Treachery! Magic!
But it was an anything-goes match.
Across from him, Kryzak raised his fists up, working the crowd and beating his chest.
“I am the champion! I will kill Nath Dragon!”
Nath’s eyes slid over to Selene. She leaned back in her chair: smug, satisfied.
Treachery alright.
Kryzak dug his iron helmet out of the mud and tossed it over.
“Perhaps you need this helmet more than I do! Ha, ha, ha!”
Nath crossed the distance between them in a second.
Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
The war cleric absorbed every hit and dished out his own.
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! POW!
Nath’s head snapped back over his shoulders. He stumbled through the mud, reeling, and splashed down on his knees. His head rang over the frenzied crowd. Nath shook it. Kryzak was a rock. His punches great hammers.
Think, Dragon!
With a groan, he rose up in the pouring rain.
Kryzak held the iron helmet. He crushed it in his hands.
“That will be you, Nath!” He slung off his gauntlets and tore off his robes. His hulking frame was dragon-scaled and ridged. An abomination of man and dragon. Similar to the draykis: part living, part dead, and radiating a dark aura. “I’m more dragon than you. I’m more everything than you.” He slammed his clawed hands together. “Come, let me show you I am invincible.”
“Everything has a weakness,” Nath said, sloshing through the muddy arena, “and certainly something as ugly as you does.”
Nath approached, mind racing. I should be able to handle this. I’m a dragon, and no ordinary one at that. He can’t be stronger than me. He can’t be. He closed in.
Kryzak punched.
He shifted aside and jabbed Kryzak under the chin.
Kryzak countered.
Nath blocked and rammed an elbow in Kryzak’s temple. A flurry of punches followed, driving the cleric backward and off balance. Nath’s foot swept his legs.
Splash!
Kryzak laughed and got up.
“Fool! You cannot hurt me! Haven’t you figured that out yet?” He dashed the muddy water from his eyes. “Everything you do makes me stronger. I’m stronger than a giant now. Stronger than a dragon. Ha, ha! Of course, you can walk away, like a coward, but will your pride let you? Do you fear a true life-or-death battle?”
“I fear nothing!”
“You do fear! You are a failure! And you are about to fail in front of all Narnum and let the entire world down!”
The crowd began to boo. Their chants became ugly.
“Ha!” Kryzak continued. He lorded over the fallen woman. “Did you think you would avenge her? Did you think you would teach me a lesson, be the noble Nath Dragon? Ha! You jumped right in without thinking, and now it will be your doom.” He flung a club at Nath and stuck his ugly chin out. “Come on. Take your best shot. I’ll give you a free one. Or would you rather run, coward.”
The sneer on Kryzak’s scaled and tattooed face enflamed Nath’s rage. He charged into the cleric with ram-like force. He put everything he had behind his punches.
The titans battled all over the arena, using fists, feet, knees, clubs, shields, and helmets. One heavy-handed blow after the other, the pair rocked each other back and forth.
Nath punched until his paws ached, probing for a weakness. He struck knees, temples, eyes, ribs, ankles. Everything he could think of.
Whop!
Kryzak drove him down with two fists in his back.
Nath bounced up and slugged into his ribs.
They twisted in the mud. Pummeled one another. Slammed into the dirty waters. Clubs busted off heads and shoulders. Shields splintered.
“You fight hard, but you cannot win!”
Wham!
Nath’s knees wobbled.
Wham!
He landed in the mud again.
The war cleric leapt high and descended toward Nath, jamming his clawed toes into Nath’s gut.
The pair of giants wrestled in the muck, raising the cry of the crowd to its highest crescendo. They grappled and fought.
Nath spat mud.
Kryzak head-butted him in the nose.
Bright stars erupted inside Nath’s eyes. Blood ran down his nose. Dazed, he felt his arms fall limp for a moment.
Kryzak spun behind him, locking both arms behind his neck in a full headlock. “It’s over for you, Nath Dragon!” The cleric cranked up the pressure. Two dozen men in one.
