Erik And The Dragon ( Book 4) (31 page)

The woman nodded. A rush of searing hot air swooped in and engulfed her, ripping her back to the circle on the floor in her small room. Her skin had regained its sag and her feminine form had melted away, reverting back to that of her disguise.
Her hands trembled and her heart was pounding. She sat there on the floor for a long while, contemplating her mission. Then she looked up to the wall in front of her and laid her eyes upon her assortment of throwing knives and blow-darts. She rose and prepared her equipment.

Erik sat on a wooden bench overlooking the rear garden, watching Tillamon and Marlin fuss over the preparations for the wedding. After explaining what he had felt at Patrical’s house, all of them decided it was best to keep up appearances and go along as if nothing had changed. Tatev hid The Infinium with Lady Dimwater, and Lepkin was busy continuing with the preparations for the journey. There was nothing for Erik to do except wait on the bench and read the book Patrical had given him.

The book was written in Common Tongue, which he thought strange considering the fact that Salarion was an elf. Their kind usually wrote in Taish, the elven language, unless they wrote specifically for a wider audience. He flipped through the first few pages, glossing over Salarion’s
lineage and the founding of Tualdern. A great deal of the first portion of the book dealt with her upbringing, Nagar’s mannerisms and demeanor as a father, and spoke of their family’s noble heritage. It was likely something that would make Tatev drool, but Erik just wanted to find the part about the four horsemen. He still had some doubts about challenging Tu’luh, but they were small compared to what they used to be. He could feel that he was on the right path. Slavery was not an acceptable existence. What is the point of life is everyone is forced to follow someone else’s moral mandate? No, it was better to conquer Tu’luh, and then find another way to divert the calamity Erik saw in the dragon’s vision.

There had to be a way.
If Tatev couldn’t find the answer in the Infinium, then perhaps Erik would be able to glean something from Salarion’s writings. Thankfully, Lepkin had been more receptive to the idea of studying the book than Tillamon had. Even after returning to the house, Tillamon was dead set against reading Salarion’s book. He kept spouting on and on about how anything in there would only be deception and lies. Lepkin, on the other hand, encouraged Erik to study it, cautioning him to make sure he used his gift to try and discern truth from error.

As he flipped through the pages he stopped on an
image drawn on one of them. It was a battle scene. Elves fought over the city Tualdern. The page opposite described how the Sand Elves had purchased several shops and houses within the city for a period of decades, slowly moving in and infiltrating the city in a seemingly harmless manner. Eventually the Sand Elves began insisting that their laws be exercised in Tualdern, and as their population began to outnumber the native elves, they eventually turned to the sword to force their law upon Tualdern. All who refused to bow were either killed or expelled.

Erik set the book down on his lap. He tried to use his gift to see if the writings were true. He had done so once before, with Master Orres’ journal, so he figured he could do so again now. The result surprised him. The words appeared to be true. It now seemed plausible that Nagar was seeking revenge on them for destroying his home.

“It’s hard to fight an enemy that you empathize with, isn’t it?” Tatev said as he approached Erik.

Erik looked up and nodded. “The Sand Elves conquered Tualdern. If this account is right, they did it in cold blood, repaying their honorable hosts with murder and deception.”

“Keep in mind,” Tatev began. “While the Sand Elves may have created Nagar as our enemy by destroying his home, Tu’luh would have found another way to bring his magic about eventually.”

“How can you be sure?” Erik asked.

Tatev smiled wide and pushed his spectacles up onto his nose. “I have read her book, many times.”

Erik looked at him quizzically. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I could tell something was bothering you at Patrical’s house, so I thought it best to keep quiet and follow your lead. I have read a lot, I mean
a lot
, of books in my time. I believe in you, and I have faith that Lepkin chose the right man for the fight that is coming. One of the tenets of our order is to understand the truth, we couldn’t do that if we only read books written by people who were victorious in historical battles. We study everyone’s books.” Tatev took his spectacles off and offered them to Erik. “Try reading the passage again, with these on.”

