Moon stiffened just as all the others had. Virikhad"s influence? Singe turned to face Dah"mir. "It"s done," he said. He didn"t need to feign the bitter rage he felt. He might have saved Moon, but who could tell what would happen to the other sixteen kalashtar?
"Good. Now get back up to the deck. Quickly!"
It was tempting to move slowly on the stairs if only to inconvenience Dah"mir. Once again, the heron stalked awkwardly in his wake, driving him onward with prods from his sharp beak. Every jab just stirred greater anger in Singe and he might have stopped and refused to move-he might even have tested just how tough a dragon in heron form was-if he hadn"t wanted to know as badly as Dah"mir what was happening at the mound.
The answer was obvious as soon as he reached the deck and peered over the side.
They were coming up fast on the Bonetree mound. Approached from ground level or along the river that ran nearby, the mound was an astounding sight, rising proud and ma.s.sive from the flatness around it. From above, though, it just looked like a wart on the land-a wart painted angry red by the setting sun.
Spread out before it were hundreds of small shapes milling around in chaos. The raking light of the sun struck sparks from the blades of weapons shaken in the direction of the airship and Singe could just catch the faint whisper of war cries.
"Twelve moons!" he gasped.
"Orcs!" Vennet shouted from the helm. "Orcs, master! We can"t land!"
Dah"mir settled onto the rail close to Singe and glared down as if he were able to see every detail of the distant warriors. "Gatekeepers! How could they have-" His head came up and his acid-green eyes turned on Singe. "There was always one of you missing, wasn"t there?" he said in a hiss. "Geth was never in Sharn!"
Singe gave him an angry grin. "Aye!" he said. "But he"s probably down there!"
"He won"t be for much longer." Dah"mir"s voice rose. "Vennet, keep the ship high while I deal with this." He gave Singe another look and his eyes narrowed. "And kill our guest before he causes trouble. We have enough distractions now."
Singe"s gut rose.
"But master-" Vennet began in protest.
"Just do it, Vennet!" Dah"mir screamed-and flung himself over the rail.
CHAPTER.
22.
His small dark form dropped rapidly, falling away from and behind the airship.
Then abruptly he was no longer small. A dragon"s form cut the air and a dragon"s powerful wings scooped at the wind. In just a few wing beats, Dah"mir caught up to the speeding airship, then surged ahead of her as the deck tilted and Vennet guided the ship higher into the sky. A roar burst from Dah"mir and he dived at the orcs before the Bonetree mound.
Singe couldn"t tear himself away from the terrible spectacle that unfolded below. The light of dusk that struck Dah"mir"s blackened copper scales turned him into a ma.s.sive bolt of dark, unholy flame. The milling chaos of the orcs seemed to come together into order at the sight of the danger falling from above. Clumps of warriors condensed out of the madness, each standing firm. Dah"mir"s wings dipped and he turned, angling toward the largest concentration of the warriors, a ma.s.sive cl.u.s.ter that stood before the entrance to the mound. Arrows rose in a small dark cloud to meet him, but the dragon ignored them.
His ma.s.sive jaws opened and a gout of acid poured out to wash through the heart of the cl.u.s.ter as Dah"mir swept overhead. His wings tilted again, and he soared up once more-and in his wake, orc warriors turned on smoking ground and unleashed another volley of arrows. Around them, other orcs that must have been druids lowered their hunda sticks.
"Yes!" Singe shouted. "Yes!" When Dah"mir had revealed himself during the first battle before the Bonetree mound, he"d caught everyone by surprise. This time, the orcs were ready with Gatekeeper magic to turn aside his acid. Other magic shimmered as well. The air seemed to fold, and half a dozen eagles burst out of nowhere to pursue the dragon-gigantic eagles with wingspans of easily ten paces. Roaring in fury at an easy victory denied, Dah"mir whirled in the air. His jaws snapped at one eagle, caught it, and shook like a dog shaking a rat, then let the limp body drop to the ground below. He dived to make another pa.s.s at the orc warriors.
