Hunter's War (Legend of the Wild Hunter Book 4) (63 page)

“Calling? What do you mean, calling?”

-Your voice. It is loud in the realm, as were the voices of the Orceen long gone. I could hear you, but you were having trouble hearing me.-

“But I can hear you now.”

-Yes, but you mind is no longer clouded by the darkness, I was forced to… break the barrier between our worlds, our realms. It was the only way to free your mind from the abyss which it was falling into.-

The darkness, she was losing herself to the darkness when something shattered in her mind.

“Freed my mind?”

-Our worlds are not the same, yours and mine. You are attuned to the natural realm of your world as I am to mine, and although they share the same level of existence, they are not the same. You were losing yourself to the abyss, which is slowly corrupting your world, so I was forced to bring you into mine.-

“But what does that mean? What’s going to happen to me?”

- It is difficult to say. I’ve never had to do it before, at least not with the Orceen. I did it to an Ogre priest… once… it drove him… a little mad.-

“How little?” she asked, although she really didn’t want to know.

-As far as I can recall, he ran screaming out into the desert.-

Umingoth replied, there was no regret or remorse in his words.

“Oh, wonderful.”

-If it means anything… you appear to be… sane.”

“You are going to fill me in on what’s going on.” Alex asked from where he was sitting in the darkness. Kile had almost forgotten about him. He had not said one word during her conversation with Umingoth. Since he was only able to hear one side of it, he was completely lost.

“I think we’re safe, for the moment,” she told him.

“Well, at least that’s something,” he replied. “Is it really… Zaheeg?” he asked nervously.

“No, he is not Zaheeg,” Kile replied.

“Oh, well, that’s good, I guess.”

“His name is Umingoth.”

“Umingoth! As in Umingoth the mighty? Umingoth the destroyer? Umingoth the world eater? Umingoth the drake of the flatlands? The last of the class A open scripts-- that Umingoth?”

-Ah, it would seem the vir has heard of me.-

Umingoth said as he turned his attention to Alex.

“Alex, please, calm now. I don’t think he means us any harm.”

“That’s easy for you to say; you can see him.”

-Why do you travel with such creatures?-

Umingoth asked.

-They are dead inside. They have no life in the natural realm, and it’s hard to make a decent meal out of them. They’re really only good for snacking, you know. You just sit there and pop one after another into your mouth.-

“He is my friend, so please stop talking about him that way.”

“Why, what did he say?” Alex asked nervously.

“Nothing, Alex, just calm down.”

-As you wish. It makes no difference to me. But you can’t tell me you never thought of it.-

“Just drop it.” Kile replied. The idea of what he was saying made her nauseous, and yet, he wasn’t far from the truth, which was what really scared her. “This egg of yours…” she said, quickly changing the subject.

-You have it, don’t you?-

“Well, not exactly.”

Umingoth shifted his weight, and she could feel him staring down at her.

-Where is it?-

He asked, his voice growing dangerously louder.

“I gave it to the Ogre to hold onto.”

-You what?-

“I didn’t want Ravenshadow to get his hands on it again, so I gave it to the Ogre for safe keeping.”

-Wonderful. They’ll probably stick it on an altar and pray to it.-

“What does Ravenshadow want with your egg anyway?”

-Isn’t it obvious? He wants to control me.-

“But I didn’t think anyone could control a dragon, except maybe for the Alva.”

-The Alva? They couldn’t control us, so they tried to enslave us.-

“How can you enslave a dragon?” Kile asked. The idea of enslaving a dragon, or forcing it to do something it didn’t want to do, seemed impossible.

-There are ways.–

Umingoth replied.

-One of my brothers was enslaved by a vir using, what the Alva called, dragon stones.-

“Dragon stones? What are they?”

-Two small stones filled with your foul magic. One is consumed by the vir, the other is fed to one of my kind. This gives the vir total control over the dragon.-

Dragon Stones? Was that what Eric tried to steal back at the Academy? They seemed small enough, although maybe not small enough to actually consume, unless you were desperate to control a force of nature. Still, she could see the drawbacks. If either the vir, or the dragon, ever passed the stone, the link would be broken, and the vir would probably be eaten.

