by David Wells
Alexander was caught between awe and terror. He looked up at the Dragon Queen and simply marveled at her presence in the world. He’d read stories about dragons in his childhood but even the vividness of his rich imagination failed to do them justice.
Tanis was truly worthy of worship. She was beyond human troubles or the mundane considerations of governments and nations—altogether above such things for reasons that were all too apparent.
More than anything else, her colors left him breathless. He’d never seen a creature or a person with such a rich, clear, powerful aura as Tanis. She was a creature of profound magic that radiated from her in waves of flowing color.
He wondered if he would be able to persuade her to help him or if he even had any right to. When he looked at his friends, he saw a mixture of reactions. Everyone had a look of awe but each was mixed with different emotions. Isabel was filled with innocent joy at seeing such a magnificent creature, Abigail looked like she was trying to reconcile her understanding of reality with the presence of such a creature, Anatoly had a look of wariness, Lucky smiled with simple joy, and Jack was clearly taking notes in his head for his next song.
Marla stood tall and proud before her patron but did not speak. Tanis looked at her for only a moment before her scrutiny turned to Alexander and his friends. She regarded them each in turn and then focused on Alexander. Her eyes narrowed and she sniffed at the air before she tipped her head back and roared with such sudden fury that it froze them all to the spot.
More frighteningly, Marla tensed at the roar and her colors turned to fear and dismay but still she said nothing. In the distance other dragons emerged from the mountains and began to approach but they remained high in the sky, circling over the temple rather than landing.
When Tanis spoke, her voice was a deep, resonate rumble that Alexander could feel in his chest. “Why have you brought dragonslayers to my temple?” She brought her head down and stared intently at Marla.
The druid stumbled back a step and shook her head in denial. “I have not, My Lady. These travelers saved my life. In return, I have agreed to help them seek passage to the Valley of the Fairy Queen. If they are dragonslayers, then they have deceived me.”
Tanis sniffed at the air and turned her eye to Alexander. “Bragador—I smell Bragador. How is it that you came to wear her scales, human?”
Alexander stepped forward, threw his cloak back and lifted his tunic to reveal the mail shirt he wore. “This armor is a gift given to me by the Guild Mage of New Ruatha and made from the scales of the dragon Bragador. He acquired those scales in a bargain after having met her tests.”
Tanis eyed him for a moment, then she saw the hilt of the Thinblade and withdrew her head and spread her wings. “How is it that you possess the Sword of Kings? There are few weapons capable of piercing the scales of a dragon, and that is one of them.”
“The Thinblade was left for me by Mage Cedric so that I might reunite the Isle of Ruatha,” Alexander said as he stepped up beside Marla. “Lady Tanis, I have no desire to harm you. My only reason for coming before you is to ask your help in reaching the Valley of the Fairy Queen. I am in great need of her assistance.”
“Lady Tanis, they saved my life,” Marla said. “I gave my word that they would be safe in your temple.”
She folded her wings with a skeptical look. “Very well, Priestess, your word will be honored until I have reason to act otherwise.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” Marla said. “I have much to report.”
Tanis nodded her approval and Marla continued. “Lady Tanis, this is Lord Alexander Ruatha, heir to the throne of Ruatha. He comes in search of the fairies in hopes that they will help him retrieve the Sovereign Stone.” Tanis’s eyebrow raised a bit at that but she didn’t interrupt. “They are being pursued by many soldiers who serve Prince Phane.”
Tanis frowned deeply and eyed Alexander more closely. “Why have you brought your war into my mountains?”
Alexander drew himself up and looked the dragon in the eye. “I do not bring war. Phane does. I have no wish to be a king or to fight the enemy that I face, but I’ve been chosen by powers far beyond my control to stand against him. A great many lives depend on the outcome of this struggle, so I will do what is necessary. Right now that means retrieving the Sovereign Stone before Phane does; if he gets to it first, the world will fall into darkness, and he will not stop until every one of the Seven Isles is under his boot.”
“He will not challenge me,” Tanis said.
“Perhaps not at first, but once he has built an army of wizards, he will subjugate even you. His lust for power is as without limit as his malice.”
“I think your fear of him has distorted your estimation of his power,” Tanis said. “Even with an army of wizards, he will find waging war against the Pinnacles to be more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Lady Tanis, as much as I would like to have your help against Phane, that’s not why I’ve come before you,” Alexander said. “I’m here only to ask for safe passage through the Pinnacles so that I may seek out the fairies and enlist their aid.”
Tanis actually laughed—a great rumbling sound that reverberated through the stone of the mountain itself.
“What makes you believe that Ilona will help you? She is even less interested in the wars of men than I.”
“I’ve spoken to one of her fairies and have been invited to present my request to the Fairy Queen,” Alexander said.
Tanis looked a bit surprised to hear that. “It would seem that you are at the center of momentous events, human. I will not aid you in this war but I am indebted to you for saving my priestess, so I will grant your request for safe passage.”
