The Dragon' Son (31 page)

Walneff reached out and placed his hand on Keegan’s shoulder. “The darkness is growing, Keegan. The shadows are lurking, watching, observing. I know you feel it.”

Keegan paused a moment with a heavy sigh. Walneff was right. As time progressed on their stay in the castle, Keegan could feel a strange darkness and awareness of danger growing within him. His nightmares only made it worse; they were darker, stranger. It made him restless and wary, and only all the more eager to see the golden dragon again. He moved away from Walneff and grabbed Ardor’s blanket from a rail, flopping it onto the stallion’s back and straightening it.

Walneff sighed. “Take Saul with you.”

“No!” Keegan turned to Walneff. “I am not ready to let them meet. I must speak to Pharrgon alone.” Keegan opened the stall door and, grabbing Ardor by the reins, lead him out toward the outside doors.

Walneff stepped out of the way and followed them. “Just how long do you think you can keep them from meeting?” Walneff asked sternly.

Once outside the stable, Keegan flipped atop Ardor and looked down at Walneff as he replied to the old man’s question, “I intend to introduce them at some point. But not yet.”

Walneff sighed and put his fists on his sides. “Very well then. Be stubborn as a mule. But do try to be careful at the same time, if that does not prove too difficult a task for you.”

Keegan tried to refrain from rolling his eyes, and he urged Ardor forward toward the palace gates.

“And come back all in one piece!” Walneff called after him.

Keegan nudged Ardor in the sides, and the stallion picked up his pace to a trot, leaving the palace gates and Walneff behind.

Ardor galloped down a hill at full speed with Keegan clinging tightly to him. He kicked up his feet once he reached the bottom. With his tail raised and his hooves digging into the moist turf, he galloped up the side of the next hill. He panted heavily as his powerful muscles flexed and propelled him further up the large hill, but he was happy in spite of the work out. He was pleased to be galloping freely with Keegan again.

When he reached the top of the hill, Keegan leaned back and tugged slightly at the reins, halting to take in the view. Lying before them was the magnificent and large Lake Anuran. Scattered forests were on the east side of its shores while the Anuran cliffs--giant, flat-topped structures--guarded the other side. To the north lay the Pass of the White Mountains, and to the south, where Keegan and Ardor stood, were rolling green hills of pasture. Fishing villages lined the coasts all the way up to the north, and small boats and skiffs floated on the lake’s surface as far as the eye could see. Ardor bounced around in a circle, flicking his tail excitedly and stomping his hooves impatiently.

Keegan clenched his teeth. “Ardor, I can’t think when you are dancing,” he scolded. Ardor stopped and stood still except for the excited swish of his tail.

Keegan looked over the lake and back over at cliffs. “Well, my guess is that Pharrgon is in one of the caves in the Anuran cliffs,” he said to himself with a pat for Ardor.

Ardor snorted and began prancing in circles again, making Keegan chuckle and lean forward, releasing the pressure off the reins. The golden horse shot down the hill toward the lake’s edge, throwing clumps of grass and earth behind him as he went. Keegan blinked the water from his eyes and gripped Ardor with his knees while scanning the water of the lake through bits of Ardor’s floating mane. He knew that Pharrgon was staying in a cave somewhere, but there was a possibility that the dragon was also in the lake. He could fatten up on fish and other creatures in the water while staying out of the locals’ sight.

As they neared the lake, Ardor slowed to a trot and veered for the water, licking his lips thirstily. He trotted down the flat, sandy bank and up to the water, plunking his front feet into the liquid before lowering his head to suck up the cool refreshment. Keegan ran his fingers through his windblown hair, moving it out of his eyes. He noticed that the sky was becoming overcast with gray clouds, threatening rain.

As Keegan watched the sky, the familiar glow in his chest that signaled the dragon’s presence grew, and a bit of movement further out in the lake redirected his attention to the water. A large wave moved toward him and Ardor then stopped. A large, scaly nose poked up out of the water and exhaled a plume of steam before inhaling and disappearing below the surface of the water again. A stream of big bubbles began to rise to the surface of the water, leading the way further down the bank of the lake.

Ardor raised his head from drinking, and at Keegan’s direction, began to follow the bubbles at a steady trot. The sandy beach began to grow more solid and rocky as they neared the giant cliffs that bordered the western side of the lake. The stream of bubbles came to a halt near an area of the beach that was very rocky, surrounded by large boulders and chunks of rock that had fallen from the heights of the cliffs above, making it a perfect place for a large dragon to hide out at.

Small whirlpools began to swirl across the water as Pharrgon raised his head out of the water and walked up to shore. Keegan halted Ardor as a creeping feeling crawled up his spine that they were being watched. He looked behind his shoulder, turned to stare at the glassy lake, and then up at the cliff tops, but he saw no hint of any nearby human activity.

Ardor stepped backward as the dragon passed in front of them.

“Come this way,” the dragon said as he crawled toward a large group of boulders.

Keegan slid off of Ardor and followed on foot as the dragon led them through a maze of strategically placed rock mounds and boulders. From the beach, it looked like the large rocks were randomly scattered, never giving the impression that they were perhaps placed there for their large forms to conceal something.

As they rounded a rock twice as tall as Keegan, a large cave opening in the side of the cliff became visible. Rocks, boulders, and dirt mounds surrounded it, concealing it completely from view anywhere on the beach, lake, or even from the cliff top. Keegan tethered Ardor next to a mossy rock and left him with a pat to follow the gold dragon up to the cave.

The dragon stepped up into the cave and disappeared from view, the darkness of the cave swallowing his entire body. Keegan climbed up on some rocks and hoisted himself up to the lip of the cave mouth, tearing some slick moss from the rocks as he struggled to get himself up inside the cave. Once inside, he sat on his knees for a moment and blinked, trying to let his eyes adjust to the overwhelming darkness.

