Gus gave a hesitant bow.
“Well, don’t stand there scraping your claws!” Grynt thundered. “You heard the De:allus. Get to it, you lump!”
Gus backed up, shuffling his tail. “Prime, I have another important message.”
“Then I suggest you speak it—quickly,” said Garodor. Grynt was beginning to visibly seethe.
“The prisoner I took to the healer’s cave … he has dragon scales along his shoulder.”
“What?” A trail of hot saliva wriggled down one of the twisty stigs that grew beneath Grynt’s studded chin. It dripped onto the cave floor and fizzed among the dust and rock chips there.
“Grymric asks what he should do?”
“Do?” Grynt raised a cynical growl. “Tell him to burn his ridiculous herbs and place his foot across the Hom’s throat.”
“That would be ill-advised,” said Garodor.
“Did I ask for your opinion?”
“No, but I’m giving it. This is the prisoner who fought against Ty. He doesn’t deserve to die. It will simply create more tension with the Hom.”
“You think I care about that? How did this one get our auma?”
Garodor took a breath. “Gus tried to heal him.”
“WHAT?”
“His saliva was enough to cause a reaction.”
“Prime, I—”
“Be QUIET!” Grynt thundered at Gus. “So now we have two of them?”
“I condoned it,” said Garodor. “That’s why I sent the man to Grymric. I take full responsibility and will present my reasons to the Higher if necessary. My opinions on this commingling of species have altered since I arrived on Erth. My role—”
“Your role is to follow my orders,” snarled Grynt. “Has every dragon in this colony forgotten that? You,” he snapped at Gus. “Do as you’re commanded.”
“The Wearle. Call them,” Garodor said quietly.
With Gus departed, Grynt moved to the front of the cave, grinding his teeth so tightly that the sound would have made a vapor wince. “I should never have called upon the Higher for advice. If I’d flamed the boy when I first saw that bite mark, none of this would be happening.”
“Perhaps not,” said Garodor, “but Ren has shown his worth more than once. He doesn’t know it, but he’s helped me to solve the mystery of this planet. You need to listen to me carefully. The enemy on Erth is not the Hom.”
“Get ready to fly, we’re leaving,” Grynt muttered.
“I read the memory stone,” Garodor pressed. “I know what’s behind the goyle mutations. What I have to tell you is going to send ripples of fear through the universe, never mind the Wearle.”
“Do you hear that, De:allus?”
Gus’s voice was ringing out loud across the mountains.
Garodor sighed and lifted his head. “I do.”
Grynt stared long and hard at the sky. “That is a call to battle. If your blood still runs green like mine, then fly with me—or stay here and chew on your theories. Either way, I’m going to the forest to finish this.”
And with a whump of his wings, the Prime dragon launched, calling the dragons circling Skytouch into their formations, ready to follow.
And so they came to the clearing, where Ren was waiting, seated astride Wind.
Gabrial, who had seen the crows departing, now looked west from his standpoint by the forest to see the Wearle approaching. After a moment of indecision, he went up to meet them, tagging on to the rearmost wyng, wisely keeping out of Grynt’s sight. When the Prime gave the order to disperse and cover every area of the forest, the blue glided alongside Garodor and said, The crows have gone. I sent Ren into the trees to find the girl.
What?
Garodor, it was the only way.
It wasn’t. You should have consulted me. Grynt is furious. If he turns on Ren now, I can’t protect him.
There he is, said Gabrial as they circled the clearing. He has the girl and the horse! He must have defeated the goyle.
Garodor opened his eyes a little wider. We can’t be certain of anything yet. Follow me down—and be on your guard. And no matter what happens, don’t argue with Grynt.
And so they swept down, Grynt and Garodor, with Gabrial slotting in behind the De:allus.
Grynt locked his gaze onto Ren. Thumping two paces forward, he said, “I will give you breath enough to tell me where the goyle is, and then—”
“It’s dead,” Ren said. He wiped a bloodstained fingernail on his robe.
“How?” said Garodor. He gestured at Pine, who was as limp as a rag. She still lay across Wind’s neck.
