He peered through the smoke and fire. He couldn’t see anything. All he heard was the dragons squawking. They were still looking for him.
Nath closed his eyes and heaved one last time. He could feel the dragon’s heartbeat and breathing begin to slow. It slumped to the ground and moved no more.
“Good boy,” Nath said, blinking and fanning the smoke. It was thicker than water, but it didn’t bother him to breathe it. “One down and two to go.” He slipped off the dragon’s neck and waited, ready to spring on the next dragon that passed.
A resounding crack came from above. He looked up just as the entire flaming building came crashing down on him.
CHAPTER 9
Brenwar sent two lizard men flying with a single blow.
“Who else wants to kiss my hammer?” he yelled. He pointed to an orc that had long hair in its eyes. “You!” He swung again.
The soldiers jumped back.
The soldiers were a well-trained unit. Cautious, but confident. They formed a ring around the dwarves, two deep, maybe three.
“Surrender, dwarves,” the lead orc said. He was a tall one. Big muscles like the gnolls had. Covered in hair and heavy leather armor. His dark eyes beamed from behind his helmet. “Surrender, and we won’t take the scourge to you. We’ll just kill you.”
Pilpin huffed behind his back. The little dwarf bled and limped. A nasty gash was on his head. The handful of soldiers they’d charged had become a horde.
“You won’t be killing anyone, Snaggle Teeth,” Brenwar warned. “It’s you that best surrender, not we.”
Spears with long curved tips lowered at their chests.
“I’m going down swinging, Brenwar,” Pilpin said through his little brown beard. “And I’m killing that orc.” He spat on the ground. “He clipped my beard.”
Whoosh!
Crackle!
The assembly building collapsed. Fire and cinder exploded everywhere. Smoke, dust and debris filled the air.
“Hah! Hah! Hah!” the orc laughed. “We’ll just toss them in there.” He gloated to his men. “Dwarves burn like coal. We used to use them to warm our stoves back in Thraag.” He snorted. “No good for eating, but good for cooking. Just be sure and shave their beards first. Smell bad burning. Awful bad.”
“No one shaves my beard! And I’m not a lump of coal for baking loaves!” Pilpin charged. He hopped between two jabbing spears and brought his axe and mace around full circle.
Whack! Chop!
A gnoll barked out and fell to the ground. The soldiers piled on Pilpin, crushing him into the ground with their superior weight.
Brenwar raised his hammer over his head.
The knife-like spears licked out and cut his wrists. More spears pressed at his throat and neck.
“Don’t even think about it, Dwarf,” the orc said. “Drop it, and we’ll let the little one live.”
Gnolls had Pilpin’s arms locked behind his back and his feet kicking above the ground. A knife was on his throat.
“Bring it down, Brenwar!” Pilpin said. “They’ll kill us anyway! Gorla Mon Chok! Gorla Mon Chok!” The words were dwarven. Death before surrender.
Pilpin was young for a dwarf. Only a couple hundred years old. He didn’t understand the burden that Brenwar carried. That Brenwar had to survive, and that sometimes in order to survive, you had to surrender.
Brenwar lowered his hammer and set it on the ground.
“Brenwar?” Pilpin said, blinking.
The soldiers chuckled.
“Seems the dwarves are no longer stubborn as stumps in the ground, as they used to be,” the orc said with his nostrils flaring. “Like I said, they’re nothing but bearded halflings anymore.”
“Why you―” Brenwar started.
The butt of a spear clocked him in the back of the head.
“Settle yourself, Dwarf. Else we cut the little one’s throat.”
“Why don’t you anyway?” Pilpin said.
“Because the dragons like their meals live and kicking. It does their bellies well.”
Three six-legged bluu dragons crawled out of the flames of the ruined assembly building. A man in dark armor stood outside with a bright amulet on his neck, waving the dragons toward him. There was no sign of Nath. Brenwar felt his belly churn.
“Hark!” the orc soldier yelled over to the man with the amulet. “We’ve dwarves! Shall we toss them in the fire or feed them to the dragons?”
