The Black wing (d-2)

by Mary Kirchoff

  Frowning, Khisanth watched with mixed feelings as the ranking dragon departed. She couldn't be angry with Jahet. The other black dragon had gone out on a limb to warn her. Khisanth suspected that Jahet was dangerously close to vio shy;lating the spirit of her union with Maldeev. No matter how friendly she was with Khisanth, she was bonded to Maldeev by the Dark Queen herself.

  Khisanth knew only that she didn't want to leave the Black Wing-that had been an angry threat. It was her goal, and she believed it to be Takhisis's, that she rise through the ranks on her merits alone. Khisanth had managed to dodge

  the question for a number of human years, because her supe shy;rior skills could not be denied. She had hoped-no, worked, hard-to prove that she needed no rider. The dragon couldn't see what had changed, what had prompted Maldeev to force a choice. But something definitely had.

  "Flow with whatever happens, stay focused by accepting whatever is," Kadagan would tell her whenever she grew frustrated. Qhen had taught her that denying the existence of a truth would not change it; refusing to acknowledge the presence of a rock in the path would not negate it.

  Khisanth was faced with the emotional whims of humans who had built the evil army on protocol they weren't eager to disregard. If Khisanth wanted to fight for her queen, she might have no choice but to trust a human on her back.

  * * * * *

  At that moment, one very highly placed human in the Dark Queen's army waited impatiently for his dragon. High-lord Maldeev stood in Shalimsha Tower's great hall, check shy;ing the time on his water clock. The massive machine was built and maintained by gnome slaves. Maldeev despised their flighty, constant gibbering. He kept them alive only because their mechanical artistry was unequalled. If they could build a device such as this clock, he expected he could find other uses for them in the upcoming campaign. Sud shy;denly Maldeev was struck with the obvious solution to the gnomes' chatter. He made a mental note to have the barber remove their tongues.

  The bulky water clock was one of only two items of furni shy;ture in the long, rectangular hall, the other being an ornate, claw-foot chair for Maldeev's use only. The highlord's sec shy;ond renovation to the tower, after his apartments, was to remove the entire length of wall that divided the courtyard from the great hall. This allowed his dragon to enter the cav shy;ernous hall for private meetings, without Jahet resorting to spells whose use made the human highlord uncomfortable. The tower's original banquet hall was the only protected place in the castle large enough to accommodate Jahef s bulk.

  Thick, irregular timber trusses stained dark with pitch arched overhead from one long length of wall to the opposite side, supporting the roof of the great hall. Maldeev had ordered the restoration of tapestries that had originally lined the plaster-covered stone walls, but had been used as blan shy;kets by previous occupants of the tower. The walls were pale, bare, and cool even in summer while workmen hastened to complete the refurbishment of the tapestries.

  At the shorter eastern length of wall, adjoining the kitchen, was a deeply recessed fireplace, tall enough for a human to walk into. It burned constantly, even in summer. Maldeev's elaborate chair, twice his height, was set before it. Jahet's large entrance allowed light in the room by day. The fire, aided by beeswax tapers on rock corbels, lit it by night.

  Maldeev considered the waning sunlight through nar shy;rowed eyes. Jahet was dangerously close to breaking for the first time a central element of their oath to each other. "Never keep your soul mate waiting." They'd made the vow during their union ceremony some five years earlier, agreeing that such a tenant showed respect for the value of each other's time. And now Jahet was wasting his.

  Still, Maldeev had to conclude that his union with Jahet had proven satisfactory beyond even his lofty expectations. They had performed the ceremony just after he'd returned from the city of Neraka far across the mountains to the west, where the Dark Queen had raised her temple-the Temple of Istar reborn.

  The idea to raise his own branch of the army rallying under the banner of Takhisis had not been Maldeev's. In fact, Takhisis herself, through a minion, had issued him the man shy;date to recruit evil black dragons and form what would henceforth be know as the Black Wing. As usual, the memory of his time in the dark temple brought both a cold trickle of fear and a rush of pride to Maldeev.

