The Dragon's Doom - Ed Greenwood [199]
She stroked Craer's forehead, and he suddenly became aware that her breasts were brushing against him as she moved.
Embarrassed, he shifted his hands awkwardly, and discovered he was shaking as well as blushing. "I… I always dreamed of holding you thus," he muttered, "but now… I'm almost scared."
Embra laughed fondly. "Don't be, Longfingers," she breathed, and kissed him.
Craer snapped his head back in shock, almost shoving her away. Embra's breath was hot. Sweet, spicy… and laced with tiny flames!
The Great Serpent hefted his Dwaer. "Go!" he said sternly, and let its flash send a last band of Aglirtans, Serpent-priests and all, off to Flowfoam.
He was suddenly alone with the beacon fire, here on a dark hill somewhere in Aglirta.
Ingryl Ambelter looked up at the stars, and then at dawn coming over the far mountains in the east, beyond the vast Loaurimm… the peaks that spawned the mighty Silverflow. He smiled. Soon it would all be his-every last tree, castle, gem, and lass of it. Soon…
"That should do it," he said aloud, calling on the Stone to spin himself a scrying-whorl. "There's no need to risk myself on Flowfoam-I'll watch from here."
"Oh, but there is," an old, familiar voice said coldly and firmly, as the air parted in Dwaer-shimmering. Gadaster!
Even as Ambelter stared at the skull-headed sorceress and snatched for control of his Stone, letting the whorl collapse into a crackling whirlwind of scorching flames, the slender arms that had belonged to Maelra Bowdragon lifted two Dwaerindim, one in either hand-and sent bolts racing at him.
Ambelter clawed desperately at the Thrael, calling up its full force in such frantic haste that Serpent-priests screamed and fainted up and down the Vale.
Desperately he dragged power out of his Dwaer, into the Thrael, to wrap himself in a great shield-But the bolts slammed not into the Great Serpent but into his Stone.
It flashed, ringing like a bell-and vanished from the hilltop, taking a startled Spellmaster with it.
Idiim Bowdragon clawed blindly at the Master of Bats, his eyes fixed on the saying-globes. "That's my Maelra!" he screamed. "I must go to her! I must-"
Dolmur cast a calming spell on Ithim even before their host could shake himself free of Idiim's hands.
The younger of the two old Bowdragon wizards blinked-and then suddenly seemed to remember that he was in the tower of the Master of Bats, and stood within the power of that fell sorcerer, whose bats were whirling around the chamber in a great angry cloud, even now.
"Your daughter?" Bats settled thickly on the shoulders of Arkle Huldaerus, their eyes glaring in unison at Ithim, as their master said derisively, "She holds two Dwaer-Stones in her hands. Whatever you were hoping to do, don't bother! She needs aid from no one-and there's nothing all three of us and everything in this tower can do against what she wields." He turned back to the flickering globes. 'Just watch."
The Dragon soared above the palace, vast and scaled and terrible. Whirling in the air on wings of bright flame, it clawed at the glittering stars and roared in delight.
This was power! Gods, this was… beyond belief.
Tshamarra Talasorn basked in the screams from Flowfoam beneath her, the puny Serpent-spells crackling up at her to stab too short, and fall away. She lashed her tail, exulting in her sheer might as she banked and soared and slid in rolling curves through the air…
Gods, if Craer could see her now! He Craer.
In a trice she turned and roared down out of the sky, claws spread, jaws opening. These fools below were endangering her beloved, menacing her friends, threatening Aglirta…
She struck savagely, smashing through bodies until she came to a ragged stop in the gardens. There she bit and tore, slashed with her tail, and spat flame until none were left but