Shards (Dragon Reign Book 2)

by Kit Bladegrave

  “Because someone’s already seen us,” he growled. “And they’re coming this way.”

  5

  Kate

  “What?” I whipped my head around towards the direction Craig was looking. “That doesn’t sound promising.”

  The thundering of horse hooves pounded our direction, and Craig hauled me to my feet. He did the same for Forrest, but the second Forrest stood, punched him hard in the face, sending him flying backward.

  “What the bloody hell type of game are you playing at?” Craig growled and brought his fist back for another hit.

  I caught his arm and shoved them apart from each other. “Can we get out of sight before you two try to kill each other?”

  “He’s already betrayed us!”

  “It’s a patrol,” Forrest explained quickly, rubbing his jaw and glowering at Craig. “They probably felt a disturbance in the air and are coming to investigate as they should, since they’ve also probably received word that their prince has gone missing.”

  The horses were getting closer, and as the guys bickered like children, I searched for a place to hide.

  There was a rock outcropping not too far from the place we landed and with them still snapping at each other’s throats, I grabbed them both by an ear and tugged them out of sight. They winced and tried to pull away, but I only held on tighter, then tossed them to the ground behind the rocks.

  My newfound strength was coming in handy already.

  “Shut it, both of you,” I warned, when Forrest opened his mouth again.

  His eyes narrowed, but he fell silent.

  I peeked my head over the rocks, careful to use the bit of brush around us to hide, and watched as five horses came to a stop where’d we landed. They studied something on the ground, and I worried they would find a way to track us.

  One by one, they hopped off their horses and looked our direction. I ducked down quickly, cursing.

  “We have to move,” I whispered.

  Forrest studied our surroundings and nodded. “Follow me, stay close.”

  He took off, staying bent over, and I quickly followed with Craig right behind me. We wove our way through the trees, but I could hear the dragon soldiers behind us.

  My pulse pounded in my ears drowning everything else out as my dragon lifted her head, ready to strike. I felt the change start to come over me, and suddenly Forrest reached back, took a firm hold of my hand, and my dragon settled down.

  I let him keep hold of me as he led us on, down a short slope to a creek.

  We stomped through it and then veered sharply to the left up another rocky slope to where a dark grove of trees grew. We huddled close and waited, listening intently for any sign of them following.

  Forrest’s hand was warm on mine, and I felt his race pulsing as strongly as mine was.

  The soldiers grew closer, I shut my eyes, willing them to look the other way, to not find us, but the sound of water splashing made me open my eyes.

  “The trail ends here,” a rough voice yelled. “Spread out and send word back to Kadin! We may have intruders!”

  “We can’t just sit here,” Craig whispered. “They’ll find us.”

  Forrest let go of my hand, and my dragon mourned the loss of his strong touch before I scolded myself for thinking of anything, but escaping these dragons.

  He was brushing at something on the ground, and I frowned, wondering what he was up to, when I saw the edges of a wooden door.

  Carefully, he opened it a crack and motioned for us to jump down. Craig flat out refused to do it, but we were running out of time. Before he could stop me, I swung my legs over the dark pit and dropped down.

  It was a bit further than I anticipated and swallowed a surprised yelp when I hit the ground hard.

  Forrest dropped down after me and moved back to the opening to hold up Craig’s legs long enough so he could quietly close the trap door.

  Then he dropped him, and Craig flailed his arms, trying not to land on his head.

  “Are you done now?” I demanded, surprised I could see their outlines in the darkness. “How can I see?”

  “We’re able to see in the dark,” Forrest replied. “Partially, at least.”

  I heard fumbling, and saw Craig digging around in the knapsack. A bright beam of light came on a second later, and he waved the flashlight around us.

  The tunnel was made of stone and mud, filled with cobwebs and the spiders to go along with them. I shuddered and instinctively moved closer to them and away from the dangling webs.

  “Where are we?” Craig asked, shining the light one direction then another, where it was swallowed up by the darkness.

  “Old tunnels. They run underneath most of the clans’ territories.”

  “Why? I didn’t think dragons would like to be underground?” I asked.

  Forrest grunted in agreement, and I saw the beads of sweat on his forehead. “We don’t, at least most of us don’t.”

  I guessed growing up in the human world made me less prone to being uncomfortable when away from the open sky. I didn’t like it, but I could stand it if it would keep us out of sight. “How close will these take us to the Darrah lands?” I asked.

  “Within a few leagues, but that’s open territory. It’s going to be difficult to sneak around once we reach the end of the line,” he explained.

  “Dragons still patrol the area?” I frowned. “Why?”

  “Because stupid children like me and my friend will try to go to them. And to keep any others from stumbling into them unknowingly.”

  “Or to keep the truth hidden from your people,” Craig mumbled.

  Forrest growled, and though I couldn’t see the smoke coming out of his nose, I smelled it, sharp and acrid. "My father does not lie to our people.”

  “No? So, Maddock Darrah was not one of your people?”

  “Guys, just stop,” I growled, and moved between them.

  Craig immediately lowered the beam of light he’d been shining purposely right into Forrest’s eyes.

