Serpent Kings Saga (Omnibus Edition) Page 29

  I told him what had happened when Zora and I were brought to face the High Serpent King and how I had even prayed my first time to Elithias during my escape from the palace.”

  Tobias accepted all of this with a smile, though he did express his condolences for Zora’s death. Beyond our talking, Tobias was also kind enough to teach me how to use the pistol I had procured, assuring me that he did not wish to see me shoot my own foot off, or worse, accidentally shoot him.

  I grinned, telling him, “Wouldn’t it serve you right after you shot me?”

  He hesitated before laughing at my joke. Then he added, “I don’t have Ezekiah to raise me from the dead like you did.”

  I smiled at the memory, though it was not so long ago. In that moment, I also realized that I did not consider the miracle a fraud anymore. I believed in Elithias, and I believed in his power. He had defeated death and rescued me. I owed him everything now. Still, I did not understand why Ezekiah had been taken from me.

  As it happened, I was in the middle of some target practice, shooting at various rocks and trees as they passed, when the locomotive began to slow down. Tobias rose from the place where he had been sitting observing. I reloaded my pistol and replaced it in the holster Tobias had strapped to my waist and right leg.

  “What’s happening?” he asked. “Why are we stopping?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said, leaning out of the car cautiously to take a look ahead. I immediately noticed that several soldiers from each boxcar up the line were doing the same. Apparently this was an unexpected stop for everyone.

  A large tree had somehow fallen across the tracks. From the left side of our car, we saw the top of the tree. I went to the right side door and looked among the trees, expecting to find the tree uprooted; perhaps in some recent thunderstorm. However, closer inspection revealed that the tree had been cut down.

  I turned back to Tobias standing next to me expectantly. “We’re under attack,” I said.

  “What? How do you know? I don’t hear anything.”

  “There is a large tree across the tracks,” I reported. “Someone cut it down on purpose to force the train to stop. We are very close to Tarris by now, but I don’t know why anyone there would be interested in a train. They’ve probably never even seen one before, and they had to know we were coming from some distance away to prepare this trap.”

  Tobias had a pistol ready in each hand by now. “What do we do? Why haven’t they attacked yet?”

  “If I were pulling this off, I would wait for the soldiers to come clear away the tree before I bothered. That way your victims clear away the obstruction before you rob them. They’ll be able to take the train for themselves after they kill the soldiers.”

  “But who?”

  “Good question.”

  Ezekiah stood upon a high hill a full day into their journey. Behind him, near a lonely oak, Donavan cooked several eggs they had gathered from chickens nesting within a grove. In the far distance, only barely visible at this distance, the massive black spire of the Temple of Moloch towered above the city of Tarris. The city itself remained hidden somewhere beneath, surrounded by its wall of black stone.

  Standing there, looking at the spire, Ezekiah felt himself lifted from the hill. He flew through the air, covering miles within seconds. He was guided over the city of Tarris, hovering momentarily above Moloch’s temple. Beyond the city, an army of death walkers traveled north.

  When he saw the death walkers, he wondered where they had come from, though Tarris seemed to be their origin. And how had they come to be organized into a fighting force. The question seemed to draw him down into the temple.

  Ezekiah passed through the ceiling down into darkness. He heard the dragon Moloch breathing within the deep chambers of the temple unaware from which direction the sounds emanated. He heard the dragon speaking, though not to him.

  “Go, my children, to Haven within the clouds over the sea. Kill them all and retrieve the sword.”

  Ezekiah saw a light revealed in the darkness. A table of stone sat in the middle of a chamber full of symbols with depictions of the dragons and the world they ruled over. The vision brought him to the table of stone where a map of sorts had been carved into a block of granite. He saw the strange writing on the tablet and knew that somehow this was the answer to his questions and more.

