Breath of the Titans: The False Titanbringer: Complete Trilogy

by Riley Westbrook

  Missy cleared her throat, loudly. "Back to the topic!" She said sharply. "This is going to take awhile Zae, if you'd like, I'll send the young one to get you when we finish."

  Zae nodded his head, "That will work wonderfully, send him when you're through." The ant being headed out the door.

  Nord turned to Sanche. "Why the hell couldn't we reach you if you were just negotiating?" He moved to the chair next to Sanche. "Would've been nice to communicate and not leave everyone in the dark. I mean, why tell us you were meditating."

  "That was me," Missy said unclasping her pouch and turning it upside down. A coin popped out, thudding onto the table. "I figured I'd have some fun keeping you in the dark." Coins continued to drop from the pouch as she shook it. They clinked together loudly. "Plus, it was fun watching you and Jaxon keep watch on the temple doors." A coin shot out of the purse, slapping Lov in the face. "Sorry, kid. Anyways Nord, I just wanted to tell you, I love wasting your time!"

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Lov ducked as Zatha, an Anuunaki male warrior, whipped his tail at Lov's head. The young half-elf ducked under the tip, the tail whistling through where he had stood. The ball on the tip waited to inflict sharp stinging pain. He could see his ax lying in the dirt, behind Zatha. The Anuunaki had ripped it away from Lov just a moment ago. Training was not going well for the young one.

  Lov slid to the right attempting to circle the purple and black insect, but his opponent swung around faster than the boy could run. Zatha whipped his tail again, catching Lov in the eye. It stung where he was hit. Lov considered the Anuunaki before him, as blood poured into his vision. When Zatha whipped his tail at Lov again, the half-dragon reached out and snatched it from the air. Lov was surprised to find the chitin to be soft and leathery, but thick. His dragonhunger screamed at him to rip the tip off. He resisted the urge though, knowing that he shouldn't mutilate the soldiers he hoped to be fighting alongside.

  The Anuunaki lifted Lov from the ground, sending him flying through the air, and crashing into a stone wall. Lov heard a sharp crack, and felt pain explode up his arm from his wrist. He tried to twist it, hoping it was just a sore tendon, and dropped to his knees in pain.

  Missy let out a sharp whistle from above, motioning to Zatha to stop. He retreated to the other side of the chamber, where other Anuunaki stood, awaiting their chance on the training ground. They took their fighting very seriously.

  Missy floated down next to Lov and considered his wrist. "Did you break it?" She asked, leaning forward as if to peek.

  "What do you think?" Lov snarled, before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Missy, you didn't deserve that." He lifted his arm carefully, wincing. "It just hurts. I did a good number on it."

  "Let's get you to Zae then. Healing arts are definitely not in my repertoire. I mean I could try, but I'm pretty sure I'd end up adding bones that weren't there before." She flew back as Lov climbed to his feet, he nodded to Zatha and the other Anuunaki. They all saluted him, before spreading out through the chamber to begin training again. The last sight Lov saw was two males slapping at each other with their tails while using weapons made from chitinous forearms that had been hardened and sharpened, in an attempt to cut the other fighter.

  Missy led Lov out the front of a stalagmite building. A block down, part of the chaos caused by the worm was being worked away. Hundreds of Anuunaki moved at a high pace, pouring a thick viscous liquid into pockmarks. Others followed, sanding down the excess once the substance had hardened. They passed into the temple square, where the floor looked good as new. There was no sign of what the worm had done. A few days ago, the Anuunaki warriors had returned, carrying the eyes of the worm that dared to desecrate their city. Lov had held one in his hands. It was so large he needed both to handle it. He tried to look through the pupil, and saw a sharp reflection of himself.

  A sharp sense of bitterness and resentment for past glories missed had filled Lov. Missy had to fly into him, fist first, to break through his trance. She had said, "Be careful with that. A worm's eye will show you the blackest part of your heart. I hope I saved you from the worst."

  "Ugh, why would anyone keep such a relic?" Lov had asked.

  "I don't know, ask Zae, he should be able to tell you."

  They passed through the temple entrance, Lov admiring the scenes cut into the walls. Lov had seen them, two weeks ago, when the worm sign was still fresh on the city. He'd asked Zae about them at the time. They seemed to display the slaughter of Anuunaki by Anuunaki. Zae had explained, "Yes, that is the story of our dark days. From our past when we fought and scrambled amongst ourselves for resources."

