by Lee Hayton
“Not until the minerals are in my hand.” Wella put her hands on her hips and glared at Baile. “The deal was that I get the minerals, not get led to a bloody great cave in the middle of a mountain.”
“They’ll be here. I’m not leading you any farther through these tunnels and neither is Shandra. You can follow us out now, and end up with nothing, or you can stay here with your men until a dragon appears. Either way, we’re leaving.”
He turned to Shandra, plucking a new torch out of the hands of the next soldier in line. The man was so surprised, he didn’t protest.
Shandra followed along behind Baile, retracing their steps. When they got to the last soldier in line, a hand reached out to grab hold of hers. Shandra saw Ricci staring at her with pleading eyes. She looked along the line, seeing Wella, nostrils flaring, and her lips pursed.
“Come along, then, if you want,” Shandra said, pushing Ricci in front of her. “But the next time I order you to do something on the farm, I want it done with no complaints.”
He nodded, running ahead of them both as though scared they might change their minds.
Behind them, Wella barked a command at her guards and soon the line of soldiers disappeared into the caverns. “I think you’ve lost any chance of scoring with her tonight.” At the expression on Baile’s face, she burst out laughing. “I hope the dragon turns up before too long. Otherwise, she’ll be taking it out on the men.”
Baile didn’t say anything for a few minutes, just striding through the dark tunnels as though he’d memorized the way. When he caught up to Ricci, he pushed the boy behind him, in a safe bubble between him and Shandra.
Then, far enough away from the army to be out of all possible earshot, he stopped and turned back to them. “I don’t think any dragons are coming. Not soon, anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“Listen.”
Shandra tilted her head to the side and concentrated on what she could hear. Far off, there was a faint murmur from the men they’d left behind. The strange muffled noises of a group of people waiting in silence. Closer by, nothing except their own steady breathing.
After a while, she held her breath so even that wouldn’t disturb her ability to listen. Ricci and Baile did the same. Moisture dripped down the walls somewhere, the faintest trickle could be heard.
“I don’t know what I’m meant to hear,” she said finally, her voice loud as it broke the silence, even though it was a whisper.
Baile stared behind them, then turned to look in front. “Yesterday, aside from when the dragon chased us, I could hear faint sounds of workers far away. I assumed it was the dwarves, farther up the tunnel system. Today, I expected to bump into them at any moment, then I realized the sounds weren’t there.”
“You think they’ve moved farther away for some reason?”
“I think they’ve left the cave system altogether. Why, I don’t know, but if something scared the dragons and the dwarves out of these tunnels, I don’t want to bump into it in the dark.”
The three of them stared at each other for a long moment, the silence now sounding far more oppressive than just a minute before.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Shandra said when she felt like another second spent in the quiet would make her head pop.
Chapter Fourteen
As Shandra walked, blinking, into the sunlight, a man grabbed hold of her arm and slammed her against the rock face.
“What were you thinking?”
She raised a hand up to shield out the bright sun and buy her a second to recover. Zen. Why did he keep picking such bad moments to turn up? She glanced behind her, aware that keeping his resurrection a secret from Ricci was about to come to an untimely demise.
“I thought you’d gone off somewhere to build a death machine.” Shandra pushed him away and brushed off her clothes. The dirt and blood she’d accumulated in her journey would take longer to dust off, but the gesture was more for her brother’s benefit than a genuine attempt to get clean.
Zen gave a frustrated growl. “I never planned on building the damned thing. The only reason I took the dragon’s fire gland was to stop Wella making it. Now I hear you’ve led her through the tunnels, straight to another dragon. Great job, sis. The next time I need to kill the world, I’ll know who to call upon.”
“Don’t be so bloody dramatic.” Baile stepped up in front of Shandra and pushed Zen back a step. “We’ve done no such thing.”
“Then where is she?”
Shandra stamped her foot as the two men glared at each other. “We did take her into the tunnels, but there aren’t any dragons there. From the looks of it, there’s nothing and no one left inside.”
“What a load of rubbish. The place is crawling with dwarves. Always has been.”
“Not this time.” Shandra folded her arms across her chest and looked her elder brother up and down. “And even if it were, that’s hardly going to make things better for Wella. Who told you what we were up to, anyway?”
“Some weird straggler from your army. He used to live around here and bumped into my lot when we were trying to find a back way up to the tunnels.” Zen spat on the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. “He told us not to bother sneaking around. Wella was going into the tunnels and probably wouldn’t be coming out again.”
“Elgerry was right. She mightn’t survive to come out.” Shandra felt the adrenaline of the past few days drain away, leaving her exhausted. “The only pity is that I don’t rate the army’s chances of getting out of there alive, either.”
“Dammit but this whole thing has gone to shit,” Zen yelled into the air. “Why did you join up with that woman in the first place? She’s only ever out to destroy something or someone. How can you put up with that behavior?”
“Wella isn’t in the habit of giving me options.” Shandra rubbed at her eyebrow, the muscle beneath was twitching. Ricci stood close enough to be seen from the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t interpret the expression on his face. “I’m her subject, remember? As my overlord, she dictates what I’m going to do, not me.”
