Myka glided high in the sky over the Island of Darkness while Marak and MistyTrail gazed down at the enemy’s stronghold. The elf and the human were wrapped warmly in cloaks provided by King Avalar to protect them against the chill of high altitudes.
“This gives a new appreciation of what Vand has accomplished,” remarked the Torak. “The harbors are overflowing with ships.”
“And I did not properly imagine the size of the other cities on the island,” added MistyTrail. “They are actually much larger than Vand’s city. I wonder why.”
“I would suspect that the mines and quarries are located towards the sound end of the island,” mused the Torak. “That is where Vand would require the most labor to prepare for the coming war. I wish Captain Mynor had given those cities names. It would help in our planning.”
“They have names,” offered MistyTrail. “Avalar told them to me. He has an incredible amount of knowledge about the island for someone who never left the cells in the temple.”
“Twenty years is a long time to listen to the banter of the jailers without learning something,” shrugged Marak. “What are the names of the cities?”
“The three southern cities are Eldamar, Sudamar, and Teramar, going from east to west,” answered MistyTrail. “The northern city is named Vandamar.”
“I will see that our charts are updated to reflect the names,” responded the Torak. “Without this flight over the island, I would have been tempted to concentrate on learning what is happening in Vandamar, but the real preparation for war would not be taking place there.”
“See where the jungle ends along the beach?” MistyTrail pointed excitedly as Myka flew over the western coast of the island. “That is where we escaped from the island with Eltor and Caldal. You can see the reefs offshore where our boat sunk.”
“We are going to dive shortly,” warned Myka. “The sun is setting, and I want to fly close to the water to avoid being seen in the glow of the sunset. It will be an abrupt dive to limit the amount of time that we are visible. Anyone seeing us will think twice about reporting a dragon diving into the sea. Hang on.”
Marak grabbed his knife and stuck it deep into the hole in the dragon’s scale. MistyTrail wrapped her arms tightly around the Torak, and they waited for the dive.
Myka continued gliding high in the sky until they were well away from the Island of Darkness. Without a word of warning, she pulled her wings in close to her body and plummeted like a rock. The force of the wind threatened to blow Marak off the back of the dragon as he gripped the knife with both hands. The air stung as it whipped his face and arms, and his stomach felt as if it had been left behind high above him. His eyes were closed tightly, and the rushing wind created such a loud noise that he barely heard MistyTrail screaming behind him.
While the dive only took seconds, it felt as if it lasted for hours. Without warning, Myka’s wings flared out, and Marak’s body slammed into the dragon’s back. He almost lost his grip on the knife. The Torak opened his eyes to see the crests of the waves only a few paces below him. He became acutely aware of the ring of pain around his waist and immediately thought of MistyTrail.
“Are you alright?” he asked the elven princess.
“I am now,” panted MistyTrail. “I hope I didn’t break your ribs. I thought I was going to be blown away.”
“You are not alone in that feeling,” Marak replied.
“You did well for your first dive,” quipped Myka. “I feel confident that they did not hear your screams back in Elvangar.”
“We will have to go high again when we reach the coast of the Sakova,” Marak said. “I want to fly over Duran and the Wall of Mermidion.”
“We can fly as high as you want after a while down here close to the water,” answered Myka. “Soon we will be out of sight of the watchers on the Island of Darkness.”
“I don’t want to go too high,” replied Marak. “I want a good look at the empty city. Can we do that without being seen?”
“If the city is empty,” snorted Myka, “how can we be seen?”
“It is supposed to be empty,” explained Emperor Marak. “I am not sure that it is. That is why I want to look at it.”
The dragon did not reply as they skimmed over the ocean waves. Sometime later, after Myka had gradually gained a much higher altitude, MistyTrail tapped Marak on the shoulder and pointed off to the left. Marak looked and could see a landmass on the horizon.
