Scaled Soul (Dragon Academy Book 1)

by Gage Lee

  The light in the prince's eyes had faded. He was running out of air. His struggles grew weaker by the moment. It wouldn't be long before he passed out. And as much as Taun would like to see that, he knew the prince was still important. He needed Auris conscious and cooperative.

  "If this is a trick," Auris said through clenched teeth, "I will kill you where you stand."

  "It's no trick," Taun promised. "But if you threaten me again, I'll drop my weight and break your fool neck."

  The prince glared at Taun, but his rage had dwindled from an all-consuming bonfire to a candle's flame. He shuddered and closed his eyes.

  "I yield."

  Chapter 26

  THE PRINCE'S GUARDS dragged the duelists back aboard the tombship. "The duel is over," their leader said after positioning himself between the dragon and human. "Agreed?"

  "I'm done," Taun answered, raising his hands. He didn't resist the heavy, mailed hand on his shoulder.

  Auris hesitated, then hung his head. "We're done. Set a course for this human's tower."

  "It's not mine," Taun corrected the prince. "Axaranth built it."

  And it is a very fine tower. I look forward to seeing it in action again, after all this time.

  The guards released the combatants, then strode away to carry out the prince's orders. When they'd gone, Auris looked into Taun's eyes with a mixture of suspicion and admiration. "You really believe what you said? About humans and dragons working together?"

  Taun blew out a frustrated sigh. "I'm done fighting, Auris. Believe me or don't, I don't care. But, yes. From what Axaranth tells me, our people were allies. I'm not even the first human to use pneuma."

  The prince looked out over the ashen plains with a distant, haunted look in his eyes. Some arrogance had gone out of Auris when he'd lost the duel, not to another dragon, but a human. Taun wondered what it must be like to go your whole life thinking you were the best at everything, only to be whipped by someone you thought your inferior in every way. Maybe Auris now knew at least some of the truth. That his victories were not his own, but bought and paid for by his family.

  "If we survive this, you and I will talk further," Auris said, and walked away.

  The knight watched the prince head back to the golden throne on the foredeck. Taun had often cursed the circumstances of his birth while growing up. He'd been the least amongst his siblings. His father had let Taun study with Sage Lantan, not because he thought such learning held value, but because he simply didn't care enough about what Taun did to stop his son from pursuing his interest. Shaus and Raul had tried to bully Taun into shape, while his sister did her best to guide him down a path the rest of the family would respect. For so long, Taun had fought to be his own person. The struggle had worn him ragged some days and made him curse his stubbornness on others.

  But seeing how a single defeat had broken Auris, Taun felt that his life had maybe been not so bad.

  "Are you all right?" Karsi asked, cautiously. She kept her distance, as if worried Taun might challenge her next.

  "He's fine," Lira snapped as she and the rest of the Broken Blades joined Taun. "What are you doing here? This is no place for a princess."

  "Auris wanted me to come," Karsi said with a shrug. "I am not in a position to refuse a request from the crown prince."

  The five of them stood in awkward silence, no one sure what to say. Taun desperately wanted to reach out to Karsi, to tell her he understood what had happened, that Moglan's injury wasn't her fault. But he knew that doing so would drive a wedge between him and his friends. Those three still thought the princess was directly responsible for Moglan's current state. Taun hated not being wise enough to bridge the gap between the lodge and the princess. He just didn't have the words.

  "Look at that thing," Kam said. "It's a hundred feet tall, even now. It must have been three times that size when it was built.

  Five times. Most of the rubble has been lost to the ashes of time.

  "Axaranth says it was five hundred feet tall," Taun corrected the occultist. "Sometimes he exaggerates, though."

  I do not.

  "That's really who's inside the scale?" the princess asked. "The legends say he was quite the terror."

  "A master of warfare, you mean," Sutari said. "If it wasn't for his inventions and tactics, the eldwyr would have overrun the dragon empires."

  Lira snorted and shook her head. "Legends. If the eldwyr were so powerful, no one dragon would have turned the tide of battle."

