Liberator

  “That’s when I’ll do the stitching.” Wallace picked up the knife. “But first the cutting. Don’t look.”

  Elyssa turned toward the cave entrance. Outside, a clamor of odd voices grew. A thunk sounded over the other noise. Elyssa cringed. She turned back to the table, but Wallace had already moved away to the other side of the cave, his back turned. “I’m stitching. Better get to it.”

  Elyssa stared at the table. Half the finger, from the tip to the slice, lay next to the crucible, dark blood oozing. Sucking in a breath, she scooped it up and dropped it into the crucible in one motion.

  A sizzle erupted. It lasted for several seconds, then died away.

  “Did you see any blue smoke?” Elyssa asked.

  Wallace turned and shook his head. “I wasn’t looking.”

  “Give me the rest.” Elyssa held her hand out but didn’t bother to look. As soon as the finger touched her palm, she dropped it into the crucible.

  This time a loud whoosh sounded. Blue smoke shot into the air and spread out like a vertically hovering blanket. An image of Fellina appeared, lying motionless on her side in a forest. Tibalt lay nestled against her, his eyes closed and a hand pressed against her belly. A large bird hopped toward them and leaped up to Fellina’s wing. With another hop, it landed on Tibalt’s back. One of Fellina’s wings twitched, and Tibalt’s brow furrowed, but they offered no resistance.

  The sizzling faded, and the smoke shrank toward the table. It took the shape of a pendant on a chain, then dispersed.

  Elyssa touched her pendant. “Fellina and Tibalt need me.”

  “I saw that, but do you know how to get there?”

  “No. Did you recognize the area?”

  Wallace nodded. “I hid there a couple of times trying to get away from a beating.”

  “How do I find it?”

  Wallace drew in the air with his finger. “The stream comes from the mining mesa, flows through the forest, and into the main river. Just follow the stream from the point it enters the forest.”

  “I know where the stream is.” Elyssa touched the rim of the crucible, now merely warm. The crystals inside had congealed into pink salve. Using her finger, she scooped out a large dollop and began rolling it into a ball between her palms. Whether or not it would be enough for a human and a dragon was anyone’s guess.

  Wallace dipped his finger in and lifted a dab. “It’s hot, and it’s getting hotter.”

  “It’s the stardrop energy.”

  “Ow!” Wallace smeared the dab on the edge of the table, then gave Elyssa an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just take the rest to your people. Maybe at least it will keep some from dying.”

  Wallace picked up the crucible. “I’ll deliver it, but maybe I should show you that spot.”

  “I can’t afford to wait, but if you can catch up to me, that’ll be fine.” Now clutching the ball of salve, Elyssa ran out of the cave. To her left, the Zodiac sat at the top of a rise beyond a low wall, blocking the dying slaves from view. Jason likely still sat in chains inside, but that couldn’t be helped. At least he was alive. By the time she reached Fellina and Tibalt, they might not be.

  She turned to the right and ran. The plateau lay before her, the closer mining mesa in view. About two hundred paces ahead and to the right, dragons flew over the edge of the forest, three white and the rest of them darker. They battled in the sky with blasts of orange and white. The stream lay beyond the battle scene, so finding Fellina would require getting past the storm of fire and ice.

  Slowing her pace, she tried to steady her rapid breaths. How could anyone run through such a gauntlet without getting fried or frozen? Yet, she had no choice. Fellina would die without help.

  A man dashed out of the forest and threw a spear at one of the Southlands dragons. It wedged between two scales but didn’t penetrate deeply. The dragon grabbed the shaft in its teeth and crunched it into splinters. During those few seconds, a line of children dashed out behind the man and ran toward the path to the village.

  A white dragon sprayed the speared dragon with ice, freezing him in mid-flight. He fell like a stone and smacked the ground near the line of children.

  They ran on, the spearman now running alongside, coaxing them with shouts of “Hurry!” and “We’re almost there!”

  Elyssa stopped and waved her arms. “This way!”

  Several seconds later, the man arrived, gasping for breath, while the children gathered around, panting and groaning. “Elyssa! I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

  Elyssa cocked her head. Even though a beard and dozens of abrasions disguised his face, there was no mistaking a son of Edison Masters. “Frederick!”

