Battle of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 3) (Tail of the Dragon)

by Craig Halloran

  Nath ran through his thoughts. Everything Slavan Fonjich had said rang true, but there were things Nath deduced from what the elf had avoided discussing. The elves fought among themselves. There was discord. A divide. The titans’ presence filled the cities abroad, and people had flocked to them.

  Hah! Eckubahn is no fool. He hasn’t just been searching for me, but me and the sword. He sent the word out to every bounty hunter, cutthroat, and murderer all around, trying to manage my capture. I bet he’s promised them the world.

  A pit formed in Nath’s gut. He hit the bars. “Guards!”

  There was no response. Only the gentle flicker of the torches answered. The three of them were all alone, sealed away in the twist of the catacombs where no one would ever find them if they weren’t wanted to be found.

  “They’ll be back. I’m sure they’ll be back. No elf can do without taking a jab at a dwarf. Well, I’ve got some words for them. Plenty.” Brenwar mumbled insults in Dwarven.

  Fang had done his thing, had gotten Nath and his friends as far away as possible, but the plan had backfired. The Elven Field of Dreams should have been safe. It wasn’t. The world had changed, and in his heart Nath knew Slavan and the elven guard had changed with it.

  “Guards!” Brenwar said. “We need some food and fresh air! It smells like dirty elf down here.”

  Nath broke out his conclusion. “There aren’t any guards, Brenwar. They took Fang, and they’re gone.”

  “Gone! What about Mortuun!”

  Nath closed his eyes and concentrated. He and Fang had become closer, and he didn’t have to worry about the blade operating in the wrong hands. It could protect itself, but without the blade, he was almost defenseless against the giants and wurmers. That was hardly the problem now. He needed a way out of this cell.

  Brenwar started ramming his shoulder into his iron door.

  Wham! Wham! Wham!

  “Will you stop doing that, Dwarf?” Selene said. “All you do is make noise.”

  “Perhaps Pepper will come for us,” Nath said with a sigh.

  Brenwar stopped his charge. “Pepper? He’s too big to stuff his chubby behind through those holes. No chance that he will find us.” He lowered his shoulder and started ramming again.

  Wham! Wham! Wham!

  “Selene,” Nath said over the loud noise, “can you cast a spell to get us out?”

  “I’ll try.” She muttered an incantation.

  Zzzz-pap!

  Pressing his face to the bars, Nath said, “Selene?” He looked at Brenwar. “Can you see her?”

  “It’s all smoky.”

  Nath bent his ear. He couldn’t hear anything. A green smoke rolled by his eyes. “Selene, say something!”

  “Something,” she replied in a little bit of a moan.

  Nath exhaled. “What happened?”

  “I shot a charge into the bars, but they’re too thick. Other than that, I’m all out of ideas. I’m sorry.”

  Squeezing the metal rods in his clawed hands, Nath said, “Yes, they are pretty thick. Perhaps…”

  “Perhaps what?” Brenwar coughed and fanned the smoke from his face.

  “I might be able to melt them.”

  “With your breath?” Selene said. “Can you do that now?”

  “I can at least try. I know I’ve melted metal thicker than this before. But it was different then.”

  Not so long ago, he’d had dragon breath like a thousand infernos. He’d been a flying volcano. All-powerful. Capable of anything. Bars like this had been nothing. But he’d given all of that up. Given it up to save Selene. It was worth it, yet it still made him angry. He wanted to fly again. Have the dragon breath back.

  Something stirred behind his breast. He took in a lungful of air, closed his eyes, channeled his energy, and envisioned turning the bars into liquid metal with a single huff. His lungs warmed.

  Here goes!

  He exhaled. Grey smoke rolled out of his mouth, filling his cell, filling the dungeon. In seconds, they all were covered in smoke so thick they couldn’t see a hand in front of their face.

  Everyone was coughing. Nath groaned and struck the bars. It hadn’t worked. There was no way to escape, and it felt like time was running out.

  CHAPTER 7

  It was quiet. Stark. Lonely. The minutes were long, the hours like eons. Nath, being a dragon, wasn’t bothered by the passing of time so much, except now. Now, he and his friends were trapped and left for dead. His stomach rumbled.

