The Dragon's Breath (Aboard the Great Iron Horse Book 3) Read online

  “First, it’s almost impossible to get that behemoth down to the beach. Second, the noise scares them off long before it arrives. And it’s a devil to get that thing out of the sand. We lost the first one that way. When it loses traction, it just digs in deeper and deeper.”

  “Is the black as big as they say he is?”

  “Sixty, maybe seventy feet long. About forty feet tall, last time I saw him.”

  They reached the bottom of the steps, and Kale noticed the larger dragons were scattered out every few hundred yards, interspersed among the hundreds of smaller ones in the vicinity. He pointed out a full-grown dragon curled up on the beach nearby. It was approximately the same size as the red he had killed.

  “You like the gold, eh?” Dane said. “Good choice.” He turned to face the other men. “The rest of you stay back and wait for my command. Kale and I will draw it out of the herd.”

  “Draw it out?” Kale said. “How will we do that?”

  “We’re gonna be the bait,” Dane said with a toothy grin.

  The king chose a path through the smaller dragons, pausing now and then to poke at one with his spear, driving it back. “Once we have the big one’s attention, we don’t want these little ones coming at us from behind,” he explained.

  “Why not just kill them?” Kale said. “Won’t you thin out the herd faster that way?”

  “In theory, yes. In reality, the noise of the first kill will frighten the others off, making each successive kill more difficult. Dragons are slow during the day, but not stupid. If they sense too much danger, they’ll scatter. That’s why we focus on the big ones. They’re the most dangerous, and they are mature enough to breed. These little ones won’t breed for another twenty or thirty years. Maybe never, if Socrates comes through on his promise.”

  Kale joined in, driving the smaller dragons back out of the way. Working together, they quickly cleared a path thirty feet wide leading from the stairs to the golden dragon.

  “It’s time,” Dane said at last. “Stay back while I rush her. It will give her a start, but she’ll recover quickly. When she moves to strike, you’ll need to draw her away. We’ll work together, keeping her distracted until she’s where we want her. Are you ready?”

  “Ready,” Kale said, clutching his spear.

  Dane lifted his spear and hurried towards the dragon, which had been sleeping with its back to them. As he approached it, he slowed down and very cautiously crept up close. Without warning, he lifted his spear and swung the weapon violently down on the dragon’s spine.

  “Wake up, lizard!” he shouted.

  Dane leapt back as the dragon bolted upright. It snapped at him and the king dodged out of the way. He brought the tip of his spear down on top of the dragon’s snout. The creature recoiled and then hesitated, swishing its tail like a cat ready to pounce. The smaller dragons in the vicinity backed further away, or took flight, headed for safer places. Kale leapt into action, shouting and waving his spear in the air.

  “Over here, devil-snake! I’m the one you want!”

  The dragon hesitated. It turned its head slightly to the side, the membranous eyelids flicking open and shut over its long serpentine pupils. Kale suddenly noticed how closely the head of the creature resembled that of a snake. Despite the horns and scales, it had a broad, flat forehead and wide-set predatory eyes just like a viper. Those eyes seemed to sense everything, and there was no mistaking the rapacious intelligence behind them. Kale turned his spear nervously, watching the dragon as it watched him.

  The beast lurched forward, releasing a blast of flames. Kale leapt aside. He hit the ground and saw Dane rushing in for another attack. The king struck the dragon on the foreleg, driving his spear deep between the scales. The blade penetrated far enough to draw blood. For a moment, the dragon forgot all about Kale. It threw its head back, roaring, spitting flames into the sky.

  Kale scrambled to his feet as the dragon lunged at Dane. Dane tried to parry the attack with his spear, but the creature latched onto the shaft and pulled it out of his hands. The wooden shaft splintered into a thousand pieces. Before Dane could recover, the dragon swished its tail around in a blur, knocking his feet out from under him.

