Firestorm Mountain

by Raymond L. Weil

  The young woman turned her head and motioned toward the priests. Several quickly stepped forward and attached manacles to her wrists and ankles.

  -

  The crowd was quiet as they looked around, not sure what to say or do. Several recognized the young girl and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

  “That’s Jan Benson,” said a mother in the crowd. “I was speaking to her only yesterday.”

  “She’s such a sweet girl, I can’t believe she volunteered to be sacrificed to the dragon,” replied another mother. “Something isn’t right here.”

  Looking around, the mothers noticed the temple guards were blocking all the exits from the temple square. “I don’t like this at all,” said Anne Dumas. “This seems too much like how Jalene acted.”

  “I don’t think we can leave,” the other mother replied worriedly.

  -

  Joshua and Karl were standing on each side of the young woman. An hour before Joshua had enacted the dragon spell to summon Gilmreth. With a part of his mind, he was still connected to the dragon and knew it was drawing near. He glanced over at Karl. When Gilmreth arrived would come the dangerous part. There was no guarantee they could actually control the dragon. They had a spell they were going to use and Joshua hoped along with the sacrifice it would be enough to bend the dragon to their will. If not, they would find themselves trapped on top of the temple with a very angry and hungry dragon.

  -

  An hour earlier, Gilmreth had just left his lair when he felt a summons he had not felt for several years. The last person to enact this spell had been Jalene and Gilmreth had ended up feeding upon her. It was one of the best feedings in Gilmreth’s long life. Now the summons was back only this time it came from a human male, one who also wielded the mysterious powers which were a threat to the dragon. However, this summoning spell was not as powerful as those Jalene had used. It did promise a feeding at the temple. Without hesitation, Gilmreth changed direction and began flying toward Draydon. Part of his decision was curiosity and the other hunger. The sacrifices at the temple had always been extremely satisfying.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lynol looked up in shock as they entered Draydon. The temple was lit up and she could hear a steady drum beat. “It’s begun. They must be summoning Gilmreth. I can sense the dragon coming closer.” Lynol could not believe what she was seeing and sensing. It was like a nightmare about to come true. She looked at the others wondering if they realized the danger they all would soon be in.

  “Joshua should know better,” said Kristi, shaking her head. “He’s not strong enough to control that dragon. Gilmreth will kill everyone on top of the temple.”

  “Maybe not,” said Braedon. “Karl’s with him and between the two of them they may have just enough power to command the dragon.”

  Damon brought the wagon to a halt. The streets were strangely empty indicating many of the people were at the temple.

  Cathy stood up and peered at the eerie glow lighting up the center of the city. “We need to get there as quickly as we can or this could end in a disaster.”

  Damon nodded and taking up the reins put the horses back into motion. It would only take them ten or fifteen minutes to reach the center of the city where the temple was.

  Lynol reached down, touching her amulet which was already glowing with a soft white light. Looking at her mother, she saw Cathy’s blue amulet was also glowing.

  Lynol noticed Cathy had a strange look on her face. A look of disbelief which quickly changed into excitement. “Snowden’s coming!”

  “What!” said Kristi, staring in disbelief at Cathy. “I thought all the other dragons were dead.”

  Cathy slowly shook her head. She had long given up hope of ever seeing the white dragon again. “No, somehow Snowden survived. He’s coming to fight Gilmreth.” She was really worried now. Gilmreth was much larger than Snowden. Her face hardened as she concentrated and then she smiled. “Snowden is not alone. He has Braxam with him as well as another powerful sorceress.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Kristi. This was getting stranger every moment. “Braxam survived as well?”

  Who is Braxam?” asked Lynol, feeling lost. She had no idea what her mother was talking about. Gilmreth was the only ancient dragon to have survived all of these long years.

  “Braxam is a brown dragon,” explained Cathy excitedly. “He’s nearly as large as Gilmreth. Snowden says he’s fought Gilmreth in the past and won. This time he intends to kill him.”

  “Are you talking to Snowden?” asked Lynol, her eyes widening.

