The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Still, Dante dared to pass through. On the other side of the horns, the wall that the dragon formed ended at its snout only a few feet from him. When he started to go past, suddenly a rush of air filled the room. The torch flickered in the gust and Dante could smell the acridity of burning coal. The man shook all through his body and closed his eyes to try and gather his resolve once more. Inside his mind, he fought the urge to run screaming from the cavern.

  After a moment, the man strode silently past the end of the dragon. A pair of nostrils and the slight parting of its mouth hurried him past that much more swiftly. He had seen nearly a dozen teeth that all were more than half his length in height as he passed. Trying not to imagine what such wicked spears could do to a man's flesh, Dante quickly found himself with a view of half the dragon's belly.

  A pair of forelegs appeared a few dozen feet from where the man stood. Though they were incredibly large and powerful in appearance, their clawed features were not the focus of his attention. The gleaming golden band encircling one great talon told him that he had found what had been searched for at last.

  Dante started towards what had to be considered the dragon's hands and wondered how he could possibly remove the ring without drawing the dragon's wrath. Whatever he did, the soldier did not want to add the father of all dragons to the list of dangers pursuing them. Looking towards the creature's head, Dante checked to see if the one eye that he could see had opened. What he could possibly do if it should awake, Dante could not even begin to guess, but still he checked.

  Turning his attention back to ring, some of the other items near his feet caught his eye. A scepter seemed to glint at him, more from within than from the torch, he thought. It almost seemed to call to him while looking at it. He stooped to pick it up carefully. There was a magnificent silver spear lying atop of the scepter as well. Dante picked it up first and even after taking the staff, the soldier held the long weapon in hand. It seemed to feel right in his hand, as if it had been made to fit his grip.

  Quietly, he placed the scepter in the straps securing his sword sheath to his back and wound it securely there. The spear he kept in hand and stole towards the ring. Quickly in front of the ringed claw, Dante wondered once again what such a thing, however large, could truly do for them. Worse, he realized, that there was no easy way of removing the ring from the dragon's grip.

  Movement from behind him drew his attention back to the front of the dragon, Dante twisted to see Valenia coming towards him. Pointing to the ring, the woman nodded that she understood the problem. The man shrugged his shoulders in confusion and the woman seemed equally perplexed. A sparkle of splendor from her neck surprised him as she gazed up at the ring. The woman had apparently found a necklace that had called to her.

  Inwardly he sighed without sound, but another sound could be heard that would have masked his own. The gust of the dragon's breath filled the room with its sound, but Dante, who had still carried on the habit of counting the intervals, realized that it was much shorter this time. Eyes wide, he pushed Valenia back to the head of the dragon. She guessed at his actions obeying quickly and ran silently back around the dragon's jaws.

  The two of them crossed through the horns swiftly and still managed to avoid touching either one. Dante waved to the other men to flee. Already appearing alarmed from doing their own counts, Riad and Erphen turned tail with no other urging. The four of them ran to the corridor even as a great rumbling filled the room. Dante looked back only a moment to see the body starting to lift from off the cavern floor.

  He almost shouted from fear, but the others knew to run for their lives without his redundant urgings.

  They moved quickly, but even with their head start, they could not outrun the sudden roar of rage.

  Words quickly followed them up the halls, even as the earth began to shake rhythmically. "Thieves!" the voice in the roar called, "you will die now. Run little ones for Drakus comes for you!"

  Dante heard a cry of fear that was quickly muffled. Knowing that a sound would betray them even quicker, the four ran on, but Dante suddenly wondered, where could they possibly go once they were free of the scar. The dragon was after them and all he felt was fear.

  Chapter 32- Dante

  The corridor floor shook with each thunderous stomp of the dragon's tremendous weight. Lifting its bulk from the floor only to let its stomach return with a crash, Drakus pursued the humans far quicker than they could have believed through the dark corridor.

