The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10)

by Craig Halloran

  Swack!

  A tail licked out, sending him tumbling over the cavern floor. A second later, something pounced on top of him, pinning Brenwar under its greater weight. A round dragon face with long whiskers peered down at him with bright-yellow cat eyes. Its purr was a rumble.

  “Get off me, you scaly cat!”

  It dug its claws into his shoulder.

  “Ow!” Brenwar said. “Ya poked a hole in my armor. Yer gonna pay for that!”

  Streams of smoke drifted out of the cat’s nose.

  Brenwar’s eyes became heavy. “Ye better not eat me,” he said, dozing off, “Dwarves make lousy mealzzzz …”

  ***

  Shum, short spear ready, braced himself.

  A draykis with a large iron club charged.

  Shum muttered a word in Elvish.

  Shtikt! Shtikt! Shtikt!

  The spear grew from two feet to six, piercing the draykis in the middle of the chest.

  Its club clanged off the cave floor. It was dead.

  Shum went after the next one.

  Bullish and scaled, it wore a helmet with metal horns.

  Shum jabbed at it.

  It backed away, swinging a pole axe from side to side with the skill of a veteran soldier but more power.

  Make it quick!

  The cavern had erupted in chaos. Bright flashes and bursts of energy brightened the room. Howls and screams followed. It all happened fast. Sometimes fast is good. Sometimes fast is bad.

  Shum swatted his spear into the pole axe of the draykis, jarring his arms.

  The part-man, part-dragon monster was formidable. Fast. Strong. Vicious. A lethal blow ripped over Shum’s head.

  He bounded back.

  The draykis kept coming. Swinging hard. Chipping the stone from the ground. Making sparks.

  Shum ran his spear through its side.

  It roared and twisted away, ripping the spear from Shum’s grip.

  He went for his sword and dagger.

  Two goblins dove into him. Drove him into the ground. One stuck a dagger in his leg. The other punched him in the face.

  Pinned down, he somehow wriggled free. Bounced to his feet and freed his elven steel, leg throbbing.

  Goblin after goblin fell. The gnolls barked and howled, swords and axes ready. The draykis pulled the spear from its side and came back after him. They had him surrounded.

  ***

  Bayzog sent an arc of blue energy into the oncoming goblins and gnolls, throwing them back into the tunnel. He’d had it. They’d taken Sasha, and she wouldn’t wake up. But she was breathing.

  Around him, everything happened at once. Brenwar threw his hammer and everyone burst into action. Including him. The gnolls and goblins scrambled back to their feet and scurried into the room, breaking off in all directions.

  Bayzog tipped a vial full of pale-red liquid to his lips and drank. His mind became sharp. Focused. Everyone in the cavern slowed down. Either that or his mind sped up. I like it. He pulled out a small wand and let them have it.

  Bwing! Bwing! Bwing!

  Purple hornets of energy showered the horde. Small explosions erupted all over them. They hopped and screamed, danced around, swatting at the balls that danced off their heads.

  A gnoll broke through and came at him. But it was slow.

  Bayzog muttered a quick word and sent the creature hurtling through the air into the others.

  They kept coming at half speed. But there we so many. He and his party were outnumbered greatly.

  Perhaps I should get Sasha out of here while I have the time and energy.

  Bwing! Bwing! Bwing!

  He sent the purple hornets back into the horde then gathered Sasha in his arms.

  “Wake up,” he said, shaking her.

  She remained still, in a deep sleep.

  That cleric, Kryzak, must have done something to her. He searched the room for the man. He’d take out the leader and put an end to this. “Where are you?”

  “Right behind you,” a dark voice said.

  Bayzog whirled around and faced the tormenter.

  Impossible!

  Kryzak towered over him with his arms over his chest. “You have no power over me here, elf. I was expecting you.”

  Bayzog cast the wand right at the man.

  It sizzled out.

  “Seems you’re empty,” Kryzak said.

  “My wand, maybe, but not the rest of me.”

  He raised his arms over his head and summoned sunbursts of energy forth, blasting Kryzak full in the chest and skipping him over the floor.

