A reliquary in which the religious artifacts are ALIVE
....VIVIQUARY.... A Dragon Science Fantasy Series
by
Mike Voûte
1. Logath
It all started with a missing llama. The stupid animal was bleating away only a few
metres down-
The old building hung on the ragged edge of the bluff, it's new occupants every so
often daring a furtive peek from the gap where the door used to be. Around them,
the gardens of deserted and ruined mansions also threatened to succumb to gravity,
the ground corniced over a boulder-
"They must have seen us..."
Above them, four almost-
"Guess they've got something more important to attend to," Logath whispered back. He had his left arm around his son's back, trying to still the boy's shivering. "Shhh, Darren, it's OK. They'll be gone in a few seconds."
"Are those... the 'Being' dragons, Dad?" the boy quavered.
Everyone knew a team of scientists had tried to save the World a while back and discovered
the dragons under the Earth. Hell, the planet was still in trouble, even with the
dragon's help. Then those space-
That's what people said, anyway. But how many had actually seen a dragon? Talk and
stories, maybe, but chances of spotting one? Logath couldn't believe it. Darren was
only eleven... and there were dragons flying over his head-
"Those were no birds," Logath stated the obvious and glanced over at his friend. "I was hoping I heard wrong down at the depot..."
"Yeah. And, you know? I heard 'em say 'Gruff' Johnie disappeared a few days ago," Bennel put in. "Bet he was doin' the construction site down there at the Church. Now the dragons are looking for someone else to eat," Bennel muttered under his breath. "Someone like us..."
"Bennel!" Logath hissed. He angled his head pointedly at Darren, but the boy seemed
too pre-
Many fearful minutes passed, and they shivered silently in the 'Post Global Warming'
cold, cringing every time their llama called out. A free spirit to the end, it had
broken free during the night, still loaded with a week's worth of salvage. And that
was the problem-
But it soon became apparent nothing was about to happen, and our companions peeked out stealthily from the old shed... just in case. With a brushing of heavy gloves, more to warm up than to remove the frost that adhered to their coats, they looked at each other in relief.
They'd been lucky-
Crawling to a better angle through the snow, Bennel and Logath watched the winged things surround a lone man standing just fifty metres below their hiding place in a heavy coat.
"Well, they're down there all right-
"Maybe. Since everyone went south, or left with those 'Custodians', pretty much anything valuable has been shrunk already... it's not much of a living, but it's all we have!"
"Huh. Hard to imagine this was a summer paradise for the rich, eh! But they left all their metals for us, wasn't that nice of them? Well, that guy's on our turf... just as well THEY found him."
"Awww, come on... he's just trying to survive like us. Stop being a jerk."
"You think these 'Beings' will eat him whole?" Darren asked in a small voice.
"You heard that, eh?" Bennel whispered with an evil grin at Darren. "They say this batch of 'em are particularly nasty..."
"Oh, come on, Bennel... knock it off." Logath watched the man below nod to each one
of the creatures in turn. "Look. They're not eating anyone-
"You think? No one can control those things, Logath! Except, maybe for those Custodians... but that was long ago. I say that guy down there doesn't stand a chance. They'll eat him. Then, they'll come looking to see if there are more of us around to eat.."
"For crying out loud, will you quit it already? And dragons don't eat people anyway... only electricity. And they're welcome to it."
"Yeah, right. Imagine a world without any technology! Since that accident last year, you never liked electrical stuff, did you? But sure, believe what you want. I've heard stories about these Beings that scare the Hell right out of me. Damn! A friend of mine went into one of those Recrudescence places and never came out. Not for me, man!"
"He was sick, Bennel! Recrudescence is supposed to make you 'dragonkind', but you've
got to be DEAD first! And I was almost there myself-
"Amen to that! All for a measly chunk of copper... I TOLD you there's a reason hydro guys connect their stuff to ground! Hey! What's up Darren?"
"So, which is it?" Darren asked them, eye brows raised. "Are they good or bad?? Tell me the truth..."
"Well, not all these dragons are going to be the same, right?" Logath told Darren
earnestly. "Sure, maybe they aren't the kindest things on Earth, but no one has ever
claimed to have been harmed by a dragon so far's I know. My Grandad told me all about
the ones in his time-
"Well, they don't look all that friendly..." Darren started.
