“I won’t.”
Slivver and all the other dragons departed, leaving Grahleyna alone in the chamber. With her tail, she smacked the stone frames around the murals. With spits of fire, she turned them to flame. All save one. The doors into the chamber collapsed. Wurmers spilled into the room. Grahleyna escaped through the last open mural a second before all the walls and floors fell through.
***
Using a battering ram, ogres bashed open the door to Balzurth’s throne room. With eyes bigger than silver saucers, the dark forces rushed in and saw the treasure. They danced, they sang, they reveled in it. Their filthy bodies swam in the piles of coins. They hurled gems the size of stones at one another. They had taken Dragon Home. With victory came the spoils and control of the world. With piles of golden coins cascading between their fingers, they jumped up and down, laughing.
The chamber groaned. Their vile bodies froze. The floor dropped out from under them.
Tons of treasure crushed them.
CHAPTER 39
Nath hit the lava. Excruciating pain exploded over every single fiber of his being. From his toenails to the top of his hair, he burned. To make it worse, he lived. Suffering and suffocating, the only thing he could think to do as he sank into the molten rock was to hold his breath. His mind screamed, “Yeeeeeeooooouuuuuuch!”
With his body lost in another time and space that was incomprehensible thanks to the incessant fires that smothered him, he swam. His life flashed before his eyes. His childhood with his father. Time spent with his many friends. Selene, Brenwar, and Ben came to mind. Worse, the scowling, sneering, victorious faces of the titans. They would take over.
No! I can’t lose! I won’t lose! What kind of dragon dies like this?
Eyes shut, there was only a glowing orange darkness on his lids. He felt his toes hit rock bottom. The searing torment went on and on, seeming to last forever.
How do I live? Ah, the pain! No one should live like this!
Fighting the unearthly pain, he surged step by step at the bottom of the moat. He was trapped in a sea of inescapable agony. No torture ever could be so bad. He was on fire. He burned so hot he felt it inside and out. His blood boiled, but he did not die.
Impossible!
Somehow, he trudged through the burning liquid rock. With the scorching heat so bad that he could barely feel, he realized he still had Fang gripped in his hand.
Fang, if you can get me out of here, please, help me!
He moved on, fishing with the tip of Fang and trying to find a way out of the pool of hot wrath. Feeling his very own heart burn, his mind started to cave in to fear. That fear made the fires all the hotter. The intolerable heat triggered a moment of panic, followed by something else. Enlightenment.
If the red rock dragons can survive this, perhaps so can I?
When he was a boy, he had watched the red rock dragons that bathed in the lava pools. They rolled and basked in the hot murk like it was water on a warm summer day. They were dragons, special ones, and so was he. He was the Dragon King, after all.
He remembered sitting on a crag in the mountain one day, watching the red rocks play. Balzurth overshadowed him, a warm and protective fire. His father had said, “A day will come known as the immersion of flame. Don’t give in to the flame. Own it…or perish.”
Those words rang out in his head.
This is it. This is my immersion! I won’t give in, Father! The Dragons need me! My friends need me. Nalzambor needs me! I’ll do what I must, for them! In the heavy liquid rock, his chest started to heave. He opened his eyes into a burning sea of orange where there was no direction. Groaning, he forced himself forward with a new energy and bursting confidence.
Guzan! If I’m not dead yet, this molten lava must not be able to kill me.
He surged on until Fang hit rock. He dug the claws of his hands and feet in the moat wall. He climbed, slowly and agonizingly, hand and foot. His head emerged. The air felt like ice. He scrambled onto the bank, dripping in molten lava.
I’m out! Yes! I’m out!
The molten lava quickly cooled. It sealed him like a mummy in a crystal cocoon. The lava stiffened all around him, hardening into a shell.
Sultans of Sulfur!
Through a small opening at his mouth, Nath breathed. The cooling coat was refreshing compared to the blinding heat he had emerged from. He let the lava finish stiffening. Something told him to wait.
He recalled how the red rock dragons shook off the lava before they burrowed into the bank with the lava crust around them. With a shake, he broke free of his sulfurous shell. He dusted off the debris. He banged Fang on the rocks, freeing the blade of his ugly coating.
“Well done, Fang. Thanks. I know you played a part in saving me.”
