She listened toВ the silence toВ catch the clatter ofВ shovels against the hard ground and scraps ofВ conversation. Some voices were indeed conversing inВ the thicket, but it was not about stealing or digging up anything at all. Rhianon kept listening, though. She could not do anything else while she waited for the dragon. The speaker was not aВ woodcutter or aВ late traveler. Rhianon even ventured toВ step away from the clearing for the meeting toВ look at them.
«Don’t go!» The spirit warned her as she made her way along the moss. «I can eavesdrop and tell you later.»
«Don’t,» she said in a whisper. «I can hear everything. But I want to see.»
It was unnecessary toВ explain toВ him that the conversation had already intrigued her, and only that she wanted toВ spy on the talkers. Who are they? That was what was most intriguing toВ her. It would have been difficult for aВ human toВ see inВ this darkness, but she had long ago noticed inВ herself the peculiarity ofВ seeing well inВ the dark.
«One of them is Vivian,» the spirit warned her at once. «He’s here to hunt dragons, you understand. He has a nose for them.»
«And who is the other one?» She’d guessed that from the hoarse tone, but felt obliged to ask again.
В«It is the pretender toВ your hand,В» the spirit said, hesitating for aВ moment.
Rhianon understood him at first. She’d seen countless suitors for the hand before, and the furthest thing from her mind might have been that he was the least likely to succeed.
But it was hard not to recognize the husky voice. It sounded like it had dropped a few octaves since she’d last heard it. It used to be a little pleasant, but soon it would be a bass. It was as if Prince Rothbert’s throat had been cut. She even chuckled at the thought that one of the dragons he had never tamed might have stepped on his neck. The prince had escaped, but he was hoarse. Such a scenario seemed amusing to her. Rhianon even managed to get a glimpse into Rothbert’s thoughts. He did not sense that he was being spied upon. Rothbert was spying on someone else, and his mind was elsewhere. Rhianon, on the other hand, had learned many interesting things. For example, as a child, this sneaky little magician, who had already detected the rudiments of evil in himself, put frogs in the laundry of washerwomen, and sent locusts on plowmen. He poured his potions into the ladies’ linens to cause a festering rash, and he bewitched the men’s weapons so that they would break during battle. He destroyed his own as well as others without remorse. He also grew unusual reptiles in his flasks and released them into rivers, wells, or sewers. Then the harmful boy began to wait to see if his pets would grow into bloodthirsty dragons. Sometimes these experiments succeeded. Here was one time he managed to raise a dragon right in the well of his home castle. The night it was discovered, there was a commotion in the yard, his father’s dukedom was crumbling because the dragon demanded tribute, and the nasty boy was laughing in his room. That’s when someone came to him… Rhianon couldn’t make out a face in his mind, as if that fragment of Rothbert’s memory were completely absent. She could only wonder if it was someone from the School of Witchcraft, or someone even more dangerous. She could see little else about the night visitor, but she did see a tower in Rothbert’s mind, a tower of books from the ground floor to the ceiling beams, and a girl who lived in that tower. There was nothing there but twigs braiding the walls and books. There were no entrances or exits. Nevertheless, the prince had his eye on the mistress of the tower named Diana. She had already turned him down, but it didn’t matter to him.
«You said there was another,» Vivian’s pleasant baritone was hard not to recognize.
«All you have to do is to wait. I’ll make sure he loses his strength.»
В«Very well, then, IВ must get some help.В»
«You can’t do it alone?» Rothbert even snickered. «That would be fair.»
«But you said it yourself,» Vivian seemed unabashed at being accused of a lack of valor. «By the way, if I hadn’t taken men with me to the borders of Menuel, you would have left me alone.»
«Don’t be silly. There was no one there to fight. Everyone was already drugged by the fog I’d put on them.»
