Henrick’s tone was low as he answered Alador, gently leading him through the horror of what lay between them. “What if, you need to repel one of these spells? Knowing how they were cast will give you the knowledge in the future to undo what others may attempt.” Henrick eyes searched the younger mage for some level of understanding.
Alador ran a hand over his face in exasperation. “I see your point. I just fear what could happen if another finds this book. Maybe it should stay with Keensight.”
Henrick indicated the doorway out. “Let us talk over dinner.” Henrick led the way. “Some things are better digested slowly, and without interference from hunger.”
“How do you get anything done? You are always hungry.” Alador quipped as he slipped from the room. The sense of relief from being away from the book was palpable.
Henrick moved the case back into place and once more it was as if the room did not even exist. Even though Alador knew its location, he was hard pressed to find a sliver of indication that a door was there.
Henrick chuckled at the thought and clapped his hands together in front of him. “Yes, well staying young does take a bit of energy,” he answered as Alador was studying the shelves.
“Why don’t you just let yourself gray as the others do?” Alador asked curiously as he touched his own streak of vivid white hair at his temple.
“I find this appearance far more influential on those with beds I wish to inhabit,” Henrick quipped as he turned to head for the door. “After all, a man has many appetites.”
“Yes and your two appetites take up most of your time.” Alador laughed and shook his head.
“Better to live sated, than to die wanting I figure.” Henrick smirked then led the way to the dining room.
After they were served, Henrick dismissed the servants so they could talk, going as far as to bespell the room much as he had at the alehouse in Smallbrook not so long ago. Alador was able to recognize the spell this time as Henrick’s ring empowered it. They both ate in silence for a time, lost in their own thoughts. Henrick finally spoke as he set his wine cup down, his eyes on the glass goblet in his fingers. “I know both of us have avoided talking about Dethara since the night of the ball, but I have been doing some investigating.”
Alador slowly sat his fork down as he forcibly swallowed the food in his mouth. Only then did he look over at his father. “What have you found?”
“Dethara has been amassing forces within her temple walls. Her followers are increasing daily.” Henrick fiddled with his fork and some noodles. “It is even said she is accepting mortal sacrifices.”
“Why are the other gods not doing anything?” Alador asked with shocked outrage.
“I don’t know,” Henrick admitted.
“Do you still think it is really her?” Alador sat back, a little concerned.
“I do,” Henrick stated, taking a bite thoughtfully and swallowing before he answered again. “But if it is not her, then her priestess is possessed with her or allows her body to be used as the Goddess decides.”
Henrick shook his fork at Alador. “Perhaps that is exactly why the gods have not discovered this. If she had imbued the priestess with her essence, the priestess would be able to act much as your hand works for you. The other gods would have no concern, as they do not meddle in the affairs of one another’s orders.” Henrick considered this further. “Now that I think and speak on it, maybe this is the more likely case.”
Alador considered Henrick’s words carefully. “I need to go see Sordith. We need eyes in that temple. If anyone can get a spy in there, it will be him.”
“Why? I have brought you news of what is going on.” Henrick sounded a bit offended and his glance held a bit of a glare.
Alador chewed as he considered. “You are getting news that anyone outside their gates or in the taverns of the guards might pick up. But I know, if what is happening can be easily gained, then there must be much darker things we don’t know.” Alador wiped his mouth and looked at Henrick. “Sacrifices, whether mortal or by item are for a purpose. We need to know that purpose. I don’t need a bunch of zealots in my way when I’m taking down the mine, and I really don’t want to face them when we remove Luthian from power.”
Henrick sat back with his cup, popping a piece of fruit into his mouth before speaking. “So you have accepted the path Renamaum has set for you?” His question switching the topic effectively.
“No!” Alador slammed his hand down on the table. “I don’t accept any path any of you have chosen for me. What I do accept is that I might be the one person that can stand between my vile uncle and the destruction of dragons.” Alador’s fervor took a deadly edge. “I chose that path.” He leaned towards his father intently. “Regardless of its alignment with other people’s whims.”
Henrick smiled. “If that is what you need to feel right with yourself, so be it. It brings about the same ends,” he pointed out. The large clock behind Alador chimed drawing Henrick’s attention. “I expect that I will be told to leave soon. What are the things I need to know?” Henrick was not fazed by the mage’s burst of anger.
Alador picked up a piece of bread and mindless chewed on it to calm himself as he thought about Henrick’s question. “You intend to go to Smallbrook?”
“Yes.”
Alador swallowed the bread and took a deep breath. “I plan to take the test when it is offered and do my best to test as master of my sphere. I will meet with Sordith and see to getting some illicit trade routes to sustain the Daezun through a harsh winter. I will be coming to Smallbrook to see Dorien soon after.” Alador considered for a moment. “Have him make sure the storeroom with the coal is cleared by the door. I will come by amulet and will set my destination there.”
Henrick carefully noted each detail. “You will have to cast the first spell soon, the winter solstice will soon be upon us.”
“I am aware. I just hope I have the resolve to follow through with it. I wish there was another way, but I am not strong enough or in a position to depose Luthian in a manner that will not end in my beheading.” Alador unconsciously put a hand to his throat.
