The eternal kicked at the ground. “I do not like the feeling of that place!”
“Your senses tell you true . . .” The sorcerer turned. “The drake lord should be—”
The Crystal Dragon was gone.
Shade searched the area with his senses but could not locate the Dragon King. It did not surprise him, but he knew that they would meet each other again. The drake lord had wanted him here; the reason for that Shade was only beginning to understand.
“Should we search for him?” the enchantress asked.
“He will find us.”
His answer did not sit well with either of his remaining companions. A Dragon King was not someone anyone wanted lurking around.
“The stone seems drawn to the tower.” Valea held the stone toward the structure. The tiny object’s own iridescence magnified.
“We may need it to enter.” Shade had no idea if that was the case but was glad that the Crystal Dragon had not remained the stone’s wielder.
“I should carry you,” Darkhorse said to Valea. After a moment he added, “And you, also, Shade.”
The sorcerer nodded. “It would be best.”
Once the pair had mounted, Darkhorse trotted up the hill. Now, in the perverse nature of this world the tower seemed to recede a bit as they tried to approach. What appeared to be the last hill proved instead to be the first of at least half a dozen.
Darkhorse picked up the pace, quickly climbing the next hill. He did the same with the second and third and at last the tower seemed to grow closer again.
Atop the fourth hill, they spotted the crumbling pathway. Unlike the tower, the elements and time had wreaked much havoc on it. At least, Shade hoped it was the elements and time. When he studied the stone trail closer, it almost looked to him as if the destruction had been deliberate.
“Slower, Darkhorse,” he quietly ordered. “And be wary.”
Darkhorse reached the pathway a few minutes later. He started along it, his hooves not actually touching the stone, but rather hovering a few inches above.
“Why is this the only thing thus far that looks old and damaged?” Valea whispered in Shade’s ear. “This is wrong.”
“It is very wrong.”
A shadow passed over them.
Both Shade and Valea looked up, but Darkhorse moved along as if nothing had happened. Once more, neither could see the source of the shadow.
Shade could not take a chance. To the surprise of Valea, he threw himself off the ebony steed. “Darkhorse! Take her away from here! Quickly!”
Much to his dismay, the eternal instead hesitated. “What ails you? Are you mad?”
The shadow blackened the area again. Darkhorse suddenly stiffened.
“Darkhorse?” The enchantress touched her mount on the side of the neck, then immediately drew back her hand. “He’s cold!”
“Off him! Hurry!”
Even as Valea leapt, Darkhorse transformed. His inky appearance lightened. It took on a horribly familiar sheen.
The stallion stood frozen, his body now seemingly made of the same fascinating substance as the tower.
The enchantress rolled to a sitting position just as Shade came to her side. “Where is it? Where is it?”
In answer, the shadow swooped over them once more. Shade pulled Valea toward him, at the same time casting a shield around them. He hoped that it would buy them enough time for him to strike.
As Shade pressed Valea against him, he felt stronger. She not only still held the stone but had instinctively offered him a link to her own abilities.
The shadow passed again.
A tremendous roar echoed through the region. It was followed by a savage squawk, as if some giant avian had responded.
And a moment later, Shade saw that the second assumption was and was not near the truth.
A gargantuan dragon fluttered above them, his hide gleaming in the light of the stationary sun. There was no doubt whatsoever that it was the Crystal Dragon, now no longer in the form to which the sorcerer had become accustomed. The drake lord was one of the largest of his kind that even Shade had seen, his mass greater than that of many of the Dragon Emperors. His wingspan was half again as much, too.
But as startling as it was to see the Dragon King transformed, that paled against what the drake lord did battle with. Now Shade understood even better why the tower had been named as it was.
As huge as the dragon, the phoenix gave as great as it received. Its talons raked at the dragon’s scaly chest as the Crystal Dragon’s claws sought to rend the wings. A stunning creature of fiery reds, oranges, and golds, the phoenix might have been born from the very essence of the tower itself. Whenever it moved, it seemed to leave short-lived flashes of flame. The giant avian also sported a brilliant crest sweeping down its back.
Yet, the most disconcerting aspect of the phoenix was that it did not seem entirely solid. Much of its edges seemed to fade away, as if it were a figment of the imagination. At times, the bird even resembled more an outline than a full, living creature.
That it was a thing of magic, there was no doubt. Wherever its long, sharp beak bit or its talons scratched, bright sparks of energy burst. Raging power emanated and surrounded it.
However, the Crystal Dragon also radiated fearsome magic, and his teeth and claws were no less touched by fiery energies than the weapons of his adversary. Understanding some of the phoenix’s otherworldly nature, Shade could appreciate why the drake lord utilized spellwork even when biting.
The two titans spun in the air just ahead of the tower. As they clashed again, the dragon collided with part of one of the taller rocky hills. With a crash, the Dragon King sent tons of rock and earth hurtling toward the pathway . . . and those upon it.
“Stay with me!” Shade commanded Valea. The shield might hold, but he had no desire to find out. Staring at a higher point nearer the tower, Shade added, “If anything happens, focus on teleporting yourself there!”
