Scaled Soul (Dragon Academy Book 1)

by Gage Lee

  The commander ripped her cloak off and left Taun holding the limp fabric. Her eyes burned with the furious light of someone who was not used to being questioned. "The commanders on that flank will beat back the tombkin. Don't be a coward. Back to the front!"

  "They aren't tombkin," Taun said, his voice hoarse and cracking from the dry air and effort of making himself heard over the clash of steel. "It's eldwyr!"

  'Don't be a fool," the commander said. Then she realized Taun was not one of her soldiers. ,"Who—"

  And then it was too late.

  A roar so loud it obliterated all other sounds ripped across the battlefield. The leading edge of the storm crashed into the far end of the battle line. A knotted wooden fist the size of a yak emerged from the dust and hammered through the Frozen Axes. Its terrifying strength crushed the mercenaries in its path into red pulp.

  Smaller creatures leapfrogged out of the storm front and landed on confused warriors. Their scythe-like limbs moved in a frenzy and filled the air with sticky streamers of red blood. Spears and arrows, driven to impossible speeds by the winds behind them, pierced the battle line in a blistering fury. Seconds after the storm touched the battle lines, dozens of the prince's prized mercenaries lay dead or dying in the cold, gray ash.

  Chaos swept through the remaining soldiers as their leaders bellowed conflicting orders. The mercenaries were expert fighters, but they had no experience dealing with a foe this fast and this powerful. The right side of the line tried to retreat, but the center had fallen back, and the two groups collided. With their lines hopelessly snarled, the mercenaries were easy prey for the tombkin and eldwyr alike. The left side of the fight was still deeply embroiled with the tombkin as the undead shifted their advancement to avoid the eldwyr. It wouldn't be long before the entire force was overwhelmed.

  "Pull back!" The commander howled, ignoring Taun and his friends. She grabbed an archer and stabbed her finger at the tombkin. "Firewall arrows, now! Cover our retreat. Argent team, manifest dragon sign, now!"

  Even as the words left her mouth, the dragon changed. Her body stretched and added bulk, her armor vanishing beneath a layer of black scales as thick as plate armor. Her nose and mouth erupted into a vicious snout as her skull lengthened into a dragon's sleek profile. She dropped to all fours, her body longer than a horse, her enormous tail thrashing at the ash behind her. Wings unfurled from her back with a sound like sails cracking in a stiff wind. With a roar that sent shivers of primal fear racing down Taun's spine, the dragon hurled herself into the air. The wide sweep of her wings kicked up a cloud of dust that hid the world from the knight, and then the commander was gone.

  The archers who remained had knocked heavy crimson arrows. The heads of the missiles were blunt and cylindrical, with a wide set of forward-swept fins behind them. The archer the dragon commander had given the order to shouted, "Loose!" and a dozen bowstrings twanged in unison.

  The arrows streaked low over the heads of the mercenaries and the front rank of tombkin. A split second later they burst apart to form a broad wall of crimson fire. A wave of pneuma rushed toward the tombkin, carrying the flames forward. Where the flickering light touched them, the tombkin erupted into showers of black dust that reeked of ammonia and rot. The fire scoured the ashes clean, destroying even the tombkin talismans that Auris had come to claim.

  Taun and his allies watched in awe as mercenaries hacked down the tombkin left close to them and pulled back toward the tombship in an orderly line. The front rank held their shields steady to protect the spears. This was an orderly withdrawal, not a blind retreat. The Broken Blades fell back with the soldiers, glad for a moment of protection.

  As they reached their destination, Taun caught sight of the black dragon commander. She plunged from the sky, jaws spread wide. A jet of fire screamed from her gullet and carved a deadly line through the mass of tombkin behind the firewall her archers had created. She turned into a loose arc and sliced a section of the tombkin hoard away from the rest of the horde, then circled back into the sky. Even at this distance, Taun saw the dark pneuma churning in her core. He'd never seen anything like it, but he'd felt something similar when the tombship had left one world for another.

  Death pneuma. Dangerous and unclean, but sometimes necessary when a battle has soured. Best for you to avoid at this stage.

