Chapter 11
The wind slapped my clothes and hair as I free-fell. I squinted hard to keep my eyes open enough to see. And then I slammed into her back, air rushing out of my lungs. I caught her scale ridges and clung on. She roared and twisted, distracted from her attack on the people below by the foreign object latched onto her.
I climbed up to the V-shaped ridges of plates on her back and sheltered under the angle there, holding her scales tight with my hands and pressing my back against the ridge. It was the securest place on her body, and it would be near impossible for her to throw me off. Not that she wasn’t trying. It was a struggle to keep my grip as I climbed my way upwards, toward her head. She blasted flames at the ground below and swung her arms behind her, trying to grab me, but I was out of her reach.
I finally got to her neck. Then the back of her head. Her claws nearly caught me before I found my position, wrapped around the back of her ear. For all her precision, she couldn’t grab me without scratching her most sensitive part. She shook her head and snorted in frustration.
I clung to the edge of her ear. “Axen, listen to me! You have to stop. These people aren’t your enemies. Please, hear me!” Axen snorted again. An arrow barely missed her head, and she blasted flames at the ground.
“They got the ring. That’s why everything looks different now. But it’s not right. You’re seeing what the creatures want you to see. You have to stop attacking!”
She swooped upward and dove at the ground again, spewing flames at the trapped people. She couldn’t understand. And she’d decided that I was only an annoyance, not a threat. So she was going right back to what she’d been doing before I landed on her. Destroy Krenish. Then destroy Emsha.
Despair weighed at my muscles. I couldn’t get through to her. And even if I managed to free the people of Krenish below and rallied every single fighting man in both Krenish and Emsha to storm the underground cavern with me, I’d never reach the ring in time. I curled up tighter, feeling my failure like an ache deep in my soul. My fingers unconsciously rubbed the soft edge of her ear.
She roared her way into another swoop. The feelings, the sensations around me, swept my mind away.
Pain tearing through my mind, crippling my small body. The newly formed bond.
Terror as creatures spilled from the ground, charging at my weakened brother.
Him pulling me to my feet. Staggering. Struggling to get away.
Creatures tackling him.
Me tumbling away, wailing, ignored on the ground.
My brother falling.
The creatures pulling his hand free. Seeing no ring. Screaming in fury.
Blood. So much blood.
Screams tearing through my throat. My terror and anguish reflected back to me through the still-raw bond.
The creatures turning, sniffing, surging at me.
Axen snatching me up from their midst. Flying away at top speed.
Me on her head, clinging tight in fear. Wrapping around her ear and clutching its softness.
Hiding in a cave. Safe but still shaking with fear.
I suddenly became aware that the roars in the present had quieted. The swooping had turned into a choppy circle. No more flame bursts at the ground below.
My throat vibrated. I was humming without realizing it. It was the lullaby my mother used to sing to me. The same song I’d hummed as a little girl on that first night, curled up against my dragon’s ear, shaking from terror and the wrenching images of my brother’s dead body.
Axen changed direction abruptly, her head waving. She roared, a different roar. Calling. My breath caught. I hummed louder and kept running my fingers over the soft edge. She twisted again, then slowly landed in the field away from the city, far from the trapped people. She alternated between snorting and mournful roars. She was confused. Something was wrong, she knew, but her mind was too twisted with the leader’s mind to be able to recognize what it was.
“Axen,” I called. “It’s me. Can you hear me?”
She snorted again, then lowered her head and jerked through a sharp, violent shake. I lost my grip and went flying to the ground below. I hit hard and tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. By then, she was already leaping into the air once more. Fear jumped ahead of the pain crying for my attention. I’d failed again. She was going back to her attack.
She roared again, then turned and flew away. Toward the mountains.
I slumped in relief. She knew something was wrong, but couldn’t figure out what. So she was doing the same thing that had brought her comfort in the past: hiding. Angry snarls and shrieks pulled me back to the moment. The creatures stomped their feet and howled, pointing after the retreating dragon. The men shouted and lunged at the creatures. The dragon, they’d been helpless against. The creatures, on the other hand, were easy enough to reach.
