Trial of the Dragon

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 6

By Craig Halloran

Trial of the Dragon

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 6

By Craig Halloran

Copyright © 2016 by Craig Halloran

Amazon Edition

TWO-TEN BOOK PRESS

P.O. Box 4215, Charleston, WV 25364

ISBN eBook: 978-1-941208-75-5

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-941208-76-2

www.craighalloran.com

Cover Illustration by Joe Shawcross

Map by Gillis Bjork

Edited by Cherise Kelley

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Publisher's Note

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Table of Contents

MAP

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER 41

FROM THE AUTHOR

About the Author

MAP

CHAPTER 1

Nath sat in the throne room of Dragon Home. He was alone, sitting on the very throne from which his father, Balzurth, had lectured him countless times. His body was ten times too small to fill the seat. That was how he felt, too small to fill his father’s clawed footsteps. He was still a man, not a dragon. He scooted over and leaned on the golden arm of the grand chair.

Father, you can’t be dead. Why did you die?

For weeks he had relived his father’s death. Over and over, he’d seen the crafty titan Isobahn run Balzurth through with the Spear of Barnabus. It happened just when Balzurth was moments away from eliminating the head titan, Eckubahn. His father’s powerful breath had been cleansing the world with fire at that moment, only to be cut off by the tip of a spear.

He can’t even have a burial.

His claws dug into the soft metal of the throne arm.

I don’t even have his body!

Nath hopped off the chair, landing hard on the array of coins that jingled on the ground. Scattering thousands with a sweep of his foot, he stormed through the grand treasure-filled chamber and snatched up the precious figure of a wild bear wrought with silver. The ornate figure was bigger than his head. He glared into the green emeralds that made up its eyes for a moment and then hurled it from one side of the chamber to the other. The figurine struck one of the huge support columns, skipped off the wall, and landed in the pile with a crash of glass.

Nath perked up.

What was that?

Wading through the piles of treasure and countless valuables, he stormed over to the source of the sound. Brows knitted together, he muttered to himself. He’d done much of that lately. “Why do you need all this treasure? All people do is fight over it. Why hoard it all, because it’s pretty?” He scooped up a diamond bigger than his knuckle then flung it aside. “If all this treasure can’t bring my father back, then what good is it?”

He stopped at the spot where he had heard the crash. The sound shouldn’t have surprised him. After all, there were plenty of vases and statues in the great hall. Still, he couldn’t fight the bad feeling that he’d broken something that wasn’t his. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Aw, I’m the Dragon King now. I can break what I want. Who’s going to punish me?

He caught a glimpse of himself in a broken piece of mirror. It had been part of an oval mirror that had sat half buried in the treasure ever since he could remember. It was bigger than he was.

“Huh?”

He pulled the mirror out and leaned it against the column, gazing at the shattered image of himself. Several pieces were missing. The longer he looked, the more his image contorted.

“Yes, I look just how I feel: broken, with many pieces missing. Sometimes it stinks to be me.” A piece of mirror fell out of the frame. “Oh, and it keeps getting worse. I just can’t stop falling apart.”

Shoulders hanging, he sluffed through the coins, circling the throne room. He had spent so much time walking around in the chamber that he had made a track through the treasure. He came to a stop behind the throne and stood looking at the great mural filled with dragons. All of them were painted as real as life itself. In the bright sky the dragons flew, so real that he swore he could touch them. Yet something was missing.

Eyes watering, he said, “Father, you should be here. I should be dead.”

Nath again recounted his mistakes, reliving his errors.

If I had been able to handle my responsibilities to begin with, Father would still be safe in the world beyond the mural. If I had just listened more, I wouldn’t have made so many stupid mistakes. Now you’re lost to me, Father, when I need you most.

He touched a fingernail to the mural in a spot where the sky was icy blue. It was warm on his scales beneath his index finger. The images shifted. The dragons painted on the sky faced him with angry eyes. He took his finger away and moved on, pacing in deep thought for hours. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d talked to another person, but he knew the last words he’d had with his friends and family were ones of anger.

I’m still mad at them.

Nath wanted to go back to Narnum. He wanted to find his father’s body and bring it back. He didn’t care if he needed a thousand dragons to pull it off. It was the right thing to do. However, his friends had different ideas. They had overpowered him and taken him away. Despite all the great strength he had as a man, it was no match for Selene, Sansla Libor, and Slivver. They had held him fast until his temper cooled enough that he could be reasoned with. However, he still simmered. After the last bout with all of them—including his mother, Grahleyna—he’d holed up inside the throne room, giving them all a final order:

Do not disturb!

After all, he was the Dragon King.

It was a hard time. There were many things in the throne room that made him think of his father. Countless things. When he was a boy, the throne room had been his favorite place to play. Balzurth would sit on his chair, which was really more of a gigantic stool than a throne, and chuckle. His rumblings and hot breath gave the extravagant room special life. All the while, Nath would dress up in the variety of clothing and assortment of armor that were scattered about. There were weapons too—knives, swords, maces, and bows. He mastered them all, imagining himself conquering one monster after the other. One time he’d picked up a wizard’s wand. Not understanding how to use it, he had shot his father in the rear end with it.

He laughed. He cried. He felt like he was dying inside. Finally, after he’d wallowed in self-pity up to his ears, he recollected something his father had said a thousand times and that he had never heard.

“It’s your life. You have to live it, not me.”

Nath pushed himself up off the coins that slid around his feet and headed for the towering doors. Taking a deep breath, he pushed them open.

CHAPTER 2

In southern Nalzambor between the Mountain of Doom and the dwarven home of Morgdon were the settlements, a rugged stretch of land filled with small towns put together by one race or another. Farmland was scarce, making it tough on the people, who thrived on their privacy but openly traded with everyone in the lands. The settlements were in the valleys and hills, made of wood and stone buildings that blended in with the rock and land. The resilient people were a quiet lot, hard at work, tilling what little fields they had and feeding the livestock. Most of them were human, but occasionally a halfling would pass by. Sometimes dwarves and elves passed through. They traded, refilled their supplies, and moved on.

Such wasn’t the case at the moment. A group of dwarves—eight in all, covered from their necks to their toes in beards and armor—were sticking around. They asked questions. They were obviously searching for someone.

Rerry and Samaz sat inside a small farmhouse on a pair of stools, eating some eggs and grits. Rerry smiled at the dark-headed farm girl who served them. She tore her eyes away, giggled, and hurried off after he flashed his teeth.

“Stop drawing attention to us,” Samaz said to him. Head over his plate with his shaggy black hair covering his eyes, he spooned in a mouthful of grits.

“Oh, don’t be so jealous.” Rerry lifted up out of his seat, peeking after the woman. “She’s a fetching little thing. I might ask for her name.”

“Fine, get her name. Maybe she will bring us a meal after the dwarves capture us and throw us in one of their league-deep dungeons.”

“Try not to worry so much. They aren’t looking for us specifically.”

Rerry stood up and made his way over to where the barn’s entrance stood open to a full view of the surroundings. The small barn sat on an overlook of the valleys below. From its unique vantage point, he could see the buildings that wound through the valley. About fifty yards away he saw Captain Scar and his men talking to the dwarves that had been hanging around longer than they—according to Scar—would normally stay.

He shooed a chicken away with his foot. “Go away, or I’ll have my brother scarf down more of your children.” The chicken clucked and moved off. With his eyes intent on Scar and the dwarves, he tried to imagine what they were saying.

Pretending to read Scar’s lips, he said, “Hello, Mister Dwarf. My, that is a fine beard. Can I cut it off and make a blanket out of it?”

Imitating the dwarf, he said, “Touch my beard and I’ll poke your other eye out.”

“Then I wouldn’t be able to see how short and ugly you are.”

“Ugly? Say it again and I’ll make a belt out of that scrawny body of yours!”

“No you won’t!”

“Yes I will!”

Rerry stopped talking to himself at the sound of girls giggling. He peeked up, seeing some little kids in the hayloft. They covered their mouths, but the laughing still came out. “The show’s not free, you know. At least give me some applause.”

Someone clapped. It was the farm girl. On ginger feet, she walked up to him, a little shy, and said, “Mother says I need two silvers for the meal. I’d give it to you for free if I could.”

He placed three coins in her warm hands. “There’s no need for charity… Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Nell.”

The children in the loft made kissing noises.

She yelled up at them, “Stop that, you little monsters.”

Rerry couldn’t help but laugh. Still holding her hand, he said, “I’m Rerry. You know, we shouldn’t have waited so long to have a formal introduction.”

“Why is that?”

He noticed Scar coming back. The hardened elven soldier wore a mask of concern. The dwarves eyed his back every step of the way. Scar moved into Rerry’s line of sight, blocking his view. He was mouthing the words, “Get inside!”

“Nell, it’s possible I might be moving on today, and it pains my heart to know we might be parting company so soon.”

“Mine too.” The comely young lady with locks of honey and brown dangling half over her eyes lifted up on her toes, kissed his lips, and hurried away.

Agape, he watched her vanish and said as he touched his lips, “What was that?”

Samaz turned on his stool, got up, and said, “I’d call it a kiss goodbye.” He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. “Or maybe it was just a polite thank-you for the extra coin you gave her. That’s how these pretty girls make a living.”

“Are you saying she wasn’t sincere?”

“Yes.”

“You’re just jealous.”

“Of what, having more coins left than you?” Samaz slapped Rerry on the back. “Don’t be so defensive. I’m only teasing you.”

Scar arrived and practically shoved them both inside, saying, “Why don’t you just walk down there and kiss the dwarves! For all the trees in Elome, you can’t keep your head tucked in, can you, Rerry.”

“Those walking beards couldn’t make me out from that far. I look like nothing but a commoner. From a distance, that is.”

“Hah. Have you ever been interrogated by a dwarf?’” Scar said.

“No.”

“And you don’t want to be. He grilled me. Me! Who is he to grill me? A dwarf has no right. With that said, he let out plenty about the search for Nath Dragon.” He poked Rerry in the chest. Eyeballing his surroundings and noting the children above, he switched his speech to Elven. “He mentioned Nath Dragon’s allies: Brenwar. A man called Ben. Oh, and this name might sound familiar: Bayzog. Funny, they also mentioned his wife Sasha and his sons Rerry and Samaz. As a matter of fact, they even gave descriptions. Very accurate, I might add. To be clear, he didn’t seem convinced that I hadn’t seen you. With that said, it’s time to go. Plenty of people have seen your faces, but at least they don’t have your names.”

Rerry blanched. His fingers fidgeted at his side.

“You didn’t blurt out your name, did you?” Scar said.

“Well, she wouldn’t say anything if I told her not to.”

“Don’t be a fool. She will if someone offers her so much as a piece of gold. These people can’t afford to turn that down. Would you blame her?”

Rerry shook his head. He searched the barn with sad eyes, but he didn’t see her. “Fine, then. Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 3

Across from one another, Bayzog and his wife sat in a grove of holly trees, holding each other’s hands. They’d been doing so awhile now. Nothing stirred them—aside from the wind that rustled the leaves from time to time, whipping them into their faces. A pinkish amulet glowed on its chain around Sasha’s neck. Bayzog’s Elderwood Staff lay across his lap, also glowing with a life of its own at the top. Mystic energy from the objects swirled together, uniting them in an array of beautiful colors.

Standing guard among the trees, Ben was transfixed. The hypnotic energy filled his eyes and added new strength to his limbs. He squinted and finally turned away. Rubbing his temples, he blinked several times, clearing his head.

Well, I stood it longer this time than last time.

Bayzog had told him not to linger around and stare at what they did, but Ben couldn’t fight his fascination with magic. It was especially tempting now that he was older, getting on in years. His joints ached to the point where it always hurt to bend over. His knees cracked when he squatted. A little magic here and there to hopefully save his behind in battle was something he thought about often. He’d asked Bayzog and Sasha to teach him a few things, and Sasha had made a few attempts, but he didn’t have it in him. He rolled his aching shoulders.

Maybe I should have stayed a farm boy. Nah, my back would still ache. And I wouldn’t want to miss a day with Nath Dragon.

Nath was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to Ben in his life. The fascinating warrior had left him awestruck the first time they met. He had wanted to be like Nath, but even better, they had wound up becoming great friends. Now Nath needed all the help he could get, and Ben didn’t want to let him down. Instinctively, he reached over his shoulder, grasping for the magic bow, Akron. He found empty air, but the bow always seemed to linger on his shoulders. He shook his head.

How did I lose it?

Nath had trusted him with the powerful weapon, and now it was gone, stolen by thieves—and even worse than that, it had been used, allegedly, to commit murder in Nath Dragon’s name. Ben lost plenty of sleep over it, trying to recall every detail of his life from the time he had last seen the bow until he discovered it missing. There just wasn’t any evidence—except one thing.

There had been a day when his wife, Margo, was acting strange. Even his daughters, Tristan and Justine, thought so. Margo didn’t recall anything out of the ordinary at all, but Ben’s gut told him she’d been in two places at once. That was the hard part to swallow, because it didn’t make any sense.

If I hadn’t lost the bow, neither of those leaders would have been killed. The elves and dwarves wouldn’t be blaming Dragon. They wouldn’t be hunting after him.

He cracked his neck from side to side. Shaking life into his stiff arms, he made his way over to Brenwar’s chest, which sat on the ground against a pile of mossy stones. He peeked over at Bayzog. The part-elf wizard’s face remained a mask of concentration. Ben enjoyed taking a look inside the chest from time to time. He undid the hasp and opened the lid.

Small wooden racks of colorful potion vials unfolded like they would in a fisherman’s tackle box, filling his eyes. In the bottom of the box—which seemed deeper and wider than it looked—were several strange objects. A bag filled with carved marble pieces. A folded sheet of black cloth. The horn of a ram, curled up with a brass tip on the small end. He picked up a tiny lantern and set it in the palm of his hand. A yellow ember pulsated within. He fished through some other items. A wand of carved black wood, a thread and needle, a bejeweled dagger with a stubby blade.

I bet Brenwar would have a fit if he knew I was rummaging through this.

He fingered the potions one by one.

I love these things. I want to drink them all. I wonder what would happen if I used two at once.

They were marked with lettering he didn’t understand, but he was pretty certain about the yellow ones. They healed. He shook one up, watching the little sparkles twinkle within.

I could use one of these about now. My back’s aching. Just a sip.

He started to twist off the cork.

“Ahem!”

Ben jerked around. He found Bayzog’s penetrating violet eyes boring a hole right through him. With a sigh, he put the vial back. “I wasn’t going to drink it.” He closed the lid. “Did you find anything?”

With a straight face, Bayzog said, “Maybe.”

CHAPTER 4

“Glad to see you among us, Dragon King.” Brenwar took a knee and bowed as soon as Nath walked out the throne room door. He remained there, unmoving, and he wasn’t the only one who bowed.

Slivver, Nath’s brother the silver dragon, was on one knee and had his head down as well.

Noticing no one else was around, Nath said to them, “Friends, there is no need for such formalities unless we are in the presence of others or it’s a formal occasion, from here on out.” Nath pushed his hair back. “Please rise and just be my friend and brother, the same as you have always been. I mean it.”

Brenwar rose first and looked around the cavernous hall. “Good. Do you have all of your pouting out of your system?”

“I was mourning, not pouting.”

Dragon arms crossed, Slivver stood seven feet tall in his brilliant coat of silver scales with the look of grand nobility. With his long chin up, he said, “Any time that bottom lip is out, it’s a pout. Yours still hangs a little.”

“It does not.” Nath tightened his lips. The last time he was among them, he’d been arguing with everyone. He wanted to go back and recover his father’s body. They had all told him no, which had infuriated him, because he was the king and they had defied his orders. It wasn’t so much that they stopped him from doing what he wanted but the fact that they convinced him not to do it. Grahleyna and Selene had been adamant. They had made a strong case, but he still stewed over it. Sansla Libor had sided with the women, and so had Slivver, though he hadn’t been very vocal about it. The only one Nath hadn’t argued with was Brenwar. “I still want to retrieve my father’s body. He deserves a burial.”

“Aye.” Brenwar stated. “He deserves a grand funeral. One that lasts for weeks. I’m all for going back after him. I was to begin with. I’m ready.”

“And what do you think, Slivver?” Nath said to his older brother.

Slivver’s icy blue eyes stared into his. “He’s my father too. And I agree about the burial. But I don’t think Balzurth would make that a priority when there was only one king left. That one is you, Nath. But you’ve had plenty of time to think about it. I’ll stand by your decision as your servant, your brother, and your friend.”

Nath put his hand on Slivver’s shoulder. “You’ll never know how much that means to me. I’m elated to have you by my side.” He dropped his hand. “Both of you—like old times, but with a thousand times more responsibility.” He tossed his long red hair back and allowed himself a smile. “One way or the other, we will get Balzurth back, but after days of thought and careful consideration, I think I need to consider a different strategy. How do we stop the wurmers and titans once and for all? How can I do that and run a kingdom of dragons at the same time?”

“We take them down one at a time,” Brenwar said. He punched his fist into his hand. “The same as we always do.”

“Nath, I know you think the dragons won’t rally around you, but they will. They are ready. I’ve spoken with many of them, and they see what’s going on. They are more than ready to fight.” Slivver smiled. “Besides, at this point, they really don’t have a choice.”

Nath started to walk with his friends in tow. The cavernous tunnels inside the Mountain of Doom wound, turned, dipped, and bent. They passed chamber after chamber as they walked. Most of the huge alcoves were open for all to view, but some had beautiful woven curtains hung on iron rods. He made his way to the outside top of the mountain, where the stiff winds greeted his cheeks like icy kisses. The clouds soared more than a thousand ells below his feet in some places. Beyond the greenery were the surrounding lands of Nalzambor. Nearby, scattered in the rocks, dragons of all sorts were perched. Their eyes were outward, wings closed behind their backs, as they studied the enemy that lurked in the distance.

“No wurmer attacks?” Nath asked.

“Every once in a while a few rogues will fly too close, but our brethren have been quick to take them down.” Slivver’s wings stretched out for a moment and folded behind his back again. “Things have been quiet the last couple of weeks.”

“Too quiet.” Brenwar clawed his skeleton fingers through his thick locks of beard. “Something’s brewing. They are stacking up fortifications all around the mountain. Their armies are building. I’ve never before seen so many giants in one place. It should be a feast for Morgdon when the real battle comes.”

“Assuming the dwarves show up,” Slivver commented.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

Nath stepped between them. “It sounds like you both know what you mean, but I’d like to be filled in.” Brenwar and Slivver turned their backs on one another. “As your king, I command you both: out with it!”

CHAPTER 5

“You’re the one flapping your lizard lips, Slivver, so go on with it.” Brenwar’s brows furrowed as he crossed his meaty arms over his chest.

Slivver stretched his neck over Brenwar, glowered at him. “Call me a lizard again and I’ll roast you like a chestnut.”

“Go ahead and try it, fish bait.”

Nath pushed them away from each other. “Just tell me: what’s going on?”

Slivver the dragon put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. “It seems that the dwarves and elves are becoming more obsessed with your capture these days.”

“What do you mean?” Nath suddenly recalled the other dilemma. “Oh, they’re still looking for Laedorn and Uurluuk’s murderer. Am I still the only one accused?”

“Both the dwarves and the elves have sent messages to Dragon Home, demanding your surrender,” Slivver continued.

Exasperated, Nath said, “And how in Nalzambor did they get messages to us through all that?” He pointed out toward the distant and growing armies of the titans. “Do they not know that my father is dead? That I am the Dragon King?”

“The letter came from a mystic envoy, signed by both the elves and the dwarves.”

“Did we send them a reply?” Nath asked, eyeing Brenwar.

“I sent them a reply, all right. Now I’m out of sorts with them and them with me.” Brenwar made a long face. “It doesn’t sit well with me, being at odds with my kin. You know how they are when it comes to justice. They won’t stop until they find Uurluuk’s assassin.”

“Dwarves do have one-track minds,” Slivver commented.

“Well, the elves and the dragons aren’t any better!” Brenwar picked up a hunk of rock and punted it off the mountain ledge. He wagged his finger at Slivver. “Next time, it’s going to be you going over the cliff like that.”

“I can fly, you know.”

“You’re not going to fly!”

“Enough,” Nath cut in. “We should all be happy about one thing.” They looked at him with perched brows. “At least the elves and dwarves are working together for a change.” His friends remained expressionless. “Fine, no more levity, even though I could use some. So, have we had any luck finding Bayzog and his family?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything to report,” Slivver said. “I’ve dispatched dragons by the dozens to find them, but it’s been difficult communicating with our brethren. There’s just so many wurmers dominating the skies. Any time a dragon is sighted, there’s no hesitation. They attack. Bayzog and his family have enemies coming from all sides. Wurmers, giants, dwarves, and elves are all searching for them now. The elves and dwarves are determined to bring anyone close to you in for questioning at their high tribunal.”

Brenwar started shaking his head.

That guilty feeling seeped into Nath’s heart. His friends were in danger because of him. It ignited a fire inside him, because—this time—they were in danger for something he hadn’t done. “We need to find them. We need to find the murderer. Someone somewhere knows something, and we must be overlooking it. Honestly, Gorlee is the only living person I can imagine imitating me and pulling it off.”

“There are many ways to deceive the eyes,” Slivver reminded him. “There are dark resources capable of such things. Magic disguises. Objects of transformation. Even a potion could do such a thing for a little while.”

“And let’s not forget that the witnesses could be lying,” Brenwar added. “I hate to admit it, but even some of the dwarves can be bribed.”

Nath nodded. “True, but they have Akron. Whoever stole it must have been close to us at one time or another. That’s why I think of Gorlee. One of his kin could have fallen under the spell of the titans.” Nath pushed the hair out of his eyes. Now was one of those times he wished he could turn back into a dragon. If it’s not one dilemma, it’s another. How did Father deal with all this? “We are at war, friends, and we are going to need the help of the dwarves and the elves to get through it. I don’t think we can rely on any help from them until we get this resolved. Somebody needs to find this assassin.” He sighed. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m tempted to just turn myself over to them. After all, I am innocent. A trial will find that.”

Slivver shook his head. “No, you can’t do that, Nath. We don’t know who is driving this. I agree with Brenwar: perhaps the leadership is jaded. Too many evil spirits abound that are corrupting the minds of the races.”

“You are as wise as you are silver. Let’s put all our heads together and try to figure out what we need to do to get a handle on this mess. It’s sad to say, but I think we can use Father’s death to our advantage. Perhaps we can regain our old allies while the titans revel in it.” Nath started back inside Mountain Home. “Let’s go advise Selene and my mother.”

Brenwar and Slivver stopped in their tracks behind Nath.

Nath turned. “Don’t tell me. She’s gone again, isn’t she.”

CHAPTER 6

“Well played, Rerry, well played,” said Scar.

They’d spent two days breaking free of the settlements by moving a league west around the mountains, beyond the edges of the lava lakes. Heavy downpours came on and off, making for sloppy footing. The rain was pounding at the moment, splattering muddy drops up to the small band’s knees.

Rerry and Samaz slogged through it, having a little trouble keeping up with Scar’s brisk pace. They’d both become hardened in their early adventures, but they weren’t soldiers accustomed to long marches without breaks. Rerry wiped the water from his face and said back to his brother, “All this because I gave a woman my name?”

Samaz nodded his rain-drenched mop of black hair. “Your lips are too loose with the ladies.” He grinned. “You need to be more the strong and silent type, like me.” He took a long look over his shoulder as they moved across the rain-slicked bank. “I’m still not sure where we’re going. I thought we were going to take our chances in Elome.”

“That’s what I thought,” Rerry said. His fingers grasped the branches as he hauled himself up the bank. At the top, he found himself face to face with the one-eyed Scar. “What?”

Scar grabbed his hands and opened them up. There were pieces of green leaves in them. Aggravated, Scar said, “What’s that?”

“Leaves. Why?”

“No, it’s a trail!” The elven warrior smacked the leaves out of his hands.

“What do you mean? They can’t follow us in this rain.”

“Of course they can. You’re making it easy. If you were all elf, you’d know that.”

“I knew it,” Rerry fired back. He hadn’t, but he certainly wasn’t going to admit that to Scar, even though they were getting along much better. “Where are we going, anyway? Wouldn’t it be easier to lose them in Elome? I still want to take a crack at the Ocular of Orray.”

