Dragonvein (4 page)

The explosion came from seemingly nowhere. A ferocious blast threw the two Germans flat onto the floor, at the same time pinning the other three hard against the wall.

For a moment, silence followed the blast. Then, as the dust began to clear, Ethan felt Markus’ arms lifting him to his feet. His ears were ringing and he could feel a trickle of blood running out of his nose.

“Come on!” his friend shouted.

Ethan looked down at the enemy soldiers. The younger man was moaning softly, blood from shrapnel wounds soaking his back. The older man, having been closer to the far wall where the shell struck, was dead.

Jonas was coughing and gasping for air. “What was that?” he asked.

“That was our ticket out of here,” Ethan told him. “Can you stand?”

Jonas nodded and struggled to his feet. He retrieved his sword and purse from the wounded soldier.

“Looks like our boys are hitting back,” said Markus with a grin.

A bullet whined through the newly made hole in the building, striking the wall just above Jonas’ head. A glance outside was enough to reveal at least a dozen Nazi soldiers on the other side of the street. Ethan and Markus hit the floor, searching frantically for their rifles. The first shot was quickly followed by a hail of bullets.

By the time they managed to locate their weapons, two enemy soldiers had already run across to their side of the road, one of them with a grenade in his hand. Ethan fired as quickly as he could, but his shots missed. A moment later the attackers disappeared from his line of sight.

Markus was doing his best to keep the rest of the enemy from advancing. He hit two soldiers in rapid succession, then emptied his M-1, successfully forcing the remaining Germans to take cover.

“Enough of this!” shouted Jonas, ripping the amulet from its chain and placing it on the floor. “We are getting out of here now.”

Allied shells were striking with increasing frequency. One exploded only a few yards to their right, shaking the building and obscuring their sight with thick dust.

Ethan knew it would only be a matter of seconds before a grenade flew in. “We need to pull back,” he told the others.

“To where?” asked Markus.

“Anywhere but here.”

At that moment, Jonas smashed the amulet with a hunk of broken brick. It disintegrated with a blinding flash. When their vision returned, a swirling disk of blue light, six feet in diameter, was hovering directly above where the amulet had just been.

Ethan and Markus stared, dumbfounded.

“We should hurry,” Jonas told them. Leaping over the debris, he made his way across to Ethan and gripped him by the arm. But he was only able to pull him along for a few steps before meeting resistance.

“Let go of me!” Ethan shouted, yanking his arm free.

Undeterred, Jonas seized hold of him again. “There is no other way.”

Markus moved closer to the light, transfixed. “What is it?”

“A portal that leads to Lumnia,” Jonas explained. “But it won’t last for very long, I suspect. So we need to go immediately. If we huddle together, we should all be able to fit.”

Ethan felt something strike against the back of his leg. He glanced on the floor behind him and caught the unmistakable outline of a German stick grenade. It flashed through his mind that at least it wasn’t one of those fitted with a fragmentation sleeve, so the shrapnel would likely be minimal. Not that this would save him. The blast alone would be fatal when standing this close.

Markus saw it too, and was much better positioned to do something about it. Reacting instantly, he kicked it as far away as possible, then shoved both Ethan and Jonas hard down onto the floor. There was no time for him to hit the deck as well. A split second later the grenade went off. Even from the far side of the large room, the force of the explosion sent him flying backwards – back, and straight into the swirling depths of the waiting portal. Ethan watched in horror as his best friend simply vanished into thin air.

He scrambled to his feet, desperately calling out his friend’s name. But it was too late. Markus was gone. Ethan made a dash toward the portal, but Jonas leapt up and tackled him hard to the floor just before he reached it.

“We
must
go in together,” the older man cried out.

Without a word, Ethan stood up, dragging Jonas with him. “What happened to Markus?” he demanded.

“I told you. This leads to Lumnia.”

Disbelief and skepticism were now set aside. Markus had always been there for him. Now it was time for him to return the favor. “Then that’s where I’m going too,” he stated emphatically.

Wrapping his arms around Jonas, he heaved them both into, what was for him, the complete unknown.

