Dragon's Blood

by Jason J. Nugent

  Lailoken heard laughter in his head as Grymryg spotted him.

  How wonderful is this? I can strike Etain at her heart. Bring him to me! He’ll be a perfect sacrifice for our new order. The Drakku will no longer be led by incompetence. Our vengeance starts now.

  The Jade dragons pushed Lailoken across the hard dirt. He struggled to free himself and find footing to push off. His arms were locked to his side and he reached for his dagger.

  Etain! Come see what I’m going to do to your lover!

  Etain and the rest of her dragons were gone, their dark forms no longer visible in the sky.

  Come, slayer, let me do what Etain never had the courage to do. Your time to die is now.

  Twenty-Four

  Lailoken peered at the Onyx dragon before him. Where was Etain? he wondered. Her wounds looked painful and she seemed to be weakened by the fight. Leaving him behind like she did stung, but he had little time to worry about it at the moment.

  “I’ve killed worse than you,” Lailoken taunted. He wasn’t sure how he would get out of this, but he was determined to figure it out. A dragon never got the best of him, and even now surrounded by dozens of them, he wasn’t about to let them do so.

  You have, but you’ve always had help, and they were weak. Look around you, slayer. You have nowhere to go and no one to help. Do you understand what’s about to happen? Your death is on Etain’s hands. She betrayed the Drakku. Her treachery will not be tolerated any longer. I command the Drakku!

  The Jade dragon held him tight, the surrounding dragons giving off an anxious energy as they watched the great slayer face their usurper Grymryg.

  “You’re a terrible excuse of a leader. I’ve slaughtered worse than you. The Order might not even pay me for your putrid blood!”

  Screams erupted from the assembled dragons at the mention of the Order. The Jade dragons holding him seemed excited by his words. Grymryg howled into the air.

  We will wipe out the Order of Eschar! Their poisonous ways will be eliminated!

  As the Jade pushed him closer to Grymryg, Lailoken felt the warmth of a Magus spell come over him. Surprised, he twisted in the dragon’s grasp to find who had cast protection on him. He saw nothing but dragons, but the warmth…the sensation he’d come to know over the years was strong. It shocked him at first but then emboldened him, knowing he had the slimmest chance of escaping this alive, with or without Etain.

  “Grymryg, you’re weak. You fear facing me because you know I’ll destroy you! I’ll gut you like I’ve done to others! Command them to let me go and fight me by yourself. Are you that worried I’ll kill you that you need these three to hold me back? What kind of coward are you?” His plan was weak, but he had to try something. Whoever cast protection on him must be nearby. Maybe they brought slayers with them? Maybe…maybe it was Jor? He had little time to consider it as Grymryg roared his reply.

  Let the feeble human go! I’ll rip him limb from limb and we’ll all get to taste the blood of Etain’s lover!

  The Jade tossed him to the ground. Lailoken stood and brandished his dagger, the only chance he had of either killing Grymryg or escaping. At least he was free to move.

  The warmth spread over him again as though whoever was doing it wanted to make sure he survived. Thank Meanos, he thought and decided then his best way to leave alive was to escape. Fighting Grymryg in front of the Drakku would mean his certain death. He wasn’t done yet. Alushia was out there somewhere and Myrthyd had to be dealt with, neither option viable if he were dead.

  Lailoken rushed the nearest Jade dragon. Instantly it spit poison at him, coating him with a sticky layer. The protection worked and he felt nothing other than the thick saliva. Lailoken used the dagger to cut into its hide, slicing open its belly. He slid under the dragon and rolled behind it while the Drakku erupted in angry howls and screams.

  He had little time to flee.

  Grymryg roared and flew at him, thick clouds of acid belching forth from his mouth. The other two Jade dragons left their companion flailing on the ground and turned their attention to Lailoken.

  The slayer pushed himself off the ground and ran for the path he’d used when he approached the gathering earlier. It was his only way out.

  Grymryg closed in on him when iron bolts shot through the air, sinking into his hide, and forcing him to tumble to the ground. He roared and ignored the bolts protruding from him as he ran toward Lailoken.

