I was working on you?”

He thought for a moment. As the memory returned, Elyssa’s gentle voice sent a jumble of phrases through his mind.
You’re my hero, Jason Masters … I love you because of who you are … You set me free.

As warmth spread across his cheeks, Jason gave her a weak smile. “I think so. I remember some words that felt really good.”

Elyssa slid her hand into Jason’s. “I meant every word.”

A thin layer of radiance spread from her skin to his. Earlier he had assumed the strange lighting had distorted her appearance, but now the radiance seemed to emanate from within her. He withdrew his hand and touched the back of hers. “What’s making you glow?”

Smiling, she studied her palm. “Remember the stardrops?”

“How could I forget? Those balls nearly burned holes through my hands.” “I swallowed one.”

“What? How could you do that? Swallowing one killed Petra.”

“I know.” She laid a hand on her stomach and grimaced. “It burned so badly, I thought I was going to die, but the white dragon said I might survive, and it was my only hope of saving you and your father, so I took the chance.”

He stared at her. “You took the chance? For my father … for me?”

She nodded, her lips trembling. “How could I not?”

Jason looked into her softly glowing eyes. She had so much courage, so much love. She was amazing! He grasped her hand again and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you,” he said, letting his gaze linger on her radiant face. “Thank you for my father, too.”

“You’re very welcome, Jason Masters.” She smiled, her eyes now glistening.

“So …” He released her hand. “How did you survive swallowing the stardrop?”

“I asked Alaph about that, but I’m not sure I understand his answer. He said I didn’t survive, that I died and was brought back to life because I have some of the gifts of a Starlighter. Uriel Blackstone thinks Petra can also be resurrected. Her body has been preserved, and we’re planning to test the theory. That’s why I came down here. I hoped you’d be healthy enough to see the test.”

“Sure, but what about the other girls? Deference and Resolute? Can they be brought back to life, too?”

Elyssa shook her head sadly. “They will have to await the Creator’s great resurrection. Magnar and his friends ate their bodies.”

“Ate their bodies!” As a wave of nausea churned Jason’s stomach, he swallowed, forcing down bile. He spoke in a choked whisper. “Even Arxad?”

“No! He is not such a monster!” Elyssa covered her mouth with her fingers. “Sorry. That came out more forcefully than I intended. Alaph told me the stardrop might make me more passionate about things. Anyway, according to Alaph, Arxad never participated in the banquets. He has spoken out against them many times.”

“Spoken,” Jason muttered. “One dragon talked while other dragons crunched the bones of children.”

“That’s exactly what your father said.”

Jason sat up again, this time more slowly, and threw the sheets toward his feet. Although his trousers were still dirty, his boots and undershirt were clean except for a blood smear over the bandage. “Where is my father?”

“He’s helping Randall guard Governor Orion at the castle entrance.”

“Orion is here? How?”

“Long story, but he doesn’t know
I’m
here, so I’m staying out of sight for a while. You’ll see your father soon. I promise. But I’d like you to come with me for now.”

Jason pushed his legs over the side of the bed and, with Elyssa holding his arm, eased his weight to his feet. The roots sagged, but only a little. A spasm tightened the muscles in his ribcage, but they soon relaxed.

“Are you okay?” she asked, still clutching his arm. “Can you walk?”

He looked into her compassion-filled eyes. “With you at my side, I’ll be fine.”

Smiling, Elyssa let go and gave him a light punch on the arm. “Now you’re a charmer. That’s not like you.”

“I mean it. You risked your life to save mine. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Good! ‘Cause you’re stuck with me!” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his. “We’re all together again — you, me, Randall, and your father. We’re safe now.”

“I remember seeing Koren when you and I kind of crossed swords. Have you heard anything from her lately?”

Elyssa drew back. “Oh, yes. Koren.” Laughing nervously, she wiped a tear from her eye. “I guess I forgot about her.”

Jason cocked his head. Why would she forget? “So … any word?”

“Not since then, but I haven’t asked anyone. She didn’t come with us.” She turned her head toward the doorway. “I suppose Alaph would know, but after my short talk with him, he didn’t stay around. He makes himself scarce.”

“Maybe we can find him again.”

“Maybe so.” Elyssa took Jason’s hand and led him across the roots. “I have so much to tell you. Randall says there’s an open portal here in the Northlands, and they used Orion to send for troops from Mesolantrum and a few nearby regions. When they arrive, we can go to the wilderness, find Wallace and the cattle children, and bring them here. Who knows? We might even find Frederick.” “And Adrian,” Jason added.

“Right. And Adrian. This planet is filled with members of the Masters family. And that reminds me. Randall also spoke to your mother and told her you made it safely to Dracon, but he couldn’t tell her everything, because the last time he saw you, you were in the clutches of a dragon. But for now she thinks you’re safe.”

“That’s a relief. I wish we could get word to her that my father is safe, too.”