I struggled to my feet. Nausea caught me in a dizzying grip for a moment, but I fought through it and pushed onward. I couldn’t stop now. It was only a matter of time before the creature would be able to reassert his dominance over her. I had to get the ring away from him before that could happen. I found a discarded blade on the ground and joined the fight.
One group broke through the circle of creatures. A stream of women, children, and many men rushed to the road, fleeing toward Emsha.
The creatures started after them, but those of us who remained fought all the harder, driving them back. It didn’t take long for the creatures to realize they were outmatched. They might still have the advantage of numbers, but we had the weapons and the rage fueling us onward. And their numbers were sharply diminishing as a result.
One of the creatures let out a blaring shriek, then bolted back toward the tunnel. The others quickly followed. I chased after them alongside the fighting men. I’d follow them all the way to the throne room. Get the ring back. Take the leader apart piece by piece. The last of the creatures vanished into the tunnel, us just behind them. The ground shook.
“Look out!” someone in front of me shouted. The surge of pursuers abruptly changed directions. I shoved past one of the fleeing men and pressed onward. Someone caught me by the shoulder and yanked me backwards. I fell clear of the tunnel as it collapsed in front of me.
“What are you, crazy?” the man holding me demanded.
I stood and turned. The fighters were already heading back to Emsha after the others who had fled. I’d have to go that way, too. Get to the other tunnel under the roots of the large tree.
“Well?” The man gave me a shake. Then he paused. His eyes widened. “You! This is your fault!”
I shoved his hand off, not in the mood for discussion or diplomacy. “I’m not the one who handed a dragon over to a complete stranger for a few chunks of gold.”
He scowled and drew his sword.
“Go ahead.” I glared at him in a fierce challenge. “And what will you do when the dragon comes back?”
He paused.
“She is coming back. Unless I can get to the leader first.”
Another man eyed me suspiciously. “You can make it so the beast won’t attack again?”
“I can. But I’ll need help.” I turned toward Emsha and started to run, but my body rejected the motion. I settled on a jog, only slowing long enough to retrieve a discarded scabbard from the smoking battlefield. I spotted a short dagger nearby and tucked it under my tunic as an afterthought. Just in case. Then I resumed on the route to Emsha.
I heard the remaining men muttering before they fell in pace behind me.
We reached Emsha to find the road full of people. Thone and Jennik faced off in the center of the mass.
“I told you, we will freely help you rebuild,” Thone said, “but you no longer have any ground to stand on to make demands or threats.”
“You’re the one who brought the dragon into this!” Jennik retorted, his face red.
I strode up to them. “Actually, that was me.”
Jennik’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You!
You did this!” He yanked his sword out.
Thone’s own sword blocked it before it got much further. “You did this to yourself, and you know it. Now put it away.”
Swords appeared throughout the crowd, everyone on edge, ready and waiting for their respective leaders to give the signal to attack.
I reached forward and used my fingertips to push both swords in front of me downward. “You can bicker about who’s to blame later. Right now, I need your help. All of you. We have to go underground so I can get the ring back and prevent those creatures from using Axen to attack again.”
Jennik’s eyes narrowed. “You can stop this?”
“I can.”
He eyed me only a moment longer before sheathing his sword. Thone copied his movement. The men around us relaxed some, but remained on close watch for the slightest sign of returned hostilities.
“How?” Jennik demanded.
I had to let myself slow down for a moment. Jennik was a man who solved his problems with violence, but I couldn’t let him kill the leader, not while the leader still wore the ring. I’d have to be careful how I worded this.
“The creature you gave the ring to. I need him alive. Then I can regain control of the dragon and guarantee there will be no more attacks.”
A man behind Jennik snorted. I vaguely recognized him, possibly from my first encounter with Krenish. “There aren’t any attacks right now.”
