Ragnarok: The Fate of Gods (25 page)

             
The strong and ruthless Micah Frostbane glanced at the girl.  “She’s right.  We’re all human.  We can’t just leave him.  You get the others.  I’ll stay here.”     

             
A noise in the distance and a tremor through the earth jostles Zeke to consciousness.  His friends are already awake, but he can’t see them in the darkness. 

             
“Something’s wrong,” says Ariel. 

             
“The cell has been cut open, and when we woke up we found our weapons beside us,” says Daniel.  His voice is outside their cage.

             
Zeke feels around until his hands close over the familiar sheath of his katana. 

             
“Guess we have a guardian angel,” Ariel muses. 

             
The cave is dark.  Minutes pass, but their eyes don’t adjust. Nothing in the deep cavern is generating light.  “Why is it so dark in here?”

             
“My guess is because the torches went out.”  Jack is still as irreverent as ever. 

             
“And the guard?  Is he still . . .”

             
“Shh!”  Ariel interrupts quietly.  “Listen.”  Faint sounds echo down the halls.  Screams. “Something is definitely wrong.”

             
The group pauses.  Silent.  Tense.  Traces of fear creep through them.  At long last, Zeke speaks.  “Well, if we do have a guardian angel, we might as well take advantage of his help.  We need light.  Let’s look for something.”  He begins feeling around the cave.  He feels nothing but smooth rock.  The others make noise.  Bumping into objects.  Patting things down to identify them.

             
“I found the torch!”  Daniel calls softly. 

             
“Do we have anything to light it with?” 

             
“No good over here,” calls Jack.  “This stuff is all wet and squishy.”  A few dull wet noises confirm this. 

             
“I think I’ve got a lighter,” says Ariel.  She follows Daniel’s voice until she finds him.  He holds the torch out to her.  Sparks flicker.  A small flame ignites.  The torch moves into the light.  Flames rise from it. A soft glow fills the room. 

             
A quick glance shows Jack standing near the mutilated body of the guard.  A cleft runs down his torso.  His innards spilled out on the floor.  Jack jumps back quickly, instinctively wiping his hands on his pants.  “What happened to him?” 

             
“Looks like he was eaten,” said Zeke. 

             
“Eaten?  You’d think there’d be more bite marks and less . . . well, less of the guard,” ranted the pilot.  “It looks more like something was curious to see if human beings were reversible.”

             
“I don’t like this.  What’s going on?”  Ariel repeats. 

             
“Shh!” urges Daniel.  The four become silent.  The creeping fear grows stronger.  A new sound comes down the hallway.  Heavy breathing. 

             
From a large animal.  

             
They hear a dull thumping.  Rhythmic.  Something is moving.  A small red glow appears down the tunnel.  It grows larger quickly. 

             
“This could be bad,” Daniel states.

             
They dive out of the way as the dragon bounds into the cavern.  It turns on Jack, belching fire.  He leaps backward quickly.  The flame hits the dead guard.  Flesh hisses and boils.  An unpleasant smell fills the room. 

             
The dragon stands in the door, trapping them in the room and pinning Jack against the wall.  He tries to run, but the dragon nuzzles him back into place.  He takes out his wallet.  “Fine!  Take my money!  Just don’t cook me!” he shouts, throwing the small bundle at the dragon.  It growls deep.  Disturbing.  “Why do these things always go for me?  Am I carrying dragon-nip?  Go eat someone else!” 

             
“Stay back,” says Zeke. 

             
“You know, not much of a choice there!”  Jack calls. 

             
Daniel hands the torch to Ariel and levels his shotgun, waiting for an opening.  Zeke is already rushing the dragon with his sword.  The beast growls at him, baring its fangs.  His blade slides between the teeth, deep into the dragon’s mouth. 

             
It roars a painful, choking howl and coughs up dark blood, covering Jack.  “Charming,” he says, wiping his eyes clean.  “I’m sure this will be the new cologne hitting all the ritzy stores next year.”

             
The dragon tries to charge Zeke, but can’t build up much speed in the small cave.  The fighter holds his ground and slashes hard when the monster is near. 

             
It falls. 

             
It hits the ground rolling, taking Zeke with it.  He flails the sword, aiming to hit anything he can reach.  He strikes the dragon in the haunches.  The dragon roars, but gets to his feet with no new injuries. 

             
It rakes its claws across his chest. 

             
He stumbles back seeping blood gently.  Ariel catches him, but only for a moment.  He quickly pulls himself back to his feet and slashes the dragon. 

             
The beast rears back, roaring.  Zeke leaps forward.  As the dragon comes back to the ground, it impales itself hard on the sword, pushing the fighter to the ground. 

             
But the monster is hurt.  It turns and runs down the tunnel, trailing blood.

             
Daniel offers his hand.  Zeke takes it, pulling himself to his feet.  “Take the others somewhere safe.  I’ll meet up with you later,” he orders the boy.

             
Ariel is outraged.  “And what are you doing?”

             
“It’s time to help,” he says.  He turns and chases after the dragon. 

             
“Guess we better go,” Daniel says as he grabs Ariel’s arm.  “No point sticking around here.  He pulls her down the tunnel.  Jack gives up trying to clean himself, picks up his crow bar, and follows.

