Reckoning

by David Adams

  Xanar looked at his sister and saw her approval of Silas’ thinking. He called ahead to tell Darius what was keeping them.

  * * *

  Darius had not noticed the chasm, having had plenty of other sights and sensations to distract him as the dragon had borne him down the hall to his lair. “I understand!” he shouted back, then looked to Glaze for further instructions.

  Before he received them, Xanar asked if Darius was still with the dragon.

  Darius immediately replied that he was, risking Glaze’s disapproval for doing so. He could sense the urgency in his friend’s question.

  The quick reply did not seem to bother Glaze. “Ah, a bit of a disappointment,” he sighed. “Thought they might be more creative.”

  “We aren’t carrying much with us. Certainly no long planks or ladders. And you did send the mage back.”

  “Fair enough. Well, we’ll just need to go to them. You lead. Hopefully the sight of you unharmed will convince them to stay their weapon hands. I assume at least one of your party carries a bow.”

  Darius pretended he missed the question, trying to brush past the dragon and lead the way back up the hall as requested.

  Glaze held up one clawed finger, barring the way. “Bow?” the dragon asked.

  “Yes,” replied Darius. “But it won’t be used if I show them I’m okay.”

  Glaze dropped the gate-like finger. “Lead on, then.”

  * * *

  Despite the chasm, despite seeing their friend safe and unharmed, Xanar couldn’t help taking an involuntary step back at the sight of the mighty dragon. Suddenly it made sense, the great beast easily large enough to cross the gap even without the use of his wings. And just as suddenly Xanar, Uesra, and Silas felt very vulnerable, the rift a barrier only to them.

  The dragon was surprised that only three of Darius’ party stood before him. “Surely there are not two mages in your group,” he said.

  “Only one,” Darius confirmed, giving the others a chance to recover from hearing the dragon speak.

  Glaze thought this over a moment, then brightened with understanding. “Ah, you feared a trap, and so sent another back as well. A wise precaution, although unnecessary.”

  “Undoubtedly a fruitless one,” said Silas, playing the diplomat. “I’m sure you’d be able to take us all, if that was your desire.”

  Glaze grinned, knowing an attempt to flatter when he heard it. “And yet you came.”

  “We had to, for our friend.”

  “A noble sentiment. But you must have expected Darius here to already be in my belly by now.”

  “We couldn’t know that.”

  “So you had to be certain.”

  “Yes.”

  “If I offer to bring him across—just him, mind you, and not his pack or its contents—what would you say to that?”

  Silas replied without hesitation. “We’d be very grateful.”

  Glaze looked at Darius. “They know what you carry?”

  Darius nodded.

  Glaze pondered this, then said. “I will let you decide. You or the book may cross, but not both. What say you?”

  Darius studied the dragon a moment, then said, “The choice is not a hard one, but I am curious why you wish me to make it.”

  “That I will not reveal. I have my reasons, though. It is not simply me being sadistic.”

  “If I stay, does it mean my death?”

  “Perhaps. Only time will tell.”

  Darius placed his pack at his feet and removed the book from it. “Shall I throw it across?”

  “Darius!” Xanar said. “Don’t be foolish. Leave the book.”

  Darius had been avoiding making eye contact with his friends, especially Xanar, but he did so now. “I’m sorry, Xanar. None of us are more important than what we set out to do. Finish it.”

  Darius flung the book across the chasm.

  “No!” Xanar shouted, the shout rising another octave as Glaze grabbed Darius, launched himself forward, and dropped into the chasm.

  In an instant they were gone.

  Chapter 4: The Ice Cave

  Xanar lay flat on the icy floor and inched forward. He felt Silas’ firm grip about his ankle and drew some comfort from that, but the ice was slick and the chasm dark. He probed ahead with his fingers, finally reaching the edge, which was rounded rather than sharp, not necessarily a good thing. If he or Silas were to slide over, there would be no chance to grab onto the ledge. The rounding continued until it became a sheer drop, at least as far as Xanar’s hands could feel. He pulled them back, then slowly pulled himself forward so he could peer over the edge.

