The Academy Volume One

by Maxine Mansfield

  “The cave halfway down the waterfall.” Uthiel glanced toward Sarco and Leeky. “You two remember the cave, don’t you? The same one Briar and Obsidian were once stuck in. It’s the safest hiding place and hardest location in all of Castle Kuropkat to find and get to. At least, I thought it was.”

  His voice rose in decibels. “I didn’t mean to put them in danger, you must believe me. It’s my duty to protect Obsidian. He’s the future of the dragon race. The first male dragling born in well over a hundred years. But…but, oh, my God Draka, in doing so, I’ve left Briar not only drugged but unprotected in the castle. And the other women…they won’t be able to defend themselves against a nogard. None of them will.”

  “Tell me if I truly understand. Are you saying you hid the dragling in the waterfall cave and didn’t tell me? Isn’t that the same place Leeky hid Laycee? The cave not far from the castle and certainly not very far from our wives?”

  Uthiel gulped and nodded. “If that’s where Leeky hid her, then I’m afraid so, my friend. Seemed like a good idea at the time. And I didn’t think it important enough to mention. I was certain the nogard would go for the rich feeding grounds found at the high-mountain dragon caves first. As far as Laycee being in the same cave, trust me. Obsidian would die protecting her if need be.”

  “What the slime-covered belly of a hung-over dwarf skinny-dipping in a mud pond with a group of troll trollops were ya thinking, lad? Ya know as well as I do that half-grown dragon’s as likely ta eat my Laycee as he is ta protect her.” He quickly slipped off his charcoal-gray looking-at-tracks gloves and replaced them with his soft leather riding ones.

  Adan turned toward his gnome friend to offer reassurance, but all he saw was his backside. Leeky Shortz was already on his horse galloping full speed down the mountainside.

  A heartbeat later, so were Adan, Uthiel, Sarco, and Ray.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Hurry! We really must hurry.” Briar’s voice penetrated Lizbeth’s brain, causing her to forget once more what she just remembered she’d been looking for.

  The castle was in a state of panic. Servants running to and fro, townspeople flooding the gates in a panic, and even the castle’s stray cat sat shaking in the corner with his yellow eyes wide with fear and his black fur standing on end.

  Lizbeth glared at Briar but continued stuffing various articles into her bag. “I am hurrying. You said to bring everything I have that has anything to do with magic, didn’t you?”

  Briar nodded.

  “Then, go find Lark. I’ll be ready by the time you get back.”

  “I don’t need to be found. I’m here,” a voice rang out.

  Lizbeth quickly glanced at her sister-in-law as she jammed the last and most important item into her bag—her book of enchantments. “I’m ready, too.”

  “What about Laycee?” Lark asked. “I still can’t find her.”

  Briar’s voice sounded almost calm, but the twinge of fear in her eyes spoke volumes. “Don’t worry about Laycee. She’s already where we’re going. She’s with Obsidian right this moment, and she’s…fine. He told me so.”

  Lizbeth shuddered. “Laycee’s alone with a dragon? Your dragon? Isn’t gnome one of a dragon’s favorite snacks?”

  Briar grimaced. “Well, I did mention the need to hurry, didn’t I?”

  The terrain was rough and the going slow. More than once, Lizbeth lost her footing and slipped, the heavy snowfall making it almost impossible to see where to next put her feet. Suddenly, a hand shot out and stopped all forward progress.

  For no more than a handful of heartbeats, the sky almost cleared and Lizbeth gasped at the sight before her. The three women stood at the very edge of a tumbling, watery precipice. She couldn’t help herself, she backed up a full two-and-a-half steps.

  “Tell me we don’t have to go to the bottom of that, do we? Please say we don’t.”

  Briar scoffed. “No, don’t be silly. Well, we at least don’t have to go all the way to the bottom. See the ledge sticking out about halfway? We only have to go that far. There’s a cave behind it, and that’s where Obsidian and Laycee are. Don’t worry, you’ll see. It’s easy. Obsidian will fly us down one at a time.”

  Lizbeth gulped and backed up a couple more steps. “I seriously don’t think I can touch a dragon let alone ride upon one. Perhaps it’s best if I do my part from here?”

