Strife In The Sky (Book 7)

by Craig Halloran

  CHAPTER 17

  Ben headed into the river town with his eyes up and shoulders down. His dagger felt heavy on his hip, and his hand drifted to the hilt from time to time.

  Should be easy, shouldn’t it?

  He rubbed his face, which still tingled.

  It has to be working, right?

  He peeled through some branches and found himself on a road that ran along the river, about three miles from where he left the others behind. He kept his eyes forward. Ahead, people were coming and going from what looked to be a hard day of work. The faces he passed were weathered, and their eyes were weary. They shuffled by with little urgency, and their glances went right over him and beyond.

  It is working.

  He lengthened his stride, passing a pair of old men pushing a cart of produce. They grumbled at his glance.

  Yes, it is working.

  Small storage buildings and cottages lined the road the closer he got the city. Hard voices were moving commerce on the loading docks. Hoists and pulleys and sweaty bodies on loaded barges. Armored figures watched over it. The glint of armor and weapons caught his eye. He slowed his pace.

  Soldiers were everywhere. Orcs and men. The blazoned dragon-head banner waved high in the air. A lonely feeling sunk into Ben’s belly, and he shuffled from the road into the shadows.

  At first glance, the River Cities were picturesque, appealing. Up close though, the whitewashed buildings weren’t so bright, but gray. Mold covered the roofs. Overgrowth blocked the windows. If not for the river breeze, the foulness in the air would not be bearable.

  A stone archway hung over the road leading into the city. Several guards stood watch with spears, checking the people coming and going. They patted men down and shoved others to the road. They chuckled with wickedness, watching the people go.

  From the back of the line, Ben eased his way forward while another group’s cart was kept behind and inspected. A half-orcen man with a warty face cut him off. He was tall and lean for the breed.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I have no gear to inspect,” Ben said, “and I’m just passing through.”

  The soldier poked him in the chest.

  “Not with that hardware, you’re not,” it said, peering closer at him. “Take it off.”

  What is going on? Why is this orc bothering me? Avert! Avert!

  Ben’s hand slipped to a dagger hidden under his cloak.

  He said, “I’m just passing through. Looking for work. I can work the docks or sell my services with a sword.”

  A pair of other soldiers flanked him.

  This is bad in so many ways.

  “What seems to be the problem, Harvath?”

  “This one carries a dagger,” Harvath said, poking Ben in the chest again.

  “Oh,” the soldier said. He was a beefy man, but stout and seasoned, “he has a dagger, does he? And let me guess, you think he’s going to take it to us. The hundreds of us?” He laughed and so did the other. “Methinks you just don’t like this fella cause he’s a might more,” he stared at Ben for a moment, and blinked his eyes, “unappealing than you are.”

  “I’m a hard worker,” Ben interjected.

  “Uh,” the soldier said, shaking his head, “I’m sure you are. Just head on through.”

  “But,” Harvath objected.

  “No buts, Harvath. Let this poor fellow go. I’ve more important things to do.”

  “I can help you,” Ben said with a grin. “I’m a really hard worker. I really am.”

  The sergeant’s eyes got really big.

  “Don’t make me turn you around. If you can find someone who’ll hire you, then good fortune to you. But you won’t be working for me. Now go!”

  Ben nodded and headed into the city. He could still hear Harvath arguing with the sergeant with each and every step.

  “Something about that man,” Harvath said, “I tell you.”

  “Find someone else to bother, Harvath.”

  Ben kept his smile to himself, walking along the wharf until he found the sign that read: The Water Dog Inn. He pushed the door open, and inside he went. Dozens of hardened stares greeted him and at the same time looked away. Their rugged conversations continued. Ben sauntered up to a stool at the end of the bar. A man the size of two people glanced over at him and moved one stool farther away.

  This must be how Brenwar feels.

  A bartender came over wiping his hands on a rag and said, “What will it be?” His eyes were smoky, like darkened glass.

  “Coffee,” Ben said.

  “Better make it ale,” the old man said under his breath. “I may be blind, but I can still see, Stranger.”

