Discovered, page 15
“But if they figure it out, won’t they come after us even while we are in the Palace?”
For a moment, everyone was silent. It was Bolong who spoke, “I don’t think so. I believe that Sawdi or the ring has forbidden them to go inside. Although Sawdi has one of the Monks guarding Aaron, Sawdi has never sent more of them into the Palace, even when Aaron made him mad. I think that the Monk is not there to hurt him, only scare him. I heard a rumor that Aaron tried to kill the Monk, and although it didn’t work, the Monk didn’t attack him back.
“Besides, once you get inside, you will have the help of Baywolf.”
“Baywolf?” Dax asked. “Is that Bay? I thought he died at the training camp!”
“Aaron rescued him, and brought him to the Palace, and has been training him, keeping him a secret from everyone, including Sawdi. Aaron wanted Bay—yes now Baywolf—to take over for Stryker if something went wrong. Or if not Stryker, he would take over for you, Dax.”
Roar looked at Ruth before asking, “Okay. Let me get this straight. This Baywolf is someone from Stryker’s training camp. Someone you both knew. But Aaron has been secretly training him all this time. So Bolong, how do you know about him, and what makes you think he will help? Isn’t he on the opposite side?”
Bolong looked at Dax and said, “Weren’t you on the opposite side, Dax? And yet, here you are on our side.
“Karn found Baywolf when Karn was here pretending to be a blind Blessed One. When Baywolf learned all that Aaron and Aaron-Lem were doing, he became part of the resistance. Baywolf, Udore, Karn, and Rose had many meetings together.”
At those words, all the blood drained out of Dax’s face, and Roar had to catch him as he tilted towards the floor. After a few moments, Dax said, “Udore and Rose are here?”
“And who are Udore and Rose?” Roar asked.
“Maybe you better sit, Dax,” Bolong responded. “I’m sorry for blurting that out. I had forgotten that you would not have heard since you came straight from the Islands. No, they aren’t here. But they were. Sit. I’ll tell you the story. Then we’ll plan how to get you all into the Palace.”
Forty-Four
This is killing me, Stryker thought as he struggled up the mountain. Not that he had expected it to be easy. After all, finding the pendant had never been easy, but this was ridiculous. He was already exhausted, and they had only just begun.
Although the two guides that he hired were carrying all the supplies on their backs, he was the one that was huffing and puffing. He had to stop and rest with his hands on his knees so often he felt as if they had barely moved up the mountain.
In a way, they hadn’t. The mountain loomed above him. So far to go. More than once, he had asked the guides if there wasn’t an easier way. At first, he had asked politely, and they had assured him that there wasn’t. That this way was the only way.
Now that they had been traveling for a day, he no longer asked politely. He screamed and yelled, but it changed nothing. They still assured him that this was the easiest way to get where he wanted to go.
Not for the first time, Stryker wished that he had magical abilities. It infuriated him that he didn’t. Why not? The Mages and wizards he had killed because they did weren’t any better than him. In fact, he was their superior in every way. Except that one.
But once he had all the pieces of the pendant, all that would change. Not only would he have magic, but he would also be magic. He would have all the power he ever desired. No more walking up zonking mountains. No more bowing to puffed-up ego-driven Aaron and that freak Sawdi Frey. Even the Warrior Monks would bow to him. Everyone would.
The pendant swinging on a chain around his neck seemed to agree with him. Sometimes it was so warm it hurt to have it directly on his skin, and he would have to put a piece of cloth around it. The part sewn into his cloak sometimes turned warm too. Stryker wished that he could figure out why. Was it warning him? Wanting something?
Sometimes all of this hocus-pocus mystery stuff made him crazy. Like the map. Sometimes it showed him things, other times, it was blank, and all he could do was continue hoping that he was going in the right direction.
It was pointless not to allow the guides to see the map. It was why they were there, after all. They needed to know where the map was pointing them to, and then find the best route to get there.
They had questioned him about what he was looking for, and why the map didn’t always work. He had told them in no uncertain terms that it was none of their business. They were there to get him to where he was going. After that, they were free to go. That’s what he told them. But of course, that wasn’t true. He would have to destroy them, like anyone else who got in his way.
However, although the map never showed a path, it did continue to point to one specific place, so that’s where they were heading. The guides told Stryker that is was on the edge of a cliff. Near the top of the mountain, there was a massive canyon.
“How big a canyon?” Stryker asked.
One of the guides had pointed to Yeal Thalor and said, “Ten towns would fit into it stacked on top of each other and a hundred more side by side.”
“And this map is pointing to that canyon?” Stryker asked, paling at the thought that he had to go up the mountain and then down into that canyon to get the pendant.
“We won’t know until we get there,” the guide had said. “But there are small caves and openings near the top, and perhaps this is where what we are looking for might be.”
“There is no ‘we’,” Stryker snapped. “Only me.”
The guide lifted both hands and backed away, while Stryker glowered at him. Now that he knew that what he was looking for was in some massive hole in the mountain, Stryker knew he had to keep the guides happy. He would send them down to get it if he needed to.
