Dragonwatch, Book 2: Wrath of the Dragon King

by Brandon Mull

  “Why did you go in the first place?” Lomo wondered.

  “Nobody had achieved access to Stormguard Castle,” Patton said. “I knew boundaries come down on festival nights, so I gave it a try. Lost two friends that night. Had a hard time making it back to the roadhouse, but I survived.”

  “So we don’t know much,” Knox said.

  “We know Celebrant will be heading for the castle as well,” Seth said. “Or sending other dragons.”

  “And once they step onto the drawbridge, they will be vulnerable,” Patton said. “Mortal.”

  “I don’t mind losing my potions if the dragons lose their powers,” Tanu said. “That trade benefits us.”

  “It does,” Patton said. “The problem will be for any of you to survive the cursed castle. The prize is great. Finding the Wizenstone would win the war for whoever claims it. But the obstacles will be significant as well.”

  “We don’t know what to expect from the curse?” Knox asked.

  “No idea,” Patton said. “Except that none have ever left Stormguard Castle since the curse began, and none who explored in depth ever returned.”

  “Except you,” Seth clarified.

  “Well, I stood on the welcome mat and then ran away,” Patton said. “I had no compelling reason to risk everything by going inside. Circumstances have changed. You have an excellent reason.”

  “I recommend leaving now,” Risenmay said.

  “I wish I could join you inside,” Patton said. “Instead, I’ll wrangle the mounts, help them get to the nearest roadhouse after dropping you off.”

  “Let me fly ahead,” Calvin offered. “Thistleton is small. We can scout, see if the dragons are there.”

  “That could be wise,” Patton said with a nod. “Thanks, Calvin.”

  “Work for you, Seth?” Calvin asked.

  “Sure,” Seth replied. “Don’t get caught.”

  “I’ll keep him safe,” Thistleton said. “Climb aboard.”

  The rabbit landed beside Seth, who took Calvin from his pocket and placed him on the furry back. Calvin drew a tiny sword and waved it in the air. Thistleton took flight and shot out of the cavern.

  “The switchbacks on the way out are tight,” Patton said. “But we should mount up anyhow. We want to get airborne as soon as we exit. It will be safer in the sky.”

  “Fly swift and true,” Risenmay said. “Nowhere is safe at Wyrmroost tonight.”

  “Least of all the destination,” Patton said. “We may not get to speak again before you enter the castle. Keep your wits about you.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Kendra said, relieved to be following what felt right again after having had to fight her true instincts in the Bewilderness.

  When Knox climbed onto Babak, Seth longed for a camera as never before. They all had cool flying horses, and Knox had the winged camel. He wanted to preserve the image for future generations.

  Seth mounted Noble and patted the horse. “Ready to fly?”

  “He can’t wait,” Captain answered. “None of us can.”

  “Follow us,” Patton said, urging Captain forward.

  Seth ducked down as he wound his way out of the cavern atop Noble. When they exited the little cave, Noble sprang into the sky, following Captain, and the ground fell away. Seth observed figures roaming the woods but failed to get a clear view of them. Glancing back, he saw Kendra and the others rising behind him.

  Not all light had bled from the horizon yet. The late evening was alive with sounds—drums pounded, beasts roared, victims screamed. Strange music infiltrated the night: unnameable instruments grinding out upsetting chords, foreign words chanted atonally. Chilling groans bespoke misery and longing. Disquieting screeches and bellows originated from unguessable sources.

  As Seth scanned the landscape, off to the left he saw an entire tree burst into flame. To the right, a blaze of lightning blasted a natural column of stone. Shadowy giants roamed the wilds below, and winged behemoths created fearsome silhouettes in the sky.

  Ephemeral shapes drew toward Seth, forcing Noble to climb and fall and swerve to avoid contact. The ghostly forms had large, grasping hands, wispy as smoke, but the air grew colder when they were near, and Seth could faintly discern their prolonged yearnings of hunger and thirst.

  “Stay with me,” Patton called, still gaining altitude.

