Death of a King_I, Dragon Book 4 Page 14

  Two huge tree trunks stood erect in the middle of the road. They had been buried in the earth and extended thirty feet into the air. Two giant figures made of straw and cloth hung suspended by their necks.

  One figure bore the head of a man. The other, the head of a dragon.

  “Lieutenants!” Lamont shouted. “Get these abominations out of my sight!”

  Ten officers of Islemar’s army marched forward. They tied ropes to the trunks and hitched them to their horses.

  And then the skies filled with boulders. All ten of Islemar’s officers were killed instantly by tons of rock. Two dragons cried out and fell to the ground, crushing a wagon and killing four more soldiers.

  “Defense formations!” Lamont and Finn yelled.

  Cannons fired from unseen positions. The dragons flew higher and circled wide. They spotted some of the cannons and dove toward them.

  “They’ve surrounded us!” Lamont yelled.

  The army of Islemar scanned the area. They could not see their enemy to fight back. Amid the rolling blasts of cannons came a constant barrage of boulders.

  “Spread out!” Lamont cried. “Spread the formations!”

  But the commands could not be heard or passed along fast enough. The advantage Islemar had in the sky had become their worst nightmare. Their men, horses, and wagons were being decimated by cannon balls, boulders,

  And falling dragons.

  ****

  Simon and Caleb heard the sounds of war. As they continued flying to the east, they saw the dragon clan in the distance. They also saw the barrage of cannon balls and boulders. The dragons were struck, one after another.

  “No!” Caleb screamed. “They are being slaughtered. We have to get them out of there, Simon!”

  Three dragons loosed their fire at the kingdom army. All three were struck in the head by boulders and died instantly. Their flames died as the dragons fell.

  “They need to circle behind the assault,” Simon yelled. “You have to tell them, Caleb!”

  “It’s too late, Simon. They won’t understand!”

  Simon heard a roar above his head. It was Mother. She laid down a barrage of fire that destroyed three catapults and sent burning men running in every direction.

  Behind a barrage of arrows, Morgenwraithe’s army advanced. Simon saw Captain Raynard on horseback, his sword raised high. Simon roared with a blinding hatred. Sterling would also be nearby.

  “Simon!” Lucien cried. “You have to land. Boone is going to fall!”

  Simon landed as softly as he could. Lucien held onto Boone, but his strength was waning. Lucien lost his grip and fell onto his back. A second later, Boone landed on top of him.

  “Get off of me, ya fustilug!” Lucien groaned.

  Boone wiggled back and forth and finally rolled over onto his good arm.

  “I’m a fustilug? If I have to fall on top of a king he should have the decency to be fat and soft.”

  Helena, Ben, and Oliver Vaughn fired arrows from behind a nearby wagon. When they saw Caleb, Boone, and Lucien they waved them over.

  “I’m going to find Simon,” Caleb said.

  Boone and Lucien ran toward the wagon.

  “Lucien!”

  Brendan and Reese launched arrows from behind a different wagon. Lucien joined them.

  Screams sounded from the front line of Islemar’s army. Rolf Roball was struck in the chest with two arrows. He fell to his knees and then fell forward and did not move. Sir William Wood tried to free a man who was pinned beneath an enormous dead dragon. Wood was hit in the leg by an arrow. Ben and Oliver ran to help them. Helena dropped her bow. Boone grabbed her arm.

  “Let me go!” Helena said.

  “Pick up your bow!” Boone said. “They need covering fire.”

  Helena picked up her bow and fired two arrows in quick succession. Two soldiers that had closed in on William Wood fell to the ground, wounded.

  “Look out!” Lucien screamed.

  A boulder struck a dragon squarely in the chest. The beast and the stone fell straight down toward the wagon that Helena and Boone were behind. They ran. Oliver and Ben freed the man from beneath the dragon, but his legs were broken. They pulled the barely conscious man behind the dragon. Ben and Oliver pulled William Wood’s arms over their shoulders and they limped toward the wagon where Lucien and his friends stood. Ben’s foot slipped and he fell. Lucien dropped his bow and ran to take Ben’s place. Ben climbed to his feet.

