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

by Jason Halstead

  Namitus turned to Allie and saw her staring at his side. Her lips were parted. He glanced down and noticed the growing red stain on his hip. His side felt warm but numb at the same time. He snapped his fingers to get her attention. “Later,” he said. “Turn around so I can get in my pack.”

  Allie spun, giving him access to his backpack that she’d taken when he put his disguise on earlier. He tugged out a rope and handed it to Lariki.

  “What am I to do with this?” she asked.

  “I thought it might help you accessorize your, um, outfit,” he said while waving at her dragon scale covered nudity. Before she could respond beyond raising an eyebrow, he explained the real reason he’d given it to her. “You want to drop into the courtyard by yourself and lift the portcullis?”

  Lariki nodded and looped the coil around her neck and shoulder. “Get ready. This won’t be easy on you.”

  Gor snorted and moved to the gate. Several splisskin backed away, but only a few of them held weapons. Gor snarled, forcing them to take a few more steps back before they recovered and hissed back. Gor looked up at the wall and turned to put his back to the portcullis.

  “Corian!” Namitus snapped. “Keep them from trying to poke him through the bars.”

  Corian moved over and drew back his bow. His eyes narrowed as he selected a target and fired an arrow out of his second quiver that he’d picked up in Easton. The splisskin hissed and scrambled to take cover, pushing back the handful of scaled warriors that were trying to work their way forward with their javelins.

  The dragonwarrior backed up several steps and used her hand to motion Gor forward. She flipped her hand around, palm out, to hold him steady and then stretched her neck and lowered herself. She nodded once and sprang forward, bursting into movement so fast that Namitus took a half step back in surprise.

  Lariki covered the distance in four strides of her long and powerful legs. She cleared the ground and planted her left foot in Gor’s palms and kept walking up him, landing her right foot on his chain-covered shoulders. Gor grunted and tried to lift her up, but she sprung off him and sailed into the air. The warrior crumpled, driven off balance and onto his back by the strength of her leaps.

  Lariki hit the smooth top edge of the wall with her legs. She tipped forward, leaning over and starting to tumble before she whipped an arm back and slapped against the side of the stone facing the harbor. She teetered for a moment until she regained her balance and straddled the foot and a half wide top of the wall.

  “Keep her safe,” Namitus snapped.

  Corian grunted and loosed his fifth arrow into the courtyard, towards the scrambling splisskin. Now he was targeting the snake men with spears instead of the unarmed ones.

  Lariki grunted as a spear struck her back at an angle. It forced her chest down to the wall even though her scales deflected the javelin high into the air. She whipped her head around to spot the splisskin that had thrown it and let loose another of her terrifying roars.

  The splisskin froze in place. They stared up at Lariki, lipless mouths parted and tongues flicking the air in confusion. Larikia took the pause to slip the rope off and hold tight to one end of it. She tossed the coil over the edge so it landed on Gor as he tried to sit up and then she leapt into the courtyard of the castle.

  Lariki landed on the other side of the portcullis. The splisskin behind her wavered until one of them hissed something in their language and stepped forward. He made the mistake of throwing a javelin at her before she turned her back on him. Lariki’s hand shot out, her skin covered with the same shimmering red and brown scales that covered the rest of her body.

  The spear was knocked aside and smashed into the wall of the gate. Lariki snarled again and turned to the portcullis. She thrust the end of the rope through so Namitus could grab it and then turned back to the rushing horde of splisskin. Lariki crouched and held her arms out. The scales shimmered on her skin, thickening and covering her entire body from toe to forehead. She snarled and leapt into the rushing horde.

  “Captain!” one of the Vultures shouted.

  Namitus finished knotting the rope on the bars of the gate and spun around. “You want to help her? Get up that rope!”

  The mercenaries stared at the rope dangling over the gate. They glanced at one another and then through the bars of the portcullis at the battle raging inside. Gor scowled and grabbed the rope so he could pull it to the side of the gate. He pulled it tight and set a foot against the wall. One foot followed the next and soon he was scaling the side of the castle wall.

