“At least one of us has an appetite.” Ronan shoved a final piece of jerky into his mouth and chewed scanning the darkness above the sea.
Howling wind filled the empty night sky, but no dragons descended on him despite Moira’s protests that she escort him.
Ronan rubbed his leather belt pouch feeling the bulge where the dragon statuette rested. Moira must’ve known they might become separated. Is that why she gave him the dragon figurine? Could he use it somehow?
Ronan stood and unfastened the pack from the sled’s base.
The bear cub raised her head following Ronan’s movements.
He tossed the pack over his shoulder and tightened the strap before glancing in the bear cub’s direction.
She cocked her head giving him the same inquisitive look she’d used on the cliffs.
“Come on girl. We need to keep going and find Rika.”
As if understanding, the bear cub stood stretching her short forearms and padded forward. She waddled past Ronan and up the steep slope toward the summit of Dragon’s Peak.
***
As the sun moved beyond the sea’s eastern horizon, dawn’s first rays settled on towering mounds of pure white bone.
Ronan’s stomach lurched. He’d no doubt found the right place. He swung his leg onto a wide stone terrace and heaved his body over the edge. Ronan freed the loaded pack from his shoulder and eased it onto the warm smooth rock beside him.
The pack’s leather flap stirred, and the bear cub’s head popped free. She peered out at one of many bone mounds dotting a rocky open expanse.
Ronan laid still pulling in short shallow breaths of ever thinning mountain air. His climbing had slowed during the short night. The high altitude’s extreme lack of oxygen drained his endurance. During the climb, he'd leaned heavily on his enhancement magic. Without using Elan’s magic, he couldn’t have continued.
The cub leaped free of the pack and scuttled forward. She sniffed near the base of a twenty foot mound of dry, cracked shark and whale skeletons.
Ronan had expected heavier amounts of snow and ice as he approached the summit. Instead, a carpet of loose white bones spread out between massive bone piles. A graveyard of sea creatures stretched out in a wide arc circling the summit’s rim.
Ronan stood, scooped up his pack, and continued forward. Bones crackled and popped beneath his feet as he navigated a maze of decades-old bone piles.
During their summit climb, the bear cub had led the way. She moved behind Ronan now, hopping from one patch of exposed rock to the next careful to avoid the bleached white bone.
As Ronan circled a thirty foot bone mound, he couldn’t imagine a circumstance that allowed for Rika’s survival. If dragons didn’t hunt humans, maybe they’d mistaken Rika for a meal while she flew in bird form. Ronan kept his eye out for any human remains, but with many thousands of scattered bones, he couldn’t tell them apart. He turned his gaze upward beyond the bone mounds and paused.
Fifty-feet ahead, a constant stream of white smoke billowed skyward.
Ronan broke into a trot as bones cracked and rattled beneath his heavy footfalls. After many days traveling through packed snow and ice, the thought of fire burning at the summit left him feeling uneasy. What fueled it?
The bear cub strained to keep pace and abandoned her strategy of holding to the exposed rocky patches. She tumbled and skidded forward struggling over the bone carpet. A high-pitched moan escaped her throat as if seeking Ronan’s help.
Ronan paused and pulled open the pack strapped across his shoulder. He scooped up the ice bear and slid her inside. “Better?”
The bear cub licked Ronan’s face and nestled inside the pack. Her eyes peered out above the leather satchel’s rim.
Ronan ran faster while piled-high mounds of yesteryear’s dinner flashed by. He kept his focus locked on the billowing smoke near the peak’s heart.
The bone piles dwindled in size, but grew fresher in age. Sinew and flesh clung to month-old carcasses, and the ripe stench of death hung heavy in the air.
Ronan channeled magic and deadened his sense of smell then paused as a thought struck him. He reversed the magic increasing his sense of smell and took a deep whiff. He should smell smoke, but only the nauseating stench of rotting flesh filled his nose.
Steam, not smoke, jettisoned upward in billowing white plumes. The shallow carcass piles revealed a twenty foot wall of black rock looming beyond the bone carpet. The rocky wall, composed of thousands of stacked black boulders, surrounded the peak’s summit.
