The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) (61 page)

CHAPTER 16

I was pulled deeper into the water, and the surface receded, way above my head. Below waited a darkness surrounded by wriggling things. Tentacles! They stretched out and grabbed me by the ankles and bound my hands. I jerked at my bonds, but I was helpless. It pulled me down toward a mouth big enough to eat a horse. The tentacles, like tongues and snakes, were pulling me inside. I wanted to scream! I wanted to breathe! That mouth full of teeth chomped at my feet.

All I could think of was how bad I’d been to my friends.

Those last few moments … I’d like to have them back again.

I stretched out my arms with all my strength. I could see the sun wavering in the water above me. I fought against my bonds, but nothing helped.

A splash of water erupted above me. Ben swam at me with a glowing dagger between his teeth. Dragon Claw. He cut the first tentacles and freed my arms. The creature jerked and made an eerie underwater whine. Ben sawed at another tentacle that was wrapped around my neck. The river monster reeled again. The tentacles released me. I swam for the surface and burst out of the water, gasping.

“Ah!” I gulped in mouthfuls of air. I wanted to kiss the riverbank. Wait.

“Ben?”

He’d disappeared.

I ducked back under the water.

The river monster had Ben wrapped up in its tentacles. He was snared by the wrists and being pulled down into the mouth.

I swam after him.

More tentacles burst out.

I saw Dragon Claw fall from Ben’s fingers and sink toward the maw. I snatched it with my fingertips and started cutting. There were too many of them. Dozens of the sticky things.
Enough of this! I’m a dragon!

I swam straight into the monster’s mouth and started stabbing. I looked up and saw Ben free and heading for the surface. Then the massive jaws closed upon me.

***

Ben treaded water in the river, yelling, “Dragon! Dragon!”

He coughed, fought for his breath, and ducked his head into the water. He didn’t see Dragon or the monster. Even the tentacles were gone. He swam deeper, eyes searching, but everything was blurry.

What happened to you, Dragon?

He dove deeper and found nothing. Chest burning, he swam back to the top and gasped for air.

“What is going on?” a voice said from the riverbank. It was Brenwar. Bayzog and Sasha were right beside the dwarf, and their faces were filled with worry.

Ben fought to tread water. His arms and legs were exhausted from fighting the current. His face dipped up and down in the water.

“It’s…” He gasped. “It’s Dragon. He’s
—gasp—
gone under. A monster got him!”

Brenwar and Bayzog waded into the water and reached out for him.

“Swim back here, will you?” Brenwar said, gesturing with his arms.

Bayzog slid out of his robes and swam toward him. The wizard hooked his arms beneath Ben’s chest and towed him back to the bank. Huffing for breath, they both sat waist deep in the bristling water.

“He went down over there,” Ben said, pointing. “It had tentacles like snakes and was stronger than iron. I cut them and freed Dragon, then they got me. Dragon saved me, and when I swam up, I looked down and he was gone.”

Bayzog patted Ben’s back with his slender arm, and Brenwar studied him with a cocked eyebrow. The black-bearded dwarf pointed at him.

“You say he’s in there?” Brenwar pointed in the water. “That way?”

Ben nodded.

Brenwar, in full armor, marched into the river, one step at a time, until his head disappeared.

“What’s he doing?” Ben said, looking at Bayzog.

The wizard shrugged.

“Come on, Ben, let’s get back out of this. The water might still be dangerous. And I need to think of a spell that I can cast.” His face was filled with anguish. “I hate to admit it, but I’m not very prepared for dealing with water. I’m surprised I could still swim.”

Ben, exhausted, remained in place.

“I’ve got to go after him,” he said. “I’ll just make one more dive.”

Bayzog held his arm tight. “I’ve thought of a spell that might help. But I need to be on shore to cast it. Come, we must hurry.”

Ben slowly backed toward the bank, frowning.

“Sasha!” Bayzog yelled. “Get my pack. I need my components. And fetch Brenwar’s chest. That might help as well.”

Ben stood ankle deep in the water, watching. Every second felt like a minute. It was torture. Bayzog and Sasha worked behind him, trying to get something ready that would help. He had a feeling that whatever it was they came up with would be too late.

“Is it ready?” he said, turning his head, but not taking his eyes from the water. “I need to get back in there!”

“A moment, Ben. A moment!” Bayzog said.

Life begins and ends in moments.
His father had told him so.
The important thing is to make the moments you have count.

Ben waded back into the water.

“Ben, hold on!” Sasha said. “Don’t be foolish.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ben said, waving his hand. “And if I don’t make it back—”

Splash!

Nath’s head burst out of the water.