  Zae had gone on to tell Lov more about old history of his kind, written along the walls of the temple. Some were sad stories, others were joyous and celebratory. One told of a hive of red Anuunaki that had needed to be wiped from the earth.

  Lov and Missy walked along a hallway, more pictures etched into the stones. It showed Anuunaki running in terror from a dragon. Missy signaled a guard, asking if he knew where Zae was. The Anuunaki pointed down the hall, towards the central prayer chamber. She thanked him and they continued farther into the temple. They passed several intersections before entering a large hall. In the room were pedestals, statues of great people from many races upon them.

  The last queen, Xinthar, held a prominent seat in the room. People, Anuunaki, a human, an elf, even a statue from the lost race, a dwarf, were also afforded prominent spaces. Two dragons finished the scene, snarling and glaring at each other. Lov noticed one had stubs where the other had wings.

  Zae sat cross legged between the statues, his top hands lifted above his head, together. His lower hands rested on his knee joints, palms up, fingers relaxed. A buzz filled the air around him.

  Missy grabbed Lov's pointy ear, stopping him. "He's praying. I know your arm hurts, but we can find another priest to heal you."

  Zae stirred. "No need, I'm more than happy to help a friend." He stood, then walked over to Lov and Missy carefully taking a hold of the young man's arm. Lov winced in pain as Zae twisted and turned it assessing the injury. "This will be easy to heal." The Anuunaki said covering Lov's break with his hands. He began to buzz, and Lov could feel it resonating in his bones. Slowly he felt the bone begin to stitch itself together. After a moment, Zae removed his hand from Lov's arm.

  Lov twisted and turned his wrist. He smiled broadly at Zae. "That's amazing, how did you do that?"

  Zae though for a moment, the replied, "It's hard to explain. It's something instinctual, left over from when we were a hive mind. We can draw upon a collective power." He gestured, and a ball of light floated in his hands. "Do you know when we will be leaving yet?" Zae asked, looking to Missy.

  The fairy rolled her eyes. Zae had been asking her that question at least ten times a day."Yep, as soon as his grandfather shows up to take him again."

  Lov groaned.

  Tryton sat, surrounded by hot magma. He was deep within the earth, feeling his ancestors. They were locked together in an immense skull totem that cut from the Dragon Isles on one side of the world, to the capital of the Tuthan, who worshiped the great Wyrms on the other side.

  He focused his thoughts on the pattern of the world around him. Here, Tryton felt Lov being healed by the collective of the Anuunaki. There, towards the mermen, he sensed an oracle trying to propel a ship of goods through the water. And towards his mate's cave, he felt a dark power rising.

  The old dragon stepped sideways, entering an immense hall with beautiful statues lining it. Three gold statues watched him enter the room, and flew up, dancing around each other. They looked like babies with bird's wings, each carrying a bow. Tryton watched as two of them collided, then applauded when they were able to stop their free fall and fly up to join the third dancer. Two large lizard people stood guard at a door. They had red and brown scaly leathery skin. Their eyes were slanted, their snouts elongated, like an alligator's. They hissed at Tryton, crossing their spears to bar his path. Tryton snorted disd
ainfully before waving a hand, making them crash together. He waved his hand again, slamming their heads into the ceiling. They fell to the floor, their heads smashed in.

  Tryton stepped over the bodies, saying, "Your stench offends me. Next time, keep your breath to yourself."

  He strode through the doorway the Tuthan had been guarding, into a rich opulent room. Black and gold marble columns lined the room. Between were cases full of different artifacts. One held a plain sword, but as Tryton stared at it, he felt the presence of the dark soul that resided in it.

  He circled around to the center of the room, his eyes searching for his paramour. Tryton spotted her, reading from an ancient tome. It appeared to be made from the skin of a Tuthan. It stank enough to make Tryton want to gag. Even knowing what she was, Tryton felt his own dragonhunger stirring. Draka had always been his treasure. She called out, "Welcome, Tryton." Waving her hand, runes began to etch into the floor.

