Dragon Riders

of

Osnen

Omnibus: Episodes 7-10

RICHARD FIERCE

Tooth and Claw © 2020 by Richard Fierce

ISBN: 978-1-947329-48-5

The Servant of Souls © 2020 by Richard Fierce

ISBN: 978-1-947329-50-8

Smoke and Shadow © 2020 by Richard Fierce

ISBN: 978-1-947329-59-1

The Dark Rider © 2021 by Richard Fierce

ISBN: 978-1-947329-63-8

This is a work of fiction. All events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form without the express permission of the publisher.

Cover design by germancreative

Cover art by Rosauro Ugang

Dragonfire Press

e-Book ISBN: 978-1-947329-82-9

Print ISBN: 978-1-947329-81-2

First Edition: 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tooth and Claw

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

The Servant of Souls

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Smoke and Shadow

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

The Dark Rider

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Tooth

and

Claw

Dragon Riders of Osnen Book 7

1

The wind whipped through my hair.

I closed my eyes and gripped the saddle tightly with my legs, stretching my arms out to the sides. Sion glided smoothly through the sky and I relished the feeling of flying.

Hold on, Sion said, a hint of mischief in her voice.

I blindly grabbed onto the saddle horn, then Sion barrel rolled to the left. My stomach experienced the feeling of weightlessness and leaped with exhilaration. I bit back a scream, clenching my jaw and gripping the saddle so hard I thought I would break it. Sion leveled out only for a moment, long enough for me to open my eyes, then she did a loop. This time I did scream, but it was a whoop of excitement.

“Yeah!”

Demris streaked ahead of us. Maren was astride his back and she waved at me as they passed, her brilliant red hair shimmering in the sunlight. Her beauty was unrivaled. I’m sure that I was biased, but there was something breathtaking about her flying through the sky on her dragon. I felt like I was the luckiest man in the world.

Don’t forget about me, Sion said playfully.

I could never forget about you, I replied, rubbing her neck. Our minds are so entwined, I think that when I die, I’ll still hear your thoughts.

How poetic. Save those fancy thoughts for Maren.

Sion flapped her wings quicker, trying to catch up to Demris. His head snaked back as if sensing her intent, and he issued a roar, then sped up even faster. Sion tried to get closer to him, her wings beating furiously, but she was no match for him. She gave up and returned to a smooth glide, using the updraft to give her muscles a break.

How much further? Sion asked.

Anesko said the towns were near the foothills of the Gracena Mountains. I’ve never been there, but I think we’re getting close.

A half-hour later, the first of the towns came into view. Based on the map I’d seen before we left the Citadel, there were five towns clustered along the base of the mountains. Though their populations were small, they were responsible for a large portion of the iron ore that flowed into the capital. That was another reason Anesko had asked us to look into the goblin rumors. If there was a disruption to business that affected King Erling, then it needed to be solved as quickly as possible.

I found it ironic that although Maren was no longer considered a princess, she was still technically doing her father’s bidding.

I wouldn’t mention that to her if I were you, Sion said.

I didn’t plan to, I replied, grinning.

Thin plumes of smoke rose from many of the buildings in the town. If I remembered correctly, this one was called Norwich. It was situated on the grassy plains that slowly melded into the hills. A patchwork of farm fields was spread out around the town, and I also spotted some cattle.

Sion hummed in delight, and her desire to eat cow wafted through the bond.

Don’t get your hopes up, I told her. These poor towns don’t have enough as it is.

My words didn’t damper her spirit at all. She began her descent, flying slow, wide circles over the town until she dived and landed in the tall grass next to a patch of corn stalks. The golden yellow ears peeked out from their leafy coverings, and I spotted a handful of people moving through the rows, methodically plucking them and tossing them into baskets. It was a reminder that summer was nearing an end.

I climbed out of the saddle and slid down Sion’s shoulder, stretching and bending over to work the kinks out of my back. I adjusted my sword belt and looked around for Maren. She was striding toward me, coming from the other side of the cornfield.

“You should be glad we don’t bet on these races,” she said with a smirk.

“What are you talking about? Sion and I were enjoying the sights.”

“I saw her trying to match Demris. You just can’t accept defeat, can you?”

“Maybe you’re so competitive, you think people are competing against you even when they aren’t.” I shrugged. “Besides, it doesn’t bother me to lose as much as you think it does.”

“I’m just messing with you,” Maren said. “You don’t have to sulk.”

“I’m not sulking. I just don’t want to deal with goblins.”

“Then why didn’t you stay at the Citadel?”

“Anesko sent us both here, remember? I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“So, you don’t want to be here with me. Is that what I’m hearing?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. Of course I do.”