“Dragon!”

A clawed hand waved at him.

Ben swam for him. He grabbed Dragon and guided him onto the bank.

Dragon was covered in river muck and severed tentacles, gasping for air. Dragon Claw glowed in his hand. He had cuts and scrapes all over him.

“You made it!” Ben said.

Dragon nodded.

“What about Brenwar?” Ben asked.

CHAPTER 17

Dragon looked at Ben, then back into the water. There was no sign of Brenwar.

“He’s coming, I think.” Dragon started to wade back in. “He was right behind me.”

At last Brenwar’s head popped out of the water, and foot by foot he walked up the bank. He looked at Dragon and kept going.

“Did he save you?” Ben said.

“I was fine,” Dragon said, coughing. He slung some purple tentacles off his shoulders. “He showed up right after I didn’t need him.”

“What happened? What was that thing?” Ben said.

“I’ve no idea what it was,” Dragon said, “but it was nasty. It swallowed me whole. I couldn’t see a thing.” He dangled Dragon Claw in front of his face. “I jammed Dragon Claw into anything it could bite and finally the mouth opened up again. I swam out as fast as I could.”

“Is it dead?” Ben said.

Dragon’s golden eyes drifted over the water.

“I think so.”

Growl.

“Was that you, Dragon?”

Dragon stood up, slinging his hair from his eyes and rubbing his belly.

“It’s my stomach. I’m famished.” He marched toward Bayzog and Sasha. “Say wizards, do you have any of that water? I need something to hold me over. I’m so hungry I could eat goat horns.”

“Certainly,” Sasha said. “We have other things we can procure as well, but it will take some time.”

“It’s got to be better than hunting,” Dragon said, stretching out his great scaled arms and yawning. “I think I’ve done enough of that today. Tried to catch a fish and almost caught my death.” He climbed up the bank, took a seat on the grass, and motioned for Ben to come over.

Ben took a seat beside him.

Dragon patted him on the back.

“How did you know, Ben?”

“Know what?”

“That I needed help?” Dragon’s face was puzzled.

“Well, I don’t know,” he said. “I just knew. And Brenwar, well, he knew too, because he came over right at the same time I did.”

Dragon shook his head and huffed a little laugh.

“You know, Ben, you’re right. I need my friends. Without them, I would have died.”

Ben patted Dragon’s knee. “We need you too.”

“Well, you deserve better than me,” Nath said. “And I promise to do better. Honestly Ben, I just don’t want to put anyone in danger.” Nath’s voice was solemn and humble. “Shum died because of me. Almost everyone did. That’s not easy to live with. I just want those evildoers dead.” He jammed Dragon Claw into the ground.

“Me too,” Ben said, nodding. “Me too.”

They didn’t speak after that. Ben watched Bayzog and Sasha do their thing, and Dragon kept his eyes on the river. Ben glanced back at him from time to time, but Dragon didn’t seem to notice. He sat there like a statue. A large muscular man with black scales that stretched across his arms to his shoulders. His features were chiseled and his face was like polished stone. The wind whipping through his red hair was the only thing that seemed real about him.

Dragon sniffed the air. “Mmmm, something smells good.” He patted his stomach and headed toward Bayzog and Sasha.

Ben fell into step right behind him.

A sand bar lay along the riverbank, and Brenwar had stacked up some wood and begun a fire.

Bayzog and Sasha bowed when they arrived.

“I hope you like!” Sasha grabbed both of them by the arms and led them down the riverbank.

Ben’s jaw dropped open. Dragon’s eyes were golden plates.

“How did you …?” Ben started to say, but he had to swallow the water in his mouth. “And where did the …?”

Sasha giggled and Bayzog laughed.

A table and eight chairs sat in the sand, loaded with every dish he could imagine. A roasted hog stuffed with an apple, a turkey as big as a pig, steaming potatoes, vegetables, pies, and jugs of water and wine. Silverware sparkled in the setting sun with cloth napkins laid along the sides. It was a feast.

“I’ve, well, we’ve,” Bayzog said, “never cast this spell before, and we didn’t know what to expect. I assume it was meant for a larger gathering.”

“Is it real?” Ben asked.

Brenwar ripped off a leg of turkey and tore a hunk off with his teeth.

“Mmmm,” he grumbled, “It’s as real as my beard.”

***

Ben stuffed a handful of meat into his mouth, chewed it up, and washed it down with some sort of delicious wine. Sasha gently carved small bits of food on her plate, and Bayzog did the same. Brenwar bit into chunks of ham that were poised on his knife. He grunted, and his brows waggled up and down with a dwarven sort of praise. He did have one complaint.

