Dragonvein (3 page)

“What the hell is that?” whispered Markus.

Ethan reached for the man’s collar, but just as his fingers were about to make contact, the stranger’s eyes popped open. He shrank back, a frightened and confused look on his face.

Ethan grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. “Take it easy, fella. We’re not going to hurt you.” But this did nothing to calm the startled man. He wrenched himself free and tried to crawl to the door.

Both Markus and Ethan grabbed him and pulled him back.

“Yemina et alhethra!” the man cried out.

Ethan clamped a hand firmly over the stranger’s mouth. “Quiet. You’re going to get us all killed.”

“I told you this was a bad idea,” remarked Markus angrily.

“Do you understand him?” Ethan asked. Markus spoke Spanish and French, and was in the process of trying to learn German.

Markus shook his head.

Ethan locked eyes with the man. “You need to calm down.” His voice was soothing and reassuring. “We’re not going to hurt you. Understand?”

Gradually, the stranger settled down. Cautiously, Ethan removed his hand.

“Yemina et el atheha?” His voice was much quieter now.

Ethan shook his head and touched his ear. “I don’t understand you.”

The light from within the man’s shirt grew brighter. He reached inside and withdrew a gold chain. Attached to this was a jewel about the size of Ethan’s thumb, set in what looked like a silver animal’s claw. Its pulsating blue light was accompanied by a low hum.

“Ena mote…” the man said in a half-whisper. Reaching up, he snatched Ethan’s hand and pulled it toward the jewel.

Ethan blinked in surprise. “What the hell are you doing?” He resisted the pull, but the stranger tugged even harder.

Markus joined in and grabbed the man around his chest, but there was nowhere to go. His back was already tight against the wall.

Ignoring both of their efforts, the stranger let out a heavy grunt and tried to lean forward. Then, suddenly changing tactics, he grabbed hold of the claw with his free hand. Thrusting that arm out toward their still locked hands, he touched the pulsating jewel onto Ethan’s flesh.

Ethan immediately went rigid, eyes wide. It was as though he’d been electrocuted. He fell back hard against the opposite wall, nearly collapsing it with the force. Markus released his hold and caught Ethan’s collar, pulling him forward.

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

Ethan took a moment to steady himself before rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’m okay. Just a little dizzy.” He glared at the man, who was looking back at him with a serious expression. “What did you do?” he demanded.

“Only what I had to,” the man replied.

Ethan was stunned. Somehow, he now understood what the stranger was saying.

“I am Jonas,” he continued, before Ethan could respond. “And I’m here to protect you.”

“I’m Ethan.” So great was his shock, it was all he could think to say.

“You can speak his language?” asked Markus.

Ethan nodded. “Yeah. But don’t ask me how.”

“What did he say?”

Ethan did not take his eyes off the stranger for a second while repeating what he had been told.

Markus burst out laughing, then stopped himself when he realized how much noise he was making. “Then he’s definitely insane,” he said.

“I don’t know,” Ethan countered. “How do you explain that I can understand him?”

Markus had no reply to that.

It was Jonas who spoke next. “How old are you, boy?” he asked.

“I’m nineteen,” Ethan lied.

Jonas scrutinized him for a long moment, then sneered. “You can’t lie to me. How old are you really?”

Ethan leveled his gaze. “I’ll tell you how old I am, if you tell me how it is I can understand your language.”

Jonas shrugged. “I don’t know that myself. This amulet was given to me by your mother. It was the only means I had of finding you. Other than that…”

He reached inside a small purse on his belt and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. After running his eyes over the page, he grumbled with dissatisfaction. “This doesn’t help very much either. It explains how to get us back home, but nothing else.”

Ethan took the parchment. The letters and words were like nothing he had ever seen before. Even so, he was still able to read them.

Jonas,

When the time comes, smash the jewel. It will open a portal that will allow you to return to Lumnia. But you must
enter together. I am sorry I cannot tell you more, but they are coming and I am out of time. Tell my son that I love him with all of my heart…and please watch over him.

Illyrian

Ethan returned the note, a heavy frown on his face. “What the hell is all that supposed to mean?”

