Third Earth, page 12
“Everything okay, Agnes?” Claude asked. He was already suspicious, so muttering to myself got his attention.
A firing nerve made my thigh twitch. “How about you, Arch Mage Claude? Tell me a lie?”
He offered an arm for support. “Your legs don’t hurt.”
No buzzing. What the cuss? It was like my gift didn’t even exist. Was it broken? Was I broken?
“Um,” I said. “I’m going to have a chat with my magic. Make sure I don’t fall. Okay?’
I knew it was a weird request. I shut out their confusion-skewed faces and dove deep inside myself until my little ocean of magic gleamed with familiar light. Unlike Dauthaz, it remained calm and still. Unlike the deceptive dragons, it glowed with truth. My magic existed to help, heal, and reveal the honest nature of life. I lay in the warm, liquid light and found peace at last.
Well, magic, I said inside my head. This is a puzzling situation. What is going on?
You tell us. We are the same whole.
My magic couldn’t tell me something I didn’t know, but it could act as a self-reflection sounding board.
My personal truth still works, I thought.
It does.
So, I can conduct my own polygraph test.
You can.
Then let’s get started. I’ve detected dragons’ lies before, both intentional and unintentional.
Truth, my magic hummed.
Then dragons aren’t immune to my gift.
I tilted my head backward and slid under the surface of my magic. It felt like sinking into a warm swimming pool without the need to breathe.
Third Earth doesn’t have rings of nature magic in outer space, I noted as I sunk. That might be related.
You don’t believe that.
No. Not really.
I lifted one hand away from my side and my descent spiraled slowly. Down felt more like up as my orientation shifted directions. Light from the bottom of my magic ocean rippled like the sun shining on the glass wall of my Apex, growing brighter until I emerged and floated on the surface.
This interference must be on purpose, I deduced.
At the word interference, my magic ocean sang with tones of soothing harmonic chords. Aha! Now I was getting somewhere.
This has to do with the secret society of dragons, I crowed triumphantly. Someone in that circle knew the real reason I came here, and they’re blocking my power so I can’t find them.
Yes. How? my magic asked.
Good question. What magical talent blocked the truth? Another truth wielder? Logically, that made sense. I was the only known Wielder of Truth, but there might be an unknown Dragon of Truth.
I frowned, disagreeing with myself. Dragon talents were well known, just like wizard talents. Menneth would know if he had a truth dragon in his court. The only other possibility was a dragon talent that shared commonalities with truth wielding.
Like telepathy, I said, slapping the ocean’s surface.
I unlocked a piece of the puzzle. A small piece, but better than nothing. I left my internal world to rejoin reality and tell Temnon and Claude about the interference.
When I opened my eyes, I saw the ashy sky, and for some reason, I leaned backward. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Look, Agnes.” Temnon held onto the railing. “We’re climbing an actual volcano!”
I grabbed the railing to lean over the balcony. The parade continued up the side of the mountain. Grimmal had shifted his paws into helcat form and slogged through a river of lava to the top of Dauthaz. Roars of impressed delight accompanied by jets of flame shot into the night sky. The flying dragons took to their wings. Others, like the regent, snaked in the air on their own magic. Lots clawed up the side of the mountain next to Grimmal.
“Why are we climbing into a volcano?”
Claude growled, a gravelly sound of disgust I’d heard him use when he was extra angry.
“Dominath says we are headed into the core with the entire population of Third Earth.” Strong objection soured his words. “This is madness. I know the dragons are certain there isn’t a sun larva, but the disregard for our protocol is nothing short of insulting.”
“We’re going into the core now?” I squeaked. “With everybody? But we can’t. Something is blocking my truth magic. I won’t be able to warn you if a dragon is lying or not.”
The sloping sides of Dauthaz shook under another eruption. Grimmal’s feline claws dug deep into the sides of the crumbling rock and held us firmly in place. My insides were not so steady.
“What are you talking about?” Temnon shouted above the exploding mountain as Grimmal reached out a huge hand and grasped the ridge of Dauthaz.
