Chasing the Dragon Page 2

  "Someone?" Celos asked.

  Tristam shrugged. "My men have been busy helping the miners evacuate their camps. A few of the mines were attacked from within and the others were overrun from without."

  "Why didn't they fight back?" Aleena asked.

  "They're miners, Aleena, not soldiers," he said and sighed. "Even the soldiers don't stand up against these creatures very well. I need warriors, men able to think and react on their own."

  "The corporals and sergeants should do that," Celos said.

  "Yes, they should," Tristam agreed. "Seems they haven't been taught that, though. You can bet I'm working on it with the men I have left, but it's not enough to retake anything."

  "Are there any mines or camps holding out?"

  "None," Tristam said. "Or at least none that I know of. We've not heard from two mines, but we assume the miners were killed to a man."

  Aleena winced but Celos kept his face calm. "You've sent scouts?"

  "We've tried. The first were pushed back. Ever since we've learned why, they built a wall across the pass to keep us out."

  "Keep us out?" Celos frowned. "Why would they do that?"

  Tristam finished the paladin's thought. "Unless they're gathering an army. They tried to wall off a few passes before. This one is much closer to Highpeak. The only other routes into the mountains are days to the west or east and those are treacherous paths, not fit for more than a small group of men."

  "The Knights of Leander took such a journey last year to Dragonsgate pass," Celos reminded him.

  Tristam chuckled. "Son, I've taken the passes in the eastern mountains myself, back when I could walk without a cane to hold me up. The route you talk of was fit for a wagon train compared to the paths I speak of."

  "And the west?" Aleena challenged.

  "The same," Tristam said. "I've not seen them with my own eyes, but I have good scouts who have been to both."

  Sir Celos latched onto the next logical thought about the passes. "Have these scouts tried them to see what they can find from within?"

  "The last ones I sent never returned. I'm a man in need of knowledge, not a man in need of more blood on my hands."

  "Do you have any men who know the mountains well?" Aleena asked.

  Tristam frowned. He nodded. "Yes, there are a few. The one who knows them best and is most likely to be willing to help is named Ketten."

  "Why haven't you tried him?" Celos inquired.

  "Because I can't trust him," the baron said. "He's a man who answers to gold. I might buy his service but if someone offers him more, I've lost him, my gold, and whatever knowledge I fed him."

  "Then why tell us about him?" Aleena asked.

  "Because if you two are fool enough to brave the mountains," he paused while the two paladins shared a quick glance with each other, "then perhaps you can use him."

  "Where is he?" Celos asked.

  "No one's seen him in a while, another reason we haven't looked for him. He hangs out near the northern gate in the taverns. He fancies a game of cards and drinks too much ale to do it well."

  A smile cracked Celos's face. "We'll see if we can find him."

  "Best of luck," the baron said. "I appreciate anything you can do. Word is that fool of a boy Alto went south. Without my old crew, I'd pin our best chances on the Knights of Leander."

  Celos's smile faded. "We'll return with news at the least, if not victory over these unseen foes. If you'll permit us, we'll begin our search now."

  Aleena opened her mouth and spoke before Tristam could. "Baron, you mentioned the forces in the mountains—what kind of soldiers are they? Is it like before, men and goblins working hand in hand?"

  Tristam shook his head. "No, mostly ogres from what they've seen. Goblins in the mines but the ogres seem to be running things."

  Aleena smirked. "These must be a new breed of ogre. The ones we fought were more interesting in fighting than tactics."

  "Much of this is troubling," Tristam agreed.

  "Come, Aleena, let us find this guide and see it firsthand," Celos said.

  Aleena nodded and curtsied again in her armor to the baron. Celos bowed and they turned and walked out in step with each other. The two knights stayed silent until they left the manor, and then Celos turned to the north. Aleena followed, hurrying to keep step with him.

  "Ogres," Celos muttered.

  "Do you think giants are leading them? They're smarter, right?"

  "Yes, it was a giant that was the general of the dragon's army," Celos said.

