The Dragon's Champion (29 page)

Lepkin walked
over and took Lady Dimwater’s hand in his own. “If we live through this,” he
whispered. “I will go back to challenge Orres.” She squeezed his hand and gave
him a reassuring smile.

Marlin pointed
out to the north. A dark cloud appeared on the horizon. It was sweeping in
faster than any storm Lepkin had ever seen before in his life. Master Lepkin
reached down for his sword, but Marlin turned, shaking his head.

“It is not a
cloud, as my vision showed me,” he said. “It is a nightwing.”

Lepkin’s mouth
dropped open. Dimwater paled and sucked in a gasp. “Are you certain?” Dimwater
asked. Marlin nodded. They all knew that Marlin’s gift of True Sight would not
make a mistake. It could only be a nightwing.

Master Lepkin
held his sword out to Marlin. “For whatever use it may be, I bequeath my sword
to you.”

“Lepkin, you
can’t fight the nightwing,” Marlin warned. “The longer you take the form of a dragon,
the more Nagar’s Secret will assault your mind. You could be turned.”

“Then, watch me,
dear friend, and if my aura shows that I am turning, slay me.” Lepkin let go of
Dimwater’s hand and went to the railing of the balcony. He knew he would have
to wait until the nightwing came closer. He didn’t want to be in dragon form
any longer than was absolutely necessary.

A bird’s fierce
call turned their attentions. Marlin held out his hand and a falcon swooped
down from the west, lighting on his outstretched arm. Marlin took the message
and broke the seal. “It bears the seal of House Lokton,” he said as he unrolled
the message. Lepkin and Dimwater both took in a deep breath and held it. “Erik
is alive,” Marlin said with a smile.

“That’s my boy,”
Lepkin praised with a smile. “As long as he lives, there is a chance that we
will yet win this.”

“He wishes to
return,” Marlin added. “He says he is ready for his training and will take the
Exalted Test of Arophim as soon as Master Lepkin and I think he is ready.”

Lepkin nodded
and turned to Dimwater. She was already summoning her magic mirror. She looked
back to Marlin. “Where is he?” she asked.

“In Lokton
Manor,” Marlin said with a smile. “He has given an explicit invitation for you
to come straight into the main hall. He is waiting for you there with Braun,
the captain of his father’s guard.”

“What of Al?”
Lepkin asked.

“Al is well, but
he had to cast the Stone Shell in order to save Erik from Janik,” Marlin
replied. Dimwater nodded and went through the portal without waiting for the
explanation.

“Hold off the
nightwing as long as you can,” she called from inside the portal.

“Janik was a
warlock,” Marlin told Lepkin.
“Of the same order as Tukai.”

Lepkin’s face
grew sour. He held his sword out for Marlin. “Take it,” he said. Marlin
reluctantly grabbed the hilt of the magical sword. “Does the nightwing come
alone?”

Marlin turned
back to the north. He squinted a bit. His eyes scanned the skyline and the
ground. Finally he shook his head.

“No,” Marlin
said. “There are shadows moving along the ground, I can only faintly see their
auras; maybe a hundred or so of them.”

“Blacktongues,”
Lepkin guessed grimly. “Put your men on alert. Tell them to stay within the
protection of the wall and the temple itself, if they can. Let the Blacktongues
come to us.”

“Walls will not
shelter them from the nightwing’s wrath,” Marlin said.

“No, but it may
buy them some time, as a nightwing cannot see through solid objects. Its sight
is no better than mine is while I am in dragon form. If the men can hide from
it, they will stand a better chance. The nightwing will come for me, and the
Blacktongues will surely be after the book. When Erik gets here, take him into
your chamber and give him Nagar’s Secret. If the battle turns badly for us,
then you and Erik should run and take the book with you.”

Marlin nodded.
He still looked out to the oncoming beast, and the warriors that followed on
foot. “I can see someone riding atop the nightwing,” Marlin said. “It looks to
be a wizard. We only have a minute or two before they will arrive.”

“Then pray that
the Gods will be merciful to us, and that we will be blessed with the strength
of the Ancients,” Lepkin replied. He climbed onto the railing, waiting for the
correct moment to take the dragon form. Marlin ran inside and within a few
moments gongs and bells sounded through the temple. Lepkin could see guards
rushing out from below like ants coming out to attack an animal that had
stepped in their hill.

