The Changeling (18 page)

RHM, the Dragon's trusted aide, met the old beast at their appointed place not far from the Castle on the Moor. The Dragon seemed preoccupied with a spot on his leg. He couldn't stop scratching.

“What news from the Highlands?”

“Quite good, sire,” RHM said. “I have personally seen the urchin you spoke of and have confirmed her whereabouts.”

“Still imprisoned, as it were?”

“Yes. No one would believe she is royalty. I doubt even her father would recognize her. Is the meeting with him still scheduled?”

“Yes, the preparations have been made. Have you heard from the Changeling or the raiding party?”

“More good news, sire. The Watcher and the horse have been abducted.”

The Dragon sat up. “And the Wormling?”

RHM cleared his throat. “Still being hunted, sire. Our sources believe the Changeling has the sword, the Mucker, and a scroll, but—”

“But not the Wormling?” the Dragon thundered, again scratching at his leg.

“He is defenseless, Great One, without a weapon. With no access to a Watcher, he is susceptible to demon flyers. He has no magic weapon and no instruction from his powerless leader—”

“Who is dead!”

“Yes, you have nothing to fear from this one. If the Changeling does not bring him to you, we will find the Wormling and crush him.”

The Dragon looked away, scratching, clearing his throat (which caused black smoke to escape from his lips), and grinning. “If the Changeling does not bring him, we'll crush them both.”

When the screams of the panther subsided, Nicodemus disappeared for what seemed like hours, then returned to say they could leave. A door again appeared in the rock, and Owen was amazed at Nicodemus's power.

The sun was up now as the two walked a sandy path between towering trees. Owen feared they might be seen by invisibles, but Nicodemus assured him that he could see what Owen could not.

“Like Watcher,” Owen said, missing her and hoping she was all right.

“You could not have had a more trusted companion,” Nicodemus said, “though she is prone to loquacious speech.”

“You mean she talks a lot? You sure have a big vocabulary.”

“The King's is much more extensive than my own, though I noticed as you read
The Book of the King
that he kept it in check. He seems to have chosen words that make his meaning clear.”

The sun shone orange on the rippling water. Nicodemus took a long breath. “Do you smell that, Wormling? Water mixed with earth and plants. A sign of good things to come.”

“I thought you said the darkness encroaches.”

“Shadows must fall before the light invades. You know that from
The Book of the King
.”

“It's hard to remember,” Owen said. “It seems so long since I held it.”

“A fresh wind is blowing; I can feel it.” Nicodemus put a hand on Owen's shoulder, and Owen felt warmth flood through him. “You will hold the book again, my friend. And the Son will complete it. And everything written in it will come to pass.”

“With all that the Dragon will surely throw against us, how can you be so sure? He wants me dead. He wants the Son dead. And he says the King is already dead.”

“He is a liar. The truth is not in him. I believe what the King says, not the way things seem. If we looked only at appearances, you would not have been chosen as the Wormling, would you?”

“Sometimes I wish I hadn't been.”

“You would not have been chosen if the King did not believe you would succeed. He would not have given you the power, the book, the sword. Take heart. You will see them all again, along with your friends. While I was gone, I saw Humphrey in a holding pen outside the castle. Watcher was being interrogated.”

“You got inside? How?”

“I was given special abilities by the King. Their demon flyers are poor attempts by the Dragon to duplicate what the King did with me.”

“Do you have access to the Dragon's realm?” Owen said as they neared the water.

“Yes, but I have been charged with watching you.”

“Could you find out where the book is?”

“I could, but again, I have not been given that option. I'm to stay with you.”

“But if you're not allowed to protect me, why would you stay?”

“There will come a time when you will need me. I cannot go against the King's orders.”

“What good does it do if I find the book and my friends and defeat the Dragon, but the Son is dead?”

“Why think that? I've already told you—”

“I've seen bodies,” Owen said. “On the battlefield, through my travels. Many have died.”

Nicodemus focused on Owen, his eyes like fire. “Where did you see bodies?”

Nicodemus felt a pang of concern. He trusted the King completely and believed what he had been told, but the King had never actually said the Son was alive. He knelt beside the Wormling, his eyes burrowing deep into the lad's soul. “Tell me about the bodies you saw.”

The Wormling told him of many they had buried. “People were also killed in the flood and in the battle with the vaxors. And there was a body at the top of White Mountain—the father of a young man I found inside.”

Nicodemus stroked his beard. “Did any stand out to you as possibly the Son?”

“Qwamay was the best candidate, but he turned out to be Mordecai's son.”

Nicodemus calmed the boy with his voice. “What do we know about the Son from those passages in
The Book of the King
?”

