The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (54 page)

When Aric, Leth, and Clea got to the entrance hallway of the fortress, most of the Company was already there. The young Hunters were huddled behind the slanted, tendon-like columns, their heads low, as if they were afraid the ceiling might collapse at any moment. Somewhere outside, the Dragon roared fiercely.

“You’re all here. Good,” Aric said, kneeling next to them.

“I gathered as many as I could find,” Tharius said. “I knew you’d want the Company together.”

“Yeah,” Ashur added. “He even made Orisius and Irenya race to the armory. He seems to think we’re about to fight that thing out there.”

“Good,” Aric said. “Because that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Who’s missing?”

“Just Prion,” Tharius replied. “I couldn’t find him.”

“Fine,” Aric said. “We don’t want to be fighting next to anyone who doesn’t have our back.” He paused, then looked straight into Ashur’s eyes. “In case you didn’t get that, I was sayin
g
‒
‒
”

“I’m staying,” Ashur cut him off. “If you’re fighting a Dragon, then so am I.”

Ashur stared at Aric with a defiant look. It was almost as if this was just another one of Saruk’s challenges.

“Good,” Aric said, smiling. “Okay, here’s the plan. This is the largest place in Lamash. It’s big enough to fit a Dragon,
and
should give us enough room to fight it. So we’re going to lure that thing in here.”

There was a sudden look of apprehension on everyone’s face, but Aric ignored it.

“Lyra, you’ll stay in the rear. If anyone falls or gets hurt bad enough, you step in and get them out.”

“Understood,” Lyra replied with a nod.

“Clea, Orisius, Dothea, the same as in Nish.” Aric pointed at the stone platforms around where the columns met the ceiling. “Get yourselves up there and harass the Dragon with arrows.”

“Up there?” Dothea asked. “How are we supposed to climb up there?”

“I brought ropes from the armory,” Orisius replied, showing them a large bundle of thick, strong rope. “I was thinking we could tie the dragon down.”

“And I told him that was a stupid idea,” Irenya said.

“It’s not stupid,” Orisius retorted, then turned to the rest of the group. “Someone tell her it’s not stupid, please?”

“Yeah,” Clea said, taking the rope. “It’s pretty stupid. But it’ll get us up there.”

“Good,” Aric said. “Then start climbing. We need to hurry.”

Clea gave him a nod and the three archers left the huddle.

“Leth, Tharius, and Nahir,” Aric continued, “you’re with me. We’ll be the bait.” He received three serious nods. “Everyone else, find cover around the hallway and keep out of sight until I give the signal to attack.” He inhaled deeply and glanced around at each one of his Hunters. “Get ready. We’re about to slay our first Dragon.”

It took the Company a moment to digest that thought. Feet shifted, and there were a couple of loud sighs, but no one said anything. Then, with a final nod from Aric, everyone hurried to their positions.

The main gate was fastened shut by a thick wooden plank, which Nahir’s powerful arms removed. With the gate opened, Leth snuck out, followed by Tharius. The two of them inspected the sky, looking for the Dragon. Aric stayed behind, collecting torches from the lobby’s walls. He made one last inspection of the hallway, making sure the Company was ready for the fight. He saw the shapes of his Hunters hiding behind the hallway’s columns, their Glowstone lances firmly in their hands. Up near ceiling, his three archers dangled from the ropes, only a couple of feet left to climb. They were as ready as they would ever be.

“There it is,” Tharius warned.

Aric stepped outside and followed Tharius’ arm.

There it was, a jagged, dark red gash in the twilight sky. To the west, black smoke billowed from the side of the mountain. Clearly the beast had been busy destroying that flank of the fortress.

“Are we sure about this?” Leth asked. “We could just hide in the lower levels. There would be no shame in that. We’re not graduated yet.”

Instead of replying, Aric simply handed a burning torch to each of them. “Here,” he said. “This ought to get its attention.”