The three of us in the balcony were tossed into the railing. I managed to catch myself this time and avoided another case of the hiccups. Lumi scampered up Grimmal’s outstretched arm, and with a soaring leap, she landed on the rim of the volcano.
“Remember when you asked about tainted magic on First Earth,” I answered Temnon, “and I couldn’t feel the truth or the lie? It’s happening constantly here on Third Earth. Someone is interfering with my gift of truth. I think they’re using telepathy to block me.”
“Agnes,” Claude shouted. “Are you certain?”
“I can’t be certain of anything when my gift won’t work normally.”
“That’s it.” Claude pounded a fist on the railing. “I’m canceling this mission. It’s too dangerous.”
With a heave, Grimmal pulled himself, and us, to the top of Dauthaz. A rim wide enough to accommodate dozens of dragons surrounded the crater, and Dominath, the regent, and the higher-ranking noblesse landed. As they eagerly peered deep into the crater of the volcano, a wall of lava exploded into us. Liquid rock plastered the enchantment surrounding Grimmal and dripped down like rain on a windshield. The dragons vigorously shook off the lava, relishing the thrill, but Claude wasn’t entertained at all.
“Agnes, contact Dominath. Tell him we are going home.”
“But Dad,” Temnon protested. “What about the spies? If we leave now, Regent Menneth won’t have an excuse to bring us back again. We’ll be playing into the hands of the enemy.”
“Without Agnes, what’s the point of being here?” Claude argued. “Son, I’m—”
Temnon interrupted. “The threat is real whether she can help or not. Tell Grandpa. He’ll know what to do.”
Deep thought emphasized the lines on Claude’s brow. “Seems like our best hope now,” he agreed. “We’ll tell Dominath too. He might know what’s wrong with Agnes.”
Off to our left, Dominath’s white scales were easy to spot among the vibrant colors. He truly was unique among dragons, not only for his gift of knowledge but his coloring.
Dominath, I called to his mind. We need to talk to you and Thayn. Can you bring him, please?
Dominath’s white head swiveled, and his beautiful, warm giraffe-like eyes blinked once. He seemed to agree with me. Good.
While Dominath contacted Thayn, I gazed into the volcano. A plunging, jagged tunnel delved into the heart of the planet. If dragons jumped into that hole for fun, it was entirely possible they went straight to the core. Between explosions, the lava bubbled and splashed in an ongoing battle of rock melting and hardening. As I stared, I saw orange, glittering magic coating the sides of the vent, working to keep it from closing in on itself. Third Earth had carefully maintained volcanos, that’s what Dominath told me once in his cavern. The dragons worked to keep them exploding, not to keep them safe. Argh. Dragons were bonkers.
Pyroclast pelted Claude’s enchantment as Dominath’s wings whipped up the air around us. Grimmal steadied himself against the shuddering rim as the dragon landed, and I saw Thayn standing on his head. The ambassador braced against the base of Dominath’s horn with one hand and rode with perfect balance.
I envied him. The only way I could ride a dragon was securely tied to the horn. Weakness sucked.
Thayn used Dominath’s momentum to jump onto Grimmal’s shoulder. The enchantment created by Claude didn’t hold him out. He folded up his umbrella and strolled nonchalantly across the broad shoulders to hop into the balcony next to us. I backed into Temnon to make room for him.
“What’s going on, son?” he asked Claude.
Before answering, Claude’s magic swelled in a bubble from his chest, enveloping us all in a sound- and telepathy-proof barrier.
“Agnes,” directed Claude, “include Dominath and the sciftans in the conversation, if you will.”
I wiggled an open telepathic line through the barrier and nodded to Claude.
“Dad, Dominath,” Claude began, “Regent Menneth asked us here because a secret society of radical dragons is threatening to overthrow Third Earth’s governing body.”
A simple blink was Dominath’s only reaction, but concern replaced Thayn’s bravado. He crossed his arms over his chest with one hand pressed into his mouth and leaned back, his face sinking into his jowls.
“The regent told you this? He didn’t come to me. Why?”
“He told Agnes. He is hoping her gift of truth will reveal those involved.”
