The Gates of Night: The Dreaming Dark - Book 3 (35 page)

When Lei first met him, Daine was bold and confident. He believed in his country. He believed in his abilities. He even believed in the Silver Flame. During their time in Thelanis, Lei had seen a fraction of that confidence return. It was as if something opened within him, releasing a spirit long trapped inside. He laughed, and instead of being sardonic, he actually seemed pleased. “Fine,” he said. “What do we have to lose?” With a new light in his eyes, he took his place between her wings, and Lei felt renewed joy.

Buoyed by that emotion, Lei took to the air. Flying was second nature to her. The knowledge lay
in
her body, the instincts just beneath the surface of her mind. The sensation of the wind against her scales thrilled her, and for a moment she forgot about the
people clinging to her back. She felt a force above her, a beacon calling to the dragon’s blood within. She rose up along the edge of the Ring of Siberys, basking in the radiance of the stones. Only then did she remember her passengers and mitigate the angle of ascent.

“Where are you going?”
Daine called, his voice barely audible over the wind.

Lei didn’t try to answer. In truth, she didn’t even know. The call was impossible to resist.

She saw it. The largest shard yet, the size of a castle. A hole gaped in one side, the mouth of a vast cavern. Lei dove into the tunnel beyond. The crystal walls pulsed with faint light, but a brighter spark shone ahead, a flame at the heart of the stone.

And flame it was. At last she flew into a wide chamber, hundreds of feet across. A great draconic paw rose up in the center, crystal talons curved toward the ceiling. Fire rose from the claw, a pillar that seemed to draw in heat instead of releasing it. Smaller lights were scattered across the walls of the chamber, hundreds of tiny sparks. But the great column was the force that had called to her, of that Lei had no doubt.

Lei settled on the floor of the cavern and folded her wings. The moment her talons touched the floor, the sparks along the walls burst into full flames. The central fire changed color, becoming intense silver-white, and a powerful odor of fresh rain filled the room. The flames formed the head of a massive dragon, a mighty wyrm with horns curving back on each side of its head, and long, frilled ears. A ridge beneath its chin gave the impression of a beard.

“Who comes among us?” it said, and the chamber shook with the sound. “You are no child of Siberys!”

“No,” Daine called, sliding down from Lei’s back. “We come in search of knowledge.”

The burning silver dragon looked down, seeming to notice Daine for the first time. “Let the pretender abandon her false form, and then we may consider your request.”

With some regret, Lei raised the pattern in her mind and dissolved the enchantment. Her muscles burned as she shrank to her original form, her scales becoming cloth and armor once more. A moment later she was on her hands and knees on the floor. Physically, she was healthy enough, but she felt a terrible void within. Summoning the energy had taken more from her than she had anticipated.

The central fire became an intense sapphire blue, and the shape twisted and changed. The new dragon had deep, sunken eyes, and a single horn in the center of its snout.

“Intriguing,” it boomed, gazing down at them. “A traveler, and a most unusual one at that. What is it you seek, that you would dare disturb our rest?”

A month ago, Daine would have turned to Lei. A year ago, Jode would have been the voice of the group. Now, Lei saw the strength in Daine that had long been in hiding. It was Captain Daine who strode forward and gazed up into the fire. “The Dreaming Dark is gathering its might in the heart of Dal Quor. The balance of the planes is shifting. We were sent to this place by one who believed that you could guide us in the battle that lies ahead.”

“And to what end do you fight?”

“To protect our land—the world of your birth—from the forces of nightmare.”

The flame shimmered through a spectrum of color, the shape wavering like true fire, before settling once more into the great blue dragon. “You are bold, traveler. And you speak the truth. An army of nightmares gathers in the very heart of Dal Quor, and with every passing moment, the planes move closer to the vital alignment. Yet all hinges on one piece: the crystal moon, which lies under guard in the Tower of a Thousand Teeth.”

“What must we do?” Daine said.

“You must find a path to the tower that will not take you through the host of horrors assembled on the plains. And you must find the key to shatter the crystal moon, to restore the imbalance of old. Both lie in a place of pain, a memory forgotten, a battle you have fought a hundred times. It is a dangerous road, but the only one that leads where you must go.”

Daine considered this, and then he nodded. “Very well. I thank you for your wisdom, great eidolon.”

“Our business is not yet done,” the burning dragon said. Its voice shifted, and with it, color and form. Dragons of copper and bronze, fierce red and baleful green. Lei caught a glimpse of a vast dragon skull formed from fire as white as bone, just before the flame shifted to black deep as any shadow. “The way has been prepared. Take our gift, and walk the world once more.”

The shimmering dragon’s jaws opened wide, and it
breathed
. A prismatic column of flame engulfed Daine, and his scream echoed across the chamber.

P
ierce charged across the cavern, intending to slam into Daine and push him out of the flames. For all his speed, Pierce wasn’t fast enough. The brilliant fire faded, and as it did, so did the chamber around him. Crystal walls dissolved like sand blowing in wind, and by the time Pierce reached Daine’s fallen form, they were back in the desert, and the Ring of Siberys was nowhere to be seen.

Lei and Jode knelt over Daine, Jode pressing forward to bring his healing touch to bear. He reached for Daine, then paused in confusion.

Daine was unhurt. Despite the scream and the fury of the flames, there were no burns or any other signs of injury. Shira swiftly confirmed the evidence of their eyes, and almost on cue, Daine stirred, pushing himself up with one arm.

