As if caught between a fantastic dream, and some horrible nightmare, Hyden spiraled in and out of consciousness. One moment he was with Talon flying over lush green tree tops. The next, he was convulsing in the dungeon cell next to a starved giant’s corpse. Somewhere, not too far away, he could feel the vibrations of kinetic explosions. A fleeting thought of his friend Mikahl came and went. Hope and fear, in a vivid flash. He couldn’t remember where Talon was going, but he could tell that the hawkling was moving with great speed and purpose. There was no circling or lingering on this flight.
Pain in his abdomen gripped him again, stealing his breath. Then the relieving magic of the dragon’s tear medallion surged through him. His mind went back to Talon’s and he watched the world pass below. At least until the hot pile of coals in his guts began to flare, pulling him back into the helpless pain-filled reality of the dungeon cell he was lying in. The tear pulsed again and he was flying over a river. Over and again the pain consumed him, and the magic of the dragon’s tear eased it away, but eventually his thoughts found a daze of semi-reality where both sensations collided into confusion.
Talon flew round and round the cell, and Hyden fell from the sky into a swirling cloud. Wait, his subconscious screamed, I’m still in the cell. Talon is in the air. The hawkling screeched out in protest as Hyden started to slip away. Like a hot needle, Talon forced his vision into Hyden’s spinning brain. A sea of green swaying leaves leapt up, and when it seemed the emerald mass was about to slam into them, they went right through. Branches, streams of mote-filled sunlight, and then the sound of other birds filled Hyden’s head. The dizzying flight carried him through the undergrowth to a place where a gurgling stream had pooled. Talon landed on a large moss covered boulder at the edge of the water and screeched out again. A thundering cloud of smaller birds, and a few of the smaller four-legged creatures, exploded away from the fierce sound. Gliding from his perch down to the stream’s edge, Talon began splashing the cool liquid over him. Hyden felt the chill of it. It helped him focus. Using all of the strength of will he could muster, he stared deeply into the rippling pool. Just then, a white, pillowy cloud passed overhead. Its reflection made the surface of the water appear milky-white, chased with silver. A particular swirling of ripples spun and wavered, and slowly, as if she were the sky herself, the White Goddess formed into being. Her arms opened wide in welcome, but the beautiful smile Hyden expected to see wasn’t on her face. Her look of sadness as she took him in filled him with dread.
“I think that I’ve failed you, m’lady,” Hyden said. “I’m at the door of death and our enemies are ushering me in.”
“You must go into the darkness, Hyden Hawk,” she said gently. “Only there can you find the light.”
“Aye,” Hyden responded. He had no idea what she meant. “I need not go anywhere. The darkness is coming to me.”
“You must suffer the pain Hyden,” she commanded. “You are not dead yet. Pull yourself to your feet and seek the darkness. Only there will you find the light. The light can save you, but you must hurry.”
“I don’t understand,” he rasped as her image started to fade.
“Find the light in the darkness, and the balance will be restored, Hyden.” She was fading from view. “Get up Hyden,” she urged, but then she was gone.
“Get up, Hyden Hawk,” he heard the echo in his mind as the image of the forest faded to gray. Then Talon leapt into flight, jarring him back to reality.
“Fight it, Hyden,” a familiar voice said from close to him. “Get up. You have to get up, Hyden.”
An odd scratching sensation raked across his cheek and his eyes fluttered open. The pain in his guts was overwhelming, but not so much that it kept him from trying to scrabble backwards away from the toothy thing that was crawling around his face.
“Ahhhhghhh!” he yelled as he managed to scoot barely a pace backwards. The creature before him hissed and hunched into a prickle.
“Thank the gods,” said Phen from beside him. “I thought you were gone. You have to get up and walk.”
Hyden tried, but couldn’t speak. The pain of moving was akin to being roasted alive from the inside out. Phen grabbed him under one arm and pulled him up into a sitting position. Hyden’s complexion went from pale green to ghostly white. Phen poured cool water over his head and let it run down his face. Then he helped him sip.
“We have to get out of here, Hyden,” Phen said. He didn’t do a very good job of hiding his fear, but he tried. “Mikahl took Princess Rosa from the tower, and the Dragon Queen’s priest caught them in a spell.” Phen shook his head, trying to clear the worry from it so that he could think. “I tried to warn them, but he didn’t listen.”
“Never does,” Hyden mumbled.
“I can’t carry you out of here,” Phen said. “You have to get up and walk.”
Hyden took a few long breaths, then the dragon’s tear pulsed a soothing blast of energy into him. It didn’t do much to quell his pain, but it gave him the strength he needed to climb to his feet.
“I have to find the darkness,” Hyden murmured.
Phen put his arm around his friend’s waist and helped him take a step, then another. “A moment ago you said you needed to find the light.”
“The light…” Hyden whispered. “…is in the darkness.”
“Whatever you say,” Phen agreed with him. “We’re going to get you out into the daylight, if we can manage to get there without getting caught.”
“Aye,” Hyden put more effort into helping Phen help him. “Into the light.”
