Chapter 14

To avoid detection from incoming vessels, they went through the long entrance where Evelyn, Lumin and Benjamin met the Faiyans. As they passed, Jalibamawt mentioned the guards they met that night were from his squadron.

“Of course you became acquainted with Xire. The other two pairs you met were Tala with her companion, Isesu and Sakhar with his companion, Roi. You would do well to meet them again, they are not as withdrawn and crude as Xire and Heba. As a matter of fact, they…” Jalibamawt rambled on about his team until they reached the end of the tunnel. Evelyn tried to pay attention, but his long winded boasting of their skills and fortitude started to annoy even Lumin. He also brought up stories and facts about their lives Evelyn felt was inappropriate for Jalibamawt to tell her when they were not around.

‘His voice seems to have no end,’ Lumin complained.

‘If only he had a mute button.’

‘Mute button?’

While Jalibamawt continued, Evelyn distracted herself by explaining to Lumin televisions and computers, how they emitted video and sound, and how you could mute them. He was intrigued by the technology and asked to learn more about it and possibly use the devices. She was unsure he would be able to in physical form, but she would gladly show him her favorite shows while fused. ‘If we ever get the chance that is. I don’t think the resistance has the luxury of having these things readily available.’

Once they were at the water, Safir manifested and lowered herself for everyone to climb on her back. “I am growing tired of my role as a ferry for everyone,” she grumbled.

“Oh lighten up, love. At least it means ye get to swim. Perhaps one of the eggs is an aquafin and can lighten your load.”

As they settled onto her scaly back, Evelyn noticed Jalibamawt became quiet. His body was tense, tail low to the ground and his eyes fixated on his paws. When Safir launched herself into the deep waters, the ichneumon crouched and pressed his body against the thin membrane of her back frills.

“Are you alright, Jalibamawt?” She asked.

The ichneumon groaned in response.

“Ichneumon don’t take kindly to water. They’re not great swimmers, eh Jalibamawt?” Isak jested.

“Most certainly not,” he hissed through his teeth.

“Well it is about to get worse, my friend.” As Isak finished his sentence, Safir sank lower so that only just enough of her back was exposed for them to crouch on. It was, as Isak explained earlier, to avoid detection as they swam. Though that did not revive the ichneumon’s usual confidence. While the ocean was relatively calm, they would still get splashed by the disturbances Safir caused every few seconds. Jalibamawt would flinch every time he was struck.

The journey took longer than last time as Safir took a longer route, moving slowly to avoid creating a noticeable wake and staying close to the shore. The gulf was busier as the morning ships were coming into dock to unload their cargo; several ships were awaiting an open port.

When they reached land, Evelyn recognized the small beach her, Benjamin and Lumin met Safir. Quick as a cat, Jalibamawt leaped from Safir’s back, landing gracefully on the sand and darted to the thick forest. It was necessary for him to find cover, but Evelyn felt he worried more about getting away from the water as quickly as possible.

After Evelyn departed her back, Safir fused with Isak without emerging from the water. Just as he was about to fall into the water, he shot a stream of water from his feet and launched through the air, landing on the sand with a thud, kicking sand up that sprayed Evelyn. He apologized with a light chuckle and led her to the woods.

They found Jalibamawt a few yards beyond the tree line licking his paws. He stopped and raised his head when he saw them approach. “Lead the way, I shall watch our tail.”

With a nod, Isak leapt over vines and tree roots that littered the ground, bounding his way through the crowd of trees as he did the other day. Evelyn hesitated, intimidated by the hike she struggled with the other day. She was forced to break through her hesitation when Jalibamawt nudged her forward.

Following Isak’s route, she bounded over the entangled ground to the clear patch. To her surprise, she succeeded in her first attempt. Without thinking, she continued, following her instincts on what path to take. Unlike her previous endeavour, her muscles worked without pain; her body was under control, doing exactly what her mind told her with frightening accuracy. Not even in her peak athletic form in high school did she feel so agile and robust. Each leap, twist and turn felt natural, like she had done this her entire life.

Jalibamawt was close behind her, instead of going through the brush on the ground, he hopped from tree to tree, finding strong, sturdy branches every time. They soon caught up to Isak, who looked back to find them. It was difficult to tell through the leaves, but she could have sworn she saw his thick, gray beard raise with a smirk.

They reached the clearing just out of sight from the north gate in half the time as before. She wiped sweat from her brow and placed her hands on her knees.

