Third Earth, page 16
I grimaced. That didn’t sound good. “You’re taking me to jail, aren’t you?”
No! he insisted, his fluff standing on end. Not jail, just a slightly smaller room, with better security, for your protection.
Right. I knew spin when I heard it. Bandlash seemed truly distraught at having to deliver me to a high security room, but after today, I couldn’t trust my own instincts. My eyes were tired, but I didn’t dare rub them in case I still had traces of stomach acid on my hands. I squished my eyelids open and closed, but it didn’t help. Bandlash waited politely.
“Lead the way, then,” I said, trying to keep the fatigue out of my voice. “I’ll follow you.”
17
Arch Mage Agnes: Felon
Yeah, I followed the little drake, for about fifteen feet, then my legs grew too weak to carry me any further. Usually when I got this worn down, Temnon, or my mom, or Lumi helped me. This time I had no one. I sunk to the floor with my legs splayed out in two different directions. If any dragons wanted to eat me, now would be the perfect time.
“I can’t walk anymore.”
I heard humans were astoundingly weak, Bandlash replied. Is that as far as humans can walk?
I rubbed my legs, trying to relieve the stinging prickles. “No,” I told him. “Most humans are much stronger than me. My legs are damaged from an accident.”
Bandlash glided around to face me and all six of his legs lowered and plopped his long belly to the ground. With his head resting on his front paws, he asked, What happened?
I’d told the story a million times, but never to a face so unique or curious.
“An explosion. My father tried to shield me from the flames. They consumed him and he fell. My legs were damaged by the fall, but my magic saved my life.”
Oh, I see. His huge eyes lingered on my right cheek. The flames marred your face.
“Yes.”
You were unable to save your father?
“I was a baby. Human babies are pretty helpless.”
His face hair flowed as he nodded, relating to my story. As are dragon hatchlings. We are entirely dependent on our mothers for decades. His eyelids fluttered down as he pondered my plight. His breath warmed my legs and eased the aching. I am sorry about your father.
“Thanks. Me too.”
I know you are an arch mage, he said, twiddling his claws, and mighty in your magic, but would you be insulted if I offered to carry you?
He worried about insulting me. Not even Dominath cared about that. I coughed to distract my face from the tears building up. I did not want to cry in front of this friendly little guy. No, I’d save that for later.
“I’d be very grateful, Bandlash.”
He brightened instantly and sprang to his feet. What a relief! I’m so glad my offer didn’t backfire. He raised up the front third of himself, placing all his weight on his middle and hind legs. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, he said, scuttling around to my side, but I’m an admirer of sorts.
He used his front paws to scoop me from the ground and place me with care on his back, over his middle legs.
“Why? I haven’t done anything for you.”
You haven’t done—are you being sincere? You stopped an army of demons! He lowered to his front legs; his head still twisted around to stare at me. I’m terrified of demons. He looked up, thoughtfully. I was terrified of Iloress too.
“I didn’t mean to insult her.”
Oh, for cripe’s sake! Now I can say it honestly? What in the name of high holy Hannah was interfering with my gift of truth?
I believe you.
Eyes squinting, Bandlash smiled at me. It was a dragon version of a smile with his wide mouth stretched over rows of sharp teeth, but it had a happy pit bull kind of vibe.
“Thank you.” I liked this little guy.
He turned and slipped down the hall, his middle legs bumping my feet with every quick step. I leaned forward to brace myself. His scales were smooth and felt like snakeskin, and his body moved like rubber. I knew from my dragon download that drakes had supple skeletons. Bandlash demonstrated his as he flowed around a corner like a garden hose.
Sticking close to the wall, we entered a public area big enough to enclose the entire city of Tirinad. I mean, it made sense: the Hall of Ri Dauch housed dragons, and they were huge. Blocky pillars, thirty stories tall, held up a roof made of a grid of steel beams. Heavy metal sconces hung at the connecting joints, and thick interlacings of metal mesh covered holes between the beams. One slid open and dim, ash-filtered sunlight lit the scarlet scales of a dragon descending into the great hall on extended wings.
