The roots of the black flower strained, but this time they could not hold. One by one they snapped, until at last the baleful bloom hung loosely from one long tendril.
A golden aura created by the wizard swiftly surrounded the flower. The aura solidified, becoming amber.
Summoning the captured flower to him, Cabe probed it. He could sense a faint presence within. The struggle had greatly weakened the Vraad, just as he hoped.
Then, the wizard remembered the dragon that he had unleashed.
But his would-be assassin chose that moment to let out a ragged roar. The great beast twisted around, seeking something.
Seeking Cabe.
The dragon had a chance to take him. Cabe knew that. The dragon knew that. The huge head loomed over the spellcaster. The huge maw opened wide...but the dragon did not lunge.
And then...the blue-gray behemoth slumped backward. The gargantuan body fell toward the ruined house, crushing in what remained of the entrance and the front hall. The injuries and stress created by the Vraad’s possession had proven too much even for the nameless giant, although Cabe had not intended that. The wizard had hoped to talk peace with the dragon.
He could have attacked, Cabe definitely knew. He could have attacked.
That the dragon had not could only mean one thing to Cabe. Drakes had a code of honor, though that code was not always as humans understood it. This one knew that the wizard had freed him from his captivity, given him a chance to strike back at the Vraad. In return, Cabe’s nemesis had foregone his task, even though death was nearly upon him.
It meant that the mage would have a difficult time finding out who had paid the drake to hunt him down in the first place, but that was a trail for a different time. Cabe had things to settle here...first and foremost ensuring that the foul apparition never escaped again.
X
He materialized in the tomb, appearing right before the amber-encrusted sarcophagus. The moment he did, the amber there turned transparent, revealing his nameless mother. The wizard had a fair idea who she might be, even if he still did not know what to call her.
She was at rest, that much he somehow felt. Cabe believed that she had sensed when he had finally bested Melenea.
Thinking of the Vraad, Cabe brought forth the imprisoned flower. It looked like an exact duplicate of the one with his mother. Cabe wondered if he would ever find out the odd reason for that flower, which had given the malevolent spirit a foothold in the mortal world.
The Vraad waited for me all that time, the wizard thought. She could never truly be free unless I enabled her.
His grandfather had no doubt fashioned the spell to be one that only he could ever remove in order to ensure her permanent captivity. Yet, Cabe’s birth had from the start left a way out. Already bound to his mother, Melenea had surely known of Nathan’s sacrifice of part of his own essence into the infant. It was a rare mistake on the elder Bedlam’s part.
Setting the smaller piece atop the enchanted coffin, Cabe delved with his mind into the core matrix of his grandfather’s spell. There, he began dismantling the heart of all Nathan had done here.
As he expected, the Vraad made an attempt to escape through the partially-unraveled spell, but in many ways now torn between two places, her power was laughable. Cabe shunted aside her feeble effort, then made his changes.
The smaller piece of amber sank seamlessly into the larger, but ceased long before the two flowers—the grown from the first—could ever touch. Then, the wizard redid the overall matrix, adding his own unique touches. He also corrected for the unsettling and peculiar nature of Vraad magic, making certain that there would never be a repeat of the near escape.
And finally, when all that was done, Cabe stepped back from the tomb and with a gesture recreated the wall as it had been, minus the accursed roots. Not satisfied yet, he left the underground chamber, reappearing next to Marilee and Bertran. The two stood a safe distance from the estate, much of which was covered with dead dragon. He had already explained to them what he intended, but they still looked from him to the dragon and back again in complete disbelief.
“Can you really do that?” Marilee asked. “He’s dead.”
“A dragon is magic, even in ways many of them do not understand. That magic is still in him and it’ll enable me to do just as I promised.”
With that said, the wizard immediately concentrated on the huge corpse, seeking that inherent magic. He had never cast such a spell, but was confident that he could succeed.
Touching the lines of force that crisscrossed all things in the mortal world, Cabe directed them into the dragon. The dragon’s magic intertwined with those forces, joining power to power.
The estate erupted in a staggering display of colors. They represented only the merest fraction of the forces Cabe now put into play. All that was the iron drake—a creature of death—now began to transform the very grounds.
The land shook. Marilee instinctively seized Bertran’s arm, which the big man was clearly glad to give. Cabe gave both a reassuring look, but secretly set in motion a protective spell just in case.
The unleashed magic engulfed and absorbed the estate house, then spread forth. As it did, the outline of the landscape continued to shift and things began to sprout from the ground.
Trees. Dozens and dozens of trees. Their seeds had come from those scattered by the forest beyond. Left to themselves, they would have rotted away, but Cabe’s spell had gathered them together, nurtured them, and accelerated their growth. Before two minutes had passed, where once the estate house had stood there was now a copse of trees, with more adding to the ranks like a growing legion of sentinels.
In their midst, one other feature added itself. A stream fed by water redirected by the spell flowed through the wooded area.
