The Magic Wakes (29 page)

Talia, do you trust me?

Yes
. And she did. Completely.

Landry kissed her gently. When his lips covered Talia’s, the flow of oxygen disappeared. Her heart raced. Her lungs screamed. She tried to push him away, but Landry held her firmly. He kissed her more insistently.

Use the connection. See the energy and gather it to heal your lungs
. Landry’s voice was calm, but his kiss intensified.

Talia tried to push the fear of suffocation to the back of her mind. She closed her eyes and looked inward. Searching for the energy. Fire bursts exploded behind her eyelids. Instinct told her to pull away, but Landry concentrated on slowing her heart rate.

Stay calm. Pull air from my lungs, but concentrate
. Landry coaxed Talia into the open room of their minds.
You’re safe and whole here.

Talia stopped struggling and moved her spirit into the mental space. She relaxed and then she could see it. A soft glow deep in her core pulsed like the center of the suns. It was weak, but it flared when Landry bit her upper lip. Talia absorbed the flash of energy and understood. She grasped Landry’s shirt and pulled him closer. His core flared and she grew stronger.

Blood pumped through their bodies carrying life from deep within. Talia concentrated on accelerating the healing process. Breathing grew easier and she moved her spirit back into her body.

Talia’s body ached all over, but it was manageable enough for her to enjoy the feel of Landry’s lips against hers. Strength filled them both. It wasn’t a full healing, but it was enough.

Landry broke the kiss, but left his forehead leaning against Talia. They breathed in rhythm and waited for their hearts to calm.

Jewel soared through the air above the mountain. After a few loops and diving spirals, she landed softly beside them.

“Much better. You can breathe, and I’ve stretched and filled my stomach. You are a descendant of Elvin Thule. I can smell his presence in your blood.” Her great head angled so one giant eye focused on Talia.

“Is that a good thing?” Talia tried not to cringe, but she kept seeing those talons ripping the Dragumon open.

“Yes. I had great respect for Elvin, even though he misjudged his own people. He meant well, but the Dragumon were a mistake. I was young, with no pull in the clan. I supported Thraned and the unbinding. Unfortunately, he did not trust the mage to perform the ritual. We sent the Dragumon into exile instead, but I had seen into Kansisi’s soul. Dark hatred filled him. I knew he would find a way to return if he could, so I stayed behind and waited.”

“So you’re on our side?” Landry questioned.

“Yes. I will help you gather the items you need for the unbinding. Then I will be free to join the dragonkin in the place they have gone.” Jewel snorted and then sneezed. “You should not worry about the Dragumon’s deaths. It was quick and almost painless for them.”

“Oh.” Talia ducked her head and let her hair cover part of her face. Having a dragon read your thoughts was worse than a man reading them.

“Climb on my back, at the base of my neck. I will carry you to your ship. Use your legs and arms to hold on.” Jewel hunkered down to the ground, curling her body around the space between mountains.

Landry helped Talia up and then climbed on behind her. Jewel’s neck was too broad to reach around, so Talia gripped with her knees and arms. In her weak state, it was a pathetic attempt. Her arms shook from the effort. She was grateful when Landry leaned into her as he searched for a place to grab hold. His body acted as a harness, and Talia felt more secure as Jewel lifted off the ground.

Jaron paced along the border of the clearing. There had been no word from Landry or Talia for hours. Their absence meant adding another day before they could attempt the unbinding spell. He listened to the relative quiet, as the new mage slept. His com finally beeped.

“Yes.”

Landry said, “We’re on our way back.”

“And?”

“We woke the dragon. She’s coming with us so you may want to prepare everyone.”

“Excellent. We will be ready. We will perform the unbinding at sunsrise in two days. Talia is strongest at that time.”

“That may be too soon. The Dragumon attacked us and she received the brunt of it. She’s resting in the autodoc.”

“Good. That will heal her body, and there will be time for her to prepare. It will be enough.”

