Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) (55 page)

Return To
Gaul

Liah could hear Tirate shouting as she neared his chambers, and she paused in the doorway to listen with a faint smile. For some reason she derived great pleasure in hearing the man scream in frustration, although she had no explanation as to why. She pressed her ear to the door and delicately wrinkled her nose. Apparently the battle near the tunnel had begun, but no information had come forth yet about how badly Erik’s forces were beaten. She curled her lip and twirled the gold knife expertly between her fingers. Perhaps it was time to visit the girl in the cell again, if only to see her reaction when told all the dragons were dying in a hail of crossbow fire. Her husband was surely captured by now, or soon would be.

She knew from her own network of spies that anything that emerged from the tunnel would be shot within twenty paces. No dragon or army would ever come out of there alive. She strolled down the hallway towards the prison cells and contemplated what the girl’s reaction would be. That was the true enjoyment of the game she played with her victims. The slow, painful elimination of hope would break even the strongest will.

As she rounded the corner, she bumped into a tall figure walking the other way. “You clumsy fool! Watch where you…oh! It’s you, Devan!”

The tall, well-dressed man flashed a brilliant smile and bowed elegantly. “Please pardon my oafishness, my queen! Although I cannot truly apologize for an act that brought me so close to your fair beauty!”

Momentarily forgetting her objective, Liah felt her cheeks redden under the gaze of Devans cool green eyes. This wasn’t the first time the captain of Tirate’s guards had made her blush. “I grant you your pardon, captain, but I expect better behavior from you in the future.”

Devan pushed back a stray lock of his dark hair and casually rested his hand on the pommel of his bejeweled sword. “Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to learn such changes in my behavior beneath your capable guidance my queen, but alas, my duty first requires me to meet with your husband to discuss some matters of importance.”

Disappointed, Liah stepped forward and rested her hand on the captain’s muscular arm. “Well, if you must!”

“Yes, I must. Perhaps another time? Until then my queen.” Flourishing another bow, Devan strode down the hall.

Liah watched until he was out of sight. With a great sigh, her thoughts turned back to the girl in the cell. As handsome as Devan was, he couldn’t provide the hours of entertainment she derived from her prey. This one had proved to be surprisingly tough, showing only a hint of weakness after her ring was removed and placed on Liah’s finger. Later, the girl had actually smirked, claiming Tirate’s defenses would fall quickly beneath an onslaught of thousands of dragons.

At the entrance to the cells, she nodded to the guard and waited while he brought a lantern and unlocked the door. The girl stood defiantly in the corner, making no attempt to hide the bruises covering her arms and face.

“I thought you’d like a little good news. It seems your friends have decided to come through the tunnel, and King Tirate’s men are killing them as fast as possible. By this time tomorrow, they’ll all be dead. All except for one, I’ve left strict orders with my men to spare your husbands life. I want him alive. I want to repay him for what his dragon and friends did to me.” She held the dragon ring up to the light and smiled. “However, his dragon will be chopped up and fed to the palace dogs.”

She waited but the girl stood still as if nothing was even said. Disappointed in the lack of reaction, Liah stepped forward and slapped her across the face. El barely winced and kept her chin up and eyes focused.

With a sniff, Liah turned on her heel and walked out. “I’ll be sure to tell you when he arrives.”

The cell door slammed behind her with a ringing echo as she stomped down the hallway. The girl was infuriating! Locked in a dark cell for days and the girl showed no sign she was about to break! One way or another she would find the weak spot, and when she did, she would savor that moment for a long, long time.

***

El waited until the footsteps had faded down the hall before she sank to the floor and put her head on her knees. She knew Ammon wouldn’t blindly lead the dragons through the tunnel to their deaths, so Liah had to be lying. Even if the dragons could get past the tunnel, Liah had gleefully explained how hopeless an attack against the heavily fortified city would be. She cursed. All the knowledge she’d learned from Liah of the palace defenses was worthless unless she could get it to Ammon, and he was on the other side of the mountains. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes before any tears could form. As much as she wanted to be rescued, it was foolish to think it would happen. At least Ammon and the rest were safe in Laton and out of Tirate’s reach.

She closed her eyes and thought about the days she shared with Ammon roaming the city with his golden dragon. It seemed like such a long time ago.

***

The sun was just dipping below the horizon when Boris came to Ammon. “We’re ready to begin.”

Ammon nodded gravely as he stood on the riverbank with Fulgid. He looked down the long line of hatchling dragons evenly spaced along the tree line. He raised his arm and dropped it sharply, then watched as the little dragons and their knights slipped into the woods as silently as shadows.

Fulgid looked back at him impatiently before charging ahead and quickly disappearing into the brush. As darkness settled, the night was punctuated with sudden shouts of alarm and the pungent smell of the burning crossbows. With only the light of the stars, Ammon picked his way down the paths cut by Tirate’s men and helped to gather the prisoners. By morning, a large swath of the woods were hunted clean, and after a small meal, he and Fulgid napped under a tree while another group of hatchlings forged ahead.

