The Blue Dragon: A Claire-Agon Dragon Book (Dragon Series 2) Page 3

  “Well, Azex was right about one thing,” Jayrel said, looking at Richtor as the man held the pouch and stood unmoving, but his eyelids were blinking in the strong sunlight.

  “What would that be?” Richtor finally spoke.

  “That the ship would be docking by the time your man fetched the eyeglass,” Jayrel said.

  “I’m right about more than just that,” Azex said, surprising the other men.

  There was a moment of pause before Jayrel ventured his question. “Yes?”

  Jayrel tried to peer into the shadow that concealed Azex’s face. The eyes were barely visible, and the shadow seemed to dance and glimmer as if purposely trying to disguise the master assassin. Azex looked at the harbor and then back at his companions before speaking. “I think I know what killed the first messenger, and more importantly, what this conclave is about.”

  “What would that be?” Richtor asked as Jayrel stared at Azex, giving the man his full attention.

  “War,” Azex said.

  “War with whom?” Richtor asked, confusion in his voice.

  “Yes, with whom?” Jayrel repeated the question.

  Azex never took his eyes off the bay, watching the approaching ship intently. “War with the dragons.”

  The large Tynirian cargo ship sailed up to the broad docks of Balax in the Balarian Bay, its sails finally dumping the wind as the ship was slowed, preparing to stop at its destination.

  “Have you been to Balaria before, Master Historian?” the ship’s captain asked from their viewpoint on the bridge toward the rear of the ship.

  Diamedes wiped the sweat from his brow and put the handkerchief in his shirt pocket. “Yes, a few times, but never for something this big before.”

  “I take it you’ll be staying at the embassy’s quarters?”

  “Yes, King Akula was most gracious in affording me accommodations. Otherwise it can be a bit treacherous in Balax for the more civilized amongst us,” Diamedes said.

  “Well, I’ll never get used to having two kings in the first place,” the captain said. “It makes things . . . well, awkward would be a good word.”

  “It avoided war and kept the brothers from killing one another. I would say that is a good start in these times, wouldn’t you agree, Captain Godfrey?” Diamedes asked.

  “Furl the last lanyard sail,” the captain ordered, ignoring the historian for a moment. “I think both our kings are propped up a bit by their uncle, Duke Uthor, if you ask me.”

  “Still, a good thing as the duke is a good man, though he has more than a few obnoxious family members,” Diamedes stated. “Perhaps we can discuss current events with the Ulathan representative when he arrives.”

  “It could be a she.” The captain looked sideways at the older man, giving him that know-it-all look.

  “Luckily for us, not this time. Lady Gemma, from house Vandersot, is occupied elsewhere, thank the maker. No, I think he’ll send his cousin or perhaps one of his champions to represent his interests at the conclave. I doubt he trusts the Kesh further than he could toss one of the magic-users,” Diamedes said.

  “Yes, a wiser choice,” Captain Godfrey said. “Our kings will need someone who can take care of themselves and not be pushed around by the Kesh.”

  “Or the Balarians,” Diamedes added. “Do you have a place to stay in town or will you stay on your ship?”

  “My ship for now,” the captain replied, looking intently at his crew as they threw ropes toward the workers on the dock, preparing to make their final moves and secure the ship. “We’re going to take on a load of goods from Safron and return within a couple of days to Tyniria. Don’t worry, we’ll be back in time to pick you up.”

  “Who said I was worried?” Diamedes asked, taking his kerchief out again and wiping the sweat from his brow.

  “Ah huh.” The captain nodded and smiled. “You can always hitch a ride on the Ulathan ship if I don’t return in time, but an idle ship makes no gold. I got to keep this large tub afloat and pay its crew, and that requires gold, Master Diamedes. Always, I must keep moving.”

  “I see. So will you dine tonight in Balax? Can I expect your presence at the ambassador’s quarters?”

  The captain stopped to look at Diamedes closely before answering. “You couldn’t pay me enough money to sleep for a single night in this town. I value my neck too much for that. No, I’ll stay on board the Porter and sleep in my own quarters. You just watch your step, Master Historian, I’ve brought more than one passenger here only to return them to their homeland for burial. It’s a dangerous place to be.”

