“You know her.”
At first Nath thought of Sasha, but he and Slivver went way back. Then it hit him. With a gasp he said, “Its Ericha, isn’t it.”
“She is the star and sun of my dreams. Nath, how did you know?”
“I remember how you looked at her in our travels. I never saw you so stricken before, and we’d been in the company of many gorgeous women. But Ericha was the only one you ever spoke to. Do you know where she is? Elome, I assume?”
“I’ve spied on her over the years. Yes, she is still there. I caught a glimpse of her not so long ago. I was so close I could smell the unforgettable scent of her honey-colored hair. And her eyes, as soft and beautiful as the petals of roses. She’s the most wonderful thing in Nalzambor. I love her, Nath. I truly love her.”
Smiling, Nath said, “I see what your problem is: you’re a rebel and a romantic. I’ll tell you this much: I know mortal women like that.” His smile widened. “A lot. Have you told her how you feel?”
“I dare not.” Slivver spread his wings. “Nath, I’m a dragon. She would laugh at me.”
“Why, you loving her is no more absurd than her loving you.”
“I never thought about it that way.”
“That’s because you’re a male dragon. We don’t think the same way women do. But I’ve learned a thing or two hundred over the centuries.” He looked Slivver in the eye. “I’m glad you told me. Now, I’m not certain what the answer is, because it’s weird, but we need to get through the war with the giants first. And assuming we survive, you have to promise me you’ll tell her.”
“I will, Brother.”
“Good, now get your dreamy eyes out of the clouds and help me figure out how to deal with Eckubahn.”
“I actually thought the wizard’s idea was a good one. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I wouldn’t be able to attend.” Slivver sat down on the ground. With his dragon-claw fingers, he ripped out a patch of weeds, revealing a small patch of clover-like flowers. “Evil suffocates all that is good in this world. It quickly spreads. The last thing you want to do is become the yeast in the bread.”
“Evil rises, huh. I know that. I think we are well beyond the spread. It’s everywhere now. What I need is something to barter with. Aside from my head, what is there to barter with? I can’t give them more power.”
“Perhaps you should evacuate Dragon Home.”
“That’s madness. Would the dwarves and elves give up their homes?” His long fingers dug into his palms. “They’d die first. So would we. We’d be scattered. The whole point is to bring us together again.”
“It was just a suggestion. No, Nath, this is a mystery. I could go into the city, feel it out and see what they want. At least figure out where Selene is.”
“I’ll consider it.” Nath feigned a yawn. “And if you don’t mind, Slivver, I’d like some time to myself.”
“Certainly.”
CHAPTER 27
The fight at the old fort on the hill took it out of Selene. She hung in there as long as she could, but the overwhelming forces of nuurg and wurmers proved to be too much. Her dragon-strong limbs gave way. The brutes subdued her.
“Welcome home, Selene!” Tylabahn said. The titan in Gorlee’s body rode a wrath horn and led in the front. She wasn’t as big as the last time Selene had seen her but still the size of a nuurg. The titan’s shaggy hair covered her back like a muddy waterfall. She was ghastly, like a mystic field hag from the north. “I look forward to seeing how the citizens greet your return.”
I don’t.
Selene’s hands were bound with the type of rope orcen poachers used to bind up trapped dragons. They called it iron cord, which was a dwarven version of the elven elotween rope. The fibers were hard to cut or break, rendering her sharp claws useless. A second rope was wrapped around her waist and linked to one of the wrath horn’s saddles. She was by far the smallest among them all. She felt like it, too.
I hope Sansla survived.
Tylabahn led the group down one of the main roads that led into the once-Free City of Narnum. Every face they passed was long and tired, grubby and dirty. In the skies, wurmers circled in clusters. There were hundreds of them. Everywhere she looked, she saw dozens of them. Inside the city, the ugly insect-like wurmer dragons were perched on rooftops and ledges. The locust-like ree-rah sound was a constant annoyance.
Tylabahn gave an order to one of the nuurg soldiers.
The brute nodded. Digging his heels into the ribs of the wrath horn he rode, he galloped toward the city.
