Doom of the Dragon (40 page)

The sky above the city was a clear, deep blue without the wisp of a cloud. The sun was warm and seemed to caress Raegar, easing the pain in his sore shoulders, while a gentle and fragrant breeze soothed, like delicate fingers, the ache in his head.

A man appeared on the battlements of Tsa Kerestra and, unfurling a white flag, began to wave it back and forth.

“They're offering to surrender, sir,” said Eolus, grinning.

Raegar turned to see his soldiers regarding him with admiration and now, by god, the priests were chanting
his
name.

“All praise to Raegar, Emperor of the World!”

He walked to the edge of the cliff and raised his arms in salute. The crowd on the beach below cheered him.

This was his proudest moment.

“Send to the ship for my son,” Raegar told Eolus. “Once I have the spiritbone, he will see
me
crowned king!”

 

CHAPTER

34

Skylan stepped onto the deck of the
Venejekar
with Wulfe following close behind. Skylan was startled to see the sun shining brightly overhead. They had left Tsa Kerestra at dawn and now it was midday and yet it seemed that almost no time had passed since he and Wulfe had walked through the gate.

“Where have we been?” Skylan asked Wulfe.

The boy gave him a furtive look. “At least there were no chimeras.”

Skylan didn't have time to pursue the matter. He had walked in on an argument among his friends, who were debating what to do in the absence of their chief.

“We should have killed those soldiers we saw snooping around,” Sigurd said.

“That wasn't Skylan's plan,” Bjorn retorted.

“The hell with Skylan,” Sigurd began. At that very moment, Erdmun saw Skylan and Wulfe standing on the deck and gave an alarmed yelp.

Sigurd and Grimuir grabbed their weapons, then saw who it was and lowered them.

“How did the meeting with the Stormlords go?” Bjorn asked.

“Look at his face,” said Sigurd. “There's your answer.”

Skylan hesitated, wondering how much to tell his friends. What with Owl Mother and peach pits and falling stars, his tale was complicated, outlandish, and implausible. Before he could launch into it, however, Wulfe told it for him.

“Skylan met my mother and she took us to the city in the clouds where he fought a chimera and Aylaen and Farinn stayed with Owl Mother to steal the god bone.”

Skylan rounded on him. “Go talk to the Dragon Kahg. Tell him about Raegar's forces and the other three dragons.”

“He's not there,” said Wulfe, pointing to the prow. “It's just wood.”

“Where is he?” Skylan asked, turning to the others.

“The dragon flew off,” said Bjorn, shrugging. “We don't know where. So is what Wulfe says true?”

Skylan sighed. “I know you have questions—”

“Damn right! You fought a chimera?” asked Sigurd eagerly.

Bjorn cast him an exasperated glance. “That's not what's important.”

“Maybe to you,” Sigurd muttered.

“I wish I could tell you what I saw and heard, but the truth is it's mostly magic and I don't understand much of any of it. Owl Mother was waiting for us in the city. She's one of the Stormlords—”

“That figures,” Grimuir said. “I never did like that old crone.”

“That ‘old crone' is going to help Aylaen take back the spiritbone,” said Skylan. “The Stormlords never meant to give it to Raegar. One of them is a traitor and he sold them out.”

“You left Aylaen there, alone in that city of wizards?” said Erdmun.

“She is Kai Priestess,” said Skylan. “The duty to her people is hers by right, and, as Chief of Chiefs, I support her.”

Skylan waited in silence for his friends to challenge him, especially Sigurd, who was Aylaen's stepfather.

To his surprise, Sigurd said with gruff pride, “Aylaen would do her duty, no matter what the cost. She's a Vindrasi and my daughter.”

The others nodded their agreement. Skylan was relieved. The worst was over. He could proceed on to the next part that, even though the news was dire, was far easier to explain.

“While I was in the city,” Skylan continued, “I saw Raegar's fleet make landfall. He has two enormous galleys, each one bigger than our village, and he brought with him as many soldiers as there are grains of sand on the shore.”

Sigurd gave a shrug. “So you're saying we're outnumbered.”

“And Raegar has three dragons,” Skylan said. “Two of them were with us, so he knows
our
numbers and maybe even that we are hiding here.”