Not for the first time, Stryker wondered who or what had hidden the pendant and why? He figured that once he found it, he would have all the answers. But they probably wouldn’t matter anymore anyway.
What Stryker was barely admitting to himself was that he was terrified. He knew that Sawdi figured out that he hadn’t died on the Island. Sooner or later, Sawdi would come for him. It wouldn’t matter if it happened after he found the pendant piece, but if he came before then, he had no way to fight him. No one would come to his rescue.
He had betrayed everyone and left them to die on the Islands. For a brief moment, Stryker thought about Dax and Ibris with sadness. He had loved them. He had considered them as his sons.
Yes, he was sorry about them, but the rest of the people left on the Islands were worthless. He hoped that after the Warrior Monks had finished killing off all the people, they had left the Islands as beautiful as when he had first been there.
He had decided that after he got the pendant, he would return to the Islands, and make them his home.
The two guides watched Stryker sitting against a tree gloating. They knew he thought that no one but him was going after the pendant, and soon he would have everything he needed.
They smiled at each other, their backs turned to Stryker, and one whispered to the other. “This is the perfect example of what you don’t know will hurt you.”
If it had been safe to do so, they would have laughed out loud. If they had been given permission, they would throw Stryker off the mountain and be done with it.
But Ian had told them that Stryker had to get to the pendant. He had even told them what day to be there. If they were going to make it, they would need to get Stryker moving, and perhaps it was time to take the shorter way. The sooner they got him there, the sooner all this would be over.
Forty-Five
Bolong said goodbye to Dax and the two shapeshifters. He hoped that he would see them again, but he doubted it.
He thought that even if they all succeeded in the long run, many of them would die before it was over. And he was willing for it to be him if it meant that people of Thamon would be free again.
Yes, he would like to have had a life with Suzanne on Thamon, but if he helped make it a good place for her to live, he would die happy.
He and his four friends circled the cave one time before heading to the Palace, dipping their wings in farewell. Dax, Ruth, and Roar, stood at the entrance to the cave waving at them. They would wait until they saw Bolong leave with Sawdi before going to the Palace, pretending to be them.
Sawdi was waiting for him on the roof of the Palace. Bolong didn’t see Baywolf anywhere, but he knew that Baywolf would be watching and listening. While Sawdi was distracted, Bolong sent Baywolf a mind message about what they were planning, so that Baywolf would be ready to help Dax and his friends once they arrived.
Once in the air, Bolong circled the cave, much to Sawdi’s displeasure. Seconds later, Sawdi sent them through time towards Turva.
It didn’t take long before Bolong could see Turva in the distance, with its shoreline and the massive mountain ridge that rose in front of them.
Sawdi never told Bolong where they were going, but Bolong assumed that they were going to find Stryker. He hoped it wouldn’t be anywhere near where Suzanne and that team were, but he and his friends had prepared a few scenarios of what they would do if that happened. But Bolong doubted that it would because as far as Sawdi knew, they had all died on the Islands.
Sawdi also knew that Stryker had escaped, and he had let him go. It occurred to Bolong that it wasn’t Sawdi that let Stryker go, but the ring. Perhaps the ring wanted Stryker to find the pendant. In some strange way, that would make sense.
So as they neared Turva, Bolong expected Sawdi to start searching for Stryker. Instead, Sawdi seemed to know exactly where they were going. Bolong could feel Sawdi’s glee. A few minutes later, it wasn’t Stryker that they saw below them. Hidden in a cleft in the mountain, ringed by trees, were a group of people standing around a fire.
“No,” Bolong screamed to himself. He knew where they were. It was the Sanctuary. Sawdi was going to destroy the Sanctuary. How did they miss this? How did they not know that Sawdi knew about the Sanctuary and where it was? Now it was too late. If Sawdi had his way, he and his friends would have to kill everyone below them.
Praying that it would work, Bolong sent out waves of energy that only a Mage might feel. Suzanne had told him that many of the Mages who had been on the Islands had left with Gelon Morgan to come to the Sanctuary, where so many families had taken refuge.
Bolong knew that the people didn’t see them yet, but perhaps they could feel him. He only had to reach one person. Bolong pushed harder as Sawdi slapped his heels into his side, urging him on.
*******
Gelon was inside one of the little caves when he felt it, and knew that the time had come that they hoped would never happen. Sawdi had discovered the Sanctuary.
He and the Mages had fallen in love with the Sanctuary the moment they had arrived. It was set halfway up a mountain, on a plateau covered with trees, but with enough open space to plant crops. Small caves that went deep into the mountain circled the plateau. They used the caves for living and the storing of food.
When Gelon and his band of refugees first arrived, they were kept away for days by the guards that surrounded the Sanctuary. The leaders of the Sanctuary took their time evaluating them before allowing their entry.
The refugees had been upset. They were tired and hungry and recovering not only from their journey but from their imprisonment on Hetale. But one day, the person that they assumed was the leader came out to where they were camped, shook Gelon’s hand, and welcomed them. He apologized for the delay. But they couldn’t be too careful. They had survived for years by being this thorough.
