The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10)

by Craig Halloran

  CHAPTER 32

  There was no stopping Bayzog. He insisted we take him to where Sasha was abducted, which we did. He scoured the spot where the necklace had been found, holding a small rod in his hand. It glowed like a lantern but was fueled by something else. Magic. It formed a wide beam of light, illuminating the ground.

  “That’s not going to help,” Shum said. “Even with a full day of light, the water washed all signs and tracks out. I can’t make out one single hoofprint.”

  Bayzog kept going about his business. On his knees, he rubbed his hands in the dirt where the locket had been found.

  The rest of us did our best to assist him. Even Brenwar dug around.

  After we’d been stumbling around for hours, the rain came to a stop and dawn began to break. Birds chirped, and the distant sound of a rooster’s crow caught my ears.

  “We can broaden the search now,” Shum suggested.

  “Oh, can we now, Ranger?” Bayzog said. “Perhaps you can lead us right to him, unless you’re protecting him.”

  “You know better,” Shum said.

  “Shum, I hardly know you at all, or your kind. You’re practically shunned by the rest of elven kind, and now I’m supposed to trust you?” Bayzog extinguished his rod with a word and stuffed it into his robes. “Your king snatches women and children. Is accused of murder. Is cursed. A monster. And now he has Sasha!”

  “We don’t know that for certain,” I said, stepping between them.

  Bayzog turned on me with his fists bunched up. “What?”

  “We only know what Garrison said he saw,” I said, “and I don’t fully trust Garrison. Maybe Ben saw something else. It was dark.”

  “I don’t follow,” Brenwar said. “What is it you sense with Garrison, Dragon?”

  I smiled grimly at Brenwar. He knew the sense I had. A detection. I could tell the truth from a lie most of the time. “I’m certain Garrison is holding something back from us. Maybe from fear or maybe from embarrassment.”

  Bayzog swung himself up into his saddle.

  “Where are you going?” I said.

  “Wherever I have to go to find Sasha.”

  He trotted off, leaving the three of us looking at each other.

  “Let’s just follow him,” I said. “I’m certain he has his own way of tracking her.”

  We spent the next few hours scouring the plains. Bayzog cast detection spells here and there and kept his eyes up often.

  Shum rode along my side, talking. “It’s possible it is indeed Sansla Libor, Dragon,” he said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “As I’ve said before, I think you two were connected when the both of you met. He searched you out, remember?”

  “Of course,” I said, “but why would he take Sasha? Why not come right after me? Besides, we were far north the last time.”

  “Anything can happen,” Shum said, riding his horse away.

  “Look!” Bayzog cried out from afar, pointing into the sky.

  There are many things that fly, particularly birds and dragons. But this was neither. Whatever it was, it was shaped more like a man. A big man.

  Bayzog was already at a full gallop. Everyone else was riding behind.

  The creature was high in the air and seemed to hover at times, but I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t getting any farther away, and we weren’t getting any closer. Bayzog wasn’t going to stop, and we weren’t either.

  All my doubts about Sansla Libor faded away. It must be him. What else could it be? And I’d expected a lengthy search, weeks if not months, to find the Elf King turned monster. And now there he was, flying high above us.

  It seemed Garrison had been right after all.

  We’d kept pace for a few more miles when it finally dipped and dove into the mouth of the crater. Bayzog stopped and looked back at me. He wasn’t the only one. Shum and Brenwar’s eyes were intent on me as well. In a world full of monsters, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Perhaps all along the winged ape had been hiding in the crater. Back in the caves that I had wanted to search through earlier. Now it must have sniffed me out. Been waiting. Perhaps luring me within. It wanted me for some reason. Perhaps another fight like the last time, but this time I’d be ready.

  “I suggest we leave the horses,” I said. “They’ll be all right.”

  Shum swung his long leg out of his saddle and hopped to the ground. He whispered in his great stallion’s ear and turned to face us.

  “Aaryn will keep them safe,” the ranger said, slipping his small spear from the saddle and hooking it behind his back. “He’ll lead them out of danger if need be.”

