The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) (18 page)

CHAPTER 22

A dwarf, either overprotective or overeager to fight, had started all this. I didn’t have time to think about that, though. I ran. Fast. The sound of a roaring flame erupted in my ears. I dove behind the nearest tombstone. A bath of fire surrounded me, hotter than the hottest thing I’d ever known. I swear I could feel my blood beginning to boil beneath my skin.

Dragon breath didn’t last long. It didn’t need to, and I felt nothing but relief when it stopped. The air, once as hot as a stove, was now smoky and chilly. One extreme to the other. The green grass, once fertile, now was brown and smoking.

“Take that, steely beast!” Brenwar yelled.

The dragon’s roar was like a thunderstorm. Brenwar swung another mighty blow into the dragon, who stomped the earth, huffed fire through brandished teeth, and turned on Brenwar
.

SWHACK!

The steel-colored tail licked out, whipped across Brenwar’s chest like a striking snake, and sent him spinning head over heels, over both my head and the mountaintop's edge. Brenwar wouldn’t like that. It was the second time in two days he’d been flung through the air like a toy, but there wasn’t much to be done about it now. And I had myself to worry about.

Brenwar’s abrupt departure left me alone with the dragon. An angry one at that. I could fight or try to surrender, but my gut told me he wouldn’t want any part of my surrender. I remained with my back pressed against the tombstone and got Fang ready. If he came after me, I’d only get one shot. A kill shot, possibly. But I wouldn’t kill a dragon! I just had to stop him. But how could I do that before he killed me?

I could hear him crushing the stones beneath his heavy feet as he made his way toward me. His head, long neck, and horns emerged before me. I fought the urge to thrust Fang down on his nose. It would hurt, but it wouldn’t kill or subdue. I tried the only thing I could think to do.

“Peace and Home!” I yelled. “I am one of you!”

He eyed me the way a cat eyes a mouse before dinner.

I could only feel his anger. His curiosity from earlier was long gone. Only the hardened soldier from the Dragon Wars remained. His final mission was to protect this mountain. Protect the Thunderstone from invaders like me.

If I could presume such a thing, but I couldn’t think. I could only feel right now. Fear. It stiffened the joints between my bones. Real fear was not something I was accustomed to.
Move. Move. Move.
I was too late.

A geyser of flame spewed from his mouth.

I was coated from head to toe in blistering heat. Agony. Pain. Fear. I stabbed Fang through the flames and into the soft flesh in his mouth.

The flames stopped as he cried out, recoiling on his paws, eyeing me with great suspicion now.

I patted out the flames on my shoulder. What had happened? Why wasn’t I burned alive? I should be dead now. I could sense his surprise as well as mine.

He snorted. Shook his massive head. Tore a mausoleum from the ground with his great horn and stepped back. Perhaps he was willing to listen now.

I stroked my hair. It was still thick and warm in my fingers. How had I survived those flames? “Will you listen now, mighty one?” I was trying Dragonese once again. “I’m not here for harm. For good.”

You!

I could hear him in my mind. Ancient. Irritated. Potent. This dragon hadn’t even gotten warmed up yet. But I’d earned some respect.

The Thunderstone is my charge. My ward. My duty. My fate. My curse. Give it to me. Or die, little dragon.

Dialogue is a good thing. And I certainly had a better advantage than fighting. I liked these odds. I lowered my sword, and I chose my next words with care.

“You are a great one. As big as I’ve ever seen. As powerful as they come. How has this stone entrapped you? Perhaps I can help—”

GIVE IT TO ME… OR DIE!

My head ached. This dragon was holding back something. I could sense it. As intimidating as he was, he was desperate. I’d learned a few things about curses, too. I had a feeling the Thunderstone was protecting me, warding me from him. He needed it, though. I tried bargaining.

“The Thunderstone is mine. But I’d be willing to show it to you if you tell me your story, mighty one with scales as strong as iron.” Flattery always helps, no matter how big and bad a dragon might be.

SHOW ME FIRST… OR DIE!

