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  Tail of the Dragon

  The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 1

  By Craig Halloran

  Tail of the Dragon

  The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 1

  By Craig Halloran

  Copyright © August 2015 by Craig Halloran

  Amazon Edition

  TWO-TEN BOOK PRESS

  P.O. Box 4215, Charleston, WV 25364

  ISBN eBook: 978-1-941208-33-5

  ISBN Paperback: 978-1-941208-34-2

  http://www.thedarkslayer.net

  Cover Illustration by Joe Shawcross

  Map by Gillis Bjork

  Edited by Cherise Kelley

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recorded, photocopied, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Publisher's Note

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Come on, Brenwar. Hurry up,” Nath said, staring down over the rocky edge of a mountainside. Below, Brenwar’s meaty mitts tugged hand over hand at the rocks. Sweat beaded his forehead. The brisk winds tore through his gray-streaked black beard. “I’m getting hungry.”

  Brenwar glared up at him. “I’ll get there in my own good time. Why don’t you go scarf down some cattle or something?”

  Nath’s golden dragon eyes widened. “Are you taking a poke at me?”

  Brenwar didn’t respond. The powerful frame of a dwarf continued his agonizing pace up the steep mountainside. Below him were endless miles of lush green countryside. It would be an hour before he caught up with Nath.

  “Great,” Nath said, turning his serpentine head away and facing the top rocks of the mountain. He took his anger out on Brenwar, but they both knew he was really mad at Selene. After all they’d been through to stop Gorn Grattack, a year ago she’d up and left. It still deeply hurt him she’d done that. No explanation. Not a word.

  On all fours, Nath weaved his way through the trees like a great cat, his dragon paws leaving deep impressions in the ground. He sat back on his haunches and leaned his scaled dragon frame against the tall rocks, eyeing his prints. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

  Nath was all dragon now, from his smoking nostrils to the tip of his lightning-quick tail. He was bigger than a team of horses, and though still graceful as a gazelle, he wasn’t entirely accustomed to his huge body yet. He puffed out a fiery smoke ring. It floated high in the air before descending over a tree and turning it into ash. “I’m big. I’m astounding. I love it.”

  He clicked his claws together in admiration. Some were bigger than a man’s arm. Sharper than elven steel. His scales were alabaster flecked with bronze now. A flame-red streak raced down from the middle of his horns to the middle of his back. His wings were red and folded tight over his back. He lifted his chin toward the sky, thinking it was true, what his father, Balzurth, had once said: “The land was made for men, the sky for dragons.”

  Nath’s stomach rumbled. “Guzan, I can’t believe I’m hungry already. I ate ten cows yesterday.” He rubbed the scales on his belly. “I like food as much as anyone, but this is ridiculous.” He snorted some air into his nostrils. His scaly brow started to crease. “Nothing worth eating up here unless I rustle up a thousand squirrels and chipmunks.”

  Nath pushed off the rocks and flattened himself so that his iron-hard belly hung inches over the ground. Head low and with his horns flared out over his back, he approached the rim of the mountain again. Brenwar had made little progress. “I’m going to eat,” Nath called down to the dwarf. “Eh, so don’t fall or anything.”

  “Like you care if I fall or not,” Brenwar grunted.

  “Oh, it’s not you I’m worried about. It’s the mountain.” Nath’s chuckles rumbled. “I’m off.” He pushed off the edge and darted down the mountainside, zooming by Brenwar. Hearing his friend let out a startled curse, Nath spread his wings out and took flight, laughing.

  The wind ripped through his earholes. A split second later he was soaring high in the sky. The mountaintops and farmlands, far below, looked like little more than a map on a table.

  Nath let out an exhilarating roar. “Mah-hoooooooooooo!”

  Cutting through the clouds, Nath spun, dove, climbed, and dove again. There was nothing like flying. Even the best days walking the land were not even close. Minutes into the flight, miles away from where he’d started, his keen dragon eyes spotted a herd of cattle roaming the land.

  “Ah, dinner.”

  Circling lower toward the earth, he looked to see if any people were tending these cows. Nath took no pleasure in eating what people had rustled for themselves, unless it was absolutely necessary. So far, it had not been. Ranchers from all the races needed meat, but there were still plenty of wild herds for him to go around and feast on.

  A flicker of movement caught his eye. There were men. Some on horseback and others walking.

  “Blast my hide!” he said, hovering just below the clouds. “And I’m getting really hungry too. Wait a second.” He sniffed the air. “Oh, I know that foul aroma. Those aren’t men. Those are orcs.” He clutched his claws and dove toward the ground with a broad grin full of teeth showing on his maw. “Perfect.”

  Nath’s shadow fell upon the orcs.

  Their necks snapped up. Their yellow eyes filled with surprise.

  Nath buzzed over the tops of two orcs’ heads, knocking them both from their saddles.

  The horses galloped away. The orcs scrambled.

  Nath let out a roar so terrifying the ground shook.

  Orcs clasped their grubby hands over their ears and fell to their knees. One of them found the courage to rise to his feet and face Nath with his spear.

  It’s always the stupidest ones that are the bravest.