Phen found that he was fighting tears of sorrow as he helped Hyden along. His friend was dying, and he knew it. Even so, he would get Hyden to daylight. He wouldn’t let him die down here in the dungeon. If Master Sholt or Master Amill were at hand, Phen thought that maybe a healing spell of higher magic might help, but he doubted it. The thing that had pumped Hyden’s gut full of venom looked terribly wicked, even lying dead on the dungeon floor. The malformed breed giant’s leg was swollen to the size of a cask. Phen held little hope for Hyden. He fought his tears and concentrated on helping him take each step. It was all he could think to do.
Shaella was enjoying the swift rush of early summer air as it whipped through her long dark hair. Flick was a hundred feet away, perched atop the bat-like Choska demon’s neck. It was slightly larger than Vrot in body size, but not nearly as long. It didn’t have a sinuous tail or neck. Still, it was a fierce creature, with razor sharp claws, a wide mastiff-like head, and a mouth full of nasty teeth.
As always, clutched in Shaella’s hand was the staff with the Spectral Orb mounted at its head. As the thick blue winding line of the Leif Greyn River came into view in the distance, she saw a glimmering red light swirling around inside the crystal. She brought it closer and let Vrot guide them while she studied it.
The distorted image of one of the red-robed priests stared out at her with a perplexed, yet excited look on his face.
“What is it?” she snapped, bringing the man’s attention to bear like a whip crack. “This had better be good.”
“Queen Shaella,” the priest bowed.
“Out with it,” she snapped.
Flick heard her and urged the Choska closer to the black dragon.
“Kraw has commanded us,” the priest said excitedly. “We are preparing to bring him out of the Nethers.”
“Wait for me,” she said, feeling an electric tingle run through her belly. “I’m turning back now. Do not open the seal until I’m there.”
“Yes,” the priest said in a tone that made her think he might not obey.
“Flick!” she called out. “Go on! Aid the Dakaneese in my stead, then see what else Ra’Gren requires, at your discretion of course.”
Flick felt a sinking feeling inside as he nodded that he understood her orders. It was Gerard, he knew. He could tell it by the gleaming of her eyes. With only the grim satisfaction that she was happy to motivate him, he agreed. Then he winged the Choska away before his expression could betray his emotion. Flick found that he felt a little more for his queen than he should. He knew that she didn’t return the affection. She was in love with Gerard, but nonetheless, Flick loved Shaella.
Shaella wheeled Vrot sharply around and gave her dragon a loving pat on his sleek scaled back. “Fly, my dragon,” she ordered. “Fly as swiftly as you can.” The idea that Gerard was coming to her now filled her with an ecstatic hope. She was literally trembling with excitement. It was all she could do to stay seated as Vrot churned his way through the air with his powerful wings.
In a moment of clarity Hyden called out to Claret. Not for himself-he was done. He thought he understood now what the White Goddess meant about the light. Even if he succeeded, though, he didn’t see a way to get back from where he had to go. It was Phen who needed a way out of this place. Not just out of the castle, but out of Westland completely. As Hyden leaned heavily into the corner of a hallway just above the dungeon level of the vast castle, he struggled to get his medallion’s chain over his head. When Phen returned from scouting the hall, Hyden hung it over Phen’s neck then sagged into the floor.
Phen didn’t question the deed. It would have choked him up too badly to do so. As he struggled to get Hyden back to his feet, he suddenly had an idea of his own.
“Here,” Phen said, taking Loak’s ring and pressing it into Hyden’s hand. “Put this on.”
Hyden’s moment of clarity was gone now. He looked at the boy, then at the ring. It took his scrambled brain a moment to make sense of it, but he finally understood. He let Phen slide the ring onto his finger and saw that, even to his own eyes, he disappeared.
Phen got his arm under Hyden’s and pulled him back to his feet. He knew that he looked quite insane moving through the castle hugging an invisible person, but he figured that he could prop Hyden in a corner if he had to. He struggled to get them walking again. Once he did, he felt for his connection with Spike. The lyna was up ahead of them, scouting for danger. All of the guards and servants were either hiding or trying to find a view of what the red priests were doing in the garden. Something was happening out there now, Phen guessed, for the hallways were completely empty.
Without the magic of the teardrop to fill him with relief, Hyden knew that he couldn’t go much farther. “Go on, Phen,” he whispered. “Tell me where Mikahl is, and go.”
“I’ll not let go of you, Hyden Hawk,” Phen argued stubbornly. “You’ll fall into a heap without me.”
“Then get me to Mikahl,” rasped Hyden. “After that you have to get away from here.”
“Not until I destroy the Silver Skull,” Phen said. “I know how to render it useless Hyden, but it will only work while it is being used.”
Hyden found some strange relief in that. In the foggy mess of his brain he tried to untwist the thoughts that were tangled there. After few moments he stopped them in the middle of an empty passage.
“Aye, Phen,” Hyden whispered. “Wait until the seal is open, and then destroy the skull. But I have to be there.”
“You need to…”
“No!” Hyden cut the boy a off as harshly as he could manage. “I’m going to die, Phen. Do not argue with me.” He used all the strength he had left in him to grip the boy by the shoulders and shake him. “Promise me, Phen. Promise me you’ll get me to the seal, and then destroy the skull while it’s open.”
Phen couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. He didn’t quite understand Hyden’s motives, but he understood the finality of them.
“Aye,” he whispered. “I’ll try my damnedest, Hyden. I will.”