Tylabahn looked back at Selene. “I’m letting Eckubahn know that I’m bringing you. Just imagine how excited the people will be to see their former queen. As I understand it, you were awfully good to them.”
Selene didn’t show any expression. She toiled along, lifeless, determined not to give Tylabahn anything to feed on. The remarks, however, ate at her. Selene had been anything but kind to the citizens of Narnum. She’d been a dictator. Cruel and malicious. If anyone dared to speak against her, she hadn’t hesitated to put them in prison or silence their treasonous tongues with death. Reigning by fear, not love, was all she had known back then.
About one hundred yards away from the main entrance of the trade city, Tylabahn came to a stop. The brisk winds dusted through her wavy ribbons of hair. She looked at Selene from the corner of her eye. There was an evil glimmer there.
What’s she up to now?
Tylabahn’s disturbing shambled appearance ate at Selene. She had figured Tylabahn would take on a more comely form—which evil often did. Instead, her appearance was repellent. The word “lummox” was an understatement when describing the brutish hag, but somehow fitting. Selene kept her eyes forward.
Giants marched out of the city, twelve feet tall and wearing heavy coats of chain-mail armor. One of them waved his hand.
Tylabahn jerked the reins. “Ah, Eckubahn awaits us. Let’s not waste his precious time.” The wrath horn she rode reared up and whinnied. She took off in a thunderous gallop.
The nuurg riders followed suit, including the one Selene was tethered to by the wrists. She was jerked off her feet. They dragged her face first down the muddy road into the city. She fought all the while to regain her footing, but it was impossible. She was at the mercy of the powerful wrath horns. For the first mile, it took all she had just to keep spitting the mud from her mouth. If the mud was bad, the next mile of cobblestone roads was worse. The hard surface jarred her limbs and clacked her teeth. Halfway into the city, they slowed to a trot.
There wasn’t anything to be thankful for. She was still scraping over the road on her hands and knees. The wrath horns’ long strides allowed them to move fast enough even at a walk so that she couldn’t gain her feet.
She quickly realized she didn’t want to. People lined up on both sides of the streets shouted insults at her. The anger spread as word came out that Selene had returned. Children hurled rotten fruit and vegetables. Rocks were flung that skipped off her head and back. It was nonstop misery all the way into the center of the city.
I deserve this. Every bit of it and worse.
She could feel the rage of the families she’d destroyed. She saw the people’s faces. Anger. Hatred. Misery.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. There were people in the crowd who weren’t normal. Their faces were contorted into unnatural shapes, and unusual sounds came from their mouths. They danced and screamed like wild things.
“We hate you, Selene!”
“Kill her!”
“She’s an abomination!”
“Cut that tail off of her!”
The harassment stopped when she was dragged into a great cathedral that had been built after she’d left. The people could still be heard on the outside, demanding that she be put to death.
I knew my time would come. It’s only fitting that this be the place where it happens.
Coming to her feet, she studied the huge circular chamber. The grand cathedral ceiling was
suspended more than fifty feet above her by stone columns. There were paintings on the ceiling, of giants slaying dragons in a massive war.
Tylabahn dismounted. She walked over to the wrath horn Selene’s rope was linked to and unhooked it. She reeled the rope in until it was taut and gave it a jerk.
Selene shuffled after her, noting the surrounding guards. Between the ten columns that held the ceiling were twenty-foot-tall giant soldiers in full armor. Each was beastly, and the armor they wore was crude and not the best fit. It seemed to have more of a ceremonial purpose than a practical one, seeing how giant skin in many cases was too thick to cut.
Tylabahn approached the dais.
Eckubahn, bigger than all the rest with his head covered in fiery flames, sat on the throne of dragon bones. His dark eyes were fixed on Selene.
“Greetings, Brother,” Tylabahn said with a slight bow. “I come bearing gifts and some bad news. The wurmer nest I occupied has been destroyed, by this one’s hands. Our enemies grow wiser.”
“Sister, it is disappointing, but we can deal with that. Wurmers multiply fast. We’ll triple the protection of the nests. As for bringing me this one, well, nothing could please me more—aside from Nath Dragon. You have done well.”
