Cara shook her head. “You run a high risk. Are you sure you are not letting your friendship with him influence you?”
I looked at his sleeping body again. “It’s not as risky as it seems. I trust him, Cara. I do.” I looked at her out of the corner of my eyes. “And you don’t have to worry about any special treatment from me. I slapped him in the face, remember?”
Cara snorted and choked, pounding a fist into her chest to clear the water she’d been sipping on. “How could I have forgotten? You surprise me every day, my Lady.”
I grinned. “Good.”
She took another sip. “I do not mean to question your decisions. You have a gift for trusting those who fight beside you. It is something I admire.”
“It can make things a lot easier,” I said gently. “Can’t you ever just have faith in someone?”
Cara’s eyes grew distant, looking through the rocky wall across from us and staring into nothingness. “Have you heard of the times just before you all arrived? When the former Realm Keepers were still alive?”
I felt myself grow very still. “No, I never have,” I said. “What happened?”
Cara opened her mouth, about to answer. But just then, Blade started awake with a cry, flying up and out of his bed. He whirled and looked around the room with bleary eyes, barely managing to focus on the two of us.
“Felt like I was falling,” he mumbled. “Craziest thing.”
“Good morning,” I said coolly. “Grab some food. We’re going to go meet another Elder this morning.”
“This time, you can talk to her alone,” he said, scowling.
I followed him with my eyes as Samuel led him aside to sit and eat. Then I turned back to Cara. “I’m sorry. You were telling me something?”
Cara nodded toward the door. “Perhaps another time, my Lady. We have business to attend to.”
I glanced at the door. Outside, a little ways off, stood a dragon I didn’t recognize. Behind us I heard the sounds of Nightclaw coming to her feet. Bonebreaker was already standing at the entrance, his wings up, his body tense and ready.
“Elder Windfang requests an audience with the Realm Keepers,” proclaimed the dragon.
Bonebreaker relaxed visibly. I let out a sigh of relief and got up. I picked my way among the sleeping bodies of Tess and Raven to the entryway. Once I reached it, I stood beside Bonebreaker and bowed.
“Thank you for informing us, and please let Elder Windfang know that we would be…honored to speak.” I hesitated as I debated whether “Windfang” sounded like a male or female name. Safer to go with neither.
The dragon gave a curt nod, turned and flew away.
“Windfang,” growled Bonebreaker. “If a stuffier and less exciting Elder has sat upon the Council, glad I am to have lived after such times.”
“What do you think he’ll have to say about us?” I said. Bonebreaker wasn’t exactly the most level-headed dragon we’d met here. He always seemed to be looking for a fight to dive into. But Blackscale wasn’t around, and at least Bonebreaker seemed to know something.
“Tradition rules his policy, and he bears no love for the lesser races,” said Bonebreaker. “He’d put a child to death if the law demanded it and rest with no burden upon his brow. Unless law can be found compelling him to aid you, he will not.”
“Great,” I muttered. Louder, I thanked him and went back inside.
I wanted to ask Cara again about what she’d almost told me, but it seemed that the moment had passed and I decided to drop it. Just as well, because it wasn’t long after that Blackscale finally arrived.
“Forgive me, little Realm Keepers,” he rumbled as soon as he poked his head through the door. “Yesterday’s wandering kept me from the hunt, and I had had nothing but rotting troll meat since first we laid eyes upon each other. But now we must move on, for today holds promise once again. I have heard that Elder Windfang has asked to see you.”
“Just a few minutes ago,” I said. “We wanted to wait for you, of course.”
“Right you were to do so,” growled Blackscale. “Redwing has many spies and many allies upon the mountain. But come. I am afraid today’s visits will not be so simple as yesterday’s.”
“Simple?” I said with a wry smile. “We’re pretty sure Redwing learned something that could ruin us in the Council.”
“I shall deal with Redwing,” said Blackscale ominously. “But the Elders you must see today will not meet you upon the lower levels. You must go to them.”
