Chapter 18
Elam leaned against the table that once held the Enoch’s Ghost ovulum and yawned as he looked over the interior of Abraham’s humble home. With the front door wide open, light flooded the room, illuminating Abraham, who sat in a wooden chair just a step or two away from the table.
To their left, Walter wrung out a sponge over a basin and mopped Ashley’s cheek as she lay on Abraham’s cot next to the wall. With Barlow, Angel, and several others receiving medical care in Steadfast’s home, Ashley had insisted on going elsewhere. After all, she wasn’t really injured, just overheated and exhausted by her latest healing episode. Acacia had again covered her with flames in a successful attempt to seal Thigocia’s wound, so she had to cool down, and trying to recuperate in a crowded hut would have made things worse.
Sir Patrick, of course, had stayed with Ruth to help with the patients, while Valiant flew away on Grackle to survey the marshlands from high above. He hoped to bring back a report on any troop movements. Although most of the villagers, as well as the visitors from Earth, had gone without sleep through the night and the morning hours, the escalating danger kept them on their toes.
“While we’re waiting for Valiant,” Elam said, “let’s talk strategy. Abraham, do you have any idea what Listener’s discovery means?”
“I do.” Slumping his shoulders as he applied a cloth bandage to his leg, Abraham spoke in a low tone. “Goliath and his giants are likely to join Flint. You see, soon after Flint rebelled, Greevelow and the others arrived in our lands. Mantika was the only female, and when she procreated with Greevelow according to the ways of your world, Flint witnessed the birth of their son, Windor. Flint was horrified at the painful procedure and banned further procreation. Of course, such a ban would eventually bring an end to his followers, so apparently he now seeks to build his army another way. Combining the Nephilim with the marsh folk and the shadow people will create a considerable force.”
Elam lifted a hand and began counting on his fingers. “We have two healthy dragons, a third who is healing, thanks to Ashley and Acacia, a fire-breathing boy with lots of experience, and an assortment of other fighters, including an Oracle of Fire, a super genius healer, and a bona fide knight, Sir Winston Barlow.”
“I fear they won’t be enough,” Abraham said. “Goliath and the giants will likely conduct hundreds of shadow people out of the valley, and if they attack at night, they will swarm over us like a dark disease. We would need a dozen fire-breathers to have any hope at all.”
Ashley blinked her eyes open. “Maybe we could get them.”
“Are you still in a daze?” Walter asked. “The dragons here spew ice, not fire.”
Pushing herself up, Ashley swung her bare feet around and set them on the floor. Wearing only pantaloons and a white T-shirt, she laid a hand on her forehead and grimaced. “Oh, what a headache!”
“You got up too fast,” Walter tried to push her back down. “We need your head in good working order.”
“I’ll be all right,” Ashley said, swatting his hand away. “I had a thought, more like a picture, but it just kind of flew away.”
“That’s not like you.” Walter touched the side of her head. “You must have really gotten zapped this time.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s like I got the thought from somewhere else.”
“Are you reading minds again?”
“Maybe.” Ashley turned her head slowly toward Elam. “I see it again. It’s coming from you.”
“The garden?” Elam asked.
“Yes, why are you holding it back?”
Elam slid up to the table and sat on it fully. “I didn’t want to raise hopes for no reason.”
“Go ahead and spill it,” Walter said. “At this point, I’d rather have false hopes than no hope at all.”
“Okay. Actually, Sir Patrick suggested it first, and it makes a lot of sense. You saw how the birthing garden gave Roxil, Clefspeare, and Billy their dragon traits. He was wondering if it could perform the same miracle for the other dragons.”
“You mean Hartanna, Legossi, and the others who are still alive?” Ashley asked.
“Right. Maybe the combination of the bones and the prophetic song made the garden into a dragon regenerating factory.”
“And a humanity regenerator,” Abraham added. “Your story about Paili’s life as an adult was fascinating.”
