Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

the connecting rooms. If Grath had been elsewhere all this time, then he, too, had been in danger. In fact . . .

The heir hissed. “I sssent him to talk to Benjin Trassske! Thank the Dragon of the Depthsss that he isss safe! Open the door! Quickly now!”

Faras had almost unbolted the door when Valea called, “No! You can’t!”

The drake paused, then looked to Kyl for guidance. “My lord, your brother isss in danger while he is out there. You know that your chambersss are alssso spelled against intrusion by sssorcery.”

Kyl waved aside Valea’s protests. “I know my own brother’s voice . . . and his mind.” He turned to face the door. “Grath! Did you ssspeak with Ssscholar Trassske asss I asked you?”

“No!” returned the voice. “I-Kyl, you would not believe what I have to tell you! Let me in!”

“Let him in,” whispered the emperor-to-be to Faras. “But I want all of you ready. Even Toma would not think to take the four of usss on, now would he?” The last was obviously for Valea’s benefit. She was certain that he was making a mistake, but there was nothing that she could do. Besides, it was cruel to let Grath remain out there. If he was alone, each second he was forced to wait left him vulnerable.

Faras unbolted the door and peeked around it. Ssgayn and Kyl stood ready, the guard with a sword and Kyl with a spell of some kind. Valea readied a crude but powerful spell of her own. If Grath was the puppet of Toma . . .

Slowly, Faras swung the door back just enough for a single person to slip through. Grath, or at least someone who looked exactly like him, did just that. Once the figure was through, the draconian guard immediately shut and rebolted the door.

“There isss sssome reasssonable concern that you might not be who you look like, Grath.” Kyl’s tone was incredibly apologetic. “I hope you will forgive usss for having to determine the truth.”

Grath stood still, his arms hanging at his sides. “I am me, but if you need to verify my honesty, please do so in whatever way you feel most suitable, Kyl.”

Kyl looked at the guards. “Are you ready, jussst in cassse?”

The two nodded. Satisfied, the dragon heir stepped in front of the one who might be his brother. He carefully reached out and put one hand on Grath’s shoulder.

Valea felt the power that passed between them. All those with even the most minor tendency for sorcery had a special magical signature, a particular touch, that other mages could sense if they knew how. For two with as strong a bond as the brothers, it was virtually impossible to fool either one of them with a false signature. Even Toma would be hard-pressed to mask his own magical pattern as that of Grath.

Kyl exhaled as he removed his hand. “You are Grath.”

“Of course I am.”

“We could not be certain. We could not trussst that it wasss you, brother.”

Grath eyed him, an enigmatic expression on his face. He glanced Valea’s way very briefly, then returned his gaze to Kyl. “Do you trust me, Kyl?”

The heir was surprised by the question. “With my life!”

“And you should know that I want nothing more than to see you on the throne. That is why you must trust me now.”

Valea did not care for Grath’s tone. She took a step toward him, not quite certain as to why he was making her nervous. “What do you have in mind, Grath? Do you have some sort of plan in mind for dealing with Toma?”

He looked at her. “You have tried to contact your parents?”

“I couldn’t find my father and something prevented me from contacting Mother.” Grath’s calm was annoying her. Did he not realize how dire a situation they faced?

Grath reached up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “That’s what I wanted to know. Thank you.”

She wanted to ask him what he meant by such an odd response, but then she noticed the buildup of power within him. Too late did she realize that she had yet again been betrayed. As she tried to pull free of his grip, a grip suddenly tight and painful, her body refused to follow her desires. Instead, Valea found herself unable to move, unable to even speak.

“What have you done to her?” snarled Kyl, realizing too late that his brother had cast a spell on the startled witch.

Grath looked beyond his brother. “Faras. Ssgayn.”

She could still see, and so at the edge of her vision Valea was able to watch as Kyl’s two trusted bodyguards seized hold of their emperor-to-be and kept him pinned by the arms no matter how much he struggled.

“We are sssorry to do thisss, Your Majesssty,” Faras added with much anxiety.

Grath stood before his brother. “If you will calm down and listen, I can have them release you that much sooner. I am sorry about this, but you didn’t look as if you were going to wait for me to explain. Will you please do that now, Kyl?”

“I ssseem to have little choice in the matter, brother!”

“Actually, you have much choice. Do you remember our conversation just a short while ago? How we talked about the throne and the troubles it has brought? We talked about Toma, didn’t we?”

Grath’s transformation dismayed the frozen Valea. She had always known him to be a studious, somewhat shy person. He had always walked in the shadow of his brother, although even she would have been willing to admit that Kyl had always benefited from his advice. Now, however, Grath more resembled a smooth, cunning courtier, like some of those the young Lady Bedlam had met among the aristocracy of Penacles or Talak.

Kyl did not reply to his brother save to reluctantly nod.

“We’ve talked about Toma, our brother, before. You and I both know that he wasss loyal to our father and remained with him long after the other Dragon Kingsss had abandoned him. You know that he wasss there to rescue us from Lord Ice when we became caught between the machinations of the mad lord of the Northern Wastes and Master Bedlam. Among all the drakes, Kyl, you will have to admit that no one hasss been more loyal to the throne than he.”

That was not quite the history that Valea had grown up knowing. It was close enough to the truth, however, to disguise itself as fact. Her father would have been able to relate the entire tale, but she doubted that anyone but she would have listened.

“I remember the Northern Wastes, I think,” Kyl admitted with reluctance.

“Toma can never be emperor. You know that. I know that. He knows that. He has known that for years. Therefore, only one path was left open to him. Despite the need to hide, despite the enemies who have sought to kill him because he represents the might of the emperor, the duke has continued to work to see the day that a new, stronger leader will bring our kind back to the preeminence we once held.”

Slowly, Grath stepped back to the bolted door. He reached for the bolt. “No one is more regretful than he that all his work had to be done under the guise of another. He had hoped to present himself to you after your crowning. His life would have been yours to take or end there. At least the goal he has sought for the last several years would then be secure.”

Valea tried her best to break the spell that held her, but Grath had cast it too well. She doubted that even Aurim would have been able to escape.

Unbolting the door, the younger drake seized the handle. He looked so very apologetic to his brother that Valea wanted to spit in his face. “Kyl, I present to you one who isss not your enemy, has never been your enemy, but rather has been your most loyal servant . . . even moressso than I, I have to admit.”

The drake swung open the door. Valea’s heart sank as Benjin Traske entered.

“Ssscholar . . .” Kyl muttered, more awestruck, the sorceress was sad to see, than fearful.

“Not scholar, my lord,” said the massive figure, and even as he strode forward, he resembled less and less the bearded tutor and more and more something terribly inhuman. Then the scholar began to melt. The heavy girth became a river of glowing liquid that faded as it poured away. Yet, while Benjin Traske grew thinner, he also grew taller still.

Traske’s clothing also changed. Quickly the scholar’s robe became armor, scaled armor that covered the teacher from head to toe. His hands twisted and the fingers lengthened, becoming much like those of either of the