  Namitus nodded and turned to Allie. “Stay here until we get the gate up.”

  “What? They’ll need help!”

  “I know,” he said and grabbed the rope as Gor swung himself over the top.

  “Namitus! You’re bleeding!”

  “Maybe later,” he said, confusing her. He started climbing up the side of the wall and made it look like he was out for an evening stroll. “I don’t have time to bleed right now.”

  Namitus straddled the wall next to Gor and glanced at the man.

  “Don’t fancy breaking a leg dropping down there,” Gor mumbled. “Tell them to hold the rope.”

  “The wall’s slanted,” Namitus said. “They’ve yet to build a wall that doesn’t have an angle to it. Friend of mine’s a dwarf; he once told me they have to be thicker at the base to support the weight of the top. That and it keeps a strong wind from blowing it over.”

  Gor blinked. “What’s your point?”

  “My point,” Namitus said as he positioned himself with both legs facing the courtyard, “is that we can slide down—just make sure you roll when you land.”

  Gor opened his mouth again but Namitus drew his scimitar and pushed off, sliding down the twenty-foot drop and then twisting himself away as the ground rushed up to meet him. He tumbled into a somersault and then a sideways roll before he came to a stop and scrambled to his feet. Just in time—he had to shear off the arm of a splisskin that reached for him.

  “I don’t roll so well,” Gor muttered before he pushed himself after the rogue. He hit the ground harder, his knees buckling under the combined weight of his body, his armor, and the axe still harnessed across his back. He rolled, purely by the whim of Saint Dice, and shook his head when he came to a rest.

  “Get up!” Namitus shouted while cutting fingers and flesh from the crowd of splisskin that approached. “We’ve got to raise the gate!”

  Gor grunted and pushed himself up to his hands and knees before climbing to his feet. He rose up as a splisskin grabbed his shoulder, sharp claws pushing the chain into his shirt and flesh beneath. Gor swung himself around as he gained his feet and sent the splisskin stumbling. He unleashed his axe from his harness and smashed the shaft into the splisskin’s face as it came back at him. Stunned, the snake man stood no chance as Gor brought the business end of the axe around.

  “Gor! The gate!” Namitus scolded him again.

  “I’m working on it!” Gor growled. He spun around, swinging his axe and driving one splisskin back before catching another in the arm. Bone crunched and broke as the splisskin was knocked to the ground. Blood sprayed the ground from his half-severed arm. Gor stepped away and jogged over to the gate.

  Lariki was fighting in a circle of splisskin. Most of their claws glanced off her scaled skin while hers ripped jagged furrows in their flesh. A growing pile of dead splisskin littered the ground around her, but the blood that ran from the cuts in her skin proved even a half-dragon wasn’t invulnerable.

  Gor found the lever that locked the chain to the portcullis at the base of the wall. He yanked it into the locked position and leaned his axe against the wall. The large warrior glanced over his shoulder to make sure Namitus and Lariki kept the splisskin at bay, and grabbed the handle of the gatewheel in both hands. He began to crank it, pulling the chain one agonizing slow link at a time.

  A javelin shattered off the wall over his head. Gor flinched and looked back. More of the splisskin were gestur
ing at him and two of them hoisted their spears and threw them at him. He grimaced and lurched to the side, letting go of the wheel. One javelin passed through the space he’d been and the other pierced his chain shirt on the right side of his chest. The spiked metal tip snapped the links and dug into his flesh, knocking him back a half step. The links dug into his flesh but it was the throwing spear itself that dug deep into his chest.

  Gor yanked the spear out and threw it back with his left hand. The throw was so bad it missed the splisskin that had thrown it by a dozen feet and crashed sideways into the arm and back of another splisskin.

  Gor snarled and tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. He panted and clamped his hand over the wound. The pressure helped him breathe easier. It was enough that he could turn back to the crank and set his left hand to it.

  The portcullis rose where he’d left off, lifting inch by inch with each rotation of the gatewheel. He clamped his teeth and tried to turn it faster, making his arm burn from the effort. He risked using both hands again and grunted when he found he could breathe without the pressure.

