The ominous booming sound of marching feet resounded from the gully below.
“Not that way,” Zach said.
Adriane’s breath caught in her throat. Six orcs crashed through the trees, grinding rocks and logs into dust under their heavy feet. They brandished mismatched, battle-worn swords, spears and shields, some chipped and stained from other bloody battles.
She heard a swish and caught sight of a glint of steel. Zach had drawn his sword. A hint of fire licked up and down the finely hewn edges, as if it were hungry for battle.
Adriane frantically scanned the area for anything that might have just recently hatched.
Ching!
A giant spear appeared in the wall not a foot away, sending clods of dirt flying in all directions. Adriane jumped back in shock and felt the loose earth beneath her feet give way. She was slipping. “Zach!” she called, desperately scrabbling for a handhold.
He grabbed for her arm but the hillside slipped down into the ravine, Adriane along with it.
“Ahhgh!” She landed hard on the gully floor.
Six orcs crashed across the steam, barreling down on her. She jumped to her feet, raising her wrist. The magic flowed from the stone like amber fire, swirling up and around her arm.
The orcs grunted and slowed at the sight, obviously wary of magic fire.
Zach landed in front of her, sword raised and glowing with fierce power. “Go for their legs,” he yelled over his shoulder. “The hamstring just behind the ankle!”
The orc leader snorted, long upturned teeth moving on both sides of its pig snout. Beady, black eyes filled with rage, it roared, lunging at them with battle-ax raised—and suddenly stopped. The others stumbled as they barreled into him. The orc leader held his thick arm out to the side, its beady eyes now full of total terror.
“That’s right, we’re bad!” Zach taunted.
Adriane watched in amazement as the orcs started to shuffle backward. Then, squealing like pigs, they broke rank and ran away.
“Ha! Guess we showed them!” Zach turned around with a grin… which suddenly twisted into a horrified grimace.
“What?” Adriane had only to look at the gaped-mouth expression on Zach’s face to know that whatever had really scared those orcs away was standing right behind her.
“Maamaa!”
Adriane turned at the cry ringing through her mind. She had never seen anything like it. It was a dragon all right—or at least what she thought a dragon looked like! It was about the size of a really big dog. It sat back on two large feet. A rounded belly tapered off to a thinner chest with two arms and a long neck. It was covered with smooth scales in a variety of red colors, ending with a long, wagging tail, shaped into an arrowhead at the end. Its two silky wings shifted in colors, just like when it was still in its shell. It had a spiky ruff at the neck, not unlike a lion’s mane, and two stubby, rounded horns jutting out from behind oversized, pointy ears that bent over at their tips. It actually reminded Adriane of a big puppy. Its long horse-like face had a wide mouth filled with tiny, sharp baby teeth.
This was the fearsome monster that everyone was so worried about? It was just a baby and it was crying—
“Maamaa!”
—for its mama. Uh-oh.
“Maaaaaama!”
The dragon lumbered toward her, tripping over feet much too big for its body. Joyfully, it bumped against Adriane. She hugged it. “Steady there,” she said with a smile. She looked at Zach. “Look, Daddy. Baby’s taken his first step.”
Realizing his mouth was still hanging open, the boy closed it, put his sword away, and stomped over. “I’m taking baby back to the Fairimentals right now.”
The dragon buried its head behind Adriane, sweeping its body around and knocking its big tail into the boy. Zach went flying into the stream.
Drake sniffled, resting his long snout on top of Adriane’s head. She wasn’t afraid at all. She felt a bond, familiar and strong.
“Aww, it’s okay, little guy,” she cooed, scratching him under his chin. “You scared away those mean old monsters, didn’t you? Yes, you did.”
Zach stammered, tried to speak, but spat out water instead.
“You hungry, Drake?” Adriane reached into her pocket and pulled out a coconut. She cracked it open and held it up to the dragon’s mouth.
Drake stuck his snout in the coconut and happily lapped up the milk with his forked tongue.
“There, good baby,” she cooed.
Zach had begun to pace back and forth in the gully, arms waving. “This is just great!”
“What’s with you?”
