Dragon Adventurer collection

by K V Deal

  “Sorry, I'm not that comfortable,” I muttered and turned to go back up the stairs. “The hell?”

  The opening I had just come through? Gone.

  The only sign that it had ever been there was the way the bat guy's blood was still pooling at the edge.

  Now what the hell was I gonna do?

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Chapter 11

  Not hopeful, I started off with a brute force attempt.

  I reared back and kicked the spot on the rough sandstone wall where the door had been. I kicked as hard as I could, and the wall shook, but that was all that happened.

  Alright. No good.

  Well...if that didn't work, then I had to move onto Plan B, find another way out. But then another thought struck me. Maybe...

  I gently put Carah back down and moved over to the bat guy. Maybe if what he had used on Carah had been a magic item. Maybe if I could find it, I could shut it off.

  A quick search of his body didn't turn up anything though. I muttered a curse. I’d really been hoping it wasn’t a trick that only bat guys could pull off.

  One last way I could check. I focused on magic. I tried to see if I could feel anything... There! On the palm of his hand, there was something! Reaching down, I forced his cooling fingers apart so I could take a look.

  He was wearing some kind of hand jewelry. It looked almost like a bit of chain mail. It went over his palm and attached to rings on his index and pinkie fingers and to a metal band around his wrist. At the center of that little patch of chain, was the image of an eye made out of bright, purple chain links woven into the mail.

  Okay. That looked...promising?

  I unhooked the item from his hand and carefully lifted it up to get a closer look.

  I had no idea how to use this damn thing. I would probably have more luck using fire magic than activating this.

  I may have been hasty in killing this guy.

  I couldn't put the thing on, not when I was already wearing my gauntlets. Maybe, though... It was a long shot, but this thing didn't have an evil feel like Charlie’s brooch had, so it should be fine. I gently put the rings and wristband on Carah's off hand. The mail spread out. It was loose on her because the bat guy had had much bigger hands.

  The eye symbol suddenly glowed and gave off a purple light. As I watched, the whole thing resized to fit its new wearer’s hand. Then nothing else happened.

  Just great.

  Well, we were back to Plan B just with some tweaks. I was back to finding another way out. I turned to survey the room.

  Calling it a room was giving this place too much credit, actually. It was more of a cave, though it wasn’t a natural one.

  The large sandstone cavern held six large shelves, each stacked with boxes that almost reeked of magic. Each shelf was flanked by two large copper stands. They looked like hat stands, but ones that were made to hold just one hat. Lanterns hung off their single hooks and cast a glow across the shelves. The stuff on those shelves was what I had been feeling.

  My heart dropped, as I realized that the lamps were casting their own glow. That meant my lamp wasn't here.

  Damn it.

  Anger welled up inside me. I had the urge to do something that was probably kind of childish.

  Not that I cared.

  By the time I was done, the room was empty. I had even taken the lantern stands. The nice thing about my act was it made it really easy to see the doorway on the far side of the room.

  It seemed to be the only exit to this cave. I began jogging, carrying Carah over my shoulder to keep my sword arm free.

  I clutched one of the lamps in the same hand I was holding her with. Once again, I was really glad Carah was fireproof. If she hadn’t been, with that hot lamp resting right on her rear, she really wouldn't have been happy with me when she woke up.

  The doorway, it turned out, led to a tunnel that was carved from the same sandstone as the last room.

  This...could be a bit of a walk.

  As far as I could see, this was a straight shot of a tunnel—no turns, no branching paths. And the thing was, I couldn't see the other end of the tunnel. My lantern's light didn't reach that far. With a sigh, I began to walk.

  I don't know how long it was, but eventually, I head Carah groan and felt her shift on my shoulder.

  Oh, thank god!

  Quickly I knelt down, setting down the lamp and leaning Carah up against the wall. Her eyes were already open, and she shook her head as if trying to wake up.

  “Carah?” I called softly. Sound tended to carry in places like this. Not that anyone watching wouldn't have already seen my lantern.

