Rise of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 2)

by Jason Halstead

  Lariki stepped out from the cover of the tower and screamed. Namitus slid to a halt and stared. Her scream wasn’t what he’d expected. It was her voice, but even the feminine edge to it couldn’t disguise the power behind it that made it sound as though it came from a beast many times her size.

  “Was that…her?” Allie panted as she caught up to him.

  Lariki crouched down and held her arms out, fingers curled into claws. Namitus squinted, trying to understand why her fingers looked longer. She turned her head, tracking the birds, and then leapt into the air as one swooped down and flew low enough to use the tower to block the remaining archer’s view.

  The leader of the Vultures leapt higher than the most talented athlete of any race had a right to leap. She hit the bird nearly a dozen feet above the ground and slammed her hands into him. Namitus couldn’t tell in the dark and with the two wrestling in mid-air, but he thought she was punching the bird over and over.

  After they crashed to the ground and she rose to stand over the quivering bird, Namitus whispered, “Holy saints!”

  “Did she just…” Allie’s words trailed off from the shock of the brutal attack.

  “Half-dragon,” Namitus reminded her.

  Allie’s sword dimmed and went out.

  Namitus frowned. “Aren’t you afraid?”

  “Yes. Terrified,” Allie whispered.

  Namitus frowned. The weapons Thork imbued usually thrived on fear and glowed because of it.

  “To the north,” Ramesh called. “Gor—go. They need help.”

  Namitus watched Gor thunder down the hill. He looked at Allie. “Go with him?”

  Allie cast a nervous look at Lariki and nodded. “Good idea,” she said and turned to race down the hill after Gor.

  Namitus watched them go and turned back to face Lariki. She wasn’t there. He turned in a circle, searching for her, and then looked up. She’d climbed, or more likely jumped, up to the second story of the tower. She was crouched again but he saw her studying the birds and waiting for them to come close.

  Thinking of the birds made Namitus look down at the one she’d grounded. The werecats recovered from the wounds the Vultures and Corian caused them. They didn’t recover from Namitus’s sword or Allie’s, probably due to the magic in them. The bird on the ground was dead—and it wasn’t a bird anymore.

  “Wereeagles?” Namitus muttered. He shook his head and then jumped with a yelp as Lariki landed next to him, another of the man-sized birds crashing to the ground with her.

  Lariki straightened, pulling her hands out of the chest and belly of the bird. Blood and bits of torn flesh dropped from the sharp talons on her hands to the contorting body beneath her. Her fingers looked like they were tipped with talons and the scales tattooed on her skin looked so real he wanted to touch her and feel to be sure.

  Lariki stared at him, her eyes glittering in the starlight with a wicked gleam. Namitus turned and lifted his sword between them.

  Lariki glanced at his sword and said, “I saw what you and the girl did.”

  Namitus nodded.

  “We have won this day,” Lariki said. “The ratkin to the south were butchered. The wolves in the east are falling. The bears to the north will run or be killed.”

  “So what’s next?” Namitus asked.

  “If Gor survives, we head west and retake his homeland.”

  Namitus wasn’t concerned but he had to ask, “If he doesn’t?”

  “You find another company of fools,” she said. “Or if you won’t leave, we kill you and take your money anyhow.”

  Namitus stared, his lips parted in a silent gasp. Lariki turned away and looked up to the sky. The remaining birds had fled, winging off into the darkness. Namitus blew out his breath and glanced downhill. The ruins were glowing with the light of Allie’s sword. He considered joining them and decided he’d better check on the elves and Amra. If nothing else, it got him away from Lariki. Before she decided he needed to have his heart pinched in half between her fingers.

  Chapter 14

  “You’re tense again,” Amra said.

  Namitus turned his head to catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. Beyond her, the column of armored warriors on barded warhorses stretched out.

  “Is it what Gor did? Or is it Lariki?”

  “No mention of marching into a very defensible castle with only a score of attackers?” he asked.

  Amra frowned and then shrugged. “You killed the king of Shazamir with less than half as many, remember?”

