Thrones Under Fire_I, Dragon [Book 3]

by Nathan Roden

  The cells were empty.

  “In here! Now!” Sterling growled.

  All six men entered the main room, including the two who were injured. They lined up against the wall with their heads down.

  Sterling faced them and clasped his hands behind his back.

  Moments of silence.

  Sterling stepped in front of the bloody-faced guard.

  “Who did this?”

  “We never saw them, My Lord! It was dark—they came from behind us, in the shadows—”

  Sterling looked to the other injured guard.

  “The two of you were on active watch, yes?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Does this man speak for both of you?”

  “I don’t understand, My Lord.”

  “Your partner. He said, ‘we’ didn’t see them. Have you gotten together and rehearsed your stories?”

  “I don’t understand,” the man whimpered.

  “Does this man speak for you?” Sterling snapped.

  “I don’t…yes. He speaks for both of—”

  Sterling drove his dagger into the first man’s belly. The man fell to the floor, dead.

  Sterling stepped in front of the second guard. He held the bloody dagger in front of the man’s nose.

  Sterling leaned closer.

  “You saw…nothing?”

  “H-his friends,” the man blubbered. “The king’s friends. It was the king’s friends.”

  Sterling reached toward the man’s face. The man flinched and turned away.

  Sterling patted the man’s cheek.

  “Give me your sword.”

  The guard began to cry.

  “Please, My Lord! I have a family…”

  Sterling held out his hand. He stared at the man with no emotion on his face.

  The man struggled to pull his sword from its scabbard with trembling hands. The other four guards did everything they could to maintain their composure. Sterling took the sword.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Sterling walked into the cell where the queen had been. He raised the sword over his head with both hands. His face transformed into a vision of hell that the guards would never forget.

  “Ahhhhh!”

  Sterling brought down the sword, over and over again, destroying the bed and mattress. He attacked the bars of the cell as if he might cut the steel bars in two. The guards would not have been surprised.

  Sterling stopped at last. He bent over, heaving to catch his breath. He rested against the sword, its tip against the floor. He rose up and walked through the door of the cell. He stepped in front of the injured guard and held forth the ruined sword. With a shaky hand, the man reached for it.

  Sterling drew back his leg and kicked the man between his legs.

  The man’s eyes bulged. He bent over and vomited and then fell forward to his knees.

  Sterling roared and brought the sword down on the back of the man’s neck.

  The dying man twitched until his life faded away to the sounds of the other guard’s sobs.

  Sterling pushed the dead man away with his foot. He stepped in front of the eldest guard. Sterling leaned in, breathing in the man’s fear. He fought the urge to smile. He stood back and addressed the four of them.

  “Clean up this mess. From this day forward, you are stripped of all rank. Report to your commanding officer for your new assignments.”

  “The kingdom is at war.”

  Forty-Five

  Dathien’s presence provided Jaclyn the distraction she needed to escape the village unnoticed. She had no idea how far it was to Evenshire. One thing she did know; it was too far for a pregnant woman to walk. Her next thought almost made her smile.

  What sort of queen steals a horse? In this kingdom, anything is possible.

  When Jaclyn reached the woods, her first concern was finding some fresh water. She was not thirsty—but she desperately wanted to have a bath. She had never gone so long without one in her life. But maybe it would not be necessary. The sky grew dark and thunder rolled to the east. Jaclyn did finally smile. Rain would be good. Very good. It would wash her clean and keep people off of the roads.

  When the rains came, Jaclyn lifted her chin and raised her arms to the side. She rubbed her hands on her face and her arms and felt better instantly. She walked to the south in search of the road to Evenshire, her eyes scanning for a stable where she might find a horse. Many people had left their laundry out to be washed by the rain. Jaclyn took the opportunity to steal a pair of trousers and a shirt. She tore a piece of cloth from the shirt and tied back her hair.

  The rain did not last for long. The sky cleared, and the sun climbed toward midday. Jaclyn was fine for a while, but the heat soon made her tired. She was not hungry, but she could tell her baby was. There was little she could do about it in the middle of the day. Jaclyn searched through the woods, finally coming across bushes full of berries. Her stomach rumbled, but Jaclyn hesitated.

  How foolish it would be to go through all this, only to die from eating poison berries!

  Jaclyn watched two birds land in the bushes. They pulled berries from a bush and flew away.

  “That’s good enough for me,” Jaclyn told her baby.

  Jaclyn ate several handfuls of berries. She found shade and looked up at the sun. It was perhaps four hours until sunset. Jaclyn was very tired. She had not slept for almost two full days. Darkness would help her to address her greatest needs: stealing a horse and finding a smokery where she could take some dried meat. She piled up some dried leaves and lay down. She was asleep immediately.

  Deep, deep within her dreams, Jaclyn knew the forest would not harm her. She had spent hours in the wilderness as a child, playing mostly with boys who did not treat her like a little girl at all. She climbed trees, caught frogs, and built brush forts right beside them. And just like today, sometimes they spent so much energy that they lay down for a nap.

  Something rubbed against her face. She wiggled her nose. She reached to scratch her face—but something held her hand. Jaclyn opened her eyes and screamed.

