The Dragon Eaters

by Duke Kittle

  Chapter 23

  Kravek rushed to the western wall as the gates to the city were slammed shut. The governor was swiftly behind the black bull as Kravek carried Tina up to the walkway. The three of them looked out to see the Dragon Eaters at the center of a cluster of spiraling lights which looked like a vortex of fireflies. Tina adjusted her glasses as she surveyed the scene. “No…”

  Kravek looked at Tina on his shoulder. “What’s going on?”

  Tina shook her head. “Narash is committing everything to this. He’s summoning star metal from beyond the sky to empower the Dragon Eaters. With so much of his power invested in that spell, he will die once the effects of it wear off.”

  Kravek grunted. “Serves him right, but when is that?”

  “Too long.” Tina snapped her attention to Governor Keldo. “Get your guards and evacuate the city right now. Wake up Captain Morgan and tell her the Thorn’s Side needs to carry as many people as it can out of the city.”

  Keldo pointed to the Dragon Eaters at the edge of the forest. “They’re already upon us!”

  “Don’t argue! Just do it!” Tina looked up at Kravek. “Do what you can to help them.” She ran down Kravek’s arm and leapt onto the wall. Kravek snorted, but nodded as he and the governor rushed back down the stairs.

  Tina touched the tattoo on the side of her neck. Her voice was suddenly amplified a hundred times. “Belthazuul! Methystra!”

  The ground on the western side of the city rose with the rumbling of stone as Belthazuul’s towering form emerged. Methystra drifted down from the sky and floated just above the city wall as she looked down at Tina. “We see them, Tina.”

  “I can’t ask you two to remain here to protect the city, but if there’s anything you can do to slow them, I would be very grateful.”

  Methystra and Belthazuul exchanged a glance before Belthazuul spoke. “Wizard, even my patience has its limits. If you believe there is any chance Methystra and I can help to destroy these creatures once and for all, we shall do it.”

  “If anyone can do it, I believe it to be you, Tina.” Methystra rested her hands on the wall. “Let us show these beasts why you earned the name Kedish Kerasta.”

  Tina smiled in spite of the situation. “Thank you, Methystra.”

  The cloud dragon turned her head to smile wickedly at Belthazuul. “Let us turn earth and sky against these monsters!” Methystra rose from the wall and flew up into the sky, breathing out a dense mist. It gathered around her in a spiral as she rose.

  Belthazuul watched Methystra climb into the sky. Looking down at Tina, he raised his hand with the sound of grating stone. “May the stars guide you.”

  Tina grinned, thinking the true reply to the Council of Stars salutation hardly appropriate to be spoken to Belthazuul. “And the soil sustain you.”

  The reply curled the corners of Belthazuul’s stone mouth. Raising his head toward the sky, he let out a quaking roar before diving back against the ground. His body shattered into shards of stone which melted into the ground.

  Tina looked up at the sky and spotted Methystra. The cloud dragon was spiraling around madly as she cast off sparks and mist. The growing fog expanded rapidly and flashes of light filled the forming cloud. It was a truly rare sight to see the birth of a storm as rolling thunder announced the approaching gale. The clouds spread, and Tina saw the stars falling from the sky dissipate rapidly. The grey clouds blotted out the light of the moon, Cerra’s Grace.

  The sound of stone and soil erupting near the wall drew Tina’s attention to the ground. A row of iron spikes each the size of a jouster’s lance burst through the topsoil. With each passing moment, row after row of the iron spikes erupted from the soil as they extended toward the edge of the woods. The field of spikes would make the path to the city all but impassable as it grew on all sides.

  The sound of thunder rumbled as lightning rained from the sky and struck the spikes. Though Methystra and Belthazuul could not assert their power directly against the Dragon Eaters or around them, they had created an environment through which even the titanic beasts would have a perilous journey as the magnetized iron spikes drew bolts of lightning.

  Tina turned as she heard footsteps running up the stairs leading to the walkway. “Luna! You should be helping Idori.”

  Luna, with her bow clasped in hand, drew an arrow from her back and nocked it against her bowstring. “The best way for me to help Idori now is to protect this city.”