“Easier time of it, eh?” Isak said. He did not have a drop of sweat on his face as if he had been lazing in the shade. Despite Evelyn feeling better about her conditioning, she was far outclassed by the old man.

“Somewhat,” Evelyn answered. “I’m assuming my body didn’t suddenly become stronger on its own.”

“Not quite. When fused, your dragon shares their strength with you along with their magic. You are still limited by your own body, but less so. A rigid workout routine will be part of your ongoing training. But you can dread that later, let’s focus on the task at hand.” Isak peered through the tree line that separated them from the town. With a grunt, he spoke with a hushed voice, “That is not the guard I expected. They must have changed the schedule.”

“You two could get in easily, it would be myself that would raise the alarms. Perhaps I can burrow my way in?” Jalibamawt suggested.

“Would they not be suspicious of two random people emerging from the forest?” Evelyn pointed out.

“Aye, save your strength, Jalibamawt. You’ll need it for your trip home. Any ideas, Evelyn?”

Evelyn crossed her arms and slid deep into thought. It would be risky to assume the guard would not question them if they just tried to causally enter. Even if they were able to enter, they would still have to sneak an ichneumon into the town. She decided to consult Lumin.

‘We could say Isak and I were camping and coming back… No, we don’t have any camping equipment. Plus that would still leave Jalibamawt behind. We can’t use any of you or Safir’s abilities, they’d know who we are then.’

‘Maybe Jalibamawt could hit him with a rock? No need to sneak past the guard if the guard can’t stop us.’ Lumin suggested.

‘No, we should avoid violence where possible. Besides, the guards will know something is up if others find him incapacitated. But you may be onto something with the rock.’

She told Lumin her plan, and when he agreed to it she relayed it to Isak and Jalibamawt.

”That is something I can do,” the ichneumon said.

Isak’s eyes shifted to the green, slitted eyes of Safir and gazed back through the gate. “We do not see anyone on the other side, so if we are quick, no one will spot Jalibamawt. Ready yourselves.”

Evelyn crouched, planting a foot against the base of a tree to push off. Her breath became quick and shallow, her heart beating just as quickly. It felt like an eternity before Jalibamawt got into position.

The ichneumon crawled carefully to a boulder protruding from the ground a few yards to their right and placed his paw on it. A chunk of rock broke off from it and flew through the air as if someone had thrown it. It struck the wall a foot away from the guard, causing him to flinch away from the small dust cloud the impact created.

Seemingly awakened from a trance of boredom, the guard hastily gripped his rifle and pointed it toward the treeline. “Hey! Who threw that?” He barked. Sweeping the barrel of the gun along with his sight, the guard crept forward. At first Evelyn thought he was full of anger, ready to trounce whoever almost hit him, but as he got closer, she could see his hands trembling. She felt bad for the man, but he was also inching toward them, too close for comfort. This made her worry they would have to take him down.

Jalibamawt must have felt the same as he snuck further to his right and placed his paw on another boulder further away from the group. Another jagged rock flung itself from the boulder at the guard, missing him by a few inches. He ducked away with a high pitched gasp. He snapped his head in that direction. “Whoever’s there better be ready to spend time in a cell,” he said, a crack in his voice giving away his fear.

As the guard approached the treeline, Jalibamawt weaved his way between the branches and leaves, careful not to disturb any of the brush and attract attention. When he approached the treeline, he peered into the brush. “Don’t make me come after you, rascal.” When he got no response, the guard released the breath he held and leaned back.

Muttering to himself, Jalibamawt firmly pressed his paws on the ground and flexed his arms. Evelyn flinched when a piece of rock jolted from the dirt in the bushes just beyond the guard's view and zipped through the air, rustling the leaves surrounding it, making it look like someone was running away from the guard and the gate. With a shout, he stepped over the brush at his feet and chased the sound within the forest.

“Now!” Jalibamawt hissed before bounding from the tree line and darting to the gate. Isak and Evelyn followed closely.

On the other side of the gate, the gravel road was barren apart from the fence that hid it from the rest of the town. Parked around the corner was a flatbed truck with the same logo Evelyn saw on the stand where she met Isak the other day. On the bed, there were two boxes taking up half of the space covered by a blue tarp. Making sure there were no people around to spot them, Jalibamawt hopped into the back of the truck and pulled the tarp over himself with a swift twirl of his body. Due to a small gust of wind, the tarp slid off his tail. Evelyn pivoted midstep and hopped into the bed to adjust the tarp to completely hide the ichneumon, who clicked his tongue in gratitude.