  It was a fateful pause. Two more arrows pierced William Wood’s back. He would not survive.

  A dozen kingdom soldiers charged forward with their swords. Lucien wrapped his arms around Helena and closed his eyes. He opened them when he heard screams. Five of the soldiers fell to arrows from Brendan’s and Reese’s bows. Oliver raised his sword and charged toward the others. He roared in reckless abandon.

  Simon and Caleb swooped down over the soldiers and their fire ended the immediate threat.

  Lucien and Oliver took bows and quivers from dead men and took up positions behind a dead dragon. Lord Lamont ran and stopped below Simon.

  “We have to retreat, Simon. The dragons could burn us all!”

  “Very well,” Simon said. “I don’t think they know the command for retreat.”

  “Aye,” Lamont said. “I never thought it would be necessary.”

  Simon landed near Lamont. Simon shoved Lamont to the ground. He blew fire at four kingdom soldiers who ran at them with their bows raised.

  The men and the trees behind them burned.

  Morgenwraithe’s soldiers poured from the woods. The dragons bathed them in fire. The forest blazed. The second wave of soldiers halted and ran in the opposite direction.

  “We must hold out a little while longer!” Simon said.

  Lamont looked into the air and saw two dragons struck by boulders. Another was struck by a cannon blast. All fell to the ground.

  “Load the wounded onto wagons!” Captain Finn cried. “We leave no one behind!”

  Simon lay down another blast of fire that wiped out a wave of charging infantry. The men fell to the ground or ran screaming into the forest. The forest blazed out of control. Simon saw at least three more catapults on fire.

  A dragon’s cry shook the earth.

  Simon saw Mother standing amid the flames, her head thrown backward as she shrieked into the sky.

  Alice lay motionless on the ground.

  “No!” Simon screamed. He ran to the young dragon’s side. Her chest moved up and down.

  “Get her onto a wagon!” Simon screamed.

  Benjamin Blankenship maneuvered an empty wagon beside the fallen dragon. Boone, Helena, Oliver, Lucien, Brendan, and Reese, placed a ramp against the wagon and then pushed and pulled the dragon’s body. Sir Gregory Beasley left William Wood’s side and joined in the effort to help save the dragon.

  With incredible effort, the dragon was rolled onto the wagon. Benjamin handed the reins to a member of Islemar’s army. The wagon rolled toward the east.

  A volley of arrows from the kingdom’s army filled the air. Simon and Mother flew above the wagon to protect it. Ten arrows passed through Simon’s wings. Fourteen struck Mother’s wings. Two more hit her in her belly. She fell awkwardly to the ground.

  Simon flew to Mother’s side. He pulled some of the arrows from her wings with his teeth.

  “Please, Mother,” he said. “This will hurt. But I have to take these out.”

  Simon pulled the first arrow from Mother’s chest. She roared into the air, blowing a huge blast of fire. Simon spit out the arrow and reached for the next. Mother kicked with her rear legs, connecting with Simon’s head. He fell backward. Simon shook his head and stood. He clamped his teeth onto the second arrow protruding from Mother’s chest. She kicked at his head with all four legs. Simon could no longer think straight. He almost lost consciousness. HIs stubborn thoughts kept him focused.

  Mother is in danger. You are her only hope.

  Simon could not see. His mind
was numb from the kicks that landed against his head. He concentrated on a single thought.

  The arrow between his teeth threatened Mother’s life.

  Don’t let go.

  Don’t let go.

  The blow to Simon’s belly forced him backward. He flipped over, aware only that the arrow’s shaft was still firmly clamped between his teeth. He landed on his back against the hard-packed earth.

  But the arrow he had pulled from Mother’s chest was intact. Simon sighed with relief. Mother launched into the air and circled over the wagon that carried her wounded daughter.

