Page 38 of The Lost Empress

“There! There!” Faraday yelped, pointing toward a peak to the right.

Holding the squirrel securely to her chest, surprised by how fluffy and tiny he was, she looked in the direction that he was pointing.

“You’re right, my friend,” she said with a smile, seeing a mountain ahead with a top that had a crescent-shaped peak. “That’s got to be it.”

“That’s the way we need to head,” Faraday corrected. “I think once we do, I’ll get the next message.”

Gen nodded, setting the wiggling rodent back down in the secure place between her and the leather saddle. He pressed the earpiece in closer, his face screwed up in confusion. Then he began to nod, looking up at her with triumph.

“I’m getting something now,” he said, his voice loud to be heard over the rushing wind as they flew.

Gen, feeling the air starting to pick up, leaned down low, both to make them more aerodynamic and to protect the little squirrel with her body. She hoped that helped him to decipher the next message he got. But she also worried that the winds tearing at them were only going to get worse as they neared the peaks ahead, which looked less inviting and more like guardians to a forbidden land.

“I got it,” Faraday said in a muffled voice.

Gen peeled back slightly, giving him space to poke his head out from underneath her shelter.

“The next message says,” Faraday began, pausing slightly before continuing, “Where the compass spins and loses its way, the fallen star’s power holds sway. Trust not the needle, but the dragon’s might, to find the crater hidden from sight.”

Gen frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means that I will know the way from here,” Emperor said, both in Gen’s head and loud enough for Faraday to hear.

The squirrel nodded in agreement.

“But how do the aliens know that we have a dragon?” Gen questioned.

Faraday shrugged. “They must just know. I’m guessing they are watching us right now and sending the messages in real time. They are aliens, after all. If we proceed, we can ask them.”

“Fine,” Gen agreed, looking around, searching for aliens, although she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. “We’ll depend on Emperor’s instincts and keen senses to locate the crater.”

“I think I know where to go,” the dragon said with confidence.

Gen peeked up. “How?”

“I can just feel it, like being pulled,” he answered.

“Okay, well, I’m glad that you can be our compass, because I’m lost,” Gen said over the rush of wind. Her stomach dropped as Emperor dove suddenly without warning. She wasn’t navigating him right then, having released him to be their compass and therefore, each turn and dip was a surprise.

When they neared the crescent-shaped peak, a weird déjà vu feeling overcame Gen. It was like she’d been in this spot before and yet, she knew that she hadn’t. How could she?

“It feels familiar to you,” Emperor stated—it wasn’t a question.

Faraday looked up at her, a quizzical expression on his little face. “Are you sensing something?”

She nodded. “Yes, the crater is close. It’s on the other side of the peak.”

“How do you know that?” Faraday asked. “Emperor is our compass.”

“But we are connected,” the dragon replied. “And for me, it feels like I’m being led home, to a place I know well, although I’ve never been before.”

“That’s incredible,” the squirrel mused.

“Yes,” Gen agreed with Emperor. “I can even see in my mind the area. It’s below a tree-line.”

“How can that be?” Faraday questioned. “The crash would have burned everything in the area. Of course, I have been banking on this notion to help me find the crater site from satellites.”

“But that didn’t work, did it?” Emperor asked, apparently knowing what satellites were when Gen didn’t. She got an image in her head, supplied by her dragon and was grateful for the tutorial on modern-day technology.

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