Ren looked up. “She drew the spirit of Grogan to the clearing, believing it would crack the heart open. Grogan called the goyle out of her and did battle. They destroyed each other. What you see is the result. Me, the girl, the whinney.” He stroked Wind’s mane. “The girl lives—barely.”
“This is a trick,” snarled Grynt, emitting small bursts of flame from his mouth.
“Where’s the heart?” asked Garodor.
“Inside me,” said Ren.
“What?” gasped Gabrial.
Ren lifted the hand that Gariffred had bitten. Before the dragons’ eyes, it began to scale. “My companion is dying—and I have a will to save her. I waited so I might offer you peace. These are my terms. From this day forth, you will allow the Kaal to roam freely across the scorch line or you will answer to me. If you choose to fight, any dragons that declare their allegiance to me will be spared and looked upon as friends.” He glanced at Gabrial, who didn’t know whether to gulp or blow a smoke ring.
This was all too much for Grynt. Without another word, he unlatched his jaw and released a great flame against Ren. The fire burned long and scorched the erth for a full thirty paces. Spiker needles crackled. Small ground fires ignited like flowers behind Wind. Yet amazingly, Ren and his companions were completely untouched.
“So be it,” the boy said calmly. “We will meet again, Prime Grynt.”
He clicked his tongue and Wind turned away.
And she, and those who rode her, vanished.
They reappeared, in flight, outside Gabrial’s cave. Grendel heard the clatter of hooves as they landed and came to the cave mouth to investigate.
“Ren!” she gasped. Joy filled her to see him. The last time they had been together, she had feared him dead on a mountain slope.
“Matrial,” he acknowledged her.
She blew a soft haze of smoke. “Where’s Gabrial? What’s happening? The Wearle was called to battle. They even took Goodle. So it must be serious.”
Ren dismounted from Wind, pulling Pine into his arms again. “There will be battles, Grendel. But not today. And not between us.”
Grendel looked at the strange winged horse and its cargo. Was this not the creature Gabrial had talked about? And the girl rider they suspected of stealing the heart? “Ren, what brings you here like this? You seem changed somehow. You no longer speak entirely like … a Hom.” She felt herself wanting to back away from him.
“I’m not entirely Hom. I have an extra heart. It once belonged to the per you called Grogan.”
Grendel’s own hearts thumped in unison. She reared back slowly. “Gariffred. Gayl. Go to the tunn—”
“Grendel, look at me.”
The words were so mesmerizing she could not resist them. Ren’s eyes, which had always been a minor source of discomfort to her because they were so soft and vulnerable, were now as radiant as any dragon’s. And just for a moment, a hideous i:mage danced at their centers. A terrifying beast with a black dragon body and a face like a snarling wolf. Its piercing eyes were neither slanted nor round. And though it displayed no obvious fangs, Grendel was in no doubt that it could tear through any beast it chose. But the features she would most remember were the rigid plates of scaly flesh that rose like sails at either side of the creature’s head, almost carving its face in two. She was looking at the fiend that dwelled in shadows. The thing that haunted every dragon’s nightmares. The m
onster that lurked in the eyrie of the mind.
“Sleep,” said Ren. “You need not fear me.”
And Grendel collapsed where she stood, as easy as a cloud setting down.
Gariffred, far from running for the tunnels, had come into the light and seen his mother fall. Graaark? Mama? He wandered up and nudged her chin with his snout.
Ren knelt beside him and laid Pine down. “Don’t be frightened, Pupp. It’s just a game. Mama will wake very soon.” He stroked the drake’s head. “Gayl, come to me.”
The wearmyss emerged from the shadows, anxiously swishing her tail. Ren put out a hand for her to nuzzle. “My friend is dying. I need your help to save her.”
Graaark?
Ren laid Pine’s hand on his. Her limp white fingers fell across his palm like willow branches. He ran his thumb across them and smiled. “Bite her,” he whispered softly to the wearmyss. “Bite her and she will rise again.”
Graaark?
Ren snapped his teeth together. “Like this, as Gariffred once bit me. Then her auma and yours will be one.” He offered the hand to Gayl’s mouth. “Bite.”