Leth shook his head with an amused smile. “Damned crazy Aurons.”

It didn’t take very long for the Dragon to notice them as they began to wave the torches above their heads. The Dragon shrieked and turned, drawing three quarters of a circle in the air. Furling its wings, the monster plunged towards them, letting out another growl.

“Ava mother…” Tharius mumbled.

“Brace yourselves,” Aric said.

The Dragon grew larger and larger, flames coming out from the corners of its mouth as if it were a furnace.

“This might not be the ideal moment to point out a flaw in your plan,” Leth told Aric, “but what now?”

“What do you think?” Aric asked, turning around. “
Run!
”

He didn’t have to give that order twice. All four of them turned tail and fled back into the fortress, the massive Dragon darting after them so fast they could hear it zooming through the air. At the last possible moment, the beast opened its wings, braking and touching down right in front of the main gate with an earth-shaking
thump
.

“Dive!” Aric screamed.

The four Hunters jumped sideways, landing flat on the ground just in time to avoid a gush of fire. They picked themselves up quickly, resuming their flight deeper into the hallway, hoping the beast would fall into their trap. Lurking in the shadows of the columns on both his sides, Aric saw the rest of his Hunters, ready for their moment to strike.

The Dragon, however, did not seem ready to cooperate yet. Maybe something about that hollow did not feel right.

“It’s not coming,” Tharius said. “It’s not falling for it.”

“Leave this up to me, Captain,” Nahir said, drawing a Glowstone axe from his back. The Cyrinian had been the only one to fashion one of those.

“What? What are you going to do?” Aric asked, feeling unsure.

“What I can,” Nahir replied. “Get ready to strike.” And with that, he plunged forward, screaming like a madman with his axe swinging above his head.

The Dragon roared.

“Fire take this!” Aric complained, regretting not having stopped Nahir. “Alright. Leth, Tharius, spread out. Join the ambush.”

He rushed behind one of the columns and watched Nahir duck beneath a jet of fire, rolling over his head and standing right back up without so much as slowing down, even though part of his jacket had caught on fire.

To Aric’s great relief, Nahir wasn’t about to commit suicide. At the last moment, the Cyrinian turned and hid behind the open gate, disappearing from the Dragon’s sight. But the beast wasn’t about to let him escape that easily. Shrieking, the Dragon stormed into the Fortress, its paws shattering the stone slabs beneath them.

“
Now
!” Aric screamed. “
Attack
!”

Arrows rained from above at the same time a swarm of Hunters charged at the beast. The Dragon was momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden attack. It sent its head lurching backward, screeching in pain. Aric saw Trissa drive a spear into the monster’s ribcage, and next to her Ergon slashed one of its massive heels.

Then, rage took over the Dragon. With swords, arrows, and spears sticking out from its body, the monster crashed against the columns on his sides as if it was a cage he was trying to escape from.

The onslaught came to a halt as the Hunters tried to protect themselves. Jullion was knocked down by the Dragon’s tail, and Ashur screamed for Lyra.

“It’s going to tear the place down!” Leth screamed, taking cover from the falling debris.

It certainly seemed that way. Aric stepped back from the beast. The entire fortress was shaking. Huge blocks of stone fell from the walls and ceiling. It looked like the hallway was about to cave in.

This was a bad idea…

“Everyone back off!” Aric screamed over the chaos. “Retreat!”

However, it was useless. There was nowhere to hide. 

Aric looked up at the stone platforms above the Dragon and saw the shape of one of his archers. It was impossible to tell exactly who it was, but he or she was holding on for his life up there. The pillar was about to fall down.

Aric cursed. He looked at the rope dangling from where his archer was about to fall, then gritted his teeth.

“Oh, screw this!” Aric said. He raced towards the rope and began to climb it as fast as he could. “Leth!” he called. “Leth, swing me!”

“What?” Leth asked.

“Swing me, damn you!” Aric insisted.

