The Dragon Empress: The Dragonspire Chronicles Book 6

by James E. Wisher

  “Not what I expected. It looks like a tornado hit this place.” Callie moved past him, deeper into the lab.

  Moz followed Callie’s lead. He wasn’t a scholar and knew next to nothing about alchemy. If he touched anything, he’d probably blow up the fortress.

  They picked their way across the room, careful not to step in anything that might melt their feet off. Callie brushed some debris aside and came up with a leather-bound journal. She flipped it open to the last page.

  “Fascinating. Apparently, Ariel isn’t fully human. According to this she’s got dragon blood in her.”

  “Makes sense given her ability,” Moz said. “Is there anything in there about the tower or how to shut it down?”

  “No, this is all about alchemy.” Callie paged through the journal a little further. “This is interesting. Apparently, they used a magical device called the Crown of Domination to control Ariel. It forces her to do exactly what Leonidas tells her.”

  Moz grinned. “That’s why the dragons’ attacks are so slow and clumsy. She’s doing what she’s told with the worst possible execution. Smart girl. I suspect he came against us himself for the same reason. It was just easier to do it himself. I bet right now, Emperor Black is cursing his decision to rule secondhand.”

  “Maybe he’ll just quit and go away,” Callie said.

  “Good one.” Joking aside, Moz doubted anything short of a sword through his heart would stop Leonidas Black. “Let’s check the second floor and get out of here.”

  Callie nodded and they retraced their steps back upstairs.

  “No activity while you were gone, sir,” the rangers said.

  It was a short walk back to the staircase where they met Southmore. The wizard was nowhere to be seen this time so they could climb the staircase without trouble. At the top was a door-lined hall. Moz scrubbed his hand across his face. More door-to-door searching. His very favorite thing to do.

  Well, they’d best get on with it. They methodically went room by room, finding little beyond expensive furniture too heavy to bother hauling away. At last they came to a door that was different than any he’d seen. It was decorated with intricate designs and set with gems of various colors. Something important had to be behind it.

  Considering whose house they were visiting, it was probably also trapped.

  Moz drew his sword and touched the door.

  Nothing happened.

  He scratched his chin and shrugged. They weren’t going to get anywhere pussyfooting around. He drew back and kicked the door open. Nothing blasted him and no angry monsters appeared. Maybe he was wrong about the room being important.

  One look inside dispelled that notion. There was a long, rectangular table made of polished wood in the center of the chamber. Fine leather chairs surrounded it.

  “This must be where they meet,” Callie said. “The leaders of the group.”

  That was what Moz figured as well. But what really interested him was the black, leather-bound book sitting in front of the chair at the head of the table. He stepped over for a closer look.

  The cover was embossed with the letters LB in a stylized design.

  “Leonidas Black,” he muttered. “Another gift from Southmore do you think?”

  “Must be.” Callie joined him at the head of the table. “I doubt he’d leave this just sitting around.”

  She picked it up and flipped the cover open. The writing inside was unlike anything Moz had ever seen. It wasn’t written in Imperial that was certain.

  “Can you read it?” Moz asked.

  “Afraid not. I’ve never even seen letters like this. We’ll have to find someone to translate it.”

  “Good luck with that. The only one who probably could appears to have vanished on us. We’d best get back to camp before something happens.”

  Chapter 12

  Silas stood at the edge of the Well of Darkness and stared down at the shiny black surface. Every spell he’d attempted was swallowed up by whatever black substance filled the hole. He couldn’t sense Yaz’s life force at all. It was like when he went under, he ceased to exist.

  There was certainly something fascinating about the black stuff. He crouched and reached out toward the surface. Silas had done that many times over the past two days but had yet to work up the nerve to actually make contact. There was something inside him, something primal, that screamed at him not to do it. That if he did, he’d be sucked down, never to be seen again. As a wizard, Silas believed in reason and study. Giving in to some primitive fear rubbed him the wrong way. That said, he wasn’t stupid enough to ignore such a powerful feeling.

  “How long is he going to be down there?” Brigid asked.

  She was pacing around the well and had been for hours. Not that there was much else to do while they waited for Yaz to emerge, but he wished she’d give it a rest. At least Helena seemed content to sit quietly. In fact, she’d hardly spoken a word since Yaz entered the pool. The waiting had to be as bad if not worse on her as it was on Brigid. It was bad enough on Silas and he wasn’t nearly as close to Yaz as Brigid and his mother.

  “It will take as long as necessary,” Helena said. “I had hoped for a faster result, but we must be patient.”

  “How can he even breathe? That black stuff is thicker than water. And what were those tentacles that grabbed him? Does something live down there?”

  “I have no answers for you. We spent weeks studying this place and the substance never reacted to us the way it did Yaz. That is the main reason I’m hopeful that something good may still happen. It recognized something familiar in him.”

  “I don’t want to sound negative,” Silas said. “But we’ve only got about four more days’ worth of food. If he hasn’t come up by then, we’ll need to make a supply run. Eventually…”

  Helena and Brigid both glared at him.

