Dragonia: Dragon Stone (Dragonia Empire Book 3)

by Craig A. Price Jr.

  Zaviana almost wanted to create some sort of distraction to keep the emperor’s attention away from the breeding and training grounds, but she didn’t know what kind of distraction she could do without being noticed, or at least catching the guards and king on alert for trickery, which may disrupt their plans in more difficult ways.

  “Follow me,” Zaviana whispered.

  She left the dark alley, and into the torchlight of the road. Devarius stayed at her side, and Derkas kept his appearance behind them as their owner. They made it from the alley to the gate without issue, but were halted by the guard at the gate.

  “Where are you three heading so late?” the guard asked.

  Zaviana paused. She froze, completely unsure what her plan had been if they were questioned.

  “My slaves have been acting up lately. Bumping into people and the like, and I was told I needed to discipline them.” Derkas grinned. “You know, I thought long and hard about how I was going to do just that—when the idea came to me. What is worse punishment than cleaning out the dragon stables? After all, those vermin leave quite the mess.”

  The guard laughed. “In the dark? Even I wouldn’t be that cruel to a measley slave.”

  Derkas shrugged. “Whatever they miss … they can clean in the morning.”

  The guard smiled. “Can’t be doing a half-asked job. Perhaps a bit of punishment in the morning for whatever they miss.”

  Derkas pointed his index finger in front of himself. “I like the way you think.”

  “All right. You can pass.” The guard gestured to the gate, which he opened for them. “Shall I expect to see you return tonight?”

  Derkas snorted. “Don’t wait up.”

  The guard nodded.

  Zaviana and Devarius headed through the gate, their heads slumped as if dreading the punishment they were about to receive.

  Once outside the city, the atmosphere changed. The air was crisp, and as the breeze hit them, they shivered.

  “That was quick thinking, Derkas,” Zaviana said.

  “Thanks.”

  Devarius grunted.

  “You’re welcome,” Derkas said.

  Devarius grunted again.

  “Devarius … don’t be rude.”

  Devarius looked around, but no one was there. They were outside of the city, walking alone. He sighed. “All right. Thanks.”

  Derkas grinned.

  They continued on, Zaviana leading them. She remembered the city well. Not only was she a prisoner in the city for a long time, but she’d also had access to the library inside of the castle. A great deal of her imprisonment had been access to a few rooms. The emperor had hoped the limited freedom would enable her to expand her ‘gift’. Instead, she used it to further her knowledge, including reading a lot of books on history, and especially, the founding of Dragonia. By doing so, she had a vast knowledge of where everything was at.

  Zaviana crouched as she walked up a hill, Devarius and Derkas right behind her. As she neared the top, she slowed down and moved to lay down.

  The three of them went completely still as they saw two dragons overhead, flying into the night. Chill bumps traveled up Zaviana’s arms.

  On the other side of the hill there were even more dragons. Torchlights lined a row over a hundred feet in length, and on the road, were dozens of little dragons of all sizes. Some were the size of small cats, while others were the size of horses. There were some much larger of course, but they weren’t on the ground, they were in the sky, flying. Every last one of them was red. On each side of the road weren’t hundreds, but thousands of eggs piled up on top of each other.

  Zaviana’s jaw dropped. She’d heard the empire had a lot of dragons, but she had no idea such a number existed. As she studied them closer, she realized not all of them were red eggs. Hundreds of eggs of blue, green, silver, gold, and purple also filled the grounds.

  “It’s extraordinary,” Zaviana whispered.

  “Yes, it is,” Devarous said.

  One of the eggs began to move. One of the empire’s men approached the egg, and lifted it. The man wasn’t a guard, but instead wore a long brown robe, as did at least a dozen of the men on the breeding grounds. He picked the egg up off the ground and cradled it in his hands as he walked toward a large podium.

