The Dragonspire Chronicles Omnibus 2

by James E. Wisher

  Jax waved a hand in acknowledgement and activated the helm. Magic flowed to the levitation stone and they rose slowly into the sky. On deck, some of the mercenaries looked a little green, but they’d get used to it soon enough. Anyway, they didn’t have that far to fly. Leonidas had decided to bring the nearest cities in line first then expand outward.

  He worried about his old friend, that the pressure of bringing so many threads together into a single empire would be too much even for someone as determined as Leonidas. At least he’d settled into a more reasonable timeframe. That would help some.

  “Lord Umbra!” one of the mercenaries shouted. “Something is coming.”

  Jax shook off his musing and focused. Sure enough, they weren’t even out of sight of the tower and a trio of wizards was rushing towards them. Perhaps they imagined the ship to be an easy target, easier than a dragon at least. He would teach them the error of their ways.

  Focusing his magic through the helm, he ran it along the deck, up the mast, and into the Iron Dome. Lightning crackled to life, sparking off the metal surface, eager to lance out at anyone stupid enough to get too close.

  The nearest wizard hurled a stream of fire.

  Lightning cracked out, negating the spell and nearly hitting the wizard who cast it. The woman dove out of the way an instant ahead of death.

  A second wizard, this one in white robes, hurled lightning of her own.

  That was a complete waste of time. The spell bent and was absorbed by the Iron Dome. Jax felt the increase in the artifact’s power through its connection to the helm.

  No doubt wary after seeing their attacks rendered ineffective, the wizards just hung in the sky and watched him fly past. One of them shot Jax a hard glare as he went, but she made no more effort to cast. He smiled to himself and urged the wind spirits to greater speed. Despite the protection of the Iron Dome, he had no desire to linger near the gathered wizards.

  They appeared content to let him pass. He looked back over his shoulder in time to see the enemy descending to earth. Another setback had to be disheartening for them. The best result would be for them to give up and leave. Having the city surrounded, even by such weaklings, was an added stress that no one needed. It was a pity they couldn’t simply accept that things had changed and they now served a new master. If they did that, Leonidas would probably welcome them with open arms.

  He nearly smiled at his optimism. More likely Leonidas would kill them all for daring to oppose him. Not an especially noble sentiment, but a practical one. Better a dead enemy than a possible traitor in your midst.

  Jax turned back just in time to see a black shape streaking directly toward the ship. It was too small to be a dragon and too fast to avoid. He called on the Iron Dome’s power and lightning lanced out.

  It struck the dark shape which didn’t even slow.

  Two more blasts hammered home with equally poor results.

  Before he could summon a fourth, whatever it was slammed into the side of the hull, crashing through the heavy oak timbers like they were paper.

  The vessel shuddered and began to fall.

  When the figure emerged from the opposite side, Jax had lost all contact with the levitation stone.

  The last of its magic was fading fast and as it did, the ship fell with greater speed.

  There was nothing he could do to save either the ship or the mercenaries. He ran to the entrance to the lower decks and ripped the door open. The darkness beyond beckoned. Jax became one with it and vanished into the shadow realm just before the ship slammed into the unforgiving earth.

  That had been entirely too close. And now he needed to tell Leonidas that his entire army was dead.

  Chapter 13

  Yaz’s mind raced as he tried to think of some way out of the dark void that held him. The grinning, humanoid form of his so-called father stood staring at him. The creature hadn’t asked any questions for the past several minutes which was unusual. The thing seemed to have an insatiable hunger for answers.

  “No matter how hard you think, there’s no way out of here unless I release you,” the creature said. “Your plans mean nothing since I can read your thoughts as quickly as you have them.”

  “If you can read my thoughts, why bother with all the questions? Just take what you need and let me out of here. My friends need me.”

  “The thoughts I desire don’t exist until I ask the question. As for your friends, don’t worry, Wrath is using your body and its powers to deal with the Dark Sages. It shouldn’t take long for him to crush the group now that your abilities are fully awakened.”

  Yaz panicked. His dark side had full control of his body and powers. If that was true the gods alone knew what he might do to Brigid and his mother.

  “He won’t do anything to them,” the entity said. “Wrath is just an aspect of your personality given independence by me. He is you without the inhibitions and morality that hold you back from achieving your full potential.”

  “Morality isn’t a weakness,” Yaz said. “It’s what separates good from evil. Without it, I’m nothing more than another villain.”

  The figure clapped and its crimson smile widened. “That’s brilliant. It’s what makes you such an interesting person to talk to. You truly believe in such artificial constructs as good and evil. How naive. Only power matters. If you have it, you can do good or evil as you please and if you don’t, you can’t do anything at all. Come, let us see how Wrath uses your power. You might find it educational.”

  The entity waved a hand and a window appeared. It showed Yaz, or rather Wrath in his body, shooting through the sky, a pair of black wings sprouting from his back but not beating. The landscape was a blur below them.

  “No,” the entity said to his unspoken question. “The wings are not part of your body. For some reason you appear to need them to believe you can fly.”

  The movement slowed and a dragonspire appeared, jutting out of a ruined city. Four energy flows converged on it. That had to be the central tower.

