Firestorm Mountain

by Raymond L. Weil

  Chapter Eight

  Gilmreth was feeding again. It was night with a quarter moon out making it easy for the dragon to spot his victims. Twice tonight he had found human prey and fed on their lifeforce. After each feeding Gilmreth felt stronger and stronger.

  Currently Gilmreth was circling a larger farmhouse and with a loud roar dragon flame shot forth, igniting the roof of the house. From inside the house frightened voices could be heard and the front door suddenly flew open as several people emerged. They came out into the yard and looked up to see the roof on fire.

  “It’s the dragon!” screamed the woman who was holding a small child. “Run!”

  Without hesitation Gilmreth dove down, grasping the male in his powerful talons. The man screamed in terror as he realized the dragon had him. Folding his wings about his victim Gilmreth began to feed. The man’s scream of terror was abruptly cut off.

  “Johnathan!” screamed the woman. The woman turned and fled toward the barn holding her child.

  It wouldn’t do any good. As soon as Gilmreth was finished with the male he would tear the barn apart and feed on the woman and her child.

  -

  Inside the barn, the woman and her six-month-old child were hiding inside one of the stalls for the horses. The family’s two horses had fled immediately upon the dragon’s arrival, breaking down the stall gate and escaping through the open back doors of the large barn. The woman was scared to death knowing the dragon would soon come looking for her. Her child was wrapped in several small blankets and being strangely quiet as if he knew any sound would attract the dragon. Looking around the woman put her child beneath a horse feeder and pushed straw up around it to hide her son. She had just finished when the barn began to come apart around her. Looking at her son’s hiding place one last time, she ran out of the stall and out the back doors of the barn hoping to lead the dragon away.

  -

  Gilmreth stopped tearing the barn apart with his talons when he saw the human appear. Swooping down he caught her and was soon feeding once more. When he was finished, Gilmreth turned toward the barn knowing the child was hidden somewhere inside. With a powerful beat of his wings, Gilmreth took back to the air to go seek more humans. The child would not provide that much lifeforce so he would leave it. Perhaps in time it would grow larger and would become worthy of becoming sustenance.

  During the night Gilmreth fed six more times, attacking isolated farms and tearing the homes apart or setting them on fire. Just before dawn the dragon headed back to his lair finally feeling satiated. His full strength was rapidly returning and soon it would be time to return to Draydon where the real feeding would begin. Then when he was ready, he would seek out the sorceress and feed on her.

  -

  In Draydon Joshua was meeting with Baelen Dal who was once one of Jalene’s High Priests at a tavern near the edge of town. Baelen had been permanently banished from Draydon for his crimes involving Jalene and the dragon.

  “It’s dangerous for me to be here,” said Dal, looking furtively around and hoping no one would recognize him.

  “You were paid to come,” pointed out Joshua. He had located one of the former temple guards who knew where Dal was living in a distant village. Joshua had offered Dal two gold coins if he would come to Draydon and meet with him.

  A server brought two drinks setting them down in front of the two men.

  “What do you want?” asked Dal, taking a sip of his drink and keeping his voice low.

  “You once served Jalene and Storn Daes at the temple,” said Joshua, studying the pale faced man.

  Dal looked nervous. “So, what if I did?”

  “Have you kept in contact with any of the other priests and temple guards?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  Joshua reached under his shirt and took out his silver amulet which was glowing slightly. “I’m a friend of Storn’s.”

  “Put that amulet away,” said Dal, looking around to make sure no one else had seen it. “People know what those are now. What do you want?”

  “To bring the priests and the temple guards back and to rule over Draydon.”

  Dal shook his head. “That won’t work. Lynol Sylvar will not allow it. I was there when she killed Storn and forced the dragon to flee. She’s too powerful.”

  “I’m not alone,” replied Joshua. “We have a way of dealing with the Sylvar woman if she attempts to interfere.”

  “What about the dragon?”

