Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) (3 page)

Once the girl came to her senses after the short-lived spell, Master Vhelan found his group had doubled with the arrival of three of his most powerful elders. Now they had a chance, albeit slim, but a chance he could work with to create success. The taunting was working...

"What little you know of the outside world," he shouted, "so much has changed since you were free to molest the surface. You've spent far too many centuries festering away in the bowels of the earth, and in your madness believe that your plan to conquer the world will actually work? Not a chance even after a hundred turns of the Wheel of Whim. The elves are against you, the dwarves are against you, and the humans will be against you once they know of your nefarious plan. Already I have commanded my loyal elders to ride north and warn the dwarves and ride east and inform the elves."

Now the girl's small figure wracked with maniacal spasms as she tore at her hair and screamed at him in a wrathful fury, her face warped and ugly and verging on disfiguring into a demon. Master Vhelan remembered the horrific experience at the Arcanum and the corruption of Master Loral's body, and feared whether the Princes would stoop to such disgusting depths as to implant demons into the small forms of Hakkadian children.

"You dare to so openly declare war upon us?" The girl scoffed at him and strode closer, until he could clearly see the green fire around her figure gleaming in the darkness. "We will torture and humiliate every member of your race. You know nothing of the horrors we can inflict on your small, pathetic bodies. So informed are you of our creations down deep in the laboratories of Naverstrom, but how could you forget we possess the ability to experiment on your seed? We had hoped you would wisely choose to ally with us, but you have proven us wrong. The lines have been drawn in the fabric of time, and we will tarry with you no more."

The girl shielded herself and barked orders to the other Hakkadians to do the same, and as Master Vhelan watched them form up magical barriers, he glanced over at the now agitated dragons and worried about their next move. He took a risk and focused on the dragons, commanding the five eldest dragons of his comrades to fly and escape to a safe place and only return after a few hours had past.
 

At the flight of the massive creatures, the girl flared her eyes and tried to seize control of the dragons but found the mental barrier around beast's minds impossible to break. While the girl was distracted, Master Vhelan pursued the minds of a few of the other dragons and found acceptance and relief in their minds at being free from their domination. He promised them complete freedom in the future if they obeyed him, and one-by-one he found them all submitting to his plea for help.

Master Vhelan laughed at his opponents and found mirth in their frustration and anger at being unable to control their dragons. "Powerless are you against your own mounts? I find this unsurprising. And although the minds of my fellow brethren may be tainted, I'm certain that a trickle of realization is filtering in right now. For they know of me, they know of my power, and there is good reason they call me Lord of the Dragons."

The creatures called out as if in answer, and flared fire and acid and smoke into the air. Several of the Hakkadian opponents looked shaken, and in their distraction Master Vhelan took the opportunity to cast the curing spell and broke through their faltering shield. He held the advantage now and after glancing at his comrades, pressed that advantage as hard as he could. Together they focused their attacks on the girl, against the Prince's dark rage that poured from her eyes. If he could save her he would, but likely the Prince would destroy her first.

Her shield was weakening against the combined power of their attacks and the girl, seeing her comrades failing to rally in her support, cast a quick spell and took flight in a pitiful attempt to flee. He shouted for his allies to allow her to escape, and several of her youthful friends fled with her, disappearing off beyond the northern walls. Without dragons, they'd have a terrible time making their way north to Naverstrom.

The battle was over. But they had won nothing other than their freedom and the dragons, and with it a chance to aid the dwarves against the army of draenyx. A poor chance indeed, especially knowing the elves would refuse to help...
The fools blind themselves to the world beyond their borders
, thought Master Vhelan. But perhaps the dark elves might help, but with their aid came the risk of an alliance with the Princes. Yet still, he would dispatch a few of those loyal to him to ride and visit with the dark elves. Twas a delicate game he played, one with lives at stake.

Only if Princess Sebine reaches Shaar'el unscathed and strikes a pact with the Malathians.
Little chance of that happening,
mused Master Vhelan,
especially after we assaulted Princess Marei at the wedding celebration.
But what about the promise of power in the northern ruins? Was there a chance that they could reach the ancient city and discover a relic that could tilt the balance of power in the world in their favor?

Only if you help them
, he told himself. Indeed, and only with the aid of the dragons. Where might they be now? As far as Glar Bay? He stretched out his mind and could feel the tendrils of her mind working. Yes, she was alive and untroubled. Glar Bay was a foul and dangerous place, but somehow he believed that the Princess would navigate and find a way west by ship. The problem was gaining entry into the Malathian Kingdom. But if he commanded Kraithen and Alyxaria to fly west and find Princess Sebine and Tael Shalinor, would his hold over their dragon minds fail after such a vast distance? Or could he convince the dragons to aid them as freed dragons? Was their time together enough to establish a bond of loyalty?

It might be a risk he needed to take. For a Hakkadian spy living in the west had informed him that the Malathians had issued warnings to watch for any royalty or member of the government of the Kingdom of Valance that might arrive at their borders. And what if there was a declaration of war? Instead of being spurred from entering the kingdom they might find themselves slain...

Chapter Three

THEY NEVER EVEN had a chance.
A surge of fury seized Tael's heart as a mob of men dragged a group of screaming women off a ship at the port of Glar Bay. The captain of the ship gave a greedy grin as he accepted a heavy coin purse from the leader of the men.
They were sold like cattle
. Tael wrinkled up his face in disgust. Sebine seemed to share in his feeling, and she clenched the ship's railing until her knuckles went white.
 

