Requiem's Hope (Dawn of Dragons) (14 page)

They walked through the forest. The trees were different here than
back home; she did not recognize them. Their trunks were pale and
coiling, soaring far taller than any trees Maev had ever seen. Their
roots twisted like serpents, wrapping around boulders and smaller
trees. Mist floated and dark birds flitted between the branches. The
air was thick and soupy, rich with the smell of age. Everything
seemed old here, ancient beyond knowing, and the trees seemed to
stare into Maev, disapproving of strangers disturbing their old guard
upon the land.

After a mark or so, the trees finally parted, letting in cool air.
The city of Bar Luan lay before the three Vir Requis.

A cobbled road stretched ahead, lined with brick buildings that stood
several stories tall, each level smaller than the one beneath it.
Stone reliefs of animals, druids, and warriors rose upon the walls,
gazing upon the sunlit boulevard. Two great statues, each larger than
three dragons, flanked the road, shaped as robed men with the heads
of apes. When the companions stepped down the road, entering the
city, Maev gaped. The pyramids rose ahead, even taller than the great
King's Column back in Requiem. Staircases ran up their sides, lined
with many statues. Towers, walls, and silos rose everywhere, some
topped with gardens, their walls sporting embossed faces larger than
men.

Just as much as the architecture, the people of Bar Luan amazed Maev.
They were a small, slender folk, no larger than her friend Laira.
They wore flowing white robes, and elaborate copper plates hung upon
their chests, the metal inlaid with gemstones. Maev half expected
guards to rush forth and attack, but she saw nobody carrying weapons.
The people walked with bowed heads, rushing from home to home. Their
faces were pale, their lips trembling. Only a few raised their eyes
and seemed to notice Maev and her companions; they quickly looked
away and shuffled off, a tremble to their knees.

Alina tightened her robes around her. "I sense great fear here."

Dorvin rolled his eyes. "You don't say. What wonderful, magical
powers of insight will you reveal next?" He spat. "These
Bar Luanites are more timid than sheep. Bloody stars." He turned
to look at Maev. "Psst, Mammoth Arse. You see any Vir Requis
around here?"

Maev was about to grumble and slap the damn boy, but suddenly she
froze and sucked in her breath. Her heart leaped and cold sweat
washed over her.

"Mammoth Arse, what the Abyss?" Dorvin tilted his head.
"You look like you saw a damn ghost's dangling naughty bits."

She blinked. "I . . ." She blew out her breath slowly, her
fingers shaking. "It's nothing."

But she
had
seen something. For an instant—just a
heartbeat—Dorvin had been . . . Oh stars, but he hadn't looked like
Dorvin at all. No skin had covered his face, leaving only red, raw
flesh and terribly white, bulging eyes. But it had lasted just that
instant. He stood before her now with the same mocking, tanned face.

"I know I'm devilishly handsome, Mammoth Arse, but you have to
stop staring." He patted her cheek. "Now come on. If the
druid here says there are Vir Requis in this pile of rocks, we'll
find them." He began walking deeper into the city. "The
locals won't bother us; they scatter as soon as I walk near." To
demonstrate, he jogged forward a few steps, then laughed as the Bar
Luanites fled.

Maev was going to follow when Alina grabbed her arm and held her
close. The druid narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Maev. "What did
you see? You're afraid."

The vision filled her mind again: Dorvin with flayed skin, a living
corpse. Maev licked her dry lips. "I . . . I don't know exactly.
A quick vision of Dorvin hurt." She took a deep breath, trying
to steel herself. "I'm simply tired and he's been fraying my
nerves. Let's keep going."

The young druid kept staring at Maev, head tilted, her purple eyes
intense as if trying to peer into Maev's mind. Finally Alina nodded,
tugged her hood lower over her face, and began to walk forward. The
two women followed Dorvin through the city of stone.

They walked along the boardwalk, moving between the towering gray
buildings of craggy stone. The pyramids soared ahead, their tips
shrouded in clouds. Statues lined their way, each taller than
dragons, shaped as stoic priests in flowing robes. Trees rose along
the roadside and between the buildings, their pale trunks coiling,
their roots rising between the cobblestones like sea serpents
breaching from a stony sea. The place was deathly silent. It was a
city large enough to house thousands, but Maev saw barely a hundred
people, all hurrying about as if the air itself hurt them. One woman,
her long pale hair gathered into a bun, ran across the street, tears
in her eyes, swatting at invisible insects.