The man walked over, cutting through the ranks, and looked down on Brenwar. He wore the mark of an Overseer. His slung his greasy hair over his shoulder. He had a sharp nose, sagging chin and dark features.
“My,” he said, “is this Brenwar Bolderguild?”
“Yes!” Pilpin said, struggling. “And you better think twice if you think you can stop him.”
“Well, if I can stop Nath Dragon, I’m pretty sure I can stop his friends.” He looked over at the orc commander. “Just kill them.”
The orc pulled out a knife and said, “Can I keep his beard?”
“You can keep his toes for all I care,” Overseer Dormus said, walking away. “Just get it over with. I need Nath Dragon’s bones recovered once this fire is out.”
Gorlee stood alongside a storehouse nearby. He’d seen most of everything but not all. The soldiers had Brenwar and Pilpin surrounded but the roar of the fire drowned out their words.
What to do? Think, Gorlee. Think!
Gorlee was a chameleon. A gifted and powerful race. He could change himself to look like any of the races. He could even turn his skin into stone or metal. But he couldn’t always think of the right thing to do at the right time. He watched the dragons drag their tails out of the flames and begin to prowl around the building, with their great tails sweeping the muddy streets. He clutched his chest.
Is Nath in there? Is that what they’re looking for? Is he buried in the timber and flames?
An idea struck him. He changed form. Black scales and sharp claws formed over his hands.
Nothing brave about being a fool and nothing foolish about being brave.
He ran out into the streets, waving his scaly arms high. His red hair was blowing in the wind.
“Here! Over here, dragons! Hah! Hah! Hah!” Gorlee laughed. “Catch me if you can!”
The man with the bright crystal on his neck whirled. Hatred filled his eyes. He held the amulet up high.
“Kill him! Kill Nath Dragon!”
The soldiers turned their focus from the dwarves and started to run.
“Not you!” the Overseer said. “Stay put! Let the dragons handle this.”
Gorlee sprinted for the fields, taking quick glances over his shoulders. Dragons were fast. Six-legged dragons were even faster.
Stupid idea! This isn’t going to do it!
The dragons were gaining.
Ah, if I could only turn into a rover horse. Why can I only do races and not the animals? Why can’t I make stuff up? Be strong as stone and still able to talk and fly? I wish I could spread wings like an eagle and fly away. Guzan!
He glanced over his shoulder. The dragons would be on him at any moment.
Never thought I’d see the day when I might not see the next.
The farmlands stretched out all around. The plowed fields were muddy, slowing him down. Gorlee’s breath started to labor. Go for the cornfields.
I never run!
He stumbled and fell into a mud hole.
Splash!
He scrambled up, feet deep in the mud, and found himself eye to eye with three dragons.
Sultans of Sulfur!
CHAPTER 10
All the soldiers turned toward the voice of Nath Dragon, who waved his arms in the air yelling like a fool and dashed away like a deer. Brenwar didn’t hesitate. He batted the spears away and snatched War Hammer off the ground. He swung. Bang!
An orc lay on the ground with a large dent in its helmet.
Brenwar swept the hammer left and right, knocking the soldiers aside, cutting a path righ
t through them. Nath was out of sight, and the dragons raced after him.
Glitch!
A spear jabbed into the back of his shoulder.
Brenwar whirled.
A gnoll’s flail caught him full in the chest. Down Brenwar went.
One by one, the soldiers of Barnabus piled on top of him, clawing, biting, and stabbing. His dwarven armor was the only thing keeping him together.
He jammed his fist in a lizard man’s snout one last time before they pinned his arms and wrists down.
The orc stood over him and kicked him in the ribs. With its knife, it shaved the hair off his coarse arms. “Any final words, Dwarf?”
“It’s raining,” Brenwar said.
“Huh?” the orc grunted, holding out his palm, watching the rain splatter on it. “That’s it. Sounds like you rattled his skull, men! Ha!”
