The Neuyokkasinian Arc of Empire Series: Books 1-3 Box Set High, Epic Fantasy on a Grand Dragon Scale! Kindle Edition

by C. Craig Coleman

  A terrified hyrax bolted from its hiding place between him and the crouching saber-wolf. The beast leaped up in a single bound, pounced on the hyrax, and snapped. The jaws chomped down on its victim, the muffled crunching of small bones distinctive.

  Those fangs, they’re long as my hand, Bodrin thought, marveling at the ferocious animal.

  With the bloody meal hanging from his snout, the canine began to turn toward Bodrin and sniffed the air.

  Jumping up with sword flying from its scabbard, Bodrin caught the distracted wolf off guard. Before the brute could swallow its grisly meal, Bodrin leaped beside it. His blade arced. Hyrax feet still dangled from the wolf’s mouth as its head went airborne and plopped down beside Saxthor.

  “Cripes!” Saxthor jumped up.

  Bodrin tried to appear casual. “I hope this is the last of our trackers.” He wiped off his sword blade and slid it back into its scabbard beside the still twitching carcass. “Great-uncle would be proud to know his sword beheaded a wolf.”

  “You scared the poop out of me.” Saxthor looked all around for other lurking surprises. “Did you have to throw it beside my face?”

  “I didn’t throw it. It just landed there.”

  “I can’t go to sleep or wake up in peace anymore,” Saxthor scratched his head. “Guess we better bury it. We’ll both be dead or maimed as teenagers at this rate.”

  “Let’s take the hide first,” Bodrin said.

  “What for, you want souvenirs?”

  “We can wrap the pelt around our feet and lose our scent in the wolf’s.”

  “Clever idea. Glad I brought you along.”

  “You didn’t. I came despite your protests. Somebody has to take care of you.”

  “Okay, so you’re right. I needed you, after all, but don’t let it go to your head. My hairy orc was as big as your wolf.” He grinned and raised his eyebrows at Bodrin. Both chuckled.

  “Yeah, yeah, let’s bury the beast and get moving in case more are around.”

  “More.” Saxthor hunched down and scanned nearby. Seeing Saxthor so wary, his eyes large and checking for signs of other dangers, made Bodrin want to laugh. He couldn’t stop a smug grin, but then noted the sudden tension in his friend’s face.

  “I got you good.”

  Saxthor paled; his eyes swelled. He rose, focusing past Bodrin.

  “What’s the matter, you seeing wolves everywhere?”

  “Just the one coming up the stream behind you,” Stone-faced, Saxthor motioned for his friend to get down, but Bodrin laughed. Saxthor jerked Bodrin down in the brush.

  “What’s the matter? You’re trying to fool me into thinking there’s another wolf. I’m not falling for it.”

  Saxthor grabbed Bodrin’s shoulder and spun him around. The dead wolf’s mate was sniffing her way up the watercourse. She glanced up periodically, scanning in front of her. Bodrin’s stomach turned as he plopped flat to the ground.

  The wolf came to her dead mate’s carcass. She sniffed, walked all around it, and then raised her head in a blood-curdling howl. Her red eyes searched for the perpetrator. The dead wolf’s pelt was lying next to Bodrin. The mate began sniffing, glaring, following the scent a few feet before she spotted and stared at the boys that stared at her.

  “We can’t outrun her,” Saxthor said.

  “Take off Saxthor. I’ll deal with her like the other one.”

  “I’m not leaving you to face that thing. Spread-out, two against the wolf and her back exposed, maybe she’ll back off.”

  “She wants revenge, Saxthor. She’s not the back off type.”

  Bodrin stood up, knees bent, feet shifting for a firm stance. He faced the vengeful fiend with Sorblade in both hands, arms back ready to swing. The wolf advanced; head down, semi-crouching with each deliberate step, her stare fixed on Bodrin. Her pace quickened, body straight, pointing snout to tail, she growled with spittle dripping from her fangs.

  Intimidated, Bodrin began to backup, but tripped on a stick and fell backward sprawling in the weeds. The saber-wolf lunged as Bodrin fell. Saxthor jumped from beside Bodrin. He squatted down in front of him with Sorblade held firm and propped against his hip.