  "He's dead, though. The barbarian, Garrick, killed him," Aleena said.

  "Many giants escaped," Celos reminded her.

  Aleena frowned. "Another dragon, perhaps?"

  "We'll be the first ones to find out."

  "You want to put an end to this, don't you?" Aleena asked.

  Celos looked at her with a furrowed brow. "Of course I do," he said.

  "No, I mean it's driving you. I can see it in your eyes. You need to do this," she said.

  Celos stopped and stared at her. "What are you saying?"

  "I'm asking you to be honest with me."

  "I do not lie," Celos growled.

  Aleena stood her ground and met his gaze. "Good, then tell me why you have to do this."

  "This is our quest," he snapped at her. People moved around them in the street, giving the two fully armored knights curious glances as they passed. Celos ignored them and remained focused on Aleena.

  "Is that it, or is there more?" she asked.

  Celos opened his mouth and then closed it. Finally, he unclenched his fist and let out a breath. "The Knights of Leander are worthy of being the saviors of the kingdom. I want to prove to everyone that they should turn their eyes to us for help."

  Aleena nodded her head. "I understand. And I agree they should look to Leander for help."

  Celos stared at her a minute longer. "Are you happy, Dame Aleena?"

  Aleena felt her head rocked back by his forceful tone. She smiled and nodded. "I meant no disrespect, Sir Celos. And yes, I am happy. I will stand beside you, you know that."

  "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he said.

  Aleena frowned. "To fighting?"

  "To the two of us fighting back to back," he said as he turned and started to walk to the north again. "That would mean the worst is truly upon us."

  Aleena watched him for a moment and then hurried to catch up to him. In spite of his words, she knew there was more that went unspoken between them. Was it something about her that bothered him or was it something else? She scowled and vowed that whatever it was, she wouldn't let it stop them.

  Chapter 3

  "Queen Rosalyn!"

  Rosalyn heard him the first two times he tried to ruin her trance, but she was so close. She could tell from the irritation and urgency that he felt his news was important. It wasn't. Nothing was important. Not compared to the breakthrough she was so close to making.

  The witch sighed in frustration. She'd lost her connection to the statue. After battling through many of the layers of magic in it, she'd been so close to reaching the spirit inside. Now she'd have to start over.

  Rosalyn rose from the floor, her robes falling about her slender frame. She swayed on her feet and would have fallen save for her servant reaching out to steady her with his hand. "You need to eat, my queen, you're skin and bones," he said.

  "You ruined my spell to tell me to eat?" Rosalyn turned and asked him. Her body was weak and her mouth was dry. Her lips were parched and cracked, the thin air of the mountains drying them out before their time. "I was almost there. I almost spoke with her."

  "No, Your Highness, I roused you to bring news," Ketten said.

  "News of what, Ketten? What news could be so important?" she asked with a voice that sounded more tired than she was ready to admit. Her body ached from being still for so long. She'd been concentrating for a full day this time, maybe two. She was no closer to reaching Sarya's trapped spirit than she had been, but sh
e was so close!

  "The mines have been secured, my lady," he said. "The men from the kingdom have been killed or driven out of the mountains, to the last. The dwarves in the east have been burrowing back into their mines but there are no passages or tunnels we can find that connects them to the rest of the Northern Divide. There once was, I'm told, but they collapsed."

  "Keep them that way," Rosalyn said. She spied a platter filled with fruits and meat long gone cold. She edged towards it and sipped from a cup of water. It burned her throat at first, and then she drank deeply of it until the cup was empty. She turned back on her servant and said in a stronger voice, "If they reopen any passages, kill them."

  "You wish to take the dwarven mines as well?"

  Rosalyn considered his anxious question and then shook her head. "No, I have no desire for a war yet. We don't have the strength we need." She turned to stare at the massive silver dragon statue with the burning ruby red eyes. "Soon, but not yet. Tell me, what of Rockwood and the farm boy that would be king?"

