Desolation (Dragonlands Book 4) (8 page)

“What is a shade?” Tressa asked Donovan, trying not to panic. “And where did it take Fi?”

“It is one of the monsters living in Desolation. They have taken her and we cannot save her.”

"We have to go after her." Tressa nabbed her pack off the ground and snagged Fi's too. "What is this shade that took her?"

"We are too close to turn away." Donovan looked into the distance, ignoring her question. "We must continue our quest."

Tressa grabbed Donovan's arm. "No. I refuse to lose another loved one. You need to tell me what this thing is so we can find Fi. Only then I will go on with your plans."

"Are you willing to risk the lives of everyone in the Dragonlands just to save one soul?" Donovan's eyes bored into Tressa's.

She'd given up her relationship with Bastian to avenge Connor. She'd abandoned Jarrett multiple times when he needed her, just so she could help the Dragonlands fight against the Red. Every time she came out on top, but she always lost someone close to her.

No more. It ended now.

"Fi. We find her first. I won't lose her." Tressa crossed her arms over her chest. "If you want to go ahead without me, do it. But I am going after Fi."

"You cannot do so without me. You wouldn't know where to look. You don't know anything about the shades. You could wander Desolation for the rest of your life—which wouldn’t be long anyway because you wouldn't survive the night without me." Donovan tapped the bowl of his pipe, letting the ashes fall. He ground them down with his boot.

"Then we're at an impasse," Tressa said. "One of us must give in. It won't be me." She turned away and started walking back the way they'd come.

"Where are you going?" Donovan yelled after her.

Without stopping, she tossed a reply over her shoulder. "I'm going to cross the Wardack River and head east. I'll ask for help from someone else."

Donovan let loose a string of curses. His boots pounded the ground, and he quickly caught up with Tressa. "I cannot allow you to walk into your own death. I will help you find your friend—if she's even still alive—but I cannot afford to lose you. Without you, the Dragonlands will fall."

Before they left, Donovan hadn’t even wanted her to come. Now he claimed the fate of the Dragonlands hinged on her. Tressa doubted his insistent words. She had taken control and fought when it was required, but another could always take her place. Fi had risked everything for Tressa more than once. Now it was Tressa's turn to repay her friend.

"Thank you," she said to Donovan. "Where do we start?"

Donovan sighed and adjusted the pack on his back. "We will do as you said. Cross the river at the bridge. Then we head northeast to a nearby village. There will be someone there who can help us." He placed a hand on Tressa's shoulder. "Do not speak of the dragon. Pretend you are one of us. Act like you were born in Desolation."

"And just how does one act if they're born in Desolation?" Tressa asked.

"Well, for one, we listen to each other instead of stomping off in anger. We also trust each other. In a land like this, people survive off teamwork. No one goes anywhere alone. It is too dangerous. It is fine to have an opinion, but offer it and be willing to discuss it. Decisions made in haste lead to death."

"What about the shades?" Tressa asked. "If one took Fi so easily, then how are we to avoid being taken ourselves?"

"Fi was taken because she was weak." Donovan set off along the riverbank toward the bridge in the distance.

Tressa had to jog to keep up with him. "So if you hadn’t removed her dragon, she would have been stronger, more able to defend herself."

"No," Donovan said, his voice wavering for only a moment. "If Fi had the dragon inside her, the shade would have killed her and left her body as a warning."

"So then this is good news." Tressa watched Donovan's carefully guarded expression crumble. "What aren't you telling me?"

Donovan's shoulders fell. "I had hoped to avoid this. If we had reached our destination before the shades found us, then we might have had a chance."

"What will this shade do with Fi?" Tressa demanded, despite her huffing breath as she jogged alongside Donovan's stride.

"It will keep her alive. Study her. Experiment on her." Donovan refused to meet Tressa's stony gaze. "Even if we do find her, Fi may not be the woman you call your friend. Rescuing her puts us in danger, as well as anyone who agrees to help us. Instead of following my instructions and doing the one thing that will help the Dragonlands, you may get us all killed."

Tressa fell a few steps behind Donovan, and he didn't correct his stride to keep pace with her. It was just as well. She needed time to think. She remembered how Fi had left the battle between the Black and the Red to follow Tressa when Jarrett held her in thrall and forced her to come to the Isle of Repose. If Fi hadn’t come to her aid, Tressa might be dead at Jarrett's hands.

