Eyes wide, Lotuus gazed at the magnificent blade.
“Does this please the empress?” Slavan held his palm out. The skin was red and blistered. “I paid quite the price when I grabbed it. Be careful of its steel.”
Wings coming to life, she floated around the sword. “I’m well aware of its powers.”
“I have another present, though lesser than the blade,” Slavan said. He outstretched his hand behind him. Another rogue elf handed him Brenwar’s hammer. “I’ve not only disarmed your enemies, I’ve captured them too.”
“Where?” she demanded. Her small hands locked around Slavan’s collar. “Where is Nath Dragon?” she yelled in his face.
“He is secured,” Slavan calmly said, “Empress.”
Up in his face, she said, “Why did you not bring him here?”
“And risk his escape? No, the farther I separate him from his weapons, the better. I was not going to chance it. He is quite secure, I assure you.”
“You had better be right,” she said. Her eyes glowed with bright-green light. “Or I will kill you.”
“You know I aim to please you, Empress. I would rather die than let you down.” He reached for her.
Lotuus slapped his hand. “Don’t you dare, Elf. Now tell me, where is he?”
“The labyrinth in the Elven Field of Dreams. The Inner Sanctum of Lheme. He’s quite secure. No one knows he’s there. And there’s no escape for him—or for his friends. Are you pleased?”
“So he lives?”
“I wouldn’t call it living, but he breathes quite well. As a matter of fact, he gave up quite easily.”
Lotuus picked up a wand from her tree stump throne. It had a lock of Nath’s hair on it. He had disappeared without a trace more than a year ago. Even the wurmers hadn’t been able to find his scent. Now, she had him right where she wanted him. She sniffed the clipping of Nath’s flame-red hair.
“Are you going to share my achievement with Eckubahn?” Slavan asked. “I want audience with him myself. I believe I have earned it.”
“Now is not the time,” she said.
“I disagree.” Slavan poked at his black chest plate. “I didn’t have to bring this gift to you. I could have taken it straight to Narnum. Sought the audience with Eckubahn myself. What I have done is worthy of my desires. I want full authority over Elome once it falls. I deserve it. I demand it!”
Tapping the tassel of Nath’s hair in her hand, she said in a sweet voice, “And you will have it.”
“Really, well, uh, that’s much better.” He adjusted his composure. “Me and my elves are ready for the journey.”
Lotuus’s eyes flashed. Green bolts of power shot from her eyes and cut a hole in Slavan. “Your journey is over.” She twirled the wand over her head. Concealed wurmers, at least a dozen, appeared in the woodland. She pointed at the remaining rogue elves—who had drawn their swords. “Kill them.”
***
The Elven Field of Dreams was not easily accessed by just anyone. The wilder elves were the guardians of it. And there were more of them, many, many more. The sanctuary was known by very few, including the elves. Lotuus and an entourage of fairies made their way through the lands of the elves, but they looked different. Using their dark magic, they had transformed themselves to appear as the wilder elves the wurmers had slain.
Posing as Slavan, Lotuus led the way. They came across more rogue elves—who were easily convinced—headed deeper into the Elven Field of Dreams, and slunk through the ravine into the Inner Sanctum of Lheme. It took hours to traverse the labyrinth.
Finally, they found the open cells.
Lotuus shook her head and screamed. “Aaaaaaaeeeeeehhhh!” Leaving the sanctum, she said, “Now I’m truly glad I killed that failure.”
Outside the elven lands, she headed back into her forest sanctuary. Sitting on her tree stump throne, she toyed with the wand and tassel. Nath Dragon was alive and well.
Should I send the wurmers after him now?
She snapped her fingers. A wurmer glided over. It was the size of an ox and had deep-grey scales. A purple fire was in its eyes. She waved the wand under its snout. “Find out where Nath Dragon is, and report back to me.”
The dragon spread its wings and departed.
She stared at the sword, Fang. Its steel shimmered with silvery life. “Humph, what Eckubahn doesn’t know won’t hurt him right now. My secret’s safe with me.”
