by Cindy Dees
“You are certain?” Kodo responded.
She bowed formally in the elven fashion. “I am certain, my Lord Captain.” She turned and paced down the dock toward shore with all the dignity of her kind.
Will watched her departure in shock. What kind of person turned down such an honor? Such power? The world shifted a bit more out of its normal orbit. For his part, Selea looked satisfied. As if honor had been well served. What was that about?
Kodo was speaking again. “… Lady Wingblade, as the ranking Imperial noble present other than myself, and the only Kothite noble in this place upon whom I can count not to be tainted or corrupted by the former governor, I hereby appoint you temporary governess of Dupree until such time as a permanent replacement shall be named by the Emperor. Do you accept?”
The avarian woman looked shell-shocked. “I suppose so.” Then with more strength in her voice, “Yes, Captain. I accept.”
Kodo wheeled back around to face Anton. “As for you Constantine. You will return with me to the Imperial Seat and stand trial for crimes against the Empire.” He gestured to his sailors. “Take him aboard the Courageous and lock him up—”
Anton turned without warning and barreled into the crowd. The nearest bystanders appeared so stunned by Kodo’s declaration that they did nothing to block Anton’s way.
When Kodo’s men would have given chase, they charged straight into the main body of Anton’s guards, who seemed not to know whether to stand and fight or to flee along with their leader. The crowd roared and surged forward as sailors from the black ship and soldiers of the Haelan legion appeared to be scuffling on the dock. Will had no idea which side the locals supported, and mayhap the peasants did not know, either. The earlier brawl, which Krugar’s men had mostly suppressed, flared back up, and in moments the entire pier was engulfed in fisticuffs.
A knife slipped between Will’s wrists, and the ropes holding his hands fell away. Hyland’s voice murmured in his ear, “My house. As soon as you can.”
Will eased away from Krugar, who was busy shouting orders at his men to form up around the new governess and protect her. He saw Sha’Li slip into the crowd and disappear from sight. Rosana was already kneeling beside someone hurt on the ground, and he grabbed her arm.
“Quickly, we must go. There will be plenty of wounded to heal elsewhere.”
She nodded and followed him as he plunged into the raucous crowd. He used his height and strength to protect her from the worst of the flailing fists and improvised weapons. He spied a small opening in the crush and darted for it with her in tow, slipping through it just before the gap closed behind them.
They ran, holding hands, until the worst of the fighting fell behind them. People streamed toward the shore from all over the city, and the two of them were buffeted by the crowds heading the other direction. But eventually even that abated.
“Where to now?” she panted.
“Hyland’s house.”
They rounded a corner and the landsgrave’s walled compound loomed ahead.
“Do you suppose anyone will join us here?” she asked as they reached the barred gates.
He knocked smartly on the postern door. “Let us find out, shall we?”
One of Hyland’s retainers let them into the relative quiet of the bailey. They appeared to be the first of their party to arrive. Or perhaps they were the only members of their party who planned to continue the quest.
“Is Anton Constantine really finished?” Rosana asked in a small voice.
“It appears that way.” Memory of that brief glimpse of freedom Will had experienced in Gawaine’s presence surged through him. Events were moving almost too quickly to comprehend, like a boulder rolling down a hill, gathering speed as it went.
Will and Rosana conversed quietly for a time about inconsequential matters. The big unanswered questions hung between them, unspoken. Would anyone else help them find Kendrick? Would the others continue the quest to finish waking the Sleeping King now that they knew full well how dangerous it would be? What would become of the two of them?
The sun was casting long shadows upon the courtyard when Eben slipped in through the postern gate. Will had been certain the jann would go after Kendrick and his sister, but it was still a huge relief to see Eben here. “How’s the arm?”
Eben flexed the new arm that had regenerated upon his resurrection. “Fine. I’m just back from the Heart. The High Matriarch declared me fully cured of the plague and was kind enough to get rid of my slave mark.”
Will put a hand on the jann’s shoulder and said low, “I will never forget your sacrifice, my friend.”
Eben nodded shortly. “A life well spent. We know what we must do next. After we find Kendrick.”
“Of course.” Will smiled. “Kendrick first. And then other adventures.”
“No,” Rosana disagreed. “Your cure first, Will Cobb. Then Kendrick. Then … the other.”
“You always were a bossy little thing,” Will teased her. Besides, he’d been feeling a little better since whatever she’d done with Bloodroot to save his life.
Eben’s chuckle was still fading when a quick knock upon the postern door made Will turn quickly. He glimpsed a dark, shiny form slipping through the gate and into the shadows. Sha’Li? Now that surprised him.