And the wearmyss, knowing no better and seeing no harm, sank her teeth into Pine’s weak flesh.
The hand broke in several places behind the knuckles. No part of Pine moved, bar the flicker of an eyelid. Shaking her tail end, Gayl backed up and ripped as she’d been taught to eat prey. Skin and muscle were torn from Pine’s bones as easily as a man might pull off a sock. Blood poured like water from the wound.
Gariffred’s tiny eye ridges twitched.
His nostrils flared at the scent of Pine’s blood.
He dipped his tongue into the pool around her hand.
A cold breeze ran through the cave, blowing strands of Pine’s hair across her face.
Ren stood up and climbed back onto Wind.
“Welcome to the New Age,” he said.
And as Grendel began to wake, he turned Wind to the open sky and disappeared.
Auma—the life force or spirit of a dragon, derived from an ancient word for “fire.” When a dragon dies and sheds its fire tear, its auma is believed to return to the Creator, Godith.
Buzzer—Hom name for a fly.
Caarker—Hom name for a crow. Crows are deeply revered by the Hom, who will often wear their claws and feathers to bring good fortune.
Commingle—a “coming together,” usually of minds. All dragons develop the ability to communicate telepathically, i.e., using thought alone. A deeper extension of telepathy is commingling, in which a dragon focuses its awareness to such an extent that it is able to meld with another dragon’s consciousness and read or know all of that dragon’s thoughts.
De:allus—a highly intellectual class of dragon whose lives are devoted to understanding the wonders of Godith’s universe. De:allus are scientists or problem solvers, characterized by their bright yellow eyes. It is not known how their eye color developed, though it’s often said (somewhat disparagingly) that their optical triggers have become impaired because the De:allus like to look too long at small things.
Domayne—any parcel of land claimed by a dragon; their home territory. The term can also describe a large region of land mapped out during colonization.
Drake—a young male dragon (sometimes also called a weardrake). A dragon will usually lose this tag around its second turn.
Elder—a senior dragon (usually male) whose role is to steer and advise the colony.
Erth—home planet of the Hom.
Eyrie—an ancient word of dragontongue meaning “high nest.” Now more commonly used to describe a superior cave or settle, such as that of a queen or the Prime dragon.
Faah!—a shocking or vulgar exclamation.
Fanon—a word from the old dragontongue meaning “a female yet to have young.”
Fhosforent—pink crystalline mineral found in Erth’s volcanic rock. Ingesting large quantities of fhosforent is known to cause devastating mutational effects in dragons, though some still believe the ore can be used to a dragon’s advantage.
Fire star—a portal in time and space, called a “star” because of the flash of light emitted when something passes through it.
Goyle—a word used to describe anything ugly or grotesque, particularly the mutant form of a dragon (known to the Hom as a “darkeye”).
Heart(s)—dragons have three hearts, closely linked. The largest, the primary heart, drives the body and is concerned with power and strength; the second, about three-fifths the size of the primary heart, controls love and emotional reactions; the third, which is small and just hidden by the second heart, gives a dragon its spirituality.
Higher, the—a name for the collective minds of the most advanced beings on Ki:mera. These creatures (their exact number is uncertain) have evolved beyond their physical form to exist in a floating, neural web (sometimes called a “wisdom cloud”). It is not known if the Higher evolved purely from dragons, but they guide dragons in everything they do.
Hom—an early form of the human race.
Honker—Hom name for a goose.
Hopper—Hom name for a rabbit.
I:mage—the ability to create external structures from mental i:mages. There are two types of i:maging: natural and physical (see also phasing). A natural i:mage is a floating three-dimensional picture (a kind of hologram) that fades as soon as it outlives its usefulness. Physical i:maging is used to create more permanent structures or to alter the parameters of existing matter.
Isoscele—the triangular scale at the end of a dragon’s tail. Primarily for balance during flight, it is also a valuable tool in battle and is commonly used to point or gesture.
Kaal—a tribe of humans. The origin of the name is thought to derive from “cave” and refers to the Kaal’s preferred choice of habitat: any mountainous region near water.
