The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (47 page)

He shook his head, just
before another waiter walked up to the table.  “I believe she and another woman
left a short while ago, sir.”

“Damn!” shouted Roger,
slamming his hand against the table, causing several others to stare his way.

He ignored them, rubbing
his chin angrily.  With Julianna, he should have expected something like this,
but she was living in a dreamworld if she believed he was simply going to
accept her brush-off.  No, right now he had only one goal on his mind.  To find
out just who this Dominick Westbrooke was, and to see just what competition he
was dealing with.

“It’s been months since
I’ve wielded one of these,” murmured Dominick, holding up the sword he held. 
The silver blade gleamed against the sunlight, its gold hilt carved with the
runes of dreamphasers.  A fitting gift for his eighteenth birthday from his
father.

It had been Discord who
suggested they return to Barokka to pick up a few weapons, since many of the
caverns of Chavernos were far from secure as life on the island was, some being
deadly.  Fortunately though, Lendric’s home didn’t sport any demons guarding
the entrance.

At least none that they’d
seen when last here.

“Let’s just hope you won’t
need it,” replied Warp.

Like many of the caverns,
this one sported the rough outlines of a trail, occasionally sprouting other passageways
to tempt unknowing individuals with what was hidden beyond, issuing its own
surprises in the dark.

The sound of Discord’s boot
hitting a squishy substance alerted their attention instantly.  “What the hell
is this?” he growled.

“Look out!  Acidic slime!”
shouted a voice.

Knowing the deadly
substance well, the other pair jumped back instantly with a gasp and a scream,
while Discord tore his boot off, swearing.  Dominick quickly cast an
illumination spell, but as light was cast upon the boot, all could see it was
dampened only by an ordinary puddle of water and a smidgen of mud.

“Just kidding!” snickered
the same voice, soon echoed by the laughter of several others.  Moments later,
a barrage of multi-colored lights flooded the tunnel, causing the trio of
humans to duck, while the lights flew over their heads to escape outside,
vanishing towards the horizon.

Growling against their
mocking laughter, Discord shook his fist after them.  “Damnable fairies, if I
ever get my hands on you, I’ll tear your blasted wings off!”

“And another useless human
threat comes into play!” chuckled the initial fairy, floating by the entrance
with folded arms.  Although only about a foot high, the reddish-haired little
man clearly wasn’t intimidated, grinning with amusement.  “Been a long time,
hasn’t it, Discord?”

“Xavier!” Discord growled.

“Ah, ye remember me.  I’m
touched.”

“I’ll do better than that,
breaking every bone in your miserable hide, you pint-sized pixie!” he snarled,
making a grab for him, though missing by inches.

The mischievous fairy
laughed again.  “Sorry, but I have better plans for the day.  Maybe some other
time… if ye can catch me.”

Discord made a second lunge
for him, but the fairy disappeared in his hands, fairy dust springing up in his
wake.  As the frustrated man sneezed several times, Xavier’s echoing voice
called out, “Better luck next time.”  His laughter trailed after him.

Sensing Dominick and Warp’s
amusement behind him, Discord whipped about to face them, but their smiles
faded into nonchalant seriousness.

“Not one word,” he warned
quietly, glaring at them once before storming down the corridor, threatening
dire vengeance against the tiny pranksters.

When he was out of hearing
distance, both his wife and son muffled their pent-up laughter before following
him.

*****

Dominick kept up an
illumination spell to aid them through the darkness.

With only minor creatures
found within the caverns, which skittered away from them harmlessly, it was
only the uphill incline of the long path that was tiring.  When they finally
reached the entrance to Lendric’s home, there were no lanterns, but there was a
wooden door which had a luminous glow.

“It’s about bloody time,”
said Discord, breathing hard as he reached towards it.  Sparks flew from his
hand as he pulled it back with a yell.  “Blazes, that thing’s made of fire!”