“Answer her question.” Landry stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

“A weak spirit can lose track of the thread that leads back to their body. Your spirit is strong. I’m not concerned and you should not be either.” Jaron waved toward a side room. “Please, this way.”

“Talia,” Landry reached for her arm. “You don’t have to do this.”

She caught his outstretched hand. “I know, but I’d like to try. Maybe we can come to an understanding. End this war before more people die.”

She raised his hand to her face and leaned into his palm. The memory of his willingness to fight for her burned within her. She knew he would not let her get lost.
Bring me back
.

Landry caressed her face and then brought her hand to his lips.
Always.

Jaron shuffled from one foot to the other, but he remained silent.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Talia stepped away from Landry and to the door.

The air inside the sleeping quarters smelled of the same strange flowers Talia often noticed on Jaron’s ship. The small room was spotlessly clean. A bed. A chair. Nothing else. There was no mirror, no desk, no pictures of a life left behind. Even with the sweet floral scent, the room was depressing.

Jaron sat in the chair and waited for Talia to get comfortable. Landry perched on the edge of the bed, but he didn’t touch Talia. The pressure of people watching made it difficult for her to fall asleep.

“You don’t have to actually sleep. Just enter that state of subconscious awareness,” Jaron intoned.

“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled, but she closed her eyes.

“Let your mind drift, but keep the image of the Dragumon in the forefront,” Jaron said.

Talia clenched the muscles in her legs and then released the tension. She did the same with her arms and abdomen. Finally, she clenched her neck and then released. Once her body was relaxed, she pushed all thoughts from her mind.

All but one.

She allowed herself to remember the dream in which she was a red-scaled Dragumon. Her limbs grew heavier, sinking into the mattress. Fingers tingled and went numb. Talia’s spirit floated upward out of her body. She paused a moment and watched Landry. His fingers hovered close to hers, just out of reach. His leg bobbed up and down, and his eyes never left her face.

Normally the sight would have elicited an emotional response, but Talia felt nothing. All her irrational emotions had stayed behind with her physical self. Talia’s logical mind counted that as a blessing.

Turning away, she floated through the top of the ship and materialized in Calmalder’s circle. This place was sacred, and it was exactly where she wanted to meet the Dragumon. Talia closed her spirit eyes and concentrated on the red face from her dreams. She reached. She beckoned. The tenuous thread between them thickened and grew taunt.

The red Dragumon stepped into the clearing, tall and regal as she looked around. Her eyes mirrored Talia’s. Soft violet, flecked with deepest indigo.

Her lips curled into a sneer as her eyes roamed across the human body. Every movement, every look, seemed to peel the skin from Talia’s bones.

“What’s your name?” Talia asked calmly.

“Shishali,” she sighed in a musical cadence. “What is this?” She indicated the circle of trees with one smooth sweep of her arm.

“A place to meet. To talk.”

Shishali hissed.

“Why do you kill us? We’ve never done anything to you.” Talia spread her hands in front of her in a gesture of peace.

“Humans killed the dragon lords and hunted down the mages. Your kind brought about our exile. Now we will take back what should have been handed to us. This world is ours.” Derision dripped from her tongue.

“The dragons exiled your ancestors, not my people. We have both evolved, changed. Surely we can find some common ground to heal the past?”

Shishali laughed in Talia’s face. “You don’t know? The dragon lords did not exile my ancestors. They exiled me.” She walked further into the circle. “I have lived nine hundred years drifting though space searching for my rightful home. Only a handful of us were lucky enough to meet death.”

“Nine hundred years is a long time.” Talia followed the Dragumon as she circled her.

“Yes, but we aged before we left. Returning should restore the balance of things.” She cocked her head to the side, reminding Talia of a bird. “Perhaps you know this already?”

“I didn’t know. Perhaps we can work together and find the answers we both seek. We can live together in peace. There’s enough room on Sendek for both our races.”

