Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles (29 page)

 
          
The
golden throne hung nearly a dozen feet above the ocean mosaic. Mik had to stand
on Shimmer’s shoulders, and—even then—his fingers barely brushed the chair’s
dragonlike legs.

 
          
“Hold
steady,” Mik called down to the knight. “I’m going to jump for it.” With that,
he launched himself into the air and caught hold of one of the throne’s legs.

 
          
As
he touched it, first his hands, then his whole body began to tingle. The glow
suffusing the chair increased, and the air crackled with magical energy.

 
          
Goosebumps
rose on Mik’s arms as he climbed, hand over hand, up to the blood-red seat. His
dark hair stood on end and wavered as though tugged by an unfelt wind.

 
          
“Are
you all right?” Shimmer called up.

 
          
“Fine,”
Mik replied, pulling himself into the seat at last. He took a long, deep breath
and settled in.

 
          
“This
is a foolish thing you’re doing!”

 
          
“Who
risks most, gains most,” Mik replied, his body quivering so much that his teeth
chattered. “I-I seek the key.”

 
          
As
he spoke, the chair began to spin. Faster and faster it went, until the room
around it blurred and Mik felt himself pressed back, into the padded seat.

 
          
Golden
lightning crackled all around. His hair shot straight out, and his skin felt as
though it were being rubbed with sandpaper.

 
          
Then
the world went away.

 
          
*
* * * *

           
The cloaked figured hurtled into
Ula, toppling the sea elf over backward. The thing smelled of sweat, brine, and
rotten fish.

 
          
Ula
cursed and rolled to one side, trying to kick the attacker off, hut the cloak
got tangled in her jewelry.

 
          
She
cursed again and pushed hard. This time, the thing
hurst
free, taking some of her jewelry and a hit
of her modesty with it. Angrily, she thrust her spear at the flabby, baglike
thing squirming on the street.

 
          
“Hey!”
the creature cried.

 
          
“Drag
me to the Abyss!” Ula said, not sure whether to laugh or weep. “What are
you
doing here?”

 
          
Tripleknot
Shellcracker got up and dusted himself off. “Well, that’s a fine hello,” he
said, frowning at Ula. “Do you always try to run your friends through?”

 
          
“Only
when I don’t know they’re my friends,” she replied, picking up her jewelry and
putting her clothing back together. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you.”

 
          
“I
suppose I am,” the kender replied. “But it’s really great to see you anyway.”
He stepped forward to embrace her, hut she hacked away.

 
          
“What
is
that smell?” she asked, crinkling
her pretty nose.

 
          
“Smell?”
Trip said.

 
          
The
sea elf groaned. “It’s the cloak. It smells like fish left in the sun for a
week.”

 
          
Trip
lifted the ragged hem of the cloak and sniffed it. “Does it?” he said. “I
hadn’t really noticed. This is genuine sea serpent, you know.” He lowered his
voice and added, “It’s
very
magical.”

 
          
Ula
huffed skeptically. “So, how did you get here, minnow?”

 
          
“Let’s
discuss it over lunch,” Trip replied. “I’m starved. I’ll even pay. I picked up
a few coins on my way here.”

 
          
By
the end of the meal, Ula had wheedled out most of the story of how Trip
obtained his cloak and how he got to Aurialastican.

 
          
“I’ve
been trying,” Trip finished, “
to find
someone to take
me to Darthalla. It isn't a popular destination, though, and finding someone
has been trickier than I thought it would be.”

 
          
“I
doubt many kender charter ships,” Ula said. “So you escaped from Berann, Lord
Kell, and the Order of Brass, made your way here by hitching a ride on a
passing ship, and even arranged to hire a boat? I must admit, I’m impressed.”

 
          
Trip
beamed at her. “Thanks, Ula. Or should I call you ‘Landwalker?’ ”

 
          
Ula
fingered the pommel of a gem-studded knife hanging from the intricate golden
chain at her waist. “Only my enemies call me ‘Landwalker.’ ”

 
          
“Ula
it is, then,” Trip replied.

 
          
“About
this ship you’ve hired ...” she said.

 
          
“Well,”
Trip said, “perhaps
hired
isn’t quite
the right word. It was going to drop some supplies at Darthalla, they agreed to
take me along—for an exorbitant fee, I might add. The captain might not have
taken me at all. But he changed his mind when I mentioned Mik’s name. I guess
he’s an old friend of Mik’s or something.”

 
          
“Really?”
Ula asked.

 
          
“A
burly, red-headed guy,” Trip replied.
“Said his name was
Jerick.
Funny thing is
,
Mik once told me he was
dead.”

Origins

 
         
Caught
in the center of the whirlpool, Mik spun faster and faster. The walls of the
library had disappeared completely. A roaring sound, like storm-driven surf,
filled his ears.

           
He felt himself surrounded by water,
and then thrust into the open air. Waves crashed all around and thunder- heads
collided overhead. The squall moved away quickly, as though pushed from the sky
by a titanic invisible hand.

 
          
Sunlight
streamed over the aquamarine ocean, reflecting from the whitecaps and filling
the air with dazzling color. Mik soared over the waves as the Dragon Isles rose
majestically from the sea.