Nath strained. His arm and neck muscles bulged and cracked.
“No!” he yelled.
“Yes!” Kryzak said, forcing Nath’s chin into his chest.
Nath surged back. His feet dug into the mud, and he pushed back against the force.
Kryzak slipped in the mud, but his mighty arms held.
“No,” the war cleric said, “I’ll never let go until you’re dead!”
Iron thewed muscles bulged underneath Nath’s black scales. Wriggling and shaking, he raked his claws over the cleric’s skin.
Kryzak would not give.
This can’t be happening!
“Once this is over,” Kryzak said in his ear, squeezing harder and harder, “I’ll find all your friends and kill them.”
Red-faced, soaked in mud, rain, and sweat, and nose bleeding, Nath choked out, “Never!”
He drove both elbows into Kryzak’s rib cage.
The cleric didn’t budge.
Nath’s paws stretched out toward the crowd. He started choking.
“It’s over, coward!” said Kryzak’s voice. Eerie. Throaty. Annoying.
Nath’s gold eyes flared. His dragon heart raced. Smoke rolled from his nose. He summoned every ounce of strength within and turned it loose in a super-human heave.
“GRAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
Fire exploded from Nath’s mouth, turning the rain to steam.
Kryzak’s grip loosened.
Nath tore free.
“Impossible!” Kryzak said.
Nath didn’t hear a thing. He cut loose his rage. He hit hard and fast.
Whop! Whop! Whop! Whop!
Kryzak’s body sagged. Pain filled his eyes.
“How?”
Nath snatched the bigger man off the ground and hurled him into the wall, driving the crowd wild. The surge of energy consumed him. He was bigger, stronger, and faster than ever.
Kryzak gathered his feet and lumbered forward, arms raised.
“You cannot beat—”
Pow!
Kryzak’s aura faded.
Nath wailed away with fury in his eyes. Kryzak battled back a few more seconds until his entire body gave out. Nath locked the war cleric’s tattooed head in the nook of his arm and dragged him out of the mud.
“To the death,” he said, amping up the pressure.
Kryzak’s grey eyes bulged.
Krack!
He dropped Kryzak in the mud, took a deep breath, and with a whoosh of torrential fire burned all of his enemy’s skin, scale and muscles to the bone.
“…and then some.”
The crowed hailed him all day and long into the night.
Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath! Nath…
CHAPTER 32
Nath lay in bed. The sheets and pillows were soft. Every bit of his body was sore. It had been almost a week since he battled Kryzak in the arena. A long week. With a groan, he sat up on the bed’s edge and stretched his long, sinewy scaled limbs.
“Ah!” he said, wincing.
Whatever spell Kryzak had cast, it was a powerful one. Fighting dragons had been less trouble. The war cleric had almost beaten him to death. Nath could still feel the blows thundering into him. He stood up, rubbing his neck, cracking it from side to side, and then checked his hair in the body-length mirror.
“He never should have gotten mud in my hair,” he said, smiling a bit. His lips were cracked, and his cheeks were bruised and swollen. He eyed himself toe to head. “I’m
still the finest looking dragon in this town.” He took a seat at the edge of the bed and rested his chin on his fist.
What is she doing to me?
Now, after the fight, the bewitching woman had few words to say to him. “I’m disappointed,” was all she had said. It threw him. He spent days wondering what she meant by that, but still angry, he didn’t want to speak. Selene had guile. And he had trouble being able to tell whether she set up the entire incident with Kryzak or not.
It’s best to assume she did, he thought. Evil lies, always.
In the meantime, he rested. Despite the lumps, he felt better than ever. The splinter was gone, and he had a nasty knock-down drag-out fight behind him. It had roused him. He squeezed his paws into fists. Something had broken loose inside him. He felt like he could take ten dragons. He lay back on the bed with his paws behind his head and wondered how his friends were doing.
Knock, knock, knock.
