Dragon! Book Two: "Revenge"

CHAPTER TWELVE

The trek through the forest was hard. The wet ground steadily rose, their footsteps dragging, and each hill seemed a little taller than the last. They moved quickly, one behind the other on the narrow paths, in relative silence. Ann paused twice to gather herbs and once to peel a small strip of bark off a tree. Tad asked her a thousand questions, all of which she answered without irritation. But she never gave the other boy a single friendly glance.

However, not talking and mindlessly following the many trails and paths gave Gareth time to reach out with his mind and search the endless ebb and flow of thousands of minds thinking at the same time. Those that stood out were generally those of a carpenter who hammered his thumb or a cook who sliced her finger as well as the onion. For a brief instant, each of those crackled at bright as the stars on a winter’s night.

But Gareth searched for any familiar voices. Like listening to verbal voices as people spoke, he found their minds also distinct. He wanted to reach the mind of one of his past teachers, a member of the Brotherhood; not just any of them, but one of a select few he believed cared about him when he was a child in Dun Mare, and there had been a few. One particular Brother had defied his leaders in telling Gareth information that should have been withheld, and he had treated Gareth’s childhood friend, Faring, with respect, although he was not sensitive.

The mass of minds spewing information was like all the people in the kingdom gathered into one place, talking at the same time. How could he identify a single voice? But he’d done it before, like hearing that one familiar voice that calls your name at a party. He listened but did not hear.

Ann called over her shoulder, “We will have to cross the King’s road ahead. Is the way clear?”

Gareth hadn’t been listening for that. He said, “Let me make sure.”

He instantly touched the nearby minds of dozens of soldiers, all directly ahead. “Ann, wait.” He sat and listened. There were not only checkpoints ahead, two of them, but patrols on the road. He sensed that the rings of men surrounding the seaports had been shifted inland during the night as if they knew of his objective.

But that couldn’t be. They had no way of knowing, but they were there, alert and waiting. Not a trap because he found them all along the length of the road, but a warning to Gareth that they were either warned or far smarter than he gave them credit for. He glanced at Ann, but then away. No, he didn’t believe she had anything to do with it even though she was the logical suspect.

Had any of Tad’s emotions or thoughts escaped? He didn’t believe so. His attention turned to the boy at his side.

Yes, he was the reason. Not directly, but the voice that had searched for him last night didn’t find him and probably decided that Gareth had found and killed him. That voice knew Gareth was not only coming after him but getting closer. It had told the King, or the King’s generals to relocate their troops because it told them where to find Gareth.

“Ann, we have a problem.”

“Checkpoints?”

“And patrols. They know we’re close.”

“How?”

Gareth glanced at the urchin at his side. “The mind behind all this was looking for this one last night. Now all the troops have been deployed here. They must have marched all night.”

“He told them?” Her face twisted.

“No. But because he didn’t answer, the other one decided we must be here. At least, that’s what I believe.”

Ann threw her hands into the air and snarled as she looked directly at the boy standing beside Gareth. “How could anyone do this to another? How can he be so cruel?”

“I’ve asked myself that.”

“This isn’t the one that I despise, but he’s part of it, willing or not. Have you decided what you’re going to do with him?”

Gareth didn’t miss the shift in her speech pattern that emphasized the boy was now his problems and not hers. “I’m thinking of asking the Brotherhood for help.”

She started to object but paused before the first word. She nodded. “I can see that. They took you to an isolated place in the mountains and kept you there for years while they taught you only what they wanted you to know. That might work with him. A strict environment and teachers to unlearn half of what he knows.”

“They withheld some information from me, but, for the most part, they provided all the knowledge, if a bit slanted here and there. I had one teacher in particular who gave me both sides of an issue and then we discussed the merits of both sides.”

“He did this without influencing you with his belief?”

“Not at first. Later, when I was older he was impartial, wishing that I would come to the same decisions as his beliefs, but never insisting.”

Ann said, “It sounds to me like he just tested you to make sure you learned the earlier lessons they taught you.”

“I don’t think so. He allowed me to take the other side, in fact, there were times when he demanded it. He wanted me to learn to think for myself.”

“What happened to him?”

“Not long before I escaped he was recalled to wherever they go.”

“He told you this? And you believe him?”

“He was my primary teacher for ten years. I believed him, and in him.”

“And now you want to give this miserable soul of a child to him. What if he trains this boy to be your enemy?”

