Enslaved: The Odyssey of Nath Dragon - Book 2 (The Lost Dragon Chronicles)

by Craig Halloran

Tobias and Virgo approached from the streets. Four soldiers were with them. “What’s going on?” Tobias asked.

  “I’ll tell you what is going on,” Nina said, not hiding her rage. “Nath is back, and now my tavern is burned to the ground. Not to mention I’ve lost my hand and the Gauntlet of Goam.”

  Eyes on Nina’s stump, Virgo said, “Ew, that is disgusting. You know we have salves and potions for that.” The sensual sorceress’s nose crinkled. “That stinks. Why would you do such a foolish thing?”

  “Cullon did it because I was bleeding to death, maybe that’s why?” Nina replied.

  “Worm, don’t you have any salve on you?” Virgo asked.

  “Oh, well, maybe.” Worm’s slender hands rummaged through his deep pockets. A small blue jar appeared in his hand. “Do you mean this salve?”

  Nina screamed, “Worm!”

  “Give her the salve, Worm!” Tobias said. Worm tossed the jar to Nina. Tobias’s brows were knitted together, his handsome expression gone. He addressed the soldiers. “I’ll be fine, men. We need some privacy. Tend to that haphazard rebellion in the streets.”

  “Yes, city lord,” the sergeant said. He wasn’t one of the brigands disguised as a soldier, but a genuine soldier. He saluted, and all of the soldiers left.

  Tobias continued saying to Nina, “What happened to Nath? Where is he?”

  Applying a gob of blue salve to her wound, she said, “He and Hacksaw hopped in a wagon and rode south.”

  “Alone?”

  “No, someone was driving two horses.” Nina let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, that feels so much better”—she swung a look at Cullon and finished with a shout—“than burning it!”

  “Charred limbs are an improvement if you ask me,” Cullon replied.

  “Go char yourself!” Nina replied.

  “Focus, Nina!” Tobias said. “Who drove the wagon?”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a sarcastic sneer. “I was busy dealing with my hand that had been lopped off!”

  “Certainly you remember some detail, and who is Hacksaw?”

  “A legionnaire I met in the tavern,” she said. “I didn’t know it at the time, as I was feeling him out, but he’s some ally of Nath’s. The people driving the wagon, I don’t know. The big one was a man, covered up, but the woman was an elf. Blond. She called Nath out by name.”

  “See, you did know more than you realized.”

  “Yes, my thoughts are less clouded when I’m not in excruciating pain.” Nina eyeballed her arm. The black skin started to mend and turn pink. She tucked the jar of salve in her clothing. “I’m keeping this.” She noticed Tobias smiling. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said, patting the pommel of his sword as he looked up into the sky.

  “No, I know that look, Tobias. You know something. Did you know Nath was coming?”

  “Of course not,” he said.

  Nina, Worm, and Virgo encircled Tobias.

  “Out with it, Tobias. I know when you’re lying through your teeth.” Nina stuck her stump in his face. “If I lost my hand because of something that you didn’t tell me, I will bust you into pieces.”

  Brandishing his axe, Cullon agreed, “That goes double for me.”

  “Listen, a couple of days ago I received word that Nath escaped Slaver Town, but I gave my word that I would keep it to myself.”

  “You knew and didn’t tell us!” Nina said.

  Virgo’s face was aghast. Her fingers sparked. “I should blast your eyes out!”

  “You are low,” Worm commented.

  Tobias pulled his sword partly from his scabbard. “You listen to me. All of you. First, I’ve been preparing for my wedding. And don’t forget how big this is for all of us. And second, I gave my word to a man that I dare not trifle with. He is the one who wants Nath. We, in a twist of fate, are the bait, in this case. If it had gone smoothly, none of you ever would have known the difference. But Nath—”

  “—has a way of making a mess of things,” Nina said, finishing his sentence. “Tobias, who is after Nath?”

  Tobias gave her a disappointed head tilt. “Don’t be naïve. You know who it is.”

  “I don’t know who it is,” Worm said. “Who is it, Nina? Tobias? Don’t keep me in the dark, or us in the dark for the matter.”

  Nina nodded at Tobias. “It’s the Lord of the Dark in the Day, isn’t it?”

