Deathgate Cycle 6 by Margaret Weis

Author:Margaret Weis [Weis, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-05T06:00:00+00:00

“Ever the coward, aren’t you?” The dragon faced Sang-drax. “This is our battle.”

“Kill him, Lord!” the dragon-snake urged. He turned to the others, who, not understanding the language, were staring in perplexity. “My brethren.” He spoke in human. “Don’t be deceived. This man is not what he seems. He is a dragon! And he plans to slaughter us all. Kill him! Swiftly!”

“Go find shelter, friends. I will deal with this,” Xar said to the mensch.

But they didn’t move. Afraid, confused, too stupid— who knew? Stupid or not, they were in his way.

“Run, fools!” Xar yelled, exasperated.

The imposing gentleman ignored both Xar and the mensch, continued to advance on Sang-drax. Snarling curses, Sang-drax was slowly giving ground, sidling back toward the gate.

“Slay him, My Lord!” he hissed.

Xar gnashed his teeth. He couldn’t cast a spell that would kill the dragon without killing the mensch. And he needed them, needed to question them.

Perhaps if they saw the dragon in its true form, they would be frightened into fleeing.

The lord drew a single sigil in the air. The spell was a simple one, not being battle magic. The sigil flared red, expanded, blazed through the air toward the gentleman dressed all in black.

At that moment the gentleman caught hold of the whining Sang-drax by the throat. The sigil struck both of them, flared around them, entwining them in magical flame.

An enormous wingless dragon with bright, shining green scales, the color of the jungle in which it dwelt, reared up over the walls of the city.

Confronting it was a huge serpent, its foul body covered in slime, reeking of the dead of centuries. Its head had only one red eye.

Xar was nearly as startled by the sight of this apparition as the mensch were.

He had never seen a dragon-snake in its true form. He had read Haplo’s description of them on Chelestra, but now Xar understood fully Haplo’s loathing, revulsion, even fear. Xar, Lord of the Nexus, who had battled innumerable terrible foes in the Labyrinth, was shaken and unnerved.

The dragon opened massive jaws, closed them on the serpent’s neck, just below the toothless head. The serpent’s tail lashed out, coiled around the dragon with crushing force, seeking to squeeze the life out of its foe. Twisting and screaming in fury, the two thrashed and flailed, threatening to destroy the citadel. The walls shivered; the gate trembled as the massive bodies crashed into them. If the walls fell, the tytans would be able to enter the city.

The mensch did not flee, but remained rooted to the spot with terror. Xar could not work his magic—either out of fear of hitting Sang-drax or fear of Sang-drax. The lord wasn’t certain, and his confusion angered him, caused him to hesitate.

And suddenly the two were gone. The dragon and serpent, bound in a deadly embrace, vanished.

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