  Kale rushed into the fight, shouting and taunting. The dragon ignored him. It was too focused on Dane, too ready for the kill. It reared back, sucking in a deep gasp. Kale knew what was going to happen next. He lifted his spear and threw it with all his might. The missile sped to its target, striking the dragon in the left eye.

  The spear tip sank into the unprotected organ and stuck there, wedged in the dragon’s skull socket. The beast roared. It shook its head, trying to rattle the weapon free. It lifted a leg to the wound, pawing at it, long razor-sharp nails closing around the shaft to pull it free. It turned its head left and right, painting the area in flames. Kale dove to the sand as the flames washed over them. Seeing their king in trouble, the other fighters rushed to join the battle. The two men with crossbows lined up their sights and fired, aiming for the dragon’s good eye. They both missed. One bolt grazed a horn and bounced off, the second lodged in the dragon’s skull.

  The fighters raised their shields and rushed into battle, prodding and poking at the beast with their spears. The dragon was furious. It pressed forward, snapping at them, biting the ends off their spears. It turned, swishing its whiplike tail back and forth. One of the men brought his sword down on the tail, between the spines. As the blade found its way into the unprotected flesh, the dragon turned, snapping at him.

  The man pulled on his blade, trying to free it, but it held fast. That split second was all it took for the dragon to snatch him up in its mighty jaws. Kale winced as the man screamed. The dragon shook its head, snapping his neck, and tossed the broken body aside. The smaller dragons in the vicinity rushed in to feast on his corpse.

  Dane snatched a spear out of one of the other men’s hands. He raced forward, right up to the belly of the beast, and drove it between the scales. The dragon snarled, instinctively striking at him with a backhanded blow. It sent the king tumbling backwards. The men moved back, trying to stay out of reach of those powerful jaws. The dragon pulled the spear out of its chest. With a wild snarl, it turned on the king.

  Kale drew both swords from his baldric. With a war cry, he charged into the fight. The dragon swiped at him with its tail, but Kale dropped, sliding under the attack. He instantly regained his feet. He stabbed at the beast, driving the tip of his left sword into the forelimb. The dragon turn, snarling, preparing to unleash another torrent of flame. Kale released the sword and dove forward, rolling between its legs. He drove his second sword upward, into the hole left by Dane’s spear. He buried the weapon right up to the hilt.

  The dragon let out a gasp and fell. Kale narrowly avoided being crushed by diving off to the side. As he regained his feet, he heard Dane shout his name. He looked up in time to see Dane’s great battleaxe hurtling through the air. Kale’s hand shot out, latching onto the handle in midflight. Using the weapon’s inertia, he spun it around and brought it forward in a devastating blow to the dragon’s neck. The blade slipped between the horned plates to crush the scales. It wedged deep into the flesh, severing the dragon’s spine.

  The beast went still, its pupils widening and then narrowing with its fading pulse. It lived still, but just barely. Kale pulled the axe free. He brought it down a second time, cleaving the head clean from the neck in one swift stroke. The dragon’s body went limp as the head rolled aside.

  A cheer went up among the men, and they began chanting Kale’s name. Dane clapped a hand down on his shoulder. Blood splattered the king’s face, and Kale saw what looked to be a serious burn on his left arm, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Now you know what we do,” he said. “Now you are one of us. You’re a dragon hunter.”

  “I have one question,” Kale said, staring down at the massive corpse. “How are we going to get this back to the kitchen?”

  They broke out in wild laughter. />
  “We don’t eat the big ones,” Dane explained. “The meat hardens as they get older. It’s like chewing a mouthful of leather. Don’t worry, if it’s the taste of dragon you crave, we have plenty left over from yesterday.”

  The men gathered their things and began the long climb back to Dragonwall, joking and telling stories along the way. They left the body of their fallen comrade behind. They didn’t care about things like funerals or burials. To them, the dead were gone, and the flesh left behind was simply an empty vessel to return to the earth. They sang in his memory though, honoring his exploits and his bravery, and welcoming him to his throne in the next world.

  As they walked, Kale had the distinct feeling that his relationship with Dane’s men had changed; that he had somehow earned their respect. It was a good feeling, and it surprised him that it mattered so much.

