«But I feel I am under a spell, as if they’re throwing me into a fire to make me fight the dragons,» Graymore complained again.
The skeleton hummed. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
«Would you like me to wipe the mirror so it can show us what’s going on in my domain? Perhaps it could show us the future, too, if you ask it?»
«Ask it yourself. I don’t have to,» the skeleton protested.
«You mean you won’t help?»
Graymore was angry. In his lifetime, this wizard must have been insolent and cowardly. Even her father had worshipped his skeleton as a deity to ask for advice. Now it was her turn to beg. It’s awkward for a princess to beg the advice of a dead man, but what can you do!
Graymore took a precious hoop of emeralds, rubies, and sapphires from the folds of her cloak. It resembled a royal crown. A skeleton needs an offering, or he will lie and twist rather than give a straight answer. Such is the wicked nature of every soothsayer. You don’t bring the gift, you don’t get the right prophecy.
В«Is that enough toВ make you kinder?В»
Graymore handed the dead mage aВ crown, which he promptly snatched from her hand and placed on his bald skull.
«Perfect! I am like a king of wizards!» The skeleton gazed in rapt fascination in the mirror, where the cobwebs slid off and the dust vanished. «I am a beauty! I look like death with a scythe! That’s what I always wanted to be!»
How can you be glad toВ be aВ skeleton! Graymore did not understand it. The only creatures she liked were those that were pleasing toВ look at. It was except perhaps for dragons. Though they looked as magnificent as jewels, they were not toВ be admired. They had toВ be hunted before they crushed her entire kingdom with their raids.
В«IВ was born inВ aВ bad country,В» Grahamor complained, rubbing her long dark curls. В«There are predators everywhere! There are dragon nests on every border! InВ the south ofВ Livellin, no one has ever heard ofВ dragons. An envoy from the Southern Kingdom last year reported they had never been raided.В»
В«Perhaps his king has aВ pact with dragons,В» the skeleton said thoughtfully.
В«Is that possible?В»
В«It is if you pay tribute.В»
«Are there goats, sheep, buffalo, cows, partridges, and young virgins?» Graymore exhaled noisily. This was a trap she had fallen into before, as had her father. «Once they’d had enough, they’d still fly to scorch the cities they’d sent tribute from. Dragons are dishonorable!»
В«But there is one thing they do respect.В»
В«And what is that?В»
«It is treasure!» The skeleton’s eyes gleamed with the empty eyes that held two tiny diamonds. «Offer them gold and jewels, and you will buy their favor.»
В«For how long isВ it?В»
В«It all depends on the portion ofВ the jewels.В»
«And once they decide there’s not enough treasure, how will they break the agreement and attack again? Better to fight them with steel than to offer them gold.»
В«An agreement built on gold they will not break.В»
В«Are they that greedy?В»
«When it comes to precious metals, it’s not just their greed that becomes excessive. A hypnotic attraction to gold and jewels awakens in them. Give them more and more precious trinkets, and they go into ecstasy, poring over them and counting to infinity.»
«So they’re attracted to Livellin’s coffers!» Gryamore guessed. «That’s why they come here all the time.»
В«It is not only that! There are more treasures inВ other realms than yours. There is another treasure,В» the skeleton became tense and clutched at the armrests ofВ the chair he sat on. В«It is you!В»
He pointed his bony hand toward Graymore.
В«Why is it me?В» the princess struggled feverishly toВ remove her precious rings and bracelets. В«Is it because ofВ the abundance ofВ jewelry on me? It is etiquette toВ wear them, so that all the ambassadors can see how rich Livellin is byВ my example.В»
«Leave the trinkets! Whether you take it off or not won’t make any difference. Dragons will still be drawn to you. It’s as if there’s a vein of gold inside you. Even I can feel the gold shining through your skin. There are creatures with gold blood, you might be one of them.»
Graymore wasn’t about to take a dagger and slash herself to find out.
«And what explains the dragon’s fondness for gold and gems?»
