Bones of the Dragon - Margaret Weis [210]
The feet of a goddess.
Shimmering wings extended outward from the enormous body. The long graceful tail thudded on the ground, causing it to shake and quiver. The gilded mane bristled. The dragon’s head on its curved neck swayed menacingly above Skylan. The mouth gaped, saliva dripped from the fangs, spattered on his face like the blood that had spewed from Draya’s mouth in her death throes. The dragon’s eyes were large and flared red orange.
Wulfe gave a terrified screech and took to his heels. Skylan wanted to run away like the boy, but he couldn’t move. He had heard all his life about men who were paralyzed with fear, and now he understood. A bitter taste filled his mouth. He shook as with fever chills. When he tried to speak, his throat clogged.
“Vindrash,” Skylan begged wretchedly, “forgive me!”
“I am not the forgiving sort,” said the goddess, and Skylan flinched.
“Fortunately for you, Skylan Ivorson,” Vindrash continued, “Torval is forgiving, though you have done much to offend him. You broke your oath to your father by declaring yourself Chief of Chiefs. You broke your oath to Draya to honor and love and protect her. And oath-breaking is the least of your sins. You plotted to have your wife, a Kai Priestess, abducted. To cover your crimes, you told more lies, claiming you were attacked by giants on the Dragon Isles. Worse, you swore to the truth of your lies by invoking Torval’s name, bringing shame and dishonor on yourself and your god.”
Skylan felt each accusation thud into him like a spear.
Vindrash’s harsh tone softened. “Torval grieves for you. He thinks well of you, Skylan Ivorson. And because Torval thinks well of you, he has decided you will be given a chance to redeem yourself.”
“I am grateful to Torval,” Skylan said, weak with relief. “I will do whatever the god asks of me! I swear!”
“Another oath?” Vindrash snorted. “Stand up, Skylan Ivorson. Look around. What do you see?”
Skylan rose to his feet. The goddess’s radiance blinded him, but gradually his eyes grew accustomed to the shining light. He looked about, wondering what marvels Torval was about reveal.
Skylan was disappointed to see only what he had seen before: stands of pine trees, grassy terrain, the large, irregular depressions in the earth, one here, one there, another farther on, another after that, looking for all the world like footprints . . . gigantic footprints . . . the footprints . . . of giants . . .
Skylan remembered his lie.
We came upon a strange imprint in the sand. . . . It was made by a foot. A foot as long as this hall and just as wide.
Skylan sank to his knees and stared at the goddess in horror.
“You have been ravaged by guilt over your lies,” said Vindrash, gently mocking. “Torval is merciful and he will ease your conscience—”
The Dragon Goddess smiled down on Skylan.
“—by making your lie the truth.”
CHAPTER
10
The Dragon Goddess spread her wings and sprang into the air. The shadow of her wings glided over five giants walking slowly across the land, looking about as if searching for their foe. Skylan was tempted to cry out, beg for mercy. He clamped his lips on the words. When he was a child and Norgaard had whipped him in punishment for some infraction, if Skylan sniveled, Norgaard only whipped him harder.
I deserve this punishment, Skylan thought, staring at the giants in dismay. He had never seen or imagined creatures like those he watched bearing down on him.
The giants in Skylan’s lie had been those of fable and song, enormous humans, dull-witted and stupid, who dressed in bearskins and carried spears the size of oak trees.
The giants of the Dragon Isles were human in appearance, taller than a full-grown oak and thin as a post. They seemed to be made of skin-covered bone held together by catgut. They had huge hands with long splayed fingers, and enormous feet with long toes. They sprang off their toes as they walked, jumping high into the air, landing lightly as spiders. Their movements were slow, but they covered huge