  When they finally returned to Dragonwall, a loud commotion drew them into the commons. There, they found a group of Dane’s men shouting at each other. In the center stood Shayla and Thane, apparently being held captive. Both had been gagged. Their hands and feet were bound so that neither of them could move. Thane had a nasty bruise covering his left eye and cheekbone, and Shayla wore a look of pure venom on her face.

  Kale broke into a run as soon as he recognized them. Dane was just a step behind. The group parted to make way for them, and the noise died down as they stepped into their midst. Kale stood in front of his companions and pulled the gag from Shayla’s mouth.

  “Are you all right?” he said, touching her face. “What’s going on here?”

  Shayla averted her eyes. Kale frowned. He reached over and pulled the bandana from Thane’s mouth. The bard opened and closed his jaw, testing the bruises, and then spit the taste from his mouth.

  “They were getting ready to kill us,” Thane said dryly.

  Kale looked at Shayla questioningly, but she still wouldn’t look him in the eye.

  “Let’s have it!” Dane said, turning to face the mob. “What the devils is going on here?”

  “She’s a spy!” one of the men said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Smitty saw her!”

  Dane looked at Kale, and his frown deepened. He turned to face Smitty, the lanky fellow with greasy hair and a missing tooth. He had a thin gash across his throat and a circle swelling up in the middle of his forehead.

  “Well?”

  “It’s true,” Smitty confessed. “I seen her snooping around after dinner last night.”

  “Snooping?” said Dane. “How could she be snooping? I gave our guests free run of the mountain.”

  “But she was in the armory! I seen her there!”

  “You mean you followed me,” Shayla said.

  “It don’t matter.”

  Dane looked Shayla up and down. “Is it true, what he says?”

  Shayla straightened and held her chin up. “I was there,” she said. “I went for a walk after dinner. I got lost. I wasn’t spying.”

  “She was spying on us, I tell you!”

  “Spying on what?” Dane said impatiently. “What secrets do we possibly have that she could steal?”

  “Ask her what she did. Ask her why she poisoned me!”

  A slight smile turned up the corners of Shayla’s mouth.

  “Well?” said Dane, folding his arms over his massive chest. “Did you poison him?”

  “A mild sedative,” Shayla said.

  “Why would you drug him?”

  “He was going to rape me. I should have killed him.”

  “That’s not… it’s a lie!” Smitty said. “You can’t trust her.”

  “Then why were you following her?” Dane said.

  Smitty shifted uncomfortably. “I was… I was just…”

  Dane caught Smitty by the front of his shirt in one massive fist. He stepped around the captives, dragging Smitty toward the railing overlooking the center of the volcano.

  “No!” Smitty shouted in a panic. “Wait, you can’t-”

  Before he could even finish the sentence, Dane lifted Smitty overhead with both hands and threw him over the railing. The rattling sound of Smitty’s shrieks echoed up and down the halls of Dragonwall for several seconds, until he hit the bottom and the lava swallowed him whole. The echoes of his final screams fading to a chilling silence. Dane stepped away from the railing, turning back to face the crowd.

  “Does anyone else here have an accusation against our guests?” They shuffled their feet and cleared their throats, but no one spoke.

  “Perfect,” Dane said, grinding his teeth. “Then get. Back. TO WORK!”

  Chapter 25

  That afternoon, Dane took Kale and a few of the others back to the Horse in one of his coaches. It was no different than any other coach or carriage, except for that fact that it was pulled by two of Dane’s mechanical horses. The operator sat on a bench in front of the traveling compartment, operating the horses by means of a control box with several buttons and a small control stick. Thane commented on the horses, and Dane explained that they were the primary means of traveling through the unsafe countryside.

  “Dragons are everywhere,” he said, “not just on Dragonwall, or in the crater. We try to control the population, but as they get older, they inevitably stray further inland. That’s why we use mechanical horses, and our coaches and wagons are lined on the interior with sheet metal and thick glass.”

