The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) (98 page)

CHAPTER 32

Dragon Claw in hand, Nath said to the dragon in his arms, “This would be easier if you could fly. Are you sure you won’t let go?”

The spiny-backed crawler’s eyes were wide and still.

Nath shook his head. Not so long ago, he had defeated a fully grown grey scaler and felt invincible. Now, he was humbled by a small dragon. It made him angry. Fueled his blood. He eyed the steps and snarled.

“I can do this.”

He shuffled back to the farthest edge of the floating rock.

“If you aren’t going to let go, then don’t start moving now.”

Summoning his anger, pulling the dragon closer, and holding the ready dagger in his hand, Nath dashed over the rock, one step, two steps, and leapt with all his strength. He sailed through the air on target.
I’m going to make it!
A gust of wind knocked him off course.
No!
He collided with the rock to the right of the stairs.

But Dragon Claw bit into the stone, and with one dragon arm, Nath hung on, dangling over the river.

“Great Guzan!”

The steps were several feet away.

“Would you let go of my arm!”

The spiny-backed crawler didn’t respond. Nath knew dragons were smart, but he was convinced this was the stupidest one he’d ever met.

“An orc has better sense,” he barked at it.

Its teeth bit deeper.

“Gads, that hurts! At least I know you’re listening.”

He looked down at the river. The only thing to do was start all over and hope he could somehow get this dragon off his arm.

“I hope you like water. You’re about to get a snoutful of it.” He shook his mane. “If only I had wings.”

He slackened his grip.

The dragon grrrr’d.

“What?”

The dragon’s long tail stretched out, wrapped around the top post of the stone banister, and pulled them toward it. Nath could feel it taking some weight off him.

“You’d better not let go now, crazy dragon.”

Nath jerked the blade from the rock and used his arm attached to the spiny-back to swing over to the stairs. He jabbed the blade into the rock, steadied himself, and crawled up from there.

“Thank Guzan!”

He gritted his teeth. The pain in his arm was killing him, but at least his arm was still there.

“I don’t guess you’re going to let go now, either.”

He swore it shook its head.

“Fine.”

Nath gathered the dragon in his good arm again and started up the stairs, but the dragon’s tail was still tethered to the post.

Nath wanted to scream but didn’t.

“You really do want me to kill you, don’t you?” He sat down on the steps and slid Dragon Claw through his belt. “This is ridiculous.”

It seemed the dragon was intent on doing its job and alerting its masters to his presence and that no method of coercion or compassion was going to change its mind. Nath logged through his memories. Dragons had weaknesses. He didn’t know them all, but he knew many. He poked at it. Tried to tickle it. Pried at its jaw with his claws with no avail. Stout as stone, the dragon didn’t move. It just breathed softly through its nostrils. In and out. In and out.

“Hm,” Nath said, grimacing. The dragon was wearing on him. The shard in his ribs throbbed, too. “Let me try this.” He covered the dragon’s small nose holes up with his fingers.

The dragon’s glittering eyes widened. Dragons could hold their breath a long time, but not forever. They were nose breathers, too. Exhaling through the mouth would bring forth a breath weapon of fire. Nath was mindful of that.

“This might take hours,” Nath sighed, eyeing the sky.

Dragons glided above, returning to their roosts in the towers, out of sight. Nath remained crouched in the stairwell.
Stay focused. For Bayzog, remember.

The spiny-backed crawler flinched. Its jaws popped open.

Nath jerked his arm away.

Yes!

The dragon filled its lungs with air, and a stream of hot flames shot out, blasting into the rock.

Nath leapt away from the scorching heat and bounded up the stairs. The dragon scrambled after him, claws scraping over the stones. He whirled to confront it.

It lunged.

Nath leapt over its head, snatched its tail, and dragged it down the steps.

“I’ve had enough of you!”

With a quick, powerful jerk, he slung the dragon by its tail over his head and into the open sky. One wing spread wide and flapped feverishly, but it didn’t slow. It spiraled downward and plunged into the water with a small splash.

Nath hated to do it. He’d hoped to make an ally of the dragon, but that plan had failed.

They can be stubborn things.

He checked his throbbing arm.

Deep teeth marks gashed his flesh. Blood seeped onto his scales. He could barely move his trembling fingers.

At least I still have my arm.

He lumbered up the steps and made his way into the city. It was desolate. Dark and dreary. The deteriorating buildings blocked the light of the setting sun and cast enormous shadows throughout the city. The winds howled through the streets like banshees. What was once magnificent was now cold and unwelcoming. A foreboding feeling overcame him. Nath stepped into an archway, concealing himself from the skies.

I’m here. Now what?

He pulled Fang out. The metal was cool and welcoming. He slipped Dragon Claw from his belt and held both weapons out before him. He could barely move the arm that held the gleaming dagger.

“I’ve a feeling I’m going to need both of you.”

He slid Dragon Claw back inside Fang’s hilt and removed a vial from his jerkin. The yellow liquid sparkled with energy. He had pulled off the cork and put the vial to his lips when he stopped himself, replaced the cork, and tucked the potion back inside his jerkin.

Closing his hand in and out a few times on his bad arm, he got up and started moving.

“I’ve handled worse.”

***

This enormous floating rock was more of a graveyard than a city. Skeletons of fallen warriors were scattered throughout, decorated in death, weapons, and armor. Doors creaked and groaned. Shutters banged into the buildings. The wind howled like ghouls, stirring the fine hairs on Nath’s neck. He stayed under the porches, awnings, and overhangs, walking on cat’s feet with every step. He knew that the dragons above, wherever they were, had eyes and ears just as sharp as his.