No wonder Bandlash kept to the walls. He’d get crushed by an incoming dragon out in the open. He scurried through the busy dragon airport, drawing as little attention as possible, then took another hall wide enough to accommodate two larger dragons walking side-by-side.
Seriously drained by all that happened during the night, one hand slipped off the smooth scales, and I clamped my knees against Bandlash to catch myself. Thanks goodness he offered me a ride. I rubbed my forearm across my eyes, too tired to process my feelings.
The hallway was stark and plain. The artistic intricacy of dragon jewelry didn’t extend to their decorating. I understood that dragon fire turned paintings and plants to ash, but I missed the beauty of Temnon’s home.
After dozens of hallways and cavernous rooms, my arms ached. It took longer to cross the Hall of Ri Dauch than take a Jent Path to Third Earth. Finally, Bandlash scurried between a row of metal pillars into a dark cave with a mountain of brass coins in one corner. Black streaks of scorched stone tarnished the thick walls and solid ceiling.
We are here. Bandlash’s head sunk a little lower. Regretfully.
“This is my room?” I asked, sitting up and shaking my arms vigorously. “Isn’t it a bit big for me?”
Not this cell, er, room, he corrected. Up there.
Thirty feet off the ground, a human-sized door, made of iron bars, hung open in the middle of the cavern wall. I double-checked the row of pillars Bandlash walked through. Nope, not pillars. Gigantic bars.
“Jail,” I commented to myself.
Bandlash looked at me, his head easily rotating on his limber neck. Don’t be anxious. You are not under arrest. They didn’t take your Aether Stones. You are still quite free and not being held against your will.
“Falling thirty feet if I try to go for a walk is against my will. I can’t fly, you know.”
Bandlash chuckled a nervous laugh that faded into guilty silence. Magic glittered around his claws, and he paddled up to the tiny door. He pushed the door open and squeezed his head inside. Only the front part of him fit. I crawled up his back and slid off, cautiously testing my weight on my legs. They wobbled but held.
The room was a hole, dark and cramped. About six feet deep and ten feet across, with a bucket in one corner and a thinly spread pile of tin coins.
“I’ve stayed in nicer,” I quipped.
Bandlash’s kind, blue eyes clouded. I’m so sorry, he whispered. I was ordered to bring you here. I know the trouble with Iloress has everyone in an uproar, but dispute or no, you deserve to be treated better. It’s just that, well, things haven’t been the same for a while.
“What do you mean?”
He had the same look of sad pleading the regent showed me in the court. Nobody knows who to trust. Communications get confused, dragons blame each other for every little thing. There’s more bickering and less tolerance.
“I’m sorry, Bandlash,” I said. “I don’t know why things have changed. And I don’t know how to help.”
It’s not your concern, Arch Mage, he admitted. His head drooped as he backed out of the cell. I can’t do anything about the room, but I can find you something to eat. Hungry?
“Starving.”
His flowing ruff smashed against his face as he yanked his head out the door. I’ll be right back.
Alone again, I staggered over to the pile of coins and sat in them, my back against the wall. If Lumi were here, she’d shift into a snow leopard and let me lean against her. Her soft fur was far more comfortable than a hard wall and a few scattered coins, even if she twitched her tail in my face when she wanted attention. Poor, sweet Lumi. She was screwed, and it was all my fault. I lied. All my accomplishments no longer mattered. All the truths I’d ever spoken were now worth nothing.
I scooped up a handful of coins and let them fall through my fingers. They clinked onto the pile and slid down to the floor. Drat that Iloress and her stupid, truth-binding curse. She framed Lumi for murder. Jerk-wad mean girl. What did she have against me, anyway?
“Wait a freaking second,” I said to myself, realizing what I should have an hour ago. “Iloress was dead on the floor when I lied. Building an enchantment that lasts beyond death takes weeks, and I’ve been here less than a day. It couldn’t have been Iloress interfering with my gift. Dead people can’t cast spells. Argh!” I slammed both fists into the pile.