  The portcullis was close to three feet off the ground when another spear stabbed into him. This time it hit him low, driving into the back of his leg just above his knee. Gor howled and teetered on his good leg a fragile moment. Then he fell, crashing to the ground and twisting the spear free. He cursed and twisted, rolling over to the wall and bumping his axe so that it fell over and landed beside him.

  “Gor!” Allie screamed as she crawled under the portcullis and scrambled to his side. “Stay still, I’ll—”

  “Saint’s balls, Allie, stay back!” Gor growled. He grabbed his axe and staggered to his feet. His leg was weak and unsteady, but he knew that wouldn’t last. He kept the pressure on his good leg and turned to see some of the splisskin that had slipped around Namitus and Lariki. Not only was the number of splisskin growing, but more and more of them were armed.

  Namitus slashed his way through the splisskin around him and leapt over the thrashing body of a dying splisskin. He jogged over to them as Corian loosed his last arrow into a splisskin that was right behind Namitus and poised to strike. The elf slung his bow over his shoulder and drew the dragon tooth dagger at his waist.

  “There’s too many,” Namitus panted. Blood ran down his face from a tear on his scalp and his hip was wet and glistening with the blood from his side. His left arm was pressed against his ribs as well, hinting at a new injury he was protecting.

  The Vultures rushed past them and fell into the growing splisskin. Lariki cried out and cut her way through the snake men when she saw her mercenaries.

  Gor pointed to a side door of the palace. “I can get us in from there,” he said. “It will take us to the hall we were in last time.”

  Allie stiffened. “Where my father…”

  Gor grunted and nodded.

  Allie turned to stare at it. “We can make it.”

  “Where from there?” Namitus asked. “The throne room?”

  “Once we’re inside, I can get us anywhere,” Gor said.

  Namitus nodded and turned. He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, “Lariki, meet us in the throne room!”

  They couldn’t hear her response over the sounds of war: steel against steel and flesh, as well as the shouts and screams of both victors and wounded.

  Namitus nodded. “Quick, let’s run for it.”

  “Gor can’t run! He’s been stabbed in the leg,” Allie protested.

  “I can run,” Gor said. “Hurry, before too many reinforcements arrive.”

  Allie looked at the others and received a nod from Namitus. He took a deep breath and turned to the door Gor had pointed at. “Run. Now!” he said and followed his own advice.

  The splisskin rallied and cried in the sybillant language as the four streaked across the courtyard towards the side door into the palace. “Run faster,” Corian advised when the splisskin began to break away and run after them.

  Chapter 18

  Gor slowed as he reached the end of a passage. They could see splisskin in the large hall rushing to and fro. The warrior turned back to the others and dropped his eyes on Allie. “This is where he made his stand.”

  Allie’s breath caught in her throat. She peered past him and started to inch forward to get a better look. Namitus grabbed her shoulder to stop her. “There’s a lot of splisskin moving through there,” he warned.

  Allie shook her head and nodded. “I know. I’m just…I need to see it.”

  “Is there another way to the throne room?” Corian asked. He glanced at Namitus. “That’s where we need to go, right?”

  “Not without returning to the courtyard,” Gor said.

  Namitus nodded. “All right, we’ll have to move fast then.” He looked to his three companions and received nods from each of them. The rogue turned back to Gor and said, “Are you ready?”

  Gor clenched his fingers around his axe handle and said, “I am.”

  “Then lead the way, my friend. We’ll show them why their uprising doesn’t stand a chance of succeeding.”

  Gor grunted and turned. He hefted his axe and with a deep breath that lifted his shoulders, charged out into the open. He swung his axe at the first surprised splisskin he ran past, leaving a crushed and bleeding mess on the floor.

  “Go!” Namitus snapped at Allie. She nodded and rushed out. Her sword glowed with Thork’s magic, though Namitus hadn’t figured out exactly what it meant yet. He turned and nodded to Corian after Allie leapt into the fray and killed a splisskin that was rushing towards Gor. “Our turn,” Namitus said.

