Music.
What Mr. Ali said was true, the greatest magician in history was Jamsheet.
He was not just a great magician, though. He was a great emperor of Persia.
While there are plenty of books about him, the contemporary magical accounts are rare.
So with the exception of very few specific spells, the only things we know are
the broadest accounts of his achievements.
It almost sounds like he didn't want anyone to know his secrets.
Naomi stopped her pacing and looked at me, a big smile on her face.
Yes, he was arrogant and secretive, and while he was the greatest of magicians,
he wanted even more power.
So he bound an ancient Merid into the artifacts?
No, he bound the great dragon Zahak.
I almost dropped the staff. There's a dragon in here?
I stared at it in my hand.
Naomi nodded. Not just any dragon. Zahak, an exceptionally powerful dragon whose
power with magic makes Merit look like schoolchildren.
He was that powerful?
Yes. He terrorized the world with his might, so Jamshed hunted down this horrible
and majestic dragon and bound him with magic.
Even then Zahak was too powerful, so Jamshed split him into three pieces so
that he did not have the power to escape. The artifacts.
Yes. Each artifact contains part of Zahak's enslaved essence.
These artifacts were the pieces that made Jamshed's power absolute.
No one could defeat him with the combined power of his own magic and the enslaved magic of Zahak.
I nodded my head. It was all new to me, but it made so much sense.
No wonder Mr. Elise said the staff had a mind of its own. It literally does
have a mind of its own. The mind of Zahak.
Naomi sat down beside me again. So the coat and cup are the other two artifacts?
Yes. Of course, the artifacts are considered by nearly everyone as nothing more than fanciful tales.
Zahak is a myth, Jamsheet is known more as an emperor than a magician,
and the artifacts are mere legends.
I could barely control my excitement. I finally knew the source of my family's
legacy, even if it was one based on a vile act of enslavement.
You know anything about them?
Not much more than what Ana said. We know what the staff and coat do.
The cup presumably allows the holder to see anything in the universe.
You just think of what you want to see, and the cup shows it to you.
There are some who believe it allows the bear to read minds and even see into the future.
I'm going to see if I can communicate with Zahack. I clenched the staff in my
hand. Will that be dangerous?
Naomi's comment gave me pause. I hadn't told her that when I was close to the
coat that the staff was exerting a strong influence on my behavior.
It was dangerously close to controlling me.
Did I want to let Zahak know I was aware of his presence in the staff?
No, I don't think it will be dangerous. I actually didn't know the answer,
but I couldn't live not knowing if I could talk to Zahak and perhaps work with
him in new ways to help other enslaved creatures or even free himself.
I closed my eyes and focused on the staff In a way that only I knew It wasn't
really a staff or a cane It was part of myself I was Tommy, the staff was me.
Zahak, I know you are there I will be the one to free you I felt the faintest
stirring deep within the staff But nothing else,
Zahak, I free you from your slavery. The moment I said the words,
I knew they were a mistake.
I couldn't just free a mighty dragon on a moving train.
Plus, I didn't even know if the poor dragon would be grateful.
Maybe it would blame us and kill Naomi and me.
Luckily, nothing happened. I opened my eyes.
Nothing, but I have a pretty good idea what we need to do.
I thought over the flow of energy I felt when close to the cope.
It was obvious what was happening now. As the artifacts were brought together,
their power increased, but so did the consciousness and will of Zahack. What is that?
I can't free Zahack until I'm wielding all three artifacts.
It's like the train. I can't free the mayor unless I'm the engineer. So what do we do?
I was sure she already knew and was excited about the prospect.
We get the coat, and then we travel to Germany, and we get the cup.
The knowledge of Zahak imprisoned in the staff Led me to act exactly the way
Naomi had predicted I was committed to freeing the mighty creature From his
enslavement in the artifacts,
I know that the loss of the artifacts Concerned her on some level But it renewed
my own sense of purpose And Naomi seemed to understand and support that,
She had changed over the past two years She was more powerful,
of course But she also seemed to have a better understanding Of the rule magical
creatures played in the world,
I think she agreed with me that it was wrong that a mighty magician was so thirsty
for power that he would enslave an ancient dragon.
The speeding train also made me angry. Even though I knew the mare was no longer
a slave, its route made it clear
that all it wanted was to be in Paris as quickly as possible and be free.
At times I could see the train hovering over treetopses at Sped West.
I had no doubt that we'd be in Paris in little more than a few hours.
Knowing what I did of the history of magic and slavery, I found that the only
magic I could appreciate anymore was that performed by skilled magicians like Naomi and even Kane.
It was personal and pure. You could see it in Naomi's eyes as she focused on
the light in her hand or cast a spell.