“And the spell book? We have yet to finish our discussion about that.” Henrick leaned forward and pulled a prickleberry pie over, cutting a hefty piece for himself.
“I want to burn it.” Alador held up a staying hand as Henrick’s eyes rose in alarm. “Don’t fret, what I want is not what I’ll do. I‘ll take it to Sordith’s manor and hide it there. That way I can study it at my leisure.” Alador reached for the pie and cut his own piece.
Both men ate silently for several minutes before Henrick spoke. “Are you sure we can trust, Sordith?” Henrick asked.
“Yes.” Alador took the last bite of his pie, sitting back sated. “He is the one person who has called it like it is whether I wanted to hear it or not. He has never broken his word to me. He could have betrayed you, me and our plans at any moment, but he has not.”
“I know you have a history of trusting family, but…” Henrick began.
“A history that I don’t plan to stop,” Alador interrupted. “Otherwise, you and I would no longer be on speaking terms.” Alador reminded him. “You keep secrets, you have lied to me by your own admission. It seems I have more evidence to trust him than you,” Alador paused and met his father’s gaze. “...Yet here I sit.”
“Alright, you win.” Henrick pulled his pipe from his belt and set about loading it. “You left one thing off your list of things you must do soon.”
Alador mentally went over the list quickly. “What did I miss?”
“Renamaum’s farewell.” Henrick simply stated as he lit his pipe.
Alador paused considering. “You’re right, I need to do that before anything else. I have a feeling that if it is not already too late, there is not much time.”
“We’ll have to do this tonight,” Henrick posed. “I fear I may not have much time either. I would prefer to be nearby. It is a powerful spell you will cast, and not the typ
e you are used to using.” Henrick reached into his belt and pulled out a tooth, laying it on the table between them.
“What is this?” Alador stared at the tooth quickly recognizing it from mining as a dragon’s tooth.
“It is from Renamaum’s place of death. You need something of his as a component of the spell.” Henrick’s gaze was forlorn as he gazed upon the tooth. “It felt wrong to take it, but I knew of no other way to gain an item with enough connection for the spell to work.”
“You said this spell will be different, is that because of the diagram and components?” Alador had to admit that other than water, he had not used any components in his spell casting. Well, unless he counted learning to see and move the air stones.
Henrick nodded. “Some incantations require more than a mage’s will, and this is a powerful spell. It will only last a short while, perhaps half a day at most, depending on the strength you and Renamaum can give to it.”
“Well, I’m done eating. Maybe we should go now and do this.” Alador felt a strange sense of urgency and the welling up of the edge of Renamaum. “I get a feeling that Renamaum agrees.” He tossed down his napkin and rose from the table.
“Get the spell book and meet me in the practice room.” Henrick rose with his pipe and led the way from the room.
Alador made his way to the library, and finding the skull he tentatively put his fingers in the socket and felt a bit of relief as the audible click of the lock mechanism. He had held his breath as if something might cut off his fingers or otherwise assail him. He gathered up the black leather book carefully, shut the enclosure, and headed for Henrick’s tower.
Henrick was waiting near the table they used for practicing. Alador laid the spell book carefully on the table and turned the fragile pages till he found the spell that would allow the necessary casting. He looked up and around at the room. “I don’t think we can cast this here. Renamaum’s bones indicated he was very large. I don’t think the room will allow his full measure.”
Henrick nodded. He handed Alador a quill and empty parchment. “Copy down what you need to know. We will cast it above the cave that Pruatra inhabits. It is a cliff edge I have seen and will allow us enough room for Renamaum’s form."
Alador set about copying from the book as Henrick filled a large vial with powder. The diagram was simple, but would need to be exact. It took Alador some time and Henrick used that time to load a few other items into a backpack. When Alador was done, he checked it and rechecked it once more before he carefully sanded the ink to dry it. He turned to find Henrick waiting, backpack in hand.
“Give me the amulet and I will take us there.” Henrick held out his hand expectantly.
Alador swiftly removed the amulet and handed it to his father. “I hope you are right about this,” he said, expressing his apprehension as he handed the amulet over.
“About the spell or allowing Renamaum a goodbye?” Henrick asked.
“The spell. I want Renamaum and his family to have closure.” Alador watched as his father put the amulet around his neck.
“Well son, the one thing I know most about magic is that you can never sure about it.” With that, the room shimmered and swirled from view.
It was still disorienting to Alador as another setting formed around him. He felt as if the floor gave way and his stomach jolted. He realized at the last second that it actually had given way, and he grabbed wildly for the edge. His fingers connected with cold, wet stone as their surroundings materialized around them.
Thunder boomed, and water poured over his face as he fought to hold onto the edge of the stone that had appeared before him. The wind was furious, battering him against the rock face. Lightning lit the cliff side with an erratic flash of jagged light. Alador scrambled with his feet to find some place for a foothold as his fingers were slowly slipping on the wet rock. He managed to set his right foot and swiftly moved to get a better hold on the cutting rock.
“Give me your hand!” Henrick’s voice was barely heard over the wind and rain that beat down upon them both.