  “Jake?” she mumbled, looking up at me with half-lidded eyes.

  “Yeah, it’s me. How are you doing?”

  “Sleepy. Come back to bed.” She reached her arms out to me with a smile.

  That’s just a mess of temptation.

  I steeled myself and spoke calmly to her. “There isn't any bed, Carah. We’re in the middle of some kind of stronghold. Do you remember what happened to you?”

  Her eyebrows went up, although she still looked only half awake. Slowly, she looked around, trying to orient herself. “Why are we in a wine cellar?”

  Not having too much luck with that orientation thing, I guess.

  Where did the idea of the wine cellar thing come from? This didn't look anything like I would imagine a wine cellar. “You okay in there, Carah?” I asked worriedly.

  “I'm good.” She shook her head again and then looked back up at me. Her eyes were slightly clearer.

  Whatever had happened to her, it looked like it had been a doozy.

  “Carah, do you remember what happened?” I'm pretty sure when I asked this time there was a note of worry in my voice.

  “We...were in a dark house...” She scrunched her face up in thought. “We split up. Then somebody came out of a wall and...everything goes black.”

  “Sounds about right,” I nodded. Most likely that had been a hidden doorway. It made sense. It also explained how the doorway I’d come through down here had disappeared. It’d just blended back into the wall. Was it worth going back to check to see if we could get it open?

  I looked back down the tunnel and grimaced. I couldn't even see the room anymore. Didn't realize I had been walking that long...

  “What?” she asked.

  I looked back to Carah. There was more sense in her eyes now, and she was looking at me in concern.

  “Nothing important,” I muttered. I pulled her sword out of my ring and handed it over. “Here.”

  She blinked at it in surprise and grabbed the hilt. “Jeez! I didn't even realize I’d lost it!”

  “Come on. We gotta get moving,” I said, helping her to her feet.

  As we walked, I filled her in on what had happened while she was out. She really seemed to get a kick out of how I had stolen everything that wasn't nailed down.

  “So, what was on the shelves?” she asked.

  “Dunno.“ I shook my head. “I just took the whole shelves.”

  “The whole shelves!” She laughed out loud. Probably not the best idea in this tunnel, but again, if we were going to be noticed, there were plenty of things more noticeable than that laugh. That was about the point that I noticed a dot of light way up ahead.

  Finally!

  I had begun to think this tunnel went on forever!

  Carah hadn't noticed it yet, though. “So why the lamp, oh ‘Breather of Fire?’” Her grin turned impish as she looked up at me.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Because I can't really bring it with me? I would have to be spitting out flames every minute or so.”

  Carah muttered something I couldn't quite understand, snapped her fingers and opened her palm. I jerked back in surprise as the center of her palm had ignited. The red flames dancing from her hand lit up the tunnel.

  “Since when could you do that!?” I jabbed a finger at her hand.

  She grinned up at me, then sheathed her sword
and pulled out Fire Magic for Dolts. She handed it to me. “Thanks for letting me borrow it.”

  I took MY book back now even more surprised. My instincts, usually screaming when I so much as let someone hold one of my things, hadn't even uttered a peep! Hell, I hadn't even remembered she’d borrowed it.

  “I think I mastered most of the stuff in there,” she said smugly. “I'm not just gonna be the second-string sword anymore.”

  “How long?” I was still kind of shocked.

  “Oh, a while now. It's just that everything lately has been fireproof. I tried to use it on Edward under the Gray House, but he just shrugged it off.” She huffed. “It's tiring too. So, I can’t do it too much. The book says it'll get easier with practice.”

  That was still pretty damn impressive, and I let it show.

  Carah grinned proudly as she tossed the flames lightly and muttered a few more words. The fire curled up into an orb and floated into the air to circle just above her head.

  “Well, guess we got our first wizard,” I grinned.

  “Not the first. I've heard of one or two others, but I'm close. Got any other books on magic?”