  Briar placed her hands on her hips. “Nonsense! I know you’re no coward, Lizbeth Hammerstrike. We need your help down there. Obsidian and Laycee need your help. As a matter of fact, you need to go first and get set up.”

  She was in the process of shaking her head while backing farther away when the sky was obscured by a sudden darkness. It took only a moment to realize the reason for the loss of light was getting closer and had wings, big wings. With a yelp, Lizbeth jumped, lost her footing, and landed hard on her backside as two taloned feet came to rest directly before her.

  Briar patted the dragling’s midnight black scales. “Lizbeth meet my friend, Obsidian, and Obsidian, this is Lizbeth. You must fly her to the cave, then come back for Lark and I.”

  There wasn’t time to jump and run or even to cry out before the dragon’s talons wrapped themselves about her middle and lifted her up and away. Lizbeth closed her eyes tight. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t think, and she didn’t dare even breathe as with a whoosh, those huge wings unfurled once more and over the side of the waterfall they flew.

  She wasn’t going to open her eyes, she really wasn’t, but curiosity got the better of her fear and Lizbeth cracked open one eyelid and gasped. It was amazing. In a spiraling motion, downward the dragon flew. One moment a solid wall of water was before her gaze, and the next an expanse of mountains and valleys.

  The wind buffeted her face while the updraft of air cushioned her body. For a moment, she stretched her arms wide, straightened her legs behind herself, and reveled in flight.

  All too soon, the ledge came into view and through a curtain of water they flew. Before Lizbeth had a chance to realize Obsidian had released her, he was once more out the entrance and gone. Suddenly, she felt alone in the expanse of the dark cave. Then she saw Laycee and couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

  The sight of the female gnome with her ill-fitting blonde wig hanging cockeyed on her oversized head was a welcome vision. She was shaking her fist in the air, and it took Lizbeth a moment to understand what her friend was yelling.

  “Yeah, I’d run off again too if I was you, ya oversized coward. Ya just wait till my Leeky gets ahold of ya. He’ll show ya whats what. Try ta eat me, will ya. And don’t ya think for a minute I took any of those licks as affection, no matter how impressive your tongue is or where ya might have thought ta place it. Ya can’t tell me ya weren’t either tasting or basting me.”

  Lizbeth didn’t want to think about the implications of either of those possibilities.

  Within moments, what had looked to be a good sized cave became ridiculously small as Obsidian returned first with Lark then Briar. The four women were crammed in so close to each other there wasn’t room to take a deep breath let alone move around freely. The added heat generated by the dragon’s breaths sent trickles of sweat scampering down Lizbeth’s back. She tried to ignore it. She tried to ignore him. It wasn’t an easy task as each and every move she made brought her into contact with either one of her companions or the dragon itself.

  “Let’s get ready.”

  Lizbeth glanced sideways at Briar. “What did you have in mind?”

  It was too dark in the cave to clearly see her expression, but the determination in Briar’s voice was certain. “We must do whatever is in our power to protect Obsidian until the men and Carnelian arrive.”

  Lizbeth had one more question. “How?”

  “Well, you’re the enchantress. Enchant the cave with a protection spell. I’m the channeler, I’ll channel your magic, boost it so to speak. Lark can do that spirtmaster-wizard stuff she does and fend off the nogard. If we work togeth
er, we can do this.”

  “What ya want me ta do?”

  Lizbeth could almost hear the smile in Briar’s voice. “You have the most important job of all, Laycee. Keep Obsidian calm.”

  The female gnome groaned. “Keep him calm! Just how am I supposed ta keep a two-ton dragon calm? Other than becoming a midday morsel that is.” She crossed her arms and scuffed her booted toe along the ground.

  Lark had an answer for her. “Why not do what you used to do with my sisters and me? Sing him a song or tell him a story. Worked well enough with us.”

  Conversation died away, and though she fought them, doubts filled Lizbeth’s mind. What if I can’t do it? She’d never tried to put a protection spell on an entire cave before. She didn’t think she was magical enough to accomplish it.