It was art. It was beautiful in its own way and entirely different from the train.
The train's joining of technology and magic wasn't an artistic collaborative
thing, but rather magic being channeled by a creature forced into service.
I couldn't wait for the trip to M in Paris and watched the merit explode from
the rear of the engine in a violent leap to freedom.
There was a screech and I was nearly thrown to the floor as the train ground to a quick halt.
Naomi was thrown forward into the metal controls. As she rubbed her side, she looked outside.
Well, we're somewhere. It's Paris. I knew the mayor did as I requested.
This doesn't look like Paris.
I looked outside and it was a small wooded area with a tiny station.
In the distance was a village.
It's probably just outside Paris.
Before Naomi could say anything, a low growl gained in volume until an ear-piercing scream filled the air.
I had heard that sound many times before.
We need to get off this engine now. I slid the door open and climbed down the short ladder.
As I hit the bottom rung, the engine lurched again.
I jumped and rolled up to my feet. Naomi was barely clinging to the ladder as
the horrific high-pitched sound of metal being ripped and torn filled the air.
Naomi, just jump. The merit is freeing itself. You have to get off the train.
Naomi leapt and landed awkwardly. I ran over and pulled her out of the way just
when a slab of iron landed where she had been lying on the ground.
She was limping as we ran along the train tracks, away from the engine.
A resounding crash shook the ground.
It just tossed the engine up in the air like it was a toy.
I didn't look back. I had seen the same thing dozens of times.
The magical creatures always completely destroyed the engines that had imprisoned them.
The only thing I could do was make sure no one was nearby.
Keep going, Naomi. It's dangerous.
Another cry pierced the air. This one was pure triumph, however.
I had also heard this cry many times before. I stopped and looked back.
A swirling mass of flame and light coalesced into a creature of pure energy.
As the Merig returned to its form, it launched itself into the air,
leaving behind molten iron and twisted chunks of metal.
Naomi looked awestruck as she watched the Merig shoot into the sky and then head south.
It always headed south, and I had no idea why.
What a magnificent being. I nodded. It was.
The scene had never failed to move me. A creature that had been enslaved for years was finally free.
A large group of people exited the passenger cars and looked at the wreckage,
hands covering their mouths. A few of them looked around confused.
I imagine the Russians are wondering why they aren't in Leningrad.
I had to smile. While the mayor had taken us to Paris, he had also stranded
a large group of Russians far from their home.
A few looked in our direction, so I put my arm around Naomi's waist.
She squinted at me. We need to get moving, and your leg is hurt.
Actually, it's my ankle. Naomi
put her arm on my shoulder and then to lung beside me. And my hip, too.
Actually, I'm pretty much bruised all over.
Well, I'm pretty much burned all over, so I hope we're in France as we really
need to recover before Ana makes it here.
Naomi pointed to a sign. It said, Shell. That certainly looks like French.
Well, thank you, unnamed Merid. I'm going to assume that this is close enough.
I looked up a road but couldn't see many buildings.
We appeared to be in some distant suburb of Paris.
We need to get to Paris, contact English military, get some new supplies and
support, and then set up a base from where we can plan our attack on Anna.
Naomi rattled off a plan even as I was considering our options.
There's only one problem. we don't speak French we don't have a way to Paris
we don't know where the English military bases are and we don't even know if
the English military will help us.
That's more than one problem. Thank you, Miss Optimism.
I looked for signs of life on the street but couldn't find any.
So let's tackle the second problem, since I doubt either of us will learn French anytime soon.
We couldn't even hire a taxi as the remaining money we had was all Russian. Any ideas?
You'd rather slowly made our way out to a road that ran alongside the rail line.
Well, we could walk. You mean limp?
I hope we're not too far from Paris.
Naomi laughed and I turned to look at her. Well, we're farther than I had hoped.
She was pointing to a sign that said, Paris, 18 kilometers.
That doesn't sound good. How far is that in miles? I was horrible with the metric
numbers. About 11 miles.
Why would the mayor leave us so far from Paris?
We turned down the road with the side and we had our answer. Is that a British flag?
That is not only a British flag. That is an English army base.
Well, that's convenient. I'm guessing you told the mayor that we were heading to a military base?
I thought back to what I said to the mayor, and I couldn't think that I gave
any guidance other than we needed to go to Paris. Maybe?
Well, let's go get some help and then come up with a plan. I nodded.
Could the mayor have helped us this much, taking us to the doorstep of where we needed to be?
And how did it know? Did it read my mind?
It seemed amazing if it did.
That was just one of the many questions swirling in my head.
The biggest one was how was I going to get the coat off the back of someone I couldn't harm?
Music.