"We can't hide in there," she protested. "We're too large. They're certain to see us."
"Not if we change form," he said quickly. "Hurry before they see us."
Kharendaen shifted form abruptly, so that the straps of her saddle collapsed about her, then hurried into the deep crevice. Thelvyn waited only long enough to toss the saddle in behind her before he changed to his Eldar form, the straps of his harness falling away. He returned to his dragon form just long enough to pass the straps of the harness into the shadows of the recess before changing form yet again.
The crevice was deeper than he had expected, almost forming a small cave in the wall of the ravine. A thick bed of sand had been blown inside the crevice, becoming steadily deeper farther back in the narrow confines of the recess. Thelvyn tele-ported into the armor of the Dragonlord, which had remained safe and nearly forgotten in its magical place of safekeeping in the months since Thelvyn had become a dragon. At the moment, it was a far better protection than his own powers or his natural weapons as a dragon. He drew the massive enchanted sword and turned to face the opening of the crevice. The enemy dragons rushed past only a moment later, so intent upon the chase that they did not even pause in their leaping stride.
Thelvyn moved cautiously to the opening to look out into the ravine just in time to see the last of the dragons disappear over a distant pile of large, rounded boulders. He stepped outside the opening, teleported out of the enchanted armor, and returned immediately to dragon form, reaching inside the recess to draw out the discarded saddle and harness.
"Quickly now," he told his mate. "They think that we're on our way back to the worldgate. If we hurry, we can continue on to the fortress and retrieve the Collar of the Dragons while they're still waiting for us at the gate."
"But they are sure to be guarding the gate," Kharendaen said as she slipped into the straps of the saddle as quickly as she could. "They know we have to go back that way eventually."
"That's a problem we'll have to face up to later," Thelvyn said quickly. "The power of the Dragonlord should be enough to deal with them. With any luck, they might realize that we've gone to collect the collar and abandon the gate just when we need to use it."
"If there aren't any more dragons at the fortress waiting for us," she commented sourly.
Thelvyn looked up. "What are dragons doing here, anyway? Could renegades have found this place before us?"
Kharendaen shook her head firmly. "No. Those are not dragons of our own world. The one that attacked you seemed at first to be large red, but I saw that the plates of his armor were unnatural, as if they were carved from actual ruby. And his features were different from those of any breed of dragon I know. Perhaps you were never able to see him clearly. I believe that he was not from our own world. Indeed, his appearance was so remarkable that I am not even certain that he is indeed a living dragon, but perhaps some strange creature animated by magic."
"Perhaps so," Thelvyn agreed, then glanced about. "Where's Sir George?"
Kharendaen rolled her eyes. "I must have thrown him off at the place where you were attacked, and then I forgot about him in the confusion. At least these alien dragons seem to have missed him as well."
"We can collect him on the way to the fortress," Thelvyn said. "I only hope he came to no harm during the fight."
CHAPTER FIVE
Thelvyn knew he would have only a brief time to reach the fortress and find the Collar of the Dragons. Sooner or later the four strange dragons would figure out that he and Kharendaen had circled back. He couldn't predict whether they would return at once to the fortress or stay at the gate, knowing that Thelvyn and his companions would have to return there eventually, since it was their only way home.
At least Thelvyn had not been taken completely by surprise. He had suspected that their mission would not be as easy as it had seemed, but he never expected to have to fight dragons in this world. He no longer had any idea who their true enemy was, the Fire Wizards or the alien dragons. Nor could he guess whether all the enemy dragons guarding the fortress were now somewhere in the wild behind him, or if more might still be waiting within the fortress. He would have to be cautious, but he also needed to move as quickly as he dared.
At least he had sprung the first trap prematurely. If all four of the alien dragons had attacked together, neither he nor Kharendaen might have escaped. But who were these strange
dragons? Did they obey the Fire Wizards? Had they been expecting him? And had they been behind the recent attacks in his own world? He had many questions and no time to consider the answers, but he suspected that he would soon understand many things much better than he had. And if his suspicions proved true, he would demand an accounting.
Following the tracks in the sand that were already beginning to disappear under the relentless wind, he returned quickly to the place of the first attack. He paused a moment, giving Sir George a chance to see him in the expectation that he would want to be certain of his friends and enemies before showing himself. He also wanted to have a look about in the fearful possibility of finding the old knight's broken body. Sir George showed himself a moment later, emerging from a deep shadow amid the boulders.
"I'm glad you finally remembered me," he complained, hurrying to Kharendaen's side.
"You were probably safer here than you would have been with us," Thelvyn told him. "But we must hurry now. The alien dragons are probably at the worldgate waiting for us to show up, but they won't wait long."
"But won't we have to face them eventually?" Sir George asked as he pulled himself back into his saddle.
"Not if we can help it. I hope that we can raid their fortress while they're guarding the gate, then escape through the gate when they come looking for us at the fortress."
Sir George looked skeptical but said nothing. Thelvyn had to agree with his companion's cynical assessment. Thelvyn knew any number of things could go wrong with his plan, but he still hoped for the best. He paused just long enough to rise up on his hind legs and lift his head to look around. He had wondered if the alien dragons would take to the sky to search, but he saw nothing. The fortress was only a little more than a mile from where they now stood. He hoped to be inside its forbidding walls very soon.
Dragons moved in an ungainly manner on the ground, but they could move along at a very quick pace and surprisingly quietly when they needed to. The land rose slowly as they approached the high point of land where the fortress stood, and they had to cross an open stretch of ground before the terrain became even more rugged during the last few hundred yards. At least it would hide their final approach. Thelvyn was both startled and immediately suspicious to see that the main gate of the fortress stood invitingly open, the massive wooden drawbridge lowered and the iron-bound portals within drawn back so that the soft golden light of lamps spilled out into the night.
Indicating that Kharendaen should follow at a safe distance, he stalked slowly along the last few yards of the road before inching carefully toward the open gate, creeping like a great cat, with his legs bent so that his deep chest was almost touching the ground. He edged forward until his slender nose was almost within the doorway, as if he meant to poke his head inside. Then, without warning, he suddenly leapt forward, hurtling himself ahead with an abrupt lunge of his powerful hind legs. His leap carried him well past any enemy that might have been lurking just inside the gate.
Thelvyn landed on the smooth stone floor of a vast chamber just within the gate and turned quickly to look for any enemy that might attack after that first moment of surprise. The purpose of this chamber was not immediately clear to him. It seemed to be like a great hall or large reception room rather than a courtyard or enclosed stables. There were few furnishings, and the light came from magical lamps set along the walls. Stairs at either side led up to a wide balcony on the second floor, although the stairs were exceptionally wide, long, and shallow-stepped. But there was no sign of any defender. Kharendaen slipped through the gate a moment later, lifting her head to look about.