Eyes of the Dragon
The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 4
By Craig Halloran
Eyes of the Dragon
The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 4
By Craig Halloran
Copyright © 2016 by Craig Halloran
Amazon Edition
TWO-TEN BOOK PRESS
P.O. Box 4215, Charleston, WV 25364
ISBN eBook: 978-1-941208-73-1
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-941208-74-8
www.craighalloran.com
Cover Illustration by Joe Shawcross
Map by Gillis Bjork
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Publisher's Note
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
CHAPTER 1
The mountaintop was a beautiful vision of tall grasses and bright, long-stemmed wildflowers. The massive rocks were covered in soft blue-green mosses. The swirling winds bent the branches and rustled the leaves in the trees, giving them an animated life of their own. It was one of the most picturesque places Nath had ever seen in Nalzambor and one of the many places he’d never ventured to before, a high precipice overlooking the distant Pool of the Dragons.
“It’s always so peaceful so far away from everything,” Nath said, gazing at his father, Balzurth.
The titan-sized dragon’s armored scales of bronze and gold gleamed in the sun. His monstrous body crushed the vegetation beneath him. Balzurth scratched his great dragon horn on the rock as if he was sharpening its tip. His jaw, with teeth as big as men, opened up into a yawn that let out a hot burst of steam. He eyeballed Nath and replied, “The farther away from men, the better. I’ve been trying to teach you that.”
“Me too.” Brenwar’s arms were crossed over his barrel chest. He looked like a bearded chipmunk beside Balzurth. He clawed at his beard. “He won’t listen to me.”
“The youth never do.” Balzurth stretched his long neck around and faced the elven woman on his back. It was Laylana, the dark-headed, green-eyed elven daughter of the murdered Laedorn. “You seem to be enjoying yourself up there, pretty princess. Do you find my scales divine?”
Traipsing over Balzurth’s back as if it were a bridge, she nodded with wide-eyed excitement. “Yes. Fascinating. Can we fly again? Soon?”
“Certainly, young lady. Certainly,” Balzurth said in his powerful and reassuring voice. “I have a bit of an itch between my scales. Do you think you could scratch it for me?”
Clasping her hands together, she replied, “Oh, could I?”
“Of course.” Balzurth wriggled his neck and added, “Over here where the horn meets the scale. That would be wonderful.”
Without hesitation, Laylana climbed over to the back of Balzurth’s head, dropped to her knees, and started scratching where he’d said. “Is this good?”
“Perfect.” Balzurth turned his attention back to Nath. “You look disappointed. What’s on your mind, Son?”
Nath should have been elated, but his father was right, he was disappointed. He didn’t understand why. At least, not that he wanted to admit, but seeing his father in full dragon form bothered him. His father had wiped out a mountain full of giants in a single breath, but as much as Nath had enjoyed seeing it, he wished it had been him. Finally, he responded, “You’ve abandoned Dragon Home, Father. Why?”
Checking his claws, Balzurth said, “I can do as I wish.”
“Oh, so you can do as you wish, but I can’t?” Nath approached Balzurth and stood in his face, looking up at him. “Mother is worried, and you’re placing yourself in danger. You’re playing into the titans’ hands. It’s only a matter of time before they find us.”
“I highly doubt your mother is as worried as she makes herself out to be. If anything, she’s elated that I’m gone for a spell. You know how she loves decorating.”
“Actually, no, I don’t,” Nath replied. “I only met my mother a short time ago, remember? She was imprisoned in the Great Dragon Wall all my life before that.”
“Of course I remember,” Balzurth scoffed. He poked a claw into Nath’s chest. “I remember everything. And don’t you dare get on your high horse and worry about me. I don’t need to be worried about. I’m the King of the Dragons, am I not?”
“Aye!” Brenwar shouted while hoisting his war hammer Mortuun up in the air. “Aye! Aye!”
Seeing the dwarf’s enthusiasm, Nath felt a little bit foolish. His father could clearly take care of himself. Still, he sputtered out, “Well, you should still be more careful. It’s been awhile since you last trekked through the world of men.”
“Careful? Pah.” Balzurth let out a puff of smoke. “I’ve handled the titans before, and I can handle them again. And I won’t let them survive at all this time. No. There won’t be any banishment.” His voice filled the mountaintop with thunder. He stomped his paw and shook the ground. “It will be obliteration!”
Nath stepped backward. The power in Balzurth’s voice shook the marrow in his bones. Laylana froze on Balzurth’s back, and Brenwar stood stiff as a board. Nath found his breath again and said, “Father, thanks.”
The furnace in Balzurth’s eyes cooled, and he asked, “Thanks for what?”
“Saving us.”
“Yes, well, you are my son and my friends.” Voice softening, Balzurth scanned the three of them. “And as wretched as people can be, they are all still worth saving. Son, I’ve sat on my throne doing nothing long enough. I cannot stand it any longer. They take the dragons, they slaughter their own, and it’s time for action. Do I think it will be easy? No, it never is. But it must be done.” He sighed.