  Passing through the final chamber, the four people threw down their torches and allowed the light from outside to guide them through the last stalagmites to the fissure opening. The others of their band had felt the tremors as well and were looking at their fleeing comrades in fear.

  "Run!" Riad shouted from ahead of Dante and the others. "The dragon!" he gasped as he ran on in blind fear.

  "Where can we go?" Valenia asked breathlessly from beside him.

  Dante was unable to answer as another roar seemingly just behind him cut off any response. Valenia stumbled over a stone in the dark and came to a brief halt. Turning back for her, Dante stretched out a hand hoping to help her as he saw the terror of Drakus crashing through the thick stalagmites reducing them to dust in its path. The man knew that he could not hope to save her in time.

  Instead, Valenia screamed as the dragon caught hold of the woman in a front claw and hardly broke its stride. She screamed again as Dante scrambled for the last distance to the opening.

  "Run, little thief, you can not escape me!" the giant lizard shouted defiantly.

  Dante threw himself from the cavern to roll dozens of feet down the incline in front of the scar's opening. A rush of wind blew past him and as he spit dirt from his mouth, Dante watched as the dragon, a flash of glistening ebony scales and gold, soared upwards on unseen currents with Valenia hanging helplessly in its claws.

  "Valenia!" he cried desperately.

  "Dante!" Gannon shouted from the cavern mouth. "Come here, boy!"

  The lieutenant ran back up the path before the fissure and the seer threw him a rope made into a lasso. "What's this?" was his question as he turned to look for the dragon and Valenia.

  "You will use this to catch the dragon," the old man said easily.

  "What?" he blurted out thinking the man crazy? "How can I stop a beast that large with a simple rope?"

  Gannon shook his head. "The rope will not stop Drakus, but once you reach the dragon's back you will figure out a way. Prepare yourself. The dragon returns. You'll need to get the lasso around its neck to have any chance of saving her, Lieutenant. Good luck."

  Dante didn't spare the time to stare at the seer he simply followed the advice and positioned himself for the best shot. With the spear slung from his back hanging from its own loop of leather to hold it in place, the man used both hands to tie the rope around his middle with one end and then began spinning the lasso letting it widen as best he could.

  The dragon swooped closer while Dante endured the creature's taunts and just awaited the time to throw the lasso. The air rushed towards him as the giant beast came for him and, as the dragon began to angle away from the rocky face, Dante let the rope fly and ran quickly forward towards the dragon.

  Never sure if luck was with him or against him that day the rope found its place over the dragon's head. Whichever the answer was, Dante quickly found himself pulled from off the ground dangling behind the laughing Drakus. The humongous beast soared upwards on mighty wings even as the man dangled behind like a loose thread on a shirt.

  Fighting against the forces pulling at him, the determined soldier took hold of the rope and began pulling himself towards the monster's back. Drakus glanced back towards him and seemed to smile as its mouth twisted showing its many sharp teeth. Twisting in the air, the dragon caused the man's weight to carry his body back towards the great mass of the beast. Dante lost his grip as he crashed into the tail of Drakus and bounced away like a ball on a string. A rib had cracked sharply on impact with t
he dragon’s tail and he felt his breath becoming hampered as it pressed uncomfortably against his lung. Pain threatened to engulf him as he flailed helplessly at the end of his tether.

  "Puny creature," the dragon laughed gleefully, "what were you thinking? I am Drakus. Though I applaud your courage, little one, I see you for the idiot you are. You want to fly with Drakus before you die? Good. Drakus shall show you the clouds, little one, and then you both shall die."

  Dante took hold of the rope with one hand which stopped his twisting and turning in the wind, even as the dragon rose higher into the sky. He could see Valenia hanging helplessly between the dragon claws watching him try and scale the rope. To do what he still wondered? That was the big question. What could he do to stop this tremendous force of nature when he would be only the smallest morsel to its appetite?