Will strode over to where she lurked, looking around suspiciously. “Well met, Sha’Li,” he said warmly. She lifted her chin in gruff greeting, looking as surly as ever. “What’s that upon your face?” he inquired.
Her hand reached up almost shyly to brush the white lines there. They formed a stylized moon-and-stars symbol. What had she called it? The Tribe of the Moon mark? “Nothing it is,” she mumbled.
If he did not know better, he would say she was embarrassed.
Rosana exclaimed, “Congratulations upon getting your mark! And a white one, no less.”
“What say you?” the lizardman girl demanded in what sounded like shock. “White it be? Not black or red?”
“Nope. It’s as white as Raina’s tabard,” Rosana replied. “It looks nice against your, uhh, scales.”
“A mirror? Where find I a mirror in this mausoleum?”
Sha’Li rushed off to have a look at her mark, and came back looking angrier that Will would ever remember seeing her. He asked, “Didn’t you say the white mark in your Tribe of the Moon is for those of pure heart and a healing bent?”
Sha’Li actually snarled at him, and he grinned unrepentantly. “I knew all along you had it in you. Congratulations.”
“Not one more word, pink skin. Or die you will—”
Rosana cut off Sha’Li’s threat cheerfully. “As long as your Tribe lets you travel with us, I’m delighted you got your mark, white or otherwise.”
Sha’Li shot back, “The Heart, upon this quest it lets you go?”
The gypsy smiled broadly. “My superiors cannot say no to a question I do not ask. I was told to watch over Will.” She shrugged. “He’s not done running around chasing crazy quests, so I still have to watch over him.”
Will grinned. “Flawless gypsy logic.”
“You don’t like having a gypsy traveling companion?” Rosana demanded.
He swept her into his arms for a quick kiss. “I like it plenty,” he murmured against her neck.
Light laughter sounded across the bailey, and Will looked up to see a flash of white trimmed in blue. Will was relieved. Raina. “Where’s Cicero?” he asked her.
Sadness crossed her face. “Now that I wear these colors, I have no need of his protection. He had reason to remove himself from so much Imperial presence and has already left.”
“I will miss him,” Will replied soberly.
“Me, too,” she sighed.
“We are all here, then,” Will said. “What say we impose upon our host for provisions and be on our way?”
“Not so fast,” a deep voice said from the doorway. Will looked up to see Landsgrave Hyland standing there. “While I applaud your eagerness to be on your way,
you must be prepared for what lies ahead of you. Success in your future endeavors is more important than ever. The stakes have gone up considerably now that you have taken the first step.”
Will looked around at the determination on the faces of his friends and pride filled him. He didn’t think they’d done too badly so far. Anton was deposed, disgraced and on the run. The first brick in the wall of Kothite power had fallen. Now to turn that one brick into a mighty avalanche … and Will knew just the man to do it. They’d found the Sleeping King. It remained only to wake him. Somehow, someway, they would rouse Gawaine. Will vowed silently to his parents’ fallen spirits that he would finish the second part of their quest. Soon.
Soon the king would sleep no more and freedom would awaken at long last.
EPILOGUE
Anton cursed as the underbrush caught at his rough clothing. He hated roaming around in the woods like a fugitive. Oh, wait, he was a fugitive. He alternately cursed Kodo, Ceridwyn, Selea Rouge, Aurelius, Hyland, and especially that talkative White Heart healer. They would all rue the day they’d crossed Anton Constantine. He would rule Dupree once more, and when he did he would crush them all.
Or maybe he should not wait and just crush them all now.
Yes, he liked that plan better.
Where was Ki’Raiden, anyway? The greenskin had been clear. Anton was to make his way to the Forest of Thorns and the Boki would find him. So where was the cursed whoreson? Anton had been wandering around out here for two days. He was nearly out of provisions.
As if his curses had conjured the Boki thane, a voice abruptly said from in front of him, “An-ton. Why you heah?”
He pulled up sharply, twisting his ankle in a cursed hole in the doing. “About time you showed yourself. I have a proposition for you.”
“Wha’ that?”
“I need supplies. Safe haven in these woods for a while.”
“Why? You guvnuh.”
“Not anymore!” he retorted bitterly.
If orcs were capable of surprise, that emotion flashed across the thane’s face. “Why help you, if you not guvnuh?”
“Because I still have information you need.”
“You tell. If good, I let you stay heah.”
Anton scowled. He hated negotiating from a position of weakness, but he had no choice. He had to show his cards to the orc first. “Fine. But you have to give me supplies, too.”
The orc grunted his assent. And then, “Tell.”
“You may have killed the Dragon. But his son yet lives.”
Ki’Raiden growled deep in his chest. “Wheah? Wheah spawn of dragon? I kill now!”