  The Broken Blades had run up the gangplanks with the mercenaries and followed the soldiers up the stairs to the main deck. From their new vantage, Taun watched archers rush to the gunwales and continue firing into the tombkin. Though they had no more firewall arrows, their aim was deadly and their missiles flew true. The tombkin who surged around the still-burning wall ran into a withering hail of missiles that cut them down before they took more than a handful of steps. It was brutal, efficient work, and it consumed arrows with alarming speed. While the spearmen pushed barrels filled with shafts into position near the gunwales, Taun wondered just how long the archers could keep this up.

  The knight moved toward the foredeck. He had to see the battle against the eldwyr. He didn't know how to help, but Axaranth was still within him. There had to be something the pair of them could do.

  You cannot go down there. We fought a handful of the foul creatures. You are in no condition to take on an entire army of them.

  "We have to do something," Taun barked. He didn't care if others thought he'd lost his mind. He had to convince the ancient dragon to help turn the tide of this battle.

  The eldwyr did not come here by chance. They are searching for something. I believe your prince is, too. Head to the port side.

  Taun did as the old dragon asked, his pulse a triphammer in his ears. With every second that passed, their chances of getting out of this alive dwindled. If the eldwyr pushed through the reforming battle line and reached the tombship, they were done for. But Axaranth was their only hope. Taun's only option was to listen to the dragon. When he reached the port gunwale, he stared out into the distance. "What am I looking for?"

  A tower. Or what remains of one. It should be...there. You see that hulk sticking up from the ash? I made that.

  A tingle of excitement ran through Taun. He remembered what Axaranth had said the last time they’d passed through a tombgate together. “It’s one of your weapons, isn’t it?”

  Exactly. And it can save us all. If you will pay the price. Tell your prince to set sail for the tower. It is your only hope.

  Taun cursed. He saw Auris sitting in his golden throne on the foredeck while the world came down around his ears. The knight had no idea how to convince the gold to do what was right.

  Taun?

  "Yeah?" the knight asked.

  You were an excellent host. I hope your next life treats you better.

  TAUN STORMED UP TO the foredeck, with no idea what he'd do next. He fully expected to be stopped by the prince's guards, but all eyes were on the battle unfolding below them. The knight was surprised by how much Auris had grown. It must be nice to have the resources to improve a hoard without effort. The prince's family had probably sent him dozens of precious items over the course of the year, and every one of them had bolstered the prince's strength. He was nearly two feet taller than Taun now. His golden scales weren't a dragon sign like Lira's, but the burnished armor was part of his physical maturation. If his hoard kept growing, Auris would be a true dragon before long.

  "Auris," Taun called out when he'd nearly reached the throne. "There's something you have to know."

  The crown prince froze in his seat. Taun didn't need to see the dragon's face to feel the rage that emanated from him. Auris's hands closed around the arms of his throne and squeezed until the metal creaked. He pushed himself up from the throne slowly, as if the weight of his anger was too much for him to bear.

  "Taun?" Karsi asked. "What are you doing here?"

  "Getting the punishment he deserves," Auris said. His eyes burned and pneuma gathered in his core like a thunderhead. "I don't know how you got aboard my tombship, or what you have to tel
l me, but coming here was the worst mistake you ever made."

  Karsi stepped forward to put herself between the prince and Taun. "Hear him out," she said to Auris. And then to Taun, in a lower voice, "I really hope you have a plan."

  "The Frozen Axes can't stop the eldwyr," Taun said. "But there's a way to defeat the invaders. There's a tower off your port side. It's the key to winning this battle."

  Auris laughed at Taun. He stepped up to the knight and gave him a condescending glare. "I know your game, man-child," the prince growled. "You want me to abandon the field and my soldiers. Pathetic. You can't trick me into losing this fight. Guards, seize this scum and his allies. We will punish them when the battle ends."

  A trio of heavily armored guards moved toward Taun, who braced himself for a fight. If they took him below decks, he'd never turn the tide of this battle. The eldwyr would kill them all, and Axaranth would die before he warned the Scaled Council about this danger. Taun wasn't leaving the foredeck without a fight.