"They're all bloody mad," Dorvin said, turning toward Maev
and Alina. "Look at that one." He pointed at an old man who
sat in the corner, hugging his knees and rocking, begging in a
strange tongue.

Maev knelt by the old man. She tried to soothe him with soft words,
but he kept rocking and shaking, not acknowledging her. Sweat beaded
on his brow, and his eyes stared into the distance. Tears rolled down
his cheeks.

"Dragons!" Dorvin said, forming a little dragon with his
hands, the fingers flapping as wings. "Have you seen dragons?"

The man's mouth opened and closed wordlessly, and he covered his
eyes. Even Alina, singing softly, could not soothe him. They tried
approaching a few other people, and Dorvin again performed his little
dragon show, but everyone here had the same reaction. They stared at
the empty air, whimpered, and fled.

As Maev walked through the city, seeking anyone who could help, she
frowned. Something felt wrong in her mouth. When she tapped her
tongue against her front tooth, she winced. The tooth was loose. Maev
grumbled. Too many damn fights. Too many punches to the face. It was
a wonder she had any teeth at all. As she kept walking, her tongue
kept seeking that tooth, wiggling it. It felt ready to fall out, and
the more she played with it, the looser it became, yet she couldn't
stop. Trying to ignore it, she pointed at a great pyramid that rose
ahead, taller than the others.

"If there's a king in this place, he lives there." Gilt
covered an archway high upon the pyramid, gleaming as a beacon. "If
anyone here would know about Vir Requis, he will."

They kept walking, heading toward the pyramid. The massive structure
seemed close, but as Maev kept walking, it seemed to keep getting
farther away. She turned around a bend in the road, walked between
buildings, and found herself heading in the wrong direction, leaving
the pyramid behind her.

"Stars damn you, Mammoth Arse." Dorvin grabbed her arm and
tugged her. "This way."

They turned around a corner, and the street became narrow and steep.
The houses alongside seemed to close in around Maev, silent and
craggy as prison cell walls. The road kept twisting, growing more and
more narrow. Maev cursed and ran, having to escape, to find the
pyramid again; she couldn't even see it now, only the stone walls
around her. A great sense of urgency filled her. She knew she had to
find the pyramid soon, to save whatever dragons she could. If she was
late, they would die. She would fail. Requiem would fall, and her
father and brother would die in fire. She kept running, lost now, and
she realized this was no mere city; it was a labyrinth, and she was
trapped within it.

"Dorvin!" she cried. "Alina!"

They did not answer. She looked around but couldn't see them, and she
panted, and cold sweat soaked her. She tried to shift into a dragon,
to soar and find them, but she couldn't grasp the magic. Whenever she
felt the tendrils of starlight within her, they fled her grasp. She
cursed again. She forced herself to stand still, to focus, to grab
the magic. But it was no use; she was too nervous, too scared, and
the power evaded her, leaving her in human form. She ran again.

"Dorvin and Alina!" she shouted, running through the maze.
"Stars damn it, where are you?"

She did not focus on finding the pyramid anymore, just to leave this
maze, to return to the boulevard, to feel oriented again. As she ran,
shadows darted behind her. At first she thought them her friends, but
no. Red eyes blazed in doorways and alleys, and black wolves
bristled, baring their fangs. With growls, the beasts burst into a
run, chasing Maev. She ran, fleeing them, pawing for her sword but
not finding it. Damn it! Where was the blade? The sun dipped behind
the buildings, shrouding the labyrinth in darkness, and the wolves
were gaining on her, and—

"Mammoth Arse!" Dorvin grabbed her shoulders. "Bloody
stars, you almost ran over me. What are you running from?"

She blinked. "I . . ." The sunlight was shining again. She
stood on a cobbled street, and the pyramid rose ahead behind trees
and homes. She shook her head wildly. "There were wolves. Did
you see them? More wolves like the demon ones we saw."