The conversation was taking an ugly turn. Gareth suspected the calm, gentle, woman who protected and cared for animals wished to kill the boy today. He said, “My dragon is nearby. I’m thinking of having it attack the road and checkpoints while we sneak across.”

Ann placed both hands on her hips and set her jaw. “Gareth, sometimes you are so stupid. Yes, we’d get across, but every soldier in the kingdom would be marching double-time for here, along with the best trackers. They would know that if your dragon did that, you must be here. In a day, the forest ahead would have more soldiers than trees, and it is a thick forest. That does not even consider that every sensitive will hear the disruption. Especially the one you are trying to avoid.”

“Your idea?” Gareth felt like hanging his head in shame for the suggestion.

“Well, it won’t have a dragon in it, for sure. If there’s one thing that will bring everyone here, it’s a dragon, especially a black one. No, we need a diversion, but a smaller one.”

“Such as?”

She smiled, “I would want all of them looking up while distracted, as we rush across the road. We only need a short time.”

“Your smile tells me you have an idea.”

“There are birds in this forest. Everywhere. What if all of them flock to the road where we intend to cross, and they fly low over the soldiers? They can chirp, screech, and tweet. Some will poop. The soldiers will all look up; maybe even while they are pooping.”

Gareth considered, but added, “We need more. Between us, can we get every bird near this place to carry something? Twigs, acorns, small rocks? If all carry things in their beaks and claws, then drop them, it will hurt nobody, but will be so unusual that all will look up long enough for our sprint.”

Ann pursed her lips and considered. “The items they drop won’t hurt anyone unless by accident. I think it’ll work, but I’m concerned it may draw the attention of the evil mind we’re trying to avoid.”

“It might or, not. Odd things in nature happen every day. The incident will begin and end in such a short time that most won’t even comment on it. But it isn’t going to draw attention like the appearance of a black dragon.”

Ann said, “I see. It’d just be a small, local event, especially afterward when you use your powers to calm everyone and tell them it was nothing. I like it.”

A while later the four of them huddled together behind a stand of briars at the side of the road. There were three checkpoints in sight. Nothing could cross the road without being seen by the three, and Gareth reached out with his mind and verified the entire road seemed equally protected. Patrols walked the areas between the checkpoints. More soldiers were on the way.

Gareth sent an image to the birds he could identify and told them to gather things to carry.

“No, silly,” Ann whispered, “After feeding, mating is the strongest urge. Instead of touching the minds of individual birds, just let them all know that carrying two things, one in the beak and one in the claws will increase their chances of mating if they fly here.”

“Why not food, if that’s the strongest urge?”

“What if they’re full, or they gather worms or seeds to carry? Can you feel my suggestions and amplify them?”

Gareth closed his eyes. Touching the mind of anyone he knew went against his personal ethics and it felt distasteful, even if he’d been invited. He found it instantly. Ann had formed a mental link filled with the desire to mate, and all that was needed was to gather items and fly to the source of the link, which was Ann.

Her link was weak. It traveled only a hundred paces or less. Gareth calmed himself and took control. He didn’t want every bird from the mountains to the sea flocking here. There would be so many they would block the sunlight and the incident a cause for all to remember for a hundred years.

Her mental link soothed and encouraged the birds. Taking the essence and expanding the distance was easy. He doubled, then tripled the power of her images. Looking up, he found a few birds, but not enough. He doubled the power again, adding to the suggestion that the birds fly higher and circle without dropping anything.

Birds appeared by the hundreds, then thousands. They circled, wheeling in great flocks comprised of dozens of varieties, but the phenomenon went almost unnoticed by the soldiers on the road. The birds were too high for them to see they carried items, and the great circles and height managed to keep their numbers hidden.

“Let’s do it,” Ann said.

Gareth scooped the boy into his arms. He concentrated on the birds as he said, “I’m telling them to fly lower, below the tops of the trees and drop whatever they’re carrying on the road. Also, tell them to chirp, screech, and sing.”

Birds swooped lower, and a rain of small items started falling. The birds that released their twigs, acorns, and seeds, began their squawking and singing while flying in loops and circles to attract mates. There were so many that a few collided in midair and fell, causing, even more, confusion.

The number of birds increased with every breath and the amount of falling debris rained down. One glance at the soldiers guarding the road told Gareth all he needed to know. He cradled the boy as he sprang from the cover of the tangled briars and ran. He heard Ann at his heels. The road was only ten steps across, and then they were safely in the undergrowth on the other side.

