Gods & Dragons: 8 Fantasy Novels

by Daniel Arenson

  “I’m no beast scared of fire,” the wolf-man snarled at Dirk. Gary nearly felt his own bladder let go. The creatures could talk? Why had no one told him they could talk? Bobby had said it laughed at him, but he’d thought him hallucinating, caused by sorrow to hear strange things. The creature’s voice was deep, grumbling. He realized the intelligence they must possess if they could communicate in such a way. Bobby had made it sound like they’d gone to hunt mindless monsters. But this…this…

  The corded muscles in its legs tensed, and then it lunged. Dirk struck it with his torch, but he was young and outweighed thrice over. The torch bounced off the wolf-man’s chest, causing no harm. The two rolled to the ground, Dirk’s arms pinned, the wolf-man growling, its bared teeth reaching for Dirk’s exposed throat.

  Gary stabbed its side before it could. His sword sank halfway to the handle, then snapped when the creature twisted. Claws slashed across his face, the pain immense. Blood blotted the vision of his left eye, and he clutched it with a hand. Be brave, he told himself as the wolf-man jumped off of Dirk. He saw only teeth. The dead one hanging in their town had had its teeth ripped out, he realized. He’d never have come if he’d seen them like he saw them now.

  Its jaw closed on his shoulder; its weight slammed him to the ground. Warm blood spilled across his chest. He screamed.

  “The Abyss take you!” Jerico cried, smashing its body with his shield. Gary saw the light stab into it, as if the glow were a dagger capable of cutting flesh. It released its grip on his shoulder, and he let out an involuntary gasp. Down came the mace, catching the retreating wolf-man across the snout. Teeth flew, and its blood sprayed across them both.

  “We will feast!” it shrieked. Jerico’s shield shone brighter, and amid his delirium, Gary thought he heard the paladin chuckle.

  “No,” Jerico said. “You won’t.”

  The wolf-man charged, struck his shield once more, and then fell. Jerico’s mace smashed the bones of its face, and it stayed down.

  “Dirk?” Gary asked, trying to stand. But Dirk was fine, and he grabbed Gary’s arm and helped him up.

  “To the river,” Jerico told the two as he turned to the battle beyond. “Run, and don’t stop.”

  “Ashhur be with you,” Gary said, leaning some of his weight on Dirk.

  “You as well.”

  They stumbled west, between the hills and toward the Gihon. They’d taken no turns, the path Darius led them on perfectly straight, and soon they saw the river in the distance. Gary’s shoulder burned, and every breath he took felt like fire in his lungs. Dirk didn’t look much better, but guilty as he felt for burdening his wounded friend, Gary knew he could not run without aid. They glanced back only once, the torches looking like glowing dots in the distance.

  It seemed like an eternity, but they reached the river and the waiting boat. Dirk helped him inside, then prepared to push it into the water.

  “Wait,” Gary said. His head felt light, but damn did it feel good to sit down. He clutched his shoulder and wished the pain would go away. Dimly, he wondered how badly the creature had scarred his face.

  “No,” Dirk said, realizing what he wanted. “Please, no, we can go…”

  “We stay.”

  Dirk sighed, then shook his head.

  “Fine. You’re right.”

  They watched and waited for the first to show. A minute later, three men appeared, two relatively unscathed, but the third limped along in their arms, his left leg mangled and missing its foot.

  “Hurry,” Gary said, beckoning them to the boat.

  “We thought you’d leave,” said one of them.

  “Never. Push us off, and then get in, Dirk. This boat’ll float with five.”

  Out on the peaceful water, it seemed the fight was a hundred miles away. If not for the pain, Gary might have convinced himself it was a horrible, horrible nightmare. When they reached the other side, one of the men helped him out, and he lay against a tree beside the other wounded man.

  “The others,” Gary said, pointing back to the Wedge. He felt sleepy, and knew if he closed his eyes he’d succumb to it, but this was important. “You must…you must go back…”

  Dirk was crying, his face wet with tears, but still he went to the boat and started to push.

