Dragon eye, p.10
Dragon Eye, page 10
part #4 of The Battle Wizard Saga Series
“There’s more than one,” Sig said.
Grampa Thor sat shakily on the third log, which still lay beside the moat. “Let me catch my breath so I can think again.”
“If the moat goes all the way around, there are probably a lot more than two serpents,” Sig said. He looked to the sky. Still no dragons visible. “Dragons seem to have full confidence in their serpent guardians.”
“We need to cross before more show up,” Grampa said. “They may not have encountered anything as fast as you.”
Sig nodded. “If I can get to the other side, we’ll be able to attack them from both sides.”
He watched the two serpents swim back and forth under the makeshift bridge. Sig sprinted onto the timbers when both swam simultaneously away from the bridge,.
Grampa hurled a flaming blast at the nearest serpent. The water boiled briefly between it and the logs, pinning it under. Sig shot past that snake.
The other arrowed out of the water—its gaping mouth aimed at Sig, who leapt high. The serpent missed, slamming down on the logs. Sig landed on the serpent’s back and drove Aðalbrandr through to pin it to the bridge.
Grampa sprinted across the moat while throwing fiery globes at the remaining snake, keeping it at bay.
Grampa passed and Sig pulled his sword free to run after him. The pinned serpent slid slowly back into the water. A third serpent sped toward them—cavernous maw held high. Sig grabbed Grampa Thor and leapt to the shore as the new serpent rocketed over the timbers, just missing them.
From where he had landed on the grass, Grampa rolled over on his back and spit out stalks and leaves. “Let’s plan on going back a different way,” he muttered.
“I’ll call Lyft,” Sig deadpanned.
Grampa looked at him blankly.
Chapter 25
Sig scanned overhead. Only a few high, puffy clouds and the towering cliff that was their goal stood out against the vast blue sky.
The emptiness made him nervous. He knew dragons were out there—somewhere. He preferred to face his opponents. If he were to reflect on it, despite adrenaline surges, calm predominated when he was engaged in battle. Even when he quarterbacked his high school football team to the state finals. But he wasn’t prone to reflection.
“It’s an open field between here and the mountain,” Grampa said. “Perfect hunting ground for a dragon—or dragons.”
“Why don’t we see any?”
“They delegated protection of the forest to the thorn barrier and the moat to the serpents,” Grampa scanned the prairie. “Maybe there’s something else out there.”
“Or they want us farther in the open—away from the forest—so we can’t hide,” Sig said.
“You’re just a ray of sunshine.”
“Let’s get moving before we talk it to death,” Sig said and strode forth.
After a “humph,” Grampa followed.
The plain gradually rose toward the cliff that loomed above them like a crumbling, pock-marked column. It resembled Shiprock in New Mexico, the eroded remnant of the throat of a volcano.
They walked through three-foot tall golden grasses with seed heads bobbing in a light breeze. The meadow looked like good grazing for some type of herbivore. There was a fresh fruity smell… apples? Scattered spindly, umbrella-like trees provided limited shade.
“Reminds me of the Serengeti,” Grampa said.
“Yeah, that’s what’s been nagging at me. Lots of predators.”
“Wonder what this world’s version of lions and hyenas look like.”
“And you called me a ray of sunshine?” Sig scoffed as he continued to scan the surroundings while they trudged toward the massif. “I’d rather find prey like wildebeest or zebra equivalents. I’m hungry again.”
A shadow dimmed the sunshine. Sig glanced up, then threw himself at Grampa, knocking him to the ground. The dragon’s glittering talons slashed past and scraped the ground. The wings flared and came down with a rumble and pop, propelling the dragon skyward.
Sig rolled to his feet and drew his sword.
Another dragon swooped, mouth wide. Greenish fire shot out. Grampa hurled his own flame. It met the dragon blaze and blocked it.
You can fight fire with fire.
The first dragon dove at them—breathe blazing.
Sig raised his sword instinctively. To his surprise, the flames split around it and passed to either side of him.