But Singe wasn"t the only one watching the battle. A scream of outrage near the stern of the airship dragged him back. He spun around.
Vennet stood at the ship"s helm, pushing the ship in a wide upward spiral though he leaned to see what was going on below. Singe"s movement brought his head up. For a moment, the two men stared at each other-then Singe reached inside himself and drew up one of the last spells remaining to him. Hot words of magic sprang from his tongue and his fingers flicked toward Vennet.
Quick as he was, Vennet was quicker and he had the entire airship to use as a weapon. Before the spell could take shape, the half-elf howled and spun the wheel.
The deck pitched hard to the side. Singe"s feet slid under him and he went staggering. Half-formed sparks scorched his hands as his concentration broke and his spell faltered and faded. Vennet spun the wheel back. Singe rolled the other way, almost falling this time. The loss of his eye made it hard to compensate for the rocking of the deck. His fingers sc.r.a.ped across wood as he tried to regain his balance.
Vennet"s laugh made a sound like breaking gla.s.s, another harsh sound in the a.s.sault on Singe"s ears. Dah"mir"s bellows. The screeches of the Gatekeepers" summoned eagles as they died. Distant shouts from the orcs. A closer roaring of flame as the elemental bound to Mayret"s Envy burned with furious joy at the airship"s wild tossing and speeding ascent. Vennet"s hands tightened on the wheel and his eyes narrowed in concentration.
Singe knew something of the way airships were controlled. The real control wasn"t in how the wheel was turned-the wheel was just a prop, a remnant of more conventional waterborne ships. True control lay in the captain"s touch on the wheel and in his command of the elemental bound into the ring around the ship"s belly.
And at Vennet"s silent command, the elemental hissed and crackled like fire in an alchemist"s furnace. The angle of the ship"s climb became steeper and with it the angle of the deck. Singe clenched his teeth. No point wasting precious magic. He pushed off from the deck and dashed at Vennet, running with the cant of the deck instead of trying to fight it.
Vennet"s laughter turned into a curse. He pulled one hand from the wheel and thrust it at Singe. "Sweep him off my ship!" he commanded.
Singe was ready for the blast of wind this time. He threw himself to the side, out of the gale"s path, and felt only a swirling breeze as he rolled back to his feet and leaped at Vennet. The half-elf tried to draw his cutla.s.s, but Singe hit him before he even had his free hand on the weapon"s hilt, carrying him backward and slamming him to the deck.
Vennet"s other hand jerked from the wheel as Singe tore him away. Obedient to the half-elf"s last command, however, the ship continued to climb. Both Singe and Vennet tumbled toward the ship"s stern. Vennet shouted and tried to tear himself away, but Singe held onto him, punching at him as best he could. The smell of rot was thick around Vennet, though, and the foul pus that oozed from his broken skin made it slick. Vennet jabbed a fist at his blind side and slid free as Singe"s grasp weakened for a moment.
But Singe had what he wanted. His hand was on the hilt of his rapier where it hung from Vennet"s waist, and as Vennet pulled away, the motion drew the blade from the scabbard. Singe staggered, found his balance, and thrust.
The point of the blade opened a long red gash along the side of Vennet"s left forearm before he could reach the wheel. The mad man gasped and recoiled, then his face twisted and he drew his cutla.s.s. Metal rang on metal as he caught Singe"s next attack and turned it aside.
Singe fought with a frenzy that came on him like a second fever. He could already feel his strength fading, sapped by hunger and captivity. He needed to make every blow count.
But Vennet"s blows were frenzied too. His heavy, chopping attacks had no grace or dexterity, but they had the strength of madness behind them. Vennet threw himself into the fight with ferocity. Spittle ran from the corner of his mouth and streaked across his cheek. He swung his cutla.s.s hard, aiming for Singe"s blind side, and Singe had to turn and turn again to escape him. He got his left side against the rail for protection, but Vennet had the better of him now. The ship"s wheel forgotten, the half-elf forced him step by step up the sloping deck toward the bow.
