Doom of the Dragon (28 page)

Kamau laughed out loud.

“What is so funny?” Skylan demanded.

“The Stormlords do not have armies, Vindrasi,” said Kamau. “I doubt if they have ever heard of a shield wall. They spent centuries fighting for their lives in the Realm of Fire. When they escaped that realm, they vowed that they would live in peace, which is why they refused to worship Torval after he defeated the great dragon. They wanted nothing to do with a god who finds honor in butchery and glory in slaughter.”

Skylan barely heard the insulting reference to Torval. He was far more intrigued by the information that these Stormlords had come here from the Realm of Fire, the same realm where the dragons lived, and that they had been here during the time when Torval fought the Great Dragon Ilyrion. Perhaps that explained why Vindrash had given them the spiritbone.

“The Stormlords may not soil their hands with blood, but we have heard that their magic is deadly,” Aylaen was saying. “They can fight with their magic.”

“But they won't.”

“Their magic killed the priests,” said Aylaen.

“No one knows how the priests died, but the Stormlords did not kill them. The magic acts as a warning. A very powerful warning, but a warning nonetheless.”

Skylan grunted. “Even if these Stormlords cannot stomach battle, they will certainly fight to save their people—”

“On the contrary,” said Kamau, “the Stormlords will do everything in their power to keep from fighting.”

“Are they fools?” Skylan demanded. “Do they know the terror Raegar will bring to them? His soldiers will rape their women and spit their children on their spears and burn their city to the ground.”

“He is right about the soldiers of Aelon, Kamau,” said Dela Eden. “They will show no mercy.”

“The wizards believe the emperor will permit them to surrender peacefully,” Kamau replied. “They have in their possession a relic coveted by Aelon and they plan to give this relic to the emperor and hope that he will leave them in peace.”

“Raegar cares nothing about some old relic—” Skylan began.

Aylaen stopped him, digging her nails into his arm.

“He means the spiritbone, Skylan,” said Aylaen. “What else would Aelon consider so valuable?”

“They cannot do this!” Skylan said angrily. “Vindrash gave these Stormlords the spiritbone in good faith, to keep it safe! Once they give Aelon the spiritbone, the god will grow in power and will not rest until he drives your gods and mine from this world!”

“The Stormlords care nothing for your gods or mine, Vindrasi,” said Kamau. “They care only for the safety of their city and their people.”

“And I care for
my
people. I will not allow these wizards to give Aelon the spiritbone,” said Skylan, gritting his teeth. “Show me how to find this kingdom. I will talk with them and if that fails, I will take our spiritbone by force, since these Stormlords have so little care for it.”

To Skylan's ire and chagrin, Kamau burst into laughter so loud it disturbed the birds and sent them flapping up out of the trees. Skylan drew his sword. Seeing this, Kamau raised his bow. Dela Eden stepped swiftly between them.

“Put your weapons down, both of you,” Dela Eden said. “Let me explain. Look to the north. Do you see that massive cloud bank?”

Skylan saw towering clouds, white with the pinks and golds and oranges of the sunrise. The lower part of the clouds were tinged with gray and he could see wisps of rain.

“I see them,” he said.

“You see Tsa Kerestra,” said Dela Eden.

Skylan frowned. “Beneath those clouds?”

“
In
the clouds,” said Dela Eden. “Tsa Terestra: Kingdom Below; Tsa Kerestra: Kingdom Above. Tsa Kerestra is a city built in the clouds.”

Skylan flushed. “People cannot live on clouds! What do you take me for?”

“I do not think she is making sport of you, Skylan,” said Aylaen. “She is in earnest.”

“Why didn't you tell me this before we came on this journey?” Skylan demanded.

“You would not have believed me. It was hard for me to believe, at first,” Dela Eden admitted. “Then I saw for myself. When you are closer, you can look into the clouds and see the silver towers of their castle.”

Skylan looked back to the cloud bank and perhaps it was only his imagination, but he thought for a moment he caught a flash of silver shining in the midst of the gray. He shook his head.

“People cannot live on clouds,” he repeated.