“No ale?” he said, eyeing the bottom of a jug he had drained.

“Sorry,” Bayzog said, “but I didn’t know what to expect.”

Nath stuffed the feast in his mouth with his claws and a heaping spoon. He smiled a lot and talked little and ate as fast as Brenwar. He was putting food down like he’d never eaten it before. The pair kept eating long after the others finished and most of the food was gone.

Ben stood up at the end of the table and cleared his throat.

“Ahem.”

Sasha and Bayzog stopped, but Nath and Brenwar were still chewing.

“I just wanted to say something,” Ben said, picking up his goblet.

“What is it, Ben?” Sasha said, “Please speak.”

“Well, where I’m from, we always thank the preparers. To the both of you, Sasha and Bayzog, I want to express my thanks. This has been wonderful. And to all of you,” he raised his goblet, “I’m honored to be among you. I’m honored to be your friend. Thank you all.”

“Well said.” Nath halted in tipping his goblet to his lips. “Well said.”

“Agreed,” said Brenwar. “Now pass that cheese.”

“Brenwar!” Sasha said.

“Oh, sorry,” Brenwar said. He straightened himself up in his chair. “Please pass the cheese.”

“Hahahaha! That’s not what I meant,” Sasha said, holding her belly.

“What? I just want the cheese. What’s the humor in it?”

Everyone started laughing. Everyone but Dragon.

“Dragon,” Ben said, “Lighten up, will you? You’re as stone faced as Brenwar.”

Dragon didn’t move. He sat stiff as a board with his eyes closed.

“Nath,” Sasha said, worried. She rose from her seat and gasped.

Nath fell face first into his plate of food.

CHAPTER 18

“What’s wrong with him?” Ben said. “Is he breathing?”

Dragon lay stretched out on the table with Bayzog’s pointed ear on his chest.

“The heart beats,” Bayzog said, “but slowly.”

Brenwar punched Nath in the arm and said, “Wake up!”

“Easy,” Bayzog said.

“Easy nothing,” Brenwar said. He pinched Nath’s thigh. Nothing happened.

“Why don’t you tickle him or something?” Ben said.

Brenwar eyed him.

Ben shrugged.

Sasha dripped some water over Nath’s lips.

Nothing moved. Nothing twitched.

“I think he’s changing again,” she said. She held her fingers over his lips. “He breathes, same as the last time. Barely.”

“I agree,” Bayzog said. “Brenwar, what do you think? You were with him the first time this happened, were you not?”

“Aye,” Brenwar growled, “And I had to haul his carcass all over until he came to.”

“So did I,” said Ben. “And he was out months the last time. Do you think it will be months again?”

“What if it gets longer every time?” Sasha said.

Silence fell, and all eyes were on Nath. He was the reason they were gathered. He was the future, and now he lay still as a stone.

“What do we do, Bayzog?” Sasha said, brushing Nath’s hair away from his stony face. “Do we take him back to Quintuklen?”

“I say Morgdon,” Brenwar said. “Let the dwarves keep him safe.”

Bayzog clasped his fingers behind his back and began walking around the table. They had all pledged to look after Nath, but he was their leader, and he was down. So the question was, who did they follow now?

“They are both good suggestions, but Quintuklen is closer,” Bayzog said.

“And full of the Clerics of Barnabus,” Brenwar said. “I say we take him to the hills. He’ll be safe there. We don’t have the foulness of the races up there.”

“You don’t have the security of my home there either,” Bayzog said.

Brenwar bristled.

“Security! No one’s ever penetrated Morgdon. Not once. Not ever.” Brenwar rapped his fist on the table. “He’s my charge by the Dragon King himself, not yours, elf. I’ll decide what’s best for him.”

“This could go on for months again, maybe a year,” Bayzog said. “I don’t want to wait in Morgdon that long. Not when I can do research and seek other help. There are other things we need to prepare for, Brenwar. What happens when he wakes up? What if he changes even more? Will you be ready for that?”

“As much as you, elf!” Brenwar thumbed his bearded chest. “He comes with me.”

Bayzog made his way back to Brenwar and looked right down at him.

“I disagree.”

Brenwar poked him in the chest three times with his stubby fingers. “I—don’t—care.”

“Are you the only two that have a say in this?” Sasha said with her arms folded across her chest. “I think I can offer some direction.”

Ben pulled back his shoulders and said, “Me too.”

“Pah, this is ridiculous. I’ll not be taking orders from the likes of you three. No! Nath comes with me.”

“Who do you think you are?” Sasha said, approaching the dwarf.

“I’m under the charge of the Dragon King, lady. Who do you think you be?”