The nightwing
was coming well into view now. Its dark, black wings left a trail of shadows
behind as it coursed through the sky. It screeched loudly and let out a puff of
fire and smoke. Lepkin could see a horde of men jumping up from hiding
positions in the fields around the temple. The battle had begun.

Master Lepkin
closed his eyes and leapt from the balcony. He stretched his arms out to his
sides and kept his legs close together as he fell. The wind rushed up to
envelope him and the flaming sphere wrapped around him, as it had before. He
managed to fully transform before he was halfway to the ground. He let out a
mighty roar and dove for the field beyond the north wall. He spewed a stream of
liquid fire that engulfed the oncoming Blacktongues. Their screams assaulted
Lepkin’s ears, but they were drowned out by cheering from the temple guards
along the wall.

Upward he
soared. He wanted to take the nightwing from below, but he was not fast enough.
The wizard riding the great, black beast sent lightning down from the sky.
Lepkin dodged the magical bolts, spinning and dashing through the air with the
grace of a swallow. Lepkin launched a fireball that connected with the
nightwing’s underbelly. He knew it wouldn’t take the beast down. It was as
impervious to flame as he was in his dragon form, but it would at least
distract the thing from reaching the temple.

The nightwing
screeched again and its eyes narrowed on Lepkin. The mighty beast was half
again as big as he was, with a tail that ended in a mass of long, barbed
spikes. Its fangs were dull in color, but sharp enough that they could tear
right through bone. The beast turned in midflight and snapped its maw at
Lepkin’s tail.

The wizard
launched an array of magical arrows that followed Lepkin upward. Lepkin looped
over the nightwing and dove directly behind it. The magical arrows followed him
at first, but they lost track of him as he turned to fly beneath the nightwing.

Lepkin rolled to
an inverted position, reached up with a taloned hand and scratched at the
beast’s underbelly. The nightwing flapped and tilted its wings a bit to catch
an updraft, pulling away from Lepkin’s reach. Then it swung at Lepkin with its
massive tail. Lepkin spiraled down toward the ground just in time to miss the
spikes. He felt a sting in his left hind leg. He craned his neck around and
noticed that the wizard had sent another flurry of magical arrows down at him,
and one had hit.

Lepkin clenched
his jaw and turned to fly straight up at the nightwing’s belly again. The
nightwing’s tail swished at him, but Lepkin had been prepared for that. He
blocked it with his forearms and then straightened his neck like a battering
ram. He slammed into the beast’s belly, jolting the nightwing to the side. The
two flying behemoths roared angrily as they grappled with their claws and bit
at each other. Over and over they spun through the air. Blood streaked across
the sky as their talons each found soft tissue and sliced through it.

Lepkin sneered
as wickedly as his dragon snout would let him when he saw the wizard flung from
the nightwing’s back. Lepkin struck out with his tail, clipping the wizard’s
chest and head. It wasn’t a direct hit though. Lepkin had hoped to run the
wizard through with one of his tail-spikes, but he only managed to hit with the
side of his tail. Still, the blow was enough to knock the wizard unconscious.
The man spiraled limply through the air toward the ground.

The nightwing
dove to retrieve its master, but Lepkin grabbed its left forearm in his claws
and bit down on the shoulder joint with all of his might. The nightwing snarled
and turned its attention back to Lepkin. It clawed and bit at him. The two
beasts flapped their wings crazily, struggling to stay aloft in the sky as they
tore at each other.

The two beasts
rose into the clouds, fighting and slashing all the way up. Then, they became
entangled. All of their limbs were locked in battle as they desperately clung
to each other in a grip of death. Lepkin felt a searing pain rip through one of
his legs. The nightwing’s barbed tail had found its mark. Lepkin returned the
blow by sinking the spikes of his own tail into the nightwing’s back, just
between its wings. The move was enough to almost paralyze the nightwing, but
now there were other things Lepkin had to worry about.

They had become
so entangled that not even their combined efforts could keep them aloft. Now,
with the nightwing being semi-paralyzed there was no way to escape the plunge
of death. The two of them were careening end over end toward the jagged, rocky
ground below. Lepkin knew for certain that at least one of them would be killed
by the fall, if not both. And even if he managed to survive, the dark call of
Nagar’s Secret was assaulting his mind. He would not be able to hold back the
evil power for long.