Ronan didn’t need to guess the creature lurking behind those walls. His thoughts drifted to Moira and her insistence she make the journey with him to Dragon’s Peak.
A short shiver set his flesh crawling. He pushed aside the dread and trotted forward. He stopped before the unnatural wall separating him from the dragon’s roost.
Stacked boulders stretched in an unbroken arc extending dozens of yards in either direction.
Ronan placed his glove against the stone, and warmth radiated through to his fingertips. He glanced over his shoulder and found a white shaggy mop a few inches from his nose staring at him. “Any ideas? You’ve led me this far.”
The bear cub nestled lower in the pack before ducking her head letting the pack’s leather flap close atop her head.
“I guess you’ve earned this one off.” Ronan adjusted the pack on his shoulder and set off in a clockwise direction.
As Ronan followed the strange wall, new sections revealed themselves. The wall’s upper edge varied in height ranging from twenty feet at its lowest point to thirty feet at its highest. Boulders of varying size made the wall look thicker or thinner in sections, but remained impenetrable.
Behind Ronan, the Araxis Sea slid away. The peak’s southern view came into focus. Leagues of rough mountain terrain stretched to the horizon.
Ronan froze and drew in a short sharp breath. He stared wide-eyed at the unmeasurable expanse.
Jagged snow-tipped peaks stretched in endless succession.
Ronan could finally appreciate Sir Alcott’s lesson on the dangers and wonders of the Adris Mountains. In recorded Meranthian history, no human had discovered the range’s southern end. By land and sea, countless expeditions had tried, none had achieved measurable success.
A horrible thought struck Ronan, and his stomach sank. Finding Rika among an endless sea of mountain peaks seemed hopeless. How many dragons occupied the Adris Range? He believed the dragons had carried Rika to this peak’s summit, but he couldn’t guarantee it. If she lived, nestled beyond this dragon wall, whisking her to a different peak seemed a logical step. The dragons could hide her forever, flying her all over the Adris Mountains. Without Rika’s help, he might live out his days forever roaming Dragon’s Peak with no way down.
As if sensing his despair, the bear cub peeked her head out long enough to give Ronan’s cheek a long wet lick.
Ronan cocked his head and glanced over his shoulder.
The bear cub tilted her head in return matching his gaze and blinked.
“Thanks. I needed that. Let’s go get Rika okay?” The bear cub’s head disappeared sliding deeper inside the pack before Ronan adjusted the bag’s flap. He turned to face the dragon wall and smiled.
Gouts of white steam sprang from a two-foot crack running the wall’s length.
“I think we just found the back door girl.” Ronan channeled magic into his shield and strode toward the crevice. He peered inside, but even with heightened vision, he couldn’t see past the wall of steam. He took a step backward, felt for his blade strapped across his shoulder, and placed his leg into the opening.
Hot steam plowed into Ronan’s spirit shield before splitting and flowing around him like a diverted river.
Ronan inched forward feeling his way through the steam like a blind man. After he’d made three feet of forward progress, the first inklings of panic stopped him in place. What if he stepped into a thousand-foot hole? He might spring any manner of trap lurking aro
und him. He snaked his arm over his head and found his blade’s grip just over his right shoulder. He slipped his blade free and channeled energy through its core until it glowed bright-red. With a slight flick of his wrist, Ronan lowered his blade until it hovered near his leather boots.
Plumes of white steam gushed around the sword and spirit shield. But, Ronan’s blade added light enough to reveal solid black rock under his feet.
Ronan squeezed ahead moving another five-feet through the narrowing crack. He stopped when the stone wall pressed against his chest and back. He caught his breath and channeled more enhancement magic into his vision squinting through the steam.
A few feet ahead, faint light penetrated the steam revealing an end to the dragon wall.
In such tight confines, Ronan’s spirit shield couldn’t find open space enough to form a proper barrier. His shield ended where his body smashed into the rock leaving him wedged like a cork in a wine bottle.
Slabs of heavy black rock pressed against his chest smashing his lungs as Ronan surged ahead. His breathing came in short, hard, labored pulls, and he pushed away rising panic. Trickles of blood oozed down his back where the sharp rock scraped against his back.
