‘All right then. Why didn’t you kill me?’

‘Because your reaction in putting up your sword set you as different from other men I have encountered. It made you interesting, and very few humans are interesting.’

‘If you say so. So what are you doing here?’

‘Resting. Recovering. I am safe here.’

Hirad frowned. ‘Safe from what?’ The Dragon shifted. Moving its hind feet slightly further apart, it placed its head on the floor once more and stared deep into Hirad’s eyes, blinking slowly.

‘My world is at war. We are devastating our lands and there is no end in sight. When we need to recover our strength we use safe havens like this.’

‘And where exactly is this?’ Hirad’s gaze took in the high roof and the scale of the chamber.

‘At least you have the sense to know you are not in your own dimension.’

‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about with dimensions. I’m sorry. All I know is that Taranspike Castle does not have a room this size.’

The Dragon chuckled again. ‘So simple. If only you knew the effort it took for you to stand here.’ It lifted its head slightly and shook it from side to side, closing its eyes. It spoke again without opening them. ‘The moment you left Seran’s chambers, you entered a robing room. That room is not placed in any one dimension, neither is this chamber nor the prayer chamber you also must have seen. If you like, this is a corridor between dimensions, yours and mine. Its existence is reliant on the fabric of your dimension remaining intact.’ Now the head raced in again, the Dragon’s wings bracing slightly to compensate for the sudden movement. ‘My Brood serve as protectors for your world, keeping you from the attentions of enemy Broods and with-holding from you that which should never have been created.’

‘Why do you bother?’

‘Do not think it is for any liking of your insignificant peoples. Very few of you are worthy of our respect. It is simply that if we allowed you the means to destroy yourselves and you succeeded in so doing, we would lose our haven for ever. That is also why the door to your world is kept closed. Other Broods might otherwise choose to travel here to rule.’

Hirad thought on that for a moment. ‘So what you’re saying is that you hold the future for all of us.’

The Dragon raised the bone ridges that served as its eyebrows. ‘That is certainly one conclusion you could reach. Now - what is your name?’

‘Hirad Coldheart.’

‘And I am Sha-Kaan. You are strong, Hirad Coldheart. I was right to spare you and speak to you and I will know you again. But now I must have rest. Take your companions and go. The entrance will be sealed behind you. You will never find me again, though I may find you. As for Seran, I will have to find another to serve me. I have no time for a Dragonene who cannot secure my sanctuary.’

It took the barbarian several heartbeats to take in what he had just heard and he still didn’t believe it. ‘You’re letting me go?’

‘Why not?’

‘Run. Hirad. Run now.’

The Dragon’s head swept from the floor at speed, eyes ablaze, searching for the source of the new sound. But Denser remained invisible. Hirad hesitated.

‘Run!’ Denser shouted, the voice some way to Hirad’s left.

The barbarian looked up at Sha-Kaan and their eyes met for an instant. He saw raw fury. ‘Oh, no,’ he breathed. The Dragon broke eye-contact to look down at its right hind foot. Hirad turned and ran.

‘NO!’ Now Sha-Kaan’s voice was there for all to hear, and it echoed from the walls. ‘Give back what you have taken from me!’

‘Over here!’ shouted Denser, and as Hirad glanced right, the mage appeared briefly some thirty paces right along the wall from the double doors. The Dragon cocked its head and breathed in his direction, fire scorching a wall, rolling up to the ceiling and incinerating wood and tapestry, but Denser had already disappeared. An oppressive wave of heat washed over Hirad. He stumbled, crying out, gasping momentarily for breath, the roar of the flame and its detonation in the air shaking him to his core. The entire hall seemed to be ablaze; the sweat beaded on his face. Through the smoke and burning threads of tapestry he saw The Unknown appear at the door, holding it open for him. A shadow passed through it and then he heard the Dragon rise to its feet. The Unknown paled visibly.

‘Run, Hirad. Run!’ he screamed. The Dragon took a pace forward, and then another, Hirad feeling the ground shudder beneath its feet.

‘Bring back what you have stolen!’ it boomed. Hirad made the door.

‘Close it!’ shouted The Unknown. He and Sirendor leant their weights against it. ‘Go, go!’ They scrambled for the doors into the central chamber. Ilkar and Denser sprinted away with Sirendor in close pursuit. Sha-Kaan breathed again and the huge double doors exploded inwards, fragmenting, sending wood and metal against the walls to splinter, twist and smoulder. The shock sent Hirad sprawling and he crashed into the wall that backed the unlit fireplace, burning shards of wood covering the floor and his boots, the intense heat suffocating him. He lay confused for a second, seeing nothing but flame, then looked straight at Sha-Kaan as the Dragon drew more air into its lungs, its head thrust through the wreckage of the crested doors.

The barbarian closed his eyes, waiting for the end, but a hand reached round and grabbed his collar, hauling him to his feet and through the right-hand of the two doors into the central chamber. The Unknown dragged him under the overhang of the fire grate as twin lances of flame seared through the openings, one to either side of them, disintegrating wood and howling away towards the opposite wall, melting the metal of the Dragonene crest above the fire to the right.

‘Come on, Hirad. It’s time to leave,’ said the big warrior, and he pushed Hirad towards the exit passage after the rest of the retreating party.

‘Bring back the amulet!’ roared Sha-Kaan. ‘Hirad Coldheart, bring back the amulet!’ Hirad hesitated again, but The Unknown shoved him into the passage as another burst of flame lashed the large chamber, its pulse of heat stealing breath and singeing hair.

‘Quickly!’ shouted Sirendor from up ahead. ‘The exit is closing. We can’t hold it.’

The two men upped their pace, tearing down the passageway and into the robing room. Another roll of flame boiled into the prayer chamber, its tendrils lashing down the passage, licking at Hirad’s back, the heat crinkling leather. Down the short entry tunnel Hirad could see Ilkar, arms outstretched, sweating in the light of a lantern as whatever spell he had cast kept the door at bay. But as he ran, he could see it inching closed. Ilkar sighed and closed his eyes.

‘He’s losing it!’ yelled Denser. ‘He’s losing it. Run faster!’ The door was sliding closed, the mage’s bedroom disappearing with every step. Sha-Kaan’s howls were loud in their ears. The Unknown and Hirad made it through, bowling Ilkar on to the floor as they did so. The door closed with a dull thud and the Dragon’s voice was silenced.

Ilkar, Hirad and The Unknown picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. The barbarian nodded his thanks to the big man, who in turn nodded at the now closed entrance. There was nothing, no mark in the wall at all to suggest that there had ever been a door there.

‘We were in another dimension. I knew the proportions were all wrong in there.’

‘Not exactly another dimension,’ corrected Ilkar. ‘Between dimensions is more accurate, I think.’ He kneeled by the prone mage. ‘Well, well, well. Seran a Dragonene.’ He felt for a pulse. ‘Dead, I’m afraid.’

‘And he won’t be the only one.’ Hirad turned on Denser. ‘You should have run while you had the chance.’ He advanced, sword in hand, but Denser merely shrugged and continued to stroke the cat in his arms.

‘Hirad.’ The Unknown’s voice was quiet but commanding. The barbarian stopped, eyes still locked on Denser. ‘The fight is over. If you kill him now, it’s murder.’