“Look out,” Grampa hollered. Smoke rose from his hair and shirt. “You deflected it into me.”
The dragons flew skyward and glided to a landing fifteen yards away.
“Sorry. Didn’t know it would do that. I expected to be toast—literally.”
They were huge—and beautiful. The smaller dragon’s head was almost twice as high as Sig’s nine-foot height. It was over thirty feet from chest to the end of its croup, if the parts of a dragon had the same names as a horse’s. Including the long neck and tail, it must have been over fifty feet from snout to tip of the tail.
Its scales had a sheen that resembled blue granite. Based on what they’d learned in the Templar’s cave, the scales were probably harder than the stone. Below lapis horns, silver eyes were its most startling feature. They narrowed while measuring Sig and reflected obvious intelligence,.
“Tu hai la spade del dragone,” it said in a melodious contralto voice.
“Yes, he carries a dragon sword,” Grampa replied.
“Did it speak Italian?” Sig asked.
Grampa nodded. “He is a battle wizard,” gesturing at Sig. “I am a former battle wizard.”
The larger copper-colored dragon turned golden eyes to Grampa. “Why former?” It asked in a deep baritone English accent.
“I was near death and passed the amulet to my great-grandson.” Grampa said, again pointing at Sig.
“Why have you come here?” the slate blue dragon asked.
“My powers have been stolen,” Sig said. “We came to find the dragon who created this sword to seek help in recovering them.”
“How did you come?” the blue dragon asked.
“Another wizard had a transport jewel,” Sig said. “A pink pearl.”
The copper dragon growled. “What is his name?”
“Leonardo…, uh Maginardi,” Sig said with a glance at Grampa for confirmation.
“Kill them!” the dragon thundered and lunged, spouting flame.
Sig jumped in front of Grampa and blocked the blaze.
“Stop,” the blue dragon roared and soared to land with wings outstretched to shield Sig and Grampa. “A battle wizard does not kill dragons. They are dragon friends.”
“Not unless forced to,” Sig muttered.
“They are friends of the Templar wizard,” the copper dragon bellowed. “He kills dragons.”
“The Templar is not a battle wizard,” the blue dragon said.
“The Templar can’t use the gem. Only a dragon or one with dragon essence can. This one has the dragon sword.” The copper dragon glared at Sig.
“The Templar is no friend of ours,” Grampa said. “He used Sig to come here and then stranded us.”
“Where is he?”
“We don’t know. I wouldn’t be here if it were his choice. Leonardo tried to leave me behind. Sig would have been conveyed here alone.”
“He disappeared after we arrived here,” Sig said.
The copper dragon’s head drooped. “He killed Alemnesh and took her treasures. Now, he is on this world.”
“He told us he and Alemnesh declared a truce and he helped her come to this world,” Sig said.
The blue dragon shook her head. “He led the dragon killers. All they wanted were treasures. They killed more than half of us, just for our possessions. They killed Zsigmund’s first love.”
“Now he’s back for more,” the copper dragon grated. “With your help.”
Chapter 26
“We will help fight the Templar wizard,” Sig said. “I’m Sig, and he is Thorval Arnsohn, a wizard.”
The blue dragon studied them. After a long pause she said “I am Effrosyni” She turned to the copper dragon, who was staring off into the distance.
Presently, his gaze returned to Sig and Grampa Thor. “I am Zsigmund. Once called the protector. No longer.”
Despite having no familiarity with dragons, Sig felt Effrosyni’s glance at Zsigund was full of sorrow. “The Templar attacked one of our brethren,” she said. “You may have noticed we abandoned observing your progress through the forest. We sought to help our fellow dragon.”
“Too late,” Zsigmund said. “He is dead.”
The pit of Sig’s stomached dropped. Their worst fears about the Templar were coming true. “I am so, so sorry for your loss and for our part in bringing him here. But we want to help.”
Smoke puffed from Zsigmund’s nostrils as he glowered at them. Then he leapt into the air and flew toward the mountain.
