Wyrmspire (Realm Keepers Book 2)

by Garrett Robinson

  “Eldest Longtooth,” said Blackscale. “I bring these humans before the Council, so that their pleas may be heard.”

  The dragon, Longtooth, stretched his neck out as far as it would go. His eyes squinted as he tried to fix us in his sights. The loose skin at the bottom of his neck hung low like a turkey’s, and it jiggled every time he blinked.

  Definitely old.

  Blackscale finally raised his head from the stone and took a step sideways. He gestured at us with his snout, and we stepped forward so Longtooth could see us better.

  “Humans indeed,” he rumbled. His voice was several registers lower than Blackscale’s. “And Realm Keepers.”

  I looked quickly at the others. We hadn’t shown him the stones. How did he know?

  A low rumble emanated from Longtooth’s chest. A chuckle? “Do not look so surprised. I perched above you when Blackscale announced you to the assembly.”

  I cleared my throat. “Of course, Elder.”

  “Eldest Longtooth,” said Blackscale quickly.

  I bowed. “My apologies, Eldest Longtooth. We thank you for your hospitality.”

  Another deep rumble in Longtooth’s chest. “My hospitality? I have not yet decided to bestow it upon you, nor has this Council.”

  I stayed bowed down. “Of course.”

  Maybe I’d just shut up from now on.

  Longtooth finally raised his head to look at Blackscale, and I decided that was a good signal to raise my head again.

  “The Council may not convene, not today,” said Longtooth. “The others are away. Hunting, as were you.”

  “Of course, Eldest,” said Blackscale with a bow. “Long have these humans yearned to speak with us. Longer still can they wait, if it is at your convenience.”

  My thoughts flashed to Terrence and the armies of Chaos marching in our direction. I took a deep breath, dismounted from my horse and stepped forward, handing the reins to Cara.

  I decided to bow again for safety’s sake. “I apologize, Eldest Longtooth, but may I speak?”

  Blackscale’s head whipped to stare at me. But I couldn’t just not mention Terrence.

  “What presses upon you, Realm Keeper?” said Longtooth.

  “I realize it may take time to convene the Council,” I said quickly. “But it would be wrong not to tell you that there’s some reason for urgency. A man named Terrence marches on Wyrmspire with the armies of Chaos, and there’s no telling how soon he could be here. His creatures chased us to your borders.”

  “And who is this Terrence?” said Longtooth, followed by another low rumble in his chest.

  “A general, chief Lieutenant of Chaos and commander of their armies.”

  “A human?” grumbled Longtooth.

  I glanced up at him. “Yes, of course.”

  A harsh guffaw burst from the stone walls above me. I winced at the sudden sound and looked up to see Bloodtooth perched above. There was no mistaking the cruelty in his bared teeth. Other dragons started laughing as well.

  “I see,” said Longtooth. “You were right to reveal this to us, but we have nothing to fear from a human and the darkness he brings with him. Did you come only to warn us of his attack on Wyrmspire?”

  “No, Eldest Longtooth,” I said, eyes still firmly on the ground so he wouldn’t see me blush. “He is coming because he knows we’re here. He followed us.”

  There was an angry murmur from the stone benches. I felt sick to my stomach. Now we didn’t look like diplomats coming to discuss an alliance. We looked like little kids asking for help against a bully.

  “I see,” said Longtooth. “Then you may rest until the Council convenes. If Terrence is so foolish as to attack the Spire, we will bathe the earth with his blood. We will feast upon the bodies of every living thing he brings with him, and cast the bodies of the Shadows into the ground’s maw where they may never escape.”

  Another deep rumble issued from his chest. I felt ridiculous, like a child being soothed after a nightmare. But what could I do about it now?

  “Thank you, Eldest Longtooth,” I said.

  Longtooth turned back to Blackscale, clearly dismissing me. “Two days’ time should be sufficient. I place them under your care until they have passed.”

  Blackscale bowed and backed away from the stone pillars. I took my cue and remounted my horse. Blackscale walked out the hall’s front doors, the rest of us trailing close behind.

