The demon suddenly withdrew, his form contracting and reshaping. Saress stopped shrieking and started to cast a spell, a dangerous thing for all of them considering not only how panicked she was but also how tight their quarters were.

"Grand and glorious Lanith," Yureel suddenly called. "I've need of you, 0 conqueror of the realm . . ."

"-Lipazar's Bladel You-" The horse king stiffened, then quickly studied those around him, finishing with the demon. Yureel had returned to his previous form and now he darted behind the monarch, as if frightened of what the sorceress could do to him. Aurim wanted to scowl; the monster was hardly in danger from Saress.

"What goes on here? Why've you brought me back here, imp? Have you found my steed?"

"Not yet, your glorious majesty! A problem arose with this sorcerer; he's proven willful when he shouldn't be! I was trying to remind him of his duty when the beautiful Saress materialized and mistook my deed for one that threatened both of their lives . . ." Yureel sounded timid.

Lanith turned to Saress. "Calm yourself. Yureel's no threat to you; he serves me . . . don't you, imp?"

"Yes, yes, I do, Lanith the Great!"

The enchantress quieted, but she was by no means convinced of the demon's complacency. Aurim prayed that she would remain suspicious; it would only serve his own chances if Saress continued to keep a wary eye on Yureel. She had seen him at his most terrible. Unless he wiped the memory from her mind, Saress would have to think the demon more dangerous than he now pretended to be.

"What is he, Lanith?" the sorceress demanded, thrusting a finger at Yureel.

"A servant, Saress. One who's worked hard to aid me in my conquest of the Dragonrealm."

The woman's brow arched. "Has he? I thought it was my Magical Order-and dear Aurim here-who had done so much!"

"Yes, yes, indeed," the demon cried. "They've performed marvelously, beauteous Saress! I . . . I've only done what little I could on the side."

"Why haven't I known about him, Lanith?"

"It wasn't wise to let too many know about Yureel, Saress. You can see for yourself what sort of reaction he receives. He serves me best by being unnoticed until too late." The horse king turned slightly toward the tiny demon and smiled at him. Yureel pretended to be honored.

Clearly the enchantress saw that Yureel had Lanith's ear. It did not sit well with her, but Aurim noticed that she was intelligent enough to cover her distaste before Lanith glanced her way again. The woman did not like being second to anyone or anything when it came to her beloved ruler. "You must forgive me . . . Yureel . . . but I sensed a great spell cast here, one that Aurim cast. I came to see what he might be doing down here when he should've been on the battlefield serving my dear king."

At last she had garnered Lanith's curiosity. "What spell is that, imp? Why would you drag Aurim here to cast a spell when he's needed on the field for the same reason?"

"I intended on using the aid of your precious sorcerer for a spell that would give us knowledge of the Dragon King's present position, but I discovered some . . . reluctance . . . on the lad's part, Your Majesty. As I first indicated, he seems to be having second thoughts." Yureel peered at Aurim, pupilless eyes growing colder. "Dangerous second thoughts."

"Oh?" The king also stared at Aurim. "I thought that was beyond him, imp. You said so yourself."

"I appear to have been remiss, glorious majesty! My apologies! I shall, of course, deal with the problem. Oh, I must a.s.sume that since your Saress is here, King Lanith, that she's accomplished the task you asked of her."

The horse king blinked. "Task? What task would-"

"The renegade enchantress, grand king! The woman who has danced around your city evading your Magical Order for the past several years! If Saress is here, then certainly she must've captured the woman!"

"Yes . . . I'd forgotten about that. Where is she, Saress?"

"I . . . have her in one of the dungeons, darling, but she's hardly worth the trouble to deal with now-"

The tiny figure floated away from the supposed protection of the horse king and took up a position that allowed him to gaze at both spellcasters without much effort. "I must humbly disagree, my lovely lady. More than ever she's of importance." Yureel studied Aurim closely. "Most important, indeed."

"She's nothing but a hedge witch!" Saress snapped.