“We aren’t going to pursue anything until we lose our pursuers. And that won’t be easy. Those dwarves will march nonstop until their feet fall off. Even then, they’ll probably keep going.”

“We’re much faster. I don’t see how they can even stay close. Certainly by now we’ve put a great distance between us and them. We need to relax.”

“I’ll tell you this, you’ll have plenty of time to relax after you’re captured if you want to wait up for them.” Scar started after his waiting men. “But if you don’t want to experience life behind dwarven bars, you’d best follow me.”

“Fine, but where are we going? Listen to me, Scar. I want to help my mother. There has to be a way.”

Scar resumed his pace with the others. “I can’t believe you two made it this far. What you’re looking for is like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of a mountain. You can’t just leave home thinking ‘I’m going to find a cure’ and have it happen.”

“Why not?” Samaz said.

“You need a better... Actually, you need a plan.”

“We had one,” Rerry said.

“Yes, to steal the Ocular of Orray. But what was your back-up plan?” Scar stopped and poked both of them in the shoulders with his gauntleted hands. “And now you have me caught all up in it. Lucky for you, I do have a plan.”

“I like it so far. Wandering aimlessly through the mud is so much better than what we were doing.”

“You’re funny, Rerry. And look how far it’s gotten you. Believe it or not, once we shake these dwarves, I know a seer who can give us a better idea about your situation. She knows much about everything.” Scar pulled his booted foot out of a section of mud that made a sucking pop. “Watch out for the darker patches of clay. Some of them are sinkholes.”

“Who is this seer of whom you speak? I always heard that seers were misaligned people,” Samaz stated.

Scar shrugged. “Maybe so, but even misdirected people can be beneficial. Besides, there’s no guarantee she’ll reveal herself. She’s a real crone.”

“How far away is she?” Rerry asked.

“She’s on the other side of the Flooding River, west of Harm’s Way.”

“Harm’s Way?” Rerry gave his brother a concerned glance. “Are we supposed to believe that’s a real place?”

“I didn’t name it. It just is.”

They marched, trotted, and ran through the slop and the slick grass on and off for another day and night. Rerry’s legs felt like lead. Samaz’s chin sagged. Even the remaining elven guards were puffing. Finally, just after nightfall, the rain subsided. They stood on the soft bank of a rushing river. The strong current was half a mile wide.

“We can’t swim that with our gear on,” Rerry said. “Even without, it would be a challenge.”

“There’s a bridge, more than one.” Scar gave his elven guards a whistle. They sprinted down the riverbank, vanishing among the reeds. He pointed upriver. “We’ll check the next crossing north of here. Last time I came through, it was guarded.”

“You’re well-traveled for an elven guard,” Rerry said. “I thought most of your stations were in Elome.”

“I made plenty of rounds when I was younger. The elven merchant trains were a good way for a young soldier to cut his teeth.” Scar smirked. “I was young and had some adventures of my own. You’d be surprised.” He picked his way through the thickets that hugged a bend in the river. “That’s how I learned about the seer. My leaders sought her wisdom once. It was a strange thing but beneficial.”

The group ducked under the rain-soaked branches without disturbing a drop of water until they found themselves in a clearing that overlooked the river. Up the rushing stream, a long, dark bridge snaked over the watery expanse.

“Hah!” Rerry smiled. “It looks like we have an easy walk over the river.” He started toward the bridge.

Scar stuffed his palm into Rerry’s chest. “That’s what scares me.”

CHAPTER 7

An army of orcs marched down the muddied road heading south. They carried banners of black and red that waved in the brisk wind with the cut edges snapping. Among the hundreds of them were all the races, double in size. They stood out among the ranks like walking trees. Their weapons were made of steel and iron. Great chains hung from their necks.

They chanted in Orcen, “Death to the dragons! Death to men! Death to all who oppose the titans!”

The centipede of steel and death pushed up the hill and vanished on the other side. It took several long moments before their bellowing chants were no longer heard.

Alongside the road was a clump of rocks piled up with the bushes. The image shimmered. Three forms took shape, and they were Bayzog, Sasha, and Ben.

The rangy soldier Ben rose to full height and stretched his limbs. His eyes followed along the muddy wake in the road left by the terrifying army. “Great Guzan, I was certain we were going to be stepped on. That was close!” Ben pinched his nose and shook his head. “Oh my, I wonder how long this stench will linger. Have you ever smelled such a thing?”

Sasha and Bayzog were getting to their feet.

The pretty woman’s face was drained. “How did I do, Bayzog?” She tingled from her fingertips to her elbows. It had been the first real spell she’d summoned without Bayzog’s help in quite some time. She put her trembling hand to her head and started to get up.

“Sit a moment, Sasha.” Bayzog brushed her wet hair from her eyes. “You did well. Exceptionally well considering the short time you had to prepare for it. I can’t believe an army like that slipped in on us. I should have sensed it.”

Ben stepped into a boot print three times the size of his. “I wouldn’t feel bad, Bayzog. We live. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s probably mine. I think I’m going to need a bigger sword.”

“Now is not the time for us to cast any kind of blame on one another.” Sasha took Bayzog’s arm and pulled herself up. Seeing the crease in his forehead, she said, “I’m feeling better.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She wiped her hands off on her robes as best she could, but it didn’t make much of a difference. She couldn’t remember ever being so dirty. Bayzog either. The part-elf wizard’s usually spotless robes were sullied with mud and grass stains. Ben was the worst of the three. His beard was layered in dirt, with patches of grey where the rain had washed it. Still, she guessed he wore the grime the best of them all. “Shall we continue our journey then?”

“As long as it takes us away from that smell.” Ben fanned his face. “If we wouldn’t have been upwind from them, we couldn’t have missed it. Listen, you two keep focusing on your sons. I can keep a better eye out. I swear it.”

“We know, Ben.” Bayzog shuffled over the rough road. “West. I still feel it.”

“I do too,” Sasha added.

Together, the pair of them cast a location spell to detect their sons, using some personal items they had brought from each of them. One item was Rerry’s small whittling knife he had carried as a boy. The other item was a lock of Samaz’s thick hair. These were things Sasha always kept close to her heart. However, all attempts to contact them had been unsuccessful. The guilt within her continued to rise, seeing how her sons had set off on a foolish errand to help her. But now there was some hope. A shadow of movement of both boys brought a smile to her face. They were alive.

“Let’s keep moving then. It will be dark soon.” Ben led the way in a steady stride, arms swinging loosely at his sides.

The veteran soldier and adventurer had become their devout protector. None of them were young anymore. From time to time, Ben had to help them over the difficult spots in the terrain. Sasha and Bayzog had slipped and skinned their knees more than once. Horseback would have been much easier, but it would have drawn more attention to them, too.

The armies of the titans snatched up every able horse they could find. They moved with great herds of stolen livestock. Nalzambor’s surface was no longer a place of wonder and exploration but a place of danger.

The party cut through the high grasses and wildflowers of the prairie until the sun fell and the moon rose high in the air.

Stopping where the flats hit the forest, Ben said, “We should be safe within the edge. Let’s get some rest and hope we don’t get another downpour in the middle of the night. I’ll fix something to eat if I can find it.”

Sasha took a seat on the ground beside Bayzog and leaned into him with her shoulder. “You look as tired as I feel.”

“I’m certain that I am.” His violet eyes still burned with the life of cooling embers. He clasped her hands. “We’re going to find them. We have to before the elves and dwarves do.”

“And what happens after that?’

“We’ll need to reunite with Nath. There are titans that need slaying and wurmers that need slaughtering.”

“Mmm, I like it when you talk like that.” She turned his face toward her and kissed his lips. “Now that we have a moment, maybe we should take advantage of it.”

“Sasha,” he stammered, but he didn’t pull away.

“Oh, I just wanted to embrace the human in you, like you used to when we first met.”

“I need to focus and control my passions.”

“Sometimes you need to let them loose. The time will come when you can’t afford to hold back.” She kissed him again, and this time he embraced her soft lips with his own.

Ah, that’s better.

“Gaaaaah!” From somewhere in the forest, Ben cried out in the night, “Ruuuuuuun!”

CHAPTER 8

“We need to find a better way to keep track of her,” Nath said to Grahleyna. His beautiful mother was in full dragon form, elegant in her powder-white scales with touches of cinnamon. She was the most graceful dragon he ever saw. “Why did you let her go?”

Inside the grand chamber that was nothing more than a cavern inundated with precious metals and stones that glimmered against the carved rock, she said, “She feels guilty, Nath. The young woman is determined to find the source of the wurmers on her own. And I can’t blame her. If anyone can discover the queen’s location, it would be her. After all, she did give life to those foul breeding insects.”

“Someone should have let me know before she left.”

“You two are made for each other,” Brenwar scoffed. “She’s just like you. Now you know how it feels.”

Nath shot Brenwar a look. “Yes, yes, I get the idea. Mother, tell me, did she go alone?”

“Sansla Libor aids her.”

“And how did they manage to slip out of here?”

“The same as last time. They used the Chamber of Murals.” Grahleyna made a clever smile. “It keeps us one step ahead of our enemies. You remember using it, don’t you?”

“I do. Though it’s been a while.” He held his stomach. Passing through a mural always left him queasy.

“So, my king, what course of action are you going to take?”

“We need to get the murders of Laedorn and Uurluuk resolved. It’s becoming a huge distraction, allowing Eckubahn to gain stronger footholds. If we don’t sort it out soon, we’ll have the entire world against us.”

“I wish I could go with you, but I assume you’ll need me here.”

“I do, Mother, but I hate to make it a command. It seems strange for me to be ordering you around.”

“Think nothing of it, but if it makes you feel any better, I volunteer.” Three times bigger than Nath, she put her winged arm over his shoulder. “Son, you are a special man. If anyone can do this, you can. But try not to be gone long. The dragons will need their leader when the time comes. You’re the Dragon King now. Remember that.”

“I know.”

“Slivver, I can’t tell you how much it thrills me to see you united with your brother. He needs you.”

Slivver bowed quickly. “I’ll look after him with my life.”

“Dragon speed then—and Brenwar?”

The old dwarf faced her with his head down. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Keep them both out of trouble.”

“You have my word to Morgdon on that.”

***

Nath, Brenwar, and Slivver stood in the Chamber of Murals. Images from all over Nalzambor captivated them with a life of their own.

Brenwar gawped at an image of Morgdon, the city of great stone and iron, built into a mountainside. He licked his lips. “I swear I can smell dwarven ale.”

“Brenwar, nothing is holding you back from returning home,” Nath said. “Perhaps one more crack at your dwarven diplomacy.”

“Nay, I’ve given your mother my word. I know the kind of trouble you two get into when you’re together.”

Nath and Slivver grinned at each other, but it was only a brief moment, because Nath returned his attention to the murals. His golden eyes were fixed on the City of Narnum. That was where his father had fallen. The view shifted from place to place depending on where he stared. His eyes searched the towers and the streets. Overall, the view was still distant, but his eyes found their way to the coliseum. It had been the battleground of his father’s fall.

Slivver stepped in front of him. “I know where your mind is headed. I don’t feel any different than you, but you can’t afford to let your emotions get all stirred up. Eckubahn and Isobahn want that.”

Nath’s jaws clenched. He heard Slivver’s words, but they didn’t register. No, he had to see what had befallen his father’s body. “Step aside.”

Slivver obeyed.

Nath zoomed in on the mural until it was as if the three of them were on the street in Narnum. Their view followed the people, who made their way to the coliseum, where a crowd gathered. Dead center in the arena, Balzurth’s great body had been propped up for all to see. A framework of iron held Balzurth upright. Tremendous chains suspended his outstretched arms. Chains with hooks like the ones used to catch a fish were sunk into Balzurth’s wings. His mighty body filled the arena. His red scales still had their luster.

That should be me, not you, Father.

A collar of chains held Balzurth’s head upright. A giant was sawing the last great horn from Balzurth’s head.

Nath’s fist clenched.

“That’s abominable,” Brenwar muttered. “Cutting off a dragon’s horns is as bad as shearing a dwarf’s beard off.”

“I know.”

To make matters worse, the Spear of Barnabus still stuck out of Balzurth’s back. Nath couldn’t fathom why the weapon hadn’t been removed. Certainly Eckubahn would want it as part of his arsenal. Nath’s blood boiled. People were throwing trash and other foul things at Balzurth. The expired Dragon King was speckled in filthy grime. Many of the giants guarding the body stood by laughing.

Nath stepped forward. “I’ve seen enough of this.”

CHAPTER 9

At the same time, Slivver and Brenwar shouldered their way in front of Nath. Slivver was the first to speak. “Once you go in, there won’t be any retreat. I’ll back you up, but do you have a plan?”

“Sure he does. Kill all those giants and the rest of their rotten ilk,” Brenwar advised. “The sooner they’re all dead, the better. But I do admit, it’s a tad spontaneous even for me.”

“Dwarves were never ones for surprises,” Slivver commented.

“Sure we are, just slow-developing surprises. Eh, what’s it going to be, Nath?”

It took every ounce of willpower he had not to jump into the mural and start ripping into the callous hordes of evil. Finally, Nath stepped back. The image of his father faded. “Now is not the time to be vengeful, but it’s coming, and the mural of chambers gives me a plan.” As horrifying as it was to gaze upon his father’s abused corpse, it still gave him an idea that he tucked away for later.

“Let’s get this chore done with first.” Nath returned his focus to the other murals. “There has to be a better way to find one another. The murals make it easy to look where we’ve been before, but finding someone who wanders off in an unknown direction is impossible. It could take weeks, maybe months to find them, and that’s assuming they’re someplace where they can be seen.”

“Aye, they might be captured underground.” Brenwar’s foot started tapping. “But we sure have a fine view of our enemy’s forces that are gathering.” He pointed his stubby finger at the ceiling. The painted portion was the land surrounding Dragon Home, where armies of titans gathered in the tens of thousands. That didn’t include the wurmers that grayed out the blue sky like swarms of bats. “There are so many.”

“It’s no wonder Selene did what she did. The titans wouldn’t be nearly so powerful with the wurmers gone. It’s the only way to fight an army that keeps on growing. She’s going after the source.”

“You want to help her, but you’re just going to have to have faith that she can handle it herself, Nath. She’s proven herself more than capable.” Slivver slapped Nath’s back with his tail. “Just focus on one thing at a time. We can’t be everywhere at once.”

“Well, it would be a lot of help if we could find Gorlee. He was supposed to be helping my father anyway. He’s vanished.”

“The spirits might have him, Nath,” Brenwar said. “Remember what Selene did to him? It may be he’s been taken over again.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Still, with all this power,” he said, spreading his arms wide, “one would think we could find some answers to our plight. I wish Bayzog were here. I bet he could make the most of this.”

“Yes, if only the murals could reveal what was hidden.” Slivver stood beside Nath with this arms crossed over his chest just like Nath’s. “Perhaps the mural teaches patience. I have a strong feeling that the more we watch, the more will be revealed.”

“I used to watch the world for days on end from here, but I never before saw so much danger. Things were better then. It astounds me how quickly it ran afoul.”

“The races can easily be deceived. That’s why the dragons are here to protect them,” Slivver stated. “One step at a time, Nath. What is your command?”

Nath studied the murals, trying to make his best guess as to where his friends might be. He had never learned enough about Gorlee to know where his home was. As he understood it, the shape changers were very secretive. Gorlee had once mentioned that sometimes they had trouble telling one from another.

He took his eyes away from the murals for a moment. His friends stood by his side, and they weren’t alone. Slivver had brought in a dozen other silver dragons loyal to Nath. They were similar to Slivver but a bit bigger, and they didn’t talk but behaved like dragons. They sat back, tails wrapped around their legs, heads high and proud. They all gave approving looks to Nath.

Each of these new silver dragons was slightly different from the others. Their horns varied. Most of the differences were minute but noticeable. He walked up to each one of them and touched their chests in a respectful manner. Each snorted in good grace. They’d all sworn to be Nath’s personal guard.

“Oh, if I could only fly among you,” Nath said. Seeing the murals, he was dying to take flight again. “I’m tempted to summon Waark, but I don’t think that bull of a dragon will fit inside here.” He snapped his fingers. “I know what we need. We need some seekers.”

Slivver nodded. “There we go, a plan. Your patience is paying off. I’ll send for some. I just hope we can find any.” He gave a command to one of the silvers in Dragonese. It slunk out of the room.

All of them studied the murals for several more hours, but nothing caught their eyes. Hours later, the silver dragon returned with three small dragons on his back. The small dragons, no bigger than raccoons, all had wings that buzzed like a hummingbird’s.

Nath reached out. The dragons, colored like honey bees with bright green eyes, landed on his arms. They sniffed and licked him with their long snouts and tongues. He made his way over to a black spot on one of the walls that had a tapestry of colors like a painter’s swatch at the bottom. Using his finger, he drew and colored in an image of Bayzog, Sasha, Selene, Sansla, Rerry, and Samaz. He had them down to every last detail.

The seekers’ eyes widened on the image. They absorbed every bit of it and spoke in a funny language back and forth. They floated up toward the murals and crossed over.

Nath strapped Fang over his shoulders and said, “Follow them.”

CHAPTER 10

Nath and company passed through the murals into a soft spot of Nalzambor where the enemy’s activity was low. It pained his heart to leave his father’s body where it lay in ridicule, but something within held him back. Now they were far west of Morgdon, on the other side of the Valley of Bones.

A drizzling rain came down, splattering his scales. The tiny drops had the chill of the changing seasons. Nath tied his hair into a ponytail, trying to blot out the image of his father, but it was eating at him.

“I see that look on your face,” Brenwar said. The dwarven warrior adjusted the buckle on his magic belt. “We’ll take care of your father’s burial when the time comes. Now we must do what must be done.”

Nath nodded. With a flick of his fingers, he waved the little dragons called seekers over to him. The small, bee-colored dragons were the only ones faster than the fabled blue razors. They darted like hummingbirds through the air. “You know who to look for. Be safe. Be careful. Stay low. There’s too many wurmers out there.”

The seekers zipped out of sight in a buzzing of wings, splitting off in three different directions.

“If anyone can find our friends quickly, it’s them,” Slivver said.

“Let’s just hope it’s quick enough. I’ve got a bad feeling in my scales. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, having the entire world chase me down.”

“So why did you choose this to be our starting point? It’s quite isolated,” Slivver said.

“We have to start somewhere. Besides, I just had a feeling. The major cities are hives of activity. The titan armies attempt to invade Dragon Home.” Nath kneeled down and tightened the laces on his boots. “I know Bayzog is wise enough to avoid all that. The others are too. And I wouldn’t dare get close to the elves or dwarves.”

Brenwar slung Mortuun over his back. “We’ll find a trail. We always do.”

“Nath,” said Slivver, “there’s no reason the silvers can’t scout ahead. You know that would be faster.”

“Let’s just pound the ground for now. They can scout ahead, but stay out of the skies.” Nath searched the darkening clouds. “It will be more difficult to see the wurmers prowling the air. No, we’ll be patient. We can use our speed when the time comes.”

Brenwar started marching forward. “Let’s go then.” He came to a stop. “Where are we going?”

“Let’s try the smaller farmlands in the south. Perhaps they will have encountered something useful.” Nath followed after Brenwar, with Slivver and the squad of silver dragons in tow. Despite the darkening weather, he had a spring in his step.

There was nothing quite like marching with his brethren dragons. They’d be more than a match for just about anybody. In the meantime, he put his faith in some of the other dragons, the seekers. They wouldn’t have any trouble finding Nath and company on their return. They were a hundred bloodhounds in one, and they could have made his life a lot easier if they would have worked with him before. Now they were, and having command over them was exhilarating. In the coming days, he knew he’d need all the help he could get.

It was late in the day when they came across the first village. He and Brenwar made the approach. Nath donned the hood of his cloak and tucked his hands into his shirtsleeves.

Brenwar did the talking, but the villagers didn’t have anything to say.

Nath and company passed through three other farm towns before nightfall, but no one knew anything. The people were quiet. Fear lurked behind their eyes.

The party made camp in the woods but didn’t start a fire.

“The people are about as talkative as a sleepy dwarf,” Nath commented as he stirred a stick in the mud. “At least they haven’t been overrun by enemies.”

“Not yet,” Brenwar said. “But those villages used to have more livestock. A flourish of wheat and greens. The titan army is sucking the marrow from their bones. They won’t last long.”

Nath shook his head. The long faces of the people stuck in his mind. Hungry children holding their bellies had tugged on Nath’s cloak, asking for food and coin. Not being able to help them was heartbreaking.

I can’t let this happen to Nalzambor again.

Sitting on the fallen brothers of the dripping leaves above their heads, Slivver said, “Aside from the dwarf, there really isn’t much need for us to rest if you wish to press on.”

“Dwarves don’t need rest,” Brenwar said, “other than a rest from those flapping jaws of yours.”

Nath grabbed Fang and stood up. “Huh, I see your point. I guess I’ve been with men so long, I tend to mimic their habits. Let’s get on with it.”

They walked through the night, cutting through the brush until they hit a path in the woods. The passageway led them out of the forest about two miles from a small town. The buildings were small, no higher than two stories tall. Only the barns and storage silos stood higher. Nath picked up the sound of a large stream that turned the wheel of a gristmill.

“It’s a little too early to go knocking on doors. The people should be up with the sun in an hour or so.” He took a knee. “Let’s just wait.”

A breeze started up in the valley, pushing down the grasses coming south from the direction of the village.

Brenwar rubbed his nose and sniffed. “I smell something rotten.”

Nath’s nostrils flared. The oily stench of an evil brood permeated the air.

Hanging over Nath’s shoulder, Slivver said, “Something is amiss that is fouler than ever the weather was.”

They waited.

A golden ray of sunlight burst out over the hilltops, giving off a dim illuminating effect. The village began to stir. So did one of the silos.

Brenwar lifted up to his feet. “That’s no silo, that’s a giant.”

A rooster crowed. The crack of a whip sounded. People woke from their slumber on the muddy streets.

CHAPTER 11

The bridge that traversed the flooding river creaked and groaned against the surging waters that rushed beneath it. Scar led the way, testing the planks. With the wind and rain in his face, he said to the others, “It’s been a long time since any workmen saw this bridge. There’s probably a better one.” His foot pushed through the softened fibers of a wooden plank that cracked beneath his feet. “Avoid that one.”

Rerry tiptoed from plank to plank. The bridge was wide enough for two wagons, but there were plenty of holes. “This bridge is more than serviceable if you go around the few bad spots. I don’t see any reason to move so slowly. Let’s just get across.”

“Feel free to lead the way if you wish, but don’t come hollering to me when you get swept downriver. If you don’t drown, the current will take you a day away.” Scar skittered over closer to one of the side rails. “And I’m not coming after you.”

“You have to. You gave your word,” Rerry laughed. “Come on, we can make it.” He hopped from one plank to another. The wood gave way beneath him. Snap! “Gah!” He found himself up to his armpits in the hole he’d just made. His feet dangled over the water.

“What did I tell you?” Scar yelled. “Just stay still! If you wriggle, more wood will give way.”

“I can pull myself up, thank you,” Rerry replied.

“Just stay put,” Samaz said. The bigger of the brothers inched toward Rerry. “I can feel this entire bridge shift under my feet.”

“I can manage. It’s only a hole. Lesson learned. Ha-ha. You were right, Scar.” Rerry planted his hands on the planks and started pushing himself out of the hole. “I can see this happening to you, Samaz. You’re beefy. But me?”

“It’s the human in you part elves. It’s dead weight.” Scar had almost made it to Rerry. “Just be still until I get ahold of you.”

“I’m fine.” Rerry pushed up out of the hole. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Eee-yah! Something’s got me!” His body lurched. He clawed at the planks. Something powerful was sucking him downward. “Help!”

Scar dove with his hands outstretched and locked his hands on Rerry’s wrist. He pulled, yet at Rerry’s feet, something more powerful than both of the elves reeled them in. One by one, the elven guard locked their arms around their captain. Their efforts were futile.

“It’s tearing me in half, Samaz!” Rerry screamed. “Help!”

Samaz had never seen Rerry with a panic-stricken face. It horrified him. At the same time, it spurred him into action. Without thinking, he scrambled over the rotting planks, leaned over the edge of the bridge, and took a peek below.

