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  “She is hurting him!” Nikki said with more concern than anger.

  “She has a salve that will help his wounds heal,” Ulg replied.

  Aeneas did his best to hide the pain that was shooting through his limbs each time the young woman touched his skin, but his face could not veil what he was feeling. Nikki clenched her jaw, hoping that the young woman was not harming him further. Once the bandages were removed, Elma opened the clay jar and dipped her fingers into it, pulling out a thick mass of salve. Carefully, she began spreading it on his wounds. As she worked, Elma looked up and spoke to Ulg in her own tongue.

  “Elma tells me that neither of his legs are broken. The nails were driven through the foot between the bones of the foot, but not through the bones themselves. He will be in much pain, and he will not be able to walk for several days until the wounds have healed some. Even then, it will be painful for him to walk.”

  “I will be fine,” Aeneas growled. He did his best to hide the pain that he was feeling, but it was evident in his voice.

  “You are not fine!” Nikki exclaimed. “You had nails driven through your feet and wrists!”

  “I am not dead, so I am fine.”

  “If you are to help us in our fight, you must heal.”

  “If I can stand and hold a sword, I will help. Arg!” His words ended with a muffled cry as Elma’s hands worked the salve into his wounds.

  Nikki let out a laugh. A smirk crossed Elma’s face as well. “Do not let your courage blind you,” Nikki said. “We will find horses, and we will ride our way east.”

  Aeneas glared at the young healer. “I think she did that on purpose.”

  “The salve must get into the wound to heal it,” Ulg said.

  Aeneas let out another grunt and looked up at Nikki. With a softened tone, he said, “Thank you for getting my men and me down. We are in your debt.”

  “There is no debt to pay. Only a promise that you will stand by my side in the battle against the Deceiver.”

  Aeneas’ eyes gave off a twinkle. “Certainly. I shall not leave your side.”

  Realizing what she had said, Nikki’s cheeks flushed red, and she could not look at Aeneas. “You have my back, and I will have yours. That’s what I meant.”

  “Of course, it is.”

  Elma finished up and carefully wrapped his legs and hands in loose bandages. She spoke to Ulg before quietly leaving.

  To Aeneas, Ulg said, “Elma insists that you rest. The salve will only help the healing, but it is rest that will do the most work.”

  “We must leave at first light in the morning,” Nikki said. “Whether you are with us, or not.”

  “We do not have supplies to spare, but you can have whatever you need.”

  Nikki gave a sharp nod and replied, “We are grateful for your kindness.”

  Ulg shrugged his shoulders. “Elma’s healing may not matter, for if the dragon does not return by nightfall, you will be killed.”

  “She will return,” Nikki insisted.

  Ulg gave Aeneas a long look before continuing. “Elma is a healer and insisted on taking care of your friend, even though he is a Taran. I, however, would have thought nothing of letting him suffer through the pain of his wounds. I will return when the Dragon returns, or when the sun falls below the horizon, whichever is first.”

  Ulg quickly left the tent. When the flap opened as he passed through, several armed barbarians could be seen milling about.

  “There is little chance for escape,” Kile said. He had sat down on the hard ground and pulled his cloak tightly about his body to keep warm.

  “There is no chance for escape,” Aeneas said. “If your flying beast does not return, and they come to kill us, I will fight back with you, but there is a whole army out there. Princess Nikki, it would be an honor to die in battle with you.”

  “Myllia will return,” Nikki replied. “Now, rest up, for the pain is making you delusional.”

  Aeneas laughed, but he did close his eyes and quickly let himself fall into a light sleep.

  ***

  Shouting erupted from outside the tent, causing Nikki to jump up, startled. She had not wanted to fall asleep, but fatigue had finally overcome her. In another heartbeat, she drew her swords and prepared to attack whoever came through the tent flag. A moment later, Ulg stepped through. He was not armed, which made Nikki relax. She could not tell if it was disappointment or surprise on his face.

  “Your beast has returned,” Ulg said.

