Now that Cirion had inspected the jail, he felt confident of a quick escape. These cult members knew little about imprisoning someone and it had seemed an afterthought to take their weapons. Well, most of their weapons. They knew even less about searching a man of his talents, apparently. More importantly, he had enough tools of his trade to do the deed with little trouble. He picked at the new lock on the rusting bars as Nola chipped away at the crumbling mortar holding them to the stone.
As he glanced over at her, looking fetching as always in her leather armor, the sound of fighting erupted out of sight but didn’t last long. Elves and a dwarf soon appeared with weapons drawn.
Noting the missing champions, Cirion wryly asked, “Lose someone?”
The leading elf replied flatly, “Yes, one elf.”
“You had better be worth it,” barked the dwarf, who continued by the cell, leading several elves further into the dungeon looking for other threats.
Watching him go, Cirion turned to the elf and observed, “You look familiar.”
“Morven,” came the reply as he unlocked the gate and pulled it open with a screech.
“Ah, Lorian’s friend. He is here then? With the Ellorians?”
“Yes. We had best return to them. I assume you are still interested in helping seal the Dragon Gate.”
Cirion cocked an eyebrow. “They would let me?”
“Provided you are well behaved. Come along. Your weapons are this way.” Morven turned to go as the dwarf returned without further struggle.
Cirion stopped him. “Wait. What of our wizard?”
The dwarf replied, “The dungeon is otherwise empty.”
“I’d like to look for him.”
Frowning, Morven replied, “No. Another wizard would be helpful and is the only reason we came for you, but we’ll not further risk giving away our presence.”
The walls shook from a tremendous roar that could only come from one thing.
Cirion smirked. “I think it’s too late for that.”
Chapter 15 – Destiny Seized
As the wall of flames rushed toward them, Ryan waited in horror. This would be far worse than that little burn he’d gotten at the wall of fire. He couldn’t bear to watch as it reached his friends and engulfed them, but when nothing got to him, he looked up in surprise, which only grew at the sight before him. Matt stood with one hand before him as if to stop traffic, the other holding the staff, its crystal shining brightly. The oncoming flames were striking an invisible barrier Matt had erected. Ryan could hardly believe it and almost yelled excited encouragement to the techie before realizing that doing so might distract him.
When the flames stopped, Ryan joined the others atop the stairs, catching his first sight of a dragon. The sight filled him with awe that would’ve had him gawking were it not for the terror of it having just tried to kill them for what was undoubtedly only the first time. Tendrils of smoke drifted up from her nostrils, two baleful, malicious golden eyes turned from the others to him, with what looked like recognition and renewed fury. Her torso was tall as a two-story house, golden scales flashing with reflected firelight. The giant wings lay folded, her tail uncoiling from a pillar behind her, four giant, clawed feet and fang-filled mouth formidable weapons. The floor rumbled with her every move and it was a wonder the whole place didn’t come down around them. Behind her, where thrones had likely once stood, he at last saw the Dragon Gate.
It nearly filled the hall at that end, standing on a waist high platform with three steps. A giant oval, it was wider than it was tall to accommodate the outstretched wings of dragons in flight as it pulled them in. It lay almost flat, tilted up toward the gaping hole in the roof, its lowest point at the steps. And it was on. Like a still lake in the black of night, it reflected torchlight and the tapestries above it, wisps of smoke curling along its misty surface. Waiting near it stood Raith, lips moving in what Ryan assumed was a spell with them as its target. How could they fight off both a dragon and a wizard?
He tore his eyes away to Matt, who still stood with arms outstretched, breathing hard. The knight wondered if the barrier would remain up and how long Matt could do that. The dragon had similar ideas, it seemed, for with one foot she casually flung a bench at them. All but the wizard took cover but it bounced harmlessly off the barrier. Matt flinched as if the blow weakened him. His arm sagged and his breathing deepened. They needed cover and the knight looked around.
