Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series)

by Nancy J. Cohen

“Don’t worry, I’ll manage.” He laid out the supplies.

  “Here, let me do that for you.” She plucked the Latex gloves from his hands and proceeded to treat and redress his wound.

  He thought it looked better. Indeed, the ointment seemed to accelerate healing, but his leg wouldn’t be one hundred percent for a while.

  When she’d finished, Jen packed away his medical stores. He’d never had a woman fuss over him before and appreciated her care. But now wasn’t the time to think about what she meant to him.

  Once the welcome numbness from the salve seeped into his skin, he prepared to explore further.

  First he took a reading on his PIP. “Two thermal figures are showing dead ahead on this route, one small and one huge.”

  “The dragon and someone else?”

  “Apparently so.”

  Paz leveraged to his feet and slung the backpack straps across his broad back. Wishing he had a laser weapon, he motioned for Jen to follow in his wake.

  “Wait.” Her eyes appeared luminous in the reflected light. Wisps of hair had come loose from her ponytail and floated about her face. Pale, anxious, and tired, she still looked amazing.

  She reached him and grasped his face, planting a kiss on his mouth. “For good luck. It’s an old Earth custom.”

  He smiled, tracing her cheekbone with his finger. “I like that one, leera. You can show me more later.” His voice sobered. “Do you have the vial?” They’d brought a container in which to capture the dragon’s blood to bring to the canine.

  Jen nodded. “It’s in my bag.”

  He took point, switchblade in hand.

  As they progressed through a series of passages that appeared to be natural formations from the mica imbedded in the rock and the occasional stalactite, a roaring noise came from ahead. It echoed against the underground chambers and made the ground vibrate underfoot.

  “Uh, oh. If that’s the creature, it sounds angry.” Jen’s voice quaked. “Do you think it knows we’re here?”

  “I’m not sure. If it’s distracted by company, we may be a surprise.”

  They approached the next bend carefully. Paz’s eyebrows shot up as he peeked around the corner. An enormous reptilian creature battered its tail against a bamboo gate. On the other side stood a short Chinese fellow poking at its belly with a long pole.

  “How come your drool has dried up?” the man said in fluent English. “You haven’t given me enough to fill this bucket. Ra Mat Shlom will not return to the surface empty-handed.”

  “Grrr.” The dragon growled, his eyes fiery slits. “I am getting old and still you mistreat me.”

  Paz exchanged glances with Jen. Should they have expected anything less than a talking beast?

  “You will spit into this receptacle or pay the price.” The Asian magnate glowered at the hapless creature.

  To emphasize his request, Ra Mat Shlom replaced his pole with a spear and jabbed the dragon. It screamed and recoiled.

  “You feel the sting of the pepper wasp poison, do you not? Fill this bucket now, despicable reptile, or I will do worse.”

  “Starve me or torment me, I do not care.” The dragon’s nostrils hissed steam. “It is time I die.”

  “Then you’ll never learn where your people live.”

  “You will never free me, so what does it matter?”

  “Legend says the one who chooses the correct ring will be your liberator. Do you not care to see if this story is true?” The man laughed, a harsh sound in the hollow cavern.

  Fire whooshed from the creature’s mouth but didn’t touch his caretaker. “You lie. No human exists who can resist temptation. Who do you bring me next to feed my wrath?”

  “Those two unfortunates spying on us.” He whirled around at the same instant as a net descended on Paz and Jen.

  The heavy rope knocked the blade from Paz’s hand. His legs folded, his limbs twisting with Jen’s as the net clamped tight. It encircled them and swung them into the air.

  “An effective trap, yes?” Shlom, wearing a business suit, approached them with the swagger of a man accustomed to running his own industrial empire.

  He carried the spear with which he’d stuck the dragon. Paz’s gaze fixed on the droplets of blood at its tip. By Odin’s grace, if they could get hold of that, those few drops would serve their purpose. They needn’t confront the beast at all.

  “Who are you? Did my dear friend, Wo Is Mi, send you to steal my formula? None of his agents ever return.” Shlom snickered, his dark eyes appraising them.