“Thanks for the gift,” he groaned. He shook his head, blinking several times. “Next time, just give me the advice.”

“Daine!”
Lei dropped to the ground and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you hurt?”

“Don’t think so,” he said, his voice stronger with every word. “The pain … agonizing, but now …” He slowly
stood up, surprise entering his voice. “I feel … good. Better than before.”

There has been an infusion of spiritual energy
, Shira informed Pierce.
At this time, I am unable to determine the precise nature of this phenomenon or what effects it will have
.

Jode reached up and took Daine’s hand. “Yes,” he said. “You
are
stronger than before. It seems the dragons gave you a gift, after all.”

Daine looked down at Jode. “You said we had power. What sort of power? If we’re going to war, I need to know what resources are available.”

“I don’t know exactly,” Jode said. “Our strength comes from our unity, and I’ve been here on my own. But if we’re together, close to one another, you should be able to overcome the limitations of the physical world. In Dal Quor, anyone can do this to a limited degree. This is a world defined by imagination. But we have the strength of two.” He looked at Daine with an appraising gaze. “And now, perhaps more. The most important thing is to believe. You’re as fast and strong as you can imagine. I’m afraid you’ll find it’s difficult to shed your belief in your own limitations. Just try. You’ll be surprised by what you can do.”

“What about this?” Daine drew his dagger, a weapon of plain steel. “Why does Pierce have that golden flail, while I have this old thing?”

“We arrived in a dream plucked from your memories. You have the armor and weapons you had at that time.”

It was true. Daine was wearing a shirt of plain steel chainmail and a gray cloak pinned with a brooch bearing House Deneith’s chimera seal.

“Concentrate,” Jode said. “Remember the moment at which you left Eberron, what you wore, what you carried.”

Daine closed his eyes, and his armor changed. Within moments he was wearing the gifts he had received from the faerie queen, and the dagger in his hand was Cannith adamantine. He opened his eyes and shook his head in amazement. “How far can we take this?” He closed his eyes again, but this time there was no change that Pierce could see.

“It’s easy to reclaim your memories,” Jode said. “It may be possible to create something new, but I haven’t been able to manage it yet, and I’ve been here longer than you.”

Daine opened his eyes. “This will have to do, then.” He looked at the desert around them. “I see we’re back where we started. Where do we go from here?”

“The dragon told us of a path,” Pierce said. “A place of pain, a memory forgotten, a battle you have fought a hundred times.”

“What battle have we fought a hundred times?” Lei said. “We spent that one summer fighting Valenar, but not in one place.”

“Not you,” Daine said, a smile spreading across his face. “The dragon was speaking to me. And there is one battle that I have fought a hundred times and more, and a memory we have all forgotten. Jode, can you help me find a path?”

“Certainly,” Jode said, holding out his hand. “Where are we going?”

“Keldan Ridge,” Daine said. “And this time, we finish the battle.”

They walked across the desert, and the world slowly changed around them, becoming more like Cyre with every minute that passed. Perhaps this was normal for
the others; perhaps reality always shifted in dreams. But Pierce had never had a dream, and it was disconcerting to see trees sprout from barren earth and day turn into night. Pierce had his greatbow in his hands, an arrow nocked to the string, and he did his best to maintain awareness of the surroundings, searching for any sign of enemy motion, as he had done on countless patrols since the time of his forging. But how could he be expected to prepare against an enemy when the land itself refused to hold one shape?

Pierce was still coming to terms with the flail he’d drawn from within, and the newfound capabilities of his quiver. Like Lei’s satchel, the space inside was larger than it appeared. In fact, there were two pockets, a narrow space filled with arrows, and the larger area that held the flail—and, as it turned out, could hold his bow. It was strange to think that he’d had this capability all along and never known it. He wondered if other secrets lay hidden within his frame.

“Sovereign lords,” whispered Lei.

Pierce had little use for wonder. He tried to analyze every situation, evaluating it from a tactical standpoint, searching for the threats hidden within. Yet the sight before him was enough to give him pause.

They stood on the edge of Keldan Ridge. Fires burned in the valley below, smoke rising from the shattered airship and torn tents. Corpses littered the field, Cyran soldiers intertwined with the warforged they’d fought that night. Pierce had no memory of how this battle had ended, but the beginning was fixed in his mind. The cries of the wounded. His comrades in arms—his friends—being butchered by these bizarre constructs. He remembered how those who survived the initial assault had looked at him, the fear in their
eyes, as if they blamed him for the actions of the strange soldiers. The memory was strong, but Pierce had never dreamed, and he’d never thought to see this place again.

“There,” Daine said, pointing. A small group of soldiers made their way down the distant hill where the Cyrans had built their redoubt. It was hard to see much detail at such a distance, but Pierce could see the long wooden poles they carried—small trees, stripped of their limbs.

“It’s just as I dreamed it,” Daine said. “Lei, you set up a siege staff in the center of the valley—”

“I can’t build a siege staff,” Lei said, her gaze on the descending soldiers.

“I know. But the enemy didn’t. They sent out their soldiers to engage you. Jode, Krazhal, Kesht, and I used the confusion to enter the base. The tunnel should be …
there
. It’s concealed behind an illusion, but the earth is worn down around the entrance.”