“Not right now, no. But the dragon is still under the creature’s influence. It’s only a matter of time before the attacks will resume. And next time, they won’t stop for any reason.” The longer the bond remained in place, the stronger it became, the more adjusted Axen’s view became to the wearer’s interpretation of the world.
Jennik surveyed me. I could practically see his brain hard at work. “You said you need the leader alive. Why?”
“It’s the only way for this to work.” If I let on that killing the leader would kill Axen, they would just storm the cavern, kill the leader, and consider the problem solved. I couldn’t let them kill her.
“So that gutter wretch gets away free?” he snapped, clearly displeased with the idea.
“No.” Perfect. He’d given me what I needed to know. “Here’s the deal. You and your men come with us underground and fight our way through the remaining creatures. Their numbers are weakened now, as many as they lost once the dragon left. Help me capture the leader alive. As soon as I’ve done what needs done to stop the dragon attacks, you’ll get your side of the deal.”
“Which is?”
“The leader. He’ll be all yours to carry out whatever justice you see fit.” I saw the bloodlust flare in his eyes and knew I’d found the right nerve. I pushed it, just slightly. “You can show him what happens to anyone foolish enough to cross you.”
The men behind him muttered, but he put a hand up, silencing them. He evaluated me a moment longer, then held his hand out.
I shook it.
He held on a moment longer than necessary, his eyes hard. “I haven’t forgotten what you did to us.”
“And I haven’t forgotten your deeds, either. Now let’s be done with this before he can rally the dragon to return.”
He paused, then released my hand with a nod. “Give my men a moment to ready themselves.”
It occurred to me that I had simply assumed that Thone would also be in agreement with my plan and that he and his men would join in the fight. I turned to apologize and properly request his help, but he was already directing his men, preparing them for the upcoming fight.
The crowd eased back as Thone and Jennik gave orders to their respective people. I slid through the mass of people toward the large tree with the massive roots. My leg and side joined in concert, other random joints and bruises adding lines of harmony, trying to convince me that collapsing would be the best idea at this time. I ignored the music and pressed on. I couldn’t slow down now. I had to get the ring back. My legs wobbled as I neared the tree.
Magra caught my arm and pulled me to face her before I reached my target. “You’re going to kill yourself if you try to keep up this pace.” She had been chiding before, teasing, even scolding. Now she just sounded serious. Angry. Perhaps a little frightened. I met her eyes and knew she was right. But all I could do was nod in agreement before turning toward the tree once more.
She sighed in exasperation. “Alita, I can’t give you energy like I did before. There are too many injured people who need my help.”
“I understand.”
Another exasperated sigh. She caught my arm again, giving me a surge of energy. Not as much as before, but enough to keep me together. “That’s all I can do. Do me a favor and don’t let it be for nothing. There’s no shame in letting someone else help you if you can’t go any further.”
That’s what I was already doing, recruiting so many people to help me reach the leader. I nodded. She looked like she might say something else, but instead turned and scurried away, lips pressed tight. I took the last few steps to the tree. It came as little surprise that the creatures had already collapsed the tunnel, probably when they first discovered that Rik and I had intruded on their domain. I set to work digging.
Another pair of hands joined mine, golden in tone with dry mud streaking them. “I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again,” Rik said. “I saw you fall when Axen landed, and I tried to find you in the battle. I was afraid you’d been captured again. Or…” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad you made it out.”
“You too.” I shoved a clump of dirt to the side. “I mean, I’m glad you made it out, too.”
He leaned forward to see me better. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You look terrible. I mean, not that you ever look terrible. But for you, you look terrible.” He scratched his head in frustration. “That’s not what I meant to say.”
I ignored his fumbling and kept digging. “The sooner we get my ring back, the sooner I can rest.”
He worked in silence beside me a bit longer before looking up again. “I don’t think we’re going to find the entrance. I think they collapsed the whole tunnel.”