  “I’ll wait here as long as it takes,” Helena said. “My husband is dead and the village no longer exists. If I lose my son too I might as well dive in the well after him.”

  “If it was me down there, Yaz would wait,” Brigid said. “I can’t do any less.”

  “Okay, okay. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere either, I was just asking.”

  Brigid shot him one last hard look before he turned his attention back to the well. When he did he found the surface rippling.

  “Something’s happening,” Silas said.

  Helena and Brigid joined him at the lip of the well. The black slime churned and roiled. Silas backed away even though none of the stuff was splattering around. He really didn’t want to get any of that on his skin.

  At last a hole opened and Yaz came flying up and out. Black wings had sprouted from his back and a dark aura surrounded him. He landed a few feet away and looked at him with the coldest, deadest expression Silas had seen. He knew that look. Last time Yaz wore it, he threatened to burn a family alive.

  Brigid took a step toward Yaz and Silas quickly moved in front of her.

  “What are you doing?” Brigid asked.

  “That’s not him. It’s Yaz’s body, but it’s not him.”

  “What?”

  “You recognized me, wizard.” The cold tone of Yaz’s voice sent a chill up Silas’s spine.

  “Wrath.”

  “Correct. Our father is having a deep conversation with his wayward son. While they chat, I thought I’d take this body for a ride. There’s a mess that needs cleaning up and I’m just the one to do it.”

  “You have access to his full powers?” Helena asked.

  “I do. Submerging him in the pool allowed the door to fully open. Not only that, we absorbed more power from the well itself. This body has more power than you ever dreamed when you were cooking us up in Kranic’s lab. I need to go crush the Dark Sages. No need for you to wait around here, Mom. I don’t plan to return.”

  Yaz gathered himself to leap into the air.

  “Wait!” Brigid pushed past Silas. “Will he come back? Will the real Yaz return?”

 
; “I’m as real as he is,” Wrath snarled. He shuddered and his expression smoothed. “In truth I don’t know. Nor do I especially care. If dear old Dad lets him go and he can retake control from me, then yes. Otherwise, this body is mine for the foreseeable future.”

  Wrath took to the sky and was gone.

  “What have we done?” Brigid asked.

  “At least he’s alive,” Helena countered.

  Silas watched until the black dot that was his friend vanished. Was he really alive? Maybe, but his mind was trapped somewhere and Silas had no idea how to help him escape.

  Jax Umbra stood at the helm of the flying ship and waited for the last of the mercenaries to board. Leonidas had allowed them a day to rest and recover from the earlier battle before paying them and ordering them off to begin their new assignment. Delivering them fell to Jax. There was no way they’d risk their remaining soldiers by sending them on foot. The dragon had proven worthless as a protector. The beasts were much more valuable as a threat than an active weapon. At least that was Jax’s opinion and Leonidas was beginning to agree.

  He glanced up at the heavy, metal dome installed on the new mast. Anyone dumb enough to attack his ship would soon learn that dragons weren’t the only weapons at their disposal. The Iron Dome could deal with almost anything that might threaten them in the sky. Ironically, the only thing he really feared was a true dragon.

  A piercing whistle drew his attention back to the ground. Shade waved and shouted, “That’s the last of them. You’re good to go.”

  Jax waved a hand in acknowledgement and activated the helm. Magic flowed to the levitation stone and they rose slowly into the sky. On deck, some of the mercenaries looked a little green, but they’d get used to it soon enough. Anyway, they didn’t have that far to fly. Leonidas had decided to bring the nearest cities in line first then expand outward.

  He worried about his old friend, that the pressure of bringing so many threads together into a single empire would be too much even for someone as determined as Leonidas. At least he’d settled into a more reasonable timeframe. That would help some.

  “Lord Umbra!” one of the mercenaries shouted. “Something is coming.”

  Jax shook off his musing and focused. Sure enough, they weren’t even out of sight of the tower and a trio of wizards was rushing towards them. Perhaps they imagined the ship to be an easy target, easier than a dragon at least. He would teach them the error of their ways.

  Focusing his magic through the helm, he ran it along the deck, up the mast, and into the Iron Dome. Lightning crackled to life, sparking off the metal surface, eager to lance out at anyone stupid enough to get too close.

  The nearest wizard hurled a stream of fire.

  Lightning cracked out, negating the spell and nearly hitting the wizard who cast it. The woman dove out of the way an instant ahead of death.

  A second wizard, this one in white robes, hurled lightning of her own.

  That was a complete waste of time. The spell bent and was absorbed by the Iron Dome. Jax felt the increase in the artifact’s power through its connection to the helm.

  No doubt wary after seeing their attacks rendered ineffective, the wizards just hung in the sky and watched him fly past. One of them shot Jax a hard glare as he went, but she made no more effort to cast. He smiled to himself and urged the wind spirits to greater speed. Despite the protection of the Iron Dome, he had no desire to linger near the gathered wizards.