"Oh, she's more than that, much, much more! Just ask her father, Lady Saress. You may have heard of him, I think."

As Aurim watched, the enchantress's visage paled. Yureel had struck a nerve. Saress actually looked frightened again. "I don't know anything about her father!"

"A great lapse in knowledge considering how long you've known her. One would almost think the two of you had grown up together, so familiar do you act with her."

"She's nothing to me."

"Enough of this babble," the horse king commanded, his expression one of increasing impatience. "I have a land and a Dragon King to conquer and this is delaying things! Bring me this woman now, Saress!"

She curtsied, managing still to display her obvious charms to the king as she bent forward. "I am ever at your command, dear Lanith."

Yureel giggled. Rising, Saress stifled what was likely a grimace. She took a deep breath, then slowly looked up at the ceiling. Power began to gather around her.

"The day is quickly waning," the shadow puppet remarked offhandedly.

The narrowing of her eyes was the only visible sign Aurim noted that indicated her bitterness with Yureel. "Come here, Yssa!"

No sooner had she finished the command when they were joined by the other enchantress. Aurim Bedlam found himself thankful that Yureel had not bothered to control his sight, for there was no one else in the chamber he would have rather stared at now than Yssa. She was even more beautiful than he recalled. Unfortunately, the blond enchantress was just as much a prisoner as he. A faint orange glow around her throat was the only evidence of the magical bonds that kept Yssa from using her own abilities, but its presence was sufficient to tell Aurim Bedlam that she would not easily escape.

King Lanith approached her, the gleam in his eye not one that Aurim cared for much. "This is her, eh?"

Evidently Saress was not pleased by her beloved monarch's interest in her rival. "She's nothing, Lanith. Not even worth trying to add to the Order. Leave her to me. I'll-"

"Be silent." The horse king's gaze drifted down, then up again. He cupped Yssa's chin, studying her face for much too long as far as Aurim was concerned. "Good form. Very healthy. Excellent breeding, I'd say."

With his back to her, Lanith could not see Saress's smoldering look.

Aurim tried to contact Yssa, but it was as if her mind had been shut away from his. He finally gave up, realizing that he could tell her nothing of value. They were both helpless.

Or were they? After his success in freeing Darkhorse, who was to say that Yureel's hold was that complete? Perhaps it had been his own distrust of himself that had made him such a pliable puppet. I've got to try again.

You will do nothing! commanded an enraged Yureel in his head. The confident, beguiling att.i.tude the demon displayed for Lanith and the others was actually a mask; his fury had not abated. Your chance is past! If you try again, my fine little human spellcaster, I shall do to your female as I intended to do to my dear twin!

Yureel did not wait to hear if he understood. The demon vanished from the sorcerer's mind, confident, no doubt, that he had made his point. Regrettably, he had. Aurim immediately ceased his attempt. He could not risk Yssa.

"She's a fine addition, I'll admit, imp, but what best use is she? Will she join the Order?

"Her?" Saress snapped. "Never!"

"In this I must agree with your fine lady, my majestic king! No, she is no use to the Order."

Lanith seemed puzzled. "But surely you can-"

"There is a position of greater value for her to fill, oh, yes, indeed," Yureel responded quickly. "She will buy you a victory over your former liege, the dragon man!"

"Now why would she matter to him? Is she one of that green lizard's servants? I didn't know he kept human mages."

The tiny puppet master giggled. "Oh, more than a servant, much more, much more . . . wouldn't you say, Lady Saress?"

Again the king's mistress grew extremely uncomfortable. She evidently knew what Yureel hinted at and it unsettled her greatly. "He values her, yes."

"So highly that he would risk surrender just for her?" the king asked, extremely skeptical.

Yureel gave a comic shrug as he drifted back to his supposed lord. "Surrender . . . possibly. Hesitate too long . . . definitely."

Growling, the horse king reached for the small, hovering figure, but Yureel was too swift. He easily dodged aside, then took up a position nearer poor Yssa. "No more games, imp!" cried the graying conqueror. "Tell me why the d.a.m.ned drake would bother with a human. He's fond of them, but not that fond!"

