Mythborn (50 page)

Dragor looked at her for a moment, cursed, and said, “Then take it out of her and put whatever it is in me.”

Dazra must have understood. He picked himself up and shook his head. “It is plain to see you would sacrifice yourself for your former pupil, but will you let her do the same? I think not.” The dwarven leader brushed himself off. “I’ll excuse your behavior this time, but there’s no love lost between us. Walk the line carefully, Adept. You hold Jesyn’s life in your clumsy, ignorant hands.”

“And what if Sovereign says the same to you? Your wife for our lives,” Dragor retorted.

Dazra didn’t look back, but it was Tarin who answered, “Then I die, Adept. I will sacrifice all I know and love for my people and Dazra will do the same.” She met Dragor’s eyes with a gaze as emotionless as her voice and asked, “Will you?”

When the adept didn’t answer, she dropped her eyes and followed Dazra out of the tent and into the night. Her look made him realize what had been the unspoken thing between her and her husband earlier during the talk of Jesyn’s
entat
. Despite her steadfast support of Dazra, it was clearly a ransom that did not sit well with her. The guards remained, ostensibly as escorts but Dragor knew when he was being monitored.

He watched them go, not sure what he could do at this point. The dwarven leader and his wife, for all their outspoken nobility, had skillfully maneuvered him into a difficult position. Without knowing how the
entats
worked, it was doubtful he could reverse what had been done to Jesyn.

He looked over at the assassin, still in his enforced sleep. Was there any option there? Nothing came readily to mind that did not also endanger their quest. He’d already read the assassin and any other act would only accomplish firmly cementing the negative opinion forming in Dazra’s mind about him, not to mention bring potential harm to Jesyn.

What about his other capabilities? The Way was strong here near the mountain, almost as if the granite peaks were the center of a fountain of power. It did not bring his capabilities to that of Silbane or Kisan, but did it need to? He looked closely at the assassin again, his mind working through other possible opportunities besides a mindread.

When a possible solution came, it was sudden and unexpected. He thought about it again, looking at it from different angles, then his face slowly broke into a cautious smile. It was not perfect, but what in life was? His job was to find Armun and keep Jesyn safe. Once he felt confident in the possible outcomes, Dragor made his way out of the tent. He still felt frustrated by the situation they found themselves in but encouraged by his new options. He remembered Silbane often saying, “Patience opens doors that anger doesn’t.”

When he finally found Dazra, the dwarven leader had assembled his men in a small clearing. Dragor saw Jesyn standing to one side and moved to stand beside her. She acknowledged him with a small nod but kept her eyes to herself. He understood, and took stock of their surroundings.

He was surprised to see only about thirty or so men and women in this raiding party. Hadn’t Dazra said a legion had come? Then he remembered that the vast majority of the dwarves had escaped to the version of Dawnlight that existed in phase, neither wholly in Edyn nor Arcadia. These folk represented volunteers to gain intelligence about their enemy, and effect a rescue of their missing brothers and sisters, should the opportunity present itself. Who knew how many times a party like this had tried to breach Dawnlight, found themselves unable to phase through the mountain as corridors rearranged themselves around them, and finally went missing.

Dazra held up his hands for silence. To his left stood Tarin, and to his right, Gedeon and the hulking Naph. When everyone had quieted, he began, “We attempt the mountain again. This time, we have some advantages.”

He took a measured gaze across those assembled and continued, “You’ve noted the two halflings who have joined us as guests. They captured one of the accursed blacknights and from him have extracted information and a detailed map of the interior of Dawnlight.”

He held out a hand and a small version of Dawnlight, transparent with tunnels demarcating its interior, sparkled into being in the air above his palm, slowly rotating in place. “We’ll use this to find our brothers and sisters.”

One man raised a hand and said, “The map is vital once we enter because we’re stuck using the corridors. Without our
entats
we can’t phase.”

“The mountain seems to recognize those who are part of its…” Dazra looked at Tarin and finished, “family. We may have a way of disguising ourselves as such, but it carries risks.”

