Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

crest began to sink down and merge with the half-hidden countenance behind the false helm. In but the blink of an eye, Toma grew to several times his original size and continued to expand.

He was not as huge a beast as either Kyl, Faras, or Ssgayn, but Toma the dragon was possibly the most ferocious drake that Cabe had ever encountered. The jaws opened wide as the transformed duke roared, revealing an impossible number of long, sharp teeth. The forest green and sun gold form was lithe and swift in appearance. Toma’s eyes burned with such hatred that the warlock half-expected to drop dead simply from the rage he saw in them.

The dragon rose on his hind legs, obscuring all sight of the dais and the throne. He hissed again, the long, snakelike tongue darting about like a frenzied whip.

“It isss time you learned, flea, what a dragon is truly capable of!” Toma inhaled . . . then exhaled an inferno.

Flames licked the area all around Cabe. His robe burned and the heat seared his flesh. He held in check the scream he wanted to release, instead turning the pain into power. His shield strengthened, cutting off both the flame and the heat. A simpler spell doused the fires on his clothing. The burns he healed just enough to ignore. It would take all his will and ability to fight back. A little pain would have to be endured.

Toma inhaled again. Cabe chose the respite to attack in turn, severing a number of the largest and sharpest of the stalactites from the ceiling. The rain of missiles came down on Toma just as he was about to unleash a second firestorm. The barrage caught the dragon by surprise. One stalactite pierced a wing, while several others battered the outraged leviathan’s head.

Cabe’s success was short-lived. A barrier formed around Toma, a barrier that seemed adept at deflecting the stone missiles. Cabe brought a hand up and turned the swarm aside. The deadly rain pummeled the restored effigies and created a second massive shower of rock that further reduced the area to the wreckage it had been after the warlock’s previous battle here, the one with Toma’s sire, Gold.

The dragon laughed and a malevolent smile crossed the reptilian features. “Flea bitesss! Nothing but flea bitesss! I shall scorch you, rend you, and crush you, human! Then I shall take your precious daughter! Perhapsss I shall make her one of my dams! Humansss and drakesss are capable of procreating, you know. I have . . . ssseen it. Then, I shall take your son and your lovely bride-all of your companionsss-and, one by one, teach them the meaning of ssslow death! I should be able to keep myssself amusssed with them for months at a time!” Toma laughed again, loosening a few more stalactites that fell harmlessly around him. “And, knife or not, as Grath, I shall look on, properly mournful but unable to end the terror!”

He would do it, too. Everything that Toma had just promised, even without the baleful dagger to aid him, he would do. Cabe knew that, and a cold, ever so cold, fear overwhelmed him. Yet, instead of being left numb and paralyzed, the fear stirred within him a rage, a need to react and overcome that very fear.

His voice was surprisingly calm as he started toward the malignant drake. “You won’t be doing anything to anybody, Toma. I can’t allow that. I can’t let you leave to cause more horror. It has to end here.”

Toma laughed again and, raising one huge, taloned paw, caused a storm to form above and around the tiny figure that dared to defy him. Wind and rain rocked Cabe, while thunder deafened him and lightning sought to strike him down.

Gritting his teeth, the warlock somehow found the wherewithal to continue forward. Fueled by his fatalistic determination, Cabe’s shield spell held against the onslaught of the magical storm. Toma roared and increased its fury, but still his foe advanced.

Within only yards of the leviathan, Cabe at last attacked. He raised his hands before his chest, and from between them there suddenly formed a sphere of blinding blue light. The sphere grew to twice the size of a man’s head, then flew forward as if shot from a catapult.

Wings stretching, the dragon snorted his disdain and nodded almost minutely at the oncoming projectile. A second sphere, this one a dark, decaying green, formed instantly and flew to meet its blue counterpart.

The two balls of light collided.

Toma had already forgotten Cabe’s sphere, assuming that his counterspell had eradicated it. His gaze had already returned to Cabe when the dragon became aware that, instead of dissipating the moment it had touched its emerald counterpart, the blue sphere had exploded into a thousand fragments. A thousand fragments that continued on toward their intended target with no loss of velocity.

Skilled as he was, it took the dragon little effort to strengthen his shield, but Cabe’s spell was stronger in intensity than anything Toma had yet faced. Most of the glittering fragments faded as they met the magical wall, but several burst through.

Toma howled in pain as dozens of tiny, fiery avengers assailed him. Several scored hits on his torso while a few lucky ones burned through the membranes of one wing. The dragon staggered back, knocking over yet more of the ancient statues and coming to a halt only when the floor gave way to the steps of the dais. Cabe raised his arms toward Toma to give his attack better focus, ignoring, as he had so many times in the past, the agony caused by an old wound suffered facing the Aramites. None of his pain mattered now; it was secondary to keeping the dragon at bay.

The battle had at last drawn the attention of the monster, although it still made no attempt to leave Kyl’s side. Toma noticed its attention and, pointing a claw at Cabe, roared, “Kill him now! Kill him before he leavesss you once more without anyone! Kill him before he leavesss you alone again!”

No! Cabe swore as he heard the creature’s howl take on a new, deadlier tone. A furtive glance informed him that Toma had at last managed to stir the beast from its stupor. Rising, the monstrosity began to lumber toward the warlock, who was quite aware that even at his best he could not possibly take on both the wily dragon and the baleful monster. All the creature had to do was fix his gaze on Cabe long enough . . .

He was caught between the two of them. Worse, with Cabe forced to spread his attention between the dragon and the monster, Toma was also recovering from his terrible onslaught. There would be no hope whatsoever if the weary mage allowed that to happen, but he could foresee no way to prevent it.

I’ve failed. . . . Toma would find some way to escape the caverns and eventually Grath, possibly even Kyl, would return to claim the throne. No one would realize that it was Toma making use of some new devious spell.

A second howl nearly deafened him. With an awkward leap, Toma’s pet covered much of the remaining distance between them. It could have easily dealt with him before this, but Cabe guessed that it was debating between using its inherent magic to destroy him or simply seizing the human morsel in its mouth and swallowing him whole.

“Kill him!” hissed Toma once again. Still weak from his wounds, which this time he did not instantly heal, the renegade appeared to be satisfied with keeping his adversary occupied enough so that Cabe could not deal with the other threat until it was too late.

The beast paused. It howled again, but moved no closer. Its horrible eyes focused on the haggard mage.

A curtain of absolute darkness covered the warlock. At first he thought that this was the prelude to death, but then the curtain moved, and for the first time since the beginning of the struggle, Cabe’s hopes rose high.

“I have seen some ugly drakes in my time,” boomed a welcome voice, “but you, my misbegotten friend, are positively the most repulsive thing I have ever come across!”

“Darkhorse!” gasped the thankful warlock. Destroying the blade had worked better than he had hoped. Valea must have made her way through the gate once the spell surrounding the cavern had been broken and warned the shadow steed of what was happening.

Whether it was due to the eternal’s derisive comment or simply because of Darkhorse’s sudden presence, the creature forgot the warlock and fixed his deadly gaze on the ebony figure confronting him.

Cabe remembered that Darkhorse knew nothing of the beast’s frightful abilities. “Don’t stand still!”

It was too late. The horror stared and howled. The warlock could not recall whether it was the stare or the cry or a combination of both that caused the victim to burn from within. Whatever the cause, it was too late to help his companion. The eternal had arrived in time to do nothing but die.

Yet, even after the creature had long stopped howling, even after it had blinked in confusion more than once, Darkhorse still stood.