“It just doesn’t seem possible.” Kile replied.

Umingoth laughed.

-Funny you would say something like that.-

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

-You have dabbled with the same forces, have you not?-

“Never.”

-Lie to yourself all you want Orceen, but I have seen the real you. You have touched the corruption, and you liked it. Take care with it, Orceen, unless you wish to become it. The darkness knows you now, and it is looking for you.-

“I don’t believe you.”

-I couldn’t care less whether you believe me or not. It is your battle, it is your enemy, it matters little to me.-

“My enemy? Who? Ravenshadow?”

-Ravenshadow? He is only a finger of that which lurks in the abyss. He is but a pawn in someone else’s game, and yet he doesn’t even know it.-

“Then who is it? Who controls Ravenshadow? Who is this enemy?” she asked.

A light suddenly flared up behind her. Alex had somehow managed to fix the lantern. It was bright enough now to see Umingoth.

He lowered his head until he was eye to eye with her. He was definitely a dragon. She had seen pictures of dragons and read stories about them in the books from Master Adam’s library. She learned all the myths and could recite most of the legends, but she had never dreamed she would actually stand face to face with one. Dragons were stories, told to delight children, or frighten them, depending on the story, but they were never real; at least, that’s what she thought.

The light started to shake as Alex trembled at the sight. Umingoth was amused.

“Alex, go back up to the tunnel.” She told him. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Yeah… okay Ki,” he stammered and slowly backed away.

She waited until she saw the light hovering at the very edge of the cavern before turning back to the dragon.

“Explain.” She said.

-What do you know about the darkness?-

His voice trailed off into a whisper.

“I don’t understand.”

-Yes, you do. What do you know about the darkness?-

The darkness? What did she know? The only thing she could say for sure, was that it frightened her. Something was hiding in the darkness. She didn’t know what, but she could still hear the cold, maniacal laughter echoing deep within the well and she could still see those yellow eyes staring back at her from the abyss. Whatever was hidden in the darkness felt all too familiar, it wasn’t much different from her.

-Easy Orceen, do not lose yourself to it again.-

Umingoth whispered.

-Do not fight it, you cannot control it, you cannot defeat it, but you can name it.-

“Name it?”

-You may not yet fully understand what it is, but you know enough for now. Call it by its name.-

The way he said it, it was almost as if he was challenging her.

Did she know its name? Morgan told her. Kaza warned her. The old crow may not have known what it was, but he knew enough to fear it. Control, command, dominate, those were the words he used.

“Maligar,” she whispered.

-Maligar.-

Umingoth repeated.

-Yes, that was what they called it, but it has gone by many names.-

“What is it?”

-You are not ready for that, Orceen-

“Kile, I think they’re trying to get in,” Alex shouted from where he was sitting beside, what used to be, the tunnel’s mouth.

Kile paused to listen. She could clearly hear the sounds of scratching, and it brought her back to the mines of Coopervill. The Valgar were wasting no time in trying to get through the cave-in, but then, they knew where she was now.

-Tenacious,-

Umingoth laughed.

-I’ll give them that.-

“We have to get out of here,” Kile said as she looked around the cavern, but she could see no other exit. They were sealed off with Umingoth.

-There is still time.-

He said in a calm voice, but then, why wouldn’t he be? He’s a fifty foot dragon. What did he have to fear from the Valgar?

“What are they?” she asked. “What are the Valgar?”

-Ah, now you’re asking the right questions. But, you already know the answer, don’t you?-

“They’re part of the corruption. They’re part of the Maligar.”

-And here I was, worried you wouldn’t get it.-

Slowly the pieces were coming together, but it didn’t get her any closer to understanding what the Maligar was, why she feared it, or what its intentions were.

“Kile, they’re getting closer,” Alex called out.

“Is there another way out of here?” she asked Umingoth.

The dragon looked up.

-Only one other way.-

Although she couldn’t see the ceiling of the cavern, she had to believe there was another exit, one large enough to allow for Umingoth’s use.

“Kile, they’re almost through,” Alex shouted with his update.

“Will you help us?” she begged.

