Even with his shirt off, Walter looked warm enough. Glistening with sweat, his body, more muscular and hardened than Billy had ever seen it, glowed in the light of the lantern’s dancing flame. “So, how bad was the damage?”
Ashley looked back at Walter, concern sagging her brow. “The spear sliced a gash in his lung.”
“Sliced a lung?” Billy laid a hand on his chest. “Ouch!”
She nodded. “Thank God it missed his heart, but it cut enough blood vessels to kill him. We patched him up the best we could, so we’ll just have to monitor him for more bleeding.”
He looked back at the door and lowered his voice. “Are you up for a full-blown healing?”
She matched his tone. “When Walter was passing out, I didn’t have time to get Acacia to try it. But now he might be out of danger, and you know what Elam said.”
Nodding, Billy replayed the recent event in his mind, their first discovery of the Vacants. Valiant had been patrolling alone in the woods to the north and came upon at least a dozen of them. They attacked, and Valiant fought … well … valiantly. After killing three of their party, he managed to escape, but he suffered multiple spear wounds.
He staggered back to Founder’s Village, where Ashley attempted a healing with Acacia providing the fire. It worked, at least for Valiant, but Ashley nearly cooked. Her temperature spiked to 106 and stayed above 104 for three days. Now, a full week after she was finally able to get out of bed, she still tired easily. And Acacia seemed drained as well. She didn’t feel fully recharged until yesterday. Elam gave both a stern command not to try any further healings unless someone would surely die without the attempt.
“We could ask your mother to try again,” Billy said. “Just because her healing power hasn’t worked on humans here, it doesn’t mean it’ll never work.”
Ashley touched his arm. “Billy, it’s all right. Trust me. If I thought Walter was about to die, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
“Should we fly him up to the hospital, then?”
“That won’t do any good. We brought the heart and lung machines down yesterday. Cliffside’s going to land the entire hospital soon. No sense in keeping it flying around up there when the worst of the bad guys are trapped behind the wall of fire.”
Billy looked again at Ashley’s hands, slender and strong. A ring decorated one of her fingers, a red gem shining from its mount. “How’d you learn so much about surgery?”
“Doc taught me. Bonnie’s father, I mean. Since we kept quite a few animals, we sometimes had to do some minor surgery. Instead of taking them to the vet, Doc showed me how. He went to medical school, but after he got his MD, he didn’t like seeing all the suffering and death, so he turned to pharmacy.”
Billy offered a sympathetic nod. Ever since Dr. Conner died heroically after their battle against Devin in the underground laboratory, he had often wondered about how great an asset Dr. Conner would have been. Now his talents seemed wasted. “I guess we could really use him.”
“You bet.” Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and huffed a sigh. She glanced at Walter before shifting back to Billy. Her brow drooped again, along with her sad eyes. “How are you doing?”
Billy picked up his sword belt and fastened it around his waist. “Okay, I guess. No wounds.”
“No, I mean—” She laid a hand on his chest. “I mean here. It’s been a month with no contact.”
“Yeah. I knew what you meant.” He clutched Excalibur’s hilt and massaged its smooth surface. “And I think you already know the answer.”
Pressing her lips together, she nodded. “When I’m tired, I can’t control this mind-reading thing very well. Sorry for butting in on your emotions.”
“No big deal.” He glanced at her hand, still pressed gently against his chest. She was obviously tired and mentally drained. “Emotions are all I have left,” he said, “and I’m kind of wearing them on my sleeve.”
“I know. Me, too.” Pulling her hand back, she looked at Walter again. Steadfast had covered his torso with a sheet and was now checking his pressure. Since he lacked Ashley’s sensory powers, he was using her makeshift stethoscope to listen for the heartbeat. “I see you found it,” she said.
Steadfast nodded, his eyes trained on the meter. “It was next to the laundry bin.”
