Dragon Stones (Book One in the Dragon Stone Saga)

by Kristian Alva

  Chapter 11: Mitca’s Bad News

  Back in Parthos, Sela paced nervously in the corridor, waiting for King Mitca to arrive. A few moments later, one of the king’s guards popped his head through the thick curtains outside the chamber.

  “Mistress Sela, you may enter.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. She handed the guard her dagger and short sword. Even the dragon riders were prohibited from wearing their weapons in the king’s throne room.

  “Sela, thank you for coming to speak with me in private,” said the king. “Please sit.”

  Sela took a seat at the table, and the king stepped down to join her. There was a bowl of fruit on the table, and she picked absently at some grapes. Her heart pounded with emotion. Even though years had passed since they were lovers, it still made her uncomfortable to be alone with the king.

  The other dragon riders didn’t know that Sela and Mitca were past lovers, although Tallin suspected something, and told her as much. Sela denied the relationship, but her face betrayed her true emotions. It was impossible to keep anything secret from Tallin. He seemed to know everything about everyone.

  “Sela, this is not a social call,” said Mitca.

  “I know,” Sela replied. “I am reading the reports from all over Durn. The news is discouraging. Even the dwarves are preparing for battle.”

  “How goes the training?” asked Mitca.

  “Not very well. Riona and Stormshard are too headstrong. Hanko and Charlight are skittish, and Tallin and Duskeye are uncontrollable. Karela and Orshek may never be ready to take a rider. Their training goes slowly. It’s… disheartening.”

  “Then you must work harder. Accelerate their training. All of the riders have to be ready for war, and time is a luxury we can no longer afford. The emperor’s armies are gathering in the east. Parthos is no longer safe. I lost six of my best soldiers last week to a Balborite assassin.”

  “Another one? That’s the second one this year,” said Sela.

  “Actually, it was the third. You and Brinsop killed one, and Tallin and Duskeye found another travelling alone in the desert. This most recent attack actually reached the city gates. Three of my guards fell instantly, and two others were stabbed with daggers laced with kudu oil. One of my captains managed to remove the dagger in his arm and stab the assassin. Only minutes later, they both died in convulsions from the poison. Neither wound would have been fatal otherwise.”

  “How come I did not hear of these other attacks?” Sela pounded her fist on the table. “It’s my job to keep the city safe!”

  “A king must keep his own counsel. I did not anyone to panic. I do not presume to be told how to do my job, even by a dragon rider.”

  Sela hung her head, chastised. “My lord—how can I prepare for future attacks if I am not allowed to study the enemy?”

  “All of the assassins were killed. You know that a Balborite can never be taken alive. Tallin and Duskeye captured the one they found, but he was dead before they returned to the city. The assassin committed suicide, along the way, without using any weapons.”

  “Did the assassin poison himself?”

  “Duskeye carried the body back to the palace so we could examine it. My surgeon performed an autopsy.”

  “What did you discover at autopsy?”

  “The assassin’s flesh is marked everywhere with magical tattoos. Wherever there was a tattoo on the skin, the surgeon’s knife would not enter the flesh. Tallin had to intervene. He cast a spell to pierce it. When the doctor opened the assassin’s chest, we saw that the heart had burst. It was shattered within his chest. And directly above it was a black stone, implanted near the sternum.”

  “A runestone!”

  “Yes, it was a runestone, enchanted with black magic. I had never seen one up close. Tallin told me not to touch it, because the enchantment could still be active. We were able to make the runes visible, but neither Duskeye nor Tallin could decipher the spell. The stone bore an inscription in the Balborite language. That is all that we know. It is unlikely we will ever take any of the Balborite mercenaries alive—they cannot risk anyone deciphering their secrets.”

  “The runestone blew a hole in the assassin’s chest?”

  “Yes. As long as the assassins are conscious and able to speak, they will be able to kill themselves to evade capture. I had the ashes of the other assassin examined, and we found an identical runestone in the remains.”

  “How about if we use a sleeping spell, or a paralyzing agent? If the assassin cannot talk, then he cannot voice the enchantment. We could capture him alive.”

  “Yes, it’s possible that would work—but to what end? How are we going to question him? As soon as we grant him the ability to speak, he will use the spell to activate the runestone.”

  Sela sighed. “You have a point. Do you feel like the danger has escalated?”

  “Yes, definitely. My scouts have returned with grim news from all across Durn. The emperor has started conscripting youths for his army, and he is using outside mercenaries.”

  “This is old news. The emperor has been assembling troops for over a year. What has changed?”

  “It’s not what you think. The mercenaries are orcs.”

  Sela gasped. “Orcs? The emperor is using orcs? That’s absurd! Orcs eat humans!”

  “Yes, I know. Presumably, the emperor signed a treaty with the orc leader, King Nar, last winter. The orcs have been growing their number for years. Their main outpost is in the northwestern part of Durn, in the caves of Mount Heldeofol. King Nar has been waiting for years to get his revenge against the dwarves. Presumably, the emperor has offered Mount Velik as spoils of war if the orcs help him.”

  “Even the emperor’s army will refuse to fight alongside those monsters.”

  “They won’t have to. Look at their positions.” Mitca pointed to a large map on the wall. “The emperor plans to flank our city and attack us from the north and the east. It is also likely that he will hire mercenaries from Balbor to attack us from the west. The emperor wants Parthos destroyed at all costs.”

  “But why now?”

  “The prophesy. Once I received the note about the dragon stone, I knew that things had gotten serious. The emperor knows that we are harboring dragon riders. He wants to make sure all of them are killed, even if it means he has to work with orcs in order to do it. He has entered into this unholy alliance as a last resort.”

  Sela sighed. This was truly alarming news. “Mitca, if orcs capture this city, everyone will die. The greenskins will slaughter every man, woman and child.”

  “I know. That’s why we have to make sure it doesn’t happen. I have already sent a messenger to the dwarf king, Hergung. We’ve had a strained relationship until now, but we have little choice but to work together. He has already responded in the affirmative.”

  “What are your orders?”

  “Brief the other dragon riders, but do not tell anyone else. You have one month to finish their training. After that, I will be sending each of you out to collect information and perform certain... tasks. Orshek and Karela will stay behind to guard the city.”

  “Orshek and Karela? But they are too young—and who will communicate with them?” asked Sela.

  “One of the palace mages, Alboline, can speak some dragon tongue. She will train alongside them so she can practice. The dragon riders are my best defense inside the Death Sands, but I can’t afford to keep you here any longer. You have to go out and collect information. No one else can travel as fast or as far.”

  “How about the elves?”

  “The elves care little about human suffering. They live out their immortal lives in enchanted cities, and that is where they shall remain. They did not come to our aid during the Orc Wars. Why would they intervene now?”

  Sela hung her head. Mitca was right. An alliance with the dwarves was their only hope. If Emperor Vosper had already formed an alliance with the orcs, then they had to move as quickly as possible. Parthos and all of i
ts citizens were in grave danger. Sela rubbed her temples. She had a pounding headache. She could feel the tendrils of Brinsop’s consciousness. Her dragon knew that something was wrong, and he was already waiting on the fortress ramparts for her.

  “I hear and obey, my king.” Sela ended their conversation formally, and walked out of the throne room. Mitca heard Sela’s soft footfalls as she left the chamber. This was the greatest threat that his city had ever faced. How was he going to tell his people?

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