It was not exactly a vale, but it was as close as could be fashioned here. Moreover, the virgin forest would continue to spread through the ruins of Mito Pica, taking the former city over as had not been possible before. Cabe did not know if Melenea’s presence had kept Mito Pica so desolate, so full of misery, but she had certainly contributed to it. Now, her part, at least, was at an end.
As for the Vraad, her spirit was sealed far, far below the surface, with the forest roots creating a barrier not even one of the massive, burrowing Quel could have penetrated.
“It’s—it’s beautiful,” Marilee finally whispered. Bertran merely nodded.
“This is the testament to our loved ones that Mito Pica should represent,” the wizard replied. “It can never replace them, nor do I expect it to make you and the rest forgive me for what part I played—”
“We’ve been wrong about that. You weren’t responsible. I can see that now and I’ll make certain that the others learn of it.”
Cabe shook his head sadly. “They’ll just think you under a spell.”
“Those who know me won’t...and we’ll convince the rest.” In their conversations since the Vraad’s defeat, she had said nothing about her possession by Cabe’s mother and the wizard had not brought it up.
He doubted that it would be so simple for her to convince the others, but let her words pass. “You needn’t walk to them. I can at least still send you off safely to your chosen destination.”
The two quickly shook their heads. “We’re good with walking,” she continued. “Besides, it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day here...for once.”
“As you like.” Cabe stepped back. “In that case, I’ll bid you farewell.”
Marilee gave him a smile. “Thank you, Master Bedlam...for changing everything.”
“No...thank you for forgiving me.”
Before she or Bertran could say anything else, the wizard vanished. There was someone else he had to thank, someone he should have thanked long, long ago.
Cabe reappeared not that far from where the other drakes and their mounts had
perished. He could not see the area where the remains had been, but believed that by now there was nothing left. For the one who had slain them, the drake bodies would have been a scar on an otherwise peaceful forest.
He returned to the tree before which he had knelt. Once again, the mage marveled at its height, which was greater than that of trees he knew to be much older. The good health and immense size of this giant should hardly have surprised him, for any tree touched by the spirit of an elf—or even a half-blood—generally prospered well.
Knowing no other way to begin, Cabe quietly said, “Hello, Hadeen.”
The branches rustled despite no wind. The noise of their rustling seemed to create the spellcaster’s name. Cabe...
Feeling suddenly like the youth who had found his world turned upside down by drakes hunting him for merely being the grandson of Nathan Bedlam, Cabe bowed his head. “You’re the source of so many of the frightening visions people have seen here, aren’t you? You did what you could to keep anyone from coming within her reach and becoming a puppet, a set of hands for her, as the drake did.”
There was no answer, but Cabe felt certain he had things correct so far. After a moment’s consideration, the spellcaster went on, “You also tried to warn me in particular and I ignored those warnings. I’m sorry.” When there was still nothing from the tree, he bluntly asked, “You’ve been both trying to counter her and warn me each time I visited, haven’t you?”
Now the branches rustled. Yes...
“She tricked you and grandfather somehow. She managed to find a way to at least partially reach freedom...but couldn’t do anything more without me. It was because I had part of her and part of him. That made me unique, the only one with the power to undo grandfather’s spell.”
Yes...
“Azran released her. He found her a prisoner in that chess piece...that same set the Gryphon has now.”
There was silence. Cabe frowned. The first part of his comment was definitely truth.
“The Gryphon’s set is fake, a copy, isn’t it?”
Yes...
Hadeen was not trying to be uncooperative. The half-elf had been part of the tree so long, even this much speech was an effort. Using the ‘ghosts’ was easier, but they were limited in what they could pass along.
“You said nothing the other times...or did I just not understand?”
Yes...tried so hard...
The effort put into the last was staggering. Cabe shivered, thinking how long he had ignored what Hadeen had wanted him so desperately to know.
“She was stronger this time, wasn’t she? She only managed to finally pierce the amber recently.” The mage considered. “Once you had passed on and Mito Pica fell. Then, she finally had no one to keep her under control.”
This must be kept between us...another voice suddenly urged in Cabe’s mind. The wizard spun around to see two glowing figures. One was Hadeen...and so was the other.
No. After a moment, Cabe saw that there were some slight difference. The second half-elf also wore more elegant clothing.
The Dragon Hunter did his part, the second continued. He could not know that the seed had literally been planted. The demon spirit fooled us all there.
We must remove her from the tomb—Hadeen began.
No! This is where she lies...with me and with no other! She is my only child, my heart! The stories about me will keep most away from our home. In the Vale, she will find the peace she needs...
And the peace ever eluding us, eh brother? Hadeen pointed out. It is not our fault we were cast out. We did the right thing, even if those of our elven side did not understand.
Most of what Hadeen said went all but unheard as his term for the other caught Cabe utterly by surprise despite the obvious resemblance between the two figures. Brother? If so, that meant that while he had not been Cabe’s actual father...Hadeen had been his granduncle.
Ignoring the apparitions, the wizard turned back to the tree. “The master of the Vale was your brother? She was your niece?”