"If the shade is really that dangerous, then please let me do this on my own. Tell me what you can, but don't risk your life or the lives of others." Tressa knew that reduced her chances of success, but she couldn't think of another fair solution.

Donovan shook his head. "No. I will go with you. Others will also be willing to help. We are a brave, strong people. We have to be, to survive in this place. We will find your friend. Then we will finish what I brought you here to do."

The two walked in silence until they reached the bridge. Tressa had only seen it from a distance before. She shuddered with revulsion as she saw what it was made from. Bones. Some human, others that looked like they belonged under Decarian's skin. They were stacked upon each other and tied together with rope. The bridge, glistening with wet patches from the splashing whitecaps, spanned the narrow part of the roaring river.

"Why bones?" Tressa asked as she stepped onto the bridge, both hands shaking as she clutched the rails.

"It was constructed immediately after a great war. We chose to use bones instead of trees to conserve the little resources we had. It also served as a warning for many years, though the true horror of the bridge eventually wore off."

Tressa couldn't help herself. "What?"

"The skin was still on when it was built. The bridge looked like a monster of nightmares. Today it is merely bones, but it serves as a reminder to the beasts that would cross to the human side of Desolation. We are not easily defeated."

The history of Desolation fascinated Tressa. Donovan's explanations only gave her small pieces, and she couldn't shake the feeling he was purposely leaving out something.

On the other side of the bridge, Tressa was relieved to step back onto solid ground. "How much further to the village?"

"We will arrive there by nightfall," Donovan said. "Come. We've lost enough time already. Take a quick drink from your water skin, and then we will be on our way again."

Tressa lifted the skin to her trembling lips. She refused to let Donovan see her fear. She corked her water skin and hung it at her waist. Then she followed Donovan deeper into the strange land.

"Stop." Donovan held an arm out in front of Tressa. He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. "We are close. Do not make any sudden moves. The people here are easily spooked."

Tressa's eyes swept the barren landscape. There wasn't anything to be seen. Dark rocks jutted out of the ground and a scant copse of trees stood silent in the distance, but there was no sign of life, much less a village.

Donovan motioned her forward, and she took three careful steps toward him.

A sharp point stabbed her side. Tressa jumped toward Donovan, grabbing his arm. "Ow!" she yelled, forgetting the ban on talking. "What was that?" Something poked her again in the side, this time harder.

"We come seeking assistance," Donovan said, looking over Tressa's shoulder.

A voice chuckled. Tressa turned to see a man standing nearby with his sword point at her side. "Where did you come from?" she demanded. "Sheath your sword. I'm not here to fight."

"I know you're not," he answered as his sword swiped at her waist, cutting her belt. Tressa's sword clattered to the ground. He kicked it away before she could reach for it. "Now, let's all get inside the village before we're seen. Hurry up." He picked up her sword, took two steps, and disappeared.

"What?" Tressa held out a hand in front of her. "Where did he go with my sword?"

"Remember when we were in the tent last night?" Donovan asked. He grabbed Tressa's hand, propelling her forward. "It was under a spell. So is the village. You'll see."

She took two steps and blinked. An entire village stood before her. Tressa looked over her shoulder at the barren land, then forward again at the village. She took a step backward and the village disappeared, replaced by the copse of trees in the distance. A disembodied hand grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the village.

"I—" She had no words. The world outside Hutton's Bridge kept finding new ways to amaze her.

The man who'd taken her sword laughed again. "Obviously you're from the far eastern lands. They don't have to hide like we do. It's not easy living so close to the Barrier Mountains." He brushed his curly blond hair out of his face and tossed Tressa's sword to another man who stood nearby. "Sorry about your weapon. Until we know why you're here, I can't allow you to carry your weapon. I am Accore. Welcome to Ergoth. It's nice to meet you..." He held out a tentative hand.

Tressa swallowed the lump in her throat. "Tressa." She slipped her hand in his and shook it.

Accore looked at Donovan. "You need no introduction. I recognize you from the ancient texts." He fell to one knee and bowed his head. "We are humbled by your presence, Donovan."

Tressa's eyes grew wide. She held back her rapidly multiplying list of questions, feeling it was wiser to wait.

Donovan touched Accore on the shoulder. "You may rise. We don't have time for formalities. Now is the time to act."