Looking deep into his father’s eyes, Nath could see a hint of regret. Something was eating at Balzurth. He approached his father and laid his hand on his snout. “What is it, Father?”
“My selfish actions have led to all this, I fear,” Balzurth said, not hiding his regret. “I sent you to find your mother. Alas, I did miss her, and I knew if you freed her, there would be consequences. Letting out the spirits of the titans had a much more rapid effect than I expected. Their anger and hatred made their evil spread faster than I imagined. I thought they could be contained, but I underestimated them. Yet I knew it would have to come to this eventually. I could not let our kin hold the Dragon Wall intact forever. It just wasn’t fair.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Father,” Nath said, patting his father’s huge snout. “I’m sure I would have done the same thing for Mother that you did.”
“No doubt you will do the same for those you love, Son.” Balzurth nudged him with his nose. “Besides, I feel that you are ready. Actually, I know it. You are ready to take down the titans.”
Nath’s eyes enlarged. He swallowed and said, “Me? What about you?”
CHAPTER 2
It was Zoose the halfling’s first trip to the City of Narnum. He walked stride for stride with his sister Goose behind the powerful armored build of Rybek the war cleric. The towering warrior walked with huge steps that made it difficult to keep up on his much shorter legs, but he and Goose pressed on. He nudged Goose wit
h his finger and pointed up.
“Stop doing that,” she said, slapping his hand away. Her once-amiable face was pinched into a grimace of evil. She tugged at the long brown ponytail that hung over her shoulder. “I’ve seen plenty of wurmers already, and the colorful tile tops too. Get control of yourself and act like you’ve been here before.”
That wasn’t easy to do. Instead, his eyes searched over everything at once. The wurmers, dark and scaly with their purple eyes aglow, hung in the nooks and crannies of every building. Their eyes seemed to scan for any suspicious move. The people fought and haggled over food, weapons, and clothing. A burly roughneck shoved an elderly woman down, and not a single person helped her up. Heavy boots trampled by her instead. Zoose gravitated toward the fallen woman.
Goose grabbed him by the elbow and jerked him back into step. Under her breath, she said, “What are you doing, fool?”
Zoose’s nostrils flared as he took in a deep draw of air. The scent of meat cooking filled his nose. Patting his belly, he said, “I’m hungry.”
Goose punched him in the arm. “Be silent.”
Rubbing his shoulder, he hunched down and kept the pace but continued to survey his surroundings. There was a festival in the market square they were passing through. Men and women frolicked with wickedness. Shouted and screamed with shameless glee. They’d made giant masks painted in vibrant colors that covered their faces. The images were wicked and evil. Dark and disturbing. Drums pounded. Songs were sung, strings were plucked, and horns blared. It shook Zoose to the core. Evil members of all the races had gathered, including many elves. He’d never seen or imagined such a thing. The grand City of Narnum was deteriorating into a depot of ruin. He hugged his shoulders, rubbed the cold seeping into his limbs, and cast down his eyes.
Goose gave him a firm shove. “Buck up, Zoose. We have arrived, and arrived on the right side.”
I don’t know about that.
Something had stirred inside him when he saw Balzurth’s flames consuming an entire hillside and everything living on it turned to ash. The wickedness inside him that allowed him to commit crimes against his nature had fled. His rationale and humble halfling consciousness had returned. The distorted world he was now living in had been revealed to his once-tainted eyes. With his little heart pumping in his chest, he decided to play along.
There’s nowhere to run anyway.
Marching through the cobblestone street, Rybek led them straight toward the tallest building in the city. It stretched a thousand feet into the air. A walkway wrapped around its massive column like a snake, level after level.
Zoose had never imagined anything so huge and vast in his life, but there it was in the heart of the city, a marvel of architecture. Head tilted back and eyes up, he said, “Are we going up there?”
His sister shushed him.
Rybek’s head turned over his armored shoulder. He lifted his massive arm and pointed at a stone temple being built around the base of the tower. The stones were huge. The people who moved them were monstrous. Giants, dozens of them, men and orcs, shoved stones over logs and stacked them up on top of each other to form a temple with a huge thirty-foot archway that was near completion. “Eckubahn awaits. Come with me.”
On each side of the archway that formed the temple’s entrance, a giant sentry stood. Bare-chested and hairless, their alabaster skin blended in with the stonework of the black-eyed brutes. Each sentry held a leaf-tipped spear that rested on the ground and stood up to his neck.
One of the expressionless titans glanced down at Rybek and waved him in.
Staying close, Zoose and Goose followed after.
Inside the confines of the temple, the stone archways crisscrossed more than fifty feet above. Flocks of worshippers were stuffed inside. They wore masks and plumes full of feathers and black flowers. Among them were giants dressed in clothes like men, who towered over all of them. They lounged in great stone chairs chiseled by the hands of giant masons. The people laid trays of food and ornate gifts at their massive feet.
Zoose had never felt so small and insignificant as he did now.
This is twisted. I want to go home.
Unable to see beyond the hordes of jaded people, he heard a voice cut through the room like a crack of thunder. “People, go. Rybek and company, come.”