  I exhaled. “We’ll deal with that later, but right now we need to keep moving. I have a feeling we’re going to be walking quite a ways.”

  Forrest nodded in agreement, and rolled his tense shoulders. “Indeed. It’d be a shame to lose someone along the way.”

  “If you touch each other,” I interrupted, as Craig growled, “I’ll duct tape your hands and your mouths, and yes, I brought it with me. A girl never knows what she’s going to need, so watch it, both of you.”

  Forrest glowered at me, but bowed his head.

  Craig smirked as he said, “I like this slightly crazy Kate. Suits you very well.”

  I rolled my eyes, but grinned with him. “You’ve got the light, so get going.”

  He stepped around us and led the way down the tunnel.

  I wanted to run so we could get out of here faster, but the ground was extremely uneven with rocks, and where the dirt had come through the stones that held it back, keeping it from crushing us. I imagined it, the tunnels shaking and the old stones giving way, swallowing us up in the darkness. We’d be buried alive, and no one would ever find us.

  I gulped and shivered at the thought when a warm hand slipped into mine.

  “You have to control your dragon, especially down here,” Forrest whispered.

  “I’m trying, but all I keep seeing is us being buried.”

  “These stones have held for centuries. The tunnels are safe,” he promised, squeezing my hand.

  Though I felt my dragon shift and move, she settled down, watchful, but not as agitated as before.

  “How do you do that?” I whispered. “Get it to calm down?”

  “Years of training and practice.”

  “Great. I don’t have that,” I muttered, and longed for the time back with my dad, or at least all the lessons he taught me. No matter how hard I tried to remember, it was just a blur of faces and voices, nothing to show me exactly what I wanted. “I’m going to get us all killed.”

&nbs
p; “No, you won’t. I won’t let you do anything you’ll regret later.”

  His words came out in a growl as he spoke them, and I noticed him glaring at the back of Craig’s skull.

  I gave his hand a hard tug and arched my brow at him. “Stop.”

  “I can’t help it. Instinct.”

  Craig was far ahead of us, but I was pretty sure he could hear without a problem. Talking about him probably wouldn’t bother him with the way he was, but it bothered me.

  I was conflicted between Craig and Forrest, trusting them both and drawn to them both. It was horrible and incredible at the same time.

  I hated it.

  “What happened between the demons and dragons anyway?” I asked, hoping the conversation would distract me from the dangling spider webs catching in my hair, and another portion of stones that protruded from the wall, dirt falling around them.

  The stones shifted right beside me near the floor, and I flinched away, grabbing hold of Forrest.

  “Our feud is old,” he started talking, thankfully, and I focused on the growling sound of his voice that seemed so familiar and comforting. “And the dragons aren’t the only ones who have issues with the demons.”

  “Why? Are they that bad? Craig’s not.”

  “Craig is half-demon and though I will admit I have a hard time… really seeing it,” he said slowly, “he would make a good ruler of his people, if they would let him live.”

  “They hate him?”

  “He is half-demon, therefore weak in their eyes. Not worth living. Many of us knew of the only son the demon king had, a bastard half-demon,” he whispered. “We also heard of the pain inflicted upon him by his own family.”

  I blinked and saw the scars on Craig’s back before my eyes. I wondered how many other scars covered the rest of his body and understood his sharp humor and quick tongue were his defense mechanism against a world that wouldn’t accept him.

  I chewed on my lip. “Even if he finds a way to stop this plague from spreading, you don’t think they’ll change their minds?”

  “His people don’t know about the plague, or at least not all of them. According to what Craig’s said, Raghnall is hiding the truth, making excuses.”

  “Why would he do that if he knows it’s killing his people?”

  Forrest offered up a shrug. “Why indeed?”

  “But the fighting, did someone kill someone from the other side?”

  I waited a long few minutes for him to answer.

  His hand grew warmer in mine, and he finally nodded. “There were several assassinations carried out, killing many of the dragons on the council for all the races. We suspected demons, but nothing could be proved. One of them was my mother and my oldest sister, along with her husband.”

  I leaned into him for comfort, murmuring quietly, “I’m so sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago, but thank you.”

  “But you can’t blame Craig for what happened,” I added. “He spent his whole life fighting to survive, I doubt they sent him to kill your family.”

  He grunted. “I know they did not, but old hatreds run deep. There were more deaths amongst the other races long before my family, and yet nothing could be proven.” He kicked angrily at a rock near his feet. “Raghnall became the head of the council after the incidences, and the demons have held a majority ever since. They are the richest amongst us, claim lands for themselves when they believe no one is looking, and we received word not too long ago they are forging weapons.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I asked, shaking my head confused. “I have a feeling that’s how you guys protect yourselves here.”

  “Enough weapons for an army no race is supposed to have standing,” he amended.

  “Oh. You think he’s preparing for war?”

  “Yes,” a voice answered, but it wasn’t Forrest.

  Craig had stopped walking, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  His gaze slipped to Forrest holding my hand, and his eyes darkened, but he said nothing about it. “Raghnall has been preparing for the ultimate war for decades, which is probably why he’s lying about the plague.”

  I felt the need to apologize, but when he turned that gaze on me, it was smiling with amusement.

