Free The Wealth of Kings by Sam Ferguson Page B

clues, I figured out how to open the mirror to reveal a secret passageway. I followed it through until I found the entrance they used to steal their way inside the mountain. I also found instructions tucked away in an old ledger for how to use the doors.”
    Threnton produced a small, pink gem. “This is our key. The first door will open to any prince or king of the mountain, and the gem will get us in the rest of the way.”
    “But, again, won’t your brother have guards there if that is how he snuck in?”
    Threnton shook his head. “My spies tell me that he has not used the passageway, or sent anyone out to guard the entrance. From all accounts, it seems that he has not revealed the secret door to anyone.”
    “So you and I will assault from the secret back door and the Blacktongues will attack from the balcony?”
    Threnton nodded. “I will take the crown without raising the alarm, and then you will earn your pay, Lord Delmecian.”
    Lord Delmecian nodded. “Once I see your brother, I can use my magic to make you appear in his image.”
    Threnton grinned wickedly, basking in the beautiful simplicity of his plan.
    “Can you do such magic?” the Blacktongue asked.
    Delmecian winked and then a mist rose around him. Several seconds later, the mist fell away and the Blacktongue jumped back and instinctively reached for his sword. Where Delmecian had been, a mirror image of this Blacktongue assassin now stood. The large, shaved head was identical to that of the real assassin. The tattoos on his cheeks and chin matched in the minutest detail.
    The Blacktongue stepped forward and grabbed Delmecian’s hand. He slid back the sleeve of the cloak and smiled when, instead of Delmecian’s fair white skin, the assassin saw dark tattoos weaving up the man’s arm. Not only that, but there were matching scars, and the very shape of the arm was the same.
    Delmecian snapped his fingers and returned to normal in the blink of an eye. “If you continue to hold my hand, I may have to insist you buy me dinner,” he said with a wink.
    The Blacktongue nodded and stepped back, releasing the nobleman’s arm.
    “How long before we can set out?” Threnton asked, grinning ear to ear.
     
    *****
     
    Hiasyntar’Kulai flew high above the desolate plains of Nahktun Valley. It was a place the dragon had hoped to avoid forever after the Great War of the Gods. The land was brown, cracked, and still held the scars of battle from that terrible war that resulted in the Old Gods sealing off the rainbow bridge to Volganor, the Heaven City. Not only was the land itself dark, but there was a permanent layer of filth and dust in the air that blocked out most of the sunlight.
    The golden dragon thought it might have been a place well suited for Gorensikdar, except for the fact that there were creatures here that even the black dragon would not want to provoke. The Father of the Ancients only came here because he knew of no other way to reach Tu’luh. If Tu’luh the Red had been dragged down to hell by Khefir, one of the gods of the underworld, then Hiasyntar’Kulai would have to travel to Gaia’s Tear, the only known conduit that physically connected Terramyr to the planes of hell called Hammenfein.
    Still, the mighty dragon was careful to stay high in the sky. Even he did not want to risk being attacked by the vile monsters that called this part of Terramyr home.
    As he approached the magnificent volcano known as Gaia’s Tear, he circled higher into the air and inspected the area around it. Lava flowed out from several places on the mountain, running down in red, hot rivers that meandered out into the gray-brown lands beyond. There were no trees here, but there were strange cacti that reached up to thirty feet tall and formed wicked tines that could pierce through a steel plate of armor.
    Other than those cacti, there were no signs of life.
    Hiasyntar’Kulai flew over the volcano and looked inside. Chills coursed through his spine as he saw the