Enormous wings flap, stirring the air around us like a windstorm. I don’t dare take my eyes away from the two dragons that land beside us…Lavs. I blink my eyes…hoping, sending up a prayer to the Angels, but there is no mistaking what I see. The dragons are indeed Lavs, and that can mean only one thing. As the dragons settle, spewing dust and dirt along with a blasting screech, two Destroyers rapidly dismount. And they march directly toward us.
I am petrified, stuck to my saddle, unable to move or think. My mind is a foggy tunnel. A deep dark tunnel. Destroyers…Destroyers…Destroyers. It can’t be, I think again. It just can’t be.
But it is. The Destroyers slither toward us like the lethal snakes I know they are. They stop in front of our pathetic group and slowly survey us like we are goods to be bought in a store, their eyes moving up and down in the dim light. One of the Lavs shoots a flame, shadowing the men in brilliant light. All I know is at any moment I could end up like Soot. And so could Thann.
“What are you kids doing out here alone?” one of the Destroyers growls. His voice is deep, menacing. He places his hand on the ruby handled sword tucked into the sheath on his belt, twitching his fingers on it as if he can’t wait to chop off someone’s head. He is taller than the other Destroyer, thin and lanky. He has a huge nose that seems amplified against his flat face.
I think of my golden sword at home…of the blades I was trained in. And although my mind is moving at the speed of mud, it spurs me to think of the daggers in my bag behind me. Can I get to them in time?
I chide myself. After all the training I have had, why didn’t I keep a dagger by my side? Or my bow and arrows? I know better…what was I thinking? I swallow, bitter spit leaking down my throat. The poisonous spit that only fear of death holds. It is eerily quiet, except for some crickets chirping, an occasional howl somewhere far away.
One of the Destroyers speaks then, his words riveting through the darkening sky. “You kids dumb or just can’t talk?” He is short and stocky but not nearly as frightening as the other Destroyer. His eyes are dark, but behind them I sense something I have never seen in a Destroyer. Humanity? Compassion? I can’t be sure.
I remember wondering if this day could get any worse. I know the answer to that question now.
It is Gunter who finally talks, although his voice is so high pitched and shaky that he almost sounds like a girl. “We’re traveling to Dragon Academy…to Harcourt.” Sweet, brave Gunter…the only one of us with the courage to say anything. I manage to lick my lips. They are dry. Like Koree’s. A weird thought enters my mind, an odd totally inappropriate thought. What would it feel like to have a boy like Koree kiss me? Or Thann? I stare at the Destroyers, realizing I will probably never know the answer to that question.
The Destroyers strut around us, slowly scouring us with slanted eyes. “You look like you’ve been attacked,” the taller one says, pulling his sword out of its sheath. The silver sword glistens, a jewel in the dimming light, and goose bumps form up and down my arms. The image of Soot’s head hitting the ground cascades into my mind yet again. I grip Thann tighter, as if that could help either of us.
The Destroyers are slowly moving from one of us to the next, as if we have committed a crime. “We’re looking for two of our men, who have gone missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” The Destroyer’s tone is full of accusation.
For several moments it is quiet, nobody responding to his question. We know the answer all too well, and every finger will point directly at me. Then Reese’s voice booms, crashing the silence like a plate hitting the floor. “Yes,” he almost yells at the Destroyers. “She killed them.” He points directly at me. “And she’s a Light Skin.”
Shut up, Reese, I think. Just shut up. But he continues. “And so is that guy in front of her. They put stuff on their skin and hair…but they’re Ghosts all right.” With that last comment he turns to Koree and sneers, almost daring Koree to do something…as if demerits would matter now. Koree’s chin flops on his chest, his glazed eyes expressionless.
I remain silent; there are no words I can think of to change the situation. My mouth is dry, as if someone had put cotton in it. If Thann were normal, if he were coherent, I know he could talk his way out of this. But not me.
The two men amble over to Thann and me. One ruby handled sword stays by its owner’s side; the other is pulled, swaying back and forth. Ready for action. Ready to kill.
I think of the other two Destroyers…the two that I killed. Slowly, I reach my left hand back toward my bag. Two knives. Two knives are all I need. My heart hammers against my ribcage so hard that it is almost painful as I stretch my hand back…back…back. Just a little bit more and I will have my bag. And then, once I get the daggers, I know I will need to act fast.
But before I reach my bag, the tall Destroyer grabs my left hand, squeezing it roughly. “What are you up to, Ghost?” he scowls. His grip remains tight on my hand as he examines my face. The pain is incredible, and I try not to scream as I almost feel bones crushing beneath his strength. Anger shoots through me then, and I glare at him, my eyes golden marbles of hate.
The other Destroyer speaks, then, his voice a holy whisper. “It is her. I can tell by the mark on her face.” He stares at me, his brows furrowing and his eyes dancing with something I don’t understand. “Let go of her hand, Dorgan. Lord Gareth wants her.”
“What about the boy? Is he a Ghost, too?” Dorgan, the tall ugly Destroyer asks as he drops my hand. It falls to my side, as useless as the daggers and weapons in my bag. He moves closer to Thann, examining him like an animal to be purchased at auction. Thann stares dumbly at nothing, but I feel him move in the saddle. Is he waking up from the stupor he has been in?
The shorter Destroyer’s voice splits the sky into two pieces…one is mine. The other is Thann’s. “It’s the boy as well. He has the same mark. Lord Gareth wants them both.”
