The Dragons of Sara Sara (54 page)

"Who are you?" He demanded, his voice brooking no argument. He saw stirring in Catharina's eyes,

"I am the Lord of Creation. I am the Prime Being. I am the White One. I am Anakar. Know me. For I am the destroyer of Be'lal."

Antonin had taken a step back. This being who was speaking through Catharina had spoken the name of the Dark One. Nothing had happened. Catharina was still held in thrall.

Desare was ushered forward to the dais by a group of grim faced Maidens. No one had ever spoken to them the way Antonin had done, yet they were bound to obey. Desare trembled slightly as though cold.

Catharina took a halting step forward toward Antonin. She turned her head and looked directly at Desare.

"Know me, I am Lord of the Morning." Desare stepped forward, the restraining hands about her frozen in mid air. In her outstretched hand the silver Seal of the Creator shimmered and glowed. Suddenly, a great light flared, rose up as high as a man. Within that light stood a robed figure. Robes of white, a white hood covering its head. The face seemed ancient, yet smooth and unblemished as a child. None could have guessed its gender if indeed it was male or female.

Catharina sagged against Antonin, her breath ragged. The being had left her, and left her exhausted. It now shimmered in the air, some three or four hand spans from the floor. Everyone in the room noticed the faint haze of rainbow colour that surrounded the heads of Antonin, Catharina, and Desare, and seemed to link all three together. Everyone in the room could see the column of light and the robed figure within.

"And it please me, this gathering will listen to my words. For it is to be so. These are the ones close by me. Catharina, Desare and Antonin. They will not be apart until the battle is won. I say to you all, that each alone is in peril, but joined as one indestructible. Their friends of new and old, will be sorely pressed to keep them so. I say again, it must be so." The strange language of this shimmering being was difficult to understand, but everyone listened.

The being turned slowly in its tower of light, One full circle. Not a soul stirred. A red tinge came into the light.

"I deliver to you your key to the forest of the Tharsians. Have a care that the Great Seal never leaves the person of Desare."

The red tinge flared into a blazing storm, and with a shriek that made everyone jump, suddenly Cinnabar appeared in their midst. Shackled in chains, a shining black band around his head. He crouched on the stone floor, and snarled at those about him. It took but an instant for a wide circle to form around him, crouched at the feet of the being in the light.

Catharina struggled to gain her feet and her composure. Antonin kept an arm around her though, and would not let go. Slowly Desare came up onto the dais, and Antonin put his right arm around her waist. The vision in the light had gone. The three friends smiled at each other then turned their attention to the snarling Cinnabar

The warriors in their thousands were now all trying to crowd into the throne room. As large as the room was, it would not hold them all.

There was still a large circle around Cinnabar though. He might be chained, but he still looked very dangerous. He was no longer snarling and flexing his claws, but instead squatting silently. His eyes never left the three on the dais. He watched with a hatred that smouldered like a banked fire.

Catharina seemed recovered, and Desare moved to her side. They sat together in the far corner of the throne to rest.

Antonin strode forward to Cinnabar who shrank back at his approach, snarling like a dog. The surrounding Maidens hefted their spears, ready in an instant.

"Rees, your sword please."

Antonin took its balance then after a moment's thought reached out with the tip toward Cinnabar The cold iron touched the shoulder of the Morgoth. He let out a roar that shook the stone walls, and a trail of smoke rose up from where the sword had touched.

"So you are the key to finding Mordos of the Tharsians. I would prefer you dead myself."

Antonin swung the sword back in an arc that began the deadly stroke. Cinnabar didn't flinch, yet the blow never came. Desare was on her feet and her hand held the shimmering blade, blood dripping steadily to the floor from where it ran down to her elbow. Antonin could not move the sword for fear of taking off her hand. His eyes nearly started from his head as he reacted to Desare's hold by letting go of the sword. It clattered to the floor.

Desare had moved from the dais to where she could grasp the whirling blade in a flash. Yet the wisp of a girl had stopped the flight in her bare hand. She was cut, but even now the wound was healing. A brilliant light blazed from her. The voice that came from her hurt the ears of those around about.

"You will not destroy what is given by my hand. Listen to me again I say. This Morgoth is your only way to the Keystone. For it is my will that you give him to the dragons. Even they will guard him well. Do it now, that this assembly can rest three and thirty days. Gather all the houses, for the pursuit will be arduous."

Desare gasped and crumpled to the floor. Cinnabar smiled a hideous grin at her discomfort and actually tried to reach out to clutch at her.

Antonin scooped her up and took her back to the dais out of harm's way.

He sat with Catharina and Desare on the throne.

"Summon the dragons I will." He pounded the stone arm of the throne. The booming filled the air. The golden band around his forehead flared and he roared,

"The dragons to me. Rally to your Lord."

The sound echoed through the castle and around the valley. All the dragons took flight and the leaders sped to the vaulted entrance to the castle. The three leaders shimmered into man-shape and marched boldly into the inner space and into the throne room.

"Our Lord has finally summoned us." grated the leader of the three. "What is your will?"

"For now, " replied Antonin. "You will take this prisoner and guard him well. "We need it to find our way to the Keystone, held by the Tharsians."

Antonin had no energy left to question the dragon master over their lack of help in the recent battle. There was so much he didn't understand, and he was bone weary of it all. It seemed he had been on this quest all his life, but in truth barely a few seasons had passed. Perhaps a thirty three day rest would be good.

