The Shattering Waves (The Year of the Dragon, Book 7) (38 page)

All around Bran, the eggs cracked open, revealing curled bodies of azure-scaled dragons. Serpent-like, long, legless, with webbed wings wrapped around their bewhiskered heads. There were dozens of them, all slowly waking from centuries-long slumber, stretching their wings, testing their roar, trying out their flame glands.

Even though they were newborns, each was almost as big as Emrys. Soon enough, the cavern floor was swarming with a hundred beasts, hissing and fuming, crawling over each other, still covered in slime. Some gnawed on the eggshells, others tried to take bites out of their brethren. The smell of brimstone from the flame glands, the roaring and hissing, and the energy concentrated in a hundred dragon bodies overwhelmed Bran’s senses, both natural and magical.

“Bring in the sacrifices.” Saturn’s voice broke through the din. “Let’s teach them the taste of a mortal’s flesh.”

The hooded acolytes stepped forward, carrying two bodies. The men had been stripped naked and lashed to the brink of consciousness. Bran grasped the bars in helpless fury. One of the Serpent’s victims was Master Yokoi, still defiant in his weak attempts to struggle free. In the other, Bran barely recognized the agile form of the young fisherman from Kamakura.

The acolytes cast the two “sacrifices” down from the gallery. The bodies struck the floor with twin thuds. The dragons, hungry after hatching, smelled the splattered blood and whirled in a frenzy. The two men disappeared in seconds, torn apart by the maddened beasts.

Bran knew it was not nearly enough to satisfy a hundred starved dragons. They thrashed about in search of more prey. Some spotted Bran, but the power of the orichalcum in the bars seemed to keep them at bay, at least for now.

“Initiate!” the Saturn boomed. “It is time for your last test. Destroy the cage.”

Satō raised her hands again and aimed at Bran. The bars grew red hot. Her arms dropped and she staggered backwards.

“That’s it, Satō!” Bran cried, his strength briefly renewed. “Fight the Darkness! Remember me! Remember Nagomi! Remember what they did to your father!”

The wizardess staggered again, into the arms of two acolytes behind her.

“Initiate!” bellowed Saturn. “Do not disappoint our Sister Moon. Remember what this is all about.” He raised a closed fist over his head. It burned with a black, oozing glow. The same glow appeared in Satō’s eyes. She shook her head and pointed outstretched fingers at the cage. The bars melted to the floor one by one, forming small pools of liquid metal, exposing Bran to a cave full of half-crazed beasts. They all turned towards him as one, the sweet scent of his blood filling their nostrils with the promise of a fresh meal.

Bran closed his eyes. With the bars gone, he had just enough energy left for one spell. And there was one final spell left to cast.
The Llambed Seal.
Clearing his mind of despair, he called down the Eagle. The rune on his shoulder burned hot. A white, warm glow enveloped him, and he heard the distant shriek of a bird of prey. He sensed the portal opening, his body pulled upwards … to safety.

And then it all stopped. The white light was gone. He was still on the hatchery floor. The nearest of the blue dragons licked its sharp teeth with a forked tongue.

THE END

APPENDIX: GLOSSARY

(Bat.) — Bataavian

(Yam.) — Yamato

(Pryd.) — Prydain

(Seax.) — Seaxe

aardse nor
(Bat.)
spell word, "Earth Tomb"

amazake
(Yam.)
a traditional sweet drink from fermented rice

ardian
(Seax.)
the Commander of a Regiment in the Royal Marines

banneret
(Seax.)
the Commander of a Banner in the Royal Marines

bento
(Yam.)
a boxed lunch, usually made of rice, fish and pickled vegetables

bevries
(Bat.)
spell word, "Freeze"

biwa
(Yam.)
fruit of loquat tree

blodeuyn
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Flowers"

bugyō
(Yam.)
chief magistrate of an autonomous city

bwcler
(Pryd.)
magical shield covering a fighter’s arm, a buckler

cha
(Yam.)
green tea

chwalu
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Unravel"

chwalu’r dan
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Unraveling Fire"

Corianiaid
(Pryd.)
a race of red-haired dwarves from Rheged

cwrw
(Pryd.)
beer

dab
(Pryd.)
creature, thing or a person

daimyo
(Yam.)
feudal lord of a province

daisen
(Yam.)
chief wizard

dap
(Pryd.)
the same size and shape as something

dengaku
(Yam.)
a meal of grilled tofu or vegetables topped with sauce

denka, —denka
(Yam.)
honorific, referring to the member of the royal family

derwydd
(Pryd.)
druid

deva
(Latin)
demon

diffodd
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Extinguish"

dōjō
(Yam.)
school of martial arts or fencing

dono, —dono
(Yam.)
honorific, referring to a noble man of a higher level

dorako
(Yam.)
Western dragon

doshin
(Yam.)
chief of Police

dōtanuki
(Yam.)
a type of katana, longer and heavier than usual

draca hiw
(Seax.)
spell word, "Dragon Form"

