“Hayden,” Cass said politely. Her voice stopped everything at once, the questions the thoughts. Even the wind itself seemed to stop. “Bennet is waiting for you.”
“Yes, my Queen.” Hayden managed to mumble.
“Thank you.” Cass nodded as Hayden turned. “My king.” She whispered, almost too low for Hayden to hear. Almost.
Chapter Twenty-Two
If it hadn’t been for the Bone Thief that was leading Hayden through the caves, Hayden was sure that he would have gotten lost. Hayden followed the bone clad warrior through the halls and tunnels without a thought as to where they were going.
Hayden’s body was walking as if in a dream, but his mind was quickly at work talking with Draek, lost to the physical world around him.
King? Hayden said for what had to be the fifth time.
But you won’t really be King, right? Draek asked trying to understand how the leadership of the Metallic Nation worked.
Not a King like Cass is a Queen but still a King. Hayden explained, thinking that he had just cleared up the confusion.
So, a King but not King, King? Draek asked. Hayden agreed with excitement.
I don’t understand. Draek admitted. Hayden was frustrated because of Draek’s lack of enthusiasm and understanding, so he started from the beginning again. His body continued walking almost on its own. His focus was with Draek who was flying overhead.
There are three rulers, a rider from each of the types of Metallic Dragons. Hayden explained. Cass is now our Queen, just as Elizabeth is, or was. She will rule over all of Arvain once the war is over. Hayden said, still excited.
But what about the other races? Aren’t they going to rule over themselves? Draek asked. Hayden hadn’t thought about how all the different races ruling over themselves was going to work, but he knew Cass would figure it out.
I don’t know, they will, but Cass will have to work that out. Hayden replied, brushing off the question.
What a wise King you will make. Draek joked, but Hayden knew better to battle wits with a dragon, especially one that heard his every thought.
Cass will rule over the Metallic Nation when this war is over, and myself and a copper ridder will help aid her. She will be in charge, but that will still make me a King. As the thought left Hayden’s head, he still couldn’t believe it, King.
You will be her assistant then. Draek said.
No, not her assistant. Hayden corrected him. He stopped walking to think for a moment. I will assist her, but I won’t be her….. Ok, I will be her assistant, but they will call me King. Hayden didn’t care that Draek seemed to be burning his dreams down around him.
They can call you a dragon, but that doesn’t make you one. Draek corrected. Hayden was growing tired of their conversation, and it was just as well, they had made it to a particularly dark hallway with a series of large doors.
“Ah, finally. Thank you.” Hayden said to the Bone Thief. He had already forgotten the Bone Thieves’ name, and although he thought they had been walking for a while, he had no way of knowing. He hadn’t paid attention to anything around him the entire walk.
“Rider.” The Bone Thief replied. Hayden wanted to correct him and tell him about his new title, but Draek suggested against it. The Bone Thief opened the door baring the way. With a creak and long groan the door opened with some force, dust flying up at the hinges. Hayden thought they hade made it to a door leading to another hallway, but he was wrong.
All that Hayden could see within was darkness until a shape came forth to stand in the light. Benet had only been in the dungeon for mere minutes, so he appeared out of the darkness as an angel, a clean being in contrast to the dark, dirty cell.
“It is truly good to see you and Cass both,” Benet said with a smile. “I wish we could have met on better terms, but still, it is good to see you.”
"I am confused, Cass said you were free to move about?" Hayden asked as he saw the cell Benet was staying in.
“Cass, apparently she wants me to remain secured until you two, and the Bone Thieves take your leave,” Benet said with a smile. Hayden was troubled that she hadn’t told him as much. Hayden had thought that her decision had been spontaneous, but it appeared that it had been calculated and, at least in part, done in secret.
We will have to ask Cass about it when we are through here. Hayden commented to Draek but getting no response.
“I am sorry Benet, I didn’t know Cass was going to do this,” Hayden admitted. “I am sorry that all of this is having to happen, the war, everything.”