“Good. Then let’s go find some goblins!”

Maren grabbed my hand and we walked into the town. The main road was hardened dirt, as were the streets in the town, packed down from years of wagon traffic. The ruts in the dirt were a clear indication of that.

All but one of the buildings were single-story structures with thatched roofs, the exception being the brick tavern that stood in the center. Norwich was smaller than anywhere I’d been before, with only two dozen or so buildings scattered along the streets.

“Everything seems peaceful,” I said, hoping all the talk about goblins was just overexcited and mistaken townsfolk.

An elderly woman was walking in our direction, though her attention was on the overfilled bucket of milk she was carrying. She seemed to be struggling with the weight, so I stepped in front of her and smiled.

“Need some help?”

She peered at me suspiciously. “Who are you?”

“I’m Eldwin, and this is Maren. We’re dragon riders from the Citadel.”

She harrumphed. “So, those are your dragons that are causing such a freight with my cows?” She set the bucket down and motioned to it. “It’s the least you can do.”

I lifted the bucket with my good hand, trying not to splash the milk everywhere. “Where should I take this?” I asked.

“Follow me,” the woman said. She continued walking in the direction we’d just come, so I turned and followed her. Maren jogged past me and slowed to a walk next to the woman.

“Have you seen any goblins around here?” Maren asked.

“Goblins? I haven’t seen one of those nasty creatures in years. Why do you ask?”

“We’ve been getting reports that some have been seen in the area. Eldwin and I are here to see if that’s true.”

“I’ve not seen any, but my granddaughter just returned from Keth. You can ask her if you’d like, but I doubt she’s seen any either. It’s been quiet here ever since the king pushed the goblin tribes into the mountains.”

Maren looked over her shoulder at me, frowning. She might have been disappointed at the news, but I wasn’t. We reached the woman’s home, which looked similar to the other buildings. The thatch atop her roof looked like it needed to be replaced, and scrawny chickens pecked at the bare ground in front of the structure.

“Millie!” The woman suddenly shouted, startling me. Milk splashed onto my boots and I stopped walking and held the bucket still. Once the liquid calmed, I carried it the rest of the way to the house.

“Set it there,” the woman said, waving.

I assumed she meant near the door, so I gently set the bucket on the ground beside it. As I stood back up, the door opened, and a brown-haired woman stepped out. She was around my age, with bright green eyes and tanned skin. Her clothes were ragged and patched with an assortment of different colored cloths, none of them matching the original garment. Millie stopped short when she saw me, and a huge grin spread across her face.

“Hello stranger,” she said.

“Millie, these people are here from the…” she paused and threw her hands up. “They’re dragon riders.”

Millie’s eyes widened. “Truly? I’ve never seen a dragon up close before.”

“Your grandmother mentioned you just returned from another town,” Maren said. “Did you see any goblins while you were away?”

“Actually, I did!”

Maren and I exchanged looks.

“Can you tell us about it? Did they attack you on the road?” Maren asked.

“No, nothing like that. There was only one goblin, and it was dead.”

“Don’t lie to these people, Millie. You didn’t see no goblins.”

“I did, though!” Millie argued. “Aston said he killed it with his bare hands. Strangled it until it quit moving. He’s charging a copper to let people touch it.”

“What town was this at?” Maren asked.

“Keth. It’s about an hour walk from here, that way.” Millie pointed northeast.

“Let’s go check it out,” Maren said, looking at me. I nodded. Any hope of an easy assignment was now long gone.

“Thank you for your time,” I told the older woman. Millie was still grinning at me, and I had the feeling she was a little odd. We left Norwich and headed back to the field where our dragons were.

“She likes you,” Maren said.

“Who?”

“Millie.”

“I don’t think so.”

Maren laughed. “She couldn’t take her eyes off you. Not that I blame her.”

We parted ways at the cornfield, and I mounted Sion.

Goblins? Sion asked.

Unfortunately. There’s a dead one in the next town.

Sion stretched her wings and hunched down, then launched herself into the air. She flew low, whipping the tall grass around with each flap of her wings. Demris swiftly caught up to us, but he didn’t speed ahead like before. We reached Keth, which was three times the size of Norwich and surrounded by a stone wall. The dragons landed on a hill overlooking the town, and it took Maren and me a few minutes to hike down. Keth was surrounded by a steep moat, though there was no water in it.

The gate was lowered over the trench, providing access to the town. We crossed over it and found a small crowd of people gathered near a tent. I pushed through the press of bodies until I reached the front. Tied to a tall post was the last thing I wanted to see.

2

A goblin.

