Embers at Galdrilene (43 page)

She glanced at him. “You cannot force me?”

“A few things remain the same for Guardian Dragons and Shadow Dragons. That the hatcher of the egg does so of their own free will is one of them.”

“Guardian Dragons? There are other dragons beyond these eggs? Beyond this place?” She liked that even less than the idea of other black dragons.

“Yes, in Galdrilene, the place where magic flows into this world, there are newly hatched dragons. They will seek to destroy the Shadow Dragons. They will seek to destroy the world as we know it.” He shifted and his voice took on a persuasive tone. “You, Sadira, could lead the Shadow Riders against them. You could be the one to preserve the way of life the nations enjoy today. If you have the courage to hatch an egg, you could lead the Shadow Dragons to Galdrilene and take control of the power that flows into this world.”

“Where are the eggs? Lead me to them.”

A smile slid across the shadowy face of the Benduiren and he led the way down into the canyon. At the bottom she followed him through the jagged mouth of the cave. The ceiling soared above them, disappearing into darkness. The cave was massive with golden, glowing balls of light set in the rock. The pale marble walls jutted out all around the cavern, creating shelves large enough for two good sized houses. They stepped up the walls, continuing until they disappeared into the darkness above.

She brought her gaze back down. The polished, onyx floor contrasted with the pale walls. Benches filled with luxurious cushions lined the walls and beautiful arched doorways led off from the main chamber into lit passageways. An especially large arch led into what looked like an alcove. Golden scroll work and dark dragons climbed each side of the arch in a beautiful display.

Then her eyes were drawn by another sight. Eight large eggs nestled in a depression in the middle of the cavern. Seven of them were inky black, the shells seeming to absorb the light rather than reflect it. The eighth was pale gray and carried a faint silver sheen to it.

“Why isn’t that one black?” she asked, pointing at the gray egg.

Alden shifted and appeared to shrug. “Occasionally, one is laid that is not completely black.”

“What does it mean?”

“We do not know. It happened rarely and we always destroyed them when it did.”

“Why did you not destroy that one?” She didn’t like the gray egg. She didn’t know why, but something about it repelled her.

“All of the Shadow Dragons were gone, we could not afford to destroy it. There are not enough even now,” Alden said.

“How many of those Guardian Dragons you spoke of are there? How many hatched?”

“I do not know. I know only that they hatched.”

“Will they know when I hatch mine?” she asked.

“Yes, they will know. But there is nothing that can be done.”

She frowned. “Will they know how many?”

“Yes.”

Sadira thought of the power at hand and of the sacrifice of half her soul, desire and fear warred inside her. She stared at the eggs, unable to look away from them. A part of her trembled, a tiny part that was terrified. She crushed it ruthlessly and made up her mind. She would hatch an egg and she would not allow herself to think about it anymore. Thinking about it allowed the fear to grow. “How do I hatch one?”

The Benduiren turned his red gaze on her. “Walk amongst them, look at them and decide which is to be yours. When you have decided, reach out your hand and touch it and the Hatching will begin. Be sure of your choice, not only in which egg, but in your choice to hatch it as well. Once the Hatching begins, it cannot be stopped.”

Sadira nodded in understanding. “I am sure,” she said and walked forward toward the eggs. She didn’t need to walk among them; she knew which one she was headed for. Sadira didn’t know why, nothing about it looked different from the six other black eggs. She never even considered the gray egg. Something about one of the black eggs told her it was for her alone. Her egg, her dragon, her power.

She approached slowly and reached out to lay her hand on the shell. Her fingers touched it. Searing pain shot through her. She screamed as it intensified. Her legs gave out and she collapsed next to the egg, unable to draw her hand away, unable to find a release from the agony that grew with each passing second. Deep inside, Sadira felt as if she were being torn in half, as if some integral part of her ripped away. Agonized screams tore from her lips as the pain consumed her.

A web of cracks tore across the surface of the egg. With a last bolt of pain, her hand came free and the shell shattered.

She lay curled on her side, her whole body trembling beyond her ability to stop it. Beside her a young dragon the size of a pony staggered away from its broken shell. Its ebony scales as dark as the bits of shell. Like the shell, the scales seemed to absorb the light filling the lower level of the cave rather than reflect it. The belly of the draclet was tarnished gold. She raised her eyes to the wedge-shaped head. The draclet regarded her with empty eyes the color of blood.

Sadira struggled to her feet. She managed to hold herself upright though her legs trembled. “What is wrong with her?” Sadira whispered, her throat raw.

Alden walked closer. “There is nothing wrong with her. You have done well.”

“Why is she not black all over?”

“The underside of a Shadow Dragon retains the color of what it would have been, had it hatched in Galdrilene.”

Sadira, her voice still unable to rise above a whisper asked, “What do I do now?”