  Behind him, Seth saw the others still climbing into the fearful night. Certain sounds grew distant as they flew higher, but some of the most mournful moanings became more distinct.

  Most of the ghostly forms moved slowly, drifting more than flying, but one dark shape drew even with Seth; as Noble tried to veer away, the entity stayed near them. More clearly delineated than the other spectral beings, it looked like a gargoyle made from concentrated darkness.

  A dangerous night to fly, shadow charmer.

  The icy words entered Seth’s mind as distinctly as if he had heard them.

  “Leave me alone,” Seth said, deliberately not staring at the speaker, but keeping him in his peripheral vision.

  I could tear you from the sky, the voice said. I could gorge myself on your warmth, quench your fragile spark.

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” Seth said.

  You have much to learn, and little time, the chilling voice said. Let me teach you.

  “I’m on a mission tonight,” Seth said.

  You could defeat the dragons, the voice said. Leave their shattered husks in your wake. You could explore a night like this without fear. You could save those you love. You could thrive. Let me teach you.

  “No deals,” Seth said, unsure if rejection would make the tenebrous gargoyle attack. “I do things my way.”

  You soar toward the castle, the voice said. Your doom awaits. Without my help you will fall.

  “I’m sorry,” Seth said. “I don’t want help from flying shadow people.”

  What I now offer cannot be bought, the voice said. In your hour of need you may regret denying my proposal.

  “I’ve regretted lots of things,” Seth said. “Especially making deals with darkness.”

  Very well, the voice said. The dark figure swerved away, almost immediately becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the night.

  Seth was left with an unsettled feeling.

  As if the howls and shrieks and groans and geysers of distant dragon fire weren’t scary enough. Now he got to wonder what exactly had approached him.

  Stormguard Castle came into view in the distance because it was illuminated. At first Seth thought it might have electricity. A series of swooping dives brought them nearer to the castle. As they approached, Seth recognized magical light globes providing the luminance.

  Patton pulled up into a slow glide, and Seth realized Calvin was reporting, astride his rabbit. Seth leaned in their direction, and Noble glided closer. Kendra, Tanu, Lomo, and Knox tightened into formation around Patton as well.

  “Three people just entered the castle,” said Calvin. “Two wore light armor—the third had a full suit of it. A woman and two men. The guy in the full suit had a dragon on his shield. Might have been Celebrant, but I’m not sure. I assume they were dragons in human form. I got as close as I could, but neither Thistleton nor I could get above the drawbridge. The knight in full armor noticed me and came to take a swipe at me. As I flew away, they entered the castle.”

  “This was just a minute ago?” Patton asked.

  “If that,” Calvin said.

  “All right,” Patton said, glancing over at Seth and the others. “Ready to follow some dragons into Stormguard Castle?”

  “I finally get to spend real time with dragons, and they look like people?” Knox complained.

  “You just rode a flying camel through a sky full of ghosts,” Seth said. “Be grateful.”

  Patton urged Captain forward. The others followed.

  Silver and Gold

  Kendra felt relieved to have her feet back on the ground, even if she was standing near the drawbridge of a cursed castl
e. Being chased through the sky by shadowy phantoms with a horror soundtrack in the background had negated the fun of riding a flying horse.

  “Thank you, Glory,” Kendra said, petting her mount. “Stay safe.”

  “Good luck,” Patton said. “I’ll get our trusty steeds to a roadhouse and come for you after sunrise.”

  “Let me try to enter one more time,” Calvin said, dismounting Thistleton and sprinting toward the castle. Once he reached the drawbridge, he collided with an unseen barrier and stumbled backward.

  “Don’t try to force it, Calvin,” Patton said. “It could kill you.”

  “Wraiths,” Lomo warned.

  Kendra turned and found six dark forms striding toward them, having emerged from the nearest grove of trees. Lomo drew his sword and placed himself between the wraiths and the group.

  “Get onto the drawbridge,” Patton said from astride Captain. “Horses, camel, rabbit—with me!”

  Captain took flight, and the other mounts followed. Calvin had climbed back onto Thistleton, and the rabbit took to the air as well.

