"The dragons used to own this world. They had run of Levaal for a very long time. Everyone knows that much. The greater ones each had a region as his or her own. They fought at times, but not as often as we do. There were G.o.ds back then, but only three: Mountain, Tempest and Inferno. The old G.o.ds. But we are not concerned with them.
"Of the dragons, there are eight Major personalities remaining. They are the original and only brood of the great Dragon, their Parent, overseer, guardian of Levaal, the Link. And protector of your world, Eric."
"My world?"
She smiled at him, sadly it seemed. "I told Case on the castle lawns that Levaal means link which protects. This world is the Link between your world and the world you would eventually come to if you went past World"s End, down the far half of the Great Dividing Road, to Southern Levaal"s far side, and on through the far Entry Point. There is another world on that side, Eric, though whether it is like yours or not, none say. And you would find, guarding that Entry Point, another Dragon-G.o.d, like the one that sleeps somewhere near our Entry Point.
"Yes, there are two Dragon-G.o.ds," said Stranger, noticing a look exchanged between Loup and Far Gaze. "They guard their respective worlds like hounds asleep at the front door. The worlds on either end of the Link are not compatible, or so it appears. The realities, it seems, do not mix. One will consume the other, if they begin to overlap. Yet both realities are drawn to each other. Levaal is for want of better a word their battleground." She smiled. "And we put so much stock in our human squabbles and feuds! If either of the great Dragon-G.o.ds were slain, or sufficiently weakened, one reality would displace the other. It may be your world"s reality, Eric, which loses. Or your world"s reality may triumph and spread itself to a new place."
"Levaal"s reality is not my world"s reality," said Eric.
"But in some ways they are similar. No? Or you and I could not live here. Dyan would not tell me what is in Southern Levaal, nor what is found through the far Entry Point beyond it. Would you go through a door there too, Eric, if you found one?"
"Nope."
Stranger played with a winding dark thread which fluttered over to her from the platform. "The strain between the opposing worlds, the conflict, the "war" if you wish, has gone on as long as either world has existed. The point the two straining forces meet is World"s End. Where until recently the Wall stood."
She paused to suck thin curling wisps of magic air. Loup watched her closely as though expecting an outbreak of spell-casting. A little glimmer played in her eyes, violet like Far Gaze"s eyes had been earlier, though hers were not as bright.
She went on. "The Wall was made when humans were brought to live here. Dyan thinks the Wall was put up so that the second great Dragon would not know human beings dwelled in this half of Levaal; so it would not know that all the dragons had been replaced by something new. But these are Dyan"s words; if you are distrustful of me, you are surely distrustful of him. And everything I tell you is suspect."
"Leave that decision to me. Speak on," said Far Gaze. His back was turned to her and his eyes were closed. Loup too did not look at her directly as she spoke. "How were the dragon-youth imprisoned?"
"Dyan knows, but he never told me, and he spoke as though the subject brought him bad memories. I know the Major personalities fought their Parent. They lost. Eight were spared there were once twelve. Of the slain not even ghosts are left and the dragons never speak of them.
"The eight survivors surrendered and agreed to their imprisonment. This realm was cleared of all dragons except the little drakes, who remained to serve the world"s new owners. Us."
"Why did this happen?"
"Because humans came to your world, Eric," she said. "I don"t know the tale of their arrival in Otherworld. But did not dragons used to live there?"
"Dragons ... no. Dinosaurs, yes."
"A strange word. Great magical beasts, were they not?"
"I don"t know if they had magic or not. We found enormous bones buried in the ground, from ancient times. But that"s all."
"So it is true. Dyan says dragons called your world home. And when your world was cleared of dragons, so too was this one. When humans took their first steps across your world, so too were they brought here. The Dragon-G.o.d shunted aside Its own young to make room for us. But the dragon-youth, and the Minor personalities who are still imprisoned with them, have never stopped wanting freedom. They move to claim it. Whether that means they intend a clash with their Parent, or whether they have ways to avoid such a clash, I do not know.
"And here is the heart of it. The dragons do not have room in their reclaimed world for any of us. They have little love for us, we small weak self-important beings whose existence denies them their freedom."
"Not for any of us?" said Far Gaze with a half smile.
Stranger smiled too, without humour. "You guess well. They intend to keep a small number of us alive. Those of us who help them gain their freedom. They call this group the Favoured. I was told I was one of these. But before you call me a traitor to my kind, that was not why I helped Dyan. I helped him because I loved him."
Far Gaze quietly laughed. "How many Favoured will there be?" he said.
"I was not told. Enough to fill a city, enough to fill a house, I do not know."
Across the room, Gorb had been busy watching Bald the Engineer trying to build a new version of Eric"s gun and trying to keep him quiet. The half-giant it seemed had been following the conversation, for his voice carried across the room: "Over at the village, if we ever need to kill some sheep, we say soothing things. To lead them to slaughter with no fuss. I don"t know any dragons. But I"ll bet they don"t think much more of us than we do of sheep."