“That is the Sakova,” declared Marak. “If I remember the maps correctly, Alamar is about the closest point of land to the Island of Darkness. We will stay off the coast quite a ways until we get to Duran.”
“Then Duran is not really on the way to StarCity,” frowned MistyTrail. “I know the way there from Alamar and it does not hug the coast.”
“It is out of the way,” agreed Marak. “We could probably reach StarCity just as quickly as Duran, but I have a hunch that I want to check out. Besides, we want to reach StarCity after dark. I am not prepared to let Vand know that a winged warrior is helping us.”
“You think people have moved into Duran?” asked MistyTrail.
“Not people so much,” Marak shook his head. “I think Vand may be using Duran to stockpile supplies. I want to know for sure.”
After a while, they saw the peaks of the Wytung Mountains rising through the clouds gathering over the landmass. The mountain range ran from the center of the Sakova to the coast halfway between Alamar and Duran. It was just on the northern side of that mountain range that the Wall of Mermidion began. The impressive vertical cliffs dropped a thousand feet to the sea, effectively cutting off the coast from the rest of the landmass. In some areas, the beach spread out from the base of the cliffs quite a ways; in other places there was no beach at all; the cliffs actually protruded into the sea.
Marak felt moisture whisk by him and looked up. Heavy clouds raced by directly overhead. A second later, Myka flew into the cloudbank. It felt like being in the midst of deep fog, except they were soaring through it at a frightening speed.
“How can you see where you are going?” the Torak asked Myka.
“The clouds only block my vision,” answered the dragon. “I can also sense things around me. How else could a dragon fly in the dark of night? We will be over Duran shortly. I will try to find a break in the clouds for you to see.”
Without warning, Myka suddenly banked to the left. MistyTrail’s arms immediately wrapped around Marak’s waist, and the Torak’s hands subconsciously reached for the knife. The clouds grew wispier and appeared less solid as the dragon flew in a wide circle. Unexpectedly, they flew out of the clouds and Duran sat below them in full view. The Torak inhaled sharply when he saw the three huge ships sitting in the harbor. Small boats were ferrying goods ashore, and teams of seamen scurried throughout the city, carrying bundles and rolling barrels. It was just a glimpse before the clouds returned to block their view.
“Do you want to see more?” asked Myka.
“I have seen enough,” Marak replied sharply. “Head for StarCity.”
“How could Myka know where StarCity is?” asked MistyTrail. “Its location is a secret.”
“The stronghold of the Sakovans has been around for a thousand years,” chuckled the dragon as she straightened her wings and headed south. “Nothing lasts long as a secret from dragons. Do you think we sleep all of the time in our caves?”
“Actually, I did,” nodded MistyTrail. “I never heard anyone talk about ever seeing a dragon before.”
“And did anyone see us today that was not supposed to?” quipped the winged warrior. “Dragons are only seen when they want to be.”
“Unless people wander into their cave when they are sleeping,” taunted MistyTrail.
“Then they are eaten,” retorted Myka. “Either way no stories are spread.”
The sky grew dark as the sun dropped below the horizon, and eventually the clouds passed away. Brilliant stars illuminated the dark sky as Myka soared high over the uninhabited Sakovan forests. As the mountain peaks rose up to reach the dragon, StarCity suddenly appeared below. Myka’s wings spread wide as she glided silently over the Sakovan stronghold, her head swiveling as she sought a safe landing place.
“Either the roof of the palace or one of the fields at the edge of the city,” suggested MistyTrail. “Those places are normally vacant at night. I think a field would be safer.”
“You learn quickly,” smiled Myka as she glided towards a field at the base of the mountains. “I will not be able to wait here for you, Torak. How shall we meet up?”
“You may return home, Myka,” instructed the Torak. “I can get to Khadoratung quickly through the secret doors. Thank you for bringing us here.”
“I will await your call,” replied the winged warrior as she set down gently in the field. “Be vigilant.”