Nath stood inside the great stone archway of a cathedral. The great wooden door with brass fixtures was closed. He tugged on it, but it didn’t budge. He’d been in and out of dozens of buildings already. Most all of them were open. Doors busted down. Windows shattered. Walls burned to the ground. It looked like war had run roughshod through the city.

He combed the hair out of his eyes with his wounded arm. The pain wasn’t as bad, but his frustration was getting worse. Whoever mined the jaxite had to get here somehow, but he’d yet to find a single stairway down. Certainly there had to be a tunnel of some kind near, or something.

A dragon’s roar rang out above. It was followed by another and another. They were talking to one another. Bickering. Bragging. One had consumed more golden hornets than the other. Dragons liked to do that. Boast to one another. Nath was glad to hear it.
They aren’t on to me yet.
A good thing.

He pressed his ear to the door.
Maybe only the dead are inside.
He heard nothing. He’d never been in a city so quiet before. The normal sounds were gone: rat claws scratching over wood or stone, a cat mewing, birds roosting in rafters and spires. Nothing ordinary was there at all. He pulled his ear away.

This is maddening. There has to be some living thing here, mining.

He looked down the streets. They ran more than a mile from one side to the other. The buildings numbered in the hundreds, the streets in dozens. Nath had never had a problem finding a needle in a haystack, but now he couldn’t find anything.

I wish Brenwar were here. He could find a hole into the ground blindfolded.
He shook his head. He’d been mean to Brenwar. Difficult. Disrespectful. He never thought about it much, but recently he’d come to realize why. Brenwar was a constant reminder of his failure to please his father. The dwarf knew everything. His triumphs. His failures. And Brenwar himself was sort of a father figure to Nath as well. He’d not only failed his father but his friend too. He opened up his hand and rubbed the white scales in his palm with his fingers. They hadn’t gotten any bigger or smaller. No change at all.

Am I doing anything right?

Sheathing his weapons and then clenching his fists in frustration, he stormed down the steps and into the street, where he kneeled down and put his ear to the ground. Minutes passed, but the only thing he heard was his breathing.

Gads!

He wanted to scream. Even with all of his powers, he felt helpless. There was nothing to see. Nothing to fight. No one to talk to. Building by building, door by door, he searched one street at a time. Stopping. Looking. Listening. Sometimes he jogged. Sometimes he sprinted, dashing from one cover to another hidden from the eyes above. He didn’t sense that the dragons had any idea he was here, but he did feel something, an unsettling presence that tightened his shoulders.

Someone has to be here doing something. Keep searching, Dragon. Keep searching. Hmmm. Maybe I need a better look at things.

Earlier, he’d noticed bell towers that stood dozens of feet tall. Most cities had them in Nalzambor. They were a message system that could be heard from one side of the city to the other. The rhythmic ringing of the bells could bring cheer or spell doom. Nath headed for the nearest one he had seen, an enclosed stone tower about ten feet wide, with a single door that led inside. It was open.

At least I won’t be running into any pigeon hawks in there.

Inside he went and headed up the wooden steps that hugged the wall of the stone bell tower. Everything was pitch black above, but he could make out the outlines of the wall. The steps creaked a little under his weight. He stopped. Lifted his foot and tried another step. It was more solid. He continued his ascent, some steps groaning, others not.

Just keep moving. The dragons shouldn’t be able to hear you over all these high winds. Or through these stone walls.

Platform after platform, he headed toward the top. The only things he sensed were his wounded arm and the shard in his ribs.

Truly a sad thing when only pain will keep your company
.

He made it to the top, where a trap door greeted him. He took a moment to listen, then pushed the door open. The whistling winds greeted him with a cold blast of air. Nath eased himself through the portal onto the tower top, where a great brass bell hung. An armored skeleton lay in pieces on one side of the wooden floor. The skeleton’s helmeted skull was on the other side, and the spine was still attached. Nath’s jaw dropped.

Grizzly.

Unlike the rest of the fallen, this soldier showed no other wounds. It seemed his head and spine had been torn up from his body.

What would have done such a thing?

Keeping his head low, he spied the towers above. Tall buildings surrounded him, but no dragons were in sight.

Good.

From his knees, he peeked over the wall into the streets below. All the main streets ran parallel to each other. The alleys crisscrossed between them. It was ordinary. The structures were well crafted, some magnificent, but he didn’t notice anything unique. And just like everywhere else in this floating city, nothing was moving but him and the wind.

There has to be something. Guzan! Something.

He wanted to hit something. Instead, something icy hit him. He jerked around, teeth chattering. The ghostly form of a soldier stood there with a dagger.

Nath swung right through it.

Its body parted and re-merged. Nath felt nothing but cold water in his veins. His movements became slow and sluggish.

“
What are you?
” the ghost said.
“How did I miss your presence?”

“I think you were asleep at your post,” Nath said, grimacing. “You must be a lousy guard. That’s why you died the first time.”

The ghost stood wavering in the wind. A black look was on its face.

“I must tell the others,”
it said, reaching for the rope that sounded the bell.
“They need to be awakened.”
It wrapped its ghostly fingers around the rope and started to pull.

Nath ripped out Dragon Claw and slit its arm.

“My metal bites.” Nath got closer. “Now tell me, what others? And how do you get to the jaxite mines?”

This wasn’t the first time Nath had dealt with the undead. They could be hurt if you had the right weapon. They would talk, too, if you got them to listen.

Its hollow eyes fell on the dagger’s glimmering blade. It eyed it and Nath Dragon.