"And," Bennel finished fot him, "there's no way I'm going down there!"
"Fine. Stay here then, Bennel!" Logath spouted irritably. "But, I'm going to go get
our llama. Stupid-
"Careful, Dad!" Darren worriedly gave his dad a quick pat on the back.
Logath nodded back and smiled. How often had he told his son those same words? "No problem..." Then he very carefully made his way around the rocks, just in case a loose one tumbled down, giving away his presence. He could see that the llama's pack had caught on a branch and a quick flip would free the animal.
Making small cooing noises, Logath approached gingerly downwind-
Then, from above him, he heard his partner's soft whistle.
"Hey! Logath! I think they see you!! That guy's gesturing and the dragons are raising their heads!"
Trying to stay as little of a target for whatever fiery blast might come, Bennel didn't dare to raise his head. "Damn, I can't watch... Logath! Please! Get down!"
Brazenly, Logath was in plain sight now. He waved up at Bennel and called, "They're not even looking my way, Bennel! Stop worrying so much."
"I wouldn't be worrying if they weren't about to start fighting, idiot! Wait... what the HELL? The damn things are zapping the ground or something! Logath! Do you see 'em?"
But Logath didn't see. As the ground suddenly shook from the enormous forces wielded
by the creatures below, he slid down the slope with a landslide of rocks. He screamed
once, long and loud, and rolled with the rocks while the dust choked the breath out
of him. At a sturdy tree, the debris parted, leaving his body ragged against the
trunk. The fleet-
Logath's vision swam in and out as he lay, images of his friend and son sweeping
down the scree more painfull than his own injuries. He saw Bennel's body submerge
and resurface several times and then bang against another tree. And Darren was the
second last thing he saw-
And the last thing Logath saw, he almost expected. He was flying through the air!
They had come for him-
2. Beings
Father George Lambert-
Running was hardly an option-
Now, dragons had been around for generations already-
After the confrontation between the Being-
Since then, dragons had pledged to help Mankind, and as far as George could tell,
they were willing and quite capable. Imagine being able to shape the planet at your
will-
It was a journey not long away for George himself, and he had to admit to being a
little apprehensive about it. But the cancer was growing worse each day inside him
and the medics had no help to give him. Just like thousands of others-
The dragons ate energy-
And so his thoughts were wrenched back to the present. Maybe now might be time for
a revelation? Or... maybe now was a time for being killed?? The Elder Being who called
herself Beryl, had fled into the Church before the newcomers even landed. She'd never
seemed afraid of anything before. And her son-
All the while, the other Elder who called himself Varian was crouched low, his horns
flashing a deep-
George couldn't help it-
He could be quite safe with Varian right there-
After all, the story of what the Elders had done had been told by every dragon who'd
ever arrived on the surface. They had wiped out their own race. They had actually
caused the 'Big Bang', for crying out loud! Then, while every other adult Being died,
these cowards had snuck onto their children's life-
It was all ancient history now. A few mere men-
The 'repenting' the Elders were supposed to be doing right now seemed to be going well enough so far. Maybe a little too well. Had they only been waiting?? Had the ancient portal in Boothia now spewed the Devil out to land beside him with a thud?
George barely suppressed a shudder... moving might not be the best option here. Far better he become another of the statues lining the courtyard and just listen to the mental barrage going on around him.
"FEADDD!!" The growling force of Searattus's mental outburst rang deep into his mind. Fead somehow managed to cringe even lower and George could see Searattus actually begin to smile! Around him, the air literally crackled with tension, and with the weight of unease seeping out of the minds of the newcomers, it was easy to imagine poor Fead as the very next hostage.
Still, Varian stood his ground and stared Searattus down, instantly angrier as he noticed Searattus reaching out for Fead. Varian never even glanced at the other three of the newcomers who were backing away quickly. Seeing that, George figured it might be prudent to do the same. He slipped backwards ten meters and ducked behind a stone bust. At least the statue absorbed some of the volume of the mental barrage invading his head, but probably would do little as a shield.
"I WARN YOU!!!" Varian's mind-
"THREATS, Varian???" Searattus called back in instinctive and escalating anger. "After all I did FOR THEM?? After all I did for YOU?"
"I know what you did!! For that you should EXPIRE!!!"