Gelon assured the man they called Jori that they all understood.
Once they were within the Sanctuary, they were helped in every way possible. The children were welcomed into the small school they had, and everyone donated clothing and food until the refugees were able to fend for themselves.
As the months passed, most of the refugees felt as if they would be happy to stay in the Sanctuary forever. It was so beautiful and peaceful it was easy to forget that Aaron-Lem ruled Thamon with an unforgiving iron hand.
When the crew members of the two ships arrived with supplies, they too were kept out of the Sanctuary until it was confirmed who they were. It didn’t take long. They knew Leon. The reunion between the crew members and Leon and his men had been loud and prolonged.
And the crew members had brought news of the people who were now on Turva. The ones who had rescued the Mages had arrived to stop Stryker, which meant that Stryker was also on Turva. So they had increased their surveillance. The Mages took turns standing guard searching the skies, listening and watching for signs of trouble.
Which is why even though there was nothing to be seen, Gelon was already on high alert, and immediately felt Bolong’s wave of energy. He recognized it as a warning sign, one that Suzanne had told them about before they left. She had told them it was the kind of sign she would send out to let them know she was coming.
But Gelon knew this wasn’t Suzanne. However, it was a dragon, and it was a warning. Trouble was coming.
Scrambling out of the cave, he sounded the alarm. Other wizards had come running too. They had trained for this moment for so long everyone knew what to do.
They had not panicked, but they were afraid. Would the plan work? How many dragons were coming? Were they friendly?
It was the head of the Sanctuary who breathed out what they all were afraid to hear, “It’s Sawdi, he has found us.” In the distance, five dragons spitting fire roared into view, heading straight for them.
“It’s time,” Jori said.
Along with the other Mages, Gelon raised his hands to shield the Sanctuary. He thought about how he had told Wren that he was willing to die to save his people. He was. He just hoped he didn’t have to.
Seconds later, fire and steam engulfed the camp, and the people were gone.
Forty-Six
Ian stood with his arm around Rose, watching the sky to the east.
“It’s begun,” Ian said.
Rose nodded. What could she say? They were in Yeal Thalor and could do nothing to help the people in the Sanctuary. Either all the plans were in place, or they weren’t.
But the massive flames that now shot out from the mountain confirmed that Sawdi and his dragons had arrived, and had done what Ian and his brother Jori had thought they would.
“You didn’t tell Tarek that Dax’s father is still alive. Why not?”
Ian turned to his daughter. It had been so long since he had seen her. The things that Rose had endured at Aaron’s hands, he couldn’t begin to make right. But she, like many of the others, had made a choice. He had wanted Rose to go with his brother, Jori, and the rest of the family to the Sanctuary. But Rose had refused.
She didn’t want to hide. She wanted to fight. Although they didn’t know the extent of the horror that Aaron, Stryker, and Sawdi would unleash on the Islands, they knew that they had to stop them.
The prophecies had told them of the signs. It had warned them that each person would have to choose which side they would be on. Rose, along with Ian, Udore, and Jori, had decided to stand against Aaron-Lem. And they had chosen not to tell Tarek, Dax, and Ibris that they were still alive.
It was the hardest decision they had made. But it felt to them as if it was the best way to keep the rest of their families safe. It made sense that Jori would lead the families to the Sanctuary and keep them safe there. His gift was keeping people calm and providing for them. Perhaps those were not magical skills, but they were just as important. Essential for survival.
Ian and Udore had kept track of what happened to their sons, but Jori had no idea. He and the rest of the members of the family at the Sanctuary were cut off completely. On purpose.
That meant that Jori had no idea that his son, Dax, had become one of the prime enforcers of Aaron-Lem. Jori had no idea that an intense need for violence drove Dax.
Ian knew that if the Mages had told him about Dax after they arrived, it had broken Jori’s heart. He hoped it hadn’t broken his spirit.
Once Ian became one of Aaron-Lem’s preachers after talking his way into one of Stryker’s training camps, he learned more about where the boys had gone.
To get into the camp, he had made himself look much younger so that he appeared to be the same age as the other boys that Stryker was training. Stryker rarely visited the training camp he had chosen, so he hadn’t worried about being recognized by him.
Yes, it had been difficult hiding his age, and the fact that he was a wizard, but the plan had worked. It had taken time, but eventually, he had gotten himself assigned to the Temple near the Sanctuary.
The plan had worked so far. Now they were here, almost all together again. That is if the Sanctuary had survived.
“I didn’t tell Tarek, because he has too much on his mind already,” Ian answered.
Both he and Rose knew that Tarek and the people traveling with him would have seen the fire, and guessed what it was.
“Don’t lose hope,” he whispered to Tarek.
He knew that Tarek couldn’t hear him, but it was the best that he could do. He was also saying it to himself. So much of the plan they had designed so many years ago held the possibility of failure.
Looking up at the fire again, that now seemed to engulf the entire section of the mountain, Ian prayed that this part of the plan had worked.
Sawdi would now look for Stryker. In doing so, he would also find the group of people who needed to get the pendant before he discovered them.
