“No,” Tallindra, the sidhe woman, interjected. “You must be mistaken. Tiberan came through Glaeghindee less than two months ago. He was very much alive.”
“You must be mistaken,” Yinkle said. She and Cory Piper had joined the group. “I saw him die.”
Tallindra shook her head. “Perhaps a different man, then. A copper-skinned seelie with hair the color of sunlight. He traveled with a wolven woman named Keira and a tiger. Ghost, he called him.”
Arda ran her fingers through her hair. It had to be the same man Aradma had told her about. “It can’t be,” the paladin said. “But if he was with Ghost and Keira, it must have been him. How is that possible?”
“Valkrage didn’t kill him,” Kristafrost chimed in. They all turned to look at the gnome. “His magic threw him forward in time. Ezzie and I found him right before we found you.”
“He was with you when we found you at the top of the tower!” Arda exclaimed.
Kristafrost nodded. “He didn’t want Aradma to know. He left in secret.”
Arda considered it for a moment. Kaldor had been with them. He must have seen Aradma with the wizard. It made sense. After all this time, he was still alive. Her heart ached at the thought of Aradma imprisoned deep within the dark places of the earth, lost and alone and not knowing that Kaldor was dead, or her first love had returned to the world.
“None of this is important!” Flolum interjected again, his voice rising in volume and pitch. “You must all leave, now! Artalon is ours, and only King Donogan’s people are our guests.”
“It is not my intent to harm you,” Athra replied before anyone else could respond, “but let there be no pretense between us. We all know that Artalon holds power that could be used against the gods. I urge you to stand aside and give me the tower. You may have the rest of the city, but I claim God Spire.”
Flolum laughed. “Of course you do. No.”
“We agree,” Tindron stated. “Artalon cannot be handed over to the gods. You gnomes made this city—the blame lies with you. Valkrage revealed the Kairantheum’s history to me. The high elves will take responsibility for Artalon and ensure it is never used. It is too dangerous. The gods protect us from the Void, and that must not be interfered with.”
“The gods exist,” Anuit snapped, “because your people made the Kairantheum.”
“To protect Ahmbren!” Tindron repeated. “We cannot risk you weakening this world’s defenses by tinkering with divine space-time.”
“I will take this city,” Athra declared, “by force if necessary. My brothers and sisters in the pantheon have given me their armies.”
“No,” the Matriarch replied. “Rin and Soorleyn will not suffer the Goddess of Civilization to rule over us.”
Athra whirled and stared at the Matriarch. Arda thought that if her face could show expression in that moment, it would have been enraged surprise. “You betray me?”
The Matriarch shrugged. “I speak for Rin. She never liked you.”
Athra turned to King Leiham. “Modhrin promised me the kelds…” She sounded unsure now.
King Leiham shrugged. “I’m here to pledge my support to the Lady Arda,” he remarked. “And the good and faithful people of Hammerfold, who Modhrin favors among the humans.”
Arda regarded the dwarf in surprise. “I have no intention of turning Artalon over to your god.”
King Leiham grinned. “He didn’t ask for it.”
“He plays a dangerous game,” Athra said.
“We will destroy the city and sink it beneath the waters once more,” Tindron threatened, “before we allow anyone to use its power.”
King Donogan held up his hands. “Please, let us avoid killing each other. Perhaps we should reconvene after we have rested.”
Flolum nodded. “Yes. Killing is bothersome work. I too would prefer to avoid it if possible.”
Thorkhan snorted and walked back to the rowboat. Athra, Seonna, and Tahim followed.
“Have a care,” Tindron warned them. “Valkrage was my mentor. He taught me magic only the Archdragon’s incarnation could know. Do not make the mistake of thinking I cannot destroy this city.” He and Tallindra transformed into light and rose into the air, streaming back to their camp.
“Well,” King Leiham stated. “That didn’t go well at all. When do we eat?”
Flolum turned to the dwarven king. “As long as you’re here to defend the city, and not take it, then your army is welcome to join Donogan’s.”