“Sorry. I remember now. I put it there this morning.” Looking more exhausted than ever, she turned back to Billy and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You know, I like the people here, and I know how important our work is, but sometimes I just want to go home. Do you know what I mean?”
“Sure. I think about that a lot.”
“How badly do you miss home? I mean, I know you must really miss Bonnie, right?”
Heat flowed into Billy’s cheeks and ears. “When you butt in, you really butt in.”
She clenched her fist and scolded herself. “Get with it, Ashley! Don’t be such a relational clutz!”
“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have said it that way. I mean, I do miss Bonnie … a lot … and I miss my mother, too. But we’ve been so busy here, the only time I think about it is when I go to bed. But that doesn’t last long. I’m so exhausted, I conk out right away.”
“I know. You and Walter have been training constantly. Either that or out on patrol.”
He pointed at her. “Look who’s talking—Miss Never Sleeps. You’re either a doctor, a mechanic, or an inventor. If you don’t rest more, you’re going to have a breakdown.”
Looking at the floor, she nodded. “I know, I know. But who else is going to do those things?”
“I can’t argue with that.” Billy glanced at Walter again. Steadfast had finished taking his pressure. He probably would have reported anything unusual. “Speaking of inventions, any news on your radio project?”
As a weak smile appeared, Ashley’s voice perked up. “My tooth transmitter still works. It’s not nearly strong enough to call home, but it’s perfect for communicating locally. And I altered Merlin’s radio frequency without a problem.”
“Any luck with that?”
She shook her head. “I can’t get anywhere with the magnets. The field they create isn’t strong enough to make a crack in the dimensional wall. Without at least a tiny opening, Larry wouldn’t be able to hear me even if I sent a megawatt signal.”
Billy painted a picture in his mind—his mother operating Larry’s console. Without communications, their only hope was to find a portal. Acacia would have to try again at Mount Elijah, the sooner the better. “If Walter seems out of the woods in the morning,” he said, “I’ll take Acacia and Listener up to the volcano and see what we can see.”
“Okay, check back here first thing. I’ll let you know how he’s doing.”
“You’re staying here? Doesn’t Steadfast have this shift?”
“He does.” She dragged a cot close to Walter’s and sat down. “I just want to be here in case he needs me.”
Billy sat next to her, adjusting his sword to make room. “I don’t need to be a mind reader to know that something’s up between you two.”
Her cheeks flushing, Ashley suppressed a smile. “That noticeable, huh?”
“Your sleeve is covered with it.”
She brushed her sleeve and let her smile break through. “Walter and I are like this, Billy.” She slid closer, hip to hip. “We’re friends, partners, fellow warriors, but not lovers. Ever since we worked together to help you and Bonnie navigate the Circles of Seven, we’ve fought together and bled together. But you know what? We trust each other so much, it’s like we’re building a foundation for something else later on.”
“You mean when Walter’s old enough.”
She nudged his side. “Who says you’re not a mind reader?”
“When would that be? Three years? Five years?”
“It’s hard to tell. This place has changed us so much, it’s like we’re maturing at double the normal speed. He already looks more like a man than a boy.”
“Yeah. I noticed
. Maybe it’s something in the air here.” Billy rose to his feet. “I’d better get to bed. Gotta climb a volcano tomorrow.”
Ashley showed him her bloody hands. “I’ll get cleaned up and then sack out.”
“Want me to bring you a change of clothes?”
“No. I don’t want you to wake Emerald. She’s an early riser. I’ll be fine.”
Billy walked to the head of Walter’s cot and gazed at his friend’s ashen face. Still gurgling as he breathed through his open mouth, Walter’s eyes darted under his lids. Whatever Ashley had used to put him under didn’t slow down his mind. He was likely fighting even now, probably skewering a few more of those Vacants.
Gripping Walter’s shoulder, Billy whispered, “Get well soon, buddy. I need you at my side.”
As he turned to leave, Ashley caught his pant leg. “Will you pray for Walter?”
“Sure. When I get back to the hut, I’ll pray until I fall asleep.”