“Interesting. Well, then, Agnes, have you identified the bad guys?”
“No,” I said with reticence. “Someone is blocking my ability to spot a lie.”
“I see. Then your astounding talent of truth isn’t as powerful as the rumors claim.”
I blushed in shame. And then blushed harder when Temnon didn’t stand up for me. I knew Temnon adored his grandpa, but he always stood up for me before. Boyfriend fail.
“The Odonata men must take over this investigation,” Thayn continued, jabbing me even deeper. “First things first. We continue with the search for the sun larva as scheduled.”
“I disagree, Dad,” Claude said. “I don’t like this at all. None of our protocols have been met. This whole scenario is reckless and uncontrolled. I’m canceling the mission.”
Thayn nodded dismissively. “I see your point, son, I do, but if you cancel, enemies of the regent will take full advantage. An unfulfilled contract will put the regent in a bad light politically. It might give this so-called society weight to move against him.”
“That’s what I said,” agreed Temnon. “It’s playing into the radical’s plan, right, Grandpa?”
Thayn reached over me and put a proud hand on Temnon’s head. “This one uses his brain, he does. Good boy.”
Claude wasn’t impressed. “Are you seriously suggesting we intentionally place two heirs to the throne and the only wizard on Second Earth in jeopardy in order for Regent Menneth to save face?” he asked. “Not to mention two of the highest-ranking sciftans of Fifth Earth, whom you seem to conveniently ignore.”
“What are you saying, son?” Thayn sounded genuinely hurt. “I would never. I just don’t see this situation as dangerous as you are making it out to be. You are a first-rate enchanter, and Tem here has power equal to Umnon himself. Besides, you have Dominath, the mightiest dragon born of the Tine Banri’on line, protecting you. In the end, you can go home if you feel better about being right than risking thousands of years of an unbroken alliance.”
That struck Claude, and he weighed the possibilities. “Agnes,” he asked. “I know Temnon is willing, but what about you? I’ll support whatever you decide.”
Oh, that’s nice. He put the whole decision on me. I wanted to go home, but how could I after the desperation in Menneth’s plea for help?
“I’ll go to the core as expected,” I said, “but I can’t help anymore after that.”
Thayn’s concern melted away. “Good choice, Arch Mage. Sounds like there’s courage enough in you after all.”
Something in that compliment filled me with a deep desire to prove my worth to him. I liked his praise much better than the veiled critiques.
Claude didn’t share the approval. He sighed with disappointment. “Very well, then. I’ll wait here on the surface with Dad. Neither of us are equipped to dive into a volcano.”
Thayn shot his son an offended scowl before catching himself and agreeing. “Right. My umbrella won’t hold back the power of Dauthaz.”
“Grimmal,” Temnon called to the giant, furry ear. “Put us down and shift into hyper-helcat form.”
Grimmal’s huge hand carried us all to the shuddering rim of the volcano, and he shrunk as he shifted into his winged, white-hot helcat form. In seconds, the harness and balcony created by Temnon melted and splashed to the ground. Lumi followed her father’s example and padded closer to me. She crouched, and I climbed onto her back.
“All this intrigue makes me nervous,” she said.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
With an athletic spring, Temnon swung himself up onto Grimmal’s back and tucked his knees beneath the wing joints.
“I’m good to go,” he called. “See you, Dad. Bye, Grandpa Thayn. Okay, Dominath, we’re ready.”
Grimmal and Lumi stalked over to the edge of the crater. A wave of heat rose, and the lava within surged like a huge balloon and burst. Lumi backed away, but Grimmal took the splashing lava full in the face. The melted rock spat and sizzled against his helcat fur.
I will follow you, Dominath said.
“Not good enough,” Grimmal growled to Dominath. “Lumi and I will stay beneath your chest in the core. Your size alone should prevent any enemies from getting close enough to surprise us.”
As you wish.
Dominath lifted his massive head and made eye contact with Menneth. I wondered what they said to each other. Menneth’s neck and head wiggled in waves in some sort of signal, and the dragons responded, a pulsing whistle rising from their rippling necks. With roars of delight, the dragons charged to the edge of the rim and dove headlong into the throat of Dauthaz. The flying breeds tucked their wings like birds of prey and streaked down the middle of the wide opening.