  That is the answer.

  "I challenge you to a duel," Taun said. "To first blood. If I win, you take this ship to the tower and save your men. I lose, you can do with me whatever you want."

  "Taun, no!" Karsi shouted. "You can't solve this with violence."

  The knight shook his head and rested his hand on the sheathed saber riding on his right hip. "I don't have a choice. This is too important to go down without a fight."

  "He'll kill you," Sutari murmured. "Let me be your champion. It's the only way."

  Another time, Taun might've taken the silver warrior up on her offer. But she'd been worn ragged by her fight against the tombkin. There wasn't enough strength left in her body to deal with Auris, too. Besides, the crown prince might turn down that duel. Taun didn't think Auris had the willpower to turn down a chance to kill a human.

  "Let's get this over with," the prince said. "You made the challenge, so I'll pick the weapons. Claws. To first blood."

  The knight struggled to keep a straight face. He had no claws. That meant he'd be fighting a more powerful dragon unarmed. That was far from ideal, but as long as he was alive, there was still hope. He couldn't pass up this opportunity.

  "Fine," he said, unbuckling his sword belt and handing it back to Kam. "Let's—"

  Taun had been about to say that Karsi would announce the beginning of the duel. But Auris hadn't waited for such formalities. He launched himself across the deck at the human.

  The prince's dragon sign erupted from his hands. Claws as long as daggers streaked toward Taun's throat. Wood pneuma trailed behind the attack in streamers of yellow fire. The dragon had put so much pneuma into the attack that it bled from his claws like poison. If it hit Taun, the human was as good as dead.

  Taun had no defense against the assault. He dodged back, letting the razor sharp talons sweep past his face. The follow-up attack came hard and quick toward his left side, forcing the knight to take a hopping step back or be disemboweled. That attack clipped Taun's torso, and his hardened skin, bolstered by the soul steel breastplate he'd merged with his core, turned it aside. The clash of claws and armored flesh rang across the tombship's deck with the clear toll of a struck bell.

  Auris, surprised by Taun's defenses, dropped his attack and fell back into a defensive posture. He raised his claws, ready to counterattack if Taun went on the offensive. He sneered at the knight. "You've learned some new tricks. Let's see if that's enough to save your miserable life, mutt."

  Taun inhaled, filling his core with the wood pneuma the prince's sweeping attacks had left in the air. He let his mind go blank and cleared mental space for Axaranth to offer advice. The ancient dragon warlord had been winning wars centuries before Auris hatched. Surely the spirit had something to contribute to this fight.

  Do not attack until you are sure he is vulnerable. Let him exhaust himself while you avoid his attacks. Conserve your strength until you can finish the fight.

  That was less helpful than Taun had hoped, but it was better than nothing. He held his ground, filling his core with pneuma and using it to replenish his energy and harden his body. He waited, and watched, patient as a serpent ready to strike. He wouldn't let Auris goad him into an attack that would leave him exposed. The dragon only needed one good attack to end the fight. And the knight's life.

  Taun refused to give him that opening.

  "We don't have to do this," Taun said. "Take us to the tower. It's the only way to defeat the eldwyr."

  "Your lies have no power here," Auris snapped.

  The dragon launched into another attack. His claws raked the air, and his feet stomped the deck so hard it rattled Taun's concentration. His advance was a relentless series of brutal attacks that drove Taun across the deck. The knight's back slammed into the tombship's central mast, stopping his retreat. Auris pressed his attack and his claws missed Taun by the smallest of margins. Splinters flew in every direction from the prince's claws, and Taun only just slipped away from the attack using the last of his pneuma.

  Gasping, the knight circled around the mast, giving himself a little breathing room. The dragon prince moved left and right, claws lashing out around either side of the wooden barrier as Taun desperately tried to open distance between them. The knight knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer.

  Become stronger. Surprise him by matching his fury with your own.