  Ketten cleared his throat and glanced around before admitting. "Nothing, my queen. He sailed to the south months ago and has not returned. He's overdue and they expect him any day now, they are saying. As for Rockwood, the dwarf you've ensorcelled on their council has kept them at a standstill. No construction has begun."

  Rosalyn smiled. "I used the magic of gold, Ketten. Nothing mysterious about that. Dwarves prize gold above all else. They are simple creatures. You really should read more; you could learn so much about the world."

  Ketten nodded. "I prefer to see it with my own eyes, my lady."

  Rosalyn snorted. "Ignorance. Very well, is there news of the elves in the west?"

  "None. They keep to themselves. So as long as we do not trouble them, they have no cares or concerns for us."

  The witch nodded. "That is good. We will deal with them at a time of my choosing."

  "My queen, the ogre, Grack, asks about your promise to him."

  "Finding and killing the northerner?"

  "Yes, Garrick," Ketten said. "The rumors I've heard say he rode to the kingdom and then to Amderfell. He boarded a boat, the Kraken, and it sailed south. That was weeks ago."

  "The Kraken?" Rosalyn asked.

  "Yes, my queen."

  "You fool!" she snapped. "That was the boat Alto sailed south on! He's already back, or he's been back and away again."

  Ketten winced and nodded. "I'm sorry, my lady. I'll check on it immediately. It's many days' travel, it will take some time."

  "Go!" she snapped. "Find him. Find them both."

  "Yes, my lady," Ketten said and turned to leave.

  Rosalyn sampled some of the food on the tray and then glanced up at him. With Ketten gone, she would be alone again. Alone save for the ogres and goblins. "Ketten, spread word while you're out there."

  "Your Highness?" he turned and asked her with a furrowed brow.

  "Of the tolerance of this land. How man and goblin can live in peace. How a person with a strong back and a desire to build a name for themselves may do so."

  "There are few who would find that comforting."

  Rosalyn shrugged. "A few is better than none. The giants are listening but not interested in joining me. Yet. I need a stronger base of power to win them over. They care little for revenge, only for strength. In the meantime, I would like to see some faces around me that do not have tusks and scars upon them for a change. Did you ever think you'd be the prettiest man around, Ketten?"

  The mountain man turned servant chuckled and bowed his head. "You honor me, my queen. I will see what I can do. Will you, uh, be using your magic to sway them?"

  Rosalyn smirked. She'd conducted a ritual on Ketten, binding him to her. His life was hers at any time and he knew it. Controlling multiple people, however, would complicate her life and limit what magic she could do. "No, I will not. You alone share that special bond with me, Ketten."

  He bowed again. "I'll do what I can for you, my queen."

  "Very well, be off." Rosalyn turned from him and bit into a small apple. The juice ran into her mouth and sparked an almost forgotten memory of the decadence of food. She ate ravenously, uncaring of how cool the slices of mutton were.

  When the plate was empty and Rosalyn had licked her fingers clean, she straightened and looked around. There was no one to be found: man, goblin, or ogre. She frowned and glanced down at herself. Her belly was swollen from the food she'd eaten, although not obscenely. Perhaps she had let herself become too distracted.

  She turned and looked at Sarya again. Not too distracted, too focused. She was here for one reason and one reason only: to bind the dragon's power to her, much as Therion had bound the nymph's magic to him. The difference between the two was that dragons were far more powerful than a simple nature creature.

  Rosalyn knew she was fortunate to be the first one to arrive. Others would come, but by tricking Ketten and the simple-minded ogres into believing she craved more than the dragon's spirit, she had made them her allies. She had an army to keep away anyone foolish enough to come for the dragon's power now. She didn't have to break Sarya's secrets all at once; she could take her time.

  At least enough time to eat a meal on occasion.

  "But now that I've eaten, it's time to try again," Rosalyn whispered. She smiled at the statue and sat down in front of it. She began to chant and cast up a spell to show her the magic and allow her to begin to pick her way through the many shifting layers that made up the dragon's prison.

  Chapter 4

  "Moonshine doesn't like the look of this pass," Aleena said.