  Inch by inch the man struggled to pull himself closer to the dragon. Drakus looked at him laughing at his efforts. Again and again the winged creature looped around causing him to crash against its side, Dante maintained his progress along the rope with iron determination and a grip of steel as he looped each fought for length around his forearm to secure it. Seeing his progress diminishing the distance of the rope, Drakus tried to turn back sharply enough to catch him in its teeth. The dragon tried over and over to get the maneuver that would place the helpless man in its jaws.

  Dante couldn't help but laugh, as his mind compared such an act to that of a dog chasing its tail.

  Drakus began to growl angrily at its failure, he had waited too long to catch the man. Managing to grab hold of some of the scales along the dragon's back, the lieutenant gained a hand hold drawing himself onto Drakus. The body undulated in an effort to dislodge him, but Drakus was hardly ready to panic in the face of such and insignificant being.

  From this new vantage point, Dante noticed a smaller pair of wings tucked just behind the main pair. Guessing that these merely acted as stabilization for the back half of the body while the others acted as thrust, he considered such things and looked over the options afforded by his current position. Dante tied the length of the rope to shorten it in case Drakus should dislodge him again. After that, he drew his sword and hacked at the scales of the lower back testing their strength. Dante nearly lost his sword to the vibration of the first blows as they solidly blocked his attack.

  "You are a gnat!" the dragon cried heartily. "Your sting cannot shatter my armor, but I can shatter the two of you easily enough." Valenia screamed briefly as the dragon tightened its grip on her demonstrating his point. Once more the creature seemed to smile as he continued, "But not just yet, I think. No, first I shall show you the world from the lord of the dragon's view, little ones, perhaps then you will see how only Drakus' power is absolute. Then I shall drop first one and then the other to watch your helpless flailings as you attempt to defy the oncoming earth." Drakus lifted its neck and turned its head just far enough to show a gleaming row of dreaded teeth to the man taunting him once more. "Won't that be fun, stupid little creature? Maybe then I will return to eat those that came with you as a reminder to all who would steal from Drakus."

  Dante waited until the dragon's head had taken its attention from him again. He now stood just between the smaller of the two wings and bent to a new task. He had realized that, though the dragon was right that he could not strike through the scales, they were just that, scales. As such, he knew that they could be pried loose like those of a fish, though it was on a much larger and stronger scale. Using his sword, Dante worked quickly to first pry up and then crack loose one of the scales. Drakus didn't appear to have noticed. Perhaps, he thought, that it was much like a small flake of skin being brushed from the arm of a human in comparison. It was happening in so small an amount that Drakus could hardly sense it.

  With a feral grin, the man drove the sword in almost to the hilt. Drakus showed no reaction at first. Dante thought the effort had gone unnoticed and stabbed in again with the blade. This time the dragon's head returned to the man and asked lazily, "What are you up to, human? Do you really think that your puny weapon can harm me in such a way? A dragon's body feels little on its back. After all, I can hardly itch the spot so nature was wise to leave us with immunity to such things. I feel the attack so slightly that it matters not to me how many times you plunge that piece of metal into the breach. You need to do better than that, but remember also that, if you do harm me well enough, the female will be dropped."

  Dante considered Drakus' words as he stepped between the great, outstretched wings. Looking down to see Valenia looking up at him, he also noticed that her sword was held in both hands ready to strike. A look passed between them and the man knew that it was the time to risk all their lives. He motioned for her to be prepared to strike the leg in such a way that she would halt the possibility of a fall. Valenia nodded.

  Taking a deep breath as he stepped to Drakus' left wing, Dante tied himself to this length and raised his sword. Assuming that this time he would cause the dragon significant pain, the man prepared to lose his footing. Gritting his teeth, the soldier slashed at the thick base of the wing. The blade bit into the flesh easily and deeper than he thought it would. The dragon roared in great pain.