I opened my mouth to speak—

OR DIE… AND REMEMBER, I’VE NOTHING TO LOSE. NOT LIFE. NOT TIME.

Now he was letting me know in a nice way that he was being patient. I saw no harm in it. If I wanted to get off this mountain alive and save the blue razor, I’d have to give a little. I removed the stone from my belt pouch and revealed its smoothness from the cloth. It emitted a warm glow from the blue marking on the stone.

AH… MY TORMENTER. MY JAILER! MY LIBERATOR! GIVE… IT… TO… ME!

Ah, now I understood the curse. The dragon could not take what was not freely given. A common curse, but a strong one. Bonding, in some cases, forever and ever.

“The story, mighty one. I’ll have that.”

A growl rumbled in his throat. He shook his neck and fluffed his wings, stirring the air.

So be it, little dragon. A wizard, vile and despicable, duped me into service. Powerful he was, the Thunderstone the greatest source of his power. So envious was he of other wizards, he refused to relent his power. Mortality. The shortcoming of man. They thirst for such power, only to acquire it quickly and see it fade just as fast. The wizard did not want to share his power when he passed. He bonded me. Cursed me. Tricked me. I’m to protect the stone upon his death. I have been for centuries, sometimes flying far from the mountain―only to be drawn back.

I pitied him. I pitied all dragons in danger or exile. And had I not sworn to save them? Save them one and all. Those who would let me, that is. Some didn’t want to be saved. They just wanted to be left alone.

“How can I help, mighty one?”

Give me the stone.

“Why do you need the stone? I thought you only needed to protect it. Why didn’t you just dig it out and take it yourself?” I couldn’t assume the dragon was telling me everything.

I can only take what is freely given. The wizard promised to return and give it to me long after his death. A lich, he said he’d be. I must possess the stone to be free. I can take it with me wherever I go and protect it. Give it to me. My patience thins
. He looked up into the sun. A sad look came to his hardened eyes. A longing for the sky and the freedom it offered.

“Perhaps we can break the curse.”

He slammed his clawed fist into the ground.
NOT POSSIBLE! GIVE ME THE STONE!

No. I needed the stone to free the blue razor. And in case you’re wondering why I didn't just tell him so, this steel dragon, he couldn't have cared less about the blue razor. I just knew. But perhaps I could free them both.

“I’ll make you a deal, mighty one!”

A DEAL? THERE WILL BE NO DEAL! DEATH YES! DEAL—NO!

“If I die, you remain cursed. Stuck on this mountain, staring at a stone that you cannot touch. I can help you.”

He shook his head and neck. Bared his fangs and teeth and snapped in my face.

I cannot burn you, but I can eat you.

Apparently, the curse prevented him from eating me so long as I had the stone. His mouth stopped inches from my head, and he got a sad look in his eyes. I held my arms out.

“Just hear me out, great one. Give me one day. I must take the stone to free a friend. Once I’ve done that, I’ll bring it back and give it to you. If I don’t return, well, you can come after me and kill me. I am a man of my word.”

HA! HA! HA!

Of all the fearful things the dragon possessed―his claws, his tail, his breath―it was his laughter that scared me most.

You take the stone to the wizard in the mountain, Corzan? You're a fool, little dragon. Did you think I did not know about all in the mountain? I know every creature and every tree. HA! HA! HA! Go then, fool. You will give it to me in a day. If not, I will destroy you, your friend the dragon, Corzan, and all of his rotten goblins. I know the secrets of the stone. You and he do not. Be wary, fool dragon. But you entertain me. I shall wait. Sit. Watch. Death comes quick to the fools who seek it.

CHAPTER 23

I caught up with Brenwar another hundred feet down the mountain, and he wasn’t in much of a talking mood. It didn’t help that I had to help him out of the tree he’d been stuck in, either, and he made me swear I’d never tell. His cheeks were flushed red behind his beard, so I didn’t bother to tell him that it was all his fault. He should have waited, and he was lucky he wasn’t dead. His impulsiveness could have killed us both. But I bit my tongue, forgave him inwardly, and moved on.

