The Yanti (18 page)

And she moved none too soon.

It was as if a bolt of lightning shot the length of the cavern. There came a deafening thunder. The dragons were illumined in a blinding light. She saw their huge wings suddenly splay out, striking the sides of the tunnel, as if trying to ward off blows that came at them from every direction at once. As the ceiling exploded, and the weight of the world fell on them, shoving them beneath the water, Ali sensed their dying horror.

Of course she felt their agony, as she grieved for the river as well. The dragons had been destroyed, true, but she had killed Tiena as well. A crashing tidal wave chased her farther up the cavern. The river could not possibly recover from the stone dam she had dropped in its heart. A large share of the green world’s magic had been permanently ruined with the loss of Tiena, and she knew she was to blame.

Her heart heavy, Ali flew toward the harbor that lay beneath Uleestar and the Crystal Palace. She knew it would be in shambles from the rushing water, but it was here she planned to return to the surface, perhaps to find more high fairies to help her with her mission.

But it was not to be . . . Not all the dragons had been fooled.

Between Ali and Uleestar was Drash’s father.

Kashar. The oldest and most powerful of all the dragons.

Once they had been friends, King Kashar and Queen Geea.

Now he did not look happy to see her.

K
ashar sat on the exact spot where Ali had met Trae and Amma on her last visit to Uleestar. But now the harbor shook with turbulence. Better than half the boats that had been previously anchored there had been drowned.

Waves continued to pound the area. Ali knew they would not last. The tons of rock she had dropped on the dragons had severed Tiena from Lestre. On the surface, south of her present position, she knew Lestre must be already swelling, probably across the sandy desert that surrounded Mt. Tutor. That might be good—it would slow Vak’s advance toward the Earth. Without the Yanti, Ali knew he would use the yellow door inside the mountain to try to invade humanity’s home.

Yet it was hard for Ali to imagine Vak’s army would attack Earth via Pete’s Peak and Breakwater. He would not push his entire force through a single narrow cave and one hick town. It was more likely the elven king planned to use
all
the caves she had found—the six tunnels located just above the doors. It was through one of those tunnels that she had ended up in Africa—on the side of Kilimanjaro—and met Ra.

She wished she had Ra with her now, to face Kashar.

The king of the dragons was bigger than any other of his race, and his coloring, especially on his wings and his face, was more varied. His son, Drash—after he had transformed into a full-fledged dragon—had been largely black, with hints of red and purple on his skin. Kashar had streaks of blue, particularly on his wings, and yellow circles around his red triangular eyes.

Yet there was a dull tinge to the yellow—it looked as if it were the result of sickness. Where his wings were blue, the skin was cracking. She could see faint bloody veins that pulsed as he settled his massive bulk before her. It made her recall a talk she’d had with Drash, not long after they’d met.

“My father is Kashar, king of the dragons, and for as long as there have been tales to tell and remember, he has been a staunch ally of the fairies. Many times over the long years he visited the high fairies at Uleestar. But recently he has allied himself with the Shaktra, and set the other dragons to killing fairies, elves, dwarves, and leprechauns.”

Ali had asked why Kashar had joined the Shaktra.

“Because the Shaktra promised him the one thing dragons long for above all else. It told him that it would show him how to remain on the kloudar, even when they pass on the other side of Anglar. That way all the dragons would be able to enter the blue universe, like the ice maidens, and leave the bounds of this world behind . . . Drash thinks his father has been bewitched.”

Ali had pressed him on the issue.

“Drash has heard a rumor that the Shaktra is able to give the dragons a taste of the blue universe.”

Ali had asked if the Shaktra was feeding them something.

“Drash does not know for sure. But if the Shaktra is, then it cannot stop . . . Or perhaps Drash should say, the dragons do not want it to stop.”

Ali had asked if the substance might be addictive, like opium.

Drash had shook his head, wanting to avoid the question. But he had said:
“Drash can see that the dragons have changed for the worse.”

Ali was not surprised to see that Kashar did not look like the king of the dragons she once knew, and he was one creature she remembered well, for they had been close friends. His alliance with the Shaktra had definitely aged him, which was odd, for dragons aged very slowly, and outlived all other beings in the green world—except, of course, the ice maidens, who did not count, since they came and went as they pleased, and were not bound to the elemental kingdom.

But his voice had not changed. His tone was deep and thunderous, and yet somehow eloquent. She heard the anger in his words, though, there was no mistaking that.

“Your stunt was clever, Geea, and cruel. You have killed many an old friend of Kashar’s. But it has all been in vain, for Kashar will not allow you to leave here alive.”

Ali knew that dragons seldom spoke in first person.

She floated a hundred yards in front of him, in midair, her green field close to maximum strength. From past experience, she knew his flame could come quickly, and without warning. She responded in a reasonable tone.

“I know your great powers, you know mine. Is it necessary for us to fight? When we were once such close allies?”

Kashar tried to grasp her gaze with his smoldering red eyes, for the latter were famous for their hypnotic effect. He could not put a high fairy like her under a complete spell, but he could slow her reflexes, and that might be all he would need to kill her. For that reason, as they spoke, she was careful to keep
her gaze slightly to the right or left of his massive snout. The fire in his nostrils was more important anyway. It would be his fire she would eventually have to face.

Unless he could be reasoned with.

He sighed at her question, as if it both saddened and angered him.

“Kashar and his people decided upon an alliance with the Shaktra long ago. Geea knows the reason why, and Geea knows Kashar won’t break that alliance. This, we have already talked about at length.”

“Yet you used to be allied with me, with all the fairies, and you broke that treaty. Do you know why? I know, now that I’ve been born as a human, and met your son, Drash.”

