Rise of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 2)

by Jason Halstead

  “I’ve found the best thing to do when it comes to dragons is avoid them. I’m not the hero type, though; my talents lie in other areas.”

  “What areas?” Allie asked. “I couldn’t see much in that hut the other day, but you were the one moving like a desert storm from one splisskin to the next and leaving them holding their innards in their hands.”

  “That’s quite a picture for not being able to see much.”

  Allie shrugged. “I’ve had to learn to see things with my ears,” she said. She fought back the memory of being tortured with red-hot irons by the splisskin before they healed her injuries so they could do it all over again. “Sometimes the eyes can’t be trusted.”

  Namitus raised an eyebrow. “Thank you for telling me. It confirms my belief that there’s a dragon behind this.”

  “Why?” she asked. “Why would they care? About us, I mean.”

  “Dragons aren’t mere animals that carry off village maidens like a wolf hunting a sheep,” Namitus explained. “They have goals and needs beyond my understanding. They covet power and as much as they have, they long for more. Sarya wanted it to become immortal.”

  Allie gasped. “I hadn’t thought of that. I mean, I guess I never considered how long they lived. I assumed it was forever.”

  “Nothing lives forever,” he said. “As far as I know, that is. Perhaps the saints. Sarya had plans to transfer her soul into a silver statue that her magic would mobilize. Alto interrupted the ceremony and trapped her inside it. A few years later, when we learned what he’d done, we went back and finished it before she could take over Rosalyn, the Dragon Queen, and live anew in her body.”

  “Wow,” Allie breathed. “That’s a complicated story.”

  “You have no idea.” Namitus chuckled.

  “This time there’s a dragon, but there’s no Alto. Just Namitus,” she said. “This time it’s your turn to be the hero.”

  Namitus’s eyes widened. He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. You, Gor, and even Corian and Jillystria. You’re the heroes.”

  “So what are you?”

  Namitus winked. “I’m the storyteller.”

  She stared at him and considered his many stories he’d already told them. She smiled. “You do seem to excel at that. But you’re better than any of us in a fight, too—even Gor.”

  “I wouldn’t go up against Gor with an army behind me,” Namitus said. “Have you seen his axe? It’s big enough to chop a mountain down!”

  Allie felt some of the growing tension slip out as she laughed. She covered her mouth so she didn’t risk waking up any of the others and glanced at them. Her eyes fell on Amra. “Are you and Amra…?”

  Namitus followed her gaze. “I don’t think so,” he said. “Of us all, she has the least experience outside of what she knew. She’s scared, but doing well.”

  “She’s fond of you, though,” Allie said. “I know that much.”

  Namitus shrugged. “I promised her father I would keep her safe, and I told her I would be her friend. I’m not encouraging anything more.”

  Allie’s lips parted in a silent gasp. “Safe? Hello? There’s an army of splisskin massing and a dragon behind them!”

  “I love a challenge,” Namitus said. “They make the best stories to tell.”

  Allie snorted. “You really are mad.”

  Namitus grinned. He turned his head and did a quick sweep of the swamp. Seeing nothing, he returned his attention to Allie. “How old did you say you were?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “I was on my own by half that age,” he said. “I’m not bragging, just a sad statement of how foolish I’ve been. Alto saw his family murdered by that age.”

  Allie frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “So you know you’re not alone.”

  “Not alone?” she asked. She snorted. “My family is dead, Namitus. And you know what, they weren’t even my family. Not my real one. My father, Gildor, found me when I was only a few months old in a burning house in Assurion’s Crossing. He saved me and swam across the Silverflake River while they threw their spears at him.”

  “Sounds like your father was a hero. Whether he was real or not, that’s the kind of man who deserves the title.”

  Allie clamped her lips together and nodded. She turned away to keep him from seeing the tears in her eyes. “He was,” she agreed. “Grandpa too.”

