Sorcery (Dragons & Magic Book 3)

by Dave Higgins

  Daffodil nibbled her lip, eyes flicking back and forth.

  Edmond caught her gaze. “You get to kill the people who tried to take our daughter.”

  Slipping her axe back into her belt, she nodded.

  Chapter 13

  Giants

  “Giants?” Peony stared at the hills ahead of them, half expecting one to blink or cough. “Real life giants?”

  Rauger nodded. “We need to get moving. Orped and his men will be after us as soon as the ship reaches Myrefall.”

  After a few minutes of slowing down to keep pace with her, Rauger fell into his loping run again, forcing her to scurry to keep up. The sun hammered her back as they ascended each hill, sapping what strength she had. “I need water and to rest for a minute.”

  When Rauger turned, she expected another biting remark; however, he just nodded. “You do that. I’ll climb a tree and look for pursuers.”

  She rested her back against a large rock and took a long draught from her water-skin When she lowered it, he stood fifty paces away at the base of a tall tree, taking off his overcoat and belt. Once down to his under-shirt and trousers, he pulled himself up from branch to branch. She felt a mix of jealousy and admiration. He seemed born to the forest, slipping between its boughs, climbing its branches. Almost as if the trees were his friends and welcomed him with open arms.

  Reaching the top, he crouched and swept his head back and forth. Moments later, he leant forward, gaze locked on one point. He’d spotted something.

  She moved to the base of the tree. “What is it? How many people?”

  He slipped through the branches with ease and landed on the turf near her. “Twenty soldiers, give or take, with Orped flying above them.”

  “Twenty soldiers?” That was— her mind prodded her. “Flying?”

  Rauger nodded. “I’ve seen him do it. He plays an intricate tune on his pipe. It takes several minutes, but then he can fly. I saw him make other people fly once; but I guess twenty’s too many. We need to hurry. Try to stay close to the trees, we’ll be easier to spot from the air.”

  She hung her water-skin back on her belt. “Not too fast, or you’ll leave me behind.”

  Then it hit her: if he left her behind, he’d be safe. He could move faster, was better able to live in the forest, and they weren’t looking for hunters. Imperatis wanted her mind, not his. They wouldn’t chase him if he left; which meant he was staying to keep her safe.

  She fell into step behind him, resolving to complain less and try harder. Her stats might not let her to keep up with him. However, she could work on a solution to get them both home.

  After an hour of trudging, the forest thinned, rising into rocky foothills. Rauger cursed, then pushed on. The lack of cover would make them easy to find—but with Imperatis to the south, and pursuers to the north and east—they didn’t have a choice.

  Cresting the first rise, the itch in Peony’s shoulders became unbearable, and she glanced behind them. A speck hovered above the trees in the distance. Squinting, she made out Orped’s arms and legs, growing larger as he soared closer. He was heading for them; they’d been spotted.

  “We have to hurry,” Rauger said.

  She willed her tired legs to move faster and further as he strode forward. Almost at once her lungs burned.

  “What are your points, anyway?” Rauger said. “I never checked.”

  “Seven in Wisdom… five in Charisma… four in Perception… and a bit of Luck,” she panted.

  He frowned. “And the other four?”

  “That last stat,” she said. “The one no one can read.”

  His eyebrows raised. “Weird choice.”

  “They wanted a scholar.”

  “So you know things? Things that could help us?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t read the books they gave me.”

  He nodded, his face set. He seemed resigned, but she was sure scorn lurked beneath.

  “I wish I had,” she said. “Or learnt some simple magic, so I could help. Instead, I tried to help villagers by fighting wights. Or crept out to look for quests.”

  “Wights?” His shoulders straightened. “You can fight?”

  “No. My parents had to rescue me.”

  He was silent for a long moment. “You tried, though. That’s something.”

  “I’m sure Orped will be scared of my trying to defend myself.” Peony fixed her eyes on the top of the slope. “Now shut up, I need my breath to run.”