Kashar snorted. “That koul! Such a coward has no say in anything!”

A koul was a teenage dragon who had yet to pass the tests that changed him into a full dragon. The test of self-sacrifice. The test of water. And the test of flight itself. When it came to the latter, to get his wings, Drash had to have the courage to leap off a mountain without wings, and have faith that they would be bestowed on him before he crash-landed. To help give him courage, Ali had taken the leap with Drash.

Yet Drash admitted that when he had tried the first test, in his father’s presence, he had failed it. Therefore, his father was ashamed of his son, although the reverse was also true. Drash despised the Shaktra, and what it was doing to the green world. Ali recalled what Drash had told her atop the kloudar, after the attack by the Shaktra.

“Did you recognize the one you fought?”

“My uncle, Chashar. He did not hesitate to strike me.”

“Did you see the Shaktra on his back?”

“There was something there. Drash did not get a clear look.”

Ali nodded in the direction of the cavern she had just destroyed.

“Did we bury Chashar back there?” she asked.

Kashar was unmoved. “No. Brother follows the army.”

“But he must have told you, at some point, that he saw Drash flying near the highest kloudar. The two fought, and Drash survived the battle, and lives to this day.”

Kashar growled. “My brother was not sure who it was.”

“An uncle would not mistake a nephew—especially a nephew who had passed his three tests so rapidly, and so bravely . . .”

Kashar interrupted; his nostrils flamed. “Why do you go on about Drash?”

“Because you act as if you speak for all the dragons. Yet your own son—a full dragon in his own right—is not in favor of an alliance with the Shaktra!”

Kashar’s anger increased. He sat up straighter, his head coming equal with her floating body. “Drash has no idea why we even allied with the Shaktra!”

Ali sneered. “Of course he does! All the high fairies do. It’s because the Shaktra promised you a lie. Yes, a lie, and the lie is so obvious, I can see it just by looking at you. Go to the mountains, find a clear lake, and look at your own reflection and you’ll see what I mean.”

“Your words mean nothing, Geea. Kashar cannot be fooled.”

“Listen to me!” she snapped, her turn to interrupt. “The Shaktra promised you that it would allow the dragons to remain on the kloudar even as they passed into space, beyond the moon, Anglar, and that you would be allowed to enjoy the blue light of the ice maidens. True or false?”

“True! And the Shaktra has delivered on its promise!”

“Lies! Just before I entered the green world, I bathed in the blue light of the ice maidens, and got to be with the angels,
and it lifted my soul, and filled me with wonder and awe. Most of all, it expanded my heart with love. Yes, love. That’s what the blue light is made of. That’s the light the ice maidens live in forever. Immortality is their
birthright
. By growing through countless experiences in the yellow and green worlds, they have matured to the point where it is natural for them to live in the blue light. But I know the Shaktra came to the dragons and promised you a shortcut. That you did not have to go through so much suffering and struggle to reach that light. That you could have it all now.”

“Kashar has it now! Whenever Kashar wishes it!”

“I don’t know what drug the Shaktra’s feeding you but it’s not the blue light. Just look at yourself! Your body has deteriorated horribly. The light in your eyes has dulled. Worse, your heart has closed.”

“Geea . . .”

“You’ll listen to what I have to say! The old Kashar would never have turned against his fellow elementals. Kashar, we used to say, was the great protector of us all. But now what do you and your dragons do with your flame? You melt off portions of the kloudar so that they fall on fairies and elves and dwarves! You kill all the elementals, and they hate you for it. And why do you do it? Because of some concoction or device the Shaktra has invented that makes you think you ride the kloudar out into space, and live in the glory of the blue light beyond Anglar!”

To Ali’s dismay, the old dragon chuckled.

“Geea does not know that I’ve journeyed
far
beyond Anglar!”

“Where’s the proof of the love you’ve found there?”

“Kashar did not go there for love. Kashar went for power.”

Ali snickered. “Power? You look like a sick and drooling
troll, not like a dragon king. The Shaktra’s granted you no special power!”

Kashar suddenly beat his wings, and came off his seat beside the harbor. He moved to the center of the subterranean cavern that lay north of Uleestar, effectively blocking her path of escape. The red flame of his nostrils was now thirty feet long, six in diameter, and his triangular eyes were no longer dull but ablaze. Perhaps it had been a mistake to argue with him. Kashar spoke in a furious tone.

“You dare mock me? Already Kashar would have turned you to ash. But the Shaktra spoke concerning Geea, and Kashar agreed to listen one last time. If Geea will turn over the Yanti to Kashar, show Kashar how to use it, then Geea will be allowed to go on her way.”

“Geea has your promise?”

“Kashar has given his word.”

“Oh, but Kashar gave his word before. Don’t you remember? Long ago you swore an oath of friendship to all the fairies. Dragons would protect us in times of need, and we would help you when you needed help. What of that word, Kashar? Have you forgotten it?”

He continued to beat his wings, only faster, and the wind from them was indeed powerful. She found herself being pushed backward, toward the ruin she had brought down upon the cavern. She had to make a move soon. Unfortunately, she had little room to maneuver in. Should she make a dash toward the rear of the harbor? Try to escape to the surface and the Crystal Palace? She had a feeling the Shaktra had sent dragons there as well. Her only hope of escape probably lay farther north, in the direction of Lake Mira.

The dragon’s anger came out as hot as his flame.

“Give Kashar the Yanti now!” he demanded.

Ali knew if she did give it to him, he would keep it for himself. He recognized the truth of her accusations. Whatever the Shaktra was feeding him, it was not what Kashar had hoped for. He was sick. He wanted the Yanti to heal himself. But there was no point in offering to help him. He was too old and stubborn.