“But how would we get the former dragons here?” Walter asked. “Thigocia used a firestorm to create a portal, but she’s in no shape to do it again.”
“That’s the part that made me hold back the idea,” Elam said, “but now I’m wondering if Roxil could do it. If Thigocia made one, why not Roxil?”
Walter looked at Ashley. “What do you think? Could any dragon do what your mother did?”
“Who knows?” Ashley rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Let’s ask them.”
Walter grabbed a sweatshirt from the foot of the cot and handed it to her. “Okay, that’s one potential portal maker.”
“Acacia could open one that’s already there,” Elam said, “but the only existing portal I know about is the tunnel where we came in, and that’s in enemy territory.”
“And the chasm,” Walter added. “I think we must have fallen several miles, so getting back that way might be impossible.”
Elam looked at Abraham. He had rolled his pant leg back down and was now rubbing thick gray salve into his hand wound. “Do you know of any other portals?” Elam asked.
“Only one.” Abraham pulled another strip of cloth around his hand and used his teeth to tie it in place. When he finished, he studied the knot. “There is a portal inside Mount Elijah, an unpredictable volcano. It hasn’t erupted in a long time, but it still spews smoke and ash. Enoch told me the cone’s magma pipe is a portal. I plugged it with rocks, because the peak is quite accessible, so I didn’t want anyone falling in, but I also hoped I could somehow mask the presence of a portal.”
“Did Enoch say where the portal leads?” Elam asked.
Abraham slid the basin closer with his foot, reached for Walter’s sponge, and wrung it out. “It leads to an underground cave in the depths of Hades itself, and there is no way out. Anyone who used that portal would just have to come right back or be trapped forever, unless, of course, he knew how to open other portals.”
“And that’s the key.” Elam stood and began pacing on the creaky wooden floor. “Maybe it’s part of the underground mine tunnels in Hades where I used to live. We had portals there, so it could be the same place.”
“Maybe,” Walter said. “But testing it would be dangerous. If the portal didn’t open up, the test pilot is toast.”
“True, but Acacia would know if it’s open or not before anyone jumped in. In the meantime, we’ll see if Roxil can either fly up the chasm or else create a portal with fire.” Elam stopped pacing and set his hands on Abraham’s shoulders. “You have been very solemn, good Father. Is something else troubling you?”
“Very much so.” Abraham patted Elam’s hand. “You are thinking wisely. Your plan to add firepower to our numbers could be the only option.”
“Okay … So what’s on your mind?”
“The words on my mind are from a song I used to teach my dragon children soon after Adam and Eve were banished from the first Eden. When Flint rebelled, I translated it into English. One of the verses says, ‘When those he calls will not obey, the Maker finds another way.’”
“I like that,” Elam said. “But there’s something more. Something’s troubling you.”
“True enough, but the song is relevant.” Abraham gazed again at his bandaged hand. “I am grieving over Angel. Her lie brought this crisis upon us, and I have to deal with her appropriately. Yet, my heart aches at the thought of punishing her.”
“You punish liars?” Walter asked. “In our world we elect them to public office.”
Abraham gave him a thin smile. “Thank you for trying to uplift me with your humor, Walter. I know it must seem strange to you, since you live in a world of overwhelming corruption, but this is the first time any of my people has lied. In fact, only one other has ever rebelled in any way.” He ran trembling fingers through his thick dark hair. “I see every one of my people as my own child, and losing two is a tragedy beyond measure. I took Flint into my home, and ever since Angel’s husband died, I gave her emotional support and tried to be a father to her children. I was closer to her than I was to most of my people. In fact I had even entertained the notion that …”
He stopped suddenly and looked straight at Elam. “I apologize. My tongue moved faster than I should have allowed it.”
