“ You should be dead.” Calvin said sitting up for the first time in days. His outburst stunned the whole camp. The Dragon included. He had been awoken as the Dragon had landed. It had taken him a few minutes to discern if this was real or another dream but by the shocked faces of the others he knew he had finally awoken.
“Calvin.” Darcy said turning away from the Dragon to see Calvin sat bolt upright on the stretcher staring past him at the Dragon. Something was different with him. He looked fresher. His hair was still matted with ash and his clothes looked like rags tossed over him in a strong wind but his skin had a life to it. Darcy had not seen since they had left the mages tower. If they had had time to ask him Calvin would have explained it all, he would have told them that he could feel the power emanating from the Dragon. It was the thing that had awoken him. He could remember a red hot pain. Then there had just been darkness until the heart was within his reach. Rinwid had awoken him them. It had been him that had blocked Fintan’s work to cure him. Rinwid had been waiting for this moment and he had lifted the heavy blanket that had separated the true power of the spirit realm from flowing into him.
“ I should have died. Is that what your history books tell you?” The Dragon said his attention seemingly pulled away from Darcy by the audacity of the out spoken old man. The Dragon moved forward bearing down on Calvin knocking Darcy away like he was a rag dole with a swipe of his huge claw and barely breaking his stride “ I am a god. I cannot be killed by little snotlings like you no matter how many turn against me and my kind.”
Darcy landed with a thud a few feet away from where he had left the ground. His chest felt crushed by the Dragon’s claw that had swatted him like a fly to the side. Agony swamped Darcy’s whole body as the numbness he had been feeling while the fear had gripped him washed away like the edges of a riverbank in a storm. He could barley breath. The night sky grew brighter. Until nothing but whiteness filled his vision. Then he was out cold. The Dragon didn’t seem to notice what it had done or barely acknowledge that Darcy had even been between him and his new interest, the wizard Calvin. The Dragons stare was so solid nothing could break it and he didn’t even seem to perceive Fintan as he strode forward. Fintan remained still as the beast passed him by. The creatures’ huge muscled legs pounded into the earth shaking it and cracking the rocks beneath. Fintan looked for a weak spot in the Dragons armor. When he was a boy he had imagined a situation just like this but he had leapt into the Dragons belly and pushed his wooden stick sword into the imaginary Dragons’ heart saving the kingdom. There was no way he could have done that now even with all his might seeing how strong the Dragons scales were and how well fitting the armor was. Even with a real sword it would be like stabbing a cliff face with a toothpick for all the good it would do. Calvin climbed to his feet never taking his eyes off the black scaled creature. The wooden table top slid down the slope towards the beast as Calvin pulled off of it onto the ground. When the Dragons foot dropped down onto it splintered like it had been made of straw. It was a good thing Calvin seemed well enough to walk now as there was no way they would have been able to carry him now.
“ The Arch Mage destroyed you.” Calvin said remembering everything he knew about Dragons. Whatever day dreams he had been having before were gone. He could only see one time and that was now. It was all crystal clear. Rinwid had removed the smoke screen he had placed in front of Calvin. He was no longer torn between images of times during the blight but to all their misfortune the Dragon was still there.
“Ah that blast that shook the mages tower and raised most of these lands to ashes.” The Dragon laughed again it was entertained that the humans had forgotten the truth already. “What you thought that was us, you thought our fires blackened this land? We would not have ruined our own land and our feeding grounds.” The Dragon was right on top of Calvin now. “The mage had consorted with a demon to be rid of us. But he did not know the truth of it. I sense you do. You know of the dark one.”
“ The one locked away.” Calvin said remembering what Rinwid has told him. He couldn’t believe this was the same Dragon that had ruled over Neeskmouth but he had to. He could feel the heart he was seeking so desperately inside the massive chest. He could hear it beating with a drum like thud. The demon had tricked him. There was no way they could get the heart. No way that they could use it. Rinwid had known all along that the Dragon had survived. That he would have no choice but to kill the Dragon and destroy the heart.