He started to climb up the bank, fully expecting to see the titan army attacking him from all directions. He was across the moat from the mountain, just outside the enemy’s camp.
The place was abandoned. Wurmers no longer filled the skies. Only handfuls flew in flocks attacking the top of the mountain. There was quiet. He also noticed that Isobahn’s giant body was gone. The ice had long melted away.
“Where did they all go?”
Scuffles of metal echoing out of the tunnels inside the mountain caught his ear. Squinting, he studied the giant holes.
They’re inside! All of them! I need to help them!
He dashed across the bridge.
A stray bunch of wurmers came at him.
In three quick slices, he ended them.
He made it to the other side and came to a stop. The base of the mountain trembled. Rocks bounced down in an avalanche that started to grow. He stepped backward. Voices cried out in a loud panic. Members of the titan army stormed out of the tunnel. Huge hunks of falling rock crushed them.
With his golden eyes as big as the sun, Nath backed down the bridge.
TOOOOM!
The entire base of the mountain dropped over a hundred feet into the ground. A great cry came from within the mountain.
TOOOOM!
The level above the base collapsed. Another level crashed down, followed by another, all the way to the top.
TOOOOM! TOOOOM! TOOOOM! TOOOOM! TOOOOM!
Dragon Home looked like a pyramid collapsing into itself. Huge hunks of stone and boulder rumbled down to the ground. Trees were uprooted. Birds scattered. Varmints nestled within were crushed. The quaking went on for minutes. Nath couldn’t believe his eyes. His thoughts went to his friends and fellow dragons. It wasn’t possible that they all had made it out.
A storm of dust rolled down the great hill, coating him in smoky brown. He backed all the way to the other side of the bridge, watching the dust clear. Dragon Home still stood, but its peak was much lower. The very top had collapsed inside itself, appearing like the mouth of a volcano.
Nath blinked the grit out of his eyes.
I must get up there!
CHAPTER 40
Nath fell to his knees, holding his head. So many had died, good and bad. He felt the lives of many coursing through him in a fearful wave. It stood his hairs on end. It passed, leaving him in a cold sweat on his scales. His breath was frost.
Thousands of wurmers, orcs, ogres, bugbears, and giants had been crushed. It was a great victory that came at a great price. Hundreds of dragons must have died. Possibly, so had his friends. He had no idea. All he knew to do was climb. At the new base of the mountain, he started his journey toward the top.
Below him, at the mouth of one of the tunnels, the rubble started to shift. With hope in his heart, he eased down that way.
A giant pushed through the rocks and tossed them aside. The brute was covered in patches of hair. His shaggy head turned to green flame.
“Isobahn!” Nath said with fury.
The titan turned. Eye level with Nath, he said with surprise, “You live? Humph! Like me, you cannot die. Impressive, Nath Dragon. To my delight, I’m glad to inform you that your friends were not as fortunate as you. The
y all perished. Now, it’s just me—including thousands upon thousands of our growing army—and you.” He glimpsed at the mountain. “This setback won’t stop us.”
“Nonetheless, it is a victory. Our fight isn’t finished yet.”
“Pah!” Isobahn shooed him away. “If this mountain cannot take me, then you can’t take me either. I jumped from body to body until I found this one. I made it. I’m invincible.”
“True, but there aren’t any bodies around for you to jump to now, are there.”
Seeing no more giants in sight, Isobahn grunted. “No matter. You cannot defeat me. It’s over.” Isobahn’s body shimmered. His spirit seeped out of his body. Wispy hands clawed at Nath. “I’ll just take you over!”
Cat quick with a golden flash in his eyes, Nath jumped at Isobahn and buried Fang’s hilt deep in the giant’s heart.
The titan tumbled backward and fell. The flames on his ugly head went out. The spirit of Isobahn came out of the body with a howl. The spirit hovered and quavered for a long moment.
Nath made out Isobahn’s eyes and heard the spirit speak.
“Beware, I will find another host.”
On instinct, Nath stabbed the cloudy spirit.
It shrieked, writhed—and exploded into dust.
“Whoa.” He looked at his weapon with new respect. “A sword that pierces the body and the spirit. That’s more than impressive, Fang.”
