Dragon Queen (Avery Rome Book 3) Read online

  “I have my ship with me, if people want to go that way? I brought enough shields for everyone, as well.” Those came from a blue velvet bag on his hip, the small white tiles rattling softly as he passed them out. Then he walked away from them, to the other side of the clearing, away from the creek. A moment later, a large shape came into being suddenly, with a low rumble of air. It was deafening, to her, but so low that she doubted anyone else noticed it making the world light up in a brilliant blue color.

  Then it started to glow, in a mix of copper and gold. The thing was lovely.

  “This way? We can just fly over. It will take about as long as if we walked. You’re all good with going into space first, aren’t you?” He sounded almost German, as he spoke.

  Denis laughed.

  “Oh, we have to take the cameras then. This will be good.”

  It really, truly was. Avery had been on, and in, many other worlds before. What she’d never done was gone up into space itself. Looking out the window, as the large blue and green world under her, she sighed.

  “This is incredible. I can’t… It’s breathtaking!” It honestly was.

  Not just for her, either. Everyone that had come with them, the IPB people, her own friends, even some of those who’d come to protect them, just stood at the windows and watched for a long time. Then the whole world rippled and shifted, putting them over Australia. Austra, as they called it there.

  It took them about a minute to settle over the ocean, then ten to move in toward land, going at about a hundred miles per hour.

  Dare, who was controlling the thing, explained that part.

  “Their missile systems will attack us if we come in too fast. We could have gone to their space port, as makes sense. This is their Capital, as it is, so we came here. The people here are… Different than in Noram. Please do not take offense.”

  They really were different.

  For one thing, most of them had on single piece jumpsuits, which were ugly enough that Bente would have probably ordered her to burn their continent down. That or at least introduce better options for them to wear. The other portion was that most of the people there had something different about them. Bright hair in a thousand shades and patterns, or facial tattoos. Some even had their entire bodies dyed different colors. Piercings were also popular, she could tell, from the bits of glinting metal coming from different directions.

  They were all holding up cell phones when Dareg had the passengers disembark on the cement dock structure, as well.

  Avery smiled and waved, since everyone seemed to be friendly enough about the whole thing. There were a few small drones flying around, what looked to have cameras as well.

  “So, this part is normal enough.” She spoke in Standard, since the low murmurs from the crowd seemed to be in that language. The accent was different, if only a little.

  That apparently, was the wrong thing to do. She had Phillip and Leslie next to her, with Debbie in the back, standing quietly. Mark was, cleverly enough, near Kait. Holding her hand. In a surge of bodies, she was approached, the whole crowd seeming to come at them, in her general direction.

  A man called out, his green and silver hair matching the fact that his face was done in a swirl of the same colors.

  “Are you from a different reality? What’s it like there? How long are you staying? Do you have any invasion plans at the moment?”

  At first she wondered if the man was just being rude. Then she answered, since frankly, it was what she’d have wanted to know first as well. Were they a danger to the people there.

  “Yes. Most of us here are from a different reality. Three or four different places. Also, some people from Noram? We should be here for ten or eleven more days, I think. There are no invasion plans at this time. That would be really hard to do, for one thing. Plus, we’re all pretty peaceful. That makes it much harder to launch a really good invasion.” She didn’t know that for everyone there, but no one had started any fights, except with assassins.

  To her that seemed fair enough.

  She was let off the hook about then, as Timon, Patricia and Tor walked over to where her group was standing.

  The world started screaming then.

  “Revered One! It’s the Revered One. And The Tor!”

  They got to take a turn answering questions then, which didn’t take that long. Finally, Tim waved at the crowd.

  “Now, we’re here to meet some people and do some sightseeing. How about… We take the news crews with us and get to that? Not to push anyone else out, but it gets hard to move with a thousand people in tow.” That was considered funny, for some reason.

  Instead of explaining, a few cars pulled up. They looked a bit funny, being too quiet as they moved and boxy in shape. Several busses followed, however, which were probably what she and the others were expected to ride in.

  Tor, who’d managed to end up next to her, put a hand on her shoulder. She looked over at the very tall man, only to see that he wasn’t looking at her at all. Just the crowd. Finally, he glanced down and smiled.

  “Would you be willing to meet with the Prime Minister here? Only a few of you speak Standard yet. This is the new one, so I don’t know her that well. We’ve talked on handhelds a few times.”

  Avery had to be prompted by Tarsus, just repeating what he knew to be the only correct answer, unless she were going to be plotting that day.

  “I’d love to. We should get Sara over here as well then. Perhaps with Queen Tiera? Um… Will as well?”

  Dareg was also a possibility. She was just a bit closer to Willum, having been through a few fights with him. That really did tend to leave people feeling closer, she knew.

  Tor looked away, seeming very slightly strained at one of her ideas. She figured it was about Sara, being a small child, even if she looked older at the moment. It wasn’t that, though.

  “Willum and I didn’t get off on the right foot, I fear. Things are still a bit tense there. Dareg and I tried to kill him. Thinking he was an enemy, from a different world. It’s hard to take that kind of thing back.”

