Like many of the mercenaries around her, including the dead one she'd looted, the woman's torso was covered to the
top of her hips by a hardened leather cuirass. Leather tassets suspended from the cuirass protected her thighs. Wool pants were stuffed into the tops of her soft leather boots. Though her clothing was ordinary enough, her exotic good looks would never have allowed her to blend into the crowd. Nei shy;ther would the fact that she was the only female soldier within the ranks. Fortunately for Onyx, the men and ogres around her were too busy fearing for their own survival to give her more than a curious glance.
Knowing that success depended almost solely on her abil shy;ity to project confidence, Onyx marched straight toward the dragons at the southeastern corner of the drill field, then stopped at a distance to observe. She knew in an instant how they had remained grounded. She could hear their riders, including second-in-command Wakar, trying in vain to get them airborne.
"We are forbidden to attack unless the ranking dragon or her highlord gives us the order to do so," Khoal was saying stubbornly. Wakar and the others threw up their hands and marched off to join the fray in the courtyard.
Onyx watched them depart, then looked over her shoul shy;ders for eavesdroppers. No humans but riders would will shy;ingly get within earshot of three dragons, which is why they were so surprised to see the young woman below them.
"I come from Lamesh."
At first they seemed not to hear her. Khoal fixed his hot-orange eyes on her suspiciously. "Human, you're either very foolish or very brave to get so close to dragons for curiosity's sake."
"I am no curious onlooker," said Onyx fearlessly. Looking about again, she lowered her voice. "I am a messenger from the Knights of Solamnia."
All three dragons dropped their jaws and afforded her glances ranging from disbelief to distrust.
"Then you are both brave and foolish," Khoal said cau shy;tiously, "walking into the enemy camp and announcing your position. What makes you think we won't slay you on the spot?"
"Because we all know that we are on the same side in this battle," said Onyx evenly. "My commander sent me to reward you for your services. Keeping Maldeev ignorant of our num shy;bers and impending attack has been most helpful." Onyx kept her words deliberately vague, since she was only guessing about the alliance between the knights and the dragons.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Khoal quickly, his voice low and threatening. "I think I will kill you now." Onyx could see him summoning the acid from his stomach.
"My commander will surely interpret an unprovoked attack as a sign of bad faith," she cut in. "You don't want to risk losing the reward for which you've worked so hard."
"I certainly don't," said Neetra quickly. "I didn't fly all those long reconnaissance missions to keep Jahet and Khi-santh from the north for nothing! If I can get out of this with shy;out risking my hide, I say all the better."
Onyx felt her blood boil at the mention of her dragon name. She was forming a response when Dnestr, the smarter of the two intermediate dragons, frowned and said, "It seems odd that the knights would send you in the midst of the battle to give us our land."
Onyx took note of the last remark. She thought quickly, while Khoal watched her closely. "My commander thinks your uninvolved presence here adds to the general confu shy;sion-you know, dragons on the field frightening his knights. Besides, the battle is nearly finished, thanks to your entrap shy;ment of the other two dragons in their lairs. What's more," Onyx continued, managing an almost embarrassed look, "it would be best for the image of the Knights of Solamnia if they could avoid open confirmation of an alliance, however brief, with black dragons. You understand."
Neetra and Dnestr had only confirmed the alliance, and were obviously convinced by Onyx's explanation. Khoal, however, still looked skeptical. He said nothing as yet, nei shy;ther denying nor confirming his involvement, watching the interaction between the human and the younger dragons. "How do we get our land?" Neetra demanded greedily.
Onyx's eyes widened against her will. "Obviously, no one can lead you there this moment. My commander has ordered me to direct you to fly into the Khalkists, near Ak-Baral-do you know where that is?" Dnestr and Neetra nodded eagerly. "Wait there. Another agent will find you after we have won the battle, as we inevitably will, and lead you to the reward you so richly deserve."
The two dragons considered the crowd of evil soldiers milling at a distance, and they hesitated.
"Fly!" Onyx prompted. "Tell your riders you're evaluating the enemy's strength, if you must. Before they realize the truth, you'll be gone. Besides, what human would dare try to stop a dragon?"