  They appeared content to let him pass. He looked back over his shoulder in time to see the enemy descending to earth. Another setback had to be disheartening for them. The best result would be for them to give up and leave. Having the city surrounded, even by such weaklings, was an added stress that no one needed. It was a pity they couldn’t simply accept that things had changed and they now served a new master. If they did that, Leonidas would probably welcome them with open arms.

  He nearly smiled at his optimism. More likely Leonidas would kill them all for daring to oppose him. Not an especially noble sentiment, but a practical one. Better a dead enemy than a possible traitor in your midst.

  Jax turned back just in time to see a black shape streaking directly toward the ship. It was too small to be a dragon and too fast to avoid. He called on the Iron Dome’s power and lightning lanced out.

  It struck the dark shape which didn’t even slow.

  Two more blasts hammered home with equally poor results.

  Before he could summon a fourth, whatever it was slammed into the side of the hull, crashing through the heavy oak timbers like they were paper.

  The vessel shuddered and began to fall.

  When the figure emerged from the opposite side, Jax had lost all contact with the levitation stone.

  The last of its magic was fading fast and as it did, the ship fell with greater speed.

  There was nothing he could do to save either the ship or the mercenaries. He ran to the entrance to the lower decks and ripped the door open. The darkness beyond beckoned. Jax became one with it and vanished into the shadow realm just before the ship slammed into the unforgiving earth.

  That had been entirely too close. And now he needed to tell Leonidas that his entire army was dead.

  Chapter 13

  Yaz’s mind raced as he tried to think of some way out of the dark void that held him. The grinning, humanoid form of his so-called father stood staring at him. The creature hadn’t asked any questions for the past several minutes which was unusual. The thing seemed to have an insatiable hunger for answers.

  “No matter how hard you think, there’s no way out of here unless I release you,” the creature said. “Your plans mean nothing since I can read your thoughts as quickly as you have them.”

  “If you can read my thoughts, why bother with all the questions? Just take what you need and let me out of here. My friends need me.”

  “The thoughts I desire don’t exist until I ask the question. As for your friends, don’t worry, Wrath is using your body and its powers to deal with the Dark Sages. It shouldn’t take long for him to crush the group now that your abilities are fully awakened.”

  Yaz panicked. His dark side had full control of his body and powers. If that was true the gods alone knew what he might do to Brigid and his mother.

  “He won’t do anything to them,” the entity said. “Wrath is just an aspect of your personality given independence by me. He is you without the inhibitions and morality that hold you back from achieving your full potential.”

  “Morality isn’t a weakness,” Yaz said. “It’s what separates good from evil. Without it, I’m nothing more than another villain.”

  The figure clapped and its crimson smile widened. “That’s brilliant. It’s what makes you such an interesting person to talk to. You truly believe in such artificial constructs as good and evil. How naive. Only power matters. If you have it, you can do good or evil as you please and if you don’t, you can’t do anything at all. Come, let us see how Wrath uses your power. You might find it educational.”

  The entity waved a hand and a window appeared. It showed Yaz, or rather Wrath in his body, shooting through the sky, a pair of black wings sprouting from his back but not beating. The landscape was a blur below them.

  “No,” the entity said to his unspoken question. “The wings are not part of your body. For some reason you appear to need them to believe you can fly.”

  The movement slowed and a dragonspire appeared, jutting out of a ruined city. Four energy flows converged on it. That had to be the central tower.

  Wrath threw his hands out and blasted the tower with a torrent of raw darkness. When the attack dissipated, the tower appeared totally unharmed.

  “Well, that’s surprising. I assumed the power you gained after bathing in my blood would have made smashing the tower a simple matter.”

  “All the power from the lesser towers is focused on this one,” Yaz said. “Wrath is trying to overpower them all instead of using his head. He needs to deactivate the outer to
wers first then return to this one and finish things. If he’s really me, how can he not see that?”

  “To be fair, the power burning in his body has probably overwhelmed his senses. You mortals were never meant to have such might. He’s like an alcoholic given the keys to a distillery. He has more than he’s ever dreamed of and he’s drunk on it. You can only appreciate his mistakes because you can’t feel what he feels.”

  Wrath gathered power for another attack. What made him think this one would be any more effective than the last one?

  “He’s drunk, remember? You can’t evaluate his actions like you would those of someone in his right mind.”

  “Speaking of minds, would you stop reading mine? It’s annoying.”

  “We are inside your mind. I am as much a part of you as Wrath. We share your thoughts.”

  “Wait, you mean we’re not still in the well?

  “Of course not. When you were created, a tiny piece of me was injected into you. That’s what allows you to tap into my power through the portal. What you call the black door. The reason you had so much trouble using it, was because your mother and her master didn’t use enough of my blood when they made you. On the plus side, using such a small amount kept you from going insane like your younger copy.”

  “That’s the key Mom was talking about,” Yaz said. “There must have been some more of your blood at Kranic’s fortress. She intended to inject me with it and strengthen the connection.”

  “Such a smart boy. I suspect that is exactly what she intended. When she found the lab destroyed, she had no choice but to bring you to the well. That gave you far more power than you would have had otherwise, but it also gave me the chance to get to know you. A side effect I’m sure she didn’t anticipate.”