Quest Of The Dragon Tamer (Book 1) (31 page)

Neki’s curved blade glimmered in the firelight, but the stones on the hilt remained torpid. Ren recalled Grauss’ words:
“The ruby is for luck in battle, the emerald wards off evil doings, and the sardonyx wards off things not of this world. The stones will glow when they’re working and will be able to warn you if trouble is near.”

Ren lowered his blade as the pounding hooves drew closer. Neki saw his look and straightened, trusting his grandfather’s word without any hesitation.

Then there were other sounds around them: rustling leaves, vehement snarls, and howls. The ruby and emerald began to glow with a brilliant intensity.

Ren raised his sword and lowered himself in an attack stance. The hooves pounded closer, heralding doom. The growls became more intense. Michel and Galvin broke through the forest at full speed, faces pallid masks of fear.

“Fire, Ren! Fire!” Markum shouted as soon as he saw the two-headed wolf snapping at Galvin’s heals.

More wolven emerged from the forest, running at full speed, jaws dripping saliva and eyes glowing a golden green. Puissant muscles rippled underneath their dark gray coats as they bounded toward them. Neki was the first to act. Grabbing a few logs from the fire he tossed them paces away, forming a circle.

The kota began to prance. Her drumming hooves sounded like a declaration of war.

Markum ran for the horses as they bucked and screamed in terror, trying to flee from the predators’ scent. Someone shouted Ren’s name. When he turned a wolf was only paces away, poised to take to the air. Beside him the kota bowed her head. Ren tried to push her aside but she refused. A glow came from the small horn at the crown of her head. Within a heartbeat a thin ray of light shot from her horn, hitting the wolf in the flank. The creature halted in mid-stride, a heartbeat before it would have leapt for Ren’s back. Before Ren had time to react another came from his left. Quinton grunted as he slung a fire-laden log and knocked the beast down. The wolf howled in pain and retreated. Ren grabbed another log, hurling it at the next one that came near. Michel’s mount, eyes wide with terror, leapt the circle of flames and crashed into the center haven, Galvin close behind.

The wolven were everywhere. They surrounded them.

Michel jumped off his horse just in time to impale one of the beasts as it jumped the flames. The creature landed within the safety of the circle. Quinton threw a log in its direction but missed. Galvin kicked the beast into the circle of fire. It howled in pain but only rolled paces away. Its eyes glowed a vile green as it watched them through the flames. The thick fur behind its neck rose like needles.

When another leapt over the flames, Ren did the one thing he could to defend himself, all the while knowing it would only make the beast stronger; he sliced through it. The wolf fell near him. He forced the beast toward the fire. The fangs from the creature began to close around his arm, but as the flames touched the creature’s flesh it howled and released him.

It lay limp beyond the circle, but Ren knew it would soon start to stir.

“More fire!” he yelled, eyes glued to the creature that had begun to grow.

Galvin lit more logs and filled the gaps in the flames. Soon the barrier was firm. The horses paced back and forth, eyes wide with fear, but they didn’t bolt, fearing the wolven more than the flames.

“I count twenty-two, Ren,” Quinton said, resting his bloody sword on the ground. Thick clods of gray fur clung to the edges. Quinton had fought back more than a few.

The wolven circled the fire. Their snarls could be heard over the crackling flames. The circle would hold the wolven at bay for a while, but not until dawn.

Quinton heaved an unsteady breath. “Fire is the only thing that deters them?”

“That’s all I’m aware of,” Ren replied. “Markum?”

“Yes,” Markum said. “Swords are useless. Each cut only makes them stronger. Fire can’t kill them, but it weakens them.”

“I hate to bring this up,” Neki said, “but the wood we have won’t last long. We only have a few more branches.”

Neki was right. Only a few stray branches lay discarded within reach, and the nearest trees were over a hundred paces away. It would be suicide to try to gather more. They were running out of time.

Galvin looked at Ren. “Can you use magic to bring in more wood?”

Ren looked at the surrounding trees and tried to concentrate on the force inside him. He found the light, reached for it, grasped it, and let the white-hot ferocity flood through him, but it dissipated as quickly as it came, almost as if it had a mind of its own. He frowned, frustration coursing though him.