  She tried to match his easy stride, but something went wrong. Her feet crossed, and she tumbled forward. Arms flying out, she reached for him.

  Her fingers hooked the leg of his breeches. Caught off guard, he stumbled and fell forward. Something crunched, then he rose again.

  She frowned. His arms and legs were flailing, so how was he getting up?

  She rolled away as a pillar of rock surged skyward. Rauger tumbled off and landed next to her, the shattered remains of his magical charm hanging from his shirt.

  The rock continued to grow upward.

  “Sorry. Are you hurt? I didn’t mean to… I—”

  He tugged her to her feet. “You’re clumsy. I’m fine. Discussion over. We need to move. If Orped didn’t know where we were, he does now.”

  She couldn’t believe she’d destroyed one of the few things they had to defend themselves. Her lack of Luck had combined with her paltry Dexterity to reduce their chances even further.

  She stumbled after him. Maybe not talking about it was the best option. Every time her parents talked about things, it made them argue more. She kept going in silence, the speck behind them growing larger until she could make out Orped’s belt without effort. Soon it’d all be over. She couldn’t sustain the pace—and even if she could, the piper was gaining.

  Rauger grabbed her arm and dragged her into a cluster of rocks. Before she could speak, he clamped his hand over her mouth, silencing her with wide eyes. Pressing her down, he peeked over a large boulder. When he lowered himself again, his face was as pale as the whites of his eyes.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “The giants,” he muttered. “Stay quiet.”

  She felt like she’d eaten worms, but she had to look. Raising up, she peeked over the boulder. In great strides over the foothills, faster than she would have thought possible, a dozen massive people approached. Clad in crude animal furs, they carried no weapons. But they wouldn’t need them. Heavily muscled and three times the height of a human, they’d smoosh a regular person without noticing.

  She’d imagined giants as ponderous, but—just as Rauger’s longer legs outpaced hers—the giants towering legs carried them as fast as a galloping horse. As she watched, the group crossed the foothills to the east, strides lengthening into a ground-devouring jog. Tracing their path, Peony saw Orped floating arms spread, his men were ranged below him. The warriors drew weapons and braced.

  Charging among them, the giants swiped at the humans. Soldiers flew away in a flurry of broken bones. Orped, flying high above, soared back east. But the giants weren’t done.

  Picking up rocks, they pelted him, each stone hitting its mark. Orped’s broken body tumbled from the sky.

  “Get down,” Rauger muttered.

  Peony crouched beside him, eyes wide. If the giants spotted them, they were done for. They were too fast, too strong to fight; she’d almost rather face Orped’s men. At least the giants weren’t looking for them. They would assume Orped and his men had raised the pillar of stone. If she and Rauger stayed hidden, they might remain safe.

  Her reassurances shook as the ground shifted beneath her. The giants were moving closer. She wondered whether they could smell her. She’d read a story that said giants could smell human blood. Although, she didn’t think bones would make good meal for bread, so it was probably something invented to make children stay at home.

  The shaking drew closer, then stopped. The top of Peony’s head itched, but she didn’t dare look up.

  “Driven back ag
ain,” a deep, booming voice shouted. “But eventually we shall be no more, our kind defeated by creatures as small as Gussizewziar here.”

  “He is minute. He almost appears half-human to me,” another voice rumbled. “Always has. Perhaps his mother greeted the humans in a different way than the rest of us.”

  The air shivered with booming laughter and Peony shook with fear. How could such things as giants exist outside of nightmares?

  “Take that back,” a third voice said.

  “Why should I?” the second voice shouted. “You barely come up to my belly button. I doubt you’d cause me more trouble than those humans did.”

  The ground shook twice, and the impact of one great mass hitting another echoed. Followed by the hard slaps of someone punching; each sounded heavy enough to flatten Peony like a flower in a press.

  The ground beneath her bounced her off her feet. Then the air was filled with more giant laughter.