The Benduiren pointed at a pile of rotting carcasses against the wall of the canyon just beyond the arch of the cavern. “Tell her to feed.”

Sadira looked into the red eyes of the draclet. “Go Ranit, and eat.” Obediently, the draclet turned and waddled ungracefully across the floor and began feeding.

Maleena screamed. Shadowed shapes clawed and tore at her. Mckale tried to fight his way to her, tried to block the shadows from reaching her, but every time he moved to shield her from them, they slipped past.

Mckale snapped awake, confusion and chaos filled his mind as he tried to sort reality from the tatters of his dream. Nydara roared, shattering the silence of the night. Tellnox joined her and the sound of it reverberated off the walls of the lair. Mckale leaped from his sleeping platform and raced toward Nydara’s lair.

Again Nydara roared, a savage note in her young voice. The night came alive with the growls of the other draclets and then the deep bass of Mernoth’s thunderous roar. Mckale’s heart pounded painfully in his chest. Maleena’s terror filled him. He raced up the steps to her draclet’s chosen sleeping place and crossed the lair in long strides.

Maleena lay crumpled next to her sleeping platform, her arms around her middle and her forehead pressed against the stone of the floor.

Mckale knelt next to her. “Maleena, what happened?” he asked when Nydara quieted long enough for his voice to be heard.

She turned her face, streaked with tears, toward him. “It hurts, Mckale. Oh Fates, it hurts.”

“What hurts? Where?”

“The vision. The Hatching. It’s terrible.” Her voice broke in a sob. Fear and pain beat at her, coursing through her body.

He gathered her into his arms. “What Hatching?

Even her vision of Kojen the first night they met hadn’t affected her like this. Whatever it was, Nydara saw it too and passed it on to the other draclets and Mernoth. Mckale reached out to Tellnox, who connected with him at once. The vision flooded his mind.

He felt Maleena’s pain slowly fade away. She raised her head and looked at him with tear filled eyes. “The Hatching of a black egg. I saw it. I felt it.”

Mckale looked up as Emallya and Bardeck joined them in Nydara’s lair. “Is it true?” he asked the older woman, although he already knew the answer.

She nodded. “Yes, it is true. Shadows ride the dawn once more.”

Mckale looked down into Maleena’s pale face then back up at Emallya “I thought I was her shield. Why can’t I protect her from this?”

Bardeck answered, “You are her shield, but nothing can protect her from the visions. They are a part of her magic. Only time and Nydara maturing will enable her to handle them.”

Helpless fury enveloped him. “So I just have to sit by and watch her go through this, I cannot help her?”

“No more than I can help Emallya.”

Mckale took in the ashen cast to Emallya’s face and the worry and strain creasing Bardeck’s. Bardeck had been watching Emallya go through similar things for hundreds of years. The look in his eyes told Mckale the older man understood exactly how he felt.

Vaddoc, Serena, Kellinar and Kirynn joined them. Beyond the lair, the other draclets and Mernoth still rumbled and growled. Maleena looked up at the older couple for the first time since they entered. “You saw what I saw?”

Emallya nodded. “I did, although perhaps not as strongly. You and Nydara are the strongest Spirit pair I have ever seen and my own visions have grown paler since the death of Rylin. You are feeling the effects more than I am.”

“Will I feel this every time black eggs hatch?” Maleena asked and Nydara rumbled low in her chest.

Emallya nodded again. “Yes, but to a lesser extent. The first time you feel black eggs hatch is always the hardest for some reason. As Nydara matures, she will shield you from most of the side effects of your visions.”

Tellnox rumbled anxiously from the mouth of the lair and Mckale reached out to him, “Maleena and Nydara are well, calm yourself.”

“They are not well. There is great distress in both of them. Nydara saw what her rider saw, she radiates alarm and fury to us all. Shadows lay across the future and there will be no peace as long as the soulless shadows fly,” came the sending.

Maleena had stopped trembling and pulled away from him. Mckale watched as she crossed the chamber to comfort Nydara. It frustrated him that he could shield her from the emotions of others yet could do nothing to lessen the impact of the visions brought by her magic.

Vaguely, he heard Emallya and Bardeck discussing what happened to his companions, though he paid little attention, his mind was elsewhere. There were black dragons again. In his mind, he saw the imprint memories from Tellnox’s hatching. He saw the evil of a grown Shadow Dragon in flight and felt a deep sadness and fear for the future.

V
addoc woke with adrenaline surging through his body. Something threatened his draclet. Namir’s distress and alarm filled his mind. The alarm sent out by Maleena’s draclet during the Hatching of a black dragon earlier in the night had his senses on edge. He rolled from the sleeping platform, pulling his scimitars from where they lay. His grip on the familiar hilts slowed the racing of his heart as he braced, ready to defend the young dragon.