В«And IВ thought those black things had ravaged their land. They were feasting on the battlefields, too. On dead bodies,В» Vivian put his hand up toВ his dull, young head. В«Yes, IВ remembered, you said you had some sort ofВ condition before you let me kill the dragon.В»
«Yes, there is,» Rothbert rubbed his palms together, rolling out a glowing lump. «You’ll leave me his carcass, all of it. No tongue, no eyes, no spilled blood. Do you understand?»
«But why is it?» Vivian obviously didn’t understand.
В«You idiot, IВ have toВ prepare the next potion.В»
В«But you said you could only make useful substances and miracle cures out ofВ the organs ofВ these monsters.В»
«Why shouldn’t poison be useful if it can be applied to whoever needs it?»
«Well…» Vivian was clearly hesitant.
«By the way,» Rothbert interrupted him. «You won’t touch the scales this time, either. I’ll need my armor soon, too.»
Rhianon turned back, sensing someone approaching the appointed spot. It could only be him, the dragon who must serve her. She knew that Rothbert’s trick would not go away already as she made her way resolutely toward the clearing. The trees, fallen and uprooted from the ground, were a chaotic sight. It looked as if a hurricane had passed through here, but Rhianon knew that a living thing was the cause of it. She would have to negotiate with the dragon herself, and they would figure out with the spirit how to steal Rothbert’s potions and rob him of his powers later.
To steal the flasks with his lizards and ingredients for magic solutions, she will send a spirit to his principality. The dragon will have to fly over the sea again and wait until she summons him. This will be soon, the war has almost begun. The messengers with her announcement have already been sent, and the place of the first battle has been set. The dragon will have to fly to her on that day and no later, and only if she needs his help. That is her only wish. When they met on the cleared ground in the thicket, he bowed his head again in reverence, as if he hadn’t noticed the glint of a comb in her hair that had been stolen from his treasure.
В«You will go toВ his castle,В» Rhianon insisted. It was difficult toВ get anything out ofВ the spirit, but she demanded, pleaded, threatened with clenched fists until he began moaning.
«I don’t want to go there,» he squeaked.
В«And what you want is ofВ no concern toВ anyone.В»
«Maybe I’d better follow Vivian.»
«He’ll be out in the woods all night. We’ll have to keep an eye on him later, not now.»
В«IВ would rather follow other dragon. He lives inВ the caves near the Duchy ofВ Rothbert. He is the one who keeps the prince inВ fear. He is aВ wise man. He has aВ tower ofВ books carved there inВ the mountain. He keeps the scrolls ofВ an angel who called himself Mastema. You are not interested inВ that.В»
She almost dropped the brush she was running through her hair. Mastema! Madael! He was the same under every name. Only his character was different for everyone.
В«With his runes, his coils, his annals, and so much more, IВ learned inВ his own tower,В» she cut out. В«There is not much the dragon can teach me. He is only aВ follower, not an innovator. Madael was the first toВ rise, and the others only followed.В»
«And now they’re all biting their claws in frustration. Take me, for example…»
«I don’t care about your complaints. If you wish to be with me, serve me, but if you will not do as I command, I swear I will find a spell that will banish you once and for all.»
For aВ moment the room was silent. She could even hear the fire crackling on the logs. Any sound would have seemed loudВ now.
В«Well, all right,В» the spirit agreed reluctantly and inВ such aВ mournful tone as if she were sending him toВ his own execution.
Rhianon wasn’t going to feel sorry for him.
«While you look around the castle and steal anything of value, I’ll have a word with the dragon you told me about.»
«You’ll have an easier time with him,» the spirit cheered up. «He could be called a scholar. At least he has more of his memory than most. Or rather, he’s forgotten almost nothing. You know what I mean?»
She nodded. The sight ofВ the angels, who retained memories ofВ their former glory only inВ their dreams, depressed her. ToВ her mind they were magnificent even now, looking like the living contents ofВ aВ jewel box inВ their dragon armor. But they had been different before, truly beautiful, wise and seductive. Now, when they looked at their own reflection, they could feel only pain. So they preferred toВ gaze at the jewels and gold as aВ reminder ofВ their former brilliance.
