Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (37 page)

“No, you’re not!” insisted Vera. Tears started forming in her eyes again. “It won’t be long before a cure is found. I can purify the poisoned water. I’ll cure the poison in your body if it’s the last thing I do.”

Everyone’s ears perked up at Vera’s statement. “What was that?” asked Rebecca. “What did you just say?”

Vera looked up at the dwarf. “I’ll cure the poison in your body if -.”

“No. Before that,” said Rebecca.

“Oh,” said Vera, understanding the question. She relayed the encounter with the water elemental to the others, showing her clear staff as proof.

“Well done,” complimented Kazin. He coughed and pulled the cleric closer. “Now go find your way out of the mountains and save the world. Cyril can sense the outside world. He can guide you. Rebecca will see to it that you don’t become lost.”

“What about you?” demanded Vera. “You’re going with us! I’ll carry you myself if I have to!”

Kazin coughed and shook his head.

Suddenly a commotion sounded below and everyone looked down into the cavern. Lizardmen were returning with reinforcements. Their torch light was showing through the thinning fog.

“Alric,” murmured Kazin.

“Yes?” said Alric, leaning close to the mage to hear.

“Do you remember what I was telling you about the dragon within me?”

Alric nodded but realized no one could see him. “Yes,” he said belatedly.

“It is time.”

Alric stepped back in alarm. “Are you sure?” The others looked at Alric’s sword with curiosity.

“Yes,” said Kazin. “Take care of the others.” The arch mage pointed his staff at the stone wall that was the portal. Moments later it shimmered. “Now go! All of you!” shouted Kazin.

“I’m not leaving you,” insisted Vera. Tears were now streaming down her face.

“You must!” rasped Kazin. He began coughing uncontrollably. He pulled away from her as she grabbed onto him.

Cyril knew the signs and pried Vera away from the arch mage as gently as he could. “Come,” he said softly. He nodded at Kazin and added, “I will always remember you, my friend.”

The companions stepped through the portal, Tyris the only one without tears in his eyes. Alric was glad he was invisible so no one could see his own moist eyes. Cyril and Vera were the last to step through. The cleric looked longingly at the mage before the magic whisked her away. The portal closed. Soon the only sounds came from below.

Kazin looked down into the cavern, which was rapidly filling with lizardmen armed to the hilt. The laughing of the dragon spirit raged within Kazin’s head. It sensed Kazin’s weakness and tried to overcome his will. It wanted to gain control. Slowly, perhaps more slowly than ever before, he began to transform. His body became more and more reptilian and less human. After agonizing minutes, he stood on the ledge, with barely enough room to stand. The crowd below had now spotted him, his enormous body impossible to hide. With an ear-splitting shriek, the dragon unfolded its leathery wings and plummeted into the masses below… .

Chapter 29

L
yrr peered around the corner. “He seems to be busy eating.”

“Is there enough room to sneak around him?” asked Lynch. He cowered in the shadows, content to let Lyrr risk his life spying.

“I think so,” said Lyrr. “There are enough bodies piled up that we should be able to move undetected.”

Lynch shuddered. It was hard to fathom so many dead lizardmen in one place. “We have to get past it in order to track the fire elemental. It was up the stairs by the portal. The longer we wait, the colder the trail will become.”

Lyrr sighed. He didn’t think it was a very good idea to try to summon the fire elemental with the rest of their team out of commission. With just the two of them, it was doubtful their magic would be strong enough to capture an elemental. Still, chasing the elemental was preferable to fighting in the war against the humans. “We should disguise ourselves,” said Lyrr.

“What do you suggest?” asked Lynch.

“There are plenty of rats around here,” said Lyrr. “If we look like rats, maybe the dragon will ignore us. We wouldn’t be worth pursuing. Not with the feast he’s got in front of him right now.”

“Good point,” said Lynch. “Let’s do it.”

Lyrr chanted softly while Lynch held his arm to allow the spell’s effects to encompass him as well. In moments, the two lizardmen were replaced by two rats.

“How do I look?” asked Lynch.

“Ugly, as usual,” said Lyrr. “I’ve seen more attractive rats.” His leering expression was not lost in his new form.

“Shut up,” snapped Lynch irritably. “Let’s get moving.”