  “Don’t do that, Nath,” Brenwar said from his cell. “I’m trying not to think of food. I’m a bit hungry, you know. A little parched. That battle with the giants expended my reserves.”

  “Sorry,” Nath said, holding his stomach. Being hungry was hardly the immediate problem. He, Brenwar, and Selene could last for weeks like this, he figured. Being a dragon, chances were he’d hibernate.

  Perhaps if I sleep, I’ll wake up and have more dragon powers. It’s happened before.

  He couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Brenwar, though. He’d have to think of something.

  “Don’t blame yourself, Nath.” Brenwar’s voice echoed in the chamber. “You need to focus. Think of a way out.”

  “We aren’t all sitting here twiddling our thumbs, you know,” Selene said with irritation in her voice. “Not that you could bring anything useful to the table.”

  “I can argue you to death anytime if that’s the way you want to go! Have at it, then, you sorceress from the gates of the under realm!”

  While Selene and Brenwar bickered back and forth, Nath closed his eyes and went into deep thought. His concern for his friends was heavy on his mind. The whereabouts of Bayzog, Ben, and Sasha worried him. And what of Sasha’s condition? She wasn’t well. Unstable. And then there was his father, Balzurth. Eckubahn was trying to bait the Dragon King. Draw him into a huge fight. Finish their rivalry once and for all. Without a doubt, all of them were in danger. Nath dipped his head into his hands.

  And to think a year has passed! Eckubahn is the host in Narnum. People have started to worship him. So quickly? It’s inconceivable.

  Those were only a few of the items weighing on his mind. If he had to guess, Slavan and the rogue wilder elves had fallen in league with the enemy. Why else would they abandon him here? Would they come back and kill him and his friends? No, not even a fallen elf would have such blood on his hands. Instead, Nath and company were left to their own fate. And there was yet the major issue at hand. He’d been accused of murder! But Laedorn and Uurluuk’ s assassin was still out there. The dwarves and elves were hunting for him. But who had posed as him? There was only one creature on Nalzambor whom he knew for certain could do such a thing.

  Gorlee!

  The changeling knew about the bow, Akron. He was familiar with Ben and Bayzog. That was whom he had to find for answers. But Gorlee had been working with his father, Balzurth. Nath rubbed his temples.

  See what a fine mess this world gets into if I’m not around? Maybe I’m useful after all.

  He sulked in the darkness. Selene and Brenwar’s bickering subsided. Nath counted down the hours that became a day. On and off, Brenwar would sing dwarven chants.

  With an axe in one hand and a hammer in the other,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  With a brown beard filled with a jaw made of iron,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  With a tankard of ale and chest plate armor,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  He slew them, he slew them, and made a mighty stew of them!

  He slew them, he slew them, and it wasn’t hard to chew them.

  With a missing eye and a belly full of ham,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  With a host of dwarves clad in nothing but muscle,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  With the sun in his eyes and the ogres at his back,

  Uurluuk slew the giants.

  He slew them, he slew them, and made a mighty stew of them! />
  He slew them, he slew them, and it wasn’t hard to chew them.

  The chant went on like that for half a day. Nath had his own songs that he could sing too, but he wasn’t in the mood. It wouldn’t do his mood a lot of good right now anyway. Back against the wall, facing his cell door, his eyes would open and close as he caught small naps between blinks.

  A child-sized head appeared in the portal, between one blink and the other.

  “Huh?” Nath leaned forward. There was nothing there.

  I must be seeing things.

  He leaned back against the wall, eyes open. A soft scuffle caught his ear. Two childlike hands grabbed one bar, and that small head came into view. A pair of little eyes was squinting, peering into the darkness of Nath’s cell.

  “Pepper?”

  The figure dropped from sight.

  Nath rushed for the door and grabbed the bars. “Pepper!”

  “What’s going on?” Brenwar’s face was pressed to the bars. “That halfling wouldn’t fit in here. Are you seeing things?”