  It will be my pleasure to show your friends how they have underestimated my true power.

  The tombship moved faster than Taun realized. The battle was now miles behind them, and the tower's base was directly below. He took a deep breath, then let it out. His entire life was about to change.

  If, of course, it did not end.

  UP CLOSE, THE TOWER was even more impressive than it had appeared from the sky. Its base was a two hundred foot wide circle that seemed to have been hewn from a stone outcropping. Its main entrance, a black square fifty feet on a side, was flanked by statues of rearing dragons whose spread wings encircled the building. The remains of the doors that had once barred invaders from the tower lay shattered between the statues, chunks of stone both inside and outside the mammoth structure.

  This is what the eldwyr sought. If they gain access to it, all is lost.

  Images flickered through Taun's mind. The tower in all its glory, raised from the bedrock of this world by Axaranth's mighty pneuma. An eldwyr host marching across fertile fields of grain, their touch fueling rampant growth that sent tender buds rocketing toward the sky on stalks that expanded by the second. Five dragons, somehow Taun knew there was one from each of the paths, strode into the tower, heads held high. Residents of this world, humanoid rabbits wearing bark armor and wielding strange, wooden blades, formed ranks between the two sides.

  Taun's stomach fell. He knew what came next, and it made him sick.

  The eldwyr were unstoppable. There was no choice.

  The final image erupted in Taun's mind. A blast of purple flame erupted from the tower. It shot out in every direction, and its touch destroyed everything it touched. Crops turned to ash. Grass blackened and blew away in the screaming wind. The rabbit men screamed as death embraced their home. One moment they stood resolute, ready to face the eldwyr. The next they'd been scrubbed away, leaving behind only smears of greasy ash. The eldwyr, unprepared for the assault, died without a sound. When the flames had vanished, the world was dead and barren.

  "This is not what I expected," Auris said.

  "You knew about this place?" Taun asked.

  Auris strode forward and motioned for Taun to follow him. They moved away from the landing party made up of the Broken Blades, Karsi, and five guards clad in full plate and armed to the teeth. When they were closer to the tower than their allies, Auris stopped.

  "My father," the crown prince started, then stopped to collect himself again. "The Emperor of the Scaled Council commanded me to come to this world. He told me it would assure my victory in the Glory Chase and secure honor for our family's name. But now... I wonder if he had another motive."

  Taun's stomach clenched at the thought. Emissary Reth had said there were always more whelps to throw into the fray. Had the emperor sent his own son to this world knowing the danger that would appear? Dragons were clever, and their seers claimed to have the gift of foresight. "It seems like too much of a coincidence. But what would he gain by throwing his son into battle with the eldwyr?"

  Auris looked back into the gray wastes. His eyes narrowed, as if he could see the battle in the distance and didn't care for what he saw. "I don't know," Auris admitted. "But you're right. The eldwyr attack, this tower, you sneaking aboard the ship. It can't be a coincidence. Something is wrong about all of this."

  "Are you having second thoughts?" Taun was going into the tower, with or without the prince, but he wanted the royal guards as a back-up. This world was full of deadly surprises. He wouldn't be caug
ht unawares again.

  "What happens in here?" The prince asked. "And what happens out there? Because if this is a trick to kill all my men and take control of my tombship, it won't be as easy as you think. You won't fool me again."

  Taun sighed and looked up at the dragon. "Listen to me. This is our only chance to kill the eldwyr. And we must do that. Because if we can't get back home, we can't warn the others that the eldwyr have returned. Do you want the dragon kingdoms caught unaware when the eldwyr host burst out of the wyld and starts killing everyone on their way to the capital?"

  That will get his attention.

  "Of course not," Auris snapped.

  "Then let's go," Taun said, waving for the others to join them. He was tired and worried. It was time to end it.

  THE INTERIOR OF THE tower consisted of a single wide tunnel that led to the structure's heart. The walls were plain, white stone, smooth as a mirror's surface. A circle of red gold metal occupied the floor at the center of the building, and five posts rose from equidistant points around its perimeter. Pneuma flared from the tips of the posts, like torches of elemental power.

