Chapter 10 Liz
Liz
When I wake up, I want to scream with frustration.
I still haven’t seen the stupid heartstone, but it must be what the blessed came back to retrieve. I didn’t see it anywhere when I met Freya before, but she must have it.
She apparently wore it at her wedding.
And I was there.
Or at least, someone a great deal like me was there. When I was telling that story, I sure felt like the story I was telling was true, but come on. Earth met sky and. . .they kissed? It seems ridiculous. Maybe the whole thing was just. . .bizarre.
Though human met dragon, and we kissed. So. . .
I remember something Freya said to me inside the volcano. When I chose to spare the poor fighter whose mother was sick, she was surprised. She said she didn’t expect a warrior like me to choose the strength to endure.
I had been angry. I told her she didn’t know me.
And she had laughed. “You’re right. And you’re wrong.”
Did she mean that she knew Gullveig? That I was the same.
. .and I was different? Is she one of the sky children who wanted to help the earth children?
It was probably just a dream invented by my brain to answer questions that have been rolling around in there for a long time, but it felt so real.
I can’t help wondering whether it could have been a memory, and that either telling my siblings a story or surviving the trip to the volcano shook it loose.
I’m more convinced than ever that Freya has answers, but every time I asked her a question, she was disgusted that I was asking the wrong ones. Did she expect me to remember things from my time as Gullveig? Or is she upset I hadn’t learned more about the time of the dragons before looking for her?
It’s not like Azar volunteered much information, but I blame his father for that.
It sounds like Azar asked the right things, but Odin shut him down.
I have some choice things to say to Odin when I finally meet him.
I’m sure he’d incinerate me before I could say most of them.
From what I hear, he’s even worse than Freya at ducking answers to things.
I loved both of them when I was Gullveig, though. That makes me question my sanity, or at a base line, my judgment.
Not that I have time for much thought at all.
Azar wakens me with a bellow just after the sun rises—Sammy’s sitting beside me, smiling when I wake. “Hey, buddy,” I say. “Did you sleep well?’
“I’m glad you’re back,” he says.
With his speech delay, it sounds like ‘I’m gwad yowa back.’
I pull him against my chest and squeeze as hard as I can. This is why I’m doing this. I’m trying to make a better future for these tiny people I love so much. A world they can’t create—a world they’re powerless right now to change.
A world they deserve.
Some humans are giddy the dragons are here.
They’re excited that the life they’ve always dreamed is now in their grasp.
Others want to destroy every last dragon invader, without any exceptions.
I can’t help wondering how much of the positions we take has to do with the knowledge we have.
Most of the humans are operating under mistaken assumptions, and that makes for bad decisions.
When Azar bellows again, I release Sammy and stand. “I’m coming, you great lummox.”
When I’m finally dressed in the one outfit Karen made me, I storm through the connecting door, bracing myself against the freezing cold.
What’s a lummox? Azar’s already frowning.
“Hmm?”
You called me a great lummox. What does that mean?
“It’s really impolite to yell and holler and make a lot of noise to get a woman to come outside.” I drop one hand on my hip. “It’s like a man honking his horn before a date.”
Is it polite for a human to force others to wait? What about people who force others to help in a scheme that’s likely doomed to fail?
I open my mouth to snap at him and realize that he’s right.
I wasn’t being very polite either, and he’s still helping me.
But we hadn’t agreed on a time or anything, so a little patience would have been nice.
“In the future, I’ll hurry, but maybe you can let me know when you’d like me to be ready.
All that shouting will wake up everyone around us. ”
He sniffs. Blessed don’t sleep.
“Ah, so you’re not being impolite to them, just the weak little humans like my siblings.” Now I am annoyed.
I’m not sure I need to learn a lot of human social rules.
“You asked what it meant,” I say. “Stop asking if you don’t care.”
You’re awfully snappy for someone with no power, a lot of demands, and so far, not much success.
“We’ll find way more brights today—you’ll see.
” I’m not anywhere near as sure as I sound.
The more nerds Norm’s friends can reach, the more brights we’ll find, but we also might be caught, and that’s when things might start to break down.