  Ben swallowed.

  “Ale it is.”

  The blind bartender shuffled away and returned with a large tankard.

  “I can’t drink all of this?”

  “You will, and that will be twenty bits of gold.”

  “What?”

  “Twenty gold,” the old man warned, “else I expose your sorcery.”

  Ben stiffened.

  “But I don’t have twenty gold.”

  “That’s too bad then,” the old man said. “Heh, heh. Too bad indeed. Riik!”

  A shadow rose behind him and busted a club over his back. Everything went black.

  CHAPTER 18

  Dawn broke over the river, and Ben had not returned.

  “He should have been back by now,” Brenwar said, pacing back and forth.

  “Just give him some more time,” Nath said. “An hour, and if he doesn’t return we’ll do something.

  “Certainly he made it to the Water Dog Inn,” Bayzog said. “If we go in, we can start from there.”

  Nath’s thoughts drifted to Gorlee. The Chameleon should have been with them. They’d come to rely on him heavily. He wondered how he and the dwarves were doing.

  “So who goes in?” Brenwar said, combing his beard. “We can’t send one more in and risk losing another. Those soldiers are bound to recognize us, aversion balm or not.”

  “There’s always a potion,” Bayzog said, “And I have spells.”

  “Keep your trickery to yourself,” Brenwar said. “But since you’re volunteering …” Brenwar gave Bayzog a shove. “Get going.”

  “Are you mad, Dwarf?”

  “Am I mad? Is my beard black? Are your ears pointed?” He stomped his foot. “You bet I’m mad!”

  “Keep your voice down,” Nath said. “Someone’s coming.”

  Each one of them concealed himself in the forest. Nath could hear two approaching pairs of footsteps. One heavy. Another light. Two figures emerged from the grove. An old man hung on the arm of a brute the size of two stout men.

  “You can come out,” the old man said. He wore common clothing, and his eyes were smoky. “I might be blind, but I still see everything.”

  “They fear us, Father,” the brute said. His head was shaven, and his bare arms bulged like tree trunks out of his leather jerkin. A long heavy club hung from his free arm. “As they should. I’ll break them the same as I broke their comrade.”

  Nath stepped out from behind the tree. Brenwar did the same.

  The brute grunted and sneered at Nath.

  “This one has hair like a woman’s.”

  “Mind your manners, Horse Neck,” the old man said. “We are not here to make enemies, but allies.”

  Horse Neck spat on the ground.

  “As you wish, Otter Bone.” He leered at Brenwar. “I’ve never tussled a dwarf before. You look like an oversized beaver.”

  “You dare, you undersized troll?” Brenwar said, coming forward. “I’ll break you piece by piece.”

  Nath cut off his advance.

  “Otter Bone, is it?” Nath said.

  “It is.” The blind mind came forward and reached out toward Nath. “Be still. I can sense what you are, Dragon, but I want to feel for myself.”

  “And how can that be?” Brenwar said.

  “He’s a s
age,” Bayzog said, moving out of the clearing and into view. “A formidable one at that.”

  Otter Bone gaped and his face brightened.

  “Well played,” the blind old man said. “I did not sense you, Wizard. Hmmm. Part-elven. Unusual.”

  Nath glanced at Bayzog and the wizard nodded. It let him know Otter Bone was someone to contend with.

  “Tell us about Ben?” Nath said.

  “He is well, quite well. Just has a large knot on his head, but those lumps are good for readings. That lump told me many things, it did.” Otter Bone moved closer to Nath, reaching out. “May I, please?”

  Nath spat a small fireball on the ground.

  Horse Neck jerked the old man back and stamped it out.

  “Tell me about my friend and what you want with him. What you want with us.”

  Horse Neck stuck his wooden club in Nath’s face.

  “Don’t do that again,” he warned. “Or I’ll—”

  Nath spat fire on it. It burst into flame and turned to ash, leaving Horse Neck’s hand an empty mitt.

  “Next time,” Nath warned, “it is you that will feel heat and not some part of a tree.”