5.
"Tell us about Dyan," said Far Gaze. "What does he want?"
"It"s a mistake to think all the dragons are of the same mind, any more than we are," she said. "Dyan does not hate us. He enjoys women very much. He enjoyed his spell play with you, found you a delightful novelty. He would never have killed you. Among the Major personalities, there is division. Four, I think, hate us with fury and poison we cannot imagine. Others Vyin, Hyan do not blame us for the crime of existing. But they are only two. And of those two, Vyin may be the only true friend we have among the great Dragons. The idea of the Favoured is a compromise between them all. Without Vyin, there would not even be that much."
"If Dyan could escape, why can"t the rest of them?" said Eric.
"You are asking me to guess," she said. "Dyan must have known he and I would part, for he did not tell me everything. I know nothing of the magic that holds the dragons in their prisons. They have not often tried to break out, fearing their Parent would wake and slay them. I would guess Dyan was instructed to try, to see if this would occur. Surely the Majors helped him do it. Perhaps he has tasks to perform for them. Perhaps he defied them and got free of his own will."
Far Gaze said, "You hold something back. For which dragon does he work?"
"For himself," she said, face in hands. "I tire of this interrogation!" She took a few deep breaths of magic, muttered to herself.
"What did you just cast?" cried Loup.
"Nothing! Ease yourself, you need not fear me. As for Dyan, he has had a taste of freedom. He"s revelling in it. He is supposed to watch us. For which member of the brood I am unsure, nor may you be certain he will do his duty. He is rebellious. And he does not hate us. He may be quite content for his kindred to remain where they are. Why would he care? He is free, and here in this realm he is mighty compared to us, beholden to no one."
"Would he help us, then?" said Far Gaze. "Can you bring him to our side?"
She laughed. "Our side in the war among cities? Why would he care about that? Why would any of the dragons? Do Lords care about feuding neighbours in their realm?"
"We aren"t beneath their notice," said Eric. "Your dragon friend followed us all the way from the castle to World"s End. If he"s spying on us for the greater dragons it means they"re interested in us, too. And I think we all know that means they"re very interested in me. Or should I say in Shadow?"
"Everyone is," said Loup. "The Mayors, the dragons, even that foul-faced b.a.s.t.a.r.d Arch Mage."
"Enough!" Aziel yelled, surprising everyone. She had seemed asleep throughout. She rose from her bed. "Don"t talk about Arch like that. You don"t know him. Just because he"s ugly on the outside, you think he"s ugly inside. Well you"re all ugly to me, fouler than death." In tears she ran down the steps.
Far Gaze said, "Don"t let her escape. Stranger, mind her. Please," he added sarcastically with a bow to Eric.
Stranger went to leave, taking one last big sniff of the magic airs winding above the platform. It made her cough violently. "What is it?" said Loup. "You cast something?"
"No! Bad airs in what I just breathed. Foreign. Just a trace, mixed with the rest."
"She"s right," said Far Gaze. "I don"t need the mongrel"s nose to scent that bad airs approach."
When she"d gone Far Gaze called Gorb over. "Can I trust her?" he said.
The half-giant rubbed his chin, thinking about it. "She knows more"n she tells," he said slowly. "Sadness is the main thing in her right now, real deep. Makes it hard to see the other stuff behind it. I can"t figure out mages as well as regular people. She doesn"t plan any harm from my reckoning, though she don"t like you at all." He nodded at Far Gaze. "These others, she"s no issue with."
"Will you watch her for me, Gorb? Don"t let her leave the tower without my knowledge, under any circ.u.mstance."
"I"ll try," said the half-giant. "I fight good. But mages can be tricky."
VISITORS.
1.
Impaired by tears in her eyes, Aziel nearly went head-first down the steps.
On the lower floor the drake was by the window. She ran to it and crouched by its head. "Take me home, quickly," she whispered into its ear. "These are enemies. They"re going to kill me, or ... use me somehow. Why did you bring me here, you horrid thing? They sent you to get me, didn"t they?"
The drake"s big emerald eyes peered into hers as though he wished she"d shoosh and let him sleep. Which was preposterous. "Come on, take me home!" she said, slapping its rump as hard as she dared. The drake groaned and heaved up some spit on the floor with a horrible noise. "What"s wrong? You"re sick. Serves you right!"
"Aziel!" cried a voice. "Aziel, come quickly!"
She started and looked around. Stranger"s footsteps sounded coming down the stairs, but the voice had come from much closer. "Aziel! I heard you! Come here!"
There in a triangular shard of the broken window was Ghost, the large hollow-eyed face being jostled on all sides by the others. She picked up the gla.s.s and brought it near the drake so that from across the room Stranger would think she spoke to the creature instead. "How did you find me here?" she whispered.
