The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) (55 page)

CHAPTER 36

I surrendered. It ate at me.

Above was an opening, and rain was pouring down from on high. I’d been moved, shackled with mystic bonds to some sort of sacrificial rock marked in bright colors. My friends, every last one, were gone.

Kryzak stood before me. Hooded. Shaded face gloating.

Testing my bonds, I said, “How do I know my friends are free?” The harder I tugged, the more they bit into me. “Argh!”

“You’re a strong one, Dragon. I can feel it,” he said. Purple energy raced around his hands and wrists. “Such raw power. Incredible.” He removed his hood. His face was big and scarred, his bald head tattooed with many bright colors. Shoulders broad and thick. Not the typical cleric but a warrior. Seasoned. Formidable. “They are almost free,” he said. “For now.”

“What?!”

He tapped his war mace on his shoulder. It was crude and ugly with a twinkle to its dark metal. “You’ll see in a moment.” He came closer, eyeing me up and down.

Smoke steamed from my mouth. “What game are you playing, Kryzak?”

A twisted smile formed on his lips. He said, “Game? I thought you liked games, Dragon. Games where you show off your speed, skill, and underwhelming intellect.” He didn’t get any closer. “And that breath of yours, really something. A surprise I wasn’t expecting. But don’t use it on me. You might need it for later, Dragon.”

He’s a strange man.

He was cold. Familiar. He acted like I should know him. And he liked to play games, it seemed.

So I played along. “Hmmm … So, you have me. And I guess you went to all this trouble so I could play a game with you. What did you have in mind? Unhitch me—fiend—and we can play all the games you like. You look like you might be really good at painting eggs or something.”

“Heh. Heh. Also a fast tongue, haven’t you Dragon,” he said. “Generally fast. You’ll find out how fast you really are soon.”

He seemed to know me, and I wasn’t without my enemies. After all, I’d been roaming Nalzambor for more than 100 years. I’d crossed paths with many men once or twice. But the Clerics of Barnabus? I had no friends among them. I was getting antsy, though. Where were Brenwar, Shum, Bayzog, and Sasha? Had I surrendered for nothing? Should I have fought to the end?

“You seem bitter,” I said. “Perhaps it’s that ugly face of—
umph
!”

He slugged a mallet-like fist into my belly.

I grimaced and groaned.

“You always talked too much. Never shut up. And all the women seemed to love your meaningless words,” he said through clenched teeth.

“And don’t forget my hair,” I said. “They love the hair just as mu—
oomph
!

My eyes watered. I had that coming. Well, from evil, anyway. I knew the Clerics of Barnabus hated me. Hunted me. But what grudge did this man have with me?

Smoke steamed out of my nose.

Kryzak stepped aside.

Two gnolls walked over and set down two man-sized mirrors in iron frames in front of me.

I finally caught my breath. “I appreciate it, but I can’t reach my comb at the moment,” I said. “And why two? I don’t need to remind myself I look twice as good as any of you.”

Kryzak stood off to the side with his thick forearms crossed over his chest. “Just keep watching,” he said. He made a cup with his hands that quickly filled with rainwater. “During the long rainfalls, the deepest tunnels quickly fill with water. If one’s not careful, one might drown. Lots of bones down there to be found when it dries out.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Colors shimmered in the mirrors, and images formed.

Shum and Brenwar were in one mirror, Bayzog and Sasha in the other. Water was pouring around them. Rising over their waists. They were chained to something. Soaked. Eyes darting up and down. Sasha was yelling or screaming, but I couldn’t hear a thing.

“What are you doing?” I yelled. “You said you would free them!”

“And I will. Free them from life, that is,” he said. “But, Dragon, there is hope. You’re fast, remember? You can do things most men can’t do. Can’t you?”

I fought my restraints.

Kryzak laughed. “Save your energy. I’m going to allow you to save one a pair of them, assuming you can find them inside these caves. But who do you save? Who is closer? I am confident you’ll find one pair, but I’m not so sure about the other. Then again, they all might just die if you’re not careful.”

“I’ll make you pay for this!” I yelled. “I’ll kill you if anything happens to them!”

I was coming unglued, my temper unhitched. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to think. Concentrate. Settle down.

“No doubt you’ll try, hothead,” he said, moving away. “But you better save your efforts for what awaits. Plenty of obstacles will be in your path. It will be interesting to see how you handle them, Dragon.”

“Why? Why are you doing this? Why take my friends?”

