She leaned forward on the horn of her saddle. “I’ll make this simple for you, dwarf. I am here for Nath Dragon. Stay out of my way, you live. Get in my way, you die. Do you understand that, bearded one?”
Brenwar huffed. “So it’s just me that dies and not the rest of us.” He rubbed his bearded chin. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“A witty dwarf,” she said as her pleasant voice turned to venom. “Or a stupid one. Any fool would know I’m referring to all of you.”
“Ah,” Brenwar said, “so if we fight, we die. Hmmm. But did you think to consider that when we fight, you will die?”
“Hahahahaha,” she said. “I assure you there in no chance of that. But if you care to try, I’ll see to it your young friend over there will be the first to die.” Her eyes drifted to Ben.
Bayzog’s mind raced to assess the situation while Brenwar delayed. The woman would be ready for anything thrown at her. He was certain of that. Just moments ago, she had appeared from nowhere, and he could only assume she’d just as easily disappear. He wondered if that was her power or the dragon’s. That left all the rest of their aggressors.
What can I do that wouldn’t endanger Ben?
He had some spells ready, but what help―if any―would they offer?
“Can I have a moment to think about it?” Brenwar said.
“I don’t think there is much to think about, but why not?” the young woman said. “A moment, then, but not a dwarven one. When I say it’s done, it’s done.”
I hope Sasha remembers this.
He squeezed a series of signals into Sasha’s arm, which was still hooked to his.
She squeezed back!
Good.
“My, you are a pretty lady,” the young woman said. “What is your name?”
Sasha released his arm and stepped forward. “Sasha, and what is yours?”
“I am Marlay,” she said, flipping her white hair back over her shoulder. “And I must admit I admire that hair of yours. It would be a shame to lose it, wouldn’t it?”
“You seem to be doing well without it.”
Bayzog grabbed her arm and pulled her back, whispering, “Sasha, please.”
“You have a spirited woman, part-elf. It would be a shame to watch her die, wouldn’t it?”
“Certainly,” Bayzog said, locking eyes with Marlay. She seemed young but powerful. Harmless yet deadly.
Careful, Bayzog.
Marlay made a short smile. “Talk some sense into your friend the dwarf,” she said, stroking her dragon mount’s horns. “I’ve a feeling he’s about to get all of you killed.” She made a clicking sound, and the bronze dragon opened its mouth. Its breath was repulsive and sour.
Bayzog covered his nose.
Sasha’s knees buckled.
Marlay’s dragon mount raked a hunk of ground out with its claws.
“My dragon hungers, and I don’t think you want to see this pretty woman devoured, do you?”
“A parlay, perhaps?” Bayzog said. Delay. Delay. Delay.
“There’s nothing to parlay about,” Brenwar said. “We don’t parlay with this brood!”
Marlay leaned back in the saddle and folded her arms over her chest.
“Interesting, wizard, but my patience thins. I’ve no need to parlay.” She pursed her dark lips before she spoke more. “Look around you. Dragons, acolytes, and lizard men―not to mention my finest warrior, Kang. And those satyrs are something. Now, I know you’ve survived Kryzak―well, most of you―but you won’t survive me. Walk away and you live. Stay and we will destroy you one piece at a time.”
It was a moment. One that splintered Bayzog in two. His elven side would never give in to evil, but his human side was unpredictable. Half of him wanted to run and the other half wanted to fight, but there was so much to consider. Sasha was in danger. Nath was too. His gut told him if they lost Nath, they’d lose everything. Sasha squeezed his arm again.
Bayzog stepped back and gestured toward the lizard men who held Ben.
“Show some good faith, Marlay,” he said, “and let loose our friend. There is nowhere for him to go.”
She nodded.
The lizard men cut Ben’s bonds and shoved him forward. Ben fell to his knees, got up, and ripped out his gag.
“Akron,” Ben said to Marlay, looking at the bow. “I need Akron.”
“Oh,” she said, smiling a little, “about that. I can’t have you leaving with your weapons, or your horses, for that matter. I’ll need just about everything you have on you. After all, I have to pay my henchmen and make offerings to the temple.”