  She could see that one being a problem. It wasn’t hers though, so she shrugged.

  “You can’t fix it if you don’t try.” She didn’t mean anything by that, of course. It was just a saying of The Gray. One her mother had taught her as a child.

  That reminded her to pull Leslie along with her, as Tor gathered up the others. They were herded toward what was either a good place for camera shots or a kill box, while an older woman walked up, having gotten out of her strange car.

  “Hello! Revered One Baker! Revered One of Vagus. Revered One Patricia…” She looked at everyone else then, a smile pasted on her lined face. She had on a jumpsuit, though it had better tailoring than what most of the people in the crowd had going on. The seams looked to have been melted into place, rather than sewn down.

  It could have been an interesting effect, if used right. It simply hadn’t been. Not on anyone.

  The Prime Minister had gold sparkles under her skin as her decoration. Bits of the same thing in her hair as well.

  It was Timon who moved in however, taking the lady’s hand.

  “Prime Minister Ethyl Welk, may I introduce a few of these others? This is Queen Tiera, of Harmony. Next to her is her protégé, Sara. She’s from another reality. This is Line Walker Avery Rome. One of the people who can pass through to other worlds and take people with her? Next to her is my nephew, Willum Baker. Also a line walker. All of them are, as you probably guessed, Revered Ones.”

  The woman looked shocked for a few moments, but recovered smoothly.

  “We’re very honored to have you all. Do we have interpreters?” She looked around then, as if someone was supposed to jump forward to do that part.

  Avery waved at Will.

  “I believe that’s his job, for the day? Though Tor pulled Sara and I because we can speak Standard. You might want to meet some of the others as well. Are you to be traveling with us?” It seemed odd, given
she was a national leader.

  That part turned out to be right, the lady begging off instantly.

  “Though I should have you in for a meal soon? That would be wonderful. I don’t know if I have time this week, unfortunately. We should arrange something.”

  Timon moved in and touched the older woman on the arm then.

  “Don’t worry. We have plans as well, so no one will take it as a slight. You’re correct anyway. We need to see to a meeting soon, with several of the people here.”

  That got a strained looked from the woman, who turned to look at Leslie about then.

  “I didn’t get your name, Miss?”

  Avery took her hand, a bit protectively.

  “This is my mother, Leslie Rome. She hasn’t learned Standard yet. She should have that down soon though, I’m sure.” Especially if Avery could get her free of The Rotted.

  The Greater Demons could all walk the lines, but they didn’t seem to do it easily. Except for Zack. The trick there would be getting her free, without alerting Ann that it had been done on purpose. Then leaving her and probably Mark, behind in a different reality. The one they were in might work for that.

  Particularly if she could get Timon to make some changes to them, so they’d have a better chance of surviving.

  The Prime Minster put a hand out to shake with Leslie, even though the others hadn’t gotten that kind of thing from her. It was returned easily enough, even without an explanation taking place.

  Then the older woman left them there, the crowd moving back as the busses, which were painted to look like trolley cars, moved forward.

  Timon waved, his tall form easily seen by everyone.

  Then he called out in English.

  “Let’s load up! We have several sights to see, then we can get back to camp. It’s getting late for us here.” That barely made sense, but was kind of true. Avery wasn’t sleepy yet, but she’d been going to bed at about nine or so each night. That would be in an hour or two, she thought. Looking at her watch confirmed that it was in one hour.

  They didn’t get back in a timely fashion. Instead they spent six hours riding around, seeing things that weren’t that interesting. Buildings which, to her, looked like normal things that most cities would have. There was also a museum, where they housed some interesting and macabre things. Like frozen human heads. She understood from the guide that one of them had been the daughter of a Prime Minister, but the reason they’d kept her head was a bit spotty.

  On the way back, she managed to sit by Tim Baker. Phillip was on her other side. The trip wasn’t going to take long at all. They did get another view of space, making the sense of creeping exhaustion almost worth it for her.

  She held Phillip’s hand, since they were still together. Actually, they were a lot closer now, than she would have thought. It was all the time in the void they’d spent together earlier that day.

  “Say, um… Could I ask a favor, Mr. Baker?” She sounded nervous, and felt that way.

  “Certainly! What can I, or my people, do for you, Miss Rome?”

  She was silent for a moment, then plunged in.

  “I need two people killed. Carefully. Then brought back to life, unharmed. After that, I want to have them changed, so they don’t look like they do now. It will need to be very well done, since it has to fool Greater Demons. Then I need to find a place for them here, in a different world, where they might be able to have a good life. Right now they’re both slaves. It’s a magical thing…”

  The man went very still, then looked around at the other people, carefully. He didn’t speak for a long time, but finally took a very deep, slow breath.

  “Leslie… and Mark? They have fields that move away from them, vanishing into nothing.”

  She nodded.

  “Exactly. That will lead across worlds to The Rotted. Ann. She’s a friend of mine, but also a Greater Demon. Death ends the link. We could kill her to do that as well, but it’s hard to do. If we can manage it safely enough? You have healing magic here, so I think it can be done.”

  The man looked back at them both, then nodded.