  Brenwar unhitched his small chest from his horse and dropped it to the ground.

  “Brenwar,” I said, “careful, there are potions in there.”

  “So?” he said, unhitching the catches and opening it up. Rows of color-filled vials popped up. “See anything you need, Dragon? Wizard?”

  Bayzog came and leaned over.

  The bottom of the chest was filled with trinkets and other items I hadn’t noticed before.

  Bayzog slipped his fingers around two of the vials.

  Brenwar grabbed a strange metal horn and stuffed it into one of his pouches.

  The chest made me think of my father and his throne. When he banished me, he didn’t let me take a thing. But he let Brenwar take what he thought would be needed. I reached inside and wrapped my fingers around a large, bright marble. It was a Dragon Eye. Not a real one, of course, but it might aid us on our search.

  “Got everything ye need?” Brenwar said. We nodded. He grabbed the Cloth of Concealment, sealed the chest shut, carried it to the edge of the woods, and covered it up.

  “You sure that’s safe?” Shum asked.

  “You sure you’re an elf?” Brenwar grunted and headed into the woods.

  But it was Shum who led us to the lip of the crater. “There’s a path up ahead,” he said, “that took us out of here before. I don’t advise that we take it back down again.”

  “I say we go in right here,” Bayzog said, twisting a ring on his finger. “Stay close.” He jumped off the edge and floated down. “Hurry!”

  “Dwarves don’t float,” Brenwar said.

  Shum and I grabbed him by the arms and jumped after the wizard.

  “You dare!” Brenwar said. That, and a few other things, all the way down.

  We landed soft as feathers and trekked into the woods on quiet feet before stopping briefly to speak.

  “I say we search the caves first,” I suggested.

  Bayzog disagreed. “We should split up. Cover more ground.”

  I looked him in the eye and said, “This needs to be a united effort. We stay together.”

  Bayzog glared at me. It was a new look. I’d never even seen the elf rattled, for that matter, but now he was.

  I didn’t blame him. I put my hand on his shoulder. “We will find Sasha.”

  Bayzog nodded, kept his chin down and said, “Agreed.”

  The leaves on the trees started to shake.

  Thoom. Thoom.

  CHAPTER 33

  Brenwar’s brows buckled. “Good, another giant.”

  “No,” I said, keeping my voice down. “We aren’t taking this one head on.”

  “Why not?” he said.

  “We’re here for Sasha,” I said. “We won’t be fighting anything if we can avoid it.”

  “Says you,” Brenwar said, smacking his war hammer into his hand.

  Thoom.

  “I’ll take us around,” Shum said, “and let’s hope there aren’t many more around.”

  “It might not be a giant anyway,” I said.

  “Oh, it’s a giant, all right,” Brenwar added, following along after Shum and Bayzog.

  I took up the rear. I didn’t want any of us to get separated.

  Ahead, Shum led us away from the heavy steps of the ettin, giant, or whatever it was. Fighting that would let the entire crater know we were there. We just needed to get in a
nd out. Be quick about it.

  Navigating the forest wasn’t difficult. The dwarf and the elf both had keen vision, as did I. But satyrs did, too, so we had to be careful. They were dangerous and known to be vengeful.

  Shum stopped and held up his hand.

  The heavy giant steps had faded away, but something howled. A predator. Wolves, I believed. The crickets and bugs still chirped, however. That was a good thing. If danger or evil were near, they’d fall silent.

  Shum signaled back to me with his fingers flashing in the air.

  I’ll be right back.

  I signaled a reply.

  Wait!

  He was gone as if he’d never been there at all.

  Brenwar slung his hammer over his shoulder, shaking his head.

  Bayzog stood with a frown.

  I trusted Shum, but in truth I didn’t know him that well. Not like Brenwar and Bayzog, both of whom I trusted with my life. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and sat down. Shum didn’t have any business running off like that. Not at a time like this.

  I could feel Brenwar’s eyes on me. He was saying something. Nodding a little.

