Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles (34 page)

 
          
“Stay
out of this,” Kell replied. “Do as I say!
Now!”

 
          
Kell’s
brass warriors surged forward. As they did, Shimmer opened his half-human
mouth. A huge cloud of greenish black gas belched forth. Shapes writhed within
the roiling cloud—hideous shapes culled from the nightmares of each warrior.

 
          
The
seamen stopped and retreated. Some dropped their weapons and fled back to their
own ship. Others cowered in the corners of
Red
Wake's
deck—keeping as far away from the bronze dragon as possible.

 
          
“Must
I do everything myself?” Kell asked, striding forward. He lowered the tip of
his coral lance.

 
          
Mik
rose to meet him, standing between the lord and his wounded comrades.

 
          
“Ula!
Are you all right?” Trip whispered frantically. “Wake
up! We’re in a real jam here!

 
          
“She’s
alive,” Mik said to Trip, though his gaze remained fixed on the brass lord.
“Though not for much longer if Kell here has his way.”

 
          
Just
then, Karista Meinor clambered aboard the Red Wake. “The key, milord,” she
said. “Vardan, the kender, and the elf aren’t important. We came for the key.
Remember?”

 
          
A
thundering scream rent the air. All eyes turned skyward as Tanalish, burnt and
bloody, swooped down toward the ship. Her body melted and changed, adopting
both human and dragon characteristics until she resembled a hideous, bat-winged
harpy.

 
          
“Let
me destroy them, Benthor Kell!” she bellowed as she approached. “The sea elf
and her hound are no match for me!” The dragon dove through the rigging toward
Shimmer and Ula.

 
          
Mik
stooped down and ripped the bejeweled key from Ula’s waist. Before anyone could
react, he rose and sprinted to the rail.

 
          
“Stop
her!” he commanded Lord Kell, dangling the artifact over the crashing waves.
“Call your dragon off, or you’ll never see the key again!”

An Uneasy
Alliance

 
         
“Milord!”
Karista gasped, eyeing the artifact nervously.

 
          
“I
mean it,” Mik said, as Tanalish swooped closer. “I’ll drop it and neither you
nor your dragon pals will ever see it again.”

 
          
“Hold,
Tanalish!” Kell cried. “Don’t kill them.”

 
          
The
harpy-like dragon backed her wings and hovered overhead. “They are worms,
Benthor Kell,” she said. “They deserve death. If he drops the trinket, I will
find it again.”

           
“Call her off,” Mik repeated. “Then
maybe we can talk.” Benthor Kell glared at Mik, then Ula. “Very well,” he said,
not taking his eyes off the sea elf. “Leave them, Tanalish.”

           
The dragon’s green eyes flashed,
but she said, “As the will of my lord, so is your own, Benthor Kell.” She
landed on the deck and resumed her human form—though the damage from her battle
with Shimmer had scarred her perfect face and figure.

 
          
“Send
your warriors back to your ship, first,” Mik said.

 
          
“Your
dragon can look after them,” added a familiar voice. Battered and bloody, Ula
slowly lifted herself off the deck and stood beside Mik.

 
          
Tanalish
glanced warily from Ula and Mik to Lord Kell. “Do not trust them, Benthor
Kell,” the dragon warned.

 
          
“I
don’t,” Kell replied. “See to the ship. I’ll call if I need you.”

 
          
The
dragon nodded and withdrew, along with Kell’s brass warriors.

 
          
Jerick
pulled a red kerchief from his pocket and mopped his face. “If you don’t mind,”
he said, “I’ll secure my ship against the storm. Plenty of time for parley once
this blows over.”

 
          
“We’ll
wait,” Kell said.

 
          
“I
thought you might,” Mik replied.

 
          
*****

 
          
The
storm rolled back by
midnight
, and the clouds parted just enough for the
silver moon to peek through. Sporadic rain still dappled the waves, but the
winds died down and the surf ebbed considerably.

 
          
The
crews of both ships worked diligently to return their vessels to fighting trim,
and soon repaired most of the major problems. Tanalish kept watch on the bridge
of the brass galley, while Lord Kell and the others met in Jerick’s cabin
aboard
Red Wake.

 
          
Ula’s
wounds were superficial; the bronze dragon’s injuries were grave, but
Red Wake's
excellent healer patched him
back together with bandages and herbs. By
midnight
, Shimmer felt well enough to join the
parley.

 
          
The
two factions stared at each other from opposite sides of the room, while Jerick
sat in the middle, trying to arbitrate. The bronze knight leaned against a
wall, his visor closed,
his
orange eyes grim. Mik,
Ula, and Trip stood near him, unwilling to relax in the presence of their
enemies.

 
          
“My
old friends,” Karista said. “I’m so sad that we’ve reached this impasse. As I
see it, you need our protection and aid as much as we need the jeweled key. If
we are to ally, each ship should gain equal shares.”

 
          
“Before
we parted,” Mik said, “you told me you had no interest in the treasure.”

 
          
Karista
shrugged. “Situations change. You know that, Mik. The treasure is the dowry I
need to win a trade concession. I know the Prophecy as well as you. I hired the
expedition that brought us here. It’s only right that I should share in the
proceeds.”

 
          
“Fish oil!”
Mik said. “The chance for the treasure was the
price I agreed to when you hired me.”

 
          
“That,
and the retirement of your previous debts,” Karista said. “That was, of course,
before you sank my ship.”
“I
sank
your ship!”