Kashic Archive—a history of dragonkind, protected by the Higher, held in thousands of memory stones.
Ki:mera—the homeworld of dragons, created for them by the breath of Godith. Literally meaning “place of fire and light.”
Mapper—a dragon who maps out territories, especially beyond the boundaries of the domayne. A good mapper can “record” the layout of a landmass from a variety of heights or directional approaches and reproduce it accurately, in the form of an i:mage, for other dragons to see.
Matrial—an honorific title for a female dragon who has had wearlings.
Mutt—Hom name for a dog.
Myss—(or wearmyss) a young female dragon.
Naming—shortly after birth, young dragons are accepted into their Wearle in a formal act of “Naming.” If a dragon should go unNamed, its family lineage will not be officially recorded or recognized. Such dragons are regarded as free-roaming savages who can have no place in dragon society.
Nibbler—Hom name for any kind of small bug.
Per—an honorific title given to a dragon who mentors a younger dragon, or one of lesser status.
Phasing—the ability to move through time—usually during flight. The technique is a sophisticated form of i:maging, in which the dragon must be able to “see” itself ahead of time and then “dissolve” into the dark energy of the universe as if it were no heavier than a breath of wind. Many dragons never master it. Some even die in the process.
Prime—an Elder who is also the supreme leader of a dragon colony.
Pupp—Hom name for a young mutt (dog), but can be used for any young creature.
Roamer—a young dragon who has reached sufficient maturity to be allowed to “roam” where he or she pleases, within reason. Nearly half of a colonizing Wearle will be made up of roamers.
Sawfin—fine scales in a ruff shape behind a female dragon’s ears.
Scorch line—the line charred on the ground to separate the colony’s domayne from the Hom, who must not cross it.
Scratcher—Hom name for a mouse.
Sensaur—a rare breed of dragon, thought to be able to see or sense spirits where others cannot.
Settle—a resting place. In mountain regions, a dragon will settle anywhere high. Barring caves (which are reserved for Elders or others of high importance), the most sought-after locations are rocky outcrops or ledges (where the dragon can proudly display its outline against the sky).
Skaler—Hom name for a dragon.
Slitherer—Hom name for a snake.
Snorter—Hom name for a pig.
Spiker—Hom word for a pine tree.
Spiracles—breathing holes in a dragon’s body, most notably along the sides of the throat.
Tada—a word for “father,” from the old dragontongue.
Transference—the ability to transfer huge amounts of information by mental power alone.
Turn—a Ki:meran year.
Tywyll—in the old tongue, Tywyll means “the darkness.” The word is commonly used when dragons are fearful of some threatening force they can’t see or understand. (See the character GRAVEN.)
Vapor—a floating dragon spirit, a “ghost.”
Veng—a particularly fearsome class of fighting dragon, used as security for a colony.
Wearle—a large community of dragons. A Wearle would number more than a wyng, but anything more than a hundred dragons would be considered a fixed colony. There were twenty-four dragons in the first Wearle to visit Erth, sixty in the second.
Wearling—a young dragon of either gender.
Whinney—Hom name for a horse.
Wyng—a small group of dragons with a common purpose (e.g., a search wyng). A “dark wyng” is the name given to any group of dragons that turn against their Prime. Over time, the term has been used more loosely to describe any kind of recalcitrant group.
A big thank-you to everyone at Scholastic US for continuing to make this such a fun series to work on. Between us, one of these days, we will get to the bottom of dragon mythology. Hrrr!
CHRIS D’LACEY is the author of several highly acclaimed books, including the New York Times bestselling Last Dragon Chronicles series (The Fire Within; Icefire; Fire Star; The Fire Eternal; Dark Fire; Fire World; The Fire Ascending; as well as Rain & Fire, which he co-wrote with Jay d’Lacey) and the UNICORNE Files trilogy (A Dark Inheritance, Alexander’s Army, and A Crown of Dragons). He also wrote the first book in The Erth Dragons series, The Wearle. Chris lives in Devon, England, with his wife, Jay, where they are at work on his next book.