  “Speaking before spoken to was an ill-advised course of action,” said Blackscale.

  “Yeah, I got that,” I said. “I apologize.”

  “My forgiveness is useless to you. You have harmed the cause for which you have traveled so far. Much shall we have to do to repair the damage.”

  “Okay,” I said. But in the back of my mind, I thought: We? It looked like Blackscale, at least, had already made up his mind about us.

  “The sun nears its daily death, and you must be weary of travel,” said Blackscale. “A safe place for humans to rest has not been needed on the Spire since the last Realm Keepers left here.”

  “Yeah, someplace where a dragon can’t come eat us in the middle of the night would be great,” Blade called out. I turned and gave him an evil look.

  But Blackscale chuckled, the same low rumble I’d heard from Longtooth. “Others would call my pledge worthless if that were allowed to happen. But one within my clan must be willing to grant you their protection, at least for the two days until the Council can convene.”

  There was the noise of air above us as Nightclaw came in to land. She touched a nose to the ground in deference.

  “Elder,” she said. “If lodgings you require, my nest is near. The mouslings would not even need to climb.”

  “Humans, Nightclaw,” said Blackscale. “Do not refer to them as you would to food.”

  Nightclaw pressed her snout deeper into the ground. “Of course, Elder.” She poked her head around Blackscale to look at us. “I apologize if offense was given.”

  “No problem,” said Calvin, giving her a huge grin and an eager wave.

  “My gratitude shall be yours if you do this,” said Blackscale. “Thank you, Nightclaw. A worthier granddaughter you prove yourself with every spring.”

  Nightclaw dipped to the ground once again. “You embarrass me, Elder.”

  I looked at Raven, both of us raising our eyebrows. Earth or Midrealm, human or dragon, were kids ever not embarrassed by their family?

  Blackscale stuck his head forward, rubbing the side of his snout alongside Nightclaw’s. It was an unmistakable sign of affection. Then he turned to us.

  “I leave you beneath Nightclaw’s wings,” said Blackscale. “Tomorrow we shall speak again. I must see if any of the other Council members are within a half-night’s flight.”

  Without letting us say goodbye, he flapped his wings and took off. Nightclaw watched him go for a moment, then lowered her head to us.

  I noticed something interesting about her face. She had a smattering of scales that were turquoise, almost blue. They surrounded her eyes, making them look even bigger than they already were.

  “Unused am I to the conduct of humans, and even more so to the Realm Keepers,” she said. “If offense I give, it is not intended. You must tell me if I speak wrongly so that I may treat you with the respect the Realm Keepers demand.”

  I blinked. “Um, okay,” I said. “You haven’t done anything to offend us so far. And please do the same for us. I think an offended dragon is a little more dangerous than an offended Realm Keeper.” I tried to smile, but my mouth wouldn’t quite do it.

  Her lips peeled back from her teeth. “Joyed I am to hear it. Come, then.”

  She turned and walked away, and we fell in behind her. She led us around the great hall to a narrow path that ran along the mountain’s north face. The path was barely big enough to fit her body. She came to it and snaked her head around to look at me.

  “Would it be ill of me to fly, rather than walk the path?” she said. “I find it…tight.”
>
  “Of course not,” I said. “Whatever you want.”

  She bowed her head, then launched with a gust of wind. Calvin nearly fell from his saddle. Once she was out of the way, I saw that the path wasn’t very long at all—it ended in another gentle slope like the one we were on. At the top of the slope was the base of the peak. Everywhere upon it there were carved holes, caves really, that dragons flew in and out of.

  Nightclaw circled lazily in the air beside us as we guided our horses along the path. I was grateful she didn’t fly too close. The air from her wings could have blown us from the path. We reached the other side and climbed the slope to the first cave in the mountainside. Nightclaw landed in front of us.

  “All right, which one are we going to?” I asked.

  “This one,” she said, and turned to step into the cave.

