Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

not.

Despite the Storm Lord’s horrific assault, Shade stood untouched. The warlock’s cloak did not even ruffle in the wind.

Behind Shade, the onyx crystal flared again-and the cavern walls around the dragon melted, pouring over the leviathan like hot lava. It covered him with such swiftness that even the immense creature could not stop it.

A drake warrior who had managed to regain his footing charged the warlock from the side. With an indifferent wave of his left hand, Shade sent a burst of crimson energy toward the attacker that struck the drake full in the chest-and burnt him to ash.

With a roar, the Dragon King shook off the steaming, hardening earth. He opened his mouth and flames scorched the area where Shade stood.

But again, the attack did not even singe the warlock’s garments.

Shade drew from the crystal once more, sending a ring of fiery blades toward his adversary. The Storm Lord countered with a cloudless rain that washed the ring into oblivion.

And each time one of them cast a spell, the crystal flared more intensely.

Aurim eyed the stone. Even without the aid of magic, he could sense how the strain of both combatants actively drawing from it had begun to take a toll. The artifact could not much longer stand such abuse. At some point, the essential structure of the crystal would degrade.

When that happened, nothing would protect any of those still in the cave.

“Can you teleport us?” he asked Yssa.

She shook her head, unable to speak due to the continued effort of protecting them. The flames, the deadly rain . . . each attack spilled over on the pair. Aurim understood that if she tried to cast another spell, it would mean dropping their only defense.

Then a voice filled his head, a voice using the link with his mother-but that was not his mother’s.

You must be ready when the artifact fails. We will guide you.

He glanced at the hooded figure battling the Dragon King.

The voice had been Shade’s.

The crystal abruptly flared a deep crimson. Aurim felt the first hints of fragmentation. The stone had nearly reached its limits.

Caught up in their duel, neither Shade nor the Storm Lord seemed to notice or care. Scorch marks covered the Dragon King and the warlock’s cloak had been reduced to tatters, but otherwise they had done little to one another.

“Give in to the inevitable, mortal creature!” roared the Storm Dragon. “And we shall grant you a merciful death!”

The warlock said nothing, but when he cast his next spell, the aura surrounding the artifact turned nearly as black as the crystal itself.

The crystal cracked.

It is time! said the unsettling voice in Aurim’s head.

Hoping he was not being played for a fool, Aurim cast his spell. He felt the presence of both his mother and the one who had spoken last.

The artifact ruptured.

A titanic force washed over the wizard. He heard Yssa scream. From far away came the roar of a dragon-a dragon in agony.

And suddenly . . . silence reigned.

An anxious gasp stirred Aurim back to reality. He discovered that he lay face down in a muddy field. As the wizard pushed himself up, a pair of hands took hold.

Aurim looked up hopefully, but it was not Yssa. Instead, his mother’s concerned, tearful face filled his view.

“Are you all right?” she gasped.

“I think . . . I think I am.” As he straightened, Aurim desperately looked around. “Yssa-”

“There, my son.”

The Green Dragon’s daughter lay face up a few yards away. Aurim stumbled over to her, kneeling by her side. With relief, he saw that she breathed steadily.

Only then did he acknowledge his surroundings. The forest of willows, the swampy earth . . . “Wenslis?”

“Yes, far to the south. We cannot even see the mountains from here.”

He paid no mind to that, more interested in something he had just noticed about their immediate surroundings. “The storm . . . it’s stopped. It’s not even raining.”

It always rained in the Storm Lord’s domain.

Gwen nodded. “Yes . . . it ceased almost immediately the moment we appeared here.” She frowned. “It might mean something . . . and then again it might not. It’s too soon to know. They both could be dead. They both could be alive. Whatever the case, only time will tell, for you and I are certainly not going back there.”

Even the clouds had begun to evaporate. Aurim gaped up at a sun rarely seen in this region.

Yssa stirred. Her eyes opened and she saw him. She reached up and kissed Aurim gratefully, only afterward noticing Gwen’s presence.

“Lady Bedlam, I-”

Pursing her lips slightly, Gwen said, “It’s all right. We’ll speak later. The important thing is that we’re safe. I doubt any of the Storm Lord’s minions are concerned about us at the moment.”

“Thank you for saving us,” the younger woman said.

“I?” The enchantress shook her head. “I did very little.”

“Was it him, Mother?” Aurim asked as he helped his love to her feet. “Shade?”

Yssa frowned. “Another one?”

“No,” Gwen responded. “Not another one.” She gazed north, in the direction of the Storm Lord’s stronghold. “The original one . . . I think.”

Aurim looked around. “Where is he? What happened to him?”

She continued staring north. “He vanished after he dragged me here. You appeared on your own a moment later, as he promised. I think . . . I think he’s gone back there.”

“To the lair? For what?”

“I don’t know, Aurim. I have this feeling that he knew everything that would happen, that he might have even planned all of this. Frankly, I’m too tired to care. Shade chose to save us . . . this time.”

“And next time?”

“Forget that for now, Aurim. Can you teleport us home?” She nodded toward Yssa, her eyes softening a bit. “All of us, I mean?”

He checked. “I think I can.”

“Then please do so at once. I need to speak to your father and the Gryphon. They have to know what happened in Wenslis.” Her expression grew grim again. “Everything that happened in Wenslis.”

Aurim nodded. The wizard took his mother in one hand, his beloved in the other and, with a last glance at the dour realm of the Storm Lord, concentrated . . .

He found the body exactly where he knew it would be. Reaching down, he dragged it out of the earth. Even in death, the face remained blurred, indistinct.

Shade eyed his dead self, then laid one gloved hand across the face.

The hand glowed gold. The aura spread over the face, the head, then the entire body of the dead Shade. Quickly the aura enveloped the corpse, absorbed it . . . and fed it back to the figure leaning over.

When the last of his twin had been consumed, leaving no trace whatsoever, the warlock straightened. Turning, he surveyed the huge rock collapse caused by the explosion of the crystal. With a wave of his hand, Shade sent tons of rock and the corpses of dead drake warriors flying away, digging through the carnage until he came upon the one he sought.