"Excellent!" crowed Maldeev. No introduction of himself was needed or expected.
"We will review the troops momentarily. But first, we must replace that." Maldeev pointed with near disdain at the banner on the tip of Horak's pike. The highlord snapped his fingers. Maldeev's head adjutant stepped forward anxiously, in his hands a folded piece of black-bordered cloth. Maldeev revealed a glorious rendition of the Black Wing's own ban shy;ner, designed by Maldeev himself. On three sides of the rec shy;tangle-two long, and one short side that would be attached to the pike-was a three-inch border of darkest black. Inside that was a white rectangle, a contrasting background for the black dragon depicted in impressive detail, down to scales made from overlapping ovals of black silk. Most striking of all, though, was the dragon's red, forked tongue, lashing out from bared teeth to form the banner's outer, short edge.
Horak restrained any signs of flinching. It was an abrupt but necessary symbolic shift of allegiance from the Red to the Black Wing. The human forced a look of eager pride to his freckle-flecked face. Slipping the banner's loops over the tip of his pike, he waved it over his head. The humans and ogres who had gathered behind Maldeev whooped joyously.
Behind Horak, the draconians seemed unmoved, which momentarily surprised the highlord. Catching his expres shy;sion, Horak said, "Don't be concerned, Highlord. They are loyal servants of the Dark Queen. Draconians are devoid of emotion, except for hate … and love of ale."
Maldeev shook away his dismayed look, annoyed at him shy;self for showing his lack of knowledge before this new com shy;mander. The dragon highlord squinted at the troops, evaluat shy;ing them. "Which are the baaz, and which are kapak? Tell me, how do you make such creatures without magic?"
"The brass-tinged ones in the front with the hooded capes and short wings are the baaz. They were the first made. A hardening liquid is injected into the eggs of Good brass drag shy;ons, which remains in their adult bodies. The liquid hardens to stone if they're killed, which also traps any weapons inside them."
Horak pointed directly at a baaz near the front of the legion. "You may notice that some of them look vaguely human, like Gorbel. With a minor mask over his snout and a long, bulky cape, he makes a fairly convincing man-I fre shy;quently use Gorbel in particular as a spy."
Maldeev nodded his appreciation.
"All in all, baaz are small but exceedingly powerful, nearly two-thirds of the assembled troops."
Horak removed a gauntlet and pointed a finger. "Behind them are the kapaks, made from copper dragons." He shook his head wistfully. "Unfortunately, they're neither as smart nor even as tolerable to look at as the baaz, with that strange hank of mane dangling from their jaws. They also refuse to wear clothing of any sort. Those large, leathery wings make them fair gliders, though they would be considered pathetic compared to dragons." The red-haired commander gave an appreciative look to Jahet and Khisanth, who were listening and watching with silent but scarcely concealed disdain.
"Fortunately," continued Horak, "kapak respond well to orders from humans. They'll even listen to the more intelli shy;gent of the baaz. Their hand-to-hand skills are matchless in combination with the venom of their saliva."
Maldeev rocked back on his heels, arms crossed tightly before him. "Very impressive," he breathed.
"You should see the newest draconians," Horak said abruptly, his tone conversational. "The gold auraks have magical abilities that rival a dragon's. They can't fly, but their intelligence more than makes up for that.
"And the sivaks …" He whistled. "Their skills are bound shy;less! Their silver wings spread in flight are a sight to behold! As strong as giants, perhaps, they can shapechange at will. In fact, when someone does manage to slay them, they automat shy;ically change into the form of their slayer for three days, then burst into flames and destroy all around them. Wonderful effect!"
Horak sighed wistfully. "Dragon Highlord Ariakas just received five hundred of each. What I wouldn't do to earn command of some of them one day…."
The tips of Maldeev's ears burned red. He was receiving Ariakas's rejects! His moment of triumph had dissolved into degradation. "When can I expect my allotment of auraks and sivaks to replace these wretched abominations?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Horak seemed at last to sense his error. "Sir, baaz and kapaks are still far superior to humans in sheer physical strength and fighting ability. They have served Highlord Ari shy;akas well. With their help, the Black Wing will surely rise in status and-"
"Ariakas has arranged it so that he still has the greatest fighting force, while the rest of us struggle along, looking like pathetic imitations of highlords in his shadow!" Maldeev slammed one gloved fist into the other. "Well, I will not accept his charity, or his rejects!"
Jahet stooped slightly to squeeze her highlord's shoulder in a possessive gesture that suggested caution. The very last thing Maldeev needed now was to appear unhinged before a newly reassigned commander. The dragon closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Maldeev struggle to regain his composure and shake off any outward signs of rage.
"You're right, Horak," said Maldeev smoothly. "We'll use these draconians to fight for the Queen of Darkness. With them, the Black Wing will surpass even Ariakas's perfor shy;mance in the upcoming war!"
"Yes, sir." Horak was knocked a bit off balance by Mal shy;deev's extremes of behavior, but recovered quickly. "My troops and I are fatigued from the march from Neraka. Where will we be quartered?"
Maldeev hastily gave directions to his adjutant to place the commander's and his human officers' belongings in quarters within the inner curtain, near his own high-ranking soldiers.
"As for the draconians," said Maldeev, "we've made preparations for the construction of tents." The highlord drew an arc in the air with his finger to indicate the area where Horak's troops now stood. "They'd better start build shy;ing, if they wish to rest anytime soon."
Horak gave a brief salute. "Very well, sir," he said. The commander pulled on his gelding's bit and headed off on foot to establish a camp for his troops.
Jahet dismissed Khisanth, who was not unhappy to take wing for the warrens.
Watching the other dragon in flight, Jahet herself turned to leave. "I'd better get started on my recruitment of dragons," she said to Maldeev.
"I am very pleased about Khisanth's turnaround," Mal shy;deev said, almost to stop Jahet from leaving.
"If s good news, but I predicted it would happen."
"You don't sound as pleased as I would expect," observed Maldeev. "Don't you trust her motives?"
High above Maldeev's head, Jahet's wings shrugged, but her eyes were contemplative. "No more or less than ever. She's a black dragon." Jahet's eyes narrowed slightly. "But she is different. Something-the battle, perhaps-has changed her."
It didn't settle Jahet's concerns to see the look of undis shy;guised admiration in her highlord's eyes as they both watched Khisanth's dark form in flight against the backdrop of deep green pines.
Chapter 21
Sighting the overwhelming urge to nap, Khisanth absently picked with a sharpened talon at a shred of carrion lodged between a knifelike incisor and her black-spotted gums. The newly pro shy;moted second-in-command dragon of the Black Wing was squeezed into the meager late-afternoon shade of a lone oak tree on the crest of a bluff in the mountains southwest of their destination: Lamesh Castle. Even during years of endless drill and preparation for battle, Khisanth had not realized how truly tedious war could be.