 
          
He
saw it all: the glorious history, the glory of the isles. He saw the thousand
metallic dragons, swarming over the islands, changing the shape and nature of
the land. He saw the first people arrive and, with the help of the dragons,
settlements became towns, and towns became cities.

 
          
Temples
sprang up, treasure flowed into the
temples, and the towns, and the cities, and the Dragon Isles became wealthy.

 
          
To
protect the isles, a mighty enchantment was raised: the Veil. A special
treasure-filled temple was built for the spell at the top of a volcano in a
remote corner of the archipelago. A great, bejewled key in four pieces was made
to seal the pact— one piece for each of the elements: diamond for earth,
emerald for water, opal for air, and ruby for fire. The dragons set a monstrous
blue-white diamond at the upper temple’s summit—above a hoard of treasure—to
commemorate the deed.

 
          
The
spell set the isles apart from the world—only those who knew its secret,
dragons and favored mortals, could pass its defenses.

 
          
Outside
the Veil, storm clouds gathered—but within, glittering dragons still filled the
skies. Over time the four keys to the
Temple
of the Sky were scattered to the comers of
the realm, and the
Temple
itself was hidden from outsiders.

 
          
Now,
in his vision, Mik.saw a key, transformed into a shining, golden gem, approach
him before the floating chair, hovering in front of him and regarding Mik like
a baleful yellow eye.

 
          
“I
seek the third key,” Mik said, fighting hard to hold his voice steady.

 
          
The
gemstone flashed and sparkled, and within it Mik saw an image of the third
piece of ancient jewelry: the opal key. It looked similar to the other two:
twisting, asymmetrical golden lines, with the blue stone set in the center. Its
shape, though, was not quite the same as that of either the diamond or the
emerald key.

 
          
“Seek
the key within,” a voice in his head intoned.

 
          
A
burning sensation welled up within Mik’s breast. An image flashed within his
mind. A satisfied feeling spread out from the center of his body toward the end
of his limbs. Mik fought down the sensation and concentrated instead on the
gem.

 
          
He
reached out, and his fingers passed through the golden orb’s surface. Fire
sprang up around his arms; his hair burst into flame. The image in his mind
spurred him on—the glittering shape of a huge blue-white diamond. He reached
farther, farther, and at last touched the key.

 
          
Mik
seized the gold and opal artifact in his fingers, just as the skin sloughed off
his arm. He held it tight, even as his flesh turned to ash, revealing the white
bone beneath.

 
          
The
next instant, the gem grew very heavy. It pulled him from the chair and he
plunged through the sky toward a volcanic island far below.

 
          
In
his head he heard the voices of his friends and former shipmates, begging him
to save himself-—begging him to let go. Trip, old Poul, Marlian, Pamak, Ula,
and many others— some alive, others dead—all beseeched him to give up the
deadly artifact.

 
          
Mik
refused. He clung tight, even as he plunged into the fires of the volcano and
his bones turned to charcoal.

 
          
“I
will not give up!” he thought.

 
          
Then
suddenly he found himself sitting back in the golden chair.

 
          
The
yellow gemstone eye hovered before him, staring into his soul. “Beware!” said
the voice in his head. “The path you walk is perilous! Know yourself and you
will know the consequences of your actions.”

 
          
The
world spun again. Lightning flashed through Mik’s body. He struggled to
breathe.

 
          
The
mosaic floor of the viewing room rushed up to meet him. He smashed his head
against the tiles and lights flashed inside his skull.

 
          
Instantly,
Shimmer appeared at his side and helped him to sit.

 
          
“Are
you all right?” the knight asked. “What happened? Did you learn anything? Did
you
see
anything?”

 
          
Mik
blinked, faying to fight down the aches in his muscles and the fire in his
head. The opal artifact in his hand shone brightly. He took a deep breath, but
things didn’t become much clearer. “How long was I up there?”

 
          
“Only a few moments.
What did you see?”

 
          
“I
saw the isles,” Mik gasped, his voice dry. “I saw them form from the sea. I saw
the dragons claim the isles as their own. 1 saw the creation of the Veil.”

 
          
Shimmer
nodded grimly.

 
          
“A
temple was at the center of it—a temple filled with diamonds.”

 
          
“Our
destination,” Shimmer said, offering him a skin of water.

 
          
Mik
drank. “Yes. I have some idea where it is, now.” He stood and stretched, a
faint smile parting his lips. “...
Which I will share at the
appropriate time.”

 
          
Shimmer
nodded. “I’m sure that Ula will be glad to hear it.” He gave Mik a hand up.

 
          
“Let’s
find her,” the sailor said.

 
          
Shimmer
nodded again, and they left, winding back down the way they’d come. When they
reached the city, they had little trouble locating Ula and Trip, who had never
quite made it to the ship the
kender
was bragging
about. Ula had, however, extricated their diminutive companion from a close
call with the local authorities.

 
          
Mik
was both surprised and glad to see Trip in Aurialastican. The kender and the
sea elf were happy to discover that Mik had obtained the opal key.

 
          
“Three
down, one to go,” Trip said, beaming.

 
          
“Aye,”
Mik said. “Now let’s find that ship.”