  "What are you doing, Draka?" He asked contemptuously, trying to hold longing from his voice, as he walked over to stand next to her.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Lov felt a shift in the air around him, and shuddered as a chill ran up his spine. He shook it off, then went back to stretching as he waited his turn on the practice floor. Lov watched the two Anuunaki there now square off. One was a female, a strikingly bright white and slightly larger than her male opponent. He was dark brown with yellow spots. While she was stronger than him, he used his tail to keep her at a distance. Lov had a few small scars now from their whip-like sharp bite, but day by day he felt his skin hardening, becoming more like armor. On his chin, two bones were beginning to protrude out. It made Lov's jaw wider, and he looked much less like an elf.

  The Anuunaki male ran close to the female, cutting and slicing with the four curved swords it handled so expertly. The female grabbed two of them with her sword breakers. She blocked the others with her shields before slamming one of them into the male’s face. He slumped unconsciously to the floor.

  Smaller sized Anuunaki ran in and carried the unconscious fighter to the side for medical attention, while the female soaked in the accolades of the other females. They jeered the males in their own language, and one of the males made a gesture that made the whole room buzz with laughter. Lov shook his head. He had attempted to learn their language, but no matter how hard he tried it sounded like nothing but buzzing to him.

  Missy whistled from on high, calling out the winner in the fight, in the Anuunaki language. He had asked her to do as she had before and slap knowledge into his head, but she had refused. "What would you learn if I just gave it to you?" She had asked, before disappearing. It annoyed Lov every time she did, and he was beginning to think it was on purpose.

  Nord stepped into the room. He came every day, but mostly to watch. When he did choose to fight, the Anuunaki lined up to have a go. Anyone who could go toe to toe with a Wyrm was a worthy opponent of an Anuunaki. Nord usually schooled them, showing them where they missed a chance thrust, or exposed themselves too much. And the Anuunaki fighters blossomed under his tutelage.

  Today, Nord strode to the center of the practice ground, and pointed to Lov. "Get out here, Nephew. We haven't sparred since we were at Jaxon's, show me what you've learned."

  Lov stepped out, and the Anuunaki formed a circle around them. This young warrior had earned his own respect from the ant people for his quick techniques, resilience. They loved his determination and refusal to surrender in defeat. He still lost more often than not, but most spars he gave and received bruises. Lov slammed the haft of his ax into the ground. It rang out metallically as it hit the stone floor hard, and he felt the vibrations up into his hands.

  Lov bowed to his uncle, and Nord bowed back, pulling his sword and scabbard from his belt. He didn't even bother to remove the cover. They squared off, Lov adjusting his feet to a wide base. He circled his uncle who stood there, not moving a muscle. Lov lunged in, thrusting the head of his ax at Nord. The giant elf casually leaned back, then struck the young half-dragon in his scaled ribs with his still covered sword. "Still over-extending. You need to watch that."

  Lov jumped back, anger clear on his face. Nord shook his head. "Disappointing. You've already lost before we've even started."

  Lov charged in, swinging his ax wildly. Nord parried the blow, deflecting the ax head towards the rock floor. Chunks were torn out where the ax hit. Nord swung his sword around, clocking Lov across the skull.

  Lov fell back, shaking his head to clear it. His dragonhunger took his rage and fed it. Lov became so angry that he cast a wall of flame between himself and Nord. "You're not going to win if you keep losing yourself to your anger." Nord looked to Missy, floating above. She nodded, and pushed her will on the flame, causing them to shrink from where they brushed the ceiling. "You shouldn't depend on your magic. You never know when your opponent might be stronger."

  Lov considered his uncle, still fighting defensively, and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

  "Better." Nord told him. "Now try to keep up."

  Nord launched into motion, slicing and stabbing at the young one. Lov twisted and dodged his uncle, only taking light taps if he was hit. Nord took a cut at Lov's neck, but Lov deflected it, spinning around and smacking his uncle in the chest with the hammer side of his ax. Nord flew, slamming into a wall, and sliding to the floor, the breath knocked from him. The Anuunaki cheered Lov on, it had been a clean and fair hit.

  Nord staggered to his feet, a grin crossing his face. He pulled his sword from the scabbard. "Don't hurt him too bad, Nord!" Missy called down from above.