  Simon scanned the perimeter of their camp. The forest blazed. Through the smoke and flames, Simon saw a row of Morgenwraithe archers draw their bows—

  And then they were engulfed in blast of flames.

  Simon looked up. Caleb, the child-dragon, had quickly learned the ways of war.

  Thirty-Five

  Simon looked into the skies. Only three of the young dragons circled over Islemar’s soldiers.

  The others, who now numbered less than twenty, were flying away to the south.

  “No!” Simon screamed. “Where—where are you going?”

  Caleb landed at Simon’s side.

  “What are they—you have to stop them, Caleb!”

  Caleb paused.

  “I can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?”

  “They will not listen to me—and they will no longer listen to you.”

  “I am the clan leader—!”

  “Not anymore, Simon. They are going home—to the Southlands.”

  “They can’t do that! We have a pact! An alliance!”

  “Their first responsibility is the preservation of their species. Look around you. Many of them are dead or dying.

  “Look out!”

  Simon and Caleb dodged three boulders just in time.

  “We’re falling back,” Simon said. “Behind the walls of Islemar.”

  “If we run, they will murder us like dogs,” Caleb said.

  “We can move faster than their cannons and catapults,” Simon said. “We can’t stand against them here. Not without the dragons.”

  “We have five,” Caleb said. “The three young ones, you, and me.”

  “We no longer rule the sky, Caleb.”

  Caleb hung his head.

  “Are we…are we going to lose?”

  Simon paused.

  “I don’t know.”

  They heard a commotion behind them.

  “Come back here!” Lord Lamont roared as he ran past.

  He was chasing Jaclyn. Simon froze.

  Why is Jaclyn here?

  Simon leapt into the air. He landed ahead of Jaclyn. She ran into his chest and toppled to the ground. Lord Lamont latched his hand around her wrist.

  Jaclyn whipped her head around and her eyes locked with Simon’s. Her look was one Simon had never seen before.

  “I thought you were my friend!” she growled.

  “I am your friend,” Simon said softly. “You should not be here.”

  “Who should be here, Simon? Tell me. Should we live in a kingdom where the privileged send their people to die in their place? Is that the kind of kingdom you want? The kind you are fighting for?”

  Lord Lamont did not lessen his grip on Jaclyn’s wrist. Simon turned toward him.

  “Let her go, my lord.”

  “A queen has no place on the front lines of battle!” Lamont roared.

  “Lord Lamont,” Simon said. “I love and respect you like you were my own father. I know you love your daughter, but she has chosen her fate—”

  “What can she do—other than force me to watch her die?” Lamont asked.

  Jaclyn raised a short sword into the air, a dagger in her other hand.

  “I can kill if I have to. And I will prove that a true queen does not send others to die in her stead. My place is beside them!”

  Lord Lamont shook his head.

  “Stubborn child! We will discuss this after we arrive safely behind our walls.”

  Jaclyn clenched her fists.

  “There is no reason to return to Islemar!”

  “Don’t be silly,” Lamont said. “There is—”

  “Are we being pursued?” Jaclyn asked.

  “No,” Simon said. “Morgenwraithe’s army will regroup and prepare their weapons before they move again.”

  “Then returning to Islemar makes no sense.” Jaclyn snapped.

  “Our stronghold has walls and towers and cannons of its own,” Lamont said.

  “None of which will survive being buried under boulders,” Jaclyn shouted. “We have nowhere to run—except into the sea. I would rather die on the King’s Road than watch women, children, and our old people lying dead in our streets.”

  Noah Lamont, Captain Finn, Lieutenant Winston, and Sir Gregory Beasley stood nearby. Their uniforms were torn and dirty. Their chests heaved with exhaustion. Simon addressed them and Lord Lamont.

  “Make your stand, warriors of Islemar. Where I go, please do not follow.”

  “And where might that be?” Lamont growled.

  Simon spread his wings.

  “I am going to kill Sterling, or die trying.”

