Return of the Dragon (The Dragon's Champion Book 6) (22 page)

Guards were shouting all around the grounds now and
someone began ringing a bell. She would soon run out of time.

Salarion ran toward the oak tree and leapt through the
air. She landed lightly on a branch and gracefully rolled along the limb as
only an elf could. Then she sprang up, circling the trunk and running out
across a thick limb to leap onto the outer wall. Then she sat, flung her feet
over the edge, and lowered herself down with one hand before dropping to the
street. None of the guards ever caught so much as sight of her backside as she
sprinted off to find Maernok.

When she found him in the alley where she had left
him, the scowl on his face was not a little intimidating. He looked down to the
head and sneered wickedly.

“You ever going to tell me the truth?” he asked.

Salarion nodded. “We need to move, that is the truth.”

Maernok grimaced and the two ran down through the
alley. By the time they exited into another street, the city warning bells were
ringing loudly. The turned around to the left and bowled right into a trio of
guards. Salarion stuck one with her sword, and Maernok roared happily as he
slammed the other two together to stun them. Then he kicked down on left
guard’s knee, breaking it out backwards and punching the throat of the guard on
his right. To finish it off, he drew his sword across them.

The two continued running onward as some people began
to look down from windows above and shout at them. Salarion threw the head into
an open window and pulled on Maernok’s arm.

“Why did you do that?” he asked.

“We have friends there,” she answered.

The door burst open within seconds and a score of
armed men rushed out.

“Fathers of victims?”
Maernok
asked.

“And brothers too,” Salarion confirmed.

They wound their way through the streets as bugle
blasts sounded in several different houses.

“The bugles mark our friends,” Salarion said.

“When did you arrange that?” Maernok asked as they
sprinted back to their hideout.

“An elf has her ways,” she replied cryptically.

Erik made his way back to the Immortal Mystic. The
snow was still all around, like a great blanket had been thrown over the realm,
but it had ceased snowing at night so the snow that remained formed a crunchy
crust. It made the trek much easier than it had been on the way down, not to
mention warmer. Each day was a little longer than the last, bringing additional
warmth and light. Not only did it help his body, but it lifted his spirits as
well.

It took several weeks, as it had before, to find the
palace. As he rounded the narrow path around the mountainside he was struck by
how different it all looked to him. Without the green grasses around, it almost
appeared as though the palace itself was made of ice. It sparkled and shone
bright in the sunlight, and was actually difficult to look at from some angles.
He took a moment to admire its beautiful simplicity, and then he broke into a
run.

Jaleal was waiting for him at the door, grinning ear
to ear and looking stronger than ever before.

“What took you so long?” Jaleal asked.

“It was harder than you might think,” Erik shot back.

Jaleal grinned even wider. “
Maybe for you,
” he teased.

The two went inside and Erik saw the Immortal Mystic
standing before him. He pulled the Eyes of Dowr out and
unwrapped
them. “I found these,” he said. “They were trapped at the bottom of a brook,
but Tatev helped me retrieve them.”

“Tatev helped you?” Jaleal echoed quizzically. His
bushy, white brows scrunched together.

“What of the Infinium?” the Immortal Mystic asked.

Erik smiled wide and slung his pack around his body.
“I have it here as well. He reached in and pulled the thick book out from the
other things he kept in the pack.

“Have you tried to read it?”

Erik shook his head. “Tatev was only able to read part
of it, and he warned me about its dangers. If he couldn’t do it, then I figured
I shouldn’t try.”

“Let me see the glasses for a moment,” Jaleal said. He
put out his small hand expectantly. Erik glanced to the Immortal Mystic and
then offered the glasses to the gnome. Jaleal put them on and looked around. He
started giggling softly to himself and then handed them back to Erik. “Put them
on,” he said.

Erik shot a puzzled look at Jaleal and slowly turned
the glasses around to place them on his face. When he placed the magical glasses
on his face, he staggered backward and would have surely tripped had he not
backed into the door.

The three of them were not alone. There were many
people around them. They were all dressed in fine silk robes of white, red,
green, blue, and yellow. Feeling Erik’s stare, many of them turned to greet him
with nods or simple waves. None of them stopped to talk with him though. They
were all busy walking through the palace. Erik couldn’t be sure what each of
them
were
doing, but it was apparent that they had
places to go and tasks underway.

“What do you see?”