  Namitus chuckled. “Fair enough.”

  “Why, is that what’s bothering you?”

  Namitus sighed and rode in silence for a moment. After considering her question, he turned his head back to answer her. “No, I suppose it’s not. At least not any more than anything else. What troubles me the most is Lariki. She is truly a mercenary.”

  Amra frowned. “Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Not if the snakes can afford to pay her more than we can,” Namitus said.

  “Hey!” Amra blurted. She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Sorry. Um, you reminded me about something I wanted to ask. Why are you willing to pay so much for this? I mean, is this your gold or your friend’s?”

  “I suppose it’s some of each,” Namitus said. He shrugged. “I never really thought about it that way. But I never really worried about being wealthy. I want enough to get by on, that’s all. Too much and you have to worry about it. Not enough? Well, find a way to earn more.”

  “Of course, that much is obvious,” she said. “But why spend it at all? This is a problem in the south, far from your lands. Yet here you are, risking your life and your gold to be part of a grand adventure? What good is telling a story if it gets you killed?”

  “Now that is a fair question,” Namitus said. He looked at Allie, Corian, Jillystria, and farther back to where Gor rode with Ramesh, Lariki, and the other Vultures. “I remember a certain young man who went out of his way to get in trouble. From spot of certain death to the next, he skipped just ahead of the hangman’s noose time and again. Saint Dice gives a man luck, but he can snatch it away just as quick. This young man knew that.”

  “This young man is you, isn’t it?” Amra asked.

  Namitus blushed. “It sounds better if it’s someone else.”

  Amra rolled her eyes.

  “Right. So this young man fell on the good graces of many a kindhearted soul. The prince of the northern Kelgryn lands took him in and treated him as the son he’d never had. I watched his daughter grow and I grew with her, becoming like a brother to her even though I claimed to be someone I was not. I learned the true value of friend and family there. Of knowing that there are times, places, and people that are worth more than the life of a single man.”

  “You’re getting poetic again,” she warned.

  Namitus laughed. “Have mercy, woman! I’m telling you that I’m here to help because someone helped me once. I’ve been forgiven, accepted, and given a second chance. How many others deserve that same opportunity but might never have it if the splisskin plans succeed?”

  “You could have just said that,” she pointed out.

  Namitus scowled at her. “I did.”

  Amra raised an eyebrow.

  “So yes, I’m troubled at how Lariki’s loyalties seem to lie with whomever has the most gold. It speaks of her draconic nature.”

  “How so?”

  “Treasure. Gold. Wealth. Dragons hoard such things. It is a sign of status among them, as well as other things.”

  “What other things?”

  Namitus frowned. “I don’t rightly know, to be honest. Kar told me he believes it corresponds to their power or strength as well.”

  “And you think she feels the same way?”

  Namitus stared at the city down the hill ahead of them. Easton lay a mile or so away, but close enough that they were all anxious to leave their saddles behind for a proper meal and a night’s sleep at an inn. On the other side o
f that restful sleep lay the invasion of Shathas.

  “I do. I have no means of proving it, but bear it in mind.”

  Amra turned and glanced back at the woman her men called the Dragonwarrior. Away from the immediate threat of battle, she wore golden bracelets decorated with jewels and rings worth enough to feed a large family for a year. She traded in her dark leathers for finer clothing that looked fit for the finest of Miran courtesans. “How would we prove it?”

  Namitus shook his head. “I don’t know. A unique trinket or bauble, perhaps? Some magical item of great power, maybe? Whatever it is, something of considerable worth.”

  “Don’t suppose you have that lying around in one of your pockets?”

  Namitus chuckled. “Afraid not.”

  Amra shrugged and fell silent. They rode on, crossing the final distance to the city and causing the guards to stiffen at their approach. They turned away to the stables that were built among the buildings outside the city walls and boarded their horses before heading for the gate.

  The gatekeepers stopped the procession of people coming in and out of the east gate of Easton and stood in the middle of the open archway. Gor and Lariki walked beside Namitus, Allie, and Amra to address the guards.