“No. I mean now.” Her brow arched up. “Please?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Taking her by both hands, he lifted her to her feet. As they faced each other, she closed her eyes and tilted her head upward. Billy traced a tear stain from the point it exited her eye, through her cheek’s contours, and down to her chin. This would be hard. Although he found praying easy and liberating, doing so out loud in a way that would comfort someone else seemed out of reach. But he had to give it a try, just pretend Ashley wasn’t there and say what was on his mind.
Compressing her hands lightly, he spoke in a low tone. “Father, you know how much we both love Walter. He’s such a good friend—brave, loyal, and always trying to make people smile. If he dies, we know he would go to a better place, but …” He paused. With his throat narrowing and his voice breaking up, this was getting even more difficult than he imagined.
Ashley’s fingers tightened around his, and she broke in, her voice just as tremulous. “But we really need him here … so if you don’t mind … please let him stay for a while, at least until …”
Her hands began to pull away, but Billy held them fast. It seemed that their physical connection helped her thoughts and feelings flow. Now the mind reader had become a mind writer. He knew exactly what she wanted to say.
“So please let him stay,” Billy continued, “at least until we can tell him how much we love him.”
As he opened his eyes, he let her hands slide away. After dabbing new tears with her shirt sleeve, she kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “Thank you.”
On the way to the door, he picked up his cloak and slung it over his shoulder. Then, pulling the door open, he looked back. Ashley sat once again on the cot, her eyes wide and wet. He gave her a nod, hoping she could read the brotherly love pouring from his heart. “Good night, Ashley.”
She replied in a weak voice. “Good night, Billy. I’m glad I can count on you.”
Adding a wave as he kept an eye on Ashley, Billy called out, “Good night, Steadfast. Take good care of both of them.”
Steadfast wiped his bloody hands on a rag and waved back. “I will. You can count on that.”
After once more glancing at Ashley, Billy walked out and closed the door. Something was wrong. Ashley seemed to want something, but what? Could her ability to sense emotions also transmit messages somehow, or were they both so tired that every little twitch and change in body posture seemed to communicate more than it was meant to?
Now out in the cool breeze again, Billy pushed his arms through the cloak sleeves, fastened the collar clasp, and pulled up his hood. He looked toward the birthing garden. Now that it was likely well past midnight, his father would have relieved Thigocia and settled down for his turn as the birthing garden’s watch dragon.
Billy strolled that way. Wearing a black cloak and hood, he probably looked like a ghostly shadow wandering through the midnight wind. It was a good thing the village folk slept deeply at these hours, even Cliffside, who normally guarded this field. With dragons taking over that duty, Elam put him on daytime woods patrol, a responsibility he relished. Actually marching out to possible battles definitely beat standing on the garden periphery night after night with nothing to do but whistle all-clear signals to his fellow guards.
While marching across the grassy meadow between the village and the garden, Billy caught sight of a pair of glowing dots, scarlet and pulsing—Clefspeare’s eyes shining red. Even with the beams turned off, the fiery pupils were easy to see. “Dad,” Billy called. “It’s me.”
“Yes, son,” came a deep, rumbling voice. “I know, though your scent is not quite the same.”
Billy brushed his hands together. “Probably Walter’s blood. I was deep in it for a while.”
“And how is our valiant soldier faring?”
With his snout now close, the dragon’s breath caressed Billy’s face with warmth. “Not great, but Ashley’s taking good care of him. He—”
“Mercy!” The plaintive female voice came from the field’s western border, close to the twin fir trees, Hilidan and Zera. “O virtuous dragon, I beg for mercy!”
Clefspeare’s eyebeams flashed and locked on a feminine form staggering toward them with another figure, probably male, at her side. “Who goes there?” Clefspeare growled.
Now within three or four paces, the woman dropped to her knees, her hands clasped. “O mighty dragon, I beg you not to breathe on us with your punishing flames. Another dragon, Arramos by name, has hurled his fiery wrath at my son, and he would not survive another blow.”
