Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

other drake, as nondescript a warrior as one of his kind could be, nodded. Both reined in their steeds. Only one moon was out this night, so Sssaleese could make out little more than the outline of the other, but he was certain that his companion was pleased. The confederation lord was not so certain that he shared that pleasure.

“You are sssatisssfied with what you have learned?”

“I am. They have not changed! They blunder around, each trying to take what he can without giving up anything! My sssire never trusted them! It wasss their fighting, their betrayal, that destroyed him! Now they ssseek to make the new emperor a puppet who will dance to their tune!”

Sssaleese did not respond at first. His situation was precarious, to say the least. He needed to be on fair terms with the Dragon Kings, yet there was much potential in taking a different course, especially if it meant the favor of the one who soon would sit upon the dragon throne.

Or stand behind it, he added. If the offer his companion had made him some months back held any truth, then the true lord of the drakes now sat in front of Sssaleese. “What will you do?”

The other considered. “The meeting will be a formality. They will find my brother a sssuitable candidate. All things may proceed as I planned.” The drake leaned toward Sssaleese. “Or do you have any misssgivingsss?”

The brown and green grew indignant. “We have made an agreement!”

“Yesss . . . one which allows both of usss much room for plotting our essscapes.” Sssaleese’s companion chuckled. “They did not recognize me! They never recognize me!”

“For which I am thankful! If they had known it wasss you, my life as well would have been forfeit.”

“Bah! You place too much confidence in their ssstrength. They are blussster!”

Sssaleese did not desire to pursue the conversation further. He had been subjected to his companion’s tirades before. What counted to him were results, not words. So far, there had been little of the former. Yet, before he dared depart, he once more had to ask one particular question. “How do you propose to make the young heir yours?”

Once more he received the same cursed answer. “He will be.”

There was no reply to that. Sssaleese shrugged. “I mussst return to my people. When shall we next meet?”

“I will contact you.”

Being at the beck and call of this one irked the new monarch, who felt that he should be given some respect for the position he had worked so hard to attain. Yet he was not about to push. This was one drake he did not care to cross. “Very well.”

Sssaleese turned his mount, intending to depart, when the other said, “We are kindred sssouls, friend. It isss usss against them! Their day is waning. We are the future, a place where the lack of proper birth markingsss does not mean one isss not fit to rule. . . .”

Sssaleese twisted around. “Let usss hope so, Duke Toma.”

Toma laughed, a harsh sound that echoed in the quiet night, and confidently replied, “Hope has nothing to do with it, dear Sssaleese! I should know!”

II

“They must be mad!”

“I assure you, Cabe Bedlam, that they are very ssserious about thisss! They may not accept him otherwissse.”

Cabe Bedlam stalked to the rail of the balcony and gazed down at the massive sculpted garden below. The Green Dragon, wearing the form of a tall, emerald knight in scale armor, remained where he was, red, inhuman eyes watching the master sorcerer from within the confines of a helm. The dragon crest-part of the drake’s true visage-seemed also to watch. The drake lord kept a respectful distance at all times. Despite the human’s young, unassuming face, Cabe Bedlam was a mage of remarkable power. The broad streak of silver cutting across his otherwise black hair was proof of that. All human sorcerers bore some sort of mark in the hair, either a stripe of silver or a peppering over the entire head.

Cabe turned slowly, obviously considering his response to the Dragon King’s words. He looked but midway through his third decade despite being well into his fifth. That was common among those gifted with the power, but in Cabe Bedlam’s case it was due to some spell his grandfather Nathan had cast long, long ago. In fact, with his jaw set and his bright eyes narrowed in contemplation, he greatly resembled his grandfather. Even the slightly turned nose was similar. The lord of the Dagora Forest had never told Cabe exactly how well he had known Nathan Bedlam, leader of the Dragon Masters. He did know that grandfather and grandson would have been as proud of one another as they both had been ashamed by Azran. The Bedlam family had ever been a fount of magical ability, whether for good or ill.

“I won’t let them enter the Manor grounds,” the human announced, a wave of his hand indicating both building and land. The Manor, as it was called by most, had existed for countless centuries. Green was of the opinion that the Seekers, the avian race that had preceded his own as masters of the realm, had built it, yet the bird folk did not normally devise structures so ground-based. Still, the Manor was not only carved marble; one entire portion of it was living tree. That and the many statues commemorating the Seekers were all the verification the Dragon King needed. Cabe had different notions concerning his home, and the two often argued amiably about the matter.

Whatever its origins, it could not be denied that the Manor had seen many, many masters over the centuries. Ghost images of scenes, some accompanied by sound as well, burst into momentary life, so Cabe had told him. Sometimes those images would also come in dreams. Only those with some magical tendencies were generally bothered by such. The drake knew he would not have liked living in the Manor, yet Cabe and his beautiful wife, the scarlet-tressed witch Gwendolyn, enjoyed their life here, as did the children, both the spellcasters’ own and the drake young they had raised. Even the humans and drakes who acted as their servants somehow found life in the Manor enjoyable for the most part.

Although he had never said such to Cabe, the Green Dragon was unnerved by the Manor. Being what he was, he did not, of course, show any sign of that anxiety.

“I won’t let them enter the Manor grounds,” the warlock repeated. “They must take me for a fool.” Without the Bedlams’ permission, it was impossible to enter their sanctum. The Manor and the garden and woods that surrounded it all were protected by a strong magical barrier invisible to the eye. Only a select few could enter without having to request permission. The spell was ancient, a fading remnant from some previous lord; the witch and warlock had not only revitalized it but improved it as well.

“I thought, perhapsss, somewhere more neutral.”

Cabe frowned and crossed his arms, wrinkling the dark blue sorcerer’s robe he wore. “I don’t care for the thought of surrounding myself or any of my family with Dragon Kings, present company excepted.”

The Green Dragon’s laugh was accented by a mild hiss. “I have never cared much for that myssself!”

Somewhere a harp began to play. Cabe’s brow furrowed. He did not care for harp music, but his daughter Valea did. So, unfortunately, did the heir to the drake throne. Dragging his thoughts back to the present predicament, he tried to devise some sort of compromise. “Somewhere neutral might work, but . . . but I still have trouble with being surrounded by Dragon Kings.” His face lit up. “What if the others chose a representative among themselves, someone you and they both trust? I could agree to something like that. We could meet in the Dagora Forest, if that’s acceptable to you.”

“If that isss your offer, Cabe Bedlam, then I shall relay it to them. I have no qualms about it. They might agree to a represssentative, but the meeting ground may be more questionable. I will try to convince them that thisss is reasonable.”

“Who would you choose among them-if I may ask that, my lord?”

“There is no question,” the drake lord hissed. “Black is trusted by no one, perhaps not even himself. Red is young; his opinion is still shaky. Storm . . . we fear for his sanity. None of us desire another Ice Dragon.”