“I wouldn’t know where to go in either case. Unless you haven’t noticed, there are armed guards all around me. They say there are thousands of soldiers in the forests nearby, not counting the sisters or Brotherhood.”
There was a pause and Gareth took the time to open his eyes and glance at the guards surrounding him, again. They looked like experienced troops. The Field Lieutenant and Captain Tom had their heads together near a campfire fifty paces away, Tom probably filling the other’s head with dreams of glory, if he did as Tom wished. Gareth felt the last of the drugs intended to calm his mind wearing off and his excitement growing. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartbeat. There had been no sign of the woman, Karen. He saw no other women nearby.
Gareth’s eyes snapped fully open. Where was his dragon?
He reached out with his mind and ‘found’ it. He looked through the dragon’s eyes. The dizzy sensation was becoming familiar, and he saw himself lying on the center hump of the road, men standing in a circle and watching him. Beyond he saw more men attending cooking fires or lounging near tents. The angle and distance indicated Blackie had already made his escape from the circle of guards, although nobody had noticed. His vision blurred again, and he was himself. He performed the act a few more times to be certain he could reach the dragon at will. A casual turn of his head found the location of the dragon. It was laying in the thick underbrush, behind a rotting log, a whole forest behind to hide in.
*Not good! Gareth, you must keep track of Blackie at all times. Keep him close to you. He’s at a stage where a meal is his most important function, but you will want him at hand when you escape. Try to always keep a tendril of your mind touching him.*
“I don’t know how to do that. Anyway, I’m not sure of escaping until I know more about you, and I may not take that damned dragon with me when I do.”
*Know this, Gareth. I live in a safe area where none of those around you has ever reached. I have a good home, plenty of food, and I do as I like when I like. In my spare time, I keep the Brotherhood and Sisterhood from becoming too powerful, and I try to do some good for the people of the world when the mood strikes me. How does that sound?*
“It sounds like the only way I can tell the truth from the lies is to see you in person, but if Cinder is a full grown black he can destroy me and my little dragon with one spit. How can I trust you?”
*A wise response. I have a counter-proposal. You and I can communicate to and from anywhere. It is not necessary for you to come to me until you are ready, if ever. However, if you do not escape the clutches of the three groups vying for control over you, I fear you will not survive another day. Certainly not two. Therefore, your first priority is to escape. Second is to hide. Perhaps from all of us.*
“It’s going to be kind of hard to escape with a whole army around me.”
*Perhaps not as hard as you might believe. Cinder is resting on a mountain near you. I sent him to help you three days ago. Cinder can create a diversion, and you can run for your life. He can escort you far enough away that you can continue on to wherever you wish. He can ensure your escape by laying down a path of slime behind you that no army can pass.*
“You can direct him to do all that?”
*We have been together many, many years. I will watch what transpires through his eyes, and between the two of us, we will provide so much confusion that the last thing on the minds of the soldiers surrounding you will be to follow you.*
“Cinder’s acid slime will kill many of them. I don’t like that.”
*As they say, that’s the cost of doing business. A soldier must be prepared to die while doing his duty.*
“No, that’s not true. I forbid Cinder from spitting at a single one of them. Nobody has to die so that I can escape. If I have to stay a captive, so be it, but I won’t have the deaths of good men on my conscience.”
The deep voice in Gareth’s head chuckled, a strange booming sound. *I really wish I could take credit for making this a test of your compassion, but instead, it becomes a reminder to me of the excesses of power. Including my own.*
“Can Cinder create enough of a diversion for me to escape tonight?” Gareth asked, as he opened his eyes a slit and saw three guards in front of him, standing not more than three steps away. He assumed the others were to the side and behind, but didn’t bother to look. “It only takes one of these men to keep me here.”
*Your captor, the promotion-anxious Field Lieutenant, said there are over a thousand troops in the nearby forest. Supposing you can escape from the six guards posted near you, how do you feel about escaping from the rest? Especially if none are to be harmed?*
Before he answered, Tom approached, stepping past the circle of guards as if he commanded them. “How are you doing, boy?”
Shifting his line of thought, he assumed that the “voice” in his head would also listen and understand. Referring to him as a “voice” instead of a name was as lame as calling his dragon, Blackie. There would be no praise for Gareth’s abilities to name people or pets. “For a prisoner, not too bad. I’m trying to figure out exactly who is keeping me here. You or the king’s men.”
Tom leaned closer. “Meaning you think I am one of them.”
“I don’t know what to think, Tom. I owe you for your boat and your help, but not so much that you can order me into the service of the king. That Field Lieutenant you’re talking with is a glory seeker looking out only for himself. He’s no friend of yours.”
“Keep your voice down. You’re correct, of course. I have little respect for him, but maybe I can influence him to delay travel for a day or two. In that time, we may find a way to escape. I’m working on it, so be ready to run.”
“With the woods around here filled with a thousand soldiers?”
Tom chuckled. “Would you entrust that arrogant Field Lieutenant with a thousand men to command? The king is too intelligent for that. A few hundred of his second-grade troops at most. Now, relax and let me find another chink in his armor.”
Tom strode away, with his back straight and his chin up. He looked the part of a naval captain inspecting the sailors on his warship instead of a boatless fisherman. Waiting until Tom sat beside a campfire with three other officers, Gareth used his mind to speak, “I have the beginnings of a plan. A woman of the sisterhood was traveling with me, her name is Karen. She mentioned making all the mice in her house run outside if they thought a cat was inside. Is it possible for you and me to put the same sort of thoughts into the minds of the soldiers?”
The answer did not come immediately. *I can make people feel basic instincts. You appear to have more abilities in that area than I. Your emotions flood the mind.*
“Can you fill the minds of groups with emotions? Or, can I?”
*Let me explain, further, Gareth. I live high in the mountains near a series of thermal vents that keep my valley warm and snug year around. It is no more than a day’s travel from several villages, yet I live undiscovered and at peace because I emit mental warnings regularly. Nothing specific, just vague ‘feelings’ telling all living nearby that they do not want to come near my home. They are not afraid, it is more basic than that. They simply ‘feel’ that hunting for game is better in other places, and so on. I spread rumors of large stands of firethorn bushes and stinging nettles on my mountain. Much like the sister suggested she does with mice.*