Authors: Craig Halloran

Fight And The Fury (Book 8) (18 page)

Something swooshed over the ground behind him. He jerked his neck around. A great tail and wings lurked behind him.

“Gah!” he said, leaping and landing hard on the ground.

Whump!

He circled in the grass, chasing after the tail. His neck stretched behind the wings.
Oh my!
He stopped. Focused. Beat his wings. His own wings!
Oh my!
A great thrill shot through him. He eyed Selene.

“Worms can’t fly, but dragons can,” she said, “Fly, Dragon. Fly.”

He stretched his wings out. Grand and beautiful they were. Their thin dragon skin glowed in the setting sun. He flapped them,
whump, whump, whump
, and took off running.

Nath’s talons lifted from the ground.

He soared over the fields and up toward the mountains.

Zoom!

No words could describe it. There was peace. There was power. The wind lifting him higher and higher. He could see everything for miles and miles. Towns, farms, animals, people. He caught it all. He cut through the clouds. Looped. Barrel rolled. Blasted through flocks of birds. He spied a lake of crystal clear water and glided for it, half landing, half crashing into the ground. He shook it off, strolling his great form into the waters and staring at his reflection.

The water settled, and his image became clear.

Great horns crowned his head. His eyes were living gold. The scales over his face revealed only a shade of the man he once saw in the mirror. Black scales traced in white coated his entire mammoth body.

Nath knew this much: he was all dragon.

Whump!

He turned.

Selene landed in the grass by the lake, and he said, “You meant for this?”

“I did,” she said. “You had buried deep inside you what should have come out long ago.”

“That’s why you had Kryzak try to kill me? Wanting this outcome?”

“That was one step.”

“And this was step two, you trying to kill me as well?”

“No,” she said, “I was merely trying to beat you into turning dragon. You, however, seemed determined to die. Good thing you’re tougher than you look. I had started to worry.”

Nath waded back out of the waters, drew closer to Selene, and slashed his tail across her face.

She gasped.

“Why did you—”

His gold eyes narrowed.

“Don’t you ever call me a worm again.”

EPILOGUE

Samaz’s eyes popped open. In the dungeon cell across from him, his mother and brother slept. He sighed and swallowed, mopping the sweat from his brow. The dream that woke him had been fierce. Terrible. Horror unleashed in the land.

He ran his fingers over the cold metal bars of the cell, thinking,
Perhaps it’s safer within than beyond.

***

Bayzog and Ben watched a flock of dragons streak across the sky, zipping over the rooftops of Quintuklen. Their visits had been more frequent.

“That’s not a good sign, is it?” Ben said, squinting his eyes. “Even I can feel it.”

“So can I,” Bayzog said, “so can I.”

The pair took a seat on a bench in the city’s grand garden. They’d spent much time there of late. An investigation of sorts. Bayzog was tired of waiting on word about his wife and sons. He had to take action. He had to outsmart their enemies.

He slid his hand inside his robes and rubbed the jaxite stones. During his studies, an idea had blossomed. He was learning how to harness their power.

I will find you, Sasha. I will find you soon.

***

Brenwar sat inside the walls of Morgdon on a chair carved from stone, staring into the night sky. War Hammer rested on his lap. Home among thousands of his brethren, he’d never felt more out of place. He needed to be with Nath Dragon. Nath Dragon needed to be with him.

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

The Darkslayer Series 1

Wrath of the Royals (Book 1)

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 Series 2

Bish and Bone (Book 1)

Black Blood (Book 2)

Red Death (Book 3)

The Chronicles of Dragon Series