“You are among friends.” Elam waved for Ashley and Walter to join him. When all three stood around Abraham, each one laying a hand on him, Elam continued. “I don’t need Ashley’s mental powers to know your thoughts. You have lived here for untold centuries without an Eve, and you thought Angel might be the one God had finally granted to sleep at your side. But in your grief, I hope you will remember your own words. ‘When those he calls will not obey, the Maker finds another way.’”
Elam paused. Ashley pushed her fingers into Abraham’s shoulder, massaging it deeply. A tear trickled from her eye. Walter laid his hand on top of Ashley’s and allowed his fingers to move with hers.
Taking a deep breath, Elam continued. “You don’t have to hold back emotions when you are among people who love you. Tears will only give us more reason to pray for you. They will anoint your countenance with the holiest of water. They will cleanse your soul.”
Abraham buried his face in his hands, his fingers still trembling. Soon, his head began to bob up and down. Abraham, the father of Second Eden, wept.
Ashley moved her hand to the top of his head. “I see this in your mind, Father Abraham. You have put Angel on an island all alone. You plan to exile her to keep her influence away from the rest of your people.” Her brow arched down. “But there’s more. A great fear. Angel looks like she’s—”
“Don’t say it!” Abraham lifted his head and grabbed Ashley’s wrist. “Beware,” he said as he pulled her hand down. “Your gift becomes an intrusion when you use it to probe private thoughts.”
Ashley slid her hand away and looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry. You’re right. This is all so new to me.”
Elam stooped next to Abraham and spoke softly. “Will you send her out on her own or have someone conduct her to a place of refuge?”
“When I banished Flint, I knew he would survive, because he is a skilled hunter. Angel has many talents, but battling muskrats or prairie lions would—”
“Father Abraham!” Listener ran through the doorway, waving her spyglass. “I saw a red dragon and a rider flying toward the birthing garden!”
“Through your spyglass?” Abraham asked.
She nodded. “I can’t see the dragon without it, but I’m sure it’s coming. Clefspeare, Roxil, and Thigocia are already there lying in the sun, so it couldn’t be one of them.”
Pushing against the chair, Abraham struggled to his feet. Elam and Walter balanced him from each side. “Ashley,” Abraham said, a new flush in his cheeks, “since you are well enough to walk, would you go to our infirmary and see what you can do? Even without fire, your healing touch might be of great help.”
Ashley glanced at Walter, then pulled her sweatshirt on. “Yes, Father Abraham.”
“Walter, you may escort her there and stay if you are so inclined.”
“Uh … sure.” Walter let go of Abraham and shifted toward Ashley. “If that’s where you want me.”
“Elam,” Abraham continued, “run to the garden and warn the dragons. I will be there soon.”
“Dikaios is at the drinking trough.” Elam grabbed a scabbard belt and strapped it around his waist. “He’ll be glad to carry you.”
“Very well.” Abraham pointed at the door. “Go with all speed.”
Listener rushed outside. Elam followed and, pushing into a full sprint, caught up with her just as they reached the forest. He scooped her up, barely slowing down as she wrapped her arms around his neck, still hanging on to her spyglass. After navigating the narrow path, he ran out onto the field. The scabbard dragged the ground at his side, but he ignored it and ran on.
In the distance, Clefspeare sat on his haunches, apparently standing guard while Thigocia and Roxil basked in the sunlight. Billy sat with his back against Clefspeare’s leg, his eyes open.
When Elam came within earshot, he was about to sound the warning, but Clefspeare spoke first. “I sense danger, and it is getting closer.”
“Me, too,” Billy said, rising to his feet. “I almost didn’t recognize it.”
Roxil lifted her head and sniffed the air. Her brow wrinkled, and her eyes flashed. “It is Goliath. I slept at his side too long to forget his scent.”
Turning his gaze upward, Elam scanned the sky. Cloudless and deep blue, it seemed close enough to touch, as if a person could reach up and scoop a fingerful of blue frosting. The surrounding trees and stone wall blocked his view of the horizon, so he tuned his ears to listen for the sound of beating wings.