The spindly creature was dead, but the ropes kept it from falling over. Its skin was a blotchy reddish-yellow hue, but the paleness of death was beginning to take over. A bulky muscled man was standing nearby, holding a small chest with which he collected coins from the crowd. After people paid, he let them touch the goblin.

I didn’t understand their fascination with touching it, especially since it could still spread disease even though it was dead. I stepped closer to further inspect the goblin, and the big man shouted at me.

“It’s a copper piece to touch it!”

“I don’t plan on touching it,” I replied, clasping my hands behind my back.

“Looking is free, I suppose,” he muttered lowly.

The goblin’s eyelids were closed. It was short, maybe four feet in height. I could see bruising around its neck, which led me to believe that the big man had actually strangled it. It wore tattered clothing, made up mostly of animal hides that were sewn together haphazardly. I couldn’t tell how old it was, as I wasn’t very educated about goblins, but I guessed it was an adult. Its fingernails were grungy with dirt, and they were sharp and pointed.

Maren joined me, standing to my left and peering closely at its face. From my periphery, I saw the big man was watching us. Before I could say something, Maren reached out and lifted one of its eyelids.

“That’s a copper piece,” the man said, marching over to us. He held out his wooden chest and shook it, the coins inside clinking together.

“I’m not paying you,” Maren replied, shooting him an odd look.

“You touched it,” he said. “It’s my goblin, and I’m charging people to touch it.”

Maren stared at me incredulously. I shrugged, then looked at the man.

“My apologies,” I said politely. “We should have introduced ourselves. We’re dragon riders from the Citadel. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the goblin.”

The man’s demeanor changed, and he grinned broadly. “My name is Aston,” he said. “I’m the blacksmith here in Keth.”

“I’m Eldwin.” I hooked a thumb to my left. “This is Maren.”

“We rarely see riders out here anymore,” Aston said. “It’s an honor to meet you. I suppose you want to know where I found this little guy?”

“Yes,” Maren answered. “Were there others with him?”

Aston closed the lid on his chest and turned to the crowd. “That’s all for today,” he said loudly. “Come back tomorrow if you didn’t get to touch it yet.”

A few people groaned in disappointment, but the crowd dispersed without issue. Once the stragglers were gone, Aston tucked the chest under his massive arm and turned his attention to Maren.

“He was the only one, though there were footprints that told me there were more of them out there somewhere.”

“A lot more?” Maren lifted the goblin’s eyelid again. Its iris was a solid black circle.

Aston scratched his chin in thought. “Maybe three or four.”

“How did you happen upon him?” I asked.

“I was taking some tools to the workers in one of the mines in the hills, and when I was coming back, I saw him. He was alone, and he was armed with a rusty sword. Imagine the little guy’s surprise when I grabbed him from behind and choked him.”

“So, you did strangle him.” Maren whistled appreciatively.

“I did, but I hated every second of it. He stunk something foul, worse now that he’s dead, and his skin was oily. He almost slipped free, so I had to break his neck.”

“Good,” Maren said. “These things are evil to the core. If you hadn’t killed him, he would have killed you, maybe the miners. Did he seem lost, or was he looking for something?”

“Neither, I don’t think,” Aston replied. “He was just standing atop the hill, looking at the town. I figured he might be a scout, so a few others and myself went searching the hills. We didn’t find anything except some tracks, the ones I mentioned. We followed them, but they didn’t lead anywhere.”

“Maybe a view from up high will reveal more,” Maren suggested, looking at me.

“That’s a good idea. I’m sure Sion and Demris will be able to spot the other goblins if they’re nearby.”

Aston lowered his voice despite the fact no one was around. “Do you think there’s trouble?”

“Possibly,” Maren said. “Enough reports made it to the Citadel to warrant us being sent here, so I’d say you should probably be ready to evacuate.”

I frowned at her response. The last thing we needed to do was cause a panic.

“Just to be safe,” Maren added after seeing my expression.

“Yes, just to be safe. Of course.” Aston didn’t look as relieved as he sounded.

“Don’t worry unless we tell you to,” I said. “If the goblins are up to something nefarious, they won’t be a problem for our dragons.”

That seemed to ease Aston’s worries. “Have you found somewhere to stay for the night? I know its early in the afternoon, but darkness creeps up early in these parts. You’d probably be better off searching in the morning.”

“Not yet,” I replied.

“Follow me. I’ll show you the best place in Keth. But first, would you mind grabbing the end of the post? I’ve been carrying this thing by myself, but I wouldn’t mind a little help.”

I assumed he hadn’t noticed my mangled arm. Most people assumed I couldn’t do normal tasks, but that was a common misconception. I struggled, of course, but I never used my deformity as an excuse. I nodded.

