“Look at the size of those things!” Titus didn’t want to make any sudden movements. The insects were ignoring him, and he wanted to keep it that way. At least for the time being they didn’t appear to be aggressive. It was a lot like being in a nightmare where you couldn’t wake up.
Theon didn’t think it was going to end well. “Whatever you do don’t swing at them. Unless they sting, leave them the hell alone. I don’t want to be fighting a swarm of bees.”
They started past the 4-winged insects sidling along the wall. Urban wondered how the others managed to get by them. One landed on the top of his head, and its buzz was deafening, it was all he could do to keep from swatting it away. The stress of it was making him perspire; several years ago a single bee sting had almost killed him, and that one had been smaller than the size of his thumb. It flew back onto one of the roses, and he let go with a sigh of relief.
The Knights moved past the bees leaving them to their own business, and in kind they left the humans to their affairs. They picked up the pace as they continued and desperately hoped that Ryxa would soon return with the boy. One thing was for sure; the dragon was determined to save him.
Ryxa touched down when she came to a fork with three separate ways to go. Which way had he taken the boy? She listened but heard nothing. She sniffed down each tunnel but it was difficult to grasp his scent; all she could smell was fire and brimstone. She was able to detect a strong sulphur odor, but that was it. Her heart sunk at the realization that she was unable to pick up his scent. A degree of panic set in as she thought of the worst possible outcome; she might never see the boy again. She would incinerate that son-of-a-bitch if she ever caught up with him.
“Dragon, where’s the boy?” Urban shouted as they caught up with her.
A tear ran down Ryxa’s face. “I don’t know where he is. Down one of these tunnels I imagine. We’re going to have to separate.” Suddenly the dragon thought she heard something. “What was that? Did you hear that?”
The knights became quiet as they listened intently. The infidel had a knife to Marcus’s throat warning him not to struggle or make a sound. His eyes were wide with fear; he wasn’t sure if he should bite the hand over his mouth or not. There was a good chance he wouldn’t survive it, but he had to let Ryxa know that he was nearby.
Theon listened, but he couldn’t detect any sound. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Shush while I listen.” Ryxa could hear a very light thumping. The boy was kicking the rock wall but where was he? She slowly raised her head and stared straight up into a large hole in the ceiling that she hadn’t even noticed. And then another thump. “He’s up there!”
Titus couldn’t imagine how that was possible. “How could they get up there?”
Ryxa could tell that she was too big to fly, and that was a serious problem. “How the hell are we going to get up there? I’d get stuck for sure.”
They all stared up into the almost perfectly round tunnel that had a couple of jagged rocks; it was too dark to see much, but the dragon could see the edge of another tunnel in there to the right. That must be where he had the boy. Ryxa stared at the four knights making them all a little uncomfortable. What was she thinking? She felt that time was of the essence.
“What is that look Dragon?” Zak asked.
“I need a volunteer.”
Titus crossed his arms. “A volunteer for what?”
“Wait a minute I’m the boss here, so I pick, let me see, you!” She grabbed Zak by the edge of his neck armour and tossed him some thirty feet up into the tunnel. “Grab the ledge!”
“Aahhh!” It was such a surprise that Zak wasn’t able to grab anything, finding himself flying through the air. He screamed on the way up and on the way down. He bounced off the hard wall and scraped his arm on one of the rocks on the way down; however he did see the brute with his hand over the boy’s mouth.
Ryxa caught Zak by the leg just before his head hit the ground. “Is Marcus up there?”
“He’s up there all right. Put me down.”
“Is he hurt?”
“Doesn’t seem to be.”
“Then go and get him!”
“Wait!” But it was too late as Zak once again found himself hurdling through the air, and this time, he did manage to grab the edge of the tunnel; however a sword came down at his hand, and he moved it just in time. The next swing of the blade would have cut his fingers off and once again he fell, this time, the dragon caught him in her mouth.
“What’s taking so long?” Ryxa was worried that he was going to hurt Marcus before he could get to him. “That’s the second time you’ve failed to get Marcus.”
“Are you kidding me? He has the advantage up there. I have to climb in; meanwhile, he’ll cut me in two. I can’t even pull my sword until I get in there.”
The dragon considered. “I’ll make him back up so that you have a better chance to get in.” And with that, she sent a burst of fire up the tunnel and against the far wall, not close enough to kill them but scary enough to make them back up. Then she grabbed Zak and threw him back up, again unprepared.
Zak grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up as he dodged the sword. Marcus bit into the guy’s shoulder making him scream; Zak ran his sword through him and then tossed him out, where he fell dead at the dragon’s feet. Ryxa kicked the body out of her way and sent it tumbling down the tunnel. Zak noticed the rope ladder which was how they’d gotten up. He threw out the ladder, and they both climbed down. Ryxa was giddy at the sight of the boy. She gently rubbed her head on Marcus, her way of showing him affection and he hugged her in return.
“That asshole was talking about cooking and eating me. What kind of a person would eat people?” Marcus shook his head at the thought of it.