  The orc, little more than a morsel in Nath’s midst, marched forward. Its head hung low, and its spear was gripped with white knuckles. It was stout and sweaty, more so than the common orc. A brawler.

  Really. Nath shook his head. Being king, I really think I should be able to kill them. It would almost be worth doing if they had some flavor to them. Ew! I really hope I don’t get so hungry that I eat foul beasts.

  The orc continued his march through the tall meadow.

  If I were a man, I’d gladly pummel you with my fists, but I don’t have time for that. He unleashed his tail. Swat!

  The orc flipped head over heels and crashed into the ground.

  Nath prowled over. Using his clawed hand, he plucked the orc up from the ground by the leg and dangled it in front of his face. Nath shook the orc a few times and flicked him like a toy far aside.

  And to think I used to struggle with those smelly things. Oh well. Nath dusted off his paws. He turned and gazed over the rolling hills. The cattle were grazing again, not too far away. There were hundreds of them. Nath’s eyes glazed over.

  Thoom!

  Nath stretched up his long neck. What was that?

  Suddenly, mounds of dirt exploded near the cattle. Great men emerged from the ground, taller than trees and hewn from mighty frames as big as Nath himself.

  Great Guzan! Giants!

  CHAPTER 2

  Earth giants. Big and Nasty was an understatement for their kind. The towering men stood more than twenty feet tall. They were built like mountains, and their faces were covered in dark, coarse beards. The ground shook as they closed
in on the cattle and began snatching them up one by one. One of them, covered in furs for clothing, dropped a cow into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

  “THAT’S MY DINNER!” Nath roared.

  The giants froze and turned to face him, their eyes widening underneath their bushy brows and revealing an evil glimmer of yellow. The second giant stuffed a cow into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed. Then the pair of them rose to their full height and started to spread out, flanking Nath.

  They’re both as big as me. This should be interesting.

  The cattle made their escape, pressing through the tall grasses and out of sight. The giants grumbled back and forth to each other, hands clutching in and out, eyes wary. It was only the dragons that ever rivaled them in size. The giants hated that. For the most part, they hated everything. They were the big bullies in Nalzambor.

  Nath flashed his claws and let out another roar of warning. I can at least give them a chance. They don’t want to mess with this dragon.

  The giants pulled their shoulders back and closed in. Evil leers formed on their disturbing faces.

  I expected as much.

  Nath’s golden eyes narrowed. He let out a small blast of fire.

  Good.

  The giants circled him. Their hands became monster-sized hammers. They started hooting at him. An odd sound. Weird, yet threatening. Brimming with confidence, their voices became louder. More disturbing.

  Nath cocked his serpentine head. Strange and ugly. I almost feel sorry for them. No wonder the dwarves hate them so. They remind me of oversized orcs.

  The ground rumbled beneath his feet. Hands and arms burst from underneath like massive tree roots. Powerful fingers locked onto his tail and jerked him backward.

  Nath stumbled. Blast!

  Another giant bearded head emerged from the ground and spat out a mouthful of dirt.

  Nath tried to shake out of its grasp.

  The other two giants leapt on top of him and began hammering away at his body.

  Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

  The first blow caught Nath square in the jaw. The next shots landed hard on his belly, knocking the wind out of him. Besieged by monsters just as big as him, he found himself in a fight for his very life.

  The blows kept coming. Hard. Furious. All giants were brawlers. Fearless. Only the grave could take the fight out of them.

  Great Guzan! I’m getting whipped!

  Nath shook the stars from his vision. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a giant fist coming down fast. Nath struck back like a snake, clamping his powerful jaws down on the giant’s arm.

  The giant let out a pain-filled yelp. Using its free arm, it started pounding on Nath’s face.

  That was a mistake.

  Nath drew a deep snort of air in his nose and summoned his fire. The giant’s arm that he clenched between his teeth erupted into flame and quickly turned to ash.

  The giant staggered back, gaping at his missing arm.

  That’ll teach him.

  The other giants were unrelenting. One still had Nath’s tail locked up in its fists. The others continued to hammer away. Nath’s scales shook under the force of the blows. A hundred mules didn’t kick so hard. Every punch shook his dragon bones.

  Enough of this!

  Nath lashed out. His clawed forearms ripped through the skin and furs of one giant’s chest.

  It let out an angry grunt and locked onto Nath’s neck. It put Nath in a headlock and started to squeeze.

  The threesome thrashed on the ground, shaking the earth. The giants were great wrestlers. They had a natural knack for grappling. They tried to snap Nath in half like a twig.

  Nath twisted and clawed. His muscles strained with effort.

  Guzan! Nath’s temper went red. Blast it! I’m the King of the Dragons!

  With a tremendous heave, he ripped his neck free of the first giant’s grasp. Rearing his head up eye to eye with the colossal man, he unleashed his inferno. A white-hot stream of yellow fire burst out of his mouth, covering the giant in flames.

  In most circumstances, giants didn’t burn. But in this case, Nath’s fire, hotter than the hottest dwarven forge, could burn anything.

  The giant’s body turned into a pile of ash and bones.

  Still seeing red with rage, Nath whirled on the giant that was still tugging on his tail.

