Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1)

by A. J. Gallant

  The black dragon was happy that she had agreed to talk. What harm could come of it? They were smart enough and weren’t going to ravish one another. He sat and waited for her to start the conversation.

  She had to laugh at his eager eyes. “What would you like to talk about Leduc?”

  “Leduc? That’s not even close to Zedock. Your smell tells me that you are not bonded. Why not?”

  Apparently the dragon didn’t know how to mind his own business. “You are quite the nosy, meddlesome dragon aren’t you? Why not? Because all the males are annoying, rude and pushy. Besides, I have plenty of time to pick a mate. And I see what you’re doing, stop smelling me.”

  Zedock cleared his throat, not sure what to say next, followed by an awkward pause. “I am so sorry Ella I didn’t even realize that I was doing it. I don’t know what is wrong with me today. I apologize for that. I’m not usually this bold.”

  “Just don’t let it happen again.” She secretly took in his scent and liked it more than she thought she would, but it was time to end it. “We’ve talked enough.” Ella spread her wings and took to the air. She flew off and then hovered in the distance, looking back for one last look at the black dragon and had to smile at what she saw. Zedock was rolling around in the grass, basking in her scent. He looked quite mad, but she, of course, recognized it as a part of bonding. They had both been irresponsible. If she spent much more time with him, she might have his scent permanently stuck to her and what a nightmare that would be. It made her shudder. As she continued to watch the black dragon, he got up and commenced to sniff around like a dog would, and again throwing himself down and rolling in the grass where she had slept.

  It would be necessary to stay away from that dragon. He was a danger to her state of mind and her future. A red dragon could not associate with a black dragon.

  CHAPTER SIX

  KING CHROMOS OF THE YURROSY SAT UNDER THE STARS on his throne carved of solid limestone in layers of horsehide as the celebration raged. On one side of him on a pike was the skull of one of his most ferocious enemies and on the other a flaming torch. More than a dozen warriors danced and chanted in unison for the king’s entertainment, a mock battle that they had fought months ago. Angry faces were lit up by the huge bonfire, with sparks dancing up into the dark sky.

  Several large fires lit up the night, scattered throughout the kingdom, with a red dragon flying overhead spewing the occasional wall of fire that was quite spectacular in the evening sky. It always screeched before it let go with a burst of flame. They were a rowdy bunch celebrating life and death. Couples were copulating all over the place as a fight erupted between two warriors; fortunately, for them, they were too inebriated on dragon’s blood mixed with mead to do each other much damage. Kranchar fell asleep on his feet and almost fell into the fire when his opponent booted him away from it just in time; he was asleep when he hit the ground.

  A large flying insect landed on the king’s bald head; he swatted it away making his long queue of hair dance on his back. When it returned, he squashed the life out of it. He sang along with the beautiful chants. He was content as he enjoyed the festivities.

  A rider rode up on heavy hooves and quickly dismounted from his horse, approaching the King. “Chromos, I have news from the front.”

  Chromos took a bite of his dragon steak and slowly looked over at the warrior. “What front?”

  “To the east.”

  “You bring gifts?”

  It was an unwritten rule to bring at least one gift for the king. “Most of the bounty should be here in a few days but for now, I have this magnificent sword, hidden and could have been missed but for my diligence your majesty. An ancient weapon I think.” The warrior uncovered a short sword that reflected the flames of the fire, decorated with skulls and a red jewel in its hilt. An unexpected beauty it was. It was impressive and honed to perfection.

  Chromos examined it carefully, looking over every inch of the weapon and was impressed by the size of the jewel. His preference was always a weapon that had taken from vanquished enemies. One of his favorites had been a solid gold ornamental dagger, but this one might rival it. He ran his hand along the blade, detecting that it had a great edge. “Nice. What is the news?”

  “Joshuar is no more.”

  During the Great War Joshuar had been big trouble for the Yurrosy and so the news was satisfying. “Of course. Did they fight to the end?”