  He had hoped, somewhere below, to see a light, or even a lightening of the darkness, but there was nothing but endless black. He found a small chunk of ice and tossed it over, listening intently to hear it strike bottom. After a long, silent minute he gave up. He called Darius’ name, and heard it echo into the unseen depths. There was no reply.

  “I’m coming back,” he announced. He pushed away from the edge, wanting to put a dozen feet between himself and the chasm before he pivoted and tried to rise.

  Silas worked back with him, slow and steady, keeping a firm grip on Xanar’s ankle and making sure he kept decent traction on the icy floor. “Any signs?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Xanar replied. “Nothing but bottomless black.”

  After they put some distance between themselves and the chasm they managed to stand. They had sent Uesra back with the book, remaining behind to see what they could find. Now Silas turned as if to go back to the others as well, but Xanar grabbed him by the arm.

  “We can’t just leave him.”

  Silas measured his reply before giving it. “I’m not suggesting we do. But we need to tell the others what’s happened, and get their thoughts. We have a better chance of coming up with a good idea as a group.”

  “And if we don’t?”

  Silas shook his head. “For some reason, that dragon gave Darius a choice, and Darius made it. If we can’t get to him…at least we can try to finish what he started.”

  The reply was what Xanar knew in his heart he would hear, but he went on as if he’d not heard it. “There must be another exit somewhere below. That dragon didn’t just jump into that rift for show.”

  “Agreed,” Silas said. “And I believe Darius is still alive. But we cannot follow the dragon down, or cross the chasm, at least by any means we have handy. And this other exit could be anywhere.”

  Now it was Xanar’s turn to shake his head. “Maybe the rest of you should go on, and I’ll stay behind, see if I can—”

  “Xanar, let’s go back to tell the others what we know. Then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

  Xanar stayed where he was while Silas turned and headed back. Finally he called out, “Just promise me we won’t just leave him.”

  Silas paused, then answered without turning. “We’ll do everything we can. I wish I could make you such a promise. But I can’t.”

  Xanar, stunned, watched him go until he rounded a bend and moved out of sight. He looked back toward the chasm, then again at the empty tunnel. With a grimace he followed Silas.

  * * *

  The only thing that dropped faster than Darius was his stomach. He was shocked when Glaze grabbed him without warning, more so when the dragon leapt into the chasm. For a few maddening seconds they simply fell, and Darius had a fleeting thought that the dragon might be insane. Then he heard Glaze unfurl his great, leathery wings, and the descent slowed. But it did not stop, and still they fell through darkness. Finally, with two flaps of his wings, Glaze guided them to what seemed the side of the chasm—although Darius could not know in such darkness—and their flight leveled off. A subtle change in sound, a different sort of echo from that given by the beat of Glaze’s wings, told Darius that they were moving laterally through another hall, one far larger than the one Glaze could barely maneuver through up above. Ahead, Darius could now make out a faint glow, a blue-white light that offe
red hope that this journey would soon end.

  With light came the sense of speed. Even here the dragon could move at a breathtaking pace when he wanted to. The light seemed to race toward them, and only seconds after Darius’ light-starved eyes had spotted it, they flew into Glaze’s true lair.

  The cave was beyond enormous, and Glaze easily arced and swooped in it, as if giving Darius a quick tour. Again the walls were covered with ice, but there was no obvious source for the light, which appeared to emanate from the walls themselves. Darius now understood the junk strewn about the small cave above was just that to the dragon. Here Glaze kept his true hoard, treasures gathered over the long centuries of his life. Darius doubted any of the southern kingdoms had such accumulated wealth.

  Glaze slowed and come in for a landing, placing Darius gently atop a pile of gold coins and assorted gems. There was nothing showy in the move. Despite the vastness of the cave, very little floor actually showed through the mountains of treasure.