  Thirty-Six

  Lord Sterling Morgenwraithe sat on his horse. He stared to the south, watching the dragons flee the war. Sterling laughed maniacally, as Captain Raynard and his attendants looked on.

  “What did I tell you, Raynard? We command the skies! And Islemar will soon lie in ash and rubble!”

  “Aye,” Captain Raynard said. “Your lordship proves superior once again.”

  Sterling snatched a wineskin that was tied to his horses flank and took a long pull.

  “Lordship?” he roared. “I am emperor! Supreme power! Master of armies! King! King of all I survey!”

  “Aye, Lord Sterling,” Raynard said. “And I am privileged to serve you.”

  Sterling took another drink. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

  “Where are the reinforcements? The cannon balls, the boulders, the powder? They should have been here by now.”

  Raynard turned his horse to the west. He raised his spyglass.

  “No sign of them, my lord.”

  Sterling pointed at three junior officers.

  “Come with me. Raynard, prepare to march on Islemar. Wait for my return.”

  Raynard saluted and rode away.

  Sterling emptied the wineskin and threw it to the ground.

  “Get me another,” he barked at an attendant. When he received the full skin, he rode toward Morgenwraithe.

  An hour later, Sterling was quite drunk. He sniffed the air.

  “What is that abominable stench?”

  Ahead, beside the King’s Road, a bonfire blazed.

  Sterling stopped and dismounted. He walked alone toward the fire. Sterling gritted his teeth as he got closer. At the fringes of the blaze he could see the source of the fire.

  The fire was fueled by an enormous mound of coats—coats of crimson and gold. A tall post stood in the middle of the blaze. Something flapped in the wind from the top of the post. Sterling moved upwind of the fire. He squinted.

  He knew exactly what topped the post. He had seen it before. It was the same head of the human figure he had used to launch the assault on the traitor’s army.

  Except now, the head had a bandage around it that covered one of its eyes.

  Sterling squeezed his hands into fists. He walked toward his horse, but the horse had run away. Sterling marched through the village gates. He said nothing and did not slow as he walked purposely toward the main barracks of the King’s Guard. He threw open the door.

  The men jumped to attention. Less than half of the guards were accounted for. Sterling scanned their faces.

  “Where are the others?”

  No one spoke.

  “Open your trunks—and the trunks of those not present.”

  The men did so. Sterling saw two men moving their
hands frantically inside their trunks. He crossed the room and pushed one of the men aside. Sterling stared into the trunk. He reached down and pulled on a small bit of exposed fabric. He stood and held onto a coat—a coat of ocean-blue and white.

  “My lord,” the guard stammered. “I don’t know where—”

  Those were the man’s last words. Sterling buried his dagger in the man’s belly.

  Sterling walked toward the other man who had raised his suspicions. The man ran for the door.

  “Stop him! Or suffer his fate with him!” Sterling said.

  The other guards blocked the door. Two of them grabbed the man’s arms and held him. The man fell limp against their grasp. He sobbed heavily.

  Sterling kicked over the trunk. Two blue and white coats tumbled to the floor. Sterling stepped across them and stood in front of the man.

  “Please, my lord! I have a wife and children!”

  “No,” Sterling said. “You have a widow. And orphans.”

  Sterling stared into the man’s eyes as he pushed his dagger into the guard’s abdomen. He did it slowly, savoring the man’s terror and pain.

  The guards let the dying man fall to the floor. Sterling bent over and cleaned his hand and his dagger on the man’s coat. He stood and cleared his throat.

  “Who is the senior officer among you?” he asked calmly.

  “Uh…that would be me, my lord,” a man said.

  “Send two men to the army barracks. Report back to me with a head count immediately.”

  The man swallowed hard and shuffled his feet.

  “My lord, Captain Raynard ordered his men to leave at daybreak to resupply the forward position.”

  “Then go to the barracks yourself!” Sterling snapped. “See if Raynard left a message. That mound of coats did not come from this barracks alone.”

  “Y-yes, my lord!”

  The man hurried through the door.

  Sterling raised his finger and counted the men in the barracks.