My bum sunk further into the mound as the coins slid away. When Princess Nemantia betrayed Temnon, he followed the Seer’s prophecy and came to find me. I wished there was some kind of hero out there destined to rescue Lumi and Grimmal and make my gift work again.
A tin coin rolled across the solid stone floor until it hit the wall adjacent to me. According to Bandlash, trust in the dragon court had broken down and communications were distorted. That’s what happened to Temnon’s planet when Vi Lorina possessed Nemantia. Were the two situations related? Nemantia sent Vi Lorina to the afterlife last summer, and Regent Menneth said the dragon radicals had been functioning for years. There might be a connection. After all, Vi Lorina was active on First Earth for many years before I arrived and messed up her plans.
A coin slid into my ruined gauntlet. I grabbed it by the fingers and flicked it. The coin catapulted out and rang against the opposite wall. Iloress was a beautiful, influential noble who had heaps of peers eating out of her claws, so why did she willingly give her life? What kind of deviant radical turned the heiress of the Foras na-whatever bloodline into a pawn? Vice Regent Kyprios? The regent himself? Someone I hadn’t met?
Crap. My head hurt and spots floated in front of my eyes. I wished I had access to the Fulcrum. I desperately needed centering about now.
I’ve brought you some food.
I let my head fall to the side to see Bandlash swimming in the air. A sturdy basket woven from metal wires hung from one of his claws. A whiff of barbeque reached my nose, and my mouth salivated. Squeezing his head through the door, Bandlash scooted the rectangular basket in my direction.
I found you a special treat. A natsa fruit. Dragons don’t eat plants, but sometimes we’ll use natsa fruit as a sweet sauce. They say humans like them.
I hooked a finger through one of the wires and pulled the basket closer. Chunks of seared meat filled it to the brim. No plates, utensils, or napkins, just meat, and one greenish oval about the size of a fig. I picked it up.
Don’t bite the skin, advised Bandlash. The tasty part is inside.
It had a seam like a peach. I put my thumbs on either side and pried it apart. It tore evenly, and exposed a mushy, purple inside.
“Is it supposed to look like this?” I asked.
That’s a good one. Should be sweet.
I smelled the purple pulp. It had a fruity scent, so I licked it. A sweet-sour, tropical smoothie taste cooled my mouth and trickled across my tongue.
“Mmm, this is really good.”
Told you. We imported the plants from Earth 22 and grow them in the dinosaur habitat. Bandlash’s mouth spread in that funny pit-bull smile. It’s too soft to chew, so slurp it up like jellied fat.
Jellied fat sounded gross, but I got the concept. I put my lips on the purple mush and drank it like a thick soup. Holy cow, it was satisfying. My head stopped aching, and the spots disappeared. I stuck a finger into the pulp and swirled it around. A faint green tint shone in the deep purple. Just as I thought. Natsa fruits contained life magic. Finally, a lucky break. Happily, I drank the rest of the pulp and licked the skin clean.
“Thank you, Bandlash. That was considerate.”
Embarrassed, he covered his head with a paw. I folded the skin into a flat strip and kept it. That life magic might come in handy.
“If you are ever hurt or sick, you should eat a bunch of those. They might save your life.” Staring into the basket, I pondered how to eat the chunks of meat. “Do you have a fork?”
Like this? Bandlash stuck his tongue out. He tapped the two forked ends of his tongue together and then wiggled them in opposite directions.
He so innocently wanted to help, and his misinterpretation was adorable. I laughed out loud, and the sound echoed several times against the walls of the large stone cavern, warming it just a shade.
“You have a talented tongue.”
Dragons have prehensile tongues. Bandlash curled the two tips of his fork into a heart shape. We use them for delicate tasks.
“Human forks are tools for stabbing food,” I explained. “Not nearly as cool as dragon forks.”
Oh. Maybe there’s a human fork in your original room.
“Don’t worry about it. Humans have prehensile hands.”
Giving up on table manners, I grabbed a hunk of meat the size of an apple and bit into it. My blunt human teeth struggled to cut through it, and juice dribbled down my acid-etched armor. I worked my jaw, trying to saw the meat, and tore off a bite. I partially ground it between my molars before giving up and swallowing it whole.
