-
Adam watched Jalene leave, a hidden smirk breaking out on his face. The stupid bitch, he thought. They would see who was fed to the dragon tomorrow night. Her thoughts were so easy to read, it almost amused him sometimes how easy she was to control. It would be Jalene’s night, all right, but not as she imagined. There was so much about sorcery she had never learned or even suspected. She had no conception of how weak she really was, even with her power supplemented by the Stone of Loraine.
“A surprise indeed tomorrow night, Jalene,” Adam said darkly to himself. “It will indeed be a night to remember.”
The Sylvar woman would make a worthy sacrifice, but Jalene would be even better. The foolish woman had stayed a virgin, a very serious mistake. Even Gilmreth could be tempted if given the proper inducement. With a warped smile on his face, Adam walked over to the window that looked out over the bustling city. Outside, the sun was already reaching its zenith and priests were busily setting up long lines of wooden tables in the square before the temple. Wood was being piled up for the cooking fires. Everything was being prepared for the massive feast that would follow the sacrifices.
Adam became lost in thought as he reviewed his own carefully laid plans. Tomorrow night would mark his ascension to power over the city of Draydon, which he had built, not Jalene. Nodding ominously, Adam visualized his plan in its entirety lest he’d missed any details. Years of meticulous planning were coming rapidly to culmination. While this primitive world didn’t compare to the high tech one he’d tried to take over in the past, it would do for now. He would be able to live a life of luxury and be the absolute ruler of all that remained of humankind.
-
Jalene walked testily through the long halls of the temple. Storn had a way of getting on her nerves recently. She was glad tomorrow night that would end. As she walked, she looked at the large murals that had been painted on the walls. Many showed her atop the temple directing the dragon ceremony. Gilmreth, in all of his demoniacal glory, was painted in careful detail astride the temple, looking out hungrily over the captivated populace below. The dragon’s eyes seemed to burn with a yellowish red glow, a hint of dragon fire on his breath. The paintings were all dedicated to her and the power she controlled.
Jalene was nearly to the end of the hall when one mural drew her attention, one she hadn’t noticed before. It was a recent painting. She stopped before the mural, frowning. The large painting was of Storn, dressed in solid black, a red cape about his shoulder and the symbol of the dragon upon his breast. Storn was standing alone atop the temple with his arms spread wide; his hands turned up and open. The temple was coated in red; blood red. What did this signify, she wondered angrily? Why had Storn had this mural painted?
She felt a cold chill of premonition walk slowly across her back, enough to frighten her long after her fleeting anger had faded. Her heart beat faster as she drew in a long, deep breath. Storn’s impudence was unbelievable. Didn’t the man realize what he risked? She knew Storn showed little fear of her sorcery or of the dragon. Well, tomorrow night would change all of that. If Storn felt he was so valuable to Jalene that he could show such insolence, he was about to find out just how wrong he was!
For a long moment, Jalene pondered going back and confronting Storn. No mural such as this should have been created without her specific approval. Just what did he think he was doing? Her anger flared out at the priest again like a hot flame. She would order the mural destroyed, immediately confront Storn over his audacity, and have him imprisoned with the other captives until tomorrow night!
After a moment, she calmed down and then continued to walk down the hallway. She would be rid of Storn tomorrow night anyway, and then she would have the mural removed. She couldn’t wait to see the shocked and stunned look on his face when she turned the dragon on him. She could just imagine him cowering before Gilmreth, begging her for mercy, mercy she wouldn’t grant. Jalene turned a corner and took the stairs ascending to the top of the temple.
Moments later, she stood upon the temple platform, the cool afternoon breeze blowing softly into her face. Standing at the edge of the platform, she gazed out over Draydon, the city she had created, at its bustling streets and busy shops. Every individual in the city was hers to command. Dissent had vanished completely. Her priests and temple guards maintained strict control over the populace. The people had come to accept and embrace temple doctrine as their new way of life.