“I’ll tell you what’s with me. The dragon has imprinted on you! He’ll never let me take him back now. And I can’t take him to the mistwolves. You’re going to have to come back with me to the Fairy Glen.”
“I can’t. I only have until the moons rise. I’ll never get to Storm in time.”
“Well, we can’t sit here!” Zach glanced downstream. “Those orcs are dumb, but once they realize it’s a baby dragon, they’ll be back. Then what do we do?”
“UrRRRrp!” Drake belched a small fireball.
“Ahhh!” Zach’s butt was suddenly crisped with black soot. He jumped up and down rubbing his smoking rear and yelling, “You big dummy! I’m not an orc!”
Drake lowered his head, cowering behind Adriane, one wide eye watching the boy dance around.
“I told you! That thing is dangerous!” Zach yelled.
“He didn’t mean it.” Adriane scratched behind the dragon’s ears. The scales were amazingly soft. “Shhh, it’s okay. Good dragon.”
Her face was suddenly covered in sloppy wet dragon licks. Adriane giggled.
Zach walked over, brushing off soot. “You’re still gonna have to come back with me.”
“Drake, now you have to listen to me,” Adriane told the baby dragon.
Drake sat, panting like a big puppy.
“I can’t take you with me. You have to go with Zach to the Fairy Glen. Do you understand?”
Drake cocked his head and eyed Zach.
Zach forced a big smile over his face.
“See? He’s okay,” Adriane said.
She started to walk away. “Good dragon. Now stay with Zach. Stay.”
She had gone only a few yards when Drake leaped up and ran to her, big feet clomping in the dirt. “Maamaa!”
“No, no. You have to stay with Zach! Ohhh… ”
Panting happily, Drake reached out and gave her a big hug, slobbering all over her head.
“Oh, it’s no use,” Zach said in dismay.
A terrifying roar split the air. Followed by the thundering boom of feet.
Zach whipped his sword free from its sheath. “They’re coming back.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Good idea.”
They ran down the gully, following the stream. Zach was out in front, and Drake clumped behind Adriane. The ravine was getting deeper and narrower. Soon this stream would be a river and Adriane knew where that would eventually empty out. They ducked under logs that had fallen over the ravine like bridges.
The sound of marching feet echoed behind them. Those orcs were persistent.
“Let’s get out of this ravine!” Zach shouted.
The sides of the ravine now rose up into muddy hillocks. They started up, but Drake was having trouble climbing, his feet sliding back in the mud.
“Get Drake over that hill,” Zach said. “I’ll hold them off.”
“Wait.” Adriane held his arm. “You’re stronger than I am. You push him up, I’ll hold them off.”
Zach bit his lower lip, and then agreed. “Okay. But as soon as we’re over, you’d better be right behind us.”
Adriane faced Drake, looking deep into the dragon’s eyes. “Now you listen to me. You go with Zach. I’ll be with you very soon.”
The dragon seemed to sense what she was saying and allowed Zach to push him up the steep side of the ravine wall.
Adriane
slid back to the flat ground. With a crash, the trees ripped away and the orcs broke into the gully. She was suddenly facing six giants armed with extremely unpleasant weapons.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw Zach shoving Drake toward the top of the hill. The dragon’s head was craning back on its sinewy neck trying to see her.
Turning back, she whirled her arm in a circle, releasing a wave of golden fire. Crouched in a fighting stance, she braced herself for the attack. She didn’t have to wait long.
The orc leader, this time ready for magic fire, raised its shield and lunged forward.
Adriane swirled the fire around her. She threw her arms wide and released the ring, spinning it like a flaming Frisbee. It slammed into the orc, but its shield fractured the magic, sending it sparking into the trees.
Whoosh!
Spears flew at her. She dove, tucking and rolling away. The spears flew past her as she landed in the shallow water of the running stream.
The orcs were forcing her out into the open so they could surround her.
She heard a whine in her head. “Maamaa!”
Oh, no. She whirled around to see Drake leap from the hill. He opened his new wings, but they weren’t strong enough to hold him. His belly smacked in the mud with a thwack!
The orcs stopped uncertainly.
