not shooting that werewolf, Yumo, because that werewolf happens to be a friend of mine.”

Yumo looked surprised for a second and seemed determined to convince me otherwise. When she saw my determination, she sighed and lowered her bow. As the werewolf came into clearer view, I saw that it was indeed Friya.

“Relax, everyone, I know this werewolf,” I said to my party, who were tense and ready to fight.

The werewolf, panting with exhaustion and covered with blood, skidded to a halt in front of me. When she’d transformed back into her human form, Friya was utterly exhausted, and the blood remained spattered all over her even after her transformation.

“Shit, Friya, are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she gasped, her chest heaving and her clothes soaked with sweat. “It’s not my blood. I’m not injured.”

She thrust the huge two-handed sword into my hands. The instant I touched it, a rush of intense magical power blasted through my body and soul.

“What is this, and where did you get it?” I asked.

“I got it from a Yengish lord who is known to have a hoard of ancient religious artefacts,” she said. “As I told you, my dreams guided me, and informed me that you would be needing this. The Yengishman was … not very cooperative when it came to handing this sword over. Hence the blood. As for what it is—”

“By the blood of the Dragon Goddess,” Ji-Ko interrupted her. Even though he could not see the sword and had not touched it himself, he must have felt its power from a few feet away. “The lost greatsword of the Dragon Goddess—this is one of the most powerful weapons ever forged. God of Death, you were asking of the vulnerability of dragons, and I said almost nothing. Well, this sword is the ‘almost’ part of that statement. This blade can cut through anything, including the strongest dragonhide. Unlike any weapons forged by the hands of men, it can slice through dragon scales like they were human flesh. It can also cut through almost any magical armor, even those with the strongest enchantments. But more than that, it has a very special ability that few other weapons possess: it can channel any kind of magic, or turn the kind of magic you’re channeling an altogether different kind. All you need in order to do this is any small item enchanted with the latter kind of magic.”

“So, if I had a Death item, I could channel Death Magic with this sword? And if I had an Ice item, I could channel Ice through it?”

“Yes! This is one of the most powerful and versatile weapons ever created by the gods. It truly is a weapon fit for not just a ruler of men, but a ruler of gods.”

“Many had to die in order for me to get this weapon, Vance,” Friya said, “but my dreams have been relentless with their messages in recent weeks. I was told that without this sword, you could not succeed in your ultimate quest. I did whatever it took to get it, so here it is.”

“I owe you a lot, Friya, and I’ll make sure that you’re appropriately rewarded for what you’ve done. But now we need to move, and we need to move fast.”

Friya shifted back into her werewolf form, and sprinted along with us up into the mountains with Yumo leading us to the cave. I filled in the gaps in Friya’s knowledge, and she was very eager to rescue the rest of my women from the Warlock’s so-called dragons. The last mile or two of the path was a steep scramble up a rocky slope. When we reached the top, we found ourselves looking down into a small valley.

Down in the valley were seven massive beasts, all snorting and growling and pawing at a pile of rocks. Between a gap in the rocks, I saw Elyse’s face. She leaned out and blasted a ray of bright white fire from her mace, which hit one of the monsters. The beast roared, but the fierce intensity of the beam seemed to barely harm it. In response, the creature shot a short burst of fire from its mouth at Elyse, who ducked back behind the rock into the shelter of the cave.

“Those things aren’t dragons,” Yumo said, “but they’re close.”

I recognized the beasts right away; they were the same type of giant lizard as Fang, but they seemed to have been altered. Fang, of course, could not breathe fire, and his scales weren’t nearly as tough as these monsters’. Furthermore, these giant lizards had wings. They were small, leathery bat-like wings, covered in reptile scales, and they were too small and weak for flight. But they were there.

“It looks like the Warlock has been trying to make dragons by mutating these giant lizards,” I said.

Yumo recoiled. “All he’s succeeded in doing is to create mutant abominations.”

“It’s time to put these mutants out of their misery, and end their man-eating rampage,” I said as I hopped off my panther, carrying the greatsword. “Let’s see what this Dragon Sword can do.”

“Yumo, give me covering fire when I need it,” I said to her. Then I turned to Layna. “I’ll need your help with some spiderweb shooting. If you can get onto that ridge over there you should be able to shoot some webs at the monsters without getting roasted.”

“I don’t think my webs will do much against those things,” Layna said.

“They’ll distract them and slow them down, and that’s all I need,” I said.

Friya transformed back to her human form to talk to me. “What can I do to help?”

“My monks and I are willing to fight these beasts as well,” Ji-Ko said.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want you guys getting killed, and I’m the only one strong enough to fight these monsters. You can stay here with Anna-Lucielle. Do what you can to distract the monsters if you see that I’m in trouble.”

There was nothing else to say; the monsters

Вы читаете Bone Lord 4
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