  “Your arrows will not harm the Dragon Eaters.” Tina pointed to the trebuchets behind the wall. “Get some of the guards ready to heave rocks over the wall to slow the Dragon Eaters down, and have the rest evacuate the people from the city. If we’re to face the Dragon Eaters, it will be without the threat of the people in the city being killed.”

  Luna grunted but put her arrow back into its quiver. She barked orders out to the guards on the wall. Tina could tell Luna’s injuries were slowing her down, but the mink was determined to carry out her duty.

  Tina leapt down from the wall as guards rushed from it and into the town. Touching her golden armlet, a cluster of runes appeared on Tina’s legs, arms, shoulders, and around her torso. Once at the edge of the stairs, she leapt twenty feet to the roof of the nearest building and landed on her feet. Running across the rooftops to avoid being trampled, she headed for the Thorn’s Side.

  As she reached the eastern wall of the city, Tina could already see many inhabitants of the town being rushed out through the gates. Some were heading for the Thorn’s Side while others were moving to smaller, personal boats which would be able to hold five or six at the most. The fishing vessels would at least be enough to get them away from the city.

  Tina looked for Captain Morgan among the people being led out of the city, but she suspected the captain was already aboard and guiding them to quarters and cargo areas. With another gigantic leap, she landed on the bowsprit of the Thorn’s Side and ran down it. Sailors were hurrying about on the deck already and preparing the ship to launch from the pier.

  Tina’s suspicion was confirmed as she saw Captain Morgan shouting orders and directing evacuees below decks. She leapt to the mast and took hold of it with her short, sharp claws to put herself at head level with the captain. “Jessica!”

  Captain Jessica Morgan snapped her head up at hearing Tina’s voice and looked to the mast. “Tina, the Thorn’s Side can’t hold everyone in the city.”

  “I know, but take as many as you can and at least get them away from the shore. We can’t stop the Dragon Eaters from reaching Likonia, but Belthazuul and Methystra are delaying them. Listen, Jessica.” Tina removed the golden, rune-covered plate from her left ear. “If I don’t survive this, I want you to take this to Kerovnia and deliver it to the High Theorist. He needs to know what happened, and that will tell him of everything I've heard since I came here.”

  Tina tossed the rune-covered plate at Jessica, and it expanded in the air on its way to the Kylathian. The captain caught the plate and grasped it firmly. “I’ll be giving this back to you soon, Tina.”

  Tina half-smiled at Captain Morgan. “And I’ll be listening to those drawn-chords of yours again soon enough. Good luck, Captain.”

  Captain Morgan returned the half smile. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. Live to fight another day, Tina.” She cut one of her rare salutes and returned to giving orders.

  Tina leapt off the mast and landed at the base of the bowsprit. After running to the tip, she made another gigantic leap and landed on the wall of the city. There wasn’t much she would be able to do without her magic to stop the Dragon Eaters. But she would at least see to the safety of the people and delay the monsters as long as possible.

  As Tina leapt from rooftop to rooftop, she could see the Dragon Eaters moving into the field of spikes and lightning. The red monster parted his jaws, and gouts of flame poured from them onto the spikes. The intense heat melted entire areas of metal
and scorched the soil. The blasts of lightning around the Dragon Eaters were a continuous, cacophonous symphony, and though they battered the monsters, they were only slowing the creatures’ approach.

  Upon reaching the town hall, Tina saw the flaming boulders being hurled from the trebuchets fly out over the field. Few actually found their targets, but those that did shattered upon impact. Turning his attention away from the spikes, the red Dragon Eater caught one of the flying stones and hurled it back with immense strength. It crashed straight through the western wall of the city and, with deadly accuracy, smashed one of the trebuchets which turned it into a pile of burning lumber. The two accompanying Dragon Eaters caught stones of their own and hurled them into the city. One of them slammed into a building and collapsed half of it, setting fire to the rest.

  Tina saw one of the boulders flying back aimed straight at the town hall. She ran to one side of the building and leapt off just as the flaming boulder plowed through the second story and left a gaping hole. With a rough landing on a nearby building, Tina lost her footing and tumbled down the slanted roof. She managed to catch the edge of it to keep from falling to the ground below. After pulling herself up, she saw another boulder fly over the town hall and graze the front of the Stumble Drum before slamming into the building next to it. Even from the town hall, she could see the roof of the front porch had been damaged.