Leiham grinned. “Excellent!”
As the dwarven army entered and intermingled with the human troops, Arda had a bad feeling that this was only the beginning of a long, long bloodbath.
At the same time, a second underlying sense of doom swallowed the first.
The Black Dragon is coming.
11 - Two Souls
Glavlund sat at the foot of the Ice Mountains on the frozen beaches of the White Sea. The Glavlunders had conical tents of tanned hide stretched over bone and wooden poles. The brown-skinned villagers gathered to witness the arrival of the three strange companions. Tiberan sat comfortably atop Cloudpaw with Keira in front of him.
She hadn’t spoken two words to him since they had shared the animal link. When he lifted her on the bear and put his hands around her waist, he had felt her tense. He smelled desire, confusion, and anger in her scent, all mixed into a confounding roil. The notes of longing were clear now. He didn’t know why he hadn’t smelled it before. He had been too lost in his own brooding.
Once she had settled on the bear’s back, he had released his hands from her hips and let them rest on his thighs. She leaned forward slightly, and they rode in silence.
I think she is angry with you, Ghost told him.
Certainly, Cloudpaw agreed. You have offended your mate.
She’s not my mate, Tiberan thought back in irritation.
But she could be, Ghost replied.
I am not seeking a mate, Tiberan insisted. She was a cub to me.
She is no cub, Ghost repeated. She is not the child you knew years ago.
It wasn’t years for me.
That doesn’t matter, Ghost replied. Tiberan felt the tiger’s amusement through the bond. It was for her.
They stopped in the center of the tent village, and Keira immediately hopped off Cloudpaw. She stood silently while Tiberan and the rest of the hunting party dismounted.
An older man approached them, with graying hair and lines over his face marking him in his early fifties.
“Who is this that commands the loyalty of the white bear?” he asked. “What kind of man can do such a thing?”
A murmuring rose among the people. “What manner of cat is this? Is it a faerie creature?”
One of the women spat, “That is no faerie beast.”
Tiberan spread his hands open, palms facing the man. “I am Tiberan of the seelie,” he introduced himself. “The tiger is Ghost, who has traveled with me from the summer lands in the jungles of Vemnai. The woman at my side is Keira. Do not be alarmed when she takes the manner of a wolf, for she is wolven, and I count her as friend and companion. The bear I call Cloudpaw, and only recently have I met him.”
“He has a way with beasts, my chief,” Henriki said. “He sought us out, asking we bring him to you, master Illeski. He has ill news that you should hear.”
“What are they saying?” Keira asked. Irritation at having to speak to Tiberan tinged her voice.
“I am making introductions,” Tiberan replied, “and I have warned them of your impulsive displays of the wolf inside you.”
“Impulsive?!” she protested incredulously. “Displays?! It was just the one time. Why would you say something so mean?” She looked up at him with fire in her eyes.
The Glavlunders stopped to watch her outburst. The men chuckled as the two of them stared each other down.
“What is this?” an elder woman approached. She was like Illeski in that age had not yet made her weak, but gray hair and deepening lines on her face g
ave her the authority of many winters.
“Esteri,” Illeski greeted her. “They are from the southern lands, an elf and a wolven. And the tiger and bear are their companions.”
“Yes, I can see that,” she responded. “Why are they here?”
“We seek a home in the wilds, away from Empire’s realms,” Tiberan said. “And we bring warning of an ancient enemy coming to your lands. If you accept us, we will help defend against them.”
“He speaks our tongue,” Esteri remarked with a raised eyebrow.
“And the tongue of beasts,” Illeski added. “He will make a strong addition to the Hunters Circle. The girl too. She has already shown her worth when she takes on the mantle of the wolf.”
Tiberan looked sharply at the elder man. “I never hunt an animal I befriend,” he said. “That’s not hunting—that’s slaughter.”
“He is honorable too,” Esteri observed. Then: “The girl will go to the Hearthmakers Circle. They cannot both be hunters.”