  “What’s the problem?” Namitus asked. “We’ve been on the road for over a week and could do with a spot of ale, a warm meal, and a proper bed.”

  “You’re traveling with a large amount of armed men…and women,” the guard added. “What is your purpose here?”

  “We—”

  Namitus held up his hand to stop Allie. “Allow me to introduce the Vultures, renowned mercenary company. This is Lariki, their captain.”

  “Heard of them,” the guard said while seeing past Lariki’s glittering clothes and jewelry. “Didn’t think they came this far west.”

  “We’re here,” Lariki said.

  “Why?” the second guard asked.

  “That business is ours,” Namitus said.

  “Not if you bring a company of armed men to cause trouble.”

  Gor sighed. “Enough. We’re not here to cause trouble. Not for Easton, anyhow.”

  One of the guards narrowed his eyes. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”

  “Only if you saw me sneaking out the window when you came home to your wife.”

  The other guard chuckled, but the first man snarled and reached for his sword.

  Namitus waved his hand. “Hold there, it’s a joke! Look at him? He wouldn’t fit through a window!”

  Gor and Lariki joined the second guard in chuckling. The offended one continued to glare at the large warrior. Gor nodded and admitted, “He’s right, I didn’t mean it seriously.”

  The guard’s glare lasted a moment longer and then he nodded and released the hilt of his sword. Both guards moved out of the way and waved them through.

  They walked into town and moved out of the way of the busy road. Namitus turned and studied the buildings. “I’ve never been here. Where to?”

  “The west,” Gor said. “To the docks. There are taverns there.”

  “Only the finest,” Lariki scoffed.

  “Puts us closer,” Namitus said. “Easier to charter passage.”

  Corian stiffened and glanced at the nearby throng of warriors. “The boat we took last time. The captain’s name was Harlon.”

  Gor nodded. “He doesn’t have room for all of us, but he’s sure to know someone else.”

  “We need to come up with a plan,” Lariki said. “Boat or not, if this island is as you say, we’ll pay hell to get to the castle.”

  Allie frowned. “Why can’t we take the path up the side that we escaped down?”

  “They’ll have it guarded, if not destroyed,” Gor said. “It’s been several months, but they won’t have forgotten what we accomplished.”

  “Money or not, I won’t let my company be butchered by poor planning,” Lariki warned.

  Gor nodded. “Come, let’s find a tavern. Find some charcoal and some sheets of parchment on the way; I’ll draw maps and we can plan the assault.”

  Corian frowned and looked up at the warrior. “Why weren’t you this helpful last time?”

  Gor looked down at the elf and shrugged. “I wasn’t ready.”

  “And this time?” Namitus asked.

  “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” Gor said. “I won’t rest until I’ve painted the walls with splisskin blood and then washed them clean.”

  Namitus nodded. “Good enough for me.”

  * * * *

  Lariki dipped her torn chunk of bread through the bowl filled with a sauce made of cut up peppers and fruits. She wolfed it down and offered Namitus a chance to sample the food. He grimaced. “It takes a strong stomach to handle the heat,” she said.

  “Perhaps later,” he said, ignoring her implication that he couldn’t handle it. “I need to find passage if we’re to sail for Shathas.”

  She smirked and tore another strip of bread free. “Take your time—we’re in no rush.”

  “The fate of the southern city-states is,” Namitus said. He paused and saw she showed no sign of caring about the people around them. “I’ll be back.”

  She gave him a terse nod and turned her attention away to Ramesh and the other men at her table. Gor caught Namitus’s eye and stood up. “I’ll go with you.”

  “I appreciate it,” Namitus said.

  Amra moved to stand but Namitus waved her back into her seat. “Stay. Rest and eat. We won’t be long.”

  “Long enough,” she said, standing in spite of his command. “In a place such as this, I’ve had a dozen looks already that promise a most unwholesome evening.”

  “Might be fun?” Namitus offered.

