“Hush, children,” she cooed. “It’s only me. You remember Serene, don’t you? Serene, who has always tended to your wounds and scratched your heads?”
Some of the uncertainty dwindled. The largest of the surviving griffons shoved his way forward.
“And there’s Taggi, first as usual.” Coming up to the pen, she held out a hand. The griffon thrust his beak forward, smelling her. His eyes softened and he pushed his head near enough to have it scratched. “That’s right …”
Her eyes more accustomed to the gloom, she could see that the creatures had been treated badly. Several had wounds and tufts of fur and feather missing. One animal lay in the back of a cage, unmoving. The cleric muttered an epithet, hoping that the griffons had been able to make some of their captors pay in kind.
“Don’t you worry, now,” she whispered soothingly. “I’ll get you out of here.”
She located the keys on a peg nearby, then quickly opened both cages. The cleric had to keep Taggi and the others from nearly bowling her over in their eagerness to be free. Serene immediately confronted the lead griffon, staring at him in the manner Rapp had whenever he had needed to tell the creature something important. How much Taggi understood, Serene couldn’t say. Certainly the kender had always managed to get through.
“Listen to me, Taggi. You know I’m Rapp’s friend, right?”
She nearly made a mistake mentioning the kender. Immediately the griffons looked around, seeking their friend. Serene had to work hard to regain Taggi’s attention.
How had Rapp sometimes accomplished the matter? “Taggi? Do you want to go for a ride?”
Taggi blinked, then stretched his wings slightly. He gazed at Serene, as if expecting some response. She, in turn, smiled, recognizing the sign that Rapp had always received when he talked to them about taking him and his friends on a journey.
“Yes, Taggi! That’s it. A ride!”
The griffons suddenly surged forward. Taggi moved to her side, trotting along with her as they left the confines of the animal pens. Serene had the pleasure of seeing the disconcerted expressions of her two companions.
“Was there ever a doubt?” she jested.
“No,” returned Tyros, staring gravely in her eyes. “Just some fear.”
Serene felt her face flush. She quickly turned from the tall wizard and bent down to speak with Taggi. “Now, you be gentle with these two men. They’re friends of mine … and Rapp’s.”
Taggi squawked, then rubbed his beak on her side. She smiled and scratched his head for a moment.
A violent tremor ripped through the flying citadel.
Captain Bakal fell to his knees. Tyros used his staff to maintain his balance, but the wizard’s face had turned ashen. Serene clutched Taggi, wondering what had happened now.
Jagged fissures appeared in the ground, some of them so near that a few of the griffons had to momentarily take to the air to avoid falling in. With a rumble, the ceiling of the chamber from which the cleric had led the animals collapsed, a cloud of dust and dirt emphasizing the totality of its destruction.
Atriun began drifting away from the mountains.
Serene felt a sense of foreboding. “What’s going on?”
“The citadel is moving,” a pale Tyros managed.
“Of course, but-”
“No …” He shook his head. “It is moving with purpose. Its course is steady and strong. Atriun’s heading back in the direction of the battle.”
Bakal looked at him close. “Are you saying-”
“Yes. I don’t know how, but Valkyn once again has control of the flying citadel.”
Chapter 19
Bedlam in the Sky
“I want to go back!” Eclipse roared, still sulking. He would have beaten the gold dragon. Never mind that Sunfire had already been crippled before this day, and that the human atop the black had been the reason for any major successes. Eclipse felt that the victory would belong to him. He needed a victory. His mind was still fragile from the loss of his twin.
“The gold can wait!” Zander snapped. He had far too many other problems to concern himself with besides the whining of his mount. The other dragon would go nowhere. What concerned the young commander more had to do with his forces, which had become hard-pressed to maintain their ground, much less advance.
What had happened to the wizard’s castle? Everything had been going well until the storm had abruptly turned against them. Then, to Zander’s horror, Atriun had flown off. The last he had seen of it, it had been heading for the nearest mountains.
There had been no word from General Cadrio or, more to the point, from Valkyn. If something had happened to both of them, then everything was lost. Zander now regretted not having abandoned Cadrio and seeking out the Blue Lady. They said she could reward a good officer in many ways and, despite the chaos below, he still felt himself the best.
Zander had forced Eclipse up into the sky the moment the citadel had fled. He no longer cared about Valkyn’s battle plan; if his men were to survive, he had to pull them together. With the aid of the black dragon, Zander had managed to keep them from routing, but the Ergothians had strong leaders of their own, and despite the threat of dragonfear or acid, the defenders began pushing forward.
The surviving catapults had repositioned themselves and now once again bombarded his ranks. Using Eclipse, Zander had disposed of two of the pesky machines, but he and the dragon had nearly suffered a direct hit. At the same time, the young commander had trouble trying to keep the rest of his forces under control. If Zander concentrated on the catapults, the Ergothian cavalry and foot soldiers tore through his front lines.
Things were falling apart, and even he could not put them back together without help.
“Where are you, General?” the young officer muttered. “And where are you, wizard? If one of you would just tell me what’s going on, I’d be forever grateful.”
“Aaah, there you are, General Zander.”
Eclipse let out the nearest thing to a squawk that Zander had ever heard a dragon utter. He himself barely kept his expression in check, for in front of the pair, heedless of the lack of earth beneath his feet, stood Valkyn. Even though Zander knew that he faced an illusion, the cowled figure looked so real he expected the wizard to plummet to his death at any moment.
“What’s happening, Master Valkyn? The citadel-”
The unnerving smile spread, although something about it seemed weary. “Atriun is on its way back. There have been some minor disruptions, but I have dealt with all save one.” The sky blue eyes grew chilling. “And that one will be dealt with very, very soon.”
A wave of relief washed over Zander. “And the battle?”
“My commendations on that, General. Excellent strategy under unexpected pressure. Maintain your actions. I will be with you shortly.”
“Yes, Master Valkyn!”
The image vanished, and only then did Zander realize that the mage had called him general. So much, then, for Cadrio. Zander smiled. A field promotion.
“I see it!” Eclipse roared. “The wizard’s castle comes!”
Indeed it did, but even from far away, Zander noted the differences. Atriun had been heavily damaged on one side. One of its towers was in ruins. Gazing at the mountains from which the citadel had come, the new general suspected that he knew exactly what had caused such terrible destruction.
Yet despite the damage, the castle still flew. Only a few ominous clouds drifted along with Valkyn’s creation, but Zander supposed that the wizard conserved his magic for the actual battle.
“General Zander.”
This time he couldn’t hide his startlement. He hadn’t expected to hear from the black mage until later in the battle. He saluted. “Master Valkyn! You’ve need of something?”
Valkyn did not smile. What that meant, the soldier did not want to know. “A change of plans. I’ve immediate need of you and your beast, my general. There are some gnats about to leave my citadel … a woman and two-no, I suspect only one man! Slay the man and as many of the griffons as you need to, but capture the woman and bring her back to me.”