“So it would seem, yet we have seen a great many wonders, Skylan,” Aylaen said in thoughtful tones. “We lived with people who dwelt beneath the sea, people who breathed water like air. We would have said
that
was not possible.”

Skylan considered in silence, then, making up his mind, said to Kamau, “Suppose I concede you are right. I ask that you take me to the stormhold. I need to speak to these Stormlords. I will go in peace!” he added, seeing the man's expression darken. “I want only to reason with them.”

“Dela Eden can take you to the stormhold, Vindrasi, but unless you know the secret to how to make it work, the gates to the city will not open.”

“Do you Cyclopes know this secret?” said Skylan.

“We do not want to know. As I said,” Dela Eden replied, “we live on the ground.”

“Perhaps there is another way,” Aylaen said, turning to Kamau. “How do the Stormlords in the Kingdom Above communicate with those who live in the Kingdom Below?”

“Through the seneschals,” Kamau answered. “The wizards who oversee the stormholds.”

“We can talk to them, Skylan,” said Aylaen. “We will ask them to carry a message to the wizards in the Kingdom Above.”

“How long before the emperor's army arrives?” Skylan asked Kamau.

“According to the seneschal, the Stormlords are doing what they can to delay the fleet, but the god Aelon is working against them. A few days, but not more. The nearest stormhold is up the coast. If you depart now, you can reach it before noon.”

He was obviously eager to be rid of them. Bidding farewell to Dela Eden, Kamau ignored Skylan and Aylaen and departed, melting into the shadows of the trees.

“He keeps watch over the village,” Dela Eden explained, as they walked back to the dragonships. “He will let our people know when it is safe to return.”

She glanced at Aylaen, who was walking rapidly, her cheeks flushed, her arms folded across her chest.

“This news has upset her,” said Dela Eden.

“Can you blame her? She is the Kai Priestess of our people. She has risked her life to save the spiritbones, and these wizards would barter one of them away to save their own skins!”

Skylan had rarely seen Aylaen so angry. She was shaking with outrage. He tried to calm her.

“We have four spiritbones,” he said. “We traveled beneath the waves for one and to the realm of the dead for another. These wizards will see reason.”

“They have to, Skylan,” said Aylaen. “The lies, the fear. All that is behind us. I understand. I see so clearly! The five must come together as one, as the runes foretold.”

“We will get the five spiritbones,” Skylan said confidently. “And once we have them, you will summon the Great Dragon Ilyrion, and she will drive out Aelon. Our gods will be strong again, our people will be safe and all will be as it was before.”

Aylaen took hold of his hands, clasped her hands around them, and looked at him as if she could see deep within him.

“You would give your life for that,” said Aylaen, not asking a question, but seeking assurance.

“I would. I am Chief of Chiefs,” said Skylan.

“And I am Kai Priestess,” she murmured.

He saw that she was still troubled and he thought he knew why.

“The Stormlords will see reason,” he repeated, but she only sighed.

 

CHAPTER

23

The
Venejekar
and the small dragonship fleet sailed north along the Spirit Coast until they came to an enormous promontory jutting up out of the sea, which Dela Eden said was named Gray Beak, because it was shaped like the beak of an eagle. She told them to stop.

“You cannot see it, but through those trees is the mouth of the river that leads west to Tsa Terestra, the Kingdom Below,” said Dela Eden. “The stormhold is on the peak above. It guards the mouth of the river and serves as a gate to Tsa Kerestra, the Kingdom Above.”

Skylan had hoped to see the stormhold, but Gray Beak towered over them, dwarfing the dragonships, and he couldn't see anything. He gave the wizards grudging approval for having chosen an ideal location for their outpost. Anyone standing on that high bluff would be able to see clear to the horizon and have ample warning of the approach of an enemy.

The dragonships glided past the deep and wide river with densely forested banks. The river was named Abundance, for it flooded every spring, providing rich, fertile soil for the crops. Dela Eden told Skylan that if he followed the river to its source, they would eventually reach the Khilat Mountains, the ancient home of the Stormlords.

“No one lives there now,” said Dela Eden. “But it is still sacred to the wizards.”