He lurched up, his thoughts racing to Sasha, and rushed over to the door. He stopped short, cleared his throat, and said, “Come in.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He grabbed the handle, pulled the door open, and said, “I said, come in … oh.”
It was Selene.
“You’re supposed to open the door for a lady.”
He shut it in her face and walked away.
She opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind her.
“Funny,” she said, “for a child. Are you still a child, Nath?”
“No,” he said, but when he was around her, he felt like one. “What do you want?”
Exotic and mysterious, she eased her way into his room and took a place on a long sofa. Her robes were white, inlaid with a gold pattern sewn with satin. She made herself comfortable and said, “Sit.”
“I’ve been sitting all day, for several days,” he answered, pacing. “And I prefer standing when you’re around.”
“Is that so?” She rubbed her hands on her knees. “Why don’t we take a walk then?”
“The last time we took a walk, I almost died.”
She laughed and shook her head.
“Such a shame.”
“What is?”
“Your confidence, Nath. It’s weak.”
He pulled his shoulders back.
“It doesn’t seem weak to me, or to anyone else.”
“Well, you are the one who is scared to take a walk with me, not me with you. Hah,” she said, rising. “Perhaps it’s for the better. You probably couldn’t protect me from muggers.”
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine on your own.”
She walked up and stood toe to toe with him, staring deep into his eyes.
“I will teach you things. I will teach you how to deal with powers like Kryzak had.”
“You probably taught him,” he said. His mind told him to pull away, but his body was drawn to her.
She brushed against his chest. “You are a creature of magic, Nath. You must learn to use it.” Her tail stroked his hair over his ear. “I don’t know why your father never showed you, but I will show you what I can.”
She smelled so good and sounded so convincing.
Why not? The more she shows me, the more I learn about her.
CHAPTER 33
Outside, beyond the rivers, the City of Narnum was gone from sight. It was Nath and Selene, riding side by side on horseback over the plains, into the sunlight. Behind them, a score of followers trailed on foot. Draykis. Some armed and wearing heavy armor. The others clawed and scaled. Acolytes shuffled through the grass, too, barely making any sound.
Nath kept his eyes ahead. The rolling hills, flowers, and greenery were a welcome sight. It almost felt normal.
It had been morning when they started, and it would be dusk before long. Nath had many questions for Selene. Where are we going? Why? But he didn’t ask. He enjoyed the silence. A reprieve from his suffocating situation. Still, he was curious. Where were they going, and why the long ride? Perhaps she was taking him to another location. A prison perhaps. A dungeon in the ground. He surveyed everything they passed. He knew the lands better than most people did, and nothing was out of the ordinary. Trees, shrubs, forest, mile after mile of high grasses and prairies.
Selene stopped her horse and got off. She motioned a draykis over and handed him the reins.
“You do the same,” she said to Nath.
“Why?”
“Humor me, please,” she said.
He shrugged his shoulders and slipped off, glaring at the draykis that took the reins. The dragon-men were eerie. Wicked. Every one of them made him think of Kryzak.
“All of you go, return to Narnum,” she said, shooing them with her arm. “Nath and I need to be alone.”
What? Why?
“As you wish,” the lead draykis said with a bow.
Slowly, the procession wandered away and disappeared into the grassy fields. Nath’s arms tingled. Selene, appearing to enjoy the wind in her face, looked stunning. Beautiful. Nath’s breath became uneasy.
“An amazing world, isn’t it, Nath?” she said, toying with her hair. She walked through the meadow and looked back over her shoulder at him. “Come. We have plenty of time. After all, we are dragons.”
Chest out and shoulders set, Nath took his place by her side, uncertain what to say. He’d been around plenty of women in his lifetime, but never one such as Selene. She was dynamic. Enchanting. Precarious. It roused his curiosity. Drew him in. He’d never felt this way around any woman before.
“There is freedom everywhere, Nath,” she said. “The birds don’t worry where they nest. The rest of the world should not either. There is plenty of room for everyone, but some take too much.”