"Aah, but with this sumptuous la.s.s, he is!" Yureel floated next to Yssa's face. Aurim could see her trying to keep an eye on the foul monster. The tiny figure indicated her visage. "She is rather attractive, wouldn't you say, my grand emperor-to-be?"

"There's no denying that."

"Exotic, yes?"

Lanith studied her for far longer than necessary. Only when Saress cleared her throat did he finally pause. "She looks like one of my people. . but there's definitely something else. Her blood's not pure. She's a mix."

"A mix . . ." Yet another infuriating giggle. "Oh, mixed well, indeed, wouldn't you say, Lady Saress." Using one tiny arm, he dragged Yssa even closer to Lanith. "A strong mix, your glorious majesty . . . strong, because she carries a most royal and . . . draconian . . . bloodline."

Saress gasped, then forcibly pushed all emotion from her countenance. Lanith eyed her, then studied the tiny demon as if the latter had completely lost his senses. "What are you saying? You sound as if you're trying to tell me that this other woman is a . . . is part. . ."

"Part drake, yes."

"Impossible!" The horse king seized Yssa by the shoulders arid looked her over again. Had the bound enchantress been able to use her abilities, the monarch of Zuu would have been no more than a blot on the wall now. "And yet . . . maybe not . there's something about her. . . I've seen draconian females in human form . . ."

"She's far, far more than those little creatures, great and glorious Lanith! More so because she is also the child of the Dragon King himself."

Lanith was clearly skeptical. "How did you discover this fantastic secret?"

"Spies, searching, guesswork . . . a combination of events." The creature glanced surrept.i.tiously at Saress.

Aurim caught the look, then the brief, frightened expression that again crossed the visage of Lanith's mistress. For the first time, Aurim noted some similarities in the women's features.

If what Yureel said was true, could that also mean that Saress was . . . that she was . . just like Yssa?

No wonder you shake every time Yureel mentions Yssa's heritage- Aurim paused in mid-thought, the demon's revelation finally sinking in. Yssa was not quite human. Not human. It did not startle him as much as he might have expected, but then, he had grown up with drakes. He saw them as few others did, as a race as beautiful and terrible as any other. They were people like himself and many of them, when compared to some humans such as Lanith or even his own grandfather, Azran, were better. The Dragon Emperor's own sister, Ursa, was his sister Valea's close friend.

"Part drake . . . part animal . . ." Lanith released her, disgust growing. "Well, she may be of use, then, if the Dragon King will acknowledge her."

"He will, my lord, oh, he will."

"He'll not surrender his kingdom for her, though." The would-be conqueror walked around Yssa, studying her again, but his mind was clearly focused on other matters than her appearance. "No, but as you've indicated, he'll probably hesitate if he does care for her. He'll be afraid she'll be injured-"

"Or tortured," added Yureel with a giggle.

-and that will cost him. It could cut the war down by half. Then we could turn toward Gordag-Ai as originally planned. They'll fall in half the time it'll take to conquer Dagora, especially if that drake Sssaleese can keep his pledge . . ."

Aurim did not follow the last but what he did follow made him even more anxious. He knew the Dragon King Green well enough to realize that what Yureel said was true. For someone he really cared for, especially one of his own, the drake lord would hesitate and that hesitation, manipulated by the horse king and the demon, might very well prove the fatal stroke.

"Magnificent!" Lanith suddenly cried. He laughed and, without warning, reached out to pet Yureel. The tiny figure remained still, although Aurim caught a hint of contempt in the inhuman eyes. "Magnificent! Once my former liege the drake has fallen, all his wondrous magical treasures will find better use in my hands! His fall will also reduce the power of his brethren, who'll realize too late that they should've aided him, the stupid lizards!"

"With Dagora yours, my great and splendid king, there will be no way they can even hope to stop you . . ."

Aurim doubted that. He still believed that Lanith could not succeed in the end; the continent would never be his. It was true, though, that if Dagora fell to him, any chance of putting an early end to the horse king's campaign would fade.