  Diamedes had just put his kerchief back in his pocket and then grabbed it again and wiped his cheeks and neck. “Aye, more dangerous than the North more than likely.” He noticed it seemed hotter now and dabbed at the beads of sweat forming around his face.

  Chapter 3

  Triumph

  Seth watched mortified as the dragon attacked. It swung its tail and hit three of their soldiers squarely across their chests, knocking them back and flinging their tall pikes in all directions. A nasty claw eviscerated another soldier who got too close to its front with his spear.

  “Hold your ground!” the commander ordered, yelling as he held a long arm out in front of him, trying to keep the beast’s attention on him and off of his men. Alyssa pulled her short bow, nocking an arrow and loosing it at the dragon’s head. It ricocheted off of its massive snout, falling harmlessly to the ground.

  “Do something, wizard,” Krom shouted from next to the commander when he held his shield out in his left hand and swung his club whenever a claw came too close.

  “Watch out, Krom!” Alyssa screamed, seeing the dragon’s head lunge toward the small cleric, its maw open, displaying a row of deadly fangs and teeth.

  Krom was almost knocked to his feet as the beast’s snout hit his shield and held, just barely. The cleric’s club swung up and over the shield, landing solidly on the top part of the dragon’s nose. That must have been a sensitive part of the beast’s anatomy as it reared its head back and up, far from the little man, roaring an ear-deafening sound that indicated pain, anger, and even hate.

  Seth saw the beast take in a breath of air, and a blue glow started to well from within the beast’s mouth. It half lunged its head again and let loose a large bolt of lightning that hit Krom square on his wooden shield, completely destroying it into flying fragments that burned and were scorched black. The force of the blast knocked the man down, and he lost his club as his right hand released its grip on the weapon.

  Seth leaped forward, straddling the cleric and holding his short sword in front of him, protecting his companion. Never had Seth thought his weapon was inadequate, until now.

  Another arrow flew by Seth’s head and hit the dragon on the roof of its mouth as it appeared to be preparing to release another lightning bolt. Its front right claw casually swept out and gored one solder while knocking another’s spear from his hands.

  The beast roared again, closing and opening its jaws in quick succession, trying to dislodge the missile from where it was imbedded in its mouth. Seth saw Kaylor stepping into his field of vision, holding his staff in front of him, pointing it at the dragon.

  “Ilekrika alus,” the man exclaimed, and a bolt of lightning shot from the wizard’s staff, hitting the beast square on its forehead. Seth was not prepared for what happened next.

  The wizard’s bolt of lightning was instantly absorbed by the beast, and its scales suddenly glowed brightly. The row of plate armor along its spine crackled and discharged excessive energy as the beast took in the wizard’s electrical attack.

  Without warning, and indeed it appeared without intent, several large bolts of stray static electricity discharged from the beast’s armored fins along its spine. The bolts were attracted to the metallic armor of the soldiers, and several of them shook, dropping their weapons as the current flowed into and through their bodies. Seth noticed the dragon’s wings gave off small electrical bursts of energy as they unfur
led and swept through the air. Sand was instantly lifted and carried aloft by the newly created windstorm.

  It appeared that six of their soldiers fell when the energy dissipated, leaving less than half standing against the beast. Seth heard Kaylor speak. “Oh crap . . .”

  “I don’t think that was very effective,” Alyssa said, coming to stand between the wizard and Seth and nocking yet another arrow.

  Kaylor’s apprentice waved his hand in front of him and tried to clear his eyes, lowering one of the orbs in the process. The effect on the dragon was immediate, as if a veil was lifted from its vision, while his eyes narrowed as it looked in their direction.

  “Hold it higher, fool,” Kaylor commanded, but too late. Another blast came from the dragon’s mouth at his apprentice’s feet, and the man was hurled into the air, much as Krom experienced. His own staff and orb flew from his hands, and only the soft sand of the beach cushioned his fall.