  Lark spoke directly to Lizbeth’s mind though no actual sound was heard. “We’ve all had our reservations when it came to our abilities. The trick is not to let your doubts get the better of you, Lizbeth. What is magic anyway but the determination to bend what isn’t bendable to your will? You’re a very strong-willed woman. You can do this. We can all do this together.”

  Lizbeth nodded as she pulled her book of enchantments from her bag. A moment later, however, she was completely distracted by another book. One Laycee was now reading to Obsidian.

  “She gasped as he flicked out his tongue and licked his eyebrows. Lillian Cuntalicious had never seen such a man as the debonair Gnoma Sutra. She simply had to have him.

  “Purposefully, he strode toward her and, the moment he was within hand’s reach, ripped her bodice wide and exposed her globes of milky-white breasts. He fondled them, tweaking the pert, rosy red nipples.

  “She gasped and held her breath, waiting, wanting him to take her there and then, yet, at the same time, afraid if she did, she’d be spoiled for any other man. How many times had her mother told her, ‘Once you go gnome, you’ll never again roam?’

  “And what a gnome he was. His turgid member—”

  “Laycee!” Briar cried. “What on Albrath are you reading to my dragon?”

  Laycee scoffed. “What do ya think I read ta Lark and her sisters when they were little, fairy tales? Nope, it was romance novels. And if ya gonna read a romance novel, ya might as well read a steamy one that makes your thighs stick together and your panties stand up by themselves when ya finally take ’em off.”

  She held the paperback up for all to see. “Romancing the Gnome. It’s one of my favorites. It’s written by Selvig Gnomenclature herself. I don’t leave home without at least one good fuck-me-silly book. Never know when it’ll come in handy.”

  Briar shook her head no.

  Laycee sighed. “Fine then. I’ll sing him a lullaby.”

  Her voice rose to almost a screech. “Forty-three cocks and balls on the wall, forty-three cocks and balls. Take one down and pass it around, forty-two cocks and balls on the wall.”

  Lizbeth hid her grin, took a deep breath, placed three amethyst stones at the entrance of the cave, walked through the curtain of water, and began chanting the protection spell she’d chosen.”

  ****

  Adan blinked twice then blinked once again, not wanting to believe his eyes. His wife, his pregnant wife, stood boldly on the ledge, halfway down the waterfall with a book in her hands and a look of intense concentration on her face. What did she think she was doing? She wasn’t supposed to be here. She was supposed to be back in the castle, safe. She was supposed to be where he’d left her.

  He balled his hands into fists, took deep breaths, and tried not to lose what tiny grip on his temper he still had. He made a promise to himself, though. If Lizbeth didn’t fall and kill herself before he got to her, he was going to make sure she never again got the chance to put herself in danger even if it meant locking her inside their castle and throwing away the key.

  A moment later, Leeky broke Adan’s train of thought. The gnome tugged on his pant leg with one of his leather-gloved hands while pointing skyward with the other.

  “What the red-painted lips of a toothless dwarf streetwalker giving a gummer ta a drunken halfling in the middle of town square and charging onlookers the price of admission ta watch do ya make of that, lads? Damn, looks like the nogard’s gonna beat us ta the cave after all.”

  Adan looked up as did Uthiel, Sarco, and Ray. His breath caught in his chest, and his blood ran cold. The nogard was heading straight for the ledge. “I have to get down there now!”

  He grabbed a length of rope and began heaving it over the side. Uthiel stayed his arm. “There isn’t time to climb the distance. Wait just a moment. Carnelian is almost here.”

  Adan shook his head and pulled away as the nogard landed on the very edge of the ledge and began walking directly toward Lizbeth. “No time.”

  Sarco took hold of Adan’s other arm. “You’ll get there faster on Carnelian’s back, my friend. And take a good look at what’s going on below. Our wives don’t appear to be in any immediate danger. We have time. Carnelian can fly you down a lot faster than you can climb, then she can come back for the rest of us.”

  Adan did look. He really looked this time. Lizbeth wasn’t simply standing there, she was orchestrating some type of spell, and she wasn’t alone. The sheet of water covering the cave had parted and behind Lizbeth stood Lark and Briar. A triangle of blue lights danced back and forth between the three women and through their hands.