Effrosyni watched him ascend and leave then turned back. “He has suffered greatly. As one of the mightier dragons, he feels protective. He led us in the fight against humans and in finding this world. Now he has not only lost his mate on Earth to the Templar, but now a good friend here as well. He may blame you.”
“I understand, it must hurt greatly to suffer the loss of a mate for thousands of years so strongly,” Sig said. “How can we help defeat the Templar?”
“We are assembling to plan our next moves in my home—there,” her wing rose to indicate the towering rock. “You must come. I could carry one of you, but not both for I am with child. Zsigmund could carry another, but I doubt he would trust you on his back.”
Sig’s eyes diverted to her belly, but saw no unexpected swelling.
The corners of her mouth moved upward. “It takes a crisis to bring solitary dragons together.” She lifted into the air and carved a turn through toward her home.
“I didn’t want to ride on his back as much as he didn’t want to carry us,” Grampa groused. “I’d be afraid he’d drop me in spite.”
“Let’s go,” Sig said. “It’s not like we weren’t planning to walk there anyway.”
As Sig and Grampa hiked toward her home, several more dragons arrived at the rocky spire. They flew in from multiple directions and landed halfway up the side. Drawing closer, Sig saw what looked like a flat spot in front of an opening— a cave.
One dragon flapped to a landing carrying a beast hanging limply from its talons. Dinner is served?
“Do we climb up there?” Grampa asked with a frown when they came to the base of the mountain.
“It will be dark before we reach the cave. Let’s wait for morning. I’ll cut some grass for bedding.” Sig began to slash grasses when a shadow floated over him. He looked up to see a dragon with iridescent emerald colored scales on the top and lighter green along its belly glide in to land beside them. It was almost as large and powerful looking as Zsigmund.
“You are the battle wizard,” the dragon said. It wasn’t a question. “And the wizard. I am Oleksander.”
“Sig,” he said raising his hand, then pointed at Grampa “My great-grandfather Thorval.”
“I understand you are to participate in our war planning session,” Oleksander said. “I am your escort.”
“To scale the mountain with us?” Sig asked.
“No, climb aboard.” He crouched and held out a front leg.
“You can carry us both?” Sig asked.
The dragon merely nodded.
Sig put a foot on the dragon’s knee and leapt onto its back.
Oleksander gave a chuff that sounded like a laugh. “That’s one way of doing it. You don’t have to leap, I’ll lift you,” he said to Grampa.
With obvious trepidation, Grampa Thor stepped onto the dragon’s foot and was raised high enough for Sig to help him on board.
“Ready,” Oleksander called, and then lunged into the air.
Sig held onto a steel-hard emerald scale with one hand and steadied Grampa with the other, while they soared up the cliff face. The area fronting the cave was much larger than it had looked in the distance.
After the dragon settled to the ground, Sig slid off and helped Grampa down.
“Not a bad way to travel,” Grampa said when his feet were planted on an unmoving base.
The cave entrance was huge, and it grew larger as they went in, as befitted the huge beasts moving about inside. At least ten dragons were assembled. Sig stayed alert to make sure he and Grampa didn’t become tramplees. It could easily happen without the trampler noticing.
“Follow me,” Oleksander said and strode into the cave.
Sig marveled at the dragons’ varied colors—brilliant red, deep maroon, … even a silver. Light played across the silver dragon’s scales as it moved—shading from white to gray to black and back again—reminding Sig of a monochromatic expressionistic painting he’d seen some time, somewhere. There were massive beasts like the copper dragon and Oleksander, others more slender and supple like Effrosyni.
All of the dragons eyed Sig and Grampa warily as the two humans passed. Sig felt as welcome as a porn star in a convent.
“Eat first,” Oleksander said over his shoulder, as he led them deeper into the labyrinth. “Then I will show you to your quarters. We meet tomorrow after the rest arrive.”
“How many others are coming?” Sig asked.
“There are sixty-six of battle age.”
“So many?” Grampa sad. “I didn’t realize that number had escaped Earth.”