Erik wasn’t listening. He walked farther into the
palace to get a better look at things. Not only could he see men and women, but
he was starting to see that the palace was not as empty as he had first thought.
There were bookshelves, filled with books and scrolls, lining the walls of
several rooms. There were pedestals, tables, chairs, and large carpets and
tapestries throughout the inner palace. As he watched some of the people gather
inside of a small room and grab a couple of books from the shelves, something
strange happened to the walls themselves. A light blue energy flowed through
the glass, humming sweetly and creating additional light within the room where
they were reading from the books.

A gentle hand fell upon Erik’s shoulder. It wasn’t so
rough that it broke his focus as he watched what was happening, but it was hard
enough so that he was not startled when the Immortal Mystic spoke to him.

“They are studying,” he said. “The energy that comes to
the room helps them to be prepared for further enlightenment.”

“But, are they dead?” Erik asked. “Why can’t I see
them without the glasses?”

“They are spirits,” the Immortal Mystic replied. “As
for why you cannot see them, well that is because your mind is weak. With your
dragon blood, you have the ability to see not only the auras of living things,
but the spirits of all that have passed on.”

“But what of the books?”
Erik
asked. “Furniture and books have no spirits, so why can I not see those things
without the glasses?”

The Immortal Mystic laughed softly. “All that exists
physically,
also exists spiritually. It is something you
will get used to as your mind expands. “Come, I have something to show you.”

Erik moved to take the glasses off, but the Immortal
Mystic told him to keep them on. He then led him down the first corridor on the
right. They walked for several hundred feet, passing chambers and rooms on
either side of the hallway. Erik would look through the glass to see groups, or
sometimes individuals, deep in study. At the end of the hallway, the Immortal
Mystic opened a door that led to a stairway spiraling down into the ground.

As they descended the stairs Erik realized that the
light was coming from the light blue energy flowing through the walls, the
stairs, and the ceiling above. It was almost as if the palace was not made of
glass, but of this energy and that the glass was a covering for it.

They descended deep into the mountain. The air
remained warm and dry, but they walked downward for nearly thirty minutes
before they finally reached the bottom. The Immortal Mystic put his hands on
the door, which even though it was also made of the same glass as the rest of
the palace, had so much energy flowing through it that it appeared nearly
solidly blue in color.

“What I am about to show you may come as a bit of a
surprise,” the Immortal Mystic said.

The door moved silently as it glided open.

Erik’s eyes were assaulted by an exceedingly bright
light, far whiter than anything he had ever seen before in his life. He raised
his arms up to shield himself from the brightness while at the same time he
felt
an inviting
warmth wrap around him. He felt a
gentle push from behind.

He walked through the doorway and heard a powerful
roar. He moved his arms enough to peer around them while still trying to adjust
to the light. The room, if it could be called that, was so large that Erik
could not see any walls except the one behind him. About thirty feet in front
of him stood a massive dragon. Its legs were blue and gray. Its snout was
covered in shiny scales that only accentuated the sharp fangs protruding out
from under the lips. A thick pair of horns grew up and back from the rear of
the skull, ending in sharp points that would put any spear to shame.

The dragon growled, but not in a menacing or
threatening way. Then it turned aside and let Erik take in the full sight
beyond.

There were dozens of dragons. All shapes and sizes
mixed in together in a giant chamber that seemed endless. There were blue and
red skytes darting about through the air like sparrows. There were wingless
drakes that walked upon all fours and breathed fire and wisps of smoke. There
were greater drakes that had wings, larger dragons, and then there was a group
far in the distance that appeared to be as large, or much larger, than Tu’luh
the Red.

“What is this place?” Erik asked.

“
Behold,
the true source of
knowledge and wisdom of the mystics!” The Immortal Mystic stepped around Erik
and gestured out to the dragons. “This is where the prophecies originated. The
dragons can read the very threads of time and fate, and they interpret them and
pass them out as dreams and visions. Sometimes they also personally speak of
their insights to the mystics.”

“How many are there?” Erik asked.

The Immortal Mystic smiled. He took Erik’s hand and
the two floated up into the air as if upon a large platform. As Erik was lifted
up, he saw not dozens, not scores, but hundreds of dragons.

“There are more dragons here than can be counted by a
mortal. They use their combined wisdom in an effort to guide the mortals of
this world. They all seek the same thing as you.” The Immortal Mystic turned
and pointed to the Infinium. “They wish to stop the four horsemen from
destroying this world.”

