by Randi Darren
Rolling over on her side, Caroline waved a hand at him. “I did what I could with your armor, dear. It should be drying in the sun right now on the east side of the tent.”
Vince closed his eyes and then ran his hands back and forth over his face.
Did I actually do that?
Getting out of the bed, Vince flipped the covers back over Caroline.
He gathered a set of clothes from his pack in the corner and dressed quickly and quietly.
The other two cots in the tent were suspiciously lumpy. He wasn’t sure if Blue and Red were asleep or not.
Getting out of the tent, he found the sun just barely cresting the distant eastern horizon.
Blue and Red were both awake, not more than twenty feet away, having a quiet conversation between themselves.
As one, they noticed he was awake.
“Good morning, darling,” Blue said with a smile. “I’m glad to see the effects were temporary. Though I do have to admit I’m just a touch jealous you were so quick to go after Caroline.”
Vince didn’t respond immediately and looked to Red instead.
“Red would have said yes. Though Red wouldn’t have been as loud as Caroline.”
Smiling, and deciding he’d rather talk to the king.
“Ven strode in very early this morning. He said their operation was a success. They’re on the road to Vegas now,” Blue said, following him. “Is there anything you need at the moment?”
“Probably a bit of dignity. I don’t think I’ve lost control like that in a long time,” Vince muttered.
“I wouldn’t be too concerned. Your brother’s troops are more than likely used to your antics by this point. It’s not as if I’m any quieter,” Blue said with a bright smile.
Donning his armor with some help from Blue, Vince made quick work of his need-to-do items.
The walk back into Richard’s camp was different than last time.
Most wore strange looks that Vince couldn’t quite identify. When he swept their minds out of curiosity, he found most of them had hardened their thoughts.
Seems more and more people are figuring out about the mind reading. I still owe Seville for that.
I wonder where he went.
In no time at all, Vince was entering the same building from the other day.
Walking into the same room he’d met Richard in last time.
Vince found nothing out of place. Not a single thing was different. Everything was exactly the same.
Though Richard looked quite different this time.
He was sitting at his table with a rather smug smile on his face.
He leapt out of his chair as soon as Vince entered, however, holding out his hand.
“Vince. Ah, it’s a good day today,” said the king of the East.
“Oh? And why do you say that?” Vince asked, shaking the man’s hand.
“My spies said there was a rather large disturbance this morning,” Richard said, releasing Vince’s hand. He moved over to the table and sat down, indicating the seat across from himself.
“Do tell.”
Vince sat down with a smile, wondering what Richard’s people would have seen.
“Apparently, the entire food storage was inundated with what appears to be Ratkin feces and urine. There were even corpses of small animals and the like.”
Richard was smiling as he spoke, his hands folded in his lap.
Anyone could tell at a glance that the king was practically quivering with energy and excitement.
“No one was the wiser until they went to pull out some things for the day’s needs. With the store being under such heavy guard, much to protect it from their own soldiers than anything else, they were quite surprised.
“But that wasn’t the biggest surprise this morning.”
Vince only nodded, smiling, waiting. He wouldn’t offer anything right now.
Richard seemed quite happy to relay what he knew to Vince. Even though he clearly knew it was all Vince’s doing.
“The biggest thing,” Richard said, leaning forward in his chair, “was that damned Dragon bitch found dead atop the capital. Her heart carved out atop her corpse.”
“That does sound like it’d be quite a disturbance. And probably a blow to morale on both accounts.”
“You have no idea. No idea! Though, I do wonder how you managed to kill a Dragon. They’re not exactly easy to slay.”
“I bashed her head in, then cut it off. I waited for a bit, then ate her heart,” Vince said without a hint of any emotion. “Well, most of it. In the end, it was too much for one meal.”
Richard stared at Vince without a word. Shock was evident in his eyes and demeanor, but his face was devoid of any emotion at all.
“You killed her.”
“Yes.”
“Then ate her heart.”
“Most of it.”
Richard leaned back in his chair, his fingers tight within one another. His eyes slid off Vince and moved to the far corners of the building.
As if it were nothing but a casual glance, Richard’s eyes moved back to Vince.
“If you don’t mind… may I ask you a question?” Richard asked suddenly.
“Of course. Is it about the men with crossbows in the walls? If so, yes, I’m aware of them. They don’t concern me that much,” Vince said.
He wasn’t sure if that was going to be the thrust of the question, but he’d rather point out that he was aware of it now.
It never hurt to push an opponent over an edge at the right moment.
In truth, Vince really wasn’t worried about them either. He was confident in his speed, and the shield he’d borrowed from Steve.
He said all he had to do was put a trickle of magic in it, and it’d activate as a bubble around himself.
“I don’t blame you for it either,” Vince continued. “I’d have done the same thing.”
Richard clicked his tongue and shifted to the other side in his chair.
“The last report I got from Fred was that the fort was surrounded by somewhere between four-hundred to six-hundred troops.”