“They are not mates,” Henriki chimed in. “He has said as much.”
Esteri chuckled. “Silence, husband. If they are to survive the winter they must add the warmth of their fires to a hearth, and you know a hearth begins with two, a hunter and a hearthmaker.”
“Henriki speaks the truth,” Tiberan confirmed. “We are not mates. She has the spirit of a hunter in her.”
“What are you saying?” Keira asked.
“And,” he continued in Glavlundic, “she cannot speak your language.” He turned to Keira and spoke once more in Roentian, the common language of the Nine Realms. “They are discussing how we might enter the tribe,” he explained. “They have two circles, one for hunters and the other for hearthmakers. I have said that you have the soul of hunter.”
Her face remained cool, but the air of hostility left her. He smelled the anger in her scent diminish. She nodded crisply.
“Nevertheless,” Esteri said after he finished speaking to Keira, “she will join the Hearthmaker Circle, at least until such a time she learns our tongue. But that is for later. Come. Let us go to the moot tent and hear your warnings.”
“Troglodytes,” Illeski said with disbelief in his voice after hearing Tiberan’s story. “It cannot be true. It is unwise to spout such warnings for sport.”
They had crammed into a large tent with barely room to move as many people filled its space. The Glavlunders all wanted to hear the words of the visitors, and those that could not fit inside filled in around the outside of the tent walls.
Tiberan regarded Illeski calmly. “It is true,” he replied. “The ancient people of the Black Dragon have risen to the surface. I don’t know why, but they were headed north.”
“Do you mean to say they come for us?” Esteri asked. Her eyes glinted in intensity, and Tiberan appreciated the precision in her questioning.
“I cannot say,” Tiberan replied. They had only gone north into the plains, but Glaeghindee was now five hundred miles to the south. They could have gone anywhere. “I only know they moved north from the Icecap Forest into the Ice Plains.”
“It is good that you warned us,” Esteri confirmed. “They may not be coming for our village here, but here is of no consequence. Had you been a month later in your warning, you would have found no village to warn.”
Tiberan cocked his head quizzically. “I’m not sure I understand your meaning,” he said.
“We only gather as a village during the summer months,” Illeski explained. “It is Hearthmoot, where all the hearths come together. In a few weeks’ time, we will scatter across the Ice Plains, hunting and living as smaller bands of individual hearths, each with one hunter, one hearthmaker, and their children.”
“You face the winter alone?” Tiberan asked.
“Not necessarily,” Esteri replied. “But we spread out, sometimes alone, and sometimes in small groups. But we never stay together, until we all gather again for Hearthmoot at Firetide. We exchange stories, and sometimes new hearths are formed and old hearths dissolve before winter’s return.”
“The point being,” Illeski stated, “that soon we’ll spread out over the plains. If the troglodytes rise to the surface during the winter—”
“—the ground will be frozen,” Henriki interrupted. “How can they break through?”
“Peace, husband!” Esteri chided him. “They can claw through rocks with their chthonic magic; they can break through ice.”
“As I was saying,” Illeski continued. “If they come up across the plains during the winter, they’ll find our hearths scattered and alone.” Then he resumed his skeptical air. “If what you’re saying is true.”
“Indeed,” Esteri agreed. “We will be on our guard, but time will reveal the truth of the matter. In the meantime, if you wish to make a home with us, you must learn our ways and prove your worth.”
Tiberan nodded. “What must we do?” Then his eyes narrowed. Something in his instincts caused his skin to crawl. He smelled their scents change as they exchanged glances that were meant to be secretive. He crossed his arms across his chest. “There’s more,” he said. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
They grew still.
Illeski finally broke the silence. “You are not the only elf to come to our Hearthmoot.”
Tiberan considered his words. He never thought he was the only elf. Tallindra had spoken like she knew these people, and he had assumed that the sidhe had contact with them over the years. Perhaps not. But if an elf coming was unusual… “Who was it who came before me?” he asked.