“Yes. You understand more than most ticks. They killed most of my kind, but a few survived. The seal that binds the dark one is still in place. Together we rebuilt our numbers in the mountains. My horde has grown up. They grow restless, tired of the dark. It is time to retake what is rightfully ours.” The Dragon said and let out a roar so loud that larger rocks were shaken free from the mountain side before he leapt up into the sky. With two beats of his wings he was gone leaving the confused group staring into the nights sky. After a few moments of not knowing if they were about to die Fintan was the first to speak.
“ What was he talking about?” Fintan asked from the shadows. His heart was still dancing to its own tune and his hands wobbled like tree sap in a storm.
“ The dark one, a demon of sorts, he is something far worse than Dragons.” Calvin said trying to take his first step in days. His legs felt stiff and wooden, the banded one aching from the break. From behind him the sound of falling rocks slowly grew to a stop as the landslide subdued itself.
“I’m confused.” Fintan said staring blankly at the wizard who looked the healthiest of the three companions now. Something had changed in him Fintan could feel it.
“ A demon god is sealed by seven locks. One of them is here, deep below the earth. The Dragons stopped humans finding it and opening it but demons, like the one in me Rinwid, they used magic to blister the land in the hopes of opening the lock but it didn’t work and now the Dragons have returned.” Calvin said finally clear of the messages that Rinwid had been trying to hide. “That was the same Dragon that ruled over Neeskmouth. He didn’t die during the war. There is no heart to find. No magic item to save us all. This has all been for nothing. The black Dragon and his horde plan to take back Neeska. We’ll all be enslaved again.” Calvin said half explaining it to Fintan and half just clearing it all in his own mind. If the Dragons enslaved Neeskmouth then the binding lock would never be opened and in time the land would heal but the humans of Neeska would be slaves. The other option was by some small chance pushing the Dragons back once more, freeing Neeska for a second time but in doing so leaving the lock unguarded. It would not matter if just one lock fell but Calvin had heard of the plague of the Elves before they came and knew that lock had been opened. Maybe it was for the best that the Dragons retook the city if the evil that Rinwid had hinted of was even half true. Calvin could barely stand the knowledge forced on him. If the Dragons were killed they risk freeing the demon that the titans themselves had feared. If they did not fight the Dragons then the seal would never break but the lands would be once more thrown into centuries of slavery, sacrifice and bloodshed worse than any of the wars anyone alive remembered. It was this that Rinwid had been hiding from Calvin using the smoke screens and draining his strength.
“ We have to do something.” Fintan said. “The Dwarfs, we were going to the Dwarfs anyway. We still can. We need to get them to join us like they did before. We can still fight. We beat the Dragons once right and there was a lot more back then.” Fintan said remembering his purpose before he had awoken to the sound of the Dragons’ wings. He had been leading Darcy to the Dwarfs. He might not be able to return to the Alienage with the heart but neither could the noble Darcy.
“A second Great War or we face the Dragon Blight again. I don’t fancy either option.” Calvin said.
“Darcy where is Darcy?” Fintan said suddenly realizing he was missing.