“I answered your question,” Jonas shot back. “Now you answer mine. How old are you?”

He paused. “Seventeen. I lied about my age so I could join the Army.”

“You’re a soldier?” Jonas asked, with obvious disapproval.

“Am I a soldier?” Ethan scoffed. “Why do you think I’m dressed like this?”

“Soldiers where I…where
we
come from…dress very differently.” He noticed the rifle slung across Ethan’s back. “Is that some sort of dwarf weapon?”

“What’s he saying?” Markus chipped in. “Did he explain what he’s done to you?”

“He says he doesn’t know,” replied Ethan. “But I think you’re right. He’s nuts. He asked me if this is a
dwarf
weapon.”

Markus rubbed his temple. “A dwarf weapon? Brilliant! We risked our necks to save a lunatic.”

The sound of tanks rolling down the nearby street silenced them. This was soon followed by the voices of the German infantry. Ethan gestured for Jonas to remain quiet.

“You are at war?” asked Jonas, after the enemy had passed.

Ethan’s mouth twisted. “You really
are
crazy, aren’t you?”

“I need to get you out of here,” Jonas insisted, ignoring the insult. “This is no place for the son of Lady Illyrian.”

Ignoring his words, Ethan moved over to the shed door and peered out. The sun was almost completely gone. “We can’t stay here,” he told Markus.

His friend nodded in agreement. “Are we taking the fruitcake with us?”

Ethan thought for a moment. “I guess so.”

Markus sighed, then chuckled. “So he’s your good deed for the day, is he? Your scout master would sure be proud of you.”

On the far side of the avenue at the end of the alley, Ethan could see a bombed out office building. The top floor was completely blown away, but the large piles of broken bricks and wood would provide them with decent cover. Also, most of the surrounding buildings appeared far too damaged to be of any use to the Krauts.

“Follow us,” he said to Jonas. “And keep up.”

Jonas looked like he wanted to protest, but Ethan was already moving out. Markus grabbed the older man’s arm and forced him to Ethan’s back.

The sounds of battle echoed through the streets. Ethan guessed that the enemy’s main force was about half a mile to the west. That meant they would need to head south and then try to sneak past their lines, at the same time hoping not to get shot in the dark by their own men.

After pausing to check that both ways were clear of enemy soldiers, he took a deep breath and set off as fast as he could across the devastated street.

The crossing seemed to drag on forever, though in reality it could not have taken any more than a few seconds. Feeling exposed and vulnerable, for a long time the office building appeared in Ethan’s eyes to be getting no closer. With every heart-pounding pace he expected to hear the rattle of a machine gun that would be the prelude to the end of his war.

But he made it safely across, and so did the others, although they were some way behind him. Gasping for air and with sweat stinging his eyes, he watched anxiously as Markus prodded, pushed, and very nearly carried an utterly exhausted Jonas over the rubble strewn ground and into the relative safety of cover.

After a minute or two spent recovering, they began checking the building to make sure there were no enemy soldiers about. Shattered office furnishings, broken plaster and unstable mounds of rubble made moving about treacherous, especially in the rapidly dimming light. Twice Jonas stumbled and fell, the second time opening a deep gash on his left hand. Ethan scolded him with a hard stare, but nevertheless paused to wrap the wound with a bandage from his pack.

A large hole in the office’s outer wall gave them access across an alley to the building alongside—a process they were able to repeat several times while making their way to the edge of the next block. Though this wasn’t so far in actual distance, the countless obstacles created by the devastation, plus need for caution, made what should have taken them only a few minutes grind on for well over an hour.

Ethan had been hoping that the street would be clear, but it wasn’t to be. While peering out of a corner window he caught the sound of German voices in the darkness. He couldn’t tell exactly where they were coming from at first. Then the light from a match appeared directly opposite their position.

He listened again, trying to filter out the clamor of battle that now seemed much closer than before. “I think there’s either panzers or halftracks to the south,” he whispered. “I don’t hear anything north.”

Markus knew better than to question his friend’s hearing. It had saved their skins on several occasions since D-day. “That means we have to backtrack and head north,” he said.

