running out of time.'
Thelvyn looked rather bemused. 'At least now I have the answer to one question that has always bothered me. Why me? Now I know.'
'That is so,' the Great One agreed. 'You were created for a specific purpose, to lead the dragons through their time of greatest danger and to set them on the path that will guide them toward a higher stage in their development. Needless to say, you are more than just a dragon, and more than just one of my clerics. Because of your heritage, you are inherently wiser and more powerful than other dragons and therefore suited to your task. But the dragons, especially the lesser, more violent breeds, already upset because I had removed myself from their affairs, did not understand the prophecy and assumed that you were being sent to subjugate them.'
Thelvyn sighed. 'Then what choice do I have? If I am needed, I must serve.'
'You have always had a choice,' the Great One insisted. 'You are not my tool or my slave. You are my son, and that means no less to me than it would to any other dragon. But you serve best if you do so by choice, as your own master. And for now, we both have much to do. Do you accept this responsibility?'
'Of course I do,' Thelvyn said without hesitation.
'Then this is the task I set before you, if you will accept it. The war of the dragons is not over. Mighty forces are allied against them, and the dragons face defeat if you do not rally them. To this end, you must find the lost Collar of the Dragons.'
'I understand,' Thelvyn said as the vision of the Great One faded into the night.
CHAPTER TWO
Early the next morning, Thelvyn and Kharendaen met with Sir George on the porch behind the house to discuss a plan to locate the missing Collar of the Dragons. Thelvyn was surprised to discover that he already disliked returning to his Eldar form. The previous night had been the first one he had ever spent with his mate in human form in a real bed, and it had been a remarkably unromantic event. He was in a rather foul mood that morning, although the old knight seemed to find it all quietly amusing. Kharendaen told him of Thelvyn's secret parentage, and he sat back in his chair wearing a curiously satisfied grin.
'Does Thelvyn look like his father?' he asked at last.
'He actually looks very much like his mother,' Kharendaen explained, showing her own amusement for the first time. 'His father came from a breed of dragons that no longer exists.'
'Well, let's hope that he has inherited other talents from his father,' Sir George said. 'That brings us to the problem of finding the Collar of the Dragons. The trouble is, I'm not sure that we know anything more than we did when we left Braejr last
year. I don't suppose that the Great One had any suggestions.'
'No, he didn't,' Thelvyn said with annoyance. 'I don't know whether that means that he cannot or will not help us, but at any rate, we have to assume that we are supposed to figure this out for ourselves.'
'Well, he is your father,' the old knight insisted.
'You don't wheedle the god of the dragons, even if he is your father. And I think it best that secret should remain known only to us three for now. I don't suppose that the dragons ever found out anything more about the theft of the collar.'
'No. We can only infer that a dragon must have been involved,' Kharendaen replied. 'I've always been troubled by the fact that the location and even the existence of Windreach is supposed to be a secret. For that reason, I suspect that renegade dragons helped in the theft, considering its size and location. Only a dragon would have known of its existence and where to find it. Only a dragon could have made off with the better part of a ton of jewels and gold right from under the snouts of the parliament itself.'
'But we do know that Byen Kalestraan was involved in the theft,' Sir George added. 'He was working with a band of renegade black dragons when they attacked you and Solveig. We can easily assume that those same black dragons took the collar. I've always wondered if the dragons might be able to identify who those renegades were.'
'Not without more clues than we have,' Kharendaen said. 'The dragons distance themselves from the renegades. We don't have a very clear idea just who all the renegade bands are and where they might be. And while they almost certainly stole the collar for Kalestraan, they might not know where he hid it.'
'Still, it's the best lead we have,' Thelvyn commented. 'If the dragons still have no idea who those renegades might have been, then perhaps the time has come for us to return to Braejr. Solveig and Alessa Vyledaar have had over half a year now to search for clues, and we have no way of knowing if they found anything yet. That seems the best place to begin.'
Kharendaen looked rather uncertain. 'How can we return to Braejr? After all, we are not entirely welcome there.'
Sir George shrugged. 'I don't expect that to be any real problem if we go directly to Solveig's home at a time when she is most likely to be there.'
Since Braejr was only a few hours away if they flew, they had to wait until that afternoon to depart so that they would arrive well after nightfall. Thelvyn hadn't expected to return to his old home so soon, if ever. But he thought that Sir George was right; he had not actually been run out of Braejr but had left by his own free will. As far as he knew, there was no formal decree exiling him from the Highlands. He knew it would be wise to be discreet. He was certain that Alessa Vyledaar and the Fire Wizards wouldn't be pleased with his return. But if they wanted him to save them from the wrath of the dragons, they would have to cooperate with him.
Although he often had to remind himself of the fact, Thelvyn had been the king of this land, even if only for a few short weeks. The circumstances had been so desperate that he had never felt so much like a king as a general, a leader of an army rather than a nation, and his leadership of the Highlands had been merely an extension of his duties as the Dragonlord. That seemed like a very long time ago to him, almost as if it had been in another life. In a way, it had been, since it was before he had become a dragon.
As the dragons approached Braejr, they saw that spring had definitely returned to the southern Highlands. The fields surrounding the city were carpeted in short grass that rippled in the night breezes, although even their keen eyes could not clearly discern the rich green in the darkness of night. Much of the destruction waged by the dragons during the previous summer was no longer visible, the ruined fences repaired and most of the burned homesteads and barns replaced. The city itself had actually suffered very little, since the dragons had not attacked Braejr except for ontf night of terror when they had unleashed a rain of fire upon the tiled roofs.
Once more Thelvyn had to trust to Kharendaen's lead, since the city at night from above looked like a maze of dark shapes to him. The dragons moved in over Braejr as quickly and quietly as they could, hoping to land before they were seen. Thelvyn disliked these nearly blind approaches. Just as he was beginning to feel completely lost, he recognized the distinctive forms of his old home with the warehouse standing, dark and massive, across the paved court. Kharendaen lowered herself deftly into the narrow front part of the court, just inside the closed gate. Thelvyn landed heavily just beyond her, beside the old warehouse.
They had only just settled to the ground and were folding away their wings when sounds began to emerge from the warehouse, like those of some wild, restless animal. It began with a loud and curiously high-pitched growl, rising in fury until a sound like the hoarse call of a hunting bird pierced the night. Kharendaen paused only long enough to allow Sir George to drop down from the saddle, then arched her back and lifted her neck to glare at the massive door of the warehouse. Obviously annoyed, she moved away from the warehouse into the wooded yard before the house. Thelvyn followed her, hoping that putting some distance between them might help calm the beast stabled within the warehouse.
The front door of the house opened, and warm light poured down the steps. The young valet, Taeryn, stepped outside but remained standing by the door. Solveig hurried out a moment later. True to her old habits, she was wearing her favorite white robe, which was barely long enough for her long legs. She recognized Kharendaen at once and hurried to help Sir George retrieve his travel bag, which was tied to the straps of the saddle. Solveig kept her distance from Thelvyn, staring at him in a way that suggested she did not know who he was. He was struggling to remove his harness so that he could change form, the most certain way to pacify the beast still voicing its complaints and challenges from within the warehouse.