That was more like it. Anton smiled coldly. “Let us speak more, my friend.…”
* * *
Anton and a Boki thane walked away from Kerryl’s hiding place, deep in conversation. He had no care for that which they spoke of. Today was a joyous day. His mission was to find the servants of his enemy and free them. The dryads.
His wife had been one of them, so he knew them well. They were like family to him. He’d worked long to ascertain how to set them free of their bondage to the trees, and the magic was tricky. He would, in fact, be binding them to him instead, but at least they would not be trapped in their groves and would have freedom of movement. It was an improvement, at any rate.
Normally, killing a dryad’s tree killed her as well. But if he used his magical dagger to pierce the heartwood and destroy only the tree’s spirit, the bond between dryad and tree should be broken before the fae female perished.
As he’d suspected, they, too, had been eavesdropping on the meeting just concluded. Nosy wenches. He shook his head fondly. As more dryads popped out of the trees they’d been hiding in around the Boki and Anton, Kerryl crept forward.
Now. When his quarry were clustered together and distracted, chattering animatedly among themselves.
He raced around the edges of the clearing piercing tree after tree straight to the heartwood with his rune-covered black iron dagger in the shape of an edged spike. The fae screamed as they felt their trees die and the bonds break. They ran for the trees, and he roared with laughter as they slammed into the trunks, unable to pass into the wood.
One of them turned to him, wailing, “What is wrong with the trees, Moonrunner?”
“You are free now. No longer are you bound to the wood, trapped in this grove. You are bound only to me and may travel as you wish.”
The dryads stared as one at him, horror writ upon their faces. The leader declared, “You are supposed to guard nature. What have you done? What have you become?”
He answered grimly, letting the darkness that consumed his spirit come forth, “I do what I must. You have no idea what comes this way, my lovelies. No idea at all.”
AUTHORS’ AFTERWORD
The world of Dragon Crest is real. This book describes actual characters and events from the ongoing, live, interactive game of the same name. The problems, politics, and story lines you’ve just read about are active today and continue to unfold.
A very special thanks goes out to Sue Keany, one of the original authors of the Dragon Crest game and wildly creative, for all her help and support over the years.
Our warmest thanks to the Dragon Crest players who have created the marvelous characters it has been our privilege to populate this book with:
Bill Flippin, creator and player of Guildmaster Aurelius, creator and player of Lord Justinius, and creator and player of Gawaine
Sterling Bates, creator and player of Selea Rouge
Mark Legere, player of Anton Constantine, player of Tyviden Starfire (and Mark’s actually a really nice guy in spite of carrying Anton and Starfire around in his head)
Kevin Keany, creator and player of Captain Krugar
Patrick O’Neal, player of Rudath, the troll king, and Balthazar of the White Heart
Susan Keany, player of Ceridwyn Nightshade and Syreena Wingblade
Jeanne Flippin, player of High Matriarch Lenora
Bill Clemons, creator and player of Kadir
Steve Lashly, creator and player of Justin
Clint Doyle, creator and player of Cicero
Ken Nichols, creator and player of Moto
Mike Neveu, creator and player of Lizmorn
Peter Miller, creator and player of Kel
Marti Hudson, player of Adept Denia
And a special thanks to Bill Flippin for allowing me to create and play Raina.
If you would like to come play with us in the world of Dragon Crest, we invite you to do so! You can visit www.dragoncrest.com and create your own character, and there you will find tabletop, online, and live opportunities to participate in the world and influence the continuing events you’ve just been reading about. Who knows? You may find yourself in the pages of a Dragon Crest book one of these days.
You may also chat directly with your favorite book characters on the Dragon Crest chat forums, and appearance schedules are posted for major characters at both gaming conventions and Dragon Crest live events. If you would like to give your greetings to Gawaine, help Will slay a monster, or have Raina heal you afterward, that’s entirely possible.
Until then, safe travels to you, brave adventurer.…
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Cindy Dees is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fifty suspense and thriller novels. She also draws upon her twenty-plus years of live-action role-playing experience to write epic fantasy novels. She has participated in the Dragon Crest world since 1996 and enjoys collecting the war stories and heroic quests of her fellow players to include in the Dragon Crest novels. You can sign up for email updates here.
Bill Flippin is a computer-software engineer originally from Boston, Massachusetts. The Dragon Crest world is his brainchild, first imagined over twenty years ago, drawing from his thirty-four years of role-playing experience. In 1995, he turned his fictional world into a national live-action role-playing game. Since then, he has created and overseen ongoing Dragon Crest
events and campaigns all over the United States. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Tom Doherty Associates ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on Cindy Dees, click here.
For email updates on Bill Flippin, click here.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Authors’ Afterword
About the Authors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
