Legacy of the Darksword - Margaret Weis [127]
The Hch’nyv would be attacking Thimhallan at midnight. Smythe and his Technomancers would be desperate to find the Darksword. Where could we go that they would not discover us? And how would we fight the massive armies of the Hch’nyv with one sword, however powerful? On a more mundane level, the word picnic reminded me that we had not eaten. Our water supply was running low. All of us were thirsty and hungry and who knew how long it would be before we could find food and water? Joram was near death. Perhaps he was the lucky one among us, I caught myself thinking.
Of course, I should have faith, as Saryon had silently counseled. But it was very hard for me to trust in the Almin when reason and logic were so overwhelmingly against us.
I was trying to nurture hope’s flickering flame when I heard a sound that doused it utterly.
It was a sound I had heard before in this tunnel, a sound I’d heard in that other life, a life that had come to such a horrible end.
Stentorian breathing rumbled from the cavern that was not all that far below us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Here’s to folly,” Simkin announced, and together they tottered forward into the fiery illusions, the champagne glasses clinking along behind.
DOOM OF THE DARKSWORD
The dragon,” Mosiah said. “A Dragon of the Night.”
“But that’s impossible!” Saryon gasped. “The dragons were creations of the magic. They must have all died when Life disappeared from Thimhallan.”
“The Life didn’t disappear, Father. The Well was shattered, but the magic didn’t escape, as we had thought.”
“We believe that the Well may have been capped, Father,” Scylla added.
“I don’t believe there’s a dragon. There can’t be,” Eliza argued. “We were just down there.”
“If you remember, I said that cave smelled occupied,” Mosiah returned.
“But ... I still don’t understand. . . .” Saryon appeared bewildered. “How do you know that a Dragon of the Night lives in that cavern? It could be anything! A bear, maybe.”
“A bear? Yes, of course. Dear Teddy! Well, that explains it. Or doesn’t, as the case may be. As to the cavern, we’ve been there before. In fact, we’ve died there before.” Mosiah was looking directly at Scylla. “Haven’t we, Sir Knight?”
Scylla shrugged. “If you say so.” She rolled her eyes and, leaning over to me, whispered, “Humor him.”
“The Darksword is there, too,” Eliza reminded us. “We must return to the cavern to recover the sword.”
“We cannot challenge a Dragon of the Night,” Saryon protested vigorously. “They are terrible creatures. Terrible!”
“The dragon is before us, but the Technomancers are behind us,” Mosiah pointed out. “We can’t very well go back.”
At last, as I said, I was beginning to have a glimmer of understanding. I touched Saryon’s arm, to draw attention to myself.
“You can charm the dragon, Father,” I signed.
“No,” he returned hurriedly. “Absolutely not.”
“Yes,” I repeated. “You did it before, in the other life.”
“What other life?” Saryon stared at me in perplexity. “I charmed a dragon? I am certain I would recall doing such a thing,” he added more testily, “and I assure you that I do not.”
“If he’s going to do it, he must act swiftly,” Mosiah warned. “While the sun is still shining. When night falls, the dragon .will awaken and go out in search of food. It is twilight now.”
Eliza kept watch beside her father, her attention divided between ourselves and him. She did not understand completely what we were saying, but she understood the urgency and did not interrupt us with demands for us to explain. She trusted us. I smiled at her reassuringly.
“I tell you I know nothing about charming dragons!” Saryon was shaking his head.
“You do,” said Mosiah. “You are the only one of us who does. I cannot.”
“You are Duuk-tsarith,” Saryon argued.
“But I was trained on Earth. The only dragons I ever saw were created by special effects. I can’t take time to explain, but in an alternate time, Father,