Free The Demon Soul by Richard A. Knaak Page A

He felt it press around his body as he advanced, almost enveloping him. The dragon had difficulty breathing, and his view became as if he saw the world from under water. Yet still Korialstrasz did not falter.
    And suddenly, without warning, he was through.
    Sounds instantly filled his ears. Bereft of any barrier, the leviathan fell forward. He would have landed headfirst, but huge paws caught him.
    “It is good that you are back,” a deep voice rumbled. “We feared for you, young one.”
    Tyranastrasz lifted him up, the reptilian countenance of Alexstrasza’s senior consort filled with concern. Behind him, other dragons moved about through the system of tunnels…and what surprised Korialstrasz most about the activity was the fact that there were dragons of other colors. He saw blue, green, bronze, and, of course, red. The dragons intermingled constantly, all seeming on some task and all obviously quite anxious.
    “Alexstrasza! Is she—”
    “She is well, Korialstrasz. She gave word that she would speak with you the moment that you returned…” The larger male glanced at the younger’s shoulder, seeking something. “…and Krasus, too, but I see that he is not with you.”
    “He would not leave the others.”
    “But your condition—”
    Flexing his wings, Korialstrasz replied, “He has devised a manner by which we are both nearly whole. It is not perfect, but it is the best we could do.”
    “Most interesting…”
    “Tyran…what happens here? Why are the other flights among our own?”
    The elder consort’s expression grew veiled. “She has commanded that she be the one to tell you all and I will not disobey her.”
    “Of course not.”
    With Tyranastrasz in the lead, the pair wended their way into the lair of the red flight. Korialstrasz could not help but eye the other dragons as they passed among them. The greens were mere flitting shadows, gone before one realized they were even there, and made more disconcerting by the fact that they ever kept their eyes closed, as if sleepwalking. The bronze figures of Nozdormu’s flight seemed not to move at all, but somehow were elsewhere whenever he blinked. As for the blues, they appeared here, there, everywhere in almost random fashion, darting about through the use of magic as much as physical movement. The more Korialstrasz saw of them, the more he welcomed the stable, solid presence of his own kind. When they moved, they moved. When they rushed to one destination, he could follow their every step, see their every breath.
    Of course, in all fairness, he suspected that the newcomers felt the same way about their respective flights.
    So many different dragons, and yet we all fit in here, he suddenly thought. Are we so few as all that, then? Had they tried to crowd the night elves or dwarves in this mountain, either lesser race would have filled it to overflowing, yet the dragons ever found room to maneuver.
    Thinking of the endless horde that was the Burning Legion, Korialstrasz wondered if even the dragons had the strength to stop them.
    But as he entered the next chamber, his fears melted away. She stood there as if waiting for him in particular. Her simple presence filled the male with calm, with peace. When she looked his way, Korialstrasz felt confidence. All would be well. The Queen of Life would see that it was so.
    “Korialstrasz…my beloved.” Only her eyes gave indication of how much force that simple sentence had. The lesser creatures might often see dragons only as savage beasts, but even the best of them could not possibly match the intensity of emotions Korialstrasz’s kind wielded.
    “My queen, my existence.” He bent his head low in homage.
    “It is good that you are back. We feared for you.”
    “As I feared in return. No one answered my summons, or explained the sudden silence.”
    “It was necessary,” the huge female responded. Despite the sleekness of her form, Alexstrasza outweighed her consorts by half again as much. Like all