Ronan’s adrenaline spiked, and hot panic washed over his mind. If he channeled greater strength to push his body through the crevice, he might forever wedge himself in place. Even now, moving backward presented a major challenge.
The pack on his shoulder shuddered, and the bear cub stuck her head out resting her snout on Ronan’s shoulder.
Despite his shortness of breath, Ronan smiled. “At least one of us will make it out alive.” His words came out labored, and he pulled in short breaths of already thin mountain air.
Lines of sweat streaked Ronan’s neck. The bear cub raised her head long enough to lick away the moisture before returning her chin to Ronan’s shoulder.
Ronan closed his eyes and drew in a calming breath. He pulled back the enhancement magic flowing through his flesh. Too much magic would stiffen his muscles, skin, and bones. He needed the opposite and the magic would only serve to increase the chance of wedging his body in the rock. A painful idea rattled through his thoughts. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder. “You’ll want to hide in the pack for this next part.”
The bear gave him a sideways glance and withdrew, sinking into the leather pack.
Ronan pushed the air from his lungs, and dropped his shield.
Searing white-hot steam slammed into Ronan’s face, hands, and chest soaking him in moisture.
Ronan let loose an ear-piercing yell as steam roared over his flesh like a thousand red-hot pokers. Blackness crept into his field of vision while consciousness threatened to slip away. He held his breath and channeled pure spirit, pouring added strength into his legs, arms, and shoulders. He pushed forward and felt his flesh rip beneath his shredded tunic. But, the steam’s moisture coated his flesh letting him slide through like a greased pig.
Ronan reached ahead groping for the wall’s edge through a mask of red pain. His fingertips brushed the sharp edges of hot slippery rock, and he pulled using all his strength.
A horrific ripping sound and the sharp crack of breaking bone rose over Ronan’s screams. His body broke free and he plunged ahead into open-air and freedom.
He landed with a soft thud face first on hot arid sand as waves of mind-numbing pain rolled over his body.
Dozens of blisters covered his hands and face, and his side throbbed where his ribs had snapped. Blackness swept through his mind while his body began shutting down. Ronan's thoughts grew scattered and dream-like.
The pack over Ronan’s shoulder slipped away, and the bear cub leaped ahead. She spun and crouched low growling at Ronan as if awaiting a response, but he didn’t stir. The cub scuttled ahead and grabbed his shoulder pack in her teeth and pulled, but she couldn’t budge his motionless body.
Ronan felt a distant tugging, and his mind screamed at him to wake. Using his last shreds of consciousness, he touched his white magic. He channeled, and a river of cool relief flowed through his body knitting his muscles, bones, and flesh. With a slight grunt, he pushed onto his hands and knees before opening his eyes.
The bear cub bounded around Ronan as he paused on hands and knees. She nuzzled her snout beneath his chin and licked his cheeks and neck.
Ronan found his blade, lying a foot away, and sheathed it before standing. He took a quick glance at his surroundings, and his stomach sank with a sickening nausea.
Ronan stood inside a roughly circular sandy arena. Rough black walls circled the interior and glistened as steam poured over its surface.
He glanced at the bear cub who perched by his side leaning against his leg. “If I never see another grain of sand, it’ll be too soon.” Ronan turned in a slow circle taking in his surroundings.
Curls of steam rose from the sand beneath Ronan’s feet. The mist stretched like a thin white blanket across the summit’s quarter-mile expanse. Around him, nothing stirred, and by all appearances, Dragon’s Peak stood empty.
Ronan knelt and scooped up a handful of glittering white sand. He stood and opened his palm letting hot dry sand grains slip through his fingers leaving a dry billowing dust cloud in its wake. He crossed the sand’s surface until he stood near the summit’s center and waited. Ronan had never seen an active volcano, but from what he’d read, Dragon’s Peak carried all the signs.
The bear cub stood ten-feet away with her fur raised growling at a half-buried object in the sand. Sunlight sparkled from the object’s gleaming surface.
Ronan crossed the arena and knelt studying the strangest rock he’d ever seen.