“I won’t leave you!”
He appreciated her concern but hoped that she would see sense. Shade dismissed the shield with one hand and cast the teleport with the other.
He and Cabe’s daughter materialized exactly where he’d hoped, and only then did the sorcerer discover the high wall surrounding the tower, a wall composed not of the unique substance but a polished marble. Upon the face of the wall was written in silver script something in the flourishing language of the founders. Whether it was a warning, an invitation, or simply identifying the edifice within, Shade could not say. All he knew was that the wall was the one impediment remaining before he reached the tower.
Or so he thought. Without giving warning to the enchantress, Shade cast another teleport spell. The pair’s surroundings vanished—and then returned.
No, he thought darkly. It could not be that simple, could it?
The savage cry of the phoenix drew his attention back to the combatants. There seemed nothing but stalemate. The Crystal Dragon glowed like the sun itself and the phoenix burned just as bright, but neither appeared to be making any headway against the other. Fierce bursts of pure force shot in every direction, causing more damage to the landscape and threatening the two anew.
But Valea’s attention was on neither the two of them nor the tower. She was staring down at the pathway, where Darkhorse still stood frozen. “We can’t just leave him there!”
“There is nothing we can do for him!” He eyed the phoenix. “It is that thing that bespelled him and I believe its power is so great that it will probably have to be the one to free the eternal as well!”
Valea obviously did not like that, but he saw some acceptance creep into her beautiful features.
Beautiful? The hooded sorcerer was shocked to find himself thinking of her in those terms. That was dangerous ground, ground Shade dared not tread at any cost.
An avalanche fell just short of the shadow steed. Valea looked intent on returning to Darkhorse. Afraid that she might just do that, and aware that he would follow her, Shade seized her wris
t. “If we cannot free him, then we will at least protect him as best we can!”
She understood. Again linking and using the stone as their focus, they concentrated on the eternal.
An opaque dome formed over Darkhorse. It had barely been completed when more stones and earth came crashing down. The barrier deflected everything.
And above, there came an abrupt change in the phoenix’s cry. Shade sensed a change in its interest, as if the Crystal Dragon was now simply something keeping it from what it truly wanted.
“The stone,” he muttered. Using the stone had drawn the gigantic avian’s attention.
It did something else. Both spellcasters were suddenly bathed in the fantastic aura of the tower. The shimmering iridescence both soothed and disturbed.
The land suddenly shifted. The rocks that had gathered below rolled up the pathway toward Shade and Valea.
“It has decided to take a hand,” the warlock informed the enchantress.
“What has? Is the tower doing that?”
It was a fair guess, if wrong. “No, the land is concerned that we might still stir things up.”
He was not sure if she believed him, but what she could believe was that the avalanche was striving against gravity to reach them.
“Should we go there?” Valea pointed at the nearest of the mountains.
Shade had no chance to answer, for the Crystal Dragon roared in pain and pushed himself back. He writhed in the sky, a serpentine stream of gold, orange, and crimson encircling him. It took a moment for Shade to realize that the surreal tail of the phoenix had detached itself and wrapped around the Dragon King as if sentient in its own right.
And as the drake lord struggled, the phoenix descended upon the two spellcasters.
Shade drew a circle in the avian’s direction. A tremendous gale assailed the phoenix, slowing it. Shade then closed his hand around the one in which Valea held the stone.
“Think of the tower! We may be able to enter.”
The phoenix’s cry deafened them. Its fiery energies overwhelmed the pair.
Shimmering talons seized up Shade and Valea, separating the two in the process. The phoenix soared over the wall.
Shade felt as if his very soul was being torn apart. He wanted to scream but found he had no voice. His eyes teared up, blinding him.
And just as suddenly, he lay on some hard surface. The fire of the phoenix receded. Shade fought to fill his lungs with air.
His vision cleared. He lay not on the pathway, but rather on a marble floor.
Far beyond, the wall beckoned . . . only Shade no longer needed to concern himself with it, for he knew that he was inside the tower grounds.
He looked around and spotted Valea lying to his left. She appeared untouched and her expression was one of peace. Her breathing was regular. Shade could not help thinking that perhaps her journey had been a much calmer one than he had experienced.
Valea opened her eyes.
The phoenix alighted before them. Its energies continued to swirl about it and now it had a tail again. Shade peered beyond the bird but saw no sign of the Crystal Dragon.
Given the moment to think, Shade realized that the Dragon King had awoken and chosen the moment to secret himself from the others, all with the intent of taking on whatever kept stalking them. The sorcerer doubted that the Dragon King had done so out of much concern for his companions; the Crystal Dragon wanted entry into the tower.
Now, ironically, he had caused Shade and Valea to have that access . . . assuming that the phoenix did not next destroy them.
“Who are you?” Valea asked the creature.
Shade did not admonish her for her simple question but was astounded that she would actually ask such a thing to the phoenix. He was even more astounded when a voice resonated in his head.
I am the servant . . .
The phoenix’s beak did not move, but there was no doubt that it had spoken. Shade shook his head in wonder, then decided to see what he could learn. “You serve the tower?”
