Dragon Sleeping (The Dragon Circle Trilogy Book 1) (41 page)

“I’m the best at climbing trees,” Maggie announced. The Volunteers still hadn’t introduced themselves to the others, but the Oomgosh knew them from long ago.

“And the rest of us are bad, hey?” Stanley chided. “We’ll go up there and make short work of them.”

“Well, I’m not so good, at least at climbing trees,” Wilbert admitted with a pat to the stomach. “Perhaps I can take up the rear.”

“Can you tell us where this city is?” Thomas asked as he scanned the trees.

“It covers a large area,” the Oomgosh answered, “but I believe it begins quite nearby. I trust that Raven will return shortly and tell us more about appearances.”

The remaining neighbors, three women and two boys, caught up with the forward party.

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Blake demanded as they approached. “Is there anything we can do?”

“I think the best strategy for now is to stay together,” the Oomgosh cautioned.

“Once we know Mary Lou’s whereabouts,” Maggie began, “those of us who can climb trees”—she smiled at Wilbert—“can form a raiding party.”

“Hey, I can climb a tree,” Nick offered.

“So can I, jerk,” Todd said, more to Nick than the rest of the group.

“Better if you climbed vines,” Thomas interjected. He nodded at the thick vegetation hanging from the lower branches. “That’s how we really travel.”

Stanley squinted at the two boys. “We might be able to use the two of them, hey? There’s an awful lot of Anno up there.”

“Awful lot of ways for them to get killed, too,” Thomas added. “Don’t know about this.”

“I don’t know about this, either,” Mrs. Blake said. Her son, Nick, barely glanced at her. He turned back to the Volunteers, his hand on his sword.

“I’ve learned how to fight with this thing,” he said, patting the hilt. “I’m ten times the fighter he’ll ever be!” Todd protested. “Fighters?” a harsh voice cawed overhead. “We’ll need plenty of fighters!”

“My Raven!” the Oomgosh called.

“Tired Raven,” the great bird squawked as it swooped down toward them. “Even the most superlative of creatures can find this work trying.” He fluttered his wings, landing gently on Nick’s shoulder. Nick shuffled a bit under the additional weight, but didn’t say anything about the imposition.

“Now, Nick,” Mrs. Blake began again.

“You’re Nick’s mother,” Raven said abruptly. She stopped whatever she was going to say and stared at the bird, openmouthed. “Don’t be surprised. Raven knows everything. Your son is the most comfortable perch. And young Nick has many other talents nearly as valuable.”

“We all have to work together here, Mom,” Nick added before his mother could say more. “Otherwise, we won’t survive.”

Mrs. Blake’s frown deepened. She sighed. “I suppose you’re right. Remember, Nicholas Blake, if you get yourself killed, I’ll be very mad at you.”

Nick smiled at that. “I’ll try to remember, Mom.”

But there was a life to be saved. “Raven,” the Oomgosh insisted. “What did you see?”

“Raven has never seen these creatures so excited,” the bird replied. “They have thrown all their caution away! The whole tribe has gathered on the platform, except for those carrying Mary Lou. And those who carry her have almost reached their destination.”

“What will they do with her?” Mary Lou’s mother asked anxiously.

“The Ceremony,” Jason answered, then asked, “What’s the Ceremony?”

“Raven saw a great pot up there, filled with a steaming liquid.”

“Are they going to boil her?” Jason asked.

“The Anno do like to eat,” Wilbert offered.

Mrs. Dafoe gave a small, strangled cry. She put her hand to her chest, as if even she was surprised by the noise. She looked to the Oomgosh. “You’ve got to do something.”

“We will all do our part,” the tree man agreed. “Raven, do you recall how many lookouts they had? And where they were placed?”

“Raven thinks they’re too excited for lookouts!” The black bird flapped his wings as though that excitement was contagious. “A few watched the edges of the platform, but even they could not help but look around at the festivities behind them.”

“Maybe we can sneak up on them, after all,” Maggie said softly. “Never expect attack from the trees,” Thomas agreed. “Least not from humans.”

“So we go now, before the Ceremony starts?” Wilbert asked. He looked doubtfully at the nearby vines. “I could use whatever time’s available.”

Nick glanced at Todd. “We’re coming, too!”

“If you’re set on it,” Stanley agreed. “But let us take the lead, hey?”