A roar broke out somewhere below them, so loud and angry that both men glanced over the side for an instant, swords still crossed. Singe was shocked to see how high the airship had flown. The sweep of the Shadow Marches lay spread out before them.
Dah"mir had finally noticed their uncontrolled ascent, however. Wings straining, acid-green eyes bright in the gathering dusk, he climbed after them. "Vennet! Bring the ship down!"
Singe swung back to Vennet, ready for a renewed attack-and froze. The other man was staring past him with a look of alarm replacing the rage on his face. Singe twisted, looking over his shoulder to see what he was staring at.
The kalashtar had come onto the deck. They stood before the hatch that led below, eerily silent. Their stares, though still blank, were no longer turned toward Dah"mir. Instead, they turned to the young kalashtar who stood at their head. Moon-or Virikhad. Pinp.r.i.c.k eyes met Singe"s.
"What are they doing here?" Vennet choked. His free hand grabbed for Singe"s arm. "What have you done?"
Silver-white light flared near the stern. Both Singe and Vennet turned toward it and Singe"s hollow gut wrenched. Before the airship"s helm stood Medala, gaunter than ever, her gray hair wilder. Her pupils were the same pinp.r.i.c.ks of black as Moon"s.
He and Dandra might have guessed that she was still alive, but actually seeing Medala again was like a blow. Fear burst inside Singe, and he acted on reflex, flinging out a hand and shouting a word of magic. Flames leaped from his hand in a searing blast.
Medala simply winked out in another silver-white flash. The magical fire washed over the helm and the wood of the wheel flared and burned, charring away in a heartbeat- Singe"s already knotted stomach seemed ready to turn into a heavy stone. Vennet let out a wail and rushed for the burning, useless wheel. A shudder ran through the ship. The great elemental ring flared with new intensity, and they began to climb even more quickly.
In the same instant, Medala reappeared with another flash to stand before Moon. Ignoring everything happening around them, the two kalashtar looked at each other.
"You did well," Medala said.
"Dah"mir succeeded in Sharn," Virikhad said with Moon"s voice. "And here?"
Medala"s face twisted. "There are complications. We must hurry." She held out her hand.
Moon"s rose to meet it, and when their fingers touched, it seemed as if a silver-white spark leaped between them as a strange crystalline ringing shimmered on the air. A moan like someone waking in great pain escaped Moon"s lips and he went limp. Medala released his fingers and let him fall to the deck, then drew a deep breath. "Together," she said, and it seemed to Singe that he heard two voices emerge from her mouth.
Then she-and Singe and Vennet-whirled as Dah"mir came rushing up past the side of the ship. The sound of the dragon"s wings was like the clap of thunder. His eyes burned.
Even as his legs folded under him, some part of Singe"s mind wondered if any other living soul had ever seen such a look of utter surprise on the face of a dragon. Dah"mir stared at Medala with wide eyes and an open mouth. Medala gave him a grim smile. "Too late, Dah"mir," she said.
The light that burst around her was blinding. Singe flung up an arm to shield his eyes, but the brightness faded in an instant-and Medala and the kalashtar were gone with it. Only Moon remained, sprawled on the deck.
Dah"mir"s roar shook the ship. His forelegs crashed down, hooking over the rails, and the entire vessel listed and sank as his weight hung from her. His great head thrust at Singe. "Where has she gone?" he demanded. Fetid breath stinking of blood and acid choked Singe. His ears felt like they would burst from the dragon"s shout. He couldn"t have answered if he"d known, but Dah"mir"s eyes narrowed and something flashed in his eyes. "By the progenitors," he hissed.
He kicked away with such force that timbers cracked and the airship shot sideways at the same time that she bounced upright and began to climb again. Singe clung to the ship"s rail to avoid being thrown across the deck. Roaring his anger, Dah"mir arced away from the ship, folding his wings and plummeting back toward the battlefield. His wings snapped open at the last moment to slow his dive and Singe saw him thrust his forelegs out. Sparks of red flashed from the Eberron dragonshards embedded there.
