With Brazin ahead and below them, Jolian soared down and blasted fire into her brother’s path, but slightly to his right. It came as no surprise that Brazin banked left, right into his sister’s trajectory. She was clever. Eric braced for the collision as Jolian kicked downward with what felt like all four legs, striking Brazin’s body with a jarring thud so deep that she knocked the breath from the dragon’s body with an audible grunt from him. Eric heard the cough-like whoosh of air from him, a mist of frost expelled as if by accident. Now Brazin fell as if knocked off balance or struggling to regain control, his legs kicking wildly, wings jerked by the wind instead of used skillfully. He pulled himself into a ball as he plummeted, then spread his wings again, once more in control as he looked around for his sister. Eric thought he saw fear.
And it was too late. The trees and a lake weren’t far below now and Brazin looked helpless as he beat the air to gain speed and altitude. Jolian closed in from above again. This time she breathed fire directly at Brazin, who heard the flames and rolled once more, countering them with ice, but again the red dragon saw it coming and had already banked left, then right, reaching Brazin just as he completed the roll. At the last moment, Jolian slowed herself and grabbed her brother’s neck with her front claws, one back leg clubbing down at his body so that Eric wondered if she had just knocked off Novir. But he had no time to care. The lake rushed up at them until both dragons spread their wings to slow the impending crash near the shoreline. A huge fountain of water hurtled into the air, their momentum making them careen onto the short sandy beach, a line of trees near.
When they came to rest, it amazed Eric that he was still alive. Jolian was turning to stand on the ground more firmly, her front claws still around her brother’s neck, and it gave Eric a clear sight of Novir having unfastened himself and sliding down the blue dragon’s side to splash into the water. The sound of footsteps plunging through the shallows told the rogue that his quarry meant to flee.
“Jolian,” called Eric, “let me go.”
“Done.”
Eric felt the spell holding him to the dragon’s back release, and he smoothly pulled a throwing knife out as he raced down the wing that the red dragon helpfully lowered like a ramp to the sand. He kept a running count of lost throwing knives and still had roughly half of the dozen. He turned after Novir, who had a thirty-yard head start on him, heading along the beach instead of into the trees. Behind him, Eric heard Jolian take a deeper breath and wondered what she was doing until something crackling went over his head. He barely saw the man-sized fireball that landed in the sand a few strides ahead of Novir, who stopped in visible surprise, then turned and ran toward the woods.
Eric smirked and changed course to intercept him. He took a chance and slowed to throw a knife at his prey. He had already resumed course when the blade sank into Novir’s hip to create a second wound. The King’s Guardsman staggered a few paces toward the trees, pulling out the blade and throwing it down as he turned to Eric, ripped a sword from its sheath. The rogue stopped ten feet away, certain he wouldn’t win that way. Instead, he threw another knife that Novir deflected.
“Coward!” he shouted. “Pull your sword and fight me!”
Eric threw two in quick succession, the first intended to distract and then second going for the sword arm. It worked, Novir wincing, his sword lowering as he tried to remove the blade with the other hand. Eric charged to make Novir think they would land in a heap, but at the last moment he leaped up, delivering a kick to the jaw that sent Novir on his back, the sword falling. And Eric was on top of him in an instant, another knife to his throat, Novir’s arms pinned between his body and Eric’s legs. The trees were just strides away, and he briefly scanned them for danger he didn’t see before returning attention to his captive.
“Why?” Eric demanded.
Novir spat at him, but the rogue saw him getting ready to do it and leaned sideways to dodge it. “I’ll tell you nothing.”
Eric punched him in the face, not bothering to wipe the spit from his ear. He sometimes forgot that one hand had a magic ring that did far more damage than might be expected of a blow, but Novir’s broken lip and shattered teeth reminded him. He almost felt bad for the damage but said, “Normally I’d say I can do that all day, but I don’t have time for this. Are you under control of the orb?”
Snidely, his mouth bloody, Novir asked, “Would it make you be civil if I said yes?”
Eric hit him again, but not as hard. “Answer and you’ll find out.”
A glare of anger appeared, and Eric felt Novir’s arms struggling to slip free. The guardsman said, “I am going to kill you.”
“Not likely. Why did you betray your king?”
Novir smiled, bloody teeth making him sinister. “My allegiance is not to him. I betrayed no one.” A hint of pride surfaced, and Eric used it.
“For what? Money? Whores? A pint of ale?”
Sneering, Novir
