Marit hadn’t seen the dragon leave. And surely she could have heard it if it were still inside. Perhaps the cavern extended far beneath the hills. Perhaps the dragon had a back way out. Perhaps it didn’t know they were here. Perhaps the dragon’s injury was worse than Marit had thought. Perhaps the wounded creature had crawled far back in its lair to sleep. Perhaps . . . perhaps . . .
Few events in Marit’s life had ever worked to her advantage. She always made the wrong decision, ended up in the wrong place, did or said the wrong thing. She had made the mistake of staying with Haplo; then she had made the mistake of leaving him. She had made the mistake of abandoning their child. She had made the mistake of trusting Xar. Finding Haplo again, she had made the mistake of loving him again, only to lose him again.
Surely, now, something in her life must go right! Surely, she was owed this much!
For the dragon to be asleep.
She asked only for the dragon to be asleep.
The two slipped, wary and silent, inside the cave.
Marit’s runes illuminated the cavern. The entrance was not very wide or high—the dragon must have a tight fit to squeeze inside, as was evidenced by a crust-like coating of glittering red scales lining the top and sides of the rock.
The entry tunnel opened, expanding upward and outward to form a large, roughly circular room. Marit’s bluish-red rune-light reflected off damp walls, lit most of the chamber except the top—which disappeared into darkness—and an opening in the very back. She drew Hugh’s attention to that opening. It was big enough for the dragon to use. And apparently, that was what it had done, because the chamber in which they stood was empty.
Empty, except for the dragon’s gruesome trophies.
Corpses in various states of decomposition hung from chains on the walls. Men and women and children—all having obviously died in pain and torment. Hugh the Hand, who had lived with death, seen it in all its forms during his life, was sickened. He doubled over and retched.
The sheer brutality, the wanton cruelty overwhelmed even Marit. The horror of it and the attendant rage at the creature that could so callously commit such heinous acts combined to nearly rob her of her senses. The cavern began to swim in her sight. She was lightheaded, dizzy.
Afraid she was about to pass out, she lurched forward, hoping movement would stir her blood.
“Alfred!” Hugh wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He pointed.
Marit peered through the rune-lit darkness, found Alfred. She concentrated on him, banished everything else from her mind, and felt better. He was alive, though just barely, by the looks of him.
“Go to him,” Hugh said, his voice harsh from vomiting. “Ill keep watch.” He held the Cursed Blade, drawn and ready. It had begun to glow with an ugly, greenish light.
Marit hurried to Alfred’s side.
Like the countless other victims, the Sartan hung from chains. His wrists were manacled to the wall above his head. His feet dangled near the floor, the toes barely touching. His head was bowed down. He might have been dead but for the sound of rasping breath which Hugh had heard outside the cavern. His gasping breaths were much louder in here.
Marit touched him as gently as she could, hoping to rouse him without frightening him. But at the brush of her fingers against his cheek, Alfred moaned, his body convulsed, his heels clattered against the rock wall.
Marit clapped her hand over his mouth, forced his head up, made him look at her. She dared not say anything aloud, and a whisper would probably mean little to him in his state.
He stared at her with wild, bulging eyes in which there was no recognition, only fear and pain. He struggled instinctively against her, but he was far too weak to break free. His clothes were soaked with blood. Blood spread in pools beneath his feet, yet his flesh—as far as Marit could tell—was whole and undamaged.
The dragon had slashed and torn his flesh, then healed him back up. Probably many times. Even the broken arm had been healed. But the true damage was in the mind. Alfred was very far gone.
“Hugh!” Marit had to risk calling, and though it was no more than a loud whisper, the name echoed eerily through the cavern. She flinched, did not dare repeat it.
Hugh edged his way toward her, never taking his eyes from the back of the cave. “I thought I heard something move inside there. Better make this quick.”
Just exactly what she couldn’t do!
“If I don’t heal him,” she said softly, “he’ll never make it out of the cave alive. He doesn’t even recognize me.”
Hugh glanced at Alfred, then at Marit. Hugh had seen the Patryn healers at work; he knew what it entailed. Marit would have to concentrate all her magical power on Alfred. She would have to draw his injuries into herself, release her life-giving energy to him. For long moments, she would be as incapacitated as he was. When the healing process was concluded, both of them would be weak.
Hugh gave a brief nod to show he understood; then he returned to his post.
Marit reached up, touched the manacles that held Alfred, softly spoke the runes. Blue fire twined from her arm; the manacles released. Alfred sagged to the cavern floor, lay sprawled in his own blood. He had lost consciousness.
Swiftly, Marit knelt beside him. Clasping his hands in hers—right in left, left in right—she joined the circle of their beings, called on the magic to heal him.
A series of fantastic, beautiful, wonderful, and frightening images flooded Marit’s mind. She was above Abri, far above Abri—not just on the city walls, but as if she stood on the top of a mountain, looking down on the city below. And then she leapt from the mountain and fell—but she was not falling. She was soaring in the sky, gliding on unseen currents as she might have glided on water. She was flying.
The experience was terrifying until she grew accustomed to it. And then it was thrilling. She had enormous, powerful wings, taloned front claws, a long and graceful neck, tearing teeth. She was huge and awe-inspiring, and when she swooped down upon her enemies, they fled in shrieking terror. She was Alfred, the Serpent Mage.
She hovered protectively over Abri, scattered its enemies, threw down those bold enough to fight. She saw Lord Xar and Haplo—small and insignificant creatures—and she felt Alfred’s fear for his friends, his determination to help . . .
And then a shadow glimpsed from the corner of the eye ... a desperate swerve in midair . . . too late. Something struck her side, sent her rolling, out of control. She was tumbling, spiraling downward. Frantically, she beat her wings, clawed her way back up. She could see her enemy now, a red dragon.
Taloned feet extended, the dragon plunged through the sky, aiming for her . . .
Confused images of falling, crashing to the ground. Marit shuddered in pain, bit her lip to keep from crying out. Part of her was Alfred, part of her was flowing into Alfred, but part of her was still in the dragon’s cavern, still very much aware of the danger.
And she could see Hugh, tense and alert, staring into the blackness in the back of the cavern, his face gone rigid. He turned toward her, gesturing, mouthing something. She couldn’t hear, but then she didn’t need to hear.
The dragon was coming.
“Alfred!” Marit pleaded, clasping the man’s wrists more tightly. “Alfred, come back!”
He stirred and groaned. His eyelids fluttered. He caught hold of her, held on to her.
Horrid images slammed into Marit—a bulbous tail inflicting searing, paralyzing, numbing pain; swirling hot darkness; waking to torment and agony. Marit could no longer hold back the screams.
The dragon slid into the cavern.
4
The dragon had been concealed in the shadows of its back exit all along, watching the two would-be saviors, waiting for the precise moment when they were weakest, most vulnerable, to attack. It had first heard the two in the forest, guessed that they had come in search of their friend. The dragon would have attacked them then and there, since it knew by experience that few Patryns would attempt such a hopeless rescue. But the dragon quite simply didn’t feel up to such a fight and so it had, with regret, contented itself with one toy.