The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

is an exit near the lava core,” Yaala finally said. “It’s magic. Every once in a while the mouth of one of the little tunnels becomes a gateway to another part of the world. Within a few heartbeats you can be thousands of miles away. This end opens to myriad destinations, but all of the destinations lead only back to Hanassa. If the dragongate isn’t open, you step into the boiling lava.”
    Rollett nodded in understanding, his eyes wide as he mulled over the possibilities. “That’s how Nimbulan and Myri escaped last year. Yaassima must have used it to send her assassins and robbers anywhere in the world. Piedro can bring food and supplies in without going through the city. The dragongate must be why he has repeatedly blocked our attempts to construct exits from above. He doesn’t need them, so he won’t let us have them. But he won’t give us access to the dragongate either.”
    “After the big kardiaquake last year, the dragongate changed,” Powwell added. “It won’t open again until the next dark of the moon.”
    “Nooooooo!” Rollett howled. “Don’t tell me you came through the gate without the food. We won’t be able to continue without the food.”
    “There is food down here. But we didn’t bring anything other than the journey rations in our packs.” Yaala thought back to the heavy sledges the Rovers had tried to bring through. Food for a starving city. Her city, if she could reclaim it. Would Rollett help or hinder her quest?
    The city was probably more his than hers now. He’d lived and worked among the citizens for a year and a half. He’d helped them rebel against the new Kaaliph. They looked to him for leadership.
    All she could claim were a few malfunctioning machines. Did I risk my life and Powwell’s to reclaim Hanassa, or merely to be near my machines? she asked herself for the first time. She had to think about that for a while.
    Who was more important—more like family—Powwell or Old Bertha? The big generator was dead, unrevivable.
    Was there anything left of her city to reclaim?
    All she knew at the moment was that Rollett triggered emotions in her that made her question everything.
    Rollett’s eyes brightened a bit, and his face calmed. “What kind of food?”
    “The living cavern is full of flour and cereal grains, barrels of salted and pickled meat, dried fruit, root vegetables, and a little wine,” she replied.
    Powwell searched the ceiling with haunted eyes as the ground rumbled beneath them. He clutched the nearest wall, eyes closed and breathing deeply.
    Stargods! What condition was the city in if kardiaquakes rocked it so frequently and Piedro withheld basic food supplies?
    The kardia stopped shifting.
    “So that’s where Piedro has been hiding his regular stores. All of it is stale and a lot of it is infested with maggots.” Rollett closed his eyes. His shoulders drooped. “It’s better than nothing, but never enough. Piedro doles it out at starvation rations.” He seemed to barely notice the kardiaquake.
    “There’s water down here, too,” Yaala reminded him. She knew how limited the city wells could be if the surrounding mountains had been dry during the winter. The sweet water of Coronnan seemed too bland after drinking nothing but the heavy mineral and sulfur-laden water of Hanassa all of her life.
    “Open this gate. I need to see what’s here, what we need most up above.” Rollett licked his lips and stared longingly over Yaala’s shoulder toward the inner caverns.
    “I don’t know how to open that gate,” Powwell replied. “Yaassima controlled it with ’tricity. No ordinary key can open it.”
    “Nimbulan broke and reset it when he escaped with Myri and the others,” Yaala reminded him. “Piedro has been using it for more than a year.”
    “I could break it if I had enough strength to use my magic.” Rollett shook the gate again.
    The murmur of the stream grew louder. Not the stream after all. Voices coming from the upper corridor.
    “The guards are coming!” Rollett swung around, his back pressed hard against the gate. “I’m trapped. Piedro will execute me for sure this time. His consort hasn’t tasted blood in almost a week.”

Chapter 16
     
    Near midnight, Great Hall of Palace Reveta Tristile, Coronnan City
     
    B essel trudged into the Great Hall of King Quinnault’s palace. Chill bay water dripped from his trews, and his boots squished with every step. He’d thrown his formal robe back over his everyday trews