Some dragons still retained their former minds, they also collected books. Madael said that the greatest punishment for most of them was the loss of their sanity. It is hardest for those who have lost all or part of their memory, because the mind tries to return to something former, but runs into a wall of timelessness. It’s painful to know that you have to remember something that’s slipping away. But from here on earth, the creators of poetry, music, and verse emerged. Their partial memory pours out only as fantasy, and their path lies toward the Cathedral of Thunder and the ritual knife. At the thought of the blood sacrifice, Rhianon shuddered. Those renegades of Madael’s army, condemned as punishment to feel like mere humans, sacrifice their mortal bodies to gain their lost wings. But at least they can do so by becoming their former selves, albeit extremely angry, while magical beings have no such option. It is only for those who have suffered most. Rhianon imagined how crushed an angel felt, retaining scrappy memories of brilliance but forced to consider himself a mere mortal. People do not accept him, heaven rejects him. Hell puts a choice before him. And then there is the Cathedral of Thunder and the bloody path to it. Sometimes she dreamed that she was walking down this path lined with roses. Her feet are already wounded and bloody from their thorns, and there is still no end to the path. Madael said that this path appears only during an eclipse of the sun, when one of the chosen ones is ready to take it. No man would ever walk this path, only those who belonged to his army. Rhianon was not one of them. By tearing her own guts out during the ritual, she could only die. Or did the fact that she had slept with a fallen angel make her equal to his host?
She had many difficult questions. Perhaps the wise dragon could answer them all. OfВ course, only if he retained all ofВ his former mind, not just the remnants ofВ it.
Though if he collected the scrolls that held the symbols and secrets of the angels, then Rhianon could read them herself. She understood their language, so the mysterious writings would be comprehensible to her as well. She knew that the important thing was not to trouble oneself with trying to read or decipher something, if she was strong enough to do so, and if she got close enough to the forbidden, the mysteries would reveal themselves to her. That was how she first understood the magical symbols, just by looking at them. That was how she began to understand the language of beasts and birds. That’s how she learned to read minds.
And that wasn’t all she could do. She could see more clearly than dragons. She could sense the presence of supernatural beings from afar. And she could hear everything for miles around. She could hear everything, down to the smallest of sounds. Sometimes it seemed to her that not a cacophony of voices, but a whole cobweb wove the world, and in this cobweb she could distinguish any sound.
Thus she knew that the dragon was awake even before she approached his cave. It was hard toВ call it aВ cave, toВ be exact. From aВ distance the magnificent tower, with its many staircases and branching passages, might have looked like aВ real building, but only up close did she realize that it was carved entirely out ofВ the mountain. It had once been aВ mountain range, but now it took the shape ofВ aВ bastion. It would have passed for aВ fairy joke if the light inВ the distant windows had not been burning.
As they approached, another oddity became apparent. The tower had no gates or doors, only arched windows, disproportionately huge and devoid ofВ glass or any visible barrier. They seemed toВ beckon birds toВ flyВ in.
Rianon could not fly. It was the one ability that Madael had never given her. But she had her pegasus. He could easily carry her toВ one ofВ the huge windows. This time, though, he hesitated for aВ long time. She reassured him inВ aВ quiet whisper, explaining that she would be fine. Just inВ case, he would have toВ stay close toВ one ofВ the windows toВ help her out. They had been traveling together aВ lot lately and had become very close. Rhianon could easily read his mind because he let her do it herself. So she learned that before, that is, when he was still an elf, his name was Noreus, and there was aВ time when he sought advice from this very wise dragon, under whose tower they were now. All members ofВ the magical race who could not remember something themselves turned toВ him for advice or help. The fairy slipped out ofВ one window inВ tears seemed toВ be no exception, and apparently the dragon had refused toВ help her or told her something that upset her greatly. Rhianon glanced at aВ figure inВ greenish attire hovering overhead. She resembled someone strongly. Rhianon had seen aВ peaked cap with aВ veil over her red curls before, but what was the name ofВ the fairy who wore it? Certainly she was not one ofВ the fairies who had met Rhianon at the ball. Who was she, then? She looked aВ little like aВ spinster, but they were tiny, and she was tall and statuesque. Rhianon followed the figure until it disappeared into the darkness. The transparent wings fluttering behind her reminded her ofВ those ofВ aВ dragonfly.