A musical, condescending
laugh echoed about them.  “What did you expect of a dragon’s domain?  A
snow-laden entrance?” mocked the same voice, just before a tall fair-haired man
in dark blue robes materialized.  Before any could speak, he continued more
seriously, “Do you have an appointment with the great dragon sorcerer?”

Discord’s eyes narrowed. 
“Great dragon sorcerer, hell!  You tell Lendric, this is Discord Westbrooke,
and I’ve brought my wife and son to meet with him.”

“I’ll let him know, and
he’ll get back to you by the end of the week.”

“By the end of the
week
?”
snarled Discord, his face reddening as he took a threatening step towards the
somewhat lanky man who then wobbled back slightly.  Obviously due to the rough
footing of the cavern, the man would have insisted.

Glaring at Discord, he
snapped, “You can attempt to beat my brains in, Mr. Macho, but don’t think
you’ll break this door quite so easily!  Only the right spell can open it.”

“Then you’d better use it
now
,
or by Chaos, I’ll...”

Warp’s gentle touch on his
shoulder drew his attention slowly.  “Dear,” she whispered, “there are other
ways to handle situations like this.  Observe.”  Flashing a sweet smile to the
man, she gave a brief laugh.  “You’ll have to pardon my husband,” she said
aloud, leaning forward slightly.  “Terrible temper when he’s angry, I’m
afraid.”

“Yes,” said the man,
casting a wary eye at Discord.  “I can see that.  But I have my orders, and the
great dragon sorcerer doesn’t speak to just any riff-raff.”

“It’s a good thing my
brother stayed home then,” Dominick laughed quietly, his pun lost on the
bemused man.

“Fortunately,” continued
Warp, recapturing his attention, “I happen to be a bit more reasonable.  If you
won’t open the door for us, then I’ll simply have to use another method.  But
don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word for you as a security guard.”  Waving
once, she vanished in a flash of lights.

“What?” sputtered the man. 
“B-but she can’t do that!”

“Too late,” Discord replied
with a deep laugh, folding his arms.  “Now that you have a spare moment, you
might want to brush up your job resumé.”

“Or you might open the
door, so we can find my mother before Lendric does,” suggested Dominick.

His blue eyes narrowing
with irritated defeat, the man finally clenched his fists and growled.  “Oh,
very well!  But he’s not going to like being disturbed by your little troop!”

Waving his hand at the
door, the man recited an incantation that caused the glow to fade.  Pushing the
heavy door open, the man strode inside, glancing about for the missing Warp.

“All right, Mrs.
Westbrooke, you’ve had your little game of hide-and-seek!” he snarled.  “Come
out right now, you deceitful demoness or I’ll...”

“You’ll keep a civil tongue
in your head,” came a deeper voice, just before a curtain parted several feet
away.  “Please excuse him, my lady.  He may spout venom like a viper, but he
does have his good points.”  Warp reappeared, the arm of a blond-haired elf
around her shoulders.

Smiling amiably as his
emerald eyes twinkled, the dragon sorcerer known as Lendric led his companion
back to the awaiting pair.  Though even older than Discord and Warp, he didn’t
look it due to being a dragon, instead seeming to be a man in his prime.  Upon
reaching maturity, all dragons aged too slowly to be noticed for countless
years, making five hundred years seem like five.

Dressed in a leather outfit
considered a favorite among the elves, a forest green cape flowing behind him,
one would hardly guess by his slender frame that a dragon’s heart beat within.

Magic—even on a world
filled with it—was still wondrous to behold when capable of transforming a
majestic dragon into a human or an elf.  They could transform into other forms
just as easily, but those were the norm.

Discord stepped forward
instantly, his expression grim.  “I suppose we should be honored that his royal
imperial majesty has a few moments to spare for the meek and humble,” he
murmured, with a feigned bow.

The gateway man jabbed his
shoulder.  “Show respect for his greatness, beast!”

Discord’s eyes flashed
warningly, just before he reached forward to pick the man up with one hand, his
grip tightening about the man’s throat.