And we can't have that, now can we, little Aurim? My epic is far from complete!

Yureel's chilling voice echoing in his head was enough to make the sorcerer cringe.

I think you've had enough fun for now. Recall that her life is in your hands! She is a valuable tool against the drake, but I will sacrifice her if I have to, Aurim Bedlam! And in case you've forgotten-The spellcaster's left hand suddenly thrust itself upward, stopping only an inch or two before his face. The fingers formed a tight fist. -I'm still very much in control!

"Imp! I want to return to the field! Belfour'll have the troops over the northern ridge by now, what with the Order's help. That means that we're getting d.a.m.nably close to the center of the drake's domain and he'll defend it harder than any other place we've taken yet. Now's the time to remind him of his darling daughter!"

Contact between Aurim and Yureel ceased, but the hand remained where it was. A reminder. "Most definitely, Emperor Lanith, most definitely! I'll have Aurim whisk us there in but a breath! If anyone asks, you can say that he transported you here because of a matter of urgency. It would not be the first time you've made such use of your little sorcerers."

"I don't need to explain my comings and goings to anyone, imp . . . but it would be best to return before Belfour and the others get too nervous. Saress, you know the half-breed best; I want you with her for now in case she manages some trick." Without waiting for a reply, the horse king turned again to Yureel. "My mount is still missing, imp. What've you done about finding him again? I've had to commandeer one of my aide's mounts for now."

The demon did not even hesitate. "Worry not about him for the time being, my lord. Your great victory is near at hand. I'll keep an eye out for your steed, I promise you. I want to find him nearly as much as you do."

"All right. Then let's get back to the field. Now."

"As you command." And to Aurim, "Send them."

He could do nothing but obey Yureel. If there had been any hope before, certainly there was none now, not for him, Yssa, his family, or certainly the Green Dragon. Yureel had all of them dancing, even those who did not realize it. Only Darkhorse was free of his sinister twin's machinations.

The only question was . . . could Darkhorse return from wherever Aurim had sent him?

Chapter Seventeen.

What happened to me? was Darkhorse's first question. He tried to focus, but the sudden shift in location had left him disoriented. It had certainly not been his own doing; between Yureel and Aurim, Darkhorse had been securely and efficiently imprisoned- Aurim? It seemed the only conceivable answer. Somehow the captive sorcerer had managed to overcome Yureel's control, if momentarily, and been able to send Darkhorse away. That had to be the answer; nothing else made more sense. Perhaps with Yureel so occupied with absorbing his twin, the foul little monster had allowed his mastery of the human to slip just that precious little.

Where had Aurim sent him, though? For the first time since arriving, Darkhorse focused on his surroundings. Aurim Bedlam was a clever person. It had to be somewhere where the sorcerer trusted him to be safe.

Then again . . .

Where by the emptiness of the Void am I? It was like no place the shadow steed had ever visited either in the Dragonrealm or beyond. He was beyond the world of the Dragonrealm; that was immediately obvious.

Everything around him seemed unclear, as if his sight were failing him. That was not the case, though. Even up close, the peculiar plants-if they were plants-remained slightly unfocused. He shifted toward one and prodded it with a primitive appendage. The plant, a bluish, a cuc.u.mber-shaped thing with hairlike leaves, immediately quivered. A moment later a piercing bell sound shook Darkhorse so much that he immediately retreated from the alien object.

The cuc.u.mber plant's reaction set off another similar plant nearby. That, in turn, caused yet a third, then a fourth, to also peal like bells. The uproar shook Darkhorse to his very being, but there seemed to be nowhere to turn. Each direction he looked, similar plants blocked his path . . . and more and more of them were reacting to the first one.

The clamor grew maddening. Darkhorse could not have held together a form even if he had had the strength, so jarring was the noise. He finally gathered himself together as best he could, peered up at what he supposed pa.s.sed for the sky but looked more like congealed fog, and flung himself upward.