  “We have a method of controlling Gilmreth as well if it becomes necessary.” Joshua slid two large gold coins over to Dal. “There are more where those came from.”

  Dal looked greedily at the coins but hesitated picking them up. “You’re sure you can control Lynol Sylvar?”

  Joshua nodded. “We have ways of dealing with people like the Sylvar woman. She won’t be a problem.”

  Dal reached out and pocketed the coins. “What do you want done?”

  -

  For the next hour the two men talked about Joshua’s plans for Draydon and the surrounding area.

  “It may work,” said Dal finally. “Jalene made a huge mistake attacking the villages on the far side of the mountain. It was immediately after that Lynol Sylvar showed up. Dalden Sikes made the mistake of kidnapping Lynol’s best friend and brought her here to be sacrificed. At the time he thought he had kidnapped Lynol. No one knew Lynol was actually a sorceress.”

  “We’ll leave the other side of the mountain alone and there will be no sacrifices to the dragon other than people who rebel against our rule. They will be made an example of.”

  “Have you seen the dragon?”

  Joshua nodded. “I’m very familiar with Gilmreth. The dragon will not be a problem or a danger to us.”

  “Very well. I’ll start getting in contact with some of the priests and temple guards I know of. How soon do you want them in Draydon?”

  “Ten days from today. We’ll make our announcement of the change in rulers from the top of the temple. I’ll make sure our announcement is quite impressive.”

  “It better be or all of our lives will be forfeit.”

  Joshua grinned. “We’re not Storn and will not make his mistakes.”

  Dal finished his drink and then left the tavern.

  Joshua leaned back and smiled to himself. So far everything was proceeding according to their plans. The next thing they needed to do was return to Firestorm Mountain and pick up the necessary equipment to build an inhibitor as well as put an obedience collar around Gilmreth. That would eliminate the two biggest threats to their rule. Joshua took a long drink from his mug feeling the fiery liquid slide down his throat. Tomorrow they would set out for the mountain. When they returned they would begin establishing their rule. Adam had already helped immensely by having Draydon rebuilt and bringing so many people to the town.

  -

  Gail was standing in the lavish living room where Jalene Leyne had once lived. The suite of rooms had not been touched since Jalene had been sacrificed to the dragon. The people who owned the large inn were fearful of entering the rooms and had simply placed several large locks on the door to seal the rooms off.

  Gail stepped over to a table seeing a large well-worn book. Opening it she recognized what it was: a book of sorcery spells. She’d have to give it to Joshua to see if there was anything useful in it. Gail walked through the lavish rooms amazed at what Jalene had gathered for herself. One room was full of expensive clothes. There were paintings, statues, and other artwork decorating the rooms and the walls. There was also a large balcony from which one could see a good part of the city. Gail had already decided to take over these rooms when they started their rule over Draydon. It would be necessary to do some redecorating but she could easily see why Jalene had chosen these rooms to live in. Of course, there were a few items she would bring back from the complex to make living here much more comfortable.

  -

  Karl was just leaving the home of one of the servers he had met at one of the
taverns. He had spent the morning with her and was now ready to go eat and visit a few more taverns. Karl had already decided he was going to like ruling this town. He might even have his own personal harem. He smacked his lips and grinned. His future was definitely looking up.

  -

  Early the next morning the three set out for Firestorm Mountain. It didn’t take them long to reach the trail which wound through the steep passes leading to the far side.

  “Are we going to speak to Lynol Sylvar?” asked Gail. She was becoming used to riding horses again. It was one of the things she had really enjoyed during her time in the complex. There had been a horse ranch nearby where you could go on trail rides. That ranch was long since gone.

  “I’ll send one of the temple guards eventually,” answered Joshua. “We’ll tell her if she stays on her side of the mountain we’ll stay on ours. We’ll also allow free and unrestricted trade.”

  “What if people from our side of the mountain want to go to hers?”

  Joshua shook his head. “Won’t be allowed. If anyone attempts to leave their families will suffer.”

