Samaz’s head sank back into his chest. He started snoring.
Tiny claws, more than Rerry could count, dug into his body.
“Nooooooooooo!”
CHAPTER 25
Nath’s company rode on horseback without stopping except to rest the horses. He’d been trying to sort out a few things in his mind on the trip. According to some of the people they encountered, Rybek and Bletver had been wreaking havoc everywhere. It didn’t take long for Nath to put it together. They wanted him. It wasn’t a surprise.
Ahead, Balzurth brought his horse to a gallop just outside the ravine that cut through the mountains. It seemed so unnatural to see his father riding a horse. It just wasn’t anything he’d ever imagined he’d see. “What is it, Father?”
Balzurth dismounted. “My horse tires. Let’s all rest a spell, shall we?”
They made a camp with no fire. Brenwar whittled on a piece of wood with a buck knife. Balzurth dropped a pile of rocks on the ground. When he placed his hands on them, the rocks glowed, and the immediate area filled with new warmth. Sasha and Laylana cozied up to it. Nath sat down just as Balzurth started to speak.
“Son, I’d care to know what your plan is.”
“And I was curious to know yours, Father.”
Balzurth squatted, warming his own hands. “I’m fully prepared to eradicate them all, but my concern is our friends in peril. Those who hold them hostage do not value life. They are controllers. They use the flesh of others to manipulate people. We must be careful.”
“And that’s my concern, Father.” Nath swallowed. “If we all go in at once, we might not see Bayzog and Ben alive again. I’m willing to go in and take my chances on my own.”
“We can’t let you do that, Nath,” Sasha said, staring at the orange glow of the rocks and twirling her hair on her finger. “It would be unfair.”
“They want me. They’re using Ben and Bayzog to get to me,” Nath said.
“And they only want you in order to get to me.” Balzurth pushed the sleeves up over the cords of muscle in his forearms. He was a king if there ever was any. “You’re bait. Your friends are bait. It’s one of evil’s oldest and best-working tricks. I can foil it. I can put an end to this once and for all.” He plucked a stone from the pile. “I’m angry. The suffering must end.”
“I’ve seen you angry before,” Nath said.
“No, you’ve seen me pretend to be angry.” Balzurth dusted the debris from his hands. “That was nothing.”
“Oh, it was something. Your voice shook everything in the mountain when you raised it.” Nath nudged Brenwar. “You heard it.”
“Aye.” Brenwar held a carved wooden figurine in his hand and walked it over to Sasha. “For you.”
She took it and said, “It’s Bayzog.”
“It’s the best I could do. I’ve never done an elf before, let alone a wizard.”
She gave him a hug. “Thank you, Brenwar.”
“All right, all right now, nobody hugs a…oh, never mind.” Brenwar hugged Sasha back.
Nath continued talking with his father. “So you’re telling me you weren’t ever mad at me?”
“Disappointed, yes. Mad, no.”
“But the yelling?”
“Raising my voice isn’t the same as yelling. If I had ever yelled, you’d still be crying on the golden floor.”
Laylana let loose a giggle.
Nath picked up one of the stones. It was warm to the touch but far from scalding. “I don’t know. You were quite stern with me.”
“Stern? That’s because I was trying to scare the human out of you. There’s nothing wrong with a stern talking-to. Wait until fatherhood happens to you.”
Nath caught Laylana looking at him. She covered her mouth but still laughed.
“Quit that,” said Nath to the elven princess. “I’m sure motherhood won’t be any better for you. It’s easier to keep up with jackrabbits than baby elves.”
Balzurth looked up into the stars. “Why don’t we all just sit and listen for a moment? Enjoy the world that surrounds us. Ease your mind, and don’t worry so much about the journey ahead. Let nature run its magic through you.”
The harmony of the woodland comforted Nath. The scuffles in the branches were soothing. The insects sang their songs. Not far away, beavers chewed into the wood to build their dams. Balzurth started to hum a tune in dragon song.
