“I think I’ll give you a fighting chance,” I said, and I lifted my foot off his neck and took a step back.
“You’re dumber than I--” His words were cut short as he moved to stand up, because just when his neck was far enough off the ground, I swung and took his head clean off.
His decapitated head rolled a few feet away, and his hot blood splashed across the ground before I glanced around to see how the girls were faring.
There was an elf on the ground a few feet away from me, and Asta plunged her daggers into his chest while Kas pulled her greatsword out of another man’s stomach. Eira had two bodies piled up, and she sat on their backs with one leg crossed over the other. It looked like all the other men were taken care of, and I smiled at my women and how fierce of warriors they were.
“Took you long enough,” Eira teased.
“We can’t all be renowned warband leaders,” I laughed.
“No, I guess not.” She shrugged and grinned at me.
I looked to her right and saw the cages of baby dragons the elves had brought out. There were six of them on the ground, but I knew there had to be more inside the cart.
I focused on them, and I could sense their hesitance. They were still scared.
“Kas,” I said quickly. “Remove the illusion spell.”
“Oh, of course,” the sorceress said, and she pulled out her spell book.
Taking the spell off was much quicker than putting it on, and in a matter of moments we were all back to our normal selves. The little dragons stared at us with wide eyes of suspicion and curiosity, but I walked over to the cages and crouched down next to them.
“We know they took you,” I told them softly. “We’re going to get you home, I promise.”
One small yellow female walked up to the front of her cage and blinked her bright pink eyes at me.
I smiled and placed my hand against the bars so she could sniff me, but she quickly stuck her tongue out and gave my palm a good lick as well, which tickled and made me laugh. She seemed to enjoy that, because she flapped her little wings slightly and smiled back at me.
“Kas, Asta, will you let them out?” I asked. “They’ll stay close. Eira, come with me to find the others.”
“Of course.” Kas nodded.
“Okay,” Eira agreed.
I tasked Kas and Asta with releasing the babies only because I knew they had more experience with dragons. Eira was beautiful and fierce, but I felt Kas and Asta would be a more comforting presence to them, especially with Inger and Uffe to help out. Blar was still on my shoulder, so he came with Eira and I into the cart.
When we got inside, there were more babies than I’d imagined. I counted fifteen, plus the six that were outside, so that was just over twenty. They were all incredibly small, too, and some of them resembled each other, so I presumed they were from the same litter.
I assured the babies inside, just as I had the ones outside, and then I let them out of their cages and allowed them to wander around the cart while we got things ready to take them to the valley.
“Aren’t you worried they’ll try to fly away?” Eira asked.
“No,” I chuckled as a little silver dragon landed on my forearm, and I scratched under his chin. “They know we’re going to take them home. I can feel their trust in us. If they were still scared, then I wouldn’t let them out until we got to their mothers, but they know we are here to help them.”
“Maybe it’s because they were just taken, too.” She nodded. “They probably would be more skeptical if they’d been held for longer.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “I’m sure that has something to do with it. The first dragons the girls and I found were much too terrified to release right then.”
“Rath!” I heard Kas yell, and Eira and I locked eyes before we ran out of the cart.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I gripped my sword tightly.
“Nothing,” the strawberry-blonde said, and she looked up at me from her spell book on the ground. “Oh, sorry. I got excited, is all.”
“It’s okay,” I laughed before I sheathed my weapon. “But try not to scream my name unless you’re in danger, alright?”
“I’ll remember that,” she chuckled before she pointed to the book. “But look here, I think I’ve found a spell to help us.”
“Help us how?” Eira asked as she looked over the sorceress’ shoulder.
“We can use our map and put this spell on the cart to see where it’s been,” Kas explained.
“So, it will lead us to their boss?” I asked.
“If they’ve been there within the last day.” Kas nodded.
“Brilliant.” Eira grinned at Kas, and the strawberry-blonde grinned back.
“What do you need?” I asked.
“I just need Asta’s help,” Kas explained. “Our powers combined make casting a lot quicker.”
“You might have to pry her away,” Eira laughed. “But I’m sure she’ll help.”
I followed Eira’s eyeline to see Asta on the ground covered in baby dragons. They pounced on her and licked her face, and she giggled and rolled around with them. It was absolutely adorable, but we had work to do still, so unfortunately, I had to break it up.
“Asta,” I chuckled. “Kas needs your help.”
“Coming!” the elf girl hollered, and she brushed the baby dragons off her, promised she’d be right back, and made her way over to Kas.
The two of them reviewed the spell in the book before they headed over to the cart, and Kas drew some strange symbols on the ground around it with a stick.
The two of them held hands and spoke in the old language, and the familiar white and red sparkles of their magic bloomed between them and swirled over the map at their feet.
After a moment, they released hands, and Kas eagerly reached for the map.
“It looks like there’s a few spots where they’ve been,” the sorceress said.
“Hmmm.” Asta looked closely at the map. “This area is far away from the towns. Perhaps that’s where their boss is.”