  “We’re not here to steal anything. Cut us loose and we’ll tell you why we came.” Paz wagged his hand past the rope.

  “Oh, you will talk. They all do.”

  Shlom pushed a knob on the tunnel wall and a grinding noise sounded. Their net hoisted on a pulley before being dragged overhead toward the dragon’s enclosure. Paz gripped the rope to steady himself. A section of the gate near the top slid aside. The cable jerked their net into the dragon’s lair then stopped.

  Paz watched the gate seal shut with a sinking sensation in his gut. He felt as helpless as a pig on a spit over a fire.

  A breath from the dragon aimed a crackle of flames their way. It heated the air directly beneath them. His skin warmed as he wriggled to untangle himself.

  “Stay still.” Jen’s voice rose in pitch. “You’re making us swing more. Listen, maybe we can reason with the creature. It’s trapped here just like us.”

  “Sure, go ahead.” Doubtless many others had tried the same tactic and failed. “Do you still have a Swiss Army knife in your handbag?”

  “Yes, you gave me a new one, remember?”

  He grunted with the effort of movement, their bodies pressed close. “Just turn around a bit, will you?”

  Another blast from the dragon singed the ropes and heated the air, making it hard to breathe.

  Shlom’s cell phone rang. He jabbered to the caller in his native tongue and then hung up. “I have to go. You find out who they work for before you eat them, Faffi. Understand? And no more talk of dying.”

  The dragon bared his teeth. “I will be happy to obey you this time, master. Thank you for the treat.”

  Shlom hefted his bucket filled with dragon slime and turned away. He took a different path than Jen and Paz, presumably one that led toward his mansion. Shlom must be the remaining descendant of the Ra Mat family, Paz figured. That meant the tales were true. This creature’s spit was the secret ingredient in Dragon Balm.

  Jen shrieked as another hot blast hit them. “Wait, we can help you,” she called to the dragon. “If you’re related to Fafnir, you’ll understand when I say we’re part of the prophecy.”

  “Ah,” Paz cried. Jen’s latest movement had twisted his leg. A jabbing pain shot through him as he attempted to ease his position. “Jen,” he gritted between clenched teeth, “do you think that’s wise? A descendant of Odin killed Fafnir and stole his treasure. If the legends are true, you’re a descendant of Odin, too.”

  “The original Fafnir must be long dead.” She addressed the dragon. “I am Jennifer Dyhr and I bear Odin’s blood, the mighty God who created this world. I’ve come to make amends for our ancestor’s actions and to set you free.”

  The dragon roared his ire. Steam wafted their way but the flame just missed them. “Fafnir lived many ages ago. I am named after him. Your kind murdered him.”

  “And I am truly sorry. As I said, we are here to make amends.”

  “What did you say about a prophecy?”

  “Ragnarok comes again. This warrior came from the stars to prevent the great cataclysm.”

  “You lie.” The beast’s nostrils flared. “Humans cannot be trusted. You are thieves and brigands.”

  “I’m telling the truth. We’ve come at the behest of a Gatekeeper, one of our allies. He has been cursed into the shape of a dog. Only a drop of your blood can turn him back into his human form.”

  “Your lies amuse me.” The dragon sputtered with laughter. Drool dripped down
his chin, pooling on the ground.

  Ra Mat Shlom would love to collect that, Paz thought irreverently. While Jen engaged the dragon’s attention, he manipulated himself to access her purse. If he could get her pocketknife, he’d cut them loose.

  He didn’t have to bother. In the next instant, the dragon blew a thin flame at the knot holding the netting in place, burning it through. Suddenly he was free, tumbling to the earth. He landed with a thump on his side and a jarring bump to his sore leg that left him breathless.

  “Thank you,” Jen said to the dragon, giving Paz a quick concerned glance. She scrambled to her feet.

  “I will merely eat you alive, human, rather than roasting you first. But you may take my test like all the others.”

  His large tail swept by as he turned to retrieve something from behind. The smell of sulfur in the air made Paz’s nose wrinkle. He pushed himself upright.