The next night was the same. A piercing shout or scream in the darkness and the crash of terrified guards running blindly into the woods as they were herded straight to where Ammon and the knights waited. Before the sun rose over the city of Gaul on the third day, Ammon stood peering through the trees at its tall buildings and high walls. With each breath he could feel El’s presence getting nearer, and Fulgid paced around him, eager to begin.

A short distance away and out of sight of the city, a landing field had been cleared, and all the dragons of
Gaul and DoTaria gathered together for the assault. When the morning light touched the rooftops, the dragons took flight and began to circle high above the city, out of the range of the crossbows. Ammon watched as a single dragon left the swirling beasts overhead and swooped down to drop a parcel onto the palace grounds.

Hoping everyone’s attention was focused on the growing mass of dragons flying overhead, Ammon looked down at Fulgid and nodded. In an instant, the little dragon was streaking towards the city and the golden bubble in Ammon’s head rang.

“
TRUST FULGID, FREE ELIVA
!”

Ammon watched him race away. “Be careful, Fulgid!”

***

Tirate grumbled irritably as he stumbled from his bed to answer the pounding on his bedchamber door. He stifled a yawn and growled. “This had better be important!” He threw open the door and stood back as a wide-eyed guard stumbled in. “What is it? Are they finished killing the dragons already?”

The guard shook his head wildly and held out a crumpled note. Tirate held it up to his bleary eyes and read it aloud. “By order of King Ammon, House of Les-Celest, sovereign ruler of DoTaria and the colony of Gaul, you are hereby ordered to surrender immediately and without conditions. Those who comply peacefully will be given leniency. Resistance will be dealt with severely. An immediate response is expected.”

Tirate chuckled before tossing the paper into the fireplace. “You woke me up for that? It is a joke? DoTaria? Never heard of it, and there is no King Ammon, I am the king. Find whoever wrote that and have them flogged. Now, as long as I’m awake, tell the kitchen to have my breakfast sent up, and be quick about it.”

He shoved the man out the door before he could protest and slammed it shut. King Ammon? Now that Erik was dead and his army crushed, did the old king’s supporters really believe an insane plan like this would work? He pulled a shirt over his shoulders and drew open the curtains of the window overlooking the courtyard. He squinted through the glass at the overcast sky and scowled. Rain would ruin his plans to travel north to view the decimated remains of the dragons. He yawned again as he looked up at the dark cloud swirling above the city. Suddenly a bright orange burst of light blossomed in the sky and he blinked his sleepy eyes into focus.

“What the…?”

He pushed the window open and stared up in disbelief. It wasn’t possible! The sky was black with dragons! Hundreds, no, thousands of them! He watched in horror as the maelstrom of flying creatures overhead belched fire and smoke as they circled. He closed his eyes and shook his head violently.

“No, I’m dreaming! I must be dreaming!”

Hesitantly he opened his eyes to see a steady stream of dragons joining the cloud. He quickly backed away from the window and ran for his armor as he shouted to the guards posted outside his door. “Get every man to his post! I want every crossbow manned and ready!”

He fumbled with the buckles of his breastplate as he tried to put it on. Why hadn’t the northern guards notified him that Erik had broken through and where did all these dragons come from? His hands froze as the realization sank into his sleep-fogged brain. They didn’t tell him because they were probably dead. All the time, planning, and gold he’d invested in putting crossbows in the north woods…was gone!

***

Liah awoke once more to Tirate’s shouts across the hall, and she pulled a pillow over her head to drown out the sound. Didn’t the man know how to talk in a normal tone? Especially this early in the morning? The pillow did nothing to muffle the sounds of boots stomping past her door as men ran down the hallway. In frustration, she threw her covers back and slipped a silk robe over her shoulders. It was obvious she’d never get back to sleep if she didn’t intervene now. She yanked open her door and screamed at the men rushing past, then watched in disbelief as they ignored her! This insolence was intolerable! She’d have every one of them whipped until they screamed for mercy! She reached out and grabbed the nearest guard as he rushed by and her arm was nearly pulled from its socket before he stopped.

“What is the meaning of all this! Tell me!”

The wide-eyed guard pulled loose from her grip and shouted back as he continued down the hall. “We’re under attack by dragons! Thousands of ‘em flying over us!”

Thousands? Liah rolled her eyes. The idiots Tirate hired could barely count to a dozen, nevermind a thousand. She crossed the room to her window and drew the curtains, then stumbled back as a sickening feeling hit her in the stomach. After all the work she had done to get this far, how could this happen? How could Tirate let this happen? What was he waiting for when he had all those crossbows?

Her eyes narrowed. This was that girl’s fault! It was probably her husband leading these beasts even though she was a hostage. The fool! She grabbed the golden knife and stormed down to the cells. Tirate would deal with the dragons soon enough, and since they were going to attack, then the girl’s life was forfeited! It was a simple matter to carry out that particular task right now.