  “Yes,” replied Cathy with a far away look on her face. “In my time a few of us could speak to and hear the dragons. I was one of those lucky ones.”

  “How smart is Snowden?”

  Cathy grinned. “The dragons were bred to be semi-intelligent. A little brighter than a dog. However, dragons have very long life spans. It’s possible after so much time their intelligence has increased considerably. Snowden may have the intelligence of a young human teenager. He will be immature in some areas and more mature in others from his experiences.”

  “So, we’re going to have two more dragons and another sorceress to help us against Adam’s people and Gilmreth?” said Kalvin.

  Cathy nodded. “Yes and Snowden claims this sorceress is very powerful.”

  Braedon looked thoughtful. “She must have come from some of the people Jason banished from the complex. There were nearly sixty sorcerers and sorceresses who were cast out.”

  “That was a long time ago,” said Cathy. “It would be a miracle if they retained their powers over such a long length of time.”

  “Then how do you explain the sorceress with Snowden?” asked Kristi.

  Cathy didn’t reply.

  “So there are probably more people out there somewhere.”

  “It would seem so,” replied Cathy, looking at Kristi. “We’ll know for sure when we get some satellites up.”

  Lynol looked up and saw they were nearing the center of the city. “How soon before Snowden gets here?” Lynol could sense Gilmreth getting very close. She wondered if the dragon could sense her.

  “Shortly; they’re already on this side of the mountains and dragons can fly very fast.”

  Lynol’s eyes suddenly widened. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me the sorceress is riding Snowden?”

  “Yes, it appears so.”

  Lynol shook her head. Riding a dragon! That was something she had never considered possible. What would it be like to be high up in the air on the back of a dragon with the wind whipping your hair? It was more than she could imagine.

  “We’re going to have to walk from here,” announced Damon as he brought the wagon to a halt. “There’re too many people between us and the temple.”

  -

  “We can tie up there,” said Kalvin, pointing to a large hitching post on the side of the wide street.

  Damon nodded. Normally he would unhitch the horses but they were running short on time. They needed to get to the temple as soon as possible.

  They quickly tied the horses to the hitching post and everyone began climbing down from the wagon. The street was full of people moving toward the temple. Many were talking and some seemed extremely nervous. Damon couldn’t blame them. The last time the temple had been lit up like this human sacrifices were being made to Gilmreth.

  -

  Joshua stood on top of the temple scanning the crowd. His amulet had flared up indicating an approaching danger. He knew it wasn’t Gilmreth. It had to be another sorcerer to affect his amulet this way. “I think the Sylvar woman is about to pay us a visit. Somehow, she must have discovered our presence in Draydon.”

  “How?” asked Gail as she stepped forward to scan the crowd searching for signs of a glowing amulet. “We were careful.”

  “Galvin,” said Karl, his eyes narrowing. “Someone must have mentioned our visit to the village to her.”

  Joshua nodded. “That sounds reasonable.
We were three strangers wearing unusual clothes and we used our abilities a few times while we were there. Someone was bright enough to tip her off.”

  “What do we do?” Gail didn’t like the idea of the Sylvar woman arriving during the ceremony. This had all the makings of a possible disaster.

  “We wait for her. I’m sure she’ll make her presence known. I’ll make her the offer we talked about earlier: free trade between the two sides of the mountain and we won’t interfere with her side if she’ll leave our side alone.”

  “What if she refuses?”

  Joshua looked at Gail. “Then we fight. There are two of us and the dragon. I don’t care how strong she is, she won’t be able to stand up to that.”

  “Assuming you can control the dragon,” Gail reminded Joshua.

  “We’ll know shortly,” Joshua replied, looking upward. “The dragon’s almost here.”

  Up in the air dragon flame flared a deadly red glow. The crowd in the square grew quiet.

  Joshua knew this was the moment. “Behold Gilmreth, the greatest of the ancient dragons,” boomed Joshua, his powers greatly magnifying his voice. Joshua gestured to the others and they all stepped back from the sacrifice. Both Joshua and Karl clasped their amulets, preparing to cast the spell they hoped would bend the dragon to their will.