  Nord waved her words away, stepping confidently towards Lov. "If you're going to use your tricks, boy, then I'm going to use mine." Nord swayed his sword in the air, it released a low moaning sound. Lov felt his muscles slacken and relax, though he felt tense inside his head. His dragonhunger thrashed against his control, and Lov surrendered to it, just enough to start him moving. Nord charged towards his nephew at the same time, his feet barely touching the stone as he ran. His sword sang loud and clear, the pure ring of crystal. They came together in a thunderous clash of metal on metal. Nord swung an overhead blow that Lov blocked. The force of Nord's swing was so strong that it pushed down through Lov's block, slicing the tip from one of Lov's ears. Missy zipped down, collecting the tiny piece of flesh. Maybe Zae would be willing to reattach it.

  The two jumped apart, Lov swinging his wicked ax for Nord's face. Nord just leaned back, letting the inexperienced fighter swing himself around. The giant elf kicked his nephew square in the arse, causing him to sprawl to the ground, upon his knees.

  Nord circled around to face his nephew. "And remember, don't ever get too cocky in a fight. Many a proud warrior has died thinking he knew his opponent's limits." He motioned for Missy to come down. Lov flipped him off before the fairy flew down and guided him to Zae.

  Nord just shrugged his shoulders and turned to the other warriors. He placed his sword back in the scabbard and called out. "Alright, who's next?"

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Lov stalked from the training room. He enjoyed training with the Anuunaki, they pushed him to be faster, to strike harder. You didn't have to hold back with them, problem is, they won't hold back either. Lov examined a new cut he had received today. An Anuunaki female had sliced him across his shoulder, and the cut burned. Lov was beginning to suspect that Anuunaki coated their weapons in toxic substances. Not enough to kill, but enough to help their opponent stumble drunkenly.

  Lov hated to lose, as he had today. It was embarrassing, but no where near as bad as what Nord had done to him. He still burned with rage when he thought back to that day. Two weeks had passed, yet he couldn't forget the incident. The young half-dragon resolved to sit down with Nord tonight and hammer out any resentment.

  Lov passed through the door of The Purple Mushroom, and headed up to his room. As he stood outside, reaching for the doorknob, he stopped. Lov felt a presence in the room. He still carried the ax he
had been training with. He swung it to a ready position, and kicked in the door. Lov roared as he charged into the room.

  He raised his ax, prepared for anything... except for the sight of his grandfather, sitting in a copper tub of water, a small fire beneath the tub. "Ah, there you are!" Tryton said as he scrubbed his arms with a thick lather, "I've come to take you back to training. There are some things we still need to teach you." Tryton splashed water over his arms, rinsing the lather away, "We're running out of time, my boy."

  Tryton jumped from the copper vessel, pulling the water from his body as he stood at its side. He dropped the ball he formed with it into the tub with a soft splash.

  Lov averted his gaze. He'd never understand why his grandfather liked the old body look. The liver spots made Lov fear aging. His dragonhunger grumbled in agreement with that fear.

  Clothing appeared upon Tryton, a long leather coat and breeches and a plain white shirt. He strode to Lov, reaching out and taking his hand before pulling his grandson through what felt like a small knothole.

  Lov wanted to scream from being squeezed out and reformed into his body. When he could collect his bearings, he looked around. He appeared to be halfway down a cliff, walls extending above him in a rim. Large lizards, the size of a horse, sunned at the top of the rim flicking out tongues and searching around. One hissed right above Lov's head.

  Tryton pointed up to the lizards. "If you had been born a true dragon, these would be your nursery mates." The old dragon strode to the edge of the cliff, looking down. Lov began to notice that it was warm. It felt as if the sun were shinning directly on his face, though where he stood was in shade. He walked to the edge and stood as Tryton did, looking down. Below them, a hundred feet down, reddish orange magma slowly cooled, covering with a black ooze like film. There appeared to be eggshells near the magma, but heat waves rose off of it, distorting the view. "And that would have been your crib." The sun crested the rim, sending bright light searing into Lov's eyes. He tried to cover them with his hands, but Tryton slapped them away. "I'm trying to teach you, kid! We don't have much time before you lose my guidance. Even now I feel the pull of my hunger, pulling me towards your grandmother." Tryton threw his hands up. "Or maybe I'm just deluding myself. I wanted to give the world one last dragon warrior to fight on their side. But maybe you aren't it."