"All right, the two of you, but that's it," said Gerin.

Kirin remained at the door to the Varsae Estrikavis. "I'll wait for your return. Venegreh's luck to the three of you."

Tyne Fedron surveyed the devastation below him and laughed. G.o.ds, the power at his command! He was routing an entire army before him! The tiny soldiers were running for their lives, scared to death of him and his dragons!

He watched wizards use their power to try to repel the soldiers laying siege to their fortress. He wondered who the army was, and why it was attacking the wizards, but in the end he didn't care. All that mattered was that word of his victory this day would spread like a fire across these southern nations. Kings would hear of him and tremble on their thrones.

The strange black cloud hovering over the fortress startled him by shooting a lance of red light down at the ground, destroying a building beneath it. Behind him on his harness, Marrek Drayke shouted, "The G.o.ds take me, did you see that?"

"Of course. I'm not blind."

"What if that thing can shoot the light at us?" He had to shout to be heard over the roar of the wind.

He has a point. Through the Commanding Stone, Tyne ordered the dragons to come around and attack the cloud. They began to circle it, bathing it with their cleansing fire.

"We should move away until it's destroyed!" said Marrek.

Tyne clenched his jaw. He disliked the barrage of suggestions that came from Marrek-they made him wonder if his servant thought him too stupid to consider such things on his own. And it annoyed him even more when the boy was right.

Maybe I'll leave him behind soon, he thought. No, that would do no good. Marrek knew about his need for long periods of rest, and if he felt betrayed, might try to turn that knowledge against him. If he ever decided he no longer wanted Marrek's company, the boy's life would have to end. The dragons are always hungry. He'll never even know what happened. That time had not come yet. Despite Marrek's annoying tendencies, Tyne still found he preferred company to being alone.

Tyne commanded the dragon they were riding to swing back over the army camped outside the fortress. He did not acknowledge hearing Marrek's suggestion that they distance themselves from the cloud, and he issued that command silently, through the Stone. For all the boy knew, he'd made the decision to move away on his own.

They'd crossed over the large defensive wall of the fortress when there was a tremendous explosion behind them. Tyne flinched, hunching his shoulders and crouching down toward the dragon's neck. Marrek tensed and let out a yelp.

Tyne turned his head to see the ruins of the black cloud raining down on the fortress in streamers of fire and smoke. "It's good we moved away from it when we did!" said Marrek.

Tyne remained silent. One of the dragons had been too close. He caught sight of its tumbling body just before it smashed into a building. The dragon's body crushed the slate tiles, collapsed the roof and one side wall. It lay still in the wreckage. Tyne knew at once from the Stone that it was dead. He could feel the sadness and anger and sense of loss from the other dragons, the absolute knowledge that one of their own had been slain.

Like Rukee and Tremmel, he thought.

Strange inhuman creatures huddled together in one part of the camp, protected by a dome of magic. Tyne's dragons had made several attacks against the dome and destroyed portions of it, but had not yet finished it off.

It's time to get rid of them, he thought. His new empire would have no room for mongrel races. They would be hunted down and destroyed. When he was emperor, a day of reckoning would come.

Through the Stone, he issued a command for more dragons to join the attack on the dome. They roared and banked hard, their cries loud even over the din of battle, their wings outstretched and rigid as they brought around their ma.s.sive bulk.

They flew in a circle around the dome, then blasted it with their fire.

Tyne could see the creatures doing whatever they could to maintain their sorcery, but their frantic actions were not enough to overcome the dragons' withering fire.

A final blast from one of the dragons and the remainder of the dome vanished in a sudden outrush of light.

Kill all of these creatures, but allow the others to leave.

With the protective ring destroyed, the dragons began to scorch everything in that part of the encampment. A cyclone of flames erupted from the center and quickly spread outward. The sight of it awed him, even after all of the incredible things he'd witnessed. A tornado of fire growing thicker, churning into the sky. And I'm responsible. This is my doing, a projection of my will.

It looked to Tyne as if the human contingent of the army was calling for a retreat. He saw soldiers lining up in formation and marching quickly away from the fortress. Some tents had been packed or thrown onto wagons, but others were left where they were pitched. He wanted to devastate the army, but not destroy it completely. He needed survivors to carry on the tale of the dragonrider who had so thoroughly defeated them and the wizards.