  Suddenly, he was drawn out of the temple again. He saw many things in a moment: Gwen and Tobias riding within the locomotive, Varen cresting the rocky ridge overlooking the Mines of Urtah, a fat man seeking power, and in the far distance beyond the mountains of Urtah, out over the sea, a beacon of light calling him.

  The smell of eggs and bacon over Donavan’s fire filled his nostrils. He was standing again on the hill near the lonely oak tree with the black spire of Moloch’s temple far away. Ezekiah turned to Donavan sitting next to the fire. “We must hurry to Tarris at once!”

  “But we don’t know who they are,” Tobias was saying. “What if they’re on our side? We shouldn’t fight back until we know their intentions.”

  I listened to what the boy had to say. There was wisdom in his words, uncertainty as well. “And if we find out they are villains then we’ll have waited too late to do anything about it,” I said.

  “Could they really be worse than Varen and his woman?” Tobias countered.

  I continued to watch as the soldiers, having been ordered out of their boxcars by a superior, worked at moving the tree off of the tracks. Already, several were working to hew the tree into smaller sections that could be more easily moved. I had not spotted Varen or Jillian yet.

  “It won’t be long now,” I surmised. “Their window of opportunity will pass if they don’t attack soon.”

  As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait any longer. Sporadic gunfire erupted from the trees around us. Arrows and crossbow bolts flew into soldiers working on the downed tree. They fell dead on the tracks as their fellow soldiers scrambled to return fire on the unknown enemy.

  As Tobias and I watched the scene unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder about the attackers. This was no army. They looked like common folk who had taken up arms at the last minute, called to a cause they had no real investment in. The gray-headed ran alongside the more fit. Some could have been soldiers despite their dress, while others were clearly in this thing over their head.

  I couldn’t decide if we should be fighting back, or helping them take over the train. Still, Tobias had a point. Whoever these people were, they had to be a better option than Varen and Jillian. I decided then to take the fight to Varen myself. Attacking while they were distracted, trying to defend their train would be the best opportunity to strike back after what they had done to Ezekiah.

  I held onto that thought as I climbed the ladder and crawled out of the vent. Tobias tried to follow, but I made him stay behind in the car. “I don’t want Jillian to use your safety as leverage,” I pleaded. Tobias stopped climbing, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it. I crept away over the top of the boxcars, knowing that I was fully visible to anyone that happened to look up. As it happened, the attackers had caught the soldiers unaware near the tree and the fight had been concentrated there before the front of the locomotive engine.

  Already the soldiers were losing the battle. The only cover they had was the tree itself which they had all but removed from the tracks. Otherwise, the giant black train engine was the only other place for them to hide. Nearly one hundred of Varen’s soldiers had been out tackling the obstacle when the attackers chose to strike.

  Certainly, the work hadn’t required so many. More likely the men had been tired of remaining cooped up within the boxcars. So they had all become vulnerable, never realizing the danger that was waiting for them just beyond the tracks.

  I moved quickly, leaping over the gaps with ease, making my way toward the Presidential Car; the same that Ezekiah had rode in with me before my rescue. In fact, I was now sure that this was the exact same train. No doubt, Varen and Jillian resided with
in this most comfortable train car while their soldiers had been left to the uncomfortable metal cars.

  I readied the best dagger I had on my person and the pistol. My training made me feel a little awkward with the gun in actual combat, so I put it away. I would be fighting a wraith dancer of considerable skill. This was no time for experimentation.

  When I swung down to the Presidential Car, sliding the door out of my way, I found the window shades all pulled down so that the room only received partial light filtering in from the outside. Several strange facts presented themselves immediately. First, Varen and Jillian were nowhere to be seen; perhaps not even on this train at all. Second, several soldiers were seated at the far end along with a slight figure shrouded by a flowing, dark blue robe. Even this person’s hands were drawn within the garment. However, the garment was familiar enough so that I understood a wraith dancer to be in our midst.