  “Greetings later. Help me get these kids to Arxad’s cave while I fend off the dragons.”

  “But I have to—” She shook her head. “Never mind.” She laid a hand on one of the bigger girls. “Everyone follow me!”

  She ran while looking back over her shoulder. Wearing barely any clothes, the children pumped their skinny arms and legs, puffing as they struggled against the incline. Frederick trailed at the end of the line, his sword raised. Farther back, at least forty soldiers ran out of the forest and began ascending the hill at a rate that would soon overtake the line of panting children.

  From the plateau, dragons swooped over the soldiers, shooting fireballs and knocking the men down with their massive bodies. The soldiers, some with sleeves or trousers aflame, jabbed with their spears and swords while still on the run.

  One of the dragons dove at the rear of the line of children, blasting fire across the stragglers and igniting their hair. Amidst the children’s high-pitched screams, Frederick leaped and grabbed one of the dragon’s back legs.

  Elyssa held her breath. The furious dragon thrashed his legs and snapped at Frederick, only to be beaten back by his slashing sword. Rising higher into the air, the dragon sailed toward the front of the line, as the children helped each other swat away the flames left by his attack.

  Frederick swung his sword and chopped off the dragon’s hind foot. As he dropped, his legs pumping as his momentum carried him forward, he threw the sword down at Elyssa’s feet. He hit the ground running well up the rise but fell into a tumble.

  The crippled dragon landed next to Frederick and stomped him with his truncated leg, pinning him to the ground.

  Elyssa sprinted that way. “Let him go!”

  The dragon shot fire at her. She leaped to the side and rolled back down the hill until the children stopped her. A white dragon sailed only inches over their heads and blew a stream of ice over both the crippled dragon and Frederick, instantly freezing them.

  The white dragon landed next to Elyssa and spoke in a smooth, sultry tone. “Your passage to safety is now assured. Take these innocent ones where you must.”

  Elyssa waved the children on. “You have to help Frederick!” she shouted. “Thaw him out!”

  “The human?” The white dragon glanced Frederick’s way. “He was infected with the disease. Any who are infected must be eliminated. We will protect the human species from the contagion.”

  Elyssa pointed up the rise and called to the children. “Do any of you know where Arxad’s cave is?”

  An older girl near the front of the line raised her hand. “I do. I’ll take them.”

  As they hurried along, Elyssa eyed the young escapees. Those without shirts bore the telltale signs of early disease on their torsos — sores from their navels upward. Stripes of various length and age crisscrossed some backs, especially those of the thinnest children.

  Holding the medicine in one hand and the sword in the other, Elyssa stormed toward the white dragon. Maybe a distraction would keep it from guarding the children too closely, at least for a while. “Get back! I have to save Frederick!”

  The white dragon blinked at her. “You are risking contagion. You must have the disease as well.”

  “I don’t. I’m immune.” Elyssa stopped within a s
word’s length of the dragon’s snout and lifted her tunic in front enough to show her stomach. When the dragon lowered its head to look, she swung the sword at its neck.

  Just as the blade neared its pasty skin, something grabbed her wrist and bowled her over to the side. Still clutching both the medicine and the sword, she leaped to her feet. Edison Masters stood between her and the white dragon, holding one hand up and supporting himself with the other on his knee. “You don’t understand!” he said, gasping. “It’s helping us!”

  Elyssa pointed at the white dragon. “But that thing just froze your son!”

  “I know. I know.” While he braced himself, coughing, the other soldiers breezed past and began escorting the children up the hill, some men scooping up the slower ones along the way. A few men shook their scorched arms or batted residual sparks, but they marched on with powerful leg strokes.

  The white dragon lifted into the air effortlessly, smiling as if unaware of Elyssa’s attack.

  Edison waved a hand. “Come. We’ll see about Frederick.”

  Above, the dragon battle raged directly overhead. Ice intermixing with sparks rained down on Elyssa and Edison as they ran past the frozen dragon and knelt at Frederick’s side. Frosty ice covered his body from head to toe. Edison brushed away the frost from Frederick’s face. With his cheeks slack and his lips blue, he appeared to be dead.