  “They did.”

  Chromos slowly nodded as he imagined their screams. “Good for them. There is no shame when you perish in battle. When you die with a sword in hand, you enter the afterlife prepared to do battle there as well. What more could one ask for?” He grunted his approval.

  Achakos and Adela had just finished mating and went away from all the noise hand in hand to be by themselves. They went into the tall grass to be away from the others so they could talk in private. Adela was almost as strong as her mate, descended from a long line of warrior women. She had beautiful shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She was as deadly as she was comely and one underestimated her at their peril.

  “Chromos is mad with power.” Achakos shook his head. “We have everything we need, and yet he wants more. Instead of enjoying what we have he always wants more. No end to his greed. No end to the bloodshed. Life is nothing but battle, and I’ve had enough of it.”

  Adela nodded. Muted sounds of the celebration drifted around them. “I am tired of killing. And what if we could kill everyone else? What a lonely world this would be. We have become nothing but destroyers. The only one he has not talked about killing is the traders to the west.”

  Achakos imagined his children dying young in battle and for what? He was but a mere warrior that wasn’t even allowed to approach the king. He wondered if his inner circle were truly like him? “That day will come. They are the only ones that are bigger than us, but when we are bigger, we’ll have to destroy them too. Half of us will die in that battle if not more. And when he is in control of more dragons no one will be safe.”

  It was dangerous to talk about such things and difficult to row against a mighty ocean current in a small boat if not impossible. Even if the king managed to conquer everything and everyone Achakos could not see him being content as it wasn’t in his nature. Would they then be forced to fight one another for the king’s entertainment? Or would they have to ride thousands and thousands of miles in search of others to conquer?

  Both their heads jerked to the right when they heard something; with the movement of the grass, they became quiet. Was it the wind? Neither of them believed it to be so. Someone was in there with them. If heard, they would lose their heads. Adela’s eyes were wide and her muscles tight as she slowly pulled her sword. They were both tense as they waited to see who or what would appear. If luck were on their side, it would be a wild pig or some other animal. Again there was slight rustling in the tall grass. Whatever it was it was getting closer. Achakos placed his hand on his blade.

  Suddenly, he flew at them with a knife in hand leaping high out of the grass but it was only their son Garros; he was half their size but already had the appetite for killing. Their faces turned to smiles.

  “I found you!”

  His father picked him up and threw him in the air and caught him. “You scared us.”

  “I did? I really scared you?”

  Adela smiled. “You nearly scared the ghost out of me.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE FOUR KNIGHTS FROM JOSHUAR were heavy on their horses, a slow gait as they approached the watering hole that was surrounded by palm trees. The land was rife with magic, and one could walk out of summer and into winter simply by crossing an invisible border. They were all big and handsome except for Theon; he was more rugged than handsome and often appeared to be in a foul mood. He could make a man uneasy with his uncompromising eyes. They had given their lives to the knighthood, all righteous men. They had served their king and kingdom. Their faces now imparted the pain that they all carried, e
tched memories that time would not obliterate. Never had they been so despondent. Life was no longer worth living, and they were simply going through the motions. They could not see beyond the present and had no desire to do so.

  Titus and Theon, Zak and Urban dismounted as they came to an oasis on the edge of the desert. They had gone out to search for a wizard on orders from their king but when they returned to Joshuar discovered everything destroyed with bodies littering the landscape. They had escaped the fate of their friends and family but sincerely wished they hadn’t. The four drank their fill and were silent for a time as the horses continued to drink, each one rooted in the memory of the last time they had set eyes upon their loved ones. Urban sank his face into the water and felt like leaving it there forever, drown and let the buzzards have at him. Zak gazed down into the water as if it had captured his soul, his reflection blurred by the ripples in the water. The wind was hot on their faces; they had been attacked by seven nomads and had killed them all, but the victory had brought little satisfaction.

