“Galea!” Captain Iston surged forth, trying to reach the woman. Darkhorse nodded imperceptibly. The female’s deepest emotions had forced themselves to the surface the moment the officer had entered the room. Only strong love or hate was capable of that and Darkhorse knew enough to tell which was which. He released the confused Galea, who turned to her soldier and buried herself in his arms. A quick glance into her thoughts had already revealed that she knew nothing.
“Erini! Where’s Erini?” Melicard demanded of him.
“I do not know, your majesty! When the summons reached me, I paid its point of origin no attention, assuming that since little time had passed, she must be in the palace with you!” The ebony stallion laughed madly, mocking his own stupidity and carelessness. “Every turn! Every direction! He trips me each time and I continue to take the falls!”
The king’s split visage became a grim mask. Staring at some point in space, he calmly and quietly commanded, “Find her, Child of the Void. Find my queen and save her. I don’t care what the cost might be. Start now.”
“Now?” Darkhorse studied the human incredulously. “I cannot search for her now, though a part of me screams to do just that! Talak is endangered and the life of one being cannot outweigh the fate of an entire kingdom!”
“I have no need of you. We will hold. We will hold until the end of everything, if necessary. Go! I refuse your help! Will that free you of your obligation?”
The shadow steed stamped a hoof against the marble floor. He knew what the king was doing and liked it not at all. All of Talak! “King Melicard… I cannot do this-”
“Get out of my sight, then, demon! I want nothing of you if you will not do this for me!”
Melicard’s subordinates were finding everything else to do other than stare at their ranting monarch. Darkhorse knew that the king’s ravings were only an act. An act of love.
Sighing, Melicard visibly pulled himself together. “We will still be here when you return. As I have said, Talak has long been prepared for such an invasion-even if most of my forces are scattered elsewhere.”
They would be arguing until the Silver Dragon himself burst through the chamber doors, Darkhorse finally realized. There was no changing the king’s mind. The eternal knew that accepting the human’s decision was not the correct thing to do, but it was too close to his own desires for him to fight it. He felt he owed much to Erini for releasing him-and much more because there was a quality about her that he had found in so few others, making it all the more admirable. There was no one name for it and he did not care to think of one. What mattered was the princess.
“Very well,” he finally replied, his words as close to a whisper as he could manage.
The look he received from Melicard was a mixture of gratitude and relief.
“I do not even know where to look.” That was somewhat of a lie. Darkhorse did know where to look; the only trouble was that there were too many places and certainly not enough time.
“You do what you can.” With that final statement, the king turned away, momentarily unable to continue.
Deciding silence was more appropriate than any response he could give, the shadow steed departed immediately-for where, he could not say.
With the imposing presence of Darkhorse gone, Melicard was slowly able to get his thoughts under control. He had sworn that he would make Talak hold, and hold it would. The defenses had never been tested in actual combat, but he tried not to think about that. Ironically, Melicard no longer thought about the potential for destruction. That hundreds of the cursed drakes would die meant little to him. His own people would die as well and the kingdom might fall.
“Captain Iston!” He had come to rely heavily on the foreigner, impressed as he was with the man’s loyalty and experience. If they somehow survived, he would offer the soldier a permanent position on his staff-if Iston still wanted to remain in Talak. Should Darkhorse fail-and the horrid thought refused to die-the complement from Gordag-Ai would likely return to their homeland, having no further ties with his own kingdom.
“Your majesty?” The officer reluctantly abandoned his woman’s side. Melicard felt a twinge within.
“You have your orders. I must ask that you now follow them.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
As an afterthought, the king added, “You may say your farewells before you depart.”
“Thank you.” Iston saluted, took Galea’s hand, and led her away.
Melicard turned to the others. Several already had their orders and these he dismissed immediately. The rest waited, somewhat reassured now that their liege had taken control again.
The king surveyed the horizon. Was it his imagination or was the Dragon King’s host moving more slowly? He grimaced. Wishful thinking, no doubt.
“We have,” he finally began, “only a few hours before havoc reigns. The others know their duties. What I want from each of you are suggestions-or comments on anything I’ve forgotten about. I want anything that will buy us time.” He also wished he had at least one spellcaster. Thanks to the talismans he had kept, despite his own dislike for them since his disfigurement and what little Drayfitt-poor Drayfitt-had succeeded in accomplishing, the king had assumed his palace was fairly safe from the invasions of spell-throwing drakes and such. Now, however, he was not so certain. Darkhorse’s ability to come and go as he pleased did not bother him. Shade’s did, but here was a warlock with the knowledge of millennia. What bothered him was that an agent of the Silver Dragon had worked actively underneath his very nose and there was no doubt that Quorin had been in contact with his true master several times. It would take only one breach in those sorcerous defenses…
“My lord!” A guard stood by the doorway, awaiting permission to enter.
“Yes, what is it?” Were there not enough troubles?
“There is a drake demanding entrance to the city!”
“A drake?” How had they missed that? No doubt an emissary from the Silver Dragon, here to issue the demands of his lord. Best to kill him… no. Best to send him back with a message! “Tell the reptile that his master will never have this city and that I have said his head will hang alongside the banners when we have crushed gaggle of monstrosities!”
“My lord-”
The king knew it was emotion speaking, not thought, but he hardly cared. The audacity of his foe angered him. “You heard me! Go!”
The sentry bowed low, but did not move. He had something he felt had to be said, regardless of the king’s anger. Melicard nodded permission.
“The drake is not at the northern gate, my lord, and he does not appear to be of the clan Silver.”
“No?”
“He claims to have ridden from south.”
South? “The Dagora Forest?”
“That was what he said.”
Melicard did not know whether to laugh or curse. The Green Dragon had sent an emissary, but, considering that Talak and the monarch of the Dagora Forest had clashed in the past, the question was-was he here as an ally or a new foe?
There was only one way to find out.
XXI
Erini was frightened, though she tried as best she could not to show it. She was frightened of many things, but what frightened the princess most was the curious behavior of her captor.
Despite his claims to the contrary, she doubted that Shade’s mind was as complete as he thought it to be. His personality seemed fluid to her, changing from one extreme to another. So close to what he believed would be his triumph, Shade was beginning to recall more and more about his tragic failure-and he insisted on sharing each detail with her, as if trying to purge himself of the memories.