Alador looked up to see that Henrick’s hand was only a few inches from his own. He pushed up hard on his foothold and flung a hand to grab wildly at Henrick’s. He barely managed to grasp it. Both their hands were slick with water; Alador dug his fingers into Henrick’s wrist as his footing slipped nearly pulling the man above him over the edge. He fought quickly to find purchase with his foot to help Henrick.
It took both of them; Alador finding footholds and Henrick using a strength that the younger mage had not known his father possessed, to pull Alador up over the edge of the cliff. They both lay at the top, panting from exertion and excess adrenaline, sweat pouring off both despite the soaking rain.
“By the Gods, what happened?” Alador gasped out.
“Seems some of the cliff has given way since I was last here,” came the gasping response.
“Shite,” Alador slowly turned over and rose to his knees. “I know you warned about such things, but that was close.”
“Yes, yes it was.” Henrick sat up as well. He looked about him assessing their surroundings. “We are in the right place, however.” He was having to shout over the storm.
“What do we do first?” Alador stood up, his hair plastered against his head except for a few loose strands that whipped wildly in the wind.
“You're a storm mage!” Henrick bellowed, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Get us a few minutes of peace from this storm so you can place the rune on the ground.”
Alador nodded and set about finding the air stones to calm the storm. It took longer than he had hoped. It was much easier to start a chaotic mass of weather, he realized, than it was to quiet the temper of one. He finally resorted to creating a shield around them that would hold for a short time and stop the buffeting of wind and rain.
Once this was done, Henrick showed him how to lay a rune on the ground. The powder still drifted slightly in the puffs of remaining wind, but the form held. Alador stepped to the center of the rune and held Renamaum’s tooth in his hand. Henrick stepped back.
“Close your eyes and imagine the rune in your mind as you say the spell. Your sphere will power the rune and the rune will power the spell.” Henrick instructed, his tone far more serious than his usual manner.
Alador nodded and closed his eyes. He held the base of the tooth so tightly in his hand that it pressed into his flesh. He realized that one could almost use it as a dagger. Refocusing, he imagined the rune on the ground, filling in every detail, watching the water run the course of the rune as he had drawn it. When the water had completed the rune in his mind’s eyes, he said the words of the spell loudly, almost yelling due to his nervousness.
He heard Henrick yell in the distance. “Say it again!” He could barely hear him over the storm despite the bubble he had created.
He repeated the spell, emphasizing each word with feeling. This time he felt the power around him surge. Lightning struck the rune around him several times, and it was all he could do not to flinch as the power rushed through and around him. The rune on the ground flared up with a life of its own. The world shifted and he struggled to stay upright as his body suddenly began to shift and enlarge. He shut his eyes for fear of letting go of the power too soon and being stuck as half a dragon. When at last, he opened his eyes, the world was different. The colors were brilliant even in the midst of the thrashing storm. Even in the dim light, he could make out the distinct images of things far from where he teetered.
He panicked a bit and went to flail his arms, but instead, wings caught an updraft coming up from the sea. Despite the scrambling of his legs, which now there were four, he found himself aloft and panicked further.
Henrick shouted up to the floundering dragon. “Give control to Renamaum.” Henrick was forced to duck under the frantic waving of the newly formed dragon’s tail.
“RENAMAUM! HELP!”
There was a sudden shift in his perspective, and he found himself wit
h the sensation of floating in warm safety. He could still sense the dragon body around him, and even Renamaum’s thoughts.
“Relax boy. It is your time to be buried.” Renamaum turned and dove down the cliff face into the sea.
Chapter Seven
Alador felt a sense of elation as he, or rather Renamaum, dove beneath the waves. Pure joy coursed through him as they sliced into the thrashing ocean. Even though he was not in control, he felt everything; it was all exhilarating. He felt the sheer confidence the dragon felt as Renamaum snapped the wings close to his body just before they hit. The movement of the long tail snaking through the water that felt natural and at the same time so strange to the mortal.
He also had his own sensations that mingled in a maze of confusion: The fear he felt right before they hit the water, and the amazement that the water underneath the surface seemed calm compared to the crashing waves that the dragon had dove into swirled with the myriad of information assaulting Alador. The realization that he could see beneath the surface of the waves, and that the world beneath the sea was filled with amazing colors swirled in a kaleidoscope of emotions and sensations threatened to overwhelm him. Every sense seemed more intense whether it was sight, touch or sound.
The fear slowly abated as he realized that he was just an observer in whatever was to happen over the next few hours. He slowly relaxed and just let himself experience what it was like to be such a magical beast. The strength in Renamaum’s tail was enough to power them through the sea. The dragon’s thrill at being able to stretch out and truly be unrestricted was contagious. Alador had expected Renamaum to head straight for the cave, but he had headed out to sea instead.
“Where are we going?” he asked the dragon. His voice felt flat and muted as it was an internal conversation
In contrast, the dragon’s voice echoed about him with rich tones and booming vibrancy. “I am not going to my mate without a gift.” Renamaum answered with amusement. “She is bound to be cross with me.”
Pseudo-Dragon (The Blue Dragon's Geas Book 4) Page 6