She reached into her mouth, broke off the tip of a tooth and carefully placed it on the altar. “Take this tooth. Present it to any of the powers within the Pinnacles and they will allow you to pass without harm. But be warned, there are many dangers in the mountain wilds that recognize no authority. My talisman of safe passage will be of no use with them.”
Alexander took the piece of Tanis’s tooth, which was about six inches long and as sharp as a spear at the point. He bowed formally and said, “You honor me. Thank you for your generous hospitality within your home.”
She snorted at the flattery, then turned to Marla. “Be well, Priestess, and be more careful with your life. It is dear to me,” Tanis said before she launched herself into the air with one great stroke of her wings. She wheeled away from the temple platform and tipped into a gentle dive to gain speed before she started her ascent toward her mountain lair.
“You have my love always, Lady Tanis,” Marla said to her departing patron. She looked at Alexander with a smile and a tear of joy and pride in her eye.
“You were right,” Alexander said. “She is the most magnificent creature I’ve ever seen. Thank you for introducing us to her.”
Chapter 24
They made good time traveling downhill away from the Dragon Temple. It was a clear and bright day with still air and a warm sun. Alexander was tired but he pressed on, trying to gain as much ground as possible. Every step brought him closer to greater safety for Isabel. He knew she wouldn’t get much sleep tonight, so he wanted to get as close to the meadows as possible. Once they reached the skymeadow vine, they could make camp and she could rest. After that he could turn his attention back to the purpose of his journey, but as long as Isabel was in danger, he just couldn’t focus on anything else.
During the afternoon, Isabel pointed out the five ravens floating high in the sky. When Alexander looked at them, he saw the same color of magic he’d seen the day before. He was sure of it now—the birds were tracking them. He suspected that Commander P’Tal had enlisted the assistance of another wizard, maybe even more than one. Alexander worried that the journey to the Dragon Temple had allowed the soldiers to gain ground on them and decided to look in on them once they made camp.
They wound down the mountains and into the deep valleys. The air warmed and t
he foliage returned. The trees were short and slender. The ground cover was low and hardy and the rock of the mountains frequently protruded through the dirt.
Here and there they found cold, narrow little mountain streams running from the higher peaks and meeting to form small, fast-moving rivers. They came into a valley late in the afternoon with a stream meandering down the middle and cliffs rising sharply on both sides.
The valley floor was covered with a thick carpet of green and speckled with wildflowers of every color. It was stunning in its simple beauty, and Alexander found himself drifting away from his worries and into his childhood daydreams while they walked. Then he heard an odd buzzing sound and his focus snapped back to the present.
In the distance, he saw a cloud of insects swarming toward them and then he saw the dark and unnatural colors of the demon. He stared in confusion for a moment. It was one thing for a creature of the netherworld to possess a horse or a cat but quite another to possess thousands of bees. Everyone stopped and looked at the angry cloud as it undulated through the air toward them.
Alexander broke through his confusion and shouted a warning. “Demon!” he yelled, pointing toward the swarm.
Anatoly cursed. Lucky started rummaging around in his bag.
Alexander watched the bees with a growing sense of helplessness. He’d faced many enemies in the past several months but none like this. He felt an instinctual need to draw his sword but knew it would do no good. He quickly ran through an inventory of all of the weapons he had at his disposal but none was equal to this enemy.
He stood helplessly and watched it come.
Lucky produced a couple of flasks of oil and a fire pot from his bag, then he too looked around with a growing realization of helplessness. The fire he could muster wouldn’t be enough.
Then Isabel screamed and slumped to her knees with her hands on her head. Alexander ran to her. She was huddled on the ground and trembling. Her breath came in tight gasps and her eyes were shut tight.
The cloud of bees approached.
“Isabel, I’m here with you. Be strong. Resist the darkness. It has no power over you unless you let it in.”
Alexander wasn’t even sure if the things he said were true, but he needed so badly to believe they were that he said them anyway.
Lucky quickly dumped the flasks of oil around Alexander and Isabel. “It’s after you, Alexander. Fire may keep it at bay.”
Alexander nodded as he drew up his hood and wrapped his cloak around himself and Isabel.
Lucky couldn’t cast spells in general but there were a few minor spells he was capable of. One of those few was the ability to create a very small flame from the tip of his finger that lasted only long enough to light a candle. He used that simple spell now to ignite the ring of oil around Alexander and Isabel. It went up with a whoosh and surrounded them in brightly burning fire.
The rest of the party scattered. The bees came for Alexander, and he and Isabel huddled under his cloak as they swarmed around them. The fire protected them from the sides and kept the bulk of the swarming bees away, but many were still able to get to them and deliver their tiny, yet startlingly painful, attack.
Alexander focused on the dispassionate place in his mind where the witness lived and watched the little explosions of sharp pain detonate throughout his body as, one by one, the bees found their way past his hasty defenses.
Worst of all, he could feel Isabel flinch in his arms every time one of the bees stung her. She whimpered at the dual attack of the proximity of the demon and the stabbing pain of the stings.
Marla saved them.
