Dragon Call (The Throne of the Dragon Queen Book 2) Read online

  DRAGON CALL

  The Throne of the Dragon Queen

  Book 2

  By Clare Smith

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTERS

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  PART TWO

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  PART THREE

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  PART FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  EPILOGUE

  BY THE SAME AUTHOR

  CHARACTERS

  CHAPTERS

  PART ONE. PEOPLE AND PLACES

  Ch 1 Almost the Truth

  Ch 2 Banniff the Gaul

  Ch 3 Tobrin the Brit

  Ch 4 Twistirian the Chin

  Ch 5 Amalaya the Athenian

  PART TWO – TIMES AND LIVES

  Ch 6 Searching

  Ch 7 A Slave’s Lot

  Ch 8 The Northman’s Ship

  Ch 9 The Stalker

  Ch 10 The Brotherhood

  Ch 11 The Caves of Kriphis

  Ch 12 Worried Men

  Ch 13 A Different Perspective

  Ch 14 Partings

  Ch 15 Persuasion

  PART THREE – HEARTS AND MINDS

  Ch 16 Friends and Lovers

  Ch 17 The Great Port

  Ch 18 Intruder

  Ch 19 A Friend in Need

  Ch 20 Promises

  Ch 21 The Crystal Cave

  Ch 22 Plink to the Rescue

  Ch 23 Rabayan’s Return

  PART FOUR – SPIRITS AND SOULS

  Ch 24 U Turns

  Ch 25 Apollo’s Temple

  Ch 26 Tomb Raider

  Ch 27 The Wrong Diagnosis

  Ch 28 Catalyst

  Ch 29 The Crystal of Calling

  Epilogue

  By the same author

  Characters

  PART ONE

  People and Places

  CHAPTER ONE

  Almost the Truth

  Fire Mountain

  Tingallent pushed the hair out of his eyes and stared gloomily into the fire. It wasn’t much of a fire, just twigs and bits of bark and a couple of damp branches that gave off a lot of smoke but very little heat. The fire would have to do though as it was all the wood they had left and after this bit of a blaze had burnt out they would have to return to the rebel camp where he would take up the position of the rebels’ leader again.

  Taking the leadership back from Todden should have made him happy; they were his people after all. He would once again have their trust and admiration, and they would look to him to make the decisions and would follow his orders without question. It was all he’d ever wanted but it wasn’t going to be the same as before, not now they had refused to do as he’d asked and had chosen another as their leader. However much they wanted him to go back, he would always have doubts about their loyalty, and would never again be able to assume they would blindly go along with whatever he planned.

  Despite his doubts he was still going to go back and would once again be the leader of Assimus’s rebel band, which were camped amongst the thick swathe of forest surrounding the Fire Mountain. If he’d been in the mood to lie to himself he would have said that he’d been persuaded to return because of the dire situation the Assimusians faced, and he was the only person who could save them from annihilation. The truth, however, was far different. He was returning because his latest plan had been a total and utter failure and he’d nowhere else to go.

  Perhaps if he’d given up on his plan to find the dragon’s gold when his people had refused to follow him he wouldn’t have felt such a failure, but he’d been persuaded by Collia that the dragon’s hoard was there for the taking. He’d been a fool to be taken in by her to such an extent that he’d risked everything on the lies she’d spun. The only consolation was that Collia hadn’t found the fires within the mountain she’d been looking for either, although her failure was likely to have far more serious consequences than him not finding mountains of gold.

  If that had been his only mistake he might not have felt so bad, but he’d lost Poddorrin as well. Tammerit had seen him wander off amongst the rocks and had just let him go, not realising how treacherous the mountainside could be. There were hidden precipices and gullies all over the mountain and even several pot holes which could swallow a man and hold him fast until he died of thirst or starvation. In the darkness Poddorrin could have fallen down any of them, and with the weakness in his hands he would never be able to climb out.

  Todden, Rabayan and he had spent five days searching for Poddorrin, whilst Collia had sat staring into nothing, and Tammerit and the badly injured Silmon had returned to the rebel camp. On the bare rock they had found no trace of him and now, as much as he hated to give up the search, they had to give in. Even if they had more wood and extra supplies they would have to give up the search as there were more urgent matters to attend to.

  Lord Cavanagh, head of the Passonian council in Phillos, had persuaded the King to burn down the Enclave with every Assimusian trapped inside, and he was the only one who had a chance to prevent it. Compared to that what was the life of one boy worth? It should have been nothing and he should have left as soon as Todden and Silmon had brought the news, but he couldn’t just walk away.

  There was something about Poddorrin which made him want to protect the boy. It could have been because he was a direct descendant of the four consorts, or that his mother had once been a Kallisian priestess, only it wasn’t that at all; it was more like a feeling that the boy was different, and as yet that difference hadn’t materialised. Now, if Poddorrin had fallen down a pot hole or was lying at the bottom of a gully with a broken leg, that difference would never show itself and for that he was sorry.