“It does look like all the other places are markets or somewhere close to town,” Kas mused. “I think Asta’s probably right.”
“We’ll check there first.” I nodded.
“We should disguise ourselves again,” Eira suggested, and then she pointed to the men on the ground. “We can pretend to be his crew.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. When we showed up as them, it wouldn’t be under the pretense of a trade, so I figured everyone would be a little less on edge than they had been in this situation. And if we played it right, we were far less likely to be found out as quickly as we were here.
“We should get the babies back home first,” Kas said.
“Right,” I confirmed. “We’ll get them to the valley, and then we’ll find the boss.”
Whoever this man was, I couldn’t wait to meet him. Someone who not only participated in, but ran, at least a portion of the dragon trade was at the top of my kill list.
The man we’d killed the day before said they’d bought the silver dragon over a decade ago, so this boss had to have been in business for a long time.
My teeth clenched just thinking about all the terrible things he’d done, but I pushed away my anger and focused on the task at hand.
The girls and I looted the bodies of the elves and made sure to take locks of hair and articles of clothing or jewelry we could wear for the spell. Once that was done, and we had a nice pile of coins, clothing, and weapons, we loaded everything from our cart into the new cart.
We made sure to take all the food and coins from the old cart, too, and then I set the horse-like creatures loose. If another elf found them, it was their lucky day, but if not, they could graze in the field for a long time without having to worry about anything else.
Once all that was finished, we headed to the valley with the baby dragons. The little yellow female rode on my shoulder with Blar as I directed the cart, and when we made it to the top of t
he valley so we could look down and see all the dragons below, the little girl licked my cheek before she dove down to find her mother.
We released all the babies, and they each instinctively flew down toward the other dragons. I knew they’d find their mothers quickly, and I could feel the love and happiness the dragons felt as they were reunited. The emotion was so vast and pure it washed over me like the waves of the ocean, and I looked down and caught the eye of one of the mothers.
The great yellow female nodded to me slightly, and then she continued to nuzzle her returned children.
“I love seeing them back together.” Asta smiled as she looked down into the valley.
“That’s the best part,” Kas agreed.
“There’s another good part, too, though,” Eira said.
“What’s that?” Asta asked.
“Murdering some dragon slavers.” The redhead grinned.
“I’ll second that.” I smiled. “Let’s go.”
It was time to meet the boss.
Chapter 26
We followed the map and set off toward the place we figured was the boss’ lair, but as we rode, it became clear we weren’t in the nice part of Alfheim anymore.
Where the market was bright and beautiful, with bustling people and vibrant colors, this area of town seemed to have a gray cast over it. We rarely saw anyone on the road, and anyone we did see wore tattered clothes and had carts that were nearly broken down.
The houses we passed were just as bad. The stone parts were cracked and falling apart, and if there were windows, they were missing panes, or busted out altogether.
Alfheim usually had beautiful foliage, but this area of town was practically dead. The grass was yellow, but not like it usually was, it looked like it’d been burnt. It was a deep, terrible yellow that hurt my eyes, and the trees in the area had brown, brittle leaves that fell off onto the road and crackled as we ran over them.
The entire region sent a chill down my spine, and I wondered why someone so powerful, with so much coin and influence, would choose to set up his business here.
Then it hit me. This would be the perfect place to set up an illegal trade.
I doubted many people came this way, and those who did were either lost, or they lived here themselves, in which case they didn’t care what anyone else did.
This was a great place to avoid detection and avoid getting robbed. If this boss man had set up his trade somewhere close to the city, then it would only be a matter of time before someone noticed how many coins he had. Out here, though, I didn’t think anybody would consider they might want what one of these people had.
It didn’t look like they had a lot, which made it the perfect place to hide riches.
“I think we’re nearly there,” Kas said as we rounded a corner of the dirt road.
“Good.” Eira grimaced as she looked around. “This part of town is awful.”
“It’s not a place people go very often.” Asta nodded.
“You know this area?” I asked. We’d all been so concentrated on the trip there, we hadn’t spoken much.
“Yes,” the elf girl agreed. “It is said to be where those who are exiled go to live out their days.”
“Exiled by the Elf King?” Kas inquired.
“By society.” Asta shook her head. “It is for the mentally disturbed. The outcasts. The less desirables.”
“Mmm.” I nodded. “That makes sense.”
This was the part of town where people went when they had nothing and nobody else. No wonder they didn’t seem to care what their homes looked like. From the sounds of it, it wasn’t like they had visitors very often, if ever.
“Before we get there,” Kas said, “I had another idea.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“We’re already disguised as the men from earlier,” she started. “But the dragons are disguised as dogs.”
“Yeah?” I pushed.
“I was thinking,” she said, and she licked her lips nervously. “What if we take the enchantment off them so they look like themselves? Obviously, we don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but I thought they could maybe sneak into the cages with the dragons who are already there.”
My first reaction was a “no,” but I realized that was why Kas seemed nervous. She knew I wanted to protect the dragons at all costs, but I also had to consider the entire situation.