  “Leeander is only a couple of days from here. We’ll be welcome there until we decide what to do.” Titus wiped the perspiration from his brow and felt like crying. Peacetime was never long enough and the shortest war far too long, destroying lives as efficiently as buildings. War destroyed the fabric of one’s soul and was often impossible to mend no matter how hard one tried.

  They would most likely join the knights in Leeander and die fighting. They knew Leeander had a shield, and it would be satisfying to slip out and kill as many as they could and then return, and to continue to do it until killed. Vengeance would never be complete as there were simply too many of them. The problem with revenge was that it couldn’t bring back the dead; retribution never healed a wounded heart and sometimes made it worse. Why was there such evil in the world? Why did the Yurrosy have to be such a vicious race?

  Theon watched as a sand-colored lizard exited from the sand, creating a small avalanche from the dune. A wizard had conjured up a male and female long ago, and now they were throughout the desert. Because they weren’t the smartest creatures and because they tasted just like a medium rare steak, almost everyone liked to eat them. They seemed to prefer the company of humans, which was usually a fatal mistake. A few people had them as pets. A single one would sustain a person for days and were a popular item in most markets. If it hadn’t been for their rapid rate of reproduction, they would have probably been extinct long ago. Theon stuck it with his dagger, an efficient kill and then shared it with the others. Its blood was as sweet as any melon.

  Zak looked up and saw a red dragon circling, so high up that he extended his thumb and blocked it from view. It was straight overhead, and he wondered if it was circling them? An attacking dragon was always big trouble. He made up the Limerick as he sang; his voice deep and smooth. “Red dragon, red dragon oh won’t you burn me. No desire to live, please set my soul free.”

  “I wouldn’t mind being eaten by a dragon, one bite would cut me in two, but being burned alive is not very appealing.” Titus looked up into the blue sky but couldn’t find it. After several seconds he spotted it; he was sure it would be a lot more menacing up close. “I talked to a hungry dragon once, said I was too small to bother with.”

  “Is it stalking us?” Urban scratched at his red beard as he looked up. “I’ve heard that the Yurrosy cast a spell to seek out all inhabitants when they destroy a kingdom so as to keep them from seeking vengeance. It could be part of an enchantment. If so, we might all end up being dragon shit.”

  Zak smiled. “Now there’s an unpleasant image.”

  They all watched the red dragon for a time until their necks became stiff from staring up at it, and it did appear to be getting larger in the sky. If it was going to attack why didn’t it just do so? What was the point of going around and around and around? Perhaps it was tracking someone or something else. In any case, death would be welcomed not feared though they would put up a fight as it wasn’t in their nature to just lie down and die.

  “Let the bastard come I have dragon dust.” Titus grabbed the black pouch that was around his neck and squeezed it for comfort; however, using it effectively was easier said than accomplished when facing the fury of such a beast.

  Zak rubbed his green eyes and then the bristles on his face. He placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword that had been passed on to him from his grandfather. The knight felt the scar from his elbow to his wrist, a battle wound sustained at sixteen, remembering how he had fought alongside his father. Perhaps it would be the last time he got to think those thoughts. The Yurrosy had even ruined his grandfather’s gravestone. Why would anyone destroy a graveyard?

  The dragon disappeared behind the lone cloud. After several minutes of readying for the attack, they sat with their backs against palm trees and waited, with the silence appreciated by all. It must have moved on to other prey. Urban let himself slide down the palm tree and then crossed his ankles; he was about to speak when Theon shouted.

  Theon stared at his black stallion that was suddenly nervous. “Dragon!”