«Well, what are we waiting for?» She asked Noreus. It was his duty to get Rhianon to the window, preferably not the one the dragon was watching. Rianon could tell from a distance that he had recently returned from a hunt. His lair still smelled of blood and his claws of heat. He knew how to make candles light with magic, not fire. The wax in them never melted, but there was enough light to illuminate the library. Truth be told, the light was a luxury rather than a necessity, since a dragon could read in total darkness as well. For Rhianon herself, the distant moonlight was sufficient to discern all the lines of a book, and she could see just as well in the dark. She wondered what sort of power she had to be able to distinguish letters in the dark, unless they were fiery. To her ultra-sharp hearing came the quiet rustling of pages, the sound of dragon breaths, the scraping of claws. He did not pull books from the shelves, but brought them to him in time of need, brought by magic. He did not write himself, the quill itself drew strange symbols on the parchment. Only it wasn’t ink, it was blood. Blood was what he needed. So once a week he went out hunting. Rhianon sympathized with his victims. More often than not, he would mutilate them severely before he killed them, but the angelic knowledge inscribed in the scrolls demanded their blood.
Once inВ the tower, she felt insecure at first. Everything here was quite nicely furnished. Apparently, the dragon had not lost its love ofВ luxury. Only occasionally she could see burnt marks on the soft carpets and claws imprinted on the black wood ofВ the shelving units.
Could it take on human form? If so, she would be more comfortable negotiating with him. If he could briefly become aВ gallant cavalier, they would have something toВ talk about.
Rhianon caught him studying the scrolls. She watched the beautiful emerald scales gleam inВ the candlelight for aВ long time. It seemed toВ emanate aВ myriad ofВ sparkling sparks all byВ itself.
«I want…» She only stepped out of the shadows when he noticed her. Her tongue was barely audible and yet she tried to explain out loud, not mentally, what she was doing here. He did not listen, however. The wise glowing eyes were so perceptive. He stared at her intently for only a second, and then his clawed paw rose and beckoned her forward. The claws moved so confidently and gracefully, as if they were thin angelic fingers, not ugly claws. And for a moment Rhianon thought she saw a beautiful blond creature, not a beast as sparkling as a jewel. It beckoned her into a world of forbidden knowledge, and Rhianon was ready to enter it.
When the spirit had finally completed its task, she was already sitting in her bedroom, intoxicated by the knowledge she had gained. The sage dragon did not hesitate to agree to help her because he knew beforehand the power was on her side. He could foresee the future or his mind helped him utter prophecies. It didn’t matter to her, as long as he was on her side. Sometimes Rhianon saw a beautiful young man in his place, leaning over books. The vision usually lasted only a moment. It would seem strange to people. A richly dressed and handsome young man could not have been so keen on ancient scrolls, much less write them in someone else’s blood. Naturally, sorcery was involved.
Already going through the witch potions she had stolen from Rothbert, she kept remembering her interactions with the dragon. She enjoyed her time in his tower. Perhaps she would visit him often, especially since he didn’t mind.
В«Why are you very late?В» she scolded the spirit. He grumbled resentfully.
В«You could have done it yourself.В»
«I was busy elsewhere, you know. Did you get it all?» She didn’t seem to have too many bottles and jars. Now we’ll have to destroy it all. She couldn’t figure out how to use it all for her own purposes. Unless she could use magic to determine what was in which vial.