  The brute’s arms flexed with muscle and his chest heaved with angry breaths.

  “Enough, Horse Neck!” Otter Bone said. “I can’t take him anywhere without him wanting to fight something. Please understand, the siege we are under can be quite stressful and my temperamental nephew gets pent-up from all our unpleasant captors.”

  “We don’t care about that!” Brenwar said. “Where is our friend?”

  “Why, in the River Cities, of course.”

  “Whose prisoner is he?” Nath said.

  “Ah, now that is the question,” Otter Bone said, “and you have many? I have foreseen this. That’s how I knew you were coming.”

  Nath looked to Bayzog. He hadn’t dealt with sages before. Bayzog shrugged his eyebrows.

  “You’ve come to visit the Floating City,” the old man said, “to see who cuts the stones that cannot be cut. To see who controls the dragons. Am I right?”

  No one spoke.

  “I am not your enemy. I’m not friend or ally to Barnabus either, but I’ll not leave my home on account of them. You,” he pointed to Nath. His voice became haunting, “are the one to stop all of that. You are the Black Dragon. I’ve seen you. I’ve seen Nalzambor destroyed and saved. I’ll help if you will.”

  “What kind of ally holds an ally hostage?” Brenwar said.

  “A desperate one. A selfish one. I crave jaxite crystals for myself. Bring me three, and I’ll free your friend.”

  “What will you do with them?” Bayzog asked.

  “That is no concern of yours,” Otter Bone said, raising his voice, “but I will have what I will have, and you will get it for me.”

  “Or what? You’ll kill our friend Ben?” Nath said. “You don’t seem the type. Nor your oafish nephew.”

  “I might not have the blood on my hands that you do,” Otter Bone said, “but my—”

  “I tire of this,” Nath said. He grabbed Horse Neck by the wrist and twisted it behind his back. He shoved the towering man to the dirt and put a knee in his back. “Let me tell you what is going to happen. You will stay with us, and this troll will bring back our friend.”

  Brenwar sat on the big man’s back and pinned War Hammer under his neck. “Don’t make a sound or move,” he said in Horse Neck’s ear.

  Nath towered over Otter Bone and folded his arms over his chest.

  Otter Bone cleared his throat.

  “Well, I saw this coming. I’m a sage, after all. And I have given you my terms. I will not relinquish them.” He took a quick breath and started to whistle.

  Nath closed his fingers over the man’s mouth.

  More men were out there. He could hear their breathing in the woods. How did I miss that? He could now sense that Otter Bone had a strange power. He dulled my senses! But now that had changed. He heard swords slide from sheathes and bowstrings being drawn back. Otter Bone was well prepared. Nath uncovered his mouth.

  “You are fast, Nath Dragon. But are your friends?” Otter Bone said.

  “Hurt them and who will fetch your crystals?”

  “I only need you to get the crystals. The others will just slow you down. Now let’s talk about this, shall we?” Otter Bone lifted his brows. “No one has to get hurt.”

  Nath could sense sincerity, but desperation too. He wondered if there were more out there that he hadn’t noticed. It doesn’t matter. I am a dragon, and they are just men.

  “No,” Nath said.

  “Disappointing, then. Very disappointing.”

  Bow strings stretched and fingers released.

  Twang! Twang! Twang!

  CHAPTER 19

  Gorlee stood among the gaping crowd. Soldiers of Barnabus were falling from the sky. He pushed his way closer and eyed the broken bodies on the street. A man shoved him out of the way.

  “Excuse you,” Gorlee said in an old man’s fragile voice.

  A rugged character looked down into his eyes.

  “Go back to your quarters and knit some trousers, why don’t you?”

  Gorlee pulled a shawl over his narrow shoulders and moved on, taking a moment to lean on a lamppost. His body quavered a little. Typical of older men he’d seen before. They’ll be looking for someone bigger. Someone stronger.

