Doom of the Dragon by Margaret Weis Page A

Wulfe.
    *   *   *
    While the fae were searching, Wulfe kept watch over Skylan during the day and slept near the body at night. If any of the Uglies came near, Wulfe bared his teeth and snarled at them, and the Uglies retreated.
    The Uglies were all afraid of Wulfe, including Aylaen, even though she was fond of him. The Uglies had witnessed Wulfe’s inner daemons escape his control and turn him into a beast who ripped out throats and tore off limbs. Their fear made Wulfe unhappy, but he understood. He scared himself sometimes.
    Aylaen was standing with Kahg this day, her back turned on the rest of them. She’d been standing beside the dragon all morning, not speaking, not moving, just staring out at nothing. She did not pay any attention to Wulfe or the other two Uglies. Wulfe kept a wary eye on all of them.
    The young one, Farinn, was sitting with his back against a bulkhead, singing to himself. He’d been doing that all morning and it was starting to grate on Wulfe’s nerves.
    â€œQuit that caterwauling!” he said to Farinn at last. “You keep singing the same notes over and over and they never go anywhere.”
    Farinn blinked in astonishment. “I’m sorry. It’s just … I’m trying to compose Skylan’s death song and I can’t seem to find the words.”
    â€œThat’s because he’s not dead, fool,” Wulfe shouted at him. “I keep telling you—”
    â€œStop it, Wulfe!” Aylaen cried angrily.
    Before he could react, she ran up behind him, dragged him to his feet, and slapped him across the face.
    â€œHe is dead!” Aylaen screamed, shaking him. “He is dead! He is dead!”
    Wulfe stared at her in shock and she suddenly sank to her knees and held him close.
    â€œI’m sorry, Wulfe!” she said. “The fault is not yours. It is mine. I have let our suffering go on far too long. Tonight, at sunset, we will give Skylan’s body to the Sea Goddess.”
    She kissed him on the cheek where she had hit him, then slowly rose to her feet and walked back to stand with the dragon. Resting her head against the dragon’s neck, she gazed out over the waves.
    Wulfe turned to growl at Farinn. “It’s all your fault! I hate you! I hate all of you! Do you know why we call you Uglies? It’s not your faces! It’s your hearts!”
    Wulfe ran to the stern to talk to the oceanids. “Have you found him yet?”
    The women shook their heads sadly, but promised to keep trying.
    Until they found Skylan, Wulfe couldn’t let Aylaen throw him into the sea, for then he really would be dead. He knew he couldn’t stop her and Acronis, and Farinn wouldn’t stop her. That left only one other.
    The Dragon Kahg.
    Wulfe had been trying to summon the courage to talk to the dragon ever since that night when he’d seen what he’d seen. He was certain the dragon had seen it, too, because Kahg saw everything. Wulfe needed to talk to the dragon in private, however, and that meant getting rid of the Uglies.
    The old Ugly had picked up his strange iron tools and was pointing them at the sky, while Farinn began making marks on a large piece of animal skin covered with dots and lines. Acronis had told Wulfe his iron tools could tell him where the ship was located on the animal skin.
    This made no sense to Wulfe, who once had pointed out to Skylan that the ship was on the water, not on the animal skin. Skylan had laughed and said that Wulfe was the smartest person aboard the ship.
    Remembering Skylan’s laughter made Wulfe feel the pain again. He scratched his head, trying to think of a way to get all the Uglies off the deck. A plan formed in his mind. The plan was drastic and might turn out to be a bad plan, but he didn’t have time to think of anything else. He glanced back at Acronis and Farinn, who were bent over the animal skin, and he looked at Aylaen, who was standing so still she