I looked up to see mostly darkness. The tree roots sprawled out over my head. He was right. I’d found the tunnel long before this point last time.
A sharp pang shot through me. What did this mean? The whole tunnel was gone? How would we get in? The creatures had collapsed the tunnel in Krenish, too. Where else could we go?
I sat back on my heels and stared at the wall of dirt in front of me as if I could make it vanish through sheer force of will. There had to be something.
“What now?” Rik asked.
I closed my eyes. “I don’t know.”
“We could go back to Krenish—”
“They already collapsed that one.”
“We could check. Maybe they just closed the entrance.”
“And waste another hour on the road?” My words flew out harsher than necessary. I sighed. “I’m sorry. I mean, we don’t have the time.”
He looked around. “They came up through the road. If we pry up the planks, perhaps some of those holes are still intact.”
That’s right. The tunnel under the tree had been the largest tunnel, certainly, but not the only one. The road was a long shot, though.
But the road wasn’t the only place they’d come from.
I stood, shaking the dirt off me as I hurried back toward Emsha’s side of the road. “They came through the forest on the other side of the village before. When they came into the inn. There’s got to be a way through there.”
Rik followed on my heels.
Thone caught up on one side, Jennik on the other. “Where are we going?”
“We’re finding the way underground,” I said. “Have your men ready.”
Jennik didn’t look thrilled to be taking directions from a woman. Thone accepted it with surprising grace.
It had been far too long since the attack to find any signs of where the creatures had come through o
r tracks to indicate their retreat path. I strode through the forest, searching as best as I could as I went.
Rik turned to Thone and Jennik. “Have everyone spread out. The creatures may have closed the entrance to the tunnel, but likely didn’t collapse the entire thing. Look for any places where the dirt has been disturbed.”
Some of the Krenish men grumbled something about a kebbit hunt as they drifted away from the group, occasionally poking at the ground with their sword tips as they went. Rik wandered some, but never drifted too far from my side.
“Here!” Jaska shouted.
We all hurried to his side. By the time I reached the front of the crowd, two men had joined Jaska in digging through the loose soil to the tunnel beyond.
Rik lit a lantern and held it high. “No point in stealth with this many men.”
Light was a risk last time, but it would be our ally now. Many other men were ready with lanterns, as well.
“Then let’s go.” I slid past Jaska and proceeded into the tunnel, Rik jogging slightly to catch up.
I was one of the shortest people in the group, but even I had to remain stooped as we continued through the tunnel. It didn’t expand quite as much as the other ones I’d been in. I kept my sword in hand as I crouch-walked over the rough surface. I was used to making my way over the uneven terrain. The men behind me, not so much. I heard a lot of thumping and grunted exclamations as we continued.
I caught Rik’s eye. No point in stealth, indeed. The corner of his lip lifted slightly in amusement, catching the significance of my expression.
I returned my attention forward. The creatures would hear us coming and attack the tunnel, where their small bodies and the narrow space would give them the advantage. We wouldn’t be able to spread out and surround them, and most of our fighters would be trapped too far back to be any help. They, on the other hand, would be able to duck and scurry around our legs. We had to be ready.
The tunnel gradually broadened enough I could stand upright, though the top of my head still brushed the top of the space from time to time, knocking fresh dirt into my hair. I spotted a faint glow ahead. We’d already reached the cavern? Why hadn’t the creatures come to meet us by now?
Rik looked as uncertain as I did. “We should have seen some by now.”
A lanky man slid past me and skittered close to the tunnel end, pressing himself against the side and peering around for a surreptitious look. He remained still for a long moment, then turned. “They aren’t here.”
“Not here?” Jennik demanded, shoving forward.
I followed him, Rik and Thone beside me and the rest of the men hurrying behind them, craning their necks for a view.
The tunnel ended at the top of the cavern. The spiraling ramps and myriad tunnels were the same before, as were the dimly glowing blue rocks set in the walls. But last time, the walls had seemed alive with all the activity. Now everything was still. Silent.