  Corian and Namitus burst out after the other two, heading towards the double doors at the end of the long room. Allie slipped a slash from a splisskin sword and laid open the attacker’s ribs with her counterattack. She pushed the injured snake man back and glanced around the room at the splisskin that were recovering from the surprise of the sudden attack. Her eyes fell on the single door at the end of the room and the side passage on the opposite side of the room. She froze.

  “Curse the saints,” Namitus hissed as he saw the glow in Allie’s sword wane and die out. She was standing still and inviting a quick death. “Gor!” he shouted to get the man’s attention.

  Gor slowed and turned around. He looked from Namitus to Allie and cursed. A splisskin leapt at him and grabbed onto his chain shirt from behind with one hand. The other reached for his face, scratching at his jaw. Gor threw an elbow back and used his other hand to punch over his shoulder and leave the splisskin dazed. He stomped on the snake man’s ribs, breaking several with his boot, and turned back to Allie.

  Allie pointed at the door. “It was there…”

  “It was, but that was many months ago,” Gor said. “We can’t—”

  “I have to know,” Allie said.

  “Know? Know what?” Gor asked.

  Namitus and Corian joined them and moved to block the splisskin that were racing to stop them. Namitus tried to keep an eye on his great-uncle but was hard pressed by his own enemies.

  “They hurt Jilly and me badly many times, but they kept us alive. Maybe they’re doing the same to him? They wanted him…him and Bucknar both. Maybe…”

  “Allie, you can’t take that risk!” Gor growled. “We have to kill the snake humping whoreson in charge, then we can—”

  “No.” Allie shook her head and tightened her grip on her sword. The green glow flared stronger than ever. “I’m going. You guys go on. I’ll join you after…after I know.”

  Gor stared at her and scowled. He lashed out, killing a splisskin that edged around Corian and came for them. “Go!” he bellowed to Namitus and Corian. He ran ahead and swung his axe in a powerful sweep that killed one splisskin and sent three others leaping back. They turned to face him, distracted, and were easily wounded or struck down by Namitus and Corian.

  Gor pointed with his axe at the double doors. “Through there, straight and up some stairs. Left when you come to the main hall. I
t opens to another hall. That’s the castle’s court room.”

  “Gor?” Namitus asked.

  Gor turned and saw Allie pull her sword free from the chest of a splisskin. Blood stained the armor on her left arm. “Kill those whoresons for me,” Gor said. “I’ve got a promise to keep.”

  Namitus cursed and watched the warrior run after Allie. He turned back to Corian and shook his head.

  Corian stared at him with wide eyes. “Namitus?”

  “Go,” Namitus snapped. “This is for nothing if we can’t stop the snakes!”

  Corian nodded and ran side by side with Namitus through the double doors.

  * * * *

  “The dungeons are straight ahead,” Gor called when Allie stopped at a fork in the passage.

  Allie stared at the split behind them. “This was the way we were supposed to go!”

  Gor checked to make sure the hall they’d come down remained empty before checking out the other passage Allie mentioned. He nodded. “It was, but we didn’t. I made the mistake and Gildor paid for it.”

  Allie chewed on her lip and blinked back the tears in her eyes. “I know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gor muttered.

  She shook her head. “It’s behind us. You’re a different man, Gor. I’ve forgiven you.”

  “You shouldn’t.”

  “But I do,” she insisted. “Now come on, let’s go find him.”

  “Allie...”

  “I feel it, Gor,” she said. “I feel him. Don’t you?”

  “I haven’t felt nothing in ages.”

  Allie put her hand on Gor’s bloodstained arm. “You’re lying. You’re a good man, Gor. You’re helping us because you feel it’s right.”

  Gor grunted and looked away. “Snakes will be coming soon,” he warned. “Even in the dungeons.”

  Allie nodded. “Let’s go then. I know Jilly and I were kept down this way.”

  Gor nodded and slipped past her. He held the axe across his body and hurried ahead at a jog that made his chain links jingle on his body. Allie followed behind him, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one was following them.