I’m not actually afraid of the humans attacking us—though perhaps I should be—but I am worried about what happens if the human attacks force Hyperion into thinking going to war would be simpler.
“And I thought we were travelling as Axel,” I say. “The last thing we want to do is let the humans know you didn’t die.”
Why not?
“Battle strategy basics,” I say. “You always want to surprise your opponent, and we can’t do that if they already know you didn’t die.”
You said the humans aren’t really our enemies.
“You’re tiring,” I snap.
I agree—but that same sentiment about you.
He does switch to Axel, at least, even after being a snot about it.
Honestly, though, it’s easier for me when he’s rude.
The more I want to stab him, the less depressed I am.
Before we leave, I confirm the location we’re going via satellite phone with Barrett, Norm’s oldest friend from Vegas.
We Facetimed yesterday, though I didn’t allow anyone to take photos, and the second he saw my wings, he threw his stuff in the car and started driving.
Even so, he wasn’t going to make it in time for yesterday’s meet-up.
He says he’s already waiting when I call, so I have Azar open a portal.
This time, Hyperion insists on sending way more blessed with us, because an attack’s more likely our second day.
Initially, he was only sending six strike blessed, but then the water and earth blessed were upset they weren’t being equally represented, and now we’re stuck with six of each kind.
Now our group feels like we’re preparing for some kind of small attack instead of a covert op.
I can’t fault Hyperion for being cautious—his brother did die not too long ago.
When we step through on the far side of Timpanogos, no one’s waiting on us, but I’ve barely hiked a half mile when I find them. The humans are waiting like Barrett said they would be—which is good. When I told Azar I’d be heading out to rendezvous with them alone, he looked ready to fight me.
Thankfully, I reminded him how well it worked yesterday, and the importance of me properly preparing them for bonding.
There are way more humans this time too—three hundred and fifteen in total.
Barrett made a roll call. It includes the nineteen brights we left, the other sixteen non-brights who are still desperate to join us, and almost three hundred new recruits.
It’s a similar mix to before—men, women, old people, and a few who are quite young.
I told Norm they all had to be at least eighteen.
Based on his rigorous paperwork, I’m assuming Barrett’s checking.
Barrett’s not even the only familiar face.
“Gary.” I wave. “How did you find this many?”
Norm’s business partner, Gary, spearheaded the outreach plans this time, with the help of his wife.
Unlike Norm, Gary has always been happy, and he usually seemed like he fit in everywhere.
He’s just obsessed with fantasy stuff, which I don’t really understand.
Before dragons showed up, electrocuting people right up in my face, I had no interest in pretending I was part of a fake world.
“We were up all night.” Gary smiles. “Norm—this is all he’s ever wanted, and at first I thought he was making it up.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I did recognize you on the television, so I knew he had a connection to the dragons. When Norm texted to say he wouldn’t be coming back and had left paperwork naming me as the sole recipient of his business interests, I realized it might be legit.”
“He’s not dead,” I say. “Why would he do that?” I can’t help laughing. “He’s so dramatic.”
“Did he really bond a dragon?” Gary’s wife asks.
“He did,” I say. “But you don’t look too excited.”
Gary’s unlike Norm in more ways than his temperament.
He’s also tall, muscular, and dresses well.
According to Norm, he was quite the ladies’ man among the fantasy nerds, at least, until he met Jean.
Like she was always meant to be the queen of the nerds, she’s regal and a little haughty.
I can see why—she’s tall, she has flawless skin, and her eyes are a bright, cerulean blue—almost purplish.
Even in Utah, I imagine that’s a rare color.
She even glances around the group slowly, like a queen surveying her subjects.
“A lot of us are still worried this is a prank, or worse, some kind of scam.”
The humans who were here last time laugh. The nineteen brights we left, and the sixteen non-brights who were going to help nonetheless begin murmuring.
“It’s not a scam,” I say. “If you’ll come with me, I can easily prove it.”
“Those wings do look real,” Jean says. “How much did they cost?”
It’s not dark, not anymore, but we’re far enough from anyone with an ounce of sense that I feel safe flying back toward Axel.
The gasps behind me are quite satisfying.
When I circle back around, I notice that the humans from yesterday are all struggling with their bags, some of which look quite heavy.