He staggered, dazed. “What have I done!” He should be all right, freed of the Shadow.
I considered things as I sat on the rafter. I had set the immediate situation mostly to rights. But yet again, it seemed too easy. What was I missing? Things had worked out before because the enemy presence had been subtly manipulating them, shaping up the larger situation for the masked takeover. We had all been chess pieces playing into the Fool’s Mate. The real enemy remained: the Shadow Stealers. They had no tangible presence, only their minions when they occupied human beings. How could I address them? My job was not finished until I did.
Be not concerned, reptile. I am here. You have done more than enough mischief.
I heard him in my mind, but saw nothing. Only maybe the faintest flicker of warmth in the air. It was the Shadow King.
I see you tricked my minions by evoking half a day ahead of your schedule, just as the king did by pretending death. But I am beyond such trickery. You may have power over mortal creatures, but it will be some time before you are my equal.
I felt the awesome power of his mind, and knew immediately that I was over-matched. He was correct: maybe in a few more hours I might be able to fight him, but at present I could not. My ploy had sufficed to defeat the mortal entities I had known about, but this was an immortal with centuries of experience.
The Shadow King had arranged to evoke the Dragon King so he could finally identify and destroy him. I, not understanding the full nature of the trap, had walked right into it. That was likely not only to end my life, but to hurt my professional pride. I did not much like being played for a fool.
He did not mind speak again. Instead he laid siege to my mind, enclosing it in a sphere of dreadful dissolution. I defended myself, of course, fending him off, but that could only slow, not halt, the incursion. He would squeeze me like a ball of snow, leaving only a dribble of melt-water.
I bolted, escaping his deadly clutch. But he followed, playing with me like a cat with a mouse, knowing he could finish me at his whim. His emotions were obscure, because he was not human, but I knew he was enjoying this. He did not want it to be over too soon.
What could I do? It had never occurred to me that I would be the victim, once I became the Dragon King. Now I had to prevail, or die, and the fate of the kingdom, indeed, of the Realm, would follow mine. Without the Dragon King to defend it, the mortal scheme would succumb to the immortal evil spirit that was the Shadow Stealer. All the individuals I had rescued would be readily re-possessed, and the kingdom doomed.
Then I got a notion. My father, the senior Roan Quigley, survived. Apart from my gladness of the moment, I had always valued his advice. Maybe he would have some for me now. At least I could see him again.
I teleported north. At some other time I would have enjoyed the experience of exercising my phenomenal new abilities, but this was business. When I saw the army, I focused on my father’s mind trace, then jumped to his presence.
He was just finishing a military meal, looking exactly as I remembered him. “Hello, son,” he said laconically, as if this were routine.
“Hi, dad.” Then I couldn’t help myself: I hugged him. “Glad you’re alive. I was a mite concerned for a while.”
“I got shot, but I got over it. Didn’t have time to say farewell.”
“How you doing, dad?” This seemed pedestrian and stupid, but at the moment I couldn’t come up with anything better.
“Doing well enough, considering, son. I didn’t feel so good when your mother died, but now I got me a new gal, and she’s some creature, let me tell you. She’s away most of the time, on business, but makes it really count when she gets together with me. Her other form is a dragon.”
My jaw almost banged my collar bone on the way down. “Fiera!”
“You know her? Small Realm.”
“I know her,” I agreed, glad I had spared the dragon. “As a matter of fact, I’m a dragon myself. You’ve heard of the Dragon King?”
“Oh, yeah. The one the foul princess came to kill, only it wasn’t me.”
“I’m going to marry that princess.”
He looked at me. “Now I’m not one to mess with your preference, son, you know that. I never said a word when you married that bitch who alimonied you. But this time you’d be better off with a scorpion.”
“I love her.”
He shook his head. “She must be really special in bed.”
“She’s a virgin. I haven’t touched her.”
He grimaced at my folly. “She’s pretty; I’ll give you that. But she’ll kill you, son. I’m in a position to know.”
“She was possessed by a Shadow. I’ll banish that.”
“Can’t be. The Shadows are our friends.”
This was going nowhere, and my time was limited. “Dad, I’m going to give you a mind full, telepathically. You need to trust me.”
“I always trusted you, son, ’cept for your judgment of women. Let me have it.”
I let him have it. In an instant he knew what I did.
“Phew! I’ve been hoodwinked. How can I help you, son?” He was always one for quick assessments and realism, able to turn on a dime when necessary. I liked to think that I had inherited some of that.
“Tell me how to defeat the Shadow King, who is even now teasing me by letting me talk with you. He’ll abolish us both when he tires of playing with his food. I need a workable strategy right now.”
He considered. “I’m not much for telepathic battle strategies. All I can think of is Hannibal and the Romans.”
“Hannibal?” I asked blankly.