  I looked away from him. I got it. I just didn’t want to admit it. The feeling you get when someone runs off without your permission. It makes you worry a little.

  Minutes later, Shum emerged and we gathered around.

  “The gnolls and goblins are gone. Disappeared. No tracks,” he said.

  That was odd. There had to be tracks of something.

  “Did you notice anything else?” I asked.

  “Just the entrance to the tunnels. Wide open.”

  “Tunnels, you say?” Brenwar said. “Guess I’ll be leading, then.”

  “Hold still, will you?” I said. I pulled out the marble. The Dragon Eye.

  ***

  The tunnels were many. Some were goblin sized, others large enough to ride a horse inside. We needed to choose one out of the many.

  Brenwar kneeled at the mouth of one, tasted a handful of dirt, and spit it out.

  “What do you think, Brenwar?”

  “It’s dirty.”

  “Well, yes,” I said, “I think that’s obvious.”

  “No,” he said raising to full height. “Evil dirty. Bad something in there. Real bad.”

  “Shum,” I said, “don’t you find it odd that Sansla would live in a cave?”

  “No,” he said, “we use caves for shelter and hideouts all the time. It’s not uncommon, not for us, anyway.”

  “I’m going in,” Bayzog said. “Brenwar, will you lead the way?”

  “Certainly,” Brenwar said, marching inside.

  “A little caution, please,” I said, holding out the Dragon Eye. “Let this be our guide. No offense, Brenwar.”

  He turned his cheek and harrumphed.

  I flicked the marble into the tunnel. It glowed a pale green like a lantern bug and hovered forward into the darkness until it disappeared.

  “Lead the way,” I said, gesturing to Brenwar.

  “I thought we were following your little bauble,” he said, marching along with Bayzog right in step behind him. “What’s that thing do, anyway?”

  “Sees what we cannot. Warns us of any danger,” I said.

  “Good, then I guess we don’t have anything to worry about now, do we?” Brenwar said, marching off.

  The tunnels led from one to another. It only made sense to head through the openings big enough for a large ape to manage.

  “Look,” Brenwar said.

  In a cave nook were some gnawed-up bones and other remains. Cloth, ashes, and embers from a fire. We kept going, seeing traces of life here and there. It made me think of the goblin hideout we had ventured through before.

  “Hmmm,” Brenwar said, stopping and pulling at his beard. He eyed a cave wall and ran his hands over the rock. “Seems there have been some civilized settlements here after all. Sloppy work. Probably from orcs or some other beast that’s not smarter than the pick it swings.”

  I checked with Shum behind me. “Anything?”

  “No,” he said. “But these tunnels probably go for miles.”

  Bayzog was silent at my side, a faint glow on his fingertips.

  “We’re going to find her,” I said.

  “I know we are,” Bayzog said. “We have to.”

  We spent the next hour following Brenwar, and I only assumed the Dragon Eye was still ahead. I grew more and more puzzled. We saw fewer and fewer signs of life.

  Finally, Brenwar put his hand out and gestured, touching his nose. Something ahead.

  I could smell it myself. Life. Blood. We kept moving.

  From the way the air moved, I knew the tunnel had opened into a large cave. But it was pitch black, and I couldn’t see from one side to the other. There were no outlines. No nothing. We crept inside, keeping close to one another.

  Something shuffled in the dark. Its breath was heavy, and it grunted a little.

  My fingertips tingled beneath my claws, and my heat-sensitive eyes adjusted a little to the darkness.

  A warm figure was huddled on the floor, trembling.

  Sasha! That was my first thought. I wondered if Bayzog saw her as well. Her fragrance filled my nostrils. It was her! I reached for Bayzog. We had to be careful. Take it easy. Slow. I touched his shoulder and pointed toward her.

  Bayzog’s body stiffened.

  I waved my finger in front of his face. Hold.

  The Dragon Eye hadn’t alerted me, so perhaps there wasn’t any danger. Maybe the winged ape had left her and taken off.

  But I heard something else breathing in here. Something big.

  I picked up a stone and chucked it over the room. Something bounded after it. Heavy and powerful.