I blinked. “How? I thought the Elders’ nests were way, way up the mountain.”
“Just so,” said Blackscale. “But they care not for the troubles of humans and your frail little bodies. We must find a way for you to reach them.”
I saw Calvin’s eyes go wide and spoke before he could ask if we were finally going to get to ride a dragon. I thought he’d gotten the message before, but I didn’t trust the eagerness I saw in his face. “What about a rock platform? It got me to the temple easy enough. No reason I couldn’t make one big enough to take the twelve of us to the Elders.”
Blackscale nodded in approval. “That would be well. But hurry. Things shall go hard enough with Windfang without your being late.”
But we still had to wait for Raven and Tess to wake up. They both arrived within fifteen minutes, and by that time Blackscale was practically pacing in agitation. They shoved a few hasty bites of food into their mouths on their way out the door.
Once again we took the path that wound along the outside of the mountain to the large platform that overlooked the lands in every direction. Once we were there, I looked up toward the top of Wyrmspire. The nests ended a good distance from the top, far below the temple. I’d gotten myself up to the temple with no problems. Twelve to the top layers of nests shouldn’t be too bad.
“Which one are we aiming for?” I said.
“The one just above you, to the left of the temple,” said Blackscale. “That is where Windfang resides. Beside him lives Longtooth, who we will take the opportunity to see while we are near.”
“Got it,” I said. I plotted a course up the mountain’s steep sides that involved as many straight vertical lines as possible. The nests dotted the mountain in haphazard patterns, so it was a struggle to find a section of rock that would run for a long enough time without dead-ending in a cave opening.
Finally I spotted one. I reached out with my magic, sinking my mind’s fingers into the stone of the mountain. It responded to my touch, molding and reshaping itself the way I wanted it. A wide, thick platform of rock emerged from the mountain, with a three-foot wall railing all around. I drew aside part of the railing to make a small door for the others to step through.
“All aboard,” I said.
We filed onto the platform, and I sealed the stone behind us. The platform was a little cramped—too cramped, in fact—but I didn’t want to risk making it too much bigger and possibly losing control.
Once we were ready, I lifted the stone up, up and up, sinking its extensions deeper into the mountainside as we climbed. The key was maintaining the contact to the mountain. As long as it drew on that strength, I could control it, albeit slowly. Lifting rock or moving it through the air was always much, much harder than molding what was already there.
I pushed it as fast as I could without risking our safety, but our progress still seemed agonizingly slow. I caught Blade and Calvin giving me surreptitious looks as the platform climbed slowly, oh so slowly into the sky.
You want to go faster, do it yourself, I thought. I didn’t say it aloud, of course—Calvin would only take me up on the offer and fly away.
Blackscale, Bonebreaker and Nightclaw swooped and circled in the air around us as we rose up the mountain, keeping a watchful eye. At long last, we reached the lip of the nest Blackscale had pointed out to me. I froze the platform to the edge and dropped the wall that led inside.
I’d thought that the nests were about the same size all the way up the mountain. Now I could see that that
had been an optical illusion. The higher nests were so far away that we couldn’t see their true size. This place was huge. It made Nightclaw’s nest look like a parking spot, and now we were standing in a football field. The walls, like Nightclaw’s, had art and sculptures, but there were far fewer of them here. No flashy decoration or ornamentation here. It told me a little about this Elder Windfang right away: he wasn’t one for flash or showing off.
He sat in his bed at the other end of the nest. His eyes had been fixed on us from the moment the platform arrived at the edge. Now he rose, taking several steps forward to stand in the exact center of the room, his wings slightly spread but not even coming close to the walls on either side.
Blackscale stepped forward in the same manner, dipping his snout slightly in respect. Windfang returned the gesture. Beside us, Nightclaw dipped low enough to touch her head to the ground. Bonebreaker did the same thing, though not half as quickly.
I bowed, cueing the others to do the same, but remained silent. I’d learned enough by now to let the Elders begin the talking.
