Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol II - By Richard A. Knaak Page 0,428

heart, he pushed himself up as best he could. His blade lay out of reach, but Morgis had other skills. Not as adept at magic as his sire, he nonetheless could cast a defensive spell in an emergency. It was a secret very few of those he battled beside knew.

But instead of attacking, the cloaked female carefully took his sword up by the point and reached the weapon back to him. Morgis cautiously accepted it, then waited.

“You—you’re real, then,” the shadowed figure uttered.

“Do I ssseem like some figment of your imagination?”

She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I mean. What I mean to say is—is that you’re you. You’re… alive.”

“A trait we share in common.” He held back from any other retorts, though, seeing the fear in her expression. She bundled the cloak tight around her. “You are one of the cat people. One of Troia’sss kind.”

Her large, feline eyes blinked. Of course she did not know Troia, who had become mate to the Gryphon and mother to his children. Troia had stayed in the background, but she had been every bit as much a part of the downfall of the empire as the Gryphon had. With the grace and swiftness of her people, she had leapt into every battle, a true warrior queen in the eyes of many.

And so much more in the eyes of one drake.

“Never mind. Who are you? Why are you here? Thisss is certainly not a place for you.”

She glanced back at the distant keep. “I had nowhere to go. I ran and got lost. I seemed to be running in circles during the day. I feared I wouldn’t survive a second night… and then I saw you three come—”

Morgis was not the patient sort. He held up a hand to quiet her. “Let usss begin again. This time with more order. Who are you?”

“My name… my name is Kalena.”

“Kalena. Your kind do not live in these lands. I must assume you have a reassson to be here where few would find you. A thief, perhaps?”

He saw that he had struck true. “Not a thief,” she murmured. “A smuggler… at least I was.”

“Not alone?”

“No. There was Brom,” Kalena said his name with a fondness that informed the drake that the two had been more than business partners. “And, of course, the Gnor.”

The Gnor. Morgis had fought alongside the ursine creatures during the height of the rebellion. Fearsome warriors, as worthy as any drake in battle. “Where are your companionsss now?”

She drew the cloak closer, leaving only her face open to the night. Morgis had to squint to see her worsening expression. “Dead. Both of them. In the keep.”

Thinking of Awrak and Leonin, the drake looked back at the ancient edifice. “When? How long? We sssaw no bodiesss!”

“Last—last night. It took their—their—” Kalena suddenly threw herself into his chest, sobbing.

Unaccustomed to such emotion focused on him, Morgis initially stood frozen. Then, recalling how others reacted, he put one tentative arm around the cat woman, patting her gently but awkwardly near the shoulder.

But as he comforted her, his mind raced. He recalled the blood stain and how fresh it had seemed. It would have taken many rats to make such a mark.

What a fool he had been!

Kalena looked up, her eyes wider yet. “Your friends! You need to warn them! Brom and the Gnor, they didn’t know to expect anything—”

“I cannot leave you out here,” he hissed. “You mussst come.”

“I can’t—” Kalena started to pull away, then apparently thought better of it. “But—I’ve nowhere to go.”

Morgis straightened. His full height put him on a level akin to the Gnor and he had abilities the other fighter had lacked. “Remain with me and you will be safe. I promissse you that on my honor as a drake warrior.…”

She said nothing, only nodding. Keeping her close to his free arm, he steered her toward the structure. They moved at a quick pace—Kalena with some lingering reluctance—but not quick enough to suit Morgis. He still did not understand what had killed the smuggler’s comrades, but it had done so in the very place his own companions now awaited him.

He hoped he was not already too late.

AND FROM THE woods beyond where Morgis had found Kalena, several dark forms separated from the shadows… then slowly moved toward the keep.

III

“LEONIN! AWRAK!”

The drake’s shouts echoed throughout the hollow building as he and the cat woman entered. The initial lack of response filled him with dread, but then he heard movement above and