His eyebrows rose so high they almost touched his hairline. "Wolves?
You're out of your gourd. There are no wolves here." He dropped
his voice to a whisper. "But say, have you seen any outhouses?
I've really got to piss bad. Thought I found a few places—a few
trees to water, if you will—but everywhere people are looking at me,
and I can't piss with anyone looking at me." He winced and
danced around. "Damn it, I got to go, or I swear I'll explode.
I—" He reached down to his crotch, then froze. "It's . . .
Oh, stars." He paled, trembled, and reached into his pants.

"Dorvin!" Maev groaned. "That's disgusting, even for
you."

"Mammoth Arse, be serious!" He rummaged inside his
trousers. "It's gone. My manhood. It's been cut off." Tears
filled his eyes.

"You had a manhood?" she asked.

He fell to his knees, trembling, pawing at himself and blubbering.
Before Maev would say more, Alina raced toward them from an alleyway.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she panted, knelt, and
trembled.

"Maev, a cloak!" she said. "Please. My clothes just
vanished. They can all see me naked." The druid looked up with
entreating eyes. "They can all see me."

A chill washed over Maev's belly. Alina was still wearing her
flowing, lavender robes. What was the woman talking about?

Maev understood.

"Dreams." She growled and clutched her head. "We're
asleep. We're dreaming!"

Before Maev could say more, the loose tooth in her mouth fell out.
She reached up to touch her gums, and more teeth fell, crumbling to
the touch. No. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

"Maev, help me!" Dorvin begged, reaching toward her. "Help
me find it. Help me sew it back on."

Alina trembled. "Please, Maev, a cloak."

"Listen to me!" Maev said. "We're just dreaming
now—all of us. We're having a nightmare. Maybe we're asleep or maybe
. . . maybe something in this city has us dreaming when we're awake."
She grabbed the siblings by their collars and yanked them up. "Hurry
up. We must find the Vir Requis who live here, then leave this place.
Follow me and remember: Whatever terrors you see are not real."

As they kept walking through Bar Luan, Maev forced herself to ignore
the nightmares: the growling wolves, her falling teeth, her arms
dwindling to rubbery strands, and the visions—more terrible than any
other—of her family burning, dying, begging for her. Tanin crawled
along the cobblestones, cut off below the ribs, his entrails dragging
through the dust. He reached out to her, pleading for death. Her
father hung from a tree, his neck stretched, his tongue hanging
loose, his eyes staring at her with condemnation, blaming her for his
death. Her little sister, fallen Requiem, was still alive here, still
only a toddler, racing toward Maev only for arrows to pierce her
flesh.

Just dreams,
Maev kept telling herself.
Just waking
nightmares.

They kept walking, soon reaching a wide, cobbled courtyard larger
than the entire village of Oldforge. A single tree grew from the
center, taller than any tree Maev had ever seen; it must have stood
three hundred feet tall. Its trunk and branches were black, and its
leaves were deep blue. Golden pollen glided from the tree like
countless fireflies. Many Bar Luanites—at least a thousand—moved in
circles around the tree, all clad in white robes, all praying. They
reached out to touch the black trunk, and they breathed deeply,
inhaling the pollen, chanting out a word again and again: "Shenhavan.
Shenhavan."

The three Vir Requis walked slowly into the courtyard. The crowd
swept them up, tugging them into the circular movement. The chants
rose, and the people wept as they prayed to the tree.

"I think it's their god," Dorvin said.

Alina smiled wryly. "You yourself have some magical powers of
insight."

One Bar Luanite turned toward them. He was an old man, his face oval,
his eyes wide, so short he barely reached Maev's shoulder. He wore
white robes and a silver necklace. Or was he old? No wrinkles marred
his face, and Maev wondered if he was even older than her; like most
Bar Luanites, he seemed ageless.

"Pray," he said; Maev was surprised to hear him speak her
tongue. "Pray to Shenhavan. Shenhavan always listens. Pray in
your mind."

With that, the man vanished into the crowd as quickly as a drop of
water into a maelstrom. Maev moved her tongue in her mouth, feeling
more teeth crumble. She looked up at the tree, and the tree seemed to
stare back. Every one of its blue leaves seemed like an eye. The soul
of the tree thrummed through her, ancient and all knowing, invading
her like cold wind cuts through flesh, like icy water sends chills
through bones. She saw the tree and it saw her.

Please, Shenhavan,
she prayed.
Let this be a dream. Let my
teeth grow back.