“What about the rest of us?” Joan Blake insisted.

“We will all be needed,” the Oomgosh replied gently. “If we do manage to rescue Mary Lou, we may all have to defend ourselves against the Anno.”

“Defend ourselves?” Todd’s quiet mother spoke up for once. “How can we do that?”

Stanley threw his pack on the ground. “I’ll leave this behind for you. There’s a few things inside you might find useful. Hey, it’s too heavy to climb with, anyways.”

“Where are the edges of their city?” Thomas asked as Mrs. Blake knelt by the pack.

“Careful not to cut yourself, hey?” Stanley suggested quietly. Mrs. Blake unfolded the animal skin to reveal half a dozen knives and hatchets and twice as many arrowheads. “Split the weapons up as you see fit. Save the arrowheads for later.”

The Oomgosh listened to the trees. “The city is very near.” Raven cocked his head, looking first at the trees above, then at the humans gathered around them. “Raven thinks the platform begins twenty paces from where you stand.”

Maggie walked a few feet to grab a vine. “This is as good a place as any to begin.”

“Please hurry,” Mrs. Dafoe said softly.

“Swift and silent, that’s our motto,” Wilbert assured her. He grunted as he pulled himself off the ground.

All four of the Volunteers were already making their way up the vines. Todd and Nick hurried to follow.

Raven fluttered aloft as Nick sprang into action. “Raven will fly ahead. Perhaps Raven can cause a distraction!”

The Oomgosh chuckled at that. “You are the most distracting bird I know, my Raven. Go quickly, all of you!”

Before they put poor Mary Lou in a pot, was what he didn’t say. If that were to happen, the Oomgosh would become very angry indeed.

I
t only takes a second, Nunn thought, for everything to change. He cupped both his hands around his newest darling, his third dragon’s eye. With this in hand, there was no way he could lose.

“Where’d they go?” Carl Jackson glanced uncertainly back at the wizard, as if unsure he should speak at all.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nunn replied. “Not anymore.” He glanced over at Sayre and the Captain, freezing both in place. They looked like statues, the Captain representing the malnourished, while Sayre stood for death and decay.

He looked back to the living. “I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Jackson, upon your efforts on my behalf.” He nodded first at Jackson, then at Dafoe. The second man began to squirm as soon as Nunn looked his way.

“Mr. Dafoe,” Nunn added, “I think you could have done better than that.” He liked Mr. Dafoe. He liked anyone whom he could make uncomfortable.

“There appears to be a void of leadership in my palace guard,” he continued. “Carl, you will be the new Captain. Harold will be your second-in-command. Together, we will run not only my home but also this entire world. I will give you further instructions on this—shortly.

“Now you’ll have to excuse me.” He could feel all three gems pulsing beneath his fingers. “I have other matters to attend to.”

With a wave of his hand, he returned to his study, a study once again devoid of doors. Nunn took comfort in the darkness.

A minute ago, he had almost failed. All his enemies seemed to conspire against him, including some he had thought were powerless. A wizard’s psyche was so fragile. Encounter someone like this Evan Mills, and you invited disaster. As far as Nunn could determine, Mills had upset certain things within the wizard, his unauthorized entry activating a few of the hundred personalities that made up all those little parts of Nunn. And those personalities were capable of damage that Mills could not even imagine. Who would think a danger like that might come from within?

It was like the arrow he took in the shoulder, Nunn reflected, a surprise attack that got past his defenses, even with the extra strength and speed given by two of the eyes. He was not so invulnerable as he had thought.

But that was so long ago, when he had only two eyes.

Now it was so much better. Now there were three eyes. His speed and strength, doubled before, would double again, and the eyes would allow him to split his consciousness and join with three separate powers, to witness three things at once, or weave three spells into an impenetrable web. There’d be no more arrows, no attacks from within. With the power of these three eyes, he would destroy anything that stood in his way.

He had work to do. It would take a little while to incorporate this third eye, to find the balance with which all three could work together. Once that was accomplished, Nunn would calmly destroy Obar and Mrs. Smith, and gain eye number four. It would be easy after that to gather the other neighbors for his amusement, and his hunger.

The new eye felt warm, nestled between the other gems. And the three parts of the dragon, linked together so, showed Nunn something new.

