Sebine found her body paralyzed as she tried to flee. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the disfigured face of Prince Xanthes. A desire to sing and drown out his wretched words filled her mind until her hand covered her ears and she screamed and sang with all her heart. She rocked her body back and forth, willing herself to wake from this nightmare.
When she hoped and prayed that she'd eradicated the Prince from her dream, she glanced around and realized that she was now lying in bed with Tael in their room high above Shaar'el. His peaceful form sleeping next to her brought a wave of comfort that washed over her mind. Her hand stroked along the long locks of hair covering his beautiful face, and she found the feeling of his skin against her fingers eased the shock of the nightmare until it soon faded away.
But the same hideous voice invaded her ears. "Your father is a loyal dark elf," Prince Xanthes said, and Sebine stifled a scream for fear of waking Tael. "Jolrath will join my army, and if you are a wise and obedient daughter, you will join us as well."
No, it was all a lie, she told herself, refusing to believe another word the dark Prince said.
"I'm sure you've already felt the dark power flowing through you while you wear the Ring of Galdora." Prince Xanthes released a rumbling, hideous chuckle that sent a wave of nauseous rising up Sebine's throat. "Imagine how you'll feel someday very soon, when you are reunited with your father and grandfather... Be well prepared, make yourself ready, for the day is coming soon."
Chapter Thirty-Eight
"WE'LL NEVER NEED to take all these supplies," Prince Jaraz said, and pressed his hands on his hips as he studied the contents of their expedition lined up next to the dragon packs. "My father's expeditionary force will arrive in a week's time to the Saarian ruins." Tael wasn't sure how much they'd need to bring, but he did know the dire consequences of running out of water and food.
"And you're sure you can lead us to the oasis near the ruins?" Tael said, wondering if the Prince was really as good of a guide as he claimed. Likely he was just trying to impress Sebine.
Master Vhelan strolled up to them, flanked by four of his elder sorcerers. His eyes held the look of someone irritated and dissatisfied with life. "We need leave within the hour. I have made contact with our spy in King Braxion's army and it seems that the King has recovered and is building an armada of ships in Cranth to bring his army to Erelim. It will likely only be a matter of weeks before they arrive at the gates of Shaar'el."
Princess Marei rested her hand on Tael's arm, and cast him a cautious glance. "You need not worry about my brother. He will guide us there safely. I've been on many journeys with him to the desert, and each time he navigated us well. And water is quite plentiful in the north. So we really only have to bring water for several days at the most."
Tael couldn't help but notice the look of jealousy that Sebine sent Princess Marei at her touch, but quickly a devilish smile crept over her face. "And who will travel together on our flight? Tael and I each have our own dragons." Tael was pleased to see that Sebine's dragon, Alyxaria, and his dragon, Kraithen, seemed eager to be reunited at catching sight of them.
"Why doesn't my brother ride with you?" Princess Marei cast mischievous eyes at Sebine. When Sebine nodded in affirmation, she glanced quickly at Tael, then over to Prince Jaraz. "And I'm sure that young Tael would be most pleased have me along as a rider, don't you think?" Again she gave Sebine a significant look and the girls giggled together wickedly.
Soon they were joined by Master Shalinor and Princess Theria, and a group of Malathian wizards and witches, and soon the cheerful mood turned somber at their concerned faces.
"We've just heard word from the high elves that Khalas Dralorn has been looted and burned to the ground by Jolrath and his army of dark elves," Princess Theria said. "It is a mournful day for the Kingdom of Drazal'tan. The oldest city in the world has been demolished and tainted by elves. It is unthinkable."
Princess Theria's eyes beamed a fury so strong that Tael found himself taking a step back from the high elf. "The dark elf necromancers have even cast spells over the slain elves, and brought them back to life as undead slaves for their masters. And even the once magical forests of our kingdom are infested with an expanding blight. I fear that soon their will be no more hope for us, nor will their be any place safe from the malevolence reaching out over the world. Whatever lies buried there in the northern steppes, I pray to the gods for us to find something of value to aid us in the coming war."
"Will the high elves come and join the battle if we discover some hidden knowledge or powerful artifact in the Saarian ruins?" Master Shalinor studied the Princess with cautious eyes. "We will need soldiers and magicians and strategists to fight the war. Will they return?"
"Where there is hope for this world whether here or to the lands of the east where my father has gone," said Princess Theria, "then my people will always fight for what is true and good. We will not hide and allow evil to corrupt the whole world. We've been scarred by that old mistake with the Princes of Naverstrom. This time we will not chain them in some deep and dark place to fester and grow, we will rise up and slay them, and summon our gods to fight against their nameless god. We will destroy this evil."
Tael wanted to believe the words of the elven princess, but as he stared out east across the desert, he could feel a tide of evil growing and rising, an insurmountable crest ready to crash down and eradicate all semblance humanity and civilization from the world. What were the aims of the Princes of Naverstrom? Could revenge linger in their minds for so many years?
"There is hope for us to the north," Sebine said, and gave him a reassuring smile. "We have to believe that we will find a way to defeat King Braxion and Princes Xanthes. Please don't ever lose hope. Now we are together I believe we can survive and win against our foe. But you must believe..."