"Are we really going in there?" Tael whispered, and studied the dank and dark city. Glar Bay was a massive, sprawling slum, more of a collection of hastily assembled shacks and muddy streets littered with hogs and chickens and filthy people. There were several large, multi-storied buildings farther in, but each remnant of civilization was surrounded by a cesspool of shacks and muck. Without any visible organization, the city seemed to feed on chaos.

Sebine glanced around at the mayhem infecting the docks. Crates and barrels were being unloaded from their ship, and Captain Greivish was arguing with a burly, bald-headed man outside the dockmaster's house. The Captain frowned and gestured wildly and pointed at them, mouthing words in a heated conversation. The bald man shook his head in irritation and finally waved the Captain away and turned to talk to another captain.
 

"Doesn't look like a good sign." Sebine watched the Captain as he lumbered up the gangplank to where they stood. He pressed his meaty hands against his hips and released an exasperated sigh.

"The dockmaster is being a bloody stubborn fool. I tried to talk him into allowing you to board the next ship west, but he refused. If I could only get you onto a ship without going through Master Oberon, you might have an easier time of it. As much as I'd love to see you avoid Glar Bay, I'm afraid you'll need to come along and see Master Oberon."

A woman's scream below in the agitated pool of sweating men caught Sebine's attention, and Tael felt helpless as he noticed the mob of men had discovered a woman hiding inside a barrel.

"If you don't want to go on," the Captain said, "you are more than welcome to sail east with me and my crew and return to a safer part of the world. Is that what you want?"

Sebine shook her head and shoved aside a sailor standing on the gangplank. "Let's go before I lose my nerve." She pulled the heavy wool hood over her head and Tael skipped around and led her down to the docks, ignoring the appraising stares of the men milling around below. With one hand Tael gripped Balensaar and the other held Sebine's arm. If they met any opposition on their way to meet Master Oberon, he wouldn't think twice about feeding his blade's hunger for blood.
 

The Captain marched past them and brought several sailors to protect them through their entry into the thick crowd of men. Aside from a few pushes and unwanted hands grasping out at Sebine, the clusters of hungry-eyed men parted at their advance. But they had to almost trot to keep up with the Captain's deliberate pace through the muddy streets lined with merchants hawking their wares.
 

What looked like filth and chaos from the ship's view soon resolved into dry, covered streets with a kind of order and civility, where shops sold knives, leather goods, clothes, rope, and freshly baked bread and roasted meats lathered in oil. Farther up there were tea and coffee merchants and cross-legged old men playing cards and sipping on their steaming drinks.

The men's gazes stayed with Tael as he scanned them along the way. They held a haunting hopelessness in their eyes and glanced indifferently at the sailors as if they were as ephemeral as ghosts wafting by in the night. But the men were the ghosts in this the city of the living dead. Many of the men possessed the air of having once been a sailor, but cast aside for their old age, they were now anchored to this hovel in an endless pursuit of survival. Some who owned shops or bars or inns or property were doing well, but the majority lived hand-to-mouth.

"Be careful up here," Captain Greivish said, and inclined his head towards a guarded entrance into what looked like a painting from the darkest depths of hell. "And young woman, you'd be wise to avert your eyes from the ungodly sights. Master Oberon likes to surround himself with the Whispering Ones."

The guards crossed spears and blocked their entrance into the hellish place. Not that Talis wanted to go in there... On the other side of the gate there was a vast collection of ghoulish-looking men and woman dressed in tattered, filthy clothes shuffling around sleeping figures. Their eyes were vacant and mouths open in hunger. Some were gathered along a tall fence that protected a huge building that looked like a fortress. Tael would have named them the
Lost Souls
.

"What's your business with Lord Oberon?" The lean, chiseled guard sneered at the Captain with hopeful eyes that longed for violence. His shaved head gleamed in the torchlight. Talis mused at the mention of "Lord" — did the man now claim lordship over Glar Bay? It seemed to come as a surprise to the Captain.

"I'm Captain Greivish of the Fair Winds. I have business to discuss considering my shipment to Ghen." The old Captain glanced at Sebine. "And these young people have a business proposition that will most certainly interest
Lord
Oberon."

The guard let his lustful eyes linger on Princess Sebine, and gave Tael a dismissive glance. "I'm sure Lord Oberon will be more than happy to welcome them both into his palace, especially the pretty one. Go on ahead and ignore the sheep, it's been a while since they last ate and they're getting a little rowdy in there. You might find yourselves lucky enough to witness feeding time." The guards shared some secret joke and chuckled deviously together as they stared at the throngs of people inside.

Then Tael saw it and his bones shivered in horror at the sight. "Keep your eyes covered, Sebine," he hissed, and found his hands trembling as he stared at the ground. Were they really eating each other? Clumps of writhing bodies moved in an animalistic rush. The bloodlust in their eyes. The hunger for flesh and the endless craving. It was far beyond any nightmare Tael could ever imagine.
 

He followed the Captain past the guards and tried his best to keep his eyes focused on the Captain's black jacket and the white dandruff littering his shoulders. But to each side was a maddening sight that screamed and begged to be seen.
Can't we just set fire to the whole place?
Tael thought, and longed to fly Kraithen and pour forth a flood of flames and purge the land of this insanity.
 

The wretches here were vile, disgusting creatures, and both men and women alike possessed the same gaunt, emaciated bodies and fevered eyes and chattering mouths that whispered incomprehensible words. Their eyes were shifting constantly across the sea of bodies as if searching for food or perhaps a drug. But mostly they just stared at the massive white building ahead with yellow stains around the base. Guards were stationed at several entrance points into the building, and they seemed to relish clubbing any poor soul that lumbered or crawled too close.