On your count, Grimmal.
Dominath’s wings glowed silver and disappeared as his lower legs and long, slender tail morphed into broad whale flippers. I double-checked my helmet and face shield.
Above the sound of whooping dragons, the telepathy insignia amplified Grimmal. “Three, two, one, go!”
As a team, we tipped into the gaping maw of the largest volcano on Third Earth.
13
Heaven Under Earth
Falling, I watched as the dragon maintenance spell worked contrary to the natural force of the hardening rock, causing the rock to slip back into the vent. A tiny piece of me wondered if counteracting nature would cause unforeseeable future disasters for this planet. After all, causing volcanoes to continuously erupt probably wasn’t good for a molten core.
But only a tiny bit of me wondered. The rest of me screamed in terror as I plunged down the shaft.
I’d traveled to the center of a planet without a transportation spell before, but slowly descending through the ocean in a water elevator was much more pleasant than being buffeted like a leaf on random gusts of heated wind. The planets following procedure submitted a detailed report of the composition of their planet, which was meticulously confirmed by Temnon, and we entered the core by transporting in a calm, ordered manner. Falling down the throat of a volcano felt like being caught in a tornado blowing in from hades.
Grimmal tucked his wings like a falcon and sliced through the heat, but Lumi pounded her wings, trying to compensate for the wildly fluctuating air and splashing lava. A particularly harsh gust blasted us into the side of the vent. We bounced off a jagged stone, flipping uncontrollably. I gripped Lumi’s burning fur with all my strength, but centrifugal force tore it from my hands. I flew off her back into Dominath’s extended paw. The dragon included Lumi in his loosely gripped claws and plowed through the raging winds.
I covered my face shield with my gauntleted hands, and after several heart-stopping seconds, Dominath hit the semi-solid boiling lava.
Ahh. I heard. How soothing.
That wasn’t how I felt at all.
Dominath’s broad tail navigated the thick ooze more efficiently than Grimmal’s wings, even with the thinning spell, so he clutched Temnon and Grimmal in his left claw and plunged deep into the lava. I saw patches of scales, glittering with colorful magic as Dominath effortlessly passed his kindmates. I lay my head on Lumi’s neck and concentrated on my own breathing.
“I’m sorry, Agnes.”
Poor Lumi. She wasn’t a very experienced flyer, and those winds were tricky.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’d still rather have you protect me than anyone else.”
Her purr and Dominath’s rhythmic swimming calmed me, and I managed to control my panic.
After a few minutes, Dominath said, We are almost at the Source of Dauthaz.
“Already?” Temnon sent out a few jets of magic to confirm. “He’s right. We are through the crust and entering the liquid mantle. Third Earth’s crust is thin compared to other planets.”
Get ready. Dominath sounded giddy, a rare emotion for him. Annnnd, now!
A sense of expansion opened before me, and my vision instantly cleared. The magma became transparent. I pulled up my legs and scooted on my knees across Lumi’s back to peer between the giant claws.
“Holy Hannah,” I breathed.
A tropical ocean of glimmering lava captivated me. For miles in every direction, dragons danced in graceful harmony and beauty, unrestricted by gravity. The sight touched my soul, and I finally understood why the dragons worked so hard to keep their volcanos open. This underground miracle warranted preservation.
Between Dominath’s thick claws, I saw a young drake with yellowish-green scales twisting with serpentine agility to us. He was about as tall as a horse and had six legs paddling in the magma. A unique tint, almost glassy, shimmered against his stirring claws. The little dragon’s chest vibrated, sending a soundwave into the magma. Dominath responded with his own series of vibrations.
“Agnes,” Temnon gasped in awe. “What’s going on? We can see far beyond our illusion spell.”
I swished my gauntlet in front of my face. The same glassy tint coating the little drake’s claw glimmered around my own fingers. It shared the subtle influence of the green-tinted water back on Earth 22.