  At the time of the mandate, Maldeev had been distinguish shy;ing himself as an excellent tactician in one of the first branches of Takhisis's army, the blue dragons under Highlord Bakaris himself. Maldeev was widely known to remain calm under fire; he was also a peerless horseman. He had risen quickly to the level of brigade commander of mercenary cavalry in the Blue Wing, headquartered in Sanction, the city made famous by its constantly erupting volcanoes.

  Maldeev had been in the tent-city of Neraka, near Sanc shy;tion, on a clandestine intelligence mission to the combined evil forces. Neraka had sprung up at the base of Takhisis's Temple of Darkness. A discussion of troop numbers was heating up among some midlevel commanders of the White Dragon Wing when a messenger stepped into the unadorned tent and informed Maldeev that he was hereby summoned to the temple. Maldeev was stunned. Who but the very lowest of commanders knew he was in Neraka, let alone this tent?

  Thinking he might very well be walking to his death, Mal shy;deev had little choice but to follow the messenger into the city. The young brigade commander had seen the twisted temple from the distance-who could miss it? He'd once read that "it clawed its way into the sky like a bird of prey, overshadowing the city below into perpetual night." That was certainly true, he'd thought as he walked behind the messenger through the northwest gate and into the crowded market square. Maldeev bumped elbows with black-robed mages, as well as the dark clerics who were numerous among the Dark Queen's personal troops.

  He distrusted mages. They reminded Maldeev how easily his location could be known by anyone in authority. What he couldn't understand was why anyone important cared. Had he somehow been set up by soldiers in the Blue Wing whom he'd deliberately stepped on or otherwise betrayed to achieve his current rank?

  Maldeev could well remember walking the twisting and tilting halls of the black tower. Though a skilled tracker, he quickly became confused by the route through countless anterooms and seemingly pointless chambers. Maldeev fol shy;lowed the messenger up a narrow, endlessly spiraling stair shy;case that eventually led to a door. The door opened onto a large, spoon-shaped platform of cold red marble. The messenger pushed him through the door and disappeared.

  Maldeev stumbled forward into the darkness. There was no light at all. It took long seconds for Maldeev's eyes to adjust. Still he could see nothing beyond the slightly glowing marble at his feet. The air didn't move, as if Maldeev stood in the eye of a storm. The still atmosphere was oppressive.

  "Step forward, Maldeev," a dark, muffled voice hissed suddenly, as if from behind a mask.

  Maldeev shuffled toward the voice mechanically, seeing nothing beyond the vision of his feet at the ends of his legs.

  "Stop."

  Maldeev did as he was told, desperately squinting into the absolute darkness. He thought he spotted a shadowy hint of a horned mask, but then the image was gone.

  "Why have I been summoned?" he managed to ask.

  "Silence, or I will reconsider the choice!"

  Maldeev could feel eyes studying him for many long min shy;utes. Finally, the muted voice said, "We have an empty plat shy;form in this hall, waiting for the highlord of her majesty's black dragons. You have been chosen to assemble that new wing in the name of Takhisis."

  "Who are you to have chosen me?" Maldeev hadn't meant to sound impertinent. He simply wished to know the identity of the speaker.

  A cold hush suddenly descended over the area, which was already unnaturally still. Maldeev felt as if the breath were being choked from his body by an unseen force. Then the surrounding air seemed sucked away. Maldeev's knees failed him. He tumbled to the cold marble, gasping for breath.

  Just as suddenly, cool, sweet air rus
hed almost too quickly into his lungs. Maldeev stood again, coughing. He now knew who had chosen him. This was the Queen of Darkness's tem shy;ple, after all.

  Maldeev asked no more questions after that, content to receive detailed directions from the disembodied voice. They included the location of Shalimsha Tower as the headquar shy;ters for the Black Wing. He was also advised to tax the locals

  to amass a war chest and to recruit ogres and other merce shy;nary troops. There was a final command to immediately per shy;form the union ceremony with a worthy dragon under Takhisis's watchful eye, for no one could be highlord without a dragon.

  Maldeev was offered two black dragons, who had already traveled to Neraka and volunteered their services to form the core of the wing. One was Khoal, an ancient male with great power. But he was also excessively vain and independent. The other was Jahet, a younger female. While she could not match Khoal for sheer power, her intelligence appealed to Maldeev. They worked well together from the start. Maldeev had never regretted his choice.