Bayzog stepped in front of her and held her back.

“All right, let’s not feud with each other. We all want what’s best,” he said. He walked back over to Nath and put his hand on his chest. “I have an idea.”

“I don’t care,” Brenwar said. He tapped his foot on the ground and combed his fingers through his beard.

“Just hear me out,” Bayzog said. “We’ll take a vote.”

“No,” Brenwar said, crossing his arms over his chest. “And with that we’ll be leaving.” He grabbed Nath by the ankle and dragged him off the table. Nath’s head bounced off the ground with a thud. Brenwar kept going.

“Brenwar!” Sasha said, “What in Nalzambor are you doing? He’s not hunted meat to be dragged. How disrespectful!” She grabbed Nath’s arms and pulled back.

Brenwar pulled both of them forward without looking back.

“Will you stop it, you bearded child!”

Bayzog spread his arms wide, exasperated. “All right, Brenwar! You win!” He practically yelled. And Bayzog never yelled. “We’ll head to Morgdon first.”

Brenwar stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

“You don’t need to come.”

“Well, we’re coming anyway,” Bayzog said. “Just show a little more respect for our friend.”

Brenwar dropped Nath’s booted leg.

“Pah ... His head’s harder than mine.”

***

After dawn broke the next day, Brenwar, Ben, Bayzog, and Sasha rode the horses south toward the Mountains of Morgdon. Nath Dragon lay on a stretcher Brenwar and Ben had hewn from the woodland and was towed behind Brenwar’s horse. Brenwar led and the others followed, all quiet and resolute.

“What about the table and all the food?” Ben had asked Bayzog.

“What you had, you have. All the rest will pass,” the part-elf said. “I’m sure some creature will finish it off for us. Don’t worry, Ben.”

“Well, I just hate to see it go to waste.”

“It won’t. I’m sure of it.”

Following the river south, the company disappeared from the view back toward the table. A small head popped up from the tall grasses before the trees and crept up to the table on the legs of a goat. Another one popped out from behind the trees and followed. The pair stomped around the table, sniffed the bouquet of food that was left, and took seats. They nodded at one another and stuffed food into their horned faces. One burped. The other guzzled. Then the satyrs began their conversation. Their voices were low and evil.

“We’ll have them now, aye, my dear,” the male said.

“Yes, all of them,” the female said, “and to think they even left a fine meal for us. It won’t be our last, but it just might be theirs.” She sucked down a pitcher of wine and wiped her lips with her forearm. “And that dwarf who busted my pipes and clocked me in the head … I can’t wait to get back at him. I think I’m going to shave every hair from him and stand him before a mirror before I cook him.”

The male laughed. His voice was loud, part goat and part man.

“And that elf,” he said. “What would you do to him?”

“Oh, I’ll shove the dwarf’s beard into the spellcaster’s mouth and then I’ll nibble on his fingers and toes.”

“And the man?” he asked.

“I’ll make him chop the wood and start the fires.” She pulled out her new set of pipes from under her vest. “And make him smile as he does it.”

“And the woman?” he said, stuffing some leftover cherry pie in his mouth.

She grabbed a goblet and lifted it to the sun.

“I’ll drink her tears and bring her greatest fears to life.”

He swung his hairy legs up on the table and drummed his hooves on the wood.

“You are so terrible,” he said. His teeth were covered in cherries. “We are only allowed to spy on them. We aren’t supposed to eat them. Kryzak won’t allow that.”

She pulled her long dark hair over her head and tied it in a knot. She was pleasant looking. All woman from the waist up, fluid in her motions and stout in frame. Leathers and skins covered her chest and formed a short kind of dress. Her smile was pretty but wicked.

“He just wants the dragon man,” she said. “He didn’t say anything about the others. And now it seems the dragon man sleeps, and he’ll be down for quite some time.”

“What are you thinking?” he said. “We must tell Kryzak this news. There will be a great reward in it.”

She pulled the apple from the pig’s mouth, hitched one arm over the chair, and said, “I think the sooner he knows, the better.” She bit into the apple, chewed it up, and spit the seeds out. “And the sooner he knows, the sooner we avenge ourselves. The only question is, who follows them and who tells Kryzak what we know?”

“I could use the run,” he said. “Hiding in the woods has started to make my legs stiff as stone.”

“Fare thee well,” she said, winking. “You run, and I’ll hunt.”

He hopped on the table, and his hooves became a blur, shaking everything off. He pounced through the air and dashed up the river faster than the fleetest deer. He paused, waved, sped along, and disappeared into the woods.

“He makes a fine ally of evil …
burp
,” she said, tossing the core away, “but never as fine as me.”