Windfang took another step forward and stooped—not out of respect, but to get a better look at us. He scanned us, his eyes boring into each of us in turn.
“Well, which one of you is in charge?” he said gruffly.
I blinked. That was quite a bit more direct than Cloudsplitter or even Redwing had been. His manner of speaking was also different, more clipped and less flowery than I’d grown to expect from dragons.
I bowed one more time. “I am, Elder Windfang. I’m honored to meet you.”
“Hm,” he said. “The Realm Keepers have come here, after thousands of years, to seek our aid. Why?”
I glanced at Blackscale. He tossed his head slightly in Windfang’s direction.
“The war on Chaos is escalating every day,” I began. “Back home, Terrence is pressing our armies hard. We’re worried we can’t defeat them without the help of the dragons. Our races worked together before. We can do it again.”
“Chaos always encroaches upon the Free Peoples of Midrealm,” said Windfang. “This is not the first time you have fought them. It will not be the last. You are newly become Realm Keepers, yes?”
I looked at the others, unsure. “Yes, Elder Windfang. We have—”
“You know little of the wars of this world,” said Windfang. “Chaos has never come close to gaining the power they commanded in the days of old. This is a matter you shall have to solve on your own. When we fought our last great war, you did not find us sending our youths across the world to beg the humans for their help.”
I felt myself flush and hated my skin for betraying me. It made me look young and foolish.
“This isn’t just a border war,” I said, keeping my voice level. “Terrence has got—”
“Terrence!” scoffed Windfang. “I have heard of this upstart human who thinks he can command the forces of Chaos. Watch and see. He knows not what he trifles with. His masters will tear him apart within a year.”
“A year?” I said. “In a year, humanity could be gone!”
“You worry overmuch,” said Windfang. For a moment I actually thought he would roll his eyes. “He is but a human. Weak. He has no interest in Wyrmspire, and could not touch us if he did.”
Heat rose into my cheeks again. “Terrence might not be coming for you now, but we’ve all seen what he can do. We fought him in a siege that lasted for three weeks. He has armies of Shadows, Hellions and crows, more than you could ever count. We had the barrier, and we could barely stop him. When he finally does come, after dealing with us, you won’t stand a chance.”
Windfang’s nostrils flared, his eyes narrowing. “Little child,” he said, and I could hear anger rising in his voice. “Do you know nothing of the Wyrmspire? No army could take this place. It is impervious to assault. And if we were to leave it, to help you in your purposeless war? Then dragons would die in battle, something that has not occurred in centuries.”
Without warning he whirled, turning away from us and walking back toward his bed. “I have heard enough,” he said. “You may leave.”
“Elder Windfang,” I said. “Please, listen to—”
“Go,” said Blackscale. His tone wasn’t harsh, but it brooked no argument. I shut up, turned around, and led the others to the platform.
“Come, move this way,” said Blackscale. “This is my nest.”
I pushed us to the right, away from Windfang’s doorway. The last thing I saw before he slid out of sight was the old dragon settling himself down on his bed, his head resting on the ground and his eyes focused on us.
We moved into Blackscale’s palatial space, the others throwing themselves down to sit upon the stone wherever they were. I looked at Blackscale, somewhat abashed.
“That didn’t go very well,” I said.
“The hope for success was but a tiny spark,” said Blackscale. “Elder Windfang sees no virtue in striking out beyond our borders. It is not only your war that has him cautious. It is life itself, the legacy left to him by his father.”
“A foolish one,” grumbled Bonebreaker.
“Bonebreaker!” said Blackscale sharply. I knew that, as good as dragon hearing was, Windfang had probably heard exactly what Bonebreaker had said.
“I speak only the truth,” said Bonebreaker, looking at him sullenly. “How can he think that the Wyrmspire will last forever if only we will remain here and thrust our heads into the stone like the flightless birds of the far South?”
“You will treat the Council Elders with respect,” said Blackscale.