Down the mountain we went, and for some reason, the Thunderstone seemed heavy, as heavy as ten. I had a feeling it didn’t like being moved around, but I had to take care of my mission. My own thoughts were filled with worry. The steel dragon had mentioned that he knew the secrets of the stone and then hadn't offered any more information. He was desperate, though. I could feel it in his thoughts. If things didn’t work out, I was certain he’d wipe out everything on the mountain.

Corzan was another problem. Just as the steel dragon had been tricked by a wizard before, another magic user was trying to trick me. I had to stay focused. All I needed to do was get the blue razor free and hope the rest would take care of itself. Even though my goals sounded simple, they would be much harder to accomplish than they looked.

“We’re almost there,” I said. The sun was setting, the mountain becoming a black face in the night. I could hear the waterfalls in the distance. I jumped from one ledge to the other, reached out, and helped my friend over. “Any advice, Brenwar?”

It was always good to have a backup plan, but at this time I had none. I would have to convince Corzan to free the dragon before I gave him the stone. If he would not relent, well, I had no idea what I would do.

“Just free the dragon. Don’t worry about the stone,” Brenwar huffed, crawling down a ledge.

“What about the steel dragon? I gave my word I’d help him.”

“You gave him your word he could eat you, not me.”

“Brenwar,” I said, alarmed “he wouldn’t eat you anyway. Dwarves are too chewy and sour, they say.”

Brenwar shot me a look and said, “Lucky for me, not so lucky for you.”

Well, it seemed my dearest friend didn’t have a backup plan, either.

“Thanks,” I muttered.

Down we went, my back beginning to ache from the load of the stone and my leg still agitated from days before. I should have been healed up by now.

***

Goblin guards, yellow eyed with pointed ears and stiff jaws, greeted us with spears at the entrance of the Burrow Goblin home.

“Leave your weapons,” one said, lowering his spear toward Brenwar’s nose.

He ripped the spear from its hands and whacked it in the head. I clocked the other one in the face, busting his nose. I was tired. I wouldn’t be playing any more games today.

My feet were dragging by the time I got there. The stone as heavy as a small boulder now. The sight of Corzan the Necromancer irritated me. The devilish man sat with a smug look on his coarse face, hairy hands folded over his robed lap. Meanwhile, I felt like a mouse that had just stepped into a trap.

“Ah … the son of the Dragon King has returned. And an hour not too late. I’m impressed,” Corzan said. “Do you have it?”

I stretched my arms and shoulders. I was all too ready to get rid of it now. I should have given it to Brenwar.

“I have it,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. This was it. It was time for Corzan to play his final cards. “Let the dragon go, and it’s all yours.”

Corzan chuckled. The great hall full of goblins, over thirty of them, chuckled as well.

Leaning forward, Corzan said, “Show it to me first.”

His eyes were like dark moons when I removed the Thunderstone from my pack, and a collective gasp filled the air. The orb's arcane markings shone a brilliant blue in the dimness of the cave. Corzan rose from his chair, hands outstretched as he approached.

“Give it to me,” he hissed. “Now!”

This was it. The moment of truth. The moment we’d all been waiting for.

“Free the dragon first,” I replied, cradling the Thunderstone at my side. He wasn’t going to push me around.

Corzan flicked his fingers. A shower of sparks hit the dragon cage, drawing forth a painful hiss from the dragon.

“Give me the stone, Nath Dragon! Or my next spell will kill the dragon.”

My anger started to rise. Brenwar bristled at my side, war hammer in his white-knuckled grip. It was time to be rid of Corzan, the goblins―all of them. But the necromancer had the edge. He held the dragon’s life in the balance.

Holding the stone out in front of his eyes, I said, “It is my stone to give, and I give it to you freely, Corzan.”

“What!” Brenwar started.

Corzan licked his lips. A smile as broad as a river formed on his hardened face as he reached for it.

I tossed it into the dragon cage.

“You’ll just have to get it.”

The stone rolled into the cage, and the blue razor coiled over it.

Corzan’s hands burst into flames.

“You FOOL! You’ll die for this! Kill them! Kill them both!”