“Good for evil, evil for good. That’s the way it is in this world.” He turned and started walking away. “Your bonds will fade soon. When they do, I’ll be long gone. See you around, Nath Dragon.” He stopped and turned. “Next time I see you, I’m sure you’ll have more wonderful stories to tell. It’s always fun to talk about the dead.”

Hunt for the Hero

The Chronicles of Dragon: Book 5

By Craig Halloran

CHAPTER 1

Heavy raindrops splattered off me, the ground, and the mirrors, distorting the images. I was alone. The water rose faster. Up to Brenwar’s chin and Shum’s belly.

I couldn’t hear Sasha’s screams, but I could feel them. Through my scales. Into my bones. The panic in her face surrounded by the cold surface of the iron mirror’s frame made my spine chill. I fought my bonds. The purple bands pinched into my wrists, but not as much as they had before. Either I was getting stronger or the magic was fading, just as Kryzak had said it would.

“Brenwar!” I yelled. The thought of him perishing had never occurred to me before. But he’d be the first to drown. He was the shortest. “I’ll have you, Kryzak!”

The rain overpowered my voice. I was alone in another room of the cavern where a pair of ember-filled urns burned dimly. Kryzak and his brood had long since departed. I still heard the chuckles of the goblins and gnolls in my ears. Helplessly, I watched my friends struggle for life, dying in some cruel game because of me. What were the Clerics of Barnabus trying to do to me? Why not just kill me and be done with it? Why did my friends have to suffer as well?

Scaly arms bulging, I tore at my bonds. The cuffs bit deep, like burning razors. I screamed. My mind was racing. What if Kryzak had lied? What if the bonds weren’t going to fade? Maybe it was just another part of his twisted game. Watching my friends die. Drown slowly. He must have lied. Why wouldn’t he? He was evil.

“I can’t let this happen!” I pulled. It felt like my wrists would snap off. “I won’t let this happen!” I braced my feet against the stone behind me. I had to break free and break free now! I needed to buy all the time I could.

“
Hurk!
”

The bonds crackled. Bit. Burned. I put everything into it and roared.

Snap!

I pitched forward and crashed into the mirrors. They toppled and the glass shattered.

“No!”

On my knees I picked up one of the large pieces and thought I saw Sasha’s pretty eyes before the image faded. I was alone. Worried. Stomach turning. I dashed into the nearest tunnel with my heart thundering inside my chest. My dragon eyes could make out the faint outlines of the tunnels. The entire time I was shackled, I’d been thinking about what I was going to do. I’d have to figure out how I would find them.

I rubbed my wrists. They were warm and wet. I’d bled. I was seeing red when I came to the first fork in the tunnels. I stopped.

Settle down, Nath. Think. What’s the plan?

I’d had a plan a minute ago. A sound one, but it was lost at the moment. What was it? Assuming what Kryzak had said was true, I could save one pair, not the other. And if I had my choice, who would I save? In my mind it would be Sasha. That’s what the others would do. It was an unspoken code among men: save the women and children. Then the men can save themselves. But Brenwar. The thought of not hearing his voice again haunted me already. I couldn’t imagine it. Couldn’t think it.

I tore a hunk of rock out of the wall.

“Guzan! What do I do?”

The only reply was my echoing voice. I didn’t have a choice, it seemed. Whoever I found first would live. Whoever I didn’t find would die. Unless I was fast enough.

Quit wasting time or they’ll all die.

CHAPTER 2

I dashed into the tunnel on the right. Right always seemed to be the better path. My natural inclination at crossroads time and again.

The tunnel twisted and turned and branched off again.

I stopped. Fury built inside me. I needed to clear my head and my mind. Use my wits and instincts. I closed my eyes and sniffed the air. I wasn’t a bloodhound, but my dragon nose was pretty good. I could smell gnoll and goblin sweat. Their stink. The dirt from their matted hair. I just needed to find some of them and wring the location of my friends from their greasy necks.

I trotted right again, following the stench. My eye caught water flowing downward in the sloped tunnel. A good sign.

If Brenwar were here, he’d know exactly where to go.

I followed the cave wall and stopped at the edge of an alcove naturally concealed off the path. Heavy breathing caught my ears. Several pairs of feet shifted on the ground and weapons and armor creaked a little.

“Be still, will you?” a gnoll whispered. His voice was gruff and throaty.

Another good sign. They expected me. My clawed fingers drifted to my waist. Fang was gone. What was I thinking? I had no armor or weapons aside from my scales and claws.

