Pool of Twilight - James M. Ward [116]
"How dare they defy me?" she screamed once more, her voice resounding through the vast cavern.
For the first time since becoming guardian of the pool, she felt a pang of anxiety. She had believed her power to be invincible. Could it be that these fools truly presented a threat to her?
"They will not defeat me!" she snarled. "I will have my revenge. And the Hammer of Tyr. Then I will become a goddess!"
But perhaps she needed some help.
Yes, that was it. Why hadn't she thought of getting help sooner? There was one in particular who could help her defeat the paladin-puppy and his band of idiots. In fact, he would have no choice but to aid her.
She cast her mind forth, using the power of the pool to send forth a summons. A summons that could not be refused.
When that was done, she turned her thoughts to a plan. She needed something else out of the ordinary to neutralize the invaders. But what?
Suddenly a gleaming tendril of water lifted itself from the pool, bearing a staff of dull silver. Sirana laughed.
Ah, yes, the Staff of Twilight. The pool knew her very thoughts. She reached out and grasped the throbbing staff.
Now she had everything she needed.
* * * * *
Dusk alighted on the high crag, spreading wide his midnight-black wings.
A thousand dragons filled the huge valley that stretched before him. For three days he had flown the length and breadth of the Moonsea, using the power Sirana had granted him from the pool to rally the evil dragons. Black, blue, red, and green, he sought them all in their lairs, deep in dank caves and perched on mountain heights. The magic of the twilight pool lent power to his words, and it had been simple to fan the spark of hatred each dragon bore in its heart for humankind.
"Hear me now, my brothers and sisters!" Dusk trumpeted, his voice thundering throughout the valley. "The second dragon-rage is nigh! We shall drive the humans from their homes. We shall slay them to the last. And then we will plunder their cities of treasure. Each of you will gain a hoard of gold such as a king only dreams of!"
And, Dusk added to himself, I will have a hundred times that many riches, a treasure such as Faerun has never known. He smiled toothily, immensely pleased. None could hold the feeblest candle to his majesty. He was the most powerful dragon in all the northlands, and the others recognized his stature. But he was more than simply the strongest of his kind. He was their ruler, the emperor of dragons.
Dusk opened his many-fanged maw, ready to send out the order that would bring the dragons soaring into the sky in a deadly rainbow of color, the order that would begin the second dragon-rage. At last, he would have his long-awaited revenge against that wretched city of Phlan, and against all humankind.
Suddenly a voice pierced his mind.
Come to me, Dusk! I have need of you.
Dusk froze. No, this could not be! He felt something clutch at his essence, as if his heart were a puppet on a string.
"I will not, Sirana!" Dusk shrieked. Flecks of twilight swirled wildly in his one good eye.
Heed my call, Dusk. You cannot resist.
"No!" he screamed. Stones all around shattered at the furious pitch of his voice. But his wings had already started to beat, lifting him from the crag. His blood burned in his veins. It was as if he were a fish caught on a fisherman's line, slowly being reeled in. He tried to resist the pull, but it was too strong, too overpowering. The magical power he had accepted bound him inexorably to the pool.
"Curse you, Sirana! You will pay for this!"
Finally he could resist no longer. Silver sparks blazing in his eye, he soared high into the air, streaking toward the pool of twilight
Below him the evil dragons let out a roar of anger and confusion. Their leader was abandoning them. Without his influence, glorious thoughts of gold and human cities in flame evaporated from their minds.