The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  And then, it was over. The blue-scaled creature stared down at them with powerful amber eyes. It was the same Sapphire, with the same body and the same appearance, but before, where she could sit on Tarrin's shoulder, now she had to be five hundred spans long! She was the size of the manor house itself! Her head was a fifty spans over their head she craned her neck, then bent it down to look at the two tiny creatures.

  She was gigantic! She was immense! He had never seen anything as big as she was in his entire life.

  "By the river's draw!" Kimmie gasped. "She's a dragon!"

  She was majestic! She was magnificent!

  Dar looked at her in terror.

  She was angry!

  "Tarrin!" she screamed, a voice that shook dust from the walls of the manor, turning her head towards the volcano. "No! He will not harm you!"

  Those unbelievably large wings, bigger than sails, almost as big as a caravel, they unfurled and beat down with such force that it sent a poweful blast of wind over the Were-cat and the human, making Kimmie grab hold of Dar to keep him from being blown off his feet.

  The wind was like a hurricane, pulling at them, threatening to even knock Kimmie over. A shadow passed over them, and the wind began to calm. They looked up and saw in utter amazement that that massive animal was airborne, flying towards the volcano like an arrow fired from a bow.

  "A--A--A dragon!" Dar stuttered in shock, clutching Kimmie so hard his knuckles turned white. "Oh, Goddess! Chopstick and Turnkey!" he gasped. "They're still in the house! They'll destroy it!"

  "They won't," Kimmie said with tears in her eyes. "Don't you understand, Dar? Don't you see? Sapphire said she was different from the drakes, but she didn't know how, or why. This is why! Sapphire is a dragon, Dar, and she didn't even know it! She's been hiding as a drake all this time!"

  "She's going after Tarrin!" Dar gasped.

  Kimmie laughed happily. "Whatever Tarrin may be fighting in that volcano, I think it's about to get its butt kicked!" she said in glee. "What in this world can possibly fight a dragon?"

  With a savage snarl and a growling cry, Tarrin just barely managed to avoid getting his body ripped in half by the slashing rake of claws as long as his legs.

  He was virtually underneath the dragon, and it had reared up to put its vital areas out of his reach, and was now trying to kill him like a cat playing with a capture mouse. But it was no game of fun for the dragon, which growled and hissed and got more and more frustrated as the agile Were-cat proved to be a wily adversary. No matter how hard it tried, no matter how fast it moved, it just couldn't pin its dimunitive foe down in one place long enough to kill it. He was like the most annoying fly in the world, buzzing in the dragon's face but just too fast for it to swat him. It kept him trapped, blocking him off every time he tried to get behind it, back away from it, keeping him jumping in a direction that kept him squarely out in the open.

  He was running out of options here. He was too tired to try to use magic, and the dragon had him right out in the open, where he had no protection, no defenses. He scrambled aside from another claw slash, then dove forward to avoid another. He rolled over and jumped up using all four limbs as that tail came flying at him once again. Landing on all fours, he scuttled forward to avoid another forepaw, and then leaped clear over the other as it raked at him.

  The dragon wasn't trying to crush him now, it was trying to catch him! That's why it had its paws open like that, trying to scoop him up. He scrambled backwards, trying to get out of reach of those forty span long forelegs, give himself more room to maneuver. He jumped clean over its swiping forepaw again, giving himself the opportunity to back up further and further, to where he could turn and run, hoping he could get outside its reach before it leaned forward and got itself back in range.

  The dragon slammed its tail against the rock near him just as Tarrin landed, and the shock shifted the abused, tortured stone. Tarrin stumbled when he hit the ground as the rock slipped out from under him. He caught himself with one arm before he completely fell over, his feet scrabbling on loose rock to try to find purchase. His claws struck a solid foundation and he pushed off, diving forward--

  --right into the palm of the dragon's forepaw.

  Tarrin impacted those tight diamond scales and rebounded off of them, but the fingers closed over him tightly before he went far. His arms pinned to his body and breaking his tail, he struggled against that powerful hold on him, trying to wriggle free. Trying just to breathe. The grip was incredible, but he realized with a wheeze that it could have been much stronger. It could have crushed him like a bug, but it did not.