Tangled blue arcs of lightning leaped from his claws to rake the twilight battlefield. Against the searing flash, Singe saw the dark cl.u.s.ters that were orc warriors scatter into specks. As they scattered, Dah"mir"s form shrank as he transformed into a heron once more. From so great a height, the black bird might have vanished into the shadows of gathering night-but Singe could guess where Dah"mir had gone.
The flaring arcs of lightning had pointed the way to the dark mouth of the tunnel that pierced the Bonetree mound.
"Master! Master!" Vennet was at the rail, shaking with impotent rage. "Dah"mir, help me!"
The crackling of the fiery ring around the ship was like a song of freedom, as if the elemental bound within it knew that it could no longer be controlled. Singe"s arms and legs felt stiff as wood, but he turned his head to look up at the sky and wondered just how high they might go.
Then the air nearby shimmered, parted, and Dandra stepped out.
Singe couldn"t think of when he"d ever seen anyone look so beautiful. Her red-brown skin glowed under the light of the ring and in the sunlight that still reached over the rim of the world below. Her hair flowed in the wind of the ship"s pa.s.sage like a cascade of black water. Her dark eyes flashed, and her jaw was set with fiery determination. For an instant, he thought she had to be some kind of dream, but then Vennet let out a gasp and stared at her too.
Dandra ignored the half-elf. Her feet pushed off from the deck, and she skimmed through the air to Singe"s side. He saw her face tighten with anguish at the sight of his injured face, but she didn"t pause or hesitate. "Can you stand?" she asked, offering him her hand.
He took it, but the only word that he could force out of his mouth was "How?" She"d used the long step to reach him, but he knew her mastery of the power wasn"t enough to let her travel far.
She pointed in answer, and Singe"s jaw dropped.
The circling of Mayret"s Envy had brought the southern sky into view. Against the glow of the Ring of Siberys, another airship stood out a short distance away, encircled with a ring of streaming cloud instead of fire and racing to keep up with the out of control ship.
"Twelve moons!" he gasped. "Where did you get-?"
"Biish"s second target!" Dandra said as she hauled Singe to his feet. "A second airship to steal if he couldn"t get the first one for Dah"mir. Are the captive kalashtar still on board?"
"No, only Moon. Medala-"
Dandra took his chin in her hand and turned his face to hers. Kesh opened between them. Show me, said Dandra.
It took only a moment for him to show her what he had seen and heard. Her eyes hardened. "Light of il-Yannah." Her arm wrapped around his shoulders and drew him close. "Hold tight. We"re leaving."
The invisible pressure of vayhatana wrapped around him before he could even blink. Over Dandra"s shoulder, he saw Moon"s body rise and move closer, also caught by the force of her will.
But with the young kalashtar came Vennet, racing across the deck. "Save me!" he shouted. "You have to save me!"
Singe turned his head and bared his teeth at him. "The Master of Silence rewarded you with the Siberys Mark of Storm, didn"t he?" he said as smoothly as the hatred that twisted inside him would allow. "Command the wind to save you."
Vennet"s face brightened. "Storm at dawn! Yes!" He turned to face into the wind of the airship"s pa.s.sage and raised his arms. "Come!" he shouted, his hair whipping around his face. "Come! Your master commands it! Carry me to safety!"
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen-then Vennet"s feet rose from the deck of the ship.
A grin of triumph spread across his face. "I bear the Mark of Siberys!" he said. His voice rose into a howl. "The wind answers me! I command the storm!" He kicked himself away from the deck and drifted effortlessly toward the ship"s rail. The fear that had been in his eyes turned to rage as he glared at Singe and Dandra. "You will pay for your defiance of the powers of Khyber. Try to escape! I will blast you from the air!"
He pushed himself from the rail to stand firm on the empty air beyond and spread his arms again. "Vennet d"Lyrandar," he crowed, "controls the skies!"
"Enjoy them," said Dandra and through kesh, Singe felt her release a small part of her concentration.
There was confusion in Vennet"s eyes as he dropped and terror in the scream that faded into the distance below. Dandra"s arm tightened around Singe. He squeezed her back, then glanced at her.