Erik took them and put them on. When he looked down at the book, the page was not the same as he had seen before. The image before him came to life and played a scene before him. As the image played out, he saw Tu’luh the Red conspiring with several noble families of the Sand Elves to plot agai
nst Tualdern. He watched as decades of posturing and maneuvering flashed before him. As the battle scene wrapped up and the last of the native elves were driven out of Tualdern, Erik saw Tu’luh come to Nagar and propose a plan to exact vengeance on the Sand Elves.

“Now read the page on the right,” Tatev instructed.

The boy shifted his eyes and saw new words on the page. He read them aloud. “Tu’luh, having been rejected in previous attempts, compelled Nagar to comply with creating the new magic by framing the Sand Elves and kindling Nagar’s anger against them. Consumed by hatred, my father lost his judgment, and threw his lot in with the demon, never understanding that he was nothing more than a pawn in Tu’luh’s game of chess with the Gods.” Erik flipped the lenses up and the pages instantly reverted to normal, as if nothing had changed.

“I may be a bookworm, but I know a trick or two,” Tatev said proudly as he took the spectacles back.
“The Sand Elves were forced to defend themselves of course, but there is more to it than that. They received an anonymous letter describing Tu’luh’s treachery. At the same time, another copy of the letter went to Roegudok Hall, and a third went to Valtuu Temple. These letters were written in Taish, the elvish tongue, but no one knows who wrote them.”

“Salarion wrote them,” Erik guessed.

Tatev nodded. “That is what I think as well. No one has ever seen her since Tualdern’s fall, though there are rumors that she lives somewhere in the south.”

Erik sighed. “So, if you have already read this book, does it talk about the four horsemen?”

Tatev’s shoulders slumped. “It describes them in detail, but not any more than what I have already discussed with you. Salarion doesn’t know how to defeat or prevent them either. Her conclusion is that Tu’luh might have the only answer to preventing the cataclysm that is to come.”

“So we are still no closer to solving it.” Erik slumped back on the bench and sighed heavily. After a moment he flopped his head sideways lazily to look at Tatev. The red head moved in to sit beside him on the bench. “Do you really know where the mystics are?”

“I have a good idea of where we can start looking,” Tatev replied. “No one knows for sure, other than the fact that there is a castle of gold and crystal somewhere in the east. Few have ever gone there, and certainly none have been there for centuries now. There are books of prophecy that we gathered over the years, many of them are destroyed now, lost forever.” Tatev’s voice grew sad and he looked down to his feet. “If anyone would know how to stop the four horsemen, it would be the Immortal Mystic, but finding him could take a lifetime.”

“Time that we don’t have,” Erik said flatly. Tatev nodded his agreement. “Well, then I suppose we kill the dragon and let the fates throw the horsemen at us if they will.” With that, Erik closed Salarion’s book and set it between him and Tatev and jumped up to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Tatev asked.

“Tomorrow morning we are going out to hunt Tu’luh, so tonight I am going to enjoy the celebration and watch my mentor marry his fiancé.”

Tatev smiled. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

*****

The sun hung low in the western sky, throwing shades of purple and pink across the cloudy sky. Erik stood in the garden, a few paces off from a large, white stone gazebo in Tillamon’s rear garden. Marlin stood in the center of the gazebo, dressed in a new set of white robes one of Tillamon’s servants had purchased for him. Lepkin and Dimwater stood in front of him, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes and smiling wide. Lepkin wore a tailored black silk tunic, with black pants and silver boots. Dimwater stood radiantly in a navy blue dress that perfectly hugged her curves, and shined as she moved and caught the light just right. Her hair was done in a neat braid down the back, with light blue sapphires woven in with silver pins. Yet, despite the efforts that Tillamon had gone to ensure everyone was dressed for the ceremony, it was Tillamon himself that put everyone to shame with his fine silks and golden necklaces and rings. He even oiled and slicked his beard into a neat point beneath his chin and wore a large hat with a pair of pheasant tail feathers tucked into the brim. The old man leaned upon his simple cane, clicking his rings on the handle nervously as he watched the ceremony begin. Though this particular cane wasn’t nearly gaudy enough to match Tillamon’s outfit, Erik knew that the man kept it with him as much for the sword as for the support.

