A bond of flame, p.1
A Bond of Flame, page 1
A Bond
of
Flame
Dragon Riders of Osnen Book 2
RICHARD FIERCE
A Bond of Flame © 2020 by Richard Fierce
This is a work of fiction. All events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form without the express permission of the publisher.
Cover design by germancreative
Cover art by Rosauro Ugang
Dragonfire Press
e-Book ISBN: 978-1-947329-26-3
First Edition: 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
1
The Necra Desert stretched like an affliction as far as I could see, nothing but rolling hills of dark sand and heat. Every so often, a gust of wind would blow over the caravan, but it did little to bring any reprieve from the high temperature. And when the breeze left as quickly as it appeared, it always made things worse by leaving me with a mouth full of gritty sand.
I trudged alongside a massive wooden cart that contained something valuable, though I didn’t know what it was. The man who had hired me as a guard didn’t provide any information other than where they were going and how much he was paying. I suspected it was some sort of animal. There were odd noises that often came from within the cart, and I’d seen the caravan leader toss a pig inside.
At this point, I was forced to take any job that kept me moving. I didn’t know if Master Pevus had dragoons searching for me, but I wasn’t going to take any chances by staying in any one place too long.
Besides, I was tracking down every rumor I heard about unbonded dragons. In the month since my escape from the Citadel, I’d traveled hundreds of miles. Every time I thought I was getting close to finding something, it turned out to be unsubstantiated claims or simple farmers who didn’t know the difference between a dragon and a large bird. My suspicions that Master Pevus had lied about where the school got their dragons grew with every failure.
I lifted my canteen and drank sparingly of the warm water that remained. Our trip across the desert had taken several days longer than planned and our supplies were running low. I licked my parched lips and heaved a sigh as I felt sand grinding between my toes. After this job was done, I didn’t want to see another desert for a very long time.
A droplet of sweat dripped down my forehead and into my eye before I could wipe it away, temporarily blinding me. I muttered to myself as I used the hem of my shirt to wipe my eye, vainly trying to use a portion that had the least amount of sand on it. Moments like this provided the only excitement on this trip. The master of the caravan had made guarding his cart seem like it was going to be highly dangerous. The only danger I’d seen so far was a rattlesnake, and it had steered clear of our small group.
“Sand Devil!”
The alarmed cry broke the monotony like shattered glass. I quickly drew my blade and looked for the scout who cried the warning. It was Geoff. He was roughly a hundred yards from the main caravan, standing atop a hill. He waved his arms frantically. I had never seen a Sand Devil before, but the other guards had tried to describe one a few days ago. When the creature topped the hill, my eyes widened in disbelief.
It was a lizard-like creature, roughly ten feet in length. Along its back were spines that rose two feet in height, though they were covered with a large flap of skin that made the spines appear to be a fin. It moved quickly, gaining on Geoff faster than I would have expected. Another guard, Vance, sprinted ahead.
Adrenaline started to course through me and I followed after Vance. Running was made difficult as the sand shifted beneath my boots, but we arrived just as the Sand Devil was snapping at Geoff’s heels. Vance weaved to the right and jabbed his spear into the creature’s side, but it was covered in thick scales and the strike didn’t pierce through.
“Take the other side!” Vance yelled at me.
I moved to the creature’s left side and kept my sword up and ready. Now that it was outnumbered, the Sand Devil backstepped defensively but kept its gaze on Geoff.
“What did you do to make him so angry?” Vance asked jokingly.
“I think it smells the—” Geoff abruptly stopped talking at a glare from Vance.
“Yeah, I know what it’s after,” Vance said lowly. His grip on the spear tightened. “And it’ll have to kill us all before it gets anywhere near it.”
I assumed they were talking about whatever was in the cart. My palms were sweating, and the hilt of my sword was starting to slip from my grasp. I cursed my mangled hand and quickly brushed my palm along my pant leg.
That was all the Sand Devil needed. It whipped around in a circle, slamming its tail forcefully into Vance. The blow sent the man tumbling into the sand. The Sand Devil opened its maw wide and charged me. My feet faltered in the sand as I tried to move out of the creature’s reach, and I fell onto my knees.
The Sand Devil screeched madly as its heavy body crashed into me, throwing me face-first into the sand. I gasped, the air forced from my lungs, and tried to get out from under the beast. It felt as if a large stone was on top of me, and it was impossible to get free. Panic started to set in. I struggled to breathe, not only from the weight atop me but also from my head being buried in the sand.
Just as my vision started to become fuzzy, the weight of the beast was removed. I rolled onto my back and inhaled precious air, then looked around to see what was happening. Vance had drawn the Sand Devil’s attention and was keeping it at bay by thrusting at it with his spear. Geoff was lying in the sand, unmoving. I struggled to my feet and retrieved my sword from the sand, then hurried over to Geoff.
