God of the Abyss (32 page)

Rojan?
No answer.
Rojan, she is magic, yes?

No, I think blessed is a better word. And I think
we are damned. Whatever you do, you must not see her in dragon form. I think I
am too old a soul for that.

Don’t be creepy. Age doesn’t matter when you are
immortal.

Does it not? Coming from a sago young enough to
risk ogling a Noquodi’s lover, that is a comfort.

Did you insult me? Meri is gorgeous.

Rojan grunted at my weak excuse.

I turned to look out the window and saw the ocean and
beach below, where the servant Emiko had sent was preparing a ship. With him
was a little boy, about Ron’s age. He was too young to be a servant, but I
guess that the children of servants had nowhere to go before they were old
enough to be in school. At the very least, he shouldn’t have been at sea.

I turned back to Emiko. With her hands on the rim of
the tub, she lifted her left leg and I barely heard her gasp over my choking.
She lowered her leg and stuck her hand in the water. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It is cold,” she moaned.

“You said your father was a water dragon; you had to
have inherited a resistance to the cold,” I said, approaching her. She was
producing a lot of heat, but she couldn’t use her dragon fire in person form
and had no power over nominal magic. I stuck my hand in the water to find it
lukewarm.

She glanced at me. “I am resistant to the cold, but
that doesn’t mean I like it.”

I let my fire flow into the water until it was nearly
boiling. Instead of freaking out that I could use my fire, she gave me a true
smile before settling herself inside the tub. I had to turn away before she saw
the effect she had on me. “I think I will wait outside after all.”

“As you wish. There is a library across from my
room.”

“I will enjoy it then, but leave the door open. If
you need help, I will hear you. Sleep well.” I left without looking back at
her. The library was small, but full of old books and several comfortable
chairs in front of a fireplace. I lit the fire and picked a book to read.

An hour into the book, I got up to check on Emiko,
only to find her asleep in her bed, looking lovely and innocent beyond imagine.
I returned to the library to finish the book.

*          *          *

Vretial was sitting on the large boulder under the
apple tree with Dylan standing before him. Dylan looked perfectly normal, but I
felt he was injured. Vretial spoke first, but they both spoke in Enochian,
which I couldn’t understand. This didn’t feel real, so I knew it had to be a dream
or something similar, but it couldn’t have been mine, because it would have
been in English. However, if it was Dylan’s dream or memory, why was I hearing
Enochian?

Perhaps Vretial was blocking me and everyone else
from listening in. That would explain why, when Dylan had temporary amnesia and
he remembered his childhood visit from the god, he could only understand
Enochian. But what was the point in me seeing if I couldn’t understand? From
what Dylan told me about the memory, Vretial said nothing helpful at all. This
time I heard the names of Rojan, the boys, and myself.

Wake up.
Rojan’s voice tore me from the state
and I blinked at the dying fire.

I glanced around for any sign of danger, but there
was none.
How did I fall asleep?

Dylan must be sleeping very deeply, for you slept
several hours. Remember when Ron was psychically visited by Vretial, it
affected Sammy. Perhaps that is the same for you and Dylan. Your mental bond is
getting stronger the more you share your magic.

Does that affect you?

I cannot be sure yet. However, Dylan has heard me
a few times. You two share dreams and since you share my memories, he can see
our dreams of flying. I am a part of you, so I see what you do.

Do you have any idea what they were saying?

I am sorry, but I do not speak Enochian. I think
you should ask your questions to Vretial. There is someone in the castle,
coming closer.

I inhaled lightly. It was the servant of Emiko’s, and
he smelled scared. I peered into Emiko’s room to see her still sleeping
peacefully, so I shut the door and turned to wait for the man to find me. He
did so, and sneered, insulted to face me instead of his queen.

“What did you find out?” I asked.

“Where is Kaori-mor?”

“She is safe. What did you find out?” I asked with a
harsher tone. He wouldn’t be allowed to dismiss me.

