The Heart of Myrial - Maggie Furey, ebook
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THE HEART OF MYRIALThe world of Myrial is racing towards apocalypse.For aeons, its mysterious Curtain Walls have functioned to separate realmfrom realm, and race from race, so that each cordoned area remains asanctuary for its species. But now the miraculous walls that have providedorder for so long are disintegrating with disastrous results. Minglingclimates are causing unrelenting rains or deadly droughts, while warlikeraces are preying mercilessly upon the helpless and the meek. And thecarnage will only grow unless a seasoned warrior-woman, a brazenfiredrake, and a venerable Dragon with amazing telepathic powers?alltrusted members of the Shadowleague?succeed where others have failed.For they must first locate the Heart of Myrial, where the secret for undoingdisaster resides. In order to reach their goal, however, they must overcometreachery, intrigue and evil?and a mysterious figure from the past whoseactions threaten to tear the Shadowleague apart.THE HEART OF MYRIALBook 1 ofThe ShadowleagueMAGGIE FUREYTHE HEART OF MYRIALA Bantam Spectra Book /June 2000SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed "s" are trademarks ofBantam Books,a division of Random House, Inc.Copyright ? 2000 by Maggie Furey.Cover art copyright ? 2000 by Paul Youll.Map by James Sinclair.No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or byany information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writingfrom the publisher.For information address: Bantam Books.If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that thisbook is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to thepublisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any paymentfor this "stripped book."ISBN 0-553-57938-XPublished simultaneously in the United States and CanadaBantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of RandomHouse, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and theportrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office andin other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, NewYork New York 10036.PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAOPM 10 987654321This book is dedicated, with love, to my parents,Tim and Margaret Armstrong, who never let me run short of books to read.CONTENTS1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2829MapCHAPTER 1Without a Miracle?Leather was dreadful stuff to wear in the rain. It stiffened, it smelled, itmildewed. It took forever to dry out?and worst of all, it clung to the bodyin a clammy, chill embrace like the clasp of a long-drowned corpse. Veldanshuddered at the thought. An overactive imagination had always been hercurse. With a shake of her head, the Loremaster thrust the disgusting notionfrom her mind. I?m letting these bleak and somber mountains get to me, shethought?not to mention the bedamned weather. Rain, rain, and still morerain?it had never let up once during this clandestine crossing of the land ofCallisiora.Well, although she could do nothing about her leather clothing?all thegarments in her pack were equally soaked by now?Veldan could at leasttake off the mask. There was no one to see her in this forsaken spot. Shereached behind her head, pushing her short black hair aside, and fumbled forthe silver clasps securing the black silk that concealed her face. It peeledaway like a second skin, and she sighed with relief as the fresh air cooledher brow and cheeks.?About time, too,? her partner grumbled. ?Just wait? one day you?ll leavethat cursed contraption where I can get at it, and I?ll eat the wretched thing.?Kazairl turned his head all the way round on his long sinuous neck andlooked back at his rider. Veldan could see a sharp red gleam of irritationwithin the fire-opal depths of his eyes.?Leave me alone, Kaz.? Veldan sighed. ?You don?t understand?it?s ahuman thing. People don?t want to look at my disfigured face, and I don?twant them to see it. I don?t want their disgust?or their pity.??Tchaaaa!? the firedrake snorted. ?Anybody dares pity you, and I?ll eatthem. You don?t need that ridiculous thing on your face, Boss. Your scar ishealing all the time?or it would if you?d let the air get to it. You don?t looknear as bad as you think. Besides, every time I see that damnable mask itmakes me feel guilty?and it takes a lot to make a firedrake guilty. If I hadonly been there, you?d have been all right.??Kaz?don?t,? Veldan told him hastily. They had shared this old pain toomany times. ?We Loremasters understand the risks of our work, and I haveonly myself to blame. If I had moved faster that day, it never would havehappened. Anyway, it?s