“I know, my friend, I know,” the High Dragon said. “In due time. Bring in the other one.”
“Other one?” Dayne asked. They had Lin and Maresh; where was Jerinne? Had they captured her as well?
The High Dragon ignored him and went to a chest and took out a pair of shackles. “Cannot take too many chances with this one, I think.” He bound the Thorn with them, and then gently slapped his face until he came to.
“What, where?” the Thorn asked.
“There he is. Sorry about your head, but Gurond is . . . well, he is Gurond.”
Rynax raised an eyebrow. “And you’re Crenaxin. The High Dragon.”
“You asked to see me,” Crenaxin said. “And that was enough to earn your lives—briefly—while I sate my curiosity about you interlopers. Seven in all, I think.”
“Seven?” Dayne asked.
“Yes, you three, the two that I’ll let Senek play with, the girl who got away, and this one.”
Two men in dark robes dragged in Minox Welling, shackled and trying to pull himself out of their grasp.
“Minox!” Dayne exclaimed.
“So you are together,” Crenaxin said, rubbing his hands together. “How glorious.”
“Heldrin,” Minox said when he saw Dayne. His captors brought him over and placed him in a chair with the three of them. “And Mister Calbert as well.”
“We’ll find your dark girl as well, soon enough,” Crenaxin said.
That got the Thorn’s attention. “Dark girl?” He looked over to Minox, who just gave him a small nod.
“She’s surely well out of here, and sensible enough to bring help.”
“Help?” Crenaxin said with a mocking tone. “Members of the Constabulary? Perhaps a contingent of Tarian elite? The army? Or you?” He pointed at the Thorn. “Yes, you’re the one who started that trouble for the Blue Hand a few months back.”
“I’ll show you trouble,” the Thorn said, trying to stand. He then screamed and fell back down.
“Yes, you’ll find that what you and your friend there are wearing are far more insidious than the mage shackles the Constabulary uses. I imagine that was rather painful.”
“The machine is more than magic,” Rynax said. “But it’s not complete.”
“Very good, sir. Observant one, you are.”
“Machine?” Welling asked.
Rynax nodded. “There’s a machine in the other room, combines magic and science, I figure. To make people into those monsters they’ve got walking around here.”
“Monsters?” Crenaxin said. “You say that of our faithful brethren, who have given so much of themselves in the hope of being worthy vessels for the Nine?”
“What are the Nine?” Dayne asked.
Crenaxin smiled. “They are the truest faith. Truer and older than you can even know. Beings of pure power and knowledge, fueled by and fueling all the churning energies in the world.”
“Magic,” Welling said.
“Beyond magic. Beyond science. Beyond faith and will and the focus of . . . they are the force of everything.”
“And you’re their High Dragon?”
“The vessel of their blessing. Filled with their power.”
“Full of it is right,” the Thorn said weakly.
“He’s not bluffing,” Minox said. “I saw him bring a dead man to life.”
“He what?” Dayne asked.
“That’s impossible,” the Thorn said.
“Impossible is nothing but your limited mind, young man,” Crenaxin said, placing his hand on the Thorn’s head. “And soon that dead man will complete his mission, come back with the final statue . . .”
“Tell me about the statues,” Rynax said.
“Fascinating, aren’t they?” Crenaxin said.
“What are they called? Tazendifol?”
That took Crenaxin by surprise. “Very good, sir. But do you know what that means?”
“They’re sacred idols of a forbidden religion. This ‘Brotherhood of the Nine’ business, clearly.”
“Not entirely correct. Though they are forbidden where they came from, Poasia. That’s where the truth of the Nine came from. It was a faith they knew . . . millennia ago. But the faithful were hounded and killed, and only a handful kept it alive, hidden beneath their civilization. And then our soldiers took Khol Taia. The tazendifol—and the faith—came here.”
Dayne couldn’t believe his ears. “Why would you subscribe to a Poasian religion? One that even they rooted out?”
“Because it is a source of pure power, Tarian,” Crenaxin said. He went over to the trunk and pulled out a book, finding his page. “‘And now today, the day wakes in the sword, with a sliver of white and three children ahead. Now is the day, and we will tap into power—real, true power—that will make Maradaine tremble before us.’”
“And why are you telling us?” Thorn said.
“Because I want you to know,” Crenaxin said. He went over to the Thorn and grabbed his head. “For you are going to Serve the Brotherhood.”
His words came with a weight, and the Thorn screamed. He shook his head wildly for a moment. “What the blazes—” he snarled.
“Mages are always a problem,” Crenaxin said with disappointment. He went over to Minox. “But I hope you will Serve the Brotherhood.”
Minox grit his teeth and then spit in Crenaxin’s face.
“No matter,” Crenaxin said. “You’re going to be useful, regardless. But you—” He went over to Rynax. “You will be very useful, I think. And you will Serve the Brotherhood.”
Rynax screamed, a scream of pure animal rage and pain. Then he became oddly calm, looking up at Crenaxin. “Blessed be the Nine.”
“Blessed be the Nine, my brother,” Crenaxin said. He came over to Dayne. “And as for you, Tarian.”
“I will never—” Dayne started.
“But you will,” Crenaxin said. “You will Serve the Brotherhood.”
The words hit with a power that filled Dayne’s bones. He remembered the words, the power, of Ret Issendel, but that had been a gentle stream in comparison. This was an ocean, washing over Dayne, filling his heart, breaking his soul, demanding his—
Clarity.
He looked up to Crenaxin. It was so clear.
“Blessed be the Nine,” he said.
“Blessed be, my brother,” Crenaxin said. “Now let us be about things. Take the constable here. He will be useful.”
“Of course,” Dayne said. He grabbed Minox and threw him over