It only lasted an instant; Searattus obviously realized quickly that outrage might not be his best option at the moment. 'You misunderstand me, Varian! These are no hostages! No need for violence...' But he might as well have saved the energy.
Varian seemed focussed on blocking Searattus's voice out of his mind. George could
hear him blithering some mental dialog that, in a moment, could have been a wizard
uttering a magical spell; "Four ZMT lines running east and west-
A screech like swords being drawn from the ground underfoot brought George's face into a grimmace and his hands over his ears. My God! Now what??
"You cannot! Think what will HAPPEN..." Searattus was powerless to defend against
it-
Varian's muzzle scowled a twisted grin, and he gestured with his talon to bump the tornado of power against Searattus's hide. Each contact burned instantly and brought a hiss of pain out of Searattus. Varian was obviously enjoying this far too much. "I could terminate you where you stand..."
Searattus stood defiant through the torment. "Yes, Varian. Kill me now. Kill us ALL..."
And that would have been the end of ALL of them, had not George heard a high pitched
scream not far away. And, he knew it wasn't from himself-
He began shouting at the top of his lungs. "HEY!! DRAGONS!!! FIGHT some OTHER time, OK??"
Varian obviously heard him; he was bound to obey the call of Mankind's life and death by the very conditions of his freedom... and George had never used that condition lightly. The dragon looked down at George in annoyance.
"Did you HEAR that?? It sounded like someone shrieking-
"Immediately..." Disdainfully raising up on shimmering hindquarters, Varian thrust
a muzzle of metallic teeth in the direction where George heard the sound. Huge eyes
flashed rapid pulses towards the slope-
"There. Three of your kind appear to have fallen from the ridge behind us, George. They may be badly damaged. But..."
"Ahhh, damn!" George interrupted as he brushed off his clothes. "Did they have to get so bloody CLOSE? Why NOW of all...?"
"Very unfortunate," Varian forcibly continued, "but we have matters to attend to
here." The impartial telepathic speech from Varian was just what George come to expected
from him-
"Varian, these are people we're talking about!!"
"Urr, yes, George," Varian blew him off. Turning to the Being he'd incarcerated, he snarled. "Now, Searattus... it is MY turn to force..."
But his mental block was down and the distraction had done it's work. The newcomers
finally had a chance to communicate over all the layers of task and confusion, and
a somewhat annoyed and somewhat amused mind-
"Urrrrr... Fathers?? Listen, can we have peace for just an instant?"
George blinked as he overheard Varian's bolt of surprise. The Being had only now begun to focus on the other three newcomers. "Gant?? Ahhhh." There was a pause.
"My son," Varian added tightly for George's benefit. "Searattus's son. Of course.
Councillors Eriel and Pherlion would send him to escort Searattus-
"Gant... urrr, Councillor Gant??" Varian broadcast the greeting humbly, not sure if there was any animosity between a displaced father and son anymore.
"And our honoured Councillor's siblings come as well, I see... Errol. Varios. All the more reason for my immediate concern."
"Ahhh, father," Gant spread his forearms out. "It's good to see you again. So much... but, our help is needed here. And Searattus is offering it. Can you let him go... please?"
And, just like that, the situation appeared to de-
There was noticeable relief in Searattus's huge eyes as the sizzling snap of the barrier around him dissolved instantly. George watched Searattus send a shudder up and down his body and spring away from the spot he was imprisoned on. He quickly nodded at Fead and then at Varian.
Searattus'd actually been worried, hadn't he? George watched in wonder as Gant bowed
to Varian in acknowledgement, then repeated the tribute to Searattus. They were acting
like aggressive dogs; posturing replacing any need to fight to the death-
Yet, it seemed the introductions had been made now. George wondered if the recent
arrivals from Canada's north had expected this all along. Fead had made a big mistake,
certainly, but right away Searattus found a little reminder that he couldn't just
do anything he wanted. In the end, it couldn't have worked out better. And now that
it was over, the young newcomers shook their muzzles and bowed amicably-
But the next item on the agenda pressed deep: George barely had time for a sigh. Three people badly injured... not good. "Dragons?? Searattus??"