over now. We should be concentrating on thisjourney, not the last one that ended so badly.?Kazairl did not reply, but Veldan knew his thoughts were similar to her own.Misfortune continued to dog them. This mission was going no better thanthe last?in fact it seemed to be heading rapidly for disaster. Veldan, Kaz,and Aethon, the Seer of the Dragonfolk, had penetrated the CurtainWalls?the barriers of magical force that separated realm from realm?overa month ago. They had been crossing this miserable excuse for a country?and avoiding its population of ignorant, superstitious primitives?ever since.Sometimes, it seemed that they were never going to make it through to theother side, to reach their final destination. Worse than that, and a lot moreworrying, was the condition of Veldan?s traveling companion, the Seer thatshe had sworn to guard, nurture, and protect. It seemed increasingly doubtfulthat he would survive this journey.Aethon looked ghastly. He trudged along as though he barely had thestrength to put one foot before the other on the steep and stony track. It mustbe a dreadful strain on the Dragon, she thought, to support and propel thatmassive body, almost as long as a village street. His scaly body, once thebrilliant, glittering gold of the ring that Veldan wore on a chain around herneck, was now the dull, pallid yellow-white of wheatstraw.The Loremaster?s heart was filled with dread and anguish at the thought oflosing the Dragon?and not simply because of the urgency of her mission.During this long, hard journey, Aethon had become very dear to her.Because he was the Seer of the Dragonfolk, she had been expecting avenerable creature: formal, imposing, and staid. Instead, she had found aDragon who was still fairly young as his species reckoned their span. He hadbeen delightful company for most of the journey, despite the heavy burdensof his calling, and his humor, intelligence, and joy in life had shortened thelong hard miles. Once they had entered Callisiora, however, the weather haddeteriorated into this dank and dismal chill. Because they were forced tokeep to the wilderness to avoid the humans, the going became unremittinglyhard. Each day Aethon?s verve and spirit had been drained a littlemore?and the Loremaster had been unable to do anything but witness hislong, slow demise. Now, the Seer had reached the end of his endurance. Hehad not spoken a word all day, either in the telepathic mode used byLoremasters, or the normal mode of Dragon speech that consisted ofcomplex interwoven patterns of colored, moving light that mingled withmellifluous and plangent sound. Veldan knew he was conserving his energy,just to keep going.?He don?t look too promising, does he, Boss? I doubt, myself, he?ll makeit.??Shhhh, Kaz,? Veldan chided, though she knew her partner was thinking intheir private mode, and there was no way that Aethon should be able to?overhear? them.?What for? Poor deeg?s so far gone he wouldn?t notice if you let off aplasma cluster in his ear.? The slumbrous glow of Kaz?s eyes took on awicked glitter.? Now there?s an idea???A better idea than you realize.? Veldan had the pleasure of seeing thefiredrake?s jaw drop in astonishment. As usual, he had been out to shockher?and he didn?t fail that often. ?Poor Aethon feeds on the sun?s energy,as well you know. A plasma cluster in his ear might be a little too close forcomfort, but if you let one off in his vicinity, it might be just the tonic heneeds. I would have thought,? she added reprovingly, ?that you?d have moresympathy, considering.??Just because the Loremasters think we come from the same branch of theevolutionary tree,? Kaz chanted, every tilt of his long, elegant headexpressive of his mockery. ?Tchaaaa!? His snort of disgust came out as anexplosive hiss, like escaping steam. ?The Dragonfolk are too damnedcerebral and highly evolved to eat meat, and they have the gall to look downtheir snouts at a lowly, primitive carnivore like me. Well, see where theirridiculous snobbery has got them now!?Veldan bit back the blistering retort that sprang to mind. It wouldn?tdiscourage him in the least. Besides, she and Kaz had been partners almostall their lives. She understood why he was so jealous of the Seer of theDragonfolk?and it had nothing to do with Aethon?s unique ability to sendhis mind wandering through the pathless mists of time to catch tantalizingglimpses of the future?sometimes vague, but sometimes cruelly clear. Kazunderstood that to be so loosely anchored in time could prove more of abane than a blessing. Aethon had scant control over what hesaw?sometimes the mists that hid the future would pa...
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