  God, he was so damned cocky, my holding hands with Forrest didn’t even bother him.

  I let go of Forrest’s hand, all the same.

  “Why’d we stop?” Forrest asked.

  “Split, up ahead, and the right side is caved in.”

  I swallowed hard as my fear grew again, my dragon unsettled and moving inside. “I thought you said these tunnels would hold?” I whispered, trying not to panic.

  “They should,” Forrest said as he walked ahead, taking the light from Craig.

  “You two have a nice chat?” Craig asked, leaning in close to whisper in my ear.

  “I think we did. Does that bother you?”

  He winked and gave a deep rumble of laughter. “Whatever suits you best, love, is alright by me, but we both know he’s too stuck up for you.”

  I wanted to argue, but a voice in my head said he was right. Deep down, I sensed part of my close connection to Forrest was merely because we were both dragons and I’d been away from my kind far too long. Head in shambles with too many thoughts and feelings to keep track of, I kept my mouth shut.

  “Something closed in the tunnel,” Forrest said as Craig and I approached.

  “Something? Not someone?” I stared at the collapsed tunnel to the right. “How can you tell?”

  “I can smell it.”

  I sniffed the air and coughed harshly. “What is that?” I gasped, rubbing my nose, trying to get the horrible musty stench out of it.

  “Something I hoped we would avoid. If we go this way, we’ll wind up above ground sooner, and it’ll take a bit longer to get there, but we don’t have a choice.”

  “How many patrols are usually out?” Craig asked.

  “Enough to give us trouble if we’re not careful.” Forrest’s lips thinned. “Let’s keep moving. Once we’re out of the tunnels, we’ll find a safe place to rest up and trudge on.”

  He led the way this time, and I followed, Craig, bringing up the rear.

  The air around us changed drastically. Both of them were tense, and when I glanced back, Craig had his hand on one of his daggers at his hip. I knew he had a few more tucked out of sight, but did not like he suddenly felt the need to have it at the ready.

  “What exactly are we worried about running into?” I whispered. “Guys?”

  Forrest sighed and stopped. “Fractorns.”

  “Bless you,” I mumbled, and Craig sniggered.

  “You find this amusing?” Forrest snapped at Craig.

  “The name, yes, but what it actually is? No. I’ve seen the pictures.”

  “Can someone tell me what the hell a fractorn is?”

  Forrest aimed the beam of light down to the floor, and it took a second, but slowly the prints came into view. They appeared to be that of a bear paw, but the claws were so long, they dug into the dirt a few inches, and the paw was twice the size of a bear’s. Another claw imprint came out the back of the paw, and when Forrest lifted the beam of light overhead, I saw that every few feet, there was a hole in the stones along with deep groove marks as if something sharp dragged across and penetrated the stone as it moved.

  I gulped, and reached for the dagger at my chest. “What does it like to eat?”

  “Anything that moves.” Forrest shone the light around the tunnel and everywhere I looked, I saw signs of a large, furry beast having passed this way. “They usually hibernate this time of year, and I’ve never heard of them being in the tunnels.”

  I flinched. “Awesome.”

  Craig gave me a gentle nudge onwards when Forrest started walking again.

  “Best to keep moving and get out of here,” Craig whispered.

  It was all the encouragement I needed to move quicker. We covered a good amount of ground, until Forrest said up ahead ther
e would be a large opening and beyond that, another tunnel that would lead us out to the fresh air.

  Suddenly, Forrest shut off the light and cursed, throwing out his hand to stop me.

  “What?” I hissed.

  He shook his head fiercely, putting a finger to his lips, pointed into the cavern.

  My gut dropped to the floor. Mentally, I was flinging every curse in the book. Outwardly, I was grabbing the dagger so hard, my knuckles turned white.

  There, filling the cavern, were a sleeping group of these fractorns.

  Across the open space, I could see the other tunnel, but there was no way we were getting passed without waking them up.

  We were trapped.

  6

  Forrest

  My gaze darted around the space, searching for a way through the sleeping masses without waking them up.

  I counted ten, but that was more than enough of them to rip us to shreds and impale us with the sharp, pointed horns atop their heads. They were known for charging their prey and gutting them with heavy swipes of those paws.

  I was not going to leave this world killed by a fractorn.

  The tunnel we needed was directly across from where we stood now, but a ledge ran along the sides of the room, created by jutting out stones and columns that had collapsed over the years.

  The rubble looked stable enough, and I nudged Craig with my elbow, motioning to the ledge.

  He lifted his hand and shook it back and forth saying he was unsure if it would hold.

  There wasn’t much choice, though. The patrol would find that trap door soon enough and realize we were in the tunnels. Our only choice was to keep pushing forward.

  I pointed to myself and then pressed my hand down telling Craig to hold back until I was a decent distance along the ledge to see if it would hold. He frowned, but nodded firmly.

  Kate gave us both a curious look, but Craig took her arm, and she stepped back with him into the shadows of the tunnel.

  Taking a deep breath and praying my grip wouldn’t fail me, I crept out onto the ledge.

  Kate made a noise of complaint, but it cut off immediately.