"Very difficult! We"ve been going to every window and mirror we can find. So many windows! We"re so happy you"re here. Are you hurt?" Ghost sounded more frightened than she"d ever heard it.
"My legs are sore from riding this terrible monster. It stole me from my room!"
"We know. We told Arch about it. But Aziel. Is did they your chast.i.ty, is it-"
"Never you mind that! Go and tell Arch where I am."
"We"ll tell him, but where is this place?"
"I don"t know." She described as best she could remember their flight path to the tower. "There were some woods not too far. In the shape of a shoe, from high up. Then fields, lots of fields for miles and miles. Tell Arch that they have me! Quickly! Tell him to rescue me before they do something horrible. It"s so awful, everyone sleeps in the same room! They have a half-giant here and he smells bad. Those things eat people!"
"Who are you speaking to, Aziel?" said Stranger, walking over.
Ghost whimpered in fright. "I"ll tell him!" it said, then vanished.
"No one," said Aziel, smiling nervously up at Stranger. "Just the drake. I think he"s ill."
Obligingly the drake retched again, heaving violently and spilling great strings of clear spit onto the floor. "Help him!" Aziel ordered.
Stranger laughed. "Evidently I rank low even among the captives," she said. "I will obey, O Aziel." She crouched beside the beast and gently stroked its head. "What"s wrong, little dragon? Have you eaten something you shouldn"t have? Is there flame in there that needs to come out? Stick your head out the window, if you have to. Don"t set any fires in here."
The walls creaked as though the tower were in agreement. But the drake breathed no fire. With a horrible choking sound a glut of liquid poured through its open jaws across the floor.
Something shone brightly in the midst of its spew. It was a necklace, gleaming and shimmering. Aziel and Stranger both gasped.
Stranger crouched down beside it. "Vyin"s," she whispered reverently. She reached for it, then drew her hand back with some effort. "Don"t touch it, girl," she told Aziel sternly. "I mean it. You don"t know what it is or what it will do. But one of the dragon-youth touched it. Very recently. That means whatever it is, it"s dangerous." Stranger looked at the drake in wonder. "Where have you been, little dragon? What have you seen and heard?"
Case the drake groaned and lay back down by the window to sleep with a guilty look at the mess he"d made. Stranger ran upstairs to get the others.
Aziel stared at the necklace, amazed at how its gleaming prettiness shifted when she closed one eye, then the other. She took a step to the right and found it took on a new set of hues, colours she hadn"t ever seen before mixed in with sparkling golds, reds and blues. Two steps the other way and it changed again, seeming to draw the room"s light about it, making it swirl like a hoop of gems in motion.
She went closer to it, crouched down unmindful of the drake"s stinking mess, and reached out just as the others came to the bottom of the steps.
"Don"t touch!" Loup cried.
"Aziel, leave it!" yelled Stranger.
Barbarians! She would not take orders from them. She slipped the necklace over her head to demonstrate the point. There was a flash of white fire like a lightning strike. Where its metal touched her skin was a coldness so intense it only hurt for an instant before cutting off all feeling. She gasped and fell to the floor as the necklace fused to her, embedded in her as securely as the drake wore his scales.
2.
The others ran to Aziel"s body but could not get close enough to touch. A wall of heat had come up about her so strong it was a wonder she herself was not engulfed in flame. She appeared unhurt; her chest rose and fell, her face like someone peacefully sleeping.
"She"ll survive," said Stranger, "though I doubt she will be unchanged."
They sat as close as they could and watched her. The heat about Aziel gradually subsided.
"What can you tell of that charm?" said Far Gaze.
"Very little. I can tell it is a great work, but so can you. Vyin crafted it, I think. His is the only touch I see upon it."
"What"s it do?" said Loup. "I can"t make sense of those patterns."
"Nor I," said Stranger. "Nor I suppose could any human. But Vyin"s having made it should be a relief to you."
They lingered around Aziel"s sleeping body until the heat had eased off enough to crouch beside her. Very carefully, Loup reached a gnarled old hand down and tried to lift the charm from Aziel"s neck, but it was not to be moved. "It"s picked its wearer," he muttered. "Won"t get it off, not easy anyway."
"I"m not so sure it was meant for her," said Stranger, looking at Eric.
"Then let it choose again," said Far Gaze. He went and returned with a hunting knife.
"Don"t cut her," Stranger warned.
"Not more than I need to," he said, lip curling. "We can"t have blood spill from our Friend and Lord"s daughter, can we? Not after all he"s done for us. Relax. Loup and I both know arts of healing. I promise not to enjoy myself too much." He delicately brought the knife"s tip to the necklace. The second it touched Aziel"s skin the knife was flung across the room and Far Gaze was sent sprawling backward, clutching his chest. Blood gushed from his nose. "One learns," he muttered when his breath returned.