He leaned forward and said to Selene, “Your presence has upset my people. When my people are upset, then I am upset. I will give them satisfaction. Prepare, Selene, for judgment.”
CHAPTER 28
“Bayzog,” said Sasha, “I need to go in with them. I can protect them.”
“We can’t risk them detecting your magic, dear. You’re too strong with it. I fear they’ll smell you out.” Bayzog was leaning over Brenwar’s chest. The lid was open. With a soft touch, he rummaged through the potions and items within. “They’ll need magic, but something a bit more subtle.”
“Nath has far more magic than I do, and he’s going in,” she said. “What’s to stop the titans from sensing him?”
Nath shrugged.
Bayzog replied, “You raise a good point. I won’t lie. I really don’t want any of my family going in. Not without me, at least. That’s the belly of the beast in there.”
“But you would send your sons?” Sasha said.
“Mother, we’ll be fine.” Rerry kneeled down by his father. “It’s just a scout mission. Perhaps if Samaz stays behind, you’ll be more comfortable?”
Samaz scoffed. “No, I’m going. You’ll need me in case you get into a jam.”
“No, you stay with Mother and Father. You’re too slow to go!” Rerry said.
“Enough!” Nath said. “I’ll decide who comes with me. I’m more concerned about going in there without any weapons.” He patted Fang’s pommel. “I think I’ll need my blade in case we get into a mess.”
“If you get into a mess, just call out. The silvers and I will come,” Slivver said.
“I don’t know.” Nath removed his sword belt and tossed it to the ground. “I’m certain that if we go in, we’ll be searched. I’m just going to have to use my wits—to get in and out.”
“I thought we were going to sneak in,” said Ben.
“Ha!” Brenwar remarked. “Not with all of those wurmers. You could be the size of a field mouse and still not get inside.”
Nath’s eyes brightened. “Except they won’t be looking for field mice, will they.”
With a puzzled look, Brenwar said, “I don’t suppose, unless their cats are hungry.”
“That’s not what I mean. Bayzog, can you shrink us?”
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that,” Ben said. “Well, that and be a giant, and a dragon. I think I saw a potion for that.”
Rerry plucked a vial out of the box. “I think this is it.”
Bayzog snatched it away. “I know what’s what!” He eyed the lavender fluid. “Yes, this is the one. I’m not sure how you knew.”
“I can read the little labels,” Rerry replied, touching one vial lid after the other. “Polymorph, winged feet, fire breath, iron skin, sea gills…”
“Why don’t you turn into a bat again, Nath?” Brenwar said.
Nath smirked. He’d done that to escape Brenwar in Morgdon. It hadn’t gone too well. The real bats had almost killed him. It was then that he had discovered his inner flame and scorched them. “I have a feeling the wurmers eat bats, so I’ll pass. Besides, shrinking sounds like a good alternative.”
“The vial only has two doses within, Nath,” Bayzog said. “That’s only enough for two people. It won’t last that long, either, when you split it.”
“I guess it’s just you and me, Ben.”
“Oh, cackleberries!” Rerry said. “I wanted to go!”
“Maybe next time, Rerry. Bayzog, will the potion shrink our gear?”
“It should.”
Nath contemplated taking Fang, but he had a feeling that in the new Narnum, if you weren’t a soldier or a giant, then you weren’t carrying any weapons. Rubbing his chin, he said, “Ben, we’re going in with only our wits for weapons. Are you comfortable with that?”
“Certainly.” Ben took off his sword belt while he watched Nath unlatch Akron from his back and set the bow aside. “Of course, you can still breathe fire if you have to, can’t you?”
“I suppose.”
“Hopefully there won’t be any need for that during this reconnaissance mission.” Bayzog started filling Nath and Ben’s pouches with mystic vials. He told them what each did by their colors. “Just get in and get out. But once you shrink, you’ll be very small, and your journey from here will become miles long. How do you propose to get in before the magic dissipates?”
“I never thought about that. Hmmm… how much will we shrink?”