Two glowing, golden orbs instantly attracted Keegan’s vision, making his eyes lock onto the glowing eyes of the dragon who watched him intently from further inside the cave. Keegan stood to his feet and carefully stepped further into the darkness, holding his ring out in front of him so that the red light that emanated from the dragon stone could help him better see where he was stepping.

“Keegan, why have you come?” Pharrgon asked in a deep commanding voice that caused Keegan to stop in his tracks and look up at the glowing golden eyes that stared at him.

“Are you not glad to see me, Pharrgon?” Keegan asked.

Pharrgon sighed. “I am glad to see you Keegan, but did you have to see me now? At this time and place?” he asked.

Keegan huffed. “Yes. I had to,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have questions that need answers, I wanted to let you know what has been happening, and I wanted to see you. We have never been apart for so long.”

Pharrgon’s eyes twinkled with slight amusement. “You were apart from me for eleven years before this.”

Keegan crunched his eyebrows together. “That’s different. That was before I met you.”

Pharrgon sighed. “I know that you met a childhood friend, and he was taking you to your sister. You encountered a Roshar, which I disintegrated, but only just before it was too late.” Again, the dragon sighed. “I am sorry that I did not arrive sooner. Now your friend lies in the castle of Elinralis to heal from his grievous wounds. Because of my absence, your journey is delayed.”

Keegan shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Besides, Saul is doing much better now. It has been almost fourteen days since we arrived in Elinralis, and Walneff and the palace healer both think he is strong enough to ride again.” Keegan raised his eyebrows as he mentioned Walneff. “Speaking of Walneff, he says that he has known you for a long time. How long has he known you?”

Pharrgon blinked his eyes. “Over one hundred years.”

Keegan uncrossed his arms as disbelief and shock shuddered through him. “But…how?”

Pharrgon sighed. “Keegan, there are many things that you do not and perhaps will not ever understand in this life. Count Master Walneff as one of them.”

Keegan let his shoulders sag. “But….”

Pharrgon interrupted Keegan. “Keegan, even I do not understand all about Walneff, for he has a long and strange history. However, I will tell you what I do know.” Pharrgon settled down to a comfortable position on his belly. “Please sit.” Pharrgon watched as Keegan lowered himself to the floor and crossed his legs, then the dragon hummed in the back of his throat before speaking. “Once in a lifetime, a child will be born of men that has special gifts bestowed on them by Dayspring. Dragons call them Dayspeakers, but humans call them Oracles or Masters. These men see the future and have the ability to interpret things that puzzle most, such as dreams, riddles, and prophecies. They often speak specific words from Dayspring and are sometimes endowed with some of Dayspring’s power. More often than not, they are given long lasting life on the earth.”

Keegan shook his head. “What are you saying? Is Walneff one of these…these Oracles?”

Pharrgon blinked again. “I was coming to the point if you would be quiet long enough to listen.”

Keegan lowered his head. “I’m sorry. Go on,” he said quietly.

“Yes. Walneff is a Dayspeaker.” Pharrgon lowered his head and his voice. “Now I will tell you of his past. I do not think that he will appreciate my telling you his story, but you do need to know so that you will better understand. But keep the knowledge to yourself.” Pharrgon hummed again. “Walneff’s family lived in a valley with a company of other people who were forced to live there by their king. Even as a young boy the people shunned Walneff because of his unnatural gifts and rejected him because of his great wisdom and insight into matters of the heart.” Pharrgon paused. “So, he, too, understands rejection, Keegan.”

Keegan looked down at his hands in his lap, nodding his head. “Go on.”

Pharrgon continued, “A strange disease went rampant through the community, and all those in the community, except Walneff and his younger brother, died. The two boys were both quite young when this happened and had to find their own way across the wilderness to return to a thriving society where they were not warmly welcomed back.

“When Walneff was a young man, he joined union with a girl he cared for, making him happy for a time, but she died not long afterward, breaking his heart. Many years later, his brother became ill and died, leaving Walneff alone in a cold world.” Pharrgon paused and made a thrumming noise in his throat. “Ah, it is hard to know what happened after that. Walneff went into deep mourning and disappeared from the known world for a time. He later returned full of wisdom and knowledge and became a Master of renown as well as a friend of dragons. He played a major role in finding refuge for the declining dragons, choosing a forest for their haven and a valley for their hunting grounds.”

“The Dragon Plains…” Keegan interjected.

Pharrgon nodded his head. “You know it as the Dragon Plains, but Walneff knew it as the valley of old memories and torment from his younger days.”

Keegan sat in silence for a moment as what Pharrgon said registered in his mind. “Walneff lived in the Dragon Plains?” he asked quietly.

Pharrgon nodded his head again. “Before your people, the Wovlen people, were exiled from their kingdom, Walneff’s family lived and died in that valley. They died because of a poisonous plant that once grew there.”

“I don’t recall such a plant growing in the Dragon Plains,” Keegan noted.

“You won’t recall, because Walneff entreated the dragons to burn the valley until even the dirt was smoldering. Only then were the poisonous plants wiped out. The fumes and smoke that rose into the sky that day were toxic. Toxic enough to kill even dragons.” Pharrgon looked past Keegan, his great golden eyes filled with soft nostalgia. “I was a young dragon then, living in the White Mountains. The ash and smoke from the event reached all the way to the mountains, killing many things or making them immune to the toxin, as it did to me.” Pharrgon looked back at Keegan. “I stayed in the mountains until Walneff and a fellow dragon, my mentor, Vlandir, found me and convinced me to go to the forest. Both said that I had a great part to play in the future.”