If those poor guys were too far gone, their essence-
But Searattus helping those poor men on the slope?? From what George had heard, he'd
as likely take their essence and be done with it-
All of this was going beyond George's control. The young ones were busy pointing Searattus up the slope to where the quake victims might lay. He saw Searattus nod and the ten metre mass of the Elder's body impossibly just floated straight up into the air and headed away. Shortly afterwards, Gant followed on his tail.
That's when George felt the shift in attention towards him. Surrounded by dragons-
"Soooo. You can help?" George offered hesitantly. "Those poor guys are going to be a little intimidated with a dragon sneaking up on them... especially if they're injured! And I'm not going to be climbing up there in a hurry..."
The mind voices babbled like a crowd at a party. Errol. Varios. Gant... Fead. Typical
kids-
"Here. This should help you, I believe." Searattus had popped off the ground and
come up behind George in silence. The dragon sardonically extended one leg, grabbed
George by the waist-
It didn't even hurt as much as George expected-
From above him he could hear the young dragons berating Searattus: "On your back Searattus!! I thought we showed you how we did it for Dave Heervan and his team? On your back!"
George felt a quick pang of indignance from his ride. OK, fine, George thought, as
he swung over the boulder strewn slope like a rabbit under an eagle, it may take
a while before he gets it right! That Searattus had a deep need to prove himself
was obvious-
Then, the dragons would bring the victims back here to the Church. Presumably in
a more... gentle manner. But most importantly, Searattus had absolutely promised
not to take their essence-
The five dragons thumped heavily into the rubble far up on the slope, each one sinking deep as if they weighed a hundred tonnes each. George could hear them speak as Searattus floated him lower down the scree where only Bennel's torso poked out of the stones and gravel.
Errol sounded worried. "That one looks very poorly. Remember seeing those three on the way in, Varios?"
"They did not seem to be in any danger at the time!"
"We were a little busy trying to keep Fead from getting killed," Gant stated solidly to Fead's annoyed look. "But look there... The little one is fine..."
Meanwhile, George was placed gently beside Bennel's unconscious body and Searattus floated off again, imbedding his huge weight into the debris a short distance away.
"Searattus, errr, thank you for that!" George looked at himself in dismay. His shirt was in shreds and the belt stretched an extra size.
"Of couse, George. Of course." In Searattus's mind-
George turned to the broken form. And that didn't look good at all... Damn! "Hello? Sir.. can you hear me?"
Bennel's eyes fluttered open once and fell closed. Feeling for a pulse, George found only a weak heart beat, halting as he checked the artery. Maybe the dragon...
"I'm too late. Searattus?? You're on..."
Searattus crunched down right beside the man. Beryl's eyes popped wide open at the sound; he shuddered and fell still. The dragon's eyes flashed a brief pulse of blue and Bennel's twisted body wrenched once more and he died.
"He was beyond repair, George." Searattus was very satisfied with his work and nodded his muzzle to George. "But thankfully, his essence has not been wasted!"
But then, Searattus's exuberance was quickly doused amidst admonishments from the others. With a frown, George could only ask, "What? What happened?"
"Searattus!!" The cry came at the same time from an aghast Errol and Varios. "You promised you would not take his essence!"
"But..."
"Father..." Fead was already airborne, with the other dragons about to do the same. "You should at least have tried! With your skills..."
"Of course... certainly... I am shamed," Searattus grumbled. As he did, he touched George with the edge of a complaint he seemed wanting to share. There was nothing I could have done! Younglings! Such important work to do and we must listen to foolish younglings. How did it come to this?
George would ask him about that later...
Humbly, Searattus acquiesced to the rest. "I will see to the other one's injuries," he broadcast. "And no... I will not. However, I have learned that our appearance is deathly fearful..."
Below, Varian only huffed.
"Yes, I was afraid of that," George stated. As he scrabbled up the rubble towards where Logath lay, he called, "OK, dragons. It won't help this other guy any, seeing all of you around. Best stay there. Searattus, can you remain camouflaged?"
"Of course. So..." Searattus 'pathed as he arrived at Logath's position. "I am here. Let me analyse this one's condition."
Landing just above George with a thud, the infinitely heavy creature shook more free
rock down the slope from above and the rocks just bounced off its dragon-
And there lay the poor fellow, unconscious against the tree and bleeding badly from
a splintered leg. An ugly discolouration was building around his abdomen-
Searattus analysed all this with his huge eye-
Varian was beginning to growl a deep mental force. Gant was unfolding his wings, his horns now sparking like Varian's.