A bulging monster like a limbless toad waded in the deep. It was a husk of slimy flesh wedged between the river boulders. A mouth big enough to swallow cattle hung open, and out of it stretched a long tongue-like tentacle, which had coiled around Rerry’s waist and legs.

“I see it! I see it!” Samaz yelled.

“Then kill it!” Rerry replied.

It was clear that the monster had the upper hand. It was nothing but a bulk of flesh and muscle. More tendrils began to snake out of the gaping jaws, reaching for Rerry’s dangling toes through the busted-up planks.

Here we go!

Samaz summoned his energy and dropped into the water. The racing river carried him speeding into the monster. Arms wide, he slammed into its bulk. Lips sputtering in the foaming river, he unleashed a charge of energy.

The flabby flesh of the monster juddered. Its gawping mouth let out a screech. It let go of Rerry, and with its tentacles wriggling, it sank back into the river.

Samaz’s fingers searched the slippery rock, fighting to find a grip. The rushing water beat against his body in an angry tide, determined to sweep him away.

“Hang on, Samaz!” Rerry yelled from above. The younger brother hung head first out of the hole that had almost swallowed him up earlier. “We’re going to lower a rope.” He turned back. “Where’s that rope, Scar?”

Samaz’s fingers slipped.

The river took him away and left Rerry screaming, “Samaz!”

CHAPTER 12

“Run!”

Bayzog and Sasha sprang to their feet. Doing exactly the opposite of what Ben urged them to do, they rushed after his voice. Bayzog let the glow of the Elderwood Staff guide him to the scuffle that had erupted in the woods. With Sasha at his back, he muttered a protective spell. A glowing shield of soft white lingered in front of them. He called out in the growing silence that had fallen over the night. “Ben, Ben, where are you?”

“Ah, Ben. A fine name for a meal. Brothers, we eat Ben tonight.” The voice was foreign, but it had a deep richness to it.

The shield and staff cast light on the voice’s source. Ben lay on the ground. Something long and sharp had pierced his thigh. A ring of men with stag antlers on their heads surrounded him. They were over six feet tall, closer to seven feet with the horns, giving them a towering effect. Their muscular builds and hairy chests gave them a more than formidable appearance.

Sasha gasped, and her fingernails dug into Bayzog’s elbow. “What are they?”

“A twisted side of nature,” Bayzog said of the strange men. The stag men appeared all around them, clacking their antlers together. There were more heads than he could count in the dimness. “Stay close and be still. I’ll do the talking.”

“At least they speak Common,” Sasha whispered.

Some of the stag men glowered at the shield with tilted antlers. They bucked their horns into the object, each taking turns, making a clatter.

The leader—who displayed the most points on his rack—stepped over to Bayzog with his brown, hairy chest stuck out. “You seek to attack us with this sorcerous thing? It shall be your death.”

“I will be glad to extinguish it if it would make you feel safer.”

“Safer? You dare insult the staagan!” The leader cocked back a wooden club that had a sharp knot on the end. “We are invincible! Soon we will take over this world.” He came at Bayzog. The club smote Bayzog’s shield. The force behind the swing cracked through.

Bayzog reeled. He felt the force of the blow inside his temple. He stepped back on Sasha’s toe.

“Bayzog!” she said as she offered him support from behind.

“I’m quite well,” he said. “Just surprised is all.”

Sasha’s face flushed. She stepped forward, and with fury she said to the leader, “What business do you have attacking us unprovoked?” With her hands balled up and shaking at her sides, she added, “Explain!”

The odd herd of staagan recoiled, shuffling back with weapons bared in front of them. “Don’t accost the staagan!” The leader pointed at Ben. “This man’s flesh will be roasted the same as those that hunt us. Yours as well.”

“You’re going to eat us?” Sasha said. “That’s savage.”

“No more savage than your hunters who enter our forest to trap and skin our kindred. Nay, it’s time you were taken as well.”

“I’ve never known you to eat meat,” Bayzog said, carefully. The staagan were as dangerous as they appeared. Just as stubborn too. He needed to reason with them, and if that didn’t work, he could try to outwit them. “Eh, mighty staagan, we’re not hunters. We’re just passing through in search of our children.”

The leader approached, towering over Bayzog. “I don’t care. You will be eaten. If we find your children, we will boil them in the pot as well.”

“Great, I needed a bath anyway,” Ben said. He was keeping pressure on his bleeding thigh with his hand. “Can I at least get a bandage on this? I’m getting blood all over your grass.”

“Let him bleed.”

“We are not hunters!” Sasha yelled. “And you aren’t going to eat us! Now let us pass, in the name of Nath Dragon!”

The leader threw his head back and laughed. His men imitated him in a chorus of animal-like chuckles. After he stopped, the leader said, “You invoke an unknown name. The laughter you bring will only bring flavor to our soup.” He reached over, grabbed Sasha by the shoulder, and shoved her forward. “We will cook you first.”

“Bayzog,” Ben growled, “I’m starting to think they’re serious.”

“Be silent!” The leader marched over to Ben and lifted him to his feet like a rag doll. “We shall roast you like the deer you slaughter.”

“Well, which is it? Are you going to roast us or boil us?” Ben fired back.

The leader seemed confused. Bayzog got the feeling the staagan weren’t certain what they were doing. If he had to guess, fear was driving their strange behavior. “Certainly there’s something we can offer you in return for our freedom.”

“I have some jerky,” Ben said.

Sasha shot Ben a look. “Will you behave yourself?”

“Why should I? They stabbed me. I’d expect that from orcs, not men.”

“Orcs!” The leader puffed out his chest. “You dare compare us to those upright pigs!”

“Did I say orcs? Let’s not forget the ogres too!” Ben’s words had some bite to them. “And the bugbears. I bet you play cards with the bugbears.”

The staagan clacked their horns together and stomped the ground with the hooved shoes they wore. “You dare compare us to the likes of them!”

Bayzog let Ben do the talking. He seemed to have a feel for the staagan, a skill he didn’t have.

Ben continued, “You mean to tell me you’re not part of that army that just stormed by? I assumed if they were your enemy, you would have fought them all. I thought you were scouts for the titan’s armies.”

“Never! You are the ones who are with them.”

“Us? No! We try our best to avoid them. They’re the ones feeding the giants everything in their path, not to mention the wurmers.”

Standing tall, the staagan leader remained silent, tilting his head from side to side and grumbling.

Bayzog felt a glimmer of hope stir inside him.

Finally, they listen to reason.

At long last, the staagan leader broke his silence. “Bind them up. It’s time to march.”

CHAPTER 13

“People are sleeping on the streets, in the dirt.” Nath was up on his feet staring right beneath the rising sun. “I’ve never seen the likes of it!”

Brenwar grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down. “No need to make yourself a target, King Nath. There are far worse things than a gritty slumber. It’s never bothered me a wink.”

The distant crack of a lash followed by a painful cry sent shivers up Nath’s scales. Ogres worked with the giants, rounding up people like sheep. The ominous figures were truly giants among the haggard people who shuffled over the muddy ground. And there was no quarter. Men, women, and children alike splashed over the sloppy spots in the road.

Nath could see their long faces and scrawny limbs. All of them were covered in grime as they threw their tired backs into their work. “Look at that. The people wither away while the bellies of the ogres and giants bulge. I’ve had enough of this.”

“Me too,” Brenwar agreed.

“A little prudence should be exercised, brethren.” Slivver put his arms around the shoulders of both of them. “The silvers and I can circle this town and get a feel for it. There’s no telling what other dangers are nestled among the men.”

“What are you suggesting? That wurmers sleep in the haystacks?” Brenwar said. “I volunteer you to check them.”

“And what about the giant? Are you saving him for yourself?”

The leather that wrapped up the handle of Mortuun creaked in Brenwar’s bony grip. “Exactly.”

Nath made a quick head count.

There was one giant—a twenty footer with coarse hair that coated its body like armor. Tusk-like teeth jutted out from the bottom of its mouth. It wore a crude leather skull cap made from hide over its face and swung a section of fence railing from side to side. The railing slung mud all over the people.

The giant was accompanied by six ogres. Each of them was built like a barn, with long arms that swung like hammers at their sides. Standing just over eight feet tall, they were more than a match for the farmers.

It didn’t take Nath too long to assess the situation. The town was being milked by the titan army. Once the supplies were used up, the town would dry up and its people with it. If they stayed put, the people would starve to death, so they’d be forced to move to the bigger cities and give up the peaceful life they had known here for centuries, only to fall prey to the titans.

Nath said to Brenwar, “One village at a time, right?”

“Aye!”

Slivver and the silver dragons broke away from Nath and Brenwar. The dragons moved like cats through the meadows, all but vanishing to the naked eye in the tall grasses. On one knee, Nath gave them several minutes as he watched the people being driven like cattle by their oppressors.

How can they do such things to others? Why does evil turn everything to chaos?

He saw a man who’d been shoved into a mud hole by an ogre push himself up and face his aggressor. The ogre slapped the man so hard the man spun around in a full circle. Nath felt the blow in his scales. He let out an angry sigh.

“Not yet,” Brenwar whispered. “Just let that anger build. That’s what I’m doing.”

At least they’re fighting.

Seeing the man stand up for himself gave Nath even more purpose. There were plenty of villages where the people fell on their faces in worship of the enemy. It had spread in the larger cities first, and only now were the smaller places succumbing. Now was the time to turn the tide on evil. If the people in this village could be saved, then so could their legacy.

But sometimes you need help.

Nath perked up. The soft call of dragon sound caught his ears. It was a murmuring that mixed with the wind and could travel for miles undetected. Not all dragons could do it as well as others, but it was one of the silver dragons’ many gifts. Nath had that gift too, even when he was a boy, but up to now, few dragons had heeded his calls—or even thanked him when he rescued them. He flipped his hand against Brenwar’s shoulder. “It’s time.”

“Good.” Brenwar stood tall. “Let’s run in there and make thunder happen.”

“No, let’s stroll and see what they have to say.”

“Walk or run, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m bringing the pain like rain.”

Nath and Brenwar walked right toward the heart of the village. The hapless people didn’t look up long enough to even notice. By the time they did, Nath and Brenwar stood among them like two bristling warriors born of a burning forge. The crowd slowed. Some of the people gaped.

The odd moment was enough to capture the ogre overlord’s attention. The burly humanoid with powerful meaty arms blinked several times before his eyebrows knitted together.

The people’s eyes slid back and forth between the ogre and the bold interlopers.

Breaking the silence, Nath cleared his throat. “Ogre, I’m going to give you and your unwashed kin one chance to abandon this place in one piece.” He huffed on his fingernails and cleaned them off on his cloak. “I repeat. One chance.”

The ogre let out a gusty laugh, catching the attention of his kindred, who turned. Their beady eyes grazed over Nath but locked on Brenwar. Some of them snarled; others pounded their chests.

Brenwar puffed through his lips, stirring his long moustache. He began winding Mortuun up in a slow windmill. He growled, “One is one more chance than I’d give.”

The ogre nearest to them cracked his whip with a loud snap! “We will feed on your bones, Dwarf! You too, Red Hair!” He let out a call that caught the attention of the giant. The monster stood alongside the barn, overlooking the livestock. The giant was about to stuff a sheep in its mouth when it turned. The white of the giant’s eyes enlarged behind the hide mask. The giant flung the sheep aside, and with long heavy steps that shook the ground, it came their way.

Nath gave a whistle. The six silver dragons flew into the village, wings beating and bellies dusting the ground. Letting out shrieks that could scare the hair off a bear, they encircled the giant like a flying buzz saw of silver fury.

The giant howled. It cocked back its arms with its fists balled up with might.

Bolts of flame and silver erupted from the silver dragons’ mouths. The white-hot blasts ripped into the giant, who screamed so loud the ogre’s back hairs stood on end.

The giant’s painful bellows fell silent. What was left of its incinerated body became dust on the earth.

“Aw, I wanted to kill that one,” said Brenwar.

The ogres’ lips flapped and quivered. In a panic, they locked eyes on the bristling Brenwar and charged.

CHAPTER 14

“Come on, ogres! It’s time to kiss my hammer!” Wearing his magic bracers, Brenwar slung Mortuun.

The hammer careened through the air, smiting the first ogre with a clap of thunder. The powerful force knocked the ogre backward into a second ogre. They landed in a heap of limbs. The first ogre was dead, the one beneath scrambling to its feet.

“For Morgdon!” Brenwar yelled. He charged the monsters, snatched his hammer up, and started swinging again.

With Fang in his hands, Nath sprang at the next two assailants.

The brutes’ eyes widened when he crashed into the side of one of them.

The charge knocked the ogre off the path to Brenwar. It stumbled.

The whistle of a whip caught Nath’s ear. Quicker than a cat, he spun just in time to catch the tail of the snapping whip.

“I guess you’ve never seen anyone so fast before, have you, Ugly!” Nath gave the whip a yank.

The swift move caught the ogre off balance. The ogre’s arms flailed.

Nath smote the ogre in the chest with Fang. Two ogres were dead. “Four to go!”

Brenwar clobbered the next ogre in the head with Mortuun.

The beast of a man staggered, wobbled, stumbled, and finally dropped to both knees. Drooling, it swayed from side to side.

Brenwar strolled up to the drooling monster.

Even on its knees, the ogre was still almost twice as tall as the dwarf. Its eyes were wide. It scratched the dent Brenwar had put in its head.

With a shove of the head of his hammer, Brenwar pushed the ogre over.

It landed on its side, unmoving.

“Go ahead, breathe your last foul breath.”

“Brenwar, look out!” Nath yelled. He’d just finished off his second ogre when he turned in time to see another one rushing toward Brenwar.

The ogre slammed into the dwarf at full speed, with its full weight behind it. Brenwar was plowed deep into the mud. The ogre pinned Brenwar’s face in the wet dirt.

Nath rushed in.

The two remaining ogres stepped into Nath’s path, one of the brutes loosing a windmill chop with its oversized hatchet.

Fang clashed into the metal head of the axe. Clang! The blow rocked Nath’s arms down to the elbows. Ogres hit like a mule kicked.

Guzan! I felt every bit of that!

Behind his assailant, Nath could see Brenwar’s arms and legs flapping under the other ogre’s superior weight. He held Fang back in one hand, pointing at the ogre with the other. “You should have run when you had the chance.”

The ogre let out a savage scream with jaws so wide that could swallow a watermelon whole. It took one step forward.

A bolt of lightning ripped through the ogre’s chest. Tendrils of energy crackled all around the beast. Ears smoking, it fell face first to the ground, splashing mud all over Nath.

Slivver walked over to the scene and lorded over the charred remains of the ogre. “My, are they thick. I was hoping it would explode.”

Nath wiped the mud from his eyes. “Thanks, Slivver. I had this under control. You should have helped Brenwar.”

“Who?”

Nath pointed to the mud wrestling going on several feet away.

“Ah.” Slivver chuckled. “I seem to recall Brenwar liking the mud.”

“To sleep on, not to breathe in.” Nath marched over to the ogre and tapped it hard on the shoulder.

It turned its giant ball of a head toward Nath and showed as inquisitive a look as an ogre could possibly make.

Nath punched it in the jaw with everything he had in him. Whop!

The ogre fell over sideways and lay still.

Brenwar popped up. He was more mud than dwarf, with brown sludge dripping from his beard. “I had him right where I wanted him.” He shook his head, flinging mud everywhere. “Never doubt a dwarf!” He kicked the ogre in the ribs. “I win.”

There weren’t any more signs of enemies. The villagers’ eyes were big as saucers. Many of them trembled. Others grumbled.

Nath put away his sword and raised his arms high. “People, you are free from these monsters. They will oppress you no more. Now enjoy your labors. Eat and be fulfilled.”

It took some goading, but after Nath spoke with some of the leadership, he convinced them they were safe, for now. He even offered them protection the likes of which they never could have imagined. “It’s time the people of Nalzambor learned to trust in the dragons again. Slivver, I want some of the silvers to stay and protect them until this war is at an end.”

“As you wish, Dragon King.”

By midday, smiles began to form on the faces of the people again. Along with full bellies, the warm sun lifted the people’s spirits. Nath spoke with many of them. He received hugs and well wishes. Even Brenwar got some hugs from some of the town maidens. They ignored his “Never hug a dwarf” rumblings.

Nath sat down to a feast of meat and eggs fit for a king. He and the others ate with merriment. There was nothing quite like being among people who looked forward to the days ahead. They were more than ready to rebuild all they had lost. He watched a pair of mules drag all the dead ogres away.

Brenwar said to him, “Today was easy. It won’t always be this easy. Remember that.”

“I will.”

A couple of hours later, Nath, Brenwar, and Slivver departed with four silver dragons. They had only traveled a league when one of the bee-like seeker dragons appeared.

CHAPTER 15

Once they made it across the bridge, Rerry and Scar raced down the riverbank, searching for Samaz. Rerry’s heart pounded in his temples as he called out in the night, “Samaz! Samaz!”

Scar and the elven guard kept silent, but their eyes were searching. They’d spread out along the bank in a long line, searching the river brush in the hope that Samaz might be caught up in there.

In the dim light, it was difficult to see anything alive, even with his keen elven sight. Rerry, being only a quarter elf, could see some of the smaller living critters that burrowed and scurried on the ground, but his vision wasn’t so good from far away. He had hoped to see a warm lump in the river by now.

“Come on, Samaz, where are you?”

About fifty yards upriver, one of the elven guard called out. The soldier was knee keep in the waters and waving his hand.

Rerry took off at a full sprint, traversing the difficult terrain like a jackrabbit. Finally, he came upon the scene. Samaz floated haphazardly in the river, hanging onto the branch of a tree that had fallen. Rerry waded into the water, and with the help of the elves, he pulled Samaz onto the slick bank. Lightly smacking his brother’s face, he said, “Samaz, can you hear me?”

“Well enough that I couldn’t catch any sleep from it.” Samaz coughed and wheezed then looked up at his brother. “You know, it’s really hard to swim with clothes on.”

Rerry gave his brother the strongest hug he’d ever given him. The warmth of his brother’s body ran through his arms to his head and toes. “Samaz, you did the bravest thing I ever saw when you jumped in the river to save me. And you attacked that monster! I know I’ve been difficult, but I’ve never felt more like your brother than I do now. Thank you.”

“Well, I am the elder. I’m supposed to watch out for you.” Samaz hugged his brother in return.

Rerry felt the iron strength in his brother’s limbs as he patted his back. “I suppose it’s time to get back on with it then. Scar, we aren’t too far off course, are we?”

“Actually, we’re closer. Follow me.”

They made their way west until hundreds of feet of hillside appeared. Scar led them through the hills until they hit a clearing in the forest. He pointed at a small fort made of stone about halfway up the next hill. “That’s it.”

Rerry could see smoke billowing out of a chimney that made for an eerie lingering haze. The closer they marched toward the small fortress, the more his limbs itched. He whispered to Samaz, “Do you make anything of this?”

“It seems like an odd place for an elf to go.”

“Agreed, but I was hoping for a little more insight than that from you. I figured that much out.”

“Well, my eyes haven’t rolled up into my head yet. That’s a good sign.”

Rerry rubbed the chill bumps creeping up his arms. A fog crept over his feet. The hoot owls stopped hooting. Only the sound of their footfalls remained, and those seemed unusually loud. Up the hill they went, barely able to see the person in front of them, with Scar somewhere ahead, leading the way.

“Whoa!” Rerry said in a very audible whisper.

They stood right in front of the gateway that led into the small fort. The stone archway entrance was a black mouth waiting to swallow them whole. Rerry couldn’t see a thing on the other side. Scar stood half in and half out of the light. Rerry’s hand fell to his sword.

This is unbearably strange. I’ve trusted Scar too much.

Adjusting his eye patch, Scar said, “If we’re going to find any help at all, it will be in here.” He leaned back into more light. “You look spooked. You don’t want to turn back, do you?”

Samaz gave Rerry a nod. He moved forward. “No. We’ve come this far. Besides, I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s cooking within.” He sniffed. “It smells like stew.”

“Don’t get your hopes up. If she eats, she doesn’t eat much, unless it’s people.”

“What?”

“A jest. You just never expect one from the likes of me.” Scar went in with his elves.

Rerry and Samaz followed. The fort was more of a small home built from stone in the form of a tower. They ventured into a chamber, where dark curtains hid the faint light behind them. He smelled oil, burning wood, and other things that weren’t so bad and weren’t so good.

From behind the curtains came a voice that sounded as ancient as the tallest tree in the forest. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Rerry’s heart skipped a beat. Something scurried over his toes, sending chills up his spine. “What was that?” he whispered to Samaz. His eyes darted all around. The floor was hidden by smoky yellow vapors. Webs with large spiders hung in every corner. He imagined an old crone with a nest of bugs in her hair.

Scar pulled the curtain back, making for a passageway, and stepped aside. “After you.”

Rerry gave Samaz a little shove forward. “You go first. You’re the oldest.”

A woman sat with her back to all of them, facing the fireplace. She was slender and clothed in a set of robes older than she was. Her hair was long, gray, and braided, running the length of her back. Her leathery arms were stretched out to her sides.

The room itself was medium in size, with small cupboards and a table upon which sets of pottery were either neatly stacked or in orderly rows. Strange growth covered the walls, a mix of yellow and lavender moss. Little critters moved among it.

Her head moved a little. “You seek somebody. All who come here are seeking someone or something. But with you, it’s someone. Eh, Captain Scar?”

“Yes.”

“But you are not the seeker. Those with you are.” She cackled. “I’m flattered that you thought of me, but there is much you are unaware of.”

The flames in the fireplace grew brighter. Something swirled within, making a pulsating effect in the room. She turned to face them.

Rerry’s fingernails dug into his palms. He stayed behind Samaz’s shoulder. I can’t look, I can’t look. He tried to close his eyes, but they were frozen open. The rest of him seemed fastened to the floor. The first things he saw were her eyes. Sultans of Sulfur!

CHAPTER 16

Ben sat on the ground, tied to a tree. Nearby and bound to other trees were Bayzog and Sasha. Brenwar’s chest and the Elderwood Staff were nowhere to be seen. A half dozen staagan stood guard.

Ben’s leg throbbed, and he was thirsty. “Say, can we get some water?”

The staagan didn’t move. They didn’t even blink.

“That’s wonderful. We have mute—uh, what did you call them, Bayzog?”

“Staagan.”

“Oh yes, staagan. They are some strange creatures. And they aren’t very hospitable.” He wriggled in his bonds. “Come on now, staagan. Bring us some water. We’ve been tied up for hours.”

“Bayzog, we should have done something when we had the chance.” Sasha’s hair half covered her face. She kept trying to shake it from her eyes. “You should have just used the Elderwood Staff and blasted them.”

“The staagan aren’t aggressive creatures. We will talk them into letting us go.” His violet eyes flicked up at Ben. “I thought you did quite well making our case, Ben. You certainly did much better than I have so far. They didn’t buy the pitch is all.”

“Well, I’m sorry. I should have seen them coming.” Ben banged his head against the tree, shaking some of the raindrops off the leaves. One splashed into his eye. “I’m getting old, I guess.”

“Stop blaming yourself,” Sasha said. “The world is full of trouble. And quit whining. It just reminds me how old I am.”

“You don’t look half as old as me. That’s for certain, and you still look younger than Bayzog.”

Sasha made a weak smile. “That’s because he’s always looked old.”

Ben laughed. The more he chuckled, the more the ropes tightened. The coarse material was rubbing his skin raw. His stomach growled. “Great, thirsty and hungry.” He looked at the staagan and yelled, “Not to mention still BLEEDING!”

The longer he sat, the more sore he became. His joints ached. He felt his heartbeat in his temples. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about everything.

Just pretend you’re out camping with friends.

Earlier, he had felt confident that things would go in their favor. The staagan didn’t appear threatening, even though they were formidable. The problem was they weren’t very smart. Stupidity mixed with fear was a deadly combination. If they felt threatened, then they would eliminate the threat. That was how most creatures survived.

The guards stirred.

The powerful staagan leader returned—with Bayzog’s staff cradled in his arms. He said to his men, “Bring them.”

The guards untied the three of them from the trees and brought them to their feet.

All of their hands were still bound behind their backs. The odd party began another long march, winding through the forest like a snake, mile after mile.

Ben’s leg burned with each and every step. He tripped on a root and hit his knee hard on a rock. “Ow!”