В«It is an ancient legend. Legend has it that dragons are servants ofВ aВ solar deity who rebelled inВ the heavens. As soon as it fell, the light ofВ the sun fell toВ earth with it and turned into gold-bearing veins and deposits ofВ precious stones. So gold reminds the dragons ofВ their period ofВ greatness. They were not yet monsters then.В»
В«It is interesting!В» Graymore looked at the magical mirror. It was trying toВ show something. InВ it glimpsed dense forests and strange creatures galloping through the thicket. It seemed toВ be fairies. Graymore had never yet communicated with magical creatures. She ruled the land ofВ humen. Only rarely did she get toВ see fairies, nymphs, and mermaids from afar. InВ the old days, there had been more ofВ them inВ Livellin than there had been people, but now almost the entire population was human.
«If you see a golden statue of a dragon god in the forest or mountains, flee from it! It’s probably alive and bloodthirsty, though very beautiful,» warned the skeleton in an admonishing tone.
В«Is it aВ statue ofВ aВ dragon? Or ofВ aВ man covered inВ scales?В»
«It’s a statue of an angel.»
Graymore exhaled inВ amazement.
В«So the appearance ofВ aВ deity is aВ trick toВ trap?В»
В«You could say that. It is her original form.В»
В«Did you say hers and not his?В»
В«Yes, their deity wears aВ maiden face, but it is deceptive.В»
В«Does she turn into aВ dragon?В»
В«No, but she breathes fire. Her worshippers use the sickle as an instrument ofВ murder and sprinkle the blood ofВ their victims over the withered fields toВ summon her. Once the blood is spilled over them, black rye will grow inВ the fields, producing monsters that will point toВ where her living statue stands.В»
В«What is all this for?В»
В«ToВ bring the apocalypse closer and the arrival ofВ her full power over aВ ruined world. There are many ofВ her admirers inВ your country.В»
«I don’t know about her. They honor the queen of the fairies, whom no one has ever seen, the elf king, who only came to visit my father, and the horned goddess of the looking glass, the sparkling goddess of the moon and stars, the goddess of the rainbow, and the gods of war. I revere the latter the most. War is my calling.»
В«It is only with dragons!В» stressed the skeleton.
В«Only dragons attack inВ more recent times.В»
Many hunters for easy money went to war against Livellin. It’s a rich country. Why do you think there aren’t as many people conquering the country?»
«I don’t know!»
«There’s something evil in the country. It’s black and dark. Even I feel bad about it, though I’m almost a black wizard myself. It is almost… Sometimes I can do good things. I give advice to you. You’re sweet and young and unspoiled. You could easily be seduced by bad advice, but I refrain from it.»
В«IВ carry presents for you.В»
В«Gifts are worthless. They are only aВ courtesy. There are many sorcerers who would cheat you and kill you for your own gifts.В»
В«Are not one ofВ them?В» Graymore teasedВ him.
В«You are still alive and well and unaffected byВ evil spells.В»
В«IВ feel like IВ burn alive when aВ dragon flies near my borders. Many would say that is the spell. IВ have been bewitched! IВ have been thrust into aВ quest toВ fight monsters inВ which IВ may die.В»
«You can’t!» The skeleton’s eye was the judge of that. «You have special blood. Golden blood is the symbol of chosen one.»
В«Should IВ go after the special dragon, or should IВ sit inВ my castle and wait until he gets here?В»
«I told you he’s not coming here.»
В«Why is it not? Is that what the mirror says?В» Graymore, no matter how hard she looked, all she saw inВ the mirror was wild woods. There was no writing on the glass which told her fate. Apparently, the skeleton wizard saw more.
«I’m drawn to this strange dragon,» Graymore admitted.
В«Is it more than toВ other dragons?В»
В«It is much more! Could he be the death toВ me?В»
В«You are nineteen years old! It is not yet time toВ die!В»
В«There was aВ queen inВ my family who drowned when she was nineteen. They say she became aВ mermaid.В»
В«More like aВ mistress ofВ watermen.В»
Graymore was embarrassed. The skeleton knew something compromising about her ancestors. He himself had lived nearly aВ hundred years before he took poison inВ that tower and became aВ dead counselor toВ the kings ofВ the Livellin dynasty.
