Temple of the Dragonslayer
Read Temple of the Dragonslayer Online
Authors: Tim Waggoner
ATTLE THE
D
RAGON
Slean roared, more in anger than pain. The dragon spun around. She attempted to reach the arrow with her front claws. But as she twisted, she lost her momentum and dropped out of the air like a very large, very green rock. When she hit the ground, the earth shuddered from the impact. Nearra felt the vibrations even through the thick soles of her new boots.
Catriona cheered. “Well shot, Davyn!” she called back over her shoulder as she ran toward Slean. Sindri just laughed, as if he’d found himself in the middle of the greatest game he could ever imagine: Battle the Dragon. Hands tingling almost to the point of pain, Nearra feared for both of them. She knew Davyn’s arrow, while proving an effective distraction, had done no serious harm to Slean. And Slean hadn’t fallen all
that
far. In a moment the dragon would forget all about the irritating pain in her rump and return to seeking their destruction.
No
, Nearra thought.
My destruction
.
THE
N
EW
A
DVENTURES
S
PELLBINDER
Q
UARTET
Volume 1
T
EMPLE OF THE
D
RAGONSLAYER
T
IM
W
AGGONER
Volume 2
T
HE
D
YING
K
INGDOM
S
TEPHEN
D. S
ULLIVAN
Volume 3
T
HE
D
RAGON
W
ELL
D
AN
W
ILLIS
Volume 4
R
ETURN OF THE
S
ORCERESS
T
IM
W
AGGONER
TO MY GIRLS
:
C
INDY
, D
EVON, AND
L
EIGH
C
ONTENTS
11.
D
RAGON’S
P
REY
12.
H
IDDEN
M
AGIC
14.
A
TTACK
17.
R
ESCUE
18.
B
ETRAYED?
22.
U
NDERFELL
23.
G
ETAWAY
24.
A
LMOST
T
HERE
25.
T
HE
T
EMPLE
27.
N
IGHT
W
ALK
29.
D
RAGONSTRIKE
31.
O
NWARD
L
et’s rob her!”.
“Idiot! Look at her! She’s a peasant. Peasants don’t have any money!”
“Then let’s abduct her! She’s young and strong. She’d make a good slave—and good slaves make good money.”
The voices—harsh, gravely-gurgly, and not quite human—startled Nearra awake. She didn’t know who they were, but it was obvious they weren’t friendly. She struggled to open her eyes. As her vision focused, she saw three red-skinned creatures standing around her. Each one wore a grimace, baring sharp teeth that looked capable of tearing through flesh in mere seconds.
A word flashed into Nearra’s mind:
goblins
. The thought sent a cold shiver up and down her spine.
“Now look what you’ve done! You both talked so loudly that you woke her up!” The tall, thin goblin turned away from Nearra to glare at the other two. His red-skinned face had a cruel, almost wolfish aspect.
“What do you mean ‘we’?” said the short, pig-faced goblin. He gave the leader a shove. “You’re twice as loud as either of us, Drefan!”
The third goblin nodded in agreement, his huge bat-like ears wobbling.
“Don’t touch me, you fool!” Drefan drew his dagger from under his belt. He grabbed the pig-faced goblin’s black tunic and pressed the blade against his nose. “One more move like that, Fyren, and I’ll slice off your nose!”
As the goblins bickered, Nearra sat up and took a quick glance at her surroundings. Trees full of green leaves lined the smooth dirt path where she sat. She had no memory of how she had gotten here. Panic filled her chest. She rose to her feet. She wanted to run but she knew that if she made too much noise, the goblins would realize she was trying to escape. Better to walk for a few yards. Then slip into the woods and lose them among the trees.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Fyren shouted.
Nearra heard the sounds of boots pounding on the dirt path behind her. Too late! The goblins were coming after her! She started running and didn’t look back.
She angled to the right and plunged into the forest. Underbrush crashed beneath her feet. She leaped over bushes and fallen tree limbs. Thorns and branches tore her simple turquoise-colored dress and scratched her face, neck, and hands. But she kept running.
Though she had longer legs than the goblins, her dress slowed her down and she had nothing but her body to part the underbrush. Behind her, she could hear the goblins hacking at the vegetation with their daggers.