  Zaviana watched with fascination as the shell began to crack. There was no celebration or calls of joy like on Adeth Peak Isle when a wyvern was born, but just silence except for the cracking of the shell. When the dragon was fully emerged, the man grabbed the creature by the neck and tail, roughly forcing the struggling creature to the podium.

  A small round object glowed white as the baby dragon touched it. A soft red light left the dragon and it stopped struggling. The light hovered in the air for a moment, before falling into the glowing white object. After a moment, the small white objected ceased glowing, and a noticeable pop could be heard in Zaviana’s ears.

  The man set the baby dragon on the ground, and it ran away from him, head bobbing from side to side, looking hurt and confused. Then after a moment pause, it wandered along the street to the other small dragons, all the life out of its eyes.

  “What was that?” Devarius whispered.

  “The dragon stone,” Zaviana whispered.

  “What did it do?” Derkas asked.

  “It stole the dragon’s power. The dragon’s magic, and the dragon’s intelligence. At least, I believe that’s how it works.”

  “So, aren’t we technically going to be stealing the dragon’s magic ourselves?” Devarius asked.

  “Yes,” Zaviana said.

  “It’s not ours to steal.”

  Zaviana shook her head. “No, it’s not. But we need it. After we win this war, we can return it to the dragons.”

  “I don’t like it,” Devarius said.

  “We don’t have another choice.”

  Chapter 20

  Lilianya reached the top of the hillside and glanced at the beautiful sunset. The hill peaked in the center of two mountains on the west and she watched the red sun as it tucked itself below the horizon. The air was cold, and she clutched her coat tighter. It was true she was excited to be able to journey further north into the depths of the island. No one actually knew how large the island was. When they first discovered it, they kept to the southern side. A few of them had flown around the island, but the land itself was mostly unexplored.

  And Lilianya was the one who got to explore it. She was ecstatic for the opportunity. And it was all because of Paedyn. Sure, she could have gone off and tried to explore on her own, but she wouldn’t have been able to go far. They didn’t know how dangerous the island was. If there were wyverns, what other creatures may lurk about? But now, she controlled her own exploration party.

  Lilianya didn’t care for Paedyn too much. He was annoying at best, and excruciating at worst. But he did show an interest in her, and at times, he was funny. There weren’t too many people who could get her to smile, or to laugh, but he was one of them. She shook her head of such thoughts.

  After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she looked back to the others and motioned for them to move forward. Most of them she’d known for years in the resistance, but several of them were new. However, they were all determined.

  “How much longer?” Jaonos said.

  “We will camp soon,” Lilianya said. “The sun has almost set, and the cold will be stronger now.”

  “The Red Winter feels longer this year,” Vikron said.

  “I miss the yellow sun of summer.”

  Lilanya nodded. “It has been a long winter. At least, it’s felt like it here on the island. At least we can see the yellow sun again, even if it’s only the size of a large star.”

  It was a common a small talk through Kaeldroga. The Red Winter always lasted twice as long as the summers. Though, only half the length of the spring and fall. However, winters were hard. They lasted more than four months, and so for four months, people ate very little.

  Lilyana
was glad the winter was beginning to depart, and she was more than ready for spring. The sun had barely began to fall over the horizon. She looked up and saw a thin blanket of it now, shimmering flakes of white falling gracefully from the sky.

  They would need to stop for the night and make a fire. Plenty of blankets were brought, but it wouldn’t be enough. As much as Lilianya wanted to explore the island, she knew they couldn’t search for long. The cold wouldn’t let them.

  She looked down from the hill and saw a peaceful meadow in the distance. It looked like a pleasant place to camp for the night. She studied her surroundings and decided to start preparing.

  “Let’s camp in the meadow tonight,” she said.

  The man next to her nodded.

  As they traveled down the slope of the hill, they heard a growl behind them.

  Lilianya turend and saw a creature half the size of a wyvern, reptilian isn appearance, but it had no wings. Even without wings, the creature looked menacing.

  “Remain still,” she called.

