Baleful Betrayal (19 page)

She tilted her head slightly. "I don't know what a crystoid is, but, no. The pedestal powering the skyway on Kdosh was destroyed. We can provide you with the gem to repair it, but it will take a week."

"A week?" I threw up my hands. "I saw workers rebuild houses in a few hours. Why would it take so long to repair the pedestal?"

"The pedestal takes no time at all," she said, "but linking the gem to aether and charming it to create the skyway takes a very delicate touch and a team of skilled magic weavers."

I thought back to what one of her crew had told me. "The Mzodi have a fleet of sky ships, right?"

"Yes, though they are nothing like the
Evadora
." She pursed her lips. "You wish the Mzodi to provide transport for your army."

"Can you?" I asked, trying not to sound like a beggar but failing.

"I will speak with the others," she said. "Many of them prefer to leave civilization well enough alone."

"Those girls you took from Kaelissa," Elyssa said in a soft tone. "Do you do that because of your daughter?"

A tear trickled down Cora's cheek. "I can provide happy homes for the children forsaken by Kaelissa, though I failed in my own right as a mother."

"Why don't you go back to the Glimmer and get your daughter?" Elyssa asked.

"My travels to Eden unleashed a great evil in the Glimmer." Her face paled. "If I return, my sweet Evadora will die."

"That's your daughter's name?" Elyssa asked.

"Yes." Cora traced a finger along a vine. "The ship and her name are all I have of my home realm."

I sensed another quest on the future radar and did my best not to care. As usual, I couldn't resist. "What's this evil in the Glimmer? Could our army help you conquer it?"

Cora's eyes widened. "No. You would throw away the lives of all who tried to interfere." She raised a hand and the black vines beneath my feet writhed, weaving together into a nearly perfect semblance of Cora, complete with flowing hair and blinking eyes. "Imagine your fight is not with people, but with the land itself. A forest of death, or"—the arm of the vine statue extended and a drop of venomous-looking fluid dripped from a thorn at the tip of the finger—"eternal sleep in twilight."

"This evil could defeat a massive army?" I said. "What if we burned the forest?"

"Absolutely not!" Cora shouted. She gaped at me in horror. "Such a crime would be even more evil than the one who sits on my throne."

Elyssa leaned forward, eyes pensive. "Who sits on your throne?"

"My reflection," Cora murmured. "In every account she is me, but without mercy, without kindness." She blinked as if coming from a trance. "The Glimmer has a perverse effect on my people, granting them immortality, but taking from them every trace of emotion. It was only in Eden I once again discovered how to feel."

I grimaced. "What a living hell. Eternity without feeling?"

She nodded. "Yes. Our oracle told me the balm to our wounds lay in Eden. If I found love, it would lead to our salvation." Her lips trembled. "I found love, but it only led to my exile and the ruin of my realm."

"Evadora's father?" I asked. "Was he your love?"

"Yes." Cora's voice trembled with misery. "It is too painful to speak of."

Elyssa stood. "I'm so sorry." She walked slowly to the grieving woman and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe the oracle spoke of another love."

Cora wiped at her red eyes and nodded. "Perhaps. There are many possibilities, but prophecy often lacks specifics."

"Tell me about it," I muttered. "There was a time I felt like everything I did was already decided." I chuckled wryly. "Things turned out okay before going to complete crap again."

"I kept abreast of Overworld events," Cora said. "I wasn't certain your forces would prevail against Daelissa."

"I hate to change the subject," I said, "but can you ask the Mzodi fleet to help us?"

Cora stood. "I will send the request. I apologize for accosting you."

Elyssa smirked. "Not the first time it's happened."

"Probably not the last," I said. "As far as kidnappings go, this one was pretty tame."

We followed Cora through the spooky forest of hers, walking up two levels to reach the top deck. A cool breeze met my face and a dull roar vibrated in my ears. Seraphim sailors, most of them female, ran back and forth in response to the shouted commands of Illaena who stood atop a tall platform near the prow.

"Sky pirates," I whispered excitedly to Elyssa. "I wish I had an eye patch so much right now."

"How about a black eye?" she suggested sweetly.

"I will speak with the others and let you know about gathering the fleet," Cora said. "Until then, please enjoy our hospitality."