  “Out of the way!” a soldier said, leading squads of them out of the great tower. He dispatched them throughout the entire city in groups of four. Their eyes were wild and fearful. He could hear them whispering among themselves. Two of them were to die for every hour he was not found. It chilled him. They started shaking everyone down and questioning them about the triant and where it went. Fingers pointed in all directions.

  All of this over me. How twisted Selene is.

  He fought the urge to look up. He swore he could feel Selene’s eyes on him from above.

  A terrible sound filled the air, causing him to shudder. Screams came forth from the crowd, and people scrambled through the streets. Dragons dropped from the rooftops and onto the road. They roared at everything that moved. People fell to their hands and knees, cowering in front of the terrifying beasts.

  Dragons and soldiers are looking for me now! Guzan!

  Gorlee shuffled in with a mob and went with the flow. He had no idea where to go.

  Need a safe place to hide. Away from the commotion.

  The farther the crowd went, the more it thinned. He sighed and took a seat on the porch of a storefront. All the doors were closed and the streets were becoming empty. Gorlee wrung his withered hands together and dipped his head. He was exhausted. Drained.

  Need rest. Need much rest.

  Escaping from The Deep had taken it all out of him. And then the long trek here. He could barely move.

  Dragon roars echoed down the street, causing him to jump.

  Sultans of Sulfur! There are dragons and soldiers everywhere. Working together! This is madness!

  He swore he could feel the great presence of Selene above.

  She certainly must be the most powerful person in the world.

  A person who controlled both men and dragons. And her tail. Blacker than coal and full of scales. The scales looked just like Nath Dragon’s. He and Bayzog had talked much about the return of the black dragons. Now, he had no doubt he knew of two of them. They were the most formidable people he’d ever met in the world.

  “YOU!” a hard voice said. “Get over here!”

  A pair of soldiers approached. Both had swords out and nervous looks in their eyes.

  Gorlee struggled to rise and sat back down.

  “I said get over here,” the soldier said.

  “I can barely move my withered legs,” Gorlee said, holding out a trembling hand, “can you help me up? That mob ran over me.”

  The soldiers marched over. One grabbed him by the wrist and jerked him up.

  “Oh!” Gorlee exclaimed. “My bones are bri
ttle. You’ll break me in two.”

  The soldier grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up to his toes.

  “I don’t care if I break all your bones. What I want to know is if you’ve seen anything strange.”

  The soldier held his sword to Gorlee’s throat. Desperation was in the man’s eyes. Gorlee’s head beaded with sweat.

  The soldier said, “Someone like you would notice when strange things happen. Did you or did you not see something odd coming out of the Great Tower of Narnum?” He pressed the sword into Gorlee’s wrinkled neck. “I’m a good judge of character. I’ll know if you’re truthful or if you’re lying.”

  “I’ve no desire to lie,” Gorlee said, pushing himself into a sitting position. “I’ve always wanted the best for this city. I saw a monster—Great, huge and scary—running through the streets. It fled toward the stables.” He pointed. “The roadway out perhaps. Even with my old eyes I could see him, but when the ground shook under his great feet, I trembled and hid my eyes.”

  The soldiers looked at one another and one said, “How could something that big disappear so fast?” He looked up. “And with all these dragons around too. Lousy overlooking lizards! No, we have to find him.”

  Gorlee withheld his smile. He had pulled off quite a feat.

  A dragon roared from above. The soldiers’ heads snapped up. The dragon had a soldier in its claws, and it circled the great tower. Gorlee could hear the soldier scream when the dragon dropped him and he was falling. The soldiers glanced at him and each other with terror in their eyes.

  The soldier here stuffed his sword in his scabbard and grabbed Gorlee by the hair. “If you see anything, you’d better tell us!” He let go gruffly, and they both took off running toward the stables.

  Gorlee shook his head.

  I almost feel sorry for them. Should I?

  Once he was sure they were gone, he got on his feet with a groan. At the moment, he really did feel old. Every bit of his energy was sapped. At least I made it this far. He shuffled down the street, heading away from the sounds of commotion and dragons. I just need a nap. There must be somewhere safe a man can curl up around here.