Nath wanted to enjoy the moment, swim in the peace, but he couldn’t. So much was on the line, and his father had something up his sleeve. He envisioned Balzurth storming into the Temple of Spires and wiping Rybek and his brood of fiends out. He’d seen his father turn a small army of giants into a smoking graveyard. He wanted to see Balzurth turn loose the cleansing flame again—against all the giants—but more than anything, Nath wanted to do the same. Be a dragon who controlled the great flame that destroyed the evil that it burned.
At least Father seems to be back to normal, for now.
Laylana stretched out her arms and yawned. “What’s this song he’s singing?”
Nath knew it, but it had been so long since he’d heard it that he wasn’t certain.
Sasha curled up on the ground and cuddled with her figurine of Bayzog. “It’s wondrous, whatever it is.”
Standing on his feet, Brenwar’s eyes blinked open and closed. He started to sway, caught himself, and said, “Aye.”
Nath’s eyelids became heavy. He yawned.
I’m not supposed to yawn. What is this song that father sings? I usually don’t forget such things.
He watched his father’s lips. A sparkling swirl gathered around the Dragon King’s body and twinkled to the rhythm of his words. Some phrases in Dragonese briefly pricked Nath’s ears.
Sleep, little dragon, sleep.
The fairies come,
The giants run,
The wings of the goldlings beat.
Sleep, little dragon sleep,
For on the morrow a new world is at hand…
Nath’s eyelids became impossibly heavy. He sank to the ground.
Great Guzan, he’s singing my lullaby. Why?
***
Balzurth took on the form of Nath Dragon, black scales and all. He kneeled, brushed Nath’s hair aside, and kissed him on the cheek. Rising with a black fire deep in his golden eyes, he whispered, “Sorry, Son, but I’m going to handle this.”
CHAPTER 26
Claws dug into Rerry’s skin and climbed over his belly. That’s when he saw them, two lizards with a soft illumination in their green eyes flicked out their tongues and licked his chin. “Gah! What are you things?”
The lizards raced up to his shoulders, and their eyes bored into his. Their heads swiveled from side to side, slowly winking one lizard eye after the other. One of the lizards had eyelashes. It licked Rerry’s nose. The other one revealed rows of teeth that looked too big for its mouth. It climbed up his arm, claws digging in until Rerry bled, and started nibbling on the chains.
Frozen in horror, Rerry watched a lizard the size of a kitten chew through the metal like it was bark on a tree.
These lizards won’t have any problem devouring me! Sultans of Sulfur! Must I die like this?
The other lizard, the one with the eyelashes, climbed onto the top of Rerry’s head and slammed him in the mouth with its scaly tail.
“Watch it, will you!”
The tail cracked him over the eye.
“Ow!”
The lizard on his head stretched out for the chain on his other arm, grasped it with its claws, and started chewing through the metal. The grinding and crunching sounds hurt Rerry’s ears and bored into his brain. There was nothing he could do to fend off this new torture. Pushed to the limits of his stamina and beyond, he had almost no strength left.
In defiance of his fate, Rerry said, “I knew that some lizards were stupid, but I didn’t think they were so stupid they would miss a fresh meal. You’re supposed to eat me, not the chains. What happened, did orcs train you?”
&nb
sp; The lizard without the eyelashes stopped chewing. Swiveling its head, it glared at Rerry and spat a tiny ball of metal into his eye.
“Ow!” With his eye closed, Rerry said, “Spit all you want, but if you keep this up, all you are going to do is free me, and when that happens, I’m going to stomp you under my heels.”
A tail whipped out and cracked him across the mouth.
Fwap!
“Ow!” Rerry winced. “It even hurts to say ‘Ow.’ I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you lizards could understand me, but I know better. You’re just a couple of hungry—”
He got struck in the face by both tails this time.
Fwap! Fwap!
Somewhere in the tormented recesses of his mind, an uncanny thought registered as he watched them continue to nibble at the chains, little hunks at a time.
Maybe they do understand me?
In the dim light, he couldn’t see too much color or detail on the lizards, but he took note of their scales, which were more rigid than those of most lizards. Like small suits of armor. And lizards didn’t have eyelashes, but one of these creatures did. Rerry’s head toggled between the two. He gasped with elation.