Time for Marrek to deliver another message.

43.

Hear me, people of Hethnost!" shouted the young boy who had pa.s.sed through the ruins of the Hammdras and now stood near the ruins of the Varsae Sandrova. "The merciful Lord Tyne Fedron has spared your lives...for now. Swear fealty to him, follow him loyally, and you will live and prosper. Resist him, and you will die painful deaths in the jaws of his dragons."

Gerin, Balandrick, and Hollin were listening from behind a pile of rubble. "Who in Shayphim's b.l.o.o.d.y name is Tyne Fedron?" said Balan.

Both Gerin and Hollin shook their heads.

"I'm tempted to go out there and wring his scrawny little neck," whispered Balan.

"Resist your urge," said Hollin. "That boy is not the problem. It's his master we have to worry about."

The boy had been going on about the mercy Lord Fedron would show to those who followed him.

"A new Helcarean Empire is about to rise from the ashes of the old one!" he shouted. "An empire that will never die."

"He's a long way from home," said Balandrick "Lord Fedron knows this is a place of wizards and magic," said the boy, who looked to Gerin to be no more than sixteen. Gerin could see servants and surviving soldiers of the Sunrise Guard watching the boy from their own hiding places. He did not see any surviving Havalqa. They'd either retreated or been killed.

"Lord Fedron is seeking a particular man," called out the boy. "A wizard, so you may know of him. His name is Gerin Atreyano. If you know where we may find him, speak now."

"In the name of all that's holy-" Balandrick shook his head. "How are you involved in this?"

"I have no idea." Gerin created a Fa.r.s.eeing so he could gain a closer view of the boy's face, but he was certain he'd never seen him before.

He watched the other survivors murmur among one another, trying to decide what to do.

"Answer me!" shouted the boy, enraged by the silence that greeted him. "Ignore me, and my master will call his dragons down on you. Attempt to harm me, and this place will become nothing but ash and bones."

"King Gerin was here." A male servant, holding his arm. It looked broken. Blood was smeared across his tunic and down the side of his face. "During the attack."

The boy looked shocked. "He was here? In this place?" It was obviously not what he expected to hear.

The servant nodded. "Yes. Got here just before that army arrived."

"Is he still here?" The boy was almost breathless.

"I don't know. He may be dead. A lot of wizards died."

"If he's dead, bring me his body."

The servant's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. "I-I can't. I'm hurt. I have no idea where he might be..."

"Then what good are you?"

The servant took a fearful step backward. He looked around as if deciding whether to run, but could not decide which direction.

"Come here," said the boy. "And tell me everything you know."

On the ridge outside the walls of the fortress, Tyne sat in a chair left behind by the fleeing army and waited for Marrek to return. He held the Stone in his hand and lost himself staring into its pearlescent depth.

Once he landed on the ground, the world had been surprisingly quiet. Without the sound of the wind in his ears or the roar of his dragons' flames, the shouts and screams of men and women running for their lives, the crashing of collapsing buildings, or the throaty rumble of the mammoth cyclone of fire he'd set in the army camp-a fire that was still burning, though it was now only a fraction of the size it had been-the world seemed an almost silent place, hushed like a graveyard.

He'd sent off most of the dragons to feed. Three were with him, a retinue to keep him safe and remind onlookers exactly where his strength and authority came from.

He saw movement along the front of the fortress and lifted his gaze. Marrek was coming out with a tall man walking a few steps ahead of him. He wondered who the man was and why Marrek was bringing him. He felt a tickle of concern at the back of his neck and rose from his seat, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the Stone.

When Marrek was within shouting distance, Tyne called out to him. "Who is with you and why are you bringing him here?"

"He's a servant who says he knows where we can find Gerin Atreyano." Marrek's voice echoed across the wide field.

"How would a servant know where he is?" shouted Tyne.

"He claims Gerin Atreyano was here not long ago."

Tyne started at them hard. The servant carried no weapons in his hands, He moved with his head down, his shoulders hunched, as if trying to disappear from view.

"Where is he now?" called Tyne.

"Somewhere in the fortress," said Marrek. "He may be dead."

Tyne pondered this turn of events. Gerin Atreyano was here! He'd hoped to find information on his whereabouts, since even with maps it was difficult to find his way in these foreign lands. He'd never expected to find the man himself.