  It came from behind them and let go with a burst of flame that destroyed the tops of the palm trees, melting some of the sand into black chunks of glass. The horses broke their tethers and ran off from the fright. The dragon turned and beat its wings to hold itself in place. It released more fire, and then Theon grabbed his fire-resistant shield just in time as the blaze would have incinerated him. And even with the shield, the fire was uncomfortably hot as it went around him. The shield would only take so many hits before the enchantment on it would diminish to a dangerous level. Each blast of fire disintegrated a layer of its magical particles until it would be no better than a standard shield. Titus brazenly ran up to it as it was sucking in a deep breath and threw a handful of dust in its face and its fire went out. It tried to burn them alive but all that came forth was acrid smoke, and that made it furious. It tried its best to burn them but only managed to expel was a lump of steaming mucus.

  Zak cut the end of its tail off with his long sword as the red dragon screeched, and swinging around it sent him flying as the dragon’s head made contact. The blow was like running into a rock wall. It snapped at him several times narrowly missing as he scurried out of its way; the sound of its jaws clamping shut so loud and powerful that it hurt their ears. Theon thrust his sword into its side, and it got stuck in there, with the beast screeching in pain. Titus jumped on the dragon’s back and stuck his sword down into its head and its brain killing it, and then the ground shook as it fell. They all watched as a purple mist departed from it, slowly seeping into the ground with the remainder of it dissipating.

  None wanted to survive the encounter, but fate apparently had other ideas.

  Zak wiped the blood off his sword. “Another magical dragon.”

  Titus whistled several times and his horse slowly returned, but the animal wouldn’t go near the dead dragon. “Justice would be the dragons burning all those damn wizards that are spelling them.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ALEXA MARCHED INTO THE FORTIFIED CASTLE carrying a massive tome; she strode past Knights in conversation and headed directly into the throne room where her father sat with a faraway look in his eyes. Everyone had their roles to play in life, and a lot of people believed that the king’s part was the easiest of them all, but she knew better. She paused to stare at him and felt sorry for all that rested upon those broad shoulders; he had earned his white hair and beard. Alexa sat the book on his knees and when she did so he looked up at her. “Father, the wizard’s tome.”

  He looked up at his daughter and managed a smile. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman. I remember when you were seven, and you wanted to find and kill a dragon. Do you remember that?”

  “I do actually. Stone talked me out of it.” She remembered how her childish thoughts were so important back then but now recalled as being from an immature world of playful adventures. The imagination of a child is a world in itself.
Perhaps she should give her little brother a break? Not likely as he annoyed her too much.

  The King recalled how she had been a handful and how Alexa had always wanted to be on a quest. She had gone through so many nannies, even so far as to attack one of them with a wooden sword pretending she had turned into an evil dragon. “I want you to go through it and see if you can’t find something in there that can help us.”

  She was not expecting that. Alexa had other plans, including sword training with Stone. “What? Me? It could take a week or more to go through that thing. Besides, we can’t cast a spell and neither can Adorok. Why can’t I take some men and go out and try to find a wizard? That would make a lot more sense.”

  The king sighed. “There is more in that book that just spells child. Information can be as powerful as magic. Think of it this way. What if the solution to our problem is in this book? Wouldn’t you want to be the one to find it?”

  She thought on it. He always knew the right thing to say. Who wouldn’t wish to be the hero and save the kingdom? It was smart to entertain all possibilities even though she was itching to get out and kill some of those Yurrosy. They all knew that the onslaught was inevitable, and the thought of waiting until they attacked was maddening. One may as well refuse to dodge dragon fire. It was going to be one of those days. Without saying another word she took the book and headed to the great hall but not before making sure her father saw her disappointed face.

  Outside Stone and Lance were practicing their fighting skills. It was obvious that Stone was a better warrior, but Lance was adept as well. Not many could match Stone’s talent for battle. Blade met blade time after time until Stone kicked Lance knocking him down, where he would have been vulnerable to the kill. Knights always tried so hard to best Stone and, of course, he took advantage of that. Alexa stopped to watch, and she gave Lance the tome to hold as she pulled her sword and attacked Stone. She jumped into the air and swung her sword around, with the momentum of it forcing him to back up, bringing a smile to his face. Stone figured that she was number two in the kingdom for raw fighting talent, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.