“Yes,” Benet replied simply with a sigh. “I knew it was going to happen and I guessed that it would be soon,” Benet admitted. “I just didn’t guess that it would start with three Metallic Riders. Let alone three that I knew.” Hayden understood the oddity of what had all transpired to lead up to this moment.
“Besides, two days in a dungeon are not that bad Hayden, don’t let it bother you,” Benet said, seeing the worried look cross Hayden’s face.
“Do you think we could go somewhere we could sit or do we have to stand here the entire time?” Benet asked. Hayden hadn’t thought about how long their conversation was going to be, but if it was going to take a while, this was not the place to do it.
Hayden nodded to the Bone Thief, and the three of them walked down a few corridors until they came to a room with benches carved into the stone walls. The dark room scarcely lit with a torch near dying.
The Bone Thief stood in the doorway looking at the two riders as they sat down to talk. Hayden looked at the Bone Thief and waited for his hint to be taken but after nearly a minute of staring the Bone Thief still hadn’t moved.
“Can we have a little privacy?” Hayden asked. The Bone Thief stared at Hayden through the pieces of skull that covered the thief’s face. No sound came out from behind the mask, but slowly the Bone Thief turned and walked back down the corridor.
“Thank you,” Benet said. “I feel that I have said that a lot recently.” Benet lowered his gaze as he spoke.
“Both of you have done more for me this day then you should have. You had every right to kill me or at the very least lock me away for the rest of my life. I am an enemy rider, after all.” Benet admitted.
“You are our friend.” Hayden corrected. “We were all Metallic Riders Benet, at least at one time.” Benet nodded his head deep in thought.
“The two of you have grown up so much since leaving Celestial City. The Hayden I knew is just a memory now.” Benet smiled. “And Cassidy, I know her by name but the young woman I met and watched hatch a golden dragon is long gone.”
“Hearing what Shane was forced to do, surrendering himself to the enemy to save his family. Each of you has faced things you shouldn’t have had to deal with yet.” Benet’s voice was filled with sorrow and regret as if everything bad that had crossed their paths had come from his hand directly.
“We have grown up Benet. Nothing more. I am still Hayden and Cass is still Cass.” Hayden assured the sullen rider.
“Perhaps,” Benet said, neither agreeing or disagreeing.
“I assume that you did not ask for me to come here just to exchange pleasantries and speak of past regrets?” Hayden asked.
“No. I know that you three have been through a lot, but a lot has happened since the three of you left. If you don’t mind telling me your story and I will tell you mine.” Benet looked up and locked eyes with Hayden.
“You would tell me what Elizabeth has been doing? What her plans are?” Hayden asked more excited than he intended. Hope filled his voice as his mind fell back to Cass’s fears about a secret plan that Elizabeth was working on.
“No,” Benet said, shaking his head. “I will tell you all that I know but only for the sake of trying to save as many people as possible. You have to promise me that if people surrender, you will accept them as your prisoners. You won’t murder them.” Benet demanded. Hayden nodded in agreement.
“I know of the orders and demands that Elizabeth has give
n out, and I have heard talk amongst the ranks of riders, but I know nothing of her plans. She does not speak of them to me, or any of the riders save the others that sit on the thrown. She is very secretive in that aspect.” Benet said.
Hayden’s heart slowed back down, and his adrenaline-filled excitement began to die. He was hoping that Benet had learned of Elizabeth’s plans, but it was not so.
Benet did not speak anymore. Instead, he looked into Hayden’s eyes and waited to hear what had taken place since their departure. Hayden started with why they had left. Benet had guessed, but he had not known the depth of how close he had been to Fendrel and how he had taken the loss.
Hayden gave a quick recanting of their times with the elves and what had led up to the battle. The death of King Alfrie, which was something that saddened Benet. He had known the King from when he had been stationed at the Outpost.