  Todden had called him a fool for spending so much time looking for Poddorrin when every day was critical, but he too had spent every waking moment of the last five days searching for the boy. It was almost as if Todden had found a new youngster to take under his wing, like he’d once taken him, and wasn’t going to give up that easily. He’d left camp before dawn for one more look at a ravine he’d found, and as much as he wanted his friend to find something, he didn’t hold out much hope.

  Rabayan too had gone out searching and he could hear him now in the distance calling Poddorrin’s name just in case the boy had been unconscious and could now hear him. It seemed a futile effort to him, but the Superior was almost desperate to save the boy. He supposed that if the only place you had to go was into the enemy camp where everyone despised you, and the boy was the only person who spoke up for you, then you would be desperate to find him. It wasn’t just that though. Despite the nasty things the Superior had done to Poddorrin, he too knew the boy was different and was waiting for that difference to appear.

  The only one in their group who didn’t seem to care about Poddorrin was Collia, which was surprising real
ly considering they had almost been lovers until they discovered they were brother and sister. Once she’d realised that there was no way into the mountain to relight the fires which would save Kallisan from the encroaching ice, all she’d done was sit there and stare into space. He’d done his best to shock her out of her stupor by telling her that he’d murdered her mother, but even that had failed to rouse her.

  Rabayan had tried too, sitting close to her, stroking her skin and whispering endearments into her ear, but he might as well have tried seducing a stone. At least her silence had given him time to think about how he was going to save the Enclave, and all the people who were going to be herded in there to die when the city was burnt to the ground. He’d had time to think, but that hadn’t helped him that much.

  His first idea had been to infiltrate the city and warn the people of what was planned. Once they had risen up against their Passonian masters, he would lead them from the Enclave and give them their freedom. It had seemed a grand plan to him until Rabayan had pointed out that the Passonians would have every entrance into the Enclave heavily guarded just waiting for him to make such a move.

  His other idea had been to intercept the convoys of men and women who were being herded from the provinces and turn them into an army which he would lead against the Passonians and defeat them in battle. He’d really liked that plan, but had to abandon it when Todden asked him how he was going to provision and train them all in just a month so that they would stand even the slightest chance of beating the Passonians. Todden’s questioning had annoyed him and he’d stamped off in a temper, but when he thought about it he knew Todden was right. When it came down to it there was no practical way his plan was going to work.

  After that he’d run out of ideas. There he was, the notoriously daring leader of the rebel band and the scourge of the Passonian masters, but he’d no experience of planning and implementing anything this big and hadn’t a clue how to go about it. He had to find a way though as his people looked up to him and expected him to know what to do when things were desperate, and he couldn’t let them down. They needed him almost as much as he needed them. Of course he could ask Rabayan for his ideas or even Todden who had been a swordsman once, but that would show a weakness that he wanted neither man to see.

  As if they had sensed that he was thinking about them, both men appeared from opposite directions and he could tell by the look on their faces that their search had been in vain. Rabayan gave a deep sigh and sat on the boulder across from him but said nothing, whilst Todden stepped around the boulder next to him and shook his head, looking down at him with his hands on his hips. He supposed that his friend was waiting for him to say something, but what was there to say?

  “It’s no good,” growled Todden, “we’ve searched everywhere and there’s no sign of Poddorrin.”

  “No, I expect he’s dead by now.”

  Todden scowled. He didn’t like it when Tingallent sounded so pessimistic; it wasn’t like him at all. “So what are we going to do now?”

  Tingallent sighed wearily. “We give up and go back to the camp; there are things to be done.”

  “You have a plan then?” Rabayan asked in surprise.

  “Yes.” He hadn’t but he would think of something before they reached the rebel’s camp. “Come on, let’s get going. Todden, you collect the things together and Rabayan, you fetch the horses.”

  Rabayan didn’t move. “What about Poddorrin?”

  “If Poddorrin’s alive he’ll have to take his chances, we can’t wait any longer.”

  The Superior shook his head. “Do you abandon all your friends so easily?”

  “No,” snapped Tingallent. “But I have other responsibilities and if the idiot boy goes wandering off and can’t find his way back then it’s not my fault.”

  “Of course it’s your damned fault. You made his life a misery and then dragged him up this blasted mountain when he didn’t want to go. Then when you couldn’t find what you wanted you ignored him and sulked like a spoilt child.”

  In a moment Tingallent was on his feet and around the fire to where Rabayan sat, ignoring Todden’s restraining hand. “At least I didn’t torture the poor bastard!”

  Rabayan shot to his feet with his hand on his knife hilt and Todden stepped in between them to keep them apart.

  “You’re not arguing again over me, are you?” A quiet voice asked from behind them.