  They reached the bottom of the hill and froze. Three more of the creatures appeared out of the nearby darkness. The sun was nearly set now, and Lilianya glanced around to count eleven of the creatures.

  “We mean you no harm,” Lilianya said.

  The creatures snarled, but their tones were low, and much more relaxed than they were before. Lilianya hoped they were intelligent like the wyverns and would become their allies, but a feeling in her gut told her it wouldn’t happen.

  Silence filled the air as even the large reptilian creatures ceased growling. Tension filled the air. Chill bumps traveled up Lilyana’s already cold arms.

  The silence broke with the snap of a creature’s mouth, and the scream of a man. Lilianya glanced to the man and watched with horror as he raised his arm in the air without a hand. Blood gushed everywhere.

  “Run!” Lilianya cried.

  She unsheathed her scimitars. Lilianya held both weapons in the air and rushed toward the creatures. She slashed hard and fast, her blades flashing in the air, picking up every last trace of sunlight to make the blades glimmer. All the creatures focused on her as the rest of her party dashed away.

  Lilianya was responsible for keeping everyone in her party safe, and that was exactly what she would do. A part of her wanted to be a coward, to flee along with the others, but she knew if she did, she’d be condemning several of them to death. Even if she died, she would do so alone.

  Two others stepped up next to her, both wielded weapons. One was a man wielding a mace, and the other, a woman holding an axe. They nodded to her, and together, the three of them advanced. The land dragons were strong though, and even with slashes and strikes, they continued forward, nipping and biting.

  “We need to buy them enough time,” Lilianya called.

  The two others nodded.

  More and more of the land dragons appeared, until they were surrounded in a circle. A few of the creatures had scurried away with enough strikes to their jaw. Lilianya sliced through both eyes of one of the creatures, but he snarled, backed away, then another took its place.

  “We’re trapped,” she whispered.

  “We can’t stay here,” one of the others panted.

  Lilianya nodded. “Follow me.”

  She scanned the surroundings, and noticed an opening to her left. Concentrating, she raised her weapons high, sliced down hard, then leapt on top of the creature, running along its back. The two others followed her, and the three of them escaped the entrapped circle.

  Lilianya stopped, but motioned for the two others to continue forward. She slid her weapons back in their scabbards, then withdrew a handful of throwing knives. There were few on Adeth Peak Isle who were more accurate with throwing knives than her. She concentrated, then threw the six knives.

  The land dragons had turned to face her, ready to strike again, but six of them now found a knife in one of their eyes. Lilianya dared not delay another second as she had the creatures distracted. She took off into the night, following her two companions.

  Chapter 21

  Devarius was the first to move. He slid down the hill, and away from the horrible sight. Zaviana and Derkas followed him and they all grouped together.

  “Well, what do you think?” Devarius asked.

  “It isn’t going to be easy,” Zaviana said. “There are a lot of guards down there, as well as the dragon nursery workers as well.”

  “Maybe it’s best if we head back to the city,” Derkas said. “We need to strategize a plan. We can’t go in this blind.”

  “That is a good idea.” Devarius said. “As much as I hate to admit it, coming from you.”

  Derkas led them back to the city. He waved at the guard on the way inside. The night was quiet. With the exception of the crickets they could hear chirping in the distance.

  Derkas spotted the tavern. He led the way, they stayed close by him. Instead of them leading the way like they had before. The tavern was not nearly as quiet as the rest of the city. In fact, it was packed. More people than Devarius had ever seen in a tavern. It was called The Flying Dragon. The namesake in honor of their beasts. Devarius cringed at the thought. He did not understand how they could treat the dragons with such cruelty. To them, they were no more than a dog, no more than a pet, no more than a strange wild beast to be tamed.