  As roars and shrieks pierced the air, Elyssa shouted, “Do we just break it?”

  “No choice.” Edison drew a dagger from a hip sheath and rammed the butt end against the ice over Frederick’s chin. A chip flew from the contact point, but the ice stayed intact. He switched to using the point of the blade and jabbed with it again and again, mumbling, “We need some heat!”

  Elyssa opened her hand and looked at the little ball of medicine. Putting part of it into Frederick’s mouth would probably provide a lot of heat, especially if she were to straddle him and use her manna wood pendant to try to heal him. If Edison could punch a hole, maybe it would work. Still, the medicine was meant for Fellina and Tibalt. This small amount might not be enough for them already, much less if she shared it with Frederick.

  “Heat,” she whispered. “I know how to get it.” She leaped up and waved her sword. “Dragons! Let’s see how much fire you can send down here.”

  A Southlands dragon broke away from the battle and flew toward her. She shoved Edison out of the way and spread her body over Frederick, her face to the sky. Fire gushed from the dragon’s mouth. Elyssa lunged to the side and into Edison’s arms. The flames splashed over Frederick’s body, raising a plume of white vapor.

  The dragon swerved toward Elyssa and Edison, its mouth wide. A ball of fire appeared at the back of its throat. Another dragon collided with it and knocked it into a spinning crash.

  The second dragon landed in front of Elyssa. Scorch marks smudged many of his scales, and ice crystals hung on to his drooping ears. “I heard you are a healer. Fellina needs your help.”

  “Magnar?” Elyssa shot to her feet. “Can you take me to her?”

  “At once.”

  Elyssa looked at Frederick. The shield of ice had melted away from his face down to his waist, but his cheeks and lips were still blue. He needed internal heat.

  “I have to heal Frederick first, then I’ll get more medicine and —”

  “Always the humans first!” Magnar bellowed. “Fellina is near death!”

  “So is Frederick!”

  “Since you care so much for humans, let it be known that there is an elderly human with Fellina, and he, too, is close to death. Any delay could cost both their lives.”

  “But Frederick is —”

  “He is no more valuable than your elderly friend and certainly no more valuable than Fellina.” Magnar knocked her sword away with his tail and jumped into the air. As he shot upward, he grabbed the back of Elyssa’s vest with his claws. “You are coming with me.”

  She kicked and squirmed, but when he gained too much altitude, she settled down. Getting loose and falling from this high up would be stupid.

  Below, Edison knelt over Frederick, rubbing his arm, but there seemed to be no response. The dragon battle had shifted to the Zodiac, where white and dark dragons clashed in spectacular fury. Only about twenty-five of the darker dragons remained. The bodies of the others littered the path between the village and the plateau region, frozen in battle poses. All three Benefile seemed healthy and unharmed. In fact, their aerial acrobatics appeared to be a game as they dodged the fiery volleys and responded with icy blasts.

  At the Zodiac, Wallace gave the crucible to an elderly woman. He then spun and ran back toward Arxad’s cave, his form small in the distance.

  From the Zodiac’s direction, a black dragon flew toward Edison, its blue eyebeams focused on a larger dragon at its side.

  Elyssa grimaced. Taushin and Mallerin. What trouble might they cause?

  She opened her hand and looked at the sphere in her palm. She had to put everything else out of her mind and leave the rest to Edison, the soldiers, Wallace, and …

  And Jason. She pulled in her lip. Blinking away tears, she rolled her fingers around the medicine and focused on the forest. The stream entered the eastern edge and flowed into the river not far to the west. Somewhere in between, Fellina and Tibalt lay as food for the birds. Right now, for the healer, nothing else really mattered.

  Edison grabbed Elyssa’s sword and shot to his feet. Taushin and Mallerin landed just out of reach, Taushin with his eyebeams focused on his mother.

  “Where is Magnar going?” Taushin asked.

  Edison glanced toward the Zodiac. With the battle now raging over there, it seemed no surprise that this cowardly usurper decided to vacate his holy house. “Why should I tell you?”