Blue, white, and yellow crystals coated the odd rock’s visible surface. It glittered like priceless jewelry under the bright sunlight.
Ronan moved his hand to extract the rock and froze. Beads of sweat dribbled down his neck and rolled beneath his collar and down his back.
His pulse raced as a sickening realization struck him. He jerked his hand from the dragon’s egg and sprang to his feet.
A bellowing roar echoed from the nest’s interior walls and carried across nearby peaks and canyons. Gusts of wind accompanied the chilling sound of heavy wings beating less than twenty yards away. Sand and dust swirled stinging Ronan's eyes and face.
Ronan stiffened, and his flesh crawled. Raw fear flashed behind his eyes, and he reached for Elan’s lifesaving magic. He channeled an ocean of power and placed shields around him and the bear cub strong enough to withstand a hundred-foot fall. He yanked the sheba blade free of its sheath and commanded power through its core.
The ground beneath Ronan’s feet rumbled as a golden-scaled dragon settled onto the white sand. Its jaw opened exposing a half-dozen rows of razor-sharp serrated teeth. The beast lumbered forward and stretched out its neck. It loosed a hair-raising roar that sent a fresh wave of sand and dirt flying into Ronan’s shield.
Ronan’s hands trembled, and he struggled to hold his blade steady. Never had he faced a being more powerful, and he knew the dragon controlled shield magic. He took two steps backward and channeled a horde of blue spirit energy into his palm.
The bear cub scrambled forward and reared up facing a golden giant three-hundred times her size. She squealed a high-pitched growl as the shaggy hair on her back stood on end.
Behind Ronan, the white sand shook a second time, but with greater depth and power.
Ronan spun extending his palm toward a gleaming red dragon somehow larger than the first. His jaw dropped open, and he stood frozen in terror.
The red giant lumbered forward glaring at Ronan through gleaming golden eyes and opened its jaws.
Ripool
A charging black stallion galloped along the stronghold’s outer wall. Devery Tyrell sat atop its saddle shouting commands to every warrior within earshot. Spirit shields sprang to life covering twenty soldiers nearest Bawold’s sealed gates. Tracers of blue energy followed in Devery’s wake coming from energy leaking from his open palms.
Tara stood inside Bawold’s tallest guard tower. Her gaze locked on the soul knight who could ruin decades of careful planning. She needed to secure Ripool and the bounty of rich souls inside its walls, and she needed to act fast. General Demos and his elite soldiers would play an intricate role in securing Meranthia. They couldn’t sit in the ice-locked sea any longer without sinking.
Devery’s stallion skittered to a halt before an ashen faced Captain Redford. Steam curled from the stout captain’s slackened jaw. He stared motionless at the stronghold’s closed gates.
Devery glared down at the captain and shouted harsh inaudible words. He pointed toward the navy ships preparing to set sail at the shipyard docks. Captain Redford ignored Devery and the dozens of soldiers scrambling for cover.
Tara moved to the tower’s opposite side and surveyed the battle for control inside Bawold’s fortress.
A half-dozen dark soldiers descended on two over-matched guards near the southeastern tower. Auras of dark mist radiated from her pets and enveloped the guards seeping into their noses and throats.
The first guard screamed his sword clattering to the cobblestones while the second collapsed to his knees and wept. The dark soldier’s black aura turned even the bravest soldiers into simpering cowards.
Tara felt nothing as her pets went about their business. She’d extended her hand in partnership to Elan’s centuries ago, and he’d rejected her outright. These people would suffer his foolishness.
A dark soldier’s blade flashed then slid into the guard’s chest skewering him like a ripe tomato. Tara’s pet twisted his blade before yanking it free of the guard’s body, and his precious soul fled his lifeless body.
Black mist clung to the guard’s soul, trapping it like a fly in a spider’s web.
Tara’s mind moved through the link connecting her to the dark soldier. A connection fueled by his soul under her control. She gazed through her pet’s eyes and watched the dead guard ooze blood onto the already red cobblestones. She plucked the guard’s soul from the dark soldier’s mist and consumed it adding his energy and soul thread to her reserves.
King Of Souls (Book 2) Page 22