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.“What does it say?” Galvin asked.Ren’s eyes flickered to the sword.Ancient script was carved on the silver blade repeating over and over a phrase Ren instantly recognized: Truth Above All.Ren lifted the sword until the light of the twin moons illuminated the script with vivid detail.A warm breeze blew past and Ren thought he heard the voice of the Quy rising above the treetops.- - -The circle of fire roared around them.The whiteness of the flames had faded and the wolven hadn’t returned, but they had gathered more wood anyway.No one wanted to take any chances.The only one who slept was Neki, and although the grin normally dominating his features was gone, he slept peacefully.The Quy’s touch and voice still lingered in Ren’s mind, but now he had even more unanswered questions.Ren shifted on his pad and looked up at the synergy constellation.He didn’t know for sure, but he thought two of the stars were more aligned with the center.He wondered whom the three outlying stars represented and when or if he would ever find out.Ren lifted his sword.The impressions of Choice, Chance and Fate called to the light, causing their emblems to blaze with golden fury.He wondered what the guardians of the Oracle would tell him if they were here.Ren sat up, surprised at the thought.The prophecy book slipped off his stomach, pages flipping in the slight wind.The kota stirred beside him but didn’t wake.Ren absently rubbed her neck in silent reassurance.Since the quest began, he hadn’t thought about the ancient temple where Choice, Chance, and Fate resided.When magic was first born the Maker had sent the Oracle to the Lands to help guide humanity.Although it was once a permanent temple, after the Dark Ages it disappeared and only showed itself to a select few.The Oracle hadn’t been seen in four centuries, but with the rebirth of magic the Oracle was sure to return.Ren fingered the hilt of his sword.The Quy had put Choice, Chance, and Fate’s emblems there for a reason.He needed to seek the Oracle.Although the Oracle only appeared to a select few, he was the Chosen.Choice, Chance, and Fate may grant him entrance.The Oracle would have the answers to the questions he desperately sought.The beings could tell him where to find the One and how to release Aidan.The quest was too important to deny searching for the Oracle.“Ren, there’s another prophecy.”Ren turned to find Markum staring down at the open prophecy book, a look of pure horror on his face.On the page opposite the main prophecy more writing had appeared.It didn’t look as methodical as the first.It was scrawled in haste, like someone had been fearful of losing the thought before putting it into words.There were even notes scribbled in the margins as if the composer of the verse had to decipher to whom or what the verse referred.In one margin there was a count of years totaling three hundred ninety eight, the exact time since the Wizard War.Michel rose to his feet.“What does it say?”Ren scanned the words as the men moved closer.Ren recited the verse out loud:The dreamweaver will remain in deathWhen magic will choke his mind.And he must choose only oneDoor to open wide.For if the wrong one he chooses,The darkness will settle inAnd the Chosen’s heart and soulWill be forever cold.The dreamweaver could only refer to one person.“Markum,” Michel said, placing a concerned hand on the seer’s shoulder.“Prophecy clouds the truth.It’s probably not as bad as it sounds.”Chapter 17“Similian,” thought the Bane.The Bane had just woken up, but Sim would rather he stay asleep.Foreboding was in all his talk.Sim heaved a dragon’s sigh.“Yes?”“Where are we now?”“We’re over Stardom.”“Stardom?” Aidan stirred.Sim’s heart ached.He didn’t know his heart could do that.He was jealous of this Ren, he knew.Sim wanted Aidan to forget Ren so they could talk of lakes and rivers and flying above sunshiny fields.“Similian, the more she looks though your eyes, the more she breathes your air, the harder it will be for her to resist your influence.You don’t want her to lose her identity.”“Please, I won’t become the dragon.I need to know if Ren escaped.”“You must fight to keep your identity, my child,” the Bane reemphasized.“The dragon is much stronger than you.If you give into every urge you’ll be forever lost inside Similian.If your whole self wasn’t with you, you already would be.”Similian heaved a grunt.“To forever be Similian isn’t a bad thing, Bane.”Sim landed in an apple orchard on the outskirts of the city.“Focus, dear one, and you’ll see.” Sim bent to pluck an apple off one of the pink-blossomed trees.It was sweet, and some juice dribbled down his chin.He grinned as he thought of Mezuzah licking it off.He must find Mezuzah soon.It was, after all, still mating season.He felt a slight tickling as Aidan moved inside him.He scratched his side, knowing it wouldn’t do any good, but feeling the need to do so anyway.Heartbeats later Aidan looked through his eyes.The walls of the city were right beside him.He smelled the heavy scent of man but it was days old.No man had been in the orchard for some time.Aidan sighed and Sim could almost sense her sadness.He wanted her to be happy inside him, but she was making it difficult.Although she laughed it was restrained, although she spoke nicely she was distant.But it still felt good to have her looking through his eyes.The bees swarming around the trees made the air come alive with a rhythmic undertone.Sim looked around, allowing Aidan to observe the landscape.Not too far in the distance redwood trees started and continued north and west.The paths on this side of the city were well traveled, and pebbled roads led to both Crape and Ketes.Sim drew another breath, granting a bee access to his nostrils.He snorted it out.“My child, this can only cause you harm in the end.”Sim scowled.The Bane always took the fun out of everything with warnings about the future.The future wasn’t here.The present was here.Sim thought the present entirely better than the future.“Sim, will you move closer to the orchard?”Sim was about to step forward when he caught Ren’s familiar scent.Aidan would recognize it.Now she had a dragon’s sense of smell.Aidan drew a sharp breath.“What?” Sim quickly moved past the place that smelled of Ren.“Ren’s alive, Sim! Please, follow his trail!”Sim didn’t want to find Ren.Man was man.Ren was man.Man was something he never sought.He wouldn’t harm this Ren, but he wouldn’t help him either, although Mezuzah would like him more if he liked Ren.Sim scowled.This was getting complicated.“Please, Sim.” Aidan’s voice betrayed intense emotion.He didn’t understand how someone could feel so much for another.Dragons never showed that kind of weakness, except to their young, and that was more from pride than anything else.“My child, you shouldn’t weaken yourself.It will take everything you have to retain your identity.”Sim almost breathed fire.Why did the Bane have to be so negative?“I have no identity without him.” Aidan retreated back into the darkness.“We are linked, he and I.”“You’re Sim the Vicious!” Sim released an internal roar.“Do you know how many people would love to be Sim the Silver?”“Similian, behave,” the Bane chastised.“My child, then you wouldn’t want to disappoint him.Don’t give in to urges to see with dragon’s eyes, and don’t upset yourself.The more you focus on Sim the less of you there will be.” The Bane paused.“Do you mean a one to one link?”“Yes.”“What?” The Bane almost shouted.It was an odd sound.Sim had never heard the Bane raise his voice [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]