  Seth sheathed his sword and pulled out a small leather pouch that he had filled weeks earlier with water and a dash of poison. The poison was from the sand viper snake, which was one of the deadliest and most expensive toxins known. Using his free hand, he pulled his dagger from his inside shirt pocket and held it against the leather pouch.

  “What are you doing?” Alyssa asked, looking at him and frowning as she strung her bow back, preparing to shoot another arrow.

  “This is the only way to stop the creature,” Seth said, looking for an opening as the remaining soldiers renewed their attack under the leadership of Captain Eiry, who was now pressing forward, trying to get the dragon’s attention again.

  A third bolt was aimed by the dragon at Kaylor, and the wizard held his staff up, which absorbed the lightning bolt, much the same as the dragon had done. It almost seemed to be a stalemate between the two energy users.

  Seth saw his opening as the beast started to suck in air and ready yet another breath bolt from deep within its massive maw. Running forward right up to the commander, Seth drew his dagger across the taut leather pouch, scoring the material, and he instantly felt the poisoned water spilling across his hand. With great effort and aim, he hurled the pouch like a missile right at the dragon’s open mouth.

  “That’s it, Seth, kill it!” Alyssa exclaimed, loosing her own arrow at the beast’s eye. The creature actually blinked as the arrow arrived before the pouch, and again her missile ricocheted off of the outer eyelid.

  “Damn,” Seth muttered, watching as his pouch sailed through the air, a faint stream of water trailing behind the gash he had inflicted upon it. Just when it reached the dragon’s open mouth, it clamped down tightly and the pouch impacted on its snout, falling to land and break open on the large, sand-covered slab of rock where the battle was taking place.

  “Damn,” Seth heard Alyssa mutter as his pouch deflated, emptying its contents and lying useless on the rock.

  The dragon stepped forward as its head reached past Seth, going after either Alyssa or Kaylor. For a second, Seth thought the beast was ignoring him till he saw its left front claw coming down like a blacksmith’s hammer on a working anvil. “Watch out!” Seth exclaimed, pushing the commander to the side and falling away as the massive front leg came crashing down where the two men had just stood a split second earlier.

  Seth understood that the dragon could fight with several weapons at the same time as he lay prone on the ground and witnessed the tail striking another pikeman and knocking the man, either dead or unconscious, to the ground.

  Seth rolled over on his side so he was now facing his companions as he drew his short sword from its sheath, and he saw the dragon attempt to bite the Kesh wizard. Kaylor planted his staff in the sandy ground just beyond the slab of rock and mouthed some words that Seth could not hear over the roaring of the dragon. Instantly, the sand at the wizard’s feet flew up, obscuring the man, but not before Seth’s sharp eyes fancied seeing the wizard suddenly drop into the sandy earth as the dragon’s mouth snapped shut on empty air, making a loud cracking sound as if from a whip being snapped by a slaver.

  The other leg and claw reached out for Alyssa, and the nimble thief dropped her bow, jumping backward and to her side, trying to clear herself from the beast’s attack. Too late. Seth saw a nasty, long crimson line open up on her leg from waist to knee as one lone claw scraped her thin leather armor and cut her flesh open in a huge gash.

  Alyssa landed on her back, losing her momentum and grabbing her leg, trying to roll and stay clear. Seth broke eye contact to look for the beast’s tail and jumped to the side as its massive belly almost crushed him on the edge of the rock slab. He swung and cut the dragon’s wing to no avail other than to put a slice into it. He knew Alyssa would die, and he was hard-pressed to save himself and Krom, much less anyone else.

  Then, like a brown bolt of lightning, Seth saw from the corner of his eye a figure leaping from the top of the cave’s entrance over thirty feet high. The figure wielded an enormous sword, and as gravity pulled the leaping warrior down, it landed at the base of the dragon’s head where it attached to the beast’s neck. In the same arcing movement, the two-handed sword plunged completely into the base of the creature’s skull, sinking all the way to its hilt, as the fur-clad warrior leaped clear and somersaulted in the sand next to Alyssa.

  Graz had returned.

  Slowly, as if the creature had simply tired of all the fighting, it fell forward onto its belly, its head landing on the soft ground, yet again throwing up a huge cloud of sand that took a minute to dissipate and clear. The dragon was dead.

