Nothing in the dragon's tone indicated irony, but sud shy;denly Ariakas was struck by the ludicrousness of his own braggadocio. "How are you called, great dragon?" he asked in a tone considerably more humble.

"In the age of the Dragon Wars, I was known as Tomb-fyre," replied the monster. "Though I suspect that was a very long time ago. In truth, it has been more than an age since I last opened my eyes."

Ariakas's heart quickened. Again he felt that tingling of destiny-a self-assurance that he would not perish, alone and forgotten, in this place.

"Why do you awaken now?" he asked.

The dragon shook his mighty head thoughtfully, the great mane swaying back and forth like a regal robe. "I don't… it was the queenl She called to me in my sleep, and I obeyed! She has not forgotten me!"

"The queen speaks to you-to both of us-through this!" Ariakas brandished his sword, and the dragon's sinuous neck raised the great wedge of his head. Clearly interested, Tombfyre regarded the human with new respect.

"Why did you come here, warrior?" inquired the red dragon, his voice a soft hiss.

Suddenly Ariakas knew the answer.

"I came because of this weapon-and the will of our mistress! Because of her prophecy: In the heart of the world, it will set fire to the sky!"

Again he raised the sword, and now he began to won shy;der if he had guessed its purpose, understood now the importance of the blue blade.

"I, too, was given a prophecy," the dragon observed quietly, his deep voice tinged with an incongruous note of awe. "When we were defeated by Huma and his infer shy;nal lances, the queen bade us leave Krynn, to languish in exile and banishment beyond the memories of men.

"But when we departed the world," Tombfyre contin shy;ued, "she made us several promises. Our exile would be long, she warned us-but it would not be forever. And as she sent me here, to this lonely prison, she gave a promise for my ears alone."

"What-what did she tell you?" demanded Ariakas, his nerves taut with excitement.

"She said that I had served her well.. . pleased her. When I awakened, she would have a special role for me. When it came time for her call, she would send me the highest of her agents-her champion. Together we would fly, and I would carry him in a blaze of fire through the heavens!"

"Why are you imprisoned, then-held in a cage?" asked the human.

'The champion of Takhisis would release me," claimed the serpent.

"Can't you bend the bars? Melt them with your breath?"

Tombfyre sighed. "I tried, before I slept. These bars are an alloy of copper and iron, too strong even for my muscles. When I breathed, the fire just flowed around the metal-it didn't weaken it."

Suddenly Ariakas remembered a tale from his temple lessons, and in a flash of insight he understood. It was the blue blade!

"I ask you for your pledge, Tombfyre Reddragon," Ariakas said solemnly. "When I release you, you will take me from this place and serve me, as we serve the queen who has given us life and power! Will you make this promise?"

"I am not a servile creature," Tombfyre said carefully. "Nor do I see how you might release me from this cage. I will grant you this, should you find a way to break these bars that bind me: I will carry you from this place and aid you in your battles against the enemies of Takhisis. As you command her hosts, I shall command her drag shy;ons-and together, we will conquer all who stand in our way!"

"It will not be my power that releases you-it shall be the queen herself," Ariakas countered. "And in that power you will see the destiny that brings us together. No, indeed-you are not a servile creature. You will serve only in the same way as I-in the acknowledgment that in Takhisis we prostrate ourselves before a might that makes puny any power on all this world."

"Agreed, Highlord Ariakas," replied Tombfyre. "I give you my pledge of alliance-if I am released from my cage."

Ariakas stood at the edge of his narrow platform, clos shy;est to the place where the metal girder met the cavern wall. Carefully, reverently, he raised the blue blade, utterly confident now of the Dark Queen's will-and of her power, as it would be made manifest by his sword.

"Hear me, O Queen," he murmured. "And show us thy will!"

A brilliant flash exploded in the vast chamber, fol shy;lowed by a sharp clap of sound. The explosion crackled, and Ariakas saw a bolt of energy-like a furious blast of lightning-hiss into the iron strut that spanned the yawn shy;ing space to the dragon's cage.

The roaring clap of noise created a sustained echo in the cavernous space, but that was nothing compared to the brilliant flare of searing, sputtering fire that took root in the long beam of iron. Where the lightning bolt had struck, the metal began to glow-red, then yellow, and finally a pure white that glared like a desert sun, forcing Ariakas to turn his eyes away.

The light sizzled along the length of the girder in a cas shy;cade of smoke and sparks as it streaked toward the caged dragon. Glowing embers trailed from the rippling explosion, and Ariakas smelled a pungent, burned odor in the air all around him.

In an instant the eruption of power reached the cage, and the entire structure of bars stood outlined in glaring, searing light. Within the grid, the huge dragon cringed against the floor, trying to duck away from the fuming, sparking magic surrounding him.

Then, with a burst of sound that swallowed the echoes of the lightning bolt, the metal frame exploded. Pieces of glowing iron showered the vast cavern, some of them landing on the ledge beside Ariakas, while many more tumbled into the smoking depths below. The sound of that destructive explosion boomed deafeningly back and forth, the caverns seeming to growl with the voice of the world. Then slowly the chaos died away.

Ariakas kept his eyes glued to the mighty serpent. Tombfyre tumbled free as the cage shattered. Once again the warrior saw those vast wings unfurl. This time, un-confined, they spread wide, the joints creaking stiffly, and when the serpent struck them downward they swirled a gust of wind that reached Ariakas like a cool shy;ing breeze.

The dragon dived, wheeling gracefully to the left and gliding through a full circle in the vast cavern. Then, as he approached the ledge where Ariakas awaited, the dragon craned his neck upward and, with a dip of his tail, swooped up to the narrow shelf of rock, to the very feet of the highlord.

The human held his breath. The dragon had been freed-but would the mighty creature keep his word? Tombfyre turned those huge eyes, now glowing a bril shy;liant sheen of yellow, toward Ariakas. The dragon bel shy;lowed, a triumphant, exultant sound of pleasure, power, and promise.

Tombfyre seized the ledge with his front claws, wings beating powerfully as his iron-hard talons cut into the crumbling stone. For a full second Ariakas stared into those huge eyes, seeing the long, slitted irises cutting ver shy;tically through the yellow pupils. Then, with just a trace of a mocking smile on the broad, tooth-studded snout, the red dragon dipped his head in a dignified bow.

Ariakas again felt overwhelming awe. He stood still, holding his great sword. Idly, he noticed that the blade was now green-a rich, verdant color like the foliage of a tropical grotto. It was, he reflected, a very beautiful color. Now the weapon seemed more like an icon than a tool, and he gently, reverently, resheathed it.

Again Tombfyre beat his powerful wings, and the human saw the great dragon's sinews tighten in his fore shy;arms and shoulders. Too heavy to hover, the creature struggled hard to maintain its position in the air.

Impetuously, Ariakas stepped onto the great, taloned forefoot. The serpentine neck rose to meet him, forming a handrail to his side as he walked along the taut, mus shy;cular foreleg, barely conscious of the infinite drop yawn shy;ing below. Grasping a handful of the dragon's wiry mane, the man slipped around the great shoulder, com shy;ing to rest in a natural depression between the roots of the creature's massive wings.