Chapter Two

C
onsciousness returned gradually.
At first Ethan imagined he was back in New York, safe and sound in his own soft bed. He could almost smell the fresh Italian bread his father had brought home from work. It must be Sunday, he thought. Dad left the bakery every Sunday to eat lunch at home. He listened for his mother. Usually she would be singing Irish folk songs…unless she was in a playful mood. Then it was Louis Armstrong. But try as he might, he couldn’t hear a thing - not even the ever-present Brooklyn traffic outside his window.

He struggled to open his eyes, but found that he couldn’t. Something was wrong…out of place. Am I dreaming, he wondered?

The memory of Markus being thrown into the strange portal by the force of the grenade flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he recalled everything. This time he was able to open his eyes, though his vision was blurry at first. However, his sense of smell and hearing were as good as ever. Birds were chirping merrily, and the clanking of a hammer on steel rang out repeatedly. The stench of battle had been replaced by the musty smell of horses and tilled soil. It reminded him of the time his father took him upstate to visit his uncle’s farm.

As his focus returned, he could see that he was indeed lying in a bed – one made up with fresh linens and a thick blanket. The room was small and furnished with a compact dresser and wardrobe. The window to his right was open and the white curtains in front of it were pulled far back, allowing the brilliance of a clear day to shine in.

Ethan took a moment longer to survey his surroundings. He had no idea how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was hurling himself through the portal with arms locked tight around Jonas.

He was just about to get out of bed when he realized that he was no longer wearing his uniform. In fact, he was completely naked. Wrapping the blanket around himself, he walked over to the wardrobe. Inside he found a tan shirt and brown pants, along with a pair of dingy leather boots. The pants and shirt were a bit too big for his thin frame, and the boots a touch tight, but there was nothing else available. At least he found a belt hanging on the door to keep the pants up.

He was about to explore outside the room when the corner of his eye was caught by something moving at the window. A more direct look had him staring in utter disbelief. There, sitting on the windowsill, was what he could only describe as a tiny dragon. It was no bigger than a house cat. Black scales shimmered in the sunlight, and needle-like spines protruded down the entire length of its slender back and along a tail that was nearly as long as its body. White, razor sharp teeth peeked out of its mouth as it cocked its head and looked at him with reptilian shaped eyes that were deep blue in color. It seemed to be regarding him with intense curiosity.

Ethan simply stood there, mouth agape. Then a noise from outside the door caught the dragon’s attention. Spreading its leathery, bat-like wings, it immediately propelled itself up and away. Ethan ran to the window and poked his head out, hoping to see where the creature had gone, but it had already disappeared. There was nothing but a cloudless sky and a blazing sun.

The door behind him opened. Ethan spun around to see Jonas standing in the doorway, a look of concern on his face.

“I’m glad you’re finally up,” he said. “I was beginning to worry.”

“What the hell is going on?” Ethan demanded. “Where am I? What have you done with my things? And where’s Markus?”

Jonas held up his hand. “Please, one question at a time.” He examined Ethan’s attire. “I’ll get you some better fitting clothes later.”

“I don’t give a damn about the clothes. Just tell me what’s going on, or I swear to God I’ll…”

He got no further. All of a sudden Ethan could feel his head beginning to swim and his legs wobbling.

Jonas rushed to his side and helped him over to the bed. “Take things slowly,” he said. “The portal must have had a harsher effect on you than it did me.”

Ethan pushed Jonas away. “Answer me.”

“I told you before we came,” he replied flatly. “We’re in Lumnia.” He could see that Ethan was struggling to accept the situation. “Come with me,” he added. “There’s food in the next room. I’ll tell you what I can while you eat.”

At first Ethan didn’t move, but after a moment was forced to accept that he had little choice if he wanted to make sense of things. He needed answers, and Jonas was the only one who could provide them. He followed the older man out of the bedroom and down a narrow hallway that led into a large room with a hearth, a stove, and a roughly crafted table with several matching chairs. The walls were bare aside from a few hanging pots and pans, and the floor was covered with a frayed rug that spanned most of the room.