Sasha and Bayzog stopped and turned. “Ben, how are you?”

A staagan picked him up by the armpits and lifted him to his feet with ease. The stag man shoved him forward.

“I’ll make it. If not, I assume the horned brutes will carry me. Great dragons, I’ve never felt so worthless.”

“You should know by now that you are priceless.” Sasha gave him a wink.

Ben enhanced his stride and caught up with her. “Thanks. You always know the right thing to say.”

“That’s because I can read men’s minds.”

“Oh really, then what am I thinking now?”

“That you need a drink and that Bayzog should have blasted them with his staff.”

“Wow, you truly are a marvel.”

They forged ahead another mile, coming to a stop inside a grove of pine trees. In the middle was a large ring of stacked stones about ten feet wide. Ten of the staagan, with muscles bulging in their necks and arms, lifted a giant slab of stone that covered the well. They walked it aside and set it down with a chorus of grunts. One of the staagan rubbed his back.

That’s when Ben noticed Brenwar’s chest lying off to the side. The staagan leader pointed at the chest. One of the guards picked it up and walked it toward the well.

“No! What are you doing?”

The staagan guard dropped the chest in the well.

“Nooooo!” Ben cried out. “Are you out of your mind?”

“That strongbox is evil,” the leader said. He walked over to the edge of the well. “So is this cursed thing.” He tossed the Elderwood Staff in the well.

Bayzog dropped to his knees.

Ben’s pounding head felt like it was about to explode. This was madness.

The leader waved his hand at all of them. “You are all evil. You are going in the deep well to feed the belly of the world.” He pointed at Sasha. “Start with that one.”

CHAPTER 17

The seer’s eyes were pitch-black orbs that gave her a haunting appearance. At one time her appearance might have been lovely, but her once-lustrous skin was now weathered and gray. Her high cheekbones were pointed knots on her face. She smoothed her hair back behind one ear, revealing the smallest point on the top.

She’s part elven.

In an elderly voice, she said, “You are very observant, Rerry.”

“How… how do you know my name? And you read my thoughts!”

She waved in a relaxed motion with her hand. “I’m a seer. It’s what I do. Be at ease, men. You’ve had a long journey. Now is the time to settle yourselves and listen.”

Rerry and Samaz looked at each other.

Samaz shrugged and took a seat, crossed his legs, and gave the seer his undivided attention.

Before Rerry sat, he asked, “What—”

“—is my name?” she replied. “I’m so old it no longer matters. But they used to call me Saree. Saree the seer. Yes, that is what they would call me after I discovered my gift.” A smoke-colored cat slipped onto her lap, and she petted it. “This is Cat. I’ve had too many pets to bother naming them anymore, and this is far from the first one I’ve called Cat.” The fireplace continued to warble behind her with a strange life. “Please, men, take a seat. Then I’ll be more comfortable answering your question.”

Taking his place beside his brother, Rerry said, “We only get one question? It’s one question each, I hope.”

“You are a feisty one. Every bit the problem I foresaw.” She placed her hands on her knees. “Well then, first things first. A warning. Nalzambor reels after the death of Balzurth.”

In unison, Rerry and Samaz sat up and said, “The death of Balzurth!”

“Yes, the Dragon King is dead, at the hands of Eckubahn and his brother Isobahn. The Dragon King was killed by the very Spear of Barnabus that he forged himself.” She hugged herself. “Oh, it broke my heart. I felt it the moment it happened. It was as if glass was shattering. Now the world quakes. Evil builds its forces and strikes from all directions. Honestly, I’m surprised you made it this far. All that matters is that you did. The west is the safest place to be right now. And no one comes to visit my creepy place.” She leaned over and touched Scar on the knee. “But you remembered. Never will you forget that last adventure, will you, One Eye. Tee-hee!”

Rerry felt like he was floating at sea without a rudder. Hearing that Balzurth was dead had hit home. If the titans could kill the Dragon King, then they could kill anybody. His concern for his parents grew. He needed to get to them, and fast. “Can you help us find our parents?”

“That’s why you were brought here, isn’t it?”

Looking around the dreary room, he said, “I can’t imagine any other reason why I would enter this place.”

“That might change after you try my stew,” she said.

Rerry gave a sniff and replied, “I doubt it. So, can you tell us where they are?”

“The answer will be revealed in the fires if they are willing.” She lifted the cat off her lap and shooed it away. With a little shake, she loosened up her hands and arms then offered them to Samaz and Rerry. Beckoning for them, she said, “I need something that is close to them. There is nothing closer than you. Come, come and sit by my side.”

With hesitation, they took spots on either side of her, facing the fire. It didn’t crackle or pop, and it was more warm than hot.

Saree closed her eyes. “Just let your guard down and trust me. Think of your parents. Reflect on your strongest memories. That will strengthen the spell.” She began to speak strange words in a rhythmic pace that would speed up and slow down.

Rerry felt strength flow into him from her warm, leathery hand, and he leaned forward. He found Samaz looking at him for a moment. Samaz gave his broad shoulders a shrug, closed his eyes, and leaned back. Rerry gave in and did the same. He thought about walking in the gardens of Quintuklen with his mother. They had a favorite spot on a granite bench surrounded by purple tiger lilies.

I miss those days. Wherever did they go?

Saree the sage’s grip fastened like a vise on his hand. It was like a tree branch had grabbed ahold of him. Wincing, he lost his train of thought.

How’d she get so strong?

The seer wailed and moaned. The fire roared with new bright light that swirled in their midst. She started to speak out loud. “Oh, so strong! They are so strong! It is delightful! You’ve done well, Scar. Oh so well. I didn’t think you would ever repay me.”

Unable to pull free of her iron grip, Rerry turned toward Scar and said, “What have you done? You owe me a life debt, and now you betray me.”

Without a shred of concern, Scar replied, “I owed her a life debt first.” He saluted. “So long, Samaz and Rerry. I’ll sleep well knowing I can’t repay the dead.” He and the others vanished.

Rerry screamed after him, “You’ll never sleep at all!” He tugged with all of his might. Each passing second drained him from top to bottom. His eyes fell on his arms and hands. Saree’s skin now had a youthful luster, and his own skin clung to his bones like a venerable old man’s. On the other side, his formerly meaty brother’s eyes and cheeks had sunken into his bones. He’d never seen Samaz so thin before, and his brother’s coal-black hair had turned white. “Let us go,” he managed to say.

Saree sat in full form. Her body and hair had been restored to their youthful appearance—that of a wild and comely woman. She showed a smile of pearly-white teeth. “I would, but you’re both too delicious.”

The last thing Rerry heard was his head bouncing off the stone hearth of the fireplace.

CHAPTER 18

“No! No! Stop!” Bayzog surged in front of Sasha, blocking the staagans’ path to the well. “Spare her and throw me in.”

Ben tore out of the clutches of one of the monsters and bustled over. “And take me next, or first, it doesn’t matter! What kind of horned savages are you, throwing the woman in? It’s despicable.”

“It makes no difference.” The leader snorted and stamped his hoof. “You are all a meal, nothing more and nothing less.”

“And you are nothing more than the orcs and ogres, I’ll tell you that much!” Ben yelled.

The staagan seized his arms and picked him up by the legs. They took him to the edge of the well. Wriggling against his restraints, Ben took a glance in the well. It was pitch black. “I swear if I survive this, I’m going to start hunting again and mount your heads on my wall. We are innocent!”

As Ben fought with everything he had in him, Bayzog’s fingers kept working at the cords that bound his hands. If he could only get them free, he could cause some sort of distraction to get them out of there. He felt terrible guilt about his gamble. He had bet on the more reasonable nature of the staagan, had thought they’d free them, but with all the world falling apart around them, the staagan had chosen to rid themselves of any potential enemies. Sasha and Ben were right. I should have blasted them when I had the chance. He found his wife’s eyes. She blinked at him several times.

“Hold on a moment!” Ben yelled just as the enemy were about to throw him in the well. He glanced all over the forest. “Do you hear that? I can smell it! Sniff! Sniff! Orcs are coming!”

The staagan froze. With a wave of his hand, the leader sent several of his men. All but one let go of Ben and ran out of sight.

Ben was buying time. Bayzog acted. Seeing Sasha’s signals, he understood her idea. He said to the leader, “Can I at least have one last moment with my wife?”

With a nod, the staagan said, “No.”

“That looked like a yes to me!” Ben shouted.

Bayzog made his way to Sasha. The staagan cut him off. “Please,” he begged.

The leader shook his head this time. “No. I smell trickery.”

Bayzog’s shoulders sagged. “As you wish.”

The staagan search party returned from the woodland. They shook the racks on their heads.

“See, there are no orcs.” The leader pointed at Ben. “You prove my point by trying to deceive.”

Once all of their attention was focused on the leader, Bayzog took action. He squirted between two staagan on quick feet. He kept going until he ran into Sasha and her captor. In the tussle, the husband and wife found themselves back to back and locked fingers. Together they summoned energy they couldn’t get on their own. Tingling raced up his arms. Energy filled his body. The cords that bound them started to release.

Almost free!

The sharp blow of a fist hit Bayzog in the side of the head. His fingers slipped from Sasha’s. He dropped to the ground with bright spots in his eyes.

The leader stood over him, nostrils flaring and snorting. “Deceiver! Throw this one in now! Throw them all in now!” The staagan clacked his teeth. “I’m tired of this.”

The staagan carried him to the edge of the well. Bayzog strained against them, but it was futile. The staagan were every bit as strong as they appeared. He found Sasha’s eyes and said, “I’m sorry, dear.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” she said. “We all failed.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to die for such a stupid reason!” Ben said, kicking at his captors. “We didn’t even do anything!”

The staagan leader stood where they could all see him. With his fists on his hips, he said, “No one is innocent.”

“If that’s the case, then throw yourself in!” Ben said.

“That would be foolish.”

The staagan raised Bayzog, Ben, and Sasha over their heads. Bayzog felt his stomach empty. With all of his study and intelligence, he couldn’t overcome blind stupidity fueled by fear.

The leader raised his arms.

The wind tore through the trees. Except it wasn’t the wind. It was dragons. Silver dragons with scales that shone like the stars in the sky. The five dragons surrounded the well with wings spread and a dangerous look in their eyes.

The staagan leader let out a bellow.

A powerful figure with flame-red hair lifted the leader overhead.

Ben let out a shout. “Dragon!”

CHAPTER 19

“Just when I thought I’d seen everything, I see this?” Nath said. Looking up at the staagan leader, he said, “If my friends go in this well, then you’re going in too.”

“You dare!” the staagan huffed.

Nath edged closer to the rim. “I dare!”

The staagan swallowed. He gave a nod to his guards. They backed away from the well and set Nath’s friends free.

“I’m going to set you down,” Nath said to the staagan, who was every bit as big as him. “But you had better not try anything else stupid, or I’ll rip those antlers from your head. Agreed?”

The staagan eyed the silver dragons. His lips smacked together. “Agreed.”

Nath set the staagan down.

For the first time, the staagan got a look at Nath dragon. His eyes blinked repeatedly. With a snort, he backed away, made a bellow, and said with his chin high, “This time, we go.” Together, the staagan all vanished into the woodland.

Ben let out all of his glee. “You did it, Dragon! What a sight for my aging eyes. I thought we were finished!” He hopped around wincing, wriggling his bound hands. “Do you mind?’

Nath slit the cord with his fingernail. “You’re wounded.”

Ben gave him a strong embrace. “I’ll live.”

Brenwar teetered over to Ben and looked at the bloody gash in the old soldier’s leg. “It’s barely a scratch.”

“You would know.”

Nath made his rounds to Sasha and Bayzog. “It’s so good to see you both.”

Sasha gave Nath a hug. “Your timing couldn’t have been more remarkable. I have to admit, my hope was fleeing.” She looked up into his eyes. “Nath, I’m sorry about your father.”

Nath’s throat tightened. “Thank you.”

Bayzog put a hand on Nath’s arm. “Me too, Nath. We’ll find a way to make this right. I swear it.”

“I know we will. Words can’t explain how thankful I am to be among such great friends. I had my doubts that I would fix my eyes on you again.”

“How did you find us?”

Nath took a moment to explain the journey from Dragon Home through the Chamber of Murals. He called for the seeker who had aided them.

He landed on Nath’s shoulder. Sitting like a bird, the black and yellow dragon cocked his head from side to side.

Nath stroked the beard of skin under the seeker’s neck. “He found you, and others like him are searching for Rerry and Samaz. Oh, and there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Really, who?” Sasha asked.

“My brother, Slivver.”

“You have a brother?” she said.

“I have many, but Slivver is the one most like me, or I’m like him.” He waved Slivver over. “Here he comes.”

Unlike the other silvers, who stood on all fours, Sliver walked over with a wide, leggy gait, dragging his tail behind him. With an air of nobility, he nodded at Bayzog and Sasha. “It is grand to meet you.” He took Sasha’s hand and kissed it. “Your beauty is exceptional, and I’ve heard so much about the both of you.”

Blushing, Sasha said, “Nath, you never told me you had a brother. And he’s all dragon? And so exceptional?”

“Yes, my much older brother is quite exceptional for his age,” Nath joked.

“Ha-ha,” Slivver said.

“So I take it the search for Rerry and Samaz is not going well?” Nath said.

“We sense they are west of us.” Bayzog frowned. “I don’t have much more to go on than that.”

“Keep your chin up. We found you, and we’ll find them.” Nath continued to pet the seeker. “It’s a shame that it’s taken so long for these little guys to warm up to me. They would have come in handy back in the day, but they are pretty elusive. We were fortunate that when he alerted us, we weren’t that far away. Not even a league. Anyway—”

“What do you mean you lost my chest?” Brenwar blurted out.

Everyone turned. Ben and Brenwar were arguing.

“It’s not your chest as I understand it, and it’s not my fault. Those stag men did it!” Ben replied.

“What’s going on?” Nath said.

“Ben lost my chest down into this hole!” Brenwar started fishing out some rope. “And I’m sending him down after it.”

“I’m not climbing down there! I almost met my doom in that pit of blackness. It’s your chest, you go.”

“Oh, so now it’s my chest.” Brenwar rolled his eyes.

Slivver stepped forward. “I’ll go get the chest. I can fly, after all.”

But Nath stopped his brother with a hand on his arm. He stuck his other hand down inside the hole. The air was icy, and his fingertips disappeared. “This is not an ordinary hole. Certainly you can tell that much. There is magic here. Dark magic. Things are not as we perceive them. The chest is down there?”

“They tossed down the Elderwood Staff as well.” Bayzog was unable to hide his long look.

Nath shook his head. “The staagan are so stupid. If they only had brains as big as their horns. So how deep is it? How long did it take before you heard the chest hit the bottom?”

Bayzog, Ben, and Sasha all looked at one another at the same time. Ben said, “I didn’t hear anything hit.”

“Me neither,” Sasha added.

Bayzog sighed. “The staagan said we were to feed the belly of Nalzambor.”

Brenwar picked up a rock and tossed it in the well. Cupping his ear, he leaned over the rim on his tiptoes. Seconds passed. Then a minute. He clawed at his beard. “That’s deeper than a dwarven diamond shaft. I suppose we’ll just have to do without.” He started pulling the rope up, eyeing Bayzog. “It’s just a stick. I’ll whittle you up another one.”

“And you’re just going to leave your chest behind?” Ben said.

“Aw, it’s like you said, it’s not my chest anyway. I’ve got Mortuun. I’ll be fine. The rest of you will have to adapt.”

Nath slid Fang out of his sheath and stuck the sword blade first into the well. The blue light lit up the edges, but that was it. Nath felt a chill on his arm like a cold breeze. “This is odd. It’s a hole, but it doesn’t feel like a hole.”

“I sense something odd too.” Bayzog waved his hands over the rim and closed his eyes. One brow perched. He started to mumble something.

Sasha reached for Bayzog. “Don’t you—”

Bayzog jumped into the hole.

“—dare!”

CHAPTER 20

Saree the seer hopped and skipped about her home, singing and laughing. Rerry and Samaz both lay in front of the fire where she had drained them. Rerry could barely manage to lift his arms. With effort, he held them up, looking at his bony hands.

Samaz rolled over on his side, facing Rerry. He started laughing in a raspy chuckle. “You look dreadful.”

“No more dreadful than you.” Rerry gave Samaz a feeble punch in the shoulder.

Saree hopped over between them. Her dark-green eyes were filled with restless energy. Excitement was in her voice. “I see my little old men are getting feisty. I can’t have that now. You might hurt yourselves.” Hands on her hips, she said, “I had better tie you up.”

“Tie us up? We can barely move. I don’t even want to move. Everything hurts. What did you do to us?”

“I took all of your youth and made it mine. I should last a couple hundred more years now.” She rummaged through her cupboard until she produced a ball of twine. “Ah, this should do.”

“Couldn’t you have just drained an orc or something?” Rerry asked.

“Oh no, that wouldn’t work. You see, my curse is more interesting.” She combed her rich brown hair over her head. “You see, like you, I am part elf. Only a part elf will do. Part elves are hard to come by, and dear old Scar brought me two.” She tied up Rerry’s ankles. “What a feast. I haven’t felt so well in decades.”

Samaz rolled over on his back and asked with an upside-down look, “What is the long-term plan for us? Are we to be indentured servants?”

“No. It’s more of a short-term plan. What’s left of you will be dinner for the wolves.”

“Wolves! You feed people to wolves?”

“Certainly. They are my pets.”

“Shouldn’t you have fed us to them before you sucked the marrow from our bones?” Rerry said.

“I see you still have spirit. I can’t have that. It’s dangerous.” She bound up Samaz by the feet and tethered them to another section of rope she fetched, then patted down their clothes and looked inside their palms. “Just making sure you don’t have any tricks up your sleeves.”

“I think you’re the one with all the tricks,” Rerry said.

“Humph, I think you’re right, but you have to give Scar some credit. He marched you right on inside a witch’s haven, and you both followed him blithely.” She hefted the bigger rope over her shoulder and began dragging them out of the room. “Scar. How could you trust an elf named Scar? So young and naïve. So delicious.”

Rerry’s feeble fingers clutched at a chair he passed. His grip only lasted a moment. Dread overcame him.

I’m so stupid! I can’t believe I trusted Scar!

Saree dragged them outside and down the hill without an ounce of care as they jostled over the hard roots and rocks. They might as well have been dead already. Rerry grasped at everything they passed with no effect, but one time her efforts did come to a halt. Samaz had tangled his arm up in a thick patch of ivy. With a scowl, she stormed over and gave him a swift kick in the ribs.

Samaz groaned.

She took up the rope and resumed dragging them down the hill. They came to a level overlook with a backdrop of stone. Rainwater trickled over the layers of rock. Old bones lay on the ground, picked clean. Rusting chains were fastened to the rock. The depressing area was partially overgrown. The smell of death and decay seemed to keep nature at bay. Saree shackled them by the wrists.

A wolf howled.

Saree howled back. Her eyes slid over both of them. “I’m grateful. The wolves will be grateful too.” She squatted in front of them. “Don’t be so sad. This is just a part of life’s cycle. Besides, you didn’t think you’d live forever, did you?” She winked. “But you could if you were me. Bye bye, part elves.”

Rerry didn’t even try to stop her. He just tugged at the twine.

Samaz did the same, saying in his old-man voice, “We have a better chance of sprouting wings than of getting ourselves untied.”

But Just as Saree was about to vanish around a bend down the path, she stopped and said, “What are you doing here?”

A sword cut through the air with a whistle. Saree’s head left her shoulders and bounced down the hill. Her body fizzled, and ghostly tentacles emerged. The mystic fibers drifted over to Samaz and Rerry.

Rerry lurched in the mist. His essence filled him. Color and strength returned to his lips. It was beyond exhilarating. The next thing he saw was Scar untying the twine that bound his wrists and ankles. “You traitor!”

“And savior,” Samaz said. He was free and up on his feet, rubbing his wrists.

Rerry jumped to his feet and hauled back to punch Scar.

Samaz stepped in the way.

Scar handed his sword to Rerry. “I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. You boys didn’t deserve this, and I’m sorry. I hope you’ll understand one day.”

Rerry snatched away the sword. “I should chop you to bits!”

With a dead stare, Scar said, “It wouldn’t make any difference. I’m dead anyway. That’s the choice I made. I should have made it long ago, but I was a coward.”

“What are you talking about?” Rerry asked.

The sky darkened.

“Just go! Go now!” The leaves in the forest started to tremble and shake. Wolves that sounded like a hundred howled. “Just get across the river. The wolves won’t follow that far. None of her minions will.” He shoved the both of them. “Don’t waste my sacrifice. Go!”

With the forest agitated as in a thunderstorm, Rerry took off at a sprint down the hill with Samaz on his heels. Every branch they passed seemed to claw at them.

And then they heard Scar’s scream over the racing wind, cut off with a loud snap.

Rerry started to look back, but Samaz pushed him forward, shouting, “Don’t you dare! Onward!”

They cut through the trees until they hit the bottom of the hill. Running for the river, they could hear the wolves barking in the forest.

Rerry’s eyes caught sight of the bridge. “It’s there! It’s there!”

With the wind whistling in his ears, his toes touched the first plank. Remembering to soften his footfalls, he skipped from plank to plank. They groaned but never gave. Samaz followed him step for step until they made it to the other side. Rerry turned to look at the pack of wolves gathered on the other side, howling in the wind. After a long moment, they vanished up the hillside.

Hands on his knees and sucking for breath, he patted Samaz on the back. “We made it.”

Samaz didn’t reply, just tapped Rerry’s shoulder.

Rerry looked up and found himself facing a host of dwarves. Catching his breath, he said, “Perfect timing. This bridge is in desperate need of repair. I can assure you, my—”

A dwarf clubbed him in the back of the head. The world went dark.

CHAPTER 21

Sasha climbed up onto the rim of the well. Nath took her by the waist and set her back on the ground. “No you don’t, Sasha. If he wanted you to go, he would have taken you.”

“Let me go, Nath!”

Peering over the rim, Brenwar said, “It’s a black hole. Not even a dwarf would leap into the likes of that. That part elf has gone squirrely.”

Nath was dismayed. He’d never seen Bayzog do anything so impulsive before.

“We have to do something, Nath!” Sasha said. “He’ll certainly need our help if something evil is down there.”

Slivver stepped up again. “I’ll go in after him.”

“I say we both go.” Nath prepared to make the leap. “On three?”

Bayzog erupted from the hole. With the Elderwood Staff in one hand, the gem at the top burning like morning light, he slung Brenwar’s chest to the ground with the other. His robes were in tatters. He was scraped up from head to toe and panting for breath.

“Bayzog!” Sasha rushed over and hauled the reeling man in. He collapsed in her arms, trembling. “He’s ice cold,” she said, brushing his face with her hands. She leaned over his shivering lips. “He’s speaking, in Elvish.”

Nath leaned over the both of them. Interpreting Bayzog’s words, he said, “Put the lid on. Put the lid on!”

The ground shook. A howling moan erupted from the well.

Brenwar scrambled over to the giant slab of stone. “I could use a hand.”

Nath, Slivver, and the rest of the silver dragons picked the stone up with ease. Together they lifted it high over the well’s rim, walked it over the top of the hole, and set it down.

The quaking and moaning came to a stop.

“That was weird.” Brenwar’s bone fingers drummed on the slab. “Weird as a bugbear wizard.” He made his way over to the strongbox and sat down on top of it, eyeballing Ben. “I’d better keep it.”

“You look like you just laid a dwarven cackleberry.” Ben turned his attention to the others.

Nath and Slivver had gathered around Bayzog. The part elf’s rosy hue was returning. He stared up at Sasha. “I missed you.”

She gasped. Her eyes became misty. “Missed me? But you were only gone a few moments, my dear.”

“No, I was gone much longer than that. It seemed like years, but now I’m not so sure. ”

“Look at your hair,” Nath said in awe. “Gray has overtaken the black. Bayzog, what happened down there?”

“Everything.” He reached up for Nath. “Please, help me up.” Back on his feet, he gave his surroundings a once-over. “I fully didn’t expect to see you when I made it back. Actually, I was surprised when you didn’t leap in after me.”

“We were about to, but then you came back.”

The light of the staff extinguished. Bayzog said, “Trust me when I say those few precious moments lasted months in that dimension, maybe longer.”