The argument was enough for Neetra and Dnestr. Giving the silent Khoal the pitying look they would grant a fool, the two dragons leaped into the air and took wing to the west, headed for the mountains.
"You're not joining them?" asked Onyx.
Ignoring the question, Khoal looked down his nose at the young woman far below at his feet. "Funny you should men shy;tion the wing's other two dragons." The dragon's voice trailed off meaningfully. "When Jahet and Khisanth failed to appear after the claxons rang, I began to wonder if they were not betraying the wing." Khoal circled once around the ram shy;rod still woman.
"Then Neetra and Dnestr, those foolish young dragons, confessed to me that they'd made a pact with the Knights of Solamnia and arranged a pre-dawn attack. What's more, they'd had the last-minute inspiration to trap Jahet and Khi shy;santh in their lairs"- Khoal locked his gaze onto Onyx's tawny eyes — "without telling a soul." His brows raised. "Strange that you would know about it."
Khisanth did not for a minute believe in Khoal's inno shy;cence. Still, she couldn't prevent her face from falling at the realization of the trap into which she'd stumbled.
The dragon bent low and hissed into her ear with hot, meat-scented breath, "Why don't you tell me your comman shy;der's name?"
Khoal had been a liar his whole long life. Not even his nat shy;ural greed prevented him from recognizing one on sight. As the ancient dragon pressed in, evaluating the best way to slay the foolish young woman, he was only mildly interested in her motives for trying to trick him. He was certain he never met her, and yet there was something vaguely familiar about her voice, her cocky attitude. As his eyes focused on her shiny black hair and he prepared to claw her face from her skull, Khoal was about to receive the first true surprise of his long life.
The old dragon blinked. His face seemed to turn ashen beneath his scales. Where the young woman had stood was his most hated foe, that ambitious sycophant, Khisanth. Before his mind could make sense of it, the other dragon's mighty tail raised, delivering a vicious, air-snapping blow that sent him staggering. Khoal sailed some thirty feet, crashing into vacant tents and a small gathering of soldiers who'd wandered too close. Rolling himself from his side and back to his hind feet, Khoal sounded his rage in a bellow that sent all human and ogre soldiers within a hundred yards diving for cover.
"So, Khisanth, you can shapechange," snarled Khoal, cir shy;cling slowly around his opponent. "I should have guessed. You tried changing yourself into Jahet often enough, with all your showing off to Maldeev. Unfortunately for you, you can't change into a better fighter than me." Khoal's chest rose with pride. "I learned my skills before you were even a wyrmling," he gloated. "I fought in the great war against Huma."
Khisanth threw back her head and laughed aloud, a hate shy;ful, braying sound. "And we all know how that turned out!" She circled around in tempo with Khoal, keeping her eyes on his wrinkled, hoary face at all times. "Perhaps if our queen had more able fighters then, the history of dragons on Krynn would be much different, and we would not be answering to lowly humans…."
The taunt hit home. Roaring wildly, Khoal lashed out with his right claw. Khisanth darted to her right. Anticipating the dodge, the ancient dragon swung his tail and delivered a slap that hit squarely. With nothing to break her tumble, the
younger dragon rolled over and
over, wings snapping against the dirt of the drill field. Finally she skidded to a thundering stop. Propping herself up with her claw arms, Khisanth regarded her foe with bitter and true hatred. She tried to think like her opponent to gauge his next move. She could see the light flicker away in his eyes, as if his thoughts were elsewhere briefly. Khisanth knew that look. Khoal was casting a spell.
Not sure what to expect, Khisanth quickly cast a general defensive spell. Instantly, her enormous black body was engulfed in a faintly shimmering sphere that looked vaguely like a bubble. Khisanth hoped Khoal wasn't going to cast anything too powerful, or her protective globe would prove useless.
If Khoal had not been concentrating on his own incanta shy;tion, he might have noticed her shield in time to alter his spell. The six bolts of lightning that flashed from the tips of Khoal's long, pearly talons bounced off her shield, zagged around wildly, then fizzled out. Khisanth's globe twinkled and winked away.
"Tell me, Khoal, when you awoke this day, did you sense it would be your last?"
