Draeken chuckled, the sound echoing in the confines of the chamber, a dark reminder that Draeken knew the truth. Serak swallowed and looked away, unable to hold Draeken’s gaze. Then suddenly his jaw clenched and he came to a halt.
“I did everything for you,” he growled. “Everything. I prepared the Gate and manipulated the fragments to Blackwell Keep, trapped them so you could become the fragment of Power. I studied and learned, built an Order for thousands of years to bring about a singular opportunity, the chance to protect Lumineia from the Krey Empire.”
“You assumed I would want what you desired,” Draeken said.
“How could you not?” Serak shouted. “That is what Elenyr taught you to do!”
“I was never her puppet,” Draeken snarled.
Serak reached to the source of water and the liquid burst forth, but Draeken incinerated his magic with an explosion of fire. Serak cried out and gathered the stone at his feet, striking at Draeken. Stone rose in needlelike spears, but Draeken shattered them with a clench of his fist. Then he leapt, using gravity to fly over Serak’s head and land at his back. Serak spun but a burst of light temporarily blinded him, causing him to stumble. Serak reached for the earth again but Draeken drew power from the light. The light flowed inward, wrapping around Serak’s body, binding him fast. Both guardians growled as they fought for dominance, but the light continued to thicken, forcing Serak to his knees.
The floor of the cavern trembled but Draeken reached to it, using gravity to hold it fast. Veins bulged on Serak’s neck as he fought, his fury gradually turning to desperation. All the while Draeken regarded him with contempt.
“You cannot do this!” Serak cried.
“You know I can.”
“The people of Lumineia will always fight. They will resist you.”
“Then I will kill them all,” Draeken said.
Serak’s eyes widened. “You would slaughter the races?”
“I am the fragment of Power.” Draeken spoke with such vehemence that Serak flinched. “I was born to rule, not to serve. Why would a being of such greatness allow the kings of Lumineia to retain their thrones? You wanted a master, but you wanted me to be their servant.”
Serak’s eyes widened. “You’re just like the Empire.”
“No,” Draeken said. “I am greater than the Empire, and my power will be endless. After I’ve conquered Lumineia, I’ll use the fiends you have given me to strike the Empire. If they, too, will not yield, I will release the Dark on their worlds. I’ll open a Gate to Kelindor and watch them destroy each other. For every world that refuses my reign, my fiend army will grow, until the emperor himself kneels at my feet.”
Serak stared at him in shock, his features frozen in horror. Draeken used his distraction to press the portion of magic he’d gotten from the fragment of Water to bind him to the water source. Serak screamed, the sound echoing and reechoing as the water cut deep into Serak’s soul. Draeken hooked the magical tether and then released his power. The water splashed away and Serak fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
“What have you done?”
“I’m not heartless,” Draeken said. “After all you’ve done, you deserve to see for yourself what you have created. Of course, I cannot have you interfering, so this chamber will be your home. You are now chained to this source, and not even your significant magic will permit you to break free.”
“Don’t do this.” Serak lifted his gaze to Draeken. “Please.”
“You have my gratitude,” Draeken said, “but you must understand. Elsin did not perish because she faced the oracle. She perished because she was betrayed by those she believed loyal. You claim that you’re my servant, but we both know you would have one day turned against me. And so I ask a final sacrifice. Enjoy your solitude, Father of Guardians, and bear witness to what you have wrought.”
Serak remained on his knees as Draeken turned and departed. A glowing chain of water leashed Serak to the source of magic. Broken and alone, Serak screamed and struck the floor in his anguish, sending cracks all the way to the walls. But Draeken was already gone. As Draeken exited the keep, he turned his gaze forward. He had an empire to build. His attention focused on his dragon and the future, he failed to notice the shadow flitting out of sight.
Chapter 27: Serak’s Shadow
As Draeken emerged from the keep of Verisith, one figure dropped from under Gorewrathian’s wing and darted into an alcove of a structure, disappearing from sight just as Draeken climbed onto the dragon’s back and barked an order.
Bendelinish swung its head towards the keep. Where is Serak?
“Serak has a new assignment,” Draeken said. “You will come with me.”
Even you cannot ride two dragons, Bendelinish growled.
“I’ll need you if I have to kill Gorewrathian,” Draeken said.
Both dragons snarled, but did as requested. From inside the darkened recess of the ruins, the visitor watched as the two dragon’s rose into the air, a smile on his face. When the dragons were gone, Shadow stepped into the open and made a rude gesture at the departing beasts.
“And you thought you were mighty.”
He turned and threaded his way into the ruins, avoiding the host of guardians chained to their sources. The darkened streets and alleys loomed above his head, vines and brush growing against the molding stones. He shivered in delight. Let the elves have their bright cities. He preferred the ruins of a forgotten city, where powerful guardians lurked.
He recalled the events leading up to his precarious flight under the dragon’s wing. A few hours before Draeken and Serak had departed Xshaltheria, he had infiltrated the fortress. He’d witnessed the rebuilding of the Gate, and the emergence of Mimic in her new form as the general of Plague. Then Draeken had ordered Serak to follow, and on a whim, Shadow had crept beneath the great dragon and turned into his shadow form. As Draeken mounted, he grasped the shadows under Gorewrathian’s right wing, and it carried him aloft.
He caught a glimpse of Elenyr’s astonished face as they passed over the battlements, and he dropped a shard of darkness, a glittering object that she would be able to follow. She’d leapt away, her ethereal form allowing her to speed through stone and tree. She’d kept pace with the beasts on the land below, her Hauntress form streaking across the landscape, a wraith in the night.
Shadow wondered if Elenyr had been able to keep up. The dragons had flown throughout the night and the next day, and Elenyr would not have been able to sustain a sprint for two days. He’d dropped a few shadow shards during the night, but during the daylight hours he couldn’t, so Elenyr might have lost his path.
Shadow ascended the steps to one of the high roads curving across the ruins, and just as he leaned against a support post, Elenyr burst from the cliff adjacent to the city and alighted on the city wall. She spotted him lounging on the roadway and turned in his direction, gasping for breath. Her tunic and armor were wet with sweat, and her hair was wild. Black fury marred her features.
“Have you completely gone mad?” she demanded.
He grinned at the higher pitch to her voice. She must really be furious. It had been many years since he sparked such anger in Elenyr, and he relished the moment. Then he noticed the tinge to her gaze and realized she was close to throttling his life from his body.
“It was a gambit,” he said. “But wasn’t that the reason we returned to Xshaltheria?”
“You were supposed to learn if the Gate had been rebuilt,” she snarled. “Not climb onto his dragon and fly into another country. Do you know what he would have done if he found you? He would have cut you to shreds, and I would have watched the pieces fall to the earth.”