MistyTrail swiftly slid off the dragon. Marak pulled his knife free from the hole in Myka’s scale and slid down to stand beside the elven princess. Without further words, Myka leaped into the air, hugging the sides of the mountains as she rose into the darkness.
“That is one special creature,” smiled MistyTrail. “You would never know it from listening to Mistake’s tales about her.”
“She is special,” nodded Marak as he began walking towards the palace. “She is one of Kaltara’s winged warriors. Will we be stopped if found in the city?”
“We are both known to the Sakovans,” MistyTrail shook her head. “They will greet us warmly, but word of our arrival will spread quickly.”
“That does not bother me on this trip,” shrugged Marak. “It will tell our enemy nothing.”
“Actually,” grinned MistyTrail, “it could tell them a great deal.”
“How do you mean?” questioned the Torak.
“Everyone will want to know why I have returned,” answered the elven princess. “I can tell them that the elves have decided not to get involved in this war and that I felt I had to return to help the Sakovans fight the evil. I do not have to mention that the elven decision has since been overturned.”
“That is brilliant,” grinned Emperor Marak. “You can be almost as devious as your sister.”
“She has taught me much,” chuckled MistyTrail.
In fact, they met few people on the way to the palace. The evening meal was being served in houses and the palace, and the streets of the city were fairly empty. They made their way to Lyra’s office and walked into the middle of a conversation.
“Marak! MistyTrail!” beamed Lyra. “What a surprise. I am glad to see both of you.”
“Why are you not with the elves?” StarWind asked MistyTrail with concern. “Is there something wrong?”
MistyTrail frowned as she looked at the people in the room. She knew that Ukaro was aware of the problem with spies, but she was not sure about StarWind and Temiker. She decided to play it safe and repeated her line about leaving the elves.
“You are always welcome here, MistyTrail,” smiled Lyra. “Close the door please.”
MistyTrail closed the door and Lyra continued, “Temiker has just arrived from Alamar. I will let him start from the beginning so you can evaluate what he is saying.”
“Do you remember the fisherman in the small village south of Alamar?” Temiker asked MistyTrail.
“Gerock?” asked MistyTrail. “The one you had the boat made up for?”
“Yes,” nodded Temiker. “You and Mistake took his old boat to sail to Fakara, but ended up on the Island of Darkness. He came to see me in Alamar recently. His neighbor had a very strange encounter the other night. He heard a noise outside his home and went to investigate. He remembered nothing, but he awoke in the morning outside on the beach. His boat was missing.”
“Someone stole it?” asked MistyTrail.
“I think so,” nodded Temiker. “Gerock came to me in hopes that I might supply his friend with a boat, but I became very curious about the affair. I went to the village and spoke to Gerock’s friend. I became suspicious that he had been the victim of a mage, so I investigated him magically. I was able to retrieve his memories sufficiently to understand that two men did indeed steal his boat. At least one of them had to be a mage.”
“What is the significance of this?” asked Marak.
“I got an accurate description of his boat and the two thieves,” explained Temiker. “It appears that the two men sailed the boat to Alamar. The next day, one of the men left the harbor in the morning with the boat and has never been seen again.”
“Which leaves one thief in Alamar,” noted StarWind.
“If it were only a thief,” frowned Temiker, “I would not be so concerned. No self-respecting mage would steal a boat to travel up the coast to Alamar. No,” he added adamantly, “the boat was stolen to sneak into the city unquestioned. The fact that only one man left the city means that a spy exists in Alamar. My fear,” Temiker paused and sighed, “is that the mage is the one who remained in Alamar. Remember how the Katana’s body was taken over by an evil mage? We could have a very serious problem here. We have no idea who we can trust.”
StarWind, Ukaro, and Lyra exchanged glances. Ukaro nodded his head affirmatively and StarWind agreed.
“Can I assume from MistyTrail’s presence here that she has been briefed on our problem?” Lyra asked the Torak.
“She is here to help you with it,” nodded Marak.