The taunt, in addition to his thwarted spell, only served to further enrage Khoal. The ancient dragon charged like a bull directly at Khisanth, the ground shaking in his wake. He turned, preparing for a wing buffet. Reacting quickly, Khi shy;santh focused her thoughts on the first image that came to mind; the female dragon abruptly became a seven-foot-tall owlbear. Aiming his buffet to connect with Khisanth's head at dragon height, Khoal's wing swept harmlessly over the owl-headed bear. While the ancient dragon's back was turned, Khisanth reverted to dragon form. Springing high into the air, she delivered a stunning, one-footed kick to Khoal's right flank, a blow that sent him reeling, snout-first, into the dusty field.
Khoal scrambled onto all fours and spun around. Humilia shy;tion had turned the dragon's yellow eyes fiery and streaked them with blood. "I'll pull your entrails out and eat them while you still live!" Khoal snarled, rabid slather spraying from his jaws.
"Shouldn't you be winning, to make such a vow?" Khi-santh asked artlessly, stepping backward to contemplate her next move. The dragon knew she wouldn't be able to shape-change indefinitely; her energy was already flagging. Khoal's rage was making him careless. That's good, she thought, let his own anger defeat him.
Squealing in panic and pain, an ogre whose rags and fur had caught fire ran at full speed into Khisanth's flank. The hysterical brute flailed at her scales, trying to climb across the obstacle, too blinded by fear to turn aside. Glancing back, the dragon swept her wing outward, shoving the doomed crea shy;ture away.
Khisanth's head jerked up in time to see that Khoal had closed the gap between them. The black dragon's neck shot forward, and sagging old lips pulled back to expose his long, jagged teeth. He was heartbeats from severing Khisanth's head from her neck.
Again, the spry young dragon did the first thing that came to mind-she changed into the familiar form of the brown field mouse, far, far below the slathering jaws of the enraged dragon. She hadn't time to be smug about the close call, because Khoal was thinking fast as well. He raised his hind foot and, creating a cage of sorts with his spread wings, pre shy;pared to stomp the little mouse.
Khisanth knew she was trapped. She couldn't revert to dragon form easily in the small area; even if she could, Khoal's foot would crash into her skull before she could top shy;ple him. Or would it?
Taking a chance, Khisanth summoned her dragon form. The instant she felt the change begin, the dragon reached out, snagged Khoal's hind foot, and struggled to tip him off bal shy;ance before he could squash her. Khoal was a much heavier dragon than Khisanth, thick-muscled and dense. Just as Khi shy;santh was beginning to despair of toppling the ancient dragon, her form expanded beneath him. She felt the crush of his incredible weight for only a moment, before the stunned
dragon tumbled from her back and crashed unceremoniously to the ground from a height of at least twenty feet. The impact knocked the wind from his lungs. Khoal lay in a heap, gasping raggedly for air.
Khisanth launched herself at the other dragon. Before he could raise a claw to defend himself, Khisanth sank her teeth into Khoal's fleshy chest, tearing away large, bloody bites, scratched at his eyes and face with her claws until Khoal couldn't see through his own gore. But the killing blow came when Khisanth simply leaned in, clamped her jaws around his neck, and twisted until she heard a loud snap. What was left of his eyes rolled back into his enormous skull. Khisanth unclenched her claws and let Khoal's head drop to the dirt with a loud, flat thud that raised an enormous cloud of dust.
Khoal's death gave Khisanth great satisfaction. The black dragon turned her sights to the knights who'd penetrated Shalimsha's north wall and were engaged in battle with the wing inside the courtyard. Khisanth would need to hear the death cries of a great many humans to still the hatred throb shy;bing at her temples.
Chapter 18
"Look, sir, they're fleeing." Tate followed the finger of the young knight who pointed skyward. There he saw two black shapes, winging upward like monstrous bats. A general cry of amaze shy;ment burst from the knights as they watched the creatures take flight and streak straight away over the mountains.
A hint of hope crept into Tate's heart. Two dragons … That left three unaccounted for. Still, three was better than five. Tate studied the shapes a few moments longer, until they dropped from view behind the distant range. Satisfied that they wouldn't return, he intended to plunge into the melee seething just inside the breach. A battle still raged beyond the walls, though Tate believed the odds of victory had increased tremendously with the dragons' departure.