  “And this protects the riders inside?” Thane said.

  “Protects?” Dane said with a grim smile. “No, it merely buys them some time. We’ve found that if you can survive a dragon’s first blast, it usually takes him a minute to recover. Of course, the carriage and its contents will probably be destroyed, but at least some of the passengers will escape.”

  They reached the train a few minutes later and found Socrates and River returning from the caverns. In the back of the steamwagon, they had a small barrel of starfall.

  “You’ve begun your work already,” Dane said.

  “Out of necessity, I’m afraid. We’ll need this fuel to fight the dragon.”

  “You won’t ever see the dragon in daylight,” said Dane. “You do understand this, don’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “And if you try to hunt him at night, the dragon’s breath will poison your mind.”

  “That’s why I’m getting rid of it.”

  “Of what?”

  “The dragon’s breath.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  Socrates glanced at River. She smiled and said, “You’d be surprised what we can do.”

  They took Dane into the dining car. Vann poured a round of drinks for everyone while Socrates explained to the king why he believed starfall was the cause of the fog. He went on to admit that although he had a few ideas, he still hadn’t figured out how to kill the black dragon.

  “The ballistae might work,” Kale offered. “Do you think they could be mounted on steamwagons?”

  “It is possible,” said Dane, “but it won’t matter. The black is fast, and he’s smart. He’ll burn the wagons before you ever fire a shot. And since he only comes out at night, you’ll never see him coming.”

  “With the fog gone, the creature will be in the open,” Socrates said. “This will put him at a disadvantage. His strength may be diminished as well.”

  “You believe he draws strength from the dragon’s breath?” said Dane.

  “Even in minute quantities, starfall can still be very powerful. It is unlike any other element… it contains an energy all its own. If my understanding is correct, the dragons need this energy to incubate their eggs. Starfall is responsible for their ability to breathe fire, and probably their ability to fly.”

  “What do you mean? How could this starfall help a dragon fly?”

  “Normally, a creature as large and heavy as a dragon would not be able to achieve flight. Even the largest of birds have light, hollow bones to accommodate this ability. It allows them to fly, but it als
o means they are extremely fragile creatures.”

  “It is the same with dragons,” Dane said. “Their bones are hollow, but strong as steel.”

  “I suspected as much,” said Socrates. “The starfall has strengthened their skeletal structure. Even so, it must take an enormous amount of energy for a creature so large to achieve flight.”

  “Wait a minute,” River said. “You’re not implying that dragons evolved from birds are you?”

  “It is possible,” Socrates said. “Perhaps there is a common genetic ancestor shared by both birds and reptiles. Regardless, dragons would not have grown so large without the aid of starfall, and they certainly couldn’t fly if their bones were solid. They do draw power from starfall. I’m sure of it They may require regular exposure in order to maintain their health.”

  “So stopping the dragon’s breath would weaken them,” River said.

  “Precisely. Eventually, it might even kill them.”

  “If that’s true, your tank might work,” Kale said, looking at Dane. Socrates frowned, glancing back and forth between them.

  “Tank?” he said.

  Kale grinned from ear to ear. “He has a tank, Socrates. It’s almost as big as this train!”

  The king shook his head. “It’s too big, too slow. It will never work.”

  “It might, with the dragon exposed and weak,” Kale said. “We would just need a way to draw it out, to attract the dragon’s attention.”

  “And how would we do that?”

  “Let me worry about that,” Socrates said. “Tell me more about this tank of yours.”

  The room went quiet as they all leaned in closer. Dane began to speak…

  The king repeated the story of his great-grandfather’s Bonecrushers, and all of their shortcomings. The conversation went on for several hours. The afternoon came, and gradually waned into evening. It was time to return to the mountain before the dragon’s breath returned. Dane invited Socrates and his crew to stay in Dragonwall again, which he believed was much safer than the train. Socrates thanked him for his generosity. River volunteered to stay on the train to guard the batch of starfall they had acquired.