The Radiant Dragon

'No!'

'The ship is damaged. The helm is gone. We've got to put down.'

'But that's Armistice. We can't land there.'

'Why not? Doesn't it have large bodies of water?' Teldin asked in sudden concern. The swan ship wasn't designed to put down on land, and an attempt would doubtlessly reduce the battered ship to kindling.

'Vast oceans, but elves must not land on that planet.'

'Spare me your elven scruples,' Teldin said wearily. 'We haven't got much choice.'

'We do. The secondary helm is operational. I've got someone on it now, but we can't override the magic of your cloak.'

'Damn right,' Teldin muttered.

'Let go, Teldin Moore,' Vallus insisted, taking a step closer. 'We cannot land on Armistice. It's heavily patrolled by the Imperial Fleet, and for good reason. There are huge nations of orcs and hobgoblins there, landlocked monsters who would do anything to obtain spelljamming capability. If the swan ship lands, we present them with not only a ship and a helm, but also your cloak.'

'Vallus, let's fly that hawk when its feathers are grown,' Teldin said. 'The swan ship needs repairs now, or we're in serious trouble. We might not make it as far as Radole.'

'I know,' Vallus said quietly, 'but it would be better to lose the swan ship and everyone on board than to put the cloak in goblin hands.'

'Haven't enough people died for this damnable cloak?' Teldin snapped. 'I won't put the crew at risk.'

'Really? And what do you think would happen to these elves in the hands of the Armistice orcs?' Vallus demanded. When Teldin hesitated, the elven wizard repeated, 'Do not land the ship.'

Teldin's resolved firmed. 'I'm sorry, Vallus.'

'So am I,' the elven wizard said softly. He began to cast a spell, his long fingers gesturing as he murmured arcane syllables.

Teldin tensed, not sure what to expect. The cloak's magic had protected him from physical attacks many times before, but he had no idea whether it would turn aside a spell, especially one from a wizard as powerful as Vallus Leafbower.

A second voice joined the chanting, then suddenly there was only one. Vallus's fingers and lips moved, but no sound came from him. Chagrin flickered across his face, then fury. He spun to face the second spellcaster. In the doorway stood Raven Stormwalker, arms crossed as she leaned casually against the doorjamb, a catlike smile on her face.

'About time someone put him in a sphere of silence,' she observed. She leaned her head back to look over her shoulder. 'Oh, Chirp! Take the so-called wizard to his quarters, won't you? Keep him there until the captain orders otherwise.'

The dracon poked his mottled green head into the cabin. He hesitated, though, his reptilian face uncertain as his gaze flicked from Teldin to Vallus to Raven. His green shoulders slowly slumped under the weight of such a mind-boggling question of hierarchy. Seeing Chirp's dilemma, Raven shoved Vallus out into the hall.

'This elf attacked your kaba,' she said briskly. She pointed across the hall that separated Teldin's quarters from those of the elven wizard. 'Throw him in there and see that he doesn't get out. I'll stay here and protect the captain.'

Chirp's rubbery face embodied outrage. 'On your command, Celestial One,' he said. He prodded the silent Vallus across the hall with a series of shoves, haranguing him as they went. The dracon's voice faded in and out as he entered and exited the sphere of silence surrounding the wizard.

Raven came into the cabin and seated herself on the cot beside Teldin. 'Go ahead and put the ship down, Captain.'

Suddenly Teldin wasn't so sure that Vallus was wrong. 'There are orcs down there. I've fought scro-space orcs- before, and if those orcs are anything like them…' His voice trailed away uncertainly.

'Look at me,' she demanded.

The elf s voice thrummed with power. Startled, Teldin glanced up into her mismatched eyes. His vision swam, and it seemed to him that Raven's eyes glowed with a compelling, golden light. He felt himself drawn into that light, into a swirling, sleepy haze. As if from a great distance, he heard her voice again.

'You don't look well, Captain. I think you could use some help.' Still holding Teldin's gaze, she reached into the front of her leather jerkin and pulled out an antique pendant set with a blue stone. Even through the golden haze that held Teldin in thrall, he felt a stab of dread and dismay. It was as he'd feared. Raven had an ultimate helm of her own, the one described by the slain lakshu.

Raven's fingers tightened around the sapphire pendant. In response, the rich blue color faded from the gem, and a faint pink glow dawned in the heart of the sapphire. 'Rest,' she suggested. 'I'll take over.'

Despite his weariness, Teldin regarded the pendant-helm warily as he remembered his first attempt at using his cloak as a helm. 'You've done this before?'

'Spelljamming? Since the day I was hatched,' she quipped lightly. 'Not with this magic bauble, of course, but how hard could that be?'

A twinge of panic twisted Teldin's gut, and suddenly he feared he'd handed a death sentence to the ship's crew. Raven's vanity and utter self-confidence could easily blind her to the real difficulties ahead. He felt he had lost Aelfred's hammership, as well as some good people, the first time he'd tried landing a ship. Even if Raven succeeded…

'Maybe we shouldn't land there.' Teldin fingered the edge of his glowing cloak. 'The scro want this. I think you know why.'

'Sure do,' she said in a jaunty tone, 'but don't worry about the scro. I've met worse creatures on my travels, and you've come this far wearing most of your skin. Between the two of us, we can handle a few overgrown goblins.'

'But-'

'Oh, stop fussing,' Raven chided him with a touch of impatience. She leaned closer, and it seemed to Teldin that the golden light of her eyes intensified. An image filled his mind, the memory of a long-ago trip to market, with his grandfather driving the wagon and himself as a lad curled up in the back.

All would be well, Teldin thought with drowsy contentment. He could sleep and be safe. With a sense of relief he began to release his hold on the cloak's spelljamming magic. As his cloak faded, the light in Raven's sapphire correspondingly increased. The transfer from one helm to the other was as smooth and effortless as if they'd rehearsed it a dozen times.

Suddenly it occurred to Teldin that he'd just turned the ship over to his most serious rival for the Spelljammer. He struggled to free himself from the lure of slumber.

Raven hissed with exasperation. 'By the gods, you're being difficult! Let go, would you? After all the time I've spent looking for you, Teldin Moore, I'm not about to let anything happen to you now.'

Her words puzzled Teldin, but he was too weary to examine them. As he drifted into a half-conscious sleep, his last thought was that Raven had sounded a little surprised by her own cryptic admission.

When Teldin Moore finally was snoring, Raven shook her head in disbelief. 'Must be losing my touch,' she muttered to herself. 'That damn human was harder to charm than a dwarf's in-laws.' Despite her disgruntled tone, she regarded the ensorcelled, sleeping human with a measure of respect. Maybe, just maybe, Teldin Moore would be a credible partner-even for a radiant dragon.

Less than an hour later, the wounded swan ship splashed safely down in the frigid oceans of Armistice.

Chapter Fourteen

When Hectate awoke, his first observation was that he'd regained his half-elven form. His head hurt and his vision was still blurry, but he could see well enough to know he was aboard an unfamiliar spelljamming ship. Beside his hammock was a chair, and in it sat a slender feminine form.

His eyes focused on the familiar face, elven and delicate, and his heart ached with sadness. The beautiful woman beside him was utterly unlike the monster who had attacked him aboard the Trumpeter, yet there was more similarity between her two aspects than Hectate could bear. She was wearing a uniform of sorts, and Hectate took that to be a bad sign. After experiencing the Change, bionoids traditionally wore