My heart slowed into painfully heavy thuds against my ribs. What did this mean? They’d abandoned their home rather than risk us reaching them? I would never find the leader in time. Axen would be lost.
I sucked in a steadying breath and forced myself to focus. I couldn’t assume the worst. I had to assume the best. We’d cut down their numbers significantly. They might be taking cover, assuming a protective stance around their leader rather than risk spreading themselves out and weakening their defenses.
The men behind me started grumbling. They aren’t here. We came all this way for nothing.
I took a moment to reorient myself, then pointed to the lower, larger tunnel where we’d found the leader last time. “We start there. If they aren’t there, we search the tunnels, one by one, until we find them.”
“And if we don’t?” Jennik asked, an implied threat hanging behind his tone.
“Then we’ll hunt them down like the wastiks they are.”
His smirk suggested he liked my answer.
Rik and I led the way down the spiraling ramps. One ended too soon, and we had to scale our way down a length of wall to reach the next one. More grumbles followed behind us, but I ignored them, keeping my focus on the tunnel. He had to be there. He had to be.
Last time, our progress had been painfully slow, inching our way from tunnel to tunnel, doing our best to avoid detection. This time, the route to our target went much faster but no less painful. My heart thudded at every odd noise, certain that the creatures were about to flood out of the tunnel I was passing. That tension combated with an even more terrifying thought, that the creatures actually had abandoned their home and would never be seen again. Along with my ring.
It was getting harder to breathe.
We reached the correct level and approached the tunnel. It was as dark as before, but no creatures plugged the entryway now. The air felt too thick. Wrong.
“They aren’t here,” someone grumbled.
Jennik shot a scowl over his shoulder—the speaker must have been one of his men—then eyed the tunnel. “If this is really where their leader hides, why aren’t they guarding it?”
I didn’t have an answer. Rik didn’t, either.
Mumbles rose behind us. Words like ‘waste of time’ and ‘fool’s errand’ buzzed around my ears.
“We’ve come too far to give up,” Rik said, stepping forward into the tunnel without looking to make sure the rest of us were following. “We stick to the plan. Check this tunnel, and if the leader isn’t there, we scout the others.”
He paused and glanced back at me, only me.
My feet led me forward to walk at his side, and we continued into the tunnel. It suddenly didn’t matter if the others followed or not. He was going to make sure this task was seen through to the end, regardless of what we faced or how many allies we had on our side.
Clumping footsteps echoed through the tunnel behind us. As glad as I was for Rik’s support, it was a relief to know we still had enough swords with us to make our mission successful.
We wound our way through the tunnel. Came to the last corner. Turned to see the large room beyond.
Empty. The mound sat unoccupied. A few of the treasures were missing from the raised sections around the throne. No leader. No lounging creatures of importance. No servants scurrying around to see to their needs. They were gone.
I felt like someone had torn my lungs out through my ribcage. The absence of creatures and the missing items pointed straight to my deepest fear: the creatures had abandoned this place.
“Nothing here,” Jennik declared unnecessarily, giving me a look.
I sucked in the first real breath of air since we entered the room. “Then we check the other tunnels. There’s another large one that might be of importance to them. We’ll try that one next.”
“We should split up,” someone suggested. “We can check more tunnels that way.”
“It would be faster,” Jaska said.
“But more dangerous,” Rik countered. “Whoever finds their hiding place might be killed before they can alert the rest of us.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Jennik turned and waved his men back the way we’d come. “Let’s move.”
Rik and I fell into step, now at the back of the group instead of the front. I still felt the weight of oppressive silence crushing my shoulders, even with the stomping feet and quiet mutters as the men planned out how they would divide themselves.
“We’ll stay with a large group,” Rik offered.
The weight grew.
“Or we can stay near the center so we can hear the instant anyone finds anything. It’s up to you.”