Bonebreaker turned away, the movement somehow looking like a shrug, and wandered off farther toward the back of the nest.
“You must understand,” said Nightclaw, lowering her head so that she was looking at me closer to eye level, “few on the mountain have any notion of the outside world. Our clan and Cloudsplitter’s are very unusual for teaching our hatchlings of the lesser races. Of the five high clans, we are the only ones who do. Only a smattering of the lower clans give the world any thought.”
“Thus is the great difficulty you find yourselves in, endeavoring to speak truth to those who are powerful but complacent,” said Blackscale. “But not all, though they may appear so.”
I glanced up at him. “Are you talking about Longtooth? He’s the last one, isn’t he?”
“Eldest Longtooth,” Blackscale corrected me. “And yes, he is the last Elder you must meet.”
“So what?” said Miles. “You want us to wait here until he summons us?”
Blackscale’s lips peeled back slightly. “Eldest Longtooth has little thought to spare for such matters. He will not summon you, but not for lack of desire to speak with you. When age claims our bodies at last, memory often deserts us. If we wish to plead our case before the Council convenes, we must do so.”
That made me a little nervous. If this guy was too senile to remember to invite us over, how could we expect him to support us in the Council? How could we expect him to even remember what we told him today when Council met tomorrow?
But there was nothing for it. “Where do we go?” I said.
A few more minutes of sliding along the mountain on our platform, and we’d entered the nest of Longtooth. His place was a sharp contrast to Windfang’s. His walls were positively saturated with art, with some extra sculptures sitting upon the floor, looking discarded, as though he’d brought them here, replaced them with others, and simply forgotten to remove the originals. I saw one that looked like a cluster of eggs, so cleverly carved from marble that for a second I thought they were real.
Longtooth wasn’t in his bed when we arrived. Instead he lay on the floor, his claws clacking against the stone whenever he shifted his position slightly. I’d almost forgotten the extent of his bulk. He was huge, and a lot of it was fat. This guy clearly didn’t get off the mountain much these days. Probably had younger, more nimble dragons go hunting for him. Looking at him this way, it was a wonder that he made it from his nest to the
Council meetings at all.
“These old eyes have seen much, and much have they lost,” he said as soon as we stepped off the platform and into his nest. “But never did I think that they would again behold the sight of Realm Keepers upon the Wyrmspire. I cannot say that I am glad you have come. I cannot say that I do not hear the footsteps of doom echoing alongside your own. But whatever may have transpired between our people in the past, I bid you welcome. I pray that your coming is a good omen, and not the peal of doom that I fear.”
I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how to respond to that. So I went with my default reaction: I bowed and said, “It is an honor to meet you, Eldest Longtooth.”
Longtooth shifted his bulk slightly, pushing himself up just a bit. I heard that deep rumble in the base of his throat that I’d heard a few other dragons make. Laughter, I figured.
“You make such effort to be polite,” he rumbled. “If all Realm Keepers had held themselves to the same standard, perhaps the Schism would never have befallen us.”
“If only we could change that past,” I said. “We wouldn’t need to be here at all.”
“Dead we might all be,” said Longtooth sharply, fixing me with his gaze. “Destiny works through all things. She guides us down the only path that may be walked. She is neither for us nor against us. She cares for your lives as little as she does mine. She cares only for the world in which we live.”
“Of course, Eldest Longtooth,” I said, bowing again.
He sighed, throwing a sharp breeze of warm, foul-smelling air across us. “You do not understand. But perhaps some day you will. I am very old, after all, and so predisposed to flights of philosophy with very little provocation indeed.”
“Eldest Longtooth, why don’t your people want to help us?” I said. “I have heard that you were alive for the Schism and before, when the Realm Keepers still fought beside you against Chaos. You know how powerful this enemy can get. Why won’t you all help us?”
“When have we said we will not?” said Longtooth. “The Council has yet to vote.”
Wyrmspire (Realm Keepers Book 2) Page 60