They let out a round of throaty chuckles.
“I’m not finished,” Brenwar growled.
“Oh, please do finish before you die.”
“It’s raining … Dwarves!”
Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
Dwarves fell out of the sky like giant bearded pumpkins and landed on the soldiers. Bone crunched. Guts squished. They started swinging and singing. The Soldiers of Barnabus were overwhelmed. And then the dwarves cried out at the same time.
“GRAADA-STOOK-SAAY!”
It was hot. Smothering. Nath was pinned down underneath the heavy burning beams. Fire engulfed everything around him. His eyes were filled with smoke. The fire was blistering hot. Painful. Agonizing. But dragons don’t burn. Not by normal fire. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t suffocate and die.
He shoved up on the beams with all his strength. “Urk!”
The beams started to rise.
He gathered his knees under himself and put his back into it.
Push, Dragon! Push!
The air was thin. His head became dizzy. The hot lights started to dim. He started sagging toward the floor.
Crash!
The burning wood beneath him caved in and down he went into the crawl space beneath what was left of the assembly room floor. The movement of cool air greeted him. A glimpse of darkness gave him hope. He pushed away the burning beams and fought his way through the debris. Flames rolled under the flooring like a bright orange roof. Crawling on hands and knees, he headed out. Fiery holes emerged above him. The entire floor warped and crackled. He found the edge of the crawl space and kicked it open. Fire rushed out over him, feeding off the night air.
Nath felt his energy fleeing him and despair moving in. The flames had him. His fingers hung off the edge of the wood, and he moved no more.
Of all the ways to go.
Something seized his arm and dragged him through the hole and away from the flames. He figured one of those dragons was ready to take him apart one limb at a time. He could see the inferno now, blazing high. He gulped in a lungful of sweet night air. The rain felt delightful on his face. Strength returned to his limbs.
“Huh?” he said, looking back at the man that held his arm. “Ben!”
Ben heaved him up to his feet and slapped him on his back.
“You must weigh a ton!” Ben said. He reached behind his back and grabbed something.
Snap. Clatch. Snap.
Akron’s string twirled up along the bow. Ben slipped an arrow from the quiver and nocked it.
Twang!
The arrow buried itself in the chest of a gnoll attacker.
“Are you finished resting yet?” Ben said, loading the string again.
Twang!
The arrow zipped into another.
There was fire, fighting and screaming all over. Dwarves slugged it out with the gnolls, orcs and lizard men. Overseer Dormus shouted orders to his men. Nath sprang to his feet.
“That’s the one we want,” he said to Ben. He took off at a run.
Dormus caught him out of the corner of his eye and gaped. Then his face turned to rage.
“Impossible!” the Overseer shouted. “Stop him! Stop him!” He wrapped his hand around the amulet and started chanting.
Nath lowered his shoulder and drove Dormus to the ground. He snapped the amulet off of Dormus’s neck.
“You can’t control it!” Dormus said. “It is I that controls the dragons. Dragons, come back to me!”
A dragon dangled Gorlee upside down with its tail and swung him gently like a chime. The other pair sniffed and snorted at him.
“Easy, dragons,” Gorlee pleaded. “I’m not worth killing. It’s those orcs—gah!”
One dragon snorted a blast of hot steam in his face.
Squawk!
Squawk!
Their eyes were intent on him. Intelligent. Murderous. One cocked its great neck. Ran its long tongue over him like wet fingers.
“Ewww,” Gorlee shivered. They’re going to kill me. But I don’t have to make it easy on them.
One dragon inhaled a great breath. Another stepped back.
“No! No! Don’t roast me!” He summoned his magic. Started to change his skin and bones to hard stone.
Whoosh!
Fiery dragon breath engulfed him from head to toe. The heat was so intense it felt like he was baking alive.
When the dragon finished, Gorlee crossed his arms over his chest. His stony skin smoldered and it hurt but he lived.
The dragons growled. The one that held him slammed him in the mud. Up and down. Up and down.
