The sun rose over Oakhaven like a sore eye looking through thick, sharp smoke. The Valerius Tower was no longer a sign of business style and success. It was a broken point of twisted metal and shattered glass. The remains of the black jet were stuck in the upper floors like a spear thrown by an angry god. Rescue crews and city guards were everywhere at the buildings base but none dared to enter. The area had been blocked off by silent men in white and gold armor who did not speak or move. They were the Sovereigns Shadow and they stood like statues in the chaos of a city just changed by fire.
Deep beneath the wreckage in the command centers medical bay the air was clean and cold. Caspian lay on a bed made of black stone and his chest was bare. The nine dragons on his skin were no longer bright but they were carved in a deep, angry red that seemed to beat with a life of its own. Tubes filled with glowing spirit liquid were joined to his arms and the machines around him hummed with a low, steady beat that was like the slow throb of a dying star. He looked less like a Supreme Commander and more like a man who had been dragged through a mountains gears and barely spat back out.
Lyra sat in a chair next to him and she had not moved for six hours. She had washed the soot from her face but her eyes were still heavy with a tiredness that sleep could not fix. She looked at the man on the bed and tried to find the husband she had known. She looked for the man who used to say sorry for burning the toast or for forgetting to lock the front door. She looked for the man who had sat in the corner of the ballroom and taken her brothers insults without a word. But all she saw was a fighter whose very life was a magnet for death and a source of incredible power.
He is getting steady. Thorne said as he walked into the room. He was still in his armor but he had removed his helmet and his face was pale from the energy he had used during the fight in the hallway. The second bone is joining. The soul of General Kael is fighting to fix the breaks in the Commanders core. But it is a slow task Lyra. He used too much power to reach you. The jump he made was never meant to be done with a broken soul.
Will he wake up. Lyra asked and her voice was a quiet sound that barely carried over the machines hum.
He must. Thorne replied as he checked the screens. The High Regents have lost their main leaders. Malphas is dead and the Executioners are gone. The remaining seven Regents are meeting in the capital right now. They are not going to send killers next time. They are going to send an army. Oakhaven is no longer just a city in a small province. It is the front line of a world war.
Lyra looked at the screens on the wall. She saw the news reports showing the towers destruction from every angle. She saw the blurry pictures of the golden light and the black jet screaming through the clouds. The secret was out. Every group in the country now knew that the Supreme Commander was back. And they knew he was hiding in the Valerius family. The name that used to be a joke was now the most dangerous word in the world.
We cannot stay here. Lyra said. My father and Silas are already talking about running away to the southern islands. They are afraid that the Regents will destroy the entire city just to kill Caspian. They are looking for a way out but they do not know there is no place in this world where the Regents will not find us.
Your father is a fool. Thorne said and his voice was a deep, rough sound. If you leave the Shadows protection you will be dead within an hour. The only thing keeping the other families from tearing you apart right now is the fear of what the Commander will do when he wakes up. They are waiting for a sign of weakness. They are waiting to see if the dragon is truly dead or just sleeping.
Suddenly the machines in the room began to beep quickly. The spirit liquid in the tubes began to bubble and the black stone bed started to shake. Caspian let out a sharp, rough breath and his eyes flew open. They were not gold this time. They were a deep, endless black like the empty space between the stars. He sat up with a sudden, strong movement and he ripped the tubes from his arms. He gasped for air and his hands gripped the beds edges with enough force to crack the stone.
Caspian. Lyra cried out as she reached for him.
He looked at her but for a moment he did not see her. He saw the fire of the North. He saw Malphas face making fun of him from the ice. He saw the thousand fights he had fought in a life he had tried to bury. Then the darkness in his eyes went away and the usual warmth returned. He looked at Lyra and he reached out to touch her hand. His skin was burning with a strange heat.
I am sorry. He spoke in a hoarse voice like grinding stones. I did not mean to worry you.
You did more than worry me. She said as she felt the heat of his skin. You crashed a plane into my office Caspian. You almost died to get here. Why did you not wait for the jump to be ready.
I had to reach you. He said as he looked at Thorne. Tell me. What is the status of the city. Have the Regents made their move.
The Regents are getting ready. Thorne said as he knelt by the bed. The news has reached the capital. High Regent Valer says he is declaring Oakhaven a rebellious area. They are moving the Fourth and Fifth Legions to the border. They are claiming that you are a terrorist who has kidnapped the Valerius family. We have maybe forty eight hours before the attack begins.
Caspian stood up and his legs were shaky but he refused to let Thorne help him. He walked to a small table and he picked up his black shirt. He put it on and he looked at his reflection in the dark glass of a screen. He looked like a man who was running out of time and who knew exactly how much blood it would cost to buy more.
They are moving too fast. Caspian said. They know I am not fully better. They want to crush the Ninth Dragon before I can find the third bone and fix the block in my power lines.
Where is the third one. Lyra asked. Is it in another fort in the middle of nowhere.
It is not in a fort. Caspian said as he turned to look at her. It is in Oakhaven. It has been under our feet the whole time.
Both Lyra and Thorne froze. The room became deadly quiet as the weight of that statement settled in.
Here. Thorne asked. We have checked this city a thousand times sir. We never found a trace of the generals souls in any of the spirit veins.
That is because it is not buried in the ground. Caspian said as he walked toward the door. It is hidden in plain sight. It is in the Great Museum of Oakhaven. It is inside the scepter of the first Emperor. The Regents have had it on display for a hundred years as a prize and they never knew what it was. They thought it was just a piece of history but it is a piece of my heart.