Jalene reveled in the power she held. A word from her and a person’s life was forfeit. The sacrificial ceremonies filled her with a sense of omnipotence. The world was hers and hers alone. No one represented a serious threat to her rule. Storn would be gone after tomorrow night. He’d become a serious thorn in her side recently, and everyone would learn from his sacrifice. Jalene wasn’t to be trifled with.
For a brief moment, Jalene recalled her childhood and the small room she had been kept prisoner in during her mother’s numerous fits of rage. Sometimes she would spend days locked in that room. She shivered in the cool breeze as she closed her eyes tightly, shaking off the distant memory. Never again would someone threaten or control her. For a long time, Jalene stood gazing out over the waiting city.
-
Dresdia sat huddled in a corner of the small cell where she had been ruthlessly thrown. She shivered as much from shock as from the cold. The last few days had been the most terrifying of her young life. She felt chilled at the thought of how close she had come to being raped and still felt violated by what had happened and how she'd been handled. She felt like throwing up and crying, but she knew that she couldn’t let anyone see her break down. She had to protect Lynol. When Lynol arrived, Dresdia would have her revenge on Sikes. Lynol wouldn’t be happy at all when Dresdia told her what Sikes had tried to do; what he had done!
Suddenly, from down the hallway she heard yelling. Dresdia thought it was one of the women who had come with her from Galvin, but she couldn’t tell which one. The woman screamed loudly, and Dresdia could hear sounds like she was being beaten. The woman’s screaming eventually died down to a whimper and then to soft moans as the thick sounds of repeated blows continued to ring dully. Dresdia sickeningly wondered which of the women who had been captured with her was suffering so and what she had done to bring down such harsh punishment.
It had been so difficult for her to act unafraid. She couldn’t count the number of times she had felt like screaming out in fear. Only her determination not to let Lynol down had carried her thus far. A whisper of sound alerted her to the presence of someone else in the cell. She glanced up, startled at the sound of footsteps on the stone floor.
“So you’re Lynol Sylvar,” Baelen Dal said, his bearded face hard with strange colorless eyes.
Dresdia looked up at the hard-faced blond priest and then dropped her eyes quickly as he looked down at her. Those water-pale orbs gave her chills. She felt a flicker of fear in her stomach, afraid of what was about to come. The sounds of the other woman’s screams still rang hauntingly in her ears. Was she to be next?
“You will wear this tomorrow,” Baelen said coldly, tossing a white robe on the narrow bed. Turning, the priest walked back out the open cell door without another word. Then, looking back, he continued. “You will be brought food shortly. Make sure you eat it, for it might very well be your last meal.”
Dresdia heard the cell door shut and turned to look at the white robe the priest had tossed on the bed. Reaching out, she picked it up, feeling the silken softness. Tomorrow, she thought. Please Lynol, don’t be late! She sat down on the bed holding the robe to her breasts, her mind focused on her family and Lynol, trying not to cry.
A guard brought her a plate of food, which Dresdia refused to eat. She didn’t trust anything they might bring her. Eventually, she lay down on the bed falling into a restless sleep. Her slumber was filled with a nightmarish dream of a hungry dragon circling slowly above her. She was helpless. She was chained to the stone platform at the sacrificial altar not able to
move. She was nude with her arms pulled tight above her head. Sikes was standing there leering at her, his eyes focused hungrily on her nude body. She woke up shuddering. The dream seemed so real! Dresdia lay there, her eyes wide, afraid to go back to sleep lest the terrible dream return.
-
Jalene sat in her home, the scepter containing the Stone of Loraine held loosely in her right hand, its baleful red glow illuminating the room. “Tomorrow night, Gilmreth,” she whispered softly, as she looked off in the direction of Firestorm Mountain. “After the sacrifices tomorrow night nothing will stand in our way.” Jalene closed her eyes, the scepter lying across her lap. In just a few moments, she fell into a dreamless slumber.
-
In the temple, Adam stood in his quarters, staring out toward Jalene’s home. He could see the fading red glow on her balcony and in the windows of the second floor. “Enjoy your power for now, little one,” he said coldly, his eyes narrowing. “The time has come for the revelation of all secrets.” Adam turned away from the window as he had one more round to make before retiring.