Smush!
Smush!
Smush!
Gorlee’s breath left him. They were dragons and he was a mouse. Up in the air he went. He saw the sky, then the mud hole they made with him.
Squawk!
The dragon’s long-necked head popped up and looked back toward the town.
Oh thank goodness!
Something had their attention. Two of the dragons headed back for town. The one that held him snapped at him, then flipped him high in the air.
I’m free! I’m free!
When Gorlee stopped at the zenith, he managed to turn and look down as he fell. The dragon was still there. Its great black tail behind its back was poised like a giant cobra.
“No, not again!”
As Gorlee approached the ground, the dragon’s tail lashed out.
Whap!
Gorlee screamed and sailed, far and long, head over heels. “Aiiiyeeeeeee!”
CHAPTER 11
The tide had turned. The dwarves had routed the Soldiers of Barnubus. Nath had the Overseer by the throat and the amulet in his hand.
“Send the dragons away,” Nath ordered.
“Never!” Dormus said. “I’ll see our deaths first!”
Nath took the amulet and smashed it on a stone. The stone cracked.
Dormus laughed.
Squawk!
Squawk!
Squawk!
The dragons weren’t far and he knew they moved fast. It would be open season on him and the dwarves.
“Brenwar,” Nath yelled, “get over here!”
Brenwar pushed his way through the skirmish. Nath tossed the amulet on the ground.
“Smash it! Hurry!”
War Hammer went up and came down.
Krang!
The hammer hummed like a great chime, but the stone remained.
The dragons arrived. No sooner had they, than the dwarves initiated a full-scale assault. The first three of them were flung aside like toys. Others were stomped into the ground.
A white bolt shot from the sky.
Ka-Room!
A dragon roared. A smoking hole was in its side.
Bayzog hung in the air above. He yelled down. “I can’t hold them off! Do something!”
The Elderwood Staff sparked to life. White-hot light blasted from it and smacked into another dragon.
One by one, the dragons’ wings hummed to life and slowly they sailed up and surrounded Bayzog.
“Dragon,” Ben said holding arrows, “I need your spit on the
se.”
Nath spat on the tips. They glowed to life.
Ben nocked and fired.
Whiz—Boom!
The arrow exploded into one dragon’s neck. It bucked in midair and crashed through the roof of a building below it.
Above, Bayzog tried to float away, but the dragons cut him off.
Nath couldn’t get up there. He couldn’t do anything. His friend would be dead any moment.
He slammed Dormus into the ground.
“Call them off!”
Dormus licked his bleeding lips and smiled. “No.” The Overseer might not be that formidable, but he made it clear that he was stubborn as an orc and loyal as a hound to the cause of Barnubus.
Ben nocked another arrow.
“No,” Nath said, “Bayzog’s too close.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Fang’s dragon hilt glimmering on Ben’s hip. He yanked his sword out.
It burned hot as a furnace on his fingers.
“No, Fang! I won’t let go this time!”
Sweat burst on his forehead. He hefted the sword over his head with both hands. Even though it weighed a ton, resisting him, he brought the blade down on the amulet.
Dormus screamed.
The stone shattered with a gale-like blast of air, knocking everyone off their feet.
Nath still held the burning hot sword in his hands. “You need to trust me again, Fang!” He slid it in back in the sheath. Peeled off his smoking hands.
Bayzog floated down beside him.
“You did it,” the elven wizard said. He pointed skyward. “See?”
The dragons landed, scurried through the muddy streets and disappeared into the farmland.
Nath saw a couple of smaller dragons fly through the night. “Did you see that?” Nath said.
Bayzog nodded.
Nath squeezed Bayzog’s shoulder. The elf had a nasty gash on his arm.
“Is that a flesh wound I see on you?”
“Better a flesh wound than a death wound,” Bayzog replied.
“Well it took you long enough to get here, Elf,” Brenwar said. “We blew the Horn of Summons an age ago. What took you so long?”
Siege At The Settlements (Book 6) Page 4