Alexander felt a wave of heat overhead and heard the popping and sizzling of burning bees. The stench was gagging and the heat was oppressive. Orange light washed over them as Marla directed a jet of flame from her outstretched hands and bathed the swarm of bees with her magical fire.
A moment later, the swarm broke and the demon came free of its host. It looked straight at Alexander with its hateful red eyes and shrieked soundlessly before turning and fleeing into the mountains, no doubt in search of yet another creature to possess.
They made camp on the spot and built a fire while Lucky attended to Alexander and Isabel. Both had been stung countless times and were in great pain. He used numbweed and healing salve to treat their many wounds and they both drifted off to sleep for an hour or so while the medicine did its work. When they woke, it was nearing dark and dinner was ready.
“How are you feeling?” Alexander asked Isabel.
“More afraid than anything. When that thing got close, the door opened and I couldn’t close it. I could feel the darkness trying to draw me in, and it was all I could do to keep from losing myself again.”
“We have to find a way to get rid of that cursed door, once and for all,” Alexander growled. “I wish there was something I could do.”
“There is, Alexander. You’re doing it right now,” she said as she gave him a tighter hug, and then they got up for their dinner of a simple but well-seasoned camp stew.
Alexander itched all over from the bee stings, but the welts were fading fast and the pain was almost entirely gone.
“You have terrifying enemies, Alexander,” Marla said quietly after the meal was over.
“I can’t argue with that,” Alexander said wryly. “How did you create that fire?”
“I’m a Priestess of the Dragon,” she said with a proud smile. “Fire is one of my areas of study, although I must admit, I rarely have cause to cast that particular spell.”
“Thank you,” Isabel said. “The demon possessing those bees was also in my mind trying to claim my soul. If you hadn’t driven it off when you did, I fear I would have been lost to it.”
“You’re welcome, Isabel. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but the Druid Council may be able to help you. If they can summon that demon and then banish it, I believe the door within your mind may vanish. I can’t be sure because I’ve never heard of a case such as yours, but it stands to reason that the demon is actively keeping the connection to the netherworld open within your mind and that it can only do so if it remains in our world.”
“How is a demon banished?” Alexander asked.
Marla frowned a bit. “My understanding is limited because the power to do so is beyond me, but I know a little about the process. Demons are not supposed to be in this world, so their presence creates an imbalance. That imbalance draws them toward the netherworld if a passage is created.
“Certain members of the Druid Council may be able to create a place where the veil separating the world of time and substance from the aether is blurred. If done in the proximity of the demon, it will be drawn into the aether where it will eventually find its way back to the netherworld.”
“And once it’s gone, it won’t be able to hurt Isabel anymore?” Alexander asked.
“I believe that to be the case,” Marla said.
“I think she’s right,” Lucky said. “I’ve read of banishings before where the victims of a demon recovered quickly after the demon was sent away.”
“Thank you, Marla,” Alexander said. “If you can help Isabel, I will be forever in your debt.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Marla said. “You made a friend when you saved my life, and I’m coming to see the choice that lies before the entire world. You are a man who would risk your own life with no promise of gain to rescue a stranger. Your enemy sends creatures from the world of the dead to haunt the living. I know which side I would choose to stand with.”
“What of Tanis?” Alexander asked.
“She is my patron and I will obey her in all things, but I will also help you as much as she will permit me to. She sees things from a much longer perspective than we do. She has lived for many hundreds of years and will live for many hundreds more. Our wars and governments are fleeting and ephemeral to her, so she pays them little heed. I fear this conflict is different, and I believe there will come a time when she will see the necessity of takin
g sides.”
“I hope you’re right,” Alexander said. “We can use all the help we can get. Phane is dangerous and resourceful. But most of all, he’s relentless. He’ll never stop until he subjugates the entire Seven Isles.”
Before dark, Alexander found a small patch of soft moss in the meadow and sat down to meditate. It had been some time since he’d left his father to fight the battle against Headwater and he was starting to wonder about the outcome.
He relaxed his body and inhaled the cool but fragrant mountain air. Methodically, he went about clearing his mind of thoughts, acknowledging each one as it came to him and then dismissing it.
Soon he was in the state of empty-mindedness that was his portal to the firmament. This time it took only ten minutes or so before his awareness was floating gently on the ocean of endless possibility.
He listened for a time to the infinitely intricate music that represented all things happening at once. It was complex and graceful but mostly it had become a sound of beauty to Alexander’s mind. Here, anything could happen and he could see any event by simply focusing his attention on it. The power of his clairvoyance still amazed him but not nearly so much as the vastness of the firmament.
He focused on the city of New Ruatha, and his awareness coalesced above the Glittering City. It looked intact and was as busy as usual in the early evening. He redirected his focus to the valley east of the city where his army had made their stand. His awareness moved with impossible speed; the world rushed by in a blur until he was hovering over the valley many miles to the east of New Ruatha.
It was scorched and marred, muddy and trampled. There were markers of mass graves for the fallen, but soldiers were no longer on the field. The battle had been fought and apparently Ruatha had won. Again, Alexander focused his awareness, this time high above Headwater.