  It didn’t feel like a cave once you got inside. The walls were smooth and straight, not rough-hewn or naturally formed. I thought it was odd her home had a roof when the great hall didn’t, but I realized she probably didn’t want to be rained or snowed on when she was trying to sleep.

  “Any piece of floor that you fancy may be your bed,” said Nightclaw, “save only my nest.” At the back of the dwelling there was a stone half-bowl—a bowl big enough to hold a dragon. It was lined with fur and pelts, many of them worn or pierced by claws. Dragons probably went through bedding pretty quickly.

  “Thank you,” I said quickly, nodding my head before turning to the others. “Let’s find a place to tie the horses up. Then we can pick a spot on the floor and lay our bedding down.”

  “Tie your horses?” said Nightclaw, her head moving forward in curiosity. “They will not remain if you leave them?”

  “Well, maybe, maybe not,” I said, suddenly a little nervous. “We tie them up just to make sure they can’t run off. So they’ll be here when we need them.”

  Her head withdrew a bit. “I see. They are your…mounts.”

  The distaste in her voice couldn’t be ignored, and I found myself blushing. I only nodded, afraid to say anything and make the situation worse.

  “Hmph.” She turned and went to her nest, curling up in the skins facing away from us. Her wings wrapped around her massive body, and she lay still.

  “Guess they’re not big on beasts of burden around here,” said Miles.

  “Doesn’t look like it, but what do they expect?” said Blade. “Did they think the horses were buddies of ours? Just coming along for the trip because it seemed cool?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Remember, they haven’t seen humans in forever. But can we all please keep in mind that there aren’t really private conversations on Wyrmspire?” I tapped my ears, just in case they had trouble understanding what I meant.

  Blade gave Nightclaw’s form a furtive glance. “Right. Sorry.”

  “I’m surprised they have art,” said Tess quietly.

  I glanced at her, then looked up. To my shock, I found artwork on the wall. There was a single massive painting—oil and everything—as well as a few sculptures on shelves. I saw one golden ornament I couldn’t begin to recognize.

  “How do you think they make these things?” said Calvin. “Are there, like, dragon painters? Do dragons carve with their claws? Do they melt the metal with fire breath before they shape it?”

  “They do not breathe fire, Lord Calvin,” said Darren, looking weary.

  “Oh,” said Calvin, frowning. “Right. I keep forgetting about that. I still refuse to believe it.”

  “I think Bloodtooth would have roasted us if he had fire breath,” said Miles.

  “Enough, guys,” I said. I looked out Nightclaw’s door to see the sun almost gone behind the horizon. “Let’s go to bed. Our folks will probably be there to greet us at the facility.”

  Calvin gave a long-suffering sigh. “Right. I always hate going back to the real world.”

  “The other world,” said Cara, looking at him with a smirk. “This world is no less real.”

  Calvin blushed. “Right. My bad.”

  We found a pedestal that wasn’t too thick and tied the horses to it. We put our bedrolls on the floor, as far from the door as we could get. I wrapped myself in my blankets, waiting for my limbs to warm up. Though it was getting on toward summer, we were high enough to make the air plenty chilly.

  Raven had laid herself down near me. Her eyes were staring at the ceiling, unblinking. “We’re in a dragon’s house,” she said.

  “Um, yeah,” I said.

  “No, I mean…have you really thought about that? This morning we woke up in the countryside. Now we are in the house. Of a dragon. Sometimes our life is just too weird, even for me.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, but it beats PE class.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, or student government. Night.”

  My stomach gave a little jolt within me. Oh, God. Student government. I was class president now, and we were supposed to start convening in a few days. What the heck was I going to do about that?

  I sighed and closed my eyes, letting my body’s weariness claim me. I could worry about that on Earth. Right now, I needed to sleep in the house of a dragon.

  COMMITMENT

  MILES

  I PLOPPED MY TRAY DOWN on the cafeteria table and slumped into my seat. My eyes burned, and I pushed the heels of my hands into them.