Leth obeyed, confused. Around them, the Company was in full retreat, some running towards the great staircase, others fleeing the other way, trying to get outside.

“No, not that way,” Aric told Leth. “Towards the head. Swing me towards the head.”

Leth was going to protest but figured this was not the best moment. Holding the rope, he ran away from the beast’s head, pulling Aric along above him, then released.

Aric soared across the hallway, describing an arc that carried him over the Dragon. When the rope was coming to a stop, getting ready to swing back around, Aric unsheathed his sword and let go. He fell, screaming, sword first on top of the Dragon’s head, and the Glowstone blade buried itself into the beast’s skull.

There was a squelching, and a gush of warm blood sprayed Aric’s face. The beast released a guttural sound that lasted no more than a moment, then its head fell lifelessly to the floor. The impact was such that the handle of Aric’s sword broke from the blade, and he came tumbling down, crashing to the floor.  

A burst of pain flooded his torso, and for a moment there was only silence as Aric saw the world dance above his head, a thousand stars blotting out his vision.

“Fire take us all,” he heard Tharius mumble.

Then, Leth’s face came into focus above him and the world became slightly more recognizable.

“Are you alright?” Leth asked.

Other people gathered around. Everyone was staring at him with astonished looks on their faces.

“Are you insane!?” It was Lyra. She knelt beside him and began inspecting his body from head to toe. “You could have been impaled by one of the horns.”

Aric moved his mouth, but the pain in his chest made it hard to speak.

“What is it?” Leth asked. “You can’t talk?”

“Eliran…” Aric gasped.

“Oh, forget about the damn Witch,” Lyra grumbled.

“No,” Leth said. “He’s right. We need to go back to the Mage Tower.”

“Help me up,” Aric asked, cringing from the pain.

“You can’t move,” Lyra said, impotently. “You might have a broken rib or something.”

“I’m fine,” Aric replied, but the fact that he was still leaning on Leth for support betrayed him.

Lyra protested further, but Aric ignored her.

“Is everyone okay?” Aric asked.

“Jullion broke an arm,” Lyra replied, giving up. “Trissa, Nahir, and Athan have some burns on their skin, but nothing serious. All in all, I think we got lucky.”

“Lucky?” Tharius asked. “That’s not luck.” He pointed at the dragon’s massive carcass. “We got badass, that’s what we got.”

There were immediate cheers and whistles.

“Damn right,” Trissa agreed, holding onto her arm.

“Stop celebrating,” Leth said. “This isn’t over yet.”

“Everyone who’s not hurt, follow me,” Aric said, limping away. “And be ready.”

Lyra stayed behind, taking care of Jullion, who could not move, and despite her complaints, everyone else went with Aric.

The group tried to speed across the fortress, but the truth was that they weren’t in very good shape either. Still, they pushed ahead.

There was barely any light left when they crossed the bridge to the Mage’s Tower, but the damage from the dragon’s fiery breath was still visible. Large portions of stone had turned charcoal black, and it was possible that the structure had been affected, but it did not deter them. Carefully, the group crossed and penetrated the abandoned tower, following through the corridors that led to the library.

“I don’t like this,” Leth said. “It’s too quiet.”

Aric shushed him. He didn’t like the silence any better than Leth. He had been expecting to come into a fight, and if there wasn’t one, then it probably meant Eliran had already been defeated. However, if Sohtyr was there, the element of surprise was probably the only thing they could count on.

The group put away their Glowstone blades and drew their steel weapons as they tiptoed up the staircase. The great door to the library was shut, and Aric counted to three with his fingers before opening the door and bursting through it.

They halted immediately, jaws dropped. Every bookcase, table, and chair had been smashed to pieces, and there was no one in sight. No sign of Eliran or anyone else met them, not even their bodies. Instead, there was a massive hole in the wall where the secret door had once been, and beyond it, an altar of sorts where a purple cushion no longer held anything.