by David Wells
He nodded. “Thank you for your concern but it’s a matter of great importance, and she’s the only one who can help me. Can you guide us there?”
“I can, but I’m not sure I should,” Marla said. “Please understand, sending you into the Valley of the Fairy Queen will probably get you killed. You just saved my life. At the very least, I have a duty to protect you from wandering into a place of great danger.”
“I’ve been invited by a fairy to come to the Fairy Queen with my request,” Alexander said.
Her eyes widened a bit, this time in surprise. “Such a thing is unheard of. The fairies don’t want much to do with anyone but their druids.”
“Druids?” Abigail asked.
Marla nodded. “Druids serve each of the great powers and tend their temples. Some druids serve the fairies. I serve the dragons,” she said proudly, taking a chain from under her robes and holding up a gold medallion in the shape of a dragon.
“Dragons?” Alexander said. “I thought dragons didn’t like people.”
“They don’t in general,” Marla said. “But they make exceptions for a few of us.” She smiled with genuine pride and love.
“Marla, Master Grace and I are Rangers,” Isabel said. “In times past, the Rangers and the druids have cooperated to preserve and protect the forest. Please help us now.”
Marla frowned. “Perhaps we should present your request to my patron. If she gives you safe passage through the Pinnacles, then the other great powers are honor bound to recognize her word. I would feel much better about leading you to the Valley of the Fairy Queen knowing that you’ll be safe from her whims.”
“By patron, do you mean dragon?” Jack asked a bit hesitantly.
Marla smiled like the sunrise. “Yes. Her name is Tanis and she’s the most magnificent creature you will ever see.”
“And she won’t eat us?” Alexander asked.
Marla laughed. “Not if I introduce you to her.”
Alexander looked to each of his friends. They all looked a bit dubious but they nodded agreement nonetheless. “I’ve never met a dragon before. Lead the way.”
Chapter 22
Marla led them into the more rugged and rocky mountains that rose above the forests. She seemed to know her way and was surefooted enough to travel along paths that Alexander would never have tried on his own. They moved relatively slowly due to the poor footing and the steep grade, but they managed to cover a good distance before dark. She stopped at a small cave with the rivulet of a waterfall trickling down the wall beside it. It was on a steep switchback trail cut into the side of a mountain.
“We’ll be safe here for the night,” she said. “I’ve stayed here many times.”
They cooked a camp stew over a small fire and had biscuits with their dinner. Marla ate her fill and then some. She was clearly hungry and genuinely seemed to savor each bite of her meal. It reminded Alexander of Lucky.
Marla took a deep breath and relaxed against the rock wall at her back. “Thank you. I haven’t had a decent meal in days. I feel so much better now.”
“A meal always brightens my spirits as well,” Lucky said. “How did you come to live in the Pinnacles?”
“I was born in Highlake City,” Marla said. “I’ve lived in these mountains my whole life.”
“I thought Highlake City was just a legend,” Jack said with sudden interest.
“We work pretty hard to keep it that way,” Marla said. “It’s a small, self-reliant community, and we don’t venture out of the Pinnacles often, if at all. I’ve never been out of the mountains myself.”
“Is that where we’re headed?” Jack asked. “Highlake City, I mean.”
“Not directly,” Marla said. “I’m taking you to the Dragon Temple high in the mountains. If Tanis grants you safe passage, I’ll guide you to Highlake City and introduce you to the druids who serve the fairies. They are the only ones who can safely guide you into the Valley of the Fairy Queen.”
“I guess the path is the path,” Alexander said.
“May I ask why you need to see the Fairy Queen? I understand if you don’t want to tell me, but Tanis will definitely ask and she won’t help you if you don’t answer her truthfully.”
Alexander was silent for a long moment while he stared into the fire and thought about what he was trying to do. Now that he had more information about the fairies, he realized he would need some help to get there. Marla was his best bet, so he decided to trust her.
