Nakor said, ‘I see things. I do not know how, but there are moments when I know. Nicholas is upon a voyage that will take him far beyond Crydee. And there is to be much danger in the boy’s future.’
Pug was silent for a long time, thinking about what the small man had said. Finally he said, ‘What must I do to help?’
Nakor shook his head. ‘I am not a wise man by nature. I have been called a frivolous man – by Watum and Korsh, and by Ghuda most recently.’ Pug smiled at that. ‘I do not understand my abilities, sometimes.’ He sighed. ‘You are a man of great gifts and attainments, by all accounts. You live among creatures of wonder and do not think it strange. I saw the work you left behind at Stardock, and it is impressive. For me to advise you is presumptuous.’
‘Presumptuous or not, advise.’
Nakor bit his lower lip as he thought. ‘I think the boy is a nexus.’ Waving his hand in a vague circle, he said, ‘Dark forces move and they will be drawn to him. Nothing we do can change this; we must be ready to aid him.’
Pug was silent for a long time. At last he said, ‘Nearly thirty years ago, Nicholas’s father was such a nexus, for his death would have been a victory for dark forces.’
‘The serpent people.’
Pug looked astonished at the remark.
Nakor shrugged. ‘I heard of the Battle of Sethanon long after it was over. But there was one rumor that I found interesting, that the leader of those invading your Kingdom had a Pantathian mystic as an adviser.’
‘You know of the Pantathians?’
‘I have run across the serpent priests before,’ Nakor said with a shrug. ‘I assume that whatever your dark elves of the north may have thought, it was the Pantathians who were behind the entire mess, but beyond that I don’t understand much of what occurred.’
Pug said, ‘You would be even more surprising than you are if you had understood, Nakor.’ He nodded. ‘Very well. I shall help Nicholas.’
Nakor rose. ‘We should go to bed. You would like us to leave tomorrow.’
Pug smiled. ‘You I would like to stay. I think you could be a valuable addition to our community, but I understand what it is to be drawn to one’s fate.’
Nakor’s expression darkened, and he looked as serious as Pug had seen him since meeting him. ‘Of this company, five shall cross the waters, with four more we have yet to meet.’ His eyes grew unfocused as if seeing something distant. ‘Nine shall depart, and some shall not return.’
Pug looked worried. ‘Do you know who?’
Nakor said, ‘I am one of the nine. No man may know his own fate.’
Pug said, ‘You never met Macros the Black.’
Nakor grinned, and suddenly the mood was lighter again. ‘I did once, but that is a long story.’
Pug stood. ‘We must return to my guests. I would like to hear that tale sometime.’
‘What of the boy?’ asked Nakor.
Pug said, ‘For the reasons I have just given you, I am not pleased with the prospect of becoming involved with any mortal, even if they are counted kin.’ He shook his head as if irritated. ‘But I cannot abandon those for whom I profess affection. I will help the boy when the time comes.’
Nakor said, ‘Good. This is why I told his father we had to come here.’
Pug said, ‘You are indeed an unusual man, Nakor the Blue Rider.’
Nakor laughed and nodded in agreement.
They came back into the dining hall and found Amos finishing another of his tall tales, to the delight of Ghuda and Nicholas. Ryana seemed perplexed, and Harry oblivious to it, as he was completely enraptured by her.
Pug called for coffee and a fortified wine, and the discussion turned again to mundane matters of common gossip in Krondor. After a short while, yawns gave evidence that the guests were ready to retire.
Pug bade his guests good night and gave his hand to the Lady Ryana, whom he escorted from the hall. Nicholas and his companions rose and made their way back to their own rooms. Nicholas discovered the bedding turned down and candles lit upon the night tables. Across the foot of the bed a nightshirt had been provided for his comfort.
Nicholas turned in and had just fallen asleep when a hand shook him. He came awake with his heart pounding, to find Harry leaning over him. The boy was wearing a nightshirt similar to his own.
‘What?’ he asked groggily.
‘You won’t believe this. Come on!’
Nicholas jumped out of bed and followed Harry back to his own room at the far end of the hallway. Harry said, ‘I was almost asleep when I heard a strange sound.’
He motioned for Nicholas to come to the window and said, ‘Be quiet.’
Nicholas looked out Harry’s window and saw the Lady Ryana standing in the distant meadow. Harry said, ‘She was making these really strange noises, like chanting or singing, but not quite.’ There was no mistaking the golden hair, almost aglow in the light from two of Midkemia’s moons. Nicholas’s mouth almost fell open. ‘She’s nude!’
Harry stared. ‘She had clothes on a moment ago, honestly!’ The lady was indeed without clothing and seemed in some sort of a trance. Harry whistled softly. ‘What’s she doing?’
Nicholas suppressed a shiver. Despite the astonishing beauty of the woman in the meadow, there was nothing remotely titillating or erotic about her appearance. He felt uneasy. Not only did he feel as if he was intruding, he felt a sense of danger.
Harry said, ‘I’ve heard tales of witches mating with demons in the moonlight.’
Nicholas said, ‘Look!’
A golden nimbus of light gathered around the woman and soon became blinding. The boys were forced to avert their eyes as the light grew in intensity. For long moments the night seemed broken by a beam of sunlight, then it started to fade. They looked again and the light had expanded to many times the size of the woman. As large as a house, then as large as Amos’s ship, the envelope of light grew, and inside, something took shape. Then the light faded, and where the Lady Ryana had stood, now a mighty creature of legend spread wings a hundred yards across. Golden scales gleamed with silver highlights in the moons’ light, and a long neck with silver crest extended, as the reptilian head looked skyward. Then with a leap, a snap of the giant wings, and a small blast of flame, the dragon lifted into the sky.
Harry gripped Nicholas hard enough to raise a bruise, but neither boy could move. When she had vanished into the sky, the boys turned to regard each other. Both had tears running down their faces, in mixed fear and awe. The great dragons were not real. There were smaller flying reptiles called dragons, but they were merely flying wyverns with no intelligence. None lived in the Western Realm, but rumor had them common in the western mountains of Kesh. But the golden dragons who could speak and work magic did not exist. They were creatures of myth, yet there, in the moonlight, the boys had seen a woman they had dined with transform herself into the most majestic creature to fly the skies of Midkemia.
Nicholas could not stop the tears, so moved was he by the sight. Harry at last gathered his wits and said, ‘Should we wake Amos?’
Nicholas shook his head. ‘Never tell anyone. Do you understand?’
Harry nodded, with no hint of his usual braggadocio, looking like nothing more than a scared little boy. ‘I won’t.’
Nicholas left his friend and returned to his own room. He entered and his heart almost seized up as he discovered Pug sitting upon his bed.
‘Close the door.’
Nicholas complied and Pug said, ‘Ryana could not long live on the meager food she could eat at supper and maintain her pretense. She will hunt for the next few hours.’
Nicholas’s face was pale. For the first time in his life he felt far from home and the comfort of his father’s protection and his mother’s love. He knew Pug was considered a family member, but he was also a magician of mighty arts, and Nicholas had seen something not meant for him to see. ‘I won’t say anything,’ he whispered.
Pug smiled. ‘I know. Sit down.’
Nicholas sat down next to Pug on the bed, and Pug said, ‘Give me your foot.’
Nicholas didn’t have to ask which one and lifted his left leg so that Pug could examine the deformed foot. Pug studied it for several moments, then said, ‘Years ago, your father asked me if I could mend your foot. Did he tell you?’