  She was covered in a net. A fishing net. She fought against it, but the more she struggled the more restricted she became.

  And then she heard it. The deep, deep laugh that was far beyond human. She stopped struggling and looked up into the icy blue laughing eyes

  The eyes of the giant.

  “So, the little queen will not abide magic! But she is helpless against a mere fisherman’s net! What an oversight that was, eh, little queen? Why, any sorcerer who would create a spell of protection that contains such a glaring weakness should be severely punished!”

  Dathien leaned closer.

  “Oh, that’s right! The sorcerer had his throat cut, right there in front of your throne! Isn’t that right, little queen? Oh, what a harsh place your kingdom is! Simply barbaric!”

  Dathien eyed Jaclyn closer.

  “Look how swollen you are! Your time must be short. We should be on our way.”

  Dathien rolled Jaclyn over, the net becoming a cocoon.

  “Not too tight, eh? We have miles to ride.”

  “Where are you going?” Jaclyn asked.

  “Where are ‘we’ going is the question, little queen. I assure you, my mission has not changed. We are off to catch a dragon.”

  Dathien put Jaclyn on the back of the giant horse. He climbed up behind her and rode to the east. They rode for hours. The turbulent motion made Jaclyn sick. The giant either did not notice or did not care. After two hours, Jaclyn passed out. Dathien rode all night. When Jaclyn woke, the horse had slowed to a walk. Dathien cursed at the horse. He dismounted, pulling Jaclyn with him. The horse teetered and fell to its side.

  Dathien carried Jaclyn as if she weighed nothing. Moments later, he veered off of the road. Jaclyn felt like they were climbing up, and when the dawn came, she was sure of it. She recognized the mountain’s face. She had seen it almost every day of her childhood.

  The mountain outs
ide of Islemar.

  Forty-Six

  Lady Lamont, Sir Gregory, and Sir William Wood walked to the middle of the village square. Lady Lamont signaled to the Bell Tower. The bell rang once, and then again. The citizens came to the square from every direction.

  The knights held Lady Lamont’s hands as she climbed the steps to a raised platform in the center of the square. Lady Lamont raised her hands. The people grew quiet.

  “You are all aware that Lord Lamont has not been in the village for days. There is a good reason for that. As you know, the kingdom is not under the control of the king. The kingdom is under the control of the king’s regent, Lord Sterling.”

  There were catcalls, boos, and hisses among the citizens.

  “The opinions of the people have not gone unnoticed,” Lady Lamont said. “And the seed of dissension has reached far beyond our city’s walls.”

  “What can we do? Sterling’s army is too strong!” a cry came from the masses.

  “This man is right!” Lady Lamont cried.

  The murmuring of the crowd faded.

  “Alone, there is little we can do. But if nothing changes, the innocent will continue to suffer. The innocent will continue to die. Sterling and his allies will continue to grow in power and in cruelty. Already they cheat the people in the south out of the goods from our ports. Their people get sick and die because they do not receive the medicines from across the sea. Their treaties are ignored.”

  “Do you expect us to die for the people of the Southlands?” the same man asked. “Let them make war on Sterling’s army for themselves!”

  There was a splattering of applause.

  “Do you think Sterling will stop with cheating the South?” Lady Lamont asked. “You may be content with the living you earn here. You benefit from the traffic of merchant ships. How long will it be before Sterling comes after your businesses? Before he raises your taxes? Before he reduces you to the level of street beggars?”

  The people grew quiet again.

  Lady Lamont pointed to Sirs Gregory and William.

  “We have support within this kingdom—as well as strong alliances from the south. I introduce to you these great warriors, who earned their places in our history as knights of the King’s Guard! Sir Gregory Beasley and Sir William Wood!”

  “The knights of legend?” people whispered to each other. “Is this possible?”

  “It is not only possible, it is a reality!” Sir Gregory said.

  “And the greatest among us will soon return to your fair village—Sir Edmund Braun!”

  The murmuring grew louder.

  “Sir Edmund Braun! We thought him dead!”

  “He is very much alive,” Gregory said. “And he comes to us with powerful friends.”

  “Two of those friends are here with us now!” Sir William said.

  Lady Lamont raised her hands again.

  “My friends! My neighbors. My allies. I ask you to keep open minds. We must have help to throw off the shackles of oppression. And we have attained that help. Our kingdom was cheated out of its rightful king twelve years ago—”

  “We have been cheated far longer than that!” a man cried out. “The Morgenwraithes are all mad!”

  “I agree with you, for the most part,” Lady Lamont said. “But the rightful king still lives. And his heart is good—”

  “But his heart beats inside the body of a dragon!”

  “That is true, for now,” Sir Gregory said. “But he remains in that body for a reason—to help us take back the kingdom for all our people!”

  “What good is one dragon against an army of thousands?”

  “Ah, but we have more than one!” Sir Gregory cried. “Nigel! Alice! Greet your people!”

  Sir Gregory clapped his hands together. The dragons leaped from the top of the castle watchtower and circled the village. Many people stared overhead, unable to make a sound. Others screamed and ran.

  “They are no danger to us!” Sir Gregory yelled. “Hold your ground!”