“You’re not lizards. You’re dragons, aren’t you!”
The tiny gray metal dragon with the eyelashes turned her head around on her long neck and winked at him.
“Hah! You’re freeing me?” He was incredulous, then he blurted out, “But you don’t have dragon wings.”
Their tails swatted his face again.
Fwap! Fwap!
“Oh, that’s right. Not all dragons have wings. Father told me that. He’s an expert, you know. Oh! And we are friends of Nath Dragon.”
The dragons—little bigger than his feet—continued to gnaw at the chains.
The first link popped through.
Rerry’s arm dropped to his side.
“Oh,” he moaned. “That feels wonderful.”
The second chain link gave, and both of his arms were free. Blood rushed there, bringing forth a stinging pain. He rubbed his sore arms and shoulders, hugging himself.
The dragons crawled down the wall and went to work on the shackles on his feet.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, you mighty little dragons!”
The dragons smiled up at him.
He leaned back. “With incredibly large but delightful teeth.” Feeling a new lift surge through his sore limbs, Rerry shook his fingers and wriggled his toes.
I’m so thankful.
The dragons finished off the links on his feet, and the one without the eyelashes let out a burp. Rerry assumed that was a male, based off what he knew.
I wonder what kind of dragons they are.
He reached down and patted the tiny horns on their heads and stroked their chain mail–like skin.
They scurried away to his brother Samaz and began chewing on his shackles.
Rerry touched his brother’s forehead with the back of his palm. Samaz’s body was hotter than a biscuit that had just come out of the oven.
“How were you even talking to me earlier?”
After a few more minutes, the chains gave way to the iron-eater dragons.
On shaky limbs, Rerry managed to hoist his brother over his shoulder. “At least you’re lighter now.” He glanced down at the dragons at his feet. “I really hope you’ll lead me out of wherever I am.”
The dragons lifted their chins, and then, with their tails sliding behind their bodies, they led him through the dark caves until he found himself face to face with an arched wooden door, strapped in metal, that was sealed shut.
To the dragons, Rerry said, “I don’t suppose you have a key, do you?”
The iron eaters blinked at him and left through a crack in the stone wall.
CHAPTER 27
Disguised as Nath, Balzurth sprouted wings and quickened the journey to the Temple of Spires. He landed little more than a mile north of the rigid peaks that jutted toward the sky. The black wings on his back collapsed and disappeared into his body until he was in the human form of his son Nath once more.
Brow furrowed, he marched over the rocky landscape where the edge of the Shale Hills ended in a nearby stream. He splashed through the waters knee deep and continued on from the other side. He pushed through the branches and cut through the rough. Nothing slowed his pace.
Guiltless, he’d made his decision to leave Nath and his friends behind. He needed to take matters into his own hands and get to the bottom of this himself. Eckubahn and his servants had to pay, and it was time for Balzurth to get to the heart of the matter and put an end to the evil spirits once and for all.
Walking at a brisk pace, the Dragon King ducked under the woodland branches and stepped out into a clearing.
The Temple of Spires waited.
Stark like a black monolith against the dawn of a purple sky, the temple sat with the wind howling through its peaks. The entire temple, vast in size, had once been just a hill made of stone. It had been crudely carved out from top to bottom, leaving the peaks like a crown on a small castle’s forehead, unique in design. A narrow roadway curved toward the mouth of the long-abandoned temple. An arched bridge crossed over a foggy, bottomless canyon that was the only way in or out. The urns that adorned the high walls and edges were cold, but inside the temple’s yawning entrance was light.
Balzurth headed toward it.
Heading down the long path toward the temple, he came to a stop. Two stone giants, twenty-footers, stepped out onto the road from their concealment behind some boulders. The long-faced humanoids were skin headed, with heavy brows that shadowed their eyes. They wore nothing but loincloths around their waists and carried no weapons. They peered behind Balzurth, glancing from side to side, searching.
Continuing his walk, Balzurth said in a voice the same as Nath’s, “I’m alone.”
One giant stepped behind him and the other in front. The humongous escort crushed the ground beneath their heels, footstep after footstep, flattening the overgrowth.