  The entire Drakku were in chaos. Dragons fought with each other to come to Grymryg’s aid. Some flew into the air circling the action below. Others rushed toward Grymryg, shouting and roaring loudly. Lailoken chanced a look back, and when he noticed the approaching dragons, he ran quickly to escape.

  Grymryg stumbled as another iron bolt punctured his leg. When he did, those behind him slammed into the Onyx. They tried to stop but were pushed forward by those behind them. Grymryg thrashed on the ground, snapping at anything near him.

  Lailoken fell and rolled forward, hurling against a large rock, winding him. Then he pushed himself up, clutching the dagger in a white-knuckled hand, and ran down the path, leaving the chaos behind.

  Dragon roars echoed all around. Those in the sky seemed intent on trying to clear a path around Grymryg instead of trailing after himself. Still he ran.

  The path wound down the mountain. He crashed through brush and tumbled forward. Branches scratched him, leaving long red marks along his arms and face. When he finally composed himself after smacking against a tree, he took a moment to scan his surroundings.

  The dragon roars continued at the cavern above. The Drakku seemed utterly confused by what happened and honestly, so was he. Whoever it was that protected him, he owed them his life. Same with the crossbowmen. All he could think was that Jor somehow made it to him. It had to be her!

  A moment later, Lailoken pushed on, racing through the trees to put as much distance from the dragons as possible.

  The forest teemed with life. It was close to mid-afternoon and birds flew overhead and unseen creatures scurried across the ground. Still, the sound of dragon roars was unmistakable. The anger and frustration building at the cavern entrance was evident to Lailoken.

  A loud crash behind him made him jump.

  Two Jade dragons had followed him. He couldn’t tell if they were the same from earlier, but it didn’t matter. He was trapped with only the dagger but without Magus protection.

  “Have you come to die?”

  The dragons stopped and glared at him.

  We have come to bring you to Grymryg. Your death will serve the Drakku well.

  The Jade on the right tilted its head, making Lailoken think it was the one speaking to him.

  “I don’t want to kill you. My days as a slayer are over. Etain has taught me that. If you think this Grymryg knows better than she, then one of us will die here. I intend it not to be me.”

  Etain is a failure. We’re done watching Drakku die when you get to live. We shall not tolerate your ignorance any longer. Tregaron is poised to explode and we will be there to rebuild it. The Order is at an end, their ways soon to be crushed. Etain does not promise this, only Grymryg.

  A brief pause allowed Lailoken the opportunity to spot a straight branch that had fallen to the ground. Covered in leaves and moss, it barely poked through. He guessed he’d have a moment to grab it and maybe attack one of them, but not both.

  “I will not die today. I don’t want to kill you if I don’t have to. Etain will need you. I will need you. The Gray Army comes, and not even Grymryg can ignore them.”

  He had no idea who the Gray Army was or even if they were approaching. He parroted Etain’s words in hopes it struck a chord with these two. His options for survival were running short. They would be needed if Etain was true in her assessment of the impending disaster. All those following Grymryg would find a home in the army he was tasked with leading. If the threat was that severe, it didn’t matter where they came from, just as long as they were there.

  The Gray
Army is a lie. It never existed and doesn’t exist now. It’s a lie some Drakku have shared over time. Grymryg does not believe it. Many agree with him.

  This time, the voice was different, which meant it was the other dragon.

  “You both don’t believe? Have you not seen the gray-souls roaming the wilderness?”

  The Jade dragons went silent. Then the second one spoke.

  The gray-souls have always been. They are not a precursor to a lie.

  “The Blood Stone lies with the Kull Naga. He has the power. It is unlocked.”

  His words made them regard one another. Good, he thought, they doubt. All I need is for them to doubt Grymryg.

  “Join us. Fight the Gray Army. We will need you. We’ll need all of you.”

  Iron bolts screamed through the air, striking both Jade dragons.

  “No!” Lailoken cried out. He felt the warmth of protection wash over him again.

  “No! Leave them be! I almost have them!”

  The Jade dragons roared angrily.

