Return of the Dragonborn: The Complete Trilogy

by N. M. Howell

  “The Dead are here,” is all Saeryn managed to say.

  “We’ve been here for days,” said the man in front of them, his voice moving through the darkness like floating death. “Waiting for you or the other one, the one who has already taken two of our portals. Perhaps you thought we would not find you or that we would not realize what you and your friends are plotting. But don’t worry, our men will have caught up with her and her lover by now.”

  His voice made Andie’s skin crawl. It was made all the more terrifying because the light had gone out and they were in absolute darkness. She began to hear movement on every side. It is the Dead, moving in the shadows, along the walls, even in the water. She realized she didn’t hear them before because they didn’t want her to.

  “Perhaps you aren’t familiar with the abilities of the Dead,” said a different voice. “Our senses give us the advantage. I can see, smell, and hear you in here as well as if it were daylight. I can taste your sweat on the air. You’re afraid. The darkness troubles you. Your training and your nerves are failing.”

  “You reek of despair,” said yet another voice. “You cannot fathom the fate that awaits you. You come for a treasure you cannot contain and you seek safety beyond this war. But hope is not a thing you should aspire to. Embrace your death. Cede all control.”

  “Sorry to disappoint,” Andie said. “But we’re not really in a dying kind of mood.”

  With a single deft movement she exploded fire out from her body; the purple flames erupted in all directions eluminating the grotto with blinding flashes of colorful light.

  “Child,” said a voice in the dark. “The Dead do not feel flames. You forget, that we, too, descend from the dragon.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I only wanted to see how many of you there are.”

  And she had. Andie knew that there were seven Dead in the grotto. Two in front. Three behind. One clinging to the wall beside her. One in the water. She tapped Saeryn their number and locations on her arm.

  “Now!” Saeryn called.

  In an instant, the grotto was alive with magic and power. Every other spell the dragonborn cast was fire, not to hurt but to illuminate. But the fight was quickly going against them; the Dead are quick, strong, and the darkness is nothing to them. Try as they might, the dragonborn were barely able to stay on their feet. Andie was no sooner up than she was knocked down again. She couldn’t see anything at all and all she heard was the sound of the Dead flashing by and the dragonborn being beaten mercilessly. They would all be dead already if it weren’t for the dragonborn healing. Then one of the Dead lifted her in their arms, holding her so tight she could feel her bones about to break.

  “Fhealltóir Fola,” the Dead said.

  Andie struggled to work her hands up, to raise them across each other and place them on the forearms of the Dead. When she finally touched him, she cast a desiccation spell. The man cried out in pain and then his voice faded into a terrible croak before she heard a dull thud in the dark.

  “One down!” she called.

  She barely had the words out of her mouth before another Dead hit her. She felt herself flying up into the air and colliding with the wall. She dropped what must have been ten meters to collide back with the ground. She laid there for a moment, recovering.

  “One down!” Saeryn called.

  At the sound of the good news, Andie began to pick herself up. No sooner was she on her feet than the hand of a Dead wrapped around her throat from behind.

  “Goodbye traitor,” the woman whispered.

  “Not today,” Andie said. “Spiorad.”

  Andie’s body became incorporeal and she stepped backward, moving right through the Dead. The woman was totally baffled and by the time she turned around to look behind her, Andie was already blasting a bolt of lightning through her chest. The terrific light of the bolt illuminated the cave and Andie watched as the woman was blown far over to the other side of the grotto and collided with the wall, causing a small avalanche of stones to fall on her.

  “One down!” Andie called.

  There was a great sucking of air and stone for a moment and then it disappeared. Andie recognized the magic: a vortex spell she and Saeryn taught their people after finding it in an old grimoire.

  “One do—”

  The voice of the dragonborn warrior was cut short by a bloodcurdling slicing sound. Andie heard the body of the warrior thud against the grotto floor.

  “One down!” Saeryn called.

  Andie put her back against the wall, preparing herself for the next assault. Soon enough, she heard the sound of a Dead flashing by and felt a cold pain cut upward across her torso. She screamed and folded her arm over the wound, feeling the blood come thick and fast. What terrified her the most was that she wasn’t healing. At all. The wound hurt so badly she had to scream again. The Dead flashed by once more and sliced Andie’s face. Then again to cut the back of her hand. Bleeding, in pain, and furious Andie forced herself to her feet and raised her good hand.

  “Eitilt mall comhlacht.”

  As Andie uttered the time curse the whole grotto froze. She began to feel her way forward. The first body was Saeryn; Andie could feel some blood on her, but she seemed fine. She moved over some more and nearly tripped over someone’s corpse. She continued to feel around until her hand landed on the torso of a shirtless and heavily muscled warrior. She drew her sword and plunged it through the center of his chest. Moving on, she came across a dragonborn warrior in mid fall, badly injured, but possibly able to survive. It took her a few moments to locate the last Dead, who was in midair, frozen as she leapt to grab hold of the wall. Andie pushed her sword forward and felt it drive home with a grave slide.

  “Eitilt ar ais.”