Sasha kissed her husband’s hands. “Bayzog, what did you encounter down there? You looked like you were being spat out by a giant.”

“Another time, my sweetest.” He took a breath. “I’m just so relieved to know that no time has been lost here. Let’s find our sons.”

“You need to rest, Bayzog,” Nath said. “The journey can wait. I’ll send the silvers to scout things out.”

“No, it can’t wait,” Bayzog replied with anger in his tone. “We need to save our sons. Especially after what I’ve seen. Every moment counts from here on out. I aim to make the most of each one.”

Nath found Sasha’s eyes searching his. She was as perplexed as he was.

Whatever happened down there has changed Bayzog. Maybe even scarred him.

Brenwar offered Bayzog a vial of golden liquid. “Drink this, part elf. We can’t have you bleeding and leaving a trail behind.”

Bayzog gave him a look.

“Well, do you want to find your sons or not? Drink up. I’m ready to march.”

Taking the vial to his lips, Bayzog drank it down. And then he closed his eyes, pulled back his shoulders, and took a deep inward breath through his nostrils and released it through his mouth. “Thank you, Brenwar. I needed that.” He slung his arm over Sasha’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Let’s march.”

Nath shrugged his eyebrows.

I’m not sure what to make of this, but I had better keep an eye on him.

Limping over to Brenwar with a hand on his pierced thigh, Ben held out his hand.

Scowling, Brenwar gave the aging soldier a yellow potion too.

Ben drained it and watched the hole in this thigh visibly close. He smacked his lips. “Ah!”

Nath threw his arms around both of his healed friends. “Onward, then.”

CHAPTER 22

Selene trekked with Sansla Libor through the Valley of Bones. For weeks on end, she and the winged-ape Roamer King had scoured the skies with their eyes, following the flight patterns of the wurmers from the Chamber of Murals. The flocks of the dragon-like insects that hummed like locusts with a mind-jangling ree-rah, ree-rah sound had led them to where they now stood.

Squatting with the sun at her back, she picked at the scales and bones of a dead dragon. It was a gray scaler, little bigger than her. Its body had been torn apart, its flesh devoured and burned. It was one of many loners she’d come across in this search. “There was a time when this wouldn’t have even made me sad.”

“Are you sad now?”

“No, I’m angry.”

She stood up. Selene no longer wore the robes that hid her tail. With the help of Nath’s mother and Dragon Home’s vast array of storage rooms, she had opted for a different look, embracing what she was: a dragon in the form of a woman. She wore a steel breastplate similar to Nath’s that covered her torso. A skirt of iron links covered her legs to the lower thighs. Her arms and calves were bare of clothing but covered in black scales with sparkles of gray when the sunlight hit them right. Two daggers rested on her hips. A sword was strapped to her back. She wasn’t just a princess now but a warrior princess.

Sansla’s nostrils flared. “The surroundings of this valley decay. It didn’t used to be this way.” He touched a branch where portions of the green leaves had wilted. “Something sucks the life out of the lands beyond the valley.”

The Valley of Bones wasn’t a graveyard as the name suggested but rather a small stretch of land among the hills and valleys that had once all been a massive graveyard. Many races had buried their dead here long ago, but it hadn’t been a place of mourning, rather celebration. The grounds had always remained green and fertile year round, the soil rich and hallowed. But now the greenery had become sparse, and the varmints that darted from tree to tree and chuck-hole to chuck-hole had vanished.

All over the hills, plains, and savannas, there were caves. Many were in the hills, but others were fresh holes in the ground, where the resting dead head been disrupted. These caves were marks of burrowing wurmers. The mindless things desecrated the dead.

Selene and Sansla had spent day after day searching the caves, trying to find the hive of the queen wurmer.

With the tall grasses licking against her knees, she bent her ear to the sky and stopped. The droning sound of the wurmers came from the northern hills. She and Sansla hunkered down. Wurmers by the hundreds flew overhead like a swarm of bees. The ree-rah sound was so deafening that she fought the urge to cover her ears. She remained still until the danger passed and the terrifying sound was gone.

“It seemed like they burst from the mountain,” Sansla said. “A new flock, perhaps.”

“They were smaller than some of the ones we’ve seen.” Selene patted a leather satchel that was strapped over her shoulder. “Maybe we’re getting close to the queen. I remember the last time I went to the sea, they combed the sky by the dozens nearby. Oh, Sansla, I never imagined what a terror I’d unleashed.”

“The terror would have come one way or the other. It always has and it always will,” he said, stretching his massive jaws in a yawn.

She gave the great white-winged ape a puzzled look. “You don’t believe evil can be entirely defeated?”

“The roamers have a belief: Evil will fall when Nalzambor ends and a new world begins.” He winked. “I try not to think about it too much. In the meantime, I do my best to do the right thing.”

Resuming her trek, she said, “It makes me wonder if there’s any purpose in what we do at all.”

“People know what is right and wrong. Some accept it and others don’t. You’ve seen what happens when people are consumed by their selfish will. They’re left with nothing but destruction and misery.”

“I know that now. I just can’t believe I was so blind to it before.”

“You were taught wrong. In that regard, you were like many in the world. But Nath Dragon’s actions opened your heart, didn’t they.”

She nodded. Her heart fluttered. “I feel bad for leaving him behind, but I understand his mourning. I just can’t believe Balzurth fell. I didn’t think it possible.”

With his long arms swinging through the grass, Sansla said, “The sting of death is unavoidable. But remember, there are yet many miracles in this world.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He forged on without answering.

They spent the better part of the day searching their way up the mountain. The higher they went, the more trees had fallen in the forest. The greens turned to browns. Leaves crunched under their feet. Not even a bug crawled, but Selene’s scales did. Near the peak, there was fog coming from her breath.

“Interesting,” Sansla commented. Near the top of the mountain, a seam had ruptured between the rocks, big enough for a small army to march through. The wind moaned between the cracks. “Shall we take a look inside?”

Selene had gotten comfortable with Sansla. His savage beast appearance starkly contrasted with his mannerisms. He carried himself in long easy strides and talked with the highest character of a nobleman. There was nothing gentle about him, though. He remained stern but reserved. She enjoyed that quietness about him. Eyeing the seam, she gestured forward. “After you.”

He stepped aside with a bow. “I insist.”

Their trek led them deep down into the mountain several hundred feet until the light of the sky dimmed. Close to an hour later, the seam widened into a cavern more than a hundred feet deep and ten times as wide. Standing among the rocks and debris were two stone giants, tossing back and forth a rock as big as the two of them put together. Their clubs were propped up against the mouth of a side cave. A soft glow of fire pulsated from a source somewhere deep in there.

“That’s it,” she whispered.

“Now we just need to find a way around the giants,” Sansla commented.

“Or kill them.”

CHAPTER 23

Moving at a fast pace, Nath and his companions headed west on the advice of Bayzog and Sasha. A steady rain beat them like drums. The grasses were slick and the paths muddy. More than a day in, the journey had them climbing up the hillsides when the earth began to quake and he heard powerful roars through the rain.

“What in Morgdon is that?” Brenwar said.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to be the first to find out.” Nath took off at a sprint right in the direction of the danger. Reckless, he ran at full speed through the woods. Behind came Slivver and his guardians, hot on his tail. Nath couldn’t help but enjoy the moment, yelling back at them, “You might beat me in the air, but you can’t keep up with me on the land.”

Slivver closed in.

In a surge of strength, Nath lengthened his long stride, speeding through the forest like the fleetest white deer. The branches smacked against his face, but he didn’t care. He felt especially alive for some reason. And then new sounds of battle sent his blood racing. He burst onto the scene frozen in his tracks. His jaw dropped.

A two-headed ettin was engaged in mortal combat with a sky-raider dragon. Both of them were beasts of brawn and muscle. The towering thirty-footers were tangled up in swinging limbs. The ettin pounded fists the size of boulders into the sky raider’s ribs. The dragon’s tail coiled around one of the two ettin necks. The ettin clawed with a free hand at its constricted head. The other hand of the ettin pounded harder and harder. The dragon let out a painful roar that turned angry.

Nath drew his sword. Fang’s blade glowed like blue flame. “I’m going to help.”

But Slivver hooked his arm. “And insult our kin? I think not. It is our kin’s fight, and his fight alone.”

“What do you mean? That’s ridiculous. He could die, and I’m not going to let another dragon die.”

“Have you forgotten yourself? Sky raiders have too much pride to accept help. If you help him win, he will turn on you. He’ll turn on all of us.” Slivver shook his head. “It’s one on one. Let them have at it and see what happens.”

“I don’t like it.” Nath lowered his sword, watching them pound away on one another. The ettin wrestled with the ferocity of a wild ogre. The humongous man had moved. The ettin slipped out of the dragon’s tail and put the dragon in a headlock. The dragon let out a roar that scattered the pouring rain. “I can’t just watch this!”

“You must!” Slivver said.

The sky raider shook and shivered until, with the burst of a kicking mule, he shook the ettin clear off his neck. The ettin landed flat on its back. The dragon pounced on the ettin’s chest, pinning it to the ground. The dragon’s jaws opened. The armor-like scales on his chest glowed with lava. Fire spewed out of the dragon’s mouth, coating the ettin and sizzling the rain. The ettin was flayed. Its fists hammered the ground. It let out a moan so horrifying Nath almost turned away. Finally, the ettin twitched and spasmed no more. Its body became a pyre of flame. Smoke billowed. The air stank. The dragon let out a roar of elation.

Nath caught his breath.

Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be able to do that again.

“Next time we find a giant, I had better get to fight it!” Brenwar pounded Mortuun’s handle on the ground. “I mean it.”

“We heard you,” Ben said as he hobbled up to see the battle site. “Great dragons, that thing is big. What kind of dragon is that?”

“A sky raider,” Bayzog answered. “Otherwise known as a flying fortress.”

“You can say that again,” Ben said, watching the sky raider stamp out the burning pile of giant with his tail. “Why’s he doing that?

“Part of the celebration,” Slivver said.

“Great Guzan, we could all ride on him, couldn’t we?” Ben asked. “Dragon, why don’t you ask?”

“We’d better wait until his temper cools before we say anything. I might be the king, but I still respect my kindred’s privacy. Let’s give it a moment. And by a moment, I mean it’s probably not going to happen and we need to get moving. He knows what he’s doing.”

The sky raider caught a glimpse of them. His bright-green eyes, like burning emeralds, locked onto Nath. He gave a nod, let out a roar, and took to the sky.

Watching the dragon go, Nath said, “At least he said hello. I wish he’d given me time to say well done.”

“I think he understands,” Slivver said. And then the expression on his face changed, and he pointed somewhere else in the air. “Look.”

One of the seekers buzzed down, landing on Nath’s shoulder. The raccoon-sized thing chattered in Nath’s ear.

Nath’s golden eyes turned to saucers. “He’s found Rerry and Samaz!” His excited tone sank. “But the dwarves have captured them. They march for Morgdon.”

Sasha came right up to Nath and said, “How far away are they?”

“Not far enough, if we make haste. Slivver, you know what to do. Just don’t let the wurmers see you. Go!” Nath ordered.

Slivver saluted. “We’re gone.”

CHAPTER 24

Selene and Sansla slunk into the cavern, keeping their bodies hidden in the grooves and fallen hunks of rock. The hairless, solemn-faced stone giants tossed the boulder back and forth. They goofed and rumbled in their strange language to one another. The giant with long steel hoops in his ears picked up a second hunk of stone while the other one wasn’t looking. Hurling the object like it had been launched from a catapult, the one giant crashed the rock into the other giant’s head with a notable thud.

The smitten giant rose up to his feet with a snarl on his face and grabbed a handful of rocks. He flung them with all of his might, pelting the one with rings in his ears. The friendly game of catch had turned ugly.

“Now’s our chance,” Selene said. Using the natural cover for as long as she could, she snuck toward the entrance to the side cave. The giants beat on each other like drums. Bellows echoing all around, they had turned their backs, which were each broad as a trout stream. She and Sansla dashed for the mouth of the cave, but her foot clipped a stone, rolling it into a crevice with a loud clatter.

The tussle of the giants ceased. Like the trained soldiers they doubtlessly were, they bounded over on loud footsteps to investigate.

Selene and Sansla slipped just inside the confines of the cave entrance, but the floor was irregular, so they had to slow down. Backs pressed to the wall, they hunkered in the shadows as they carefully made their way.

The giants snorted and sniffed, saying, “I smell something. Do you smell something?”

“Aye, something is amiss. I smell dragon. I smell,” sniff-sniff, “elf?”

The giants moved toward the cave entrance. All Selene could make out were their pillar-like legs. She shoved Sansla deeper into the tunnel. They rounded the edge, and just as she looked back, she saw one giant lowering itself to peek in. Clear as a bell, she heard the giant say, “What goes in must come out. We’ll wait!” Sniff! “We’ll see.”

“I don’t think we fooled them,” she said as she crept deeper into the catacombs.

“Giants aren’t smart, but their instincts are rarely fooled.” Sansla skulked after her. “At least we made it this far.”

She silenced him with a hand signal. They hadn’t made it very far inside the catacombs when she all but stumbled on a nest. The eggs of the wurmers covered the lair like the grass of the open steppes. They had an eerie glow. Small wurmers the size of cats crawled among the eggs on the floor. Many of them were hatching. Selene felt her heart pounding inside her ears. She’d found nests before but none as big as this one.

There must be a queen in here.

She crept deeper into this new cavern with Sansla right at her heels.

Slow and quiet, Selene. Slow and quiet.

She understood enough about the wurmers to know they weren’t yet ready to attack when they were this young. That came later. Once they imprinted on the older wurmers, they would seek and kill what they were trained for. Staying as far away from the eggs and wurmers as she could along the outside edge of this second cavern, she made her way deeper and deeper. All she saw were eggs and baby wurmers, scraping over the rocky floor with their mouths opening and closing.

Right in front of her an egg split open. A wurmer squirted out covered in a sticky purple goo. Her lips puckered.

The long minutes had turned into an hour when she heard the sound of a large dragon slithering over the cave floor. A long, thick tail snaked by in front of her feet. It was every bit as big as Balzurth’s. Just as the tail passed, she edged in closer. There, with its head on a long, scaly neck reaching the top of the cavern, stood a wurmer more than thirty feet tall.

How did that thing even get in here?

The wurmer queen was one of a kind among the rest of the insect-like dragons. Her scales were the color of black iron. Her wings were those of a hornet, and they buzzed from time to time. Clinging to her massive frame were dozens of tiny wurmers with their claws fastened between the scales. Underneath the monster, fresh eggs were being laid one at a time. Other tiny creatures picked them up and moved them out of the path.

Selene knew what the hairy little people were the moment she saw them: black gnomes. They moved with purpose, carrying the eggs in the crooks of their arms and moving them to safety.

“Creepy,” she said.

“I didn’t think any of them still lived,” Sansla replied.

The black gnomes were hard workers but mute. They made the perfect slaves for a task such as this.

“I would have suspected goblins.”

Somewhere beyond the wurmer queen, a gas-like steam released into the air. Selene covered her nose and fought back a cough. The pungent, tangy smell lingered. The coolness of the cave heated up. Whatever the gas was, it clung to her like a nasty fog that did not rise. She caught Sansla rubbing his watery eyes and gave him a nod.

The queen moved deeper into the cave and out of sight.

Selene led them deeper toward the steam. Cutting through the yellow fog, she came across a small crater that boiled with a colorful and angry light. Deep inside its translucent goo, a gemstone the size of her head beat with fiery life.

Selene swallowed. “This is what we came for. That gemstone, a life giver, is the source of their beginnings. It is the heart of the queen. No life stone, no wurmers. That’s how the ancient wizards set it up. That’s what we must destroy.” She pulled her satchel around to the front of her waist and unbuckled the leather straps. She was reaching into it when a voice filled the cavern.

“Welcome, Selene and Sansla. I’ve been expecting you.”

Before she could blink, the black gnomes had them surrounded.

The queen wurmer returned, and the voice spoke again. “Don’t look so surprised. I know all.”

CHAPTER 25

Nath left his friends behind. It wouldn’t be possible for them to keep up with him by any stretch of the imagination. He did see to it that one of the seekers stayed with them to guide them. Running at full speed, his dragon heart didn’t falter. His lungs were as strong as ever, and so was the rest of him. As best as he understood it, the dwarves that marched with Rerry and Samaz were only a few leagues away.

Barring any unforeseen encounters, I should be able to cut them off in time.

With his fleet feet traversing the steppes, he followed the first seeker dragon, who flew in front of him. The little black and gold dragon seemed annoyed, flying back and forth and making little roars at him.

“I’m going as fast as I can. It’s not my fault I don’t have wings, speedy one.”

The dragon buzzed ahead, only to zoom back again. It made Nath feel like he hadn’t moved at all.

I’ve got to become a dragon again! This is getting old.

Another mile into the run, he crossed into a thick patch of woodland filled with briar bushes and low-limbed trees.

“Great dragons! Why’d you take me this way?”

Nath forged on, hurdling or tearing through every obstacle in sight. He broke free of the woodland and found himself standing on an overlook. A few hundred feet below him, twelve dwarves were huddled up on the road between one patch of woodland and another.

Slivver and the other silver dragons had the dwarves surrounded.

The dwarves reminded him of Brenwar, but they had a slightly fiercer look. Wearing a black breastplate and carrying a long-handled mace with a studded ball of iron on the end, one dwarf yelled up, “You! Nath Dragon! You’re coming with us!”

Nath had a clean look at Rerry and Samaz. They were on their feet, with their arms bound behind their backs. Other than being scraped up and smeared with dirt, they seemed fine. He yelled down to them, “Rerry? Samaz? Are you well?”

“Aside from being very hungry, we’re fine. It’s good to see you, Nath.”

“Quiet, prisoner!” The dwarven leader pointed his mace at Nath. “You’re coming with us. Now be wise and surrender.”

Noting the other dragons with his eyes, Nath said, “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. I respect your skills, but you are no match for dragons.”

“So you seek to rob us of our charges, eh?” The dwarf stroked his beard. “We’ll die first. And that will prove you are the murderer of Uurluuk, as accused.”

Nath wholeheartedly believed the dwarves would die before they released their prisoners. I need to figure out a way to extract them without hurting the dwarves. Well, maybe I can hurt them a little. He started down the hillside and came to a stop a few dozen yards from the road. He could see in the hard eyes of the dwarves that they were ready to fight to the bitter end. “Perhaps we can negotiate their release?”

“Dwarves don’t negotiate.”

“You most certainly do. Everyone does.” Nath went into a historical tirade of all the negotiations that the dwarves had been involved in. More than an hour later, the dwarves hadn’t given an inch.

The leader said, “You presume to give me a history lesson on my own people? Again, Dwarves don’t negotiate. Now if you know what’s good for you, you’ll surrender.”

“I can’t do that.”

The dwarf gave his troopers a command in Dwarven. Four of them fell from the ranks, brandishing battle axes. They marched up the hill, spreading out to flank Nath.

The leader came right at Nath.

Brenwar, Ben, Bayzog, and Sasha appeared behind him. Brenwar jogged down the hill, passing Nath and barring the path between Nath and the dwarf.

The dwarven leader’s eyes widened at the sight of Brenwar, and he stopped. “Out of the way, Father. I have orders.”

“Out of the way? Don’t you dare speak to your father that way, Glenwar. You’re on the wrong side of things!”

“Glenwar?” Nath exclaimed. “I thought there was a similarity, but he was so young last time I saw him.”

“Oh great, there’s two of them,” Ben commented.

“No, Father, it is you who are on the wrong side of things. You stand by the side of a murderer.” Glenwar took another step up the hill.

“Don’t you dare, Son. Don’t you dare.”

Glenwar stopped. “What would you have me do, Father? I have my orders. I shall follow them through. Wouldn’t you do the same?”

Brenwar paused. Pawing at his beard, he replied, “Glenwar, I was with Nath Dragon the entire time. It’s not possible that he did what he is accused of. The dragons have been allies since before you or I ever existed. Certainly you can see that?”

“Nevertheless, he is accused. There have been witnesses. Piigliin was one of them.” He pointed to a dwarf among the ranks with a soft yellow beard. The dwarf nodded, pointed at Nath, and said, “He’s the one I saw. For certain. I’ll never forget those scales and that flaming hair.”

Glenwar eyeballed his father. “Have you ever known a dwarf to lie about such a thing?”

“Things are not always as they appear,” Brenwar said. “Do you not know that the evil spirits have been released into the world? The titans have returned. War is waged in air, land, and sea. People are amiss. Even the blind squirrel can see it. You’ve been taught better than this.”

“I’ve been taught to follow orders. As for those spirits, I’ve yet to see them. I believe what I see.”

“You believe what you want to see. That’s dangerous, Glenwar. I’ve always told you about that, but you never wanted to listen. There’s a war going on.” Brenwar’s bony thumb went over his shoulder at Nath. “We need Nath Dragon. We can’t afford to have him locked away in the dungeons, not for any amount of time. We all need to engage the same enemy.”

Glenwar stood toe to toe with his father. “I have my orders. Step aside, Brenwar Bolderguild, or be dealt with.”

CHAPTER 26

With the air rife with tension, Nath broke the silence. “Glenwar, don’t cross your father. You’ll regret it.”

“I have to follow orders. Father should respect that and step aside.”

“I’ll step aside when you come to your senses, Son.”

With intent in his dark eyes, Glenwar said, “It will be the hard way then.”

A high-pitched whistle sounded from the woodland on the other side. Elven archers dressed in brown and ivy-colored leather woodsman’s garb emerged. There must have been a hundred of them that Nath could see lined up in the trees. Many of them came forward, quiet as ghosts, fanning out until all the dwarves and dragons were surrounded.

Glenwar backed off. “Sound our horn, Piigliin!”

Piigliin put a brass horn to his lips and blasted out a call as loud as a dragon’s roar. The sound blast must have carried for leagues.

Brenwar shook his head. “They’ll hear that all the way to Morgdon. You’ve really done it now, Son.”

“I’ve done my duty. You should expect that.” Glenwar lowered his weapon. “It’s only a matter of time now, Father. A host of dwarves is only a league away.” He turned his back. “Let’s see what these elves have to say.”

The elven commander made his way front and center on the road, wearing the same garb as the rest of his elves. The only noticeable difference was a pair of golden bracers on his arms. He called up the hillside, “Glenwar Bolderguild, you have done well. The elven avengers of Laedorn are here to aid you in your endeavor.” He gave a courteous bow.

“Well met, Axillis,” Glenwar said. “Your aid with the fugitives is welcome.”

“Taking aid from elves? Pah!” Brenwar said. “Can you not see what isn’t right with this?”

“Nath Dragon is the enemy of both races. He—”

“He is the enemy of no one but the titans and all who oppose freedom in this world!” Brenwar pulled Mortuun around. “I will not fight my fellow dwarves, but I won’t hold back against the elves. How do you know they aren’t behind all this?’

“Why would they be?’ Glenwar asked.

“Why would Nath Dragon be? Or any of us!”

This reminded Nath of an old proverb: Duty is blind. As Brenwar and Glenwar went back and forth, memories of his father swelled up inside his chest. Arguments with his father had been similar, but this smelled different to his dragon senses. Something about Glenwar’s body language made Nath uncomfortable. The son of Brenwar didn’t seem himself. Judging by his shifting feet, he wasn’t one hundred percent behind what he was doing. But he was a dwarf. Stubborn. He would do it anyway, even if it killed him.

Bayzog and Sasha came up on either side of them. “I have to be with my sons,” she said.

“I don’t see any way out of here without someone getting hurt,” Nath admitted. “I’m open for ideas.”

“I was prepared to handle the dwarves,” said the part-elf wizard, “but not all these elves. There are far too many.”

From the middle of the road, Axillis said, “Nath Dragon, this is a surrender-or-die moment, meaning if you don’t surrender, we will fight and many will die. Of course, being the murderer you are, I’m certain that won’t bother you.”

“It bothers me plenty.” He started back down the hill. His hope had been that they could rescue Rerry and Samaz before the elves and dwarves found them. They were too late. The elves wouldn’t let up any more than the dwarves. “I’m not guilty of the bloodshed I’m accused of, and I won’t be held responsible for any more bloodshed.” He unhooked Fang from his back. Elven bowstrings tightened. He handed Fang to Slivver, who took a spot by his side.