He was breathing, and he wasn’t wounded from what I could see, but he still needed to be looked over by the old wizard who doubled as a healer. I turned back toward Vance.
“How do we kill this thing?” I asked.
“Its scales are too strong,” Vance replied. “We can only pierce the flesh of its belly. We’ll have to find a way to flip it onto its back.”
“That seems impossible,” I said, shaking my head.
“Very few things are impossible.”
The Sand Devil charged him suddenly. Vance threw himself to the side, narrowly escaping the mouthful of sharp teeth that tried to bite him. As I watched the beast move, I noticed that the spiny fin on its back swayed back and forth in opposition to the rest of its body. An idea formed in my mind, but I hoped it wouldn’t get me killed.
“Get ready!” I shouted, then I tossed my sword down and sprinted straight toward the Sand Devil’s right side. When only a few strides remained between us, I leaped into the air and balled myself up, then crashed into its fin. The creature roared in surprise. I was briefly satisfied to feel the Sand Devil tip over beneath me until it continued in a roll and crushed me beneath it again.
Thankfully, this time I was face up, but I was unable to move. I didn’t bother to struggle knowing it was futile, and I was relieved when I heard the Sand Devil cry out in agony instead of anger. I felt the vibration of a few thumps as Vance struck the creature over and over. When the Sand Devil stopped moving, I felt someone grab ahold of my hand and pull me out from under the beast. It was Vance. He pulled me up onto my feet and I rubbed my lower back.
“You’re crazier than you look,” he said with a grin. “How’d you know that would work?”
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “It was a gamble.”
Vance chuckled and we walked around the dead Sand Devil. There were multiple puncture wounds in its underbelly and Vance’s spear protruded out of it.
“We should get Geoff back to the healer,” I said.
“Agreed.”
We each grabbed an end of the prone man and carried him back to the caravan. The leader instructed us to put him into the wizard’s cart, and we left Geoff in the care of the withered old man. Vance shared a private conversation with the leader, Rory, and I headed back to where the Sand Devil was. I inspected the odd creature, looking over its armored scales and running my fingers over them. They were smooth but hard as steel. I heard someone approaching and looked over my shoulder to see Vance.
“Is it possible to make a shield or something with its scales?” I asked, nodding toward the Sand Devil.
“Possibly,” Vance replied. “Though I’ve never seen it done before.”
I stared at the creature thoughtfully.
“Rory said the camels need a break from pulling the carts, so we’re going to make camp here for the night.”
“Who’s taking the first watch?” I asked.
“I will. You can take the next one, and if Geoff isn’t seriously injured, he can go last.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
“While the others set up camp, I need your help.”
“With what?”
“With preparing dinner,” Vance said with a knowing look at the Sand Devil.
2
After Vance and I had cut the Sand Devil open and separated the edible meat from the scales and skin, we put the meat in a large pan and left it cooking over an open flame. I wou
“You never want to eat this,” Vance said. He held up a roundish organ that he’d pulled from the Sand Devil’s insides.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know the real name of it, but I call it a poison ball. It’s full of some kind of toxic liquid. If you eat it, you’ll be sick as a dog for at least a week.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
Vance held it away from his body and used his other hand to slice through the top of the organ with a dagger. A foul odor immediately assaulted my nostrils. I coughed and covered my mouth and nose.
“With a smell like that, who in their right mind would eat it?” I asked.
“You’d be surprised what you’ll do when you’re starving. Anyway, the liquid inside wards off other Sand Devils. I guess that stench it gives off serves as a warning that there is a larger predator in the area. If there are any other Sand Devil’s around, it’ll keep them away.”
I followed Vance as he walked around the perimeter of the camp and poured some of the liquid out at various points. The liquid was a deep purple, almost black, and reminded me of the disgusting potion I’d drank for my test at the Citadel. I tried not to think about the place, but sometimes a memory would come to mind and I couldn’t help but entertain it. There were many things I missed about the school, but there was only one person that I hoped to see again.
“What did you do before coming out here?” Vance asked, breaking my reverie. He tossed the empty organ down and knelt long enough to grab a handful of sand, then rubbed his hands together.
“I did a few small jobs, similar to this,” I replied.
“What about before that? Before you started hiring your sword out?”
I remained silent for a moment. I doubted Vance was a servant of Master Pevus, but I also didn’t want people to know that I had failed out of the school.
“I lived at my father’s estate,” I replied, trying to be vague.
“What brought you out on the road?”
I shrugged. “I wanted to get out and see what was to be seen, I suppose. My father’s been dead for years, and my mother passed away a couple of months ago. That’s what really pushed me out of the door. It was difficult being around everything that reminded me of her.”