  “Leave him,” a voice rumbled. “Hurt him no more. Gussizewziar, as leader of this tribe, I cast you out. You must find your own way in this world. Perhaps the humans will mistake you for one of their own.”

  A new round of laughing burst out as footsteps shuddered away. Peony let out a slow breath, but Rauger put his hand on her arm, warning her with wide eyes.

  She was about to ask why when then a sob shattered the silence. Followed by another and another. Her breath caught as she realised they were only a few paces away from a crying giant. One who had nowhere to go.

  They’d have to stay still and hope he would leave. At least with a nose snotty from weeping it wouldn’t be able to smell their blood.

  After what felt like hours, the sobbing died down into sniffling and snuffling. Then even that grew quiet, replaced with long, even breathing. As if the giant had fallen asleep.

  Her thoughts were confirmed when Rauger put his finger to his lips and motioned for them to move. She tried to get up, but her left foot had gone to sleep. Kicking her right leg out to stop herself falling, she sent a stone skittering away from them.

  Rauger froze, staring at her. Then the boulder that had been hiding them disappeared. Peony turned. A giant loomed over them, the boulder held over its head.

  Chapter 14

  Gus

  “Humans!” the giant roared.

  “No,” Peony said. “Please.”

  “You’re not humans?” The giant’s forehead creased.

  “Please don’t kill us. We were chased by those men you fought. We didn’t even want to come here.”

  The giant raised the boulder higher.

  Peony’s mind raced, trying to think of anything she’d read about giants that might be factual.

  “We wouldn’t make nice bread,” Rauger said. “Our bones are stiff and… crunchy.”

  “Bread?” The giant peered at them, letting the boulder sag. “What’s he talking about?”

  “It’s from a children’s story,” Peony said. “Don’t mind him. Please, all we want to do is leave. We were running from those men; we didn’t mean to come here.”

  “You never do.” The giant flicked the rock aside. “You humans just breed and expand, taking all the land; but you never mean to swarm everywhere. Our greatest thinkers have pondered it.”

  Without the boulder hovering above her, Peony managed to take a closer look at the giant. He wasn’t as tall as the others had been, only twice as tall as the tallest humans. His strength was still unbelievable, though, to have lifted the boulder as easily as he did. He had surprisingly smooth skin on his face, with fierce black eyebrows and short black hair. “Your thinkers?”

  “We’re not stupid, you know.” the giant scowled. “Humans think we’re stupid.”

  “I don’t,” Peony said. “I don’t know anything about you. I’m Peony. This is Rauger.”

  “Gussizewziar,” the giant said.

  “Can I call you Gus?”

  “Sure.” The giant sagged, cloaking her in shadow. “Everything about me is short. My name might as well be too.”

  “You look big to me,” she said. “Strong too.”

  “That’s nice of you to say.” Gus’ face crumpled. “But… my tribe threw me out for being tiny.”

  Despite the difference in their… everything, Peony felt a strong connection. Like her, he was cut off from his family; but she could go home and he couldn’t. Moving closer, she threw her arms around most of his waist.

  Behind her, Rauger cleared his throat, but she ignored him. She kept hugging Gus, until his sobs stopped. Stepping back, she looked up at the giant, who had a soft smile on his lips.

  Gus tapped a finger on his stomach. “That might be the first time a human has ever hugged a giant.”

  “I thought you needed it. Besides, I think you’re a friendly giant.”

  “A big giant, though,” Rauger said.

  “Yes,” Peony said. “A friendly giant who’s also big.”

  “All right,” Gus said. “Enough flattery. I won’t kill you. My tribe would choose otherwise, but they aren’t here. You need to leave our territory, though. I’ll see you back to the border with the human lands.”

  Peony caught Rauger’s look of consternation. “We’d go if we could, but more men will be waiting to kill us if we do. We need to get far enough away that they can’t chase us.”

  Gus spread his hands. “If not east, then what? North, west, south?”