Erik’s mouth fell open. He held the tome up and looked
at it. “Tatev said that this book came from a different world, and that it was
written with a powerful magic. Was it written by dragons?”

The Immortal Mystic shook his head. “It was not
written by dragons,” he said. “It was written by
the dragon
.
Or, more appropriately, the father of the dragons.”

“Hyasintar Kulai,” Erik whispered. “I read about him
at Valtuu Temple.”

The Immortal Mystic shook his head impatiently.
“No, not him.
Hyasintar Kulai is not the father of dragons.
He is the presiding dragon over the Ancients, but that is not the same thing.
The father of the dragons is known as the Aurorean. He is a dragon composed
entirely of light that shifts and changes always. The Aurorean held the total
sum of wisdom and knowledge known by any being in the universe. He is the one
who wrote the Infinium. That is why its magic can drive morals to madness. Most
do not have the strength of mind to withstand its power. It is best compared to
a beetle that tries to understand fire by crawling into one. At best, he will
be burned but a small amount. At worst, he will be consumed by a power far
greater than himself.”

Erik nodded and then looked up to the bearded man. “If
it was so dangerous, why did the father of dragons write it?”

The Immortal Mystic returned them both to the floor
and then gently took the book from Erik’s hands. “He wrote it so that others
might know the secrets of the universe. How it works, how it can be controlled,
and how it can be saved.”

“You mean from the four horsemen?” Erik pressed.

The Immortal Mystic nodded. “Among other dangers,” he
answered. “I will take this, and we will probe its knowledge. I must warn you,
that even with our combined knowledge and power, it may take some time to tease
out its treasures.”

Erik nodded his understanding. Then, he looked out to
the dragons and a sudden realization hit him. “They are all dead, aren’t they?”
he asked.

The Immortal Mystic nodded silently.

“Why are they all here?”

“Erik, I will tell you now the genius, and the truth
of Nagar’s Blight.” The Immortal Mystic folded his arms and tears streamed down
his cheeks. “The spell is so powerful that any dragon upon the Middle Kingdom
is subjugated to its tyranny. Some dragons on far away continents have escaped
its power, but even they are somewhat warped. They have become a feral and
dangerous breed. Instead of helping the children of the gods, as we had
promised to do, they are violent and subject to greed and jealousy. Worse than
that, is the fact that Nagar’s Blight stretches its evil hands out to corrupt
dragons even after death. It ensnares the very soul of a dragon, even if it is
already free of its mortal shell. In this way, Tu’luh can command a host of
dragons even in death.”

“Why?” Erik asked. “The spirits cannot harm people can
they?”

The Immortal Mystic shook his head. “Not directly.
But, by ensnaring them in death, he would deny them the ability to give dreams
and help the mortals of this realm. He selfishly controls and hoards their
collective knowledge and wisdom in order to discover secrets and remain ahead
of his enemies. That is why he must be stopped, Erik. You see, his treachery
and despotism does not end with death. With the spell he created, he will rule
and conquer all who live, and all who are dead. This goes far beyond the
dragons. With the help of a necromancer, he can resurrect other mortals and
then capture their souls with Nagar’s Secret as well. Nothing will escape his
rule. With such power, he may not only enslave the world, but he may actually
hasten the destruction of the four horsemen.” The Immortal Mystic smiled and
shook his head slowly. “Ironic, that in trying to save the world he may
actually destroy it much more completely and quickly than if he had done
nothing at all.”

Erik thought for a few moments and watched as the
Immortal Mystic unfolded his arms carefully so as not to drop the book. The
tall man then opened the cover. The blue light in the room intensified even
more, sending actual tendrils out to flow into him as he scanned the first two
pages. All of the dragons nearby stopped and watched him. Erik didn’t move or
make a sound as he watched.

A green vapor rose up from the book and then formed
into a thin, string-like column of light that waved and danced under the
Immortal Mystic’s breath. The Immortal Mystic suddenly dropped to a knee and
bowed his head.

He whispered something in a language that Erik could
not understand. All of the dragons also dropped down reverently.

A spark emerged at the top of the string of light. A
second string, this one of violet light, extended out. A third one soon
appeared and glowed bright orange. Erik watched in wonder as four more limbs
grew out from the spark. Each of the limbs was a brilliant color, and they
shifted and danced in a slow, methodical rhythm.