  Cullon and Virgo’s tight expressions were replaced by concern. They eased away from Tobias.

  “Yes,” Tobias said. “And the less all of us know, the better. I’m certain he’ll let us know if we are needed. In the meantime, I have a wedding to plan and some sort of rebellion to crush. I need to get some rest between now and tomorrow.”

  An elf in a charcoal-gray cloak approached from the south. He seemed to glide quietly over the grasses. A long sword and dagger were belted on his hips. Nina recognized him from her tavern. He was one of the elves she last spoke with at the bottom of her steps. Without a word, the elf handed Tobias a scroll, nodded, and departed back toward the distant woodland.

  Tobias opened the scroll.

  “What does it say?” Worm said, as all of the Black Hand members gathered around Tobias.

  Nina looked over their leader’s shoulder. She saw an elf with sharp elven features drawn in black at the bottom of the paper. The words were written by no ordinary hand.

  Tobias read it out loud. “The trap is set. Nath will invade your wedding tomorrow. Be ready. We’ll take him down there. Play along. Let the darkness rule the day.” The parchment caught fire. The flames brightened their faces as everyone except for Virgo gasped. Now it was her turn to laugh.

  “That is impressive,” Virgo said.

  “What, a letter that turns itself to flame? Isn’t that easy?” Worm said.

  “It’s not the letter. It’s the planning,” the platinum-haired sorceress said. “The Lord of the Dark in the Day knows what happens before it happens. Once again, Nath Dragon will be easy prey, and all we have to do this time is sit back and watch.”

  CHAPTER 71

  The wagon came to a stop along the dark road a few miles south of Riegelwood. They’d been riding at full speed for several minutes. Maefon climbed into the back with Nath and Hacksaw. She threw her arms around Nath and hugged him tight. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

  Nath let her warm body melt in his arms. It felt so good to have his arms wrapped around her. He missed Maefon. He thought he’d never see her again. “I’ve been looking for you. It seems like it’s been forever.”

  “I know. There is so much to tell,” she replied.

  “I hate to break up a fine reunion,” the hooded man in the driver’s seat said in a friendly but somewhat serious tone, “but I’m certain that there will be a pursuit. Hop out and I’ll take the wagon further down the road. There’s a good spot to hide back beyond the thickets. I’ll meet you there in a bit.”

  Nath didn’t really pay any attention to the man’s words. He was caught up in Maefon’s hug as they scooted together out of the wagon.

  Hacksaw made it out with a loud grunt. “Oh, my back.”

  Maefon broke away from Nath to aid Hacksaw. Her fingers ran over the gash in his back. “You need sewn up.”

  The driver tossed her a leather satchel. “I’ll be back.” He snapped the reins. The horses took off with the wagon thundering down the road.

  “Let’s move, quickly,” Maefon said. Taking Nath by the hand, she led him and Hacksaw into the trees. They shoved through the brush and kept going until they came to a clearing near a creek. She opened her satchel and pulled out some sewing materials. She wore a cloak and a well-designed leather tunic underneath it. She sat Hacksaw down. “Let’s get this ringmail off your back. It will be quicker that way.”

  Nath rubbed his aching face. His head still rang from where Nina hit him. There was blood on his fingers. His blood.

  Helping Hacksaw out of his ringmail, Maefon looked at Nath. “What’s that?”

  He l
ifted the hammer. “It’s a sledgehammer.”

  Maefon shook her head. “I know what a sledge is. I’m talking about that… hand?”

  “Oh!” Nath said, eyeing the thing. “It’s, uh, the Gauntlet of Goam. It was stolen from me, and, well, Hacksaw and I just retrieved it. I guess that sounds gruesome, but Hacksaw chopped her hand off, not me.”

  “Her?” she said, deftly sewing Hacksaw’s wound.

  “If it makes any difference, she is truly evil,” Nath said, “and was a moment away from caving my face in.”

  “We wouldn’t want that, now would we,” she said, biting off the excess string from the wound. Opening a very tiny jar, she applied a clear ointment to the wound. “That will hasten the healing. Just relax for a moment. Uh, what is your name?”

  “Hacksaw.”

  “Nice to meet you, Hacksaw. I’m Maefon.”

  “You’d make a fine nurse. Never seen anyone stitch me up so fast, and I’ve been stitched up plenty.”