“I guess they didn’t have ancient history in your school. I didn’t pay much attention to it myself. But what I vaguely remember is that Hannibal was the general of the army of Carthage, in one of the Punic wars. He was really good, and the Romans couldn’t touch him. He even invaded Italy, with his elephants, and for fifteen years ravaged the countryside, and they couldn’t stop him. He teased them something awful. Once when he was in the area where the Roman general lived, he made sure to ravage all the land except what belonged to the general, making it look as if he’d been paid off.”
“Good joke on the Romans,” I agreed. “But dad, is there a point to this history?”
“I’m getting there, son. The Romans finally got smart. They figured that if they couldn’t get Hannibal in their own land, maybe they could bring him to bay in his homeland, where he couldn’t sneak away. So they laid siege to Carthage, really making it hard for the city. And Hannibal had to come back to defend his home. And they were ready for him, once he couldn’t avoid them. I think he didn’t have time to get his full army back, so was weakened. They destroyed him. By making him play their game, instead of his game.”
I considered that. “You’re saying I might do better in Shadowland?”
“You always were a bright lad,” he said approvingly.
I wasn’t sure of that, but played along. “Do you happen to know where Shadowland is, dad?”
“I do happen to know, because I’ve seen the minions going there for refresher courses or whatever. There’s a hidden access right over that mountain pass.” He pointed to a nearby mountain range.
Well, any notion was better than none. “Thanks, dad,” I said, and teleported to the pass. I materialized just shy of it, turned dragon form, and winged on across. Would this work?
There was a flicker, and suddenly I was in a realm of perpetual gloom. That figured; this was the home of the Shadows, so it was all shadow. Now what would mess them up so badly that the Shadow King would have to come back to stop it?
Readily answered: light. Enough to banish all shadows. So I inflated, then breathed out a sheet of flame sufficient to make the sun pale in comparison. There was dry tinder on the valley floor, and it burst into flame, enhancing the effect. And I heard or sensed a faint wailing, as of things getting wiped out by all that intolerable light. Too bad for them. I kept blow-torching, covering as much area as I could. This was fun, in its d
estructive way. Maybe like the fun the Shadow King had when toying with me.
And he was there before me. What are you doing?
“Isn’t it obvious?” I replied sweetly, knowing it was my mind rather than my words that he heard. My dragon words weren’t very clear anyway, muffled by smoke. “I’m making a bonfire. Do you have any marshmallows?”
No! he thought in mixed rage and pain. Then, beset by the discomfort of the moment, he did something stupid: he tried to attack me physically, attempting to smother me in his ambiance. He was playing my game.
I directed a stream of fire right through the heart of his invisible cloud. Oh, that hurt; I could feel his agony. I had caught him with a sucker punch. But I didn’t rest on my laurels; I kept firing, burning up the very air around and through him.
That was hardly the end of it, but now I had seized the advantage, and I never let up. I kept going until there was nothing left of the king and Shadowland but ashes.
The Shadow King was gone; I could feel it. I had defeated him, thanks to my father’s advice. The menace of the Shadow Stealers had dissipated.
* * *
It took a few days to organize the chaos, such as abolishing any remaining Shadows, but we were all glad to do it. Dad, and Fiera in woman form, attended the wedding. Then Princess Rose and I set off on our honeymoon. Where? In Lost Angels, of course, and Mouse House, and all the theme parks. She had never had an experience like this, by day or night, when we made love. Meanwhile, I knew that First Concubine Mave and Second Concubine Ellie were preparing the castle for our return, when I would do my duty by them. I expected to enjoy my sojourn there.
So what about the Dragon King? He wasn’t much for incidental daytime activities. He receded into the depths of my being, there to wait quiescently until the next crisis, which I hoped would not be in my lifetime. With luck he wouldn’t have to manifest again until the time of our grandchildren, if then.
Given a choice between the two worlds, I chose the Realm. Back on earth, I was still divorced and still in debt. Imagine the surprise of my ex-wife when discovered that a small fortune in gold—enough to pay 100 years of alimony—had been deposited into her bank account.
I might be the Dragon King...but I’m still a gumshoe at heart. Dragon King, P.I.
I like the ring of it.
The End
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Piers Anthony and J.R. Rain
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The Aladdin Trilogy #1
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About the Authors:
Piers Anthony is one of the world’s most prolific and popular authors. His fantasy Xanth novels have been read and loved by millions of readers around the world, and have been on the New York Times Best Seller list twenty-one times. Although Piers is mostly known for fantasy and science fiction, he has written several novels in other genres as well, including historical fiction, martial arts, and horror. Piers lives with his wife in a secluded woods hidden deep in Central Florida.
Please visit him at www.hipiers.com for a complete list of his fiction and non-fiction and to read his monthly newsletter.
J.R. Rain is an ex-private investigator who now writes full-time. He lives in a small house on a small island with his small dog, Sadie, who has more energy than Robin Williams.
Please visit him at www.jrrain.com.
Piers Anthony, Dragon Assassin
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