“There will never be enough. I will kill as many of your kind as I want, simply because I can.” Shishali turned and stalked out of the circle of trees, reappearing moments later on the opposite side. She glared at Talia, turned, and stomped off once more. The next time she reappeared right next to Talia.

“Why can’t I leave?” she growled, baring her teeth.

“I have one more question for you. Is it true you destroyed entire planets in the name of Sendek?”

The Dragumon half smiled through the snarl. “Yes, let me show you.”

Shishali closed her eyes. A wrenching tug in the pit of Talia’s stomach pulled her into Shishali’s memory. She viewed the world through the Dragumon’s eyes. The strength of the Dragumon body wrapped around her spirit, and Talia knew the raw power of her enemy.

“The Nibiru. Watch and learn,” Shishali murmured, and Calmalder’s grove disappeared to be replaced by another scene.

She now stood in a grand chamber, with ceilings too high to see. Several aliens sat around a large conference table. Tiny compared to the Dragumon. Their soft hairless skin and head and long necks made them look delicate. Their pale eyes, large orbs reflecting everything around them, gave them a childlike appeal.

Shishali lunged at the councilwoman standing in front of her. Her strong hands grasped shoulders and lifted the woman out of her chair. Part of Talia’s mind remembered Dragumon hands around her own neck. That memory was overwhelmed by Shishali’s rush of holding a life in her hands.

Her muscles barely restrained themselves as she ran a taloned finger down the length of the councilwoman’s arm. The skin split open and blood flowed freely. Shishali inhaled deeply and let the blood flow over her hands. The warm wetness smelled sweet beneath the tanginess of iron.

She brought the hand covered in blood to her lips. The Dragumon tongue savored the moment. The councilwoman screamed as Shishali’s muscles tensed, ripping her arm out of its socket. It hung limply by her side, held on only by the skin and tendons.

“Does it hurt? Oh, I am so sorry. I promise to make it stop soon.” Her hand wrapped around the slender neck and the pulse beat quickened against her thumb. The warm blood pumped with each beat as she squeezed slowly and steadily. The blood struggled to keep moving beneath the grip. Shishali found the windpipe.

“Shishali don’t play with it, that’s cruel.” One of the green Dragumon waited for her to finish. That’s when she noticed the other aliens were all dead.

“Oh, all right.” Shishali closed her eyes and applied pressure, closing off the airflow until the pulse stopped.

Talia opened her eyes and Shishali stood in front of her once more in the forest.

“That was a fun day. We leveled the city. Left no survivors. Later we destroyed entire planets as practice for when we found you. The Akorans tried to protect you. We slaughtered them, and they didn’t even try to defend themselves.” Shishali paced inside the circle. “I hope you are far from this city where I sleep. I want you to watch your world crumble around you. And then I will find you and kill you myself.”

“Not if I can help it. I’ll do what I must to stop you.” Talia had had enough. She waved her hand and the Dragumon disappeared. Then she wished for her body. A rushing sound filled her mind and her body surrounded her spirit once more. It only took moments for the emotions to react to the knowledge she returned with.

Talia bolted upright as a cry ripped out from deep within. The conflicting horror and pleasure from killing with her bare hands made her dizzy. Fear and anger pulsed through her veins. Her stomach rolled and she swallowed down the bile. She pulled her knees into her chest and hugged them as she rocked back and forth. Someone touched her hand and she jerked away from the warmth.

Landry came into focus as she blinked back the tears.

Shishali sat up in her bed, jaws clenched and muscles quivering. The woman in her dreams spoke with confidence and authority. How dare a human command a Dragumon. Even a mage did not have the right and should not expect to live after such boldness.

Perhaps she just met the mage responsible for the death of Nysyk and his team. The report had come in late in the night, but she had confirmed the report herself. A recent victory over four Dragumon would account for the mage’s confidence. She turned to look at the clock. Dawn approached. Shishali’s blood boiled as she balled her hands into fist, digging her talons into her own palms.