He looked unsure, but I knew it was about what lie to
tell and not whether he should tell me. “The king, Ishte-mor has nothing to
report. He was unable to find any–” His words were cut off as I pinned him to
the wall with one hand around his neck. It was always a better show of strength
to restrain a man using one hand.

“It is not wise or healthy to lie to a dragon,” I
growled. I let my fire seep out, not enough to burn him but enough to be
extremely uncomfortable to anyone who wasn’t a dragon.

“I am not–”

I tightened my grip. “I can smell your lie!” I
yelled.

He must know dragons normally have dampened senses
in person form
. Rojan took over, letting my eyes and claws shift. “I am the
most powerful dragon you have ever faced and you will do well to remember what
you are; dinner.” He let the tips of our claws sink into the man’s skin until
small drops of blood spilled down the collar of his already stained shirt.
“Now, I think you have an answer for me.” Rojan settled back and I loosened my
grip enough to let him breathe.

“He said there was a cure if you could get it to the
victim in time.”

“Why would you lie about that if you want your queen
to survive the poison?”

“Kaori-mor is the queen of dragons. I am paid to
serve her, but I swear no loyalty to the dragons. I am not paid to die for
her.”

“You didn’t bring the antidote back with you then.”

“No.”

“Do you know who is using this poison?” I asked. He
shook his head, too afraid to speak. I growled in warning. “Tell me who is
using poison against Kaori-mor!”

“The dragons. Other dragons are using poison.”

“How did they get it here? Is one of her dragons a
traitor?”

“No. It… It was not his fault. They would have killed
him.”

“Who?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were
drowned by the sound of roaring; a warning that came only a moment before the
castle trembled. Some rubble fell from the ceiling, but the structure held. The
servant took his chance to run and I let him go. I opened the door to find
Emiko running for it, and since I was facing her window, I knew what she was
running from. I grabbed her, pulled her into the hall, and shut the door just
as the glass of the window was shattered by the dragon outside.

With Emiko in her thin white slip, we ran through the
halls. We had to get out before the dragons tore the walls down around us. In
here, even Emiko couldn’t shift. I skidded to a stop, halting her as well in
order to duck into a room. The door had been left open and I could tell by the
satin covered bed that the room belonged to a woman. I dug through the wardrobe
to find a green velvet cloak and a pair of boots. Emiko put them on quickly and
we were running through the halls a moment later.

Outside was a mess. There were no people running
around, since most had already abandoned the small island, but dragons flew
about and burned buildings in their wake. Having grown up being told dragons
didn’t exist, I never thought to see such a sight. It was still early morning,
just a few hours after sunrise.

One dragon landed in front of us and I pushed Emiko
behind me. I growled as Rojan roared with outrage. “Shift, Marnd!” I yelled.
The dark-scaled dragon shifted from his large form into the man Rojan knew as a
friend.

“We had no choice, Rojan. You refused to lead so we
follow Isera.”

He thought he was talking to Rojan instead of me…
which was foolish because Rojan would be burning him down, not talking.
“Dragons are not meant to be ruled. We are not pets!”

“Sago would have hunted us to death had we not
learned to shift. We survived by adapting, and now we have to adapt again.
There are too few of us left; we have to stick together. Therefore, we need
someone to rule.”

Rojan took over. “We are so old that I cannot
remember my birthday. With age comes power, so I know Isera is powerful, but
you are just as old. Why do
you
need a ruler?”

“Unlike you, my friend, I was raised to obey my
parents and follow the old traditions. You were raised to rule and make your
own laws. So was your sister.”

“Why would you use poison against other dragons?”

“That was not my doing. Isera had been planning this
for a long time and I only found out about the poison two nights ago. She wants
to rule over all dragons and saw Kaori-mor as a threat to that.”

“How did she do it?”

“Isera convinced one of Kaori-mor’s people to betray
her by substituting an edible herb for the poisonous plant.”