  Darius’ mind raced as Glaze settled his great girth over the uneven mounds of gold and jewels. He didn’t doubt he had done the right thing in tossing the Book of Dread to his friends, but why had the dragon forced such a choice upon him, and what did it intend to do with him now? As with the initial moments in the smaller cave above, Darius took some comfort in the fact that he was still alive, and that the dragon, at least for now, didn’t seem interested in making him into a meal.

  “If you mean to impress me,” Darius said, “you have.”

  “That was not my intent, but it’s good to see you’re aware of your surroundings.” Again, Glaze showed that toothy grin that could mean just about anything.

  “I feel like we’re back where we started, minus the book.”

  “No, things have moved along. I learn more about you and your friends all the time.”

  “And what have you concluded?”

  “Foolish or not, you believe you fight for a noble cause. For good, I might even dare say.”

  Darius shrugged. “We’re trying to do what’s right. At least the others are. Looks like I’m out of the game now.”

  “Oh, not yet.”

  Darius tried to read the dragon’s expression, to no avail. “I wish you could be more straightforward with your intentions. I’ve been honest, and I have no chance to leave here under my own power, I would guess.”

  “There are two ways for you to get out of this cave without my assistance. The way we came, which will require you to grow wings or for your friends to have a very long rope, or through there.” Glaze motioned with his head, indicating a large tunnel far back in the cave. “It’s a long, long walk, and you’ll still need wings or a long rope at the end, but the lighting’s better, for what it’s worth.”

  “So, I’m not going anywhere,” Darius said. “I get it. But why keep me or the book? Why make me choose?”

  “To see if you were what you claimed to be. If your quest was as you claimed.”

  “And you just told me you now believe it is so.”

  Glaze nodded.

  “So is that good or bad, from your point of view?”

  “Oh, I’d say good. But not because I’m necessarily supportive of your cause, such as it is.”

  Darius held out his hands. “You’ve lost me, I’m afraid.”

  “Many of your kind see much of the world in black or white, good or evil. But not all must choose sides, or see the sides so clearly. I put my lot in with neither camp. My main concern is me.”

  Darius waited a beat, then said, “That sentiment is not uncommon to my kind. I wish it were not so, but it is.”

  “Yes, it is. Because most look to survive first, as I do. Without apology, I might add. I’ve lived over six hundred years because of it, and because no real threat to me has been allowed to form.”

  Darius misunderstood. “You consider me a threat? Me and my fiends?”

  “No. It is the power of your enemy I might some day come to fear. I care not if what you term ‘good’ or ‘evil’ gains an upper hand for a time, as long as neither wins outright. I sense the danger from this book and those who would control it, so I consider allowing your quest to stop them continue.”

  “Then why keep me here? The party is one fewer now, the odds worse.”

  “If the quest continues, you will be a part of it. The question is, do your friends have the same heart as you.”

  Realization dawned on Darius’ face. “This is a test. To see if they come for me.”

  Glaze nodded. “If they turn their backs on you, they will just as easily turn away from one another. And then they will fail, sooner or later, be it through lack of strength of arms or strength of will, be it the temptation of power or wealth.”

  “You can’t really know that.”

  “I have seen a great deal in my lifetime, and I know much of the beings of the world. But, regardless, it is the test I’ve set, and I will judge whether it has been passed.”

  “And if it isn’t?”

  The toothy smile once more. “Let’s not speak of such unpleasant things.”

  * * *

  The globe of light continued to sink into the darkness, appearing to shrink all the while. Eventually it became so small to the eyes watching it from above that it was no more than a single star in a vast sky.

  “Can you enlarge it or make it brighter?” Silas asked.

  “I can’t,” Adrianna replied. “It wasn’t really meant to be so far from the caster.” She sighed and grimaced, and the light winked out. “It’s too deep to see anything from here.”