CHAPTER 18
“You’re certain no one has left?” Nath said to Hoven. He had made his choice and departed from his mother. He was rescuing Selene. He arrived a mile from the fortress on the path to the city of Thraag. It was his choice. His father would have to wait. He couldn’t leave Selene helpless like that. “You’ve had eyes on it the entire time?”
Hoven pushed his braided hair back over his shoulders. “The dwarf insisted on it. It was our desire to depart, but he managed to convince us otherwise.” He glanced down at Brenwar. “It would have been easier to pull a tree stump out of the ground with my bare hands than move him.”
“Well now,” Nath said to Brenwar, “it seems someone has taken a shine to Selene. I knew you liked her.”
“Pah.” Chin up, head turning, Brenwar crossed his arms over his chest. “I like her as much as I like the porridge of bugbears. I stayed only because I knew you’d be back.”
“Sure, sure,” Nath said. Concealed in a high spot among the heavy brush and thickets, he gazed at the fortress beyond. It was square, twenty feet high, and made of heavy stone. It had a tower at each corner like a castle. The red-and-black banner of Thraag waved from the highest tower. Soldiers guarded the wall on every side. “How many do you think are inside?”
“At least a hundred,” Hoven said. “That would include the nuurg. Of course, you did manage to whittle them down.”
“We managed to whittle them down,” Brenwar reminded them.
“Oh, but of course,” Hoven said.
Standing among the present company of Hoven, Sansla, and Brenwar, Nath said, “I don’t suppose anyone has ever been inside an orcen cyclops stronghold before?”
No one replied.
“That’s what I thought. Well, I’m going to need to get in there,” Nath said.
“You can’t be serious?” Brenwar said, puffing through his beard. “They’ll be waiting for you in there. It’s what they want.”
“It’s what they expect,” Sansla added.
“I suggest we wait them out,” Hoven said. “It’s possible they’ll move her. They were heading toward Thraag, were they not?”
Nath was torn up inside. He knew in his mind that caution was the best option.
I want action! I cannot just leave her in there.
“I need to go in, and go in soon. I can’t just stand here while she’s helpless in there. I cannot.”
Putting his hand on Nath’s shoulder, Sansla said, “Give the orcs time to reveal their hand. After all, they are quite stupid. It won’t be long before they squirm around in there.”
“True.” Nath rubbed his chest. It had been healed by the potion his mother had given him, but he still remembered what it had felt like, being trampled by a wrathhorn. “Let’s keep our eyes open, then, shall we? I’m going to get a closer look.”
Brenwar bumped up against him. “Not without me, you won’t. I know what you’re thinking.”
“I won’t rush in,” Nath said.
Not in the daylight.
“I know better. Where you go, I go.” Brenwar pointed at Hoven. “And if I don’t have an eye on him, then you’d better have one.”
Hoven nodded. “We will.”
***
Consumed, Nath watched the fortress like a clock, day and night. Brenwar hung close to his side. Quiet. Alert. Nothing came or went out of the fortress, which was odd. The orcs should routinely send patrols out, surely, like the nuurg Nath had encountered. The fact that they weren’t moving told him something. The orcs suspected he was out here. Watching. Waiting.
; It was dusk. Sitting in a grove of large stones, with a full view of the fortress, Brenwar said to Nath, “So what did your mother have to say?”
Nath gave him most of the details and went on. “The sad thing is that the elves and dwarves truly are after me. They think I’m a murderer. Or a madman.”
“Do you think doing this is wiser than looking for your father?” Brenwar said.
Nath shrugged. “I don’t even know where to start with him. I can’t say for sure if I’m doing right, but in this case, I do at least know where Selene is. I can do something.” He picked up a stick and doodled in the ground with it. “And at the last moment before I departed, I got to thinking on going after him, but then I thought, ‘What would Father do if Mother was in the same situation?’ Then it was easy.”
Brenwar nodded. “Aye. Even I can’t disagree with that logic, but then again, Selene is not your mother.”
“Brenwar…”
“Fair is fair,” the dwarf said, taking a bite of some elven jerky. “She has quite a past.”