  “No,” said a larger man. Jacob Wheatley, he realized. Jacob was always quick to argue, more temper than sense. But he seemed calm here, and he eased Dirk out. “I’ll go.”

  He stepped into the boat, angled it, and began rowing.

  Time grew slippery. Gary remembered the first boat returning, weeping men disembarking. He heard muttering, names listed off. Counting the dead, he realized. He wondered if they counted him or not. More men appeared, though he didn’t remember their arrival. The water splashed the shore, and he wished to dip his hand in it. Suddenly he was thirsty, very thirsty.

  “Gary?” someone asked. He opened his eyes, not remembering closing them. A young face hovered over him, blurry and unrecognizable.

  “Get back,” he mumbled. “I’m tired.”

  “Gary, it’s Dirk. You got to stay awake. Gruss says you got to…”

  Darkness, filled with the sound of water. Something touched his shoulder, and the pain awakened there. He opened his eyes and saw Jerico kneeling before him. White light shone from his hands, which pressed against his shoulder. His drowsiness faded, and the pain, which had been all encompassing, shrank down to something he could endure, something he could comprehend. Carefully Jerico wiped the blood from Gary’s left eye with his bare thumb so he might see.

  “Stand, Mr. Reed,” he said, taking his hand. “You have a wife and child waiting for you.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  When the light of morning shone through his window, Jerico winced. Every part of his body ached, and it felt like a pack of giants banged drums inside his forehead. He’d stayed up late into the night, praying over the wounded and offering them healing magic. Between him and the town’s midwife, an old woman named Zelda, they’d sewn, bandaged and kept as many alive as possible. After that, the entire village had gathered in a prayer of remembrance, for they had no bodies to bury. Under the cover of stars, they mourned those the wolves feasted upon.

  “Seven men,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “We lost seven men. I hope you’re happy, Darius.”

  He felt guilty saying it, but he also felt better. At least alone in his room he could grumble, mutter, and let his frustration show. Once in his armor and about the town, he had to be all forgiveness and prayers. Sometimes he enjoyed taking up his mace and smashing the head of an outlaw. At least he wasn’t pretending about anything there.

  But of course he also knew he wasn’t being fair. Darius had taken them out to deal with a threat to the town. None of them could have foreseen how serious it’d be. After the battle, he’d spoken with all but Darius, who had stayed quiet and away from the others. Three wolf-men had attacked from the back, two from each side, and three more from the front. A pack of ten so close to the Gihon and the towers that guarded it? They’d killed six of the ten, and injured the remaining four. Given how unprepared they’d been, it could have been far worse.

  “Jerico?” asked a voice on the other side of the door, followed by a gentle knock.

  “I’m awake,” he said, sitting up in bed and stretching his sore muscles. The door opened, and in stepped his host’s pretty daughter, Jessie.

  “Forgive me,” she said, turning away and blushing when she saw Jerico wore no shirt. He chuckled, tossed on his tunic, and then asked her what was the matter. Something bothered her, he could tell. It was written all over her face.

  “It’s Bobby,” she said, struggling to meet his gaze. Her eyes kept flicking to the floor, and her hands clasped behind her. “He…he hung himself last night. My father wishes you to pray over his body before we bury him.”

  The words knifed through Jerico, but despite the pain, he wasn’t surprised. He’d seen the lingering sorrow and death in Bobby’s eyes. Last night
’s excursion hadn’t brought him the satisfaction he’d hoped for. Instead, seven of his friends had died, and many more suffered greatly. Again he thought of Darius, and wondered how the paladin was taking the news.

  “I’ll be there shortly,” he said, sliding off the bed and reaching for his armor. Jessie started to close the door, then stopped. Her green eyes stared at him, and seeing the question aching to be asked, he prompted her to speak.

  “Will Bobby go on to the golden land?” she asked. “Killing yourself…my father’s always said the gods hate men who die a coward. Killing yourself’s a sin, and to die sinning…”

  His hand clasping his cold breastplate, Jerico stopped and frowned. He tried to decide what to say, what measure of truth would comfort her, and what he even knew himself.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I dearly hope so. He was a kind man. I’ll pray for him, and pray that he’s with his family in the hereafter. Surely Ashhur can fault no man for missing his loved ones as much as Bobby did.”