  The three continued to ride, passing the occasional rider or wagon going to Draydon to trade or pick up supplies. Joshua was still weighing in his mind just how much freedom of action he was going to allow the people of Draydon to have. He knew if their rule was too harsh he risked the possibility of open rebellion. However, he wanted the people to know there were serious consequences for not obeying his commands.

  Looking upward he stared at the snow-covered peaks of the mountain. He wondered in the coming months how many trips they would have to make to the complex to get everything they would need to be able to rule Draydon. At least they had the complex available to get high tech items from.

  -

  Several days later they stood at the base of the trail that led up to the complex.

  “Someone’s been here,” said Gail, pointing to some large boulders where there was a circle of stones for a fire pit.

  Joshua looked uneasily up the slope. Could it have been the Sylvar woman? Maybe she was coming to the mountain occasionally to check on the dragon.

  “What’s going on?” asked Karl still sitting on his horse.

  “I don’t like this,” said Joshua, taking out his amulet and focusing it on the mountain. The first thing he searched for was Gilmreth. With shock he couldn’t find the dragon. Gilmreth was gone! Then searching the complex even more he began to sense other people moving around inside including other sorcerers. “We need to leave. Some of Jason’s people are awake. I can sense Jacob, Eva, and Bryan inside the complex as well as others.”

  “They were in stasis,” said Gail. “What about the dragon?”

  “It’s gone. I can’t find Gilmreth anywhere inside the complex.”

  Karl looked around worriedly. “Where would the dragon have gone?”

  Joshua frowned. “If I had to make a bet I would say somewhere on our side of the mountain. That’s where most of the people are.”

  “What are we going to do?” asked Gail.

  Joshua looked aggravated. Finding some of Jason’s people awake inside the mountain was going to put a crimp in his plans. He would have to improvise. “We can’t let Gilmreth go on a feeding rampage. Between Karl and I we’ll have to use our powers to attempt to control the dragon.”

  Gail looked up at the snow-covered mountain. There were many useful items she had hoped to pick up from the complex. Now it seemed as if that was out. “Could Jacob and his people have awakened the dragon?”

  “I doubt it,” replied Joshua. “They wanted to destroy Gilmreth shortly after they realized how dangerous the dragon was.”

  “So what do we do?” asked Karl, fidgeting in his saddle.

  “Back to Draydon and finish making our plans to take over the city. When Gilmreth shows up we’ll attempt to use our powers to take control of the dragon. With the dragon we can keep Jacob and his people at bay.”

  The three turned around and began riding back toward Draydon. The fact others were awake in Firestorm Mountain might pose a serious problem for later.

  Joshua’s mind was racing as he adjusted his plans. He had no idea how many of Jason’s people were in the complex. He was also concerned about trying to control Gilmreth without an obedience collar. It was going to be necessary to modify his plans somewhat and now Gilmreth would have to take a larger role. He disliked the thought of dealing with the dragon without the collar but he couldn’t see any other option. It was going to be dangerous but with Karl’s aid he still thought it could be done. If not, there was a good chance they would all die.

  -

  Inside the mountain, Jacob had sensed Joshua’s presence. He quickly called a meeting of the others who were awake. They had awakened twelve more sorcerers as well as twenty technicians and a few security personnel.

  “I just sensed Joshua Grimes a few minutes ago,” reported Jacob. “He’s outside the mountain at the foot of the slope. Karl Lyndon and Gail Strong are also with him.”

  “We need to capture them!” said Glen, seeing an opportunity to end that particular menace once and for all. “I can gather some people and set off down the mountain.”

  Jacob shook his head. “It’s too late. They’ve already turned around and are heading back toward the other side. It’s obvious Joshua must have sensed our presence inside the complex. I seriously doubt if any of them will be returning.”

  “Should we send Cathy and Lynol some help?” asked Eva with concern. “Both Joshua and Karl are pretty powerful sorcerers.”