“Probably just trying to scare you,” said the dragon. “Now the bugs will be eating him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THEY TRUDGED UNDER THE STARS following silently one after the other. The crescent moon above the mountain overlooking the kingdom of the Yurrosy lit up the area as best it could. The night concealed the faces of the ten men and two women marching with torches outside the walls, silent with determined expressions. All were into their own heads with dangerous thoughts. They didn’t stop until they got to a deserted area called the Kamoushka Falls, a huge waterfall that gave ambiance to the vicinity.
“The air is cool tonight.”
The closer they got the louder the sound of the torrential water hitting the rocks. Beautiful purple flowers were growing magically up the sides of the rocks, where a wizard’s spell had displaced enchanted princess flowers creating a variation of it that glowed so wonderfully with even the slightest amount of moonlight. Some were bigger than a man’s head, with others being quite small. They bathed the area in a beautiful reflecting purple light and a sweet scent that was both beautiful and invigorating to the senses.
All were tired of the warmongering. They were weary in many ways, mentally exhausted from all the fighting. Too much of anything wasn’t good for the soul, too much battle stretched them beyond the boundaries of a worthwhile life. Not enough time to recover from one fire and then tossed into another. The only one that was fresh these days was the king himself.
It was a good place to discuss the assassination of King Chromos.
An owl near the top of the falls looked down at all the torches as the dozen approached looking for places to sit on the rocks. They commenced talking amongst themselves as the owl became curious of the night excursion, taking time from the dead frog clutched in its talons. It asked WHO was there, but no response was forthcoming. They all heard the bird but had more important things to attend to, and most wondered if they were making the right choice. It was a tense atmosphere as the owl adjusted its position. Achakos and Adela sat on rocks by the falls with the mist catching them. A dark silence permeated the air with everyone considering the implications of getting rid of the belligerent king; they waited patiently for Achakos to speak.
> Achakos stood and nodded to all of them. “Let us speak honestly that we are here to kill the King. And tomorrow night with a little help from the heavens it shall be done.”
A branch cracking off to the right caught their attention. Several of them pulled their swords and stood at the ready. Had they been followed? Had someone heard of the plans to kill Chromos? If so they could not be permitted to flee with such information as it would be the death of all of them and their families. They scanned the night as best they could, anticipating movement or another sound. A tense silence lingered. Fear enveloped them like the coldest wind.
“I see it,” said Adela. “It’s only a deer. Look there and you can see its eyes.”
All observed the luminous eyes. It caught their scent and didn’t like it one bit. The animal stood transfixed for a time and then turned and ran off into the night, breaking another branch as it did so.
Achakos continued. “A fight between you two will initiate the attack. Hopefully, it will distract everyone including the guards. The battle must appear genuine so do not hesitate; you really should sustain some injury. Should Uriah fail to take the king’s head, he will be killed. If that happens, all is not lost, but it will make the next attempt more difficult though perhaps not impossible. Gather your wits about you. Once it begins there is no time for second guessing, and again I say do not hesitate. We do this for a better future.”
Adela stood beside Achakos. “I will kill Cato; he cannot be permitted to be the next king because he is the same.” And with those words they started back toward the kingdom to see what fate would have in store for them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ELLA APPEARED TO BE IN A TRANCE of sorts as she collected things and brought them into the den. She had completed seven trips and was examining her bounty. She had human clothes, colorful shields, bales of hay and lots of branches. She had always liked to collect things, but this was different. She had been compelled to gather these things without really thinking about what she was doing. Now she had them in a circle more or less as she examined them. She went around and moved the circle just a little closer.
Zedock was out searching for food as Ella made yet another trip to see what she could find. She flew over a part of the forest where a wizard had perished long ago. There were more than a hundred trees knocked right out of their roots from the blast. The devastated trees were in a circle out from the blast that had caught her attention, and so she swooped down, grabbing two trees and heading back to her den.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me today?” she said to herself. She now commenced making the group even tighter so that all the items touched one another, humming an unfamiliar song as she did so.
Her sister Sunfire suddenly glided into the den tucking her wings as she moved forward; her eyebrows tightened as she assessed Ella gatherings. “Hello, sister. Are you making a nest?”
“What? No, just collecting some things.” She continued to push things around to judge how they looked.
Sunfire was even younger than her sister and had little experience in such things, but it appeared like the beginning of a nest. “Where’s the black dragon?”
“Must you refer to him as the black dragon? He’s out hunting for food. Sunfire, excuse me for a bit. I’ll be back soon.” Again Ella took to the air, her wings pumping as she went.
Sunfire thought it was a little rude just to abandon her like that; she watched as Ella disappeared out of sight. She turned her attention to the circle of things inside the vast cavern. “If that’s not a nest then what the heck is it? That’s a nest. Is she nesting? Oh, my.”
Ella flew over the Kar River and observed it as she circled; it wasn’t flowing quite as vigorously as it usually did. She decided to fly away from where an old man wearing a funny square hat was fishing. Ella set down and started to scoop up mud in her mouth as she continued to hum as best she could. Then with a couple of mighty flaps of her powerful wings, she took to the air.