Swinging herself over the side of the truck, she quickly opened the door and sat in the passenger seat as Isak started the engine with the dragon scale hidden in the visor above him. With the rev of the engine, Isak drove off, turning right onto a narrow road going toward the docks. From the rearview mirror, she could see the guard returning to his post, angrily brushing leaves from his legs.

They drove along the on ramp looking down on the only road coming in and out of Cove. It was narrowed into two lanes, creating a long bottle neck. Looking out the window, she saw the long line of cars waiting for their turn to pass through the gate manned by city guards, ranging from small pick-up trucks filled with miscellaneous boxes to full semi trucks. That much traffic was foreign to her. While Banrigh had some traffic jams due to wrecks and toppled energy lines on the highways.

“Why are they monitoring who leaves the town? Back home, something like this would be unheard of.” Evelyn asked.

“This town was under Faiyan control before the last war. The empire fears any remaining loyalists, so they keep records of any travel in or out of Cove. If we’re lucky, we will get the guards that know me and are resistance spies.”

“Is it usually this busy?” She asked Isak, pointing to the long line of vehicles.

“This is nothin’, lass. Maybe it is a tad busy for a midweek lunch rush, but it pales in comparison to the hours we’d spend in the early morning,” Isak brushed his beard with his fingers and pursed his lips as he thought. “I’d say we’ve got about a half hour before we exit the city.”

‘Poor Jalibamawt, now I feel bad,’ Lumin said.

Evelyn peered through the rear window. She couldn’t see him due to the boxes, but she hoped the ichneumon was still hidden and comfortable.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s a tough one. He was part of the generation that fought through the tail end of the war; battling in unfavorable positions, hiding in uncomfortable spots. This is nothing compared to all of that.”

After they joined the queue, Isak felt it necessary to go over their cover stories one more time just in case the guards asked questions. “Now recite your name and background without looking at your documents,” Isak instructed.

“My name is Erin Elk, I am helping my grandfather transport tuna to Gleannach for his company, Ichelv.”

‘What is my fake name?’ Lumin asked.

‘I think you’re too recognizable to have a fake name, sweetie.’

‘Hmpfh… I bet Safir has one.’

‘I doubt it, but fine. How about… Light.’ Lumin beamed with excitement, coming up with his own backstory about him being Erins younger brother.

Lumin’s joyful rambling about ‘Light, bringer of fishes’ was amusing, but it did little to ease Evelyn’s nerves. She still questioned Isaks' decision to bring her along. If she screwed up, they could be in serious danger, let alone the whole resistance. She kept the thoughts to herself to not risk Lumin associating her anxieties with his abilities. With a deep sigh, Evelyn sank into her seat, tapping her leg anxiously.

“Relax, lass. Lookin’ like that will surely get us searched. Here…” Isak pressed a button on the dashboard and turned the knob. Static came from the radio, startling Lumin. It wavered as he turned the knob, slowly morphing into music. Once pure sound came through with no crackling, Isak let go. The song that played on the radio could only be described as classical sea shanties. Smooth violins and cellos mixed with melodic chants of the sea and its beauty. It was not what Evelyn would choose, but she dared not protest the music selection as Isak hummed along.

As Isak predicted, it took roughly a half hour for their turn at the gate to come. Isak lowered the volume on the radio and rolled down the window at the guards command. Evelyn noticed their uniforms at their core were similar to Benjamins. However, instead of the cap with a brim, this guard wore a sailor's hat with a pin in the shape of an anchor on the side. He was Aonachan, but his skin was so tan he could easily be mistaken for Faiyan.

When Isak spoke to the guard, he lowered all filters and let his sailor accent completely take over. “Ahoy, mate. How goes it?”

“It goes. Papers please.” Evelyn handed Isak her forged documentation, who placed them in the guards hands. As he flipped through them, without looking up, he asked, “Where are you two heading?”

“We be haul’n a fine tuna shipment to the next town. If ye be needin’ it, I got the order paper here.” Isak produced a sheet from the center console listing the amount of fish they hauled by the pound and the value.

The guard took the paper from Isaks hands. After skimming over it, he looked at the side of the box to compare the information. “Is the tarp not supposed to be covering the boxes?”

“Aye, in theory it should be, but we reckon we’ll be bunkin’ down for the night, so the tarp be keepin’ our gear dry if the skies open up.”

