Chapter 21
“We need rest and food…” Glyf gasped as the wind whipped her cloak hood back and rain pelted her head, sending runnels of water down her face. “Before we tread the tunnel path through the mountain.”
The dragonkin was pale, her eyes haunted and although Glyf shouted, Marley had to lean in close to hear her words above the storm. He nodded as she pointed to a ledge with a rocky overhang in the distance and the four staggered toward the promise of shelter. Then suddenly the winds died away and Zeph appeared on Glyf’s shoulder.
Marley took the break in the storm to scan the area, knowing their presence in the Gnarled Hills had been noted. For the past two days, they bore witness to the devastation from Ymarii’s wrath. The glow of a wildfire lit the horizon to the east, and Marley’s jaw tightened. His blood beat in anguish against the scar on his forehead as he wondered how much of the ancient forests of Agagastar would perish that day.
Even after a break to rest and eat, the storm still raged in the valley below, but the group continued to advance unhindered. Marley glanced at Glyf. He didn’t know what she thought he could do or would do if the dragon refused to check herself.
“Nice welcome,” he said, stopping beneath a rock overhang. “I wonder what it would have been if she wasn’t expecting us.”
“You would have died or turned back. I fear she has given herself over to anger and revenge.”
“By Alhwone’s great beard, Glyf. The destruction of life and property is no different for these folks in her domain than her eggs or the dragonkin of Windy Cove. Death is death is death.”
Glyf nodded curtly. “As you say and I well know... I only spoke truth.” The other two dragonkin looked away and Glyf moved to the wall of rock at the back of the overhang without another word. She let her pack slide off her shoulder and ran her hand across the rock face.
Uttering a series of sounds, Marley knew no human throat could duplicate; Glyf spoke. Her slender fingertips wove a pattern across a handful of spots on the wall. A cave entrance appeared beneath the ward’s illusion. The three dragonkin moved swiftly into the dark tunnel.
With a sigh, Marley trudged after them. He knew if he couldn’t get past Ymarii’s bluster and pain, he’d wasted a double handful of precious days to watch her destroy all that she took beneath her mantle as Portal Guardian.
To the left of where Marley entered, an overhang gave those who dared venture out a heart-stopping view of Silverstone lake and the valley beyond to the east. Marley turned right, knowing that view would now be heartbreaking.
He angled toward the center of the chamber, glancing up at the holes riddling the ceiling. They bathed the immense cavern in half-light and the whispers of a thousand winds. The farther into the room he advanced, the more noticeable the all-encompassing silent roar became. He glanced over his shoulder to find Glyf and Zeph were gone.
Marley wished he hadn’t spoken so harshly with Glyf upon seeing the devastation. The hatchling was as much a victim as her dead siblings. Thysl and Jayf were also victims of the attack on Windy Cove, as much as those that died or were captured there.
The runesmith stopped mid-stride, realizing he was guilty of lashing out regardless of who truly deserved his frustration and anguish. Just as Ymarii had done. The rancor drained out of him and he sighed, looking into the shadowed interior of the cave.
“I am here at your summon, Guardian Ymarii,” the runesmith said, not bothering to shout. He knew he could not out-voice the wind and whether whisper or shout, no sound would go unnoticed within this cavern, especially since the attack. He felt the wards covering the walls like a web of power.
“Your presence has been noted, Marley Stonebender. As well as your protest.” Her voice, like the sound of rushes sighing in the wind, surrounded him. “I have heard from Zeph and I have heard from Glyf…”
Marley stopped her with one word. “Mijenjae.”
Twin dust devils whirled out of the depths of the cavern. They sped past him, size and velocity increasing, and by the time they reached the massive lip of the cave, the two had become one.
The runesmith stared into the gloom she lurked behind. His frustration building once again, he sighed. He didn’t have time to pander to a fitful dragon.
“Well, that was certainly a waste of air. I have never known you to be cruel or without honor.” He shrugged, pacing in a circle. “The whole of our agreement was based on honor. Was it only my honor? Perhaps I should look for that honor among the suffering people of your domain.”
He hoped he didn’t go too far and held onto the hood of his cloak as winds suddenly buffeted him from all sides. Exasperated, Marley turned back toward the tunnel entry. Before going a handful of steps, the air seemed to coalesce and he came up against an invisible wall as hard and impassable as the stone of the cavern.
The winds that a moment ago beat upon him went still. He looked toward the mist and shadow shrouding the back of the chamber. And eyes like twin autumn sunsets blinked there in the dark.
“There are only two in this world that could say that to me and live. Count the Fates on your side… this time.” Her voice, like the air itself, permeated the cavern. “If you use your talent or craft within this mountain, it will fail. All, but those whose lifeblood flows from Atheryl’s realm, have been warded.”
A torch flamed in its wall brace, and a deep groan vibrated through the floor. Yet her words were no more than a forlorn whisper in his ear.
“Come Marley Stonebender, I am sorely vexed and in need of council.”
Marley sighed and grabbed the torch. “I too could use some of that council,” he breathed, and padded toward the back of the cavern.
