Legends of the Dragonrealm: Volume 04

by Richard A. Knaak

  Yssa took his cue. "That's right. You take care of them, my love. I'll see to everything here. Gentlemen . . ."

  The two men with Trenlen allowed themselves to be led away, the offer of a drink no doubt the deciding factor. Yssa watched them for a moment, then hurried back inside.

  She caught sight of the eternal just as he stepped through a blink hole. The enchantress called out, but Darkhorse did not look back. The moment he was completely through, the hole vanished.

  Damn him! What does he think he doing? Yssa rushed to the empty stall seeking some trace of her companion, but the huge stallion had left no sign. She blew very well where he had gone and the knowledge made her shiver. Poor Miklo had entered the palace and he had never come out. The memory of the last seconds of their link still remained with her. A sense of falling and falling without end . . . then nothing.

  Darkhorse was far more powerful than lost Miklo, but that did not mean the magical stallion was immune from danger. That had already been proven to her. More important, Darkhorse did not understand Zuu and its monarch the way Yssa, who had lived here for many years, did. Yssa was old enough to recall Prince Blane and the old king. Lanith was neither his brother nor his father. He had become a driven man, capable of anything if it furthered his goal, and now he appeared to have the power to back his obsessive nature.

  I have to talk with Trenlen! He might have a suggestion! The enchantress rushed back to the entrance, wondering how she could interrupt him without raising the suspicions of the two men he had invited for a drink. With Darkhorse gone, Yssa supposed that she could tell them that their mounts were now accessible. If they were still in so great a hurry, perhaps they would forgo the rest of their drink . . .

  Unfortunately, she had scarcely stepped outside when she sensed the nearby presence of at least two sorcerers. Not Saress, whom Yssa knew too well, but a pair of less competent ones. They had some power, though. The enchantress tensed. Ponteroy, perhaps. He was the only other senior member of the Magical Order that Yssa had any respect for. The man was an overdressed dandy, but he did have skill of a sort . . . and at this moment he was much too close for comfort.

  Reaching into her pouch, Yssa checked for the medallion. Its presence did not do much to comfort her. She found it highly suspicious that the two sorcerers she sensed were closing on her general vicinity from opposite directions. Perhaps she had been wrong to think the medallion had been strong enough to shield both Darkhorse and herself.

  Whatever the reason, she had to leave quickly. Yssa did not want to endanger Trenlen. Lanith dealt harshly with spies.

  She contemplated transporting herself away, but decided that doing so would do more to reveal her presence. The medallion had its limits. Yssa looked around, studying the vicinity. Better to lose herself among the evening crowds. Her illusion still held, so even Ponteroy, who had seen her once in the past, would not recognize her.

  A busy inn a short distance down the street seemed the perfect destination. Yssa walked casually toward it, trying not to look around any more than what would be normal. The two sorcerers were very nearby. Now she sensed that one was definitely Ponteroy, his presence ever tinged by a dark, almost oily aura. It was hard not to underestimate him because of his appearance.

  The inn was as crowded as the enchantress had hoped it would be. The tone was slightly more subdued than she recalled from her years past here, but that was not surprising considering the current situation. Lanith might have his people stirred up for war, but that did not mean that they did not contemplate the possible results of that war on their own time. Yssa knew that the majority of Zuu's inhabitants preferred the peaceful life. They were always willing to defend themselves or a cause they believed in, but conquest was not a national goal. That was a part of their kingdom's nomadic past. Only Lanith dreamed of creating an empire, but then, Lanith was king and in Zuu that was enough for the people. He commanded and they obeyed.

  Locating a seat deep in the common room, Yssa did her best to look like a weary traveler. A serving woman glanced her way but did not immediately come over, more concerned, it seemed, with the male customers. Yssa, who had plied such a trade for a time, grimaced briefly. Men and women in Zuu might be more or less equal, but personal prejudices were rampant. She would be lucky if any of the serving women came by soon.