The two rats scurried around the outskirts of the cavern. They ducked in behind the charred remains of the lizardmen. Steam still rose from the bodies, an indication that they were freshly killed. The sound of chomping became louder as the rats neared the dragon. Whenever the great beast paused, so did the rats.

The dragon spit out the bones and sniffed. It smelled rats nearby. Undoubtedly they were there to feed on the carcasses. ‘Oh, well,’ it thought. There was plenty of food to go around. The dragon resumed eating, tearing lizardmen flesh from bone. It never noticed the stealthy rats scamper by on their way to the stairs.

They had almost reached the stairs when another rat jumped out in front of them. It squeaked and ran up to Lynch, sniffing him from every angle. Lynch tried to jump out of the way but the female rat pursued him.

“Get lost!” hissed Lynch irritably. He jumped up the stairs to try to escape. The rat followed.

Lyrr leered. “I guess you’re more attractive than I thought.” He followed the others up the stairs.

Halfway up the stairs Lynch was breathing heavily. “I didn’t think it was so far to the top.” The female rat caught up to him and that spurred him on.

“We’re just smaller,” said Lyrr. “That’s why the distance seems longer.” He paused to catch his own breath and looked down at the dragon in the cavern below. The dragon was gazing up at them curiously but gave no indication it was going to attack them. Lyrr continued his ascent.

Lynch finally reached the top and turned to let Lyrr know they were there but didn’t get a chance to say anything. The female rat sprang up the final step and landed squarely on the hapless rat. They locked together and tumbled end over end, stopping at a large stick. Lynch struggled to free himself from the female rat and stumbled to his feet.

Lyrr stood by, leering. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“Shut up, Lyrr!” snapped Lynch. “Are we clear to change back again? I’d like to get rid of this nuisance.” As he spoke, the female rat was sauntering up to him in a suggestive manner.

“Are you sure you don’t want to -?” began Lyrr.

“Change us back!” ordered Lynch furiously.

“Very well,” said Lyrr. He looked over the edge to see the dragon engrossed in his feast. With a word of magic, the two lizardmen reappeared. The female rat was not ready for this surprise and shrieked, jumping way up and back.

“The rat liked you better the way you were,” said Lyrr nonchalantly. Lynch growled and Lyrr leered.

The dragon looked up toward the alcove, irritated by the noise. After a moment, it resumed eating. ‘Silly rats,’ it thought.

The lizardmen breathed a sigh of relief. They were not spotted because they stood back from the edge. It was then that Lynch saw the stick he had bumped into earlier. It wasn’t a stick.

“What have we here?” he whispered, bending over and picking it up.

“A trident,” said Lyrr.

“I know it’s a trident, you fool!” snapped Lynch.

“Then why did you ask?” said Lyrr, leering.

Lynch knew Lyrr was toying with him so he didn’t respond to the remark. “I wonder why it’s here.”

“Maybe someone else was here trying to capture the fire elemental,” suggested Lyrr.

“Don’t be silly,” snapped Lynch. “There was no way anyone could survive the attack long enough to summon the elemental. Besides, the lizardmages who had survived the attack said magic wouldn’t work here at the time due to a suspected magic nullification spell.”

“Maybe so,” admitted Lyrr, “but the trident is perfect for containing a magical being. With a trident, we can contain the fire elemental with minimal magic.”

Lynch gave Lyrr a sharp glance. “Then we’d better bring it with us.” He pointed to the portal. “What are we waiting for?”

Lyrr chanted and opened the portal. The lizardmen stepped through and disappeared.

The dragon paused and looked up toward the alcove. Did he hear talking a moment ago? He listened, but there was only the sound of the river beside him. Then he saw a rat bounding down the stairs. “Stupid rats,” he murmured. He returned to his feast. It was getting cold. One good blast of fire warmed things up again and he ravenously devoured his meal.

* * * * *

Frosty landed atop the Tower of the Moon and furled his wings. Soon they blended into his body and were gone. He looked around, his proud bearing and shiny white horn an image of pure beauty. No one else was on the roof at this time.

A strong gust of wind reminded him to make haste with his delivery. It seemed to him that he was strictly a messenger these days. He would have preferred to be with Kazin, but the circumstances surrounding recent events made that impossible. Once the elementals were freed, he could contribute more directly. For the moment, he did what little he could to help.