  Wrath threw his hands out and blasted the tower with a torrent of raw darkness. When the attack dissipated, the tower appeared totally unharmed.

  “Well, that’s surprising. I assumed the power you gained after bathing in my blood would have made smashing the tower a simple matter.”

  “All the power from the lesser towers is focused on this one,” Yaz said. “Wrath is trying to overpower them all instead of using his head. He needs to deactivate the outer towers first then return to this one and finish things. If he’s really me, how can he not see that?”

  “To be fair, the power burning in his body has probably overwhelmed his senses. You mortals were never meant to have such might. He’s like an alcoholic given the keys to a distillery. He has more than he’s ever dreamed of and he’s drunk on it. You can only appreciate his mistakes because you can’t feel what he feels.”

  Wrath gathered power for another attack. What made him think this one would be any more effective than the last one?

  “He’s drunk, remember? You can’t evaluate his actions like you would those of someone in his right mind.”

  “Speaking of minds, would you stop reading mine? It’s annoying.”

  “We are inside your mind. I am as much a part of you as Wrath. We share your thoughts.”

  “Wait, you mean we’re not still in the well?

  “Of course not. When you were created, a tiny piece of me was injected into you. That’s what allows you to tap into my power through the portal. What you call the black door. The reason you had so much trouble using it, was because your mother and her master didn’t use enough of my blood when they made you. On the plus side, using such a small amount kept you from going insane like your younger copy.”

  “That’s the key Mom was talking about,” Yaz said. “There must have been some more of your blood at Kranic’s fortress. She intended to inject me with it and strengthen the connection.”

  “Such a smart boy. I suspect that is exactly what she
intended. When she found the lab destroyed, she had no choice but to bring you to the well. That gave you far more power than you would have had otherwise, but it also gave me the chance to get to know you. A side effect I’m sure she didn’t anticipate.”

  Yaz put himself in his mother’s shoes. “You’re wrong. If it was the only way to wake me, she would have risked it anyway.”

  “No doubt,” the entity said in a smug tone that made Yaz want to punch him. “Things are getting interesting now. Let’s see how he does against a dragon.”

  Yaz refocused on the window. The giant black dragon came roaring in at Wrath. The fool stood his ground, conjuring a bubble around his body as black flames rushed at him. When the attack ended, Wrath flew away unharmed, but his clothes were steaming.

  “Don’t fight it, you idiot, get out of there.”

  “Sound advice,” the entity said. “Pity he can’t hear you. Dragons are tricky, even for someone as powerful as you are now. Did you know they’re born from the mingled blood of The Creator and The Destroyer? It’s why they’re so resistant to magic, even mine.”

  When the dragon banked around again, Wrath zipped out of its way, avoiding a second blast of black fire.

  “Looks like he can at least learn the hard way,” the entity said. “What do you think he’ll do now?

  “If he’s smart, he’ll get out of sight until the dragon gets frustrated and leaves,” Yaz said.

  “That would be smart. The little girl can’t stay connected to the dragon forever. Even her power has limits.”

  “How do you know?” If they were in Yaz’s mind, then how did this thing know stuff he didn’t?

  The entity chuckled. “Just because I know everything you know, doesn’t mean that’s all I know. I am an eternal cosmic entity after all, I have existed longer than the reality that you live in.”

  Yaz didn’t really understand all that. He was riveted by the sight of his body basically playing tag with a dragon big enough to swallow him with a single bite. A near miss from its lashing tail was the last straw.

  “Let me out. If this keeps up Wrath will get me killed.”

  “I don’t think so. I have so much more to tell you. It’s been thousands of years since I’ve had someone to talk to on this world.”

  “What happens to me if Wrath gets my body killed?”

  The entity cocked its head, a very human expression, and said, “You’d vanish. Your soul would go to whatever eternal fate you’d earned.”

  “And you wouldn’t have anyone to talk to. Let me out and you have my word that I’ll come to visit with you once a month.”

  “Once a week.”

  “Twice a month.”

  “Twice a month for a full day and in your dreams whenever I feel like it.”

  “Deal.”

  A rectangular shaft of light appeared. Yaz turned to find the doorway open behind him.

  He willed himself through the opening and stumbled out into his library. He was free. Now all Yaz had to do was reclaim his body from Wrath.

  Yaz looked around his library but saw no sign of Wrath. His other emotions were gone as well. A quick walk to the library closet revealed their fate: Wrath had tossed them in and iced over the door. Yaz pounded the door to little effect. He couldn’t even crack the ice.

  Frowning, he focused his will. This was his mind, gods damn it, and no one was going to take it from him. He placed both hands on the ice and demanded that it give way.

  The ice shattered and vanished. He yanked the door open and his emotions came rushing out, jumping up and down and demanding that he pay attention to them. This was why he kept them looked up in the first place. As soon as they came out, they ran out of control.

  “Guys, calm down.” His emotions fell silent and stared at him with wide eyes. “Where’s Wrath?”

  They all started babbling at once.

  “Enough!” Yaz pointed at a version of himself that had a lion’s mane. That had to be his courage. The figure was depressingly small. “Where is he?”