  Slowly, the people calmed down.

  Sir Gregory stepped away from the others. He held out his arms.

  “Come to me, children!”

  Nigel and Alice circled the area one more time and then landed at Sir Gregory’s side. They lowered their heads in front of him.

  Sir Gregory laughed as he patted the dragons.

  Sir William scowled at a small group of rough-looking men. These men pushed their way through the crowd and disappeared in the direction of the harbor.

  “We share a common enemy!” Gregory announced. “The same men who oppress you send teams of hunters into the Southlands to eliminate these creatures from the earth! They are not beasts. They are our allies!”

  “They are so small!” a woman in the crowd said. “Are they only babies?”

  Sir Gregory clapped his hands over his head. Nigel and Alice launched into the air. They passed overhead, side-by-side. They opened their mouths and sent fire a hundred feet across the sky.

  As the people shouted and applauded, Sir William whispered in Sir Gregory’s ear.

  A voice sounded from the wall above the gate.

  “Lady Lamont! A formation of soldiers approaches, carrying the banner of Islemar! It is Captain Finn!”

  The gates swung open. Lady Lamont climbed down and ran toward it. She threw her arms around Finn.

  Finn hugged her so hard it took her breath. She pulled away, holding Finn’s arms.

  “Your hand…what happened to you?”

  “It’s good as new, My Lady. Even better.”

  “They have more dragons! Look!” someone in the crowd yelled. “We’re saved!”

  Gregory and William pushed through the crowd to reach them.

  “You’re Lamont’s Captain?” Sir Gregory asked.

  Finn held out his hand.

  “Yes, My Lord. I am Finn—”

  Gregory grabbed Finn’s sleeve.

  “No time for niceties, Captain. We got trouble.”

  “What trouble?”

  Gregory and William pointed toward the harbor.

  “Your merchant seamen are trying to launch their ships. We can’t let that happen, laddie. If we have to evacuate women and children, we’re gonna need those boats.”

  Finn took a deep breath and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  “Let’s go.”

  Finn, Gregory, and William caught up with eight men who were boarding ships. All eight were stout. Two men were huge, standing a head taller than Finn.

  “Wait, there, my good sirs,” Finn said. “We’re in the midst of a crisis. Where do you think you’re going?”

  The tallest man turned and walked back to face Finn.

  “We don’t live here. Your problems are not ours.”

  The man pointed to a ship.

  “That’s where I live and where I work. I’m leaving.”

  The other tall man crossed his swollen arms.

  “We’re all leaving. And you best not have anything to say about it.”

  “I represent the steward of this kingdom and these docks,” Finn said. “And we may need these ships to evacuate women and children. I must insist you stay.”

  “Insist all you want,” the big men turned to walk away.

  Gregory and William stepped in their paths.

  “I guess your old men want to run away as well,” one of the men sneered.

  The knights whipped their swords from their belts and leveled them at the men.

  “Eight against three,” a man said as he pulled a huge dagger. “I don’t like your odds.”

  “I’m afraid you are mistaken about your advantage.”

  The voice came from behind them.

  “Oh, now they have four. This one is no bigger than a—”

  “Ahhh! What the bloody hell—?”

  Tanner Raven raised his hand, and the largest man’s feet left the ground. Tanner lifted his hand higher, and the man rose ten feet in the air. Tanner turned his hand over and the man hung
suspended, upside down.

  The other men swore, but they did not move.

  “Bloody witches! I thought Sterling had rounded up the lot of them! Like we don’t have enough trouble with their kind in six kingdoms!”

  The other big man stormed toward Finn with his fist cocked. He grabbed Finn’s collar. Finn grabbed the man’s arm with a strength that the man could not believe.

  The seaman heard a deep growl beneath him. He looked down at the bared and dripping fangs of a wolf, only two feet in front of him and poised to strike.

  The man loosed his grip and stepped back slowly.

  Tanner turned over his hand and lowered the other man to the ground.

  “What are you going to do—throw us in your dungeon? We’re honest businessmen. And you intend to rob us?”

  “We’re not robbing you,” Finn said. “When we take back control of the kingdom, you will be handsomely rewarded for your cooperation.”

  “You’re mad, is what you are! Your people don’t have the will to take power away from Sterling and Raynard. They’ll kill you all. You and your baby dragons.”

  “We believe otherwise,” Gregory said.

  “What if we walk right over there and take what belongs to us? Can your magician twirl eight of us at once?”

  “I won’t have to,” Tanner said.

  He held his hand toward one of the ships. The ship began to rise out of the water. One foot and then two. But no more.

  “Ha!” the merchants laughed. “Don’t be a fool, boy!”

  Tanner did not lower his hand. He smirked.

  “I suppose a ship is just too much.

  “For one hand.”

  Tanner lifted his other hand, and the boat began to rise again.

  A moment later, another boat began to rise in the water.

  The astonished men turned to see a beautiful woman with her hand in the air.

  “Stop. Stop!” the men cried, waving their arms.

  “By the gods!” the big man said.

  “These ships are all we have! If they are destroyed, we’ll be doing hard labor for the rest of our lives!”