I touched a tender spot where a vine had stung me. "Think I've had too much hospitality already."

Elyssa laughed. "Sky pirates, remember?"

I wandered over to the railing and felt my jaw drop when I looked over the edge. A massive vortex whirled over a boiling ocean. Gusts of aether mixed with salty mist blew my hair back, leaving a thin coat of brine on my skin. The air within the whirling maelstrom glittered as if a million fairies had dropped a load of pixie dust inside.

Hot wind blasted my face and the entire ship shuddered, rising and falling as if riding invisible waves of air. I gripped the railing and felt my gorge rise. Not far from me, Joss puked a load of glurk over the side then slid down to embrace the railing as if it were a lover. Another wave sent us soaring then crashing back down.

Illaena gripped a bejeweled pedestal, fingers working furiously while other sailors manned pedestals near the giant wings on the side of the ship, manually adjusting their angles to fight the brutal turbulence. The ship listed hard right, tilting and groaning as if would fly apart.

Elyssa grabbed the railing, eyes worried.

"This is kinda fun," I said, holding out my hands as if I were riding a surfboard while the deck shifted and rolled beneath me.

"All hands brace yourselves!" Illaena shouted in Cyrinthian. "Aether storm ahead!"

"Yeah, maybe you should hold on too." Elyssa reached a hand for me, but I shook my head.

"I'm fine." I held my footing as the ship coasted up a swell and dove down the next. "I totally could have made it through this on the rocket stick."

The ship literally dropped ten feet then lurched up so quickly, I flopped on the deck like a dying fish and cracked my chin hard enough to draw blood. The ship dropped and rose again, slamming me into the deck.

"Gak!" I shouted, desperately trying to reach Elyssa's hand, but only sliding further away as the ship pitched and rolled as if fighting the storm of the century.

A vine shot out and secured me to the railing just as the entire sky beneath us went pitch black. The ship coasted to a halt and for a brief instant, all was completely silent. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the air grew so cold my breath fogged.

Illaena banged the drum three times. "Pitch port, prepare for storm gust!"

The ship rotated ninety degrees, bringing into view a monstrous black cloud billowing straight for us. My stomach tripped over my kidneys in its haste to get the hell out of Dodge. Just as a scream of terror ripped from my throat, the black cloud slammed into us like a brick wall. The ship creaked and groaned as if it were flying apart and lifted higher, higher, and higher still on the black wave.

"Starboard haul!" Illaena cried.

The crew pulled hard on the pedestals and the ship spun just as the wave crested, and suddenly we were flying down a sheer cliff of dark insanity. Lightning crackled, thunder rattled my bones, and it looked as if we were delivering ourselves into the darkest bowels of hell. We were going so fast, my lips flapped in the breeze.

We plunged through the wall of lightning and death and into bright clear daylight, dust sparkling like glitter all around us. Gems of all sizes and shapes whirled through the air, caught in an updraft of aether so pure, it tasted like honey to my magical senses.

Still shaking with fright, I unclenched my fingers from the railing, leaving imprints and claw marks behind. "W-where are we?"

Illaena marched past, a smirk on her face. "We are in a class five vortex." She nodded over the side. "Look."

I rose on weak legs and peered over the side. The ocean lay far below, visible in the calm eye of the vortex. The air pulsated with aether and what looked like pixie dust. "This is where you harvest gems?" I asked.

Illaena nodded. "The deeper one goes, the larger the gems." She motioned to a group of sailors casting shimmering nets into the wall of black clouds only feet away.

A moment later, they withdrew the net now laden with gems of all types and sizes.

Elyssa's mouth practically watered. "That's amazing. What's the largest gem you've seen?"

"Nearly as large as this ship," Illaena said. "But it was too deep and no nets could ever haul it in."

Cora joined us. "I see you weathered your first aether storm."

I wiped sweat off my forehead. "I didn't realize it was so violent."

"Even the Mzodi still lose vessels to the aether storms." She inspected the area where my fingers had dug gouges into the wood. "I sent the request to the Muhala Kajeen, the leader of the Mzodi. She will return an answer shortly."

I gazed at the violent winds of the black vortex. "Guess Flava was right about a rocket stick not being enough."