Drake rose up on his hind legs and roared. A lick of flame escaped his lips.
The orcs backed away. The dragon took a step forward and promptly tripped over his feet, falling flat on his nose.
The orcs snorted with laughter and raced forward.
“No!” Adriane threw herself in front of the dragon, diving to the ground and firing a stream of magic. The fire whipped out and wrapped around the ankles of two orcs. Adriane sprang to her feet, pulling her fist down sharply. The fire tightened, and the orcs went down, thundering into the water. Adriane leaped away as an ax split the air, cleaving into a boulder, sending splinters of stone flying. She danced and twirled, her gemstone exploding into blinding light that criss-crossed around her, creating a shield. Shards of rock bounced away.
White-hot pain pounded into her shoulder and she flew across the gully, landing face first into the water. She got groggily to her feet, hair streaked and dripping. Drake lumbered over to her, shaking with fear. The orc that had hit her towered over them as the others advanced. There were too many.
The orc raised its ax and swiped—but only the wooden handle came down, plowing into the muddy bank. It watched in surprise as the blade went flying into the trees.
Zach was standing on a natural bridge formed by a dead tree that had fallen across the ravine. His sword was out and ready. The orc threw away the ax handle, roared, and reached out with enormous hands to crush Zach like a fly. But the boy was too quick. The stunned orc gaped at the sword plunged deep into its chest. Its rib cage opened with one terrible swipe. The boy kicked the bewildered monster, and it crashed into the others like dead weight.
“Grab my hand!” Zach screamed. He had shimmied down and stretched out to grab Adriane.
“Hurry!” Zach leaned over farther.
Adriane looked at the regrouping orcs and then at Drake. Zach could save only one of them.
She reached into her vest pocket and raised her arm.
Zach slid lower, grabbing at her hand. Adriane slid her hand into his, but instead of grabbing hold, she slipped the chained orb into the surprised boy’s outstretched fingers.
She looked into Zach’s eyes. “Take Drake,” she said, and pushed the dragon’s tail into the boy’s hand.
Shock registered on Zach’s face. But he pulled with all his strength and yanked the startled dragon up beside him on the tree bridge. Then he leaped to his feet and ran, pushing the crying dragon away from the ravine.
Adriane threw back her soaking hair and faced the orcs. On her wrist, the golden wolf stone pulsed like the heartbeat of a warrior.
“Is that the best you can do?” she yelled.
“Adriane!”
Adriane looked back and saw Zach standing with Drake at the crest of the hill. They were safe. She smiled. And everything went black.
A BUMP SHOOK Adriane awake. She opened her eyes to darkness. The creaking of wheels and the hard floor bouncing beneath told her she was in some kind of wagon, rattling on a very bumpy road. She was all scrunched up, trapped in some kind of sack. She had no idea how long she’d been there, but the ache in her muscles felt like it had been a while.
“Hummmrr doo raahh … ”
Someone was humming. It sounded awful… and awfully familiar.
“Hummmahuma Wahh wahh.”
She tried to move, but the sharp pain in her shoulder made her stop. Carefully she reached around the back of her neck and felt a tender spot. She winced. Definitely a bruise, a big one. She flashed on a giant monster swatting her with a fist the size of a chair.
She moved her wrist in front of her face and focused on the wolf stone. Its soft light was weak, but enough to see she was in a large, black sack.
She heard sounds of sniffing and quickly covered her wrist, dousing the magic like a small flame.
“Ooo, you feel that?” the voice outside said. “Magic rock! Scorge is gonna get big reward. LaLaaaa!”
Scorge! That was why the humming sounded so familiar. It was that pesky orange… thing. And he thought she was a magic rock.
“Magic rock all right.” He patted the bag as he happily hummed.
Adriane heard the sound of wheels on stone as the road smoothed. Suddenly, the wagon came to a creaky stop.
The sounds of shuffling and scuffling closed in about her. She braced herself. A door on the wagon opened and she was dragged out, still in the sack, and dumped onto a hard surface.
“Be careful of rock!” Scorge complained.