Dazra’s wife stepped forward and said, “I can disguise us with a marker I extracted from the prisoner, but that may also give Sovereign the ability to track you, or worse.” Silence greeted that declaration, and to Dragor it seemed that everyone already knew what was meant by “worse.” Rather than belabor that point, Tarin went on to say, “To minimize the risk, only those who want the marker will be given it.”

Gedeon then moved forward and said, “We’ve asked a lot from you, so this mission is voluntary. If you want to go home, do so now with no blemish on your service. Those who stay will be organized into teams, each with an objective. Our goal will be to explore the mountain and locate our people. Once that’s done, you leave.”

“What about getting them out?” asked a woman holding a light crossbow.

“Your
entats
will record the location from where you phase out. Your job is to find and report back to our Dawnlight
with
your marker intact. Our people will then be able to outfit an appropriate rescue team to send back. Remember you’re wagering more than your own life, so no heroics.”

The group looked at one another, some murmurs could be heard as each considered whether to go on the mission or return to their own Dawnlight. After some discussion Dazra called for a vote. In the end a third decided to go back, disappearing in a flash of white. Because Dragor was standing next to Jesyn, he could see them greet loved ones and move off like phantasms through invisible tunnels. No one who stayed seemed angered, and Dragor caught in bits of conversations that some of those who had chosen to leave had been here for a very long time.

Of the twenty who stayed, all elected to integrate the marker, despite Gedeon and Dazra’s worries. It would let them phase through rock, making their search of the mountain go much more quickly. Seeing the unanimous decision, both the dwarven leader and his second nodded to Tarin to proceed, pulling their sleeves up as well. It was then that a voice rang out in the clearing, simple yet direct: “Not all shall accompany us.”

The air shimmered and from that wavering stepped forth a girl dressed in black armor. What looked to be a black cape fell across her back, but when she stepped further into their light, that cape revealed itself to be two black wings folded neatly in place on her back.

The girl looked at the group and continued, “I choose who goes and who shalt remain. In return, I shall aid thee in thy quest.”

A collective gasp ran through the assembled dwarves, who quickly went to their knees in front of the girl, their heads bowed in reverence. Finally it was Dazra, arms outstretched to either side, who looked up from under his brows and said, “Your name, goddess Sai, so that we may address you properly?”

The girl smiled, revealing fanged teeth. She seemed quite pleased at Dazra’s politeness., “Thou may call me, Sai’ken. Builders, I welcome thee, and call upon thy fealty to the First Laws since Sovereign’s Fall.”

Dazra bowed his head again. “Of course, we still faithfully serve.” He looked up carefully and added, “Is it service you now call us to again?”

Sai’ken’s gold-flecked eyes ran across the kneeling forms, finally coming to rest upon Dragor and Jesyn, who had remained standing. One eyebrow arched delicately, then she said, “I hath searched for thee for some time. Thy lore father bade me assist thee in recovering Armun Dreys.”

“Then why did you search? He knows where we are,” demanded Dragor, remembering now the lost missive with the lore father. He’d been trying to tell him about a dragon, no doubt this one. But what had Giridian been trying to tell him? He reached out, trying to establish a link, only to find himself unable to pierce the area surrounding them, as if they were wrapped in a fog that blocked his ability to communicate using the Way.

The dragon girl tilted her head and a sudden wash of fear threatened to overwhelm him. He gasped, falling to his knees with one arm raised. Sai’ken moved forward and said, “Had I appeared to thee with august splendor, haply thou wouldst be more humble, more contrite. Mine father says I am too caring and shouldst kill one forthwith so mine word carries more weight.”

She knelt carefully and said to the almost prostrate Dragor, “I prefer a gentler way, and it seems penitence is not beneath thee yet, O great adept, and master of the Way.” She raised her eyes to Jesyn’s but Dragor’s voice came from below.

“Great,” he gasped, “you can win with dragonfear… why can’t I speak with our lore father?”