“He is here,” Roxil said as she lifted her body. Her eyebeams turned on, and she aimed them at the sky above the village.
Elam swung that way. A dragon appeared and bent into an orbit over the field, flying high enough to stay out of range of spears and arrows. A single rider sat at the intersection of Goliath’s neck and back, waving a white flag.
Galloping hoofbeats sounded from the forest, Dikaios carrying Abraham into the field. When they arrived, Abraham slid down, apparently much stronger now, and focused on the circling dragon. “Flint is riding Goliath,” he said. “He is waiting for us to signal that he may land without confrontation.”
Clefspeare extended his neck toward the sky. “My danger sense tells me that their intentions are foul. This meeting is for their benefit, and theirs alone.”
“He cannot be trusted,” Roxil said. “He allowed Devin and Palin to murder my father and me, though I was his mate. For our race, he invented treachery.”
“But he can’t fight,” Elam said. “It’s three dragons against one.”
Thigocia struggled to her feet. She stretched out her wings, revealing the long, jagged stitching that held the torn membrane together on one and the tight bandage that bound the mainstay on the other. “We have two and a half dragons, but you are right. Goliath would not even be able to fight Clefspeare in a one-on-one battle, so he is not likely to instigate a conflict.”
Clefspeare blinked at her but said nothing.
“Can it hurt to hear what he has to say?” Elam asked.
Glaring at him, Roxil thumped her tail. “Would you listen to an offer from the devil?”
“If I could use the information against him, definitely. Maybe we can get a clue to what we’re up against.”
“Very well.” Abraham took a few steps away from the others, closed his eyes, and spread out his arms as if awaiting an embrace. He stayed in that position for several seconds, then returned. “That is our sign of vulnerability. Flint will understand.”
As Goliath swept lower, Clefspeare unfurled his wings and positioned himself in front of the humans and Dikaios. Thigocia and Roxil joined him and formed a wall. Staying on Goliath’s back as they landed, Flint wadded his white flag and tucked it into his waistband. “To whom shall I make my petition?” he asked. “It seems that foreign dragons have taken over this realm, and the humans are cowering behind wings and scales.”
Abraham gestured for Elam to follow and stepped around Clefspeare. “You may speak to me,” Abraham said. “I have not yet abdicated my seat.”
Flint arced his glance around Abraham. “I assumed a true warrior chief would have taken command, but I see that I was right. He is but a lad who lacks the confidence or experience to lead your ragtag children.”
“You have come here under a white flag,” Abraham said. “Speak your mind and be off.”
Flint patted the scales on Goliath’s neck. “My new friend has told me that you have a liar in your midst.”
Flexing his wounded hand, Abraham paused for a moment before replying. “What concern is that of yours?”
“Something you taught me, Father Abraham. Justice. I learned from the first day that I could sit in one of your classes that corruption breeds corruption, so I know the liar must be sent away. I am here to ensure that her exile is not too difficult to bear. I will take her with me, and she will be safe from the creatures of the wild, safe from exposure and hunger, and safe from the temptation to fill the minds of your people with deceit.” As he resettled himself on Goliath, the dormant companion swayed at the end of the chain around his neck, still as dark as before. “Surely you will agree, Father Abraham. While justice and the protection of your people demand that you send her away, mercy insists that she be allowed a place of safe refuge. When that is accomplished, I expect you to fulfill your obligation to preside over the ceremony we discussed earlier.”
Elam whispered to Abraham, “Is he being serious, or is this a ploy?”
“Both, I’m afraid. He speaks the truth, yet he hides his primary motivations.”
“Do you have any options? Can you refuse him?”
“I can let Angel decide, but I cannot let the sun set before this justice is done.” Abraham turned and peered through the gap in the dragon wall. “Billy? Would you please take Dikaios and fetch Angel from our infirmary?”