  She graced him with a thin smile that promised there would be no fun for anyone, including him. “You promised to protect me. How safe can I be here without you nearby?”

  Namitus groaned. “You’re pulling my leg, right? I can’t be around you constantly! You’ve gone to the jakes without me and no fierce hedgehog or snake bit your bottom.”

  Gor chuckled at Namitus’s distress. “Let her come. She’s right about many of the people in a tavern like this. Some of them might be the people we’d hope she could turn to for help.”

  “See? How safe is that to leave me in a den of snakes?”

  Namitus groaned again. “Snakes?”

  She winced. “Sorry, just an expression.”

  “I’m coming too,” Allie said.

  Namitus glanced up at the ceiling and sighed. “Might as well. Let’s go.”

  The four of them left the inn and turned to walk along the docks. Gor and Allie watched the ships, looking for the Lady Hornet, Harlon’s boat. They were about to give up and start asking when Allie pointed at a boat coming with the aid of two wiry young sailors with paddles.

  “That’s the boat you want to take?” Namitus asked. “It’s not even the size of a Kelgryn longboat!”

  “It’s more than you think,” Allie said.

  The rogue glanced at Gor and got a nod in response. He sighed. “All right, let’s go talk to him.”

  They walked down the pier and stopped next to the Lady Hornet as it bumped up against the dock and the three men on board scrambled to tie the boat to the posts. One of them, a middle-aged man with sun-kissed skin and an easy smile hopped up on a step and climbed out of the boat onto the dock.

  He glanced at Namitus and then turned to Gor and Allie. “Didn’t expect I’d see you two again.”

  “Me either,” Gor admitted.

  Allie stepped forward and said, “Harlon, we need your help.”

  “Help? Whoa there, lass. Last time I helped, your old man didn’t make it back. You and that elven lass did, I grant you, but you still lost a man.”

  Allie lowered her gaze and nodded. “I know…”

  Namitus cleared his throat. “Pardon, my name is Namitus. I’m a newer acquaintance of these two. I hear good things about your boat.”

  Harlon studie
d him and nodded. “You hear right,” he said. “Fastest boat you’ll find on Lake Silvermist.”

  “That’s quite a claim. I’ve sailed with the Kelgryn and they’re considered the masters of the seas.”

  Harlon grinned. “This isn’t a sea here, now is it? You keep them Kelgryn on the ocean and I’ll stay on the lake here. And I’ll have the Lady Hornet still being the fastest boat in these here waters.”

  “It is,” Allie said. “Once he gets out in the wind, it’s amazing.”

  Namitus shrugged. “Fast is good, but we need transport. To Shathas.”

  Harlon looked at Allie. “Just the three of you? Them elves go their own ways?”

  “They’re with us still,” Allie said.

  “One will be,” Namitus said.

  “What?”

  “I’m not taking my—Jillystria back there. I’d leave you two behind as well but we need your sword.”

  “I don’t have a sword,” Amra said.

  “And you’ll be staying behind.”

  Her mouth opened in an outraged gasp. “What? I most certainly will not!”

  “You’re not going to Shathas with us—safer with a den of murderers and thieves than there,” Namitus said.

  Amra folded her arms across her chest. “Fine, then I’ll stay on the boat.”

  Harlon smirked. “Could use another pair of hands,” he admitted.

  Namitus glared at him, but only for an instant.

  “See? There you go. I’ll be fine,” Amra said.

  He scowled and shook his head. “Fine, on the boat. Now can this boat hold twenty men in full armor?”

  Harlon made a show of looking behind and around them. “There’s four of you. Six, if you count those elves.”

  “The others are preparing for tomorrow,” Namitus said.

  “Tomorrow? You wish to go back there tomorrow? I’ve got to tell you, things have been heating up with the splisskin out there.”

  “I expected as much,” Namitus said. “Increased traffic?”

  He nodded. “Seen boats full of the scaly bastards—pardon my crude tongue, ladies. Some boats filled with boxes and what looks like supplies under tarps, too. I keep my distance but I know I can outrun them if I have to.”