Why was a king not in his own country? He had not yet crossed the border into Khedesh, if the mayor of the last city was to be believed.

But Gerin was both a wizard and a king. Perhaps he was required to return to this place of wizards from- A shadow fell across him. He turned to see the snarling face of Drexos mere inches from his own.

"You fool! That is no servant! He is Gerin Atreyano!"

"Come here," the boy had said to the blood-covered man. "And tell me everything you know."

The servant nearly fainted from fear.

"Enough of this," Gerin had growled, watching them. "Stay here. That's a direct command from your king, Captain. You too, Hollin."

"What are you-" Balandrick started, but it was too late. Gerin was already walking toward the boy.

"I'm Gerin Atreyano," he'd said. "If your master is so eager to meet me, let's not keep him waiting."

Though he kept his head down in an attempt to appear cowed, Gerin's gaze never wavered from the figure upon the ridge. Tyne Fedron. A name, nothing more. Who was he? And more important, how had he come to possess the Commanding Stone?

Soon, he would know. Or would be quickly incinerated by one of the dragons surrounding Tyne. Gerin was encased in protective spells, but even with the power of an amber wizard behind them, the protections would not hold for long-seconds at most-against a withering onslaught of dragonfire.

When he'd stepped from his hiding place, Tyne's young servant had gaped at him as if he were Shayphim himself.

Before the boy could react in any way, Gerin encased him in a Binding.

He moved in front of the boy and used his large presence to physically intimidate him. "I am Gerin Atreyano," he repeated. "I don't know what your master wants with me, and at the moment I don't care. What I want is for you to take me to him."

Balandrick and Hollin of course disobeyed him and rushed to his side. "We need to have a talk about discipline and following your king's commands, Captain," he told Balan.

"We need to have a talk about your sanity, Your Highness," Balan replied. "Begging your pardon, but this is madness."

"Here's what I'm going to do. Notice that I am not asking for permission from either of you."

He told them his idea. Balan objected strenuously, but as he'd told the captain, he wasn't asking permission, and in the end they agreed to do what they could to help.

Not that he was overjoyed by his plan. He was risking his life on a number of unproven a.s.sumptions. But when the boy said that this Tyne Fedron was personally interested in him, he knew he had to act. There was no other choice. Some greater force was at work here, and he needed to know what it was.

He had to be closer to Tyne to carry out his plan. He already was stretching his strength to the limits. Not only was he maintaining the powerful protective spells in front of him, but he'd also worked a Compulsion to force the boy to do his bidding. Compulsions were never to be used lightly, but in this instance even Hollin agreed it was warranted and had helped him create it.

Gerin watched as Tyne took note of their approach and rose from the folding chair in which he'd been sitting. He called out, "Who is with you and why are you bringing him here?"

Gerin spoke softly and with his head still lowered. "Tell him I'm a servant who knows where you can find Gerin Atreyano."

He felt the power of the Compulsion overwhelm the boy's resistance. Then the boy relayed Gerin's message to Tyne Fedron.

"How would a servant know where he is?" came Fedron's reply.

"Tell him that Gerin Atreyano was here in the fortress not long ago."

The boy obeyed. They continued to close the distance to the ridge. From the corners of his eyes, Gerin watched the dragons as he walked. So far they had not moved in any threatening way. The smell of sulfur wafted on the breeze and made his eyes sting.

"And where is he now?" Tyne called.

"Tell him I'm in the fortress, and that I may be dead."

A moment after the boy relayed Gerin's words, a figure appeared on the ridge next to Tyne. Gerin faltered a step. Even wizards could not appear out of thin air as this man just had.

The stranger said something to Tyne, but Gerin was already reacting. He felt instinctively that his little charade was about to end.

Tyne thrust out his right hand. Gerin could see an object in it. It had to be the Commanding Stone.

The dragons reared back and roared. The stench of sulfur grew overpowering.

Gerin dropped the Compulsion so he could add that power to Tocca's Mirror and the Forbiddings he'd created.

With Gerin's power no longer holding him, the boy came out of his daze, yelled in rage, and threw himself at the wizard.

Gerin's protections did not extend behind him. He had no time for the distraction of a furious boy and kicked out viciously. His boot slammed into the boy's chest, shattering several ribs. The boy tumbled backward down the gentle slope of the ridge and lay still.