As they walked along the left side of the corridor leading to the castle’s main entrance, Elyssa slowed her pace and ran her fingers across a mural on the wall, a white dragon in flight. “It’s around here somewhere.”

Jason looked at the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. Another mural featured a black dragon, also in flight. It seemed to stare directly at him with shining blue eyes. “Is there a hidden door?”

“Something like that. Alaph said swallowing the stardrop gave me the ability to open it.”

Her fingers tapped lightly on a colorful mural, each fingertip touching in turn. The corridor’s ambient light, along with Elyssa’s aura, provided enough illumination to see a few feet above her head, dimming to blackness as the wall reached toward an indiscernible ceiling. As Elyssa touched the white dragon, each tap of her finger raised a tiny white spark.

A blue spark jumped from the wall near the tip of the dragon’s wing. “Here it is.” Her fingers then tapped several points around the first, each one raising a different colored spark. “It’s like a code, and it changes every time. The key is to find where the sequence starts, and then I can sense the other touch points. The servants here have no problem, because they don’t have physical bodies that veil their perceptions.”

Finally, a spark as black as coal sizzled under Elyssa’s touch. It adhered to the wall and spread across the mural, painting the white dragon in darker and darker shades. Soon, the entire dragon’s body had turned black, including a down-stroking wing that nearly reached the floor.

Elyssa lifted her foot and stepped into the wing, now a hole in the wall. “Come on. It won’t stay open long.” She walked through the hole and disappeared.

Jason followed, bracing himself on an intact portion of the wall as he stepped through. With the Exodus chamber and the healing trees, the castle had already proven itself to be a house of mysteries, but each new revelation seemed more amazing than the previous one.

Inside, a narrow corridor led deep into the recesses of the castle. About twenty feet ahead, a cylindrical capsule with a semitransparent shell stood vertically, partially obstructing the path. On Jason and Elyssa’s side of the capsule, a head-high rectangular opening allowed entry, and a similar opening on the opposite side provided an exit for anyone wanting to continue through the corridor.

Elyssa walked into the capsule and stood with her back against the side and her arms lifted above her head. “Step in here with me. There’s not much room. Deference had to take us up one at a time, but I think we can fit.”

“Up?” Jason stepped across the corridor’s marble tiles, touching the plaster walls on each side for balance. When he entered the capsule, he had to press close to Elyssa to fit. The pressure made his ribs ache horribly. Still, she smelled nice, a hint of lavender rising from her clean skin and hair.

“Tight squeeze,” she said, smiling at him. “But it won’t last long.”

“Good,” he grunted. “Not that I mind being close to you, but—”

“Cut the apologies. We’re soldiers getting ready for war.” She pointed her palms upward. The room levitated and began to rise, slowly but steadily.

Jason tightened his muscles. Would the wonders of this castle never end?

The corridor disappeared, replaced by open sky and the snow-covered landscape of the Northlands. A reddish tint coated the entire view, making the blue sky appear violet and the snow slightly pink.

When the cylinder stopped, a circular chamber appeared beyond the capsule’s rear door. Tables and workbenches sat in various places on the floor’s wood planks. An assortment of unidentifiable devices rested on the benches, and a sheet covered a lumpy object on one of the tables.

Uriel Blackstone stood at the side of a workbench at the far end, perhaps thirty paces away. With a quill in hand, he dipped the point into an inkwell and jotted something down on one of several parchments.

“Let’s go!” Elyssa called as she hopped out and reached for Jason’s hand.

Jason took her hand and stepped off the capsule’s floor. With a
whoosh,
the hovering capsule fell through a circular hole. As it descended, it pulsed with light, dimming as the distance grew.

Still holding his hand, Elyssa helped Jason walk to the workbench. “We’re here, Mr. Blackstone.”

“Excellent.” Uriel dropped his quill and held up a thin chain with a dangling pendant. “Now we can continue our tests.”

Jason glanced down at his chest. Elyssa’s chain and pendant were gone. “Is that Elyssa’s?”

“It is, indeed.” Uriel marched to the sheet and slid it gently off, revealing Petra lying on her back. “If it works, we will soon have a living, breathing Petra with us.”

Jason walked slowly toward the table, barely able to breathe. Petra’s body looked exactly as it had before, except that her hair was now clean and brushed. Her chest stayed motionless, and every muscle appeared to be limp. White manacles wrapped around her wrists, so cold they emanated frosty air that brushed his skin.

Another whoosh sounded. The hovering capsule reappeared, and a pair of female forms stepped into the room, radiant outlines that pulsed in and out of visibility as they moved and paused.

“Petra and Deference,” Jason said. “It’s getting easier to recognize the spirits around here.”

As the two girls glided toward them, Uriel pointed at the manacles. “These are keeping her body preserved. I will remove them as soon as Elyssa is ready to revive her.” He draped the chain over Elyssa’s head and let it fall to her neck. “Remember to probe for the stardrop first.”