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would you have me do?”
    Albino rumbled deep in his throat. “The sorceress must not reach the key. Should she somehow unlock the powers in that realm and deliver the key to Letrias—no, that must not happen. I desire you to again protect my daughter.”
    “If I may ask, Master.” Specter leaned on his scythe handle, grasping it in both hands. “What of Oganna?”
    “It is my will that she not become involved on this mission. She should stay in the Hemmed Land. I have chosen to entrust her father with this task. He will deal with the sorceress.”
    “But she could prove to be a valuable asset on a quest of this nature—”
    “No!” The dragon snapped its enormous mouth within inches of his face. “She must not be part of this mission. Only as a last recourse would I send her there, for she is too valuable. The future of mankind rests with her .”
    With a low bow, Specter stepped away from the dragon.
    The creature sighed and gazed upon him. “You have done well in protecting my offspring, even slaying the specter of Death himself. But you have served me longer than necessary. Come!”
    The dragon grasped the body of the giant in his claws and lumbered up the highway. It roared at the citadel, then shook its head and leaped into the air. Rapidly its wings drew it into the sky, then it angled around, fast descending toward him. Each time its membranous wings struck against the wind they clapped like thunder, sending reverberations for miles around. He clutched his cloak tight around his body as the dragon’s foot grasped him. As the creature pulled him into the sky, light gathered to it, the clouds parted, and in a flash it shot away.
    The journey to Emperia took only a short time. Specter’s shoulders ached by the time they shot over the dragon’s white palace. The dragon reached a mountain beyond the palace and struck his wings against his descent. Specter dropped onto the stony ledge and bent his knees to absorb the shock of that fall. Albino landed as lightly as a bird, the sunlight highlighting his membranous wings. Placing the king of Burloi in one wing, it wrapped the body in it and lowered its head. It stepped into the cave beyond the ledge, and its footfalls made the mountain tremble. The dragon’s scales glowed, lighting their path. Specter followed the dragon prophet deep into the mountain, across the bridge that spanned the underground river, and through the stone doorway beyond.
    At last they stood in the familiar chamber, and there by the pillar at the room’s center lay the dragon’s favored daughter. Dantress slept, apparently unaware that her father and former guardian had entered the room.
    Albino set the giant’s linen-wrapped body on the floor and smiled upon Dantress. The cool chamber’s silent darkness drew Specter’s gaze to the many bodies entombed here. He had once rested here, like them. Except for one big difference. “I did not die that day, my master. Did I?”
    With a swift turn, the dragon stared down at him. Its pink eyes roved the capsules, perhaps recalling the identity of each occupant.
    A dark figure descended from the ceiling. Black webbing trailed from its arms.
    Taking a backward jump, Specter brandished his scythe’s blade. “What in Osira is going on in this place? What is that thing?”
    He stepped toward the creature, but the dragon’s hand struck his chest and held him back, gently but firmly.
    The black humanoid wrapped Burloi’s dead king in webs. It held the body up with one arm while gooey webbing was secreted from the other to entwine the carcass. When a thick net covered the body, the humanoid grabbed the hanging webs and spider-climbed into the shadows. As it disappeared, it raised the giant’s body behind it toward the bodies suspended along the walls.
    “Do not fear him,” the dragon rumbled. “As you serve me in secret, so does Draconis. And as you were still alive when I brought you here all those years ago, so too did Draconis preserve you