Then we go tonight. Thorne said as his hand went to his blade.
No. Caspian said. If we move as an army the Regents will know. Their spies are everywhere in the city guard. We need a way to draw attention away. We need the world to think we are busy defending the tower and picking up the pieces of the company.
He looked at Lyra. You are going to hold a press conference.
A press conference. She asked with a look of complete surprise. Caspian the building is a ruin. People are screaming in the streets and the markets are crashing. What could I possibly say to them that would make a difference.
You are going to tell them that the Valerius Group has formed a planned partnership with the Sovereigns Shadow. Caspian said. You are going to tell them that the attack was a failed plan by the Storm Sect remains who were angry about the purchase. You are going to give them a hero Lyra. You are going to tell them that I am the one who saved the city from a void collapse.
But everyone thinks you are a failure. She whispered. They have spent three years laughing at you.
Then change their minds. Caspian said as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. You are the most powerful woman in this city now Lyra. You proved that in the boardroom. Use your voice. While you have the eyes of the world on you I am going to take Thorne and we are going to walk into that museum.
The plan was crazy but it was the only one they had. Two hours later Lyra stood on a temporary stage in front of the ruined Valerius Tower. Hundreds of cameras were pointed at her and the bright lights of the news teams made the smoke in the air look like a thick, golden fog. She looked out at the sea of faces and she saw the fear and the interest and the greed. She felt the black stone coin in her pocket and she felt the pulse of the Frost Jade.
She began to speak. Her voice was clear and it was strong and it did not shake even once. She told them about the betrayal of the Storm Sect. She told them about the secret protectors who had lived among them for years. And then she told them about her husband. She did not call him a Dead Pulse. She did not call him a servant. She called him the Guardian of Oakhaven. She told them that the man they had made fun of was the only reason they were still breathing.
While Lyras voice sounded through the streets of Oakhaven two shadows were moving through the back passages toward the Great Museum. Caspian and Thorne were dressed in simple black clothes and they moved with a strange quietness. The museum was a huge dome of white marble and it was guarded by the best guards of the City Council. But to a Sovereign these men were nothing more than ghosts.
Caspian reached the heavy bronze doors of the museum and he placed his hand on the lock. He did not use force. He simply whispered a word and the locks clicked into place. They slipped inside the dark hall and they moved past the old statues and the displays of forgotten wars. In the center of the main round room stood a glass case. Inside was a gold scepter covered with jewels. To the world it was a very valuable object. To Caspian it was a cage.
I can feel him. Caspian whispered as he reached the case. It is General Silas. He was my planner. He was the one who taught me how to read the stars and the movements of the enemy.
The golden light began to flicker in Caspians eyes. He raised his hand to smash the glass but he stopped. The shadows in the room began to get longer. The statues of the ancient kings seemed to turn their heads toward him. The air grew heavy with the smell of old blood and rusty iron.
You should have stayed in the basement Commander.
A man stepped out from behind a marble pillar. He was tall and he was dressed in a suit of white silk that seemed to glow in the dark. He had long silver hair and his eyes were a sharp, electric blue. This was not an Executioner. This was a High Regent. This was High Regent Valer and he was the master of the Third Legion.
Valer. Caspian said and his voice was a low, rough sound. You are a long way from the capital.
I could not miss the show. Valer said as he looked at the scepter. I have spent fifty years holding this stick and I never knew your friends soul was inside it. It is a clever trick Caspian. But it ends here. I have brought the logic of the void with me.
Valer raised his hand and the museum round room was suddenly filled with a bright white light. The floor turned into a swirling mix of energy and the walls began to melt into a white void. This was the Law of the Third Regent. It was a space where only the strong could live and where the worlds rules were changed.
Thorne drew his blades and he jumped at Valer but the Regent simply waved his hand and Thorne was frozen in the air like a fly in amber. He is not the one I want. Valer said as he looked at Caspian. I want to see if the Ninth Dragon can still fly when his wings are broken and his city is burning.
Caspian drew his black stone sword and the golden light burst from his body. He did not look at the Regent. He looked at the scepter. He knew that if he fought Valer here the museum would be destroyed and the generals soul would be lost in the collapse. He had to make a choice. He could defend himself or he could save his friend.
Caspian smiled and it was a look of complete refusal. He did not raise his sword to block Valers coming strike. Instead he turned his back on the Regent and he slammed his fist into the glass case. The glass broke into a million pieces. Caspian grabbed the scepter and he felt the sudden, strong rush of the generals soul entering his body.
The Third Dragon woke up.
The white void was ripped apart by a roar of golden fire. The museum round room was filled with a massive ghostly image of a dragon with three heads and it let out a sound that broke every piece of glass in the building. Caspian felt the planners power entering his mind. He saw the paths of the future. He saw the movements of the Regents armies. He saw the war that was coming.
Valer was thrown backward by the force of the awakening. He stood up quickly and his white suit was torn and bloody. He looked at Caspian and he saw a man who was no longer struggling to breathe. He saw a man who was whole.
You are a fool. Valer spoke in a sharp whisper. You have taken the bait. Now the Regents know exactly where you are and they know you will give up yourself for a piece of bone.
I have always known where I am. Caspian said as he stood in the center of the golden storm. I am exactly where I need to be to kill you.
He raised his sword and the museum round room disappeared in a flash of bright light. Outside in the streets of Oakhaven the people looked up as the roof of the museum was blown away by a pillar of gold. They heard the roar of the dragon and they saw the light. They looked at Lyra who was still standing on the stage and they saw her smile. The Guardian is here. They whispered. The war had truly begun and the Sovereign was just getting started.