Nath resumed his long journey toward the top of the mountain, traversing the new landscape, hopping over new ridges and seams. He encountered two spirit-like visions before him. Brandishing Fang, he said, “Fair warning, go in peace or a thousand pieces.”
The ethereal images solidified.
He gaped. “Brenwar! Selene!”
They were as wide-eyed as him. Woozy, Selene said, “Brenwar, what potion did you give us?”
“I don’t know. I just plucked them from the chest. I just wanted to have something for a final salute. I didn’t even think of them turning us into ghosts.” He shook his beard. “Dwarves don’t float.”
“No, they’re supposed to sink.” Selene tousled his hair. “Either way, you saved us. I couldn’t be gladder.” She eyed Nath. “Nice scales.”
“Huh?”
Nath took the first long look at himself. His legs and chest were scales. He touched his face and felt tiny scales on his chin. “Is my face covered?”
She nodded. “You look burnt, but still handsome. Too bad your hair is missing.”
“What?” His fingers found his locks. “Aw, Selene.”
She gave him a long embrace. “I don’t know how you did it, but I’m thrilled you’re back. You might want to cover up the rest of you, however. The wings are a nice change too.”
“Wings? You’re teasing again, aren’t you?”
She stepped away.
Black wings stretched outward from his back. His heart leapt for joy. “I can fly again! I’ll see you at the top of the mountain.” He took off, flying with glee. He and Fang flew through the air, slaughtering every surviving wurmer in sight. He met up with Brenwar and Selene on the top of the mountain. “I don’t suppose we know if the others came out of this alive.”
“I think it’s safe to believe they did. Grahleyna was well prepared,” she said. “Your plan worked. The titan army lies dead.”
“Yes,” Nath replied, “this battle is won, but the war is far from over.”
NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES
Hello! I hope you enjoyed this next step in Nath’s amazing journey. Also, no cliffhangers. I couldn’t do that to you again. Anyway, Book 9, Power of the Dragon, will be released at the end of March 2017. Pre-Order Now! Thanks so much for reading.
Also, please leave a review. They are a huge help to me!
Best,
Craig
OTHER BOOKS AND AUTHOR INFO
Craig Halloran resides with his family outside his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. When he isn’t entertaining mankind, he is seeking adventure, working out, or watching sports. To learn more about him, go to: www.thedarkslayer.com.
Check out all of my great stories …
CLASH OF HEROES: Nath Dragon meets The Darkslayer
Squawk - Beginnings
Squawk - Odyssey
Squawk – Revelations
The Chronicles of Dragon Series
The Hero, the Sword and the Dragons (Book 1)
Dragon Bones and Tombstones (Book 2)
Terror at the Temple (Book 3)
Clutch of the Cleric (Book 4)
Hunt for the Hero (Book 5)
Siege at the Settlements (Book 6)
Strife in the Sky (Book 7)
Fight and the Fury (Book 8)
War in the Winds (Book 9)
Finale (Book 10)
The Chronicles of Dragon: Series 2, Tail of the Dragon
Tail of the Dragon
Claws of the Dragon
Eye of the Dragon
Scales of the Dragon
Trial of the Dragon
Teeth of the Dragon
The Darkslayer Series 1
Wrath of the Royals (Book 1)
Blades in the Night (Book 2)
Underling Revenge (Book 3)
Danger and the Druid (Book 4)
Outrage in the Outlands (Book 5)
Chaos at the Castle (Book 6)
The Darkslayer: Bish and Bone, Series 2
Bish and Bone (Book 1)
lack Blood (Book 2)
Red Death (Book 3)
Lethal Liaisons (Book 4)
Torment and Terror (Book 5)
The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files
Smoke Rising (2015)
I Smell Smoke (2015)
Where There’s Smoke (2015)
Smoke on the Water (2015)
Smoke and Mirrors (2015)
Up in Smoke
Smoke Em’
Holy Smoke
Smoke Out
Zombie Impact Series
Zombie Day Care: Book 1
Zombie Rehab: Book 2
Zombie Warfare: Book 3
You can learn more about the Darkslayer and my other books deals and specials at:
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www.craighalloran.com
Wrath of the Dragon: (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 8) (Tail of the Dragon) Page 13