  Kendra hurried onto the drawbridge. The moment her feet were on the wood, the boisterous noise of the festival night ceased. Sword held ready, still facing the oncoming wraiths, Lomo was the last to back onto the drawbridge.

  The wraiths hesitated at the edge of the drawbridge. One tried to move forward and was hurled back with a sizzling flash, falling to the ground. Kendra felt some relief. At least she might not die in the icy clutches of a wraith tonight. The fallen wraith arose. The other wraiths milled about for a moment before withdrawing some distance. They huddled together, seeming to watch.

  “Why is it so quiet?” Knox asked.

  “Because you aren’t talking,” Seth said.

  “The defensive barrier of the castle seems to filter everything,” Tanu said. “Even sound.”

  “Unusually powerful,” Lomo said.

  Drawing his sword, Seth led the way across the drawbridge. At the far side of the bridge, a raised portcullis granted access to the castle.

  “Not so fast,” Tanu said. “Give the dragons a moment. We don’t want to enter right behind them.”

  “Think we could catch them by surprise?” Lomo asked.

  “It would be nice if they don’t know we’re here for a time,” Tanu said. “Celebrant in full armor could be more of a fight than any of us are prepared to handle.”

  “It might not be Celebrant,” Kendra said.

  “I suspect it is,” Lomo said. “The Wizenstone is too powerful. He would not trust his underlings enough to send any of them unsupervised. He undoubtedly wants the Wizenstone for himself.”

  “We have to break the curse by sunrise, don’t we?” Seth asked. “At least that’s when the festival night ends. How long do we wait?”

  “Not long,” Tanu said.

  “Think they have alligators?” Knox asked, peering off the edge of the drawbridge into the murky water of the moat.

  “Probably worse,” Seth said. “We’re at a dragon sanctuary. Think monsters.”

  Knox backed away from the edge.

  Kendra looked up at the castle. Though enormous, even at night, it did not look terribly sinister. Walls of gray stone topped with battlements stretched from one rounded tower to another. Beyond the outer wall, a mounting series of towers, balconies, terraces, walkways, chimneys, and rooftops piled in an artful jumble up to the highest pinnacles.

  “All right,” Tanu said softly. “Stay quiet. We want to keep the element of surprise.”

  “This must be where Patton turned back,” Seth said, pointing to the wall just beyond the portcullis.

  CONQUER OR WITHDRAW

  Kendra looked behind her and saw the wraiths waiting at the other end of the drawbridge. “I’m not sure retreat is an option now,” she said.

  “In we go,” Tanu whispered.

  As Seth stepped off the drawbridge into the tunnel through the gate, the splash of a gong reverberated from deep within the castle. Kendra flinched at the loud noise, then winced as it sounded again when Lomo entered the tunnel.

  “Let’s enter together,” Tanu whispered. He, Kendra, and Knox stepped into the tunnel at the same time and were greeted by three rapid crashes of the gong. After a moment the metallic shimmer faded into silence.

  “So much for surprise,” Kendra murmured.

  “Will there be monsters?” Knox asked.

  “There could be anything,” Lomo said. “Stay loose.”

  At the far side of the tunnel through the wall they found a wide courtyard dominated by a large fountain in the center. Water gushed from several spouts to tumble from one level to another before reaching the large basin at the bottom. Life-sized human statues, each composed of silver or gold, stood around the courtyard seemingly at random, most positioned as if running. A few gold statues were locked in frozen combat with silver ones. One pair wrestled on the ground.

  “Those look expensive,” Knox said.

  Seth crouched down at the far end of the tunnel, where he found large words emblazoned on the floor. Kendra and the others huddled near him.

  SHED NO BLOOD

  BREAK NO BONE

  STOP NO HEART

  “Think the dragons will play by the castle rules?” Kendra asked.

  “Depends on what they think they can get away with,” Tanu said.

  “This warning is likely connected to the curse,” Lomo said. “Whatever the dragons decide to do, we should heed the command.”

  Seth sheathed his sword. Lomo did likewise.