“If that's true, we might as well have stayed dead,” Erdmun remarked glumly. “Save Raegar the time and trouble of killing us all over again.”

“Skylan has a plan,” Bjorn said.

“It better be a good one,” said Grimuir.

“It is,” said Skylan. And he was about to explain his plan when the sound of an explosion echoing among the trees caused the birds to rise from the branches, screeching, and brought the conversation to a sudden halt.

“What the hell was that?” Sigurd demanded.

Skylan couldn't see Gray Beak through the thick leaves of the mangroves, but he knew in his heart what had happened.

“The blast came from the direction of the stormhold,” he said. “Something's gone wrong. According to Owl Mother, Raegar was supposed to use the stormhold's magic to open the gate, not blow it up.”

“Dela Eden and some of her Cyclopes went up to Gray Beak to keep watch,” said Bjorn. “They'll tell us.”

“I don't think we have to wait for them,” said Erdmun, craning his neck.

The Dragon Kahg circled in the air above them. He was hard to see, for his body was the same blue as the sky. As a dragon of air, he could change to gray to blend in with rain or black to meld with the night. Skylan now wondered if the dragon had known all along that the dragons who had sailed with them had been planning to betray him.

Kahg remained in the air a long while, flying just above tree level. Skylan, eager for news, was wondering impatiently what the dragon was doing when Kahg descended and returned to his form on the
Venejekar
.

“Go talk to him,” Skylan told Wulfe.

Wulfe hesitated. “You didn't tell me he was real now.”

“This is why I let you come,” said Skylan. “Go talk to the dragon.”

Wulfe went off, dragging his feet, keeping a wary eye on the dragon while Kahg kept a fiery eye on the boy. Wulfe spoke to the dragon, then turned to report.

“Kahg says Raegar and a bunch of soldiers and priests visited to the stormhold,” Wulfe reported. “Raegar went inside and blew it up.”

“By Torval, maybe our luck has changed!” Skylan said.

“The only time our luck changes is to get worse,” Erdmun said.

“It gets worse. The city in the clouds fell,” Wulfe said, his eyes wide. “It's not in the clouds. It's on the ground.”

Skylan stared at him. “On the ground! Did it crash? Was it destroyed?”

All he could think about was Aylaen and if she was safe. Wulfe asked the dragon, who growled in anger. Wulfe turned to Skylan.

“Kahg says I have it wrong. The city didn't really fall. It just isn't where it used to be. It's in our realm now.”

Skylan remembered the peach pit and thought he understood—at least as well as he would ever understand. The magic had gone awry and the city that was once in between realms was now in this one. He breathed easier.

“I take it this wasn't the plan,” said Bjorn, who had been watching Skylan's expression.

“No,” Skylan admitted. “It wasn't.”

“Kahg says to tell you the Stormlords are waving a white flag.” Wulfe looked puzzled. “What does that mean?”

Grimuir sneered. “It means the bastards are giving up without a fight.”

“I say we fight their battle for them,” said Sigurd. “Kill Raegar and his men, storm the city, find Aylaen, and take her home.”

“With thousands of soldiers standing in our way, we would never get close enough to even see the city gate,” said Skylan.

“We have to do something,” said Bjorn. “You know what he and his soldiers will do to those people once they're inside the city walls.”

“I know,” said Skylan, thinking. “And so do the wizards. Maybe this is part of
their
plan.”

He made up his mind.

“No matter what happens, Aylaen will do everything in her power to find the fifth spiritbone and summon the dragon Ilyrion,” said Skylan. “She'll be relying on us and we must put our trust in her
and
in the gods. Vindrash will not abandon her priestess and Torval will not abandon us.”

“If Torval's still around,” Erdmun muttered, but no one paid any attention to him.

“So what is this plan?” Sigurd asked.

“We all know Raegar and the Sinarians,” said Skylan. “Remember what they did with us after the Legate took us captive? They marched us into the city in triumph. Everyone came out to gawk at us. This is Raegar's greatest moment. His moment of triumph. What will he do?”

“He'll hold a celebration,” said Sigurd, grinning.

“And we're going to ruin the party,” said Skylan.

 

CHAPTER

35

Skylan met with Bear Walker and Dela Eden to explain his plan, which was greeted with enthusiasm. Even the sour-faced shaman, Raven's-foot, expressed his approval with a shake of the gourd.