“Then I see no reason to exclude Temiker,” Lyra decided. “He would not bring us such information if he had indeed been taken over by one of Vand’s mages.”
“So you already know about this?” asked Temiker. “Has the spy been uncovered?”
“No,” Lyra shook her head. “I mean, yes, we know about the spy, but we have no idea who it might be. StarWind was with me in Okata when the report was given to Vand. She is the only Sakovan that I can trust right now. Everyone else is suspect.”
“That is why I thought you could use MistyTrail’s help,” interjected Marak. “What steps have you taken so far?”
“Ukaro has developed a plan to hide our armies,” Lyra replied. “We have called a meeting for later tonight to present a false strategy to everyone. That will cause the spy to send the wrong information to Vand.”
“And gives us a chance to identify the spy,” added StarWind.
“What is the false strategy that you plan to unveil?” asked the Torak.
“We are going to say that we think Zaramilden will be struck next,” answered Lyra. “I will be ordering the bulk of armies to abandon Alamar and mass at Zaramilden. This will cause Vand to show his hand when the attack comes. He will be attacking an empty city.”
“We need to change your new strategy,” frowned Emperor Marak.
“Why?” inquired Ukaro.
“Vand will certainly attack Zaramilden if he thinks it is occupied,” answered the Torak, “but I want him to know that it is deserted. He is positioning supplies in Duran as we speak. That is the reason that the city was attacked so early.”
“Stockpiling supplies?” echoed Lyra. “Why?”
“Because it will be much closer to the fighting than Motanga is,” Marak replied. “He will not have to have convoys of ships crossing the seas while he is busy fighting us. It is a clever move on his part. Duran is so isolated that we would never discover its use. That is why he needs Zaramilden deserted. It is too close to Duran for him to risk having his convoys detected.”
“Are you sure about this?” asked StarWind.
“Positive,” nodded Marak. “There are three ships anchored there right now. They are already unloading supplies. The invasion will start soon.”
“So you plan to station troops in Zaramilden to foil his plan?” asked Temiker. “Is that why you want him to think it is deserted?”
“I am not sure yet what our reaction should be,” admitted Marak, “but we should not lead him to believe that we have massed out troops in Zaramilden. You must unveil a different false strategy.”
“Where else would we move our troops to?” StarWind asked.
“Khadora,” suggested MistyTrail. “Why not tell them that we think that Vand’s attack is geared to toppling the Torak? Marak’s visit today could be an appeal for Sakovan troops.”
“That could work,” Marak nodded. “At least it would make sense to someone like Vand who is always concerned mostly with his own security. It is natural that he would want to strike me the hardest.”
“Isn’t that what he is likely to do?” asked Lyra.
“I don’t know,” shrugged Marak. “We truly have no idea what his strategy is. At this point, that is not the question. First we have to deceive him so that Alamar can be properly defended. It is too close to Motanga for him to ignore it. That is especially true if he is planning on using Duran as a supply depot.”
“We need a plan to watch for the spy after the meeting,” mentioned Ukaro. “The strategy that Lyra unveils will be too important not to immediately transmit it to Vand.”
“You think the spy knows how to use an air tunnel?” asked Lyra.
“I would assume so,” nodded Ukaro. “We already think that they may have learned the spell on the Island of Darkness, but even if they didn’t, a mage in our midst would learn it easily.”
“Plus they would not risk the spy by making him return to Motanga to deliver his news,” added Temiker. “If not an air tunnel, the spy will have some mechanism for transmitting the information without leaving.”
“Finding the spy will not be easy,” frowned StarWind. “After the meeting our people will disperse quickly. There is no way that we can watch everyone.”
“Give them a reason to stay behind,” suggested MistyTrail. “Maybe have a party following the meeting. Most people would stay to enjoy their friends, but the spy would be anxious to get his message off. I think very few people would leave right away.”
