Witchbreaker (Dragon Apocalypse) (2 page)

“He’s not a dragon,” Kragg rumbled. “He’s an interloper.”

“He’s here,” said Tempest. “This is more than I can say for Abyss.”

“It’s unlike our brother to be tardy,” said Abundant. “I sense he draws near.”

The water of the sea in the center of the islands began to boil. From the depths a giant turtle rose, as large as any of the islands surrounding it. Waves spread across the green sea, crashing onto the shores of the other dragons.

“You dishonor us with your delay, brother,” Hush growled. “I expect Rott to be late, but you’ve no excuse.”

The turtle turned its head toward the north. With a voice formed by crashing waves, it spoke: “You know the reason for my sluggishness. The cold you’ve unleashed has frozen my form further south than you’ve ever before encroached. I normally keep silent about your intrusion into my domain, but this is inexcusable.”

“
Your
domain?” Hush asked with a scoff.

“All here recognize the sea as my abode,” said Abyss.

“The sea is nothing but molten ice,” said Hush. “You borrow it at my pleasure.”

“I would argue that the reverse is true,” growled Abyss.

“His is not the only domain you’ve invaded,” Greatshadow said as the pillar of crackling flames that formed his body swirled to face Hush. “You dare blanket my earthly home with snow? How can you justify this insult?”

“It’s more than an insult,” howled Abundant. “It’s an assault! Your blizzards have killed countless tropical beasts who’ve never known winter. If Greatshadow had not summoned us to the convergence, I would have. We understand you have reason to be angry, but this doesn’t excuse the magnitude of your sins.”

“You dare to speak of me of sins?” Hush answered with a trembling voice. It sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. “I’m the one who cries for justice! I shall not call back my blizzards until one particularly vile beast is wiped from the earth: man!”

Tempest let loose with rumbling thunder. “We understand your grief, sister. However—”

“You understand nothing! Men killed Glorious! At the moment of my greatest happiness, when my one true love had finally opened his heart to me, he was cruelly slain by a human!”

“You would punish all mankind for this crime?” asked Kragg, with a voice like vast stones grinding together.

“It was not the act of a lone man. These creatures have banded together and declared war upon us all.” She stretched an icy claw toward the volcanic island. “Greatshadow! You barely survived when the Church of the Book sent men to hunt you! Surely you must share my thirst for revenge!”

“I think not,” the dragon of flame answered. “You’ve thrown your blizzards throughout the earthly realms. Men have responded by building fires and lighting lanterns. Why should I think ill of those who feed me so faithfully? The time has come for your tantrum to end.”

“But the threat the humans pose—”

“—can be contained,” said Greatshadow. “I survived the best that mankind could throw against me. The only reason they wounded me at all is that they came bearing a weapon carved from the spiteful ice that once was
your
heart. In failing to kill me, they’ve left me stronger. I admit, I’d grown complacent. Now, I keep a watchful eye for their schemes.”

“You admit there is a threat?” said Hush.

“Yes,” said Greatshadow. “Though I’m not certain that humans are the ultimate source.”

“What do you mean, brother?” Tempest thundered. “Speak, if you know something.”

“I’m hesitant to sully this sacred space with mere speculation,” said Greatshadow. “I simply find it curious that the Jagged Heart was stolen from the ice-ogres by members of the Storm Guard, only to wind up in the possession of the Church of the Book. The Storm Guard wouldn’t invade the domain of another dragon without your permission, nor would they be so careless with their treasure.”

“You say you will not engage in speculation,” Tempest grumbled. “But you offer only opinions, not evidence.”

Greatshadow nodded. “My apologies.” He turned his attention once more to Hush. “If I confine myself to statements of simple fact, here is one that is indisputable. The only reason that Judge Adamant Stern, the murderer of Glorious, had reached the Great Sea Above was that you gave him passage there.”

“Lies!” said Hush.