  Time returned to normal. The Dead have been defeated, but Andie wondered at what cost.

  “Any dragonborn still alive, identify yourself!” she called.

  “I’m here,” Saeryn said. “Multiple wounds, but nothing life-threatening.”

  “I’m here, too,” Andie said. “I have a pretty bad cut on my chest, but I should be fine. Is there anyone else?”

  There was only silence. Andie waited. Silence.

  “Anyone? Please!”

  “Still... here.”

  The voice sounded as if it was drowning in its own blood. Andie turned to it and felt her way toward the voice. She heard Saeryn moving as well. She reached the fallen warrior and knelt in the dark.

  “Myra, is that you?”

  “Vernaylia... Vernaylia...”

  “You’re going to be fine,” Saeryn said, reaching them. “As soon as we get you outside we’ll take a look at you. Just hold on.”

  “I’m not... healing... my Queen... what did they... do to me?”

  “They have evolved.”

  Andie stood, unsteadily, and tried to orient herself in the dark. She casts a ball of light.

  “I’m going to look for the portal,” she said. “Try to keep her conscious.”

  “No, Andie. We need to get Vernaylia help now. Help me lift her, as quick as you can.”

  “We came all this way, I’m not turning back now. We just lost our entire group.”

  “One is still alive and we might save her if we go now. You promised me, Andie! You promised to put your people first.”

  “That’s what I’m doing.”

  Andie held the light out in front of her and hurried off deeper into the dark. She knew there was no time to waste and ran as fast as she could without running into the wall, all along clutching the horrible wound on her chest. Before long she heard the sound change again and knew the space was getting smaller, that she was reaching the end. She heard water ahead and slowed. As she drew near the sound, the light shone on a broken thing, round, ornate, and protruding out of the water. She leaned forward to see it better.

  “No.”

  It was a piece of the portal and as she walked along the water’s edge, she saw more pieces. It had been destroyed. She took a
minute to register the result, the disappointment, then raced back to find Saeryn and Vernaylia. She and Saeryn helped the wounded warrior walk the long path back to the light and when they finally exited the Black Grotto, Andie had never been so happy to see sun. All three collapsed into the black grass. Andie looked over at Vernaylia and saw that she was bruised and cut on nearly every inch of her body. It wasn’t until Andie saw that her eyes were glazed, her body still, that she realized the girl was dead. She probably died while they were carrying her.

  Andie looked past Vernaylia to Saeryn, who had a deep cut on her back and appeared to have been pierced just inside of her shoulder. She also had a cut down her neck which only nearly missed her jugular artery. Andie looked down to assess her own wounds. She couldn’t see the bruises, but she could feel them healing. She probably sustained at least one broken rib on each side, but those were healing, too. The cuts, however, were serious. The one on her face was not so bad and had already stopped bleeding, but she needed to bandage the one on the back of her hand quickly because it showed no signs of stopping. The cut on her chest was just beginning to clot, with the help of her clothes and armor, but it was deep and long. It would need stitches.

  “Was it there?” Saeryn asked. “Did you find the portal?”

  “It was there, but it’s destroyed.”

  “Was it at the very back of the grotto?”

  “Yes.”

  “And was there water there, a pond?”

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  “Legend tells of a cruel sorcerer who once lived in this place, performing all manner of evil and forbidden magic. They say the only person who could get close enough to kill him was his wife, who had lived as his slave and victim for years. As he was leaning over the pond to drink, his wife crept up behind him and slit his throat. She spilled all of his blood into the pond, but it was poisoned blood, full of magic so hateful it cannot even be uttered. The horrid power of his blood cursed this place, turned the air and the water sour. If the stories are to be believed, the pond at the back of the grotto can destroy anything that touches its surface.”

  “That portal is gone forever,” Andie said, rolling on her back to rest. “Shame. I really wanted it. But this is better than it being used against us.”

  “Fine. Now let’s tend to Vernaylia.”

  Saeryn rolled onto her side and crawled to Vernaylia. She tried to shake her awake.

  “Vernaylia. Vernaylia.”

  When she realized the girl was dead, she went silent. Still. Nothing moved but her tears.

  The portal stirred in the Archives at the bottom of Leabharlann. Two battalion soldiers emerged. They synchronized their watches and started their countdown. They rushed up from the Archives and through Leabharlann. They entered the hall and went separate directions. One of them went out through the front of the University, snapping the neck of the first person he ran into and hiding the body. He hurried along the front of the black marble, surveying the area and noting the position of the few guards. He saw that scores of people were getting off SKY 6 and passing through a checkpoint to go into the University. He turned on his camouflage and took up a position where he could observe.

  The other soldier was still inside and had turned on his camouflage, too. He moved through the University, staying close to the walls to avoid detection. He reached the main hub and saw that it was filled with the citizens of Arvall who had fled to the University for protection. They were moving down into the tunnels and corridors, the bowels and deep caves of both modern usage and the ancient coin mint. Most of the city was here, with the exception of those who opted for the shelters in the city. He stayed long enough to gather some small intelligence. He checked his watch and headed back toward Leabharlann.