  The dragon whipped around to face them, holding two small gold bands in its claw. “One of these will bring you all the wealth you’d ever desire. Choose the right one, and you live.”

  Paz remembered the story. A dwarf had cursed the ring stolen from him so that its wearer would suffer an early death.

  He leaned forward to examine the gold bands. One of them shone brightly like the nuptial rings he’d seen in jewelry stores. The other was dull with a dent here and there.

  “The humble person would choose the dull ring,” Jen pointed out, “like in the Indiana Jones movie with the chalice. You know, the Holy Grail.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The greedy person would probably choose the shinier ring.” Straightening her spine, she pointed to the dragon’s claw that held the dull ring. “That one.”

  The dragon grinned, its pupils dilating and its nostrils flaring.

  “No.” Paz grasped Jen’s wrist. “It’s the other one with the polished surface. Think about it. The wearer is doomed to die. No one wears it for long. It’s the shinier one.”

  “Choose, humans.” Steam spouted from the dragon’s nostrils. It stamped its feet in impatience, and the ground under them trembled.

  Paz locked gazes with Jen. Her expressive brown eyes changed from doubt to trust.

  “Very well. I agree with my partner.”

  His heart warmed. He liked how she referred to him. More than that, he liked how she trusted his choice with her life.

  The dragon snorted and clawed at the dirt. Paz’s pulse jumped. Had he been wrong? Would they be swallowed into its great mouth or fried to a crisp where they stood?

  “You are correct, humans.” The dragon cocked its head, its large eyes scouring them. “According to legend, the one who picks the right choice will free me.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Jen said in an earnest tone. “How did you come to be trapped here?”

  Her hair had come loose and rained down her back. Even with smudges of dirt on her face, she looked magnificent. A surge of pride at her bravery swelled his chest.

  She held her hands behind her back, clasping something in one fist. The vial! She must have taken it from her backpack after they tumbled to the ground.

  Jen ambled toward the spear wound on the dragon’s side. It oozed blood onto the beast’s scales. She must be aiming to collect a few drops.

  No, he wanted to shout. It’s too risky.

  “One of the original Ra Mat brothers captured my egg and brought me here. After I hatched, they raised me. I have been here my whole life.”

  “That’s horrible. May I call you Faffi? I’m sorry you’ve been alone for so long. We’ll help you get free.” She neared the creature’s side. It hung its head and didn’t notice her approach or else it didn’t care.

  “She’s right.” Paz stepped forward into the dragon’s line of vision. “How many ways out of here are there? I presume one tunnel leads to your keeper’s house, and the other path we followed leads to the gardens above. Are there any other routes?”

  The dragon shook its head, nearly knocking Jen aside. She recovered quickly and moved a few paces closer.

  “You poor thing,” she crooned. “May I pet you? We should be friends if we’re going to help each other.”

  Before the creature could protest, she laid a hand on its scales. With her other hand, she scooped some blood into the vial where it had oozed down from the wound.

  The dragon shook her off. “I let you live. That is my favor to you. Now keep your promise to set me free, or I’ll change my mind.”

  “You’ve grown too big to take out through the tunnels,” Paz mused, scratching his bristly jaw. “And that gate must be fireproofed if you haven’t brought it down by now. Nor do we have any explosives. There must be another way.” He thought about the training exercises he’d performed and how his team had accessed enemy facilities. “What about the water?”

  “What do you mean, human?” the dragon thundered.

  From the corner of his eye, he noticed Jen stashing the stoppered vial in her bag. “Where do you get drinking water?”

  Fafnir’s nostrils flared. “I will show you. Do you wish to keep the gold ring you have earned?”

  “No, thanks, not when it comes with a curse.”

  The dragon secured the rings inside a flap on its great body and then stomped off. The ground shook with its footsteps.

  Paz grabbed Jen’s hand and scurried after him. The beast ducked into a tunnel, his drool dribbling in his wake.

  “Shlom should bring his dipper in here,” Jen whispered at Paz’s elbow. “There’s plenty of dragon spit for his formula.”

  “Too bad for him.” He grimaced. “This place stinks.”