“He will be filled with virtue. He will vanquish the Dragon, so he must be a warrior. But he will also bring peace, so he is not
just
a warrior. He is a man of the people, because they will honor him. And he was taken and imprisoned.”

“What about his stature, his physical makeup?”

“It doesn't say. Perhaps you could sneak into the Dragon's lair and find the book. Maybe I've missed a clue.”

Nicodemus shook his head. “We need no more information. We simply need to put together what you have already discovered.”

“But I've looked everywhere for him. I've been diligent, followed the King's instructions. I honestly did the best I could.”

“I know.” Nicodemus sucked in his lower lip, then turned. “It is time I show you something.”

He pulled a shining gemstone from beneath his tunic and placed it in the water. An image spread, as if on a liquid crystal display. Nicodemus waved and the display changed. The water blazed orange.

“This is the fire that covered the land after the Dragon stormed the castle.” Again he waved, and the display showed the Castle of the Pines, where the King used to live. “This is the room where the fire began and Mordecai was injured. There—at that exact moment the Dragon blasted him, and there the child is taken.”

The Wormling sat as if transfixed.

“The King and Queen became like peasants as they retreated from the Dragon. Here is the burning of the books and the edict by the Dragon that no one should again read or sing.”

“Did the King and Queen ever return to the castle?”

“Yes. Sometime later it became safe, though the Dragon kept watch through his invisibles. While the Dragon thought he had the King under surveillance, he was writing
The Book of the King
and making his plans.”

When the Wormling saw the Queen crying and running for her life, he wiped his eyes. “Why didn't the King stay and fight? Why did he flee when he has such power and authority?”

“It is not always prudent to use all your force,” Nicodemus said. “You must use it at the right moment. The King fled, knowing that if he stayed, his Son might be killed, and with him the hope of a new generation. Through the Son shall all in the Lowlands, the Highlands, and the realm above be blessed, if they remain loyal to His Majesty.”

* * *

Owen marveled at the face of the Son. He had brown hair and a mischievous smile, even as a baby. Owen shuddered when beings shrouded in darkness carried him away.

“Where did they imprison him?” Owen asked Nicodemus.

“The vision becomes cloudy at this point. I believe they take him to the Highlands.”

“Why didn't the Dragon kill the child?” Owen said. “Wouldn't that have brought the King to his knees?”

“It would have meant the sure destruction of the Dragon,” Nicodemus said. “The King would have poured out his wrath on him.”

“Which is what the Son will do eventually, right?”

“True. But beings such as the Dragon cannot imagine their own demise. He will do anything for another moment of life, another moment to torture those loyal to the King.”

Nicodemus waved, and over the water came the scene of a young girl whisked away by the same dark beings. “This is the princess betrothed to the Son even before her birth.”

The father of the girl appeared in anguish.

“That's the king of the west?”

Nicodemus nodded. “Who still lives in the castle and has his own agreement with the Dragon.”

“So both the King
and
the king of the west have agreements with the Dragon?”

“Correct.”

“What sort of agreement?”

The scene shifted, and the Dragon and the king of the west stood over a treaty, the king signing. The Dragon puffed black smoke that clouded the vision.

“Only the two of them know the details. I believe it concerns the princess, but we can't be sure.”

“What
can
we be sure of?” Owen said.

“That the union of the Son and the princess will culminate the King's plan. And what a union it will be! What a celebration!”

Owen found himself more puzzled than ever, and it must have shown.

“What concerns you now, Wormling?”

“It doesn't make sense. Why did the King allow any of this? If he knew it would happen, he could have stopped it. The Son should be with him right now, without any involvement from me. And who am I?” Owen stood, raising his voice. “Why was
I
chosen? It all seems so random.”

Nicodemus spoke kindly, but Owen heard fierce determination. “What
seems
is not what
is
. What
appears
is merely a shadow of what is to come. Trust what the King has put in your heart, Wormling. One day you will understand. Maybe sooner than you realize.”

Darkness covered the sun so it shone like blood on the water. Nicodemus looked up, his eyes weary. “The Dragon approaches. I am not permitted to stay with you.”

“You're leaving?”

“I will obey, though it may
seem
an inopportune time to go. Those are the King's wishes.”

“What am I to do?” Owen said, suddenly feeling the loneliness again. “What of Mucker and my sword?”

Nicodemus gave final instructions and then vanished.

In his place lay a long strand of rope, which Owen picked up. “Why would you leave this?”

A stirring of the water surprised Owen, and he turned around to face the lunge of the most gigantic crocodile he had ever seen.