  It lifted him up, fifty spans off the ground, sixty, eighty, a hundred, and he found himself staring right at the dragon's face. Maybe...maybe this wasn't a bad thing. If it tried to eat him, he could try to kill it, if he could survive those vicious teeth. But he could not look at that massive face and not feel raw terror flow through him like water under a bridge. It was like staring into the eyes of Death Himself.

  "You have been an aggravation," he said in a hissing tone, his voice vibrating Tarrin's teeth with its deep bass power. "But, I haven't had that much fun in centuries," it added in an amused manner. "Were it not for my duty, I would let you go. But alas, that is impossible. But in recognition for your worthiness, I will end you quickly and without pain. Brave souls like you deserve to die with honor. Any last words?" it asked conversationally.

  Tarrin wheezed in his breath as the dragon relaxed its grip on him just enough to breathe. It was going to let him talk!

  "Yes, I have something to say," he said in a pant, staring up at the dragon's eyes. "Audo mosenthi gratta montho--" the dragon suddenly looked at him wildly, and Tarrin felt the tendons in its forepaw bunch to crush him before he could finish-- "compendus sensi ingratia!"

  He finished with a ragged shout, pouring his whole being into the words. Tarrin felt something inside, something appear from something else, move through him, and then leave him, taking some of his own energy with it, energy that left him utterly drained and weak as a kitten. There was no other action, no other indication that anything had happened.

  Then the dragon's grip loosened, and it began to sway like a reed in the wind.

  It had worked! He couldn't believe it! He had cast a Wizard spell!

  The dragon weaved back and forth as if drunk, completely letting go of him as it put both forelegs down to steady itself, shaking its head violently from side to side. Tarrin plummeted the hundred spans to the floor and tried wildly to twist, to orient himself to the ground. He did so, but it was so far to fall! He struck the stone like a musket ball, breaking both of his legs and one of his arms from the tremendous impact of the landing. The sudden icy numbness in his limbs told him that it was an injury caused by an unworked weapon of nature, and that meant that he would not regenerate this time. He lay there in teeth-biting agony, suddenly feeling very cold. There were going to be no more tricks now. He had broken both his legs, and he could no longer move. Unless the Goddess sent him a miracle, this fight was over.

  The dragon staggered backwards, and then it seemed to right itself and glared at him. Then it laughed! "You are full of surprises!" it said. "You learned that spell by listening to me! What talent! What an amazing talent! I am so impressed with you, my worthy foe! If only there was some way to spare you!" Then its face hardened, and it started towards him, its footsteps shuddering the rock beneath him. "But I have my duty, I'm afraid. I can see your legs are broken, so there will be no more running, and I'll not get close enough to let you pull another clever trick on me. But I promised you a quick, clean death, and I am a dragon of my word. Hold still, and it will be over before you know what happened." It was right over him now, looming over him, staring down at him with serious eyes and a resolute expression.

  But he would not hold still. Rising up, raising his one good arm, Tarrin decided that if was going to die, it was going to be on his terms. He reached within, through the Cat, trying to find his connection to the
All. It was going to kill him, but he'd make sure the dragon wasn't going to be there to hinder whoever came looking for him.

  Before he could make his connection to the All, the dome of the chamber shuddered in a strange manner. The rock under him shivered. Then it shuddered again. Dust and stones fell from the domed ceiling, pattering down on the both of them.

  Then the whole roof exploded!

  A cascading avalanche of stone and dust blew out from the roof of the chamber and tumbled down. As if by wild luck, the dragon hunkered down to protect itself from the rain of stones, and it leaned down directly over Tarrin as the terrified Were-cat saw the roof collapsing on top of him. He hunkered down himself and put his good arm over his head, then realized that the rocks that would have hit him were bouncing off the dragon's back. Whether it knew what it was doing or not, it had saved him from being crushed! There was the deafening din of falling stone and choking dust obscuring everything, and still more rock fell from the domed roof, a roof that now had sunlight spilling into it.

