The Dragon's War (22 page)

“Amazing,” Maeva said. And she thought her network was good.

“Perfect,” Skye said, placing the mirrors so the light was directed back at the scout. She signaled to him that she was ready.

All watched with bated breath as the Tavinter concentrated on the flashes of light that meant nothing to them, but a great deal to her.

“There is an enormous force of Hyr’rok’kin massing in the Empty Land,” Skye said, reading the signal.

“How many?” Raine asked.

Skye signaled the query, then paused at the reply. She requested confirmation, and the reply was the same.

“Hundreds of thousands.”

There were gasps throughout and Talan looked to Raine. “These are numbers from the Great War.”

“The recent battle was just a feint, then,” Raine said, “a test of our capabilities. How far have they progressed into the Empty Land?”

Skye dutifully relayed the question and interpreted the response.

“Not far. They seem to be staging.”

“So there will be even more,” Talan said. “I must go find Kylan, and rally my kind.”

“Wait,” Raine said, “here is another messenger.”

A great hawk swept down from the sky, landing on the bannister of the balcony. It was so large that Raine had to look up at the bird when perched in such a way. All were astonished at the great bird, and even more astonished when Raine began to listen intently to the chirps and whistles, flutters and flaps of the creature. It communicated almost as much through body language as it did through sound, and Raine understood it completely. When the conversation was finished, her expression was even grimmer.

“She has seen the army up close, and it’s a full-scale invasion. Horde Shards, Flying Shards, Marrow Shards, Reaper Shards, hell hounds,” she paled slightly and stopped, which filled those around her with trepidation. Little fazed the Scinterian, so this had to be bad.

“What?” Talan asked.

“She saw a manifestation of the Membrane, the largest she has ever seen.”

Talan carefully controlled her reaction, knowing that all present would follow their lead. Raine also gathered herself.

“What is the Membrane?” Maeva asked. It was her brother who responded.

“It’s a terrible creature,” he said. “We saw it in the Veil. It can destroy with a touch.”

“And destruction is more desirable than what else it will do to you,” Idonea added.

Raine’s voice was calm once more, matter-of-fact. “There are also a number of those catapults, which will endanger all of the dragons.”

The Emperor was fairly in a panic. His land would be the first to fall to the invading horde. He knew he should be doing or saying something, but his mind was frozen with fear. Raine took one look at him and turned to Nerthus.

“What will Bristol do?”

“He will begin moving the army into place along the edge of the Empty Land, most likely near where we battled before. It’s the area of imperial territory that dips farthest into the desert, and it would be his objective to stop them there before they reach any towns or cities.”

“How many troops?”

“He can deploy eighty thousand immediately. If he has two days, he can get close to two hundred thousand there.”

Skye began signaling her scout once more, then carefully watched the response.

“The imperials are already staging,” Skye said, “and where you estimate, Nerthus.”

Raine was grateful for the presence of the very competent Knight Commander, and grateful that her comrade, Bristol, had remained behind.

“And the wood elves,” Skye continued, “are already there, perhaps twenty thousand of them.”

Elyara clasped her hands. It would be like Y’arren to send her people to stand against such an abomination. Raine nodded her respect and thanks to the slender elf.

“The Ha’kan can provide close to a hundred thousand troops,” Senta said, “but it is a several day march from our land.”

The Emperor was incredulous that the Ha’kan would respond to the aid of the empire. He thought for sure they would stage at their own border and make a stand there, regardless of treaties. It is what he would have done.

“Wait,” Skye said, signaling her scout. It made sense that the same messages would have been relayed to Haldis, and that they would have gotten it sooner. She was right, and despite the grim situation, she smiled.

“The Ha’kan already know of the invasion, and Dallan leads the army forward. They are already near the imperial border.”

“Good girl,” Senta said under breath, and Halla’s heart swelled with pride.

“The Alfar can provide eighty thousand of our finest,” Maeva said, “and we can be there in two days’ time.”

The Emperor was again astonished at the selfless actions of the allies. The Alfar occupied a strategic position high in the mountains and could likely repel any invasion, or at least weather an extended siege from such favorable terrain. And yet they would ride forth into imperial territory, exposed, to come to the aid of others.