The Dark Lord still remained in his cell, the wheel ever turning. Antonin and his band had barely begun the quest to stop his escape.

"What are you called?" Antonin asked the dragon standing to the front.

"I am called Atar - not the name you originally knew us by. You will not be able to pronounce our dragon names. Atar is close enough. My friends here are Andal, and this one is Mistak." The leader pointed left and right to the two who had accompanied him to the dais at Antonin's call.

"Will my Lord rest the thirty three days?" Enquired Atar.

"I tried to disobey the Creator once. Yes, I will wait the thirty and three days as commanded, though it pains me to do so. We must get some organisation in place. We must turn this whole valley into a liveable place and establish trade so that provisions can be supplied. There is much I need to learn. Travelling for instance."

It suddenly came to Antonin that this whole thing had started by his accidentally falling - for want of a better description he thought - through those travel portals. So the Keeper of the Blue Tower held the key to that did she?

"Desare, can you summon the Keeper of the Blue tower?"

"Why, yes my Lord," she replied. "Should I call now?"

Antonin looked steadily at Desare for a moment. She appeared none the worse for wear. Her hand was already healed, and a faint smile played around her lips. He was certain that women looked at the world in a way totally unlike men did. The world could be ending, but they would still straighten their skirts and lock the door before leaving. Added to that, everything that men did seemed to give them no end of amusement. As though they knew some secret that men didn't. Antonin shrugged a shoulder. Perhaps they did.

"Yes please Desare." Sighed Antonin, and slumped into the hard stone chair.

"Atar, can you deal with this thing?" He pointed to Cinnabar

"With pleasure my Lord." The dragon turned his gaze o the squatting Cinnabar The gurgling snarl that rolled in his throat could have been a purring sound. Maybe. Cinnabar snarled back. He was far from cowed. Indeed he never would be. The Morgoth didn't know fear. Only defeat in death, or fighting on. He was held in chains and his ability to open gateways was blocked by the power of the Great Seal. He was content to await developments for now. The slightest opening in their guard and he would rip the heart out of that girl and curse the consequences. His eyes blazed with a malevolent hatred as he stared unblinking at Desare. She shrank back involuntarily as she caught his look. His laugh made the hair on Antonin's arms stand up.

With a casualness that stunned even Cinnabar, Atar the dragon smashed the Morgoth sprawling to the ground with a back handed swing that came in a flash. Without even blinking Atar signed to his fellows and they caught hold of the chains holding Cinnabar and walked out of the castle. Cinnabar was simply dragged along the ground like so much rubbish. Anyone looking closely would have seen the flicker of uncertainty appear for an instant in the eyes of Cinnabar. A roar of anger suddenly echoed back into the throne room.

"With your permission my Lord, I will go with the others and ensure that they know that the true Lord of the Dragons has indeed returned. You have given all the signs, you have freed us from our magic wrought prison. You have the Seal of the Creator, and the ear of the Blue Tower. The time of greatness has returned." His voice started to rise in volume, and his speech became even harder to understand. He began to flicker back and forth between man shape and that of the huge dragon he really was. His words were mostly incomprehensible, but those that were did not bode well for the futures of the Tharsians, no the Dark Lord himself.

Antonin raised his hand and slowly the dragon settled back into his rough human form again, still growling and snapping. If his tail had been visible, it would have been lashing back and forth. Antonin smiled at the thought.

"Atar, commander of the dragons, I appreciate your desire to be at the Tharsians. I assure you we will. The Key Stone must be ours. If that is lost, the Lord of Lies is free and our battle will rage across the face of the world. Be sure you guard Cinnabar well. It seems he is the key to finding the Key Stone, although I would rather he were dead right now."

Antonin was a little unsure of this part. He could not see how Cinnabar could be the key to anything but trouble, but it had been said so he had to take it as true.

Catharina and Desare stood in a group of Maidens. Elsa and Edina were there, and the others. There were no Wind Readers, they were still in the Blue Tower.

Desare had not yet called the Keeper of the Blue Tower, or at least if she had, the Keeper had chosen not to come.

There was only the Maidens and the men of the plains. The soldiers from the nearby city were there too and there in the circle Antonin spotted Nareena. The girl who had saved him on the ice.

"Atar, please go now and see to Cinnabar In thirty three days we march."

Atar smashed his fist to his chest and without a word turned and left. Soon the vast chamber was empty apart from Antonin's close friends and a small band of Maidens. The girls were still huddled in a circle, occasional laughter escaping them. His two friends Rees and Gaul squatted on their heels, resting against the stonework. they had hardly moved throughout the dramas of the past hours. Once the battle had ended and the Wind Readers were gone, they had simply waited. Things were now calm again it seemed.

Antonin sat on the cold stone and rubbed his forehead. He needed sleep. Food would be nice too. And a bath.

"Come my friends. Let us leave this cold chamber and seek out suitable rooms in a high tower, where we might enjoy light and warmth, and take some rest for a while. The dragons are awake now, and on watch."

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Robert and his muse Liz, live in Suffolk, in the United Kingdom with two crazy dogs. He has dual citizenship with Australia and the UK and travelled and worked in China. He was born and raised in Australia of an English (Lancashire) mother.