“I watch mankind through every candle flame,” said Greatshadow. “And I listen to the conversations of ice-ogres through their cook-fires. I know what I know. You personally accompanied Stern on the hunt for Glorious. I accept that you had a change of heart, and would have spared him. But what does that matter? Stern was your murder weapon. You loosed a bow, and now blame the arrow because your feeling toward the target changed while the missile was in flight.”

“You’ve hated me for centuries!” Hush screamed. “Can anyone ever expect a fire to give honest testimony about the cold?”

“Do you have proof of your accusations, brother?” asked Abundant.

“I’ve spoken with an eye-witness,” he said. “You may trust my testimony.”

“Such grave accusations must be backed up by more than hearsay,” said Abundant.

Greatshadow turned toward Tempest. “Perhaps there are others among us who may shed light upon recent events.”

“Again you speak to me with veiled accusations,” said Tempest. “I do not like your tone, brother.”

“I’ve simply asked myself, who would benefit most from the death of other primal dragons?”

“Obviously, the Church of the Book,” the storm dragon answered.

“A church you’ve a record of manipulating through blackmail.”

“I’ve been a target of their plots as well,” said Tempest. “I’ve merely been alert enough to thwart them before they endanger me.”

Greatshadow kept his jaws shut as he glared at the storm dragon with eyes of flame.

Hush shook her head, sending tornadoes of snow swirling about her. “Greatshadow, you’ve grown too used to being fed by mankind. It’s left you soft. What’s more, your smoldering hatred toward me distorts your judgment. Do you think your kindred dragons will sit idly by while mankind schemes against them?” She looked around the isles. “Or will the rest of you join with me to end their threat once and for all?”

Abundant was the first to speak. “Men are arrogant beasts, foolishly believing they are superior to other animals. Yet they are still beasts, and all living creatures are dear to me. I cannot allow you to harm them.”

“Even though these monsters killed Glorious? Even though they killed Verdant? How many more of us must die?”

“We dragons have killed far more of our fellows than men have,” Kragg answered.

Thunder rumbled as Tempest responded, “It’s true that men are dangerous. Yet I’ve learned a great deal by studying them. Men have built their civilization by taming wolves and boars and oxen. Animals that once threatened them have been trained to do their bidding. I’ve taken inspiration and mastered the art of taming men. I cannot permit you to harm my livestock.”

Abyss lifted his head from the water and said, “I care nothing for what happens to men who dwell on land, but there are still Wanderers who respect the pact they made with me long ago. I will not let you harm them.”

“You’re fools, the lot of you,” growled Hush. She turned to Kragg. “You cannot love these animals. They riddle your body with mines and steal your precious gems and metals!”

Kragg writhed, stretching his back. There was a rumbling that echoed long after as boulders larger than houses tumbled down his slopes. “With a shrug, I’ve plunged an entire city into a vast cleft in the earth. Men are little more than annoying fleas. I can hardly be blamed for scratching them. I care nothing if they all die, but I also am unconcerned if they live. They aren’t worthy of my sustained attention.”

“It’s five to four in favor of the death of mankind,” said Hush. “The rest of you must respect the will of the majority!”

“I fear that the cold has frozen the part of your mind capable of math,” said Tempest. “Greatshadow, Abundant, Abyss, and myself all vote that mankind shall live. Kragg’s position seems to be one of neutrality. This leaves you alone in wishing the extinction of mankind.”

“We must count the votes of our fallen brethren!” Hush howled. “Verdant, slain by humans, votes for vengeance! Glorious, slain by humans, votes for vengeance! And Rott, though his mind is too long gone to give voice to his wishes, is the embodiment of destruction! Is there any doubt how he would vote?”

“The Rott I remember was more complicated than you give him credit for,” said Abundant. “For him, life and death were part of a unified whole. He might argue that the deaths of Verdant and Glorious were inevitable. Despite our great powers, we’re not gods. We’re living creatures who’ve risen to dominate our chosen environments, but this does not make us immortal. Dragons die just as surely as men. You cannot count Rott’s vote for your side.”