“Dragon King, you cannot do this,” Slivver whispered.

“I wish I had a choice.” Nath lifted his hands. “I’ll come willingly on one condition.”

“You are in no position.”

Nath gave the elf a hard stare. “Let me be clear. We could wipe all of you out in seconds if we wanted to.”

Axillis blanched.

Nath continued, “Someone has to fight the titans, so let the boys go, let my friends be free, and you can take me.”

“And me,” Brenwar growled. “If anyone is as not guilty as he is, it’s me.”

Glenwar and Axillis locked eyes. Glenwar gave a nod. Together the dwarf and elven leaders said, “Done.”

As the elves bound Nath’s feet to his neck with elven elotween, Rerry and Samaz hustled up to him.

“Thank you, Nath,” Rerry said to him, “but it hardly seems fair, and I don’t feel worth it.”

Nath gave him a wink. “You’re worth it. Now go up there and hug your mother.”

Unable to hide the sad look on his face, Samaz gave him a quiet nod.

“Samaz, stay close to your parents. Your father has been through something horrendous, and I don’t know what the consequences may be.”

“I will.”

CHAPTER 27

“Who are you?” Selene asked. She saw the queen wurmer and the gnomes, but the source of the voice in her mind was unseen. “Reveal yourself.”

The female voice laughed. “I am one of the titan spirits, released from the Great Dragon Wall courtesy of your dearest Nath Dragon. For centuries I’ve seen many things from beyond. Your life has been quite interesting, Selene of Gorn Grattack. Ha, you think you can walk away from your evil deeds and replace them with good ones? It’s entertaining.”

Selene and Sansla stood back to back. She looked from side to side, saying to him, “Do you see anyone?”

“Can’t say I do,” he replied. “Of course, this gigantic wurmer blocks most of my view.”

The newborn wurmers creeped in among the black gnomes. Their tiny claws scraped over the rocky floor. Selene shivered. There weren’t many things that startled her, but the thought of being covered in wurmers sent chills up and down her scales. “You must have something to fear if you won’t face us, eh? What’s your name?”

A cold wind blew through the warm room. The unseen spirit whispered in Selene’s ear, “I am Tylabahn, sister of Eckubahn and Isobahn.”

Misty vapors coiled around Selene’s neck like gentle hands. The air thinned. Her breathing became shallow. Chin up, Selene said, “If you seek to scare me, you will fail. I do not fear your monstrous ilk.”

The ghostly vapors moved in between Sansla and Selene, caressing and probing them from head to toe. Tylabahn continued, “Your heart races, dear Selene, High Priestess of Barnabus. But of course you don’t fear me. It takes a monster to know a monster.” The spirit made a hair-raising chuckle. “I find it so amusing that you stand right in the heart of the monsters you awakened. You, the high priestess, awakened the wurmers for your own purposes. And now you seek to destroy them? Why, Selene? Why don’t you use them to finish what you started and help us?”

Selene swallowed. Sweat beaded on her forehead. “I’ve seen the error of my ways. Soon you will as well.”

Tylabahn’s voice became angry. “Don’t presume to judge me, Selene! You have as much blood on your hands as I do. Do you really think you can redeem yourself? The people of Nalzambor will never forgive you, nor forget you.” The spirit embraced Selene like the hug of a loving mother. “Join me, Selene. Shed that make-believe nobility and embrace the warrior who resides within. You are meant to be more than a shadow, but instead a ruler of this world. You were so close, Selene. It was Gorn Grattack who failed, not you.”

The burning desire to fight simmered and boiled within Selene. The power she’d lost had been awesome. She had controlled all who surrounded her. Ever since she gave that up, she had felt lost, trying to fit in and scrape by. She wasn’t sure who she really was.

“You cannot undo what has been done, Selene. This world is already conquered. The dragons and the races don’t know it yet, but they will come to that realization soon enough.” Tylabahn’s voice was a welcoming purr. “Join me. Join us. Be an everlasting goddess.”

“Don’t listen to her, Selene. The spirits are liars.” Sansla clawed at the vapors. “They make promises they will not keep. Do what must be—urk!” Sansla clutched at his throat. His powerful arms flailed.

Swaying in a trance, Selene watched Sansla struggle against his unseen bonds.

“I am going to kill him, Selene. He has no power against me. I am ten of him. But you, Selene, you can end this. Show mercy. Take out your sword and kill him. A quick death is much better than watching him suffer. Besides, he’ll make a great meal for the wurmers. They’ll be thankful to have you as a second mother. They’ll be loyal to the end.”

Without even realizing it, she drew her sword.

Sansla’s elven eyes enlarged. “No, Selene, don’t let her seduce you.” He tried to scramble away, but the vapors lifted him off the ground and spread his arms and legs wide. Wings beating, Sansla strained against his bonds.

She approached with her blade pointed at his chest. The anger that had once made her queen of the world bubbled over. She wanted that power back. She wanted it all.

But she wanted it on her terms. With the tip of her blade inches from Sansla’s exposed chest, she said, “If I kill him, can you make me a whole dragon again?”

“You will become more powerful than you have ever been.”

With the growing hunger within, she said, “I’d like that.” She drew the sword back to strike.

With compassionate elven eyes, Sansla said, “I forgive you.”

The words came to Selene like a cold slap in the face. The spirit of Tylabahn shuddered within her. Selene lowered the sword, shaking her head.

“Finish him!” Tylabahn commanded. “He might forgive you, but the rest of them won’t!”

Selene shrugged off the unseen bonds and put away her sword. “Some of them will, and some of them won’t. I can live with that.” She reached into her satchel and withdrew an orb that filled her hand. It pulsated and throbbed.

“What is that?” Tylabahn hissed. Ghostly tendrils came at Selene.

“It’s an Orb of Destruction!” She sprinted to the burbling pool of goo as a gem of life beat within.

Tylabahn’s tendrils licked out, tripping her feet and dragging her away from the pool. “You fool, you would kill yourself!”

Selene clawed at the rock floor with her free hand. “Not to mention you, all the wurmers, and these useless little gnomes.” She muttered an enchanted word. The orb in her hand pulsed faster. A tendril locked up her wrist, trying to wrench it free. The orb fell from Selene’s grip.

“Hah! Now you’ll only destroy yourself. The gem of life is protected.”

Out of nowhere, a black gnome rushed over. He picked up the orb, slipped through Tylabahn’s tendrils, and slammed the orb into the boiling crater.

The spirit of Tylabahn went wild. She released Selene and Sansla. The ghostly vapors of her body dug into the gooey pool, slinging slime everywhere.

The black gnome took Selene by the hand, saying, “Come, come. I know a way out.”

“This mountain will collapse on us in seconds,” Selene said, racing after the scurrying gnome.

He replied, “Then you had better make the most of them!”

CHAPTER 28

Nath stood still while the elves secured his feet to his neck. “I think you’re being excessive, seeing as I’ve turned myself over to you.”

“We’re not going to have you running away,” Glenwar said. “We know how fast you are.”

“So my reputation precedes me.”

“I don’t think you should be making light of your situation, murderer.”

“Alleged murderer. Aw, I can’t believe I’m even saying that. I didn’t kill Laedorn and Uurluuk!” He rattled his chains. “I can still run faster than you, even in these things.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Glenwar marched away, leaving a dozen dwarven spearmen standing guard.

Nath sighed. Nothing seemed right about the elves or the dwarves. He understood they had a duty to bring him in, but they didn’t seem right. Not the way he was used to seeing them. The worst thing had been seeing Glenwar challenge Brenwar. That had been downright unnatural. Now the father and son couldn’t even look at each other.

The dwarves and elves lined up in two separate columns and started to march. They headed east, just beyond the distant peaks of Morgdon. Brenwar and Ben stayed by Nath’s side, talking to him from time to time, but they were without their weapons.

“I think you’d be better off fighting the real war that’s going on,” Nath said, holding his chain so it wouldn’t choke him, “not fooling around with this farce.”

“I’m not taking my eye off you. Not with them holding the other end of that chain. I don’t like it.” Brenwar’s hot glare scanned the ranks of his kin. “It’s weird.”

“Dragon,” Ben said, “If it gets too wooly, you have to get out of this.”

“Don’t even talk like that,” Brenwar warned. “They’ll shackle all of us.”

“No, Ben. Don’t be antsy. That’s just what the enemy wants. They want to take us all off the game table. We can’t let that happen.”

“Who is they?” Ben asked.

“Good question. Let’s just hope we know them when we see them.”

“Well, if I were you, I’d summon the dragons to free me.” Ben dusted off a bug that landed on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t toy around with them. They should know better.”

“I’ll be curious to see who the other witnesses are.” Brenwar did a half step, getting his feet in sync with the other dwarves. “So far, there’s only Piigliin that I know of. He was always trouble. It’s hard for me to speak against my kin, but we have our share of rotten eggs. They were always swiftly dealt with, but now it seems they are turned loose.”

“There is bad in everybody.”

The conversation fell silent. The steady rhythm of boots hitting the ground stayed with them all through the day until nightfall. Nath wasn’t surprised when the torches were lit and they kept on going.

As Glenwar had mentioned, they joined ranks with even more dwarves. Another host of elves came as well. By morning, Nath was marching with a full army thousands strong.

All this over me?

The next day, the army came to a halt at a military outpost called the Corridor. The fortress had been crafted by dwarves and elves, and it was extremely well fortified. A twenty-foot-high wall stretched over one hundred yards, and it was half as deep. They entered through a steel portcullis on the side closer to Morgdon, guarded by dwarves. They heard that elves guarded the side facing toward Elome. The facility had been built when the dwarves and elves battled the orcen hordes together. In recent years, it was all but abandoned, so far as Nath knew, with only a skeleton crew to watch over it. Apparently, now it served another mutual purpose: his trial.

Thousands of soldiers lined the walls and the parapets, half facing outward and the other half inward. The banners of the dwarves and the elves snapped in the high winds. The four round corner towers rose forty feet in the air. At the very tops were elven archers and dwarves on ballistas.

In the center of the courtyard, a court hearing area had been built with slabs of cut stone and wood. Five throne-like chairs made from highly crafted steel sat upon a stage, empty. In front of the stage was a large cage made from steel bars.

Glenwar and Axillis hooked Nath by the arms and put him in the cage. “The trial comes when the trial comes,” Glenwar said as he and Axillis departed, slamming the cage door shut behind them.

“I could use a meal,” Nath said.

Axillis waved his hand at the army. “After we feed all of them, then we will feed you. Maybe.”

“I’ll find you something, Dragon,” Ben offered.

“No, I’m not really that hungry. Just testing the waters. And they’re foul.” He pressed his face against the bars. “They couldn’t possibly find me guilty, could they?”

“The dwarves better not, but I can’t speak for the elves.” Brenwar tugged the bars. “Dwarven. Well made. You’d have a hard time getting out of this.”

“Thanks, Brenwar.” He lifted his chain. “Care to comment on this?”

“The best.”

CHAPTER 29

Over the next couple of days, the dwarves hauled in lumber and built bleachers that rose from the flagstone courtyard floor to the top of the parapet wall. With the assistance of the elves and Brenwar—who’d gotten bored standing around—they turned the fortress courtyard into an arena.

Nath waved at his old friend, who was pounding in nails with his skeleton fist. “Thanks, Brenwar. Make sure everyone is comfortable.”

Ben returned with a platter of food and took a bite of apple pie, which oozed juicy glaze. “Do you feel like eating yet?” Also on the platter were sausage links, a small brick of cheese, and a tall tankard of ale.

Nath shook his head no. “What’s going on out there? It smells like an elven festival.”

Ben lifted his brows and nodded. “You’d be surprised. It’s as if word has spread all over. The elves and the dwarves are pitting their arrays of food and ales against one another. Slabs of meat, tasty cakes, pies with raspberry jelly jam whip oozing out of the rim, and hors d’oeuvres.” He licked his lips. “I can’t remember the last time I ate so well.”

“Ben! If they find me guilty they’re going to kill me.”

“I think that’s part of the draw too,” said the aging farm boy-turned-soldier, wiping the juice from his mouth. “Oh, sorry, Dragon. I guess I got caught up in the moment. You know they won’t find you guilty. It’s impossible.”

Clasping the bars, Nath said, “Do you remember the floating city?”

“Of course I do.”

“Did you always think such a thing was possible?”

Ben chomped down on the crust of the pie and said with a mouthful, “No, but that was magic.”

“Yes, that was magic, and what do I always say about magic?”

Ben’s eyes slid up. “Uh, you say ‘with magic, anything is possible.’” He nodded.

“Yes, and that includes my conviction.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Ben! Quit eating that food. It’s doing—Ben?”

The old warrior had set the tray down, picked up the tankard of ale, and walked off as if he hadn’t even been part of the conversation. He disappeared into the crowd.

“What in the name of Guzan is going on?” Nath turned and slid down against the bars, holding his head. Everyone was acting strange. That hadn’t initially included Ben and Brenwar, but now it did.

It has to be the titan spirits, but how? They couldn’t possibly possess so many people. Or could they? And if the people are under a spell, won’t the judges be, too?

He banged his head against the bars. “Great dragons.”

“What did those bars ever do to you?” said a female voice.

Nath found himself gazing up at Laylana, the granddaughter of Laedorn. Remaining seated, he said, “Please tell me you still have your wits about you.”

“Excuse me? That’s an awfully strange way to address your defender.” Her jet-black hair hung in a long braid over her shoulder. Her beautiful eyes were deep pools of green. “I assure you I have all my wits and more. You’ll need them.”

Getting up on his feet, he reached through the bars, pulled her body in, and kissed her forehead. “I can only hope so. Everyone here is going mad! They celebrate before my trial. Laylana, a curse has fallen over the people.”

“Keep your voice down.” She gave their surroundings a glance. “I got here as soon as I found out you were in custody. I was afraid this would happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whatever has afflicted the minds of the elves, I can’t explain. It started up weeks ago. They all started acting off, or silly. Some are affected and some are not.” She held up her hand. She wore a silver band on her ring finger that was engraved with leaves. “This ring was worn by Laedorn. It protects me from many things. I hope this madness is one of them.”

“It’s affected my friends, Ben and Brenwar. Maybe something they ate or drank.”

“I admit I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to magic. I’m a warrior, as you know, but I’ll keep investigating.”

“Bayzog could help if you could reach him.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Perhaps the warden will let me speak with him.”

Taken aback, Nath said, “What do you mean, the warden?”

“Didn’t you know? They’re held captive in the Corridor’s dungeons.”

“They were supposed to be set free. I had Glenwar and Axillis’s word on that!”

“I’m sorry, Nath, but it was discovered that they plotted your escape. They had to be brought in, but they surrendered willingly.” She touched his hand. “Stay calm. I’ll look into it. I thought you knew.”

“I’ll tell you what I know. This isn’t a trial. It’s a farce!”

CHAPTER 30

Following blind instinct, Selene ran after the black gnome.

Behind her, Sansla called out, “Are you sure this is best?”

“I’m sure we only have a few seconds left!”

The black gnome skipped and skittered through the cavern, making for a slit in the wall.

Behind them, young wurmers gave chase, nipping at their heels. They were outnumbered a hundred to one as they ran loose through the pits, stepping on wurmers and knocking over eggs. The ground trembled under her feet, tripping up her steps. She crushed one of the eggs with a splatter.

The wurmer queen became angry.

Sansla pushed Selene up to her feet. They made a full-speed dash, with baby wurmers latching on to scales and skin. Beckoning them with his hand, the black gnome jumped into the split in the rock and disappeared.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The jarring explosion heaved the ground up beneath them. A wash of mystic energy bore down on them like a tidal wave. The energy wiped out every baby wurmer and egg in its path. The wurmer queen reeled against the force while at the same time making the most awful sound Selene had ever heard.

With the explosion sizzling their toes, Selene and Sansla dove for the gap together. She popped out of the portal and landed on Sansla. They were back in the two giants’ huge cavern. The black gnome stood nearby, rubbing the back of his shaggy head. Across the cavern, the cave mouth that led into the wurmer nursery was burning with fire. The stone giants were staring at it.

Selene poked the black gnome in the back. “Who are you?”

He spun around and slapped her hand away. “There’s no time for that now. Let’s get out of here while those giants are distracted. They’ll sniff us out, you know.” The black gnome plucked a wurmer spawn off her leg, threw it down and stomped it, then took off.

Without objection, Selene followed the gnome back into the seam and up out into the hills. Her chest was tight and her knees were a little wobbly, but she felt safer in the dying forest than she had down in the chasm that haunted them from behind. “There had better not be too many queens. Fortune found favor with us today.”

“Indeed,” Sansla said. The winged ape had bite marks all over. Parts of his white fur had clotted red.

Selene said to him, “I almost killed you. I don’t know what came over me, but I was going to do it. I felt that old hate rising in me.”

His big paw engulfed her shoulder. “But you didn’t. Now you’ve seen the power of forgiveness. Its cleansing can break curses.”

Something about his words made her heart swell. She hugged him. Tears ran out the corners of her eyes. “I just thought of all of those horrible things I did. I felt like I couldn’t escape my past.”

“If others forgive you, then you can learn to forgive yourself. Tylabahn almost got you because your faith in yourself is weak. Be strong.” He broke the hug. “You’ve grown. Shown you were willing to die to save others. I can see that. Look.” He held up her hand. The black scales of her palms had turned white. “The same thing happened to Nath.”

Selene studied her hands. She fingered the palms. It was different. Much of the guilt she carried was gone for some reason. “I-I didn’t do that much.”

“There aren’t many people who would have dared to drop that Orb of Destruction into that well. You did it with no self-regard whatsoever.”

She wiped her tears. “That sure took care of that, didn’t it? Ha! I only wish I could have seen that titan’s face when she realized it was over. Say, where did that gnome go?”

The black gnome was nowhere in sight. Aside from them, the forest was empty.

“How did he do that, Sansla?”

The winged white ape’s nostrils flared. “His scent is gone.”

Eyes narrowed, she headed in the direction where she last saw the little guy. She bent over and touched the small footprints in the ground. They went on for a few steps and vanished. “We didn’t imagine him, did we?”

“Certainly not, though I am perplexed as to how we came across that portal. I’m grateful while at the same time dismayed.”

“Woohoo!” said a voice far up in the trees.

Selene’s head snapped up. A figure sat in the branches, slender and humanoid, hairless, with odd pinkish skin. Nothing like the black gnome she’d just seen. He waved at her with long, agile fingers. His face was expressionless.

Her eyes brightened. “Gorlee!”

“At your service.”

CHAPTER 31

Another day passed with Nath sitting, standing, and pacing in his cage. The oddness of his surroundings had reached a point where he was too uncomfortable to eat. And anyway, he didn’t trust the food. His stomach growled. His temper flared.

I should summon the dragons, but would they get to my dungeoned friends in time?

Aside from the soldiers who stood watch by the thousands and only moved to relieve one another, the people reveled. They were singing, drinking, and carrying on like the trial was a celebration. Elves and dwarves walked arm in arm, complimenting one another. They patted one another on the back and played music together.

Nath tried to flag Brenwar down.

The old warrior was at the top of the stands, putting the finishing touches on the railing. People had filled up half the seats. They ate and talked—males, females, and children—as if they were on a picnic. The children would stroll by and make faces at Nath.

Finally, he called out, “Brenwar! Brenwar! Get down here!”

Brenwar waved his bony hand. “In a moment. This railing isn’t quite straight.”

“Your head isn’t quite straight!” Nath tossed his mane of red hair. He wanted to scream. He hadn’t seen Ben or Laylana since yesterday. They’d vanished. He wondered if they’d been taken prisoner too.

I could have sworn turning myself in was the right thing. It spared lives and prevented injury. But the entire gesture has turned backward on me. I can’t believe it!

Two of the biggest dwarves he ever saw carried a stone table between them. Their hair was so thick he could barely see their faces. Wearing only sleeveless leather armor, they were all muscles that bulged in their snakelike arms. The powerful duo set the table down between Nath’s cage and the judge stand. Its heavy legs hit the flagstones with a bang! The two dwarves took a glance at Nath. One wiped his nose. The other spat. They moved on.

What is that table for?

From the tops of the corner towers, trumpets blared. The music stopped. The bustling crowds went still. Behind Nath was the entrance on the dwarven side. The soldiers parted ranks, making a path. In front of him behind the judge stand, the elves did the same thing. A team of black horses eight deep pulled an alabaster and ivy-colored carriage under the elven portcullis and down the runway of grass.

On the dwarven end of things, the dwarves themselves pulled a dwarven-crafted carriage. On its roof, smoke puffed out of a chimney stack, giving it the look of a tiny cottage on wheels.

The crowd murmured. The stands filled. Excited faces commented, “The judges are here.”

To the right of Nath, the dwarven carriage came to a stop. On the left, across from the dwarves, the elven carriage did the same. A small set of wooden stairs was carried in front of each carriage door. The doors opened.

Standing with his nose between the bars, Nath watched the occupants of the carriages come out. Three dwarves with grey and white beards almost touching their toes marched out. They weren’t dressed in armor but instead wore heavy leather gowns stitched together with intricate patterns of golden threads. Though simple, their chestnut-colored ensemble appeared fit for kings.

Across the way, the elven judges came, in soft blue robes sashed with kelly green and maroon. They were older, with crow’s feet showing in the corners of their eyes. Their once-lustrous hair had become thin and faded after centuries of life. Together they walked front and center facing the dwarves, who did the same on the other side of the lengthwise table. They clasped hands.

“Nath. Nath.” He turned. Laylana stood behind his cage, motioning for him to come over. “The trial is beginning.”

“Thanks for the warning. I thought you were defending me. Where have you been?”

“There’s no need to get snippy.”

“Snippy? Me? My trial’s about to start, and we haven’t even discussed strategy! You vanished on me. I was worried.”

“I was interviewing the witnesses.”

“And?”

She shrugged. “Many of them claim to have seen you do what they say you did. It will be difficult to sway the judges unless I can discredit them all.”

“Laylana, are you sure you’re up to this?”

She touched his hands. “Nath, I’ve never been more ready.”

“What about Bayzog? Did you talk to him? What did he say?”

“Uh, oh, yes. He’ll be able to give a good account in your defense. He speaks very highly of you.”

Nath slapped his face. This is a disaster! She doesn’t know what she’s doing. None of them do! “Have you been eating the food they’re serving?”

“Only a little bit.” Her brows knitted. “I was hungry. Why?”

“Never mind.” He turned toward the judges. They were exercising a strange ritual with their hands. “What are they doing?”

“As you can see, there are six judges. But only five can hear your case, so that there can be a majority vote.” She counted them with her fingers. “Yes, there are six.”

“I can clearly see that.”

“You really need to be nicer to me. I’m trying to free you from the bind you’re in. Anyway, they are deciding if the majority will be elven or dwarven.”

Rubbing his temples, Nath said, “Why don’t you just bring in an orc to be the tie breaker?”

“How rude,” she said, keeping her attention on the judges. The dwarven judges let out an angry grunt. One of them stormed back into the carriage. “Ah, the elves win. A good thing. I should have more sway with them.” She winked at Nath. “See, have a little faith, Nath. Things are starting to go your way.”

The judges took their seats on the stage, overlooking the table and Nath’s cage. An elf judge sat in the center, with the dwarves on the right and the elves on the left. The center judge looked very much like Laedorn.

Nath kept his voice low. “What’s his name?”

“That is Lindor. He was a dear friend of Laedorn’s. I take it you’ve never met him?”

“No, I don’t see a face I know aside from yours and those of my other fair-weather friends.”

“Well, Lindor is firm but fair. Be glad of it.”

With his slender elf hand, Lindor picked up a ball of obsidian marble that glinted in the sun and banged it on the judges’ stone table like a gavel. The world fell silent just before he said in a slightly shaky voice, “Let the trial of Nath Dragon begin.”

CHAPTER 32

To Nath’s right, the bleachers were filled with dwarves. Brenwar sat in the front row with his hands on his knees. Ben was at his side. Both of them kept their eyes were on Lindor. They looked like they’d woken from a dream. All the people did.

Nath tried to get his friends’ attention what a gesture and a harsh whisper. “Brenwar. Ben. Get over here.” Neither of them responded. Brenwar steadily combed at his beard with his skeleton fingers. Ben worked a toothpick between his teeth.