  “Darius said he deserved Karak’s punishment.”

  Jerico pulled his armor over his head, shifted it, and then walked over to kiss the girl on the forehead.

  “He speaks out of hurt,” he said. “Pay him no mind. Now go, and tell your father I’m almost ready.”

  She smiled weakly, curtseyed, and then was gone. Jerico sighed.

  “Damn you, Darius,” he said, tightening the straps on his armor. “For once, couldn’t you know better?”

  It seemed half the town had gathered at Bobby’s home by the time he arrived. Jerico’s host, the tall Jeremy Hangfield, stood in the center, clearly in charge. He was a distant relative of a noble in Mordeina, and owned more land than the rest of Durham combined. Thankfully, the corrupting influence of his wealth never went beyond him and the tax man. The people treated him as their leader, lord in all but name.

  “There you are!” Jeremy said, spotting him near the back of the crowd. “Come, Jerico, come! Darius has refused to pray over him, but Bobby was a good man, and he deserves no worse than any one of us here.”

  The way parted before him, and he stepped to the porch of Bobby’s home. Inside, he saw a rope lying on the floor, having been cut from the rafter it’d been tied to. Wrapped in a blanket was Bobby’s corpse. His parents, their backs hunched, their skin deeply tanned by the sun, sat to the side, surrounded by their friends. Not far away, he saw the parents of Bobby’s dead wife, and they looked too drained to cry. They’d lost all their tears the days before, suffering for the fate of their daughter and grandchildren.

  Jerico knelt before Bobby’s parents and took their hands in his.

  “Is there anything you want me to say?” he asked.

  The father looked at him, his eyes puffy and red.

  “He wasn’t his self when he did it. You know that, right? He’d never…he’d never do this…”

  “He was already dead,” said the mother. “Died when Susie did.”

  He kissed both their hands, stood, and then looked to the crowd. Some wanted comfort. Some were there to support their friends, and couldn’t care less what he had to say. A knot grew in his stomach, and his tongue felt layered with sand. What could he say to them? He knew so little. At the Citadel, they’d taught him the words for funerals, what to say for the passing of men, women, and children. They’d never trained him to deal with the looks they’d give him, the near desperate desire for relief and comfort.

  Jerico gave them what he could, and it felt like exposing a piece of himself as he spoke. He told them of Bobby’s kindness, talked of the love of his family, and the grace he’d accepted from Ashhur. He said not a word of his suicide. Let the gods deal with that. When he finished, he gestured to Jeremy, who stepped forward, three men with him. They lifted Bobby into their arms and carried him out. They would bury him in the fields, forever to be a part of their village and their way of life.

  Afterward, Jerico mingled, accepted compliments for his speech, and then searched for Darius.

  He found him outside the town, sitting with his back to a lone tree growing atop a hill. The wind blew, and it felt wonderful against Jerico’s warm skin. Speaking to the public always made him flush and feel like his neck were on fire.

  “You weren’t there for the burial,” he said as he sat down beside him.

  “Don’t deserve it.”

  Jerico sighed. “Whether he hanged himself or not, he trusted both of us, and at least you could have—”

  “Not him,” Darius said, shooting him a glare. “I don’t deserve to be there. He was hurting, and I led him out into the Wedge in hopes of aiding him. Instead, I made things worse. One of those that died was Bobby’s best friend, Peck Smithson. How could he endure that?”

  He leaned against the tree and thudded his head against the bark.

  “I led us right into that ambush,” he said, his voice growing quieter. “The tracks were so obvious a child could have followed them. I should have known something was wrong. The people of this village aren’t fighters. They’re farmers, shepherds, and herdsmen. Now more are dead, the village suffers for the lack of hands, and the one I sought to help spent the night hanging from his ceiling by a rope.”

  “Yeah, you really messed up, didn’t you?”

