Flight of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 5 of 10) (Tail of the Dragon)

by Craig Halloran

  Nath spoke to the silver dragon leader in Dragonese—an ancient language, melodic, a combination of sounds and words. “Thank you, brother.”

  The dragon skulked forward. His eyes were bright blue. Penetrating. He had seemed bigger in the sky, but up close, the silver dragon was no bigger than Nath. Coming closer, he reared up onto his hind legs and stood like a man. He crossed his front paws over his armored chest. Holding his chin high, he stood a full head taller than Nath. Then he bowed and said, also in Dragonese, “I might be your brother, but you are my prince.”

  Nath’s jaw dropped. He was speechless. He reached out and, with his hand under the dragon’s chin, he lifted his eyes to meet his. “Slivver?”

  “At your service,” the dragon said in Common.

  Nath hugged his brother.

  Slivver hugged him back. It wasn’t an awkward hug by any means, just two brothers embracing after a hard-fought battle. Slivver was all dragon but carried himself, at this moment, like a man.

  Breaking the embrace, Nath exclaimed, “I’ve missed you!”

  “Of course you have. Everybody has.” Slivver’s sleekness and charm matched the wondrous scales of his body. He held his elbow in one hand and gestured as he spoke with the other. “I have to admit, I’ve missed out on many exciting things.” His ice-blue eyes drifted to Brenwar.

  “Where have you been hiding, Slivver?” Brenwar said.

  “Well, if it isn’t my old, old friend Brenwar. Old, old, old friend.” Slivver stretched out his arms. “Hugs?”

  “Dwarves don’t—”

  “I know, I know, dwarves don’t hug.” Slivver laughed, shaking the bearded flap of skin under his chin. “Hugs, thugs. Watch out behind you.”

  Nath had completely forgotten about the nuurg sentry blowing the whistle and alerting the wurmers. It rushed the backside of Brenwar.

  Without turning, Brenwar socked it in the gut with Mortuun.

  “Oooof!” The monster sagged.

  Brenwar cranked back for the finishing blow.

  “No, wait!” Nath said. “Bind him up. Let’s see what he knows.”

  “Still learning mercy, are you?” Slivver said.

  “I’ve learned plenty since you’ve been gone.”

  “It’s an abomination.”

  “I know, but I need information. I need to find Father. He’s gone rogue.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.” Slivver’s long tail swished behind him. “Tell me about it?”

  Nath caught Slivver up with how their father Balzurth had healed Sasha of the wizard’s dementia and then disappeared from the Temple of Spires.

  Slivver shook his magnificent dragon head. “And ever since, you’ve been trekking the earth by foot and hoof? Why not call for the dragons?”

  “I have called. They didn’t answer.”

  “Just because they don’t answer doesn’t mean you stop calling.” Slivver chuckled.

  “Oh,” Nath said.

  Throwing his paw over Nath’s shoulder, Slivver said, “I got here in the nick of time. Now let’s go find Father.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Selene was back in the bedroom with all the murals. She wasn’t alone. Grahleyna was with her, as was Sansla Libor. The winged white ape stood in front of one of the murals, staring at a distant view of Elome.

  “Do you miss being among the roamer elves?” she said.

  “I’m the Roamer King. It always hurts to not be among my people.” His ape face was long. “It’s not easy being an outcast, but I’ve learned to accept it.”

  “In time, your people will learn to accept you,” Selene said.

  “The elves aren’t even accepting of one another at the moment. Their hearts have been twisted.”

  Grahleyna sat on the edge of the bed with her head down. She hadn’t said a word in hours. “It’s the titans’ fault,” she said under her breath. “Those evil spirits poison everything. I can only hope my overzealous husband puts an end to this. He went out there because he loves me, perhaps too much, if that’s possible. But he hates Eckubahn even more. I can’t blame him for what he did.” She slapped her knees and stood. Pointing at all the murals, each as real as the next and divided by a network of honeycomb columns, she said, “You need to decide where you want to start.”

  “What do you mean?” Selene said.

  “I mean, in what part of Nalzambor do you want to begin your search for Nath and Balzurth? It’s not possible for us to fly you out of here, and it isn’t safe to tunnel out.” Grahleyna straightened and fluffed the pillows on the bed. She moved as if her mind was far away. “There is deep magic here. You feel it. With my aid, you can walk through to the place you see in an instant. You won’t be coming back through once you cross, however. It’ll be a one-way trip.”

  Selene gazed at all the different mural portals which filled the wondrous room. She could see the village at Dragon Pond. Tiny fisherman, like insects, fished from the piers. In a corner above her head, the orcen city of Thraag loomed. Part of its own mountain and carved from within, Morgdon of the dwarves waited with stark banners whipping stiffly in the wind mounted on enormous poles. Narnum, the Free City, was anything but. It stirred Selene within. She’d done horrible things there. Now it fared even worse than she’d left it. Giants of all the rogue races roamed the streets like men. Soaring wurmers crested the building tops.

  “Where the trouble is, Nath will be.” Selene stroked the tip of her tail, which rested over her shoulder. “That’s the spot, but I don’t want to be too close.”

  “That’s not a problem. Just think of a spot you’ve been before and go.”

  Selene said to Sansla, “Are you coming with me?”

  “I gave Nath my word I’d look out for you.”

  Selene hugged Grahleyna. “I’ll stay if you wish.”

  “I’d like that, but under better circumstances. Now go.”

  Heart thumping hard in her chest, Selene grabbed Sansla and stepped into the mural.

  CHAPTER 27

  “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 ce
ntury 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.

  CHAPTER 28

  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.

  CHAPTER 29

  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.

  CHAPTER 30

  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.