Dikaios ambled into the clear, Billy already mounted on his back. “Sure thing,” Billy said.
“And bring Valiant, if he has returned, and Angel’s children, as well.” Abraham’s shoulders drooped and his voice along with them. “We will need witnesses.”
As soon as Dikaios galloped away with Billy, Elam leaned close to Abraham and whispered more urgently. “You’re going to let Candle and Listener see their mother being shamed and sent away?”
Taking quick breaths, Abraham squeezed out his words. “The lesson … will be tragic … but it will … never be forgotten.” He breathed in deeply and finished stronger. “And I must make sure they are cared for.”
Elam felt a knot forming in his gut. This would be too painful to watch. How could he send a mother away in front of her own children? How could Abraham be so callous?
Abraham picked up a palm-sized stone and squeezed it in his hand. “If my people would follow the light, no one would ever have to suffer. In your own world, you might remember how the apostle Peter dealt with liars, both male and female. I am adhering to the same principle.”
Elam shifted his gaze to Flint. Earlier, he rode with a straight back and square shoulders, but as soon as Abraham picked up the stone, he sagged noticeably.
Flint slid down Goliath’s side and stooped in the grass. “I understand your gesture,” he said. “There is no need to remind me of your warped views of justice and mercy.”
Spewing twin lines of smoke, Goliath thumped his tail on the ground. “While we wait for the deceiver,” he said with a growl, “hear my petition. Abraham and the warrior chief must understand who I am. As the firstborn son of Makaidos, I am the true king of the dragons. The one who poses as Arramos is not who he says he is, and Makaidos is gone forever, so as the primary heir of the king, I assume my rightful position and command all dragons from my world to submit to my authority.”
Thigocia snorted. “Your pride blinds you, Goliath. You speak as though you have forgotten who I am. As Makaidos’s surviving mate, I have the authority to choose the next king and queen, and I chose Clefspeare as heir to the throne long ago.”
“A king without a queen? Clefspeare has no dragon mate. Will you violate the sacred tradition in order to satisfy your prejudice?”
Thigocia glanced at Roxil, then turned her flashing red eyes back on Goliath. “What exactly is your petition?”
“I am here to take back my mate,” Goliath said. “With her at my side, I am the only dragon who can rightfully claim to be king.”
Roxil backed away a step, her pupils pulsing scarlet. “I died and rose from the dead as a human, then I was reborn yet again and resurrected in this world. Death breaks our covenant, so I am no longer your mate.”
“I, too, died and rose again as a human, a man named Dragon in this world. Is it any surprise that my companion would recognize my dragon nature and assign me such a name in this world? Is it any surprise that the same companion would so easily attach to Timothy, who was also a dragon at one time? And is it any surprise that once that companion was gone I would be able to shed its brainwashing power and return as the dragon I was before?
“Now that I have been resurrected in the same way you have, we are once again mates. We bypassed the words of the traditional covenant veil by substituting our own ceremony. You agreed that making our private vows stronger than what tradition called for gave us the right to consummate our union. Have you forgotten what we sealed with blood on that fateful night?”
Elam looked back at Roxil and imagined the covenant veil that dragons created to sanctify the wedding of two of their own kind. They would pass between two or more dragons who spoke the vows for the potential mates, and if the intention of their hearts didn’t match the words of the covenant, they wouldn’t be able to pass through.
Roxil’s wings trembled. She backed away another step. “I was a fool. When I said that our union would survive our deaths, romantic notions addled my brain. I did not really think that—”
“That we would survive death?” Goliath turned on his eyebeams and drew scarlet letters on the ground. “Shall I quote your own words?”
“I remember them. You have no need to remind me.”