  I stored the fire magic book away and pulled out another one. “Not sure how useful this one is, but here you go.” I handed her a book with the title Magic for Hearth and Home.

  “Sweet!” she crowed. “I knew you’d have something. I’ll let you know if I find anything nice in here.” She grinned up at me while stowing the book away.

  I looked back toward the end of the tunnel. We were making good time I guessed. The light was getting brighter and growing in size.

  That was when Carah finally noticed the light. “Hey look!” she said, pointing and lowering her tone. Then she noticed the bit of chain mail strapped to her hand. “What?”

  “It was on the guy who grabbed you. Thought you should have it,” I explained. It’d made sense at the time, but saying it now kinda felt a little silly.

  “Jewelry? Aw, that's sweet Jake,” she said teasingly.

  I hadn't thought of it that way. Once I did, I'm pretty sure I started blushing. “It’s magic,” I muttered.

  “I figured.” She giggled and patted my shoulder. “Thanks, big guy.”

  We walked in silence save for Carah's happy humming as she regarded the bit of bling.

  I managed to get myself under control after a moment or two and we began to discuss our options. It took only a quick conversation to agree that, in this straight-arrow of a corridor, we had no chance of sneaking up on anyone. Or, to be more precise, I didn't. Carah on the other hand still had the scrap of magical cloth we had looted from Inquisitors.

  So, the plan was actually kind of simple. I came in visible, with Carah behind me invisible. I would catch the attention, and she would, hopefully, ambush any attackers. If necessary. That meant that as I walked out of the tunnel into the light, I both looked and felt very much alone.

  The new room had a smell of moisture in the air, and it was instantly obvious why. This cave was a natural thing, with hundreds of tooth like spikes of rock hanging from the ceiling. The place was actually kinda big too, trailing off at the far end as the whole room sloped down into a pool of clear, blue water.

  I spared it only a glance. Then my eyes fastened on more immediate concerns—a trio of large, wooden crates with heavy rope handles on each side. The center crate, the one all seven people in the room were clustered around? It had a very, very familiar light flickering around its open top, one that strangely didn't seem to stretch outside of the crate.

  “Oh shit,” Carah muttered behind me.

  “My lamp,” I roared! It came out loud enough to echo off the cave’s high ceiling. Anger quickly bubbled up inside me, and I charged the thieves.

  “It’s the Dragon!” screamed a three-foot woman with large, bare feet.

  “Don't panic!” shouted a massive man at the center of the group. He stood at least two heads taller than the others, with blue skin tight over heavy muscles. He reached down, yanked up a club as tall as a normal man and settled into a batter’s stance. He looked over at two of the thieves who were obviously aquatic in nature. “Take the crate and go! We’ll take him out!”

  The two thieves ran forward and began to try and attach a lid to the crate.

  They’re trying to get away? Not a chance!

  I kicked at the ground, moving as fast as I could at the two aquatic thieves.

  As soon as I got close enough, the blue man let fly, his club blurring towards me with astonishing speed. As much I wanted to get my lamp, my survival instincts kicked in. I dropped low to let the club speed by overhead.

  The man, I guessed he was probably part ice giant, stepped to the side. That put him right into the path I wanted to take. I felt a growl growing in my throat. This bastard was trying to get between me and MY lamp!

  Well, if it was a fight he wanted, then it was a fight he was going to get!

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Chapter 12

  I straightened and threw myself at the giant. My claws scraping tracks in the sandstone floor as I ran.

  Up close, I could now see that this guy was even taller than I was. Not by much, but it was one of the few times since the change that I was looking up at somebody. I didn’t like the feeling.

  Swinging my great sword around my head, I let out a roar as I aimed for his neck.

  Something hit my wrist. Hard. The blow knocked the sword from my hand sending it spinning across the cave. It landed right at the edge of the water.

  Damn!

  If it fell in, that current would sweep it away to who knew where!

  With a snarl, I spun on whoever had just hit me.