Turning to Galvin, he shook his head. Neki stepped forward and focused on the distant woods. Ren held his breath. Neki had touched the Quy with ease back at Stardom. If he could do so now it would be their salvation.

After a few heartbeats, Neki’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know how.”

“We need more fire,” Quinton mumbled under his breath.

“They’re coming closer,” Markum said

Galvin and Quinton immediately took the remaining branches to where the fire had begun to wane.

Ren walked to the far side of the circle, frustration coursing through his veins. How could he merge a body with a spirit and not move a piece of wood? Even the Druids’ calling power was useless. Unless he could see a fallen log he couldn’t call it to him.

The wolven continued to move closer. Now Ren could see the color of their eyes: brownish bronze with pinpricks of blue and gray. They circled the men one after the other, waiting for the fire to die. The few they had cut down were a hands-width taller than the rest, hair still bloodied from the men’s swords.

He was the Chosen, the one who had rebirthed the power, and there was nothing he could do to save his men from the wolven. Only dragon’s fire was lethal for the beasts, for it poisoned their blood internally. They would need nothing short of a miracle to survive until dawn.

“We need to find more things we can burn,” Ren said. “Everyone start looking.”

The others began searching their packs. Ren’s eyes found the prophecy book. It lay on the ground where he had dropped it. It would be the last thing they would burn, but if need be it would be burnt with the rest.

Markum caught his look and shook his head. “No, more prophecy will appear. We can’t burn it. It may guide you in the months to come.”

Before Ren could voice that they may not have any time left, Michel shouted a warning. Ren spun in time to see one of the wolven jumping through the fire toward Neki. The svelte man reacted quickly, but not quickly enough. The wolf clamped down on his shoulder.

Rage surged through Ren. He couldn’t allow this to happen. He wouldn’t allow it.

He grabbed the whip-like thread in his mind and propelled his emotions forward with impetuous precision. A thunderous clap resonated around them as the wolf ignited into white-hot flame. Ren’s mind exploded with heat as his world became dark. Just before he crashed to the ground he heard Galvin scream his name.

- - -

Total blackness surrounded him. It was a black so dense it hurt to see. It was as if the gates of Abyss had been opened and the world had been consumed in its tenebrous gloom. Was this the darkness?

Had he failed so soon?

From the depths of the darkness came a quiver of light. As he watched it began to grow larger, eating the darkness with a steady cadence. Then he realized the shimmer wasn’t growing larger but gliding his way. It flickered with silver sparks as it came, daring the darkness to halt its approach.

As the light neared he decided it wasn’t gliding but walking in smooth, rhythmic patterns. Instead of fearing the light’s approach, he anticipated it, longed for it, but at the same time was humbled by its radiance. A soft peace began to grow inside him, and as the light drew closer it grew even more profound. Then he saw its beauty. He was almost blinded.

It was a woman. A long, white gown clung to her shape, tight enough to reveal exquisite curves but loose enough to be enticing. A silver chain circled her slender waist and dangled from her hips. Golden blonde hair cascaded down her back until it brushed the chain. She was so brilliant her very presence cursed the darkness and banished any hint of diablerie.

She smiled. It took his breath away, and when he looked into her solid silver eyes he had to turn away. They were filled with such compassion and caring he felt unworthy. She brushed his check in tender affection and turned his face to her own.

He trembled as the power of the Quy coursed through her, into him, and then back again. As he gazed into her heart-shaped face he slowly began to discern light particles, so minute they were barely detectable, coursing over her skin. They moved so fast she appeared fuzzy on the surface.

When he looked closer he realized her entire form consisted of the particles moving frantically to form her shape. There were so many of them she appeared solid, with only the extremes of her being noticeably illusory.

“You’re strong, my Chosen.” Her carillon voice carpeted the darkness with music. After she stopped speaking he waited, listening to its charms echoing in the void.

“Your Chosen?” His voice seemed far away, almost unreal. But it didn’t matter. He was with her, and he loved her without even knowing her.

“Yes, my Chosen. Although I didn’t make you, I’ve waited for you. I’ve been alone for so long.” Her solid silver eyes peered past him into the black void.