“Far fewer did. Without humans killing us for the last millennium, our numbers have built. Not all will come. Some will stay behind due to responsibilities and others because of distance. I expect thirty to forty tomorrow, at most.”
“The Templar said he was guarding dragon treasures and dragons would come back for what they left behind,” Sig said.
Oleksander’s long neck bent, and his head swiveled to look down and back at Sig without a break in its stride. “Dragons don’t leave their treasures behind. Dragons wouldn’t have left Earth if we couldn’t bring our treasures here. All of them.”
He led them through a small dark cavern into a large space illuminated by glowing orbs floating near the ceiling. Six dragons had gathered. The scene looked like a scaly rainbow. A yellow and a blue dragon were lined up between a red dragon and a green dragon. Their tails were pointed at Sig and Thor. Two dragons on the other side, one gold and the other coffee-colored faced the four nearest.
Sig realized the dragons were eating something in the middle of the group—or several somethings. A dragon ripped a piece of meat free, raised its head and swallowed.
“Dinner is served,” Oleksander said. “You are welcome to join. I’ll return in a while to show you to your accommodations.”
“Uh… I … we …,” Sig mumbled.
“Our dining habits differ from yours,” Grampa said to Oleksander.
The massive emerald dragon stopped and then the edge of his lips curled upward. “It has been a long time. I’d forgotten humans’ strange eating habits. You burn your food?”
“And you burn humans,” Grampa said.
“Never mind him,” Sig said. “We call it cooking.”
“Ah yes. Well, take what you need. They won’t bite,” he said, nodding at the dining group. “And find somewhere to cook your meal,” Oleksander said. “But do it where we don’t have to smell burning flesh.” As he resumed walking, his head shook and he made the chuffing noises that sounded like laughter.
“You heard him,” Grampa said. “Go get us some steaks. The others won’t bite.”
Sig looked from Grampa to the dragons and back. “Why don’t you get us some?”
“You have the giant steak knife,” Grampa looked at the hilt of the sword sticking up over Sig’s shoulder.
Sig walked slowly forward. No need for sudden moves that might startle. He got close and the yellow dragon moved over, making space. Sig now knew what a mouse felt like surrounded by a group of cats.
There were three carcasses. One was like the animals that dined under the tree they slept in last night. He slowly unsheathed Aðalbrandr . The gold dragon lifted its head and eyed the sword. It looked across at another dragon with a raised eyebrow ridge before resuming eating. The rest of the dragons continued to rip and tear at the meat. Since they seemed occupied with the legs and the belly, Sig worked his way around to cut into the back.
As he began, the royal blue dragon with scales that darkened to midnight blue on its legs paused and looked at him.
“Is it OK if I cut here?” Sig asked.
“Be my guest. There is enough for all,” the dragon said in a deep bass and bent back to eating.
“It’s not as tasty as fresh, self-kill,” the coffee-shaded beast said. “These were brought in from near the sea to keep from decimating the herds in this area.”
Sig remembered helping his dad butcher a deer. Perhaps the cuts were the same. He cut a good-sized roast from the upper flank and backed out—again slowly.
He and Grampa went outside to cook. Grampa summoned flame. “Let’s see if I can prepare it medium rare,” Grampa said. “Be nice if we had a spicy rub.” He looked around and shrugged.
It wasn’t the same as cooking over hickory or mesquite, but at least the meat wasn’t raw. Sig was hungry enough, however, that raw may not have stopped him. They finished their meal quickly.
“There you two are. I followed the scent of burning meat,” Oleksander said. “Come, I’ll show you to your quarters.
He took them through the main gallery to a small cave low enough that Sig had to duck to enter. It went in about twenty feet. Oleksander’s head came down so he could look in. “I thought you’d feel safe in here. It’s too small for a dragon to enter—at least those dragons that will be here.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness,” Sig said.
“Bare rock bed,” Grampa said. “I’ve slept on worse.” He walked to the back of the cave and lie down next to the wall. “I wonder if your dragon will come to this meeting.”
Sig bedded down nearby. “Let’s worry about that after we get rid of the Templar.”