But again Tate was stopped when Sir Albrecht emerged from the rolling dust at a gallop and reined up before him.
He was covered in brown filth so thick that his sweated horse looked as if it had rolled in mud. When the knight flipped open his visor, even his eyes were circled with grime where it had filtered through the eye slits.
Tate gripped Albrecht's arm to steady the panting knight in his saddle. "What is it, Albrecht?" Tate shouted. "What have you seen?"
"I bring an ill report, I fear." Albrecht drew a long breath and licked his lips with a dry tongue. "The battle was well in hand. Then the dragons appeared."
Tate's grip tightened on the knight's arm. "We saw two leave. Are others attacking us? Or them?"
"Neither, at first," panted Albrecht. "Two took wing, then two others battled between themselves. Both fought like creatures possessed. Finally, one managed to knock the other down, then nearly devoured it." Albrecht shuddered. "It was incredible-and gruesome."
Tate pulled a heavy glove from his left hand and slapped it angrily against his tunic where it draped across his thigh, rais shy;ing puffs of dust.
By now the din from the courtyard was impossible to ignore, dramatically shifting from the sounds of active battle to the chaos of a rout. Vague clumps of shapes could be seen through the obscuring dust, running through the breach toward Tate. Men-at-arms, he concluded. No Knight of Solamnia would run in so cowardly a fashion.
"Follow me," the lord knight commanded, spurring his horse toward the commotion.
Soon the knights were surrounded by men-at-arms falling back to higher ground. Tate noted that at least they still car shy;ried their weapons, so the position had not crumbled com shy;pletely. He and his retinue immediately set about driving the reluctant soldiers back toward the breach and the courtyard beyond. First they tried bold words of encouragement. When that failed, they turned in their desperation to leveling threats of punishment if the soldiers didn't resume their fighting. Tate had never seen men so fearful in his life. He managed to collar a sergeant who was himself dragging a trooper forward.
"Sergeant, these men have fought battles before. Tell me whaf s happened to cause such panic?"
The sergeant sent his charge reeling forward with a kick in the seat. "There's a dragon loose amongst the men, sir. It's only this damnable dust concealing the creature from general view that prevents every last one of our soldiers inside from scattering lik
e mice."
Tate scanned toward the line, but saw only outlines and shadows. "Where is it?"
"Damned if I know," replied the sergeant. Pointing for shy;ward, he added, "Somewhere in there."
"Is there only one? Can you account for a second one, still alive?"
"No, and I hope I never do," shouted the sergeant. Then he turned and plunged forward again into the throng, shoving men ahead of him and yanking those who stumbled to their feet. Soon he disappeared from Tate's view.
The commander turned to Albrecht. "I've got to ride for shy;ward and see what the situation is for myself."
"You can't," objected Albrecht. "If s too dangerous." "The real danger is in not doing it," Tate shouted back. "Ride down the line and assemble as many knights as you can, then bring them back. Go and be swift."
Albrecht wheeled without a sign and rode away. Tate guided his horse forward, threading into the mass of armed men who seemed to be milling but fighting no one. His horse scrambled through the tumbled rocks and bodies piled in the breach and emerged into the din and dust of the inner court shy;yard.
Even through his dust-caked nostrils Tate detected the stench of blood and burned flesh. He expected the first and had smelled it many times before on battlefields, but the sec shy;ond surprised him.
Through the noise of the battle, Tate heard Wolter's boom shy;ing voice shouting encouragement to his soldiers across the yard, at the second breach. With the knights inside the walls at two places, Tate knew the defenders couldn't hold in the open for long. If they could be cut off from retreating to the inner buildings, the battle would be won. Except for the dragons…
An inhuman bellow shook the air. Tate's horse was spooked and reared up, nearly throwing the knight to the ground. Only with great urging could he get it to move forward again. The terrified horse's nostrils flared, its eyes bulged white. Suddenly an enormous dark shape loomed before them. The awful stench of blood and burned flesh mixed with something even more monstrous, and it made Tate gag. His horse reared again and backed away in terror.
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