  Catching the fatal look in Nath’s eyes, it dove for cover into the ground where it had come from.

  Nath filled it with fire, and then eyeing the crater of flame, he let out a mighty roar.

  “Mah-Roooooooooo!”

  A rustling caught his ear. His head whipped around.

  The last surviving giant, the one missing its arm, was trying to dig its way back into the dirt. It caught Nath’s eye, and its one good arm started digging faster.

  Nath shot across the tall grass, spread his wings, and dug his back talons into the giant’s shoulders. Wings beating, he ascended high into the air with the heavy earth giant in tow. He rose high above the clouds, ignoring the giant’s angry cries.

  Oh, be silent!

  Nath was out of danger now, yet his temper had not cooled. He wanted to drop the giant. Let the evil creature plunge to its death. That would be a far more merciful fate than what he had bestowed on its comrades.

  After all, the giants would have killed him. Skinned him. Eaten him if they could have. The great monsters were killers, said to be irredeemable.

  Still, deep inside, Nath knew that would be wrong. He heard his father’s words.

  Take the high road.

  He shook his head and glanced down at the giant. There was no pleading in its eyes, just anger. Hatred. It lashed out with its only hand again and again.

  Sometimes I hate the high road.

  Nath flew mile after mile until he came to a high and snowy peak and dropped the giant deep into the snow-covered banks. Without looking back, he returned to where the cattle grazed. Now even hungrier than before, he stuffed himself full.

  Still, letting that lone one-armed giant live lingered. It was a knot nagging under his jaw.

  CHAPTER 3

  “You did what!” Brenwar said, jumping to his feet.

  Nath didn’t want to tell him about the giants, but the dwarf was always good at knowing when he was holding something back. “It was as if I’d gone looking for them. They just appeared. Erupted, rather, right in the middle of the field.”

  Brenwar gripped his war hammer in front of his chest and started to stomp around the woodland. “You can’t fight giants without me. You just can’t. It’s wrong. Wrong.” His hand tugged at his beard. “You should’ve come back and gotten me!”

  “It was leagues away,” Nath said, trying to sound reassuring. “Besides, they jumped me.” He rubbed his jaw with his paws. “It wasn’t an ordinary scrap, you know. They were tough. Caught me off guard, but I handled them.” He puffed out a fire ring. “They’re Nalzambor fertilizer now. Well, except one.”

  Brenwar turned and faced him. He lifted a brow. “One? What one?”

  Nath inspected his dragon claws. Is that a chip? Blast!

  Brenwar marched over and poked Nath in the leg with his hammer. “What! One!”

  “Uh, the one I dropped off in the snowcaps. It won’t be much of a bother now. And he’s only got one arm left.”

  “You fool!” Brenwar blurted out.

  Nath reared up. “What did you call me?”

  Brenwar took a step back, glanced up at him, then glanced back down. “I apologize.”

  Nath sighed. Certainly Brenwar meant well, but things had changed. Nath was the ruler of the dragons now and had to be treated accordingly. An outburst like that would be costly in front of others. “You’re fortunate no one else is around, aside from the trees.”

  “Punish me,” Brenwar said. There was a sad tone in his voice. “It must be done. I never would have spoken to your father like that. And if I had, I’d have been ash.”

  “True. Either that, or he might have t
old you one of his hundred-year-long stories.” Nath nudged Brenwar with his tail, knocking the stalwart dwarf over. “How’s that for punishment?”

  Lying flat on his belly, Brenwar said, “You’re too merciful.”

  “Oh, am I? I guess I’ll have to make the punishment more severe, then.”

  Brenwar took a knee and bowed his head. “As you wish, Sire.”

  Nath raised his tail to strike. Of course, he’d never harm a friend, even in the worst of cases. But still, he was the King Dragon now. Even on a rogue adventure, there had to be some form of order. Even for Brenwar, and the battle-hardened dwarven warrior knew that. Still, it made Nath uneasy. His stomach fluttered. He had subjects now, so things weren’t the same as they had been. Brenwar and many others treated him differently now. It left him feeling isolated.

  “First, Brenwar, tell me, why did you call me ‘Fool’?”

  “Er, the earth giants, well, they hold grudges. And they are tight knit. They’ll summon all their clans to avenge their fallen. It would have been better if you’d killed them all.”

  “Has anyone ever made the right decision every time?”

  “Your father did.”

  Nath huffed. It was hard to argue that his father Balzurth hadn’t always made the right decision every time, seeing how Nath had never really seen his father do much of anything at all. However, of one thing he was certain: his father’s word was without question. “Not that you have seen, anyway,” Nath replied. “So, perhaps I’ll revisit the snowcaps and finish what I started, then?”

  “Don’t bother, Sire,” Brenwar said with an increasing frown. “He’s long gone by now. I’m certain of it. Besides, we have things to do.” His dwarven breastplate reflected the sun’s light when he turned and faced what looked to be an abandoned temple of some kind. There, large piles of rubble and stone pylons had toppled over and become covered in overgrown brush. Brenwar started toward it, stopped, and said, “With your permission, of course, Sire?”

  “Nath, Brenwar.”