Sai’ken smiled and said, “And what dost thou think Sovereign harks for, or how I found thee? Thy mental call is a child crying in the dark, a caterwauling thou cannot disguise. I judge thither be only a short time ’ere this area is overrun.”

At that the dwarves grabbed their weapons, alert to their immediate surroundings. Nothing stirred the night and Sai’ken seemed to enjoy the effect she had on the assembled group. As their nerves settled, she said, “If thou hearest mine voice, thou will leave for thy home.” It was not a request.

Dragor slowly stood and said, “What makes you think you can just tell us who to take or not?”

If murder could be delivered by eyesight, Dragor would have been struck dead by the looks he got from Dazra, Gedeon, and a host of other dwarves who were silent only because they still paid Sai’ken obeisance. His willingness to antagonize the dragon clearly did not still well with them, but Dragor didn’t care. He knew the lore father had tried to warn him and needed to understand this dragon’s purpose.

If the dragon was in any way upset it did not show. Sai’ken looked completely unperturbed. She looked around and then pointed to one dwarf and said, “He wonders if thine quest will end in his death.” She looked at another and said, “She worries for her husband back home.” Sai’ken identified yet another and said, “She hath decided to take as many lives as she can ’ere taking her own.”

The dragon looked back at the adept and said, “Shall I go on, haply read thine own brave heart, Adept?”

“Leave him alone,” Jesyn said, stepping forward.

Sai’ken looked at Jesyn, then back down at the adept. Dragor had managed to recover almost fully as the dragonfear ebbed. Sai’ken blinked once, a clear lens nictating over her eyes. “I do not judge thee, sister. Be at peace with thyself,” she said.

The dragon then addressed Dragor, saying, “If we infiltrate Sovereign’s demesne with twenty or more builders, chance at discreet surveillance will be lost. Dost I need to lecture thee on strategy, most glorious adept?”

There was silence, and then just as quickly flashes from the clearing as almost the entire group of dwarves disappeared. The dragon looked around and smiled. “Rise and join me, brothers and sisters. We will achieve great things hither today.”

When everyone had assembled, the group had been whittled down to eight: Dazra, Gedeon, and Tarin were joined by the two adepts and Sai’ken. Finally Halp and the giant axer Naph, rounded out their small party.

Jesyn stepped forward and said, “You show up now and offer your assistance. That takes the form of five dwarves, down from thirty. It seems imbecilic to whittle us down to this as our ‘force’ into Dawnlight. How do we know you’re not in league with Sovereign?”

Sai’ken’s face became very serious and she put her hands on Jesyn’s shoulders, looking up at her. Her visage belied the fact that she was a dragon, probably much older than anyone here, despite having a young girl’s face. “I cry you mercy because of thy ignorance, but doth not tempt me further. We Sais art the true guardians of Edyn, and wouldst stand against any who threaten it, yea if such a stand meant our own lives.”

Dazra moved forward carefully and said, “No offense was meant, goddess. Please, let us prepare as you wish. We gladly follow, just as we have whenever we are called.”

The dragon looked at him, then nodded and said, “Five will be hard to track within the mountain, even with the fire of the adepts showing. The healer will proceed with the marking. It will hide thou for a time.”

“What about you?” Dragor asked.

“Mine strength comes from the Way for I am one with it. I can hide myself from even Sovereign’s eyes for a time. Worry not,” replied the dragon.

Tarin made her way around the assembled, touching each with the tip of her finger. As she did so, that person’s
entats
reconfigured themselves, taking on a more angular look made up of lines and edges rather than whorls.

“Don’t forget me,” Jesyn said to Dragor’s surprise. When he looked at her she shrugged and said, “I’ll take any advantage I can. You should do the same.”

It had never occurred to Dragor that he could be given the marker, and he looked at Tarin, the question plain on his face.

She shrugged. “No idea what it will do since you don’t have the basic
entat
configured within your body yet.” She looked at him and smiled. “At worst it kills you.”