              In the city commons, Muriel interrogates a small gathering of soldiers.  She is dressed for battle in worn leathers, with a wooden bow and a quiver of arrows.

             
The makeshift fashion of her city.

             
“It appears that our west wall has been breached,” their captain reports.  “Draugr are pouring into the city.” 

             
She swears under her breath.  “Those dragon trainers!  They led them here.”   Trusting her instincts.  Acting harshly, mercilessly.  Those are the traits of a powerful soldier. 
I could have stopped them if it weren’t for my father’s orders
, she thinks. 

             
“Lady Muriel, what are your orders?” 

             
My father
.  This time she thinks of him not as a warrior-king, but an aging man.  “Where is my father?” she asks the soldier. 

             
“Lord Gabriel is defending the civilian residencies,” he replies. 

             
Muriel issues her orders.  “Secure the breached gate then purge the draugr from the city.”  The Karellan will not gain the slightest ground while she is still alive. 

             
They will not be forced out of their homes. 

             
“Yes, my lady,” says the man with a bow.  As he turns to relay the orders to his troops, a dragon skids into the room.  Instinctively, the men attack.  The captain draws a sword.  The weapon is sturdy, but dulled with age.

             
They remember years ago, taking down a live dragon.  It was strong, but they beat it into submission.  It is now a legend among them, a song sung at feasts.  Their king and his daughter wear the beast’s skin.  But Muriel knows better.  That was years ago.  Their fighters were younger, stronger.  They had wasted many of their resources bringing it down.  They stand before this dragon completely helpless. 

             
A ready and willing buffet. 

             
“Go now!” she shouts.  “Deliver my orders!”  The dragon has already taken down several men.  The captain nods and orders the survivors to follow. 

             
The monster seems panicked.  Frantic.  It doesn’t follow them.  Ariel looks closer and notices a trail of blood.  A slight wave of relief swims through the magic fear caused by the dragon. 
You’ve been hurt.

             
She pulls the bow off her back and draws an arrow.  She nocks the arrow and is ready to let loose when Zeke rushes into the room, behind the monster.  “You!” she shouts angrily.

             
“Yes, me.”

             
“You brought this on us!”

             
“Do you want to argue now or after we’ve been charred and digested?”

             
“You’re here to help?”  Her untrusting eyes glare at him. 

             
“Of course I am.”

             
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”  She draws back the arrow and lets it fly.  The arrow imbeds itself deep in the dragon’s eye.  The monster roars in pain, but it easily reaches up and pulls the arrow out.

             
“Nice shot.  Here I thought your arrows would pack the punch those grenades lacked,” he says sarcastically.  “You’re getting my help whether you want it or not.” 

             
“Fine but . . .”

             
“Not now!”  The dragon snaps its jaws between them.  They jump back, a sword slashing down on its neck.  Muriel sets another arrow.  Zeke hacks again.  The dragon turns its entire body around to face him.  Its tail knocks Muriel off her feet. 

             
The dragon spits fire at the swordsman.  He dodges by rolling between the dragon’s legs.  He spies blood and stabs up at the open wound in the monster’s belly.  The beast howls.  It rears up briefly.  A large, clawed foot comes down near his head. 

             
He rolls quickly away from the dragon.

              The escaping prisoners run through torch-lit tunnels. 

             
“Where are we going?”  Ariel asks, breaking free of Daniel’s grasp. 

             
“Someplace safe,” he says, repeating orders.

             
“Not that I want to argue,” says Jack, “But where exactly
is
safe?”  They look around.  The tunnel ahead of them is long, straight, and empty.  Exactly the same as behind them. 

             
After ten years of running and hiding from danger, Ariel has had enough.  “We don’t have to run.  We’re armed.  You heard Zeke.  These people need our help. And there’s far too much commotion for just one monster.” 

             
“What are you suggesting?” asks Jack. 

             
“Let’s go hunting.”

             
Daniel thinks for a moment. 
Why does he just assume we can’t handle ourselves?
  “I’m in,” he tells them. 

             
The pilot shrugs.  “What the hell.  Count me in, too.”  He spins the crowbar in one hand and strikes a pose.  “Let’s bust some heads,” he says. 

              Draugr swarm through the caves.  The strategy is to clear out a safe zone for the citizens.  To create a front with the draugr instead of a melee.  The chore is difficult.  Citizens cower in their homes, hiding.  The draugr are strong and not easily deterred by the weapons of the wild men.  Little progress is made. 

             
Gabriel faces the draugr in full dragon-scale armor.  He smashes heads with a heavy war hammer.  It is the finest gear in the city.  He uses it boldly, but he struggles. 

             
Other soldiers are not so well-equipped. 

             
“Who let these over-ripe bastards in here?” he shouts, swinging furiously.  The hammer connects with the neck of a draugr, launching it a short distance into the air.  It falls, unmoving.  “This smell is never going to come out!  Goddam Karellan!”

             
He swings down hard in front of him.  A draugr crumples to the ground.  Something hits him from behind.  He falls.  Rolling over, he sees a monster with heavy claws.  It slashes madly.  Gabriel is unhurt through the dragon scales, but the creature is strong, and he struggles to force his way back up. 

             
Boom!