Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

Yet, after what the drake lord had done . . .

“I did what I felt was necessary, warlock. Kyl was an arrogant, conceited creature who threatened to repeat the mistakes of hisss sire. Grath, who the powersss that be had brought to this world after his brother, wasss by far a more level sssort. He would deal with the relations of both races fairly, evenly. Kyl might suddenly be of the mind to reconquer the continent, plunging usss all into a war none can afford. He might even be the great enemy of hisss own kind, for I know that he still holdsss much bitterness toward sssome of the surviving kings for abandoning his predecessor. Kyl isss even the sort who might find the renegade, Toma, more of an ally than a danger.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

The Green Dragon rose from his throne and looked down at the human. Cabe did not flinch, much less back away. “I do not.”

The warlock matched his counterpart’s gaze. He was not pleased, however, when the Dragon King finally looked away. Things should not have deteriorated to such a point that the two had to attempt to stare one another down. “Kyl had Grath to guide him.”

“But our esteemed emperor-to-be doesss not have to listen to hisss brother. Should Kyl grow furiousss at something Grath suggests, he has only to order his brother from hisss sight. Then, the voices that whisper in his ears will become those of my fellow kings’ spiesss. Where would the Dragonrealm be then? No, the only certain method by which the stability of the throne could be assured was to remove Kyl and replace him with Grath.”

“I don’t agree.” Cabe shook his head, still unable to completely believe that the figure before him had created so much chaos and tragedy. “That also doesn’t condone what you did to Toos and Darkhorse-or the Gryphon. Toos was a brother to the Gryphon, my Lord Green; you saw what the general’s death meant to him. He wants the one responsible. So does Darkhorse.”

The inhuman knight started to turn away. “I did what I knew had to be-”

“Don’t turn from me!” roared Cabe. Without meaning to, he almost unleashed a spell on the recalcitrant monarch. Cabe barely contained it in time, and the power was such that his body glowed red for several seconds afterward.

The Green Dragon stared at him, jaw hanging. The warlock calmed enough to see that, for the first time, the Dragon King was truly afraid of him.

“I should tell them the truth, you know! Both Darkhorse and the Gryphon deserve to know. Do you realize the extent of Darkhorse’s claustrophobia? He existed in a place without time or end. I know that the Vraad used a box very much like that to capture him! He’s never told me everything, but I’ve never seen as much terror in his eyes as when he is reminded of that!”

“What did you do with the box?” interrupted the drake lord.

“I still have it. It damned you more than anything else; I could recognize your knowledge in it. No one else had access to such an artifact, and no one else would have understood it the way you do!” Again, the accusations were flimsy, but now that Cabe had had confirmation of his suspicions from the Green Dragon himself, the claims had weight. “There was so much. The spells that masked one magical trace with another. The cloaks of the assassins-men you callously assured would not live so that anyone questioning them would discover the truth. They died too easily, Lord Green. Even the Aramite. More futile deaths on your shoulders.”

“I will take no blame for their deaths, Cabe Bedlam! They were condemned criminals, one and all. They would have been executed. I am not like Black, who would carelessly send his enchanted human legions against the walls of his enemies again and again until the mindless unfortunates either overran the foe or died to a man!”

The warlock, his face carefully neutral, shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re like anymore.”

“I am as I have always been.”

“That worries me even more, then. What will you decide next serves your needs? The deaths of me and my loved ones?”

The Dragon King hissed and his talons unsheathed. “Of course not!”

“How can I believe that anymore?”

For several seconds, the tall, armored tyrant stood there, eyes burning embers, claws at the ready. Then, the talons slowly sheathed and the fire in his eyes died. Lord Green returned to his throne and slumped back into it again. “There isss no promise that I could give you that you would believe, isss there?”

Cabe slumped, too. This had taken more out of him than the drake lord knew. “No. There isn’t.”

“Will you tell the others, then? Shall I prepare to receive the visitations of either the eternal or the lionbird?”

“It would mean only more chaos and tragedy, neither of which we can afford these days.”

It was clear that his reply puzzled the Dragon King. “Are you saying that you will keep what you know a sssecret?”

Some of Cabe’s anger returned. “Not because of the friendship we once had, but because if peace is to work in the land, nothing else can go wrong. I may not even tell Gwendolyn, although I probably will. I know that she’ll think as I do, that we can’t afford another war.” He paused. “What she’ll think of you, I couldn’t say.”

His host nodded slowly. “I understand what you sssay. I understand your view of thisss. You will do nothing else?”

“There’s nothing I can do that wouldn’t make the situation worse than it is. I’m more concerned now with seeing this coronation through to the end . . . with Kyl assuming his rightful place. When he’s emperor, then we can judge his abilities. No sooner. Prejudgment is no one’s right, however often we all fall prey to it.”

Silence filled the chamber for several seconds. The Dragon King finally looked up into the eyes of the warlock and quietly asked, “Isss there more? I had assumed you would be gone the moment your piece had been sssaid.”

Cabe took a deep breath and smoothed his robe. “We still have Lord Blue’s change in plans to talk about. We still have to make all of this work. Are you prepared to accept things the way they are?”

“After Penaclesss, I swore that I would do nothing else to risssk this peace. I desire it as much as you, even if it meansss Kyl on the throne.”

With a small flicker of power, the exhausted warlock brought the other chair to him. He also enlarged it slightly, this in order to allow him to look directly into the eyes of his host, not up at them. “Then we should begin. Tell me what I need to know about the Blue Dragon and what he might have planned for Kyl.”

The Dragon King began to discuss his counterpart, but although the conversation became more comfortable as they went on, Cabe knew that his relationship with the drake lord would never be the same.

Aurim sat cross-legged on his bed while Ursa sat next to him. His fingertips were pressed against his temple and his eyes were shut tight. Although he could not see her, he knew that the drake watched him with concern. Neither of his parents knew what he was doing. That was fine with him; they had far too much on their minds already. He had relied on them and their friends far too long. It was time to prove that all the talk of potential meant something.

The young warlock intended to break Toma’s spell on his own.

Not completely on his own. Ursa was assisting him, albeit with reluctance. Some of the paths he had tried required more manipulation than he could muster by himself. She was also there in case something did go wrong . . . which he had assured her several times would not happen.

His methods of search bordered on the unorthodox. Aurim had already observed his parents and the Gryphon going through most of the more normal paths, and not a few unusual ones they were familiar with, which left him only the ones he was taking. One of those methods, he was certain, had to be the key to unraveling the renegade’s spell.

The past few minutes had left him encouraged in that respect. It was difficult to be certain, but Aurim