“The dragon is coming here?” Garrett asked, still not believing what he was hearing.
“Yes, Garrett!” Cenick yelled, “Max says he’s headed there next! I don’t know how long you have before he arrives, but you have to run, Garrett! Take what you need and head south with the ghouls, but you have to go now!”
“How do you know he’s coming here? Are you sure?” Garrett cried, starting to feel a flutter of panic in his chest.
“Max told me last night, Garrett,” Cenick’s proxylich said, “He said the dragon destroyed the city where he was staying and that Graelle threatened to burn everything else when he returned from destroying Wythr.”
“Is the army coming too?” Garrett asked.
“I’ve seen no sign of troops coming down the escarpment, but, Garrett, the dragon is enough! You know better than anyone what he can do. Get out now!”
“I’ve gotta go warn people,” Garrett moaned.
“Send word to the temple and then get out!” Cenick said, “Take the ghouls south to Faedrel. I’ll find you there Garrett, just go! Go now!”
“Thanks, Cenick,” Garrett said, dropping the skull back into the bowl and turning on his heel, trying to decide which way to run first. Caleb was standing in the doorway watching him.
“Caleb!” Garrett cried, “Get all the zombies together and head down into the basement and wait for me there. I’ll be back as soon as I can.
Caleb nodded and groaned as Garrett rushed past him, headed out through the front door at a dead run.
He was halfway to the market when he remembered that Mrs. Nash lived nearby. He veered off down a side street and found her small house, sandwiched between two larger buildings. She was wearing a flour-dusted apron when she came to answer his pounding on the door.
“Garrett?” she said, giving him a quizzical look, “What ever is the matter?”
“You’ve gotta leave town for a while, Mrs. Nash,” he said, still out of breath from his run.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he gasped, “The Chadiri… I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you gotta get out right away!”
Her eyes widened and then went hard. She nodded at him. “Thank you for the warning, Garrett,” she said, “What about you? Do you have a way out?”
“Yeah… I can go with the ghouls,” he said.
“Be careful, boy,” she said, giving him a quick hug, “I’m in your debt.”
Garrett nodded and forced a smile.
“Go, boy!” she said, giving him a gentle push.
Garrett raced away without looking back.
The bells jangled loudly as Garrett burst through the door of the Veranu pet shop.
“Good morning, Garrett,” Mrs. Veranu said, turning to face him as she placed a small cage upon a shelf.
“Mrs. Veranu!” Garrett gasped, trying to catch his breath again.
“Marla isn’t here right now,” she said, “Can I help you with something?”
“The dragon’s coming!” he wheezed, “He’s flying here to burn the city!”
“What?” Mrs. Veranu demanded, suddenly standing in front of him with her hands on his shoulders.
“Cenick just used his proxylich… to tell me…” Garrett gasped, “The dragon’s coming… he’s gonna burn Wythr!”
The vampire considered his words for a moment before speaking again. “I’ll warn the others,” she said, “You can come with me. You’ll be safe with us.”
“I’ve gotta warn the ghouls!” Garrett said, “Can you send someone to the temple to tell them… They might believe you more than they would me.”
“Of course,” she said, “How long do we have?”
“I don’t know,” Garrett said, “I think the dragon left Weslae yesterday, but I have no idea how fast he can fly.”
Mrs. Veranu did some mental calculation. “He could be here before sunrise tomorrow,” she said, “sooner if he doesn’t stop to rest.”
“Oh, no!” Garrett said, “I’ve gotta go tell the ghouls. How do I find you and Marla after that?”
“Meet us at the embassy when you’re done,” she said.
“I’m kinda not supposed to go there anymore,” he said.
“Nonsense!” she hissed, “Meet us there as soon as you can!”
“All right,” he said.
“Hurry, Garrett!” she said stepping behind the door for protection against the sunlight as she opened it for him, “Marla and I will be waiting for you at the embassy.”