  The discussion over what to do next hadn’t lasted long, hadn’t really been concluded. They decided to brave entering together, to see what they could. They were hoping they’d spot something new, find some loophole, but with the chasm too wide and too deep for them to conquer, their options were severely limited.

  “Any spells you have that might let us bridge the gap?” Uesra asked,

  Adrianna shook her head. “It can be done, but it’s not in my particular bag of tricks.”

  Xanar slapped at his thigh in frustration again. “If the tundra wasn’t so barren, we could use some trees to put together a makeshift bridge.”

  Barlow didn’t think they had the tools for that, but didn’t point it out to the elf. “Any rope?” he asked instead.

  “A short piece, but nothing to anchor it to,” said Uesra.

  “Maybe we need to look at this another way,” said Silas. “We’re trying to get to the dragon. What if we try to bring the dragon to us?”

  “How?” Uesra asked.

  Silas’ smile was an embarrassed one. “Hadn’t got that far yet.”

  “In that case,” said Barlow, “I won’t bother asking what we’re going to do when it arrives.”

  * * *

  Darius had been sitting quietly, assuming that Glaze was sleeping. Given enough time, and enough latitude, he would venture through the tunnels—the one they had come in through, and the one that led to what Darius now thought of as the back door—if only to confirm he had no way out other than the dragon. But he wasn’t ready to do that yet, wasn’t ready to risk the possibility of invoking Glaze’s wrath.

  Glaze had indeed had his eyes closed for some time, but he was not sleeping. He was listening. He finally stirred and looked at Darius. “They are above, likely trying to figure out how to reach you. I cannot hear what they are saying, but I’m sure there are at least three of them. Likely the whole group is up there.”

  “And now?”

  “Now we go and see what they’re up to.”

  * * *

  The fireball cast a different sort of light in the chasm than the magical sphere, a quick-moving orange-red glow that lit the icy walls like fireworks in the night, if only for the briefest instant. Adrianna watched it fade into the depths, surprised at how long the magically-induced flame held together. Always before she had cast it at a nearby target, and she hadn’t really considered where the fireball might go if she missed.

>   She kept looking into the inky black of the chasm well after the fireball was gone, hoping to sense movement and allowing her internal well of magic power to refill. She spared a quick glance back at Silas, who was as far back in the tunnel as possible without being out of sight. A simple shake of her head told him the full story.

  Further back in the tunnel was Xanar, who received the unspoken message from Silas and passed it in the same way to Barlow, who relayed it to Uesra, who waited at the tunnel’s entrance. She scanned the swiftly darkening horizon, saw nothing of note, and passed that lack of news back up the line.

  When Adrianna felt sufficiently refreshed, she cast again, sending bolts of lightning into the depths this time, the fireworks on the wall a purple shade of blue. Again there was no sign of the dragon. She sighed and shook her head once more, the motion repeated by the rest of the company one after the other.

  * * *

  The flight through the tunnel had been terrifying, but Darius fought off the urge to close his eyes. He knew he might learn something he might use to his advantage later, though it was difficult to make sense of anything when traveling at such dizzying speeds while being clutched in a dragon’s claw. Now and then he sensed the floor racing up at him and he curled up as best he could while wondering if Glaze might have forgotten to leave enough clearance for the man he carried. He tried to keep images of what such a mistake would likely do to his vulnerable body out of his mind.

  There was just enough light left in the day for Darius to see clearly as they burst from the tunnel. Glaze arced skyward almost immediately, and as they turned south Darius could see the great rift known as Myzor’s Cleft. Apparently the back door to Glaze’s lair was well down a sheer cliff face in the Cleft. Easy to reach for a flying dragon, but nearly impossible for most of the other beings of Corterra.

  They were soon over the tundra, the barren white landscape whirling by, their speed apparent from the stinging cold of the air that raced past more so than any ability to gauge it against the monotone backdrop. As much as Glaze’s swiftness added to the bite of the cold, Darius was grateful for it. He wanted this journey to end as quickly as possible.