Key of Living Fire (The Sword of the Dragon) by Scott Appleton Page A

you.”
    For the next half hour they walked, drawing ever closer to home.
    Then Caritha cleared her throat. “You will, of course, do as the prophet instructed?”
    He let her question remain unanswered, knowing his silence was an answer in itself. What choice did he have? The sword of the dragon was the key to their future. Without it—without it the next encounter with an enemy like Razes would be the death of him. Though he longed for peace and a rest from the troubled world, there was no respite. Not yet, anyway. “I had not anticipated leaving again so soon.”
    “Why must you go alone?” Ombre glanced at the stars. “If this key is so important, shouldn’t we marshal an army and invite the Megatraths to come along?” He pumped his arm and smiled. “I can picture it now! The dragon’s agent is waiting for you on the other side of that portal. It opens with a whoosh, and, expecting to see you, he steps forward. Instead the five thousand Elite march into the Hidden Realm. The light of their armor reveals every shadow and, behind them thunder the Megatraths. Immediately the wizard’s minion screams. She runs, but trips and falls just as you catch her and hand her off to your warriors. Mission accomplished, you lead your army back through the portal, waving to the agent of the dragon, and all in time for dinner with Vectra!”
    “And”—Ilfedo shook his head—“because I never obtained the Key of Living Fire, a wizard hunts me down. Having stolen the power from the Hold, the sword is now useless to me, and he slays me in cold blood.” He let the scenario rest in the air for several minutes before drawing his sword. The Living Fire leaped from the blade, engulfing him, and he held it forth. “Now is not the time to make light of these things, my friend. Now is the time to steel myself for the struggle I will surely face—and I will face it alone.”
    “Oganna will not be pleased with that,” Ombre said.
    “Yet she will obey.” Ilfedo sped his pace, catching up to Caritha and walking beside her. “In my absence I would like you to include her in the business of being a Warrioress. She has proved to be more than your equal, and I will no longer hold her back.”
    Caritha dipped a slow nod. “Then she will accompany me wherever I go. You have my word, my brother.”
    Ombre caught up and kept pace on Caritha’s opposite arm. He smiled down at her, and she nodded back at him before setting her face forward. He frowned and Ilfedo caught his eye. “Give it time,” Ilfedo mouthed.
    “I have” Ombre lipped back. And his countenance hardened as he, too, locked his gaze on the path ahead.

6
     
    HOME AND GONE AGAIN
     
    B eneath the moon-washed expanse of the night sky, Ilfedo’s house took on a dreamlike quality. He hung back when Ombre and Caritha opened the front door, choosing to remain in the open lawn. Except for the night that the specter of Death had appeared on his doorstep, this place brought good, tender memories. Even Dantress’s death bore an element of joy for the child she’d delivered.
    Laughter floated through the open doorway, and warm lamplight played on the patio stones. Ombre and Caritha exchanged hugs with the remaining sisters and with Oganna, their forms muted by the flashing firelight.
    “Father!” Her form, so like her mother’s, stepped into the door frame and onto the patio. She held her skirt above the wet evening grass as she walked across the yard, and they wrapped each other in their arms, her head nestled against his chest.
    He kissed her hair. The troubled kingdom he ruled and the cares of Subterran . . . faded into the night’s whispering breezes. Seivar and Hasselpatch screeched, shooting out the open door. Their white wings flew them behind his back. Flapping their wings, the birds gripped his shoulders in their silvery talons. There they perched, cooing and rubbing his cheeks with their soft, fluffy heads. It was good to be back.
    Smiling up at him with her