Jordan (14 page)

Jordan picked up the dog and held him under his arm. “Next time we leave him on the ship.”

“George broke the ice with the natives,” she reminded him.

“George also either saw or smelled something over there.” Jordan pointed with his chin.

Thunder boomed. The natives grabbed onto one another, their thin bodies swaying in the gusts.

Gray muttered, “Probably just another cat.”

The treetops rustled, the branches shaking. Vivianne tugged on Jordan’s shirt. “Over there. There’s something big hidden in
those trees.”

George kept barking. Jordan tensed and placed his hand on his Staff, almost as if it was a weapon.

The natives chattered. The children kept playing. Surely if there was a danger, these people would recognize it and protect
their children?

Yet something had shaken those tree trunks.

It was big.

And moving straight toward them.

A true friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world runs out.

—H
IGH
P
RIESTESS OF
A
VALON

J
ordan tensed and peered into the forest. While he didn’t believe the villagers had brought them out here to murder them, he
also knew better than to accept that Shadow was what it seemed. There were no footprints on the dirt path, as if no one had
passed this way before, but this close to the village, how likely was that? There was no buzz of insects in the forest, no
humming mosquitoes, no fluttering butterflies, no crawling ants. And the natives themselves were a bit generic.

Artificial world. Artificial people? If so, had someone created this world as a trap?

Ever since he’d spotted the blatant key shapes atop the thatched roofs, his imagination had soared with outrageous possibilities.

When a golden dragon flew down from the treetops, Jordan automatically reached for the Ancient Staff. It wouldn’t be the first
time he’d used the energy contained in the Staff as a weapon.

The dragon possessed huge spikes and dark purple eyes, and with his golden coloring, he had the exact opposite of Jordan’s
purple dragon form. But this golden dragon sported the same clawed forearms, thunderous hind legs, and long, spiked tail as
other dragons he’d known.

“A golden dragon?” Vi turned to him, eyes wide with wonder.

“Rumors about such creatures have drifted around the galaxy for eons,” Jordan told her. “I thought they were legends.”

“What kinds of legends?”

“Supposedly, the golden dragons are guardians of the four kingdoms, Soil, Space, Wind, and Fire.” He tightened his hand on
the Ancient Staff.

“He’s done nothing hostile.” Vivianne placed her hand on his arm.

“Not yet.” Jordan stepped forward and placed himself between the dragon and Vi, Gray, and the villagers. “Dragon, we have
come for the key.”

The dragon roared fire, but the flames shot over their heads. Oddly, the treetops didn’t catch fire, but the natives retreated
and disappeared into the forest.

“Now what?” Gray asked.

“We wait?” Vivianne raised an eyebrow.

“It won’t be long.” Jordan sensed the dragon’s impatience.

George didn’t even bark. He curled up at Vivianne’s feet, rested his head on his paws, and closed his eyes. Either the dog
was very accustomed to dragons, or the animals were communicating on another level.

“Should we dragonshape and try for a telepathic connection?” Vivianne asked.

“I’d rather not show our hand,” Jordan said. Besides, changing shape took energy, energy that he’d have to tap from the Ancient
Staff.

As thunder rolled and lightning clapped and the first drops of rain began to fall, the golden dragon morphed into a man. Blond-haired
and black-eyed, his bronzed skin tight over bulging muscles, he stood naked for only a moment before his nanoclothing produced
a loincloth to cover him low on his hips to his powerful thighs. He wore no weapons, and from the set of his shoulders, he
feared nothing.

With dark eyes he perused them, his nostrils flaring, his high cheekbones softened by full lips. “I’m the last scion of the
House of Tarpon. You may call me Devid.”

“You may call me Jordan.”

Vivianne stepped into the testosterone-charged air. “I’m Vivianne, and this is Gray. We’re visitors to this world.”

“It took you long enough to arrive.” Devid gestured them to follow him, turned, and walked deeper into the forest. “Let’s
get out of the rain.”

Vivianne didn’t hesitate. While Jordan released the hilt of his Staff, he followed more slowly. For now he’d let Vivianne
negotiate… while he watched for treachery.

Devid strode through the forest, and as the storm rolled in, the rain became a downpour. The canopy of trees prevented them
from being soaked to the skin, and soon they reached a cave. Set into a hillside of rock, the opening shielded them from windblown
rain, yet there was no welcoming fire, no food, no utensils of any kind. In fact, there was no indication that man or animal
had ever used this site before.

“Please sit.” Devid turned and frowned as if noticing the cave’s lack of creature comforts.

Chairs and a glowing fire suddenly materialized in the space of a heartbeat. Logs crackled, and Jordan could feel real heat
from three feet away.

Gray gasped. Vivianne kept her expression serene and took a seat. But her fingers clenched the arm of the chair as if to make
certain it was real. “I’ve heard of machines that materialize matter, but I’ve never seen one in action. Are they available
for purchase or trade?”

“I’m afraid not.” Devid folded his arms across his chest, but he didn’t sit.

Jordan also remained standing.

“So you’ve been expecting us…” Vivianne let her voice trail off.

“Yes.”

“What do you want?” she asked simply.

Jordan noted how she had yet to mention their need for food. Clearly she was testing Devid, without displaying their weakness.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

Devid’s answer might have surprised Vivianne, but she didn’t let it show. Instead, she lifted her hands to the fire. “It’s
good to be out of the rain.”

