Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) (33 page)

He held Sebine's hands and with his eyes fixed on hers nodded his head until the worried left her face. This time they would need the help of the gods, he was certain of it. Despite what his grandfather had said about the dangers of summoning the gods, he was certain they needed a powerful god on their side. And to summon and command the respect of a god they needed power and a sufficient enough offering to entice their attention. Perhaps they could find that out in the northern desert.

But only if they knew the name of the Saarian god. He found his attention shifting over to Master Vhelan, who surveyed the preparation for their journey. Between inspecting the dragon packs, the old sorcerer cast wary glances at Master Shalinor and Sebine, and when he caught sight of Tael's gaze, a flicker of nervousness flashed over his face and he turned away and strolled off to another dragon.

"What is it?" Sebine said, and followed Tael's eyes. "Why are you looking at Master Vhelan?"

Tael shrugged, not wanting to cause Sebine concern. "I'm not sure, really. Maybe I'm just suspicious of him ever since he left us in Karth with nothing."

"But he did return and help us. Doesn't that mean something?"

"True, but he also brought King Braxion—don't protest—I know he says it wasn't on purpose. But the net result is that all the relics that kept the Prince Xanthes locked away from the world are destroyed. And when he didn't know I was looking I caught him glancing at my grandfather and you. He either knows something he hasn't revealed yet, or he's a traitor."

"Look, you can see for yourself that he is reunited with his wife. And he's stolen all the dragons. While the draenyx were dragging King Braxion through the portal, Master Vhelan entranced Keraxes and now the mightiest of the dragons is on our side. I highly doubt he's a traitor."

Tael sniffed and wrinkled up his nose. She was probably right about the sorcerer not being a traitor, but there was still something strange about how he acted. "Why don't we talk to him before we leave? Maybe we can discover some hints as to what he's discovered since we last saw him."

 
"Wait here." Sebine strode off after Master Vhelan, an expression of determination fixed in her eyes. She met up with the sorcerer and her face went tense and she stabbed the air in the direction of the old man while she talked to him. After their heated conversation calmed down, they both turned and glanced at Tael, and sauntered over to him while they talked.

"You have every right to be suspicious of me." Master Vhelan's eyes softened when he studied Tael. "I honestly had no other choice but to return to Trikar and try and save my wife. I succeeded in that but failed to help the dwarves and the elves from King Braxion. But one other thing I did succeed in was to discover vast troves of information about the Saarians while I was in Raukris, the dark elf capitol. Jolrath allowed me to study ancient metal tomes written in the Saarian script. Most of it was indecipherable—babbling nonsense really—but I did learn the name of their two gods and a bit about their history."

Sebine's eyes flared in excitement at hearing the sorcerer's revelation, but sobered up after she glanced at Tael's grandfather off in the distance. "Master Shalinor will be opposed to anything related to their named gods."

"The wizard is fearful of anything unknown to him." Master Vhelan scoffed as he looked at the old wizard. "He doesn't have to know."

"Having the names of their gods gives us a chance to avoid the curse of the ruins," Sebine said, and scanned off towards the northern horizon as if musing over something in her mind. "We might have a chance."

"I discovered something else of importance while I was in Khalas Dralorn." Master Vhelan withdrew something small and shimmering from his robes. "This golden orb was given to me by the high priest at the elven temple of Selderei. The high elves received the orb from the Saarians over ten thousand years ago. We can use it to access their ancient temple hidden out there in the ruins of the northern steppes. There is hope for us still, you must believe it with all your heart."

Although Tael no longer felt the touch of Gaa'el strong in his mind, he still remembered the power and ferocity of his experience interacting with the god. It had left him weak and dazed, and though seductive, it was an experience he was unwilling to repeat. He gave Sebine a considered look. But given a choice would he have the heart to say no to her? He swore a blood oath to do whatever it took to kill King Braxion, even if it cost him his life. Next to dying, what was the harm in tangling with a god?

The mood seemed to turn somber as the servants finished loading the dragon packs, and Tael, Sebine, and Master Vhelan separated and mounted their dragons. His grandfather glanced at Sebine and the sorcerer and gave Tael a warning look as if he could read his mind and greatly disapproved. Princess Marei cast angel's wings about herself and fluttered up and mounted the dragon saddle behind Tael. He gave her a kind smile and she returned his attention with an expression of exhilaration and hope. Kraithen launched them up into the air and soon the vast city of Shaar'el was fading off into the distance as they flew north over the red-tinged sand dunes.

Sebine's dragon, the beautiful Alyxaria, banked over and flew alongside until Kraithen's wing tips almost touched hers. Prince Jaraz gave them a quick wave, his face fascinated and feral as he gazed at the speeding landscape. Princess Sebine sent Tael a warm smile that filled his heart with affection for her. But soon she fixed her determined eyes north to where black storm clouds were billowing up far off in the distance.
 

Tael followed her gaze and inhaled the crisp, charged air until his lungs were filled with the wildness of the world. A coldness crept into his bones and caused his body to shiver at the sight. For there, in the rising storm, he felt a malevolent force beckoning him to bow down and worship.

The feeling stayed with him until he could bear it no longer.