  The dome had collapsed!

  The dragon moved, and it moved enough to let Tarrin see the roof above him. What he saw made him gape in absolute awe.

  It was another dragon! A blue one, and its massive claws were tearing the stone roof apart! It had torn a huge hole in the ceiling, and another great chunk of roof fell away and plunged into the lava below. It was tearing the stone apart like it was nothing more than paper! What power!

  With a shriek, it tore enough of the roof open for it to squirm inside, and it began to do so. The dragon over him stared up at this interloper with as much surprise as Tarrin did, clearly not expecting an uninvited guest. It dropped down to the ring of stone, making the entire volcano shudder with its landing. It was fully as big as the red one, but was sleeker and had a narrower snout. It stood facing the scarlet-scaled dragon with flat eyes and a clearly hostile demeanor, squaring off against it, hissing at the red dragon as sparks of lightning danced around its wicked teeth.

  Lightning? Tarrin looked very carefully at this blue dragon, and he saw the sameness of the features.

  It was Sapphire!

  What had they done to her!? Did the Sha'Kar use magic to make her grow? Had they sent her to help him?

  "Get away from him!" Sapphire hissed at the red dragon with fury in her face, her amber eyes boring into the dragon that loomed over Tarrin. "He is mine!"

  "S--Sister!" it said in Sha'Kar. "Is it time? Has it happened?"

  "It has," Sapphire told him with narrow eyes. "Now get away from him! He is clan to me!"

  "Let me explain," the dragon said quickly, raising its forepaws in a mollifying gesture towards her.

  "Wrong answer," Sapphire hissed savagely, and she sucked in her breath.

  Tarrin seemed to understand what was coming. So did the red dragon. Tarrin flattened himself to the ground, looking at her feet--

  --they were being burned. Sapphire wasn't immune to the heat! She was going to die if she stayed in here very long!

  "Sapphire, no!" Tarrin called quickly, desperately, trying to stand up. No more would die. No more! Despite intense pain, he managed to get up on his broken legs, trembling and wobbling dangerously. He raised his arm, the other drooping uselessly at his side. If she got into a fight with the red one, he'd drag her into the lava, and it would fry her! "Sapphire! No! Listen to me!"

  But it was too late. With a thunderclap, a raking cascade of intertwined bolts of lightning issued forth from Sapphire's mouth, raking across the gulf between her and the red. But the lightning didn't touch him, bouncing away from him harmlessly to discharge into the rock and the lava. He felt it tingling under his feet.

  With a shrieking bellow and an unfurling of her wings, Sapphire launched herself at the red dragon, going right over him. The sound of their impact was deafening, shaking the very cauldera as the red was driven back by the blue's furious charge, her claws and teeth tearing gaps in his scarlet scaled armor. It was a clash of titans, as they bellowed and struggled against one another, claws flashing red in the light of the lava, the ground beneath him buckling and shuddering from the two behemoths as they struggled against one another. He stood transfixed by the awful sight, as two beasts from legend flailed at one another with their clawed forepaws, tearing away scales and drawing blood, pushing against one another, maws snapping and jockeying to sink those deadly teeth into the soft underportion of the neck of the other. Sapphire clamped her jaws on the upper portion of the red's neck and wrenched its head to the side as a searing blast of hellfire roared from its mouth in a great gout, pulling its head so that killing fire went harmlessly to the side of her. All he could see were the black singe marks on Sapphire's feet, from where the heat of the place was burning her. She had to get out before the heat killed her! Why wouldn't she listen? The red clamped its forepaws on Sapphire's shoulders and pulled her back with it as it gave ground, backing up towards the lava.

  "No!" Tarrin screamed, feeling the red dragon's concentration finally waver, and the spell blocking him from the Weave dissipate. The red almost had her at the edge, and she didn't realize it! She was going to get killed, and it was his fault! Why wouldn't she leave? She had to leave! There wasn't going to be another Faalken! No, he wouldn't allow it! Nobody else was going to die! In utter panic, Tarrin opened himself completely to the Weave.