“I need their help to retrieve the Sovereign Stone,” he said without looking up.
Marla stared at him incredulously. She tried to speak but stopped short, then opened her mouth again but couldn’t find the words she wanted. For several moments she just looked into the fire silently while she pondered what she’d just learned.
“This is about Phane, isn’t it?” she asked finally.
Alexander looked up and met her eyes. He nodded with resignation. “He’s trying to get the Stone. If he does, the world will suffer for a very long time. I have to stop him but I need the fairies’ help.”
“That changes things,” Marla said, now deadly serious. “The Druid Council has been concerned since the warning spell. They’ve been debating whether we should remain isolated here in the mountains and hope that Phane will be too preoccupied with the rest of the Seven Isles to bother with us or if we should make contact with the one who has claimed the throne of Ruatha and offer our services in the fight. It’s been a bitter debate. No one wants war but many believe war will find us if we hide, so we might as well find it first.”
“Where do you stand?” Jack asked.
“Tanis is opposed. She would prefer to remain isolated in the Pinnacles. I heed the will of my patron, but I fear that war is coming anyway.”
Alexander looked from one face to the next for their buy-in before he went any farther. Each knew the stakes and each nodded their agreement to his unspoken question. Marla watched the silent exchange with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity.
“Marla, my name is Alexander Ruatha,” he said as he slowly drew the Thinblade and gently pushed the blade into the rock wall up to the hilt. “I lead the forces sworn to the Old Law that stand against Phane. Will your patron hear me out?”
Marla blinked, then looked from Alexander to the Thinblade and back to Alexander. “You saved my life. She’ll hear you on the strength of your actions alone. She may not agree to help you, but she’s still your best chance of reaching the Fairy Queen safely.”
Alexander nodded thoughtfully. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the Fairy Queen stands on the issue.”
“She is opposed to war as well, but it’s important to point out that the great powers are communities just like any other. There are both fairies and dragons that are in favor of taking war to the enemy before he brings it to us. But the Dragon Queen Tanis and the Fairy Queen Ilona are both strongly in favor of isolation.”
“That complicates things,” Abigail said.
“Hopefully, the Fairy Queen will be open to reason,” Isabel said. “The fairy we summoned said she’d hear us out before she makes her decision.”
“There’s another matter that bears mentioning,” Anatoly said. “We have a hundred soldiers chasing us. They’re about two days behind.”
Marla shook her head. “I doubt they’ll be a problem. As soon as one of the great powers gets wind of a bunch of soldiers moving into the Pinnacles, they’ll take action.”
“One of the soldiers is very dangerous,” Alexander said. “He doesn’t look like much, but he’s a battle mage. The men with him might be ordinary soldiers, but he’s not.”
“When we get to the Dragon Temple, I’ll inform Tanis of the threat and she will decide how to best handle the situation. In any case, your enemies will have a very difficult time following you through these mountains.”
Just before dawn, Isabel woke screaming. She caught herself a moment after she realized she was awake but her scream woke the entire camp. Alexander took h
er in his arms. She didn’t cry, but it was clear that she was shaken by her nightmare. The portal to the netherworld was still there and it was still trying to draw her in while she slept.
“I’m afraid I’m almost out of deathwalker root,” Lucky said. “I cut her dose back last night to make it last a bit longer. I’m sorry, my dear.”
“It’s all right, Lucky,” Isabel said. “Maybe the fairies will be able to help.” She took a deep breath as she regained her composure.
After breakfast they resumed their journey along the treacherous trail. It wound through rocky mountain passes and along narrow ledges with sheer rock faces on one side and thousand foot drop-offs on the other. Each step took them higher into the Pinnacles, yet the mountain peaks stood thousands of feet overhead.
About midday Isabel pointed out several ravens flying above them. “They’ve been following us for most of the morning. I didn’t think much of it at first, but now I’m wondering if that demon could possess birds as well as cats and horses.”