With a nod, the guard handed back all of his documentation. He looked into the window and opened his mouth to speak, but when he looked at Evelyn, he paused. Her body tensed as she gripped a chunk of her pants.

“Are you alright, miss? You’re clammier than Clams Coast.”

Wiping her brow, she realized how sweaty she had been; her shirt was stained a darker shade around her armpits and neck. “O-oh, I had to help my grandfather with the boxes and my little brother, Light, wasn’t around and the air conditioning is out in this thing... Can’t let the old man move them himself,” she said, chuckling awkwardly.

The guard lowered his brows questioningly, his eyes narrowed. Evelyn pursed her lips and shifted her eyes to avoid eye contact and clutched the fabric tighter.

“She be a landlubber, unaccustomed to the toil of a salty sea dog,” Isak explained with a roll of the eyes.

The guard looked between the two and grunted. “Aye, well, you two have a safe trip.”

He took a step back and waved his arm to signal the other guard to raise the gate. Once it did, Isak waved at the guard and drove off. Looking back, Evelyn could see the guard talk to his partner as they watched them drive away.

When they were a decent distance away, and he rolled up the window, Isak said, “I think you need to work on yer acting skills.”

“Is my grade three musical experience not enough?” She joked, hoping to steady her pounding heart.

‘You mean the one where you had one line and froze on stage?’ Lumin chuckled.

‘Wait, how do you know about that?’

‘From this memory I found.’

‘Since when can you see my memories?’

‘Since I just tried. It kind of just… appeared honestly.’

‘Well don’t go snooping around. I don’t want you finding anything you are too young for.’

Lumin whined. ‘Aw, now I’m curious...’

“It is not a joke. When out in public, you cannot act as your normal self, especially if the riders have in fact seen you. And you cannot lose your nerve, that will only draw on more suspicion. That is not something we can teach you, but you’ll have to learn on your own.”

“Right, I’ll work on it.”

Leaning back into her seat and watching the ocean disappear over the horizon, she thought about how she would act and what she would do if she came across anyone suspicious of her, let alone a rider. Or worse, what if she came across Oliver or the other rider he was with?

The tone of her panic shifted as Lumin interrupted her thoughts. ‘… Who is this Naomi girl?’

She felt warm blood rush to her face. ‘Lumin, get out of my memories!’

They drove on a curvy road that encircled Cove to go north around the mountains. On the way, Evelyn became distracted by the lush mountains that surrounded the area. She always thought mountains were nothing but bare rocks that jutted from the ground to pierce the sky. Instead the jagged peaks were covered with beautiful, prosperous trees that stood tall over the road that weaved through the valley, providing welcomed shade from the harsh sun.

Before her mind drifted off too far, Lumin poked her conscious. ‘Evelyn, is now a good time to ask about the dreams now?’

They had agreed to hold off on asking until they were out of the city, but her mind was so scattered, she almost forgot. ‘Oh, yes we should. Thanks for reminding me.’ They went over the details of their shared dream to make sure they had everything right before Evelyn turned to Isak. “Isak, is it normal for riders and dragons to have shared dreams?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it is not unheard of for a pair of minds to sync up while asleep. Did you and Lumin share similar dreams?”

“Not similar, the same dream. Every detail was the same.”

Keeping his eyes on the road, Isak raised his head in curiosity. “Was it about hunting or flying? If so, it could be Lumin’s emotions getting the better of you in your sleep; something else you still have to work on.”

“I don’t think it’s that… not that I disagree that I should work on that, but because it was about another bonded pair.”

“Tell us about this dream.” Isaks voice was more serious than before, making Evelyn nervous, but she told him the details of the dreams. She didn’t notice, but Lumin pointed out that Isak twitched when she told him who the pair was. As she continued, his eyes darkened.

“Do you know who Cain and Kryn are?” She asked.

There was a long pause before he answered; Evelyn assumed he was speaking with Safir, though she could have sworn she heard a low growl. “No,” he finally answered. “That point is irrelevant, though. This is peculiar, neither Safir or I have heard of something like this, not so detailed at least. How often have you had these dreams?”

“Just twice. Once on our first night together and one last night.”

Isak paused again, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I have a theory, but before I give it, I must do some research first. This is neither a good or bad thing, but I want you to keep us updated on any other dreams like this.”

“Of course, we will.”

“Good, now let's shift the topic to your training. I am sure you and Lumin have plenty of questions.”

‘Oh boy, do I!’