He held Sebine's hands and with his eyes fixed on hers nodded his head until the worried left her face. This time they would need the help of the gods, he was certain of it. Despite what his grandfather had said about the dangers of summoning the gods, he was certain they needed a powerful god on their side. And to summon and command the respect of a god they needed power and a sufficient enough offering to entice their attention. Perhaps they could find that out in the northern desert.
But only if they knew the name of the Saarian god. He found his attention shifting over to Master Vhelan, who surveyed the preparation for their journey. Between inspecting the dragon packs, the old sorcerer cast wary glances at Master Shalinor and Sebine, and when he caught sight of Tael's gaze, a flicker of nervousness flashed over his face and he turned away and strolled off to another dragon.
"What is it?" Sebine said, and followed Tael's eyes. "Why are you looking at Master Vhelan?"
Tael shrugged, not wanting to cause Sebine concern. "I'm not sure, really. Maybe I'm just suspicious of him ever since he left us in Karth with nothing."
"But he did return and help us. Doesn't that mean something?"
"True, but he also brought King Braxion—don't protest—I know he says it wasn't on purpose. But the net result is that all the relics that kept the Prince Xanthes locked away from the world are destroyed. And when he didn't know I was looking I caught him glancing at my grandfather and you. He either knows something he hasn't revealed yet, or he's a traitor."
"Look, you can see for yourself that he is reunited with his wife. And he's stolen all the dragons. While the draenyx were dragging King Braxion through the portal, Master Vhelan entranced Keraxes and now the mightiest of the dragons is on our side. I highly doubt he's a traitor."
Tael sniffed and wrinkled up his nose. She was probably right about the sorcerer not being a traitor, but there was still something strange about how he acted. "Why don't we talk to him before we leave? Maybe we can discover some hints as to what he's discovered since we last saw him."
"Wait here." Sebine strode off after Master Vhelan, an expression of determination fixed in her eyes. She met up with the sorcerer and
her face went tense and she stabbed the air in the direction of the old man while she talked to him. After their heated conversation calmed down, they both turned and glanced at Tael, and sauntered over to him while they talked.
"You have every right to be suspicious of me." Master Vhelan's eyes softened when he studied Tael. "I honestly had no other choice but to return to Trikar and try and save my wife. I succeeded in that but failed to help the dwarves and the elves from King Braxion. But one other thing I did succeed in was to discover vast troves of information about the Saarians while I was in Raukris, the dark elf capitol. Jolrath allowed me to study ancient metal tomes written in the Saarian script. Most of it was indecipherable—babbling nonsense really—but I did learn the name of their two gods and a bit about their history."
Sebine's eyes flared in excitement at hearing the sorcerer's revelation, but sobered up after she glanced at Tael's grandfather off in the distance. "Master Shalinor will be opposed to anything related to their named gods."
"The wizard is fearful of anything unknown to him." Master Vhelan scoffed as he looked at the old wizard. "He doesn't have to know."
"Having the names of their gods gives us a chance to avoid the curse of the ruins," Sebine said, and scanned off towards the northern horizon as if musing over something in her mind. "We might have a chance."
"I discovered something else of importance while I was in Khalas Dralorn." Master Vhelan withdrew something small and shimmering from his robes. "This golden orb was given to me by the high priest at the elven temple of Selderei. The high elves received the orb from the Saarians over ten thousand years ago. We can use it to access their ancient temple hidden out there in the ruins of the northern steppes. There is hope for us still, you must believe it with all your heart."
Although Tael no longer felt the touch of Gaa'el strong in his mind, he still remembered the power and ferocity of his experience interacting with the god. It had left him weak and dazed, and though seductive, it was an experience he was unwilling to repeat. He gave Sebine a considered look. But given a choice would he have the heart to say no to her? He swore a blood oath to do whatever it took to kill King Braxion, even if it cost him his life. Next to dying, what was the harm in tangling with a god?
The mood seemed to turn somber as the servants finished loading the dragon packs, and Tael, Sebine, and Master Vhelan separated and mounted their dragons. His grandfather glanced at Sebine and the sorcerer and gave Tael a warning look as if he could read his mind and greatly disapproved. Princess Marei cast angel's wings about herself and fluttered up and mounted the dragon saddle behind Tael. He gave her a kind smile and she returned his attention with an expression of exhilaration and hope. Kraithen launched them up into the air and soon the vast city of Shaar'el was fading off into the distance as they flew north over the red-tinged sand dunes.
Sebine's dragon, the beautiful Alyxaria, banked over and flew alongside until Kraithen's wing tips almost touched hers. Prince Jaraz gave them a quick wave, his face fascinated and feral as he gazed at the speeding landscape. Princess Sebine sent Tael a warm smile that filled his heart with affection for her. But soon she fixed her determined eyes north to where black storm clouds were billowing up far off in the distance.
Tael followed her gaze and inhaled the crisp, charged air until his lungs were filled with the wildness of the world. A coldness crept into his bones and caused his body to shiver at the sight. For there, in the rising storm, he felt a malevolent force beckoning him to bow down and worship.
The feeling stayed with him until he could bear it no longer.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) Page 23