  You will die for your treachery!

  “It’s not me! They didn’t know any better!”

  More bolts flew by, but the Jade dragons lunged at Lailoken and they missed.

  One of the dragons spewed poison on him, but the protection held back its effects. The other ran to the left, apparently spotting the intruders.

  Lailoken fell to the ground and yanked the stick he’d spotted earlier free from the dirt. He brandished it like a spear as the Jade, blinded by rage and betrayal, lunged forward.

  Lailoken swatted at it with the stick. “They don’t know! Stop this! We can fight together!”

  The Jade ignored him and he had no choice but to defend himself. Reverting to instinct, Lailoken stepped to the side and thrust the stick at the Jade, seeking to pierce its soft stomach. He missed and fell to the ground from the momentum.

  Rolling away from the dragon’s foot that had nearly crushed his skull, he jumped up and brandished the stick in front of him.

  “Don’t force me into this! Etain will need you!”

  It was an odd feeling for him to try to save the dragon’s life. The impulse to kill with abandon was so ingrained in him that he had to fight back those urges. It took a great effort to control himself as he was faced with the dragon’s intent to kill him.

  The Jade roared and ignored his pleas. It was acting on impulse from the surprise attack.

  “Stop this!” Lailoken yelled, but it was no use. The Jade had succumbed to its anger, and whatever progress he had made with its reason moments ago was now lost.

  He felt the spell settle on him again and tried to see if he could find the source, but the Jade rushed at him. It smacked into him, knocking him to the ground. The Jade slashed at his face and Lailoken did his best to block the deadly blows. He felt claws digging into his arms as his own blood splashed onto him.

  How dare you lie and trick us! the Jade scolded. Its attack was brutal, his arms burning as its claws dug into him. Etain was a fool for trusting in you!

  Lailoken was pinned under the dragon, unable to move. Other than to protect his face with his arms, he was at its mercy.

  Suddenly, the dragon yelled out and the claws stopped digging into him. He chanced a look through his arms and the point of a sword protruded from the dragon’s chest.

  “Who…what happened?” he asked in a hoarse voice. The sword disappeared and the Jade fell to the side.

  With blurry vision and pain coursing through him from the vicious attack, a long haired figure stood above him.

  “We found you!”

  It was a man’s voice. A familiar voice. It was Thibaut.

  Twenty-Five

  As Myrthyd flew with the wraith across the dream world, visions of reality seeped in. He expected fertile grounds and lush orchards to greet him, but instead the land was rotten and decayed. If this was a different world he was now traveling, why wasn’t it ideal? What was it trying to tell him?

  “Wraith, what happened there?” he said, pointing out a blackened wheat field.

  “It is the land. We see what’s there, not what we want to see.”

  “How can that be? I’ve been here before and this has never happened. What tricks do you think you’re pulling on me?”

  Myrthyd sent tiny electric jolts into Chepon and the night-wraith shuddered.

  “I deceive you not. Your world is crumbling.”

  “What nonsense is that? Because of you, I can soon rid Tregaron of the source of our troubles. Our lands will once again grow fertile. Our people will no longer starve. I can fix our world. I can make it right. With the power of the Blood Stone, I can do more than anyone before me.”

  They swooped down from the sky and skimmed across the fetid fields, the smell of rot powerful. Black fungus covered the wheat. Near the edge of the field, a family huddled together, their clothes draped on their bodies and their eyes sunken in. A Jade dragon approached them, extending its arms and embracing them.

  “Wraith! That dragon is trying to hurt my people! Get me there now!”

  “It’s not harming them. Look closer.”

  Myrthyd peered at the family as Chepon circled above. The family was, in fact, not harmed. They were joyous and excited at the sight of the Jade. The mother pulled her two children in tight as the Jade enfolded them.

  “What’s it doing? What’s happening?”

  “That is the father of the children. What you see is perfectly natural.”

  Myrthyd’s anger exploded. “That’s an abomination!” Forks of lightning extended from his hands into Chepon, illuminating the dark, tattered wings of the night-wraith with bolts of electric pain. Chepon roared and howled, nearly dropping Myrthyd.

