Seeds of Rebellion (29 page)

A soft hand jostled Jason’s shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” said a familiar voice.

Startled awake, Jason blinked and squinted. By the light of the setting moon, he saw a pretty face hovering over his own, dark hair hanging a bit longer than he remembered. The face matched the voice. But how could Rachel be here? He scooted away from her, messing up his blankets. His first instinct was that the lurker must have caught up to him and invaded his dreams. Propped up on his elbows, he focused on her eyes. They weren’t black. “Is that really you?” he asked in wonder.

She smiled and sat back. “Surprise.”

He lunged forward, throwing his arms around her, partly to make sure she was real, partly out of sheer joy. She hugged him back. Holding her made her presence tangible. “I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “Who found you?”

Several voices chuckled. Jason released the embrace, noticing for the first time the presence of Drake, Galloran, Dorsio, Aram, and Tark, all standing in a loose circle around where he had been sleeping. The unexpected audience made him awkwardly conscious of the exuberant hug.

“Drake and I found you guys,” Rachel explained. She held up a little string. From the end of it dangled the Caberton signet ring.

“My ring,” Jason said, reaching out a hand.

“Just a second,” Rachel chided. “Notice anything unusual?”

He did. As she held the top of the string, the ring didn’t hang straight down. The string hung at a slant, as if the ring were being magnetically drawn toward him. Not dramatically, but unmistakably.

“What?” Jason said, looking up at Galloran. “Is this some kind of homing ring?”

“It is now,” Rachel said. “We met a lady who makes charms,
and Drake had your ring, so she enchanted it to help us find you. It led us straight here.”

“Wow! Did the lady come with you?”

Rachel shook her head. “She’s a wanderer. Sort of a hermit. She would have let me wander with her, but she had no intention of joining us.” Rachel produced a necklace of bead and bone and a few small feathers. “She gave me this for you. It should prevent lurkers from reaching out to your mind. She tailored a couple specifically for me and Drake. This one is more generic, but she thought it would work.”

“Does yours work?” Jason asked.

“We ditched a lurker right after we started using them. It had been after us for weeks.”

“I know of this charm woman,” Galloran said. “She has a true gift.”

Jason gazed at Rachel, still trying to accept that she was real. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long,” Rachel replied. “I could have let you sleep a little more. We’re not attacking the bridge until the moon sets. But I couldn’t wait.”

“Let’s give them a chance to talk,” Galloran suggested. “They have been apart for some time.”

He and the others moved away, not too far, but far enough for Jason and Rachel to speak unobserved. Jason stared at Rachel, the pretty missing girl with photos all over the Internet.

“So the Word didn’t work,” Rachel said softly.

“They already filled you in?”

“A little. You really made it home? Then came back?”

Jason started folding up his blankets, brushing off leaves and dirt as best he could. “I couldn’t stay there knowing you were here and that the Word was a fake. I know a way home now, in a cave
near Felrook. It would be tricky to find it alone, but Ferrin could lead us straight there.”

“Did you check on my parents?” Rachel asked. “Did you let them know I’m alive?”

“Your parents have turned you into a national celebrity,” Jason said. “You’ve been all over the news, the Internet—you name it. Your mom and dad are anxiously looking for you. They’ve offered a big reward. But I couldn’t contact them. I’d mysteriously vanished the same day as you. I would have instantly become a suspect.”

Rachel fretted at her lower lip. “That makes sense. I knew they’d be so worried. I’m glad they’re looking. It means they still have hope. I’ve been gone so long.”

“It’s a little worse than you think,” Jason said. “The rate that time passes in our worlds doesn’t match up. It’s not way off, but when I got home, a few more weeks had gone by than I would have expected. And when I came back, less time had passed here than there.”

“So time goes by faster back home,” Rachel summarized.

“Seems like it,” Jason said.

“Then they think I’ve been gone even longer than I’d realized,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “I guess it’ll make the reunion that much sweeter when I make it back. Ferrin really rescued you?”