"Wait!!" Searattus blasted a mental plea. "I AM trying!! Just watch..."
With that, his shimmering form blinked solid, and he swiftly scanned Logath's body
with the strange visible X-
The Elder concentrated on his task and George watched the leaky artery blossom in
size to the cellular scale and then, where there were no cells, a metallic tube extended
from the surrounding cells. The leak now sealed, George should have felt relief.
But instead he shivered with a spike of fear-
"What's happening to him?" George called. "There's all that silvery stuff building up??"
"Oh. I may have gone a little further than I planned," Searattus said quickly. "But
I have rebuilt all his life functions-
"Beryl can do this?" Gant burst out with dismay. Why hadn't the dragons told him this in the first place??
"Beryl rejected bionics as heresy generations ago... she would not do this. Besides she would have to expend considerable energy."
George couldn't believe it. How many could she have saved?
"Can she UNDO it??
"Urrr... undo. Possibly. Why??"
"OK," George decided, "we take him to Beryl. She might not like it, but... What about the boy? Do you see him?"
Searattus was obviously in a flap now. "Of course. The little one of your race is in perfect order...no need to interfere."
"But where IS he??"
"Just up the slope to your right side. Concealed..."
"Of course. He's frightened out of his wits but doesn't want to leave his dad. Wait here, Searattus. I'll try to call him down..."
George wearily crawled up ten metres and squinted up over the rubble and broken trees. There, he spied the shadow of a head moving behind a clump of boulders. "Son?" he called. "I'm Father Lambert. Of the Church down there. I won't hurt you. Neither will the dragons..."
Silence.
"Son?"
Darren dared a tiny sob. "My father?"
"He's hurt... will you help me with him? Please?"
"Well... OK, I guess. You sure they won't eat me?"
Searattus huffed a spark of electric flame. "Urghhh... I think not, boy."
"He talks?" Darren asked George with a growing smile.
"In a way," George said amusedly. "I think he likes you."
Another huff of electric sparks. "Beryl certainly will. Beryl always had a weak spot for younglings."
"Whatever," shrugged George. Then waving at the boy, he called out, "Coming? What's your name?"
"Darren." Darren bounded over the boulders like an antelope, "What can I do?"
"We're going to have to lift him to the Church. The dragons will do that part. With this blanket here, we'll make a litter for him. If I can borrow your belt and backpack? We'll want dragon talons as far away as possible!"
Below, Gant was already air-
3. Logath's Demise
The Lady Beryl hunched down on the Church sacristy floor and allowed herself a brief
interval of unblocked mind so she could listen to the commotion outside. Searattus!!
In all Chaos! She could tell that Varian had freed her mate-
Meanwhile outside, Varian had just used up two rotations worth of his energy... he
would be starving!! All for that ingrate of an... EX-
The last time she and Searattus had contact out of stasis, her mate had offered her
up as a sacrifice in a bid to take control of the World-
Now, Beryl never really had a problem with submitting to the children-
Beryl's massive body wagged as her tail flicked in agitation. She forced herself
to concentrate on the crystal altar before her, into which moments before she had
poured a half-
STILL nothing! The whole affair around her seemed such a strange throwback from an
ancient surface-
So much had changed in her life-
Ahhhh... to have the energy they once enjoyed when they'd first arrived in this universe!
To once again be free to create whatever their minds desired... But that was only
an invitation to disaster now-
Abruptly, her thoughts were ripped back to the present. A violet glow began from
the crystalline machinery inside the altar-
It was another quaint euphemism George would use; Beryl had tried over and over to
explain how the technology actually worked. Still, the idea served the Church well-
"Decoding in progress, Lady Beryl," the Reverend intoned. The stupid machine at least had her old title programmed in. Nice of Councillor Eriel...
"Stand by for a Consular message that preceded yours... apologies..."
"Of course," Beryl grumbled plaintively to a device she knew she had only limited access to. "Of course you wait until I have expended my energy..."
"Your timing was not perfect, Lady," the Reverend agreed almost indignantly. "But I have tallied your expenditure and will return...