“Such as Barnabus,” he said.
“We don’t take, Nath Dragon. We protect.”
“No, you invade. Interfere. That’s not how life should be.”
“Is that so?” she said. “You are a dragon, Nath. If everyone is so free, why are the dragons hiding?” She perched a brow. “Hm?”
“Because your kind is selling them? Poaching them? Killing them?” He felt angry. “I’ve seen what Barnabus has done to the dragons. I’ve seen them caged. Mutilated. Horrible things. And Barnabus is behind all of it. At least, that is most of what I’ve seen.”
She stopped, turned, and met his gaze. She draped her arms around his neck, and he could feel her gentle breath on his face. His heart raced.
“We are dragons, Nath, and I want to see the dragons as free as me and you. It hurts me when dragons are put through such vile things.” Her thumbs brushed over his cheeks. “Together, we can put an end to all of that.”
Nath swallowed. His mouth became dry. She drew closer. Her lips almost touched his.
“I need you, Nath,” she said, softly. “You need me. The world needs us.” She ran her fingers through his hair and searched his eyes. “I’m lonely, Nath. Have you ever felt lonely?”
Always.
“What are you thinking Nath?” she said with a dark twinkle in her eye.
Something popped within him. A warning of some sort. His distracted wits began to gather. He took a breath and pushed her back. “I think that you’re the most gorgeous liar I’ve ever met. And I’m not interested in this …” He gazed around “… seductive trap you’ve set.”
“Nath,” she moaned, “what kind of dragon do you think I am?”
“The worst kind,” he said, backing away, “and you brought me all the way out here to seduce me? To play more games?”
“I’m merely going about this the easy way,” she said, checking her painted claws. She sighed. “But as usual, you want to go about things the hard way. But, perhaps that is for the better.” She started loosening the buttons on her robes.
“What are you doing?”
Her tail lashed out and smote his cheek.
Smack!
Nath’s blood ignited.
“Are you mad?”
“You could say that, Nath. But I think that’s
an understatement.” Her face contorted, and her body began to grow. Larger scales popped up all over her arms, neck and face. “Do you remember me telling you how disappointed I was after you battled Kryzak? Do you!”
Gawping and backing away, he nodded. His eyes were glued to her. Her robes ripped, revealing a dragon’s belly. Wings sprouted on her back, and her neck stretched long and serpentine. Her voice deepened and resonated with power.
“Do you think that buffoon, Kryzak, would have lasted ten seconds with the likes of me? I’d have killed him in an instant. Yet you,” her tail slashed over the grass, “almost died! You are an embarrassment to our kind!”
She spread her wings and blasted green fire into the air. Selene’s body had changed into that of a full dragon. Twenty feet long with black scintillating scales. Claws, fangs, wings. She had it all. Spectacular. Riveting.
Nath clenched his fists and backed away.
Selene’s face snaked down toward his. He could count the long lashes on her eyes.
“How did you do that?” he demanded.
“You are such a fool, Nath! You hold back. Are you a man wanting to be a dragon or a dragon wanting to be a man? I think the latter, and that is truly sad.” She head butted him with her curled horns.
Whack!
He stumbled to the ground, seeing stars and reeling.
“Pathetic, Nath Dragon,” she said, shifting side to side, “and that is why you must die.” Her tail came up, and down it went.
Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
Confused and stunned, pain lancing through his body, he tried to figure out what was going on. He rose.
Her claws ripped across his chest, drawing blood.
He cried out.
“Scream all you want, but no one will come to your aid!”
Nath shuffled side to side. His gold eyes were fixed upward, to where she towered over him several feet, sitting back on her haunches as her tail slithered like a great snake in the grass. He became angry. Jealous. How could she turn into a dragon and not he?
She spit gobs of green fire at him.
He jumped out of the way.
The Chronicles of Dragon Collection (Series 1 Omnibus, Books 1-10) Page 103