  She started when Namitus placed his hand on hers. She hesitated and glanced down at their hands on the tree root and then up at him. On her way, she was distracted by movement out of the corner of her eye. Amra sat up and was looking at them. Allie jerked her head to Namitus and saw he’d noticed Amra as well.

  She opened her mouth to insist his hand on hers meant nothing. No words came out, or at least not from her mouth.

  Namitus motioned for Amra to join them with his other hand. “You have seen more and traveled farther, but I think you should spend some time with Amra. It might do you both some good to have a friend near your own age.”

  Allie watched Amra approach. Her eyes kept darting to their hands, making Allie’s itch. She slipped it out from beneath Namitus’s and rubbed it against her pants before leaving it in her lap. “Hi,” she said. “Can’t sleep?”

  Amra looked at both of them before answering. “Seems I’m not the only one.”

  “Allie and I were talking about the splisskin, helping me get a better understanding of what it is that is going on.”

  “She did, did she?” Amra asked.

  Allie fought the urge to grimace. First she’d asked him to call her Allie instead of Allisandra and now this. She hadn’t felt any sort of impropriety from him at all. Namitus was a kind and good-hearted man.

  “I was right,” Namitus continued, amazing Allie at how he ignored the suspicious tone in Amra’s voice. “There is a dragon behind the splisskin. He’s uniting them and driving them, but first they seem to want to find as many half-bloods as they can.”

  Amra’s eyes went to Namitus and stayed there. Her voice changed to a concerned tone when she asked, “Have they…um, found anyone yet?”

  Allie frowned. She turned to look at Namitus and then back at Amra.

  “No, not yet,” he said.

  “Am I missing something?” Allie wondered as she glanced back and forth at the two.

  “What?” both of them asked.

  “The two of you act like you know something about this. Something more, I mean.”

  Amra and Namitus looked at each other before turning back to her. Amra pressed her lips together and shook her head. Namitus sighed.

  “What is it?” Allie demanded.

  “I’m a half-blood,” Namitus said. “Half-elven. Well, quarter-elven to be precise, but even a pinch of blood is enough, or so I’m told.”

  Allie’s eyes widened and her jaw fell open. She recovered after a moment of being too stunned to think and jerked her head back to the camp. Corian and Jillystria were asleep, no doubt thanks to Gor’s snoring droning out the conversation.

  She turned back to Namitus. “You have to tell them! Do you…no, that would be impossible. You’re not old enough. And you’re not a woman.”

  “He’s been known to dress in women’s clothing,” Amra offered with a satisfied smile.

  Namitus sighed. “No, I’m not ready to. I may never be ready to.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Jillystria is my grandmother.”

  Allie jumped to her feet and stared at him. She turned and watched the sleeping elf before comparing her features with Namitus’s face. “By the saints! I see it! But…how?”

  “Her daughter, Lilliandara, is my mother. She had me when she was young and left me with her parents while she ran off with my father. I don’t remember ever seeing them, although I’m told they checked in on me a few times when I was a baby.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I saw my mother a few times as I grew up—”

  “No, you just said—”


  Namitus shook his head, stopping her in mid-sentence. “I did; my apologies. I meant I don’t remember seeing them when I was a child at home. I knew their names and I learned where they would play their music when they came to Mira. I waited and watched, seeing them from the crowd without her ever knowing.”

  “That must have been horrible,” Allie whispered. “I couldn’t have done it.”

  Namitus shrugged. “She made her choice, but I wanted to know why.”

  “But you said she never knew. Didn’t you ask her?” Allie wondered.

  “No, I didn’t need to,” he said. “The way they played together, his pipes and her voice. It was clear. They couldn’t have the life they wanted to live if they’d have been burdened with a child.”

  “Burdened?” Amra gasped. “A child’s not a burden! It’s a—”

  Namitus chuckled. “I was a burden. That’s why I left at a young age. My grandparents didn’t deserve the trouble I brought home.”

  “Wow,” Allie said.

  Namitus smiled. “I trust you’ll keep this private?”