В«You can tell it byВ the scent,В» the spirit advised.
В«What is it about here?В» Rhianon gazed excitedly at the flasks, something fluttering inside.
«You should destroy them now, unless you want them to spread all over the castle. I warn you, one day, they’ll be able to break the glass. Look, they’re gaining strength already.»
Rhianon stared at the flask that was first inВ her hands. It looks like the spirit was right. Something green and large, with bulging eyes, was clawing at the glass. Soon the flask would be cramped. Rhianon, unable toВ stand her disgust, tossed the glass into the fireplace. The throw was accurate. The green creature from the shattered flask went straight into the flames, and most surprisingly inВ the fire it began toВ grow.
В«Quick, move the screen!В» She demanded ofВ the spirit. Grunting and complaining, he hurried toВ carry out the orders.
«You shouldn’t do that, madam, they’re all easy to free.»
«I’ve seen Rothbert release them into the sewage. Did he do that as a child?»
«A villain from a young age is a villain,» said the spirit. «Humans, unlike us, it’s as if they were never innocent.»
В«Neither were you. Only he was,В» Rhianon remembered Madael. One ofВ the chests the spirit had brought, bright gold, looked so much like aВ piece ofВ his armor. She flung open the lid, but strangely enough the trapped creature was cute. Rhianon beckoned toВ it, and it jumped out onto the table, spreading its thin wings gracefully.
В«It looked like aВ tiny dragon,В» she remarked, peering at the pale gold skin and patterned tail. The expression on its face was aВ little treacherous, but it was cute all the same. В«It looked like aВ toy made ofВ gold. Cute,В» she was already playing with him.В»
«And this one is real,» the spirit commented. «But it’s still dangerous to keep him. He may soon grow noticeably in size.»
«I’ll keep this one, anyway,» Rhianon watched as her new pet sat down on an open book she had just borrowed from the dragon’s tower, examining the symbols painted on it. The scent of an unfading rose also attracted him, and he pulled it toward him with his paw.
В«What is about these?В«The spirit asked about the flasks.
«Throw them down into the chasm. Destroy them. You’ve got to think with your head for once.»
After muttering something incomprehensible, the spirit obeyed. The flasks were gone, so he must have taken them toВ the abyss or somewhere else. The main thing was not inВ some water channel, where they could grow inВ peace. Rhianon had not had time toВ warn him ofВ that, and now she had only toВ rely on his ingenuity.
She was distracted byВ playing with her new pet. It was no bigger than aВ kitten, but it was beautiful. She had never imagined that aВ dragon could be so petite and so beautiful. It was as if it had been cast inВ pure gold and brought toВ life byВ magic. Its eyes sparkled like two aquamarines. The patterned wings twitched. The claws, too, were gold. And the hide reflected the moonlight. Not aВ monster, but aВ toy. She was glad she had stolen it and let itВ go.
В«You are priceless, little one,В» she whispered, handing him aВ ribbon ofВ her hair toВ play with. Despite his size, however, he proved surprisingly clever. Instead ofВ playing the silly, helpless kitten, he studied the book and gathered glittering objects from the table toВ form his own little treasure chest. He, too, is beckoned byВ gems. So let him keep what he finds for himself.
В«Will you have somebody like him?В» The spirit who had just returned asked nonchalantly. How could he have made it through the task so quickly? Rhianon shuddered inВ surprise.
«I hope you brought them far from the castle, didn’t you?» She teased him.
«They’re at the bottom of a chasm a long way from here, milady. And you have no intention of parting with the golden toy, have you?»
«Don’t touch it,» Rhianon said, shielding her pet.
В«Tell that toВ sir Vivian,В» snorted the spirit.В»
«Don’t worry. He won’t come into my chambers.»
В«But the little dragon might slip out.В»
«I’ll keep an eye on him,» Rhianon promised.
«It’s difficult. He’s restless. What if someone sees him?»