Lindor the elven judge banged the gavel again. “We have a unique situation. It has been centuries since the elves and dwarves held mutual counsel, so I’ll take a moment to explain the proceedings.” He cleared his throat. “There are five judges. If at least four judges find Nath Dragon guilty, then he will be hung by the neck.”

Someone in the stands shouted in Elven, “Kill him!”

Holding up a finger, Lindor said, “Guards, control these outbursts. Remove the interrupter from the congregation. We are civilized people.”

The elven guards removed the intolerable elf from the grandstands. He kicked and screamed like a wild man. “You’re guilty, Nath Dragon! Guilty!”

Nath looked away.

At least Lindor seems reasonable. I just wish he’d remove the rest of these squirrely people.

“If three judges are in favor of a guilty verdict,” Lindor continued, “then Nath Dragon will be imprisoned in the Dungeons of Morgdon for five hundred years or until he expires, whichever comes first.”

There was some grumbling among the elves.

“In the event Nath Dragon lives beyond five hundred years, he will be taken to Elome and held prisoner there until the day he dies. His remains will then be returned to the Mountain of Doom for a proper funeral and burial among his kind.”

Laylana leaned toward Nath and said, “That sounds reasonable.”

Nath moved away from the elfess. Judging by her chronic lip picking and blinking eyes, she’d become just as uncharacteristic as the others.

She used to be as hard as iron. Now she’s as looney as a crystal gnome. For the love of Balzurth, is there anybody here I can count on?

Nath’s breathing became heavy.

Lindor moved on. “In the case of a majority three or better not-guilty verdict, Nath Dragon will be set free.”

“Boooooo!” yelled the crowd on both sides of the stands.

Nath had never seen nor heard the elves and dwarves more unified.

Banging the round marble gavel on the table, Lindor calmly said, “Quiet, please, quiet. I will not hesitate to throw the lot of you out. This is court. A place of order. Settle yourselves.”

The dwarven judges stood. The dwarves in the stands fell quiet. The elves followed suit. The judges returned to their seats.

Lindor caught Laylana with his eyes and waved her to the table. “Are you and your client clear on how the decision will be made?”

She nodded. “Certainly.”

With a flip of his hand, Lindor motioned over another person whom Nath had not noticed, another female elf who had been sitting in the front row of the stands. She was lanky and well dressed in dark purple robes that matched her eyes. There was something sinister in the way she moved. With her chin up, she stepped to the table in a soft stride and bowed.

“Ah, prosecutor Anlee Couso.” Lindor snickered and elbowed the dwarf beside him. “A student of mine. Possibly the best.” He cleared his throat again and looked around. “Could I get some refreshment? The long ride left me parched.”

An elven maiden with a tray of decanters slunk over to the judge stand. She set down five metal goblets and began to fill them. Nath studied her closely. Dressed in the pink-and-white garb of a server, the elven maiden had white hair that ran down the length of her back. She was on her tip toes.

But her toes weren’t touching the ground. The top of the grass barely licked them.

Nath’s neck hairs stood on end. There’s something familiar about that maiden. “Laylana! Laylana! You need to object!”

Everyone looked at him.

Lindor banged the marble orb on the table. “Laylana, counsel your client.”

Laylana stormed over. “Nath, what are you doing? Keep that up, and you won’t be present for your own trial.”

“You need to object.”

“To what? The proceedings haven’t started.”

He pointed through the bars at the serving girl. “Don’t let them drink that. It’s enchanted, I tell you.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ve been drinking from those decanters since I’ve been here.” She twirled her hair with her finger. “I’m not under any spell.”

“You wouldn’t know it if you were.” Looking over Laylana’s head, he watched the serving maiden depart. She walked the same as anyone else, but he swore her feet only grazed the ground. She looked at Nath and made a smile. Her eyes were lavender. She blinked them both. Her eyes were black as coal. Batting her eyelashes one more time, she made her eyes turn lavender again. With a victorious smile, she disappeared into the ranks of elven soldiers.

“Lotuus!” He hollered at Brenwar and Ben. “That was Lotuus! Can you hear me?”

Brenwar cupped his ear. “I can hear you just fine. Now behave yourself.”

Laylana rushed out in front of him. “Nath, you have to stop this.”

“No, you have to stop this trial. I’m telling you, a bewitching is going on here.”

Lindor banged the gavel. “Nath Dragon! One more outburst and you won’t see your own trial. I suggest you behave yourself as a testament to your character, which at the moment seems to be lacking.”

He cocked his head and whispered to Laylana, “Can a judge say that?”

“He’s the judge. He can say whatever he wants.”

“Anlee Couso,” Lindor said, “Do you have any questions about how the judgment will be made?”

Hands behind her back and with a prudent tone, she said, “I argue that any majority decision of a guilty nature should mean immediate hanging.”

CHAPTER 33

Laylana objected. “You’ve explained the rules, Lindor, and they are more than reasonable. They cannot be changed now.”

Lindor rubbed his chin. “You are right. The agreement we have in place will not be altered. Anlee, your proposal is dismissed.”

“Judge Lindor, I believe you should take counsel with the other judges—”

With a whack of the marble gavel, he said, “That will not happen.”

Nath breathed a sigh of relief. Things seemed to be going his way.

The elven judge with sideburns that were only seen on the older elves bent Lindor’s ear.

Now what’s going on?

Judge Lindor took a drink from his goblet. “I’ve reconsidered. All of the judges in favor of hanging with a majority decision, raise your left hand.”

“What?” Nath exclaimed.

Every one of the judges raised their left hand. The crowd on both sides let out a hearty cheer.

“This is insanity!”

“Nath, be quiet. Your outbursts are not helping your case,” Laylana said.

“Your lack of an outburst isn’t doing anything for me either, Laylana. This is outrageous!”

Lindor pounded the marble ball like a hammer on the stone table. “Silence! Silence!”

The people cooled.

“Anlee, make your case.”

“Thank you, Judge Lindor.” Anlee motioned to an elven soldier wearing an almond-shaped helmet on his head. He marched forward with a bow in his hand. It wasn’t any ordinary bow. It was an exceptional one. She took the bow and held it up for all to see. “This is the murder weapon, which is more fondly known to the accused as Akron.”

“Ooh!” said everyone in the audience.

The soldier also handed her a quiver filled with arrows and two separate arrows that were not inside the quiver. Anlee set the bow on the stone table and the quiver beside it. She kept the two arrows in her hands. Raising them high, she said, “The arrows that pierced the hearts of Laedorn and Uurluuk!”

“Boo!” said the people. The outcries were angry.

Lindor banged the stone. “Silence! Silence!”

Anlee respectfully set one arrow down. She pointed the other one at Nath Dragon. “Witnesses—and there were many—saw a man fitting Nath Dragon’s unique description firing these arrows, unprovoked, into the very hearts of our leaders.” She reached over and caressed the finely carved elven ash wood of the bow. “And the most sickening thing is that this weapon—a gift from the elves to Nath Dragon—was used against them in a dark twist of fate.”

“I did no such thing!” Nath said with his head stuffed between the bars. “Haven’t you ever heard of an imposter?”

“Silence, Nath,” Laylana said in a warning. “I can handle this.”

“Can you?”

Laylana walked away and approached the table. “Judge Lindor, may I speak?”

“Anlee, is your opening statement concluded?”

With a quick look at Nath, she said, “That will do.”

Nath fought the urge to pull his hair out. He’d witnessed court judgments before in Nalzambor among many of the races. But he’d never seen a court that was so informal.

This is a joke. I have a bad defender, addled judges, and even my friends’ minds are elsewhere. They should be going after Lotuus. She’s behind all this.

Laylana began her opening statement, circling the table. Her eyes slid back and forth between the judges and the weapons as she spoke. “Judges, we certainly have a tragedy in the loss of our invaluable leadership. But we have something else as well. Mystery! Nath Dragon has always been a friend of the elves and the dwarves. He has been admired by them. What we have before us is the instrument, the weapon Akron. What we don’t have is motive.” Her fingers dusted over the table. “Why would Nath Dragon do something so uncharacteristic? To what gain? But by the end of this trial, I assure all of you that in your heart you will know Nath Dragon is not guilty of this crime. Somebody else is.”

The elven judges beside Lindor nodded. Nath found himself nodding as well. The tightness in his chest eased.

Maybe Laylana isn’t so affected as I thought.

“Any other remarks from either one of you?” Lindor asked.

The elven women shook their heads.

“Ah, proceed then,” the judge said with a yawn.

Laylana backed away and stood near Nath.

“You did well,” he said under his breath.

“I can get you through this. Trust me.” She gave him a nod.

Anlee approached the stone table. Using her hands and a mouthful of confidence, she made her case. With a finger up, she said, “Fact: Laedorn and Uurluuk are dead. Fact: Witnesses say a man fitting Nath Dragon’s description slew Laedorn and Uurluuk. Fact: The weapon Akron was described at both scenes and retrieved by the dwarves when the assassin fled. Fact: There isn’t a description of any other suspect.” She turned her back on the judges and faced Nath. “There is an old saying that goes, ‘If it looks like a unicorn, it’s a unicorn.’ Look at Nath Dragon, those scaly arms, that flame-red hair, and those golden eyes. There’s no mistaking Nath Dragon for anyone else but Nath Dragon.”

“Whoa,” Laylana said back to Nath, “that was really good.”

All of the judges behind the bench were nodding. With a dry throat, Nath replied, “Yes it was.”

CHAPTER 34

The first witness that Anlee called forward was the dwarven soldier Piigliin. Still in armor, he stood a full head shorter than Anlee. Nath couldn’t make out the dwarf’s eyes from behind all the hair. The only skin he could see on the dwarf was his turned-up nose. He listened to the dwarf’s convincing story after Anlee asked him what happened.

“I was part of Uurluuk’s escort—not that there was need for such a thing in Morgdon, until now at least, but it has always been customary.” Piigliin teetered back and forth on his feet. “So we marched as we always do to the square to have our fill at the Festival of Meads and Meats. We have those at the beginning of every changing season. We’d taken our places at the table when a wooly feeling went right up my beard.” He crawled his stubby fingers up his beard like a spider. “I took a gander in the spires, and there he was.”

“There who was? Can you show us?” Anlee asked.

Piigliin jabbed his finger at Nath. “I saw him, Nath Dragon. Plain as day because it was day. I was about to wave, thinking I’d offer a greeting. That’s when I noticed the bow. We’d just heard about the falling of Laedorn, but it hadn’t registered with me yet as to what was going on. By the time my wits caught on, it was too late. Nath Dragon pulled back the bowstring and fired. The arrow pierced the armor that covered Uurluuk’s chest. I’ll never forget that sound. Metal piercing metal. It was the sound of the world ending.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes. “Uurluuk died instantly, but he didn’t spill a drop of his mead. Like a statue, he held it right up to his lips. It was some fine mead.”

Nath rubbed his neck. He’d been around the dwarves plenty enough to know they weren’t liars. What Piigliin said he saw, Nath believed.

This isn’t good. If I’m convinced, how can the judges not be?

“Thank you, Piigliin,” Anlee said, patting his shoulder. “I don’t have any other questions for this witness.”

Lindor lifted his chin up from his chest, blinked his eyes, and said, “Yes, yes, any questions from the defender?”

“A few,” Laylana said. “Piigliin, how far away from the assassin were you when you saw him, her, or it?”

“Objection! The defender is misleading in her statement. The assassin is clearly a man,” Anlee said.

“And we know this how?” Laylana argued. “My own investigations have revealed that no one was closer to the assassin than a good fifty feet.”

“Overruled,” Lindor said. “Please continue.”

“Piigliin, how far from the assassin were you when that infamous shot was made?”

With a shrug of his shoulders that rattled his chest armor, Piigliin replied, “I’m certain it was fifty-seven yards. I’m good with distances. Just ask Glenwar or any of my kin.”

“I see. Fifty-seven yards is a fair distance.” Laylana walked away and up into the stands. Nearing the top, she said at the top of her voice, “About this far?”

“Close,” he yelled back.

“Interesting.” Looking right at him, she said, “Can you tell me what color my eyes are?”

He leaned forward. So did the judges. Piigliin’s features squirmed under his hair. Finally, he pushed his bangs up, revealing his brow and his own eyes, and said, “Blue.”

Laylana marched back down the steps, stood in the center of the courtyard for all to see, and said, “Clearly they are green, yet you say you saw golden eyes. You couldn’t have seen that.”

“Those golden eyes are bright. No one can forget them.”

“I believe you made an assumption. I argue that you didn’t even see scales—black arms, yes, but no scales. The hair, well, I’ll give you that, but anyone can wear a wig. After all, we know that assassins are masters of disguise, correct?”

With a grunt, Piigliin said, “I suppose. But I know it was him.”

“Or you hope it was him.”

Stamping his feet, Piigliin yelled, “There must be justice for Uurluuk!”

“Aye!” the dwarves yelled.

Lindor banged the round gavel on the stone table. “Order! Order! This festival-like behavior is for beyond the walls. There is no place for it within this courtyard!”

Nath stood back in the center of his cage, hanging on every word that was said.

Anlee brought forward witness after witness, dwarves and elves alike. Each of them recounted the same believable story, but when it came to the details, Laylana picked them apart. Witness by witness, she imparted doubt about what they had seen.

As it turned out, Laylana was right. Not one single witness had been closer to the assassin than a good fifty feet. The only caveat was that when the dwarves gave chase, the bow and quiver had been left behind.

When the last witness departed, Lindor stood up, pounded the stone on the table, and said, “Let’s take a brief recess.”

Laylana made her way over to Nath’s cage. “How do you think I’m doing?”

“Truly great. I’m thankful.”

“Well, we have a long way to go, but I might be able to turn the tide when I call your friends to testify.”

“I just hope they’ve regained their wits by then,” Nath said, referring to Ben and Brenwar. Both of them had departed. “Something has gotten into them, Laylana. I swear, you have to listen to me. Fairy Empress Lotuus is here.”

“Nath, I have people looking into it.”

“Who?”

“People. Now keep silent while I work. The quieter you are, the better I do.”

The judges who had briefly departed returned to their chairs. They whispered to one another and made quick unsettling glances at Nath.

Feeling the tingling in his fingertips, he said, “I will.”

CHAPTER 35

As the people refilled the empty seats in the stands, Laylana got caught up in a conversation with the judges and Anlee. Nath overheard every word of it. Anlee made the case that Bayzog, Sasha, Rerry, and Samaz could not be called as witnesses since they were incarcerated for conspiring to free Nath. Laylana made the case that neither Nath nor his imprisoned friends had been found guilty of anything, hence they could witness.

Among themselves, led by Lindor, the judges deliberated on the argument. They returned to their seats, and Lindor quickly said, “No, the witnesses brought to our attention will not be allowed to testify.”

With her brows knitted together and her cheeks turning red, Laylana stormed over to Nath and said, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t see that coming. You’re right, Nath. Something is amiss, but stand with me.”

“I am. Do your best.”

Lindor banged the marble gavel. “Defender, call your first witness.”

Laylana motioned to the first row of the dwarven stands and said, “I call Morgdon’s very own Brenwar Bolderguild.”

Applause erupted among the dwarves when Brenwar stood up, waving his skeleton hand. His face almost made a smile.

That’s unsettling.

“Brenwar,” Laylana began, “you are on the record stating that during the time of the assassination, you were with the accused. Can you explain?”

“I’d be glad to.” Casually, he clawed through his beard. “We were fighting our way out of Urslay, the giants’ home, in the windy mountains with snows deeper than a bugbear’s thighs. We’d been corralled by the titan leader himself, who was hosted in an earth giant’s body. Death swarmed around us. Mortuun and I took down giant after giant, but there came that moment when the tides that fill the graves swept in. Somehow, on Nath’s command, his sword Fang transported us to the Elven Field of Dreams. It was there that we encountered the wilder elf Slavan and the guardians. He informed us of the assassination.” Brenwar shook his head. “The accusation is impossible. I can’t explain how, but we found that we’d traveled forward in time, one year to the day.”

“I see. I admit that is a unique story, but far from impossible.” Laylana reached under the stone table and pulled out some wooden crates. She took out a pair of leather-bound tomes and held them up. “These are elven histories. Tales from our past. There are many examples of elven heroes and enemies moving through time that we are all well aware of. I’d like you to admit that these are evidence.”

With a bored look, Lindor gave a wave of consent.

Continuing, Laylana said, “Brenwar, you’ve traveled with Nath Dragon for over a century. Can you share an example of him showing ill will toward the elves or the dwarves?”

“I cannot say that I ever have known him to, but he does have a hard time listening to one particular dwarf from time to time.”

Oh please, Brenwar, are you lecturing me from the courtyard now? At least he seems to be himself.

“I see,” Laylana agreed. “But there is no ill will that you know of between Nath Dragon and the dwarves or the elves?”

“No.”

“Good. Now, Brenwar, can you tell me about a creature called Gorlee the chameleon?”

“Now that’s an odd bird if there ever was one. He can put on the likeness of any person in this court. I’ve even seen him change—more than once—with my own eyes.”

“So, what you are telling me is that this chameleon can even change into the likes of Nath Dragon.”

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Laylana gave a quick smile to the judges. “No further questions.”

“Er, Anlee, do you care to cross-examine?”

Anlee pushed her sleeves up past her elbows, walked in front of Brenwar, and said, “I would, your honor. Brenwar Bolderguild, have you ever seen Nath Dragon kill anyone in anger?”

“Objection!” Laylana shouted out. “She’s attempting to mislead the judges about the witness.”

In a smooth reply, Anlee said, “I’m merely painting a picture of the true nature of the accused.”

“I’ll allow it,” Lindor said.

Huffing, Laylana briskly walked up to Nath and said, “She’s a snake.”

“I’ll ask the question again. Brenwar Bolderguild, have you ever seen Nath Dragon kill anyone in anger?”

Brenwar replied with uncharacteristic casualness. “Oh, lots of times. Back when he was younger, he had a really bad temper. A real hothead. That’s a big part of the reason I got stuck with him. He needed that temper tempered.”

“And this is the truth?”

Brenwar’s chest puffed up when he said in a growl, “Dwarves don’t lie.”

“So, Nath Dragon is a killer?”

“Regarding the orcs and the rest of that foul brood, I’d certainly say yes. But we dwarves don’t really count the orcs as people. Killing them is the equivalent of cutting down briars.”

“Nonetheless, he’s good at killing things?”

“He’s Nath Dragon, the most renowned warrior in the land. It goes without saying that he is.”

Nath felt a slight out-of-body experience. Part of him took what Brenwar said as a compliment. The other part began to sink back into the quagmire of his troublesome past. What got him was that he had killed in anger. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

No matter how fast you run, you can never outrun yourself.

Anlee hammered at Brenwar with more about Nath’s personal history. By the time she finished, Nath felt like he’d been drummed on by a pair of ogres, the things she asked were so deep and personal.

How does she know all this?

He noticed some elven maidens offering drinks in the stands. One of them, clad in clothing that was unusually revealing, refilled the judges’ cups. It wasn’t Lotuus, but this one’s toes didn’t touch the ground either.

I smell the stink of Lotuus’s treachery.

CHAPTER 36

Next, Ben was called in front of the judges by Laylana. He walked over with a bit of a limp.

“Ben, can you tell us how you came to be in possession of the bow Akron?” she asked.

“Certainly. Ever since I met Dragon, er, Nath Dragon, I’ve been fascinated with the bow. I was just a farm boy when we met all those years ago. Well, as time passed, and with a lot of pleading on my part, Nath let me shoot Akron. I guess you could say I earned his trust.” He tugged at his shirt collar with his finger. “So, over time, I used Akron many times during our adventures. As a matter of fact, he let me have the fine weapon when I returned to Quintuklen after the last Dragon War.”

Pacing with her hands behind her back, Laylana said, “I see. So, it’s been a very long time since Nath Dragon has been in possession of Akron.”

“A very long time. I’m not going to lie, I took a great deal of pride in keeping the weapon with me. It was an honor.”

“Did Nath give it to you?”

Ben shook his head. “That was never the understanding. I think Nath allowed me to use it to help protect others in my home city, Quintuklen. My family too.” He gave Nath a little wave. “I’m grateful.”

“So, tell us what happened to Akron. When and how did it end up missing?”

With a long expression, Ben said, “I can’t say when or how exactly, and that’s hard for me to admit. But over a year ago, we battled the wurmers just outside of Quintuklen. That was the last time I used it. Nath departed after that, and I held onto Akron. I secured the bow in my home, in a locking chest. I’d check it every month or so.”

“And when did you notice it missing?”

“Several months ago.”

“Did you tell anyone?”

“No, I was embarrassed. It wasn’t until I met with Bayzog that I mentioned it again. That’s when I found out about the assassinations.” With a guilty look at Nath, Ben added, “If anyone should be accused, it should be me. I didn’t do it, of course, but I know Nath didn’t either.”

“Ben, do you have any idea who might have stolen the bow?”

“I really don’t. No one in my household remarked about anything strange.”

“Thank you, Ben.”

Lindor asked Anlee if she wanted to question this witness.

“Certainly, Judge.” She marched right up in front of Ben and asked, “Did the box you secured the bow in have a lock?”

“Yes, a good one.”

“How many keys are there to the lock?”

“Just one.”

“Do you keep the key with you at all times?”

“No.”

Anlee gave Ben a quick smile. “Ben, do you think it’s possible for the key to be stolen or the lock to the strongbox to be picked?”

“I suppose.”

“You know Nath Dragon well, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think that if he wanted to, he’d be clever enough to retrieve the bow from your strongbox?”

“I suppose. If anyone could do it, Nath could.”

“Objection!” Nath shouted out.

“Shush, Nath,” Laylana said.

“Why didn’t you object to that absurdity?” Nath glared at Laylana. “She’s putting words in Ben’s mouth.”

“Order! Order!” Lindor said. “Laylana, control your client’s outbursts.”

“Apologies, your honor.” Laylana bowed. “To all of the panel. It won’t happen again.” She eased over to Nath and talked under her breath. “You’re making this worse. I’ll handle this. You might not see it, but this is going much better than expected.”

“Even a mole could see that you are losing.”

Aghast, she said, “You aren’t making it easy. I’m the only hope you have left, you know.”

“Laylana, is there a problem?” Lindor asked.

“No, your honor. There is no problem at all.” She moved away from Nath. “Please, continue.”

With a smug look on her face, Anlee said, “No further questions, your honor.”

“Does the defense have any other witnesses?” the judge said.

With a disappointed look at Nath, Laylana said to the judge, ‘No.’”

“I see. Then we will allow for the closing arguments after a short recess.” Lindor banged the table. “Adjourned.”

Nath tried to get Laylana’s attention, but she moved on. Brenwar and Ben disappeared among the soldiers and the citizens. Standing in the cage surrounded by thousands of people, he had never felt so alone. He could see now that his outburst against Laylana hadn’t helped him any. Guilt dug between his ribs. Everything around him was so surreal. It didn’t seem like anyone was on his side at all. He rested his head against the bars.

Some of his father’s words came to him. “Often, there’s a veil over the eyes of the races that clouds their judgment. They can’t always see the truth like a dragon can. They are flawed and prone to error. Their hearts can be easily manipulated.”

Nath watched the judges begin to reconvene. They were so casual. They drank and jested with one another as they sat down.

They are flawed, and my fate rests with them.

CHAPTER 37

The sun was setting, casting gray shadows over the courtyard. The dwarves lit the oil lanterns and hung them on tall posts. Wavering yellow light cast shadows on the people’s faces, giving them a disturbing look. Many of them jested and frolicked.

Elven and dwarven cajolers unified together. Madness!

Nath rubbed the chill crawling up his scales. He’d always felt like he had all the time in the world. Today was different. Time was running out. His fate now rested in the hands of people whose reasoning had been diluted. He scanned the faces in the crowd and those of the soldiers who manned the walls. There wasn’t a friendly face among them. The only person on his side was himself.

Every seat in the stands was filled. Laylana and Anlee stood before the judges with their chins down. Laylana hadn’t so much as acknowledged Nath.

Lindor clonked the stone table again. “We have heard all the evidence, and now we will hear your closing arguments. Anlee, you may begin.”

Laylana stepped aside.