  “Thank you.” Maefon approached Nath with smiling eyes. “I really don’t know where to start. Should you go first, or should I?”

  “I think I need to sit down,” he said. Moving to a tree that fell over the creek, he sat. He pulled Nina’s hand free of the gauntlet. “This is gross. Should I bury it?”

  “Burn it,” Hacksaw said.

  “Well, not now.” Nath tossed the hand in the water and looked away. He slipped the gauntlet over his left hand. The gem on the back sparkled. His blood churned through his arm. Flexing his fingers, he said, “That feels good.”

  She sat down beside him. “Nath, I think I should go first, if you don’t mind. I’m very confused about many things, namely, why you are here and not at Dragon Home. I feel responsible.”

  “You are responsible,” he said. Out of nowhere, anger swelled up inside of him. “The fledglings were killed. You and the Trahaydeen were gone, and now I find you here, in what could be a miraculous coincidence.”

  “I assure you, it is just that. You’ve been far from my mind the past couple of years, and I don’t mean that in a mean way.” She held his hand in both of hers. “I’m overwhelmed to see you. I just assumed you would be safe in Dragon Home. Your time to leave there was still a century away. Anyway, I ache over the fledglings. I swear, I did not kill them. That was the work of Chazzan.”

  Nath wanted to believe her, but he’d been lied to so much that it was difficult to trust anyone. “You blame Chazzan, but you fled with him. That is an admission of guilt.”

  “I found out about the fledglings later, Nath. After it happened. After we fled. Chazzan woke me from a dreamy slumber. He told me the dragon’s wrath would soon be upon all of the Trahaydeen. He said that we needed to flee.” She rubbed his hand. “What was I to do? Chazzan was my leader, our leader. If he said leave, then we had to leave. So, with a breaking heart I did.”

  Nath brushed the hair out of her eyes. Her silky flaxen locks were longer than they used to be. Her face showed dirt and creases from hardship that he’d never seen before. “They blamed me for it.”

  “You! That’s absurd. Why would they do that?”

  “Because it was made to look as if I did it. My weapons from the forge, they were there. Only you knew about that.”

  “Nath, I never would have, or could have done such a thing.” She clutched his hand to her chest. “I swear it. Nath, I’m so sorry, but you must listen to me.”

  “I’m still listening to you. Out with it.”

  Maefon let out a sigh. “It was a horrible night. A group of us, led by Chazzan, slipped out of the mountain. Hemmed in at the moat of lava, I thought the dragons would soon be upon us. I don’t know why, but I knew in my belly at that moment that Chazzan had done something very, very wrong. I could see it in his face. It was a dark grimace I’d never seen before, as if he was possessed. He removed a sapphire from his clothing the size of a bird’s egg. I’d never seen it before. He told us to hold hands, which we did, he chanted in elven, and we were transported.”

  “To where?”

  “I had no idea where we were at first. I didn’t for weeks because we didn’t go anywhere. It was a keep, far west, across the Foaming River, built into the rock. There were more elves there, but they weren’t Trahaydeen, like me. No, they were just the opposite. They call themselves Caligin.”

  CHAPTER 72

  Nath’s brows arched. “Caligin,” he whispered. It was a shock to hear it from Maefon’s own lips. It sent a chill through him. The Caligin were the elves Slivver, his dragon brother, warned him about. He wasn’t certain they were real, until now. “Chazzan is a Caligin?”

  She nodded.

  “Where is he?” he asked.

  “That is what I am trying to do. Find Chazzan. His trail led me to Riegelwood.”

  “Back up a second,” Hacksaw interrupted. His breath was misty in the cold. He’d put his armor back on. “How did you get away from Chazzan?”

  “It took me a while to understand what was going on and who the Caligin were. Chazzan was very insistent that the dragons received what was coming to them because of past atrocities they committed against elven kind. He was adamant that the Caligin were a force for good, trying to make life right for all in the world. But his ways were twisted, I could see it, but so many bought into it. I played along, learning about the Caligin and being part of their devious ways until I could find a way to escape.”

  “Humph,” Hacksaw said. “You sew as good of a tale as you do stitches. What you are saying sounds a little too easy to me. You just escaped. And the Caligin didn’t hunt you down?”