Hayden spoke of his mission to find the Sea Serpents and convincing them to follow him back and join their war. The battle that followed was known to Benet but not in the detail that Hayden knew. Elizabeth had spun that they did not want to eradicate the elves nor burn their forest down and that was why they had pulled back.
Benet knew nothing of them breaking away from Kirin to head south and find the Frost Fangs. He was shocked to find that they had overthrown the Ice Keep and that the Frost Fangs had picked up arms against the Metallic Nation.
Hayden was unsure if Benet needed to know the details about his village being burned down, but he thought it might help Benet see the evil that the Metallic Nation festered.
“I am sorry Hayden. When I left Celestial City to come here to summon the Bone Thieves we assumed the Frost Fangs were already on their way to Celestial City. We knew nothing of your moves.” He said with a slight smile. He was amazed at what they had done and just how much he had underestimated them. Hayden finished their journey that led them to Shane’s departure and their arrival at the Dark Hold.
“In another life, I would be more impressed with your accomplishment then I am now,” Benet admitted. “Sadly, that means that the war will progress and the fight will be that much harder,” Benet admitted, and Hayden understood his reluctance. Hayden had felt that very same way during the early stages of the war.
“You already know that she is calling all the riders and soldiers or those able to fight to Celestial City?” Benet guessed and with Hayden’s nod he knew the answer. “I thought as much.”
“Elizabeth was calling all her subjects in as well as the Frost Fangs and the Bone Thieves. Together the three forces were going to be more than enough to crush your army.” Benet did not try to disguise his words, and Hayden thanked him for it.
“That much we gathered,” Hayden said. “Did she not send for the dwarves as well?” He asked having heard Benet make no mention of them.
“No.” He shook his head. “The dwarves were badly defeated in our first battle before all this started. There are very few red dragons left, and most of their people were killed in the fight. The dwarves don’t have the numbers to be helpful to her, and they couldn’t be trusted to fight alongside us.” Benet said with a shrug. “It’s rumored that the dwarves may die out due to that battle. I have heard that some of the tribes have already fallen apart and the members had to join other tribes just to survive.”
Benet and Hayden shared a moment of silence together. Both riders reliving their part in the battle that had caused so much damage and had helped start the war they were now fighting.
“I know the original orders were once the Bone Thieves and Frost Fangs joined our ranks we were to march out in full force and meet you three on the Star Light Plains. Open fields with no trees or water to use to your advantage.” Benet lifted his right leg to rest on his left knee and rubbed his calf as if it were sore.
“Those were her old orders, but I fear when the Frost Fangs and the Bone Thieves don’t show soon she will know that something has gone wrong.” Benet locked eyes with Hayden. “And of course there is Shane.”
“Shane wouldn’t betray us; he won’t tell her everything,” Hayden said sternly.
“He already has. Is he here with you now?” Benet asked, still blunt with his statements. Hayden felt his face begin to get hot and his heart start to speed up. Draek had remained silent thus far, but his voice came as a warning to his rider.
Calm yourself. Draek’s deep voice echoed in his mind. He speaks the truth. Hayden was about to argue with Draek when Benet continued speaking.
“He chose his family over the war. Now Elizabeth knows his weakness and do you think she will just hand over those that he loved?” Benet asked, his body still as a statue as he spoke. “Of course not. She will lock them in the Metallic Pyramid and threaten them with torture unless Shane tells her everything she wants to know.”
Hayden hadn’t allowed his mind to think that far ahead about Shane but now that he did he knew the answer to the question no one had asked yet.
“He is going to talk,” Hayden admitted to himself more than to Benet or Draek.
“He is. How much did he know?” Benet asked.
“Enough to cause us a lot of harm,” Hayden admitted reluctantly.
“Then I suggest that you make some changes to your plans,” Benet suggested. “She will find out about the Frost Fangs and the Bone Thieves soon. If not from Shane from the lack of their presence. Once they find Erskine in ruin, they will put it together what took place.”