  Bayzog dashed toward the figure of Sasha.

  Brenwar and I stood guard, waiting for the creature to return. It was coming back.

  “Why can’t I see it?” I said.

  “Perhaps you need more light,” an unfamiliar voice replied.

  Pop!

  Fire pits erupted throughout the cavern in orange-green flames.

  “Is that better, Nath Dragon?” the dark voice said.

  I tore Fang out and faced the sound of the voice.

  Shing.

  “Who are you?” Brenwar came along my side, with Shum right behind us. Bayzog held Sasha in his arms. “What is this?”

  “Well,” the voice said, emerging from a darkened cove. It was a large, hooded man in deep-purple robes. In his hand he tossed my Dragon Eye up and down. “It’s called a trap. Certainly you know that.” He tossed the marble to the floor, and it rolled to a stop between my feet. “This might have worked if I weren’t expecting you.”

  “Told you, can’t always count on magic,” Brenwar said, crossing his arms.

  “Your little friend is right, Nath Dragon,” the man said. “You can’t always trust what you see or hear, either.”

  A large winged figure came forward.

  “What in Nalzambor is that?” Brenwar said.

  “A draykis,” I replied.

  “You didn’t tell me they were that ugly.”

  “You didn’t ask,” I said.

  “Dragon,” Shum’s voice warned.

  The walls and rocky floor started to move. More draykis popped up all over. More than a dozen of them.

  “Bayzog, get Sasha out of here,” I said. “We can hold them off.”

  “No, we stay together.”

  “Don’t be a fool,” I said.

  The tunnel we had come through began to fill with goblins and gnolls.

  “Ah, too late now,” the robed man said.

  “So, this is another ploy of the Clerics of Barnabus? An effort to what, capture and kill me? And just who might you be?”

  “Kryzak,” he said, swinging a war mace over his shoulder, “and I think my effort to capture you has succeeded. I even have your friends. Now the question is, do I kill you all or let some of you live?”

  CHAPTER 34

&nb
sp; We were trapped. Flatfooted. Doomed maybe. My head was racing. Kryzak had been ten steps ahead of us the entire time, and that meant only one thing: Garrison was a spy. Which led to another problem. Ben was in danger. Perhaps the entire village was.

  Brenwar set his war hammer down, spit in his hands, rubbed them together, and let out a gusty laugh before picking it up again. “It is you who are mistaken. I’m no man’s prisoner, but you are mine.”

  Brenwar hurled his hammer into the winged draykis. Crack! Sent it reeling, head over heels.

  I banged Fang’s tip on the ground. Nothing. “Fang!” I launched myself toward the Cleric Kryzak.

  Three draykis cut off my path, swinging heavy swords and axes at me.

  I ducked.

  Swish.

  Rolled.

  Clang.

  Kicked one in the chin.

  The brutes were fast and strong, raining down one pulverizing blow after the other.

  I parried and swatted.

  Slice!

  Caught one in the leg.

  Stab!

  Hit another in the shoulder. “Blast, Fang!” I said. “Freeze them or something.”

  They’d beaten the snot out me the first time I encountered them, but I hadn’t had my sword that time, either. Now the fight was a little more even. I was still quicker. And now two of them were slower, but I lost sight of one of them.

  “Ulf!”

  It bear hugged me from behind.

  Not this again! I wheezed for breath.

  The other two came at me.

  I kicked one in the nose, drawing a roar.

  The other one slugged me in the face. Walloped me in the belly.

  The stars I saw made my aching stomach queasy.

  “No!” I tried to yell, but I couldn’t breathe. Again.

  ***

  Snatching up his war hammer, Brenwar slammed into the toe of the reeling winged draykis. “That’ll teach you.” He didn’t stop there.

  Wham! Wham!

  The monster’s howl was desperate. Angry. It ripped at Brenwar with its claws.

  Wham!

  Brenwar broke its hand, drawing forth a howl. He raised his hammer for a final blow. “Yer one of the ugliest things I ever … eh?”