  The soldiers had been peeking through the window shades. The hooded figure did not move at all. Upon my entrance, the soldiers reacted. Guns were leveled at me from the far end of the Presidential Car. I had to cross the distance without being hit. I knew that I wasn’t fast enough to evade a bullet. But I could evade the aim of the soldiers.

  I called upon the gifts for enhanced senses; hearing, sight and speed. I threw my first dagger. I heard the trigger of one soldier’s pistol draw the hammer back. I perceived the line of his gun barrel to be true though slightly left of my heart. I spun right and surged forward. The shot rang out after the bullet was already implanted in the wooden wall of the car.

  Still, my dagger had been true. As the soldier’s pistol recoiled in his hand, my dagger struck him left and down from his breastbone between the ribs, squarely in the heart. He began to fall as the second soldier, possibly greater in rank, if his uniform was any indicator, pulled the trigger on his weapon. This kind fired many bullets each time the trigger was pulled. I flung two daggers hoping to foul his aim.

  I rolled down across the floor toward him as several bullets sprayed overhead. My daggers struck him; one against his trigger guard, the other in his shoulder. He dropped the gun, but drew a thin sword from the gilded scabbard at his side. I came to my feet as he sliced back and forth; the blade whistling through the air.

  The hooded figure still sat at the back of the train car, waiting. She had not moved an inch despite the life and death struggle taking place before her. I had kept one eye on the mysterious wraith dancer the entire time, expecting her to pounce while I was preoccupied with the soldiers. The fact that this person was in the company of Varen’s soldiers meant that more than one wraith dancer had defected to his side. Clearly, this person was too short to be Jillian.

  As the soldier completed one arc with his sword, I dodged within striking distance, grabbing his forearm to stop the next swing. Using increased strength, to prevent his push against me, my elbow swung around, smashing across the bridge of his nose. Stunned, he fell back to the ground, leaving me with the sword. I snapped the blade across my knee then tossed the pieces to the carpeted floor behind me.

  Suddenly, there were combatants from among the ambush rushing through the door I had come through seconds ago. I pulled my sword from the scabbard on my back and prepared for more fighting. Almost as quickly as the people came through the door into the car, the hooded wraith dancer blurred and disappeared, smashing invisibly through one of the side windows.

  The startling move alarmed me. I had only ever seen one person do this same vanishing trick. But it made no sense for her to be here. Not among the enemies of the dragons. But I had no time to figure out what was going on at the moment. I turned to face my next opponents only to become alarmed again. I recognized the man in front.

  Rifles leveled on me, but the fat man moved ahead of them when he saw my face. “What are you doing here?” Felonius asked angrily.

  “Felonius?” I replied. “Why are you attacking this train?”

  Felonius looked around the cabin before answering. “I would say I’m not the only one attacking it.”

  “I was looking for someone,” I said.

  “Ezekiah the Prophet, perhaps?” he said coyly. “I hear you two are in the miracle business these days. Stirred up the whole kingdom against the dragons.”

  I would have denied it if I could, but Elithias had raised me from the dead, and by Belial’s accusations I knew many had begun to question the reign of the dragons and the legitimacy of their godhood claims.

  Felonius grinned. “Perhaps, I should turn you in to the dragons for a reward. For all I know, you’re the reason Moloch and his priests transformed the people into death walkers and destroyed Tarris.”

  I couldn’t fathom what he was saying. It made no sense.

  “You want to know why we’ve attacked this train?” he continued. “We’re trying to get as far away from Tarris as possible. It’s a dead city now.”

  His tone was accusing now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “I didn’t do anything. I was looking for Varen and Jillian on this train.”

  Felonius looked surprised. “The Captain of the High Guard? She’s probably dead back in the city along with the rest of the wraith dancers. I doubt any of them made it out alive.”

  I hadn’t noticed it before, but the sounds of gunfire and fighting had subsided outside. Andrea appeared behind the soldiers standing just inside the doorway. When she saw me, her face lit up with a curious smile. “Gwen?”