Rhianon was about toВ say that if she was toВ have aВ lover, it would be an angel, not aВ man, but she remembered Ferdinand. Though he was the least ofВ her worries, he would mistake her new pet, like the harpy, for aВ charming overseas beast recently imported byВ merchants from distant lands. InВ general, he would be able toВ find aВ reasonable explanation for everything.
«Would you like to give birth to one?» The spirit’s ominous whisper above her ear sent a chill down her spine.
В«Leave me alone,В» she commanded.
«But it can be so soon,» he kept repeating himself. «You will give birth to a dragon, beautiful and golden. Gold is his father’s color. The moment it comes into the world, Madael’s watch will chime, and he will know.»
«Don’t you dare to speak his name. You mustn’t.»
«I know.» He snapped back. «But I’ve already broken every possible rule for you. There’s nothing left to do now.»
«Is it for me?» She looked incredulous. «Who am I to tell you that you have to do anything for me? You didn’t even see me before I came to Vinor. You were sitting here all alone, waiting for someone to pick on, and I was the only one who showed up. That’s all.»
«You’re shortsighted.»
«And you’re a bad kiss-ass. You can’t convince me that you were in love with me long before you saw me.»
«Considering what you look like, none of us can help falling in love with you. You’re the kind of girl you can see from a distance. And it hurts to look at you, if you must know. It hurts to be far away from you, and you won’t let me be near you.»
«I think it’s because of the baby,» she tried to comfort him. «If he really is his father’s son, he is your future lord. You see him in me, and your instinct to serve is working. You see it as love for me, but when Edwin is born, it will be different.»
Edwin! This is the first time she has uttered his name. Rhianon had already promised the spirits that she would call him that. What is so magical about that name? And why did she think she would not give birth to a monster? After all, the invisible interlocutor had already informed her that she would give birth to a dragon. Why, then, does she need a special name to make it unavailable to his father. All dragons are subjects to Madael anyway. And yet it seemed to Rhianon that now, by naming him out loud, she had stirred up something unforeseen. It was as if she had deliberately made a comment to inform his immortal father that Edwin existed. Madael has a right to know that he is about to have a son. Yet he does not know this. Perhaps he has no idea. The name, like a spell, must hide the truth from him. But it’s not like he flew here in anger to demand his child back, so the spirits haven’t lied. He could still be, though. He can assert his rights to the child, and then really be war. Or rather, war will not change anything; the duel must be between her and him. Rhianon prepared herself for that. Madael’s son would be prince of Vinor, no one would ever know the truth. You can’t pass off a monster as Ferdinand’s child anymore. And a boy, even handsome as an angel, could pass for a brother of Florian and Claude. They need a younger brother, don’t they? Perhaps in the future some disease will take the lives of the older princes and Edwin will be king. Rhianon stared at her own fingernails with exaggerated attention. It wasn’t fair, but Setius was in the castle, after all. He could have brought the vibe of the very creepy contagion that roamed beneath Madeel’s tower here. And if he didn’t bring it in now, he might bring it in later, she might ask him to, if he didn’t figure it out himself. All of them cursed and beautiful are themselves interested in their lord’s son being first in everything.
Rhianon watched the miniature dragon on her desk. He was perched on the pages ofВ an open book, and aВ fragrant rose now lay beside him, along with several other precious ornaments, which he scrutinized. He must have been cramped and uncomfortable inВ the box where he had been locked up, for now, free, he was wrinkling painfully and kneading his stiff claws.
He was very handsome. Rhianon admired him as if he were a rare jewel. It was a gift she had never dreamed of receiving. It would be good if, contrary to the spirit’s warning, it did not grow, but remained as diminutive as an expensive toy. Then it would be possible to spoil it, to give it jewelry, and to put it to sleep on a velvet pillow. She wanted a pet like that, and he, despite all his dexterity and laudable agility, was in no hurry to get away from her.