She allowed a silence to descend while the wood crackled and popped, and Jordan suspected Devid was waiting for them to say
or do something.

Jordan figured it was time to make a move. “During our walk through the village, we noticed wind vanes on the thatched roofs.
Each vane had a square at one end and a circle on the other. I have been searching for an object like—”

“Finally.” Devid smiled. “You seek the second key to the Ancient Staff?”

“Yes.”

Vivianne’s gaze sought Jordan’s, and the questions in her eyes weren’t hard to read. How did Devid know what they sought?
How did he know about the Ancient Staff?

Devid spat out words as if in a great hurry. “When Trendonis stole your Ancient Staff, he learned it was indestructible. So
he removed the keys and hid them throughout the Galaxy. On Tor you found the Key of Space.”

“Is another key here?” Jordan asked. “Is that why Shadow has the Wind Key weather vanes?”

“The weather vanes are merely indicators that you are on the right path.” Devid glanced at the Ancient Staff in the sheath
Jordan had made. “The Key of Wind that you seek can be found on the hurricane planet in the next star system.”

“You have coordinates?” Gray asked.

“They’ll be in your nav system by the time you return to your ship.” Devid snapped his fingers. “Oh, yes. I’ve seen to ample
food supplies, as well.”

“Thank you.” Vivianne spoke graciously. “What can we do for you in return?”

“Just find the damn key.”

“Why is our success important to you?” Jordan asked.

“Your mission’s important to every dragonshaper in the Galaxy.” Devid’s arrogance vanished. “Trendonis of the Tribes has a
master plan. Once he and his ilk got hold of the Grail, they set the rest of their evil plans in motion. They seek to destroy
the light in the Milky Way Galaxy, and they intend to expand into the Four Kingdoms.”

Vivianne shot him a puzzled look. “What are the Four Kingdoms?”

“Other galaxies. The Tribes want them, too, and must be stopped.”

“How do you know so much about us and our enemies?” Jordan asked.

“I’m not permitted to answer that question.”

“Why not?” Vivianne asked, her eyes flashing with banked exasperation.

“You have yet to prove yourselves worthy.”

“Of you?” Jordan frowned.

Devid snorted. “I’m only the messenger.”

“This world,” Jordan asked, “is not yours?”

Devid ignored his question. “The Tribes are amassing for a strike on Earth. Trendonis is on the move. You haven’t much time.”
Devid’s expression grew stormy. “You must leave Shadow and go to Tempest, the hurricane world. Retrieve the second key.”

“And the third key?” Jordan asked.

The irises of Devid’s eyes grew black until no whites showed. For a moment he seemed to burn with inner fire, and Jordan thought
he would dragonshape. But he beat back the blackness in his eyes, until once again he appeared quite human.

Muscles taut as if fighting some internal battle, Devid intoned, “Change will come to those who fight for the light.”

“I don’t understand,” Vivianne said softly. “Are you quoting ancient myths, proverbs, or…” Her eyes widened.

In a flash of light, Devid disappeared.

If you keep looking back, you’ll miss the present and the future.

—L
ADY OF THE
L
AKE

W
hat just happened?” Vivianne asked in astonishment.

At the man’s disappearance, Gray sucked in a noisy breath.

George didn’t react. Asleep, he lay on his side next to the fire, his feet twitching.

Jordan rubbed his forehead, but he didn’t look surprised at all. “Devid may not have been any more real than this fire or
the chair you’re sitting on.”

“There are machines that can materialize people, heat, and dragons?” Gray asked.

“He could have used a transporter.” Vivianne was thinking out loud. And what a wonderful device that would be—instantaneous
travel—no on-site machinery required.

Jordan leaned against a wall of the cave and stared into the fire. “Devid said he was a messenger. He might have been a four-dimensional
hologram.”

Vivianne shivered despite the heat from the fire. “How did Devid know so much about us? Or about the Ancient Staff and the
keys? He seemed so certain that Trendonis and the Tribes would strike Earth soon. But who is he, and is his information accurate?”

Gray’s eyes darkened with speculation. “If Devid really has the power to move instantaneously through space, that would certainly
help account for his knowledge of us, of Earth, of the Tribes.”

Jordan peered out of the cave. “The rains stopped. Let’s head back to the ship.”

“Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to point us toward Tempest.” Vivianne’s mind was spinning.

She would have appreciated more of Jordan’s insight, but she’d learned that Jordan neither spoke about the Ancient Staff unless
necessary, nor jumped to conclusions about their circumstances.

Perhaps in private he’d share his thoughts. In the meantime, decisions needed to be made. Vivianne recalled the planet Tempest,
with its one icy island and hurricane-force winds. Landing the
Draco
there wouldn’t just be dangerous, it might be impossible. “You think the hurricane world’s a trap?”

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “It’s crossed my mind.”

His suspicions matched her own and left her uneasy. They retraced their steps, but when they reached the place where they’d
entered the forest, the road and grass were gone. The thatched huts had vanished, too. Instead, the
Draco
perched on a dirt plain that swept like a black river to the horizon.

Vivianne spun to look back at the forest, but it, too, had vanished. She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets.
But when she dared to look again, she was still standing on black earth, the terrain now matching the sight they’d first seen
from space.