  The slope declined, and Paz winced as his legs compensated. The constant trauma wasn’t helping his wound.

  Jen let go of his hand to zip along as though the cooler temperature enervated her.

  She made a great partner. He glimpsed her profile, his heart quickening at the sight of her delicate features, feminine curves, and determined stride. How he’d like to lose himself in her sweet embrace.

  Stop it, he ordered himself. You can’t afford distractions.

  Down, down they went. The rush of water grew louder and became a splashing, tumbling roar.

  When they broke out of the tunnel, Paz stopped and gasped. A river flowed in front of them beneath a short bank. The water dropped out of a hole at the right side of the underground chamber and disappeared into blackness at the opposite end.

  The dragon snorted. “Here is where I drink.”

  Fafnir led them by a small culvert where the water diverted into a pool. As they watched, Faffi lowered his head and slurped the liquid into his mouth.

  With water dribbling down his scales, he raised his head and glared at them, his eyes narrow slits.

  “So humans, where is your way out? If you tricked me, I shall eat you now.” To emphasize his threat, he blew a small flame into the air.

  Paz pointed to the far side of the cavern. “That has to lead somewhere. I’d expect the water flows down the mountain toward the base. We only need to follow the current.”

  Jen poked him. “How do you know that passage doesn’t narrow farther along? Or, the stream may continue underground with no outlet. We should look for another tunnel leading to the surface.”

  “My PIP didn’t show any other routes. This is our best chance.” He addressed Fafnir. “We’ll build a raft. Didn’t I see some bamboo stalks leaning against a wall in that cavern earlier?”

  “My caretaker gives me those sticks to chew on.”

  “We can lash them together with rope from the netting.”

  “Are you saying we should ride the water, human?” The dragon’s breath seared them with heat.

  Paz gave a firm nod. “That’s right.”

  A tongue of flame lashed at them. “You wish to kill me. I am not a fool.”

  Grabbing Jen’s arm, Paz scuttled backward. “You’re wrong, we’re trying to help you escape.”

  “Dragons cannot go in the water. I
t would quench my fire and melt my bones.”

  Paz gaped at the beast. “Who told you that?”

  “Ra Mat Shlom has warned me.” The dragon’s eyes glowed red. “You try to deceive me. I will eat you now.” It opened its mouth, showing a display of jagged teeth.

  Jen jerked her hand out of his and raced to the water’s edge. Stooping, she scooped some liquid into her hands and then splashed it onto the beast’s scales.

  “Look, nothing happened! We’re telling the truth. Shlom has lied to you to keep you imprisoned here. You could have escaped through the river at any time. Let us prove it. If we use a raft, you’ll barely get wet.”

  “Faffi doesn’t go near the big water.”

  Jen sashayed toward the creature, while Paz feared for her safety. “I understand that you’re afraid.” She petted him on his huge body. “So are we. And if we’re willing to take the risk, why wouldn’t a brave, handsome dragon like you?”

  Fafnir shuffled his feet. “You think I am handsome?”

  “I do, and when you reunite with your people, maybe you’ll find a mate who feels the same.”

  The dragon lowered its head until its eyes met hers. “How will I find my kind? I was stolen as an infant. Dragons are things of legend now. Maybe I am the last one.”

  He sounded so forlorn that Paz almost felt sorry for him. “When you’re out in the sunlight, you’ll be able to fly,” he said. “You can soar high and far to search. At least you’ll be free.”

  The beast nodded, its head inadvertently knocking Jen back a few feet with a whump. She landed against a wall, her backpack taking the impact.

  “Very well, humans. I have nothing to lose.”

  The next few hours saw Paz fastening the bamboo poles into a raft using the ropes from the netting. Jen used her penknife to cut them into even lengths, aided by the dragon’s short bursts of flame. It was brutal work, especially in the noxious atmosphere. A musty odor combined with the beast’s stench made his stomach churn.

  After finishing their rough craft, they tied it to Fafnir’s tail and let him drag it to the riverbank. Paz unfastened the leading rope from the dragon and knotted its end around a sturdy boulder. It took some heavy maneuvering to get the craft poised over the water’s edge.