Authors: Craig Halloran
“Timothy, you’ve been brave and excellent. I thank you.” Nath shook the veteran’s hand. “Can you handle him?” He spoke of the last living nuurg. The nine-footer’s arms and legs were shaking in heavy chains.
With a smile, Tim said, “I feel like I can handle anything. We’ll put this monster to work back in the fortress if we have to. Probably let him bury his own dead. The people are happy. The fortress holds more supplies than I expected. It’ll help us. Thanks, Dragon Prince. It’s been an unbelievable honor fighting by your side. I might even have to come out of my retirement.” He stepped forward, jabbing the air with his sword, but then he grimaced and held his shoulder. “Ohhhhh. I’ll think about it.”
Nath, Brenwar, and Slivver departed. Nath had allowed Brenwar to spend the better part of an hour interrogating the nuurg. That had been an ugly sight. Not so much the howls of pain, but seeing a cyclops cry was just uncomfortable.
Narnum.
Regarding the whereabouts of Eckubahn, all the slobbering crying nuurg could say was “Narnum.” The very heart of Nalzambor.
It stirred a lot of bad memories for Nath. He’d seen the worst of the worst in Selene there. So much so, it made his heart ache. “I guess the titan den is pretty obvious,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Evil seems to have an affection for the place. I wonder why.”
“Location, location, location,” Slivver said. He walked on all fours now.
“You always have a good answer for everything.”
Brenwar huffed.
“No offense, Brenwar. You have good answers too. Sometimes.”
Nath’s thoughts drifted to the time he’d spent more than a century ago with Slivver. Unlike most of his brothers and sisters—who resented Nath for being named Dragon Prince when they were all older—Slivver was a friend and a mentor. The silver dragon had taught him much when he was younger about the different breeds of dragons and their ways. The two of them had even gone adventuring together, back when Nath was barely a century old, a youngster. Slivver shared Nath’s fascination with the races. Like it was supposed to be for Nath, when Slivver didn’t look like a dragon, he could easily pass for a man.
“So, Slivver, where have you been all this time?”
“Sleeping. You know how it goes.” The silver dragon, now on all fours, moved more like a cat than a lizard. His lean body snaked through the bushes they passed. “When the dragon sleep comes, it comes.”
“So you weren’t part of the Great Dragon Wall?”
“I can say with glee my time on the wall has passed.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize. Of course, I never knew there was a wall to begin with. I can only imagine how many other secrets I don’t know.” He gave Slivver a look. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me.”
“And let you miss out on the excitement of discovery?” Sliver flashed all of the fangs in his pearly-white teeth. “Fret not, Nath. For the most part I only know what I have seen. The rest of the dragons know even less than that. You know how they are.”
“Yes, I know.”
The odd group stayed on the country roads and wended their way through the rolling hills. It was still nighttime, and there wasn’t a single passerby.
Nath had opted not to take the wrath horns along. The last thing he wanted to do was arouse suspicion. “Feel like picking up the pace?” he said to Brenwar.
“Aye.”
“Surely you don’t plan to continue walking to Narnum,” Slivver said with his dragon face aghast. “That’s preposterous.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” Nath hitched his thumb over his back, “I don’t have any wings.”
“Then ride a dragon,” Slivver suggested.
“No offense, but I don’t think you’re big enough. We tried before, remember? Ha ha.”
“Oh, ho-ho,” Slivver said. “My back still aches from it.”
With moonlight shining on his face, Nath said, “Slivver, how did you come by me? By us, back there? Was it by chance? Because to me, it seems unlikely you’d show up at the right place at the right time so conveniently.”
“Like I said, I’ve been asleep for quite some time. I’ve not been awake very long, and when I did wake, I sought you out.” Slivver rose up on his hind legs and walked upright beside Nath. “Dragons are nestled all around. Some of them helped me. Besides, you’ve always been my charge, by Father’s request.” He whispered in Nath’s ear. “I have to tell you, I’m surprised the bearded stump is still around.”
“I heard that,” Brenwar said. “Giants’ whispers are quieter than that.”
“As I was saying,” Slivver continued, “I was close when all this happened. I caught up with you and have been watching since before you made your way into the small town of Timothy.”
Nath stopped. “Why did you wait so long to reveal yourself?”
Oddly, Slivver rolled his ice-blue eyes. “I was waiting for a dragon call. I’m not supposed to intervene without the call. But you don’t call. You’re the Dragon Prince. Use the call.” He huffed on his claws. “But there’s nothing holding me back from ripping those dreadful wurmers apart whenever given the chance. Never seen such disgusting things.” He eyeballed Nath. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Will you summon a dragon so we can expedite this quest? You don’t imagine the titan horde taking a stroll through the green valleys, do you? No, it’s devouring everything in its path as fast as it can.”