I might not see Fang or Akron ever again!

I didn’t have time to worry about that, though. I needed to act!

Gnolls and goblins saw well in the dark, but their vision wasn’t better than mine. So they waited to ambush me, but it was I who would ambush them.

I peered around the corner.

Clatch-zip!

I jerked back. A crossbow bolt zinged past my eye and clattered off the stone.

“He’s here! Kill him!” a gnoll ordered.

A mass of warm bodies swarmed me. I launched myself into them. Reckless. Wild. I’d had enough of evil.

Whap! Whap! Whap!

I hit a gnoll so hard its teeth shattered. Two goblins wheezed from broken ribs.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

They cried out. Cursed.

I poured it on. My speed and power were unmatched. Relentless. I punched and kicked until none of them moved anymore … except one. I clenched a goblin in the crook of my arm, suffocating.

“Where are they?” I said in its hairy ear.

It said nothing and opted to try and dig its thick nails into the scales of my arm. Stupid goblin.

I shook the goblin, rattling the bones on its necklace.

“I’ll ask one more time … WHERE ARE THEY?”

Its fingers no longer clutched at me. They tapped my arm a little. I released it.

It fell on all fours, coughing and sputtering.

I kicked it in the ribs.

“Oof!” it said.

“
Oof
better be a place,” I said, squatting down, “and my friends better be there when you take me there.”

It shook its ugly head. “No, don’t know. Don’t know. Don’t—
ulp
!”

I slung it into the wall.

A sad thing. I needed Brenwar to find Brenwar. He had no difficulty beating information out of these things. My higher standards prohibited me, but what was I supposed to do in this kind of an emergency? I had to convince this goblin. Now!

I tore a spear from a gnoll’s grasp and poked the tip into the goblin’s leg, drawing blood.

“Ack!” it said, pushing itself against the wall.

Goblins could inflict pain, but they couldn’t take it. They were weak like that.

I rested the spear tip on its nose. “I might not kill you, but I have no issues poking tiny holes in you,” I said, watching the yellows of its eyes darting back and forth.

“Come,” it said. “Come. I show. Just poke no more holes.”

I backed off. “Lead the way.”

Limping, the goblin traversed the tunnels with my spear at its back.

We were going deeper. I noticed something else. I was limping a little as well. My side and legs were wounded. Seems the goblins and gnolls had gotten a piece of me after all. The scary thing was I hadn’t felt it before. Burning. Throbbing.
Blast!

Ahead, the sound of rushing water became louder.

I jabbed the spear into its back.

It screeched.

“Move faster!”

Its short figure half scurried, half limped along. I could see the hoop earrings dangling from its ears. The bones and armor rattled when it moved. Noisy.

I didn’t have time to worry about another trap, however. I just had to hope this was the right direction. Hope that the goblin was more scared of me than of its master.

It slowed again.

I pressed the spear into its back, lifting it up to its tiptoes.

It whispered and pointed. “Up ahead. Up ahead.”

There was light wavering from a lantern or torch. Water was splashing.

“You go first,” I said.

The goblin looked back at me with its bottom lip drooping.

“But… ”

I glared at it.

Forward it limped with its hands up a little.

I stayed a few feet back, and I could feel the hairs rising on my neck.

The goblin glanced back over its shoulder, flashed a toothy grin, and bustled around the corner.

I started after and stopped. Something was wrong.

“No! No!” I heard the goblin say. It stepped back into my sight with its arms up and pleading.

A sword flashed.

Slice!

The goblin’s head fell from its shoulders.

The brawny body of a draykis blocked the exit of the tunnel. Its big, scaly hands were holding a dripping sword.

“Fang!”

The monster had my sword.

I flung the spear at its face.

It batted the spear away, bringing Fang down in a flash.

I jumped aside.

Swish!

“Fang!”

Death by Fang was never a thought that had occurred to me. In most cases, Fang wouldn’t even let another creature pick it up. The hilt would burn hot as fire. But maybe that was a dragon thing and the draykis’s scales confused it.

Of course, I didn’t know what Fang thought about anything.

I ducked. Twisted. Turned.

Swish. Clang. Swish.

“Nath!”

“Huh?” I said, looking around.

It was Bayzog. Far away. The water was over his neck and almost to Sasha’s lips. Water poured in from above, filling the pool. Sasha’s chin was covered in water. Her lips fought for gulps of air.

“Hurry!

I ducked under the next swing and dove into the pool of rising water. Something powerful jumped on top of me and dragged me into the depths.