  Tina set her feet on the side of the building where she'd landed and leapt back to the damaged roof of the town hall. Most of the people were already past the middle of the city, but there were a few stragglers still running through the street.

  As another boulder flew toward the buildings, the runes faded from Tina’s body, and she called upon her gift. She swept her hand to one side as she kept her gaze on the boulder, and it bounced in mid air. The boulder spun wildly, and she thrust her other hand out with her fingers curled. The boulder stopped in mid-air, though it continued to spin.

  Tina swept one hand repeatedly under the other. The fiery ball of stone spun more and more wildly with each sweep of her hand. Turning her eyes to the Dragon Eaters, Tina focused on the male and sent the boulder flying back at him with much greater force than that of the trebuchets. The male had apparently not been expecting it as the fiery boulder slammed into his shoulder. He twisted to one side and pitched backward, crashing to the ground.

  Her magic may not have been able to affect the monsters themselves, but the boulders were good ammunition accelerated by her gift. As another volley swept into the air from the remaining trebuchets, Tina clasped her hands in front of her stomach and gathered her gift. With a shout and a thrust of her hands, she amplified the force of the boulders as they flew. Two found good purchase on the taller of the two females, both of them slamming into one leg and taking the beast to the ground. Another struck the yellow Dragon Eater’s head. Leilani pitched backward and collapsed onto a set of the iron spikes behind her which hadn’t been melted. She let out a cry of agony, and Tina felt a momentary pang of guilt for having caused the worst of the injuries to the one who had tried to protect her.

  When the yellow female rose from the spikes and glared at her with glowing red eyes, Tina reminded herself that even if Leilani had been protecting them, she was not in control of herself now. Tina’s attention focused on the red male as all three Dragon Eaters got back up on their feet.

  Tina prepared to accelerate the next volley, but the red male held his hands up in front of himself with his fingers curled. She hesitated as he blew waves of heat into his hands. The waves built in intensity as they formed into a sphere of pure force. She realized suddenly what he was doing. She touched the rune on the side of her neck and yelled. “Everyone get down!”

  Tina leapt down from the town hall rooftop to the ground as the red male raised the ball of force into the air. With an overhead sweep of his fist, he smashed the gigantic ball of force. A wave exploded outward and warped the field of iron spikes before it slammed into the wooden wall of the town. The wall shattered like ice smashed by a sledge hammer, and an entire row of buildings was ripped apart.

  The guards hit were scattered by the wave of force as their trebuchets became nothing more than splinters of wood. The town hall buckled, and it collapsed into the building next to it as Tina was sent flying by the dissipated spell. The sapphire in her armlet flashed as she hit the ground, absorbing the force of the impact. But that didn’t stop the world from spinning wildly as she bounced past several buildings.

  Tina tried to rise. Though she had come to a stop, the world was still spinning, and she ended up slamming face first into the ground. She hadn’t expected Narash to expend so much of his remaining magic in a single attack.

  Tina heard a voice which she recognized calling to her, but, dizzy as she was, she couldn’t make any sense of it. She saw a spinning image of Kravek bouncing in her field of vision even though he seemed to be standing still. His voice was reaching her, but nothing he said made any sense in her state of disorientation.

  Tina managed to shake off some of the dazed state. She realized Kravek was holding one side of the porch to the Stumble Drum on his shoulders. He was calling out to her, but even though the world had slowed in its spinning, everything was blurry, and Kravek’s words were running together in a dull rumble of sound.

  Luna slid to a stop next to Kravek as Tina stumbled toward them. The mink reached under the edge of the porch and dragged out an unconscious Beth. Kravek let out a snarl as he tried to push the porch roof up from his shoulders, but it was still clinging to the side of the Stumble Drum.

  Tina’s hearing finally cleared in time for her to hear Kravek yell out. “Aiden!” The black bull suddenly thrust his arm out to sweep Luna out of the way. With a loud crack, the porch roof tore away from the Stumble Drum, and Kravek managed to divert it from falling on top of Luna. But as it came down, he couldn’t move out from under it in time. He let out a roar as it collapsed on top of him.

  Tina screamed.