On the table was a wooden bowl containing what looked like porridge, together with a clay cup filled with water. Jonas waited until Ethan had taken a seat, then sat across from him.

“I understand how confusing this must be for you,” he began.

Ethan ate a spoonful of the
porridge
and frowned. “Not very tasty.”

“I don’t doubt it,” said Jonas. “The people here are simple farmers and unable to afford much in the way of delicacies.”

After washing the porridge down with some water, Ethan pushed himself to try some more. All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as what he’d been eating since D-Day.

Jonas leaned in. “As I told you before, you are in Lumnia now. You were sent to Earth by your mother, Lady Illyrian, when you were a baby. I was sent along to protect you.”

Ethan frowned. “If you’re supposed to protect me, why did you wait seventeen years before showing up?”

“I didn’t. I passed through the portal only seconds after you did. But it’s unpredictable and dangerous. That’s the very reason why it’s so rarely used. I was fortunate in that your mother had the foresight to tether you magically to the amulet, otherwise I may never have found you. It must have brought me to your location.”

“Magically?” Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not a kid. There’s no such thing as magic.”

Jonas fixed him with a hard stare. “If that is so, then how did you get here?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But you can’t expect me to believe in magic.”

“From the little I know of Earth, magic doesn’t exist there.
Why
is a question for a scholar. And I am just a servant.”

“Okay.” Ethan pushed back the bowl. “Let’s say for a minute I believe you. Why did my mother send me away in the first place?”

Jonas drew a long breath. “Trust me when I say she did not want to. But she had no other choice. Had you remained with her you would have certainly been killed.”

“Killed by who?”

“By the Eternal Emperor Shinzan,” he replied darkly. “To him, all who wield magic are a threat to his power.”

“But I don’t wield magic.”

Jonas chuckled. “Not yet. But I suspect you’ll learn soon enough.”

“I’m not going to be learning anything,” Ethan told him. “I’m going to find Markus and then get us back home.”

“And just how do you intend to do this? How will you find him? Considering what I’ve learned about the portal, he probably arrived many years ago and is long dead.”

Ethan sprang up from his chair. “He’s not dead! And I
will
find him.”

Jonas held up a hand. “There’s no reason to get angry. I’m only telling you the truth.”

He waited until Ethan had sat back down. “Let’s just suppose that he is still alive. How will you find him? I had the amulet to help me locate you, but you have nothing that connects you to your friend. Lumnia is a vast land. It would take years, and you don’t have the faintest idea where to begin.”

“I don’t care,” Ethan said stubbornly. “Markus would look for me.”

Jonas sighed. “Very well. If you are determined to go on a fool’s errand, I can’t stop you. But first you must learn how to stay alive. I’ve only spoken briefly to the farmer who lives here, but from what I can tell, things are now very different from when we left. How different remains to be seen.”

“Different in what way?”

“Back then, Lumnia was divided into the five great kingdoms – Kytain, Malacar, Al’Theona, Ralmaria, and Traxis. All of these had sworn fealty to the Emperor ever since the war was lost and the Council of Volnar destroyed.” He noticed the confused expression on Ethan’s face. “It was a council of the wisest and most powerful mages in the land. But that’s not important right now.”

Ethan saw a flash of emotion in Jonas’ eyes at the mention of the council. He was hiding something.

“Even the dragons could not endure the Emperor’s wrath,” Jonas added.

Ethan recalled the tiny dragon-like creature on the windowsill. He was about to mention this, but then stopped himself. Better to say nothing, he thought. If there was one thing he had learned in the Airborne, it was never to give information to someone you didn’t trust. And he sure as hell didn’t trust Jonas. Even if everything the guy had told him was true, Ethan suspected that he had an agenda of his own. And until he knew what that was, he’d be watching his every move.

Jonas continued with his explanation. “You were unconscious when we exited the portal in Lumnia, but I scouted around and found this farmhouse nearby. I told the farmer and his son that you’d tripped and hit your head and asked them to help me carry you here. I gave the farmer a copper
dractori
so that we might stay the night. He looked at it like he’d never seen one before. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that he hadn’t seen a coin like it since the days of his grandfather.”

“So how long has it been since you were here?”