"See that you do," Beryl interrupted angrily. But her irritation would mean little
to the machine-
"Greetings, Lady Beryl. Greetings Searattus and Varian," the clear voice of Eriel spoke out of the column. "Pherlion and I have agreed to allow you five extra rotations on the surface in light of the work you are doing to bring us the energy from that probe.
"Use what resources you need, but only what you need. Understand when I say, Councillor Gant wields our authority on this. And... our siblings are there to learn, Lady Beryl. Put them to work with Fead.
"May your project succeed, Elders-
And then, the column went silent and dark, leaving Beryl to brood and ruminate. Great space! Five rotations with Searattus?? Perhaps stasis would be better...
As Beryl considered, the sacristy doors behind her banged open. She turned her muzzle quickly, rallying her defences, but then saw only George struggling to pull something in from the hall on a gurney. Gant entered right after George, pushing the rolling cot from the rear. "Lady Beryl... mother... greetings."
"Gant? Gant! Greetings to you, my son. And, a Councillor... what an honour!"
"Ah, mother... so much we cannot discuss right now." Gant gestured at the man in front of him. "We had best focus on the here and now..."
"What happened?" Beryl asked, dropping the subject.>/p>
Right behind them, the small frame of a boy darted furtively through the doors. His
breaths were broken by huge sobs, "My father! He's hurt... the big dragon tried..."
Darren shuddered from the memory. "My Dad's name is Logath... he fell off the cliff...
Sea-
"Beryl," George began...
Beryl amusedly read his effort to think of Logath as being... 'repairable'.
"I do not plan to take his essence, George!" she mentally exclaimed. And then she saw the state Logath was in. "Oh Deity! I see Searattus has had a try..."
"Well, yes," George puffed. "I'd like to talk to you about that."
"He told you, did he? Bionics... I shudder to think."
"Then, you too can use the technique..."
"It is an unnatural thing! Just look what Searattus has begun in him!!"
George hadn't actually had the chance to look hard at Logath since the rescue from the scarp. But now he could see the metallic sheen that reflected light from within Logath's body. Blood that no longer ran red... He looked at Beryl in horror.
"You see?" Then, noticing Darren standing ready to run back out the door, Beryl called to the boy. "Hello Darren. This must all seem very strange to you... Dragons carrying your father. Were you afraid?"
George gave Darren a little pat on the shoulder but the boy was locked into silence. "Darren was pretty scared, but he never gave up following, eh jackrabbit?"
Darren ventured a tiny smile as George continued...
"The boy raced over boulders and rubble, never mind the monsters! I could hardly drag myself a few yards on that stuff... Still, dragons make a heck of a good EVAC team, no doubt about it. Now this boy's Dad needs your help, Lady Beryl."
"You can help my Dad?" Darren asked meekly. It occurred to him that this dragon somehow knew his name.
"I will not give you false hopes, little one. Your father is near death... he must enter Dreaming..."
"Oh no, Lady Dragon... Not yet! Please!"
"This," George put in, "is important to the boy. There is nothing you can do?"
"Great space, I must undo what Searattus has done! Impossible."
Noting George's raised eyebrows, she added, "Once I had to help our children this
way. Death stalked them too-
George nodded pensively. "I see... well, that explains why you Elders look different. But your younglings seem perfectly happy and fit to me... is it really so bad?"
"Urrrr. I thought so. Listen, George. I will do what I can, but understand that we will end up killing him."
George shuddered as Darren made a tiny cry and burst into tears. It had to be the strain of trying to rescue the two men... George found himself with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please, Beryl... do your best."
"He will survive but a few days as he is, George. But, there IS another way... We need to get him to the portal in Boothia."
"The portal??"
At that moment Searattus burst into the hall, all hero. "I saved him just in time! I carried him here without him even noticing! It is SO good to be free! My Lady... my mate... we will accomplish such things together!"
Like a block of stone, Beryl stood rooted to the floor, her jaw agape. There was absolutely nothing she could say. And so taken aback was she, her mind drew a complete blank. Searattus took that as a compliment.
"Urrr, Beryl" Searattus added hesitatingly, "Do you think you could just give the human a quick scan... just in case I missed something?"
Beryl turned tail and stomped out the sacristy doors, George rolling Logath on the cot behind her. Searattus and Gant followed, looking worried. Any attempt Searattus made to talk to his mate was firmly shunned and Gant just gave his mother space to vent.