Skylan cast a glance at the storm clouds that were now much closer, where the Stormlords were presumably now living. No storms raged at the moment, but trailing fingers of mist brushed over the land beneath.

“Where is this city of the other kingdom?” Skylan asked. He couldn't remember the strange-sounding name. “The Kingdom Below.”

“There is no city. Nothing but a few villages and farms where the Stormlords of the Kingdom Below grow the crops that sustain their people in the Kingdom Above.”

“Perhaps we could talk to the Stormlords living there,” said Skylan.

“The villages are located far inland. And if the Stormlords warned
my people
to flee, you may be certain their own people have long since sought safety in the Kingdom Above,” said Dela Eden.

The dragonships sailed past the promontory and Skylan looked on rolling hills with broad swards of grassland where sheep and cattle could graze, orchards thick with fruit, and vast stretches of golden wheat that rippled with the wind like ocean waves. He mentally compared this land to the rock-strewn ground the Vindrasi struggled to farm.

“You see why the wizards would not want to give this up,” said Dela Eden.

“I see why I would fight for it,” said Skylan grimly. “Where is Oran from here?”

“Oran's borders lie well to the north. The land of the fae is said to be on the other side of the Khilat Mountains.”

“I trust we will stay well clear of the fae,” Skylan said.

“The fae will stay clear of us,” said Dela Eden, grinning. “They do not like those they call the ‘Uglies,' which is why I find it odd that a fae child has chosen to be with you. He seems much attached to you. Where did you find him?”

“I didn't,” said Skylan. “He found me.”

“What do you mean?”

“He sneaked on board my ship, a stowaway. I had been badly hurt and he saved my life.”

“And so now you belong to him.” Dela Eden ndded her head, as if this made sense.

The sun vanished as the dragonships sailed into the cool shadow cast by the gray clouds. As Skylan looked back at the promontory, Dela Eden pointed.

“The stormhold,” she said. “You can see it from here.”

The stormhold was not nearly as formidable in appearance as its name implied, being nothing more than a solitary tower of gray stone.

“How do we reach it?” Skylan asked. “The rock walls of the cliff are smooth; they look impossible to climb.”

“A trail leads up from the western side,” said Dela Eden.

After conferring with Bear Walker and Dela Eden, Skylan decided to sail the dragonships partway up the mouth of the Abundance River. They could haul the dragonships onto the beach and hide them. While Skylan and his group went to investigate the stormhold, the others could make camp, hunt and fish, and replenish their water supply.

As the warriors carried the dragonships out of the water and dragged them onto the shore, the red glow left the wooden eyes.

“The dragons who sailed the ships from the Isle of Revels are leaving,” Aylaen told Skylan. “I thanked them for their service and said I regretted we had no jewels to pay them.”

“Did you ask Kahg to persuade them to stay?” Skylan asked, disappointed. “We could use their help.”

“Kahg is angry about something,” Aylaen said, troubled. “His voice grated. His eyes glinted with a fierce light. He said only that the dragons could ask for payment at a later time, depending on what happens.”

“What does that mean?” Skylan asked, glumly watching the dragons fly north.

Aylaen shook her head. “I do not know. At least the Dragon Kahg remains with us.”

“I have an idea,” said Skylan. “We can ask the dragon to talk to the Stormlords. He could fly up to the city that's supposedly in the clouds— What? Why not?”

Aylaen was shaking her head. “I had the same idea and I spoke to Kahg. He will not even consider it. The dragons and the Stormlords are ancient foes, dating back to the time when they lived in the Realm of Fire. The wizards used powerful magicks against the dragons.”

“These wizards have made enemies of everyone,” Skylan said. “No wonder they live in the clouds. They fear to live anywhere else.”

While the others made camp on the shores of the river, Skylan and those who volunteered to accompany him to the stormhold began the ascent up the west side of the promontory, which was heavily forested land that sloped at a steep angle from the top of the promontory to the sandy beach far below. Skylan chose Dela Eden, Sigurd, Bjorn, and Farinn, to go with him. He had been afraid that Aylaen would want to go, but she remained on the
Venejekar
, saying she wanted to clean and polish the gold and jeweled settings of the spiritbones.