Nath cupped his hands to his mouth and took a breath.
“I don’t want to fly,” Brenwar interrupted.
“Of course you don’t. If dwarves were meant to fly, they’d have wings,” Slivver replied.
“For a change, I agree with you.”
Slivver got back down on all fours and faced Brenwar, “I’ll believe when dwarves fly.”
“Enough of the bickering, you two. Here goes.” In a voice with the strength of a vast and flowing river, he made the call. It was like the roar of the tide, blended in with nature. One would not know they heard it if they didn’t know what they were listening for. Still, Nath tried to focus. His summons needed to be sincere.
“RrrrroooOWwwwwwfffFFFttTHhhhhrrrrrrruuuuUMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!”
After a minute, he stopped. The night skies remained clear. “Well, that’s it. Should I try again?”
Slivver shook his head. “The call must travel. The dragon must travel back. It’s not teleportation.”
Moving on, Nath doubted anything would happen.
Balzurth was sunk knee deep in mud thicker than ogre pudding. His hands were shackled above his head in dwarven irons. Scraped up and bruised, head pounding, he looked up at the light in the sky. Clouds drifted by the moon. Slow. Tedious. There was red—like blood—in them. He drew in the stuffy night air. The scent of evil was strong. The oil and sweat of giants. The presence of evil was even worse. Nearby somewhere, innocent blood had been spilled. Not of men and women but of dragons.
He snarled at the giants who filled the massive coliseum. It was the same group that had tried to drag the life out of him into the city of Narnum. Somehow, he had managed to make it back to his feet and walk into the town under his own power. The people’s eyes were heavy on him, their stares familiar. He knew of the feats his son Nath Dragon had accomplished in the Contest of Champions. Now he was here. The people knew other things as well. How Nath, the form Balzurth had taken, had saved the world. He saw the hope fade from their eyes when they saw him shackled and broken.
Anger stirred within his breast. A deep hatred built. The titans were nothing but destroyers of everything good in the world. He had to put an end to them. It took everything he had to not burst free of his bonds, hunt down Eckubahn and Isobahn, and blast them into the netherworld once and for all.
I am close. So very, very close. Eckubahn, you will be mine. Vengeance for all the innocent is at hand.
Selene rubbed her shoulders. They were ice cold from the teleportation from Dragon Home to where she’d just arrived. She’d known where she was the moment they arrived. After all, she’d targeted the destination. The towers of Narnum were a league away. Urns filled with fire burned on the rooftops. They hadn’t been there before.
“The titans have a new home. Perhaps Urslay is abandoned.” She laughed. “Maybe all the people should move there.”
“What do you want to do?” Sansla shook the frost from his wings. The eight-foot ape stood with his knuckles on the ground. “I can’t take to the air or waltz inside.”
Selene’s robes covered her wrists and ankles. “I can still pass for human. I should be able to go in. It’s not as if the giants have any special defenses. There’s nothing for them to defend against, aside from the dragons.” She searched the skyline. Only wurmers passed overhead. “I’m only going in for a look. Maybe ask a few questions. Give me a day.”
Sansla nodded. “There will be temptations.”
“I know.” Selene made her way out of the field and onto the road. Step by step, she headed back into the city she’d once conquered. A dangerous thought lingered in her mind.
Perhaps I can turn the titans on my own.
Nath and company hadn’t even made it half a league when a great shadow blotted out the moon. Every head turned up.
Above, a massive dragon circled with wings spread wide. Gliding through the wind, he slowly spiraled downward. His front and rear legs bore great talons. A pair of tremendous horns formed a U on his head. An orange glow in his eyes resonated with what must have been a great fire within. He was a bull dragon, mighty in size and frame. He landed with the softness of a dove, blocking the entire road and then some.
Slivver somehow formed a smile on his nonexistent lips. “I told you so.”
The bull dragon, red scaled with a hint of green, let out a snort and lowered his head. His body was scales over huge muscles, his breastplate like steel. His huge claws could rip a giant in half.
Nath approached on soft feet and rubbed the bull dragon’s neck. It was like petting a hot anvil.
The dragon’s eye remained fixed on him. The burning orb was as big as his head.
“Thank you for coming.”
The dragon snorted a blast of heat.
That was as good an answer as Nath was going to get. Bull dragons weren’t talkers at all. They were beasts of action. It was a temperamental brood too. Private. Difficult. Of all the dragons who could have arrived in reply to Nath’s summons, a bull dragon was at the top of the list of least expected.
Nath had been in a fierce fight with them before, years ago, just outside of the Floating City. He eyed the sharp talons on the tips of its wings.