  “I see everything,” Nath said with excitement, “and I saw Pepper. He was smaller.”

  “You dream, perhaps.”

  “I don’t dream, at least not like that. No, it was him. Pepper! Pepper!” Nath’s nostrils flared. He could smell the halfling now. Sense his warmth. “Where are you? Reveal yourself. Selene, can you see him?”

  There was no answer.

  “Selene?”

  “At least she’s quiet,” Brenwar said.

  Nath sniffed. “Pepper, I know you’re in here. Please, reveal yourself.”

  “I’m here,” said a little voice. It came from right outside Nath’s cell door. “But how do I know that’s you in there?”

  “Pepper, it is me.” Nath tried to peer downward. The halfling must have been right up against his door and out of his line of sight. “I’m the one who brought you to the Field of Dreams, by my sword, no less.”

  Brenwar managed to pull his face up to the bars. “I see him! I see him! Get us out of here, you walking mushroom!”

  Backing up, Pepper stepped into Nath’s view. He was barely three feet tall, if that. Just a little man with a mop of salt-colored hair and long, fuzzy sideburns. “I can see your eyes now. It is you.” He reached over to the latch on the iron door and pulled the pin out of it. “Eh, there’s still a lock on it. I’ll go and find the key.”

  “No, wait!” Nath could see the fearfulness in Pepper’s eyes. There was danger out there. He didn’t like the thought of Pepper going beyond the threshold. He might not see Pepper again. He couldn’t risk it. “Don’t go just yet.”

  “But you need to get out. I need you to get out so I can get out. I’m lost.”

  Pepper vanished from sight. Nath’s jaw tightened.

  Please come back. Please come back.

  CHAPTER 8

  “Where did he go?” Brenwar asked. “Stupid halfling, where did you go?”

  A strange groan of the living came from deep within the caverns. Dark and disturbing.

  “What was that?” Brenwar said.

  “I don’t want to know.”

  Moments later, Pepper reappeared. “I can’t find a key, and we … we need to get out of here.”

  “What’s out there?” Nath asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think it wants to eat me.” The halfling eyeballed the lock, rubbed his chin, and tapped his foot. “You know, I used to be a locksmith. I think I can pick this.” He reached into his trousers and produced a leather satchel. Gingerly, he unfolded the flap, revealing some metal utensils. He eyed a long, sharp, slender rod with key-like teeth on the end. “That should do it.”

  Nath heard the tool fishing around inside the lock.

  Pop.

  The door swung open.

  “Well done, Pepper!”

  The deep moan from the tunnels started again.

  “Hurry, get the others out.”

  “Start with me,” Brenwar demanded.

  As Pepper worked the lock, Nath asked questions. “Pepper, why are you so small? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. One moment I’m sitting in the pond, big as a boulder, and the next thing I know I’m buried underneath a bunch of lily pads. That’s when those elves showed up. They had a look about them, so I hid and watched them march you off. Huh, I don’t think I can pick this lock open. It’s stubborn.” He looked up at Brenwar’s face through the bars. “Go figure. Perhaps I should try the other.”

  The moaning came again, louder this time.

  “You will open this one now!” Brenwar said with wide eyes.

  Pepper started picking at the lock again. “Be silent. You’re making me nervous. Anyway, I followed those elves to this place. Saw them depart and everything. Thirteen in and thirteen out, ladies included. My, they are something pretty. I snuck in to look for you, fell in a pit, climbed out, fell in a pit again, climbed out, got lost, and somehow found myself here.” The lock popped open, and he let Brenwar out. “Whew, what a relief. Come on out, Grumpy.”

  Nath made his way over to Selene’s cell and peered inside the barred portal. “Selene. Selene.” He could see her body huddled in the corner, as if she was sleeping. “Selene, wake up.”

  She didn’t stir.

  “Pick it. Pick it now, Pepper.”

  A howling moan tore through the tunnels.

  Pepper dropped his pick and snatched it up again. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Me neither,” said Nath.