  We’d woken up just after sunrise. My parents were both there at the facility, both of them worried. They’d wanted me to stay all day to get tested. Part of me thought I should, but a larger part of me had to get out. I couldn’t spend all day in a hospital bed again. My body was getting out of shape with all the time I’d spent sleeping recently.

  But after my morning in class, I was beginning to think I’d made a mistake. I was out of it. I had trouble focusing. I wasn’t preoccupied with Wyrmspire so much as I was bored with high school. How could class compare with dragons? There was a huge gap in the excitement level of my double lives.

  “Miles, my man,” said Calvin, throwing himself into the seat across from me. He snatched up his pudding first, digging in with gusto.

  I stuck a fork into my own food, but didn’t eat. I wasn’t hungry. Anna had said that might happen. We were kept nutritioned up while we slept on Earth, so our bodies wouldn’t be very hungry without strenuous physical activity.

  “Sup, Calvin?” I said. “Hope you’re having a better day than me.”

  “Kind of, but I can’t wait to get back,” he said. “I mean…dragons, you know?”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, man.”

  “You gonna eat your pudding?”

  I pushed it across the table to him. He finished licking the remnants of his own and dug into mine.

  “Gentlemen.” Raven arrived and pulled a sandwich from a brown bag. She unwrapped it and ate delicately, careful with her black lipstick.

  “I bet you if we get friendly enough with the dragons, they’ll let us ride them,” said Calvin, taking another heaping spoonful.

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, will you give that a rest? You’re going to get us all eaten.”

  “Easy for you to say,” said Calvin. “You’ve got your bird.”

  Raven’s eyes got sad for a moment. She’d had to leave Ella in Morrowdust, since we were trying to travel in secret.

  “What are you complaining about, anyway?” I said. “You’re the Keeper of Air. You can fly. The only one, in fact. Except maybe Tess, I guess.”

  “What about Tess?” said Blade, plopping down beside Calvin. He gave Calvin’s tray a look. “You took two puddings?”

  Calvin thrust a chocolate-crusted spoon at me. “Nuh-uh. I got my second one from Miles.”

  Blade snatched it out of his hand and dug in, finishing it in three massive bites.

  “I was just saying that Calvin and Tess are probably the only ones who can fly,” I said, half-heartedly trying to get the conversation back on track.

  “And I’m not going to lie, that’s pretty awesome,” said Calvin, grinning. “Bu
t I don’t know if Tess will ever get as good as I am. The flight works on the same principle as Iron Man, and I watched that movie thirty times.”

  “You did what?” said Raven.

  “Thirty times in theaters,” said Calvin. “Then I got it on DVD and played it until the plastic wore through.”

  I couldn’t help chuckling, earning a broad grin from Calvin.

  “You know, though, that Tess has got telekinesis?” said Blade. “She doesn’t have to lift herself up with jets of air. She can just…pick herself up.”

  Calvin’s grin dampened. “Yeah, well…still. I think I’m pretty good.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’re great,” said Blade, reaching over and giving him a mini-noogie.

  “The hair! The hair!” cried Calvin, batting him away.

  Sarah and Tess finally showed up and sat down, Sarah between me and Calvin, and Tess next to Blade.

  “How’s everybody doing?” said Sarah, her tone businesslike.

  “All right,” I said. “My attention’s drifting a little. You?”

  “About the same,” she sighed. “How were your parents? Any problems? Anything to worry about or that we need to do something about?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. Mom was fine. Dad was fine. Both of them a little bit worried, but Anna gave them some whole script about how they got a lot of really interesting readings from my brain waves while I was out. She made it sound pretty hopeful, and they bought it completely. She said it would be important to start them off that way at first, just to ease them into this new life, and then gradually lower the good news until it was just a routine of no change. That’s the best long-term plan going forward.”

  I felt a twinge of guilt. I was lying to my parents. Well, technically Anna was lying to my parents, but I knew full well it was a lie and I wasn’t doing anything to change it. They honestly thought I was going to get better at the “Medicorp” facility.

  If my mom ever found out, I couldn’t imagine how mad she’d be. But that wasn’t what really worried me about it.