Vance nodded. “I’m sorry to hear about your loss,” he replied. “I can understand why that would bring you out into the world.”
We walked back to the cooking fire and Vance stirred the meat. He plucked a piece out of the pan and blew on it several times, then put it into his mouth.
“It’s done,” he announced, then he started scooping the meat into wooden bowls. Once the other members of the caravan had been served, Vance and I sat in the sand around the fire. The sun was setting and darkness was quickly enveloping the desert. I took a bite of the meat and found it was tender and moist, but the flavor was a bit lacking.
“What about you?” I asked. “What did you do before working with Rory?”
“I was a soldier in the king’s army.”
When I’d first met Vance, I had assumed he might have a military background by his leadership style. He was tall and muscular and had cropped brown hair, edged with a touch of gray, and a thin mustache.
Geoff stepped out of the wizard’s cart and joined us at the fire. He was more like me in stature, but he had the same hairstyle Vance did, though his hair was black. We were all low borns.
“How’re you holding up?” Vance asked him.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “The blasted Sand Devil just took me by surprise.”
“Good. You’ve got the third watch unless you don’t feel up to it?”
“I can do it.”
We ate in silence for a moment, then Vance started chuckling to himself.
“What’re you laughing at?” Geoff asked curiously.
“You missed Eldwin’s performance earlier. He literally threw himself at the Sand Devil.”
“You what?” Geoff said, turning his gaze on me. “Are you insane?”
“He might be,” Vance replied. “Though I don’t think so.”
“It worked,” I said simply, shrugging again.
“That it did,” Vance said.
Geoff smiled and shook his head.
“What about you?” I asked him. “What did you do before working with Rory?”
“Nothing exciting, that’s for sure,” Geoff said. “I worked for a noble managing his accounts and finances.”
“Tell him what made you leave such an easy gig,” Vance said.
Geoff rolled his eyes. “I got in trouble with the noble.”
“Tell him the rest of the story.”
“Fine, fine. I got caught sleeping with his daughter. He found us and threatened to kill me if I didn’t get far away from him and her.”
“That’s quite a tale,” I said. “Did you have any training before joining Rory?”
“Not much,” Geoff admitted. “I’d messed around with some soldiers at the local barracks, but I wasn’t a serious study. Vance has practically taught me everything I know.”
“It’s true,” Vance said. “He was a terrible swordsman.”
I laughed. “Well, I’m not much better, I’m sure. My father taught me some before he died, but I haven’t had any formal lessons or anything.”
The thing I liked about Vance, besides his general personality, was that he didn’t look at my mangled hand like most people did. When he’d hired me, he didn’t doubt me when I told him I could handle a blade despite my flaw.
“Maybe if you stay on after this job, I’ll teach you a few things as well,” Vance offered.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.
The sun was gone and aside from the cooking fire and some candles glowing within the carts, it was completely dark now.
“I’m off to watch the perimeter,” Vance said. “You two get some rest.”
He left and Geoff stood up. “I’m going to sleep. See you in a few hours.”
I was alone by the fire. The other caravan members were either in their carts asleep or preparing to sleep. I reached into my coin purse and withdrew the silver coin I’d received in my first test at the Citadel. The firelight gave it a dull glow.
As with my quest to find an unbonded dragon, I was no closer to finding out what importance the coin had, or why I had received it. I put the coin back into my purse and stared up at the dark sky.
I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Vance was standing over me, nudging me with his boot. I sat up and brushed the sand out of my hair.
“All quiet so far,” he said quietly. “I think it’s going to be a quiet night.”
“Those are the best kind,” I replied as I got to my feet. I adjusted my clothes and strapped my sword belt around my waist. “Is Geoff taking the third watch?”
“Yes. He seemed in good health to me, so there’s no reason he can’t watch the desert sand for a few hours.”
I nodded and wandered away from the camp. Although I’d only been asleep for a few hours, I felt refreshed and was wide awake. There was a chill in the air and I shivered. The desert was an odd place. During the day, it was so hot that it felt like your flesh would melt right off, but at night, it was cold enough to warrant warm clothes.
Rory had given me a thick robe for such nights, but I decided to be stubborn and not retrieve it from the community cart. I walked along the perimeter of the camp, staring out at the vast landscape. There were no sounds and no movement that I could see. I was ready to get back to civilization. Earlier, I’d overheard Rory telling Vance that we were still five days away from our destination. I sighed and continued on my walk around the camp.
It was quiet and uneventful for the next few hours. The chill grew stronger as the night progressed, so I stopped at the community cart and grabbed my robe. As I was heading back toward the perimeter, I heard a noise near the cart that housed the animal we were delivering. I drew my sword and quietly made my way closer. When I was roughly ten feet away, I saw Rory. He was dragging what remained of the Sand Devil’s corpse into the cart.