Umingoth paused for a moment studying her.

-Why should I? What’s in it for me?-

He finally asked.

“I saved your egg,” she reminded him.

-And then you gave it to the Ogre. Try again.-

“I… I don’t have anything,” she said, throwing up her arms. “I doubt if you’d do it out of the goodness of your heart.”

-Not quite, Orceen. I like you, but not that much.-

“Then what? What do you want?”

-A boon.-

“You want me to do you a favor?”

Now she was on dangerous ground. One does not deal with dragons carelessly.

“Anything. Name it,” she said reluctantly.

-Be careful, Orceen. Do not make bargains so quickly.-

“I don’t have much of a choice. Do I?”

-This is true.-

              She knew the dragon was grinning, even if she could no longer see his face.

“What is your favor?” she asked.

-In time. We are not finished here.-

Umingoth replied.

“What are we waiting for?”

Alex came running toward them, holding the battered lantern aloft. The light cast dancing shadows over the cavern walls, which made Kile nauseous. He ran past Umingoth without even looking at him, clearly the Valgar scared him more than the dragon.

“They’re almost through,” he told her.

But they weren’t almost through. No sooner had Alex made the statement, then the rocks fell away from the tunnel, and the accursed howling of the Valgar grew louder. Their noise was defending, as it echoed in the subterranean cavern. Kile drew her Lann and, grabbed Alex by the arm.

“Stay behind me,” she told him.

Six Valgar exited the tunnel as it lit up behind them. They waited on either side while a man, fully engulfed in flame, stepped into the cavern.

“Is that… Eric?” Alex asked.

“Looks like he learned a few new tricks.” Kile replied.

She had heard of mystics who could take on the physical traits of their sphere. She had seen Murphy perform a similar feat during their survival test back at the Academy, but then, he only turned his body into stone. The idea of actually setting oneself on fire was a bit more impressive.

He was in no hurry as he slowly advanced, mainly because he knew she was trapped. There was no other way out of the cavern save the way Umingoth suggested, but without the dragon’s help, it was useless.

“Congratulations, Kile,” Eric said, stopping some distance before her. “It would appear you have outlived your usefulness. Ravenshadow now believes you’re too much of a liability. I’ve been telling him that from the beginning, but he had high hopes for you.”

“For what? What did he want from me?” she asked.

Even though he was still several yards away, she could already feel the heat radiating off him.

“If you had given him the chance, he would have told you. Now, it no longer matters.”

“What did he want me to do?”

“What you’ve been doing. Talking to this oversized lizard. Not that I think he has the brains to understand anything. But, they say, you have a way with dumb animals. I believe that by the company you keep.”

“Hey!” Alex shouted, pushing Kile aside as he stepped forward.

Eric laughed. “Why look, it’s the little one eyed Hunter.”

“Yeah, well, with a face like yours, I’m glad I can only see half of it.”

“I was going to let you live, you know, for old time’s sake. But I’ve changed my mind.”

“Really, you’ve changed your mind, does this one work any better.”

“Don’t get smart with me…”

“Am I getting smart with you? How would you ever know? I mean, I’m not saying you’re stupid or anything, I’m just saying you have bad luck when it comes to thinking. Fact is, I’d go as far as to say you didn’t just fall out of the stupid tree, you were dragged through the whole dumbass forest.”

“Why you little….”

“Come on, do your worst.” Alex shouted. “You might have those saladogs, but we have a dragon.”

Eric stopped, and at first Kile thought he was actually intimidated by Umingoth’s presence, that was until he started laughing.

“Please, that beast is defenseless. Or, haven’t you noticed the chains? They’re enchanted, meaning he’s useless.”

Kile hadn’t noticed. She had heard the chains when Umingoth moved, but now, in the light of Alex’s lantern, not to mention Eric’s unearthly glow, she could see them. Four thick chains bound the dragon to the walls. Even if Umingoth wanted to help, it didn’t look as if he could.

“Now, if you’re finished.” Eric said, as he waved the Valgar to advance.

The dragon said nothing during the exchange, and almost appeared entertained by Alex’s ranting. Only when the Valgar began to move did he turn to Kile.