“What?” Ben said, stepping forward.
Bayzog grabbed his arm.
“What is your life worth, young man?” she said. Her voice became louder and her eyes flickered with lightning. “Now, drop everything. We’ll start with you, dwarf.”
Brenwar, stalwart as a tree stump, didn’t blink. He just stood there with his hammer crossed behind his arms, eyeing her.
“It’s a well-crafted war hammer, dwarf. Perhaps it has a name?” she said.
“Aye,” Brenwar said, “it has a name.”
“And what might that be? My warrior Kang is in need of a new scepter, and I think that one will do.”
Brenwar tilted his head in the direction of Kang and snorted.
“I call my weapon war hammer.” He held it out with his arm. “And if he wants it, let him come and get it.”
“There’s no need for that,” Marlay said. “Just drop it.”
“So be it, then.” He lowered the war hammer down to the ground and set it down, head down, shaft up. His chin dipped into his chest.
Marlay cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “I’m surprised. Now the rest of you.”
“Bayzog? Brenwar? Are we really doing this?” Ben said, exasperated. “Is this a compromise?”
“What choice is there?” Bayzog said, loosening his robes. “It’s this or death.”
“What about Nath?” Ben said. His voice and eyes were filled with confusion.
“Mrrrruh…Muh…Muh…Mrruh…Muh…Muh,” Brenwar muttered under his beard.
“What is that you say, dwarf?” Marlay said. She snapped her fingers. All her servants started forward. “I can’t hear you.”
“It’s dwarven,” Brenwar said, lifting his head, “for ‘war hammer.’ In Dwarven it’s pronounced ‘mrrrummaah.’”
“Interesting,” Marlay said, “and does that mean something?”
“Aye,” Brenwar almost smiled, “in Dwarven it means ‘war hammer.’ We covered that already.”
“I don’t believe you, but if you say so.”
“Mrrummaah!” Brenwar said. He looked at Kang, who was coming closer. “Don’t forget it. Mrrummaah!”
Kang walked over in front of Brenwar and set his scepter down. He bent over and picked up the war hammer and tested its heft. The thick muscles in his forearms rippled with effort. He turned and nodded his bull head at Marlay.
She nodded.
Then Kang looked at Brenwar and said, Mrrummaah.”
In a flash, Kang twisted his hips, raised his huge arms, and brought the hammer down.
Marlay shouted, “No!”
CHAPTER 24
A flinch saved the bronze dragon’s skull from cracking like an egg. Kang’s blow landed right between its eyes. The beast let out a roar so awful, Bayzog’s knees buckled.
It was Marlay that screamed. Heaved from atop the dragon’s back, she crashed to the ground and disappeared in the confusion.
Where did she go?
Bayzog set his first spell loose.
A circle of bright white and yellow light launched from his arm into the air, where it hung high above them. Its glow was mighty and blinding.
The lizard men cringed, dropped everything, and fled.
The grey scalers ripped their leashes and flew away.
The satyrs disappeared in the grasses.
The acolytes fled, tripping over their robes.
&nbs
p; The wounded dragon quickly backed off, snapping its maw.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kang kept hitting himself in the head with the hammer until Brenwar crawled up his body and ripped it free. The stunned man fell to his knees.
“Lay hands on my hammer, will you!”
Bang!
The bull helmet clanged off the man’s face. Kang wavered on his knees, still taller than Brenwar, eyes blinking slowly.
“Huh…” Kang managed to say.
Brenwar brought a right cross through Kang’s jaw, knocking him over. “That’ll teach you!” Brenwar said. He shifted back and forth on his feet, eyeing his enemies. “Wizard, what is the plan?”
Bayzog held his arms up with outstretched hands, face straining. “I can ward off evil with this, but not for long. A few minutes at best.” Sweat dripped into his eyes and over his face. “Sasha, see what you can find in Brenwar’s chest. Find anything that can get us out of here.”