  Taun didn't think that was a great idea. Advancing took time and concentration, something Auris was unlikely to give him. If he stopped dodging and weaving, the dragon would close in and finish the fight with his savage strength. There had to be another way. He frantically reviewed what he knew about the dragon prince. Auris was incredibly strong. He'd learned how to fight from the best martial artists in the Dragon Empire. And, more importantly, he'd never lost. His father had made sure of that.

  That was it. Auris was vulnerable because he thought he was invulnerable.

  His weakness was the same pain that Taun had lived with his whole life. The fear that he'd never live up to his father's expectations.

  "If you don't stop this, we'll all die," Taun argued. "Take the ship to the tower. You can do whatever you want with me after that. But we have to stop the eldwyr before they invade."

  "Fairy tales," Auris growled. He came at Taun again in a blur of sweeping claws and spinning kicks that blistered the air with overflow wood pneuma.

  The attacks were powerful, but that worked to Taun's advantage. If he kept moving, kept talking, he still had a chance.

  "What would your father think?" Taun asked. "What would he say if he saw you wasting your time trying to kill me while your men died in your service?"

  The words struck home. Auris flinched as if Taun had wounded him. "You are unworthy to even think of my father, human. Your kind were born to serve us. How dare you presume to lecture me?"

  The dragon threw a wild swipe of his claws, followed up with an axe kick that went wide of the mark, then used his momentum to power a spinning back fist that shot by well short of Taun's jaw.

  It was working. Auris was far from out of the fight, but he was getting sloppy. That told Taun he was getting through.

  "That's a lie," Taun said with a taunting tone. "Humans fought alongside dragons for millennia. Even now, we protect your lands while you leave your frontier kingdoms to rot. My people have more right to be called rulers than a hundred dragons."

  Auris roared and charged at Taun in a blind rage. As he closed range, his claws scythed inward, one high, one low, to keep Taun from dodging away.

  Taun retreated to the gunwale. He was out of room to dodge, out of time to block. Without hesitation, the knight used pneuma to strengthen his legs. He jumped up and back, flipping over the ship's railing.

  Auris roared in fury that his prey had escaped. His claws ripped a gaping hole in the rail, sending chunks of timber falling past Taun.

  The knight caught himself on the edge of the deck as he fell toward the ground. His arms screamed when the full weight of his body
slammed down on his shoulder joints. His fingers slipped a fraction of an inch before he secured his grip. He looked up into the dragon's fierce eyes and laughed. "You know I'm right, Auris," he growled. "Why else would Axaranth, the greatest dragon warlord of his age or any other, choose a human as his host? It's because I'm better than a dragon. Better than you."

  "Filthy animal," Auris roared. "I'll carve that soul scale out of your chest. You will suffer for defiling a dragon's spirit. You are unfit to clean our chamber pots, much less host one of your superiors."

  As Auris spoke, he lashed out at Taun. But the remains of the railing he'd carved away prevented Auris from getting a good line of sight at Taun. With a frustrated growl, he dropped to his knees to better reach the human.

  Strike now!

  Taun saw it in the same instant the dragon whispered in his thoughts. He used the last of his pneuma to pull himself up with one hand. With his other, he reached past Auris.

  And grabbed the back of the prince's head. Taun yanked Auris down as hard as he could.

  The prince didn't even have time to shout in surprise before his chin hit the deck. He tried to right himself, but Taun had already locked both hands behind his head. He pulled Auris lower, pressing his throat against the edge of the deck, trapping it between the remains of the railing's supports.

  Taun braced his feet against the side of the boat and pulled down with all his strength. His lungs burned with desperate breaths as he refilled his core. He had all the leverage here, despite the dragon's superior strength. And as long as he kept the pressure up, he'd choke Auris into submission.

  "The dragon chose me," he shouted. "We should be allies, not enemies, Auris. Together, we can end this battle. Imagine the glory you'll earn for saving the dragon kingdoms from a threat no one else saw coming."

  "I'll kill you," Auris groaned, the words distorted because he could hardly open his mouth with his chin pinned to the deck.

  "And the eldwyr will kill us all," Taun responded. "Would you rather return to the Celestial Academy a hero, or die out here a fool? Which do you think your father would be more proud of?"