  He sensed the change in the Weave immediately, and understood what had happened. It was complete! The Weave was pulsing with magical power now, almost overflowing with it. It was rich in power, so much so that it almost seemed as if the Goddess had poured her very soul into the strands! That power responded to him, washed over him, infused him as he let down every barrier, surrendered his very being up to the power so that it would answer his call.

  "I--said--NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed as the brilliance of the Magelight around him outshone the light from the lava, the light from the sky above. Tarrin was at the center of the Sorcerer's Star, its power picking him up from the rock.

  The power was incredible! It was like the Goddess herself in the strands, and it flowed over him, obeying his every command. It kept coming and coming, beyond every limit he had once had, beyond everything he dreamed possible, beyond his wildest imagination! It was like having the Goddess doing his bidding! He hovered in the air, power flowing through him like blood, expanding his consciousness in ways he never imagined. He could feel the Goddess around him, holding him in her hands, shining her love down on him, and her love brought her power to him, more power than he had ever been able to handle before, power that obeyed his every command. Power that healed the broken legs and arm, rejuvenated his exhausted body and restored him as if he were whole and rested. He was one with the power, and its might was his to command. Not just what power he could hold. All of it. The entire might of the Weave would obey him in that moment, and there was nothing he could not do.

  Now he understood the difference between da'shar and sui'kun. Da'shar had limits. But so long as the sui'kun was in the favor of the Goddess, was doing her will, he did not. It was not he holding that power, it was the Goddess, acting through him, granting the ability to exceed his maximum potential. So long as her will was done through him, he could draw enough power do absolutely anything needed of him.

  If this was what being a god was like, he could understand why Syllis wanted it so badly.

  The two dragons paused in their battle to stare at him in shock, the red but one step from the boiling lava. "STOP THIS NOW!" Tarrin screamed at them in a voice that made the volcano shake. "Let go of her!" he commanded the red dragon with a furious snarl. "Your fight is with me!"

  "Tarrin!" Sapphire gasped, looking at him with a stunned expression. "What are you doing? Run, run quickly! I will keep him from hurting you!"

  The red one gaped at him with a blank stare. And then it laughed.

  It released Sapphire, who just then seemed to understand where she was, backpedalling furiously and pulling her most burned foot off the stone wincingly. Tarrin wrappe
d Sapphire in an invisible weave of Fire and Divine, protecting her from the killing heat, and he blew out a sigh of relief. "Are you insane, Sapphire?" he demanded. "You could have died coming in here!"

  "It would be worth it to save you," she said diffidently, putting her paw back down on the stone, now that it couldn't hurt her.

  The red dragon laughed again, sitting down quite sedately. "If you would have given me the chance to explain, this would not have been necessary," he told her with a chuckle. "The Ward is broken. The Weave is restored. My term of service with the gods stated that my servitude would end when the Ward was no more. It is no more. Therefore, my duty has been fulfilled, and the rules to which I agreed to defend the Firestaff are no longer binding against me." He looked to Tarrin. "I can do whatever I wish now. I'm not forced to fight you now, and I will not. You risked your life to use your magic and defend her, and displayed admirable qualities to me during the battle. Intelligence, courage, tenacity, cunning, amazing resourcefulness, and an almost ferocious will to succeeed. I find you a most noble creature, and I will not fight you now."

  "You-You mean...I win?" Tarrin asked in disbelief.

  "You win," he said with a smile.

  Tarrin felt the power slip away from him. He alighted on the ground, absolutely stunned. All that fighting...and the dragon simply gave up. Because Tarrin had tried to save Sapphire's life.

  Tarrin just couldn't help but laugh. Long and loud, laughing at the dark irony of it all.

  "Now then, since I promise not to hurt you...will you please take this sword out of my muzzle?" the dragon asked in a plaintive tone. "It stings like all fury!"

  Tarrin didn't quite know what to do. He was confused. Mightily confused. The dragon was suddenly a friend? After they tried to kill each other? It seemed almost...jovial. It certainly seemed sincere, and Sapphire wasn't going to attack it again, it seemed. Poor Sapphire. The spell they used on her must have been painful to make her grow that big.