  “I can do that. It won’t be simple. I need to get with Taman on that. Can you get them to Soam tomorrow? Will lives there, so get him to take you. I’ll find some excuse to go along.” Then, he spoke in English.

  It was done smoothly enough.

  “Avery was just mentioning that she wants to get away for a day or two with you and her friends. I suggested Soam for that? It’s a lovely place this time of year. Will can act as your guide, I think? It’s his home. One of them.”

  From down the way, clearly having picked up the whole conversation, from the flavor of his words, Willum waved.

  “Yes! We can take whoever wants to go with us? Aunt Taman still has the magical palace set up there. Let me see if she’s willing to host us…”

  Taman, whoever she was, seemed more than willing to have people from another world invade her home as guests. It was interesting, since she invited them all for as long as they wanted. Many of the people there were excited by the news, as well. Because the woman was known to them.

  They landed at the camp at about three in the morning. Instead of going right off to bed, Avery moved to the food device and started making things. She’d need to eat, having been up late like she had. Others came with her, since the same basic idea held for a lot of them. She ran the device though, setting up everyone else first, before thinking of her own needs. It meant reloading the dirt hopper four times, since it ended up being nearly a complete meal for about half of the people there.

  Bridget sat at the table next to her, while Phillip moved closer to Georgia, on the other side.

  The small girl shook her head a bit, looking at them.

  “He’s hot. You said I could hit that, if I asked first?”

  Georgia snickered at the idea.

  “Hey, he came to sit by me here!” She didn’t really seem that put out by the idea though.

  Avery grinned, not feeling too bad about the extra attention he was getting. That feeling was real enough, but came and went for her, never feeling all that strong.

  “Well, he’s a line walker now, and strong, so by Vampire rules you’d have to ask him on that score. He kind of got kicked out of that program earlier, so we probably don’t have to do that anymore. I guess it’s a… What do they call that kind of thing?” She looked at him, not knowing the answer herself.

  He blushed a bit.

  “An open relationship?”

  She nodded at that, since it sounded right.

  “I don’t have a sex drive, so that sounds right. We can each see whoever we want that way, if it comes up. I probably have to start doing that, or he’ll think that no one wants me.”

  The tiny girl next to her waved at him then.

  “Cool beans. Well, we need to do that then. I don’t want to block Georgia from her fun though, so, maybe tomorrow? I’ll just have to cuddle with Avery tonight. You do girls, right?”

  “Sure? I just don’t get anything from it.”

  That got a wicked laugh, from Georgia.

  “Bridget doesn’t do women, as a rule, so you’re pretty safe that way. Thanks for thinking of me, sweetie. I’d invite you along, but I’ve known you since you were nine, so… Not happening.”

  “I know, I know.” She started to push food into the center of her face, pretty fast then, which reminded Avery to do the same thing. It was mainly sweets, since they were on vacation.

  It felt a bit naughty, doing that, eating in the middle of the night and having bad foods, but no one else seemed to mind it that much.

  When she finally got to bed there were two whole hours of sleep before the light came through the ceiling. She had to drag herself up then, since there were plans for the day. A few others did it as well, half of them seeming far too chipper about it. She nearly growled at them, since they were all Noram people. Finally, Allyssa Baker came over to her, holding something out.

  It was a
small glass disk, with a sigil on it.

  Avery blinked, having used one of those before.

  “A wake-up amulet?”

  The woman looked startled about the words for some reason.

  “It is! I make them. It’s an older design of mine, but still popular. Here you can have this one? I have a lot of them with me. I didn’t think that anyone would know about them, from your world.”

  Almost feeling greedy, she took the thing and put it in her mouth, then activated it with a bit of focus and her tongue. She was awake, about five seconds later. The cobwebs and slightly ill feeling gone. Then she put it around her neck, hugged the tall blonde lady and explained.

  “My skin is magic proof. So, putting it in my mouth. I had one to use for a while, that I’d gotten from Demon Zack. That probably means that he’s been here before. That or he got it at Lesser Shia. A lot of things end up there.” She’d heard that, anyway. She’d even gone there a few times, but hadn’t really done much shopping.

  Avery really just didn’t need that much, day to day.

  Some food, possibly some cloth and sewing gear, or things to make shoes out of. Everything else was nice enough, but not really something needed. Though a big collection of shiny coins and gems was sort of an attractive idea.

  Dragons loved things like that. It wasn’t just her or a stereotype, either. Resisting that kind of thing was a good plan though, since it could become a weakness if she wasn’t careful.

  Mrs. Baker touched her arm then, and for some reason took her hand.

  “Wonderful. I think we have some time before the day starts. I should hand these out to everyone. I’ve been to Soam before. It really is lovely there. It was a good idea, thinking of that. Tor and I should have you all over to Vagus as well. There are some nice things there, too. That’s where we live. We used to be out by Mars on the Martian Circle. The… Space houses?”

  Will who was already up for the day, was near Phillip, both walking with heaping plates of food. They sat near them, though Willum was right next to her, for some reason. That meant Phil ended up on the other side of Mrs. Baker. She was young enough and pretty looking. Also, apparently, interested in pawing anyone she could reach.