“
Beast
, you
were saying?” he hissed, his dark eyes beginning to swirl with the magic he was
named for.

The man stared down at him
with bulging eyes, only able to get out a soft rasp.  Lendric sighed wearily. 
Discord’s temper was well-known, often exceeding that of Chaos, and since he
had the strength to match it, he was formidable when pushed too far.

“Now really, Discord,” he
interjected.  “I don’t take kindly to guests choking my assistants, so kindly
release Normrynth.”  At his initial reluctance, Lendric’s eyes flared red, and
his voice deepened even more.  “
Now
, my friend,” he said with
deceptive quiet.

Glaring once more at the
assistant, Discord casually relaxed his hand.

Normrynth dropped to the
floor with a loud, “Ooof!”  He then sat up with a murderous expression.  “Next
time, Westbrooke, I’ll drop you like a pebble from the top of Chavernos’s
highest mountain!”

“In your case, that
shouldn’t be much of a threat,” growled Discord, earning an angry mutter from
him as he left the room.  Folding his arms, he turned to face Lendric.  “We
meet again, o’ dragon of ages.”

“Yes,” he replied with a
smirk.  “Glad to see you too, o’ discordant son of my old friend.  How is Chaos
these days?”

“Chaotic as usual,” drawled
Discord.  “You know, you really should put some lighting in this place.  That
outer tunnel is so dark, you’d have to be an elf with infra-red vision to
manage without it.”

“What would you have me
do?  Put up rows of lanterns for the ‘tourists’?” he asked sarcastically. 
“Besides, that’s what torches are for, and in my elven form I do have the
required vision anyway.”

Knowing better than to
match wits with Lendric, Discord gestured to his side.  “I take it you’ve
become reacquainted with my wife Warp.”

“And bewitched by her as
ever,” agreed Lendric, kissing her hand gently.  At her uncharacteristic blush,
Discord stepped forward to pull her back, clasping her hand meaningfully to
entwine her fingers with his own.  The silent gesture spoke volumes.  Smiling
slightly, the dragon elf shook his head knowingly.  “The Westbrooke men are
ever possessive about their women, are they not?”

“That’s why they’re ever in
demand by the ladies,” agreed Warp, squeezing her husband’s hand reassuringly.

“Which brings us to the
reason we’re here,” continued Discord.  “But perhaps our son should be the one
to explain this, since it involves him.”

Lendric turned to the
younger man, his smile becoming surprise as he appraised him.  “Well I’ll be a
son of a wyvern, if it isn’t... wait, don’t tell me...”  He rubbed his head
thoughtfully while mentally searching for the name.  Before anyone could interrupt,
he brightened.  “Ah, I remember.  Demonic, right?”

A short laugh escaped
Discord.  “More usually his brother, but at times I’d agree with that,” he
murmured, just before Warp nudged him into silence.

“It’s
Dominick
,”
she corrected, glaring at her husband.  “Our son’s
true
name,
despite Discord’s efforts to make it seem otherwise.

Needing to cast his
irritation somewhere, since her catlike grin was only making things worse, he
turned to their son.  “I still don’t understand why you prefer that ordinary
appellation your mother insisted on naming you,” growled Discord.  “Phaser
holds more status to your ability.”

“That’s just it,” argued
Dominick.  “I never wanted to be looked at solely for that.  Besides, it’s not
my fault that Grandfather decided
your
real name should be...”

Discord swiftly covered his
son’s mouth before he could utter a syllable of the mysterious name.  Some
things he didn’t need blabbed to the entire world, or in this case, Lendric.

“I get the idea,” chuckled
the dragon elf, smiling.  “I’m sorry to have forgotten momentarily, Dominick,
but it has been quite awhile since our last meeting.  I still remember you as a
boy when I was much taller than you, but now we stand as equals.”

“Time changes all of us
except you, Lendric,” replied Dominick, his eyes twinkling as he shook his
hand.  “One of these days, you’ve got to show us where you hide your fountain
of youth.”