Approaching the roof door, which led down into the tower, the unicorn concentrated and the latch unlocked. The door opened outward and admitted the four-legged beast. Few creatures could overcome locked doors like Frosty, and even druid magic could not keep him out. He entered the opening and disappeared inside, the door closing and locking behind him.

The unicorn found Milena and Adriana in the main hall, scurrying from bed to bed tending to the sick mermaids. They did not notice him until he whinnied. Then they looked up in surprise.

“Frosty!” exclaimed Milena, running forward to embrace the mythical creature.

“How did you -?” began Adriana. Then she threw her hands up in despair. “Oh, never mind. I don’t even want to know.”

“I have some supplies for you,” said Frosty when Milena finally let go of his neck. He turned to locate a pouch that was slung over his back. Then he picked up the pouch in his teeth and turned to Milena. “Here,” he said through clenched teeth. “Just what the druids ordered.”

Milena took the pouch and grunted under the weight. “What’s in here?” she asked.

“Wildhorn leaves and dwarven ale,” answered Frosty. “I’ve always wanted to be an ale runner,” he added sarcastically.

Milena laughed. Even Adriana cracked a quick smile.

“You always find a way to lighten the mood, Frosty,” said Milena.

Frosty whinnied again.

Adriana tucked in a mermaid and came forward to help Milena with the pack of ale. “I’ll do some experiments straight away.”

Suddenly a voice behind them cried, “I’ve got it!”

Everyone turned to see Martha run into the room out of breath. “Hi, Frosty,” she said briefly. She did not seem the least bit surprised he was there. She held a book in her hand.

“What is it?” asked Milena.

Martha paused to catch her breath. “I think I know how we can create a cure for the disease!” she blurted at last.

“Out with it, Martha,” said Milena excitedly.

“It won’t be easy,” said Martha. She turned to a page in the book. “Apparently, we can create the antidote by using the faelora and the dwarven spirits.”

“How?” prodded Milena.

“That’s when it gets more complicated,” continued Martha. “First, according to the book, we have to get an experienced representative of black, white, and grey magic, together with at least one druid.”

“O.K.,” said Adriana. “That’s not too hard. And then?”

“Then we have to summon the water elemental,” said Martha.

Adriana groaned and threw her hands up in the air again. “So much for that idea.”

Milena’s hopes faded. “We just can’t seem to win.”

“You should try to gather the mages together anyway,” interrupted Frosty.

“What’s the point?” asked Adriana. “The water elemental is out of reach.”

“Not necessarily,” said Frosty.

“How do you know?” asked Milena.

“My magic is strongly related to the four elementals,” said Frosty. “My magical strength is weaker if an elemental is being controlled on our plane. My power was at its weakest when the air elemental was taken from you. I’ve recently noticed an increase in my strength. It could be that one of the elementals recently returned to its own plane of existence. Perhaps it was the water elemental. That elemental was in our plane of existence longer than any of the others. If it was pushed too hard, it could have burned itself out and perished in its summoned form. If that is so, the elemental is very weak. You won’t be able to summon it until it becomes stronger.”

“How long will that be?” asked Adriana.

“I don’t know,” said Frosty. “You’ll just have to try summoning it from time to time.”

“In the meantime,” interjected Martha, “we need to get the mages together.”

“Do you think you can find Kazin?” asked Milena.

“I’m about to find out,” said Frosty gruffly. “As his familiar, I’ve sensed him in danger a few times, but the feeling keeps getting weaker. My magic isn’t as potent in the mountains, so I have no choice but to search for him. I’m getting a bit concerned.”

“If he’s O.K. but too busy looking for the source of the poison,” said Milena, “you can fetch Arch Mage Valdez. He’s our only alternative for an experienced black mage. It will leave my country with no leader for the short term, but this is a higher priority.”

“Understood,” said Frosty.

“I’ll dispatch a couple of griffins to gather a white and grey mage,” offered Adriana.

“I’ll study the necessary spells for the cure,” said Martha.

“You’d better get going,” said Milena to the unicorn. “We’ve got lots of work to do, and you have to find Kazin. I sure hope he’s O.K.”

“Me too,” said Frosty.

“He’s O.K.” said Adriana with an unusual air of confidence. She had just opened a bottle of the ale and sniffed. Her face immediately contorted into a gruesome expression. “Phew! They say this can be used for a cure?”