“You can’t count any vote as being on your side other than your own,” said Tempest.

“I don’t need your approval to destroy mankind. This isn’t a democracy!”

“You were the one who brought up voting!” roared Greatshadow.

“The rest of you can’t stop me,” growled Hush.

“I could,” said Kragg. “I could shatter the earth beneath your feet and plunge your frozen lands into the raging flames within the heart of the world. Greatshadow would no doubt welcome you with open claws.”

“That will not be needed,” said Tempest. “Hush, we’ve tolerated your invasions of our abodes for a little time, and are not without sympathy for your grief. But you must withdraw to the ordinary boundaries of your domain. It would cause me great anguish if, when we dragons converge once more, you failed to answer the call.”

“Is this supposed to be some sort of threat?” sneered Hush.

“It is my promise,” said Tempest. “If you continue your campaign of global destruction, I will take whatever actions I must to defend my domain.”

“It will not come to that,” said Greatshadow. “Hush, you’re angry. You’ve already killed thousands of men with your actions. But this is true each year; never does the human race emerge completely unscathed by winter. If you spare mankind now, think of the suffering you may inflict for centuries to come. Will this not satisfy your thirst for vengeance?”

The great snow-dragon ground her teeth as she glared at her brethren. She answered them after a moment of silence, her breath rolling out in a great fog. “Very well. I will not darken the memory of our fallen companions by turning my wrath against other dragons. For now, I shall withdraw my blizzards. My cold will follow the normal order of seasons. But know this: when the day comes that humans turn against you, Abyss, or you, Tempest, and rip you body and soul from the earth, I will shed no tears. I will instead savor the cold satisfaction of knowing you were warned.”

“I’ll take that chance,” said Abyss.

“We’re decided,” said Greatshadow. “Mankind shall be spared.”

Greatshadow turned his face upward, gazing directly at Sorrow. He bared his teeth. Sorrow wondered if he was trying to smile.

Abyss sank back into his sea, disappearing beneath the waves. The storms forming Tempest slowed their churn, dissipating into fluffy white clouds. Abundant fell apart, the various animals that formed her disappearing from sight beneath a black cloud of cawing ravens.

Rott began to sink beneath the waves, pulling Sorrow closer and closer to the water. As the other dragons vanished, she looked up at the yellow disk of the sun and shouted, “Stagger! Stagger, are you there?”

She thought, perhaps, that a faint voice answered, just on the edge of her hearing, but it was drowned out by the sloshing, maggot-tipped waves beneath her. She was dragged into the water, sinking into the calm silence beneath the surface, with curtains of light shimmering around her. She sank beyond the light, and there was nothing but darkness, and the cold.

“S
ORROW
?”
A WOMAN
asked.

Sorrow sat up with a gasp. Though she was drenched in sweat, her teeth were chattering. She stared at the open oven door before her and saw that the fire had gone out. She snapped her head to the left as she realized she wasn’t alone. A blonde woman in a long fur coat stood by her side.

“Infidel?” she said. “You came back?”

The warrior woman had lit out for the jungle the second they’d returned to Commonground. Sorrow had assumed she’d never see her again.

“Guess again,” said the woman.

“Menagerie?” asked Sorrow. The shape-shifter had left the boat in the form of a hound-dog. She’d known that he’d consumed Infidel’s blood and could now shape-shift into her double, but she hadn’t seen him do so since returning to the material world.

The woman nodded. Her eyes were fixed on Sorrow’s throat. “That’s a nasty burn.”

Sorrow lifted her fingers to her neck and winced. The flesh was covered with blisters.

“What happened? Did you fall against the stove?”

“Something like that,” she said softly.

Menagerie glanced around the room, and sighed. “It’s bad enough you burned the furniture. Did you have to take the doors off the cabinets?”

“I burned them early on. They seemed extraneous,” she said as she wrapped the blankets around her.