As they exitted the Church, Logath shuddered awake-
"Oh shit!" Logath cried, "it's the dragon-
George grasped the man's shoulders. "Calm!" George could see the panic in the man's
eyes. How in the world am I going to explain this? "Your son is fine. Look behind
me. But, I'm afraid your friend is dead-
Logath followed George's gaze and suddenly made out the ten metre tall monster beside him, it's form shimmering just enough to discern from the background. The sheer size and proximity shocked the man into a dead faint again.
"Weak creatures... will you take his essence, Beryl?" Searattus's thoughts held disdain as he and the other Beings squeezed through the doors into the hall with them. It seemed curiosity had tempered even Searattus's impartial mind.
"NO, Searattus," Beryl admonished. "I am at this moment speaking to his essence. He must know of his Destiny."
"A waste of energy," Searattus sent a mental grumble. He almost choked at the rest of his words. "So... what news from the Council? Are we, errr... authorized... to begin our project?"
"Yes, Searattus," Beryl told him warily. "We have the time and energy of five turns. Your own son will be in charge."
"Five" Searattus raised his eyeridges as he dumbly repeated the words. "Gant?? Not Varian??"
"You heard me correctly," Beryl said, looking over at Gant as Searattus glared at their son.
"Younglings! Gant, how do they expect us to do this under these conditions?"
"They believe," Gant suggested gently. "Just not in quite the same way as you do, perhaps..."
"Then they believe far too easily," Searattus 'pathed impatiently. "What I plan is not just a simple pastime! How am I supposed to finish this??"
"Errol, Varios and I will help where we can, father." Gant told him. "With all the
Elder skills you possess, is this not an easy task? Just re-
"You should know better," the Elder grumbled, "after all I have taught you. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. I have very limited information and there is a lot of experimentation to be done. You and your friends have a lot to learn in a short time!"
"I wll do my best, father," Gant offered diplomatically, "right after I wave goodbye to my mother..."
"Where are they going? Beryl, I need us to begin as soon as possible!"
"Varian and I have... a small errand in Boothia to do," Beryl said. Seeing Searattus's
visage darken, she almost revelled. Good. "Do not worry, spouse. We will not be long-
She and Varian swooshed out the door after George and Darren, Logath between them,
leaving Searattus sputtering and grumbling in the room. But he had already committed
himself, and finally stomped out in search of the other younglings. Gant stayed behind
a bit more, looking down the hall through the door way. He held up a fore-
4. Heros
Logath, apparently, was dead. All in all, he figured he was taking that rather well.
First, the fear... confusion... disorientation! Then, images and voices in his head:
he remembered it now-
Logath reached out to touch the tattooed arm that splayed out on the sand by some
lake. No doubt that was his, all right. Then he reached for the body's abdomen and
gave it a good poke. He could feel the heavy coat depress-
OK... he was no longer in that body-
The dragons had done it. 'Lady Beryl' had zapped him with those huge eyes of hers, and he'd woken up here; here seeming to be wherever he wanted to be.
Seconds ago, he'd been back at his old house... a place he'd left in despair four
years ago. A dingy two-
With a deep sadness, Logath realized his son wouldn't know him much either. Unless...
And somehow that'd brought him to this desolate lake, poking that cadaver that wasn't
him anymore. And not a dragon in sight-
Ahhh, of course-
But now he could feel their presence, and the dragon voices in his head told him
to see this 'Dave Heervan' guy... he'd help him to visit the outside world-
What made the guy famous, Logath knew-
Well, I never expected to go to Heaven, Logath figured, but if this lets me see my son again...
I'm hungry.
And so, Logath found himself at the city shopping mall. In the food court, as a matter
of fact. And, that cheese burger-
*****
"Papa? Papa! There you are..." A voice came out of the depths of Dave Heervan's mind. How can there be anyone calling my name in space?
An answer appeared in Dave's mind the second he thought it.
Right-
The feeling of floating through the colourful clouds of the Crab Nebula disappeared. Dave imagined himself looking behind him and instantly his view careened back to Earth and narrowed to a shopping mall hallway. There, a young female stood, with startling blue eyes and a blond sheen.
"Corrine? My beautiful daughter! What brings you here?"