“That, my boy, is a question I desperately need to answer.”

“That’s all very interesting,” said Ethan. “But how does this help me find Markus?”

“It doesn’t,” he replied. “Your quest to find your friend is not my concern. Keeping you safe and alive is. And if the Emperor discovers that the son of Illyrian has returned…”

“But if what you say is right, and many years have passed, shouldn’t the Emperor be dead by now?”

Jonas shook his head slowly and grimaced. “There is a reason he is called The Eternal Emperor. The one thing I know for certain is that he still rules. That much I could gather, even from the short conversation I had with the farmer.”

The sound of footsteps approaching from outside the front door drew their attention.

“Until I know more, say as little as possible,” Jonas whispered.

The door swung open to reveal a plump woman with shoulder length, mouse brown hair. Her simple, olive green dress was worn and stained from years of labor. Her weathered, sunbaked skin denoted the hard life of farming the land and tending to her home, yet her steps were still nimble and carried a slight bounce. A warm and welcoming smile formed on her face.

“Ah!” she said, her eyes on Ethan. “You’re up and about at last. And not a moment too soon. Rodger and Nate could use some help. And your uncle says you’ve a strong back and willing spirit. That is, assuming you’re up to it.”

Ethan forced a smile and gave Jonas a sideways glance. “Yes, ma’am. I’m fine. And I’m glad to help.”

She walked over to the table, looked at his half-eaten breakfast and frowned. “You’ll need to do better than that if you expect to keep up your strength. What’s wrong? Don’t you like porridge?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “I like it just fine. I’m just not that hungry right now.”

“Nonsense,” she scolded, sliding the bowl closer. “A young lad needs food to grow strong. She squeezed his right bicep. “And you could do with some meat on those skinny bones.”

She turned to Jonas, who was clearly amused. “And don’t think you’re getting off easy. There’s plenty to do around here.”

“I’m happy to help,” said Jonas. “And we appreciate your hospitality.”

She smiled. “Well, Rodger’s been going on and on about that bloody copper piece you gave him. Anyone would imagine you’d given him an Imperial gold
korona
. Anyway, I think it earns you a few days’ shelter. And I promise you’ll find it more comfortable here than the traveler’s lodge in town.” She gave him a friendly wink. “That’s assuming you’re not leaving us right away.”

“We’ll be leaving in a day, possibly two,” said Jonas. “But we’d be pleased to stay here until we are ready.”

“Good,” she said. After giving a quick nod, she moved off to retrieve a small sack of potatoes from the pantry.

“Ma’am,” said Ethan. He had just swallowed the last of the porridge.

“Call me Cynthia,” she told him, at the same time beginning to peel the potatoes with a small knife. “We’re not formal here.”

“Yes ma’am…I mean Cynthia. I’m ready to help now.”

“Then off you go. Just walk around the house. You’ll see Rodger and Nate.”

Ethan thanked her and stepped outside. Though the sun was only midway to its apex, the heat was already enough to measure up to any summer he could remember. The exterior of the farmhouse matched the simplicity of its interior, with a front porch boasting two modest rocking chairs but little else. A narrow path led away into the distance, where he could see a line of tall trees.

Following his instructions, he moved around the side of the building and quickly spotted two men repairing a wagon outside a dilapidated barn. The older man saw Ethan and waved him over.

“I see Cynthia’s put you to work,” he said. “I guess that knock to the head wasn’t as bad as your uncle thought.” Ethan assumed him to be her husband, Rodger. Leathery skin and a gruff disposition was just what he would expect from someone who made his living by working the land.

The younger man, Nate, still bore the ruddy complexion and bright eyes of youth. In fact, Ethan guessed that they were about the same age, though Nate was a bit taller and far broader in the shoulder. His rippling muscles created by a life of hard labor were obvious, even when covered by his shirt.

“Have you ever worked a farm?” asked Rodger.

“No, sir,” Ethan replied. “But I’m no stranger to hard work.”

Rodger scrutinized him and scowled. “Couldn’t tell that by the look of you. Anyway, just help Nate hold up the wagon while I fit the wheel.”