“Lorifal,” Raine said, “can your people travel—,” she paused, “in their usual way and get to the staging ground?”

Lorifal knew exactly what she was talking about and appreciated her discretion in front of the imperials. The dwarves considered all land underground to be theirs, and had tunneled extensively throughout imperial territories, despite the many treaties they had signed saying they wouldn’t. They could travel for miles without ever coming to the surface.

“Aye lass, that we can. Fifty thousand of the finest warriors you’ll ever see. I need only get word to them.”

“Skye, can you send word to your scout for Lorifal?”

Skye nodded and the dwarf joined her as they quietly discussed the message the Tavinter would send to the dwarves.

“It seems we have a little time,” Raine said to Talan. “You should go and rally your kind. I will leave now with Drakar.”

It was not a quarter of an hour before Raine stood with Talan on the terrace which they had arrived on but a few days before. Drakar stood a respectful distance away, and a throng of people beyond him. Raine stood with a heavy heart, and Talan was inordinately stiff as both tried to present a composed departure for those watching. They embraced, briefly kissed, then Talan turned to leave.

“Weynild.”

The name stopped the dragon in her tracks, and it caught Idonea’s attention. It was a name that only Raine used, the one she had known Talan by first. And it was a name that Raine only spoke in intimate moments, primarily when they were alone or with family. It was an endearment, and to Idonea, it was a terrible omen.

The dragon turned around and crushed the Scinterian in an embrace, kissing her deeply, passionately, with an anguish that Idonea had not seen in her since Raine had set out on that quest so many years ago. And Raine’s eyes were closed as she clutched her lover and pressed against her, but when they opened, they were the color of lavender in the fields. Talan took two steps away, her hand still holding the one that clung to her, then they released one another and Raine turned away. With extraordinary resolve, Raine willed the color of her eyes away, the blue and gold marks rose on her forearms, her biceps, her shoulders, and her back. And when she turned around, she gazed at the dragon with clear eyes and a steadfast determination.

Talan disappeared into a flash of yellow light so brilliant it blinded all present. But Raine stared into the light, enjoying the pain it caused her. The fiery red dragon appeared, then roared as it leaped skyward. It climbed with rapidity, then wheeled about to turn eastward. It grew smaller and smaller as the Queen of all Dragons went to rouse her kind from their sleep.

“I know that the dragons will rally to my mother’s side much more than mine,” Drakar said, “but I’m surprised that she would part with you.”

“We’ll be together again on the battlefield,” Raine said, “and she can always reach me if I need her.”

“Right,” Drakar said, “so shall we head south?”

The imperial troops watched fearfully as the black dragon appeared from the north, but it was the sharp-eyed wood elves who told them they had nothing to fear. The dragon circled once, then landed in an empty spot of the desert. A figure slid from his back, the dragon transformed, and then the two approached. Once Bristol could make out the identity of the dragon rider, he fairly ran to her.

“Raine!” he exclaimed, never so happy to see anyone in his life.

“Bristol!” Raine said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“I was getting a little nervous there,” Drakar said, “I thought your archers were going to open fire.”

“Bristol,” Raine said, “this is Talan’s son, Drakar.”

Bristol shook Drakar’s hand. “My apologies for that,” he replied, “the troops are a little edgy. A group of dragons flew overhead not too long ago, heading in the direction of the Hyr’rok’kin. They appear to have joined them.”

“Was one of them gold?” Drakar asked.

“Yes.”

“It figures that bitch would turn up,” Drakar said, “I’m going to enjoy killing her.”

“The gold one is called Volva,” Raine explained, “she is one of the last remaining Ancient Dragons, one that stood against Talan in the Great War.”

“And now she will again, in the Second Great War.”

Bristol’s forbidding title indicated he knew how significant this war would be.

“My mother will not make the mistake of letting any of them live this time,” Drakar said.

Another man approached and Raine was happy to see it was someone else she knew.

“Torsten!”

The Tavinter scout hugged Raine, ecstatic to see her.

“Skye is not far behind me,” Raine promised. “I only beat her because I came by dragon.”