“Yeah. I guess they filled you in on that, too. Was he around when you got here?”

“He went with Nedwin and Chandra across the river. They stole a canoe. Galloran made it sound like you guys have him on some kind of leash.”

“Ferrin joined us voluntarily,” Jason said. “And he willingly gave Galloran a piece of his neck with an artery in it. He seems to have really joined our side.”

A little line appeared between Rachel’s eyebrows. “You think it’s for real?”

Jason shrugged. “My instincts say yes. He did everything Galloran asked, and had plenty of chances before that to turn me in.”

“We’re heading for the Sunken Lands?”

“Yep, then on to the Seven Vales to see if the Amar Kabal will help Galloran fight Maldor.”

Rachel nodded quietly. “You and Ferrin know a way home?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you thought about maybe … I don’t know …”

“Ditching everyone and having Ferrin take us to the cave?”

She shrugged.

Jason considered the idea. He had found Rachel. He had informed Galloran that the Word was phony. What more could he achieve by remaining in Lyrian? He was no warrior. This might be a smart time to bow out and let the experts run the rebellion.

Then again, he had a hard time picturing himself back home with so much left undone in Lyrian. He had managed to be useful so far. What if he could still make a difference here? Wouldn’t he always wonder how it all turned out?

“We’d have to fully trust Ferrin,” he said. “The way home is deep in enemy territory. We’d be at his mercy. Believe me, we don’t want to get caught.”

Rachel nodded. “I’m not saying we should try it. I’m mostly just glad to hear there’s a way. We can stress about it later. Looks like crossing this bridge has to come before anything.” She stood and offered Jason a hand. He accepted it, and she helped him rise, his blankets tucked under one arm.

“I’m glad you found us,” Jason said. “I was so worried.”

“You were worried?” she replied, hitting him on the arm. “I thought you were being tortured inside of Felrook this whole time!”

Jason chuckled. “Since we split up, I’ve mostly been watching movies, playing video games, and reffing Little League.”

She swatted him again.

“Hey!” he complained, backing away. “It wasn’t my fault! I got back as soon as I could.”

Hands on her hips, her expression softened. “You did come back for me.”

By her tone of voice, he could tell she was thanking him. “What are friends for?” He wanted to pick her up and spin her around, he felt so relieved.

Tark came tromping over to them. “We’re going to start moving into position.”

“What’s the plan?” Jason asked.

“You, Rachel, and I will ride with Galloran and Dorsio. We’re in charge of the horses. We’ll each lead one.”

“Even Galloran?” Rachel asked.

“He’ll stay toward the rear during the charge,” Tark explained. “He’ll trust his horse to stay on the road and follow the others. He may be blind, but he’s an experienced rider.”

“We’re riding up along the road?” Jason asked.

“Drake and Aram will hit the bridge on this side, first with orantium, then with sword and bow. Nedwin, Ferrin, and Chandra will do the same on the far side of the bridge. If all goes as planned, the fight should be over by the time we reach the bridge.”

“We’re just the getaway,” Rachel said.

Tark nodded.

“Can we blow the bridge after we cross?” Jason asked. “You know, mess up the pursuit?”

“Chandra asked the same thing,” Tark said. “The bridge was built to last. I agree with Aram and Ferrin that the orantium explosives aren’t strong enough to bring it down, at least not without some prep work. Give me three days and some tools, it might be a different story.”

“How do we know when to move?” Jason asked.

“The others will strike right after the moon sets,” Tark related. “We start for the bridge when we hear the first explosion. If needed, we’ll help mop up when we get there.”

Tark led them over to the horses. Dorsio and Galloran sat astride their mounts, each holding a lead to another horse.

“Crazy about Aram,” Rachel said.

“The giant thing?” Jason checked.

“Makes me wonder what else we don’t know about the types of people in this world.”