Chapter fifteen – showdown in celebration square It seemed like Ingaild had amassed everyone left alive within Neeskmou
th to Celebration square. Every inch of the black slate floor was covered with people. There was an odd quiet to the event as Harvey lifted his head from the stocks he had been placed into. The buildings had survived well and the white domes looked pretty against the blue backdrop of the sky. The invading Poles had torn down most of the statues that had once lined the edges of Celebration square and they now lay in rubble beneath people’s feet. The familiar mist Harvey had loved as a boy rolled in from the canals and cooled his aching body. He remembered fishing the same canals and feeling the same mist when he was a boy, but back then he had been guarded by several soldiers. He longed for those times. When Neeskmouth was great and he had felt safe. Those times had lied of so much promise for the city, promise that had been stripped and laid bare by years of war and corruption. Harvey took a moment to make clear the last few minutes in his mind. He remembered being knocked back by the door in his chambers as he had finally surrendered. He had been thrown to the hard stone floor. The pain had stolen his breath. There was the taste of blood as the huge bruits hand had caught him across the jaw. Another thud came to the side of his head he had expected to be bludgeoned to death but then he remembered being dragged to his knees. A sword had been pressed against his throat. Then someone had said something he couldn’t remember what but it had seemed to spur a debate. It was ended by another hard blow to his stomach and a bag being pulled over his head. Harvey had been gasping for breath as strong arms had dragged him down and out through the castle to the dungeons. It was there that the stocks were forced over Harvey’s neck and arms. He also remembered being lead still blinded by the bag through the city. He had heard the muttered conversations in both Neeskmouthain and Polish. When the bag had been ripped from his head Harvey had recognized celebration square instantly. After all it was the only place in the city he had spent any real time other than the castle in years. Harvey and several others had been lined up facing Southwest up towards the towering noble residents. The smoke from the ransacked buildings seemed to have calmed and it looked like the last of the fighting had ended. The battle over but still upturned carts and bodies littered the streets and pigeons had already started picking through the debris and carnage for food. A huge and mostly bald man stood in front of the assembled captives. He had straggly long brown hair that grew from around his ears but seemed to have vacated the tip of the man’s head. His face was red and hidden behind a beard that was almost as long as the hair on his head. The fine thick wolf fur jerkin around his barrel like chest showed he was important in Pole society. Harvey soon realized it was Ingaild king of the Poles. Ingaild strutted back and forth silently taking in the faces of his captives, the crowd behind him matching the lack of noise as the supposed hero’s of Neeskmouth lay bound and ready to be executed. Harvey struggled to look to his side to see who else was confined with him. He was chained down and his arms struggled in the restraints as he distorted his head to look to his right. Two young men were restrained in the same way. He had no idea who they were but they had cheap rusted armor on from the castle so they must have been in the keep when it fell. There reward for trying to save a king that failed them would be death it seemed. Harvey sighed. Looking to his left he recognized the outlandish clothing of the man he saw.
“ William” He whispered his jaw aching from the effort. The bruising had swollen and the words slurred. Harvey tried to move but behind him a giant like man was holding the chains still. Harvey gave in to the restraint.
“ Silence you pit dog.” Ingaild said spitting in Harvey’s direction. “Your days of talking are over.” Ingaild walked over to Harvey and grabbed him by the hair yanking his head up almost to breaking point, “See people of Neeskmouth your precious king kneeling in the wreckage he brought on you.”
“I don’t think it was him that fired the bloody trebuchets you know .” William said defiantly from his stocks next to Harvey. His words were cut short by the sudden thump to the back of the head he received from his own giant like jailer who clung to his chains. He regretted the words but he couldn’t help himself. William was a pirate and it was in his blood not to take to authority.
“No, you’re right in that he did not release the spring of the mighty trebuchets but he stole our lands, fields that belonged to the Iron Giants and reclaimed now by my arm, my might, and my Poles. Raidaridin is in our lands and should have been ours but the thieving Handson stole it. They are no better than Dragons enslaving you all.” Ingaild boomed in a confidence only victory can bring.
“It is you that keeps slaves not Harvey. Mind you, I understand why, what with the entire dome polishing crew you must need I can understand you bald bas-” Williams taunt was cut short by another thud that sent him crashing into the floor. The hard black slabs doing little to break his fall. He was already in a lot of pain from his capture and didn’t think he had anything left to ache but it was novel that the Poles were finding new places to hurt him.
“If that one speaks again cut his throat.” Ingaild said pointing his bear like hand towards the bleeding William. “Your city lay in ruin saved only by my choice, my kindness.” Ingaild said pounding at his chest. “All of Neeska belongs to the Poles not just the wastes the Dragons before you drove us to. This was our land, a land where a man is judged by the might of his arm. A land where you can claim what is yours if you have the will to fight for it.” Ingaild turned to the crowd and placed his huge spear like weapon down in front of him. “The Handson’s were brave once. They fought back the Dragons and I will not deny this but namesake alone does not make one a leader. I ask you now, why a son or anyone else should be given the throne unless he fights for it? I killed for my seat and I throw down my spear for any of you Neeskmouthain-dogs brave enough to fight me to take it.” Ingaild said and as expected the crowd remained silent. Their spirits were broken and those who had been brave enough to fight to the end now lay dead in the streets. The spear rattled against the hard stone floor before coming to a stop. Desperate women looked to their husbands among the crowds begging them that they step forward to give their children a chance of freedom but none were brave enough. Death was all around them and their fighting spirit had fallen with the castle walls.