The enchanted people departed in a stream. Seconds later they were all gone, leaving Zoose and his sister alone with Rybek among the giants.
“Come,” the loud, canyon-like voice said, “and tell me what you know, Rybek.”
Sweating from his brow, Zoose managed to peek around Rybek’s legs at the source of the voice. A titan sat on a throne made of stone. His enormous hands squeezed the stone arms of his seat, and his head burned like an urn of flame. Zoose squinted and dashed the sweat from his eyes. He wanted to run, but he dared not. He was in the presence of the most powerful of all titans, Eckubahn.
Rybek took a knee and bowed.
Without hesitation, Zoose and Goose did the same, but unlike his counterparts, Zoose shivered and dripped with sweat. It took the life right out of him when Eckubahn said, “Why does that tiny one shake?”
CHAPTER 3
Inside the gardens of Quintuklen, Bayzog sat on a bench alongside his wife Sasha. The beautiful human woman was dressed in a fine white-linen gown. Her stare was blank but fixed on the arrangement of flowers blooming behind the pathway. The half-elf wizard waved his hand in front of her eyes. “Sasha, it’s time to go.”
The gentle woman didn’t stir.
Bayzog’s heart sank. He’d been bringing her to the gardens every day in hopes that she could regain some of her memory and return to her normal self, but the magic within her was eroding her mind. He’d hoped watching others rebuild the war-ravaged gardens might rejuvenate her. It had not. There were only glimpses of her former self that surfaced from time to time. Now his hope rested in their sons, Samaz and Rerry. The young but formidable pair had set out on their own to find a cure for their mother, and he’d not heard from them since they left.
He took her warm hand in his. “It’s lonely without you, Sasha. If I never appreciated you as much as I should have, I hope you’ll know how much I appreciate you now.” He reached behind him and plucked a purple flower and held it under her nose. “One of your favorites.”
Sasha’s chin shifted and her gaze changed. Wurmers streaked through the sky in flocks like birds. With effort she lifted her hand and pointed, saying, “Birdie. Birdie. Ugly birdie.” Her hand dropped, and she became listless again.
Bayzog’s chin sank into his chest. It was agony watching her deteriorate. Her beautiful life was withering away like a flower that blooms in the day and dies in the night. It was even worse with him being part elven. To him, her life was already fleeting, and now that process had accelerated. It was heartbreaking. At one time in his life, he’d felt himself free of such burdens, but now with a family, it was different. He had even caught himself wondering, Will I even outlive my own sons?
Night began to fall as the sun sank behind the buildings. The shade started to cool his bones, and Sasha’s teeth began to chatter. He picked up his cloak, which was lying at his side. It was a rich forest green with golden leaves that traced over the hem and sleeves. Sasha had woven it for him when they met long ago. He covered her shoulders with it. “Sweetest Sasha, it is time to go.”
Her stare remained deep and spacey.
He took her hands and tried to pull her up.
She stiffened and pulled free of his grip.
This was the hard part. People were walking about, staring. The last thing Bayzog wanted to do was draw attention to himself. Attention was dangerous. If the leadership of the city had any concerns about the state your family was in, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw you out. He tugged at her again. “Please, Sasha. Come.”
She rose to her feet without looking into his face. Instead, it seemed as if her stare was in a world beyond. Bayzog hoped that if she saw anything at all, it was pleasan
t. He wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her down the path beneath the archways of tree branches and leaves. The night birds started to sing the last song of the day, darting back and forth through the branches before they settled in.
A tear formed in the corner of Bayzog’s violet eye. He wiped it away with his sleeve, remembering how the night birds’ songs had so often made Sasha giggle for no reason. He’d never understood why the little speckled birds made her laugh. All she would say was, “It’s joy, pure joy that they sing, and it gives me the tickles.”
Oh, what I wouldn’t do to hear that laughter again. I’d do anything.
Exiting the garden through the gates of iron, Sasha pulled him back. He whirled around in disbelief and found her eyes on his. She was blinking. His heart started racing inside his chest. “Sasha, can you hear me?”
“Of course, husband. Why wouldn’t I?” She twisted around on her feet, glancing up, down, and over all of her surroundings. When she stopped, she said, “Where have Samaz and Rerry gone? They were just here. They must be hiding from the danger.” She called out, “Rerry! Samaz! Come to the voice of your mother. I’ll protect you!”
“Easy, Sasha. The boys are fine,” Bayzog assured her. He pulled her into his arms. “Let’s go home. Soon we will see them there.”
She tore out of his grip. “No, Bayzog! They are in danger. I saw it with my own eyes. Those horrible birds in the sky will devour them if we don’t help them!” Dashing into the gardens, she continued to call out for them. “Samaz! Rerry!”
Chasing after her, Bayzog broke out in a cold sweat. What Sasha had said was so convincing that it all seemed real. He’d known the hallucinations from the wizard’s dementia would be powerful, but this bout she had shared tightened around the heart in his chest. A deep nagging feeling bore its way into the recesses of his mind. Somewhere, something was wrong.
Eyes of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 4) (Tail of the Dragon) Page 1