“It was something like four-fifty, but yeah. Around that,” Vince conceded.
“The report mentioned you eliminated the opposing force to a man.”
“Yes, though we did capture a number of them. We left them with Fred, even though he couldn’t open the gate. I wonder what he did with them,” Vince said, the idle thought tripping him up.
“How many people are in your force?” Richard asked.
“Enough to destroy theirs,” Vince said, evading the question. “Now. I believe that according to our deal, I’ve met my end of the bargain. Their food is poisoned, their water is tainted, and their general is dead.
“If they’re not gone in a month, you’re not applying enough pressure.”
Richard didn’t respond immediately. He sat there with his chin in his hand, watching Vince.
Undoubtedly, he was weighing his options.
To Vince’s mind, there were only three possibilities to choose from.
One, agree to Vince’s request and free the slaves in one unilateral ruling. Telling them all to head west at their best possible speed into the lands of Yosemite.
Two, attempt to bicker or argue with Vince, knowing full well that time to do so was limited. This would undoubtedly also anger a man who had just murdered a Dragon and eaten its heart.
Three, deny the agreement and bring down whatever wrath Vince decided to throw.
Waiting quietly, Vince smiled at Richard without a worry in the world.
If he had to repeat what he’d done in Verix, so be it. He’d rather not, especially now, but he would.
Even if he had to wait till the war ended to do so.
“I’ll honor our agreement, of course. I’ll send out a general proclamation in a week or so. It’ll give me time to get my police and city defenders into position to raid the guilds,” Richard said, being direct about his intentions.
“Certai
nly. I’d do the same. Merely direct the freed slaves to travel into Yosemite. My vassals should be along the Mississippi river by then,” Vince said, dismissing the whole situation. “They should be able to direct all the freed slaves accordingly.”
“The river?” Richard asked, his voice going up in volume.
“Indeed. Yosemite now holds the entire space from the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the Mississippi river,” Vince said, his smile growing wider. “We’ve already defeated one army of the Tri-lliance. After we clear the second, we’ll be reinforcing our border, just as we’ve done in the south and the west.”
I imagine you’re rather nervous now. You thought you had some of the Wastes still as a barrier, didn’t you?
And now it’s gone. Now I’ve formally claimed the land up to the river. To your face, no less.
I’ve displayed power, wealth, and the ability to crush everything before me.
The only reason the Tri-lliance did as well as they did was that theirs was a surprise attack.
“I imagine our amount of trade with the east will go up exponentially now that I’ve tamed the Wastes. Or the vast majority of it,” Vince said. “Ah, I do believe it’s my time to depart, however. I’d like to go find those boats. I have some… revenge… to return to our mutual enemies.
“If you wouldn’t mind providing me with your promised seal, I’ll be on my way. I do promise to kill any Tri-lliance soldiers as I go as well.”
Vince stood, folding his hands behind his back. He didn’t want Richard to think he was trying to intimidate him.
But it really was time he got a leg on. The longer he was out here wandering around in the east, the more he’d worry about everyone back west.
“Of course, of course,” Richard said, getting to his feet. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a metallic circle as big as a tea saucer and held it out to Vince.
“Merely display this anywhere you go and you’ll have free passage. Again, just be sure to drop it back off with myself, please. It’s a pain to have them made all over again.”
***
“Why is it wherever we go, it feels like we end up staring at something we have to attack?” Julia said.
She was in her Warden suit. Vince was beginning to wonder if those soldiers lived in them. For as rarely as he saw them without, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they slept in them.
“Because most of this world is fortified,” Vince said.
They were staring across an open plain. At the center of it was the Dragon’s roost.
There wasn’t a tree, road, or building as far as the eye could see in any direction around that one building.
Amongst the roost were the remains of a rather large fortified building. Of course, it now only looked like a ruin, but Vince got the impression it had been built with defense in mind.
In the middle of that massive sprawling nest, the Dragon apparently lived and slept.
Which was immediately obvious to everyone.
Laying in its home was the Dragon. Sleeping in the middle of the day, without a care or a worry in the world.
In plain view of anyone walking by, and with disdain for the world as a whole.
It seemed a touch bigger than the other Dragons he’d seen, but it didn’t look any different than them.
Except the coloring.
Dark black scales ran the length of its large body. The previous ones he’d tangled with had all been red in color.
Now that he thought about it, all reports of Dragons, save this one, had always been red in color.
Briefly, he wondered if it was a different sub-species of dragon.
Like Elves. Maybe the black Dragons are a bit more hostile? Less? More solitary?
Could be Dragons all over Europe.
Maybe that’s why we never heard back from boats or planes that went that way to see how the rest of the world fared.
Other than the monsters in the deep.
“What’s the plan?” Steve asked, looking to Vince.
Caroline sighed while Blue looked at the ground, studiously admiring her booted feet.
Red looked annoyed and angry at the same time.
“I take it by the looks of your people, you have a plan they don’t like,” Julia said, her helmet swinging between them all.