Heavy doors opened and she felt herself being dragged across sandy ground. The sound of the doors slamming shut echoed behind her. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as the ground tilted. She was going downhill.
Soon the ground leveled out. The echoing of footsteps and voices suggested she was in a large, enclosed space.
Something hit the floor next to her.
“Great Queenie, I have traveled long and far to bring you this great magic.”
It was Scorge and he was groveling on the floor next to the sack. Adriane felt something cold press in around her, probing with the touch of magic. She stifled a gasp as ice stung at her wrist.
A voice, sharp as a razor, hissed, “You have brought what I seek?”
“Oh, yes! Great magic that has slept for thousand years,” Scorge said between his constant thumping. He must be groveling up a storm.
“From another world, Your Mightiness,” he continued. “Reward should only be as gigantic as Royal Highness thinks humble servant deserves.”
“Show me this great magic,” the cold voice ordered.
Adriane heard Scorge scamper to his feet. “M’lady … your magic rock!”
Adriane was jarred as the sack was lifted up, ripped open, and turned upside down.
She spilled out onto a cold, smooth floor.
Her muscles spasmed painfully as she tried to uncoil. Flashes sparked in her eyes in reaction to the sudden rush of light. She heard voices around the room snickering.
She could see Scorge’s back. He was facing another figure. Long, flowing dark robes glided silently across the cold floor, moving closer.
“You!” the figure said.
“Me, me!” Scorge squealed and danced in delight, then saw that the tall figure was looking past him.
He turned and practically choked. “You!” Scorge sputtered, leaning down to press his dirty orange head into Adriane’s face.
Adriane’s thoughts were hazy. She could barely catch her breath.
“What you do with Scorge’s rock—graagah!”
Scorge was swept away with a flick of the figure’s wrist. He dropped to his knees, and pointed at Adriane. “That witch stole rock!” He began bowing and g
roveling again, shaking with fear.
Snickers turned to laughter.
“Silence!” The chamber fell deathly quiet at the icy command.
Adriane’s mind cleared as her eyes adjusted to the light. At first, she thought she was in some kind of cathedral. The vast chamber rose to a high vaulted ceiling hidden in darkness. Then she realized those weren’t stained glass windows; they were crystals imbedded in walls as if the entire place had been carved out of a mine.
She looked up at the robed figure in front of her. A hooded cloak shielded the features from view. Adriane knew who it was. The same terrifying figure that she, Emily, and Kara had once seen at Ravenswood—at the portal. The Dark Sorceress.
“Where is my dragon?” the sorceress asked with a deadly calm.
“Um… dragon?” Scorge croaked.
She turned on him. “The dragon egg, you imbecile!”
“Er… dragon egg?”
“That rock is an egg! Or… ” she turned to Adriane. “… it was an egg.” She raised an arm in the air.
With a jolt, Adriane was forced to her feet. She tried to resist but couldn’t control her own body. The sorceress examined her carefully. She moved her arm, and like a puppet on a string, Adriane lifted her own arm, exposing the wolf stone.
“Interesting,” the sorceress said.
“Very… ” Scorge groveled. “… interesting!” He bowed some more. “Smaller rock, smaller reward…” he muttered.
The sorceress’s sleeve slipped down her arm, revealing a hand with slender fingers tipped with long, sharp nails. She flexed, and the sharp claws slid back into her flesh.
Two figures moved behind Scorge. They were as tall as the sorceress, serpent-like, with snake heads, and long, scaly bodies. They carried staffs that sparked with power.
“Take our guest and make sure he gets… what he deserves.”
Scorge looked right and left, eyes widening. “Um… Scorge change mind, don’t need no rewarghhh!” A fist had grabbed Scorge by his throat. And then the guards were gone as quickly as they had appeared, Scorge with them.
The sorceress pulled back her hood and advanced toward Adriane. Strikingly beautiful, she had alabaster skin like a porcelain doll, rich red lips, and long, white-blond hair streaked with blazing bolts of silver lightning. Then Adriane looked into her eyes. They were not human, they were the eyes of an animal—no—some creature—slit by vertical pupils, cold, dark, and pure evil.
Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3) Page 9