-
The next night, Dresdia sat nervously in her cell, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, awaiting the coming of the priests and temple guards. Twice that day, they had brought her something to eat and drink, and both times Dresdia had refused to eat anything and only taken a few small sips of water. She’d heard too many stories from the guards and priests during the day telling how suitable candidates went to the dragon willingly, that it was a privilege to be chosen to become one with the great dragon. The red robed priest Baelen had been most insistent about how it was a high honor to be chosen. She suspected some drug was in the food or water, which caused the sacrifices to act as they did. She wanted her wits about her when she faced Gilmreth.
Dresdia shivered, recalling her nightmare from the previous night. If Lynol didn’t make it in time, then tonight would be the culmination of all of her nightmares from recent years. Ever since finding the sacrificial altar at the base of Firestorm Mountain she’d been having nightmares about Gilmreth. On numerous nights, she would awaken in a cold sweat from some dreadful nightmare about the dragon. Perhaps in some way she had always known that her destiny was to end up as a sacrifice to Gilmreth.
Standing up, she walked over to the small open window that let in the cool night breeze. Iron bars prevented any hope of escape, but that wasn’t what Dresdia wanted. Looking out the window, she gazed down upon the rapidly growing crowd in the huge temple square. Already thousands of people were gathered and more were arriving by the minute. She could hear a scattering of voices from the crowd.
Torches and large burning braziers cast an eerie yellowish red glow over the city. Even from her cell, she could hear popping noises from the numerous torches scattered everywhere. Dresdia tried to see faces in the crowd, searching for a sign of Lynol or her father, but she was too far up and couldn’t distinguish individuals in the teeming crowd. Surely they would be here in time! They had to be!
“Worried, my dear?” a sneering cold voice spoke from the door of her cell.
Instantly her body tensed and her eyes narrowed. Taking a deep breath, Dresdia turned around to see Jalene, dressed in a black flowing gown trimmed in red, staring contemptuously at her. “Do you really think you control Gilmreth?” responded Dresdia, walking over to stand in front of Jalene, looking at her through the iron bars and trying to hold her fear in check. It was all she could do to stop herself from trembling.
“The dragon is mine!” responded Jalene, scowling. “You will learn that soon enough.”
“What will you do when the dragon turns on you?” Dresdia asked. “It shall, you know; it’s only a matter of time. Not even the great sorcerers of the Golden Age could control Gilmreth!” Dresdia tried to remember some of the stories her father and Lynol had told her. Maybe she could give this woman doubts about the dragon and buy some extra time until Lynol arrived. She had to be close by now.
Jalene’s face grew briefly angry and then she regained control of herself, stepping up next to the cell door and staring hotly at Dresdia. “Perhaps,” replied Jalene, meeting Dresdia’s defiant stare. “But you will face the dragon first, and you will feel what it’s like to become one with the dragon as your life energy is slowly drained from your pitiful body. As long as I have sacrifices like you, I will be quite safe from Gilmreth and he will continue to obey my commands; never doubt that for an instant!”
“No one can control Gilmreth,” Dresdia repeated firmly, shaking her head slowly and forcing her eyes up to meet Jalene’s eyes. “He is your doom, and someday he will turn on you!”
“Quiet, Sylvar!” Jalene snapped with anger in her voice, her eyes turning to ice in the glare she gave this impudent young woman. “The dragon will obey me. Haven’t I already demonstrated my control? You saw the city I’ve built, you’ve seen how everyone obeys me, and my control is absolute. No one or anything can threaten me, least of all a powerless woman like yourself!”
Dresdia stared at Jalene. The woman was insane, and she didn’t even recognize her own danger. Her tone of voice made Dresdia’s blood run cold. “The night isn’t over yet,” she replied, forcing herself to sound unconcerned. “Perhaps things won’t turn out quite as you have planned. After all, I understand Gilmreth was supposed to have attacked Galvin and instead the dragon attacked Handon’s Ferry. The dragon has already disobeyed you once, perhaps it will again. Maybe you’re not quite as all powerful or in control as you think!”