  The way Maldeev had been recruited to start the wing also heavily influenced the way he ran it. Secretive, doling out information on a need-to-know basis, he sometimes called soldiers in just to keep fear of him uppermost in their minds. He had a mercurial temperament that caused even his most trusted advisors to tiptoe around him at all times. All but Jahet, that is.

  Maldeev's infamous temper was in full bloom by the time Jahef s horned hind feet touched down beyond the enormous doorway. The highlord didn't greet her. Sullenly slumped in his oversized chair, Maldeev craned his neck back to stare her in the eyes. The human raised an eyebrow and directed her gaze to his softly humming water clock.

  In retort, Jahet looked calmly to the sun behind her and back to his stormy face. "My timepiece is not as accurate as yours," she said with a disdainful glance at the cumbersome water clock. "We dragons aren't obsessed with time as are you short-lived humans. I've broken no vow to you, Mal shy;deev. Besides," she added, her look almost coquettish as she shuffled forward, heavy tail dragging the loose rushes noisily behind her. "I was on a mission for you."

  The sound of rustling made Maldeev wonder if he hadn't been imprudent to order new reeds and herbs for the floor today. Jahet detested any pleasant odor and would do what shy;ever she could to soil and mark the room with her own scent.

  Maldeev knew better than to consider breaking the enor shy;mous dragon of such an odious compulsion.

  "I was delivering your message to Khisanth."

  Maldeev nodded, remembering the request. Spinning the claw-footed chair away from the fire to show Jahet his pro shy;file, he slowly lowered his bulk into it again. His arms settled lazily on the rests, and he asked, "She doesn't see it as an ulti shy;matum yet, does she? You let her think you were giving her a piece of friendly advice, yes?"

  "Isn't that what we agreed I should do?"

  "Yes." Maldeev knew Jahet well enough to sense when she was hedging. "And?"

  Jahet could see no valid reason for not telling Maldeev that the conversation hadn't gone exactly as scripted. "It was nec shy;essary to tell Khisanth you were considering soul mates for her."

  "What?" exploded Maldeev, leaping from the chair. 'That will drive her away! Why didn't you just suggest in the strongest terms that she take a rider?"

  "You think like a human, Maldeev," said Jahet. "I've made that suggestion for years, with no result. Khisanth would continue riderless as long as we allowed it because she believes it's in her best interest to do so. Always remember, Maldeev, self-interest is a black dragon's only motivation." Jahet looked pointedly into the highlord's steel-colored eyes. "No matter what they may claim."

  Jahet flicked her long red tongue unconsciously. "Also remember, no one but Takhisis can truly force a black dragon to do anything. Khisanth will do our bidding only when she realizes that the best course for her future-her only future, considering the upcoming war-is with the Black Wing. She wants nothing more than to stay, but she's got to believe that the only way she can is to take a rider."

  The black dragon blinked slowly in the face of the flush-cheeked highlord and lowered herself to rest comfortably on the floor. An irritating, cloying, fresh scent wafted to her large nostrils, threatening to make her sneeze. She would have to do something about that smell before leaving.

  "I know Khisanth," continued Jahet, ignoring her itchy nostrils for the moment. "If I were her, I'd be furiously tear shy;ing apart my lair in rage, making Dimitras's pitiful life even more unbearable." Jahet let her tongue dart between two talons to retrieve an overlooked shred of raw meat. "Khi shy;santh doesn't indulge in shows of rage like other black drag shy;ons, but I know her passions run as hot. She has an obsession for the wing. I'm confident that her decision will be to our liking."

  Maldeev seemed somewhat mollified, the flush having left his cheeks. Still he paced, slapping a fist to his hand. "She must take a rider! We will not be allowed the luxury of reduc shy;ing our forces by even one cavalryman, sending a bare shy;backed dragon into battle in the upcoming war!" He glowered up at Jahet. "Why does she refuse to see that?"

  Jahet drew up her wings in an odd shrug. "She sees only that her solo performance during drills far exceeds that of the other dragons who bear riders. She's right"- Jahet nodded her head slightly to the side -"with the obvious exception of me." She waited for the highlord's inevitable compliment to her superior skills.