The ship lurched. Illaena and Cora exchanged surprised looks.

Gripping the railing again, I said, "I thought this was the eye of the storm."

"That was no ordinary turbulence," Cora said. Her eyes widened. "Prepare for an incursion."

Illaena ran to the central pedestal where she beat the drum four times. A horn wailed near the back of the ship and the crew raced into positions.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Elyssa and I peered over the side with Cora. Far below, a giant blue crocodile with webbed wings burst from the ocean. Thrusting in slow motion, the wings carried the beast higher and higher. Gouts of steam burst from its lean reptilian muzzle. Scales glittering in the glow of aether, a dragon slithered like a flying snake directly for the
Evadora
.

"Draxadis!" Cora shouted. "Draxadis!"

Cora pulled us back from the rail as defenders took our place. "It's another incursion from the Dragon realm, Draxadis. In my first two months here, we saw one dragon. In the last three months, we have fought seven."

"Wait—they're coming here from Draxadis?" The roar of the wind and the strange bellow of the dragon nearly drowned out my voice. "How is that possible without an Alabaster Arch?"

"The vortexes sometimes open rifts to Draxadis." Cora watched as the sailors formed a line, crystal bows cocked and ready. "The Mzodi believe the two realms overlap."

I didn't have time to ask another question before a tremendous boom vibrated the hull and the ship lurched sideways. Elyssa and I tumbled across the deck, skidding uncontrollably toward the railing on the opposite side. A vine snaked around my chest and another snared Elyssa before we flipped over the side and into the vortex.

The ship righted, and I climbed back to my feet. The dragon's muzzle slid into view. Gold parietal eyes rose above the railing, regarding us with cold intent. Though the creature wasn't nearly as big as the earth dragons I'd seen, it was massive enough to do some serious damage. The defenders, anchored to the railing by vines, hurled spears of Murk at the beast. The projectiles shattered against the scaly hide, causing no damage.

The dragon bellowed, a ragged guttural noise as if it had a loose flap of skin in its throat. The spear throwers continued their ineffective attacks, shouting and yelling. They might as well have been toy poodles barking at an angry bull for all the good they were doing.

"How in the hell have they survived this long if that's how they fight?" I shouted above the din.

Elyssa gripped my arm and pointed to another group of defenders. "Look, it's a feint."

The dragon gripped the railing with a clawed foot and clambered onto the deck after the spear throwers. It unlocked its lower jaw like a snake and hissed. Steam sprayed at the defenders who channeled shields to protect themselves. The other group ran up behind the dragon. Using their hands like stirrups, two of them launched a third up onto the dragon's long sinuous neck.

The dragon bellowed and spun, but the defender gripped one of the long horns and hung on for dear life. The spear throwers launched another volley. The dragon lowered its head and hissed another jet of steam. The defender on its head used the moment of stability and swung around the horn, a long sword in hand.

With a loud cry, the defender thrust the sword into the eye of the dragon. The beast unleashed a terrible wail and thrashed wildly. Its tail knocked two sailors across the deck, but Cora's vines snagged them before they fell over the side. The spear throwers backed off from the flailing creature. Dark red blood spurted from the eye, covering the deck in a crimson lake.

Elyssa and I retreated from the carnage. With a ragged sigh, the blue dragon went still, steam whistling from its throat like a tea kettle signaling ready.

The defenders clasped arms and raised their hands in victory.

They never even saw the giant red claw slashing over the railing behind them.

Chapter 18

"Dragon!" I shouted, but my warning was lost to the roar and thunder of the vortex.

Bodies tumbled like rag dolls as the huge claw swept them aside. Another scaly foot slammed onto the railing, and then a red dragon clawed its way onto the deck. If the blue dragon had been the size of a horse, this red one matched an elephant pound-for-pound.

A vine jerked Cora away an instant before massive jaws snapped down on her head. The other vines caught airborne defenders, pulling them away from the new threat, but many of them were bloodied and unconscious from the surprise attack. The dragon snaked across the wide open deck toward Cora.

A wall of vines blocked the creature, but it snapped through them with powerful jaws. Two of the uninjured spear throwers shouted and got the beast's attention, but the kill squad was out of commission, two of them lying motionless near the bow.