Alexander looked up at the ravens and saw in a glance the telltale colors of magic. He nodded. “Something’s not quite right about them. We’ll keep an eye on them and see if they keep following us. If it’s not the demon, then maybe someone else is using them to track us.”
“If I may ask,” Marla said, “what is this demon you speak of?”
“Several days ago we were attacked by a demon that possesses animals,” Alexander said, still looking up at the ravens. “It attacked as a big cat. When we killed it, the demon left the corpse of the cat and took our horses, one by one. We killed them all, and the demon left. We haven’t seen it since but I have good reason to believe it’s still hunting us.”
Marla frowned. “That sounds like a grimthrall.”
Both Alexander and Isabel turned to her. “What can you tell us about it?” Alexander asked.
“They are minor demons that possess animals,” Marla said. “Usually they must be summoned, but sometimes they find their way into the world of life without help. They are not very smart, but they do have the hunting and fighting instincts of the animals they possess.”
“There’s more,” Isabel said as she pulled the animal charm necklace from under her tunic. “This necklace is a gift from the Guild Mage of New Ruatha. It allows me to speak to animals with my mind. When the demon took my horse and I tried to calm her, I touched the mind of the demon instead.” She shuddered at the memory. “It opened a passage in my mind to the netherworld and drew my soul into the darkness. Alexander saved me, but the portal to the netherworld is still there and it opens up and tries to pull me in when I sleep. That’s why I screamed this morning.”
Marla looked at her with a mixture of awe and incredulity. She shook her head as if the circumstances she found herself in were beyond her experience, and then she frowned at a sudden thought. “Is that why you’ve been taking deathwalker root?”
Isabel nodded. “Lucky’s been giving me deathwalker-root tea so I can sleep without the nightmares and the threat of losing myself to the netherworld.”
“I believe I can help you,” Marla said. “There’s an herb in the mountain valleys that induces a dreamless sleep in much the same way that deathwalker root does. The path to Highlake City takes us through a valley where it grows.”
“Can you describe this herb you speak of?” Lucky asked.
“It’s a flowering vine that sends out many shoots and is covered with small broad leaves of bright green and tiny little white flowers. It’s quite common in the valleys of the Pinnacles and is used for many medicines.”
“Hmm, that sounds like skymeadow creeper vine,” Lucky said. “In many ways it’s preferable to deathwalker root for inducing sleep since the chances of an overdose poisoning are much less.”
“How far away is this valley?” Alexander asked.
“If we continue toward the Dragon Temple, it will be three days; otherwise we can reach it by tomorrow afternoon,” Marla said.
“Let’s head for the valley, then double back to the Dragon Temple,” Alexander said.
“Nonsense,” Isabel replied. “We’re almost to the Dragon Temple and that’s far more important than my nightmares.”
“What if you get lost in the darkness again and I can’t save you?” Alexander asked.
“I won’t. If nothing else, I just won’t sleep. I’m sure Lucky has something in his bag that will help me stay awake,” Isabel said.
“You plan on going three days without sleep?” Alexander said. “I doubt it. And besides, you won’t be able to travel very far if you’re exhausted.”
“Be that as it may, we need to get to the Dragon Temple,” Isabel said. “The Sovereign Stone has to be our first priority.”
“I don’t like this, Isabel,” Alexander said softly.
“Me neither. But it is what it is, and that’s what we have to deal with.”
Alexander couldn’t help but smile at the simple truism. It was a common piece of advice offered by his father while he was growing up.
“Can’t argue with that,” Abigail said to her brother as she started up the trail.
For the rest of the day, Isabel walked with a lighter step and Alexander with a heavier heart. He was worried about her. He hated the fear she felt and the helplessness he felt, but mostly he worried how she would suffer once Lucky ran out of deathwalker root. For now it was allowing her to sleep; without it, she would quickly become exhausted, or worse—she might get lost in the netherworld again. He just hoped she would make it to the valley unscathed by the darkness infecting her mind.