“You need to move on.”
“Tell that to the families of the dead she left in her wake.”
Nath tried not to think about it and didn’t very often. To some, everything Selene had done was unforgivable, but he’d been taught that on the higher road, everything could be forgiven if there was a true change of heart. He believed that. He pitched the stick. “I think she’s trying really hard to make up for it. Many more would have been lost without her.”
“Aye.”
“Brenwar,” Nath said, “you’ve spent time with my father. Where do you think he’s looking for me?”
Rubbing his beard and gazing at the sky, Brenwar said, “Good question. I know your father likes to fly. Explore. He likes to be alone. I honestly think he would walk the world as a man and do good things. It’s just a theory, though. What about you? You were close when you were young. He took you all over, did he not?”
Nath showed a smile. “Yes, he did. They were grand times too. Riding on his mighty back and soaring the air like a bird. It was the greatest feeling in the world. Me and him felt like one. He told me I could always fly, but look at me now.” He lifted his boot and laughed. “I’m a landlubber.”
Brenwar stomped his foot. “I like it. There ain’t no worse feeling than nothing underneath you.”
“You never know. One day bearded dwarves might fly—” Nath sat up in his perch. A flicker of movement had caught his eye. A violent act in the brush erupted in a patch where a roamer elf once stood. Nath took off running.
Brenwar yelled after him, “Where are you going?”
Crashing through the thickets, Nath burst into a clearing.
Down on the ground, Hoven fought the wurmer tearing into him.
CHAPTER 19
Hoven the roamer elf fought for his life. A huge gash was on his chest. His hands pushed up against the wurmer’s snapping jaws.
Nath collided with the scaly beast, pushing it off Hoven.
Brenwar grabbed the elf’s arm and dragged him out of the way.
The wurmer’s tail whipped around, caught Nath in the chest, and knocked him off his feet. He sprang back up and braced himself for attack.
The scaly beast squared off on Nath. It sniffed the air. Its purple eyes narrowed in recognition.
Nath advanced with his elven blade. “What are you waiting for, insect?”
The wurmer darted forward and spun around, flicking out its tail.
Nath jumped backward.
The wurmer ran into the brush, cleared a path, and spread its wings.
“He’s running,” Nath said, sprinting after it.
The wurmer took to the air.
Nath dove for its tail. His fingers stretched out at full length, grasping for the flying monster. He whiffed and crashed into the ground.
The wurmer ascended toward the setting sun.
Nath slammed his fist in the dirt. “Guzan!”
Sansla landed beside him. “What happened?”
Gazing at Sansla’s great wings, Nath yelled at him, “That thing’s a scout. It knows me. Get after it, Sansla.” He pointed at the sky. “You must stop it now!”
Without hesitation, Sansla leapt into the air and took off like a giant bat, making a straight line for the wurmer. Within seconds they were both gone.
On his feet again, Nath trotted back to Brenwar and Hoven. More roamers had formed a circle around the fallen roamer. Brenwar had Hoven’s head in his lap. The long-limbed elf’s chest was bloody and still bleeding. His complexion was turning a deep purple. He coughed and spat blood.
Taking a knee, Shum said, “I must get him out of here if he is to live.”
“Where will you take him?” Nath asked. “The Elven Field of Dreams?”
Shum picked his brother up in his arms. “That’s an option.” He let out a sharp whistle. Two of the magnificent horses bred by the roamers showed up. One of them lay down. Shum climbed on with Hoven in his arms. The horse rose up. Checking the sky, Shum shook his head and said to one of the roamers, “Liam, you have my charge.”
“Dragon speed,” Liam said.
Shum nodded, nudged his heels into the horse’s ribs, and galloped away.
“Well, that was awful,” Brenwar said.
“Awful indeed,” Nath replied. His eyes remained fixed on the sky.
Liam came alongside him. “I’m ready to go in if you are.”
“Huh?” Nath said, lowering his gaze on the roamer elf. Liam was much younger than Shum and Hoven. His potbelly was not so pronounced, his long bones not quite as heavy as those of his elders. As another sign of his youth, his gray eyes were eager and energetic. “What are you suggesting?”