  The great canine sprang as Saxthor dropped down. The wolf landed on Sorblade skewered through the chest. She yelped, her jaws snapping in all directions. All Saxthor could do was hold onto Sorblade and evade the flailing head. In the struggle, both fell over. The wolf pulled herself off the sword. She staggered a moment, growled, and snapped once more and then fell over dead on Bodrin, who pushed her off and scrambled to get up. The boys stood up, shaking as they leered down at the second great creature.

  “I feel sorry for her,” Saxthor said.

  “Let’s get the pelt fast; we need to get far from here. The creek is too easy to follow. You’re supposed to know where we’re going. Have any idea where that is yet?” Bodrin said.

  “I think we need to turn northwest. Head for the mountains we saw from the pass and hope that’s the end of the wolves.”

  Bodrin caught a frown as Saxthor looked away. He bent down to look up into Saxthor’s worried face and grinned.

  “Get out of here. You could worry a dead frog,” Saxthor said, but a momentary grin flashed back.

  “What’s for eats?”

  “You must have worms.” Saxthor led off from the stream up into the hills. “I’m afraid to go to sleep. I might wake up to find you chewing on my fingers or toes.”

  “Too tough, have to boil you too long.” Bodrin slipped his cleaned sword into the sheath.

  “How kind of you. Remind me to let the next wolf eat you.”

  “Let the next one get me? I saved you from the first wolf, you toad.”

  Grinning, Saxthor said nothing, just hiked on.

  I won that round, Bodrin thought.

  He just caught Saxthor’s grin that seemed to reflect the same idea.

  “For three days, we’ve hiked over these rocky sand piles,” Bodrin grumbled. “Are we there yet? We’d better find whatever it is you’re looking for soon, or General Socockensmek will be dead of old age before we get back. We’re running out of water, dragging our butts all over this island. You know where we’re going yet?”

  Saxthor shook his head. That afternoon, they stumbled onto a stream that flowed down from the Highback Mountains.

  “Yuck, what’s this stuff in the water?” Saxthor examined the slimy, orangey-brown silt coating his finger. “I don’t think we should drink this.”

  Bodrin looked at and sniffed the goop.

  “Rust, I think. It looks and smells like the stuff that grows on my dad’s tools when the gardener leaves them out in the rain.”

  “The gardener… you mean you?” Saxthor frowned. “This isn’t good. Could be somebody is working metal in those mountains like the general was talking about.”

  “Yeah, and I bet it’s the rock-dwarf things, too. I guess we should cross the stream and go through the forest on the other side. We don’t want to get caught out in the open if such creatures are around.”

  “I’m worn out, Bodrin. I know you love these endless marches, but I need to take a nap.”

  Bodrin shook his head. “I think we must keep moving. This stream is bad luck. Wash that gunk off your finger, and splash some water on your footprints there in the dirt. Let’s at least get into the forest before you fall apart.”

  Saxthor yawned. “Okay, but I sure am tired.”

  “We’ll make camp in the woods tonight and get some sleep. Come on, cross the stream over the rocks. Don’t leave any more footprints in the mud.”

  Once in the woods, Bodrin pleaded with Saxthor to move deeper into the forest. Little by little, Saxthor stumbled along.

  “Crud,” Saxthor said when his foot caught on a fallen branch, and he fell forward onto the leaf litter that covered the forest floor, and didn’t get up. “Let’s camp here for the night. The mat of pine needles is soft like the feather bed at the Crinkled Crab.”

  Bodrin collected a few
branches and returned to Saxthor, who had already curled up in the leaves. “Get your tail up enough to flop on the pine, at least.”

  Exhausted, Saxthor glanced up at Bodrin and shuffled onto the bed of pine. Bodrin put a blanket over him.

  “Thanks for coming along with me. Not much loyalty at the court. Everyone scrambles for attention, power, and money there. If you don’t have something they want, they have a ‘get out of my way’ look. None of my other friends would’ve stuck with me through the awful things that have happened.” Saxthor’s voice trailed off into a yawn. “I just wanted you to know that you’re appreciated.” Saxthor’s face relaxed as he fell back, sound asleep.

  “Don’t get sappy on me. Hey, at least I don’t have to do the chores at home,” Bodrin said.

  We’re closer than brothers, he thought. Both of us are just extras to our families in case something happens to our older siblings. Crud, he’s dead to the world.

  Bodrin tucked Saxthor’s cloak around him and fell asleep by a fallen tree trunk. Curled up in their pine needle beds, both slept.

