‘ Fallen One ,’ said K’rul , ‘ will you trust us? ’
The Crippled God looked at Heboric, and then he released his grip on the hands of the Elder Gods. Reached for Heboric’s .
But the mortal stepped back, and said , ‘ Not yet, and not both of them. Both of them will kill you. I will reach for you, Lord, when the moment arrives. This I promise .’
The Crippled God bowed, and stepped back .
And with his Otataral hand, Heboric, once named Light-Touch, reached through the waters above him. Copper light burst forth, filled the entire cavern .
* * *
The vast fingers that erupted from the barrow encompassed the entire mound – but they did not tear the ground. Ghostly, translucent, they arced high overhead, and closed about the Otataral Dragon.
Korabas loosed a deafening scream – but if it was a cry of pain, torment or release Fiddler could not tell.
Beyond the Otataral Dragon, which was even now being drawn closer down above them, the manifestation of T’iam – growing ever more corporeal, forming a multi-headed leviathan – began to tear itself apart once more. Distant shrieks, as dragons pulled away, lunged free.
Most fled as if their tails were on fire. Fiddler stared, now unmindful of the vast, descending form of the Otataral Dragon, as they raced away, while others, too badly damaged, spun earthward, striking the ground with thunderous concussions. It’s fucking raining dragons .
Quick Ben stared upward, praying under his breath, and then his eyes narrowed – he could see through Korabas. He has her – whoever you are, you have her now .
Gods, this is going to work .
I promised, Burn. I promised you, didn’t I?
All right, so maybe I can’t take all the credit .
Maybe .
For modesty’s sake, if I ever talk about it, I mean. But here, in my head … I did it!
Kalam saw the infernal pride burgeoning in the wizard’s face and knew precisely what the scrawny bastard was thinking. The assassin wanted to hit the man. At least ten times.
Crouched, even as the ghostly body of the Otataral Dragon slipped down around them all, Kalam turned to look at the Crippled God. Who stood motionless, eyes shut, hands still raised into the sky.
Maybe a dragon can fly you up there, friend. They’re not all fleeing, are they?