  “Because I know how to revive your son. He is not dead but is hibernating. Yet, if he does not receive help soon, he will die.”

  Edison gazed at Frederick’s blue-tinted face. Giving in to this monster felt like swallowing broken glass, but it couldn’t be helped. Taushin could chase Magnar and find out for himself anyway. “Magnar is taking Elyssa to Fellina and Tibalt so she can heal them.”

  “Excellent. We located Fellina but decided to return to secure Elyssa’s help. When we saw Magnar, however, we had to proceed more cautiously. He would kill me on sight.”

  A storm of sarcastic replies pelted Edison’s mind, begging to be uttered, but Frederick’s life was more important than a satisfying barb. “That seems likely.”

  Taushin’s scaly head bobbed at the end of his black neck. “Have you seen Arxad or Xenith in your travels? I fear for their safety.”

  “How many questions will you ask before you help my son?”

  “Just tell me if they are among the Benefile’s victims. That will be enough.”

  “Let me think.” Edison recalled the menagerie of frozen dragons littering the plateau. Although it was impossible to distinguish one dragon from another, Xenith couldn’t have been among them. She had been flying missions for Arxad and wouldn’t have had the time or a reason for joining in the battle. “She’s not among the victims.”

  “That is a relief. I have learned to admire Arxad —”

  “Spare me the pretense!” Edison strangled the sword’s hilt. “You waste time, dragon. I told you what you wanted to know.”

  Taushin chuckled. “It is so comical when humans try to get uppity around their superiors.” Adding a growl to his voice, he continued. “I am not one to break a covenant. The medicine is being distributed among the slaves. We will take Frederick to them. Once he receives a dose, it will shake him out of hibernation. But I will keep him close to us to ensure that your soldiers do not attack my mother or me.”

  Edison waved the sword. “Go. I will be there as soon as I can.”

  Mallerin snatched Frederick up by his tunic and flew toward the Zodiac. Taushin followed close behind, like a second tail swaying in flight.

  Edison ran up the rise and passed a dragon cave entrance w
here a dozen soldiers stood guard. After giving them a nod, he ran on. The Zodiac drew closer and closer. Above, dragons continued screaming. Fire and ice drizzled everywhere. A dragon swooped. Edison swung his sword and hacked off a claw, sending the beast back into the sky.

  After dodging a dozen or so motionless human bodies, he climbed the portico stairs. A sea of broken humanity lay at the top, where most of the slaves had taken cover under the roof. Men, women, and children, all bearing ulcerated faces and arms, followed him with their gazes as he slowed to a stop.

  An old woman knelt next to an unconscious little girl. With a gnarled hand, she rubbed pink slave across bloody sores on the girl’s chest and stomach. Dozens of others gathered around, some barely able to stand. Sad but hopeful, most looked on intently, their whispers growing in volume and excitement. One woman knelt nearby with her hands clasped tightly and her face nearly touching the floor.

  Taushin and Mallerin sat close to the Zodiac’s main doorway with Frederick lying in front of them. “We will wait here,” Taushin said. “Verify that the medicine is effective and let us know when to bring him.”

  Edison sheathed his sword and glanced between the dragons and the sick girl. Soon her sores began fading. Stifled gasps rose. The girl opened her eyes and looked around. Her gaze locked on the kneeling woman, and she cried out, “Mama!”

  Sobbing and shaking, the mother crawled over and lifted the girl into her arms. As they wept together, sharp voices rang out.

  “Me next!”

  “No! My son!”

  “My sister!”

  Like a swarm of locusts, the crowd converged on the old woman. She stood and held a small bowl high. “Cast lots!” one man shouted.

  “Youngest first!” another called.

  “No, the sickest!”

  “Who will decide that?”

  Fingers jabbed forward. Hands slapped at the old woman’s arm. The bowl flew from her grasp and fell to the portico floor with a crack. The crowd knocked her toward Edison and swarmed around the bowl, kicking and clawing.

  Edison caught her, keeping her from tumbling down the stairs. When he steadied her, he drew his sword and stepped into the fray. “Stop fighting!”