The sound rushed toward them. Looking up, Hadrian saw something dark pass across the face of the rising moon, a serpent with bat-like wings gliding, arcing, circling like a hawk hunting mice in a field.
The bellows stopped.
“It’s diving!” Royce shouted.
A massive burst of wind blew them to the ground. The bonfires instantly snuffed out. A second later, a loud rumble shook the earth and a monolithic wall of green fire exploded in a great ring, surrounding the entire hill. Astounding flames, thirty feet high, flashed up like trees of light spewing intense heat.
No longer having any trouble seeing his way, Hadrian jumped to his feet and sped to the gate, Royce on his heels. Behind them the flames roared. Above them they heard a chilling scream.
Dillon, Vince, and Russell slammed the gate shut the instant they were inside. The bonfire in the courtyard, which had been unlit so far, startled everyone as it exploded into a brilliant blue-green flame, reaching like a pillar into the sky. Once more from the darkness above, the Gilarabrywn screamed at them.
The emerald inferno slowly burned down. The flames lost their green color and diminished until only natural flames remained. The fires crackled and hissed, sending storms of sparks skyward. The men in the courtyard stared upward, but there were no further signs of the beast, only darkness and the distant sound of crickets.
Chapter 6: The Contest
"I can assure you, your Royal Majesty,” Arista said in her most congenial voice, “there will be no change in foreign or domestic policy under King Alric’s reign. He will continue to pursue the same agenda as our father—upholding the dignity and honor of the House of Essendon. Melengar will continue to remain your friendly neighbor to the west.”
Arista stood before the King of Dunmore in her mother’s best dress—the stunning silver silk gown. Forty buttons lined the sleeves. Dozens of feet of crushed velvet trimmed the embroidered bodice and full skirt. The rounded neckline clung to her shoulders. She stood erect, chin high, eyes forward, hands folded.
King Roswort, who sat on his throne wearing furs that looked to have come from wolves, drained his cup and belched. He was short and immensely fat. His round pudgy face sagged under its own weight, gathering at the bottom and forming three full chins. His eyes were half closed, his lips wet, and she was certain she could see a bit of spittle dribbling down through the folds of his neck. His wife Freda sat beside him. She, too, was a large woman, but thin by comparison. Whereas the King seeped liquid, she was dry as a desert—in both looks and manner.
The throne room was small with a wooden floor and beams that supported a lofty cathedral ceiling. Heads of stags and moose protruded from the walls, each covered in enough dust to make their fur look gray. Near the door stood the famous nine-foot stuffed bear named Oswald, its claws up, mouth open, snarling. Dunmore legend held that Oswald killed five knights and an unknown number of peasants before King Ogden—King Roswort’s grandfather—slew him with nothing more than a dagger. That was seventy years ago when Glamrendor was just a frontier fort and Dunmore little more than a forest with trails. Roswort himself could not claim such glory. He had abandoned the hunting traditions of his sires in favor of courtly life, and it showed.
The king held up his cup and shook it.
Arista waited and the king yawned. Somewhere behind her, loud heels crossed the throne room. There was a muttering, then the heels again, followed by the snapping of fingers. Finally, a figure approached the dais, thin and delicate—an elf. He was dressed in a rough woolen uniform of dull brown. Around his neck was a heavy iron collar that was riveted in place. He approached with a pitcher and filled the king’s cup then backed away. The king drank, tipping the cup too high, wine dribbling down, leaving a faint pink line and a droplet dangling from his stubbly whiskers. He belched again, this time more loudly, and sighed with contentment. The king looked back at Arista.
“But what about this matter of Braga’s death?” Roswort asked. “Do you have evidence to show that he was involved in this so-called conspiracy?”
“He tried to kill me.”
“Yes, so you say, but even if he did, he had good reason it seems. Braga was a good and devout Nyphron and you are—after all—a witch.”
Arista squeezed her hands together. It was not for the first time and her fingers were starting to ache. “Forgive me, your Royal Majesty, but I fear you may be misinformed on that subject.”
“Misinformed? I have—” he coughed, coughed again, then spat on the floor beside the throne. Freda glared rigidly at the elf until he stepped over and wiped it up with the bottom of his tunic.
“I have very good information gatherers,” the king went on, “who tell me both Braga and Bishop Saldur brought you to trial to answer charges of witchcraft and the murder of your father. Immediately afterwards Braga was dead, decapitated, and accused of the very charges he leveled against you. Now you come before us as Ambassador of Melengar—a woman. I fear this is all too convenient for my tastes.”
“Braga also accused me of killing his Royal Majesty King Alric, who appointed me to this office, or do you also deny his existence?”
The royal eyebrows rose. “You are young,” he said coldly. “This is your first audience as ambassador. I will ignore your affront—this time. Insult me again, and I will have you expelled from my kingdom.”
Arista bowed her head silently.
“It does not bode well with us that the throne of Melengar was taken by blood. Nor that House Essendon pays only lip-service to the church. Also, your kingdom’s tolerance for elves is disgusting. You let the vile beasts run free. Novron never meant for this to be. The church teaches us that the elf is a disease. They must be broken into service or vanquished altogether. They are like rats and Melengar is the woodpile next door. Yes, I have no doubt that Alric will continue his father’s policies. Both were born with blinders. Changes are coming and I can already see that Melengar is too foolish to bend with the wind. All the better for Dunmore I think.”
Arista opened her mouth, but the king held up a finger.
“This interview is over. Go back to your brother and tell him we fulfilled the favor of seeing you and were not impressed.”
The king and queen stood together and walked out through the rear archway, leaving Arista facing two empty wooden chairs. The elf, which stood nearby, watched her intently but said nothing. She half considered going on with the rest of her prepared speech. The level of futility would remain; empty thrones could not be any less responsive and most certainly would be more polite.