The wide hall stretched to either side in a long rectangle, for they hadn’t entered from the nearby main doors at one end, though they were close. Along this wall and the one opposite stood other stairwells, a long row of balconies overhead. Tattered, faded tapestries hung in ruins everywhere while scattered torches and lanterns dimly lit the dark room. An enormous gaping hole in the ceiling revealed the starry sky overhead, with piles of rubble from the half-ruined roof lying shoved to one side.
Ryan ushered the others behind a nearby fountain with a low wall around it as Matt indicated his spell had ended. The dragon would come after all of them, but only he could withstand her fire if Matt felt too tired to do that again. Seeing the dragon moving toward them, he stepped out before he could think it through any further, lance in one hand and sword in the other. He had to at least lure it away from his friends, not only to keep them alive, but to distract it so they could reach the gate. He still didn’t want to kill it and doubted he even could.
“Ryan!” Anna called out.
Eric said, “No, he’s fireproof, remember?”
“So what?” she asked incredulously. “It’s not claw or tooth-proof!”
“We’re not going to let that happen,” Matt put in, still catching his breath, “but I agree on not following him out there.”
“You’ve got to reach the gate,” Eric reminded him.
Matt eyed the distance to the gate. “How am I supposed to get over there?”
“I don’t know,” Eric admitted. “Ryan’s probably trying to distract it. Stay ready for an opportunity and I’ll do everything I can to help.”
Ryan approached and the dragon reared up near the ceiling and slammed both front claws into the floor, the boom thundering deep into the castle, loose mortar cascading down around the room and a balcony tumbling to the floor with a crash.
“Dragon Slayer!” Perndara roared. “This is one dragon who will slay you instead!”
One giant foot swept toward him from the right and he swung the sword at it, though it was bigger than his whole body and he braced for the impact. Instead, red blood sprayed all over him as the sword cleanly severed all three toes and the dragon shrieked, the toes tumbling across the floor instead of Ryan. The dragon’s roar of pain shook the walls and she shifted weight to avoid standing on the maimed foot. Then she turned on Ryan and unleashed a torrent of flames. At the last second, he slammed shut the helmet visor. Fire blasted him, the force making him step back. The others stared, looking for a sign that Ryan still lived among the flames, but all they could see was his planted feet still upright.
Eric pulled his arm away from Anna, who clung to him, and rose. He took two steps and hurled a knife at one of the dragon’s enormous eyes. The blade twirled through the air and struck home, the fire stream abruptly ending in another shriek of pain. Perndara raised the injured foot to nudge out the blade but couldn’t, finally shaking her head furiously until it went flying. Something yellow oozed from the eye as she turned to see Eric throwing another. This she deflected with a turn of her head, but the blade still sliced into her golden scales. She spoke a few words and the eye healed itself, her foot no longer bleeding but not growing back. Ryan began to advance on her and the dragon retreated.
“Matt,” said Eric, “if she starts to cast a spell, you have to help distract her. Ryan won’t stand a chance if she does magic on him.”
“She’s moving too far away.”
The rogue looked at the archers now arriving on the balcony, most waiting for a good shot at them, some repositioning themselves to get o
ne. This hiding place wouldn’t last long. Before they could react well, he ran along the wall under the balcony on one side. The archers let their arrows fly at him as Anna yelled out a warning, but the archers were neither accurate nor well organized and he avoided the haphazard volley, diving behind a rubble pile nearer the gate, where the wizard there locked eyes with him. Raith began gesturing, his lips moving. Eric raised up and quickly threw a knife that ricocheted off Raith’s bony hands, disrupting the spell and causing a shout of pain. He didn’t get back down fast enough, for two arrows struck the wall overhead while another lodged into his left arm. He fell back with a groan and glared at the arrow there. Working himself up to pulling it out and using the Trinity Ring on himself, he saw Matt watching him.
Are you okay? the wizard’s fingers asked.
Yeah. Good enough.
As Perndara retreated from the knight, her long barbed tail struck the Dragon Gate’s shimmering surface and momentarily turned to smoke like anything about to pass through it would. She glanced back at it as Korrin called out to her.