He stood, transfixed by her beauty, hanging on her words as if they were wine. Her eyes cleared and she turned to him, smiling an apology for her inattentiveness. He smiled back, unable to feel anything but elation in her presence. When she spoke her voice was a harmonious whisper, tingling around him like rain.

“I want to feel people again. I want to be a part again. Although I fear it will be worse before it gets better.” Her lips twisted into a tight frown.

An overwhelming desire to help her coursed through him. The loneliness and pain in her voice was more than he could bear. She deserved nothing less than laughter and light, and that couldn’t even begin to describe what she deserved. He would have given his life to see her smile. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I don’t understand. Who are you?”

She laughed. It sounded like a multitude of high notes perfectly in tune with one another. “I’m the Quy, Ren Razon. I’m what you’re fighting to save.”

Ren. That was his name. Her beauty had taken every memory from him.

She laughed again and cradled his face in her hands. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation.

“You’re the Quy?”

Her lips twisted into a grin. “Yes.”

“You’re beautiful.”

She smiled and took his hand. “You make me beautiful, my Chosen.”

They began to walk in the darkness. He felt as if he should do something to protect her, but there was no threat. He moved closer anyway, the nothingness disturbing him. Something so beautiful shouldn’t be in a place so dark.

“Others make me ugly. They use me for glory, fame, or wealth. You use me for love. That’s why you’re my Chosen. You only use me in love.”

Ren looped her hand through his arm and pondered her words. “Not all the time. I collapsed part of the castle in anger. I lit the fire on the wolf in rage.”

She stopped and turned to face him. Her silver eyes glowed with extreme power. “You’re wrong. You collapsed the castle because of your love for a man killed. You lit the fire on the wolf because of your love for a man about to be killed.

“Continue to fight this way, Ren, for only love can defeat those who strive to control me. Before you strike make sure you do so out of love. If you begin to use other emotions like hate, lust, envy, or desire you’ll fail. Sometimes you’ll strike in anger, or shun the one you strike at, but if you remember the love inside, if the love inside is what drives you, all will be well.”

As they continued to walk in the darkness the last of her words lingered in his mind. He thought of Aidan. “Can you tell me how to use the power to help those I love?”

The Quy shook her head. “No. You use me, but I don’t know how you use me. I’m not alive, but I exist. That’s why I can’t fight for me. You must fight for me.”

“I’m fighting for you to be in the world again?”

“Yes and no,” she said. “Yes, you fight for me to be connected to the minds and hearts of people. But no, you have already given me that. Soon this nothingness I’m in will be light as people begin to use me for good. You fight for that to happen, for this to be light. Others fight for this to be darkness.”

“Would the darkness hurt you?”

“No, I’ll still be the Quy. I’ll still exist. I’ll feel no pain, but I know others will feel pain. You’ll feel pain, and I don’t like the thought. If this place becomes darkness it will be just that – darkness. But there’s no laughter in the darkness and there’s no joy in the darkness. I’m not who I want to be in the darkness. I can’t see what I want to see in the darkness. If complete darkness finds this place I’ll become darkness, and light will cease to be.”

Ren’s heart constricted. He didn’t want the musical beauty standing before him to become darkness. The thought terrified him. “What can I do?”

She stopped and turned to face him. “Be you, my Chosen.” Her brow lifted in hope. “For you are the one who can defeat the darkness.”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t try,” she said, losing her smile. “You must do. If you do not, all those you love are lost. In a way, I’m lost. But you underestimate you. You don’t see the love that drives you. Others do, that’s why they follow.”

The Quy stepped forward, silver eyes intense. “Only one other has ever seen me. That means your feelings are so strong they hurt you in here.” She placed her hand over his heart. An array of emotion built within him: all his love he held for his kingdom, his mother, Michel, Aidan, the men with him. They overwhelmed and comforted at the same time. Then the pain came, the pain his love brought: the death of his men, Aidan unreachable, creatures attacking those he held dear. The pain ripped through him with breathtaking surety.

“The emotion stronger than love is the pain love brings,” she continued. “Unless one is strong enough to release the pain to pursue love again, nothing can equal it. Together, love and pain produce the strongest emotion of all and can overwhelm anything evil produces.”