Ben appeared at his side with Akron ready in his hands.
“Should I start shooting?” Ben said.
“Just hold,” Bayzog said. “Save those arrows for when we really need them!”
All of their enemies had covered their eyes and scurried away to a certain point and then turned―hooting and gloating―little more than a couple dozen yards outside the circle. Once the spell faded, there would be an all-out battle.
“Again, what’s the plan?” Brenwar said, guarding Nath.
“Perhaps you should come up with one,” Bayzog said, irritated. “I thought dwarves were masterful planners.”
“We are when it comes to everything else but this magic stuff. Whisk us out of here or something.”
“Easier said than done. Sasha, have you come up with anything?”
Sasha rummaged through Brenwar’s chest, shaking her head. “No!”
Bayzog ground his teeth. There were the four of them to move, plus Nath, not to mention the horses―and they had nowhere to go. He had his own spells, but that wouldn’t be enough, not to hold the horde that surrounded them.
At least one enemy was down, thanks to Brenwar.
“Perhaps you and I should take on Marlay and the dragon,” Bayzog said. “Ben and Sasha will have to handle the rest.”
Marlay reappeared alongside the bronze dragon, laughing.
“Hahahahaha! Such fools you are,” she said. Her voice was taunting and exaggerated. “Now you all will die, but perhaps I’ll let that woman of yours live, wizard. Hah-ha. I might just convert her to an acolyte of Barnabus yet.”
“No such thing will ever happen!” Bayzog said. “And lives will be lost on your end. Certainly yours!”
“Aye!” Brenwar said. “There be no mercy on the likes of you, woman!”
Bayzog wondered if Brenwar meant that. Protecting women was one thing, but fighting them was quite another. The situation was new to him. Marlay seemed young, but more than formidable. The tattoos on her head were many, more than Kryzak had had, which meant she wielded greater power. And that bothered him. Bayzog was far more than some adept of magic, but he wasn’t a magic user of the highest levels, either. His powers were limited, but he couldn’t let on about that.
Standing on the ground, Marlay patted the head of her dragon. The beast’s tongue licked in and out of its mouth, and it chomped in the direction of Brenwar. It could easily swallow the dwarf in a single bite.
“My pet will make a fine meal of you,” she said to Brenwar, “and all the rest of you as well.”
The dragon’s great tail swept back and forth, flattening the grass.
Bayzog didn’t figure that even all four of them could take the beast if they tried. He reached behind Ben and pulled an arrow from the quiver. The tip sparkled in the light. It was moorite.
“What do you want me to do?” Ben said. Despite his age, the young man seemed confident.
Above, the halo of the ward against evil wavered, its bright light winking in and out.
The hisses of the lizard men became louder.
Bayzog’s concentration was strong, but his strength was fading. He motioned for Sasha. “Well?” he said.
“I cast a summons,” she said, wiping his forehead. “But I’ve no idea what will come, if anything, or if it will offer assistance.”
Bayzog wanted to roll his eyes. Summoning spells took time and weren’t very effective. But Sasha liked them. The last time she’d cast one, a herd of deer had come, and some horned rabbits. “All right, then,” he said with his voice quavering. He was sweating.
Sasha said, “You need assistance. Let me lend my strength to yours.”
“No,” he said. “Take Ben and do as I say.” Bayzog whispered quickly in her ear.
Sasha said, “Come, Ben.”
Marlay came closer, eyeing the halo of light. Her eyes and hands began to charge with a dark, mystic, purple power. An evil smile formed on her lips.
Beside her, the dragon’s claws ripped up the dirt, and its tail swished back and forth faster.
“This is it,” Brenwar said. “What is the plan?”
“You know the plan.”
“Aye.”
CHAPTER 25
“What is this?” Ben said, standing over the chest.
“Just hand me those arrows,” Sasha said.
One by one, Sasha coated the arrow tips with dark green liquid from a potion vial. The metal sucked it up and turned a little green.
“What will that do?” Ben said.