If we showed up with dogs, it would be suspicious, and if we hid them inside the cart, they wouldn’t be right next to us to assist if something went wrong. It might be good to have them go see the other dragons, too, that way they could assure them we were there to help.
I didn’t want to scare the dragons any more than they, no doubt, were already.
“I think that’s a good idea.” I finally nodded and looked down at Blar, who rode on my knees. “What do you think, buddy?”
The little blue dragon nodded his approval, and his bright blue eyes narrowed into slits as he gave me his best warrior look. He was ready for battle, and so was I.
“Okay,” I told Kas. “Remove the enchantment.”
“Great,” the strawberry-blonde replied with a smile.
“Oh, and thank you,” I added as I met her gaze. “That was a good idea.”
“Of course.” The sorceress blushed slightly and looked down.
It didn’t take long for Kas and Asta to remove the spell, which was good, because just as they finished, we came to a large gate on our right.
“I think this is the place,” Kas said as she looked at the map.
“Are you sure?” Asta asked, and her face pulled into a grimace. “This seems so… dirty.”
The elf girl was right, the area beyond the gate was the worst of the entire town we’d gone through. There were broken down carts with missing wheels, random structures that appeared to be falling apart, and the grass and weeds were so overgrown it was difficult to see the makeshift road that led to wherever it was they kept the dragons.
“It has to be,” Kas said as she showed Asta the map.
“They probably do it on purpose,” Eira said. “Nobody wants to rob a place like this.”
“That was my thought as well,” I agreed.
I took a deep breath and looked at my team. Asta, the beautiful white-haired elf girl, had a look of determination in her yellow eyes, and though she was inherently sweet and kind, I knew she wanted to take down these dealers just as much as I did.
Kas, my gorgeous strawberry-blonde sorceress, bit her bottom lip nervously as she stared at the gate. She was fierce when she needed to be, but she was also practical, and we didn’t know what we were walking into. She had every reason to be nervous. A little bit of nerves was a good thing, it kept the body and mind alert.
Eira, the redheaded warband leader, was new to our team, but she’d proven herself to be a valuable member already. I was surprised she’d been so willing to take time out of her schedule to come with us, but she seemed happy to help.
Blar, my sweet terror of a dragon, sat on my knees and stared at the gate ahead. His little blue eyes were intense as he focused on the land beyond, and I could feel his steady breathing. He was silly and had a huge personality, but when the situation got serious, so did he. I always knew I could count on him on and off the battlefield.
Inger sat on Asta’s shoulder, and her purple eyes looked around curiously. She was a small force to be reckoned with, and I was glad Asta had her assistance whenever we were in a fight.
Uffe, my little earth dragon, sat at Kas’ feet and pursed his scaly little lips as he stared at the gate. The shy baby dragon wasn’t so timid when it came to duels, and I couldn’t wait to see how his fighting style progressed as he grew.
In that moment, I was proud of my team and all we’d accomplished so far. We hadn’t been in the business of executing dragon dealers for long, but we’d already taken out a dozen of them and freed three times as many dragons.
Knowing there were still others in slavery only pushed me to
continue on our mission. I’d free every last dragon, no matter how long it took.
“Alright,” I said seriously. “Everyone make sure you remember who you are. We don’t have to know everything about these men, but remember you’re pretending to be a male.”
Asta and Kas were both so delicate and feminine, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind them to try and act like a man.
“Just burp a lot, and you’ll be fine,” Eira joked.
“Not exactly what I was going to say,” I chuckled. “But you’re probably right.”
“We’ll do our best.” Asta nodded.
“I know you will,” I assured her. “I just want to remind you we’re about to enter a dangerous situation. Stay close to me if you can. In case things go south, I want to know where everyone is.”
“Okay,” Kas agreed.
“And nobody attacks until I do,” I said firmly. “We need to find the boss. If we lose our tempers and lash out without him being here, then we risk losing him.”
“That makes sense,” Asta said. “He’d probably find a new place to do his dealings.”
“Exactly.” I nodded.
“It’s funny,” Eira said with a playful smirk. “I used to give you orders, now I’m the one taking them.”
“I know you’ve been on plenty of missions before--” I began before the warband leader cut me off.
“No, no.” Eira shook her head. “This is different than I’m used to, but not bad. I’m happy to follow your commands.”
“Good.” I smiled, and then I looked at the little dragons. “I’m sorry, but you three will have to hide until we get there.”
Blar looked up at me and shook his head.
“I know you don’t want to be away from us,” I told him with a pat on the head. “But we can’t show up with dragons. You’ll need to wait, sneak over to the cages, and blend in with the other dragons when you have a chance. Can you do that?”
I considered having Blar open a portal to get the dragons out, but that would draw too much attention right now. We needed to take these assholes out before we figured out what to do with the dragons.
Blar pursed his little lips, but then he nodded his agreement.
I knew it wasn’t what he wanted, and he’d have to do as I said if I commanded him, but usually there was no need for that. The little blue dragon understood the plan, and he knew he was an integral part of it.
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