  -

  Once awake, Saxthor shook Bodrin, waking him from a sound sleep.

  “We have to go back to the stream and follow it to the mountains.”

  “You think we could do that later?” Bodrin asked through a full yawn. “If I weren’t the patient type, I’d have to kick your tail for waking me from my first real sleep in a week.”

  “Bodrin, we gotta hurry. I know how you are, but we need to eat and get moving.”

  “What you all messed up about?” Bodrin yawned and stretched, his fist just in front of Saxthor’s nose. Unable to get a rise out of a preoccupied Saxthor, Bodrin got his breakfast and sat down to eat.

  “You’re chewing in slow motion.” Bodrin ignored him. “In my dream last night, a golden fish came up from a pond and said, ‘Beware the bronze plates’ before it disappeared in the dark water.”

  “Um, well, I wouldn’t put too much stock in a talking fish from a dream.” Bodrin searched for something else to eat. “I’m just starting to wake up, and I’m not yet into figuring out dreams. Okay, let’s go. We’ll follow the creek upstream from a safe distance so we won’t leave a trail for trackers.”

  “After all my badgering and begging couldn’t prod you to move faster, now you’re telling me to hurry?” Saxthor’s jaw hung open.

  Later, as they approached the base of the three Highback Mountains, Saxthor realized he was rolling the ring on his finger.

  “You know it occurs to me; I hadn’t thought much of the ring since I put it in my pocket when Memlatec gave it to me. The ring seems warm on my finger. I’m having a vision of the third mountain, the one on the right,” Saxthor said. “I sense we’re looking for that mountain. I’m sure whatever it was Memlatec sent me here for is on the third mountain.

  “You’re sure of something.”

  Saxthor remembered he was fidgeting with the ring when he had the other visions. It was on his finger when he had the dream. “Somehow, the ring caused visions.” He removed the ring and examined it.

  “It's just a plain ring missing the center stone,” Bodrin said as he packed his gear.

  Saxthor put the jewelry in his pocket. Bodrin led with his staff as they worked their way through the tall grass. By late afternoon, they were at the base of the rightmost peak.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll begin the climb,” Bodrin said. “For tonight, we’ll get some sleep. We should be rested for the climb in the morning.”

  “What was that?” Saxthor asked some hours later, startled awake in the night. “Something roared, load, scary. It came from high up on the mountain.”

  He sat up and looked up at the dark mountainside, an ominous profile in the moonlight beneath the stars. Cloud shadows danced on the blue-gray granite slopes. A small rockslide sent a silver cascade shimmering down the rock face like an enchanted waterfall.

  “Nothing sleeps at night on this island, haven’t you noticed that?” Bodrin said half-awake. “Probably a wolf or bear, we’ll never know what ate us. Go back to sleep.” He pulled the blanket tighter over himself and was again asleep.

  Saxthor shook his companion. “There it is again.”

  “I don’t hear anything; go back to sleep.”

  “That’s the point. The hammering we’ve grown so used to stopped when the roar thundered across the valley.”

  “Yep, now I can sleep better, goodnight.”

  “Some monster could stomp in, club me to a pulp, eat what was left, leave, and you wouldn’t wake up,” Saxthor said.

  He drifted in and out of sleep all night and was still tired the next morning. After eating breakfast, they were packing their gear when Saxthor tripped over something in the grass. “Check this out; it resembles a six-sided bronze shield, must be three feet across, like hard leather and tough.”

  Bodrin studied the curious object. “Weird. What you think the raised center is for? I never saw anything even similar before.”

  Saxthor dropped the extraordinary plate. “Beware the bronze plates. Remember my dream; the fish warning to beware the bronze plates? Maybe the rock-dwarves forged it?”

  Unfazed, Bodrin continued packing. “Uh-huh. You think you could pick up a metal plate that size. Nothing forged it.”

  “Killjoy, I’ll keep it anyway for a shield to go with my sword.”

  “You sure this is the mountain we’re supposed to climb?” Bodrin asked later in the afternoon.

  They hiked up the peak over waves of rock shards and rubble. It was a steep rise with many sheer cliffs and only the slightest hint of an animal path here and there. Progress was slow. All of a sudden, the mount rumbled several times, and rocky debris tumbled down. Both boys crouched and looked up for the rockslide’s source.