“And the Ha’kan are not far behind me,” Torsten said.

This was news to Bristol, and he didn’t recognize this man who had just arrived. Raine stepped in.

“Bristol, this is the serving First Ranger of the Ha’kan—”

“—until Skye gets here,” Torsten interjected.

“—and second in command of the Tavinter people.”

Bristol appreciated the man’s loyalty. “Well met,” he said, clasping the man’s forearm.

“The Ha’kan have been riding like the Valkyries,” Torsten said, “led by their Princess. They are but a few hours away.”

This was glorious news to Bristol. He had greeted the arrival of the wood elves with enormous relief and thankfulness.

“And nearly all the Tavinter are converging on this spot,” Torsten said.

“Wonderful,” Bristol said.

“The Alfar are also on the way, eighty thousand strong.” Raine said, “And the dwarves as well.”

Bristol could not believe these reinforcements. He had looked across at the growing army and it had filled him with dread.

“Some of the dwarves are already here,” Bristol said. “’Tis strange, they appear out of nowhere.”

“Yes…strange.” Raine said, drifting off, then changing the subject. “And Talan will bring the dragons loyal to her, so we will offset the winged Hyr’rok’kin and their dragons.”

“I heard of the bat-like creatures,” Bristol said darkly, “and the catapult they used against the dragons. We’ll have to figure out how to neutralize that. I brought some of the mages from the Mage Academy. They are nothing like Idonea or Elyara, but they are considerably stronger since Idonea’s intervention.”

“Idonea and Elyara travel with the Alfar. They will be here soon, as well.”

“Do you think everyone will get here in time?” Torsten asked.

Both Bristol and Raine looked across the sparse landscape of the Empty Land, to the cloud and black dot at its far end. The fact that they could see it at all was a testament to its massive size.

“They will rest, for it’s not an easy climb up from the Veil. The Reapers and other wraith-like creatures can simply manifest, but the flesh-and-blood Hyr’rok’kin must hike. It’s not an easy march across the Empty Land, either,” Raine said.

“It took us several days,” Bristol added, “and we were but a small band.”

“We were lucky to get this much warning,” Raine said, “this most recent army was almost upon us before we saw them, and we had but a few hours.”

“I’m guessing it was more than luck,” Bristol said shrewdly, “given that you left sentries behind after your last battle.”

“I might have left a few watching,” Raine said, “and I’m guessing Skye did the same thing given that the Tavinter knew so quickly.”

“She relayed instructions that we were to watch this area day and night,” Torsten confirmed.

“That sounds like her.”

“So everyone is coming,” Bristol said, still unable to grasp the alliance that Raine had formed. “The elves, the dwarves, the Ha’kan, the Tavinter, all coming to fight on imperial soil.”

“This is a battle for Arianthem,” Raine said. “It rises above states and territories. We don’t have an army of Scinterians this time, and the dragons are far fewer in number. But we are united as never before.”

And for the first time since the cloud had appeared on the horizon, Bristol felt a ray of hope.

Raine stood watch, staring out over the desert, a solitary figure that many looked upon when they felt their courage falter. She stood for hours at a time, accepting the food and drink that was brought to her, but maintaining her vigil.

The Ha’kan forces were the first to arrive. They were magnificent, riding in on horseback, a wave of red and gold, the Ha’kan banners fluttering in the wind. The infantry marched behind, stretching as far as the eye could see. Bristol was humbled at their rise to aid.

“Raine!” Dallan exclaimed, dismounting from her horse. Both she and Rika went straight to the warrior.

“Dallan, Rika,” Raine said, clapping them both on the shoulders. “Thank Sjöfn you are here.”

“’Tis true we worship the Goddess of Love,” Rika said, “but today we will call upon Tyr.”

“A good idea,” Raine said. The God of War would probably be more useful on this day.

“The Tavinter relayed word that Isleif is dead,” Dallan said, “is Skye all right?”

“It’s hard to say. She mourns him deeply, but that Tavinter reserve fell in place right away. I’m guessing she travels with your mother because otherwise she would already be here.”

Dallan nodded. The Tavinter could move faster than anyone she had ever seen.