"How do we get down?" he asked.
Her lips pressed together. "The same way," she said and called out with her mind, Mithas, be ready!
The unseen threads of vayhatana surged, flinging them off the deck of the airship, and they fell. The elemental ring of the ship pa.s.sed over their heads in a roaring blaze. Singe squeezed his eyes shut and screamed.
Then something grabbed them and held them steady in mid-air. Singe opened his eyes. He still clung to Dandra, Dandra still clung to him, Moon floated silently next to them, and the other airship was slowing to a stop just below. On her deck stood Mithas d"Deneith, a wand in his grasp pointing at them. He gestured with the wand, and they began to sink. Singe remembered the wand the sorcerer had displayed over Sharn and his boast that he could save Ashi from falling. He was pleased to see that for once Mithas hadn"t just been boasting.
Ashi and Natrac were on the deck as well and reached up for them as they descended. There was another person on the ship. Standing at the helm was a half-elf woman whose face had haunted Singe"s fevered dreams. He stared at her then looked at Dandra. "Vennet threw her overboard in Sharn!"
"I thought she was you and caught her with vayhatana," Dandra said. "She"s Benti. Stealing the second airship was her suggestion. By the time we had her, your ship was out of sight. We guessed at where Dah"mir would be taking the kalashtar, but the Bonetree mound isn"t on any airship charts-we had to fly to Zarash"ak then follow the river north. We"re lucky Dah"mir was too busy fighting the orcs and chasing your ship to notice our approach."
Singe barely heard her explanation. He blinked at Dandra. "Biish"s Benti?"
Her lips curved. "Not exactly."
Then they were on the deck, and everyone was bustling around him and Moon. Dandra made him sit down. Natrac thrust a flask into his mouth, holding it there until Singe had drained the contents. The liquid inside was viciously bitter, but Singe felt the tingle of magical healing almost immediately. New strength flowed into his limbs, and while his belly remained empty, he thought like he could go another day before he needed a meal.
The potion didn"t bring his eye back-not that he had expected it would. It would take more magic than could be found in a potion to do that. Natrac glanced at the empty eye socket. "Vennet"s work?" he asked. Singe nodded. The half-orc grimaced and twisted his knife-hand so the long blade flashed. "Too bad you got to him before me," he said.
A scarf fluttered down over Singe"s head. "Cover it up," Mithas said in distaste.
Singe pulled the scarf from his face and looked up at the sorcerer. "You"re the last person I would have expected to come on a rescue mission."
Mithas"s expression was sour. "I"m protecting my investment," he said. "Ashi insisted on coming. She pointed out that our bargain was that she would let me take her to the lords of Deneith after everyone was safe. I didn"t realize she included you in that."
"As long as you sell people out to advance yourself, Mithas, you"re not going to understand someone like Ashi." Singe pushed himself to his feet and away from the sorcerer. "I want to see Moon."
"That"s good," said Ashi, stepping up to them. "He"s awake and he wants to see you." She paid scant attention to Mithas.
Moon was crouched on the other side of the deck, knees drawn up to his chest and rocking back and forth. Dandra had put a blanket over his shoulders, but he kept shrugging it off. He looked up as Singe approached, and the wizard saw that there was something in his eyes that hadn"t been there before. For the first time, he was seeing Moon alone, not Moon with Virikhad"s presence behind him.
The young kalashtar tried to rise, but Dandra held him down. Singe dropped to kneel beside him. He glanced at Dandra, his lips shaping a silent question-what did Moon want? She shrugged. Singe met Moon"s gaze. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.
"I wanted to say thank you. For not using the binding stone on me. You could have used it and trapped Virikhad, but you didn"t." Moon swallowed. His face was pale and haunted. "I remember everything that happened. I remember what he did-" His voice caught.
"It"s not your fault, Moon," said Dandra. "You"re safe now."
"No!" Moon said sharply. Anger crossed his face. "I"m not safe. No one is safe. I still have a connection to him." He struck a fist against his ear. "I can still hear the song!"