  There was no cheering. The survivors were too tired to celebrate the moment, and indeed, most were still standing in awe, allowing the shock of the combat to diminish, and as their adrenaline left, they became weaker and could hardly believe they were still alive.

  Graz had actually reached down and pulled the small sword from Alyssa’s sheath after he landed next to her, and now he looked around, presumably for his employer.

  “Where did the Kesh go to?” Captain Eiry asked, leaning on his long arm and breathing heavily.

  “I wonder, my—” Seth failed to complete his sentence as the ground stirred several feet away, and suddenly, with sand flying in every which direction, the two men, wizard and apprentice, suddenly appeared as they rose from the ground through the sand. The apprentice Abruxus shook his head, spilling sand from his hair and pointy, brimmed hat, and he coughed, trying to clear his lungs.

  Kaylor seemed unfazed and walked over to Graz, ignoring the Balarians. “What took you so long?”

  Graz looked almost ridiculous holding Alyssa’s slim short sword in his massive hand, and he turned to face the Kesh wizard. “Big rock, block path. Had to climb much. You not dead. You no complain.”

  Kaylor showed the first sign of emotion that Seth could tell, the barely perceptual curl of his bottom lip as he bit it from clenched teeth, and then, just as quickly as he noticed it, the calm façade of the Kesh returned and his voice was soft and melodious, charming even, as if wooing a courtesan at a fine Balax festival. “Yes, most observant, for one of your kind. A fine kill, Graz, that was a mighty strike. Your clan will sing of this deed for a century at least.”

  That must have been some kind of northern compliment as the tall, massive barbarian smiled, which in and of itself was also unnerving to Seth. Seth couldn’t remember a time that he, as the most feared assassin in all of Agon, was so flustered by the actions of so few.

  “Yes, that was mighty strike. Graz Chieftain will hear of this. Graz take home prize now.” With that, the man looked at Alyssa and, in a most ungentlemanly fashion, dropped her sword in her lap, making her wince in pain as it bounced off of her legs. He took long strides and started to climb on top of the blue dragon, using its outstretched leg to reach its back.

  Graz reached behind him and pulled a small hatchet out from the small of his back where it must have been tucked away under the massive leather belt that the man wore. He gripped his sword at the hilt to hold himself steady, and he st
arted hacking away at the scales and skin around the embedded sword, occasionally taking time to wiggle the long sword back and forth, loosening it. So engrossed in the man’s actions, Seth forgot about the plight of his comrades.

  “A little help would be nice,” Alyssa said.

  Seth turned and looked at her. The sandy ground was drenched in her blood, and her leather was stained an icky black from her blood. She looked pale and had the foresight to have pulled a rag from her pack on her back and hold it against her wound. Despite her actions, she was losing blood quickly and looked weak.

  “Let me help,” Captain Eiry said, suddenly dropping his long arm and running over to the small thief, taking her rag and pressing it against her leg harder.

  “Seth, see to Krom. He’s the only one who can save me,” Alyssa said, her voice weak. “Here, use my water flask.”

  Seth took the leather flask from Alyssa and returned to the small prone cleric where he lay. Sand had covered half his body, and Seth knelt, wiping the dirt away from the holy man’s face before opening the flask and pouring a generous portion of water onto the man’s head.

  Krom sputtered as water and sand was sucked into his mouth when he came to and took a deep breath. “What in the name of Akun happened?”

  Seth smiled at the small man and reached a hand under his head, helping him up. “You took a blast of some type of magical energy from that dragon.”

  “I did?” Krom asked, struggling to stand, and Seth had to drop the flask to grip the small but stocky man, firmly allowing him to regain his feet. “I feel like I was cooked in an oven and someone sprinkled rotten eggs all over me.”

  Seth smelled the sulfuric scent coming from the cleric and nodded. “Yeah, whatever it was, you are lucky to be alive.”

  “It was an electrical attack,” Kaylor stated, walking over and observing Krom as if he was a dirty dog or some kind of unwelcome rodent.

  “An eclectricunal what?” Krom muttered, shaking his head as more sand flew from his short hair.