The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (novels in english .TXT) 📗

name, even though she wasn’t truly the original person. It wasmuch easier than anything else, for she had never been given herown name. Not like me, since I managed toname myself ‘Brexus’ a few hours ago, Ithought quietly. I guess the name isappropriate though, for I will indeed pay a number of debts beforethis is all over. I started to add, ‘ordie trying’, but I realized a more fitting phrase might be, ‘or Ican try dying.’

Our flight took us over the town ofTurlington, which nestled itself at the edge of the Wyvern Marsh,where the river fanned out into a wide delta that fed a huge swampyregion. The marsh itself had been named that because the originalfounder of Turlington had thought the multitudes of crocodiles thatmade the region home were rather dragon-like. He might haverethought his opinion if he had seen my current mount. Thedifference between Gareth Gaelyn and the reptiles that made themarsh home was fairly striking.

For that matter, it was probably agood thing that we were flying over at night. The inhabitants mighthave panicked if they had seen the colossal form of the dragonflying over.

That thought set me to chuckling atthe mental image of the town’s citizens running for cover, andMoira shifted in front of me when she felt my laughter. Still, shekept her silence.

“Are you ever going to speak to meagain?” I said from my perch behind her. I was forced to shout tomake myself heard over the rushing noise of the wind.

You have not given mepermission to speak, came her rather tersereply in my mind.

I winced inwardly as I recalled mylast words to her. While I had not really intended for her to neverspeak again, my command had carried the force of the enchantment’sbinding behind it. She had quite literally been unable tocommunicate without my permission. “I completely forgot aboutthat,” I responded. “You are free to communicate or act in anyother way, except if you think it will be in opposition to mywishes, and currently my only wish is that you remain withme.”

I understand.

She didn’t bother addinganything else, which gave me the impression she probably hadn’tforgiven me for my actions earlier. That’sfine; I can handle the silent treatment. In fact, I preferit, I thought, though I didn’t broadcastit to her. During my years of marriage I had often wished Pennywould resort to the silent treatment, but that had not been herway.

Gareth was slowly losingaltitude, gliding ever lower until we were skimming just a fewhundred feet over the top of the cypress trees that predominated inthat part of the marsh. I directed my thoughts toward him,Why are we descending?

We near the coast,he answered, not bothering to add any furtherexplanation.

While neither Moira nor Ireally needed rest or sleep anymore, I realized that was probablynot true of our still living transportation. That makes sense, I replied.We can rest there before continuing on in themorning.

Where do you intend totravel from there? He asked.

It was a perfectlyreasonable question, since I hadn’t bothered to share my intendeddestination with him yet. We keep goingwest, over the ocean.

There’s nothing but waterand more water once you get past the odd coastal island,he replied with a mental tone of curiosity.Gareth landed on a large but relatively solid stretch of sandybeach. The region where the marsh met the ocean was mostly shallowsalt water, thick with reeds and other saltwater plants, but thedragon’s eyes had found us one of the few areas with good solidground.

“There’s an island,” I said, using myvoice now that the noise of his wings had abated.

“I didn’t see one,” Gareth returned,as though his vision alone could see the entirety of the wide seas.Then again, I had to admit, the dragon’s eyes were at least as goodas an eagle’s. If he had flown above the coastline in the past, hemight have been able to see for many miles on a clearday.

I smiled, though the expression waswasted in my helm, “It’s a bit farther than your eyes can see fromhere.”

“How much farther?” he askedsuspiciously.

I gave the question some thoughtbefore answering, “I’m not certain, but roughly the distance we’veflown today.”

“We covered more than half the breadthof Lothion today. There is nothing that far out, other than theempty deeps,” Gareth told me, stating it as a matter offact.

Moira chose that point to chime in,“Gareth speaks the truth.”

“The golem is correct,”responded the dragon, before adding silently, You have not told me why you insisted on bringing thatcreature along.

His aside startled me. It had neveroccurred to me that he didn’t know who she was. After all, the twoof them had been friends before the war with Balinthor, over athousand years ago. They had been the only two living archmages atthe time. Of course, she looked a bit different now, with a bodymade of earth and stone.

Before I could explain, he spokeagain, “How do you know my name?”

I remember the days beforethe war with Balinthor, she answered,broadcasting her thoughts to both of us now. My creator lived and worked beside you then, before youbecame a dragon.

“A strange turn of phrase, to say‘creator’, if you were one of the Targoth Cherek you were not oneof mine. Did Moira Centyr create your bond aftermy—transformation?” The phrase he used, ‘Targoth Cherek’ was theold term for a warrior given the earth bond by anarchmage.

Moira didn’t respondimmediately, and she sent me a private thought, tinged withreluctance, Perhaps it would be best toleave my origin a secret. It would only bring him pain.

I have kept many things tomyself, but it would be unfair to hide this from him,I told her. Opening my mouth, I spoke aloud,“Moira created her as a sort of copy of her personality andmemories before she fought Balinthor.” I kept the reason to myself.I doubted even the dragon knew that my daughter wasn’t actually myown child.

The dragon’s eyes grew wide withastonishment. “I thought that was forbidden to yourfamily.”

It was,said the Stone Lady, casting her facedownward, but she chose to do so anyway.There were none remaining that had the right to gainsay herdecision at that point.

What the dragon was referring to wasthe special gift of the