  Nikki helped Aeneas to his feet and supported him as he hobbled outside the tent to await Myllia’s arrival. Once outside, they realized that much of the army had stayed for the return of Barr and the two other tribal leaders. A buzz of anticipation filled the air, as eyes looked up into the sky to watch Myllia approach from the south. Myllia descended slowly, for she did not want to cause her three riders to fall from their perch. As soon as she touched down, Barr and his two companions slipped off. The mass of warriors pushed forward but remained a safe distance away from the Dragon.

  Ulg walked forward to meet Barr, but Barr walked right past him.

  “Princess Nikki,” Barr said with a grim tone. “We will march at first light.”

  “What did you find?” Nikki asked.

  “Devastation. Complete and utter devastation.”

  “Should we not run for the mountains?” Ulg asked. The other two tribal leaders quickly responded sharply in their own language, causing Ulg to take a step back.

  Barr looked at the two tribal leaders and nodded his head, adding his own sharp rebuke. “I agree. To run is cowardly. We are not cowards. There is no hiding from whatever it was that destroyed Tara City and the miles of land around it. No building was left standing, and no Taran appeared to be left alive. We will not sit back and wait for this to happen to our people. Princess Nikki? You will lead us east?”

  Nikki wanted to smile and show relief at the barbarians deciding to join in the fight, but she kept herself from showing any emotion. There was no joy in what they were doing, for it would likely mean their ultimate and untimely deaths. Even if they were successful in winning the war, many thousands more would probably die before the fighting was over. She did not care if she was one of those that survived or not, she only knew that it was her duty to fight to the end.

  Aeneas looked at Barr and said, “We have been fighting against one another for many, many years. I look forward to fighting at your side.”

  Barr tipped his head forward. “How our fates have changed. If only the Dragon had come a few days earlier, maybe both our armies would be heading east.”

  Aeneas shook his head. “Princess Nikki told us about the Deceiver, and General Lucius, the leader of our army, did not listen. He would never have considered fighting at your side.”

  “If he would have seen what I saw, I think he would have changed his mind.”

  “It was that bad?”

  “There is nothing left of your capital city, and for miles around it. You have family there?”

  “I did.”

  “I am sorry.”

  Aeneas did his best to hold his emotions in check. “I am a soldier. I am used to death.”

  “That is good, for there is much yet to come.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Immerallis lifted his snout and bared his teeth. The bright whiteness of the cave’s entrance was in stark contrast to the darkness of the interior where he lay in silence. Snuggled safely between his right shoulder and the cold stone of the cave wall was the large speckled egg that represented the future of Dragons. He was a little surprised that someone, or something, had not come sooner. In fact, he was disappointed that he had yet to be found out. He didn’t know who it was, but he knew it wasn’t Human, and he knew it was the enemy. Humans had a particular scent that he could smell from a long way away. The other creatures of the Deceiver had their own scent as well, but he could not place the smell that his strong nose picked up. He reached out with his feelings, trying to use the Web of Magic t
o discover its identity, but he only found blankness. At least it wasn’t the Deceiver carrying his amulet. That was the one being that he could detect through the Web of Magic. All the other creatures of the Deceiver were almost like a black hole of emptiness, and that was what he felt right now.

  A moment later, the bright light of the entrance was blocked by a towering figure. It looked Human, as it had two arms and stood on two legs, but Immerallis knew it was far from Human. Even in the shadows of the light behind it, he could see its hulking muscular physique. A large club was held in its right hand, which the creature dragged on the floor of the cave as it walked forward.

  Immerallis was not going to wait. He sprang to his feet and aimed his nose at the creature and emptied all the Dragonfire in his belly at it. The yellow flames of fire filled the cave with light, and for a brief moment, he saw the creature’s face. It showed no fear or emotion, even in the face of death. It kept moving forward, even as flames engulfed it. It did not scream in pain or horror, as he expected, but took another step forward.