"Hurry up," beckoned the youngster. "It's your four hundred-
"Ohhh. That many?? They have?" Dave exclaimed in a haze. Had it been so long? His daughter was always so much better at adapting to this world of dragons... "I remember my seventieth... or was that my ninetieth?"
Suddenly his wife was there too. She blinked her huge eyes several times and swooshed around, taking in her surroundings. She grinned at Dave and then saw Corrine. "Corrine? My girl... you've grown in the time I was away!"
"Hi, Mama!" said Corrine with a huge, crocodile smile. "Papa is going to love the gift we're getting him. I hope he doesn't crash this one like the last time!"
"Hah! I think he just wanted to see what would happen..."
Dave could feel Fey's love deep through the sarcasm. Her body was close-
He quickly clamped his jaw shut and thought the words. "Fey! I'm Dreaming-
Leaning over, he planted an enormous kiss on the ridge of Fey's long nose; the passersby in the crowded mall just ignored them like they didn't exist.
Fey was caught unawares. "I...Dave? Hey, knock off the silly stuff," Dave's wife's thoughts railed. "You're embarrassing her!"
Seeing his daughter's pained look, Dave projected his mental words to her pointedly, "Don't look, Corrine."
"What, me? Embarrassed?" Corrine laughed a tinkling mental chortle. "I'm four hundred
and thirty-
And Fey did. She wrapped a long tail around Dave's torso and pulled him in for a muzzle to muzzle plant. It wasn't until Dave pulled firmly away with a yelp that she noticed she was slicing Dave's hide with a hug full of sharp talons. "Ooops..."
Corrine's pained expression worsened. "Mother..."
"Let's do that again," Dave said sarcastically as he grinned at his daughter. "I like it..."
"All right, all right. It's all so strange," Fey sent, looking around. "A minute ago I was standing at the base of Mount St. Helens watching a cloud of ash with Sean and Jerri and their kids. Now I'm here."
"I know what you mean. So how are our old friends, anyway?" Dave asked. "Haven't seen them in a few hundred years, I think..."
"They're in the next stasis pod over, Dave," Fey decided to stay serious. "They haven't aged a day. But they're enjoying the ship's database just like us. Anyway, where's Etien?"
"Eating, most likely." Dave put in. "That's my boy..."
"Yup!" Corrine appeared to point down a path. "Stuffing his muzzle at the cinnamon bun place."
"Oh... and how long has my son been there..." Fey admonished. "Fifty years? How many deserts can someone eat in all that time? And besides... can we even EAT cinnamon buns??"
"Ah, Mam, it's all relative," Corrine adolescently bespoke a less-
Fey mentally looked down. She had a shopping bag in one hand that she didn't know she had a minute ago. "This box of cinnamon buns sure smells real. Do you want one Corrine?"
"That's more like it!" Corrine waddled closer. "Yes please, I'd love a bun. Did you get extra icing too?"
Fey thought a moment and smiled. "Of course I did!"
Dave suddenly had a coffee in his claws. He barely stopped punching a talon through
the paper cup. "Damn! Tastes really good though... Hmmm. Urrrr-
"Who?" Fey asked.
"That one staring at us... I keep thinking of Errol."
"You're right, Papa! I think I even know his name," Corrine told them. She called out over the typical buzz of a busy mall; "Logath?"
Corrine's call startled Logath enough to make him drop his burger. "You know me?" he called back.
"I'm Corrine Heervan," Corrine said, moving closer. "You know us through Errol, right? This is my Papa and Mam. My brother is out in the mall stuffing himself as usual..."
Dave sidled over to Logath and extended a fore claw in an instinctive greeting. "I'm Dave..."
"Urrr... Hi!" Logath suddenly seemed to realize he was putting an unprotected hand into the talons of a male dragon. "The dragons'd said to look for you guys so's I could find my way back to see my son. That's a coincidence..."
"Did they," Dave muttered quizzically. Then he took Logath's greeting carefully in
a claw. "Logath, good to meet you... Sure we can help you-
"Good to meet a friend," Logath replied brightly. "So. How did you end up becoming some kind of hero?"
"A hero? Huh-
4.
Do they make it back to Haven? I'm working on it! Email the author for progress on the rest of the story... click on the contact link, or email kvoute@dccnet.com.
Viviquary / 'viv-
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