I serve its purpose.
“And what is its purpose?” The warlock held his breath as he waited. Now he would find out if his centuries of research had been correct.
To change.
It was a far more murky response than he had hoped. Shade thought about another way to phrase his question.
“What about—”
The phoenix spread its wings. It looked past the two. A prickly feeling spread over Shade’s neck.
He turned. “Serkadion Manee!”
They stood just beyond arm’s length, a gap so small that the sorcerer willingly added to it by taking a quick, long step back. Valea did the same.
The faceless figures spread out as they closed in on the intruders. There were twelve in all.
Valea looked back at the phoenix. “Who are they? What do they want?”
They are the ones I serve. They want you.
One of the beings stretched a hand toward Valea. Despite her struggles, the stone went flying to the pale hand.
Shade tried to draw it back to him. The twelve figures turned their attention to him. Even though they had no eyes, he knew that they observed him sharply.
He keeled over in sudden pain. At first, fearing that the loss of the stone had brought back his deterioration, the stricken warlock studied his hand. Seeing that it was still solid, he understood that he was merely suffering punishment for daring to cross the phoenix’s masters.
“Stop that!” shouted Cabe’s daughter. “You don’t know what you’re doing to him!”
They knew very well, and Shade was aware of that even if Valea was not. He stopped struggling and was not surprised when the pain quickly passed. The message was plain.
The figure holding the stone turned away. As it did, the others pressed around them, forcing the pair to move.
A wind arose behind them. They glanced up to see the phoenix already in the sky. It flew with intent and Shade guessed that it was once more after the Crystal Dragon. So much power . . . and merely a servant.
But these were not merely creatures without faces. They were a power even more ancient than the phoenix, the very power that had probably created the phenomenal guardian.
The bodies, created by his erstwhile cousins for the Clan Tezerenee, now housed spirits of the founders. The land once more had hands with which to act.
He had seen visions of this in the Gryphon’s deeper memories. The faceless figures worked their desires across the sea, manipulating matters to serve their grand plan. The Gryphon had seen them as allies then, because he shared a bond with them. What the lionbird did not understand, at least in Shade’s opinion, was that they had only helped the Gryphon because it served them.
And now it served them to seize Valea and him for some unknown purpose.
He jerked to a halt, causing the figures behind to walk into him. They pressed Shade forward, toward what was to all appearances a blank wall.
It was not the blank wall that bothered the warlock, though. He was not at all surprised when a blink hole opened just before the foremost of their captors would have walked into the wall. Had he designed the tower, Shade would have made a similar entrance.
No, what bothered Shade was that it had just dawned on him why he was being led so easily into the very tower he had spent almost all his lives pursuing.
Once, the land had tried to change him. Once, it had tried and failed. At the very least, his miscast spell had saved him from that.
But now he had walked right into the heart of their sanctum. Now the land could finally accomplish what it had so long wanted. It could finally finish transforming him.
It could finally make Shade as it had so long ago desired to.
An unreasoning panic overtook him. He imagined himself becoming something even more awful than the dragons his brothers had become. Even more awful than whatever had happened to his father, who, his will broken by the death of his wife and fall from power, had completely vanished.
Shade
raised his fist.
The solid air he sent flying in every direction threw their captors as if they were nothing. Interestingly, Valea was unaffected; Shade protected her without thinking.
As the faceless ones scattered, Shade tried to grab hold of the enchantress. Instead, his hand went through her.
He looked around but could not see the stone. Shade steeled his will and managed to solidify himself, at least momentarily. Valea’s widening eyes informed him that his face was once more indistinct.
“Nothing can be done! Come!”
He who had so long desired to find the tower and use its magic now only thought of flight. Not only for his own sake, but for that of the woman next to him as well. They would not stop with the sorcerer. Who knew what they might do to Valea?
Shade attempted a short teleport toward the direction of the wall and found to his relief that it worked. He and Valea appeared at a point midway between the tower and the barrier.
Focusing on an area just before the wall, Shade cast again. Once more, he and the enchantress materialized where he had desired.
There was hope. If he could just transport them over the wall . . .
Familiar with only part of the landscape of this pocket world, Shade concentrated on one of the nearby peaks. He hoped that he was guessing correctly as to where they would land.
The icy wind cut through him as they appeared. Shade held Valea tight in order to keep her from falling over the edge of a narrow outcropping with a flat surface. The place he had chosen was smaller than he had thought and only his skill had prevented them from ending up too far in one direction or another.
And above the tower, the phoenix once more did battle against the Crystal Dragon. There was no repeat of the tail entwining the drake lord, and Shade wondered if that was something that the guardian could not repeat often.
The dragon twisted and caught the light of the unmoving sun perfectly. A blinding brilliance enveloped the phoenix.
With a cry, the guardian disintegrated.
The Dragon King let out a triumphant roar and dove toward the tower.
But behind him, the phoenix exploded back into being. Fiery tendrils accompanied its rebirth, tendrils that reached out and seized the unsuspecting dragon. They pulled the Crystal Dragon back toward the guardian.
Legends of the Dragonrealm: Shade Page 24