  Then, it dropped to a knee and fell forward. Its body was charred black. The wooden club that it had held disintegrated in the fire. Immerallis wrinkled his nose at the pungent scent of burned death that filled the cave.

  Immerallis moved forward slowly and carefully. With one of its front legs, he pushed the body over, just to be sure it was dead. It was barely recognizable as a living creature. He was about to grab it and toss it out of the cave when the light from the cave’s entrance dimmed.

  Another of the creatures had stepped into the entrance. A heartbeat later, a second creature joined the first. Immerallis suddenly realized his tactical mistake. He had expended all his fire on the one creature. It would take some time for the fire to return, and by then, it might be too late.

  “Who are you?” Immerallis asked them. If he could delay them long enough, he might be able to generate enough fire to at least slow them down.

  He was met with a blank abyss of nothingness. No thoughts. No feelings. Their size did not scare him, nor did their spiked clubs. It was the emptiness of their minds that caused him fear. Until now, every living creature that he had come across gave off an aura of life that he could feel with his thoughts. The higher-functioning beings like Humans, Elves, and Dwarves, could communicate with Dragons. These creatures were an empty shell void of life.

  If he had known they were the Deceiver’s most powerful soldiers, Immerallis might have simply tried to flee. He did not know they were called Mashers, or that they were impervious to pain. He saw them as a threat, and he wasn’t going to back down from them. Even when they picked up their clubs and smashed them onto the cavern wall, sending chunks of stone flying into the darkness, he was not dissuaded from the fight. He knew they were not after him, but after the egg, and he would defend the egg to the end. The power of the unborn Dragon was dangerous to the Deceiver, but even Immerallis did not know how dangerous.

  A thick, rumbling growl came from deep within his belly as he crouched low. There was little room to maneuver, but enough for him to spring forward and attack. The Mashers leaped to action without warning, their instincts taking over where their thoughts could not. With the grace of a feline, they jumped to either side of Immerallis so they could not both be attacked at the same time. Immerallis snapped his razor-sharp jaws at one, but it dodged away. At the same time, he swung his tail at the other, catching it fully in the side and sending it crashing against the far wall.

  Immerallis did not wait to see it immediately jump back up and march forward, club raised to strike his back. Instead, Immerallis was trying to catch the other Masher in its jaws. As fast as the Dragon was, the Masher was even faster. It dodged out of the way as the other Masher swung his club down on Immerallis’ back.

  The power of the blow surprised Immerallis. He saw it coming and thought he had braced himself for the strike, but it rocked his body to the core. His legs collapsed under the force of the attack, and a sharp pain exploded up his back. For a moment, he could not move his lower body, and that made him only angrier. Twisting his body to face the Masher who attacked him from behind, he left himself exposed to the other Masher, who immediately took advantage of the situation. Almost as if it were choreographed, the other Masher swung his club across Immerallis’ exposed face. He was unprepared for the speed of the swing and was caught flush. With his lower body still stinging, his head snapped back, causing him to twist away from the blow.

  His mind was fuzzy, and he saw flashes of light floating in the darkness. There was pain throughout his body, but he had felt worse pain many times. There would be nothing short of death that would stop him from protecting his unborn progeny.

  He had expected both Mashers to continue to attack him, but as soon as they delivered their blows, they moved into the darkness of the cave. Clearly, the two Mashers were not focused on him, but on getting to the egg. Desperation filled his actions, and he forced himself back onto all fours, despite the sluggishness in his mind and muscles. He leaped at the nearest one, who tried to dodge away. Understanding how quick they really were, Immerallis anticipated the counter-move, and he caught the Masher in his jaws. He was able to not only get his body but also his arms as well. This prevented the Masher from being able to strike back while he had a hold of it. It squirmed and kicked, desperate to be free, but Immerallis squeezed down with his jaws, teeth biting into soft tissue. He tasted its blood and felt the crush of bones.