“Red would agree with that statement,” said the Beastkin, her tail lashing back and forth behind her.
“It’s actually rather simple. I go out there, challenge it to a fight, and kill it.
“Then I eat its heart, probably get really drunk, and we get the gold,” Vince said. “Now, did you get me all those shields?”
“Yes,” Steve said, and held out a small bag. “Here’s all the shields from the Wardens. Caroline was able to charge them up just like you figured.”
Caroline shrugged her shoulders at that, her arms folded across her chest. “If my idiot noble husband is going to widow me, the least I can do is give him every chance to prevent that fate.”
Vince took the bag and began pulling out all the handheld oval objects.
They look like brass knuckles to a degree.
“Just like the other item I gave you, feed it a trick of magic and boom—instant shield. These are all one directional though. So you’ll need to point it at the danger,” Steve explained.
“Alright, that all makes sense. I suppose there’s no time like the present. I might as well go challenge the damn thing and see where it takes us,” Vince said with a grim smile. “The rest of you should get behind cover and the like. I’d rather not have it go after you to distract me.”
Blue and Red got in front of him. Each collected a hug and a kiss. They didn’t say anything, and they didn’t seem as if they wanted to.
He couldn’t blame Blue. He imagined she was still dealing with her own demons over the deaths of the Dryads she was very close to. More so than any other Dryad.
Vince was surprised by Caroline, though.
She lingered. Her eyes moving over his face.
“Vince,” she said. “We haven’t had much time together. I don’t… care for you. Yet. Though I feel like it’d be easy for us to get to that point.”
Sighing, she stepped in closer and laid her hand to his jaw.
“I guess what I’m saying is don’t get yourself killed. I’d like to see where this all goes,” Caroline said, brushing her thumb along his cheek bone. “Besides, it was rather cute how enamored with my ears you were.”
Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to his lips. After several seconds, she broke the kiss and gave him a smile.
“Be sure to kill the Dragon, noble husband,” Caroline said. “I’d very much enjoy not explaining your death to Yaris.
“A Royal Elf isn’t one any Elf would ever wish to disappoint.”
Even Caroline defers to her. I really do need to ask her for more info on that sometime.
Rolling his shoulders, Vince marched out into the field.
Pulling his blade free from his sheath, he clutched one of the shields in his left hand.
With his heartbeat starting to speed up, Vince tried to keep his breathing even and normal.
Red splotches started to crawl up the sides of his vision. A soft ringing noise drowned out everything else.
Lifting his right arm above his head, Vince sucked in a deep breath.
“DRAGON!” he shouted. “COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME, YOU BIG-ASS LIZARD!”
Lifting its head from its nest, the Dragon focused on Vince.
A black-scaled cowl rose up around the neck of the beast. Circling the back of its head as if it were a crown. Horns that hadn’t been originally visible glistened darkly.
It took in a huge, gasping breath, one that seemed impossibly long.
Then it let loose a bellow that shook Vince from head to asshole.
Ah shit… it’s not like the other Dragons at all. It’s quite a bit stronger, isn’t it?
Bigger too. More than likely faster.
I suppose that’ll just make its heart tas
te all the sweeter.
Won’t it?
Chapter 19
Moving forward at a casual pace, Vince kept his glowing-edged sword level at his side.
He had no idea how fast or strong this Dragon would be. He had a fair guess, but he wasn’t going to bet on it.
Getting up on all fours, the big Dragon hunched its shoulders and roared again at Vince.
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU DAMNED PIGEON! I HEARD THAT ONE ALREADY!” Vince shouted back at it. “GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME ALREADY!”
The Dragon paused at that. Its wings fluttered behind it and laid back down along its spine.
Marching inexorably toward the Dragon, Vince kept his breathing calm. His heart and head were pounding though.
His vision was nearly red and his temples throbbing with each beat of his heart.
Channeling and circling the magic in his grove, Vince began to gather it in his chest. Ready for whatever use he might have of it.
Coming down from its perch, the Dragon almost seemed cautious. Cautious and unsure of the Human heading straight for it.
Reaching the ground, the Dragon began to circle out around Vince.
Watching it with his head, Vince kept marching for its nest.
He’d not be distracted.
Whatever it was doing was clearly an attempt to draw him toward something—or away from something.
Which means I just keep marching forward.
“You just keep going that way, you overgrown chicken!” Vince said loudly, feeling like it was close enough he didn’t have to shout anymore. “After I’m done taking a shit in your nest, maybe I’ll see if I can find anything interesting!”
The Dragon practically turned ninety degrees at that, heading straight for Vince.
That got its attention.
Turning his body to face the Dragon, Vince stopped, placed his feet, and moved his blade out in front of himself.
It wasn’t a saber. The glowing edge worked well enough that the lack of a slashing curve wouldn’t deter him.
This would really just change the normal angle of his attacks a bit.
Slowing down at the sight of Vince centering on it, the Dragon came to a full stop thirty feet from him.
