The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [105]
Buoyed by that emotion, Lei took to the air. Flying was second nature to her. The knowledge lay in her body, the instincts just beneath the surface of her mind. The sensation of the wind against her scales thrilled her, and for a moment she forgot about the people clinging to her back. She felt a force above her, a beacon calling to the dragon’s blood within. She rose up along the edge of the Ring of Siberys, basking in the radiance of the stones. Only then did she remember her passengers and mitigate the angle of ascent.
“Where are you going?” Daine called, his voice barely audible over the wind.
Lei didn’t try to answer. In truth, she didn’t even know. The call was impossible to resist.
She saw it. The largest shard yet, the size of a castle. A hole gaped in one side, the mouth of a vast cavern. Lei dove into the tunnel beyond. The crystal walls pulsed with faint light, but a brighter spark shone ahead, a flame at the heart of the stone.
And flame it was. At last she flew into a wide chamber, hundreds of feet across. A great draconic paw rose up in the center, crystal talons curved toward the ceiling. Fire rose from the claw, a pillar that seemed to draw in heat instead of releasing it. Smaller lights were scattered across the walls of the chamber, hundreds of tiny sparks. But the great column was the force that had called to her, of that Lei had no doubt.
Lei settled on the floor of the cavern and folded her wings. The moment her talons touched the floor, the sparks along the walls burst into full flames. The central fire changed color, becoming intense silver-white, and a powerful odor of fresh rain filled the room. The flames formed the head of a massive dragon, a mighty wyrm with horns curving back on each side of its head, and long, frilled ears. A ridge beneath its chin gave the impression of a beard.
“Who comes among us?” it said, and the chamber shook with the sound. “You are no child of Siberys!”
“No,” Daine called, sliding down from Lei’s back. “We come in search of knowledge.”
The burning silver dragon looked down, seeming to notice Daine for the first time. “Let the pretender abandon her false form, and then we may consider your request.”
With some regret, Lei raised the pattern in her mind and dissolved the enchantment. Her muscles burned as she shrank to her original form, her scales becoming cloth and armor once more. A moment later she was on her hands and knees on the floor. Physically, she was healthy enough, but she felt a terrible void within. Summoning the energy had taken more from her than she had anticipated.
The central fire became an intense sapphire blue, and the shape twisted and changed. The new dragon had deep, sunken eyes, and a single horn in the center of its snout.
“Intriguing,” it boomed, gazing down at them. “A traveler, and a most unusual one at that. What is it you seek, that you would dare disturb our rest?”
A month ago, Daine would have turned to Lei. A year ago, Jode would have been the voice of the group. Now, Lei saw the strength in Daine that had long been in hiding. It was Captain Daine who strode forward and gazed up into the fire. “The Dreaming Dark is gathering its might in the heart of Dal Quor. The balance of the planes is shifting. We were sent to this place by one who believed that you could guide us in the battle that lies ahead.”
“And to what end do you fight?”
“To protect our land—the world of your birth—from the forces of nightmare.”
The flame shimmered through a spectrum of color, the shape wavering like true fire, before settling once more into the great blue dragon. “You are bold, traveler. And you speak the truth. An army of nightmares gathers in the very heart of Dal Quor, and with every passing moment, the planes move closer to the vital alignment. Yet all hinges on one piece: the crystal moon, which lies under guard in the Tower of a Thousand Teeth.”
“What must we do?” Daine said.
“You must find