  As the other Masher sprinted into the darkness immediately after striking him on the back, it was too far away to attack. Immerallis could see it clearly in the darkness, but he could tell it could not see as well, for it had stopped sprinting and was moving forward slowly, searching for the egg that it knew was nearby. There was just enough light from the entrance to allow it to find the egg, and now it was poised over it, lifting its club to smash the egg and kill the future. Immerallis knew that it was not only the future of Dragons that would die with the blow but also the future of all civilizations. There would still be a war to fight, but the little Dragon named Melissa was to be the key to ultimate survival. He could die. Myllia could die, but Melissa needed to survive. At least a bit longer.

  The Masher in Immerallis’ jaws was still kicking and thrashing about to try and free itself, but Immerallis had complete control over it. With a twist of his neck, he flung the Masher towards the other. Before the Masher’s club could strike down on the egg, they crashed together, and they both tumbled deeper into the cave and darkness. Immerallis was not going to wait for them to recover, for he knew it would only be a heartbeat or two before they were up and ready to fight. If he didn’t have to protect the egg, he would have stayed and fought. Now that he knew that they bled, and their bones could be crushed, he was confident he could have disposed of them. His duty, though, was to protect and not to fight. With two bounding leaps, he reached the egg and scooped it up in his jaws, setting his jaw muscles tight and firm to protect the egg.

  The Mashers quickly untangled themselves and sprang to their feet. Immerallis swung his body around, targeting his tail to strike them both against the cave’s stone wall. The uninjured Masher easily ducked out of the way, but the other Masher was too slow and was caught by his tail. Immerallis didn’t just try and fling the Masher against the wall but pushed with his tail to pin it as hard and fast as he could. More bones crunched, and the Masher dropped to the floor unmoving.

  Immerallis did not hesitate for another heartbeat. Part of him wanted to continue the fight, but two had appeared just after he killed one, so he was not going to wait for more to show up. Pushing his legs as fast as they would go, he sprinted for the cave entrance only to see three Mashers suddenly appear, blocking the entrance. In just four steps, he was almost at full speed, and nothing was going to stop the massive force of his momentum. Keeping his jaws clenched around the egg to protect it, he shoved one aside, and his body sent another tumbling outside the entrance and down the mountainside. The third was able to step asi
de and swing its club at his back, but it was only a glancing blow.

  Once outside, Immerallis spread his wings and tucked his feet up to his belly. Despite the pain that spread up his tail and to his back, he pumped his wings to gain altitude. With each flap of his wings, pain shot farther up his back, and he almost faltered. The feel of the egg safe in his jaws kept him moving and allowed him to ignore the nearly incapacitating pain. Once he was high enough, he banked slightly to be able to see the cavern’s entrance. Three Mashers were standing the cave’s entrance, watching him fly away. The fourth was still tumbling down the mountainside in a cloud of snow.

  He turned away and aimed for the Great Mountains far to the north, but he quickly realized he would never make it. The blows against his back had weakened him, and he would need time to rest. Even if he made it as far as the Great Mountains, he would be vulnerable to another attack. They had found him once, and it was likely they would find him again. If Myllia were nearby, she could protect him long enough to recover, but she was still hundreds of miles away, off on her errand. His only recourse was to put his trust in the Humans and Elves to help him. He didn’t like the idea, but he knew there was no other logical choice. Keeping his wings spread wide, he dipped to the right to turn back towards the White Mountains and the Human fortress.

  ***

  Hargon did not need to use a torch to light his way. He held his palm up, and a small ball of reddish flame gave just enough light to guide him down the rough-hewn corridor that led to the dungeons. It was dirty and musty, with cobwebs everywhere. It was also not as cold as he expected. He left his thick wool robe hanging open, exposing the golden necklace that gave him much of his power. Up ahead, there was a harsh yellow light that flickered against the stone corridor. Behind a corner, torches had been lit to give light to a part of the castle that had not been used in generations. He glanced back, looking into the blackness of the corridor behind him. Unseen in the darkness, steps led up to the hidden entrance. There was no reason to believe that he had been followed, but he had that feeling that someone was watching him. He tilted this head to listen more closely, but he heard no sounds.