They hid behind the trunks of two oaks. Gareth released his hold on the birds, telling them to fly to their nests. In the time it took to repeat the message and look out at the road, the sky cleared of all birds as if they had never existed. Soldiers stood in the road still looking up, but some were already recovering and resuming their duties while others talked about the incident.

Gareth broadcast a soothing image, telling them they had all seen birds act similarly in past years. Just another flock gathering and nothing to worry about, let alone remember. He issued feelings that told them they needed to keep a sharp watch on the road for Gareth. Superiors who found them bird-watching would not be happy.

“You did it, Ann hissed in his ear.

“We did it. Let’s move away from the road and get deeper into the forest.”

Ann took the lead again, finding animal paths and trails as if she knew where each existed. The land gently rose. Ahead, Gareth watched the white peaks getting closer all day until he thought he saw a separation between two. They arrived at a small meadow at the top of a hill that provided a view of ahead, as well as the forest behind, although the road could not be seen.

They had traveled far enough that they could use normal voices. The grass was lush, wildflowers dotted the green carpet, and they sat. After the excitement of the road, the forest seemed to have calmed, and the soft breeze struck cords of soft melodies in the leaves.

Looking ahead, Gareth asked, “Is that where the pass is?”

“Yes. A road they call it, but really more of a wide track that goes over the mountains. Near the top, there is snow all year around. They say that only one in three who goes over it ever returns, but maybe that’s just a story.”

“The travel is that difficult?”

She looked at him with that same look mothers give to children who as silly questions. “The road is steep and hard, the air freezing, but it’s what they find on the other side that prevents them from returning.”

“What is that?”

Ann had been carrying Tad. She had placed him on the ground and now took his hand. “Nobody ever says. The few who return are changed, and none ever goes back over there.”

“What does that mean?”

“There is something awful on the other side of those mountains, I think. Too terrible for most to talk about. Now, I fear whatever it is has crossed over to this side.”

Gareth considered her answer and found another question that needed to be asked. “Is that your viewpoint or the one of the Sisterhood?”

Ann hesitated, “Both.”

The fact that she didn’t elaborate told him she was not supposed to speak of it, and that she had probably just violated a promise or oath. He wouldn’t insult her or ask her for further revelations. Something on the other side. That is all he needed to know. He searched his memory for stories or rumors. Nothing came to mind, but he had never heard of anyone crossing the mountain pass. That struck him as odd.

He glanced into the air and saw only a few birds. For safety, Gareth touched the minds of those people nearest, mostly soldiers, and then others farther away. In all, he set the idea that there had been far few birds than they remembered, and again that they had all watched birds flock together in other times so this was not unusual. He dismissed the objects they dropped as coincidence.

The rising chatter of a thousand tongues wagging to the same tune had already decreased, then halted as if it never had been. Gareth sat in the grass and let his mind seek further. He found the Brotherhood and sensed their interest in the birds. His ruse hadn’t fooled them. They didn’t know what happened but shared the common belief that Gareth was the cause.

He also sensed their fear. Not fear of him, but of another. Strangely, he found most of the thoughts of him were kindly and benevolent. Well, perhaps benevolent was too generous. He found the Brotherhood held little animosity directed at him, although they did share a common distrust and disappointment that he had not conformed to their way of thinking while they educated him.

But he searched them for one individual mind, the Brother, who had been his longest mentor in Dun Mare. Of the hundreds of minds in the encampment he searched, the mind he wished was not there. He knew of at least two more farms where Brothers were held by the King’s men but didn’t feel he had the time to spend searching each of them.

Standing, he quickly reached out and found Blackie. The dragon responded to his touch like the family dog did when one of the family returned to the house. It got excited then quickly calmed as he provided a mental pat on the neck and told them they’d be together soon.

Ann also stood, still holding Tad’s hand. She looked at the boy lying at Gareth’s feet. “I can’t hear his mind, so he does not need my herbs for now, but listen to him closely. I do not trust him, or the other one.”

Her tone held dislike and more, but Gareth thought back to the last medication he’d taken. It had been early in the day. Tad had needed another dose back near the road. He bent to lift the boy into his arms.

A sharp pain struck his mind. An arrow of intense red light pierced his consciousness dropping Gareth to his knees.