Chapter 23
Late in the afternoon after a grueling day of walking uphill, they rounded a bend and saw the Dragon Temple in the distance. It was both magnificent and ominous. The trail led along a steep ridgeline up to the flat-topped mountain that looked like it had been sheared off to create a platform. On each of the four corners of the open-air temple was a life-size stone statue of a dragon looking down on the platform. There was no building or structure, just an altar and a wide open space where a dragon could easily land.
Beyond the Dragon Temple were seven stone peaks that looked like fangs. Alexander caught his breath when he saw a dragon soaring gracefully before it flared its wings and landed in the open mouth of a cave in the steep face of one of the mountains.
Marla smiled.
Alexander absentmindedly checked his sword in his scabbard.
They arrived at the Dragon Temple just before dark, and Marla led them down a flight of stairs into a small shelter beneath the platform. It was a set of rooms with ample space for ten or twelve people to sleep comfortably. There were cots and a table with chairs. One small room had some food stores, water, and a bit of firewood. The place looked like it was used infrequently but often enough to keep stocked.
“We can sleep here tonight,” Marla said. “The dragons won’t come to the temple during darkness, so we’ll have to wait until morning.”
Alexander woke in the middle of the night to find Isabel sleeping fitfully. He could see that she was dreaming, so he gently shook her. When she didn’t waken, he shook her harder and she woke with a start, looking frantically around for a threat. When she regained her wits, she fell into Alexander’s arms and cried quietly for a few minutes.
“It had me,” she whispered. “I tried to fight it, but it had me and was pulling me in again. Alexander, I don’t ever want to go back there.”
“Just a couple more nights and you’ll be able to sleep without fear again,” Alexander said. “Hopefully, the Fairy Queen will be able to help you. Now try and get some rest.”
She dozed fitfully for the rest of the night, coming awake several times. By morning she and Alexander were both exhausted.
When they walked up the little staircase to the top of the platform at dawn, Alexander was momentarily overcome be the sheer wild beauty of the view. The air was cold and the sun was just cresting over the horizon. The snow-covered mountains of the Pinnacles shone brightly in the mo
rning light and the green of the forest blanketed the world to the north and west.
“The dragons will be stirring,” Marla said. “Now is the best time to request an audience. I need all of you to stand here.” She motioned to an area behind the altar.
“Tanis will land over there if she chooses to answer my call. Do not address her unless she addresses you first. Dragons have a strong sense of propriety and they expect to be respected by humans who visit their temple.”
They did as she said, but Alexander still checked his sword. Marla went to the altar and opened a cabinet built into the square stone platform. She produced a cask of oil and poured a good quantity onto the bowl-like top of the altar. She withdrew her dragon medallion and kissed it before she began her incantation. After a few moments of soft, lilting chanting that sounded almost like a song, a small ball of fire materialized over her outstretched hand. With one final word, she cast the flaming sphere into the oil and it ignited with a whoosh.
Marla stood back and waited with her head held high. It wasn’t long before several dragons could be seen soaring gracefully around the mountains in the distance. Then there was a roar that echoed and reverberated off the peaks. Alexander could see the thrill of excitement building within Marla’s sturdy frame while she waited for her patron.
A dragon that was half again as big as any of the others emerged from the side of a mountain peak high above and glided smoothly toward them. She grew in size as she neared, the sun glinting off her golden-brown scales. She landed on the platform before the altar with a lightness that belied her size.
She was truly magnificent. Standing on her hind legs, Tanis towered a good forty feet over them. Her wings nearly reached to the statues perched a hundred feet apart on both sides of the temple platform. Her snout was long and her teeth looked razor sharp. She had a horned ridge that ran down the length of her spine and a long tail ending in a bone spike. She was beautiful and terrifying all at once. Most impressive were her eyes. They were golden brown with flecks of gold scintillating in her catlike irises, and they communicated a deep intelligence and a profound, ageless wisdom.