“I’d say you’ll be at most a hundredth of your weight.”
Nath searched the vast distance between them and the entrances to Narnum. The city had channels that tapped into the river that rushed nearby. “I have an idea.”
***
Brenwar, Ben, Rerry, and Nath slunk over to the river bank. The water seemed harmless but moved fast.
Brenwar dug a piece of driftwood out of the sand. “Do you think you can hang onto this?”
“I suppose,” Nath replied. He nodded to Rerry in thanks. Gathering Rerry’s traveling cloak around him in order to blend in once the shrinking potion wore off, he held up the lavender vial and drank down half the contents, then handed it over to Ben.
“Bottoms up!” Ben said in Samaz’s traveling cloak, nodding to Samaz and then gulping down the rest of the potion. “Mmm, it has a bit of a cherry flavor to it that tingles the tongue. How long until it takes?”
“I don’t know. Brenwar?”
“Why would I have any idea?” All of a sudden, Brenwar’s voice deepened. His words became loud and slow. In a long, drawn-out voice he said, “Nath?”
Right before Nath’s eyes, Brenwar started to grow, slowly at first, then it sped up. Nath felt his stomach sink into his toes. Arms out, he steadied his footing. Brenwar looked to be over a hundred feet tall, perhaps two hundred. Rerry was even taller. “I must look like a chipmunk beside him.” He swung around. Ben wobbled. Nath reached out and steadied him. “Just stand still until Nalzambor stops spinning.”
“Good idea.”
Nath saw Brenwar pointing at the hunk of driftwood. It now looked like a barge. “I guess we need to get on then. Are you ready, Ben?”
“I suppose, but I hope you don’t regret taking me over Rerry. I may be getting too old for this.”
Together they climbed onto the driftwood. Brenwar picked them up and waded into the river. The winds were much stronger and faster than Nath remembered them being before they shrank. The waters swiftly passed under them like wild rapids. Brenwar set them down in the river.
“Ready?”
They nodded, and the dwarf let them go. In a whoosh, the waters took them toward Narnum at a frightening speed. Ben was screaming.
CHAPTER 29
The swift river tossed Nath and Ben back and forth, jostling them
all over the driftwood barge they clung to. With water splashing his face, Ben called out to Nath, “I’m slipping!”
Digging into the soft bark with his claws, Nath inched his way toward Ben. He wrapped his arm around Ben’s waist and said, “I’ve got you. We’re almost there.”
Spitting water out of his mouth, Ben tried to speak. Only splutter came out.
The river ran outside the city’s boundary, but man-made channels fed the fresh water into the city. Nath kicked his legs against the current, guiding the strange watercraft toward the next split that led into the city. He turned the hunk of wood just enough by using his swimming legs like a rudder. They sailed into the foaming gap where the river and the channel met and made rapids.
“Hang on to me, Ben!”
They splashed into the surge. Fully submerged, he held onto Ben until they popped up again. The water here wasn’t quite as swift but a steady flow heading into the city. Ben started coughing. Nath slapped his friend on the back. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“I’d like to say so, but admittedly, I can’t. Nath, I don’t think I want to be small anymore.”
“I have a feeling you soon won’t be.”
Narnum lay ahead. An aqueduct system covered in archways fed the city. The arches looked like gigantic bridges when they passed under them. Looking backward, Ben said with chattering teeth, “Where do we get off? This water is cold.”
“I have to admit, Ben, I haven’t thought it that far through.”
“Good plan.”
Back in the day, Narnum had been one of Nath’s favorite playgrounds. He knew the city like a local. “Don’t worry, I’ll know where we are when we get there. I’m just not used to coming in on the river.”
“That makes sense enough. Nath, look!”
Nath’s head whipped around.
A muskrat bigger than two of Nath put together slipped off the bank and swam right for them. “Guz—er, Great Dragons! Looks like someone is hungry. I have to let go of you, Ben. You have to hang on!”
Ben nodded. “Go, go. I don’t want to die by vermin.”
Judgment of the Dragon (Book 7 of 10): Dragon Fantasy Series (Tail of the Dragon) Page 9