  She nodded. It didn’t seem right, but that was from what she knew of Jillystria. The elf was a caring woman who wanted to atone for her past. Her daughter was missing still, but her grandson was right in front of her. If only she knew.

  But Namitus wanted otherwise. It was his right, she supposed. She stopped nibbling her lip and nodded. “I will.”

  “Good,” he said. “Now go and get some rest. I mean to make it to Shadowmarsh tomorrow. I think we’ve learned enough about what we’re against. It’s time we found this Lariki and saw what sort of man he is.”

  Allie nodded. “It would be good to be done with this,” she admitted. She smiled at Amra. “Good night, Amra.”

  “Good night,” Amra said, her voice slipping back into a stiffer tone.

  Allie walked back to her bedroll and left the two of them to discuss what Amra had seen. There was nothing to discuss, she knew, but Amra might feel different. That was Namitus’s burden to bear. He’d been the one to lay his hand on hers anyhow.

  She sighed and slipped into her bedroll. It was still damp and uncomfortable. She scowled and rolled onto her side, trying to find some warmth by curling up. Sleep, if it came at all, would be hard to come by.

  Chapter 9

  “What’s this?” Namitus muttered as he rounded a bend in the road and saw a large stone bridge up ahead. A few buildings, simple houses, and some small shops stood on his side of the bridge. On the other end, a large city blossomed.

  “Stonebridge,” Gor called from behind.

  “So I see.”

  “No,” Gor corrected. “That’s the name of the city.”

  Namitus smirked and muttered, “Creative bunch.”

  Amra giggled behind him.

  “Stonebridge marks the borders of Witherspur,” Gor added.

  “Witherspur?” Amra asked.

  “A realm from a long time ago. Nothing but ruins remains—some of them occupied, others not,” the warrior explained.

  “I’ve heard of it. There’s an outpost south of Shazamir that came from Witherspur, right?”

  “Think so,” Gor agreed.

  “If it’s not a kingdom anymore, why does it matter?” Allie asked.

  “Those ruins that people haven’t taken and rebuilt? Somebody, or something, has.”

  “That sounds ominous,” Namitus said. “Might be fun.”

  “Some say the spirits of the betrayed soldiers of Witherspur still walk in some of them, especially at night.”

  “Spirits walking?” Corian scoffed. “That’s against the natural order of things! The dead are dead.”

  “Take care,” Namitus warned the elf. “Never discount a thing just because it doesn’t fit with your understanding of how the world should work.”

  Corian snorted. “You’ve seen this, then? The dead walking?”

  “I have not,” Namitus admitted. He tilted his head to the side and nodded. “But I’ve heard of it, in a place very far from here.”

  “Stories! Nonsense!”

  “Not so,” Namitus said. “The friends I speak of saw this abomination themselves and had to fight against it. Powerful necromancy.”

  “Bah, stories of evil wizardry told to frighten children.”

  “He’s right,” Gor said. “There are curses that can keep a man on his feet long after he should have fallen.”

  “No,” Namitus said. “Well, yes, but that’s not what I’m referring to. I mean the bodies of the dead without their souls still in them. Moving and being spiteful of those of us with the audacity to still draw breath and need the beat of our heart.”

  “I’ve not seen that,” Gor admitted. “But I have seen men scared halfway to the grave and swearing they were set on by spirits such as that.”

  “Rubbish,” Corian scoffed again.

  “Namitus,” Allie asked, breaking up the friendly argument. She pointed ahead at the bridge. “Where are the people?”

  Namitus followed her finger and looked around. It was nearing supper time; people should be finishing up their daily work and returning home. He narrowed his eyes, seeking out details, and finally glimpsed someone move in a doorway.

  He nodded his head towards the house and said, “There, that house. Someone’s in it.”

  “Someone? Or a spirit of the dead come to haunt the town?” Corian snickered.

  “Corian, stop it!” Jillystria snapped.

  Namitus ignored him and spurred his horse ahead. Amra squeezed her hands against his side, surprised by the sudden surge. He smiled, even if it was out of self-preservation. This was the first time she’d shown any sign of caring for him since his midnight talk with Allisandra.