  “No,” replied Jacob. “Cathy is the strongest sorceress we know of and Lynol isn’t far behind. Cathy has her special amulet created by Loraine and I managed to scan the one Lynol is carrying. She doesn’t realize it but it’s almost as powerful. Those two should be able to handle Joshua and Karl. They also have Braedon and Kristi with them as backups.”

  “I wonder if Gail took anything from the complex.” said Audry Matheson. She was Cathy’s younger cousin. “Gail’s a pretty good technician.”

  “We don’t think so,” replied Jacob. “That’s probably what they were returning for. By now they are familiar with the local area and were probably returning to pick up items they thought they might need.”

  Bryan looked around the assembled group. “We need to fix those big doors leading into the complex where the dragons managed to bust out. Then we can post guards at the front entrance to keep a lookout for any other unwanted visitors.”

  “We also need to search the entire complex and surroundings to make sure there are no more of Adam’s people in stasis,” added Eva.

  Jacob nodded his agreement. “We need to find the stasis facility Joshua, Karl and Gail used. It has to be somewhere close by.”

  “We can fix the doors,” said Thomas Becket, who was one of the chief technicians. “However, we’re going to need some help to move them and get them straightened.”

  Jacob looked over at several of the recently awakened sorcerers. “Brett and Sharon can help you with that. I would suggest you start with the ones leading down to the dragon pens; they’re only bent. The front doors in the main corridor are in terrible shape. Even the temporary structures put there after the dragons escaped are gone.”

  “Rusted away,” replied Thomas. “They were weak to begin with and only designed to keep the radiation out. After this much time it’s not surprising they’re gone.”

  Jacob nodded his understanding. “If the front doors can’t be repaired we can put up something temporarily.”

  Thomas nodded. “We’ll get right on it. Can we wake up some more of my technicians? We could sure use the help. There are some areas of the complex which are going to take some major work to get them functioning again.”

  “Next week,” replied Jacob. “We’ll wake up quite a few more people. By then we’ll have sufficient quarters ready and have a better feel for what we’re going to need done.”

  “What if Gilmreth comes back?” asked Ev
a. “I never did like that dragon.”

  Jacob let out a deep sigh of concern. “That’s one of the reasons I want the front doors repaired or replaced. I want to keep the dragon out of the complex.”

  “Should I place a guard at the front entrance?” asked Sergeant Becker. Becker was regular army and part of the security detail assigned to the complex.

  “Not until we’ve done some work there,” replied Jacob. “Instead, set up a checkpoint where the main tunnel forks off. We’re going to repair those large doors first.”

  Becker nodded. He had three other soldiers currently awake and half a dozen more still in stasis.

  “I wish we could get word to Cathy about Joshua and the others coming back to the mountain,” said Eva. “They could come across them on their way to Draydon.”

  “We need to get some antennas up,” said David Birch who was one of the sorcerers Joshua had awakened. “All the old ones are long gone. We have some radios and it would give us a method of long-range communication.”

  “That will take some work,” replied Thomas. “We’re going to have to run new wiring and everything. Not only that the snow on the peaks is still pretty deep.”

  “We’ll wait until it has melted and it’s safe to go up that high,” said Jacob. “We also want to get a couple of satellites into orbit so we can see how the rest of the world fared.”

  “Do you think there are other survivors?” asked Lori Hasting a female sorceress.

  “If people survived around Firestorm Mountain there’s no reason to believe they didn’t survive elsewhere.”

  “Maybe,” said Glen. “Keep in mind Jason and those with him had a lot to do with lowering the radiation levels and treating the sick and injured.”

  Eva looked over at Jacob. “Maybe we should awaken Loraine. She could repair her amulet. The Stone of Loraine might come in useful in the coming days.”

  Jacob considered Eva’s suggestion. “Cathy’s amulet is nearly as strong. For the time being I don’t see any reason to repair Loraine’s amulet. Let’s get back to work. We have a lot that needs to be done. We also need to watch out for any attempts by Joshua, Karl, and Gail to gain access to the complex.”