How is the anky?
“The what?” I coughed, patting my chest to help the meat down.
“Anky. Short for ankylosaurus.”
“This is dinosaur meat?”
Of course. What did you expect?
“Cow. Pig. Chicken. Fish. Animals that can’t stomp you into the ground.”
Bandlash pointed a claw at me. You’re funny. He chuckled. Cows are too small to feed anyone.
Yup. That’s me. Hilarious. I didn’t bother with another bite. “Do you want the rest?”
Are you certain? It’s the best meat we have. A delicacy.
“It’s too tough for me.”
I see. Maybe humans really do eat cows.
Bandlash’s forked tongue jetted out and wrapped up the whole basket. He tilted his head back and shook the meat from the basket into his open mouth. The basket clattered to the floor as he retracted his tongue and savored the meat in his mouth.
“Mmm! Mmm, mmm, MMM!”
It was different hearing his satisfied vocalizations without telepathy. Then he swallowed the whole pile down at once.
Anky is the best! He licked the dripping juice from his mouth. But you must be hungry still. I’ll find more natsas.
“Those I can eat.”
Be back soon.
Bandlash pulled his head out of the door, and I regarded the natsa skin in my hand. Turning it against the light, I saw a green tint reflecting in fibrous skin. I tilted my head back and laid it across my forehead. The tired strain eased. Bless Bandlash and his natsa fruit. Unfortunately, the nature magic did nothing to help with stressing about Grimmal and Lumi. I closed my eyes, dislodging a stream of tears.
18
Liars Can’t Testify
Sleep wouldn’t come. I needed to recharge, but my brain allowed no peace. Eyes closed, the minutes ticked into hours as I replayed my report to the noblesse over and over again. I didn’t include Kyprios in my telepathic images, or Thayn, but only Iloress stomped off in a huff. Even Regent Menneth commented on how she chose not to stay. It was her fault, right? Or, at least, not my fault? Either way, that little mistake blew up enough to warrant the death of my sciftan friends.
Ugh. I’d had enough of Third Earth. If I ever got out of here, I’d never come back.
“Grandfather Thayn has slipped in his ambassador duties. These quarters are not fit for an arch mage.”
My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice.
“Nemantia?”
By the door, yellow satin, glistening with golden protection enchantments, floated as Bandlash set a very welcome guest into the door frame. Rather awkwardly, since he was too shy to look at her.
“Nemantia!” I cried, climbing to my still unsteady feet. “What in the name of sweet Second Earth are you doing here?”
“You’re kidding, right?” She smiled and came to my pile of coins in the corner. “My dearest friend is imprisoned and I’m to, what? Stay home and wallow in worry?”
I wrapped my tired, acid-spattered arms around her shoulders.
Past her dark, royal updo, a tall, handsome figure nimbly jumped from Bandlash’s back into the cell.
“You came too, Jenz?”
“She threw the biggest fit when the king commanded her to stay home.” He smirked.
He stationed himself at the door and assessed the empty room with the trained eye of a paladin. His eyes paused only at the narrow drain in the corner opposite from me. At least four elemental weapons hung from his dark gray uniform, which made Bandlash squirm.
“Father needn’t worry when I have you, Jenz,” Nemantia said, stroking my back to comfort me. “Right now, Agnes is far more important.” She turned to Bandlash, but I didn’t let go and leaned around with her. “Thank you for delivering me to my friend, noble Bandlash.”
Oh, well, my pleasure. Uh, I’ve been assigned, he stammered in furious embarrassment. I’ll just wait by the main door. Call when you need me.
His blue eyes, wide with awe, slid below the doorframe and he gave us some privacy.
Nemantia held me until I pulled away. “Dragons have very strict rules about visitors,” she said, “but in the case of trials, a defense team is legal. Father brought our most skilled lawyers to advise him, but he will speak on your behalf himself.”
“And you?” I sniffed. “You’re not a lawyer.”
“No, but I am a necromancer. Necromancers are handy at murder trials. Now, tell me everything.”