A few servants hurried about the yard, placing the final covered platters on the table and then scurrying back into the house out of sight. Erik glanced around, looking for Jaleal, but the gnome was nowhere to be seen. Erik smiled to himself. He felt a little more secure with the gnome on patrol. No one, not even Patrical, could sneak up on them without Jaleal alerting everyone first. So Erik took in a deep breath and let go of all of his worries as he expelled the air.

“Normally, I would have a book with me,” Marlin said apologetically. “Absent that, I will have to improvise some, which is a bit unconventional, but then again so is the couple before us.”

Everyone chuckled a little bit.

Marlin looked to Lepkin and Dimwater and smiled. “When I look at the two of you, I don’t see the physical smiles, I don’t see the stolen glances or the casual handholding between the two of you. As you all know, I have lost my natural sight. What I can see, however, is the love between the two of you. I have always been able to see it, even before you allowed yourselves to express it openly. The energy within you cannot be tamed, and your love flows out of you like water bursting through a dam. The covenant and promises you make to each other today, will enable the two of you to become one, as is natural. Though you have waited many years for this moment, I can see that it is made all the sweeter by your knowledge that this is true love.”

The prelate then reached up and wiped a single tear from the corner of his eye. “Forgive me, I don’t usually cry at these occasions.” Everyone laughed again. “So, let me counsel you to never let anything come between you. Let no man, no obstacle, no enemy—”

“And no dragon,” Tillamon put in half-jokingly. Everyone looked to him for a second and he just shrugged and motioned for Marlin to continue.

Marlin cleared his throat. “Let no power on Terramyr break the bond that I see between you now. Cherish each other, promise to support each other, and love each other with all of your heart until the day that you die, and may you spend your silver years together in the halls of Volganor
.” Marlin pulled a pair of rings that Tillamon had given him earlier, out of his robes and held them out to Lepkin. “If you so swear, then take these rings and place them on each other as a token of your affection and promise.”

Lepkin and Dimwater took the rings and slid them over each other’s ring fingers.

“By the power vested in me by the Ancients, I pronounce you husband and wife, never again to be separated in this world, or the next.” Then Lepkin bent down to Dimwater and the two shared a kiss and embrace. Tillamon let out a shout and a
hoot
. Then Marlin put his hands up in the air and whistled loudly. Tatev clapped, and Erik stood silently smiling.

The group went quickly to the tables where Tillamon had set up a feast that would have fed two hundred people, and was far more than the group could eat in several sittings, let alone one night.
Servants came out to the garden and played harps and flutes, and then added drums and trumpets as the dusk turned to night. Torches were lit around the garden, lighting the yard like golden stars suspended among them. Erik had never seen Lepkin smile so much in all the time he knew him. For a while, it was as if time had stopped. The world beyond Stonebrook ceased to matter. The only agenda was enjoying the moment.

As Erik watched Lepkin sweep Dimwater into a dance near the fountain, he knew that he had chosen correctly. Life was not about surviving, it was about finding the joy in living. This was something that Tu’luh could never understand.

Erik finished a glass of apple cider and then walked out beyond the gazebo. He looked up to the few stars that had peeked in through the night’s dark blanket and wondered where his mother was. As happy as he was for Lepkin, he couldn’t help but think of the tragedy that had befallen his family. As he stared off at the horizon, a funny feeling crept upon him. It started at the back of his neck, the hairs tingling and standing on end. Then it moved to his spine and his shoulder blades tightened.

Something was coming.

“Enemy in the south!” Jaleal shouted from the rooftop.

The music stopped instantly. The servants all ran for the tables and lifted large silver platters. At first, Erik was confused.
Why were they going for the food?
Then he realized they were not simple servants. Each of them pulled crossbows, short swords, and tomahawks from the newly uncovered platters.