  “This is what I protect my people from! Never should we have this despicable union between our kind!”

  The Jade sat on the ground and the children ran around him, playing and carrying on. The mother leaned in close to the Jade and let herself be caught up in his arms.

  “Turn them.”

  Chepon’s smoky eyes turned back toward Myrthyd.

  “I said turn them,” he growled. Disgust dripped from his words. The scene below was heartbreaking. How could that woman allow a dragon to bed her? What was wrong with her? Didn’t she know how dragon blood polluted their own? This had to stop. It had to be cut out of their people.

  “I cannot turn a dream.”

  “You can turn them. You know where they are, don’t you? Turn them. Make them a spectacle. I want their mother to see what evil she’s brought into this world.”

  “But I cannot—”

  Myrthyd leaned closer and whispered into Chepon’s dark ear. “Turn them or I will destroy you. I’ll find another to do my bidding and you will exist no more.”

  The sky disappeared. The farms vanished. The family with the Jade dragon winked out to nothing. Myrthyd was jolted back to his chair in his quarters, the dream over.

  For a few moments he sat stewing over the disgusting tableau he was forced to witness. Those were precisely the reasons he engaged the night-wraith. Ridding the world of those…monsters to alleviate the burden on his people. It was clear to him the Order had been too lax in its ways. It had grown fat and lazy, allowing too many halflings to live among them. They turned their back on the old ways and grew too complacent. His task, one he’d known he had to fulfill since a novice with that wicked Magus Breen, was to bring them back to their former glory. To restore the balance in the land. To eliminate the scourge of his people--the Drakku, the dragon-kind—once and for all.

  The time had come. His patience had worn thin. The wraith had delivered an army of gray-souls that awaited direction.

  Rumors had reached him of the southern queen, that horrid Pethunia, that she was raising an invasion force to cross the Dragonback Mountains. If he did not strike first, they were sure to gain his southern cities. Woodpine and Fearglen would fall. He’d not allow that. With his extraordinary force hidden and waiting for him, he now had the means to m
arch south. The call had to go out. His plan was ready to move forward. For the moment, he’d have to forgo finding Alushia; his revenge could wait. His people could not. They needed food and protection. He’d offer both.

  “Guard!”

  One of the guards stationed outside opened the large wooden door.

  “Yes, my Kull?”

  “Fetch me that novice Brindy. I have a task for him.”

  The guard bowed and closed the door, his heavy footsteps echoing in the stone halls.

  Moments later, a soft knock on his door was followed by Brindy’s voice. “Sir? Kull Naga, it’s Brindy. You need me, sir?”

  “Come in.”

  The boy opened the door and slid inside before closing it behind him. He averted eye contact with Myrthyd, preferring to stare at the stone floor.

  “Brindy, I have a message that must reach all the towers immediately. It’s vital we deliver it. Under my orders, you are to secure four riders to personally deliver my words to the Tower Keepers. Am I clear?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Good. Fetch me my papers and quill. It’s time to set things in motion.”

  Brindy scurried to the other room where he gathered parchment, ink, and quill and placed them on the table before Myrthyd.

  “We are about to start something spectacular. You should remember this moment for the rest of your life, boy. You are witness to greatness.”

  Brindy nodded, watching as Myrthyd unrolled the blank parchment and begin scribbling words.

  When Myrthyd finished five scrolls, he rolled four of them, sealing them in black wax and imprinting his insignia on them.

  “Find the swiftest riders we have and get these to the Towers. I’ll deliver this last one in person.”

  Brindy bowed, scooped up the scrolls, and dashed out the door.

  Myrthyd stewed on the moment, realizing he was setting in motion a plan so ambitious, so life-changing that Tregaron would never be the same. It already was far different than what it once was, but under his guidance, it would be greater than before.

  ***

  Three days later, Myrthyd called a special session of the Black Tower. All day the Tower buzzed with activity and rumors. By the time he was done with them, rumors would be fact and action close at hand. The other Towers would have their orders as well, and they’d fall in line or suffer for their disobedience.