*****

“Marlin,” Erik
called out as he rushed through the magic portal. Lady Dimwater emerged behind
him. A mighty roar, followed by a whooshing sound, caught their attention. Erik
looked to the north and saw a mighty dragon torching men in the field beyond
the wall. “What is that?” Erik asked.

“It is Lepkin,”
Marlin replied solemnly. Lady Dimwater ran to the edge of the balcony as Lepkin
rose up through the air to meet the nightwing.

“Who is the
other dragon?” Erik asked.

“That is no
dragon, Erik,” Marlin replied. “It may look like one, and perhaps it was one
once, a long time ago, but that thing is now known as a nightwing.” Marlin
could see the unasked question in Erik’s eyes. “A nightwing is a dragon that
has been twisted by the power of the book.”

Erik nodded his
understanding and went to the railing to watch. Bolts of lightning swirled
around the two beasts. Erik looked to Lady Dimwater, but saw that she was busy
muttering words he didn’t understand, with her arm outstretched toward Lepkin.

“She is
shielding him,” Marlin whispered. “There is a wizard that rides the nightwing.”

Erik watched in
horror as the beasts swirled around each other, and then finally collided
powerfully. The sound of their collision was almost like thunder. They wrestled
and fought ferociously until the wizard fell from the nightwing and Lepkin
managed to strike the man with his tail.

“There, the
wizard,” Erik shouted as he pointed him out for Dimwater. She nodded her head
and a silvery cloud formed in front of the balcony. Lady Dimwater climbed onto
the cloud. Erik turned to Marlin and reached for Lepkin’s sword. Marlin shot
him a puzzled look at first, but then released his grip on the sword.

Erik climbed
over the rails and jumped onto the back of Dimwater’s cloud as it started away
from the balcony. He sank through the cloud, up to his chest before Dimwater
caught him by his collar and pulled him up.

“What are you
doing, get back with Marlin,” Dimwater scolded.

“I want to
help,” Erik pleaded. “Please, can’t I help?”

Dimwater could
see the earnestness in the boy’s eyes. She smiled softly and looked to the
magical sword in Erik’s hand. The blade started to glow. “I think you mean
may
I
help,” Dimwater corrected. The cloud jerked forward again. “Hang on to my
cloak, or you will fall through the cloud,” she said.

Erik grabbed her
cloak with his left hand and spread his feet a little wider than shoulder width
apart for extra balance. The wind licked his face as they soared to meet the
wizard. Erik looked back and saw the temple guardians cutting through ranks of
Blacktongues with their long, bladed weapons. The fight was going in their
favor, Erik thought.

Erik then looked
up and noticed that Lepkin and the nightwing had disappeared into the clouds
above. He hoped that Lepkin would be alright. Something slammed into the cloud
and jarred it in mid-flight. Erik tried to look around Dimwater, but she held
him behind her with her left hand.

“The wizard has
righted himself,” she said. “Stay behind me and hold on tight. Lady Dimwater
stuck her right palm out and sent a multitude of shockwaves at the wizard, who
was riding his own cloud now. The wizard held his left forearm out and took the
shockwaves. The force of the blows ruffled the man’s beard and hair, but caused
no serious harm.

The wizard
produced a staff from thin air and then pointed it at Dimwater. Dimwater
similarly summoned her staff with the golden lion’s head and created her
magical shield. The wizard’s magical arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield, sounding
like rain against a tile roof. Dimwater smiled and summoned a gale from the
east.

The wizard waved
his staff in a circular motion and then pointed his free hand back at Dimwater.
The gale turned dark and swirled in upon itself until the shape of a cyclone
formed. The twister zigzagged around a few times and then came at Dimwater from
the side. The force of the impact tilted her cloud. Erik fell to his knees, but
he did not let go of Dimwater’s cloak.

“Have you ever
jousted?” Dimwater asked Erik.

“No,” Erik said.
“But I am always willing to try new things.”

Dimwater smiled
at the boy’s courage. “Stay hidden until I say.”

“Lady Dimwater,
look up,” Erik said from behind.

She looked up
and saw Lepkin and the nightwing falling out of the clouds in a tangled mass of
spikes and claws. “We don’t have much time,” she said. “Let’s finish this wizard.”
She sent the cloud lurching forward with great speed. She summoned winds from
the south to propel them faster. The wizard readied himself and pointed his
staff at Dimwater. He too summoned winds to boost his cloud forward. Magical
arrows flew out from his other hand, pelting Dimwater’s shield as they closed
in on each other.