Garrett ran home again. His feet were aching by the time he stamped down the stairs to find the household servants waiting there. Warren, Scupp, and Diggs were there as well, trying to make sense of the strange pantomime that Caleb was performing.
“Your house is on fire?” Diggs said, trying to guess the meaning of Caleb’s hand gestures.
Caleb groaned in frustration.
“We’re in trouble, guys!” Garrett huffed.
“Don’t tell me! I’ve almost got this!” Diggs said.
“The dragon’s on his way here!” Garrett cried.
“I said don’t tell me!” Diggs groaned, “I woulda had it!
“Shut up, Diggs!” Scupp said.
“What?” Warren demanded.
“He could be here tonight!” Garrett said, “He burned Weslae, and now he’s coming here!”
“Are Max and your uncle all right?” Warren asked.
“I don’t know,” Garrett said, “Cenick said that Max had told him about the dragon last night sometime. I don’t know anything else.”
“Whatta we do?” Scupp asked, giving Warren a worried look.
Warren shrugged. “I always wondered what dragon tastes like,” he growled.
Diggs and Warren bared their fangs at each other in a pair of wicked grins.
Scupp buried her face in her hands and gave a pitiful laugh of resignation.
Chapter Thirty-one
Garrett tried stopping by Mister Marsten’s house on his way to the Thrinnian Embassy, but he was not home. Garrett had not seen the blonde necromancer since Garrett had sent him to talk to Brix. He knocked again, just to be certain, and then hurried off with a worried feeling in his gut.
Garrett recognized Serepheni’s carriage parked outside the vampire embassy. He nodded at the two Templars standing guard outside the door, but they ignored him. He rang the bell pull, and Klavicus answered a few moments later.
“Master Garrett,” Klavicus said as Garrett stepped inside, “I did not expect to see you again.”
“I’m sorry,” Garrett said, “I know you told me to stay away, but Mrs. Veranu said that I should come anyway.”
The gaunt vampire nodded with a troubled look in his eyes. “My Lady knows best, I suppose,” he sighed, “but please… be cautious. She will be there when you speak.”
“Speak?”
“The elders wish to know the truth of your report,” Klavicus said, “You must speak to them.” He opened a door in the wall and led Garrett through it.
Garrett felt a bit queasy, but he nodded. “You’ve heard about the dragon then?” he asked.
Klavicus shrugged. “I have heard,” he said.
“Are you going to leave the city?” Garrett asked.
“That is not my decision to make,” Klavicus said.
“What?” Garrett asked, “Why not?”
“It is my duty to serve the elders as they command,” Klavicus said, “They speak, and I do.”
“But, if the dragon’s coming…”
“They will decide what to do,” Klavicus said with a shrug. He opened another door at the end of the hall and gestured for Garrett to step through into the hallway beyond.
Garrett saw Serepheni sitting upon a low bench just outside of a pair of large closed doors. She jumped to her feet when she saw him and rushed to him.
“Garrett! Are you all right?” she asked, giving him a brief hug.
“Yeah,” he said, “Did Mrs. Veranu te
ll you about the dragon?” He looked back as the door he had come through closed quietly behind him. Klavicus was gone.
“Yes,” she said, “What of Max? Have you heard anything more?”
Garrett shook his head. “Cenick talked to him last night. He was all right then I guess, but he said that we should get out of the city before the dragon gets here.”
Serepheni frowned. “He knows better than that,” she sighed, “I would never abandon our city in its hour of need.”
“Are we gonna fight the dragon then?” Garrett asked.
“We have long feared this day would come,” Serepheni said, “It is neither unexpected, nor unplanned for.”
“You have a way to kill the dragon?” Garrett asked.
“Possibly,” she sighed, “We have… a chance.”
Garrett nodded. “The ghouls want to fight too,” he said.
“Good,” she said with a little smile, “We can use all the help we can get.”
Just then the two great black doors swung open, and a lean vampire in a black robe gestured toward Garrett. “Come inside,” he said.
Serepheni started to follow, but the vampire stayed the priestess with an upraised hand.
“The necromancer only,” the vampire said.