  He rode up to the house and slowed his horse. “Wait here,” he said.

  “Be careful,” she whispered.

  Namitus turned and winked at her before he lifted his leg out of his stirrup and dropped off the horse. He loosened his sword in his scabbard. Namitus made it to the door before it opened a crack and a shadowed eye stared out at him. “Go back!” the person hissed. “It’s not safe!”

  Namitus frowned and glanced around at the empty road. “What’s this? What do you mean? What’s not safe?”

  “Monsters! Under the bridge. We seen ’em...they took little Tommy and his goat! We heard the crying and then nothing. Great big green-skinned beast!”

  “Wait, you’ve got a green-skinned beast taking people? And it’s under the bridge?”

  “Troll!” the villager cried. “It’s got to be, right? They live under bridges.”

  Namitus turned and studied the bridge. Other than the lack of people, it seemed normal enough. The sun was setting in the west but the gold and orange rays of the sunset made the scene almost idyllic looking. He nodded. It would make for a fine song, a battle amid the fading flames of the setting sun.

  “Why are you smiling?” the villager asked. “It’s not safe! We’re waiting for the city to send soldiers to deal with the thing, but they’re afraid, too.”

  Namitus wiped his grin off his face. “Of course. Stay in your home, friend. We’ll investigate this monstrous threat.”

  The man’s eyes widened but only for a moment. He backed away and slammed the door shut. Namitus heard a muffled scrape of wood against stone as something, a chair or chest, was slid against the door.

  He sighed and turned away. He motioned to his companions and said, “Gor, let’s see about saving these villagers.”

  “Saving them? From what?”

  “Seems there’s a monster under the bridge. Took a boy and his goat already. Unlikely, I think. A busy place like this tends to scare monsters away.”

  “What sort of monster?”

  Namitus shook his head. He didn’t want to spread the villagers’ ignorant paranoia. The average troll was stupid, but not so stupid as to try taking up residence next to a large town. Sooner or later the army would come and take care of things. Besides, most trolls tended to stick to t
heir own kind.

  “Corian, bring your bow. Doesn’t sound like there’s more than one but I’d rather not be someone’s dinner because I didn’t take them seriously.”

  “Namitus!” Amra hissed. “What are you doing?”

  He paused and stared at her. “You’re right, this is silly of me.”

  “Get back here,” she agreed.

  “Allie, you too.”

  “What?” Amra gulped. Her jaw hardened and she shook her head. “I think not. If she’s going, I’m going.”

  “Saints preserve me,” Namitus muttered. He turned and walked ahead, leading the others along the road to the bridge.

  He waited where the road ramped up to join the stone and mortar bridge for the others to catch up. They arrived one at a time while he studied the fast flowing river. The river was wide, nearly thirty feet across, and looked deep enough to make any attempts to cross it doomed. In spite of that, the bridge had a single stone column built into the middle of the river, supporting its weight.

  “This bridge has stood for ages,” Gor’s heavy voice rumbled. “It’s been the site of many battles, but it’s the only bridge that spans the river and has survived year after year, save the bridge at Crystalwood.”

  Namitus glanced at him. “Where’s that?”

  “South, where the Stonewash empties into the sea.”

  “Stonewash? This river?”

  “Aye.”

  Namitus grunted and made sure everyone was gathered. “I’ll head down around this side of the bridge. Gor, you take the other side. Allie, you’re with Gor, and Amra with me.”

  When Corian’s name wasn’t spoken, he lifted his head and said, “I’ll—”

  “Wait,” Namitus interrupted him. “You’ll wait here, in sight of both sides of the bridge and ready to rush to the aid of whoever needs you. Or put an arrow in whatever green-skinned monster tries to escape.”

  Corian stiffened and then nodded. He glanced at his sister and received a flash of a smile, confirming his decision.

  “Let’s do this before we lose what light we have left,” Namitus said.