  Working the lock, Pepper added, “It sounds big. Really big. But the tunnels are small. Maybe it’s not that big at all.” He twisted his tool in the keyhole. A click followed. “Got it. Three for three, not bad for an elder rogue, er, I mean an elder halfling.”

  Nath flung the door open and rushed inside. Selene wasn’t moving, but she was breathing. He gave her a firm shake. “Selene. Selene. Wake up.”

  “She must be really, really tired.” Pepper put his tools away. “And she looks heavy.”

  Nath scooped her up in his arms and tossed her over his shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. Brenwar, lead the way.”

  “That’s the best advice you’ve given in months.” The dwarf marched them straight through the grand chamber of the Inner Sanctum of Lheme. The gorgeous room was far from threatening. If anything, it was peaceful, and a pair of torches still flickered. He cut right through the middle of it and made a beeline straight for the archway that they came through to begin with. “This way.”

  From down the dark corridor, a loud moan hit Nath right in the face, jangling his nerves.

  Pepper covered his ears.

  Spinning on his heel, Brenwar pointed to another exit on the right side of the chamber. “That way sounds better.”

  With Selene over his shoulders, Nath followed the dwarf. “We don’t know where that goes.”

  “It’s got to go somewhere, and if I can’t find it, by my beard, I’m not dwarven.”

  Nath snatched a torch off the wall and handed it to Pepper. He had plenty of faith in Brenwar. None knew their way underground better. Facing whatever guardian roamed the tunnels was a different matter entirely. Aside from his claws and his tail, they didn’t have any weapons to defend themselves.

  Selene was out of commission. Out in a strange way.

  Ahead, Brenwar marched through every twist and turn, choosing the way at forks instantly. “This way. This way.” The only time he came to a stop was at a triple fork in the corridor, and even then he only scratched the back of his head with his skeleton hand before he headed into the one in the middle. “This way.”

  They were moving along at a brisk pace when Pepper, looking side to side and back and forth, gave a warning. “There are pits. Be wary. You move too quickly.”

  “If there’s a pit, I’ll find it before it finds me.” Brenwar argued. “Come on, then, I sense a twinge of fresh air this­­­ gaaaaaaaah!”

  The floor opened up underneath them, and the company plummeted down. Nath
hit the bottom hard, with Selene landing on him and knocking the wind from him.

  Pepper lay on Brenwar’s broad chest. “I told you about the pits. But you didn’t listen. I knew it. I knew it.” He glanced up. “My, this is a deep one. Really deep. I’d say fifty feet at least.”

  Pushing himself up onto his elbows, Brenwar replied, “More like thirty.”

  “Heh, look at this.” Pepper held up a skeleton’s head. “It matches your hand.”

  Nath propped Selene against the wall and stood up. The pit floor crunched beneath his toes. Bones were everywhere. The walls were sheer and high. He stuck his claws into the rough-hewn stone. “I can’t jump to that ledge, but I think I can climb out. No worries. Hauling Selene out will be the difficulty.”

  The howl returned. It was right on them, a thunderous moaning that brought out the goosebumps on every inch of Nath’s skin.

  Pepper’s lips peeled back in a horrified smile. He covered his ears once more.

  Brenwar stood up with a grunt. “I’ve never heard a sound like that before. It’s as awful as an elven accordion.”

  The death moan continued. Louder. Closer. Debris and dirt from the rafters high above rained down into the pit. The vile and horrible sound cut to the bone.

  Nath balled up his fists. Whatever it was, spirit or beast, he’d fight it with everything he had left. “Pepper, get behind me.”

  “I already am.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The ear-splitting moan came again. It was right on them. Nath feared nothing, but that sound made his skin crawl and his stomach churn. Whatever it was should’ve woken the dead, but Selene didn’t stir.

  Pepper clamped onto Nath’s leg with his eyes squeezed shut. “Save me, save me!”

  Head tilted toward the clamor above, Brenwar picked up a thighbone and walked backward.

  Two huge sets of claws appeared on the lip of the pit’s edge. They dug into the stone. A frightening howl started up again, shaking the very earth, weakening Nath in the knees. He set his jaw and prepared himself for an epic battle against the monster that waited above.