This time, Esteri answered. “There was one other who visited the Hearthmoot, in many years past, during the time of our fathers’ fathers, or their fathers before them. An elf man. A man of magic. He was called Valkrage.”
* * *
Keira couldn’t understand anything of what was being said. The tension seemed to ebb and flow, but she never felt as if they were in danger with these people. The elders seemed intent on what Tiberan said, and they were obviously concerned about something. She assumed it was the troglodytes.
Then she heard a word from the elder woman she did understand.
Valkrage.
Her eyes widened in alarm, and she glanced up at Tiberan’s face. He too seemed surprised, but his face concealed it better.
She could tell the council was concluded when people began filing out of the tent.
“What was it they said about Valkrage?” she asked Tiberan.
“Only that he’s been here,” he said thoughtfully, concern in his voice. “They wouldn’t say why.”
“So what happens now?” she asked.
He regarded her with an embarrassed expression. “They’re splitting us up into different circles,” he said. “I told them you are a hunter, but the hearthmother wants to see for herself first. She wants to teach you as a hearthmaker, at least until such a time you can speak the language.”
Suddenly her irritation at him vanished. He was the only friend she had in this place that she could talk to. “No!” she insisted. “I don’t want to be separated. We’re in this together.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You need time away from me,” he said. “I see it in your eyes. And it would do you good to learn what it is to live here on your own terms.”
Her face flushed hot with anger. How dare he make decisions for me. Oh, Tiberan, you fool. I can’t escape you.
He shook his head quickly, apologetically. “Keira, I won’t abandon you here,” he told her. “But for now, if we’re to find a home here, please go with them and learn what they have to teach. I won’t forget you have the spirit of hunter.”
She calmed herself by taking a deep breath. “I understand,” she said. “I trust you. I know you won’t abandon me.”
He nodded. He was about to turn away and follow the men out when he stopped. He regarded her for a moment. “You’re upset with me,” he stated. “I did not mean to pry into your heart.”
The embarrassment returned, and she folded her a
rms across her chest. A flurry of furious thoughts rushed through her mind, and her lips pressed tightly together to hold them in. I hate that you saw it! You’re not over her, but now you know if you called me to you, I would come. I hate that I am powerless before you, you foolish man. When I held you that night, when you slept, I fell in love. Gods damn it, I fell in love and it’s a curse. I would have waited until your heart healed, but now you know, and I feel like such a weak, foolish girl. Call to me when you are healed. Call to me when you are whole. And yet, now that you know, you haven’t called me to you… that makes me feel even worse. Please don’t call me to you, for I won’t say no. Please don’t not call me to you, for I can’t bear to not have you. I can’t think straight when I’m around you, and my heart wants to burst and die.
She was about to give an angry retort when the elder woman tugged at her elbow with her hand. Interrupted in her flustered moment, she turned and looked into the woman’s wrinkled face. She was struck suddenly by a feeling of kindness and understanding, even though they didn’t speak the same language. The hearthmother saw Keira as a woman, and an unspoken bond flowed between them. Her cheeks and eyes showed compassion, and she just shook her head once as if to tell Keira she shouldn’t say what it was she was about to.
Keira was stunned at the way the hearthmother touched her without words. She allowed herself to be led away with the other women.
They wasted no time in teaching her. As soon as they were back in the hearthmother’s tent, the old woman pointed at herself, saying, “Esteri.”
“Esteri,” Keira repeated. She pointed at herself. “Keira.”
“Keira,” Esteri tasted the name, and nodded, saying something further that sounded like gibberish.
The woman proceeded to then point at things and name them. Keira was a quick study, and Esteri only had to repeat something once before Keira remembered.
Thus the following days proceeded. Keira was shown things and given the words for those things. They didn’t just sit and point, however. They included her in the daily life of a hearthmaker. When the hunters brought back fish, she learned not only how to prepare and salt them, but how to describe what it was she did. Each task came with a new set of vocabulary.
When Dragons Die- The Complete Trilogy Box Set Page 96