  This is what the eldwyr sought. It must never fall into their hands.

  Another series of images battered Taun's mind. Creatures made from wood and flesh, sorcerers without souls, monsters that spoke in tongues so ancient no mortal, not even the living dragons, had heard them. They were the antithesis of the dragons; chaos to their order, madness to their law. If they reached this engine of destruction, their powers would turn it against the mortals they hated.

  Because to destroy them, these weapons were bound to the eldwyr. And just like Taun had turned the Archon's Wheel against itself to win a stupid game, the eldwyr would turn this tower against its creators.

  "What was that?" Sutari asked, quirking an eyebrow in Taun's direction. "What did you say about the tower?"

  "I heard it, too," Lira said, frowning.

  "It wasn't me," Taun said. He realized the dragon's voice wasn't only louder in his head. "I think the tower amplified Axaranth's thoughts."

  Kam grinned. "Well, that's creepy. I always wondered what a ghost sounded like."

  I am no ghost. My spirit is eternal, you half-blind dimwit. Follow my host. Our time grows short.

  Auris narrowed his eyes. A sneer twisted his features for a moment, and Taun was sure he was about to ruin everything. But the prince hung his head and said, "You heard the dragon. Let's get moving."

  The circular chamber at the heart of the tower was an amazing artifact of another age. As much as Taun was awed by the lodge towers back at the Celestial Academy, he'd never imagined anything like what he now saw. The walls were engraved with intricate designs colored by pulsing threads of pneuma. The five elements raced along the curving flanks of powerful dragons, traced the outlines of their fearsome breath weapons, and highlighted wings in green, silver, red, blue, and yellow. The astounding show took everyone's breath away, and they could do nothing for several moments but look up at the amazing display that surrounded them.

  Then Taun's eyes settled on the jagged edges where the tower ended. The gray ash cloud swirled through their teeth. The eldwyr storm was near.

  One member of each path must stand near the control interfaces. Choose the element that matches your path.

  "We need Moglan," Sutari grumbled.

  "Karsi will take his place," Taun said, and was surprised to feel the authority of Axaranth in his words. "There is no time for us to argue about it."

  Sutari's eyes flicked to Taun, then down to the ground. She gulped hard and nodded. "You're right," she said. "Let's get this done."

  Kam grinned and hurried over to the post with a gleaming silver flame above. "Metal element present," he said, "Let's save the world!"

  "You're sure about this?" Karsi asked. "I don't want to cause any more problems."

  Taun looked past the shaman at the crown prince. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Auris nodded. "I think those problems are behind us. For the moment."

  Karsi nodded solemnly. She hesitated for a moment, then threw her arms around Taun's neck. She pressed her lips to his cheek. She held him like that for what felt like an eternity, then leaned back. She whispered, "This changes everything, Taun."

  Then she was gone, the faint scent of lavender hanging in the air behind her.

  This is much like the Archon's Wheel. Your allies must bond with the connection points. Then you will bind with them.

  "Just like the festival," Taun said. "Though this time, Auris, don't attack me."

  The crown prince shook his head. "My guards and I will make sure you don't get any unexpected visitors."

  Taun and his allies completed their connections. It was easier this time, and Taun was glad the game had given them practice.

  Nothing is happenstance, Taun. You were meant to play that game. Did you know it was named for a sixth path walked by only a handful of dragons in all of history?

  The connection to the tower's controls filled the dragons and Taun with a rush of pneuma that went beyond anything they'd ever experienced. The power was thick with a dark presence so heady it left the human knight dizzy and disoriented. He shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand. This was not the time to lose control.

  Only dragons who can control all the elements can walk the path. Only the mightiest of our kind can become Archons. You are no servant, my host.