  “Are those statues pure gold?” Knox asked, crossing to the nearest one.

  “Don’t touch it,” Tanu said. “We don’t understand what is going on here yet.”

  “The poses are strange,” Kendra said. “Running and fighting.”

  “I don’t see any living people,” Seth said.

  Kendra scanned the quiet courtyard and the still castle. “Neither do I.”

  Lomo leaned in close to the statue beside Knox. “That’s real gold. At least the exterior. Probably not solid gold all the way through.” He glanced around at some of the other statues. “Nobody has that much wealth.”

  “Can we still exit?” Seth asked.

  “Good question,” Tanu said, trotting back to the tunnel through the wall. He banged against an invisible barrier at the mouth of the tunnel and stumbled backwards, then turned and gave a sheepish grin. “Looks like we’re trapped here.”

  “So much detail on these statues,” Knox said, reaching a hand toward a golden face.

  “No touching,” Tanu reminded him.

  “Exquisite,” Lomo agreed. “Each a true individual.”

  “They could be real people,” Kendra said. “Turned into gold and silver.”

  “The thought crossed my mind,” Tanu said.

  “The silver ones should be tarnished,” Lomo said, investigating a silver woman running with a sword in her hand. “But they look brand-new.”

  “Magic,” Seth said.

  “Greetings,” a voice boomed.

  They all turned.

  A large, bearded man had exited one of the nearest castle doors. Broad-shouldered and large-bellied, he walked toward them. He wore princely attire and had a silver glove on one hand. “I would say welcome, but there is little to recommend this ill-fated place.”

  “Greetings,” Lomo said, placing himself between the newcomer and the others. “May I ask whom we have the pleasure of meeting?”

  The man gave a light chuckle. “That question is mine, being master of this castle.”

  “King Hollorix?” Lomo asked.

  “The king is . . . unavailable,” the man said. “I am his eldest son, Tregain, regent of Stormguard Castle.”

  Seth put a hand on his sword. “Tregain?”

  “Draw the sword, boy,” Tregain encouraged.

  Seth drew it and held it up.

  “Bless my soul,” Tregain said. “My boyhood weapon. How did you come by that?”

  “The a
rmory at Blackwell Keep,” Seth said.

  “Then you are friends of the caretaker,” Tregain said. “Hold.” He held up a hand, looking at Kendra. “I see the medallion? Has one so young truly taken charge of Wyrmroost?”

  “We’re both caretakers,” Seth said. “It’s her turn to wear it today.”

  “I can’t help noticing your glove,” Tanu said.

  Tregain gave a charming smile. “You have a good eye.”

  “Might it have anything to do with the silver figures?” Tanu asked.

  “A worthy inquiry,” Tregain said. “I’ll not blame you for keeping some distance. Come with me. We must talk. The night is never long enough.”

  “Are you the only person here?” Lomo asked.

  Tregain’s expression became grave. “There is another. A very dangerous man. He nabbed the attention of the three who came before you.” Tregain turned away from them. “This way.”

  Kendra looked at Tanu, who shrugged. They fell into step behind Tregain. He led them through a door, down a hall, up some stairs, and down another hall. Globes of light brightened the hallways much as they illuminated the castle’s exterior. Lomo walked nearest to Tregain, with Seth, Knox, and Tanu trailing behind. Kendra brought up the rear.

  She almost cried out when a hand tugged on her sleeve. Kendra whirled to find a skinny young boy of perhaps eight or nine, with tousled black hair and ragged clothes. He held one finger over his lips, dark eyes pleading for silence.

  Pausing, Kendra watched the others proceed down the hall. Nobody was looking back. The kid motioned her toward a square hole low in a nearby wall.

  Kendra pointed toward Seth and her friends.

  The boy scowled and shook his head, ducking nimbly into the hole and gesturing for her to follow. Kendra crouched and looked into the hole. It led into an extremely narrow passage behind the wall.

  She felt torn. Seth and the others would be panicked if she vanished. But this boy might know things! He was waving her toward him. Could it be a trick? He seemed eager and nervous.