Garrett glanced back at her with a worried look as he stepped through the doors, and the vampire swung them shut behind him.
Garrett turned to see a large, circular room before him with a central disk of blood-red tiles set into the center of the floor. It was lit from above by a flickering wisplight stone set into the center of the ceiling. A black, C-shaped table ringed the circle on the far side of the red tiles, and a number of vampire elders sat in chairs behind it. He recognized among them only Master Krausse, Master Jannis, and the Valfrei Senzei who sat in the centermost and highest seat. Mrs. Veranu stood against the wall, off to one side. She gave him a pleasant smile and a nod, but Garrett could see the worry in her eyes.
“Step into the center, necromancer!” Senzei said, her voice loud enough to startle Garrett.
He quickly walked to the center of the red circle and looked around the room at the elder vampires who all regarded him with cold stares, save Master Jannis who sat by himself at one end of the table and rubbed wearily at one eyebrow.
“Lady Veranu,” Senzei said, looking toward Marla’s mother, “You may go.”
“But I would…” Mrs. Veranu said before the Valfrei cut her off.
“Leave us!” Senzei said.
Mrs. Veranu gave the elder a dark look and then flashed a thin smile at Garrett before leaving the room as commanded.
The doors closed again behind her, and Garrett turned to face the elders once more.
“You have reported that the dragon known as Kadreaan is even now approaching this city with the intent of destroying it,” Valfrei Senzei said, “You have attained this knowledge through sorcery, yes?”
“I guess,” Garrett said, “It was something my friend max invented for sending messages from a long way off.”
“And you swear the truth of it?” she asked, “The dragon is on his way here now?”
“Yeah,” Garrett said.
The Valfrei regarded him closely for a moment with her reptilian eyes. She blinked then and looked away. “He believes what he says,” she sighed.
Master Krausse passed his hand over his face, and Master Jannis sighed bitterly.
“That is all, necromancer,” Senzei said, “You may go now.”
The elder in the black robe swung the door open behind Garrett and waited expectantly.
“What are you going to do about it?” Garrett asked.
“Leave us now!” Senzei hissed, “We have much to discuss.”
“Well, I’d like to hear it,” Garrett said.
The Valfrei’s eyes bulged. “That was not a request,” she said, “You will leave us now or face the consequences!”
“Consequences?” Garrett scoffed, “You mean like a great big dragon swooping down to set everything on fire?”
“Leave us!”
“Garrett!” Mrs. Veranu hissed from outside the door, “Garrett, come with me!”
Garrett shook his head. “No,” he said, “I want to know what you’re gonna do about it! That thing is gonna be here pretty soon, and we need your help to fight it.”
He looked at Master Krausse and called him by name, “We could use your help,” he said, “I’ve seen gaunts outfly this thing… I’ve seen it! With your help… I don’t know… I’ll bet one of you could get close enough to take out Graelle at least. Maybe without him being in control, the dragon might just fly off and leave us alone.”
He turned to Master Jannis and called out to him as well. “This city has been good to you… all of you. It welcomed you in and let you live here… I doubt there are that many places around where you could just walk in and have people accept you for what you are… You think the Chadiri would be so nice to you?”
Jannis gave him a sad little smile and then looked away.
“Close the door!” the Valfrei hissed.
“Garrett!” Mrs. Veranu called out one last time as the robed vampire shut the door in her face.
Garrett watched as Valfrei Senzei slowly made her way around the side of the table and approached him with deliberate, serpentine grace. His heart fluttered with fear, but he stood his ground as she bore down on him.
A thin smile spread across her face and she tilted her head slightly as she stopped, only a few steps away.
“You don’t understand at all, do you?” she asked, her voice sweet as honeyed poison.
“No,” he said, “I don’t understand… how you could even think about abandoning your friends like that. Maybe you don’t like me, or maybe any of us, very much, but we’re on the same side!”
She laughed. “You think we are allies in this conflict?” she scoffed.
