Dawn of the Aspects: Part II by Richard A. Knaak Read Free Book Online

others had. Other early victims had remained dead. Alexstrasza had no doubt said something to that effect to her sister, but Ysera’s own search and its lack of success bothered Malygos . . . and Kalec. Was it possible that the older dead were also rising? If so, then the threat to the living proto-dragons was far worse than they had imagined.
    Malygos shook his head, far too many thoughts assailing him. He was still a proto-dragon, no matter how clever he had always regarded himself to be. That he believed Alexstrasza would have been just as pressed by all these concerns did not make Malygos feel any better. Kalec, with so much going on in the present but now trapped in this vision of the past, could again easily sympathize—
    A low, barely audible hiss from the southern end of the canyon drew Malygos’s attention. It was so short that neither the proto-dragon nor Kalec was certain that he had heard it, and yet Kalec, at least, knew that both had.
    Keeping low, Malygos cautiously crawled south. His eyes darted to every shadow, observed every large shape, be it the remains of an animated corpse or what simply proved to be a rock. He listened carefully for a repeat of the hiss but heard only the wind coursing through the canyon, a sound both knew was not the same one heard earlier.
    Possible answers ran through the proto-dragon’s mind as he moved. A not-living that had managed to hide from the hunters? But these corpses did not hide. They only knew their relentless hunger and thus ever searched for prey; they did not run away from it. Another potential source for the sound was an injured member among the attackers. This made more sense, but why had no one noticed the wounded fighter missing?
    Kalec watched with Malygos but saw nothing. He questioned the wisdom of the proto-dragon’s determination to find the noise, but there was no stopping Malygos.
    Shadows filled the area ahead. Malygos paused, then plunged into the darkness. His eyes began to adjust to the change in lighting—
    Something touched Malygos on the back.
    The proto-dragon’s head twisted around. Both he and Kalec caught sight of a smaller, flowing figure.
    Malygos hissed as his head suddenly pounded. For Kalec, though, it was as if all the thunder that had ever raged over Azeroth gathered for one fantastic storm. Had he paws of his own, Kalec would have clamped them against his ears. As it was, he could only roar as the pounding rose beyond bearing—
    And for once, Kalec was grateful when darkness finally claimed him.

FOUR
    SHIFTING REALITIES
    Once again, Kalec woke covered in sweat and gasping for air. He also again woke in his half-elven form. Those things did not surprise him as much as what he saw when his eyes finally focused enough to see his surroundings.
    It was, as far as he could ascertain, the same canyon in which he had just left young Malygos.
    Rubbing his eyes, Kalec looked again at the rocky landscape. There were many changes, yet somehow Kalec was certain that this was indeed the same location.
    And the fact that he was so certain also bothered him. Kalec had visited hundreds and hundreds of places during his lifetime, and while some, such as the Sunwell Plateau—where he had last seen Anveena—and the Nexus, were obviously memorable to him, there was no reason he should be so certain that this was the same place. True, Kalec had just visited it through Malygos a few moments ago—assuming it was only a few moments ago—but countless millennia had passed since the proto-dragon had actually been there, and in that time, nature and possibly other factors had remade the canyon over and over.
    Yet Kalec could have sworn on his own life that this was the same place.
    He spun, expecting to find the accursed artifact on the ground next to him. While it surprised him not to see it, he also had no doubt that it was responsible for this little incident, too.
    What devilishness are you up to now?