draigg
(Pryd.)
a dragon

duw
(Pryd.)
a swearword

dwt
(Pryd.)
a young child

egungun
(Yoruba)
a holy spirit, also a shaman dancer representing Egungun

enenra
(Yam.)
a spirit born of smoke

eta
(Yam.)
"untouchables", the lowest caste in Yamato class system

faeder
(Seax.)
father

ffrwydro darian
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Bursting Shield"

fudai
(Yam.)
an "inner circle" clan; one of the vassals of the Tokugawa Taikun before the battle of Sekigahara

futon
(Yam.)
a roll-out mattress filled with rice husks

gaikokujin
(Yam.)
a foreigner, non-Yamato person

genoeg
(Bat.)
spell word, "Enough" (to mark the end of a continuous spell)

gi
(Yam.)
outer jacket

gornestau
(Pryd.)
magical duel

graddio
(Pryd.)
school graduation ceremony

gwrthyrru
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Repel"

hakama
(Yam.)
split trousers

hamon
(Yam.)
visual effect created on the blade through hardening process

haoma
(Latin)
ritual potion of the Mithraists

haori
(Yam.)
a type of outer jacket

hatamoto
(Yam.)
the Taikun’s retainer, samurai in direct service to the Taikun

hikyaku
(Yam.)
a system of fast couriers

hime, —hime
(Yam.)
honorific, referring to women of high position

igo
(Yam.)
a board game for two players, using identical black and white tokens

ijslaag
(Bat.)
spell word, "Ice Layer"

ijsschild
(Bat.)
spell word, "Ice Shield"

inro
(Yam.)
a wooden container for holding small objects, hanging from a sash

inugami
(Yam.)
a dog spirit

jawch
(Pryd.)
a swearword

joi
(Yam.)
a political concept, "expulsion of foreigners"

jutte
(Yam.)
police truncheon

kabuki
(Yam.)
a form of classical dance theater

kagura
(Yam.)
a type of theatrical dance with religious themes

kakka
(Yam.)
honorific, referring to lords of the province or heads of the clans

kambe
(Yam.)
a shrine servant taken from an adjacent village

kami
(Yam.)
God or Spirit in Yamato mythology

kanpai
(Yam.)
Cheers!

kappa
(Yam.)
a water sprite, reptilian humanoid

katana
(Yam.)
the main Yamato sword, over 60cm in length

kawauso
(Yam.)
a water sprite, an otter-shaped humanoid

kaya
(Yam.)
a bright yellow wood used for making igo boards

kekkai
(Yam.)
a magical shield, similar to tarian

kiheitai
(Yam.)
irregular militia

kimono
(Yam.)
official layered robe of the noble class

kirin
(Yam.)
a chimerical creature of Qin, body of a deer and the head of a dragon with a large single horn

kodachi
(Yam.)
a short Yamato sword, less than 60cm in length

koenig
(Seax.)
the monarch of the Varyaga Khaganate

kosode
(Yam.)
basic, loose fitting robe for both men and women

kun, —kun
(Yam.)
honorific, referring to young persons of the same social status

kunoichi
(Yam.)
a female shinobi assassin

kuso
(Yam.)
a swearword

lloegr
(Pryd. arch.)
Dracaland east of the Dyke

llwch
(Pryd.)
spell word, "Dust"

long
(Qin)
Qin dragon

los
(Bat.)
spell word, "Release"

ma jiang
(Qin)
gambling board game

mam
(Pryd.)
mother

mamgu
(Pryd.)
grandmother

Matsubara
(Yam.)
the family of katana swordsmiths

metsuke
(Yam.)
inspector representative of the Taikun

mikado
(Yam.)
the divine Emperor of Yamato

mikan
(Yam.)
fruit of tangerine tree

mithraeum
(Latin)
temple of Mithras

mitorashita
(Yam.)
worshippers of Mithras

mochi
(Yam.)
a sweet made of rice gluten

mogelijkheid
(Bat.)
magical potential

monpe
(Yam.)
workman’s trousers

morfisch veld
(Bat.)
concept in theory of magic, morphic field

nanbando
(Yam.)
“in the Western style”

naginata
(Yam.)
a polearm formed of a katana blade set in a bamboo shaft

nodachi
(Yam.)
a large, two-handed sword, over 120cm in length

noren
(Yam.)
a curtain hanging over the shop entrance, with the logo of the establishment

oba
(Yoruba)
chieftain

obi
(Yam.)
a silk sash wrapped around the waist

obidame
(Yam.)
a buckle for tying the obi sash

oden
(Yam.)
a type of stew

obon
(Yam.)
Festival of the Dead, celebrated on the 15th day of 7th month

ofuda
(Yam.)
a paper imbued with a magic charm

omikuji
(Yam.)
fortunes written on a strip of paper

onmyōji
(Yam.)
a practitioner of traditional Yamato magic

onmyōdō
(Yam.)
traditional Yamato magic