  Even among so many people, it was not difficult for her to sense the presence of the nearby sorcerers. They were not trying to shield themselves, which possibly meant that they were not actually after her. Yssa hoped that was the case, but their path continued to hint otherwise. Now they were both so near that she almost expected to see one of them walk through the inn door.

  A huge woman carrying a tray stepped in front of her. "Do you want food or drink?"

  Ignoring the serving woman's flippant tone, Yssa replied, "I want some ale." Her eyes darted back to the door. "Some bread, too."

  "I'm not certain about the ale, darling, but they'll certainly serve you bread in the dungeons."

  The enchantress stared into the eyes of the serving woman. "Hello, Yssa," smirked the tall, plain figure.

  She felt an invisible web fall upon her, a web of sorcery Yssa immediately knew had been designed to sap her of her strength. It would have worked, too, but the ploy was so typical of her adversary that even without forethought Yssa was prepared for it. Before the web could completely settle, Yssa vanished.

  She reappeared an eyeblink later in an alley not very far from the inn. The maneuver had been a risky one and only Yssa's comprehensive knowledge of Zuu had prevented her from possibly materializing in a wall. Such swift transportation spells were ever risky, especially those cast in the midst of danger . . . and there was no danger greater to Yssa than Saress.

  I overestimated myself. She had evaded Saress for so very long that she had not sufficiently taken into account the other's skills. Yssa had told Darkhorse that the other sorceress might be a little stronger than she, but what she had failed to add was that Saress was also more practiced. Saress was at least a hundred years old, and it was said that at one time she had even convinced Azran Bedlam to reveal some of his secrets to her.

  The alley was empty and Yssa sensed no sorcerers nearby, but she knew better than to believe that she was safe. The pair she had noted had possibly been decoys designed to keep her from noticing a shielded and disguised Saress. Now all three of them would be shielded. Worse, one of them had to be Ponteroy, who also could be quite devious. Saress would not waste her time working with the less competent spellcasters. She had been hunting for Yssa for far too long now to take such chances.

  Hoping that the medallion would shield her to some extent, the disguised sorceress leaped to a new location. This time when she appeared, vertigo nearly overtook her. Yssa leaned against the wall of an elaborate house belonging to one of King Lanith's own generals, a veteran named Belfour who had been an admirer of hers when she had worked as a serving woman. Yssa often thought that it would have been better if Belfour had become king, he being remotely related to Lanith.

  According to her sources, Belfour was supposed to be out in the field drilling His Majesty's armies, which was the reason she had chosen his estate for a momentary respite. Yssa doubted that Saress would expect her to use the home of so august a person as General Belfour. More likely the other sorceress would still be searching the vicinity of the inns and the grand marketplace.

  It would have made sense to depart Zuu entirely and return to the safety of her father's domain, but Yssa was not quite ready to abandon Darkhorse despite his having left her. Of course, by this time the shadowy stallion should have rescued Aurim Bedlam and departed the kingdom for Penacles, but Yssa suspected that such was not the case. First, she was fairly certain that Darkhorse would have come back for her. Second, the confrontation with Saress had been too well executed to have been spur of the moment. Someone had been watching out for them.

  The enchantress recalled her own words to Darkhorse. An intelligent force. She stil
l recalled the first time she had sensed it. Never in her life had she felt such a peculiar, unsettling presence . . . although now that Yssa had spent some time around Darkhorse, she realized that there was something about the stallion that reminded her of Lanith's creature.

  That was impossible, though. Everyone knew that there was nothing in the Dragonrealm like Darkhorse.

  "So what do I do now?" she muttered. For years, Yssa had depended only on herself. She had not had to worry about others. Now she feared for a companion not even human. "You! What are you doing here?"

  Startled, Yssa whirled around. Two soldiers, obviously members of the general's household guard, approached her with swords drawn. Yssa cursed herself for a mindless idiot. Of course they would be on duty even if their master was away. Being confronted by Saress so soon after Darkhorse's disappearance had left her much too befuddled for her own good.

  She was not too worried, however. Swords might be a threat to most, but not to a skilled spellcaster. As the pair closed in on her, Yssa stared at their weapons.