  The sound of ancient gears turning rumbled through the tower. A ball of multicolored light, spitting and crackling like a cat in an electrical storm, appeared in the center of the orichalcum circle. Its power lit up the room like a miniature sun, forcing the dragons and Taun to squint against its brilliance.

  Channel the power, Taun. Let it flow through you. Stoke this mighty Roil engine. Prepare it to deliver your wrath to your enemies.

  The dragon's presence surged up inside Taun. He felt the dragon's presence not simply in his mind, but in every bone and muscle fiber. The power strengthened Axaranth, giving him a presence more impressive than Taun had ever imagined.

  Do not fight me. You may be my host, but this is my domain.

  Axaranth seized control of Taun's body, just as he had when the young knight found his tomb. The young knight was stronger now than then, but he was no match for the wily dragon at the heart of its ancient power.

  "What's happening?" Sutari shouted. Her hair stood on end, each strand limned with static electricity that sparked and jumped from the sphere before them. "Something's wrong."

  "Taun!" Kam's panicked voice was raw with emotion. "Stop this. Sutari's right. This is wrong."

  The sphere shot up through the tower, strands of pneuma trailing from it like sparking tentacles. It grew as it soared into the air above the tower, glowing like the moon. The storm of power that rushed through Taun and his allies became an overwhelming cyclone. Axaranth's rage joined it, a berserk fury intent on destroying the eldwyr at all costs.

  "You can't," Taun gasped. "The Frozen Axes are still out there!"

  The eldwyr must be stopped. This is the way. Let me take the burden of decision from you, Taun. Blame the deaths on me. They will believe you.

  Taun was shocked to realize the dragon had taken control of his body to help him. Axaranth didn't want Taun to pay for this horrible decision.

  "There has to be another way," Taun gasped. The pneuma pouring through his core was overwhelming his senses. Fiery pains shot out from his center with every new pulse. He couldn't take much more.

  Perhaps if this tower was fully operational. But it is not. The focusing crystals are gone. All that remains is the power. Let me use it.

  The pneuma welled up through the control interfaces and ripped through the students. It whirled through the room like a tornado, overwhelming them all. Taun wanted to hang onto it, to focus it away from the sphere before Axaranth destroyed everyone outside the tower along with the eldwyr.

  But clinging to the power sent waves of agony racing through his core. It wasn't strong e
nough to harness that power.

  Maybe there was a way to change that.

  Do not do this. It is too dangerous.

  "That never stopped me before," Taun croaked.

  Chapter 27

  TAUN CLUNG TO THE PNEUMA, letting his mind flow with the mystic energy. It crackled in his thoughts like a lightning storm on the horizon. It had spread out from the tower in a hazy field that encompassed everything within a hundred feet of the structure's base.

  Including the soaring tombship.

  And all the soul steel in its hold.

  Taun willed the pneuma to embrace the talismans. With so much power in the air, it was far easier than he'd expected. The talismans, slick with grease from the ashes, were as real to him as if he'd plunged his hand into one of the baskets in the tombship's hold. He held them in his thoughts and hoped this would work. He'd never worked with this much power. It was like trying to forge a dagger in the sun's fires.

  Stop this. You are not strong enough.

  "I will be," Taun groaned.

  He drew the tower's pneuma into his core, filling himself to overflowing. His core expanded, its color shifting from indigo to a vibrant sky blue. But even as it grew, cracks shot across its surface. Flaws appeared in Taun's soul and body, and pneuma rushed out of the gaps.

  You are dying. Stop this.

  But Taun refused. He had too much power now for Axaranth to control him, and too much determination to fail. He embraced the pain and welcomed the changes rippling through his body. It was working. He just had to hold on for a few more seconds.

  The knight separated the structure and substance of the soul steel talismans and drew them to him. Filaments of shining silver stitched through the wounds in his core. Threads of soul steel wrapped around his head, forming a dragon's head helmet that shone with power. The mystical metal shielded Taun from the worst of the pneuma's destructive force. He wanted to wrap it around him like a suit of impregnable armor, but his control was already slipping. It was time to unleash the power he'd harnessed.