Dorgan chortles, “It’s our lucky day, Lanton. Two birds together, ripe for the plucking.”
“Yes,” he slowly answers. I glance over at Koree, and he is struggling to pick his head up off his chest as Gunter clutches him tightly…holding up a “mountain”. Koree’s eyes flash at me, glistening and green and full of hopelessness. I move my eyes to Echo, and she has a look of complete shock on her face. But it is Reese I stop my eyes on. Reese. I glare at him, wishing my eyes were weapons. If they were, they would kill him. My thoughts are broken by Lanton’s voice, though. “Get them off this dreadful Crimson and put them on the Lavs.”
Dorgan answers simply, “Sure, boss.” He slips his sword back into its sheath and pulls a small dagger out of his boot and begins cutting the ropes that bind Thann to Pebble.
Lanton leisurely pulls his dark leather gloves off his hands, as if he is thinking about something. I watch in a daze. Siv Gareth wants me? I think back to the day I shot an arrow at him. Maybe it has something to do with that. But Thann. Why would he want Thann?
Lanton strides over to Reese and stops before him. “Thank you for the information, son. It really helped, although we probably would have figured it out anyway.”
Reese is smiling. “No problem, I…” But before he can finish, the Destroyer takes his gloves and smacks them across Reese’s face, so hard that Reese cries out in pain and immediately shoots his hand up to his cheek. I think back of when I slapped Reese. Maybe slapping a face is something they teach you at Soldier Academy.
“A soldier never rats out the members of his troop.” Lanton seethes at Reese. “Never. No matter what.” He stares Reese directly in the eye and smacks the gloves across his face again, only this time in the opposite direction. “I should kill you for that.” He continues to glare at Reese.
“You don’t know who my father is…he’ll have you for this,” Reese sputters indignantly, red outlines glowing on both cheeks.
Lanton leans into Reese. “I don’t give a rat’s ass who your father is. I am second in command to Lord Gareth.” For the briefest of moments it is quiet. “Apologize.”
“Never,” Reese answers.
With swift movement, reminiscent of Siv Gareth grabbing my flying arrow, the Destroyer pulls his sword and brings it up to Reese’s neck. Reese’s pulse beats against the shimmering steel and as he swallows, a lump moves down his throat, cutting against the sharp edge of the sword. A trickle of blood slips down Reese’s throat, fat red droplets that form into the tiniest red stream. Kill him, I plead in my mind. Kill him.
Reese’s voice is pitiful now, shaking. “I…I am sorry…sir. I didn’t know.” Lanton continues to hold the sword to Reese’s throat, his thick chest heaving. Gradually, then, he lowers it, turning away from Reese as if he is nothing more than a pesky fly. He faces the rest of our group.
“Be gone with you all,” he announces, his voice a low growl. “Now, or we will handle you ourselves.” With that he smacks Gunter’s Crimson on the rear, and it takes off running. Gunter struggles to hold Koree’s body upright, and I fear they are going to fall off, but amazingly, Gunter finds his balance and I watch with relief as he and Koree thunder away.
Echo’s indigo eyes meet mine, a mournful expression holding me captive. I nod my head to her, ever so slightly. She nods back to me, fresh blood trickling down her face. She hastily turns the glimmering Metallic around and follows the same path that Gunter and Koree took, dragon feet pounding hard against the earth. Her short dark hair flies behind her, the red bandage still covering the top of her head. And then she is gone.
Suddenly, rough hands pull at me, breaking at my thoughts. I am wrestled from behind and almost thrown onto the ground. My knee gives out, and I nearly fall. But I regain my footing, hurling my chin upward and blazing my eyes at the Destroyer. Dorgan grabs me by the arm and leads me over to one of the Lavs .
“Get on,” he orders.
“Never,” I spit at him, words forming at last. Immediately he pulls his sword out of its sheath, bringing it to my neck in one smooth motion. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way. Your choice.” His breath is foul and his flat face seems to swallow my entire body.
I gulp air into my mouth, the edge of the sword pushing against my throat. I swallow, just as Reese did, and it doesn’t occur to me until later that I used the very same word as Reese. “Never”, I said. Just like Reese. I weigh my options for only another second, because I know that there really is only one option. Just like Reese, then, I capitulate. “Okay,” I breathe out, feeling like a coward.
He sneers, lowering the sword. I reach my hand to my neck…still attached to my body. I sigh in relief and then frustration mounts. I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I can taste blood in my mouth. The last thing I want to do is climb onto a Lav.
Obediently, as I have done before, I lift my leg and manage to mount the giant Lav. Lanton has Thann in tow, leading him toward me. Thann isn’t putting up a fight, but he is walking normally, a slight swagger to his mountainous frame. I wonder if he has come out of his daze. If he has, then why isn’t he speaking…trying to help us?
Thann hops easily onto the huge Lav as if he does it every day, his long legs swooping over the beast’s back and settling his enormous frame in front of mine.
My hand is throbbing, my knee is aching, and I have no idea where I am going or what will happen to me. Or to Thann.
Darkness creeps up on us, like an evil spell, as Lanton smacks Pebble on the rear and she takes off at full speed, hopefully after the others. I wrap my arms around Thann’s waist, hugging him tight to me…confused, angry, and more scared than I have ever been in my entire life.
Chapter 26