I slowed. Something was wrong here. Something about the heaviness I felt.
Rik looked back toward the throne room. “Maybe you’d rather stay here and look for clues of where they might have gone?”
“Shh.” I held still for a moment. I’d been so caught up in my fear of the creatures being gone, of never retrieving my ring, of Axen being in their grips fo
r the rest of her life, that I’d interpreted my feelings as part of that fear. But it was something more. My senses weren’t as sharply honed as they were when bonded with Axen, making it harder to interpret what my body was trying to tell me.
“Stop.” My voice rang and echoed strangely in the tunnel.
The mass of men slowed to a stop and looked back at me.
I searched the tunnel around us with my gaze. Closed my eyes for a moment. Opened them again.
The ceiling blinked back.
My hand was on Rik’s arm. “Your bow,” I whispered, so quiet he had to lean closer to hear. “Shoot the ceiling.”
He stared at me.
I didn’t look away from the spot on the ceiling where I could swear I’d seen the tiniest movement, even as the more rational parts of my mind tried to convince me that I’d been imagining things, that the flickering lights from the lanterns had tricked my eyes, that I only wanted something to be there.
Rik notched an arrow, took aim upwards, and let it loose.
A creature fell, screaming.
My sword was already in hand. “They’re on the ceiling!” I spun back toward the room. The creatures were still here. They’d just been hiding. Which meant the leader was still here, too. Before I could get two steps, a torrent of creatures dropped from the ceiling, flying at us with shrieks and claws and teeth. I threw one over my shoulder before it could get a grip on me. Caught another with my sword. The tunnel filled to bursting with chaotic shouts and snarls as the men faced the ambush, struggling to cast off the attackers and cut them down.
I knocked another attacker aside and slashed at one short body after another, driving my way deeper into the tunnel. Had to get back to the throne room. The creatures were many, but not nearly as many as before, and it showed. Their thin numbers barely slowed my progress forward.
One of the creatures ducked under my slash and jumped at my chest. His sharp claws cut through my tunic and dug into the flesh above my heart before I was able to redirect my strike and send him tumbling to his brethren below. I had to gasp and drive the pain to the back of my mind. They weren’t holding back now. I didn’t wear the ring. I had already witnessed the leader complete the bond. They had no reason to restrain themselves and keep me alive.
A shriek came from behind me. I spun and lifted my sword in time to intercept the creature before he could get close enough to slash at me. Hands caught my hair and tugged backwards, trying to pull me down. I bent my knees and slid one foot back for a stronger stance, then lunged my upper body forwards hard enough to break most of the holds and send one creature flying over my head. It tumbled into two others, knocking all three of them down.
I jumped over them and continued my fight forward. I was almost to the room. Nearly there.
More creatures dropped from the room’s ceiling to try to block the way. But the chaos behind me had quieted as the men eliminated the creatures’ advantage of surprise. We were a stronger force than they were prepared to face. And in this situation, the uninhibited rage of Jennik’s men worked to our advantage.
We drove the creatures back away from the tunnel end. I gained more scratches and a few bite marks, but the enemy was falling faster than their damage could match. They’d lost too many of their fighters up in Krenish after Axen flew away. They no longer could swarm and overwhelm us like they could before.
Archers slowed at the tunnel end, staying close to the cover of the walls and firing randomly at the ceiling to find more hiding creatures. A few ignited the ends of their arrows before firing, bringing more light to the ceiling and revealing the slightly furrier mounds of dirt hidden on the uneven surface. I stabbed a creature that had chomped down on my leg and cast it aside. The leader had to still be hiding on the ceiling. And now it was only a matter of time before we found him.
A mass of creatures dropped down onto the throne mound. One stood in the middle, panic in his eyes. The leader. I slashed forward with renewed energy and purpose.
“Stop!” the leader shouted above the chaos. He shoved a couple of his guards aside so he could be seen. A blade glittered in his hand, turned toward his own throat. “Stop, or I kill myself!”