Anlee stood tall. She brushed her robes behind her back and spoke with conviction. “Judges, the defender is making the case that Nath Dragon is not the murderer by using nothing short of deceit and misdirection. I’ve called a dozen witnesses, all credible elves and dwarves who are pillars in their communities. Every last one of them described the murderer of Laedorn and Uurluuk as a man fitting Nath Dragon’s description. Look at the man, the assassin himself. There can’t be any mistaking his identity. His flaming mane of hair. Those insidious black scales.”

Anlee pointed right at Nath. “As the old saying goes, if he looks like an assassin, he’s an assassin. But that’s putting it nicely. Don’t be fooled. He’s nothing but a cold-hearted murderer. A villain who took the lives of our heroes.”

She held her stomach. Her dark eyes watered up. “It makes me sick. It makes me sorry. And now, the granddaughter of the slain Laedorn steps forward to defend his murderer. It’s unthinkable. But who am I to judge what kind of relationship she developed with Nath Dragon in their foreign travels together? Perhaps she is more than just counsel. Perhaps she has been dazzled by his golden eyes—which she spoke so fondly about.”

Nath noticed Laylana’s fists ball for a moment before loosening again. She still didn’t look at Nath.

Anlee went on. “Laylana has cleverly concocted a defense that would even stretch the imagination of a ten-year-old halfling.” She began to prowl around the table. “She claims that a person with chameleon-like powers, called a changeling, shifted into the image of Nath Dragon, stole his precious bow Akron from a secret location, and, without any motive whatsoever, invaded Elome and Morgdon and killed our leaders. She claims this assassin is still out there, on the prowl. Hah, perhaps this shape shifter is among us, but the funny thing is that no one else has been assassinated. Once word got out about Nath Dragon, the killing stopped.”

Putting her hands together as if in prayer, Anlee continued, “And finally, to take the theory into another realm of wonder, she brings forth two of Nath Dragon’s dearest friends. One of the friends, Brenwar Bolderguild—who’s probably taken more hits in the head than a one-armed orcen brawler—claims that they time traveled. What a convenient alibi. Now, don’t suppose that I don’t believe in magic. I’m an elf, so of course I do. But traveling in time at the whim of a magic sword which,” she spun around arms wide, “is unaccounted for? Maybe if we had it, we could travel back in time and prevent the assassinations. Perhaps Nath Dragon should have thought of that. Oh wait, why would he want to bring the dead back to life? If he’s the hero he says he is, wouldn’t he have done that?”

Nath rubbed his chin.

Is that possible?

“So, in closing, judges,” Anlee said, “all you have before you is the most convicting testimony of all. Eye witness testimony. As sure as that man stands before us all, the witnesses testified that he indeed is the heartless, cold-blooded murderer they saw.” She moved toward the elven side of the stands and stood quietly.

Lindor gave Anlee such an approving look that Nath thought the judge was going to stand up and applaud. Finally, the elven judge gathered himself. “Laylana, we are ready for your closing arguments, if you please.”

Laylana smoothed some wrinkles out of her skirt. “With intent and purpose, the opposing counsel has created the biggest illusion of all. Like a house of cards, she has stacked one paper-thin witness testimony upon another and another, hoping to build a wall of conviction. The problem is that none of the witnesses, after careful dissection of their testimony, could discern whether or not the assassin was indeed Nath Dragon or just someone who looked like Nath Dragon.”

She took a breath and calmly let it out. “In addition to that, we have the murder weapon, the bow Akron, which was conveniently left behind in Morgdon. The dwarves testify that the bow was found in plain sight, long after they’d lost track of the assailant. This is a remarkable coincidence. If Akron is so precious to Nath Dragon, why would he leave it behind? No, honored judges, this was done with intent. It is a set-up against Nath Dragon, the greatest enemy of the wicked.”

She paced back and forth in front of the stone table. “Again, I can’t emphasize enough that Nath Dragon does not have any motive to harm the elves or the dwarves. Personally, I will admit that when I myself sought vengeance against the accused for the murder of my dear grandfather Laedorn, I had nothing but blood in my eyes. I confronted Nath Dragon, and he confronted me with something I didn’t expect: action. I personally witnessed his own sacrifices for his friends, for myself, and, on a broader scale, for all of Nalzambor.”

She faced the judges. “We cannot rule out the involvement of magic or the powers of our unseen enemies when so much is on the line. The titans, the spirits, the hordes of evil want Nath Dragon gone. They will stop at nothing to end him. While we stand here and argue an absurd case against one of the greatest champions of good and freedom, the real murderer runs free. That isn’t justice. That is injustice. No one has even given a shred of thought to the fact that it could have been someone or something else. How can we ignore that?”

She turned and paced again. “Finally, I say this. Nath Dragon, a friend to all that pursue right over wrong, has a target on him because he’s the easiest to blame. It’s all so convenient to blame him rather than ourselves now that we have realized the true assassin has slipped through our fingers. Nath Dragon is our friend, and he is not guilty.”

Lindor nodded. “We will deliberate.” He banged the gavel. “Adjourned.”

Nath caught Laylana’s attention.

Grudgingly, she came over. Without looking at him, she said, “Yes?”

“Laylana, you did well.” He reached through the bars, lifted her chin, caught her eyes, and said, “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes flicked from green to solid black to green again. “You’re going to be sorry soon enough.” She licked her teeth and floated backward on her tiptoes. “And I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER 38

“Please explain what in Nalzambor you are doing here,” Selene demanded. She had her sword drawn. For some reason, the appearance of Gorlee was unsettling.

The changeling was a fragile creature in his normal appearance, little more than pinkish skin and bones, giving him a translucent look. His head was bald and a little bit veiny. “A thank-you would be appreciated,” he said.

“Thank you.” She poked the sword at his throat. “Now tell me what you’re doing here. And change form. You look like an aging newborn.”

Gorlee sprouted brown hair on his head, his color tanned, and common clothing formed over his body. He appeared to be a middle-aged man, somewhat like Ben. “Is this better?”

“It’s better than a dark gnome. Now out with it.”

“I suppose I could ask the same question of you, but I’ll go first,” Gorlee said with a confidence that belied his appearance. “I know Balzurth is dead, but I was his servant. I’ve been keeping an eye on things, particularly the wurmers.” He turned into the form of a green lily dragon. “Believe me when I say that I have been coming and going from Dragon Home for quite some time. Like you, I presume, I used the Chamber of Murals to map the locations of these nests. I’ve found many and made note of them. My mission wasn’t to seek and destroy but rather to find their weakness and see how they operate.”

Selene put her sword away. “I’m not sold. Why not destroy them?”

“I posed the same question to Balzurth myself. He believed that once one wurmer nest was destroyed, the others would be alerted. They’d move. Once they moved, there was no telling how long it would take to find their new locations.” He transformed back into a man. “Ideally, we wanted to find all the nests and take them all down at the same time. Much the same way as you did, using Orbs of Destruction against their life stones.”

She caught Sansla nodding and said to him, “Thoughts?”

“I’d be curious to know if Gorlee learned anything else that is helpful.”

“On a good note, you managed to destroy one of the life stones. That’s quite a blow to their ranks. But it will only trigger more devastation and make it even harder for us to find the others.”

As they walked through the Valley of Bones, Gorlee tore off a small dying branch. His arm turned into the size and texture of the branch. He tossed it aside, and his arm went back to normal. “The wurmer queen was paired up with a titan spirit, as you encountered. I remained undetected, because I’m getting really good at being me. I imagine the queen is dead, but the titan spirit probably survived. We survived because of the dimension portal I set up. It came from a scroll from Balzurth’s treasure room. I set it up in case I found myself in a pinch. Then the two of you came along.”

“So we can only assume the spirit Tylabahn will warn Eckubahn,” Selene said.

“Exactly. But in order to do so, she’ll need a host body. I learned that much about the titans. They lose strength if they aren’t close to a body. It’s as if another force reels them in. They have power, but they need flesh to thrive.”

“Perhaps we need to capture one,” Sansla suggested.

The distant branches quaked. Pushing through the trees and coming down the hill, the stone giants from the crater came. One of them had eyes red as fire.

Gorlee stepped between Selene and Sansla. “Speaking of capture, did anyone bring a really big net?”

“Maybe you should turn into one,” Selene said.

“If I could—eh, I probably wouldn’t.”

Standing as tall as some of the leafless trees, the giants were still far away. “What do you think, Sansla?” Selene asked.

“If they have our scent, I imagine they’ll be coming right for us. Or as Gorlee says, they might be moving on to warn the others.”

The giants shoved through the trees, splintering branches of deadwood with their brawny shoulders. In longer, heavy steps, they made it to the base of the Valley of Bones in seconds. There they stood, surveying the land and sky with long looks. The giant with the burning eyes looked right in Selene’s direction.

She leaned back behind a tree trunk.

Tylabahn. She’s in that thing.

She peeked back. The giants were on the move, away from them, north. Her breathing eased. “Gorlee, what’s to stop her from taking the body of a bird and flying away from here?”

“Unlike the minor spirits, she’s a titan. Her body has to be strong enough to hold the spirit.”

“I see.”

“What do you want to do, Selene?” Sansla said.

“I want to stop that titan.”

CHAPTER 39

“Isn’t this lovely? All the little heroes of Nalzambor wrapped up in steel like holiday gifts. I do agree that it’s certainly high time for celebration.” The Fairy Empress stood in the dungeons below the fortress where the trial was taking place. She had the appearance of an elf, but her hair was cotton white. The feathery gown she wore was a mix of black, white, and pink. Hovering around her were winged fairies no bigger than a man’s hand. They moved through the air with little impish faces, decorated in many bright colors. “Of course, the celebration has been going on for quite some time, and it will go on forever when Nath Dragon is gone like his father, Balzurth.”

Crammed inside a small dungeon cell, Bayzog stood with his family. All of their hands were bound up in leather so thick that he couldn’t see his fingers. His mouth was covered too. So were the mouths of his family. Staring at Lotuus, he knocked on the bars with his fists. He blinked at her.

“Oh, Bayzog, you are such a flirt. And shamelessly in front of your wife. I’m flattered.” Lotuus reached through the bars and pinched his cheek. “It’s adorable.”

Bayzog continued to blink.

Staring at his lips with hungry eyes, she said to him, “What a shame. I thought you were flirting, but you’re talking.” She squinted. “I see. You want to know what is to become of you and your family after Nath Dragon dies. No, wait. Oh, this is so dated. Ah, congratulations on fooling the elves.” She shook her head. “I’m not saying what you want me to say?” She looked confused.

Bayzog gave up the attempt.

Lotuus threw her head back and laughed. “This was easy, Bayzog. A well-planned effort for me to redeem myself with Eckubahn. We managed to get the elves and dwarves in such a lather that all they wanted was the blood of Nath Dragon. Here they gather, only to be duped by the fairies. Everything they eat or drink is tainted. It’s our specialty. We’ve had some help from the lesser spirits. They host the weaker dwarves and elves. It worked to perfection. The best revengeful planning always does. And once the trial is over and Nath Dragon is dead, so will fall all of those elves and dwarves up there. The wurmers are close. Nestled by the thousands, waiting nearby, hungry for the slaughter.”

She backed up to where the Elderwood Staff leaned against the wall. She caressed the long staff with the back of her hand. “Another prize for Eckubahn. An artifact that he will enjoy, the same as the bow, Akron.” She kicked Brenwar’s treasure chest. “This hunk of magic will prove useful too. The only item left to round up is that troublesome sword, Fang. Care to tell me where it is?”

Bayzog shook his head.

“I didn’t think so. But I’ll find it. Just like I did Akron. I quickly learned that I was an amazon shot with that thing. Just ask Laedorn and Uurluuk. Oh, but you can’t. They’re dead.” She picked up the staff and hung it over her shoulder. “I just wanted to mention that you have a lovely family. I’m sure the wurmers will find you more than satisfying. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have the final verdict to attend to. Goodbye.” Lotuus departed, and as she left, one by one the fairies took the forms of elves and fell in step behind her, carrying Brenwar’s chest.

Rerry jumped forward and beat on the steel bars. Samaz managed to pull his brother back. Bayzog looked into Sasha’s eyes. He hadn’t ever seen her so worried. Now though, he had answers. Lotuus had given him the information he needed when she revealed herself.

Evil never passes up the opportunity to gloat.

Clearly, the fairy empress carried much more power than he originally estimated. Enough power to change her form—and all the other faeries did, too. It was powerful magic indeed. Now they had poisoned the minds of thousands of elves and dwarves. The question was how long it would last. Judging by the sound of things above, it had lasted long enough.

We’ve got to save Nath. We have to warn them all. But will they listen?

He faced his family. His sons both stood taller than he did and had the weathered look of seasoned adventurers. There was great strength in their eyes, much like their mother’s. He stuck his elbows out. Together they all locked arms, huddled together, and put their heads down. Bayzog searched for the magic he commanded with lips, thoughts, and fingers.

Let my mind be my fingers and my lips. In this desperate hour, come to me, magic, come.

CHAPTER 40

Sweat beaded Nath’s brow. He wiped it away with his finger and eyed the thick layer of moisture.

If scales could sweat, I’d be dripping from my elbows.

He found himself alone again as dusk settled over the hilltops and the day became early night. He’d lost sight of Laylana, but her black eyes were now etched in his mind. At first he had thought she was Lotuus, but he’d since come to the conclusion that Laylana was possessed by one of the spirits that had escaped from the Great Dragon Wall.

The presence of evil lingered in the air like smoke from burning incense. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t noticed before, but Lotuus and her brood of faeries hid their evil well. They had duped thousands of elves and dwarves.

Now I’m going to pay for it. I’m going to pay for it with my life.

After hours of no contact with Brenwar and Ben, the pair of them finally approached.

“Well, look who’s here. What’s the matter, did they run out of food and mead?”

Ben patted his belly, which had popped out over his belt. “No, I just don’t have any room for more.” He sucked on a toothpick. “You should have tried some, Dragon. You certainly must be hungry after all this.”

With plenty of bite in his tone, Nath replied, “Sure, Ben, why don’t you go and fetch me my final meal? Make it dandy.”

“Why the heat?” Ben said, backing away with his hands up.

“Because I’m about to be hung by the neck!”

“You aren’t going to be found guilty, Nath,” Brenwar said. “You’re not guilty. Who’s not going to believe my testimony? Things are as I say they are.”

“No, Brenwar, that’s the problem. Nothing is as you think it is. I told you Lotuus was here. Remember her? The fairy empress? The reason you lost all the skin from your hand?”

“Of course I do.” His head swiveled back and forth. “I don’t see her.”

“That’s because you’ve been drinking cursed ale all day. Great Guzan, Brenwar, I’m about to die. I’d thought you’d be up in arms about it!”

“The dwarves won’t vote against me, Nath. You know that. No four votes. That will save your skin. Or scales, rather.”

“Weren’t you paying attention? They don’t need four votes to hang me. They only need three.”

Scratching his forehead, Brenwar said, “That seems unfair.”

“Very unfair,” Ben agreed. He tapped his chest with his fist and burped. “Excuse me.”

Nath looked them both square in the eye. He saw a watery glaze there. It reminded him of the time he battled a former ally who had turned against him, long ago. “Do either of you think you can remember something long enough to take it to Dragon Home?”

“Certainly, Dragon, I’ll tell them.”

“If either of you live to see Selene or my mother Grahleyna again—which, once I’m gone, I kind of doubt—tell them I’m sorry for failing. That I’ll miss them. Tell them I’m gone because my friends turned from stalwart to nitwit.”

“Hold on, I think I might need to write this down if you keep going.” Ben yawned. “Just say it one more time.”

Nath smacked his chain against the bars. His dander had risen, and his nostrils flared. “Listen, the both of you! I’m the Dragon King, and I’m giving you one final command. Bayzog, Sasha, Samaz, and Rerry are in the dungeons somewhere. Brenwar, do something with those stubby little legs of yours and find them!”

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Brenwar said.

“Will you just move?”

“Nath, your nostrils are smoking,” Ben commented with his eyes filled with marvel.

“Good!”

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Lindor pounded the sphere on the judges’ table. The banging sound felt like a hammer striking Nath’s head. He tasted burning sulfur in his mouth.

Oh, if I can let out some fire, let me let it out now.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs, and exhaled a puff of smoke weaker than a small campfire being doused. Nobody even noticed.

Ben and Brenwar resumed their seats in the stands.

What are they doing? I told them to find Bayzog!

Lindor remained standing while the other four judges took seats. He beckoned Laylana and Anlee. With the kind eyes of a caring father, he said to both of them, “The two of you represented the greater good well. It made for a difficult decision. I thank you both for the preparation and effort. With that, the judges are prepared to render their decisions.”

A stiff breeze blew in that rattled the lanterns hanging on the posts. Nath blew his hair from his eyes.

I can’t believe it’s come down to this. I thought when I went down, it would be in a fight, like Father. Instead, I fall into a web of lies and deceit.

He pecked on the bars with his index fingernail. The tiny divots he made seemed so significant for some reason. It was a detail he normally wouldn’t have paid any attention to at all. It was as if something was missing.

This can’t be real! Somebody pinch me! This must be an illusion!

Lindor resumed his seat. With his elbows resting on the table, nestled in the blossoming folds of his sleeves, he said, “In case of a tie, I will be the determining vote.” He held up a finger. “Let me remind the audience once more. Remain quiet. Respectful. A vote of guilty by three or more judges is a hanging verdict. If the vote is not guilty by three or more judges, Nath Dragon will be given his freedom, and for this crime, he will never be tried again. If he is found guilty, he will be hung by the neck shortly thereafter. His remains will be returned to Dragon Home, otherwise known as the Mountain of Doom.” His eyes slid over to Nath for a long moment, then he eased back into his chair. “We will start with the elven judges if there is no objection.”

Nath’s throat tightened. Sweat dripped into his eyes.

Great Guzan, this is really happening!

Lindor rolled the marble sphere down the judges’ table to the elven judge at the other end. The judge with flowing white hair covering his shoulders and back slowly stood. He took the sphere in hand, lifted it chest high, and smote the bench. In a baritone voice, he said, “Guilty.” He rolled the gavel to the next elven judge.

Taking the sphere in hand, the elven judge who appeared the youngest of them all, with half his short hair mostly brown mixed with white, dropped the sphere with a resounding clatter. In elegant speech, he said, “Guilty.”

I’m doomed! I’m doomed!

The marble sphere rolled down to the dwarf furthest to the left.

Oh please, Brenwar! Please be right! Let the dwarves be on my side.

The white-bearded dwarf with a balding crown of hair scooped up the gavel as he stood, lifted it high over his head, glared at Nath, slammed it on the bench, and said in a voice that could startle a statue, “Guilty!”

Nath’s heart sank into his toes when the rousing cheers from both sides of the aisle erupted.

Ben and Brenwar sat with perplexed looks on their faces, shaking their heads. Quickly, the excited crowd took up the chant that was suggested by the soft whispers of the elven serving maidens.

“Hang Nath Dragon! Hang Nath Dragon! Hang Nath Dragon!”

CHAPTER 41

Before Nath could say the first twenty-seven syllables of his actual name, the dwarves and elves began building the gallows. The structure was built over the stone table where Akron lay like a forgotten piece of history. Plank by plank, nail by nail, one mind-jarring crack at the head of a spike after the other, Nath watched the last minutes of his life go by.

He pointed at a spot in the scaffolding where a nail head wasn’t flush. “Eh, bearded one, it looks like one of the elves isn’t too proficient with a hammer. I don’t want the platform coming down before the show gets started. Can you imagine the embarrassment if your craftsmanship fails?”

The dwarf stopped, backed up, and eyed the bent head of the nail that protruded. He clawed it out with the hammer, plucked a shiny new nail from his pouch, and hammered it home with one strike.

With his thumbs up, Nath said, “Well done! I feel much better now. The dwarven reputation for being the finest craftsmen in all Nalzambor is still intact.”

With tiny chisels and knives, the elves made ornate carvings in the support posts and railings that followed the steps to the top. Within an hour, the entire contraption was complete.

“Well, it looks like you have everything you need but a rope,” Nath commented. He was numb from head to toe. The only thing still running was his mouth. Some sort of bizarre denial of what was happening.

Brenwar appeared with a long stretch of dwarven rope and knotted up a noose.

“Brenwar!” Nath cried, “What in Balzurth’s name are you doing?”

“If you’re going to hang, you’re going to hang right.” Brenwar gave the rope a few tugs. With a nod, he handed it to his son Glenwar, who ran the rope to the top.

Nath startled when the lock to his cage turned with a grind of metal. His arms were locked behind his neck and the metal collar removed. He was flexing his muscles when a black-eyed elven soldier whispered in his ear, “Fight this, and your friends in the dungeon die before you do.”

Shoulders sagging, he let the soldiers march him out of the cage.

I bet Bayzog isn’t even captured. Everything else is a lie, so why wouldn’t that be? Perhaps I should make a break for it. I’d get these chains off eventually.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a wink of light. He turned his head. Proud as a peacock, Lotuus stood in fully elven form, holding Bayzog’s staff. She winked. She waved.

I hate her.

He began the long march up the steps. Not a single board creaked underfoot on his way to the top of the gallows. Twenty feet off the ground, he found himself looking down at all the judges and people. They slung the noose over his neck and pulled the rope tight. Below him were only the trap-door platform and twenty feet of air.

“Nath Dragon,” Lindor said, “you have been judged guilty. Do you have any last words to say?”

He eyed the dwarven soldier who held the handle to the trap door. He made an uncomfortable swallow and said, “Yes I do.”

Perhaps I’ll take this moment to summon the dragons. I have to do something before it’s too late—but what about my friends? I’ll just say something really long. Delay until I think of something. For the love of Balzurth, somebody do something!

“You might hang me, but know this: you will have hung the wrong man. You’ll regret it.”

The now-black-eyed Lindor cut him off. “That will do.”

The dwarven soldier yanked back the lever. The trap door dropped open.

Weightless for an instant, Nath fell through. The rope went taut with a snap. He bounced. His neck muscles bulged and flexed. His head and neck retained their iron composure.

The judges, particularly Lindor, couldn’t have been more startled when Nath’s neck didn’t break. All of their eyes were as big and black as raccoons’ as he hung swaying in the wind with the rope groaning above his head.

In raspy, strong-willed words, Nath said, “This is awkward.”

FROM THE AUTHOR

All I’m going to say is cliffhanger alert! You always get at least one in every series, but the good news is that by the time you finish Trial of the Dragon, Judgment of the Dragon will be complete. It will be released December 30th, 2016. You can order it here, or see below for details. Great Guzan!

About the Author

Craig Halloran resides with his family outside his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia. When he isn’t entertaining mankind, he is seeking adventure, working out, or watching sports. To learn more about him, go to: www.thedarkslayer.com.

Check out all of my great stories …

CLASH OF HEROES: Nath Dragon meets The Darkslayer

The Chronicles of Dragon Series

The Hero, the Sword and the Dragons (Book 1) Free eBook

Dragon Bones and Tombstones (Book 2)

Terror at the Temple (Book 3)

Clutch of the Cleric (Book 4)

Hunt for the Hero (Book 5)

Siege at the Settlements (Book 6)

Strife in the Sky (Book 7)

Fight and the Fury (Book 8)

War in the Winds (Book 9)

Finale (Book 10)

The Chronicles of Dragon: Series 2, Tail of the Dragon

Tail of the Dragon

Claws of the Dragon

Eye of the Dragon

Battle of the Dragon

Scales of the Dragon

Trial of the Dragon

Teeth of the Dragon

The Darkslayer Series 1

Wrath of the Royals (Book 1) Free eBook

Blades in the Night (Book 2)

Underling Revenge (Book 3)

Danger and the Druid (Book 4)

Outrage in the Outlands (Book 5)

Chaos at the Castle (Book 6)

The Darkslayer: Bish and Bone, Series 2

Bish and Bone (Book 1) Free eBook

Black Blood (Book 2)

Red Death (Book 3)

Lethal Liaisons (Book 4)

Torment and Terror (Book 5)

The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files

Smoke Rising (2015) Free ebook

I Smell Smoke (2015)

Where There’s Smoke (2015)

Smoke on the Water (2015)

Smoke and Mirrors (2015)

Up in Smoke

Smoke ’Em

Holy Smoke

Smoke Out

Zombie Impact Series

Zombie Day Care: Book 1 Free eBook

Zombie Rehab: Book 2

Zombie Warfare: Book 3

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