Even though there was no response this time, Cabe knew that he was correct. He now also understood that there had been many reasons why Hadeen had chosen to live on the outskirts of Mito Pica with Nathan’s grandson. He had not only been seeking to protect the infant...but had been working hand in hand with Cabe’s other grandfather to keep the Vraad spirit ensnared in the body of Hadeen’s unfortunate niece.
The mage’s mind spun. He knew that his wife, Gwen, who had lived in that time, did not know any of this. Nathan had lied even to her. She had only been told that Azran had taken a servant as the vessel for his child. Still, there had to have been some clues to the full truth. There was more involved here, but Cabe knew that it might take him a long time—perhaps a lifetime—to find out even a fraction of that.
Cabe sensed Hadeen’s spirit already receding into the essence of the tree. With the Vraad vanquished, there was little to hold Hadeen to the mortal world. Only protecting Cabe had enabled him to keep some sense of self since the city’s fall and the death of his mortal shell.
This is only the beginning, the spellcaster decided. Vanquishing Melenea was only one piece of a vaster puzzle...all about me.
He knew of only one place to begin. Penacles. The City of Knowledge. The Gryphon was the only one other than Gwen who had lived in that time and he had not spent two hundred years frozen alive. If there was someone who knew what had happened, it was the Gryphon.
And if he knew, Cabe would also demand to know why the lord of Penacles had kept all of this from him.
He gazed at the expansive crown of the tree, seeing in it the face of the half-elf. With a nod, Cabe murmured, “Thank you for everything...”
There was no rustling. The wizard had half-heartedly hoped for some reply, but knew enough about elves to understand that Hadeen had given him more than should have been expected. The half-blood had loved his foster son—and grandnephew—that much.
Cabe focused on Penacles. He saw no reason to waste any time. He wanted answers, at least some answers—
The branches rustled. Hadrea...
The wizard stiffened. He waited, but there was nothing else.
Hadrea. His mother. Cabe had her name. He could picture her now, picture her when she had been alive and vibrant.
Ignoring the moistness growing in his eyes, the wizard began casting the spell that would take him to Penacles. As he finished it, he suddenly called out to the tree, “Thank you for everything...father...”
And as he vanished, he thought he heard the rustling branches form one last word.
Son...
CUT FROM THE SAME SHADOW
CHOICES...OR THE LACK THEREOF...CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE...
I
The two squat dwarves watched warily as the four armored figures atop massive reptilian mounts rode warily along the side of the forested hill. Incursions from the north of the dwarves’ domain had grown more common in the past few weeks. While very reclusive, the dwarves had various methods to keep an eye on the workings of the outside world and so they knew that a threat had been forcing the confederation to move south and east.
East would have been just fine with the dwarves. Humans dwelled there. The dwarves had no animosity toward the humans, but the confederation moving east would have saved the underground race trouble.
“We should warn the others,” the one with the brown beard and eager eyes of youth breathed. “Garni can gather up dozen good fighters real quick! We’ll take care of these scaly scum fast then, dragons or not.”
“Keep your tongue still! They’ve got sharp hearing for havin’ just slits for ears—”
The lead rider suddenly raised his gauntleted hand, bringing the band to a halt. He turned his helmed gaze in the general direction of the dwarves.
The younger of the two gripped his ax tighter, but his gray-bearded compa
nion gave him a warning touch on his shoulder. Contrary to what many believed, dwarves could be extremely stealthy.
The four riders studied their surroundings. Scaled armor covered their bodies from toe to throat, where their helmets took over. Fiery red eyes burned within the helmets, the top of each of which was covered with an elaborate dragon’s head crest that seemed to stare as if alive.
The lead rider hissed, revealing sharp teeth. The same bronze scaling covering his armor also covered his skin. One of the other riders was of an identical color, while the other two wore brown and silver, respectively.
The one thing that they did have in common was the fact that they were drakes. Dragon men. The confederation consisted of drakes of clans whose lords had fallen during what the dwarven kingdom called the Second Turning War or the Return of the Bedlams. The dwarves had better memories than most and recalled the original Turning War two centuries earlier. There had been hope then of freedom from the Dragon Kings Iron and Bronze. However, the first war had failed to bring anything about save blood, death, and finally the utter defeat of the huma wizards known as the Dragon Masters.
The second war...the second war had more than made up for that failure.
Suddenly, all four drakes turned in the saddle at something to the opposite direction. Risking discovery, both dwarves rose high enough to see just what so disturbed the intruders. Drakes were not prone to panic, but the watchers could see that the riders were clearly on edge.
And then...an ebony shape that seemed more shadow than substance formed among the trees just beyond the drakes. It instantly coalesced into a towering stallion already in the process of rearing.
A pair of icy blue eyes lacking any pupils focused on the four riders. Even from a distance, the two hidden watchers could read the contempt in the inhuman gaze.
A bellowing laugh that made both dwarves drop back into hiding resounded through the woods. As the pair peeked out again, they saw the drakes quickly drawing their weapons.
Legends of the Dragonrealm Page 18