  “No, they think I’m dead,” she said.

  “And why is that?” Nath asked.

  Maefon stood. She opened up her cloak and lifted her tunic up over her belly. Two ugly white scars, like a knife wound, crossed over her belly. “Chazzan killed me, or so he thought. He tossed me in a gulch and rode away, leaving me to die in my own blood.”

  Nath’s throat tightened. “Maefon, I’m sorry. How did you survive?”

  “Good question,” Hacksaw added.

  “I made my way out of the gulch somehow and crawled on the road. I was certain I would die, but at least I would be found.” Her eyes watered. “All I could remember thinking was what would you, Nath, think of me, if I could not clear my name. Then, he came.”

  “Who came?” Nath asked.

  A stir came from the brush. Hacksaw whisked his sword out, and Nath readied his hammer. The cloaked driver appeared with his hands up. “Sorry to startle you, but I said I was coming.” He puffed for breath. “And I ran. Been a while since I did that.” He dropped his hood, revealing a handsome face with a strong, angular jawline. He had a sword on his hip and a saddlebag over his shoulder. He walked forward and extended his hand to Nath. “Hello, my name is Darkken.”

  CHAPTER 73

  Nath stood and returned a firm handshake. Darkken was taller than Nath, imposing in size, but appeared much older than Nath, but much younger than Hacksaw. He had a nice, likeable quality about him and held Nath’s stare with coppery rust-colored eyes. Underneath his cloak was leather armor dyed black. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Very well met,” Darkken said, making his way to Hacksaw. They shook. “I’m sorry, I feel as if I interrupted something.” He looked at Maefon’s belly. “Oh. I hate to see you reliving that moment, dear. Is that necessary?”

  Maefon pulled her tunic down. “I was telling them about what Chazzan did to me. Nath needed to know. I want him to understand.”

  “I’ll tell you what you need to understand. That Chazzan is a real bastard, that’s what he is!”

  “Darkken!” Maefon exclaimed. “Control your temper.”

  Darkken let out a breath. “Sorry, but you know how I feel. Of course, I haven’t met him, but I found Maefon dying in the road. She slept like the dead for a week before she opened those beautiful eyes again.” He stretched his arm out and petted her face. “I swore I would never leave her side until she was avenged. The very
story sickened me. Backstabbing elves that manipulate the world of men day and night. Who gives them the right?”

  Maefon kissed Darkken’s hand. “Easy, love. You’ll have to forgive Darkken’s passion.”

  “The two of you seem very close for an elf and a human,” Hacksaw commented.

  “We are inseparable,” Darkken said as he threw his arm over her shoulder. He spoke words in perfect elven. “She is my sun and stars and moon all over.” He smiled. “It might sound strange, but I was raised by elves.”

  Nath’s blood stirred. He sank back down on the fallen tree. It bothered him that Maefon and this man were so close. He tried to block it out and focus. So much seemed to be happening at once. “So, Chazzan leads the Caligin?”

  “No,” Maefon said. She took her place by Nath. “Chazzan is a commander, but it is the Lord of the Dark in the Day that is in charge. He’s a very powerful elven wizard who made it his mission to control the world. He struck at the dragons to break their trust with the elves. This is how this dark lord does things. Now, the Trahaydeen are separated from the dragons.” She looked at Nath. “I assume.”

  “Yes, you are right. That happened before I left.” Nath took a look at Hacksaw. The old knight slowly nodded. His eyes were almost squinted shut. He wondered what Hacksaw was thinking. “No dragons are leaving the mountain until my father returns.”

  “Your father, Balzurth?” Darkken asked.

  Nath looked at Maefon with concern.

  “It’s all right,” she said to him. “I’ve told Darkken everything about you and your father. I still don’t think he believes any of it.”

  “I would not if her descriptions were not so vivid,” Darkken replied. “It all sounded like fairy tales to me.” He smoothed his long hair, colored like the leaves of fall, back from his eyes. “But she’s very convincing.”

  Incredulous, Nath said, “You told him the secrets of the mountains? You are sworn to never reveal what you have seen.”

  “Nath, I’m sorry, but if the Trahaydeen are no more, their word is bound to no one. And I only shared about you and what Chazzan did to the fledglings. Darkken could care less about the rest.”