  The soldiers reached the library at the same time. They hurried through the library, back into the Archives. But when they returned, the room was full of people. They were coming up from the portal at the dock in Arvall. The soldiers went unnoticed and stuck near the edge of the room. When that batch of citizens ended, the soldiers hurried to the portal and whispered the words they had been taught. The portal changed shades. The soldiers jumped in.

  They came out in front of the army, high on the silver cliff that lines Gordric’s Pain. The two soldiers walked over to the group of Beautiful Dead who had been placed in charge of the army

  “I saw people getting off the train and going in,” the first soldier said. “I overheard that Arvall City is completely empty. The train and the portal have been running nonstop. Everyone in the city is either in shelters under Arvall or in the University.”

  “They’re vulnerable,” said the second soldier. “They’ve tried to set up what security they can, but they don’t have the numbers to protect an entire city. They can’t even match our army. I heard their professors saying they only have a standing force of less than six thousand. They’ve been expecting more aid to come, but so far they haven’t received any. They’ve heard about what Beladorion and the rest of the Dead did to the dragonborn in the Hot Salts and it has them all panicked. They’re terrified. Most of their army is students and professors, and most of them come from privilege and peace. They’ll never be able to stand against us. People were coming into the University through a portal and I would guess the other end is somewhere near the bottom of the mountain, in the city. Once we infiltrate the University, it will only take a handful of men to cover the entrances to the tunnels and corridors and hold them hostage in their own refuge.”

  “Such excellent news,” the Dead general said. “I’m almost saddened to think the battle will be so easily won, though I trust there will be quite a satisfying amount of bloodshed before the door is shut on this war. What of the leaders?”

  “Lymir, the head of the University, has apparently fallen into depression. They haven’t been able to get him to say much the last few days. Raesh, the son of the council fighters’ deceased leader, is running their defenses now. Capable enough and worth watching. Oren, their greatest dragonborn warrior and general, was killed in the Hot Salts. There are some other fighters of considerable strength who have a hand in the strategy as well. And I heard they have a professor, a Marcus, who knows how to operate the portals, which could work against us.”

  “I see. And what of the Queen of the blood traitors? What of their princess?”

  “They’re not there.”

  All the heads in the proximity turned to the soldier.

  “What do you mean?” the Dead general asked.

  “I mean they’re not in the University or the city. They left days ago on a mission to cure the Maeludrax we spread in the True Isles. No one has heard from them since.”

  “Strange. The dragonborn do not contract disease, so they cannot have become sick. Assuming they’ve rediscovered the healing properties of their blood, they will have long since cured the Thabians and restarted the supply line. That would have taken mere hours. With an army marching on their city they wouldn’t waste time there when their mission was complete, so where did they go? Of course. You mentioned a portal at the foot of the mountain. Before they only had one now they have two. It would appear they’ve gotten their hands on some very old and critical information. They found the portal in Thabes and had it shipped back to Arvall to help with the evacuation efforts. If they knew about one, then they would’ve known about the others as well, which means they went to find them. From the True Isles the closest destination is New Carthage, yet I know for a fact that Beladorion already has that portal and the one in Raven Deep. The portals of House Clio and House Polyhymnia are too far out of their reach and even if they risk some adventure, they wouldn’t be willing to travel so far. That means that just now they’re either at or near the Black Grotto and they won’t be coming back from there. Beladorion will have figured out what they’re up to and sent Dead to meet them. Strange news, but fortunate. We will attack now.”

  The general turned to give the order. The order was repeated all the way through the ra
nks, the columns, until it was spread through the entire army. They began to move forward. The battalion soldiers and the Beautiful Dead stood aside to let the rest go through first. Line after line of soldiers passed into the portal.

  “We’ll send two thousand men into the University,” the general said. “Six thousand into the city. Two thousand will continue on foot and bring the portal. Three waves, three locations, one unstoppable assault.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  In the University, Raesh and Sarinda oversaw the sheltering of the citizens of Arvall. Reports came up from the foot of the mountain confirming that they had finally succeeded in evacuating the city. They smiled, happy to finally have that much off their minds. They walked to the center of the main hub, through which the final citizens were moving on their way to the tunnels.

  “Who knew watching people walk could be so exhausting?” Sarinda asked, reclining.

  “Well, when they number in the millions...”

  “Right. How deep do these tunnels and corridors go anyway?”

  “Deep. I don’t think anyone’s actually been all the way to the end in this cycle. I’m just going to lie here for a minute, rest, and then get back to the hospital.”

  “I’m coming with you. I can’t believe Carmen’s awake. How is she?”

  “She’s strong. Really strong,” Raesh said, sitting up a little. “They still aren’t sure what kind of magic caused it or what exactly it did to her. Whatever they were giving her in that drip before was helping to keep her under and they didn’t know it. As soon as the doctor changed her medicine, she woke up. I’m so happy I can hardly think. She’s already trying to walk.”

  “Andie’s going to be so happy when she gets back. I know she’s really missed her, we all have.”