  The cleric rose in his smoky robes, laughing over the chaos.

  Bayzog sent another blast.

  Kryzak swatted it away with one hand. “You have no power over me, elf, but I have power over you.”

  Bayzog felt the hairs rise on his neck. The shadows of the gnolls and goblins took on a life of their own and slithered toward him.

  He summoned his words, but no sound came out. The cleric had silenced him.

  The shadows slithered around his ankles, his waist, his chest, his neck―and dragged him to the ground.

  CHAPTER 35

  My sword clattered on the stone floor. Pinned in the bear hug of one draykis, I took a shot in the stomach from another. Smoke erupted from my nose, and that wasn’t all. My blood boiled. My temper flared.

  The draykis drew back to punch me again.

  I opened my mouth.

  A geyser of flames shot out, coating the monster from head to toe.

  It shrieked. Engulfed in flames, it sputtered around, igniting others in its path.

  I wasn’t finished, either. I kept on breathing.

  The gnolls and goblins ran from the flames. Still the draykis held me tight. But nothing could hold me now. No draykis. No ettin.

  I flexed. I heaved. I roared.

  The bats above scattered. The draykis lost its grip.

  “Now you’ve had it!” I spun away and slugged it in the face. We exchanged blows.

  Whop! Crack! Jab! Jab!

  I was faster. Madder. Furious. I was Dragon! I pounced on its chest. Drove it to the ground and beat it into submission. Chest heaving, I looked for my friends. Flames were scattered everywhere. Thick smoke was rolling.

  “Dragon,” a voice shot out.

  I found Shum. Goblins and gnolls had dragged the elf to the ground. I dove into the fray. Grabbed hair, arms, and legs and slung them away.

  Shum clutched at his side and bled from many wounds.

  I helped him to his feet. “Can you still fight?” I said.

  “Certainly,” he said.

  Back to back, we faced the horde, surrounded by barking faces and cautious eyes. Then I caught sight of something else: a dragon almost as big as a horse. Below it, an unmoving Brenwar.

  “No!” I cried out. I didn’t think. I reacted. Grabbed Akron from my back.

  Snap. Clatch. Snap.

  I whipped out an explosive arrow from my quiver and nocked it.

  “Better duck if you want to live, vermin!”

  They dove.

  I loosed the arrow.

  Kaboom!

  The dragon, the likes of which I’d never seen, leapt screeching like a cat jumping out of water. Wingless, catlike, and serpentine, it landed on all fours facing me, whiskers dragging on the floor. Part of its back was smoking.

  I nocked another. “Great Guzan!”

  The arrow should have slowed it, maybe even killed it.

  But it was a dragon. A powerful one.

  I spoke at it in Dragonese. “Better back away, feline fury.” Normally, I wouldn’t attack another dragon for anything.

  But this wasn’t an ordinary dragon. It was a mean one. And it had done something to Brenwar. It flashed its razor-like claws and narrowed its eyes.

  I fired.

  It jumped.

  The arrow zinged by it. That was fast!

  Kaboom! The cavern shook.

  The feline fury pounced right at me.

&
nbsp; I jumped over its head and onto its back.

  It twisted beneath me.

  I fell to the ground but jumped right to my feet.

  Its claws slashed, clipped my chest armor, and spun me around.

  I struck back, clipping its nose.

  It bounced back.

  Dragons hated that. Still, I had to find its weakness before it tore me to pieces.

  The feline fury was much bigger and far stronger than me. It was a beast. It’d take more than my claws and speed to stop it.

  I dashed for my sword, Fang. Dove and wrapped my hands around the pommel.

  The feline fury crashed on top of my back.

  Fang skittered from my grip.

  “No!” I elbowed it in the nose.

  It slammed my face into the dirt with its paw. A cat toying with a mouse.

  I wriggled and squirmed. Found myself on my back, pinned down. I struggled and strained.

  The foul beast had me. Smoke billowed from its nostrils.

  I opened my mouth and breathed, bathing its face in fire.

  It sprang away, shaking its flaming head. Mewling, it roared and disappeared into the caves.

  Fang’s shiny blade caught my eye.