As Sunfire was examining what she thought was a nest, Ella flew in and commenced to stick it all together with mud, forming into a tight circle, and drying it with delicate bursts of fire. Sunfire shook her head slightly but wasn’t about to mention the N word again.
“That makes a real centerpiece,” said Ella. “Brightens up the place don’t you think?”
If her hormones were raging Sunfire wasn’t about to argue with her. “Yes, it’s very nice.” She decided to change the topic. “Father has been asking about you.”
Ella was frightened of what her sister was going to say next. She slowly turned her head and glared at Sunfire. Had she already told her secret? She appeared to be in too much of a good mood for that to have been the case. “And what did you say to him?”
“I told him that you’ve been flying around with a black dragon.”
“What!”
Sunfire decided to tell the truth. “I’m just kidding. I told him that you’ve been flying around with a red dragon but that you can’t make up your mind about him. That something was off-putting but of what you weren’t sure. Father said you might be a little too fussy. You know he’s gonna find out sooner or later.”
“I’m hoping for later. A hundred years from now would be good.” Ella got inside the ring and tried it on for size and it felt good.
Zedock flew in with a pterocrit but dropped it when he saw the nest. “Ella, are you building a nest?”
“Shut up I’m not building a nest! What is it with you two?” Ella crossed her arms defiantly, sat and started to sulk.
“Oh,” said Zedock. “It looks like a nest!”
Ella started to feel off. The uncomfortable feeling quickly turned to discomfort. An ill feeling came over her along with a sharp pain. She turned around and around trying hard to find a better position, moaning several times. There was another severe pain in her lower abdomen that she tried not to show. Was she preparing to lay her eggs? Ella knew that whatever was going on wasn’t normal because dragon birth was usually just a little difficult; her mother had told her what to expect.
Sunfire stared into her sister’s eyes. “Are you gonna lay eggs?”
Ella wasn’t in a total panic, but she was on the way. “We only mated once. What if I have babies that are all black and red and weird looking? Zedock, they won’t be accepted anywhere! What were we thinking?”
Things were now moving a little too fast for the black dragon, and he didn’t know what to say; he didn’t know how to console her.
Ella moaned.
Zedock’s eyes widened. He hated to see Ella in such pain and wanted to run away.
Sunfire was now sure that something was wrong. “I’m sure they’ll be as beautiful as you are. But Ella you shouldn’t be in pain like this. I’m going for help.”
“No.” Ella adjusted herself facing her sister. She was now feeling significant pressure. “I think the first egg is on the way.”
“I hope they're all girls.” Sunfire watched as Ella’s face was beginning to show considerable pain. “You don’t look good.”
Ella commenced to perspire from the pain. “Sunfire, something is wrong.”
“What do you mean something is wrong?” Zedock was starting to panic. What had he done to her? If something happened to her because of him might it start a war?
Ella did a complete turn in the nest groaning in pain. “Oh!”
Sunfire was in panic mode. She should go for her mother! “Ella, what do I do? What should I do?”
Sunfire was frantic. “Could the eggs be too big to come out? I’ve never heard of such a thing! Zedock, what do we do?”
Zedock’s heart and mind were both racing. “Oh no, black dragon eggs are bigger than red dragon eggs. What have I done to you?” The black dragon ran around in a panic not knowing what to do. “What do I do? What do I do?”
Sunfire grabbed him by the face and forced him to look at her. “Look into her eyes and hypnotize her. That’ll take the pain away!”
“That must be a red
dragon thing. I don’t know how to do that!”
Ella screamed from the pain as it became excruciating, making Zedock jump. She released a burst of fire, and it went over Zedock’s head. He tried to get her to look into his red eyes to attempt that hypnotizing thing, but she was in such discomfort that she refused to do so. It was the worst thing that Zedock ever experienced, seeing Ella in such pain. Was there anything worse than seeing a loved one suffer?
Sunfire screamed. “Make her look into your eyes!”
Zedock grabbed Ella by the head forcing her to look into his eyes. “Ella, look into my eyes!
Because of the pain, Ella wasn’t herself; she grabbed him by the throat and started to choke the life out of him. “I’ll kill you, you stupid black dragon.”
Everything went black as Zedock was choked unconscious.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
TWILIGHT HAD COME and Stone and Alexa and the others had settled down for the night. The quiet was disconcerting as everyone dealt with their fears in their own way. Even knights that had fought many battles had trepidations; being away from the kingdom left them out of the loop. Alexa was wondering what was going on back in Leeander, and she desperately hoped that they were okay. Plenty to be worried about and active imaginations didn’t help. She had had a nightmare where they returned to find the kingdom destroyed and everyone dead except for Marcus who had both of his hands cut off; he had been up in a tree and because he had no hands he couldn’t get down. One of those awful dreams that didn’t fade after one was awake. Anxiety manifested itself in many ways, including disturbing scenes that wandered in the sleeping mind.
Knights of the Dragon (of Knights and Wizards Book 1) Page 12