“Landwalker, you… shall destroy… us all!” the creature wailed as it dissipated. A few seconds later, only the empty cave and the gently swaying beds of seaweed remained.
Ula sighed with relief. She untangled herself from Mik and hovered in the water just above the sailor.
Mik picked himself up again. “That went well,” he said.
Ula frowned. “And she didn’t tell us where to find the key,” she said.
“I think I know,” Mik replied. “To root Green key awaits He walked into the small cave and began to dig amid the weeds where the sage had first taken shape. Ula swam in beside him and dug as well.
Sifting through the sand, their questing hands discovered a hard, metallic object. Together, they wrestled it out of the muck and weeds and lifted it into the dim light.
The green key shimmered in the semi-darkness. Its looping golden whorls were similar to those of the black diamond key. The setting was rounder than the first key, and-like its companion-asymmetrical. At the center of the golden jewelry, rested a flawless emerald.
“Clever figuring out the ‘root’ was the root of the sage,” Ula said.
“A bit of brainpower, a bit of luck,” Mik replied. “I saw a reflection flash off something in the cave when the creature uprooted herself.”
Ula puffed out her cheeks and blew off the fine sediment covering the artifact.
I’ll keep this one,” she said, weaving the key into the elaborate web of jewelry holding her clothing together.
“Will she re-form, do you think?” Mik asked, as they exited the cave and dusted themselves off.
“We’ll be to Aurialastican by the time she does,” Ula said.
Mik rubbed his beard. “Do you believe what she said, about the isles being in peril?”
Ula shrugged and her platinum hair fell across her shoulders in a very alluring way. “Sages don’t know everything,” she said. “We’re only two little people in a very big ocean. I don’t buy all that fish oil about one person making a difference. Do you?”
“I suppose not. To Aurialastican, then?”
“And the next key.”
Mik and Ula swam up out of the pit to where Shimmer stood waiting. Mounting their draken ray steeds, they set course for Aurialastican, the capital of the Dragon Isles.
Neither of them noticed the shark with eerie red eyes that followed them.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Shimmer led Mik and Ula up through the clear waters toward the sunlit surface above. All morning, the sea bottom had been rising steadily, a sure sign that they were nearing land once more.
They’d traveled on the surface the previous night-each tethered to their constantly moving steeds by leathery seaweed harnesses. They took watches in turns, though Shimanloreth watched longer than his friends. Ula had disquieting dreams, but nothing else disturbed them during the night. They ate a light breakfast and spurred their hired draken rays toward the dragon capital at Aurialastican-traveling below the water again when the sun came up, lest Lord Kell’s spies should be watching.
The rays-huge batlike creatures with indigo bodies and pale, dappled bellies-moved quickly through the crystalline waters, gaining speed as the rising sun warmed their powerful winged forms. Now, at the height of noon, they burst from the water and into the open air once more. The drakens soared high into the air before settling gently onto the ocean’s surface.
Mik Vardan tied his enchanted necklace to his belt again and took a deep breath of the clean summer air. Ula looked stunning in her jewelry and scant drapery; her sculpted blue figure glistening in the sunshine. The ring of dolphins tattooed on her shoulder sparkled under the noonday light.
Their goal, Mik discovered as he wiped the sea water from his brow, was an equally breathtaking sight.
Clouds wreathed the towering mountain peaks of the Misty Isle. Sunlight played off the snowy upper slopes, making them glitter orange and gold. Long swaths of verdant forest ran down from the high slopes to the edges of breathtaking fjords. Brilliant white sand beaches lined the islands’ shores. These natural wonders, though, paled next to the glory of the city itself.
Aurialastican dominated the entrance of a wide bay at the mouth of a vast fjord. Mist filled the defile’s far reaches, making them appear unreal and ghostly. Aurialastican seemed the only solid thing in an ethereal landscape.
The city was larger than anything Mik had ever seen in Khur; as large, seemingly, as great Palanthas itself. Its buildings shone in the afternoon sun: white as marble, polished as silver, burning like bronze, glittering with glass and crystal. The metals beloved by the great dragons formed the city’s decor. Gold, though, predominated.
The yellow metal glowed warmly amid the city’s rooftops, towers, and minarets. Golden banners lined the city’s broad avenues, waving in the breeze. Even the leaves of the trees lining the city street glistened with golden color. It was easy to see why Aurialastican was considered a myth in many parts of the world. It was also easy to see why it was called the “City of Gold.”
But though the buildings lining the shoreline were impressive, the architecture on the ridge beyond them was even more astonishing. Huge monuments-as much sculpture as edifice-dominated the plateau: gigantic trees, mountains, ships, dragons, rings, pyramids, columns, as well as many abstract shapes. Some were made of brightly shining metal; others had been carved from stone or coral; still others seemed to have been shaped from the living rock itself.
The single unifying theme of these monuments was their titanic size. Every one dwarfed the largest building in the city below. Clearly none were fashioned by human hands; they had been shaped and erected by dragons.
Mik’s jaw hung open in wonder. “Is that… the Dragon-heights?”
“Yes,” Shimanloreth replied. “Repository of dragon wealth and glory.”
Ula laughed. “It takes your breath away the first time you see it.”
Mik found his eyes drawn to one of the bright pyramids on the ridge. Reflections of the sun on its surface, though, made it impossible to see clearly. “One step closer,” he thought, and in his mind the image of the huge diamond became clear once more.
They steered their draken rays through the shallows and into the port of Aurialastican. Many tall ships lined the docks: galleys, caravels, galleons, longboats, fishing vessels, and several shell-like ships that could only have come from the undersea kingdoms of the Dargonesti. Proud sails, emblazoned with all manner of fantastic creatures-especially dragons-fluttered in the warm breeze. Brightly-colored banners flew from the tops of mastheads. The air was alive with the creaking of timbers and the shouts of mariners. The strong scent of wood and ship oils drifted across the warm breeze.
Mik gazed at the flotilla as they drew close to the docks. “Some of these ships have gemstones at their helms,” he said. “Are they used to navigate the Veil?”
“Possibly, yes,” Shimmer replied. “Though they might be for other purposes as well.”
“Where do the gems that pierce the Veil come from?” Mik asked.
“From the dragon Oligarchs, to reward the worthy,” Shimmer replied.
“Others of us have to earn our boons,” Ula said. She stepped off the back of her draken onto the well-maintained dock and extended a hand up to Mik.
He hopped up onto the ancient timbers beside her. “Let’s hope we can find the next key amid those monuments,” he said, glancing at the Dragonheights once again.
“Let’s hope,” Shimmer added, “that we shall be allowed to look.” He joined the others on the dock, then let go the reigns of his draken ray and whispered something to it. The lead ray dipped its head, as though nodding yes, then all three steeds disappeared back the way they had come. “They’ll find their way home,” the bronze knight said.
The three companions walked down the wharf toward the bustling city.