  "I don't ride you during daily drills," muttered the high-lord. Jahet's glower went unnoticed by Maldeev. "Just think how Khisanth would be with a rider between her wings," he said almost wistfully.

  His mood abruptly turned dark again. "I don't need this frustration now, Jahet," Maldeev said. He was already made painfully aware of his low ranking among wing comman shy;ders. The commander of the Black Wing was still awaiting his first shipment of draconians. Highlord Ariakas had begun to fill his ranks at least three years before with the creatures, who were reputedly so evil and indestructible they made ogres seem weak. Maldeev knew he was the last of the highlords to be issued the vicious creatures, the result of cor shy;rupted good dragon eggs.

  Even behind Toede, that contemptible hobgoblin excuse for a highlord….

  And then there were the rumors new recruits brought of knights amassing numbers in a stronghold not far to the north. Maldeev's dragons ran routine scouting flights. They reported seeing a refurbished castle near the town of Lamesh, but Khoal, Dnestr, and Neetra had said the troop numbers were too small to consider a threat. Still, the very presence of stiff-necked knights in the region was yet another burr in Maldeev's side.

  The highlord's eyes narrowed to slits as he angrily spun the chair back to face the fire and plopped into it sulkily. "Tell Khisanth-" he spat over his shoulder, then amended in a sarcastic tone, remembering Jahef s advice about drag shy;ons "-suggest to her highness that she's got one day to decide that taking a rider is 'in her best interests.' "

  "Or what?"

  Maldeev's voice took on a razor-sharp edge as he stared into the fire. "I'm relying on you to see that it doesn't come to that, because that would be in your best interests. See that you don't disappoint either of us, dear Jahet."

  Nodding calmly at the implied threat in the highlord's dis shy;missal, Jahet said nothing. She stood and waddled toward the open wall. Though silent, the dragon would have the last word before departing for her lair.

  Turning to stare right into Maldeev's eyes, Jahet relieved herself on the highlord's beloved fresh rushes.

  Chapter 15

  Khisanth popped through her side of the crevasse and reverted to dragon form just in time to see the other dragons returning from the drill field. Khoal, Dnestr, and Neetra all stopped first at the livestock pens to fill their bellies.

  Khisanth sighed. Another chance to snoop and pry was gone.

  "We're gathering in the conference chamber shortly to dis shy;cuss important business, Khisanth," Khoal called over his wing. Though he couldn't see inside her lair because of the spell she had p
laced on the archway, Khoal's dragon senses obviously told him she was present.

  "But we aren't scheduled for-"

  "Be there!" he barked. Never patient, and now famished, the ancient dragon didn't allow further conversation. Swing shy;ing his tail around, Khoal snatched several bawling calves from the holding pen, dragged them into his lair, and magi shy;cally darkened his doorway.

  Khisanth's talk with Jahet had left her in no mood for con shy;frontation with the other dragons, but the lowest ranking dragon could ill afford to be openly insubordinate now. At least until she decided whether she would comply with the highlord's ultimatum or leave the wing.

  Khisanth hated everything about these pointless meetings of Khoal's. She corrected her thought inwardly; the point was to give the ancient dragon the opportunity to lord his rank, since Jahet did not attend. Ostensibly Khoal called them to make plans for the improvement of the wing, which would then be submitted to the lead dragon for her review and approval. However, the sessions always dissolved into petty squabbles over perceived slights during drill, violations of protocol, or complaints about the quality of livestock Dimi-tras brought them. In Khisanth's memory, nothing construc shy;tive had ever evolved from one of Khoal's power sessions. Jahet had never received one suggestion.

  Khisanth had ways of making the meetings more tolerable. According to protocol established by Khoal, the dragons were to enter the chamber for a meeting in reverse order of rank, to signify each dragon's value to the wing. As lowest ranking dragon, Khisanth's time was not considered as valu shy;able as the others, thus she could be kept waiting. However, Khisanth always made it a point to linger in her lair until the assigned time passed. Unable to enter until she did, either Neetra or Dnestr, impatient young toadies both, would inevitably lose control and shriek for Khisanth to hurry up, shattering the air of pomp and circumstance Khoal strove to impart on his tedious meetings.