“Free me and then I will .” William said to everyone’s surprise but his injuries were so bad he fell to his knees again without the need of a thump from the jailer. He winced in pain and waited for the blade. It never came.
“ You have spirit, a terrible taste for clothing but spirit.” Ingaild said turning back to look at William. “You should have been king not the fat red head Harvey.”
“ Neeskmouth needs no king.” William said coughing at the blood congealing in his throat from his broken nose. He wished he hadn’t tried to make the jump from that roof but it had been that or give up. It had turned out giving up would have been less painful. He had crashed into the floor and been captured minutes later waking up in these chains.
“ William, no if anyone is to fight him it should be me. He plans to execute us anyway. As the rightful king of Neeskmouth, I challenge you Ingaild to single combat, the prize freedom of the city.” Harvey said hoping to buy more time. He still hoped deep down inside that reinforcement would come from somewhere to save the city. It was fruitless but a fool can find hope even when all likelihood has long since faded. He could feel the blood in the necklace slosh around. Whatever magic was in there was being stirred by something. Maybe it really would protect him.
“I had hoped you would say that .” Ingaild said with a wide smile. “Executing you would have had little worth to me. Whereas killing you in battle. That will be a namesake. Unchain him, feed him, arm him and return him to my throne room on the hour.” Ingaild ordered. “In one week we meet here again.” He said to the watching faces of the desperate citizens of Neeskmouth.
“ What about the rest of them?” Annar of the east, Ingaild’s general asked his weapon ready. It would have been no surprise to anyone that he had survived the battle and even less of one that he would be the exe
cutor.
“ Take the mouthy one to the castle dungeon. He has earned his chance to live. As for the others, kill them.” Ingaild said turning and without another word walked towards the castle closely followed by a dragged and defiant William and a silent Harvey.
Chapter sixteen – second life cut short Fintan scrambled down the uneven path towards the deeper ash that Darcy had been knocked towards. He kept low encase the huge black Dragon made another pass. Calvin was not far behind but he did not bother bending down, that is, not anymore than he normally did with his aged and heavily beer bellied stomach pulling him down. Calvin knew the Dragon was gone. He could sense the heart pulling further away. There was no risk of flame erupting into the night sky.
“ Darcy, are you alright?” Fintan called out as he stumbled closer. His flat leather soled shoes slipping on the debris that had been shaken loose. They were of top quality Elvin craft but they were designed with the forest floor in mind. Twigs and damp leafs were a different kind of slippery to the jagged rolling stones that hid themselves under the blanket of ash and sent Fintan onto his knees more than once in his haste. No answer came back to meet Fintan’s words from the motionless body of Darcy. He had been tossed hard against the rocks before landing in a particularly deep pile of ash. It barely looked like he was breathing as Fintan closed in. Darcy’s white shirt was colored gray with dirt and dust that should have shifted and fallen free with each breath. It remained still like the dust on the many wine bottles that had filled the cellar of Darcy’s home. Fintan struggled to come to a stop next to Darcy the rolling stones sliding forward. He laid his hands onto Darcy’s chest and froze. It was as he feared. He had known it before he had got to him. It was not hard to see that Darcy had stopped breathing. Fintan had just been hoping that Darcy’s breath was so shallow he could not see it but now feeling the already cooling shirt it confirmed his fears. “He’s not breathing.” Fintan said flatly confirming it to himself more than saying it for the benefit of Calvin who had caught up and was now standing just behind Fintan.
Dragons Blight (Valadfar Book 1) Page 20