  I crawled over, picked it up, and rose.

  Goblins, gnolls, and draykis were all around me. Some living, some smoking, some dead. Where were my friends, though?

  Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

  “Well done, Dragon,” the cleric said. “But I suggest you put your weapon down. It’s time to surrender now.”

  That’s when I saw. A chill went through me, dousing the flame in my veins within. Shum was in a gnoll’s stranglehold with two blades on his belly. Brenwar’s arms were bound behind his back. A draykis tossed his snoring form over its shoulder. Bayzog and Sasha’s limp forms lay at Kryzak’s feet, unmoving.

  “They better not be dead,” I said, pointing with my sword.

  “They all still live at the moment,” Kryzak said. His voice was deep and rough. Merciless. “But my word can be the death of them all.”

  The draykis dropped Brenwar to the floor. The goblins bound and gagged all of them.

  “Drop your weapons,” Kryzak said.

  “What is it you want?” I said. Keep him talking. Think of something.

  Kryzak reached down, grabbed Sasha by the hair, and pulled her to his chest. “Such a pretty lady,” he said, “I’d hate to hurt her. Of course, I could leave her with the goblins and gnolls maybe. They appreciate a pretty face more than I do.”

  The goblins howled and panted. Beat their chests. Danced back and forth on their feet.

  “Enough!” Kryzak shouted.

  They fell silent.

  “What will it be, Dragon?”

  “Are you exchanging their freedom for me?” I said.

  Kryzak nodded. “Certainly.”

  I stuck Fang’s tip in the floor. Nothing.

  CHAPTER 36

  I surrendered. It ate at me.

  Above was an opening, and rain was pouring down from on high. I’d been moved, shackled with mystic bonds to some sort of sacrificial rock marked in bright colors. My friends, every last one, were gone.

  Kryzak stood before me. Hooded. Shaded face gloating.

  Testing my bonds, I said, “How do I know my friends are free?” The harder I tugged, the more they bit into me. “Argh!”

  “You’re a strong one, Dragon. I can feel it,” he said. Purple energy raced around his hands and wrists. “Such raw power. Incredible.” He removed his hood. His face was big and scarred, his bald head tattooed with many bright colors. Shoulders broad and thick. Not the typical cleric but a warrior. Seasoned. Formidable. “They are almost free,” he said. “For now.”

  “What?!”

  He tapped his war mace on his shoulder. It was crude and ugly with a twinkle to its dark metal. “You’ll see in a moment.” He came closer, eyeing me up and down.

  Smoke steamed from my mouth. “What game are you playing, Kryzak?”

  A twisted smile formed on his lips. He said, “Game? I thought you liked games, Dragon. Games where you show off your speed, skill, and underwhelming intellect.” He didn’t get any closer. “And that breath of yours, really something. A surprise I wasn’t expecting. But don’t use it on me. You might need it for later, Dragon.”

  He’s a strange man.

  He was cold. Familiar. He acted like I should know him. And he liked to play games, it seemed.

  So I played along. “Hmmm … So, you have me. And I guess you went to all this trouble so I could play a game with you. What did you have in mind? Unhitch me—fiend—and we can play all the games you like. You look like you might be really good at painting eggs or something.”

  “Heh. Heh. Also a fast tongue, haven’t you Dragon,” he said. “Generally fast. You’ll find out how fast you really are soon.”

  He seemed to know me, and I wasn’t without my enemies. After all, I’d been roaming Nalzambor for more than 100 years. I’d crossed paths with many men once or twice. But the Clerics of Barnabus? I had no friends among them. I was getting antsy, though. Where were Brenwar, Shum, Bayzog, and Sasha? Had I surrendered for nothing? Should I have fought to the end?

  “You seem bitter,” I said. “Perhaps it’s that ugly face of—umph!”

  He slugged a mallet-like fist into my belly.

  I grimaced and groaned.

  “You always talked too much. Never shut up. And all the women seemed to love your meaningless words,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “And don’t forget my hair,” I said. “They love the hair just as mu—oomph!

  My eyes watered. I had that coming. Well, from evil, anyway. I knew the Clerics of Barnabus hated me. Hunted me. But what grudge did this man have with me?