“Back through the gate, dragon,” Ryan hollered, “or you will die here today!”
Her head whipped back around to him, furious eyes flashing. “Never! Never again!” Her giant jaws thrust at him, snapping, but he kept the lance between them. She retreated and Ryan lunged with the lance, stabbing her deeply in the neck. Perndara yanked backwards off of it and roared while blood spurted out.
The main doors behind Anna and Matt flew outward with a loud bang as two cult members arrived with a dozen mercenaries. Matt turned and a wall of crackling flames erupted from the floor between them, stretching to each wall. A tapestry caught fire on one end and quickly spread to the second floor, igniting another.
“How long can you do that?” Anna asked.
“I don’t know. I’m surprised I did it at all.”
Another commotion broke out to one side. “Focus on the fire,” Anna advised Matt, who didn’t follow her advice, looking over to see the next threat. The flame wall began to lower, then vanished altogether as men leapt over it with swords at the ready. Fortunately, the new commotion was the elves, Rognir, Nola, Cirion, and Cirion’s remaining henchman arriving to take on the mercenaries. Rognir and Morven stopped beside them.
“You all right, lass?” the dwarf asked, seeming relieved to see them.
“Yeah we’re okay.”
“Soliander,” Rognir started, giving Matt a pat, “assist Korrin while I show these elves how to fight.” He charged away with a clatter.
Morven had already let an arrow fly at the dragon’s head, but it bounced harmlessly off the golden scales as Perndara moved. A second arrow flew true but also ricocheted. The elf turned to the archers and began picking them off one by one.
As an arrow killed their lone henchman, Cirion and Nola ducked into a stairway to take in the scene. He spied Raith standing by the Dragon Gate, eyeing it hungrily, unmolested and apparently trusted by the dragon, but as Cirion watched, the wizard ascended the gate’s steps and cast a final look at the suddenly chaotic hall, making brief eye contact with the rogue. A flash of recognition preceded a condescending smirk before the wizard stepped onto the gleaming surface of the Dragon Gate. At once he turned to smoke, which retained his shape an instant before slowly dissipating across the portal, twisting around and down until it vanished. He was gone.
Nola cursed and fired her crossbow at the archers, picking off one before seeing movement from another balcony. She trained her bow on the lone figure but didn’t fire. Lorian had finally made it to the hall, his leg healed with a potion, his position on the balcony letting him assess the situation.
“Ryan,” he called, “it is Lorian. Do not take your eyes from the dragon. You have done well, but you must pierce her heart with the lance.”
“I don’t want to kill her,” Ryan replied.
“You have no choice. She will never let you near the gate alive.”
“I’m already closer to it,” the knight disagreed, advancing again, but then he stopped as a hail of arrows suddenly rained down on him. They bounced off harmlessly, but they distracted him enough that Perndara’s jaws snapped toward him and clamped down on the lance, yanking it from his grasp. She tossed it behind her where it clattered to the floor behind the Dragon Gate, with a triumphant glare returning to the knight.
“Shit!” Ryan cursed.
Eric saw this and began creeping along the wall. The archers didn’t react to his motion, but Perndara had sucked in a breath to roast him when a crackling bolt of lightning filled the room. A charred black wound, oozing dark blood, appeared in the dragon’s chest. Roaring in pain, the dragon changed her target and sent flames at the source of the lightning. Lorian saw the retaliation coming and ran back through the balcony door, diving to the floor and around a corner as scorching heat washed over him. The door and benches burst into flames as the former flew off its hinges and crashed against the wall nearby. He quickly patted his cloak to make sure he wasn’t on fire, too, then got to his feet to find another view point. This one stood blocked with flaming benches.
Ryan ran forward and swung hard at her good front leg before she could get her weight off it. The blade sliced into it easily, flinging blood out the other side as the sword passed through. She reared up on her hind legs to get away from the blade, spewing more fire over him instinctively, like a cat hissing at a threat.
“The charred spot on her chest,” Lorian yelled, “is where you must strike.”