  The young woman looked upward with a large smile on her face. Raising her arms as high as the manacles would allow her she closed her eyes and waited for the dragon.

  -

  With a roar that echoed through the streets of Draydon, Gilmreth landed on the temple platform. He looked around suspiciously, seeing Joshua and Karl. He dimly remembered them from his time in the remote past when he had first lived in the pens beneath Firestorm Mountain. His yellowish red eyes settled on Joshua sensing he was the one who had cast the summons.

  “Feed Gilmreth,” said Joshua, his amulet glowing brightly. He gestured toward the female chained to the sacrificial platform.

  Gilmreth turned toward the young human woman beneath him. He would feed on the woman first and then deal with the male humans. With a satisfied roar, he folded his great wings around his victim and bent his head to feed. He felt invigorating strength begin to flow into him. The lifeforce in this one was strong.

  -

  “Now!” said Joshua, focusing his powers on Gilmreth’s mind and chanting the spell which should bend the dragon to his will. A lattice of silver energy began to build between Joshua’s hands as he made the necessary gestures to create the spell.

  Karl was casting the same spell and together that should be enough to ensnare the dragon’s mind while he was feeding. Around the two a flickering glow appeared as the spell manifested and then was hurled toward the dragon.

  Joshua felt the spell strike Gilmreth and bounce off. The dragon stopped feeding and stared at Joshua and Karl with a deadly glare and then bent down to continue feeding.

  “What happened?” asked Karl, suddenly feeling frightened of the dragon.

  “The damn spell didn’t work, that’s what happened,” snapped Joshua as he thought desperately of what to do next. He was certain when Gilmreth was finished with the girl he would turn and attack him and Karl. “When the dragon attacks us hit him with your strongest bolt of energy. I’ll do the same. Maybe we can use pain to induce the dragon to obey.”

  -

  Several minutes passed and then Gilmreth was finished feeding. He raised his head and unfolded his wings. All that was left of his victim was a small smear of red on the stone of the sacrificial platform. With a massive jet of dragon flame Gilmreth turned toward Joshua and Karl. A loud roar of anger reverberated throughout the city as the dragon took a step toward his next two victims.

  -

  “Now!” shouted Joshua as he hurled a white globe of pure energy at the dragon’s chest. Karl did the same with a red ball of energy.

  The two energy balls struck Gilmreth and exploded, causing the dragon to stagger back a step. When the energy dissipated, the dragon stood unharmed gazing with eyes that could kill at Joshua and Karl.

  “Now what?” yelled Karl, his fear starting to take over. “We need to get inside the temple!”

  Gilmreth launched dragon flame at Joshua which he barely managed to deflect away. “He’s not going to give us time to escape.” Joshua looked around and saw that all of the priests and Gail had already fled from the top of the temple leaving him and Karl alone. With a sinking heart, Joshua knew he was about to die. He wondered how Jalene and Adam had managed to control the dragon and how the Sylvar woman ever managed to defeat Gilmreth.

  -

  Lynol, Cathy, Kristi, Braedon, Damon, and Kalvin were already inside the temple and climbing the steps toward the top of the temple. They paused when they saw Gail coming down the steps toward them.

  “Hello, Gail,” said Cathy with an icy voice. “Things not going well?”

  “Cathy!” stammered Gail in shock, recognizing Jason’s favorite student. “Joshua and Karl are on top of the temple with Gilmreth. They tried using a spell to control the dragon but I think it failed. The dragon’s going to kill us all.”

  “Go down to the front entrance and stay there,” ordered Cathy in a commanding voice. “We’ll deal with you later. First we have to take care of Joshua, Karl, and the dragon.”

  “Gilmreth will kill all of you,” screamed Gail as she fled down the stairs.

  “Not too brave, is she?” said Kristi, grasping her amulet.

  The temple seemed to shake slightly and they could hear Gilmreth’s angry roar reverberating through the corridors and rooms.

  “That dragon doesn’t sound too happy,” said Braedon, looking at the others nervously.