 
          
“Well
get nowhere hashing over old accounts.” Jerick said, interrupting this
argument, not for the first time. “The point is, why fight over this loot if
there’s enough to share?” “Perhaps you can find this treasure without us,” Kell
replied, “and perhaps we can claim it without you. However, you’re fools if you
think we’ll just row away and leave you to it. We can stay at sea much longer
than you can; Tanalish is our supply line. We’ll wait you out if we have to.”

 
          
“You
forget,” Mik said, “we still have the key.”

 
          
' “
Now, now,” Jerick said. “No need to get hostile again. It
seems fair to me that we should divide the treasure between our ships. The
question remaining
is,
how to make the division?”

 
          
“I’ll
take nothing less than half,” Kell said.

 
          
“Nor
will I,” Karista added.

 
          
“So,
we give you half, or you dog us until we quit?” Mik said.

 
          
Kell
nodded.

 
          
“Since
the Order patrols these waters and keeps them safe,” Jerick said, “a half share
seems fairly reasonable.”

           
“But no more brawling or
back-stabbing,” Mik said. “Everyone gives up their grudges and works together.
Otherwise we’ll refuse. I won’t have the Order plotting against us while we
search, or after we’ve found the loot. I’ll throw the key into the ocean before
I allow that. We split anything we recover in half,
then
everyone walks away with no hard feelings.”

 
          
“Agreed,”
Karista said, smiling.

 
          
“And
the brass dragon goes,” Ula added.

 
          
“Preposterous,”
Kell replied.

 
          
Mik
shook his head. “Ula’s right. Either Tanalish goes away, or the deal is off.
She’s too big an advantage for your side. I won’t have you playing her against
us when things get rough.”

 
          
“What
about
your
dragon then?” Karista
asked pointedly.

 
          
“Shimmer
is part of our crew—and he’s wounded besides,” Mik said.

 
          
“The
dragon goes,” Ula insisted.

 
          
Karista
smiled sweetly at Kell. The brass-armored lord nodded slowly.

 
          
“Good,”
Mik said. “And keep your other spies at a distance, too. This deal is between
our ship and yours—not between us and the Order of Brass.”

 
          
“Very
well,” Kell said flatly. “I suppose you’ll want to sail in the lead.”

 
          
“Of
course,” Mik replied. “Do you think we’d give
you
the key?”

 
          
“No
more than I’d care to let you out of my sight,” Kell said.

 
          
“But
you and the Lady Meinor can be our guests for the duration of the voyage, Lord
Kell,” Jerick said. “I assume you have a mate capable of piloting your ship?”

 
          
Kell
exchanged a glance with Karista, and nodded.

 
          
“Shall
we start, then?” Karista asked, fiddling absent- mindedly with the braid on the
sash at her waist

 
          
“A
grand idea,” Jerick replied.
“First, though, a drink to seal
the bargain.”

 
          
He
tapped a cask of ale, and they drank a round—though only Jerick seemed to enjoy
it.

* * * * *

 
          
Lord
Kell did dismiss Tanalish. The lady dragon seemed none too pleased about the
arrangement, but she bowed curtly and did as she was told. Only after she’d
disappeared into the high clouds did Mik and the others breathe a sigh of
relief.

 
          
“I
think it’s time to reveal the rest of the Prophecy,” Mik said. He, Ula, Trip,
Shimmer, Jerick, Kell, and Karista stood gathered on
Red Wake's
bridge, under the wan light of the beclouded stars.
“Will you do the honors, Lady Meinor?” “Certainly,” she said. She rolled up her
silk sleeves, took a deep breath, and began to recite:

 
          
“Where
light anew is bom To battle divine hound Before the second mom Know the last
torch is found The final hallowed key Illumes the deepest night At lord of fire
and sea Seek pillars’ sacred might From fire, wind, sea and earth At land
beyond the end Of passage keys give birth To treasure now ascend The heart
beats at the source Of bastions unveiled Portends the final course And stands
alone unfailed.”

 
          
She
finished with a smile, showing her straight white teeth.

 
          
“We’ve
sighted the War Hound constellation,” Mik said. “And now we sail to the Isle of
Fire,” Kell said impatiently. “Yes, yes, we know that.”

 
          
“The
storm has slowed us, but we should reach the isle soon,” Mik said. “When we get
there, the fourth key is our objective. I believe that it lies beneath the
waves, in ‘deepest night.’ Trip and I are experienced divers; Ula and Shimmer
are used to working beneath the waves as well.”

 
          
“How
will we find the key, though?” Karista persisted.

 
          
Mik
smiled roguishly. “I need to save some surprises for later, don’t I?”

 
          
Mik,
Jerick, and Kell took sightings on the War Hound once more, and both ships set
sail for the Isle of Fire.

 
          
*****

 
          
By
morning it was pouring again. Jerick eyed the western horizon, worrying that
the storm might build to gale force once more. Mik and Ula wondered if the
burgeoning clouds hid the Order’s dragonish spies.

 
          
The
rain didn’t dampen Trip’s spirits—though it did increase the stench of his sea
serpent cloak. Everyone except his friends avoided him, but Trip was having too
much fun to notice. He frequently consulted his treasure finder. The only time
it spun, though, was when it came too close to Ula, who had reattached the
jeweled key to her clothing, or Jerick’s money purse.