Accore stood. "Whatever you need, we will provide. Food? Shelter? Men to guide you?"

"What we need are warriors," Donovan said as he and Accore walked further into the village.

Tressa followed them down a dusty street. Men and women bustled about, working at their various trades. They didn't seem to notice, or care, that there were two strangers in their invisible village. Tressa fought the urge to run to the far end of the village and look for that copse of trees in the distance. She wanted to understand how this magic worked. Had they travelled somewhere, as she and Fi did with Donovan when they entered Desolation, or was the village standing hidden in the middle of the dead land?

"Tressa?" Donovan said. He stood in the doorway to a nearby inn, his arms crossed over his chest. "Come. We have much to discuss."

Tressa snapped her attention back to Donovan. "Of course. I'm coming. Sorry." She followed him into the building.

Candles flickered in the dim light. Two windows were covered in fabric, keeping the sun from touching the interior. A simple table with four chairs around it sat in the center of the room. A faint smell of beeswax and cedar tickled her nose.

"Please, have a seat," Accore said, gesturing toward the chairs.

Tressa lowered herself. She shifted nervously, her back hitting the wooden slats.

"What can we do for you?" Accore asked. "It's not every day that the leader of the Vulture Tower comes back to his homeland. How long has it been? Three or four hundred years?"

Tressa glanced at Donovan. He'd been cryptic about his origins, and while she'd heard him mention the Vulture Tower, she had no idea where it was. But hundreds of years old? That meant he was like the woman who'd been ruling the Red.

"It has been some time," Donovan admitted. "I would not come back if help wasn't desperately needed."

Accore slammed a fist on the table, a grin overtaking his face. "Then it is done! We shall send troops to the Dragonlands. When do you want to leave?"

Donovan shook his head. "Not that. Not yet. We have another problem to solve first."

Accore seemed surprised as he looked from Donovan to Tressa. "What would that be?"

"We were traveling with a third," Donovan said. "She has been taken by a shade."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Accore said. "That is a shame. Still, I don't see how we can help you."

"We need to find her," Tressa said. She'd sat by long enough, keeping quiet as Donovan had asked. "Can you help us?"

"Truly?" Accore looked at Donovan. "Is this why you came to us? You know we can't help." He patted Tressa’s hand. "I'm sorry, but your friend is likely dead."

"Likely?" Tressa asked. "But she may still be alive?"

Accore glanced at Donovan, who shrugged. "It's possible," Accore said. "I doubt we will be successful in finding her, much less rescuing her."

"But there is a chance. Right, Donovan?" She looked to her guide. "You said Fi could still be alive. If that's true, we must do everything we can to rescue her."

Accore laughed. "Anyone, even from the far east, knows that shades are difficult to track, harder to pin down, and near-impossible to kill." His laughter stopped as he stared at Tressa. He cocked his head to the side. "You are not from Desolation, are you?"

Tressa folded her hands and didn't answer. Donovan had told her they would kill her if they knew where she was from because her lineage put her in danger.

"Donovan?" Accore asked. "You must speak plainly to me. Before I commit any warriors to your cause, I need the truth."

Donovan took a deep breath. "You know I would not ask for help in this unless it was completely necessary. Tressa insists we find her friend. After that, the end of times is coming."

Tressa wrinkled her eyebrows at Donovan's plea. "I don't understand.”

Both men ignored her, their eyes locked.

"The time has come?" Accore asked. "Truly?"

Donovan stood, his gray cape twirling behind him as he paced the small room. "Events are unfolding as foretold. But she," he pointed at Tressa, "refuses to do as I ask until her friend is found."

Accore's gaze fell on Tressa. She attempted to decipher his expression, but he was unreadable. "Why is she so important to you?" he asked.

Tressa didn't hesitate. "Because she wouldn't leave me behind and I won't leave her. If there is the slightest chance she's alive, I will look for her." She held Accore's gaze, refusing to show any weakness.

Accore finally broke their stalemate. He turned to Donovan. "I will provide four warriors, plus myself. We will find this Fi, we will save her, and we will return to bring about the end of the world. You have my word."

"Then it is done. Happy?" Donovan asked Tressa.

"When do we leave?" she asked Accore, ignoring their babble about the end of times. She didn’t know of such things, nor did she put stock in them. Fi was her priority.

"In the morning. Sleep well tonight. It may be your last chance before all of your worst nightmares come true."