“Are you gonna side with the Chadiri?” he demanded, “Those guys would kill every one of you if they could, and you know it!”
“It is not a Chadiri that you would have us fight,” she said.
Garrett gave her a confused look.
“You would ask us to slay a dragon,” she said, “You would ask us to murder one of the last living children of the great Dragon Queen. Do you really think that we would lift a finger against such a beautiful and ancient being? Kadreaan should be worshipped as a god by creatures such as you! I would rather watch him incinerate a thousand of you, a million! I would revel in the glory of such a spectacle and write songs in praise of his fury!”
Garrett stared back at her in horror.
The Valfrei lifted her hands toward the ceiling. “I would sacrifice this building, this entire city, before I would agree to hinder Kadreaan in the slightest fashion! I would watch your faded race smolder to ashes. I would laugh to watch him vent his wrath on the murderers of his kin!”
Garrett shook his head in disbelief.
“Go, human!” she spat, turning her back on him, “Prepare to meet your doom. We leave this place tonight.”
“No,” Garrett whispered.
“Krausse, prepare your gaunts,” Senzei commanded, “I will be taking the Young Lady Veranu with me along with my retinue.”
“No!” Garrett shouted.
Senzei turned to face him again, her eyes blazing with rage.
“Run, you old snake!” Garrett hissed, frosty vapors pouring out from between his teeth, “Run back and hide in your damned hole, if you’re too afraid to fight, but Marla stays with me!”
The Valfrei’s eyes widened at the sight of the frosted air between them.
“If you leave this city tonight,” Garrett said, his voice reverberating with the power of the thing inside him, “You will never be welcome here again!”
He turned to look at the other elders, his gaze lingering on Krausse and Jannis in turn. “That goes for all of you!” he said, “Don’t think you can abandon us when we need you most and then come slinking back in when the dust has settled… If
you go, you stay gone!”
“You dare cross me, sorcerer?” Senzei said, “I knew your uncle was a fool, but you…”
Garrett raised his fist, now wreathed in blue flames, before her face. “Don’t ever mention my uncle again! Not ever!”
Senzei’s face twisted into a mask of rage, and she raised her hands suddenly, spitting a Draconic curse. Twisting spears of green light shot up from the floor, arcing towards Garrett’s chest with needle-sharp points.
“No!” Garrett roared, and the green darts shattered like glass, their magic dissipating into nothingness all around him.
Senzei stared back at him, visibly shaken.
“Get out of here!” Garrett growled, “And don’t ever come back!” Frosty vapors trailed down from Garrett’s burning hands, and a lambent blue aura flickered around his face and shoulders.
“What are you?” she gasped, her eyes wide and staring.
“You know what he is, Valfrei,” Jannis chuckled, “You just don’t want to believe it.”
Her gaze flicked toward the tailor and then back to Garrett. “No…” she whispered, but Garrett could see the dawning realization in her eyes.
Garrett sneered back at her and then lifted his eyes toward the ceiling above. “Be free!” he shouted.
The wisplight orb above their heads shattered into countless crystal shards that rained down on the floor all around Garrett and the Valfrei. The wisp trapped inside it flew free now, leaping down and circling the room in the ghostly shape of a frightened doe. She dashed past the elder at the door, fluttering his dark robes as she ran by. Then she darted in to stand, trembling at Garrett’s side.
He reached out his hand and stroked the phantom beside him. He felt nothing but a tingling warmth there as he smiled down at the ghostly doe, watching as the blue flames spilled from his fingertips, washing over her back like a gentle rain. She stared up at him with grateful adoration in her shining blue eyes.
“Songreaver!” Senzei hissed.
The ghostly doe flickered, casting the room into darkness for a moment before reappearing as a shimmering wisp a second later. She floated up and settled in the air, just above Garrett’s right shoulder.
“We leave tonight!” Senzei rasped, her eyes glittering with the light of the wisp on Garrett’s shoulder. She turned and swept from the room, disappearing through a door in the back.
The Frostwoven Crown (Book 4) Page 39