“What do you know about that?” demanded Jalene, glaring at the girl who stood defiantly before her. One of the temple guards must have talked. Par and Sikes would have to be spoken to. The dragon’s failure to attack Galvin as ordered wasn’t to be spoken of publicly. Also, what was this about Handon’s Ferry? What did this girl know?
Dresdia only stared back, her emerald green eyes meeting Jalene’s before turning away. “You didn’t know, did you? You didn’t know that the dragon attacked Handon’s Ferry instead of Galvin?”
“It doesn’t matter,” answered Jalene, frowning at the girl and wondering why the dragon had attacked a different village. Why had it avoided Galvin? It made Jalene feel uncomfortably nervous. “After the sacrifice tonight the dragon will be completely under my control; everyone will see that.”
“Perhaps,” replied Dresdia, trying to sound as unconcerned as possible about the dragon. “But the night’s not over, the dragon may have yet another surprise for you.”
Jalene scowled at Dresdia before whirling around and marching furiously down the hall. “We’ll see, Sylvar,” Jalene muttered angrily as she vanished from sight.
Dresdia let out a deep breath. It took all of her control to prevent herself from shivering violently. She had nearly panicked when she’d recognized Jalene standing outside her cell. Dresdia was scared to death the sorceress would see through her masquerade and realize she wasn’t Lynol. She was trying so hard to act brave as Lynol would have. If only Kalvin could see her, he would be amazed. Dresdia just prayed she would get to see them all again.
Sitting back down on the small, hard bed, Dresdia stared down at the white silk robe she had been forced to put on. It was either wear this or the guards would drag her up on the temple platform nude. Baelen had made that very plain. Dresdia had almost told the priest that she would go nude, but she had to believe that Lynol and her father would make it in time. She couldn’t quit hoping. She had to stay strong until the very end. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, picturing her father, mother, and brother. Hurry, Lynol, she thought; please hurry!
-
Lynol, Damon, and Aldin had already entered the city. They were carefully threading their way through the streets following the growing crowds moving toward the temple. Looking around, Lynol couldn’t believe what Jalene had accomplished in Draydon; everything was so new and utterly clean. Massive columns of stone adorned the buildings, statues of Gilmreth stood on the corners and in the small squares. It was almost like a city fro
m the Golden Age.
“The work done here is unbelievable,” Damon spoke quietly, glancing around at everything in amazement. He knew that it’d been done by slave labor. Work or die; some choice! They’d heard a lot about the construction going on in Draydon, but Damon had never imagined anything like this and on this scale.
“I hope Dresdia is still unharmed,” Aldin said worriedly, warily watching a couple of temple guards passing across the street in front of them. He was growing impatient. He wanted to get to the temple and rescue Dresdia as quickly as possible.
Guards and priests had been very evident ever since they’d entered Draydon. It was obvious that Jalene kept a strict watch on the city. Aldin was terribly worried about Dresdia. The trip to Draydon had seemed to take forever. He prayed that nothing bad had happened to her.
“I can sense her in the temple,” Lynol replied at last, staring intently ahead. “She’s frightened, but otherwise she seems fine. I don’t dare use my sorcery to tell her we’re here lest Jalene detects its use.”
Lynol didn’t reveal the real reason why she was so reluctant to use her sorcery this close to the temple. If Daes was really Adam Grayson, then he might be able to detect her presence as well. He was the unknown in all of this. She was worried that he might be able to detect her even without her use of sorcery. After all, he was a sorcerer from the Golden Age. Who knew what he might be capable of? Lynol just hoped he was too busy getting ready for the sacrifices to take notice.
She knew the task in front of her would be very difficult. If she had to face Jalene, Adam, and Gilmreth, it might be insurmountable. She had no other choice but to hope she was ready and forge ahead. All of their lives depended on it. Lynol felt as if the weight of the world was resting heavily upon her shoulders.
“The temple is just ahead,” Aldin said as they stepped around a corner that opened up into the crowded main square.
Gilmreth the Awakening Page 47