  “This place gives me the creeps,” Bodrin said when the rumbling stopped.

  “Wonder what’s causing those tremors.”

  “We don’t want to know.”

  “They didn’t bother you last night,” Saxthor said, breathing much harder as he strained to reach Bodrin. When he rested to catch his breath, he slid the ring on his finger again. “I realize you think we should go back down, but I’m certain we have to keep going.”

  I had better not tell Bodrin about the feelings from the ring, he thought. Bodrin is beginning to believe I’ve gone crazy anyway.

  Bodrin looked to the setting sun. “Dark soon.”

  “Let’s camp on that ledge for the night,” Saxthor said. “No sense in going on in the dark. I don’t want to bump into another of those bird-man things up here.”

  “What’s that over yonder, the shadow on the end of the ledge? Maybe we could sleep out of the mountain’s night air.”

  Along the outcrop, they came across several more plates like the one Saxthor discovered by the pond at the mountain’s base. Ahead, the dark spot turned out to be the mouth of a cave.

  “It looks as though something big comes and goes from there,” Bodrin said. “Comes and goes a lot. Look at these scratches in the rock and those lines in the sand at the opening. I don’t like it. Maybe the rock-dwarves live inside. That would explain the hammering.”

  “No, the hammering seems to come from the left-most mountain. This cave could be a bear den, I guess.”

  While they sized up the situation at the cavity, the mountain reverberated again. A guttural bellow came up from somewhere deep inside. The whole peak shook. Smoke trickled out at the top, and more rubble toppled down the slopes.

  Silent and terrified, the boys dove to the ledge and scrambled for a hiding place. Nothing else happened in the next few minutes, then Saxthor was first to stand.

  “What was that?” Bodrin had already turned to flee when Saxthor grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

  His mouth gaping, Bodrin gawked at Saxthor. “This is no time to worry over what it might be. Any animal that can make that noise and shake a mountain at the same time must eat boys. It doesn’t need to know we were ever here.” Bodrin turned to retreat, ending t
he discussion.

  Saxthor rolled the ring on his finger; its warmth was reassuring.

  “I’m supposed to be here. I don’t know what I’m expected to do or get, but whatever it is, it’s in the cave.”

  Wide-eyed, Bodrin stared at his friend for what would surely be the last time. Saxthor turned and peered into the tunnel, his hand on Sorblade’s hilt.

  Bodrin grabbed Saxthor’s shoulder. “On too many occasions, mother has asked me if I’d follow a fool into a fire just to fit in when we got caught at some stupid prank. Now I appreciate what she meant. Only a fool would go in the cave. You’ve had plenty of warnings.”

  “Stay here and wait for me. If I don’t come back in an hour, don’t come in looking for me.” Saxthor cast his sternest expression. “Go back and help General Socockensmek get back home.”

  “Saxthor, you’re determined to be bear bait.”

  “I have to do this.”

  Bodrin released Saxthor’s arm. “I can’t stop you from going in, but I’ll wait for you. At least I have common sense. I’ll wait here.”

  -

  Sorblade sang a defiant tone as Saxthor freed it from its scabbard. Its runes glowed on the polished steel blade.

  “Look, Bodrin, the symbols glow, but not the green I’ve seen around bad things. Guess I’ll find out more inside, maybe the meaning of the sword’s gold light.” His neck and arm hair prickled when a whiff of smoke stung his nostrils. “I'd better start. If I hesitate, I’ll chicken out.”

  “Only a fool would go into such a place knowing something horrible is inside.” Bodrin started to follow Saxthor.

  “No, wait out here. I may get myself killed, but I’m not going to let it eat you too.”

  Saxthor’s knees were knocking, and his legs were weak, but he couldn’t go back and face Bodrin, Memlatec, or his family if he didn't confront whatever was in there. He trudged into the dark cavern.

  The mountain rumbled, and this time growling seemed to crawl up from below and enveloped Saxthor. A hot, acrid draft wrapped around him like a sheet though the shaft’s air was cooler. While looking at the passageway ceiling, a sight made his heart race. A thin wisp of black smoke slithered from crack to rock point. It searched, almost slinked, to escape the rock confines. As Saxthor forced each leg out in front of the other, his nerve wavered. The weight of his footsteps grew as his muscles weakened. A deep rumbling followed the draft and smoke trail as if to drag them back down below.