  The blades twisted, quickly intertwining with one another. Both men stumbled to a halt, tugging on their weapons. The enchantress concentrated, abandoning her latest location for the only one left that she believed to be safe. It frustrated her to keep running, but that was all that was left to her for now.

  General Belfour's estate faded, to be replaced a moment later by thick forest. Yssa was back in the land of Dagora, her father's domain. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  The sigh became a startled gasp as a hand took hold of her by the shoulder. She tried to vanish again, but nothing happened. Yssa tried one more time with the same results.

  Her captor spun her around.

  It had been quite some time since she had seen him, but Yssa could never forget Cabe Bedlam.

  "I come here searching for my son and Darkhorse and find you instead. What are you doing here?" His expression indicated that he was not at all pleased to see her again.

  The sorceress sought to regain her composure. She gave him the same smile that had enchanted so many without magic, but this time the results were not what she hoped. Cabe Bedlam was not at all moved by her beauty and her manner.

  Belatedly, Yssa recalled that she still wore the illusion. He did not even know who she was, much less what she looked like. Seeing no reason to continue her masquerade, the enchantress dropped the illusion.

  "You!" Bedlam's expression tightened further, as if he had suddenly found himself touching something rather foul. "Tori, isn't it?"

  Rather disappointed in his lackluster reaction to her identity, Yssa did not immediately reply. The sorceress had changed since the last time she had met him, although admittedly their prior confrontation had been a short one. Perhaps this was simply a side that she had not noticed. Yssa was not certain that she cared for it.

  "Darkhorse went looking for my son, who was supposed to be somewhere in Penacles. Darkhorse never came back with him and when I searched for both, I found no trace of their presence. It took some doing, but I tracked my shadowy friend to this general region . . . only instead of him, I sensed you."

  "You couldn't. The medallion—"

  Cabe's gaze cut off her protest. "I've the experience and knowledge of two lifetimes, although I can't expect you to understand what I mean. Sometimes it helps. Now, I'll ask you this once. What's happened to them? Some notions have been running through my imagination, but I'm hoping that you'll tell me I'm wrong, Tori."

  Under his intense scrutiny, any thought of seduction faded. Only one thing interested Cabe Bedlam now. Yssa saw no reason to hold back. The master sorcerer was probably the only one who could really help her. "Lanith has your son . . . and I think he might also have Darkhorse."

  "Tell me."

  She did, trying her best not to leave anything out that might be of importance. The enchantress spoke of Suess and her masquerade, of Darkhorse's discovery and his determination to rescue Aurim as soon as possible, and of her own role in the situation. She ended with the shadow steed's disappearance and her narrow escape from the other spellcasters.

  Yssa kept back only the truth about her origins. Knowing how Cabe Bedlam felt about her father, it made more sense than ever to avoid revealing the secret she had kept hidden so long.

  As Yssa explained, Cabe Bedlam's expression grew so grim that the enchantress feared that some of his frustration and anger would spill onto her. Yssa did not relish facing the might of the strongest sorcerer in the land. Fortunately, Cabe's gaze finally shifted from her to the west . . . where Zuu lay.

  "Damn Lanith . . . what right does he have to my son? What right does he have to conquest? All I've ever wanted for the Dragonrealm is peace!"

  Knowing he required no answer from her, Yssa took a step away from the robed sorcerer. Although Cabe Bedlam's voice was still quiet, she could sense the energy building around him, sorcerous energy that he would eventually have to unleash somehow. Yssa had a suspicion that it would not be long, either.

  "You didn't see Aurim in Zuu, did you?"

  "No. I only know what I told you. Trenlen's daughters saw him."

  "Who's this Trenlen, anyway? Why did he help you?"

  Answering those questions meant treading in dangerous territory, but Yssa did the best she could. "Someone I know from when I still lived there. He doesn't care for what the king is doing. Neither do his daughters."

  Cabe clearly knew that she had not told him everything, but fortunately, he chose not to pursue the matter. "Do you remember where it was Aurim was supposed to be?"