She shrugged. “Maybe something, maybe nothing. It’s an experiment.” She whispered the plan in his ear, finishing with “Good luck, Ben.”
***
Ben returned to Bayzog’s side and faced the lizard men with his bow and arrows ready. Sasha came, too, and now they all stood in a half circle around Nath.
“On my signal,” Bayzog said under his breath. “In only a few moments, the ward will go.”
The halo of light winked in and out.
Bayzog wiped the sweat from his brow and eyes. Here goes. “Now,” he whispered.
Brenwar charged at Marlay.
Sasha fanned out her fingers and shot forth streaks of light at the dragon, striking its eyes.
Bayzog held the halo of light a split second longer.
The lizard men and acolytes came at them from the back.
Ben turned toward the dragon and fired his first arrow.
Thwack!
The arrow struck the dragon in its hindquarters, drawing a roar.
Brenwar swung his war hammer into Marlay’s shield, rocking her back.
A split second later, she blasted him full in the chest with a handful of energy.
He fell to the ground.
The dragon lowered its horns and barreled toward them.
Ben fired another arrow.
Thwack!
A dozen yards away, the dragon levitated. Up and up it went, claws ripping at the air. It let out a confused and angry roar.
“Did I do that?” Ben said, incredulous.
“Yes!” Sasha said, “With a little help from a potion. But I don’t think it will last long.”
Bayzog gathered his thoughts and cast at Marlay.
The woman stood over Brenwar, slamming bolts of energy into him one at a time.
Bayzog’s arc of light slammed into her, driving her back.
Brenwar popped up and charged again.
All over the field of battle, the rest of their enemies were coming. If there was ever a time they needed Nath, it was now, but Nath lay still as a corpse on the stretcher.
Ben fired another arrow at Marlay. It sailed high.
“Blast!” Ben said, whipping out another.
“Ben, watch out!”
Two lizard men slammed him into the ground.
The acolytes formed a ring around them, wielding their flails and maces.
Bayzog pulled Sasha to him, unable to hide the disappointment in his face. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s all right,” she said. “You tried.”
Bayzog’s plan had been simple: bring down Marlay in one swift strike. With the leader down, chances were the others would flee.
He looked up.
The bronze dragon still drifted, a lone speck high in the sky, floating like a cloud. Its distant roars could still be heard, and when the spell faded and the creature landed, no doubt it would come back to devour them. Perhaps it would be better if they were killed first.
I should have been better prepared.
The lizard men prodded them forward and pushed them all to their knees before Marlay. The small woman stood with her boot on Brenwar’s chest. Mystic bindings corded the grizzled dwarf’s arms and legs. There was even one around his mouth.
He still squirmed and struggled.
“Clever,” Marlay said, “very clever, part-elf. You almost pulled something off here, but what it was I don’t know.” She checked her bright blue fingernails. “Ah, you at least managed to chip one of my nails. Of course, the penalty is death for that.”
“What are you going to do with Nath Dragon?” Bayzog said. “I’d be curious to know before I die.”
“Ah, well, if you must know, he’ll come with us to the Great Temple of Barnabus. Selene, the High Priestess, will be the one to decide his fate.”
Bayzog had a name at least and a location. If they survived somehow, they’d at least know who to look for, and where.
“I see,” he said, head downcast.
Marlay turned, started to walk away, and said, “Grab Nath Dragon and,” she looked back at Bayzog, “bring the woman along.”
“No!” Bayzog said, holding onto Sasha.
A lizard man ripped her out of his arms, picked her up, and slung her over its shoulder.
“Let go of me!”
Something struck Bayzog hard in the head, and he fell onto his face, seeing spots and blood. He rolled over onto his back and stretched out for Sasha, who was being hauled off.
A dark blot dashed over the sky.
“What was that?” Ben said, looking over at him.
“Ayyyyieeeeee!” someone screamed.
“Great Guzan!” Ben said. “Is that what I think I’m seeing?”
A great winged ape swooped out of the sky and snatched Marlay off the ground. He was holding her by her long, white ponytail.
The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) Page 57