The man, still standing at her side, covered his face with his hands.
“Step out of the woman’s shadow,” Clefspeare ordered, “and show yourself.”
Trembling, the man took a step and stopped again. With Pegasus as bright as ever, his details sharpened. Shorter than average and dressed in a typical villager’s garb—cotton long-sleeved tunic and woolen trousers—he slowly lowered his hands from his face, revealing the telltale marks of recent burns.
Billy grimaced. With swollen cheeks, charred eyebrows and scalp, and practically no lips, this guy was a pitiful mess.
“Where did you see Arramos?” Clefspeare asked.
Rising to her full height, the woman stepped into the moon’s glow. A lovely angular face and smooth complexion made her seem too young to have an adult son. Yet, with a hood covering her hair, any possible grayness stayed hidden. She pointed toward the western border. “We saw him out there, beyond that wall.”
A growl rose from Clefspeare’s gullet. “I sensed no danger.”
“Great dragon, I know so little about your kind, so I do not know how your danger sense operates. How far does it extend? We were at least a thousand paces away, well into the prairie.”
“I see.” Clefspeare extended his neck, bringing his head close to the woman. She cringed but stayed still while he sniffed her face, then her hands. “I sense no danger from her, and her words carry the ring of truth. If Arramos has come to Second Eden and yet lurks nearby, our danger has increased a hundredfold.”
The woman clasped her hands again. “Good dragon, do you have a doctor in this village? My son requires care.”
“We have no doctor, but perhaps we can help.” Clefspeare turned to Billy. “Has either Ashley or Steadfast cared for burn victims?”
“Not that I know of, but I’m sure they can do something. They have some pain relievers and an ointment that’ll take down swelling.”
The woman grasped Billy’s hand and kissed it. “Thank you. Please lead us to these medicines. I have no money, but I will work for you.”
“From what village do you hail?” Clefspeare asked. “And what is your name?”
“We come from a faraway land not yet known to these people.” She swept back her hood, revealing shining hair that fell to her shoulders. “And my name is Semiramis.”
Chapter 5
Elam’s Journal
Her right arm in a sling, Sapphira knelt and touched the floor of the tunnel with her free hand. She rubbed her finger along
the cracked stone, squinting at the surface in the light of three lanterns carried by Bonnie, Rebekah, and Dallas.
Bonnie edged close and looked over Sapphira’s shoulder, careful not to cast a shadow. What could she be looking for? While Gabriel and the others had gone on a journey outside to search for Yereq and the Foleys, Sapphira had said she would stay and set a trap for any future invaders. For some reason, she had chosen this spot, a point where the escape tunnel intersected at right angles with one of the main tunnels.
In one direction, this passage led to the living quarters, and in the other, it split into two wide corridors. Following the left passage would lead someone to the growth chamber section and another trio of tunnels, and wandering through the one on the right would surely get a person lost. It led into a honeycomb of narrow shafts that funneled into more rooms that Bonnie had not had time to explore.
On her one journey into that section, it had taken her three hours to find her way back. Probably only Sapphira could walk through that maze without losing her way. After so much time alone in these caves, she likely had the entire network mapped out in her mind.
Finally, Sapphira pointed at the floor. “There should be a cavity below us, and the rock layer here is no more than a foot thick all along this tunnel. That’s why Morgan put the girls’ living quarters that way.” She pointed in the direction of the hovels. “The giants had no reason to go there, so there was no risk collapsing the floor.”
“But hasn’t Yereq been walking through here when he brings you supplies?” Dallas asked.
“He has. That’s why this intersection might work for setting a trap.” Sapphira again passed her hands along the floor surface. Her fingers rippled with tiny flames. “The cracks are bigger than before. It’s almost exactly the same as the layer that covered the abyss Paili and I found thousands of years ago. It’s fragile and close to breaking.”