  At Darius’s glare, Jerico chuckled and smacked his shoulder.

  “If our gods agree on something, it’s that we’re all human, and all make mistakes. Let it go, Darius. You did what you thought was right. Next time, don’t let your guilt keep you away. I’m tired of dedicating all the burials around here. Oh, and don’t give a damn sermon about the punishment awaiting a loved one who died mere hours before.”

  “You would have me lie about my beliefs to make them feel better?”

  “I’d have you show a measure of tact and talk about anything else in the world for the next few days. Surely you can grant me that?”

  Darius sighed. “Very well. The least I could do for what remains of his family. It’s not like I want it to be this way, Jerico. The rules we live under are harsh, and not everyone will meet them, but truth is stone, unbending, unmoving. That is the way of Order.”

  Jerico stayed silent, not wanting to discuss theology. Instead he gestured east, toward the distant river.

  “What do we do about the wolf-men? From what I gathered, it was a pack of ten that attacked us. That, plus the raids across the river worry me to no end. They’ve found a gap in the towers, and Durham’s right there in the way.”

  “We killed more than half,” Darius said. “And that was with them having the advantage. Do you still think they’ll press us?”

  “How do we know it was half?” Jerico asked, voicing the fear that had been nagging at him. “We were within the Wedge only a little while. How many might be gathering? We could have stumbled upon a single hunting party, not the entire pack.”

  Darius shook his head. “That can’t be. That would mean a pack of fifty or so, maybe more. It’s been years since any packs of that size. The elven scoutmasters keep them thinned and at war with one another, and someone that strong usually finds an arrow in their neck.”

  “Except the elves are gone,” Jerico said quietly. “We cannot take any chances. Let us request aid from the towers, together.”

  “We can handle this,” Darius said, his stubbornness and pride returning.

  “Whether we can or can’t, I’d rather we err on the side of caution. Trust me on this?”

  Darius sighed.

  “Twice now I agree to your demands. I must be bothered by this more than I thought.”

  “Good. It’s a welcome reminder you’re as human as I am.”

  Jerico gave him an exhausted grin, and the dark paladin relented to his good humor.

  “Write your request,” Darius said, standing. “And I will sign it.”

  “Where are you going?” asked Jerico.

  “I have a family deserving my apologies,” said Darius. “Not that it’s your business.”

  Jerico leaned ag
ainst the tree, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the weather. Slowly he felt his tension drain away, and once renewed, he returned to Durham to write his letter to the lord of the Towers.

  * * * * *

  Redclaw waited at the head of his pack for his scout to return.

  “He will see little in this daylight,” said Bonebite, his most trusted warrior. His fur was faded with age, but he’d feasted upon more fallen foes than anyone else in his pack.

  “The orcs are slow and stupid,” said Redclaw. “They will not expect us to attack while the sun burns the sky.”

  Bonebite snorted. “Does the mighty Redclaw need the help of surprise to kill a few runty orcs?”

  Redclaw bared his teeth, both smile and threat. Bonebite had once vied for the position Redclaw now held. They’d fought for the honor, but instead of killing him as was custom, Redclaw let him live.

  “Wolf should not kill wolf,” he’d declared, his first law of the pack. He’d killed plenty enforcing the rule, but none in the pack were intelligent enough, or brave enough, to point out the contradiction. Bonebite had resented him for the longest time, but Redclaw treated him like the proud warrior he was, and after a time, the wily old wolf had accepted his role, and appeared to even appreciate the younger warrior’s skill and leadership.

  “Whenever we fight, we must win,” Redclaw said, turning back east and squinting in search of his scout. “Why let orcs fight fair against us? They deserve nothing. They are food.”

  “The fight weans out the weaklings,” argued Bonebite.

  Redclaw glared at him. Bonebite’s snout was covered with scars, his nose nearly white with them instead of its original black. One scar ran straight across his eye, the hair around it never growing back.

  “Even our weaklings are stronger than the best of man and orc,” he said. “One day you will fall, Bonebite. Would you have me hail you a warrior, or a weakling, when we consume your flesh?”