It had been about fifteen years since I last yelled
in anger, but what started as a growl burst into a roar. Energy lashed out in
waves strong enough to throw Marnd back. Emiko was unharmed and no one else was
close enough to be struck.

“You can use your roar in person form?” Emiko asked,
shocked.

Marnd struggled to his feet and stumbled back to us
as if about to ask for forgiveness. I decided to ask Rojan later why he was
ever friends with such a man.

“You speak of wanting our race to survive, yet you
follow someone who has killed others of our kind!” Rojan yelled at him.

“Innocent dragons have died because of her!” Emiko
screamed. The outraged woman tried to attack Marnd, but I held her in my arms.

“If you do not leave, I will kill you,” Rojan warned
him.

“Does Mordon accept how easily you make such a
promise?”

“Mordon was raised as I was; to kill traitors without
mercy.” Never mind the fact that I had never actually killed a person or
dragon. “If you need a monarch, then I will give you the command; leave now.”
The dragon looked like he wanted to rush forward and draw a blade on us, but
instead he shifted back into dragon form, flapped his wings, turned, and flew
off, away from the island.

Another dragon flew low and blew out several castle
windows with fire. I raised my hand and let my fire out, but the flames did not
deter the dragon. Instead, he directed his attack onto us. Flying low, he blew
flames at me, which I easily killed, not that fire would hurt me anyway.

I took a risk: I used magic to create an energy
shield in all directions around the dragon like a cage… but the dragon broke it
with the strength of his wings. The snow-white dragon was a mountain dragon,
and their wings were huge and powerful. Many of them had an advantage when
facing dragons who were not immune to cold; many of them had another power.

He opened his mouth and I knew he was one such
dragon. Instead of flames, which were harmless to me, he breathed a fog of ice
so cold that it could kill a person. With a show of strength I would never have
suspected, Emiko pushed me out of the way. In an instant, she changed from the
prettiest woman I had ever seen to a dragon, just large enough to shield me
from the ice.

Desert dragons and water dragons were both large breeds,
but Emiko was an anomaly. She was smaller than Krayer, and her body was even
sleeker. With scales the color of sand, it was hard to imagine her in the
water, but her wings had the thickness required to push through liquid. Her
legs were tall, shaped more like the average desert dragon than a water dragon,
so she was probably very fast in both elements, and she looked like she could
run a good distance on land.

Her head was shaped much like Krayer’s, while her
tail was about the same length, but had no spike on the end. Other than claws
twice as long as those of the average dragon, she appeared to have no physical
weapons. She blew fire at the ice cloud, a sad weapon in comparison. As fast as
lightning, she took to the air and tore her claws down his chest. Before he
could even protect himself, she had him on his back, pinned to the ground with
her teeth in his throat.

Another dragon tried to join the fight, but when I
lashed out with fire, something new came forth in my anger. It was new in that
I had never used it, but familiar at the same time. Instead of fire striking
the offending dragon, lightning burst out of me and hit the enemy. The dragon
went down and wouldn’t be getting back up for some time. Rojan had been able to
produce lightning as well as fire, and it appeared to be one more power I
inherited.

I tried repeatedly to strike down the dragons
attacking Emiko’s island. Usually, it was fire I created, but I was learning. I
managed lightning several times until the dragons just became targets for my
practice.

Everything was going fine and I had the battle under
control until a wave of energy hit. This energy came and went suddenly, leaving
everyone startled and confused. Emiko landed beside me and other dragons landed
wherever they could manage. Finally, Emiko shifted back into her person form.
She was completely naked and covered in the blood of her foes, but reached for
me as if I could shield her from all the evils in the world. I put my arms
around her as she shook. She was proud of herself, but worried for her people
and even more worried about what just happened.

“What was that energy?”

“I don’t know,” I said. The words were barely out of
my mouth before the ground started to shake. Structures collapsed and dragons
roared. The quaking lasted only a minute, but left the island in shambles with
fires everywhere.

“Help!”