I hope he’s not here to eat me.
“I’m Nath, and you are?”
The bull dragon clacked his teeth really fast and shook his head, knocking Nath backward.
“I see.” Nath glanced at Slivver. “Could you make that out?”
With a nod, Slivver said, “Yes. He says his name is Waark. Well, for short. If you don’t want him clacking like a beaver all night long, I’d stay with that.”
“I can go with that. Waark, shall we ride?”
The big dragon’s belly flattened on the ground. He held his head low. Nath used the hard, scaly ridges to climb on his back. He wedged himself between the armor scales running down the dragon’s spine. Getting a grip on a dragon of such massive girth wasn’t easy. Riding would be even more difficult.
“Uh, Brenwar, do we have a rope or something?”
Arms folded over his chest, Brenwar said, “No. You need to be walking.”
Waark spread his massive wings. They flapped, and then, bunching back onto his back legs, the dragon launched himself up into the air.
“Whoa!” Nath yelled. He dug his nails and heels into the dragon’s armor.
Up, up, up they went. Wedged between the dragon’s ridges, it wouldn’t be too difficult to hold on, assuming the flight was level and Waark didn’t go into any barrel rolls, which was unlikely. Bull dragons weren’t the fleetest. As a matter of fact, they were some of the slowest, if not
the
slowest—aside from the dragons who didn’t have any wings at all.
Below, Brenwar shook his fist and screamed, “Get down here, Nath. Get back down!”
Nath shrugged and called out, “I’m just going to scout ahead. You know me. Do you want to ride?”
“No!” Brenwar became a speck on the ground, and in a few moments, the dwarf was out of sight.
Nath eased back into the strange seat, and before long, wind tearing at his face, he smiled.
Ah, it feels good to be part of the wind again. How I’ve missed it!
Before long, they were soaring through the clouds of the night, and Nath said in Dragonese, “We’re headed for Narnum, but avoid the wurmers.”
The dragon’s wings beat slow and steady. There was enough power in them to hold at least ten more of Nath, if not twenty. The strength of the bull dragon fed him. Its heart beat in unison with his. They connected. Scaled brothers.
Out of the deep blue sky, Slivver came. His wings beat with the ease of a feather falling. He landed right on the back of the bull dragon, in front of Nath. “Enjoying the ride?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t think the dwarf is very happy.”
“He’ll catch up. Eventually.” Nath chuckled. “He always does.”
The bull dragon soared higher than the distant snow-capped mountains that spiked the drifting clouds. The chill air normally would brittle a man’s bones, but it didn’t. The bull dragon huffed out a warm wind, like off a campfire, every time his wings made a downward stroke. The fire from his belly was warm and soothing.
Taking a look at the quiet lands below where only sparkles of fires burned like fireflies in the night, Nath said, “This is really something, isn’t it?”
“Adventure always is.” Slivver managed to somehow make himself look extremely comfortable on the bull dragon’s back, yet he seemed more man than dragon. “Sometimes it’s fun to just enjoy the ride, though it is a slow one. For a dragon, Waark moves at the pace of a dwarf.”
Waark’s body tremored, jostling the riders.
Nath and Slivver clung on.
“Take no offense, Waark!” Slivver winked at Nath. “It seems no one appreciates being likened to Brenwar’s sort.”
Like Nath, Slivver was one of a kind among the dragons. He was a silver dragon, but there were many types. There was the larger breed, some of which grew to a size rivaling the bull dragons, and then there were the smaller, more petite sort, quick and powerful with their magic. Not all dragons were old because they were bigger, and not all dragons were young because they were smaller. There were fire bites and pixie dragons who were more than a thousand years old. But even among the rarest of rare was Slivver.
Unlike the rest of their kin, Nath and Slivver were both fascinated with the races. Most dragons didn’t care at all. Ever. But Slivver did. If his brother could change into an elf, Nath had no doubt he would. For a while at least.
“Slivver, it’s good to have you back. It makes me think of the good old days. You know, back when I was little more than a century. Boy, I was so cocky back then. It’s a wonder I made it this far.” Nath brushed away a lock of red hair that had drifted over his eye. “I really missed you when you left.”
“I missed you too. Even in my sleep, I dreamed of our quests. Now they begin anew.”
Nath glanced back. The bull dragon’s tail swished behind them. Even at this slower flying speed, it wouldn’t take much longer to get to Narnum. A few hours at most. He felt a little guilty leaving Brenwar behind. “Perhaps we should turn around.”
With a flip of his paw, Slivver said, “Do as you wish. I can do the scouting ahead if you want. Besides, if the wurmers catch wind of Waark, he won’t be able to escape them, but they’ll never catch me.”
“Eh, he’ll be fine.”