  All three men turned and stared at the speaker in shock. “Poddorrin?”

  He nodded hesitantly. The name was familiar but he didn’t think it was his name.

  “Poddorrin, where have you been?”

  Slowly and carefully he sat on one of the boulders feeling disorientated and confused. He knew who these men were and who he was, but it was as if a part of him had forgotten or hadn’t even known in the first place. It wasn’t just his memory which was affected, but his emotions as well. He knew these people were his friends and he’d even loved the woman once, but now he felt nothing for them. They were just beings who would be useful in helping to achieve what needed to be done, and after that they could go away and lead their own insignificant lives.

  He shook his head trying to dispel the thoughts that didn’t seem to belong to him, but even that simple action felt strange. His head felt too close to his body and his arms and legs felt too long. Inside of him his body ached as if he’d been shoved into a sack which was too small to hold him, and the muscles between his shoulders were bunched and taut. He felt as if nothing fitted together properly, so that he needed to stretch and rearrange his bones and all the ligaments that held him together.

  “Are you all right?” Todden asked in concern. “You look different.”

  Poddorrin held out his hands and looked at them and then touched his face, but everything seemed to be the same. “I’m fine.”

  “We’re pleased to hear that,” said Tingallent with a hint of annoyance. “Do you mind telling us where you’ve been? We’ve been searching for you for five days, and then you come waltzing in here as if nothing has happened.”

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been travelling.”

  Tingallent and Todden looked at each other and frowned. Something was definitely not right here. “Did you have a fall and crack your head?” Todden asked.

  “No, I went into the cave where the dragon law is kept, and then the dragon’s spirit left me and travelled to find its brothers.”

  As he said it he knew it sounded fanciful, and he could see from the look on their faces that they didn’t believe him. He could understand that; they hadn’t been where he’d been or seen the things he’d seen. If they had they would have known what he’d said was the truth and would have wanted to help him set his brothers free of the chains that held them. Somehow he had to convince them of the truth, because he couldn’t do this on his own.

  “Look, Pod, I know you’ve been through a lot and being trapped somewhere on this mountain on your own for five days hasn’t helped, but you’ve got to pull yourself together. In three weeks time the Passonians are going to destroy the Enclave and if we don’t do something about it then thousands of people are going to die. We need to get back to the camp, and then I need every man, including you, to be ready to ride at my side. Do you understand?”

  Yes, he understood but much more clearly than Tingallent did. “You have a plan then?”

  “Of course I do,” he snapped in irritation.

  “Then you’d better share it with us,” put in Rabayan, “because so far the only plans you’ve come up with are guaranteed to get us all killed and achieve bugger all!”

  Tingallent scowled at him but when he turned back Poddorrin was looking at him intently with his deep brown eyes compelling him to answer. “We intercept as many convoys of Passonians as we can and set up training camps all across Assimus. At the same time we’ll infiltrate the Enclave and warn the people so that when the Passonians come to burn the Enclave, we can attack them from inside and out.”

  Rabayan gave a cy
nical bark of laughter and Todden shook his head.

  “It won’t work,” said Poddorrin carefully. “The people of the Enclave are too scared to fight and the Passonians are too strong.”

  “There,” snapped Rabayan. “Even the boy knows how stupid your plan is.” He gave another bark of laughter but stopped abruptly when Poddorrin turned his eyes on him. The look the boy gave him made him shudder.

  “It’s not a stupid plan, but it won’t work because you lack enough strength to defeat the Passonians, and there is only one thing which has enough power to do that.”

  “And what would that be?” Tingallent asked indignantly.

  “Dragons.”

  “Dragons! Are you crazy! Mazaban the Mad killed the last dragon two hundred years ago.”

  “Yes he did. He killed the Dragon Queen and mutilated the bodies of her four dragon kits, but he didn’t destroy their spirits. They remain, waiting to be reawakened.”

  Tingallent shook his head in disbelief. He guessed that the boy must have had a nasty crack on the head to come up with such a tale, but as far as he was concerned Poddorrin was just wasting precious time with his nonsense. “That’s impossible, dead is dead.”

  Todden wasn’t so sure though; he’d travelled to many different lands and seen things which shouldn’t have been possible. “The legend says that Mazaban cut off the dragon’s heads so how can they just be asleep?”

  “Dragon’s are creatures of magic, and the Dragon Queen’s kits were created from the blood, flesh and spirit of the four consorts.”

  It was Todden’s turn to shake his head. “How do you know about this?” he asked.

  Poddorrin hesitated. He had to be careful how he answered Todden’s questions, otherwise they would truly think he was mad and wouldn’t listen to the other things he had to say. “I’ve been into the Dragon Watcher’s cave and have read the dragon law which is stored there.”

  “And this dragon law told you how to wake up the dragon’s spirit?” asked Todden, not believing he was asking such a stupid question.