Hayden admitted that Benet’s words made sense to him. He wished Cass had been there to speak with Benet. He knew that she was better at this sort of thing.
“There isn’t any way to change our plans,” Hayden said reluctantly. “The armies are marching on Celestial City. We will meet them with the Bone Thieves, and we will lay siege to the city. If she won’t leave Celestial City, then we will burn it down.” Hayden said.
“You can’t change how you fight or where you fight. But you can change who will fight.” Benet said. This brow drew together as he spoke.
“Who fights?” Hayden asked. “I don’t follow.”
“Elizabeth will be expecting the Bone Thieves and Frost Fangs to have joined your army. She will try to find some way to gain the upper hand even with your added numbers.” Benet began.
“She will most likely not leave the city now. Instead of meeting you in open battle she will most likely focus all her efforts on fortifying the city and setting as many traps for you as possible. You will need to surprise her with bringing even more fighters with you.” Benet met his gaze, but Hayden still did not follow.
More fighters? Draek interrupted. Does he not think that we have searched for all allies possible. Draek’s anger began to flair.
“Benet, we have summoned all able fighters we can. The few we have left with the other races are just enough to preserve their history and train the next generation of riders should we fail. Their numbers were too few as it is to make that vast of a difference in battle.” Hayden spoke without letting the furry of Draek bleed into his voice.
“Dwarves,” Benet said. “You haven’t summoned the dwarves yet.”
“You just said their numbers were too small and that their race may very well be dying out now,” Hayden replied, irritation clear in his voice.
He also said they couldn’t be trusted. That Elizabeth wouldn’t allow them to fight with their ranks. Draek added.
Hayden gave voice to Draek’s words, and Benet nodded his head.
“Yes. I think their numbers are few and yes, Elizabeth would never trust them to fight with her army. But your army is not her army.” Benet pointed out.
“Our army isn’t her army, true. That does not change the fact that their numbers are too few.” Hayden protested.
“Too few for Elizabeth and possibly not enough to keep their people alive but they might have ten red dragons, possibly a few hundred warriors or at least those able to fight.” Draek’s anger subsided almost immediately.
Those were not numbers that Hayden had exp
ected, and while that was not a formidable army, it was a big enough group to possibly sway a battle. The red dragons alone were worth considering making the trek to the dwarven territory.
“Would they fight with us?” Hayden asked aloud, to both Benet and Draek.
“I am not sure. They will most likely not trust you since you fly a silver dragon. Joining this war will almost surely finish their race off, but it will be a chance to hit the Metallic Nation and get revenge for what we did to them. That might be too good of a chance to pass up.” Benet’s words sealed Hayden’s mind.
We have to find the dwarves. He thought. Draek did not answer with words, but he could feel his agreement through their bond.
“After we take the Alderth Stronghold, Draek and I will break away from the Bone Thieves and fly as fast as we can to the dwarves. With any luck, we might be able to get their help and make it back to Celestial City before the fighting starts.” Hayden smiled at the thought.
“Let's hope it is enough and that the dwarves don’t kill you on sight,” Benet said with seriousness.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hayden and Benet continued to speak for a little while longer in the small room. Hayden’s mind was racing and his thoughts already on the journey that lay ahead. He hated the idea of leaving again, especially leaving Cass but the war was nearing the end. At least he hoped it was.
They needed all the help and support they could get, and if Elizabeth really was thinking of ways to counter their numbers, then the battle could come down to a surprise handful of dwarves and their red dragons.
Hayden was ready to leave, but he knew that while he had a journey laid out before him, Benet’s part in the war was over. He was going to have to stay here in the Dark Hold with no way of knowing what was happening in the rest of Arvain.
Hayden stood, and Benet followed suit. “Remember Hayden, if the soldiers at Aldreth Stronghold surrender, please allow them to,” Benet asked. Hayden nodded his head, but that wasn’t good enough for him.
The Dream of Shadows Page 18