“Or try to cross here,” Ethan suggested. “I can only see three of them.”

He tried to picture the layout in his head. By now the 101st would have stopped the advance, and maybe even gained some ground. But German reinforcements would surely arrive soon. He didn’t want to count on their being passed by a second time.

“This is ridiculous,” said Jonas. “I can break the amulet and we can be away in seconds.”

Ethan growled with exasperation. “Shut up! This isn’t the time. You can tell me all about it when we’re back with our unit.”

Jonas glared furiously, but remained quiet.

They backtracked through two buildings and crossed the road heading north. The structures on this side had suffered far less damage. This meant they could now move faster, but it might also force them into the open more frequently. Not that they had much time to dwell on the matter. As they crept through an abandoned office building in search of a way to the next block that would keep them hidden, the scraping of boots and a guttural voice froze them in their tracks.

“
Mach dir keine Sorgen, du wirst deine Chance noch bekommen. Wir haben sie überrascht aber sie werden früh genug anfangen zu
kämpfen.”

“
Ich bin nicht hier, um anderen beim Kämpfen zu zuschauen,”
replied a much younger sounding man
.

The voices were coming from a room just ahead. Both Ethan and Markus unslung their M-1s. In single file they crept down the hall to the edge of a doorway, hoping as they moved that the volume of the battle would mask any sound of their footfalls.

Ethan pressed his ear to the wall. The voices had stopped. They remained absolutely still and silent for more than a minute, but all was now quiet.

After gesturing for Jonas to stay put, he locked eyes with Markus. Holding up three fingers, he counted down. Three…two…one.

Kicking open the door, he rushed in with Markus only a split second behind him. Their eyes darted back and forth, searching frantically for the enemy. The dim light of the half-moon shining through a window illuminated the room well enough for them to see that, aside from a few meager furnishings and a pile of books in the far corner, it was empty.

“What the hell?” cried Markus.

Jonas followed them inside a few moments later. “It would seem that your enemy has gone. Now, if you would just listen to me, you can avoid further problems.”

Ethan was on the point of responding when a figure burst through a door to their right that was all but obscured by a deep shadow.

“
Waffen fallen lassen!”
the soldier shouted, his Karabiner 98K leveled at them.

Ethan began to raise his own rifle, but another German soldier came in behind them.

“
Tut was er
sagt!
”

Ethan and Markus dropped their rifles and raised their hands. Jonas just stood there, his face contorted in a stricken expression.

The soldier to their rear shoved them one by one against the wall. For a moment Ethan felt certain that his luck had finally run out and mentally prepared himself for the hot burn of bullets. He looked at his would-be killers. One appeared to be no older than himself - fair-haired and with a light complexion. Hitler’s perfect man, he thought. The other was much older, battle-worn and grizzled.

“
Durchsuchen!
” said the older man.

His companion nodded and began to search them. When he got to Jonas, he grabbed hold of his sword and began to laugh.

“
Der denkt er wär ein Ritter
,” he sniggered. The veteran did not appear to be amused and made no reply.

Continuing his search, the younger soldier soon found the small purse on Jonas’ belt. The jingle of coins when he shook this brought a smile to his face. But when he reached inside Jonas’ shirt and tried to grab the amulet, his prisoner’s hand shot out to push him away.

Letting out an angry snarl, the soldier struck him on the side of his head with the butt of his rifle. Jonas grunted and slid down the wall, blood already dribbling over his ear.

“
Er ist ein Zivilist. Erschieß ihn
,” said the older soldier. “
Die beiden anderen können wir
verhören
.”

The young man chuckled. A malevolent grin crept over his face. He leveled his weapon at Jonas. “
Pech alter
Mann
.”

Ethan closed his eyes, a wave of pity washing through him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Had the soldier fired immediately, Jonas would have already been dead. But the young man hesitated. Enjoying the power he held over his victim, his eyes searched for any small hint of fear or pleading. Not finding what he was looking for appeared to be a considerable disappointment to him. Eventually, with a small growl of frustration, his finger tightened on the trigger.