“We need tow and resin to make the flaming arrows,” said Dela Eden. “We don't have those supplies with us, but if we can use one of the dragonships and if your friends will help us row, we can sail back to the Cyclopes village to fetch what we need.”

Skylan dispatched Sigurd, Grimuir, Erdmun, and Bjorn to assist the Cyclopes. Skylan had no fears the dragonship would be seen. They were traveling south, away from Tsa Kerestra and the enemy encampment. Lookouts atop Gray Beak would have seen them, but Dela Eden reported that Raegar had declared victory and pulled all his forces off the promontory.

After the dragonship had sailed away, Skylan went in search of Wulfe and found him in the Cyclopes camp, curled up on a pile of fishnet, taking a nap. Wulfe grumbled when Skylan woke him.

“When are we going to eat? I'm hungry.”

“Soon,” Skylan promised, realizing that he, too, was hungry. He had been so caught up in his preparations for war that he had forgotten about food.

“If we're not going to eat, why did you wake me up?” Wulfe demanded.

“I need to talk to the Dragon Kahg and I need you there to tell me what he says.”

“After that we can eat?” Wulfe asked.

“Yes,” Skylan promised.

As they went on board the
Venejekar
, Skylan asked Wulfe why he wasn't complaining about being asked to speak to Kahg.

“The dragon still doesn't like me, but he says he's gotten used to me,” Wulfe explained. “He says I'm like scale-mites—annoying, but harmless.”

Skylan hid his smile, for he had something serious to discuss with the boy. “After we talk to Kahg—”

“You said we would eat,” Wulfe reminded him.

“After we eat I want you to go back to stay with your mother. There's going to be fighting. Men with iron. I don't want you to get hurt.”

“I don't want to go back to my mother,” said Wulfe, making a face. “She makes me take a bath and wear those itchy clothes and fusses with my hair. I heard Dela Eden say the Cyclopes were going to shoot fire and I've never seen anyone do that. And you might get into trouble again and need my magic. I guess I'll come with you.”

Skylan was more than a little alarmed. The last thing he needed was Wulfe's magic, which, while occasionally useful, tended to be erratic and unpredictable. He couldn't think how to get rid of him.

“Just stay out of the way,” said Skylan. “And don't change into a wolf.”

“I'll try,” said Wulfe cautiously. “I can't promise. Sometimes I change into the wolf and sometimes the wolf changes into me.”

They found the Dragon Kahg in his customary form on board the
Venejekar
, sleeping with his eyes open, at least that was what Wulfe claimed when the dragon didn't immediately respond to Wulfe's shout. When Kahg finally woke, Skylan explained his plan and the dragon's role in it, expressing his hope that the dragon would consent to take part.

“The dragon says your plan is a good one,” Wulfe said, speaking for Kahg. “He might even add some touches of his own.”

“Tell Kahg I have appreciated all his help and that he will be rewarded with his pick of jewels when we return to our homeland.”

Skylan saw Kahg's eyes darken, the flame diminish.

“What's the matter?” Skylan asked. “Did I say something wrong?”

Wulfe listened, then turned to report. “The dragon says you might not have a homeland. Torval's Hall is burning.”

Skylan stood in silence, his hand clenched on the hilt of his sword. He had been going to ask Torval for his help, but it seemed the gods were fighting for their lives in heaven. The battle here below was left to him and Aylaen, their small band of warriors, a fae child, and a dragon.

The Cyclopes returned with large quantities of tow—short fibers of carded flax. They also brought with them Kamau and twenty other Cyclopes warriors, who were angered when they heard about the fall of Tsa Kerestra, and wanted to fight.

Dela Eden explained the technique used by Cyclopes to prepare their arrows, showing Skylan how they tied pieces of tow around the shaft beneath the arrowhead, then dipped the tow in the resin.

“After that, all we have to do is light the tow on fire and shoot the arrows,” said Dela Eden.

Skylan was impressed and made a mental note to take that technique back to his people.

Leaving the Cyclopes to their work, he went to say good-bye to Bear Walker, and Sigurd and the other Vindrasi. They were setting out early, before nightfall, for they would travel overland to reach Raegar's encampment.