  "Yes." She described the location, but he seemed dissatisfied.

  "Be silent for a moment. I'll try something." Cabe shut his eyes before the enchantress could reply. Energy continued to gather around him.

  Yssa sensed a spell, probably a probe since she noted no changes around them. The sorcerer was seeking the mind of his son.

  Moments later Cabe opened his eyes, frowning. "Hard to say, but I think I know where they are. Strange, though . . ." "What?"

  "Darkhorse . . . it was as if he were in two nearby but different locations." The master mage waved off his 'own comment. "Zuu reeks with sorcery. It's even worse than we thought. Once I rescue them, we'll have to talk to the Gryphon. Lanith's gone too far."

  "What are you going to do?" Yssa had a notion, but prayed that she was wrong.

  Looking at her as if she should have understood immediately, Cabe replied, "I'm going in there, of course."

  This was too much for her. Darkhorse she could understand charging into the fray, but Cabe Bedlam was supposed to have more sense. Had he not faced down the Ice Dragon, the Quel, Shade the warlock, and countless other foes? Surviving such adversaries required not only great skill and power, but also intelligence.

  Yet . . . it was his son that the horse king had kidnapped. Even though her father and she had been estranged for several years, she knew that she would have tried to rescue him if he had been in the same predicament as the younger Bedlam.

  "You don't know Zuu the way I do, though," she told him, feeling a sense deja’ vu. "You need me. I know the city."

  Cabe eyed her with some skepticism, probably recalling their previous encounter. "This is something I'd best do alone. This time, I know what to expect."

  Before she could say anything more, the sorcerer turned his gaze in the direction of Zuu. Yssa sensed power rising from within and around the master mage. Once again, Cabe Bedlam's incredible power astounded her. The enchantress briefly toyed with her old notion of seeking him as the perfect mate, but she doubted that even at her most seductive she would be able to turn his head. The sorcerer had that look that said he was very much married and enjoyed being so. Yssa had never seen the Lady Bedlam, but decided that the other sorceress had to be someone very special.

  "I see the barriers," Cabe whispered. "Interesting. Grandfather would've liked their design."

  Yssa had no idea what he meant by that, but the matter was moot. Cabe Bedlam blinked . .
. and was gone.

  "More stubborn than Darkhorse," she muttered. That was it, then. Cabe Bedlam had gone to retrieve his son and comrade from Zuu. If anyone could do it, he could. That left Yssa with the question of just what she should do next. Return to her father? Not yet. Perhaps she should journey back to the former Barren Lands. It was the one place Yssa was certain that Saress would not find her, not that the witch was probably looking for her anymore. Saress certainly had better things to do than go pursuing Yssa yet again. They had played this game often enough.

  The grasslands, then. No matter how stirred up her emotions were, the enchanted field where she had brought Cabe and Darkhorse after their last encounter always soothed her. It still amused her how anxious the shadow steed had been to depart it. The grass would never have harmed him. It probably could not have done so even if it had tried.

  Yssa felt for the medallion her father had given her. Considering how poorly it had worked so far, she was tempted to just leave it here, but her father would be upset with her if he found out. She decided that she would return it after she had spent some time recovering her calm.

  Yes, a rest would do her nicely first . . .

  What sounded like the crackle of thunder made her stiffen. A sudden, powerful gust of wind threatened to push her against the nearest tree. Yssa sensed sorcery, but from exactly what source or direction she could not say.

  A man-sized projectile materialized out of the air, flying past at a remarkable rate of speed. Only as it dropped toward the earth did the sorceress see that it was a man. Cabe Bedlam, in fact.

  Too startled to act, Yssa watched as the other spellcaster plummeted to what certainly had to be his death. He had materialized far too high up and flown at far too swift a speed to land safely. Belatedly she raised a hand, trying to concentrate enough to cast a spell.

  At the very last moment, the sorcerer's progress slowed. A small blue aura formed around him. Cabe Bedlam struck the ground hard, but not nearly so hard as Yssa had feared. Probably he had been knocked unconscious.