by Duke Kittle
* * *
Keldo held his hand up for Tina to step off onto Kravek's shoulder, and all three of them headed down the street for the Stumble Drum. “With the souls of Kaelus and Malidath having moved on, I imagine you will be returning to Kerovnia to make your report as soon as the Thorn's Side departs.”
“I would hope to be able to leave on the Thorn's Side, yes. But I mean to remain here for a few days to make sure the Dragon Eaters are truly passing.” Tina folded her hands in her lap while seated on Kravek's shoulder. “I just wish there were something I could do to save Leilani and Nana.” She shook her head. “But I have no idea how I may achieve it when the Dragon Eaters are such formidable foes. And then there's the business of Narash Advonar. Even with the Dragon Eaters power deteriorating, I do not imagine he will simply let himself die in order to sustain their existence when he no longer has a sustainable source of magic to keep them going.” She gave a sigh. “It is rare that the truest of villains ever really pays for his choices.”
Governor Keldo sighed as well. “I fear you are correct.” He lifted his head and looked at his house sitting on the northern side of town just inside the raised portion of the wall. “I will ask that Methystra and Belthazuul take me with them when they are ready to depart. As much as I fear the judgment of the Maldavians for my part in causing the death of Shalizan, I hope that my going with them willingly will show that there is a hope for peace still between our peoples.” He chuckled. “With Malidath and Kaelus moving on and the aetherium gone from the Maw of Malidath, perhaps we can come to a more amiable agreement which won't involve my people having to move the colony to start over again.”
“Why were you so desperate to have that mine, Keldo?” Kravek spoke up finally.
Keldo looked up at the black bull as they continued to walk. “Trading aetherium would help to keep this town on its feet, Kravek. As young as Likonia is, most of the other goods we could have offered needed to remain in the town. But we've no wizards or magic users here, so I thought the aetherium's value as a trade good would augment the town's sustainability and make us vital so growth would be encouraged.” He sighed. “But I see now it was a foolish decision. I tried to take too much from the Maldavians.”
“There is no crime in wanting to be able to help the people you govern, Keldo,” Tina laid her tail across her lap, “but there might have been a better means to achieve it.”
“You are probably right, but I didn't have the wisdom to see it.”
“Something confuses me.” Kravek flicked one of his floppy ears. “If the Dragon Eaters really wanted the monolith, why didn't they just go after it instead of constantly coming back to the town and turning back?”
“I suspect,” Tina spoke up then, “it had something to do with Leilani and Nana as well as the amount of magic it took for Narash to maintain his control over them. You remember when we were in the Maw of Malidath and Leilani tried to push us out of the cave? I think their compassionate nature must have been something Narash had to fight against in order to control them.
“If you remember, Leilani's eyes were green within the cave, but red outside when they were chasing Methystra. I believe it was an indicator of either Narash asserting direct control or the presence of a dragon nearby. He might have instilled a natural hunger in the Dragon Eaters for magic, but if that were enough, Leilani would have eaten me as soon as she saw me.”
Tina pulled her glasses off and folded them up to hang them from the front of her robe. “But in truth, this is all just speculation.” She turned her gaze back to Governor Keldo. “I need to speak with Methystra before she departs. I have something which should be given to her.” Her hand moved to the necklace containing the lava-colored crystal. “Then we just have to wait out the night.”
Governor Keldo lifted his head to look up at the night sky. “It is still several hours before the night passes.” His expression turned solemn. “I am not one given to whimsy, but I see a shooting star. Perhaps we should use it to wish Leilani and Nana the best of fortune. They may have been our greatest protectors.”
Tina turned her gaze to the sky. She saw the silver line of light passing across the sky. She closed her eyes and took a moment to offer up her own wishes of fortune for the two Kamadene women. But when she opened them again, she saw another shooting star cross the sky. “That's strange.”
As they watched the sky, more silver lines of light passed across it and headed west. Tina narrowed her gaze. She'd seen star showers before, but for one to be occurring on this night of all nights sparked a hint of suspicion. She removed her glasses from the front of her robe and put them on the bridge of her muzzle. The runic circle appeared in the right lens, and Tina immediately recognized exactly what was occurring.
Before she could say another word, a trumpeting roar came from the west. Kravek and Keldo immediately turned to see the source of the sound. With the gates open, they could see the light of the falling stars pouring down from the sky in droves. As they approached the ground, the lights collided with the bodies of the three Dragon Eaters and illuminated them brightly. All three of the towering monsters were glaring at the city, and their eyes glowed bright red.