The other eyes were waiting for him. He had always known they were there somewhere, out among the seven islands, but before this, they had been hidden from him. Sometimes, with two eyes, he had been able to vaguely sense their existence, but now he could feel their pull, as if those last remaining gems wished to join their brothers and sisters. Was this the power of the third gem, already filling him? Or were the gems suddenly free of their hiding spells, another sign from the dragon that he was about to come and reclaim his own?

Nunn couldn’t tell. And he didn’t care. He only knew that now he could gain all seven of the stones, so that when the dragon came, he could say, “No! You can’t have these! I am keeping this power for my own!” For, if that old wizard Rox had survived the last passing of the dragon with only three eyes in his possession, with all seven Nunn should be able to ride on the dragon’s back!

Laughter burst out of him. He’d make the dragon dance! But he had to be careful. This new power he held was inebriating.

There were things he had to do before he could claim it all.

Things both without and within.

“H
e knows,” was all the cloud said.

Mills stared at the thing that had once been a wizard. “Are you talking about Nunn?”

“I must make certain precautions,” was the thunderhead’s only reply. “You would be well advised to do the same.”

Mills looked around, as if he might somehow find those precautions the thunderhead referred to. The room seemed to be growing more indistinct, as if everything was becoming part of the cloud.

“Precautions?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

“We haven’t even begun the lessons, have we?” the cloud murmured. “Too bad there hasn’t been more time. I will see what I can do. In any event, this diversion has been quite pleasant. I never thought I could get back at Nunn. Actually, I hadn’t been thinking about anything whatsoever.” The thunderhead sighed. “I imagine that will happen again. Remember what we’ve done. Remember that feeling of success, if you can remember anything at all.”

This, Mills thought, did not sound promising. “What’s that?” Leo wailed.

In the comers of the room, the clouds were fading, replaced by blinding light.

“Nunn is doing his housecleaning,” the thunderhead remarked. Even the great grey cloud appeared less distinct than it had before.

“Is he going to destroy us now?” Leo asked miserably.

“Nunn doesn’t destroy anything completely,” the cloud continued, its voice the soul of calm. “He simply seeks to control. Any independent energy you have will be drained away completely. But some part of you will remain.”

The light swept across the room toward the thunderhead. “Goodbye,” the cloud said.

The light flooded across the image of sky. The thunderhead was gone. There was nothing but light.

“The light’s coming this way!” Leo shouted. “Run!”

“Where?” Mills replied. Perhaps a bit of the cloud’s calmness had passed along to him. Or perhaps he simply realized there was no escape. How could they run away when they were trapped inside Nunn?

The light sliced across the room like a knife through paper, a light that would wash away every one of Nunn’s woes.

Leo Furlong screamed as the brightness roared toward them. The sound cut off abruptly as Mills was lost in the light.

N
unn smiled.

Things seemed so much quieter now.

The eyes were working together already. As he withdrew from his inner purge, the gems showed him three images at once. There were Obar and Smith, not talking at all in a clearing, as if the two of them were in shock. And that tree man, surrounded by the other neighbors, rushing through the forest on some grand adventure. And there was that annoying black bird, Raven, swooping through the trees above a crowd of the Anno, all dancing about a great cook pot. He blinked, letting his eyes seek new subjects. There was Carl Jackson, yelling at Harold Dafoe to shape up or they’d both be in trouble. There was the King of the Wolves, growling to the remains of his pack about revenge against the humans. And there was a procession of the Anno, marching toward their village, taking great care with something in their midst, carrying what must be a most precious cargo. Nunn could not make out that part of the image, though. It was fuzzy; indistinct. He wondered if the third eye might have some defect. What might be beyond its power?

He realized with a thrill that the Anno must have been carrying Mary Lou. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see her when he could see everything else. Even she could no longer hide from the wizard’s power.

Nunn let the images fade back into the darkness of his room. The three gems seemed to balance each other perfectly, as if they were meant to work together, and he was meant to be their owner. Perhaps, the wizard thought, the dragon was not as neutral on these things as legend claimed. Perhaps that all-powerful creature preferred that a certain type of man would wield the dragon’s power, maybe even going so far as to influence the placement of its power so that it fell into the proper hands. Nunn laughed. Perhaps the way this third gem fell into his hands was a sign from the dragon itself, a blessing on Nunn’s actions, and a harbinger of the greatness that was to come.