  Celos glanced at her and then looked ahead to the rocky cleft ahead of them. "Do you agree that this is the route into the mountains?"

  "Yes, but—"

  "Then this is the route we must take. According to the guides, there's nothing else west of here for two days' travel," Celos finished. "By then, the only passes take us through the mountains to the lands beyond."

  "We could try east," Aleena said. "There are more paths into the mountains there, even caves. Tristam told us of some and the guides and hunters mentioned others."

  "Ketten came this way," Celos reminded her. "That's what they all said, that he brought a woman this way."

  "They were drunkards humoring you after they'd taken all your money playing cards!" Aleena said with a hint of a growl. She'd seen too many good men turned fools by ale and gambling. Celos would never be like them, but it didn't make her happy to have been around them.

  "They weren't drunk," Celos said. "Any man as good at cards as they were knows not to fall in his cups."

  Aleena fumed, knowing that there was a good chance Celos was right. She'd known men who had arrangements with her father to mix their ale with water, yet they paid full price for it. The men they played knew nothing of it, or had the same agreements. "Fine, what about the rest? After they took your money. You're not a very good card player."

  "I'm not good at bluffing," Celos admitted.

  Aleena agreed but kept silent. Lying was not something condoned by Leander. Celos had tried to skirt around their doctrine by using silence and misdirection. He'd done a poor job of it.

  "And why would they lie? It was months ago, they said, and nobody's seen either once since. That tells me they found the source of whatever is going on and we should follow them."

  "You're jumping to conclusions, much like you hoped the other card players would do."

  Celos scowled at her. "We have few options. We must do as we judge best."

  "As you judge best," Aleena said.

  Celos glared at her. "Yes, as I deem best. I am the elder knight and I have more time spent in Leander's service."

  "Time does not equal devotion," Aleena retorted.

  Celos spun his horse around, his eyes wide with outrage. "You question my faith?"

  Aleena caught herself before she said something she didn't mean. She closed her mouth and shook her head. "No. Not your faith. But I do caution you to remember t
hat though you may have known Leander's blessing longer than I, I have it too. I have a love for our saint that burns brightly in my heart and pushes everything else to the side."

  "Not everything," Celos muttered. He snapped the reins on his horse and turned it back towards the pass.

  Moonshine moved forward without being told to so that Aleena could grab one of the reins in front of Celos and stop him from commanding his steed. "What is that supposed to mean?" she seethed.

  Celos met her piercing gaze with one heated by his own fires. When neither of them looked away, he heard himself say, "Alto."

  Aleena let go of his rein and Moonshine backed away. She stared at him, her lips parted in shock.

  The words spilled out of the paladin so fast he seemed to have trouble putting them in a proper order. "You said it yourself, you loved him. You gave him your heart."

  "And then I found Saint Leander," Aleena responded.

  Celos smirked. "Much as the people of Highpeak? Have they forgotten the Hero of the North and turned to the saint?"

  "Some have," Aleena said. "Why does that upset you so much? He did a great thing and suffered terribly while doing it."

  "He's just a man!" Celos shouted. He turned away, his fists clenching his reins.

  Aleena watched as the paladin took a deep breath and let it out. She wanted to say something but she wasn't sure what. It was just as well; Celos continued when he'd restrained his anger.

  "Alto's just a man and Saint Leander is a saint. He should never be placed higher than that which is holy."

  "Have you ever been in love?" Aleena asked in a soft voice.

  "I love my faith, my brothers, even my intemperate sister," Celos said.

  "No, in love," she repeated, emphasizing the act rather than the state of being.

  Celos shrugged and looked away from her. "I don't see that it makes a difference."

  "It does."

  "It shouldn't," he snapped. "Saint Leander is pure and wise. He teaches us honesty and gives us the light to banish darkness."

  Aleena nodded. "My faith filled my heart and made me whole when I didn't realize there was something missing. It has much in common with a lover, I think, but there are things that the church cannot do. Places they cannot touch."