  A tall, thin...person stood there with what looked like a bar of iron attached to a handle in its hand. The way it was formed—large eyes and soft features—gave it a feminine feel. But its stance and the way it was looking at me said ‘male.’

  Honestly, I really didn’t care what it was. All that I knew was that it had just tried to stop me from getting what was mine!

  I lashed out with my claws, catching and shredding clothing, but not hitting flesh.

  The person’s eyes flicked to the side towards where the giant was. I didn’t think twice. I threw myself to the ground to let the club pass overhead again. My tail lashed out, scoring a hit on the person next to me and drawing blood.

  “Mary!” the giant bellowed.

  With a name like Mary, it had been a good guess that the person next to me was female a small voice in the back of my head chimed in.

  I didn’t have time to acknowledge it, though.

  Mary was coming in again, that bar held up high for another pounding attack. A look glance showed that my tail had scored her along the leg as she limped along. Blood was running down her calve.

  In other words, easy prey.

  Instinctively I took a deep breath and spat a fireball. The blast of flame took her by surprise as it hit and engulfed her entire head.

  There was a loud thud, and I instinctively looked for the source.

  The reason that I was only fighting two it seemed was that the other five had been working on getting the lid on the crate that held MY lamp! I turned to charge them.

  Bad idea.

  There was a roar, then a massive impact lifted me off the ground. It sent me skidding across the cave.

  “That—that one hurt...” I wheezed, as I pushed myself up to my feet.

  The cave shook as the furious giant thundered across the cave readying his club for another swing. A line of red splashed across his left ankle, making the giant scream and tumble to the ground.

  I didn’t want to waste the chance. Drawing my dagger from my belt, I rushed forward.

  “Jake! Go for the crate! I got this!” Carah snapped from somewhere near the giant.

  I blinked and nodded. Right. That was the real goal, wasn't it?

  I saw realization hit the giant as he heard Carah. But knowing her, there wasn't much he could do about
it at this point.

  “There’s two of them?” The huge man bellowed as he rolled over to protect his back.

  Okay. Guess there had been something he could do after all.

  The five people who had been pushing the crate toward the water’s edge turned back to look at us.

  And saw me running right at them.

  “Shit! Where’s Mary?” One of them shouted.

  That was probably a question I should have been asking too. Mary suddenly stepped into my path. That heavy blunt weapon of hers was already in motion.

  I should have ducked, blocked or something, but I was too busy staring at her head. Even as I watched, the horrible burns covering her face, which I’d caused with my flames, were healing. And fuck, it was disgusting to watch. The squelching sounds didn’t help much either.

  I flinched, and that probably saved my life. The blow missed my temple, instead slamming hard into my horn. There was a cracking sound, and I slammed into the ground, my dagger spinning from my hands.

  Pain wracked my head, flowing down from my horn in a way that made my entire skull ache.

  “Fucker!” Mary screamed, fury in her eyes. She lifted her weapon for another blow.

  I couldn't afford to let her hit me again. Quickly, I reached into my inventory and yanked out the first weapon I found.

  It was a mace, its head a solid, round ball the color of molten iron.

  I didn’t recognize it, but in my defense, I didn’t have much time to consider it. I whipped it up to repel the incoming blow.

  The two weapons clashed, and while I wasn't able to knock her weapon away, I was able to stop her blow. Sadly, that left us in a struggle of strength.

  That weapon of hers had to be magic. It had way too much force behind it for what her thin arms should be able to put out. I should have been able to just shove such a wispy little fighter away, but somehow, she was holding her own.

  While my attention was on our struggle, the Mary chick seemed to have different concerns.

  Her eyes went wide as she took in my weapon. “That’s—” She cut herself off, taking a hand off her weapon to reach for the hilt of my mace. “Give that to me!” she screamed, a mixture of pain, sorrow, and anger on her face. As soon as that hand came off her weapon, the pressure behind her blade seemed to vanish.