Balzurth’s fingers twitched. He wanted to set their heads on fire and send them running for the lakes. He hated giants. He’d put an end to the lot of them right now if he could. But there was more movement against the rocks that made up the temple. Wurmers had nuzzled into the stony nooks.
The giants separated and stood to the sides of the temple’s entrance.
Without looking at them, Balzurth said, “I’ll be back for both of you later.”
He entered a rough-cut hallway hewn from the rock big enough for giants to stroll through. Torches flickered beyond the hall’s end, which opened up into a grand ceremonial chamber. Support columns were not as they seemed. They had been cut out by working hands and chisels, with warring images of the races carved in them. There were eight, merging with the temple ceiling that seamlessly merged with rock beams the shape of snakes. The entirety of the chamber was cold, and the shadows of the torchlight gave the engraved images a life of their own.
Balzurth walked between the columns and came to a stop.
A huge slab of stone lay on a massive pedestal in the center of the chamber, big enough for one of the stone giants to stretch out on. Ben and Bayzog were shackled there, on the bloodletting stone. They lay silent. Unmoving.
Lording over them was Rybek, the man in the iron helmet. His sword was sheathed, and he rubbed his hand on the pommel. Behind him, all smiles, was the triant Bletver, who fondled the grimy whiskers on his shaggy chin.
“You have arrived much sooner than expected.” Rybek slid his sword out and lowered the tip onto Ben’s cheek. “Your promptness suggests trickery.”
Balzurth, in the form of Nath, said, “As you can see, I am unarmed.”
“You might be unarmed, but I am certain your allies are near.” Rybek flicked the sword tip over Ben’s cheek, drawing a spot of fresh blood. He smeared it on his fingertip. “Do not toy with me, Nath Dragon. The only way they will live is with your full cooperation.”
“A
nd if they die, you won’t get any cooperation. I am here. Let them go.”
Bletver stepped around the sacrificial slab to the front and leaned against it. He had a cleanly picked skull that he was rolling through his fingers like magicians did with coins. “I suggest that Nath Dragon needs to have a go at me before we release his friends. If he loses, I get to eat him.”
Balzurth balled up his fists. “I promise you this: I’ll give you a sore jaw and a sore belly if you come one foot closer to me.”
The triant pushed his flabby back off the slab, leaned closer, and stuck his chin out. “Oh? Try me, little dragon. Nothing can knock out a triant.”
“I’m not nothing,” replied the disguised Dragon King.
“You’re like a fish.” Bletver licked his lips. “A meal with scales.”
Balzurth sprang forward, launching himself at the triant. Arm cocked back, he slugged Bletver in the jaw. The blow snapped the monster’s head back.
Stumbling on his short legs, the triant staggered into one of the columns head first and sank to his knees on the cold stone floor.
Rybek raised his sword. “I warned you, Nath Dragon.” The sword started to fall.
“You expect me to put up with that?” Balzurth said. “We are here for an exchange. Me for them. The blot of foulness over there does not factor into it, Rybek.” He slapped his chest two times. “You are so close to what you want. Don’t miss out on it now. I’m here. I’ve surrendered. Shackle me if you have to.”
“It’s too simple.” Rybek glanced from side to side and let out a strange whistle.
“You have the advantage, Rybek. Your plan has worked. You have won.” Still disguised as Nath, Balzurth shook his black-scaled arms. “You can see there is nothing up my sleeves, and you know I pride myself on honesty.”
A shadow entered the ceremonial chamber and hovered beside Rybek. A phantom. Its head and eyes conversed silently with Rybek. On Rybek’s nod, the phantom lifted off and disappeared through the cathedral ceiling.
“It’s confirmed that you’re alone. Interesting.” Rybek unshackled Nath’s friends and gave them each a firm kick. The man and part-elf were disordered, and mud covered their clothes. They looked like they’d been dragged the entire way. Bayzog looked old enough for his death bed. Ben was hunched over. “Get out of here.” Rybek shoved both of them off the altar.
Eyes of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 4) (Tail of the Dragon) Page 10