  Drakus bucked upward suddenly and just as quickly the back beneath Dante disappeared from beneath his feet. Another snarling roar could be heard as he lost sight of the dragon and twisted flailing in the air. Just as suddenly as his body left the giant, he struck the beast with his back to its back, and had the wind knocked completely from his lungs. Catching hold of a scale which caused a cut on his hand in his desperation, Dante kept his grip despite the pain and also kept hold of his sword as well. The bucking stopped almost immediately afterwards and Dante stood again. Taking a stance near the wing, the man stoically watched as Drakus reared his head to look angrily at Dante. If looks could kill, the man would have been no more in that instant.

  "You fool! Do you really wish to kill us all? You cause me pain as does your female now. Have you both lost your minds?" Drakus' voice had risen higher from the pain and passion of the attack.

  Dante thought perhaps he witnessed fear as well now in the dragon's slit eyes as they looked at him. He double checked Valenia's fate and saw that she had indeed buried her sword deeply into Drakus' arm. Clinging to the limb now, she stood above the gripping claws in an effort to buy them more leverage for a negotiation. The lieutenant nodded to himself. "Drakus, we do not fear death!" he shouted through the wind of their passing. "In fact, we are immortal. If we fall from this height, we will not die. Can you say the same, dragon?"

  A humorless laugh reverberated through the air. Dante felt the unusual motions of the beast beneath his feet as it did so. "Immortal, indeed. I, Drakus, have a life greater than all that I have ever beheld. You measure life by the seasons, while my existence is nearly measureless."

  "Indeed," Dante replied in kind. "But can even Drakus survive a fall from this height? And if you did, how fearsome would you be without your great wings to take you back into the sky? Men will come and trap you in your hole and slay the mighty Drakus when he becomes so helpless. I bet that you have gathered many enemies to attain such a horde of treasures. Would you dare to be maimed and still fight against the world around you? How will you even eat, great dragon, when your prey can outrun your clumsy approach? You may not even survive to leave these mountains."

  Drakus turned his head away from the man slowly, wordlessly. Maintaining his sword in its pose ready to strike the ebony base which held them all aloft, Dante wondered if they were truly capable of surviving the fall should the dragon refuse. He was determined to give the fateful blow should the need arise, however, to save the others from the dragon’s revenge. This was no bluff, though he cared little for the idea of plummeting to his death with the dragon. He would risk all their lives to save those of his people.

  The head swung back to glare at him. "What would you have of me, human?" Drakus sighed, which was a strange sound for such a creature to make, he t
hought.

  Slightly surprised by such an easy victory the soldier stood where he was a moment longer without answering. Finally, he said, "First, you will return us safely to your lair. Second, you must promise not to attack any of us. If you choose to attack my people, you will lose this wing. Do you understand?"

  "Of course," the dragon replied annoyed.

  "Do I have your word, Drakus, to cooperate and do no harm to me or the others?"

  "You have my word, little one," the great lungs sighed again beneath him.

  "Good. If you break your word, let me warn you that a small army even now closes in on us."

  The dragon laughed again. This time it was pure mockery. "I will not break my word, but do not threaten me with this so called army. It isn't yours to use to threaten with, is it?"

  "What do you mean?" he asked surprised that Drakus could see through his ruse so easily.

  "As I said before, I have lived long and know more than just these mountains. Those others are from the Dark Emperor and not of this world. They chase you, I would guess," he replied and again the dragon laughed.

  The ground was finally getting closer and Dante could see the scarred mountain and its surrounding companions clearly now. He decided that the time for tact was long gone. "Drakus, you are correct that they are not mine to threaten with, but they do not just chase me. They are here to take the ring."

  "What? The Emperor dares to try for the Ring of Portalis?" Drakus cried angrily enough for his entire body to shake in its flight. "He wouldn't dare!"

  The humans were surprised by the sudden outburst. Realizing that this was of more importance than he had thought, Dante pressed the point. "If he gets it, he will come to our world in force and destroy all who live here including you, dragon."

  Again the dragon snarled, "He would not dare, I say!"