  “In our consciousness.”

  That wasn’t terribly useful. Yaz had never visualized the space his mind occupied when he wasn’t in his library. His awareness was everywhere during those times. There wasn’t exactly a room he could go to.

  A tiny, yellow version of him tugged on his pant leg. It had to be his fear. “If you wish to suppress him, you must summon Wrath back to this room and defeat him.”

  His fear spoke with a trembling voice and all his other emotions appeared equally ill at ease with the idea. Unfortunately for them, Yaz had no other options.

  “Will you all help me? I’m not sure I can beat him on my own.”

  They all started to glow and one by one his emotions leapt at him, penetrating his chest, and becoming one with him. His body shook with the strength of each feeling he experienced as they joined with him. It was much stronger than when they combined to open the black door the first time. Instinctively he knew that he would never see them as separate again. Finally, only his fear remained.

  “You want me too?” the little guy asked.

  “I need everybody.”

  “I’m too weak to help.”

  Yaz crouched so he was nearly eye to eye with his fear. “No, you’re strong. Your job is to warn me when I’m facing danger. That’s very important. But sometimes I need to do things despite what you say, like facing Wrath. When those times come, all you need to do is offer your support instead of warning me about the danger. You can do that, right?”

  Fear looked into his eyes and nodded. “I can.”

  Fear leapt into his body and sent a final shudder through him. When it was done, Yaz felt strong, stronger than he’d ever been. Perhaps that was the secret. Embracing your emotions instead of locking them in a closet.

  One way to find out for sure.

  “Wrath!” Yaz focused all his will on compelling his dark side to appear.

  A pool of darkness appeared on the floor. It stretched upward, taking on the form of his pale, violent self.

  Wrath stared at him in disbelief. “Are you trying to get us killed? I’m fighting a dragon right now.”

  “I saw. Didn’t look like you were winning. And your attacks on the tower were only a little less pathetic. Time to return control to me. Maybe I can salvage something out of the mess you’ve made.”

  “No! I refuse to go back. Your body is mine now. I don’t know why Dad let you go, but once I get you in the closet, you’ll never emerge again.”

  Black tentacles appeared and shot at Yaz.

  He gathered his will and blasted them to nothing.

  Wrath took a step back, clearly shocked.

  “You are only a part of me,” Yaz said. “A small part. There is no way you can defeat the rest of me combined.”

  Wrath sent more dark blasts at him. Yaz brushed them aside like they were nothing.

  When the attacks stopped, Wrath trembled. “Don’t lock me away. Please.”

  “I won’t. Like I said, you’re a part of me.” Yaz opened his arms and embraced Wrath. In a final flash of light, his dark side vanished, becoming once more a part of the whole. “That’s better.”

  Yaz closed his eyes and when he opened them, he found a huge black dragon flying right at him.

  Chapter 14

  Teeth as long as swords snapped shut directly above Yaz’s head. He’d avoided them by the barest fraction. Now that he had joined with Wrath, he understood how his powers worked. He willed himself down toward the ruined city.

  For all its power, the dragon wasn’t fast enough to keep up. It had to make a wide, sweeping bank. While it turned, Yaz landed and ducked into an empty building. He conjured a sphere of darkness around himself and waited.

  A minute later the stones rattled and shook as the dragon soared over his hiding place. It hadn’t taken long, but she seemed to have lost track of him. It hardly seemed possible to Yaz given how keen their sense of smell was. The dragons back home could smell him coming with thei
r dinner from hundreds of yards away. Not that he planned to question his good luck.

  When several minutes had passed without fire or fury, he risked a peek outside. No sign of the dragon, so that was good. He stepped out onto the street and looked towards the tower. Getting a closer look just now would be a waste of time since he couldn’t get inside. What he should do was go find his mother and friends. Given what Wrath did, they had to be worried. He also needed to ask about how to deactivate the towers. Hopefully his mother would know something.

  As he considered his options, a voice hissed at him. “Yaz?”

  He spun, darkness gathered around his hands. A street away, the ranger he’d helped rescue stood just far enough out from a fallen building to be seen. Moz waved him over and Yaz ran his way. He kept darkness shielding the bulk of his body just in case, but he really didn’t expect trouble from Moz.

  “That was some show you put on,” Moz said when Yaz had reached him and they both ducked back out of sight. In the alley between buildings waited a pair of men in dragonscale armor and a middle-aged woman that was probably a bard. At least that was his assumption since ordinary middle-aged women didn’t visit ruined cities with rangers.

  “Yeah, it’s a long story. What are you doing here?”

  “The Dark Sages destroyed the capitals of Rend and Carttoom. I led a group here to try and stop them. We met up with a team from Carttoom, but so far we haven’t accomplished much. Between the dragon and the shield protecting the tower, we’re basically powerless.”

  “I assume you brought a small group so the dragon wouldn’t just wipe you out instantly.”

  “Basically. We figured a small, highly skilled group could deal with the source of the problem.”

  “But you can’t get to it,” Yaz finished for him. “It seems we have the same problem. I suggest we work together. I have to—”

  “Moz,” the bard said. “Two serpents are coming.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Yaz asked.