Jason nodded. “After the lurkers, I think I’ve learned enough.”

“Shall we move into position?” Galloran asked.

Jason, Tark, and Rachel mounted up. Tark explained which horse each of them would be taking, giving the appropriate lead to Jason and to Rachel. Jason had Chandra’s horse. Dorsio led the way at a cautious pace, Galloran near him. Tark brought up the rear. By the time they reached a clearing beside a wide road, the moon was about to touch the horizon.

Galloran shifted on his horse beside Jason. “If all goes as planned,” Galloran said, “six orantium spheres should detonate simultaneously, demolishing the manglers. Each attacker will throw one, and Drake will throw two. If our attackers shield their eyes correctly, the blinded guardsmen will be left vulnerable. A second volley of orantium should wipe out most of the remaining defenders. The rest will fall by more conventional means.”

Jason visualized the scenario. “Sounds airtight.”

“It doesn’t take a genius to plan a perfect assault,” Galloran said. “The trouble tends to show up during the execution.”

The waning moon was halfway below the horizon and slowly melting from sight. Dorsio led them onto the road. The bridge was visible less than a mile away, a pair of large cressets burning
at either end. As a group, the horses started walking toward the bridge.

Jason felt butterflies inside his stomach. He tried to tell himself that his part in this was simple. Follow Dorsio to the bridge. What could go wrong? Well, they could get to the bridge, find Aram and Drake dead and manglers waiting to chop them into taco meat while guards shot arrows from covered positions. Jason debated whether he should get out an orantium sphere of his own. He decided against it, since he would have his hands full trying to steer his own horse and lead another. The last thing he needed was to drop a sphere and blow himself up. Sometimes the best offense was avoiding self-destruction.

The moon disappeared below the horizon. Up ahead, white flashes blazed at either end of the bridge, the thunder of the explosions following a few seconds later. Jason’s horse sidestepped and whinnied, but thankfully didn’t go berserk.

Dorsio spurred his horse to a canter. Jason flicked the reins, and his horse followed. He kept a firm hand on the lead of Chandra’s horse. A second round of detonations strobed on the bridge, a little less simultaneous this time, the fiery whiteness reflecting off rising clouds of smoke. The resultant booming sounded like three or four cannons, fired in rapid succession.

Jason focused on staying with Dorsio and keeping his horses under control. If Galloran could do it blind, he had no excuse to mess up.

The bridge passed out of sight, obscured by trees. As the road rounded the trees, the near side of the bridge came back into view, one of the cressets still burning. Aram and Drake stood off to one side of the road. Tark and Rachel slowed up to pass the men their horses.

Staying with Galloran and Dorsio, Jason rode onto the bridge.
He smelled charred stone and metal and flesh. The twisted husks of manglers lay in smoldering ruins, along with several fallen guardsmen. Jason felt a pang of regret at the sight of the slain soldiers. At the same time, he knew that they supported an evil cause. Given the chance, none of them would have hesitated to kill him or his friends.

Jason loped across the bridge. Both cressets still burned on the far side. More demolished manglers and slaughtered soldiers lay in disarray, along with fragments of metal and blackened stone. Nedwin, Ferrin, and Chandra awaited them at the side of the road beyond the bridge. Jason slowed beside Chandra, who sprang onto her horse with wiry skill.

“I’ll grant Galloran one thing,” Ferrin said cheerily. “The man knows how to throw a party.” He was the only person who had not yet mounted his horse. He walked it over to the guardhouse, took the dagger from a fallen guardsman, and used it to tack a piece of parchment to the door.

“What does it say?” Jason asked.

“‘Down with Maldor, down with his puppets, down with his empire,’” Nedwin recited. “‘Warmest regards, Ferrin, son of Baldor.’”

“I composed it myself,” Ferrin said. “Best I could manage on short notice. With more time, I might have devised a rhyme.” He mounted his horse as Tark, Rachel, Aram, and Drake rode up.