В«Will you not help me make my decision?В»
В«You must make it yourself.В»
В«But IВ brought you aВ hoop. You took it, so you must pay for it,В» she remindedВ him.
For aВ moment the skeleton stared into the mirror, silently, and surely he saw something there that Graymore herself did notВ see.
В«If you go, you solve all your doubts, if you stay, you betray yourself and scold yourself,В» he admonished.
В«You are aВ slacker! IВ knew that.В»
«But it’s the only sensible advice I can give you.»
Graymore stomped her foot. She felt like yelling at the dead advisor, but that wasn’t wise. Fighting with a wizard, even a dead one, was too dangerous.
В«Well, thank you!В» She said. В«IВ hope your advice will be more meaningful next time.В»
«There won’t be a next time,» the skeleton called out to her at the exit.
В«Why is it not?В» Graymore looked around with interest.
В«This dragon is your destiny.В»
В«What do you mean byВ that?В»
The skeleton made no reply, but in the mirror she flashed a glimpse of the most beautiful dragon Graymore had ever seen in her life. He had burned an entire horde of goblins. They were coming to sort things out with him over territories. One dragon’s breath was enough to take them all out. And with such a dragon she would have to fight! Admiration and martial spirit struggled within Graymore.
В«He burned aВ kingdom the other day,В» the skeleton remindedВ her.
В«IВ know.В»
«If you don’t go to him, next time he might burn the whole of Livellin. He’s got the strength for it.»
Now, that was an ultimatum, coming from aВ skeleton. Graymore is sick and tired ofВ the dead wizard speaking inВ riddles.
«I’ll go!» She made up her mind.
Graymore unfastened the ruby belt around her hips, threw aВ cascade ofВ dark serpentine curls behind her back, and showed her tongue toВ the sleepy magic mirror, which stubbornly refused toВ show her dragon aВ second time.
В«Remember the golden statues ofВ the dragon deity,В» the skeleton warned her as she grasped the doorjamb. В«It sleeps inВ the thicket, but you cannot go near it. If you go near it, you might not survive. It is unless your blood is indeed golden. Then you are aВ chosen one.В»
Graymore nodded dryly.
В«IВ have noted all the instructions. Is there anything else?В»
But the skeleton was already asleep. He looked dead and motionless. She could no longer believe that he had been alive and talking, even arguing with the ruler aВ momentВ ago.
The magical mirror showed a picture of a dragon massacre of some village that did not belong to Livellin’s domain. Graymore could see the stranger’s banner. Knights tried to defend the village, but they failed. One dragon was stronger than all of them. Had they known that one girl could be stronger than an entire army! But they did not have her support, so they died in dragon fire.
В«Someday dragons will do toВ you what you did toВ them,В» the mirror whispered.
The horned fairy ofВ the looking-glass must be joking with her. Though is she capable ofВ speaking through aВ magic mirror? She usually lives inВ ordinary mirrors, not magic mirrors.
В«You do not know how toВ distinguish friend from foe,В» whispered the ghostly lips, traced on the amalgam.
The skeleton adviser did not respond to the whispers, so Graymore decided to ignore them as well. Everyone knows that the spirits of the looking-glasses deliberately mess with the heads of people who stare in the mirror. That’s why you can’t look in mirrors for long, or the ghosts will drive you crazy.
Graymore slammed the tower door as she went, and dozens ofВ spiders spilled from the jamb toВ the hem ofВ her dress. The tower had long resembled aВ tomb. And no wonder! After all, the skeleton counselor sat there.
It was time toВ learn toВ live without his advice. Her only real friend and advisor was her battle sword. InВ anticipation ofВ the dragon hunt, Graymore remembered it. The sword had never failed her, and magicians and magic mirrors couldВ lie.