Zen looked over his shoulder at a smudge on the horizon that was probably his freedom fighters. “You never used to take orders from anyone.”
Shandra wished that was still the case. “I’m glad Elgerry made it safely to you, anyway. He seems a good man.”
Zen gave her a crooked smile. “Well, he’s keen, anyway. I don’t know so much about the good.” After a second, his expression changed back to one of anger. “Wella is a better fighter than you give her credit for. If she winds up getting what she needs, we’re all fucked.”
“She’s in dwarf territory now,” Baile said, once again stepping forward between Shandra and her brother. “If Wella survives the tunnels, they won’t let her out easy.”
“Her full army is waiting up there, though. They think they’ve battled the dwarves and won the district.” Zen stared at Shandra and Baile in turn. His eyes rested on Ricci for a minute, frowning. “If they back her up, the dwarves won’t be able to stop her.”
“Better get your men on task, then, hadn’t you?” When Zen stared at her blankly, Shandra laughed. “Aren’t your freedom fighters trying to co-opt the army by appealing to their better natures? Isn’t that your business, sneaking into the middle of an attack and stealing hearts and minds?”
“Cripples and dropouts, by the looks of them,” Baile scoffed.
Zen drew himself up and straightened his shoulders. “I’ll wager my army could put up a good fight against any other. Until the trouble with Cade Storm, we had both sides on the ropes for a while.”
“Then go get them. If you take them out, either by killing them or turning them against Wella, you’ll not have as much to worry about. Instead of chastising me, why not go and try to stop the overlord yourself?”
Zen shrugged, then took his leave to head back toward where his men waited in the distance. Shandra watched him go until the sun made her eyes water and her head ache.
“Should we join them?” she asked, turning to Baile and Ricci. “I feel like we need to do something more to ensure Wella doesn’t triumph.”
“Leave it alone.” Baile slung an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close against his body. “It’s time for us to go home and let the armies fight it out with each other.”
Ricci didn’t say anything, just stared at her with a blank expression on his face.
They collected their horses, Starburst seeming happy to see Shandra despite her earlier cavorting. Ricci collected up the horses that Wella had purloined from their farm, joining them together with a lead rope before heading off toward the trail home.
“He looks upset about something,” Baile remarked, falling into step alongside her.
“Yeah.” Shandra squinted up at him, eyes watering in the afternoon sun. “I guess I’ll have a lot of explaining to do when we get settled. I’ve half a mind to head back into the caves and take my chances there.”
He laughed and trotted ahead of her, leaving Shandra alone with her thoughts. You never used to take orders from anyone.
If Wella never returned home, the position of overlord would be up for grabs in their district. With a dearth of good candidates, Shandra could easily apply for the role.
You can apply for it even if she does return home. You could beat her in a fight, hands down.
With a press of her knees, Shandra eased Starburst into a faster walk to catch up with the rest of her family. The strange ideas needed consideration but for now, she just wanted to get home to her farm, her men, and her little brother.
THANKS FOR READING!
If you enjoyed this story, the next book in the series should be available for purchase shortly (or it’s available now and I’ve been too lazy to update this section!)
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Coming Soon…
The Hearts of Dragons - Book Three
DRAGON’S HONOR
Also by Lee Hayton
Dragon’s Flame (The Hearts of Dragons)
Dragon’s Curse (The Hearts of Dragons)
Claws That Catch (Misfits of Magic)
Blood Like Ice (Misfits of Magic)
Nerves of Steel (Misfits of Magic)
Dead Hunter
Magic Dude
Tohunga Rising
Shattered Imprints
Gun
Writing as Katherine Hayton
The Double Dip (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
The Honey Trap (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
The Buzz Kill (Honeybee Cozy Mystery)
Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries – Books 1-6
Hibiscus Homicide (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Keeping Mums (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Orange Juiced (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Deathbed of Roses (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Berry Murderous (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
Pushing Up Daisies (Tea Shop Cozy Mystery)
The Sweet Baked Mysteries - Books 1-6
Cinnamon and Sinfulness (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Raspberries and Retaliation (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Pumpkin Spice & Poisoning (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Blueberries and Bereavement (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Strawberries and Suffering (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Cupcakes and Conspiracies (Sweet Baked Mystery)
Food Bowl Mysteries Books 1-3
You’re Kitten Me (Food Bowl Mystery)
Cat Red-Handed (Food Bowl Mystery)
An Impawsible Situation (Food Bowl Mystery)
The Only Secret Left to Keep (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
The Second Stage of Grief (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
The Three Deaths of Magdalene Lynton (Detective Ngaire Blakes)
Christchurch Crime Thriller Boxset
Breathe and Release (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
Skeletal (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
Found, Near Water (A Christchurch Crime Thriller)
About the Author
Lee Hayton (a USA Today bestselling author) is the nom-de-plume of Katherine Hayton--a middle-aged woman who works in insurance, doesn't have children or pets, can't drive, has lived in Christchurch her entire life, and currently resides a two-minute walk from where she was born.
For some reason, she's developed a rich fantasy life.
www.leehayton.com