The shadows retreated as Marley came forward. He paused. It had been many years since last he lay eyes on the dragon, and he was taken aback once more when she came into view. He stepped a few paces closer. Lean but well-muscled, her height and length still hid in the shadows. Marley stopped. He felt no need to venture further.
Her head, broad at the brow and narrowing into a snout with a razor-toothed maw, glistened in the torchlight. The small face scales, across her cheekbones and around her eyes to the bony ridge that was her brow, glittered like a mask of gems. While at each temple, a thick three-pronged horn twisted itself toward the sky.
She lifted her head slightly. The stretch and pull of her muscles seemed to change the color of her scales and Marley remembered the first time they met, thinking of her as a storm of amber and gold. She was that and more.
He knew she would not reveal herself in her more vulnerable forms. Not after what happened and he feared her trust in him might become suspect once she learned he practiced his craft within the confines of the Tavir Academy after leaving her mentorship.
He shook his head. There was nothing to do but do what needed done and say what needed saying. Marley took out his ale flask and uncorked it, raised it in salute, but before he could speak, her voice filled the cavern.
“A time of testing comes and you have now named one I had hoped never to hear. Each time Sangryl appears in the sky, the blood moon casts a longer shadow. I fear it is as in the times of our ancestors, and the Fates have gathered to test our resolve to protect Ahlwone’s tear and the realms it cleanses.”
Marley brought the flagon to his mouth and took a long drink, wishing for something stronger. He wanted to ask her why, in the name of all that was good, had she unleashed her rage and revenge on the innocent if she knew her sorrows were only the tip of the spear. A spear that could pierce the heart of Hebryll.
Still, he knew, dealing with Ymarii was oft’ times like trying to pin the wind. So he looked around for a place to sit. “I don’t suppose I could get a chair?”
The dragon blinked and a sturdy wooden chair with an embroidered cushion appeared in front of him. He walked around it and sat.
“I think we shall be here for a while. A bite to eat might be nice.”
A snort from Ymarii sent small dust devils speeding willy-nilly across the cavern floor, and by the time they died away, Glyf stood before him with a tray of food. Jayf and Thysl followed, carrying a small table and floor cushions for each of them. Glyf gave him a smile and a little wink, as if to say all was forgiven. Marley nodded to each, glad to have them included in the talk.
“Let us begin,” Ymarii hissed. “There is much to discuss.”
It wasn’t long before Marley realized there were two conversations going on and he was only privy to one. The dragon and dragonkin communed in mind-speak while he droned on, giving Ymarii the information he thought pertinent.
She stopped him as he told her what happened after leaving Four Corners. “So you know these Hu-mans, the ones that did this?” she roared, the winds picking up the words and bouncing them against the walls.
“The academy and I broke association, except as a declared outlaw, over a double handful of years. They are no longer an academy of learning and inspiration. The Cult of Sangryl’s Light now runs the academy, and in that cult I would lay wage we will find the Mijenjae.”
Marley spoke calmly. He knew Jayf would also be a party to the conversation and the runesmith felt the dragonkin’s vouchsafe would account for much. While he waited for her bluster to die away, he rummaged through his pack, ready for her next words.
“Show me the collars.”
The runesmith pulled them from his pack. He couldn’t bring himself to ask one of the dragonkin to take them to Ymarii, so he stood and paced forward a couple of steps. The dragon’s majestic head snaked toward him at eye level. She inhaled deeply, her forked tongue unfurling to touch the tip to the gleaming collars, but Marley pulled them back from her.
“These have harsh effects on the dragonkin. I would spare you any more ill, Ymarii.”
“Your concern is noted, but I would know the memories these hold.” Her tongue touched the first collar and then slid around the interior of the second.
Marley watched a shiver run the length of her neck as she backed away. He waited for the dragon to speak of what she learned, but when she spoke her words were cryptic and he wondered just how much was at stake.
“Find the egg they stole and destroy it or whatever comes out of it. They are trying to hatch a dragon of corruption that would tear apart that which is in between.”
“Can they do that?”
The winds once more gusted through the cavern. “Would I say it if it were not true? If you would know the innermost secrets of the Dragons, then complete the last dragon rune upon the scale and use it.”
“That is not a place for us to go right now. I will not give up my ties with soil and stone. Don’t think I do not see your ploy and evasion. You know my answer.”
“Your ties to soil and stone are between you and En’Kur. I require only your fealty to air.”
“We agreed that when a task presented itself, large enough to represent payment for your mentorship in Dragon Runecraft and lore, you would summon me. You summoned. I am here. As soon as Jayf, Thysl, and Glyf have finished their dragon sleep, we go after the egg.”
“As you wish, runesmith, but be forewarned; Zamphere Paine’s shadow touches those abominations. You may rue the day you did not take advantage of what I offered.” The Dragon grunted. She closed her eyes, lowering her head to rest upon taloned claws, dismissing the group.
Although glad she dropped her needling, Marley wondered why no mention was made of his stone eye and when she would return it. Perhaps, he decided, the Fates required him to face this test without it, as he had faced the past seventy years. Impatient to leave and frustrated with his ex-mentor, he followed his allies into the tunnel.