  I was so relieved to see her that I dropped my guard, letting my sword fall toward the floor. Only when Andrea passed through the soldiers’ ranks did they begin to lower their rifles. Andrea looked haggard and not simply from the fight to take the train.

  Her clothing was soiled heavily with dried blood. Her hair was a mess as well, and she looked tired.

  I ignored the fat man in favor of a friendly face. “Andrea, what has happened?”

  Felonius butted in, making demands. “Andrea, move aside. This woman is my prisoner. She’ll fetch a handsome price with the dragons, if we can ever get out of here.”

  Andrea turned from me, casting a severe glare at Felonius. His commanding expression changed almost instantly. Anger, doubt and worry washed over him in a moment. Then he became angry again, only less demanding.

  “All right,” he relented. “But she’s your responsibility. Don’t let her get in my way. I’m taking this train!”

  Felonius turned to his makeshift soldiers and began issuing orders again. “Have this car cleaned up for me and the other family heads,” he demanded. “Everyone else takes up space within the other cars. Have the driver we captured get this thing going again as soon as the last of the tree is out of the way.”

  The soldiers followed him out of the Presidential Car like ducklings, taking note of his every whim. Soon his voice grew distant. I was glad to be rid of him for the moment, especially since I had never liked Felonius in the first place and understood less how Andrea could possibly put up with him day-in and day-out.

  “Gwen, it’s so good to see you again,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “But what did he mean about Tarris being a dead city and the people being transformed into death walkers?”

  “I’m afraid that’s a long story too,” she said. “But let’s find one of these train cars to ride in first. The danger isn’t over yet, and we need to get away from Tarris before we’re discovered.”

  I wasn’t sure how those pieces of information fit into this puzzling situation, but I could see Andrea felt urgent about it. So I would have to wait until the train was safely on its way before finding out what was really going on.

  “Come with me,” I said. “I’ve got a friend with me keeping the last car available.”

  Faster than I would have suspected, Felonius’s people had loaded their families and their supplies onto the train cars, having cleared away the remnants of their tree-trap from the tracks. There was only one direction they could go at this poin
t: toward the Urtah Mountains. I reasoned that perhaps Varen had taken another locomotive ahead of this one, since all of their people wouldn’t have fit on this one train anyway. Besides, other train parts and cars had been seen in the old rail yard hidden beneath Babale. Hopefully I would find them safe and sound when we reached our destination. Then I would reap vengeance upon them for Ezekiah’s murder.

  In a matter of minutes the sound of hissing, spitting steam echoed through the trees as the engine began to pull on the line of cars behind it. The scenery passed by our open boxcar door ever faster. Andrea sat down with Tobias and me. Once introductions were taken care of, she began to tell us about the previous couple of nights in Tarris and the death defying escape through hordes of death walkers. The news was troubling to say the least. And as always these days, the answers I was getting only led to more questions.

  DEAD CITY

  Ezekiah and Donavan had ridden around the perimeter of Tarris for some hours before finding one of the gates open. It appeared that some of the High Guard wraith dancers had given up the fight in a vain attempt at escape. They lay just within the gate. At least, pieces of them were lying just within the gate. The rest there was no telling.

  It had taken them over two days to reach the patron city of the dragon Moloch. The sun had been hot the entire time. They were faced with the stench of death as soon as they entered within the wall. Still, Ezekiah knew they had no choice but to make their way to Moloch’s temple. The vision had been clear. One particular room within held answers they needed; especially if they were to understand what had happened in Tarris.

  They cautiously made their way beyond the western gate, traveling Moloch’s Road toward the temple. Although, Tarris was a fairly large city, with much industry and a healthy black market trade, it was laid out in a fairly basic plan. Four main gates and four roads fed into the square city from the defensive wall. The wall itself was easily thirty feet high and always well defended, even though no one had ever had the idea of attempting to lay siege to a patron city of the Serpent Kings. No one was that crazy.