Ryan couldn’t reach it without the lance, even if the dragon came down from her reared-up position, which she couldn’t do without landing on his sword. She swung first one front foot and then the other at him, narrowly missing, but then she swiftly turned and slammed him hard with a back foot, sending him tumbling across the hall. The sword fell with a clatter and he didn’t stop rolling until he was all the way back by the fountain, dazed and groaning. Anna ran to him as the dragon advanced. Eric crept toward the lance.
At the hall’s main doors, one elf went down in a heap, fatally wounded. Morven and the other elves had nearly finished killing the remaining mercenaries, but one leapt over the body, charging ahead to strike down the legendary Soliander, who recoiled and fumbled for words or items to block the raised sword about to end him. The blow somehow stopped just inches from Matt as if striking an invisible barrier. With a shriek, the man fell over dead, bearing a wound just like the one he would’ve inflicted. The wizard gaped in disbelief.
Anna knelt beside the fallen knight. “Ryan,” she started, hands on him, “where are you hurt?”
“Everywhere,” he moaned.
Anna tried to block out the approaching dragon and laid her hands on him, trying to call to Kiarin. The blood from Ryan’s illusionary death still darkened her robe.
Perndara saw the white-robed figure trying to heal the Dragon Slayer and swept her claws through the air. Anna never saw them coming, but Lorian did. He shouted words and thrust out his hand, sending shards of ice into the dragon’s neck. Perndara flinched, the motion changing her claw’s path so that it struck only a glancing blow that still nearly ripped Anna’s arm off, sending her tumbling into a heap where she lay unmoving.
Ryan saw the flash of golden scales remove Anna from above him, a shower of awful red blood splattering his visor. He bolted up despite the pain, screaming her name and seeing a pile of white robes stained with fresh blood. He rose, favoring one leg, and started for her when an enormous growl made him turn, for the limping dragon loomed overhead, triumphant, ferocious eyes ablaze. He stood defenseless.
Watching this, a visibly livid Matt gripped Soliander’s staff in both hands and closed his eyes. Moments later, a forked tongue of lightning burst from the crystal to strike each of the dragon’s eyes, boring into them. The enraged dragon flung her head side to side, trying to escape, but the twin beams followed her every move. When they stopped, only two scorched holes remained of Perndara’s orbs, and no amount of magical healing would ever bring t
hem back.
A deafening howl shook the walls, drowning out the sound of the lance sliding under Perndara and across the dusty floor. Eric had retrieved it and now sent it right up to Ryan, who stopped it with his foot. The knight lifted the lance, concentrating on the black scorch mark on the dragon’s chest. Perndara never even knew he had it back when the Dragon Slayer took two quick steps and slammed the lance’s tip into the bull’s eye Lorian had given him.
The blow went deep into the dragon’s chest. She reared up as if startled, a small puff of smoke curling up from her nostrils, jaws agape. She paused there as if to collapse would acknowledge Death had come for her, but finally she crashed to the floor with a great rumble that knocked loose stones from the broken ceiling. The body twitched and slowly the weight of her giant corpse settled. After a moment of silence, the great lungs expelled a final breath that washed over him.
Ryan let out a deep sigh, unsure how to feel, but the dragon didn’t matter now. His reluctance to do harm had gotten yet another person hurt, and worst of all, she was the one person who could save Daniel. The dragon wasn’t the only thing that had just died, for something in Ryan had, too, and yet it set him free like he hadn’t been since the day of the accident so long ago. The man who had recently stood in horror over the body of the slain assassin was gone, replaced by a man who could look at something he’d just purposely killed with little regret.
Ryan looked about the room, so preoccupied with the dragon that he only just now saw the bodies everywhere, most behind the fountain and some on the balconies. Many survivors bore blood. Everything about this mission was so important to everyone that they were willing to risk their lives either to keep the dragons away or assist in their return.
He went to Anna, seeing Rognir leaning over her, soft light fading from his hands as the priest finished healing her. “How is she?” the knight asked the dwarf, seeing her eyes opening.
The Dragon Gate (The Dragon Gate Series Book 1) Page 21