“That might work,” StarWind nodded appreciatively. “We all know that we may not make it through this war. This could be the final party before the war begins. No one should be in a hurry to leave.”
“And they will dribble out when they do leave,” nodded Marak. “I think it could work.”
“With the Star’s permission,” offered Ukaro, “I will quickly return home and gather some Chula shaman to help with this effort. All anyone will notice is a larger number of cats around the palace than usual.”
“Have them remain hidden if possible,” nodded Lyra. “My people are aware of the Chula capabilities. They are not stupid.”
“But this spy is not one of your people,” grinned Marak. “He or she only appears to be Sakovan. I would suggest that at the meeting you mention that everyone will have his or her orders tomorrow. When the spy is discovered, he is to be allowed to transmit the false information. Then Lyra can come up with an assignment that will keep the spy busy and away from the action. We do not want Vand to know that we have discovered the spy.”
“I do not like the thought of letting the spy live,” frowned StarWind, “but your point is valid. We can use him to send more false information in the future.”
“Gather your shaman,” Lyra instructed Ukaro. “They can offer prayers to Kaltara while they wait for the meeting to end.”
Ukaro nodded and left the room to head for the temple and the secret door that would eventually lead back to Changragar. Lyra made notes on the points of the new strategy she wanted to explain to her people. The others in the room watched Lyra writing the notes and offered suggestions.
“Don’t forget to tell them about the elves not joining the war,” mentioned MistyTrail.
“Do we really want to share that with Vand?” frowned StarWind.
“We do,” chuckled Marak. “It is a lie. The elves are completely with us. They will strike when Vand expects it the least.”
“Excellent,” grinned Lyra. “My sadness will be profound when I explain that to the audience tonight. I pray that Kaltara will forgive the lies that I am about to speak.”
“You are lying only to your enemy,” countered Emperor Marak. “The rest of your people will know the truth soon.”
* * *
The Sprite glided over the glassy sea, its black sails invisible to anyone along the coast of the Island of Darkness. Captain Mynor gazed skyward and smiled at the cloud cover blocking the stars.
“Just a little while longer and you will be stepping into the jaws of the beast,” he said softly to Fisher.
The spy finished pulling on his red Motangan uniform and turned to the captain for inspection.
“Looks good enough to fool a blind man,” quipped the captain. “There is not enough light to actually see it right now. How it looks in the daytime is what really matters.”
“I just hope it dries by then,” frowned Fisher. “The air feels like rain.”
“You could go ashore naked,” suggested the captain. “I have a wax sack that will keep your uniform dry if you don’t submerge it.”
Fisher stood staring at the bow for a moment and then nodded his head. “An excellent idea,” he replied as he started to strip off the uniform. “Even if it does rain, a uniform soaked with saltwater would be a giveaway.”
The captain nudged the navigator and told him to fetch the waxed sack. The seaman returned quickly and handed the sack to Fisher.
“Are you sure that you can make your way back here tomorrow night?” asked Captain Mynor. “I could come back a second night if you miss the rendezvous.”
“No,” Fisher shook his head. “Tomorrow night for sure. If I do not show, return to Khadora. I will not endanger your ship and your crew by making you come here three nights in a row. How do you know where we are? I cannot even see the shore.”
“We charted this island,” grinned the captain. “I know exactly where I am. In just a minute, we will be coming close to a long sandy point that stretches away from the city. That is where we will drop you off. I am not even going to slow down as we pass the point. You will get ready over the rail and jump when I tell you to.”
“Alright,” nodded Fisher as he carefully tied the wax sack closed.
“Tomorrow night,” continued the captain, “we will sail by the exact same way, only we will be trailing a line in the water. You grab that line as it goes by, and we will pull you in. Can you handle that?”
“I can handle it,” agreed Fisher as he saw palm trees off the port beam. “It is smart not to break the wind in your sails this close to the island. That would be foolish.”
“Aye, lad, it would be,” smiled the captain. “Get over the rail. The point is coming up.”