  The nogard was close enough to almost touch them, but it didn’t seem to be able to close the distance. Even though snow continued to fall in fat flakes all around, thunder crashed in the distance and lightning streaked the clouded sky.

  For a moment, he was mesmerized, and more than just a touch in awe and proud of his wife…of all of them really. He’d always known there was magic in the world. He’d seen it up close from his sister more times than he could count. But this magic was beyond anything he’d ever envisioned. Lizbeth stood proudly, competently, directing her own brand of magic, and Lark and Briar were following her lead. It was mystical poetry in motion.

  The sky above darkened even more as Carnelian flew directly overhead, circled, then landed. As if the dragon already understood what needed to be done, she wrapped her talons around Adan’s middle and lifted him.

  “I’ll send her right back.”

  Uthiel, Sarco, and Leeky nodded, but Ray wasn’t having it. “I will observe from here, thank you. I’m not overly fond of water or heights, and I’m much too important to be taking unnecessary risks. After all, someone reliable must be left to report back to the Council and the Queen.”

  Adan ignored the little human, tapped the dragon on her talon, and pointed downwards. He pulled the Blade of Gin from its sheath, readied it, and offered up a prayer to God Draka.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Tempest of passion, tempest of light, protect what’s within with all of your might. Tempest of truth, tempest of wonder, keep safe this dragon with a voice of thunder.”

  It was working, she wasn’t sure for how long, but for now, it was working. Power coursed through her veins as the nogard backed up another step, almost tumbling over the side of the ledge before regaining its balance.

  Lizbeth concentrated even harder, redoubling her effort.

  Elation warred with fear. She hadn’t made a mistake this time. She’d picked the right spell for the right circumstance, after all. By combining what she knew of Lark’s spiritmaster control-of-the-weather, along with Briar’s ability to channel, and this particular protection spell from the book of enchantments, they were successfully staving off the beast a mere few feet away.

  Venom dripped from its sharp fangs, and fury shot daggers from its blood-red, bulging eyes.

  Lizbeth was so tired, though. Her arms ached from holding the book of enchantments tightly so the wind couldn’t whip it from her grasp, and her fingers had long ago gone numb from the cold. Her throat burned from shouting into the wind, and her legs threatened to no longer hold her weight.

  Thoug
h fatigue sapped her of what little energy she had, Lizbeth took yet another deep breath and began chanting the protection spell once more. How much longer could they keep this up? Where was Adan? Where were Sarco, Uthiel, and Leeky, for that matter? If there was ever a time they desperately needed them, it was now.

  She’d even be glad to see Ray. Lizbeth giggled, though she wasn’t sure if it was from hysteria or the thought she’d just had. What would she give to be safe, sound, and warm at The Academy right now, even if Ray were back to his old self, running around yelling “Ray loves cock. Ray loves cock. Ray loves cock.” at the top of his lungs?

  She shuddered, not sure which would be worse, the nogard standing before her right this moment or the crazed little human?

  ****

  Adan couldn’t breathe. He wasn’t going to get to her in time. Before Carnelian had completely released her hold upon him and before his feet had a chance to settle upon the ledge, he ran directly toward the nogard. He drew the Blade of Gin from its sheath and readied it to strike, his only thought to protect his wife and unborn child.

  The nogard paid him no mind. From the top of its horned head to the tip of its scaled tail, it was of a single purpose, and that purpose was to get to and past Lizbeth. That couldn’t be allowed to happen.

  Adan timed the swishing of the nogard’s tail. He ducked and rolled between and through the outstretched legs of the beast, popping up directly between it and Lizbeth. The creature’s blood-red eyes shifted their focus from the women and directly onto him. Adan was once again able to breathe.

  They faced off, Adan, with his spine ramrod-straight, standing tall, with determination rippling through every fiber of his being while the nogard stood inches away, hissing at him. Its wild gaze penetrated with a deadly stare while its slit-like nostrils flared. Its thick horns shook back and forth like an angry bull.

  “Get inside the cave, Lizbeth, now.”

  She didn’t argue with him. She simply ignored him while continuing to chant. Adan wasn’t sure who he wanted to kill first. He couldn’t turn to glare at her to emphasize his point, afraid to take his eyes from the monster before him. “I said, get back inside that cave, now!” he yelled.