  “Not north,” Rauger said. “We’d walk straight into the trouble we ran from. Imperatis has strongholds in the east and west.” He cursed. “Our only way out is south. If we get far enough without being spotted, we can sneak east again to the coast, then try to find a ship willing to take us.”

  “One that doesn’t hand us in to Imperatis at the first opportunity,” Peony said.

  “It’s a long way south to the border,” Gus said. “I’m not sure I want to walk that far.”

  “Where else are you going to go?” Rauger asked.

  “Rauger!” Peony rested a hand on Gus’ wrist. “Gus, we might be able to help you. My father has a lot of magician friends. Maybe there’s a way to make you bigger. Would your tribe take you back then?”

  “Perhaps,” Gus said. “If they made me big enough. Could I be taller than Flaurtewyibn?”

  She shrugged. Uncle Pettigrew’s letterhead called him ‘the Magnificent’, so clearly already knew how to grow an ego to several times normal size. “If they can do it, I don’t see why not.”

  Gus smiled. “That would be great.”

  “I can’t promise anything. I don’t know if they can; but they’ll try if you help us.” Or if I suggest they could write a long, boring paper about it. “You can come with us on the ship.”

  Gus shook his head furiously. “Not over water. Giants can’t go near water.”

  “He couldn’t anyway,” Rauger said. “What captain would take a giant on their ship?”

  “Then we’ll come back. After we find my father, we’ll research it and come back.”

  Gus grinned. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, you know. I would have taken you south anyway.”

  “I know,” Peony said. “But I want to help you, if I can.”

  “We must hurry,” Gus said. “Or my tribe might come back and find you.”

  She thought about how tired she’d become trying to match Rauger’s pace and nodded wearily.

  Her stomach lurched as Gus picked her up and cradled her in his arm like a baby. With his free hand, he set Rauger on his right shoulder. “Hold on tight.”

  Unable to see the ground around them without cricking her neck, Peony watched the clouds roll by above. “Why do the giants attack humans on sight?”

  “They take our land,” Gus said. “We used to roam this whole place, but humans arrived centuries ago and forced us into a smaller and smaller area. Now we barely have anything left. We need to defend ourselves constantly to keep what remains.”

  She considered for a moment. She’d read about humans colonising Oteon, but she’d
never wondered about what was there before.

  “And lately there’s even more reason,” Gus said. “Giants have gone missing. Anyone who wanders away on their own never returns. It’s why it’s so important to get my tribe back. I don’t want to disappear.”

  Peony frowned. After seeing them in action, she couldn’t imagine many humans could stand up to a giant, let alone making one disappear. And if enough humans to overwhelm a giant gathered in one place, why wouldn’t the giant just race away?

  Gus strode over the foothills, heading south. As he strolled on, Peony felt her stomach lurch in time with his steps the same way it had with the rolling of the ship. Not wanting to spoil their alliance by throwing up on him, she closed her eyes and slept.

  * * *

  “Wake up,” Gus said. “Both of you, wake up.”

  Peony opened her eyes. Rauger lay above her, sprawled across Gus’ shoulder. A moment later, the hunter blinked and looked around. “What is it?”

  “Another tribe.” Gus set them down and pointed ahead where a dozen large figures moved along the horizon. At first, they seemed to move away, but as Peony watched, they turned toward them.

  “We need to run.” Gus gathered Peony and Rauger up, this time holding one under each arm, and set off at a run. “I know where we can go.”

  The ground rushed beneath Peony’s face, receding then slamming back as Gus hurdled a rocky patch. She clamped her teeth down on a scream. From the other side of Gus, she heard Rauger giggle. If she’d had the breath for it, she’d have asked him what he was enjoying about the whole process.

  Gus skidded to a stop beside a cave and set them down. “Get in.”

  Peony didn’t stop to ask questions. The ceiling was low enough that Gus had to bow his head to fit inside.

  “Won’t they find us here?” she asked.

  “They will,” Gus said. “But they can’t get in.”

  She looked up at the ceiling. They might have to bend down, but if Gus could get in, the giants might too.