  Smoke steamed out of my nose.

  Kryzak stepped aside.

  Two gnolls walked over and set down two man-sized mirrors in iron frames in front of me.

  I finally caught my breath. “I appreciate it, but I can’t reach my comb at the moment,” I said. “And why two? I don’t need to remind myself I look twice as good as any of you.”

  Kryzak stood off to the side with his thick forearms crossed over his chest. “Just keep watching,” he said. He made a cup with his hands that quickly filled with rainwater. “During the long rainfalls, the deepest tunnels quickly fill with water. If one’s not careful, one might drown. Lots of bones down there to be found when it dries out.”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  Colors shimmered in the mirrors, and images formed.

  Shum and Brenwar were in one mirror, Bayzog and Sasha in the other. Water was pouring around them. Rising over their waists. They were chained to something. Soaked. Eyes darting up and down. Sasha was yelling or screaming, but I couldn’t hear a thing.

  “What are you doing?” I yelled. “You said you would free them!”

  “And I will. Free them from life, that is,” he said. “But, Dragon, there is hope. You’re fast, remember? You can do things most men can’t do. Can’t you?”

  I fought my restraints.

  Kryzak laughed. “Save your energy. I’m going to allow you to save one a pair of them, assuming you can find them inside these caves. But who do you save? Who is closer? I am confident you’ll find one pair, but I’m not so sure about the other. Then again, they all might just die if you’re not careful.”

  “I’ll make you pay for this!” I yelled. “I’ll kill you if anything happens to them!”

  I was coming unglued, my temper unhitched. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to think. Concentrate. Settle down.

  “No doubt you’ll try, hothead,” he said, moving away. “But you better save your efforts for what awaits. Plenty of obstacles will be in your path. It will be interesting to see how you handle them, Dragon.”

  “Why? Why are you doing this? Why take my friends?”

  “Good for evil, evil for good. That’s the way it is in this world.” He turned and started walking away. �
��Your bonds will fade soon. When they do, I’ll be long gone. See you around, Nath Dragon.” He stopped and turned. “Next time I see you, I’m sure you’ll have more wonderful stories to tell. It’s always fun to talk about the dead.”

  Hunt for the Hero

  The Chronicles of Dragon: Book 5

  By Craig Halloran

  CHAPTER 1

  Heavy raindrops splattered off me, the ground, and the mirrors, distorting the images. I was alone. The water rose faster. Up to Brenwar’s chin and Shum’s belly.

  I couldn’t hear Sasha’s screams, but I could feel them. Through my scales. Into my bones. The panic in her face surrounded by the cold surface of the iron mirror’s frame made my spine chill. I fought my bonds. The purple bands pinched into my wrists, but not as much as they had before. Either I was getting stronger or the magic was fading, just as Kryzak had said it would.

  “Brenwar!” I yelled. The thought of him perishing had never occurred to me before. But he’d be the first to drown. He was the shortest. “I’ll have you, Kryzak!”

  The rain overpowered my voice. I was alone in another room of the cavern where a pair of ember-filled urns burned dimly. Kryzak and his brood had long since departed. I still heard the chuckles of the goblins and gnolls in my ears. Helplessly, I watched my friends struggle for life, dying in some cruel game because of me. What were the Clerics of Barnabus trying to do to me? Why not just kill me and be done with it? Why did my friends have to suffer as well?

  Scaly arms bulging, I tore at my bonds. The cuffs bit deep, like burning razors. I screamed. My mind was racing. What if Kryzak had lied? What if the bonds weren’t going to fade? Maybe it was just another part of his twisted game. Watching my friends die. Drown slowly. He must have lied. Why wouldn’t he? He was evil.

  “I can’t let this happen!” I pulled. It felt like my wrists would snap off. “I won’t let this happen!” I braced my feet against the stone behind me. I had to break free and break free now! I needed to buy all the time I could.

  “Hurk!”

  The bonds crackled. Bit. Burned. I put everything into it and roared.

  Snap!

  I pitched forward and crashed into the mirrors. They toppled and the glass shattered.