“We go in and rescue your friend Selene. Time is wasting.”
Nath smirked at the long-haired rangy elf. “Let’s see what Sansla has to say when he returns.”
Bouncing up and down on his toes, Liam said, “And if he doesn’t?”
“Have some faith in your king,” Nath said with surprise.
“I do, but he can be inconsistent. You know, when he gets all excited, the curse, it will run away with him.”
The other roamers crowded in.
Quick to order, Liam said, “Resume your posts.”
Like apparitions, the roamers vanished into the falling darkness, leaving Liam, Nath, and Brenwar all alone.
Chin high, Liam said, “We can speak freely now.”
“You were speaking freely,” Brenwar said. “Quite clearly.”
“Yes, you do seem quite eager to take charge of things,” Nath added.
“But I am in charge of things. You heard Shum. He trusts me. I say we get moving. Strike in the night. The time is right.” He rubbed his hands together. “I’m ready for some action.”
Lifting a brow, Brenwar said to Nath, “Remind you of anybody?”
“I believe so,” Nath said. “So Liam, tell me, what is your plan?”
“Oh, it’s simple.” Liam kneeled down and motioned them in. With his finger, he drew in the dirt. “This is the fortress. I noticed on the western wall there is a small entrance. We sneak inside, kill all the orcs and cyclopes, and rescue your friend.” He dusted his hands off. “See? Easy.”
Nodding, Brenwar said, “I like it. I like it a lot.”
Nath rubbed his temples. “Oh my.”
“What’s wrong?” Liam asked.
“I sense the world ending,” Nath replied.
Brenwar stood up with his battle-axe, looking all around. “Why’s that? I don’t see anything. Why is the world ending?”
“Because you’re agreeing with an elf.”
Brenwar shrugged his shoulders. “Even elves have their moments.”
Sansla Libor dropped out of the sky. His fur was torn and bleeding. He huffed for breath. “I’m sorry. The wurmer escaped me.”
“Do you think it was a scout?” Nath asked.
“Aye.” Sansla shook his jaw. “I came back to warn you. They’ll be coming. Soon,
they’ll be coming.”
CHAPTER 20
“How many?” asked Liam. He pulled his quiver off his shoulder and started counting the arrows. “I can take at least two dozen.”
“I don’t know,” Sansla said, keeping his attention on Nath. “In the case of the wurmers, they often come by the dozens. In some cases we’ve seen them in the hundreds. Valcatrine was wiped out by a horde of them.”
“Valcatrine?” Nath said with surprise. It was a small elven city where a few thousand farmers and tradespeople lived. “When did this happen?”
“Months ago,” Sansla replied. “Nath, I’m sorry. It might be best to abandon this mission if we want to get out alive. If there’s too many, well, we aren’t capable of handling too many.”
“I’ve fought wurmers before. We can handle them,” Nath said, gripping his sword tight in his hand. “I’m not abandoning Selene.”
“I’m all for going in and getting her,” Liam said. He tested the string on his bow. “Every moment is precious.”
“Yer a good bit more eager than your kin,” Brenwar commented.
“Yes, much unlike his father, but his father trusts him. So do I,” Sansla said.
Looking at Liam, Nath asked, “Who’s his father?”
“Shum. He’s a bit too cautious, if you ask me. Says I need more wisdom.” Liam drew both of his swords, twirled them around his fingers, and slid them back into his sheaths. “But he also admits my skill and instincts more than make up for it. So, are we doing this?”
Nath weighed his options. He could possibly shake the wurmers from his trail and come back. But they were after him. Perhaps he should leave Selene’s rescue to someone else. If anyone could pull it off, it was the roamers. They were the most-skilled fighters and rangers in the lands. He knew this. He’d fought alongside them often enough. They could handle the orcs, even the big ones. They, like the dwarves and so many other rangers, were giant killers.
Staring at the fortress, Nath remarked, “There must be a hundred soldiers in there, not to mention their beasts.”
Battle of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 3) (Tail of the Dragon) Page 7