  “Let’s get up there,” said Cathy. “Snowden and Braxam are nearly here.”

  The six hurried up the stairs and finally exited on top of the temple. They saw Joshua and Karl squared off against the dragon, hurling globes of energy trying to keep Gilmreth at bay.

  “Looks as if you have a problem,” said Cathy, in a loud voice so Joshua would hear.

  Joshua glanced in Cathy’s direction, his eyes widening. “Cathy Matheson, I should have known.” He paused as he barely deflected a jet of dragon flame which threatened to incinerate him. “Are you going to just stand there or are you going to help? If we don’t stop Gilmreth he’ll destroy everything!”

  “Only if you agree to surrender to me afterward,” replied Cathy, holding the others back. “This ends here and now!”

  Joshua hesitated and was nearly burned again as Gilmreth took another step closer. “Agreed!”

  -

  Gilmreth gazed at the newcomers, recognizing two of them. One he recalled from his time beneath the mountain many years ago and the other was the one who had hurt him on this very temple and then followed him to his lair where she put him into a deep sleep. Gilmreth felt the anger flow over him. In his ravaged and demented mind he knew he could not defeat six humans with powers. Looking at the two who had offered him the sacrifice he forced a thought to form in their minds. If they would help him against the newcomers he would not harm them.

  -

  Joshua and Karl suddenly rushed to Gilmreth’s side and turning around, launched balls of energy at Kristi and Cathy. Gilmreth sent a jet of hot flame toward Lynol.

  “Watch out!” shouted Braedon as he used his abilities to deflect one of the energy balls which exploded against the side of the temple, knocking a smoking hole in the stone blocks.

  -

  A sudden shriek sounded above them and two dragons landed in front of Lynol and Cathy. One was white and the other brown. Both dragons had riders and as they dismounted they hurriedly removed several bundles and the dragons’ riding harnesses.

  “Hello Cathy,” sent Snowden, turning his head and large eyes toward his long lost human friend. “Braxam and I will take care of Gilmreth. You and your friends take care of the other two sorcerers. The woman with me is Ashley and she is very powerful. She is also my friend.”

&n
bsp; “I’ve missed you,” said Cathy with tears in her eyes. “It’s been so long.”

  “I’ve missed you as well,” replied Snowden, turning his eyes toward Gilmreth. “Now it is time for Gilmreth to answer for the evil he has committed against humans and dragon kind.” With a defiant roar, Snowden launched himself into the air with Braxam close behind.

  -

  Gilmreth had been so focused on what was happening on the temple platform he hadn’t sensed Snowden and Braxam’s approach. He now launched himself into the air to go on the attack. He was determined after tonight he would be the only dragon in existence and he would enjoy feeding on the other two after he ripped their beating hearts out of their chests.

  -

  In the large temple square, the people erupted into panic upon seeing two more dragons appear. Many turned and ran screaming down the many large streets connecting the square with the rest of the city. Even the temple guards fled upon seeing what was happening upon the temple platform. Many planned on leaving Draydon and never returning. One dragon was bad enough but three would quickly become a nightmare.

  Tables were overturned and several people stumbled into the fire pits. Screams dominated the square as everyone tried to get away before the dragons descended upon them in a feeding frenzy.

  -

  In the flickering light above the temple, the dragons dueled. Gilmreth was trying to use his greater size and strength against his two opponents. Braxam was only slightly smaller than Gilmreth and Snowden, because of his smaller size, was faster and more agile. Time after time when Gilmreth thought he had a grip on Braxam Snowden appeared, clipping one of Gilmreth’s wings causing him to release the brown dragon. All three were using dragon fire but their deadly fiery breath had little effect.

  -

  On the temple platform, Joshua and Karl stared upward in disbelief. For a moment Joshua had thought they had an advantage by siding with Gilmreth but with the appearance of Snowden and Braxam all of that had changed.

  “Place your amulets on the platform,” ordered Cathy, her right hand holding her blue amulet. All the others were holding their amulets as well and staring coldly at the two associates of Adam. Tonight the last threat from Adam’s group was going to end one way or another.