“Then I will humor myself.” Goliath breathed out a ring of smoke that hung in the air, unmoved by the suddenly calm winds. “The covenant veils of the dragons who went before us were no stronger than the flesh of the humans we despise. Like those vermin, so easily roasted in our flames, the unions of other dragons perished with the fiery trial of death. Yet, our union will survive even the end of our mortal lives, for we will rise again to new life, and whatever world we find ourselves in, I will still be yours forever. As long as I have the strength to breathe in air and light, I will stay at your side.”
Roxil averted her eyes. Her tail twitched back and forth as the slimmest of smoke trails rose from her nostrils.
“Did you speak these words or not?” Goliath asked.
Roxil’s tail stopped twitching. “I spoke them.”
“Did you also say that covenant veils were for unfaithful dragons whose words could not be trusted?”
“I said that.”
“Will you then be one of those dragons whose words cannot be trusted, or will you instead honor your vow and come to my side once again as my mate?”
Thigocia thumped her tail so hard, she gouged out a divot. “Roxil, you made that vow before you knew he was a murderer. Just hours ago he killed a human baby, and he bared my vulnerability, ready to kill me, as well. His own mother!”
Roxil blew out two plumes of black smoke. “Does that change my vow? I am not a faithless dragon! I must honor my words, or I will be a liar and a hypocrite!”
Clefspeare shuffled close to Roxil and laid a wing over hers. “Mother, it has been a very long time since I have been able to call you by that name, but I am honored that I can do so once again. Will you hear the words of your son?”
She extended her neck and touched her cheek to his. “Of course, my son. If I had listened to your counsel long ago, I would have avoided a lot of heartache.”
Clefspeare drew his head back and looked her in the eye. “Goliath is mounting an army in order to fight and kill each one of us. Do you mean to join him in that effort? In your passion to prevent personal hypocrisy, will you become an accessory to the murder of your mother and your son?”
Roxil stepped to the side, pulling herself from under his wing. “I … I do not know what to say. I would never want anything to happen to you or Mother, or …”
“Or our other youngling,” Goliath said.
“What?” Roxil whipped her neck toward him. “We have no other younglings.”
“Come with me, and I will tell you about a dragon who has never known a mother.”
Her eyes flashed. “Impossible! I would know if I gave birth.”
“Normally, yes.” Goliath’s teeth showed through his widening smile. “Yet, I have information that I will share if you will keep your covenant.”
“Liar!” Roxil swung her tail and turned her back. “I am no fool! How dare you try such a ploy!”
Elam tugged on Abraham’s sleeve and whispered. “I have an idea. Will you trust me?”
“Of course. You are the warrior chief.”
Picking up a stone, Elam strode toward Goliath and Flint. “You know what the law of this land calls for when someone lies or rebels, don’t you?”
Flint glanced at the stone. “Yes, I know it all too well.”
“Then why are you still alive?” Elam asked, tossing the stone toward him.
Flint caught it but kept his eyes on Elam. “Because the law also allows for exile if the judge so deems.”
“Then the decision is not up to Roxil. If she stays, she will be a liar who must either be stoned or sent into exile. If she leaves with you, then we could consider her a traitor to our cause. Either way, she will never be able to live among us.”
Thigocia lowered her head and growled. “Elam, why are you doing this? When they gather all their forces, we cannot defeat them without Roxil.”
Elam picked up another stone. “If I am to be warrior chief, I need to know that I am leading an army of holy warriors. If we don’t keep our integrity, then we cannot count on God’s help against any army, no matter how evil our opponents are.” He strode toward Roxil, extending a finger directly toward her snout. “If this dragon stays here, then she will be a handicap, not an asset. I will not tolerate having a liar in my ranks.”
As he drew close, he whispered, “Roxil, trust me and listen carefully to my next words.”
He spun dramatically and pointed at Goliath, raising his voice. “Now go with your mate. It is better for us if you are there than here.”
Roxil tilted her head, then, one eye squinting, sniffed the air near Elam. After a second or two, she scuffled toward Goliath, a growl spicing her voice. “I will go. Since these humans no longer want me here, my choice is an easy one.”