  Now, Devarius loved dogs. In fact, if he didn’t travel so much, he’d probably have one. A long time ago he had a sheep dog on his farm, back before the empire murdered his family. But this was different. This was worse than the treatment of a dog. Devarius had loved his dog. The friendship, the hugs, the dog kisses. It was a bond between man and animal. But the empire treated the dragons like cruel beasts in the wild. Something to be feared and hated upon, like roaches or snakes. And Devarius did not care for that.

  Devarius saw many of the looks the people gave the dragons wandering the streets. Looking down their noses, scoffing, and even laughing at the creatures. There was nothing but disgust and hatred in their eyes. And Devarius wondered how different it would be if the empire not taken away their intelligence. The dragon stone was a terrible object. An objected that Devarius wanted to destroy, but he didn’t know how. And his sister was right. They needed the dragon stone. They needed the power inside of the dragon stone. As much as Devarius hated to admit it, they needed its power for the resistance. They needed the edge to defeat the empire once and for all. And then Devarius planned to destroy it for good.

  Derkas led them to the farther corner of the tavern. There was only one table left, and it was actually already taken, but the patron leaned his head on the table and snored loudly. Not having anywhere else to go, they decided to sit. Devarius hoped the man would not come to, because they had many things to discuss.

  Glasses of ale raised to the air as the next dance came to the stage. Devarius looked and saw a young woman barely an adult in a short dress, and tight clothes. Men gawked at her, hooting and hollering. She showed more skin than most, with it being revealed up to her knees. And men devoured her calves with their eyes. Devarius wrinkled his nose, hating to see her being treated like an object. And it was another thing he planned to change when they defeated the empire.

  The barmaid came up to them, squealing right before she reached their table, as the table behind her pinched her bottom. It was clear it was something she was used to, and Devarius did not see shock, or disgust on her face as she approached them. It was as if she squealed to appease the men behind her at the table. Devarius gritted his teeth.

  “What’ll it be fer yah?” she asked.

  “Three ales,” Derkas said.

  “Aye. Ales for your slaves too, ehy?”

  Derkas grinned. “Sometimes, you gotta give the help a little treat to keep them working as hard as they do.”

  “And don’t yer forget it,” the barmaid said before sashaying away from the table.

  “So—” Derkas cleared his throat. “What’s the plan? Do we have one?”

&nbs
p; Devarius looked at the unconscious man at the table, still snoring away. He didn’t want to go into too much detail in case the man woke up and began faking his sleep, but they did have to discuss this, and the loud pub was a beter place than most, with so many conversations going on, nobody would pay attention to theirs.

  “You know, I”m not sure what we can do. It looks heavily guarded. It seems cruel … what they do to those dragons at birth.”

  “Yes, yes it does,” Derkas said.

  “I begin to wonder how different the empire would be if they had intelligent dragons with them, and not a shell of what they should be. But we could definitely use the stone.”

  The barmaid returned, and set three large glasses of ale in front fo them.

  “Thank you, miss,” Derkas siad.

  Devarius’ eyes wandered to the stage, where two women stood. One played a flute, and the other, the one with the exposed calves, was dancing to the melody. He watched her for a time, impressed by her skillful dancing, but otherwise discontent on her job, if it was even a job.

  The barmaid left, and Derkas looked back to Devarius.

  “Well?” Derkas asked.

  Devarius broke his thoughts, then he heard something from the table from his side. He held his hand up, urging Derkas to be quiet, and he tilted his ear to the side.

  “Well, tomorrow’s the day,” a man at the table next to them talked in a high pitched voice, ale clearly the culprit. “I get my very own dragon. I get to pick it myself. You know I always wanted to be a dragonrider for the empire. I mean it’s the most prestige task there is, I mean who wants to be a chef or a blacksmith. I get to be a warrior, but not just any warrior, but a dragon warrior. The dragon’s gonna be nothing but a rat when I get him tomorrow, but I guess I get to train him up. One of those new hatchlings, you know? But he’ll be big one day, and then I’ll be a dragonrider, take that beast to the sky, smite the resistance, the fools who don’t pay taxes. What worthless scum.”