“Can you hold this?” Aston asked Maren, pulling the chest from under his arm.

She accepted it and Aston grabbed onto the top of the post and heaved upward, his face reddening from the exertion. The end of the post cleared the hole in the ground, and I reached down and lifted it, careful not to touch the goblin. It was surprisingly heavy, which I didn’t expect. I fought to get the post up onto my shoulder, but once it was in place, the weight didn’t seem as bad.

Aston led us through the town to a small dwelling, where we dropped the goblin off. There was a shack behind the home, and we set the post inside. Aston latched the door, and then he showed us to the local inn. I paid for our room, then we returned to the hill where we’d left Sion and Demris. The dragons were basking in the sun, their wings outstretched.

I’m hungry, Sion complained. Are we allowed to eat the cows here?

No, I replied. I’m sure there are deer or other animals in the hills, though.

“I think we should at least look around this area,” Maren said, motioning to the hills around us. “It’s not dark yet, so we can cover some ground now. What do you think?”

“Sure.”

We flew over the landscape a few times, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. I spotted some miners heading back to the town and watched them weave their way along the peaks and dips of the foothills. Once they reached the town, we landed back on the hill overlooking Keth and turned in for the night.

Aston hadn’t lied when he said it got dark early. The sun quickly disappeared over the horizon. We ate a small meal in the common room of the inn and retired to our room. The bed was comfortable, if a bit small, and we slept until morning light filtered through the window. We washed up using the community basin and had breakfast, then headed up the hill to find Sion and Demris were missing.

Where are you? I asked, pushing the words through the bond. Sion sent me a partial image of a dead mountain lion.

“They’re eating,” I told Maren.

“I figured as much. Do you think we’ll find anything today?”

I shrugged. “I hope that we don’t, but when has our luck ever been good?”

We both laughed. In boredom, I picked up some rocks and tossed them down the hill. They tumbled along, clattering against large boulders at the bottom. I heard Sion and Demris approaching and looked to the sky. They were coming from the west, beyond the mines we’d seen the day before.

They landed and we mounted up, then we were off, flying over the hills. We went further out, going north toward the mountains this time. I saw a trail that wound its way through the area, but it eventually faded into the rest of the landscape. It became obvious that the townsfolk didn’t normally travel this far into the hills.

I smelled fire in the air and glanced around. Ahead, a plume of gray smoke rose lazily into the sky. I looked at Maren and she met my gaze, nodding to let me know she’d seen it, too. Sion and Demris flew side by side, and they angled toward the smoke in unison. As we got closer, the source of the smoke became clear. A camp with dozens of tents stretched out in a small valley, and I immediately recognized the forms milling around, roughly a few hundred of them.

Goblins.

3

Take us lower, I told Sion.

She tilted to the right and began descending. She didn’t get low enough for the goblins to pose much of a threat, but it was low enough that I was able to see more details of the camp. The smoke plume was coming from a fire in the center, where the carcass of a large animal was cooking. It was on a spit, and a group of goblins was turning it over the flames.

The tents were scattered chaotically across the valley, with no semblance of organization to the camp at all. Many of the tents looked like they were about to collapse or fall over. I looked back at Maren and saw that Demris had slowed his pace. She was sitting completely still in the saddle, and I assumed she was in the middle of casting a spell.

A horn blared from the camp below.

I looked down and saw the goblins scrambling. At first, I wasn’t sure what they were doing, but then I realized we’d been spotted. Arrows began hurtling toward us, but with a few flaps of her wings, Sion lifted us beyond their range. She circled back and flew beside Demris.

“We should probably get out of here!” I shouted at Maren. “We don’t have the element of surprise now!”

She turned toward me, and I noticed the whites of her eyes were showing. She’d linked her vision to Demris’s. I tried to ignore my revulsion.

“This isn’t a random gathering!” Maren shouted back.

“Follow me!”

I guided Sion back the way we’d came, keeping a wide berth of the camp, and we landed atop a hill that was flat and large enough for both dragons. Demris dropped beside Sion, stabbing his large claws into the ground to stop his momentum. I dismounted and waited for Maren to join me. I couldn’t believe there was an army of goblins out here.

“What did you see?” I asked as Maren slid off Demris’s back.

“Nothing good,” she replied. “Goblins live in tribes, but not in groups that large. I think they are gathering for a reason, and it can’t be for anything good.”

“Should we go back and evacuate the towns?” I asked. “There’s nothing else out here, so I’m sure those creatures must be congregating to launch an attack on them.”

“Goblins aren’t smart enough to plan anything like that,” Maren said. “And rival tribes are always at war with one another.” She paused. “If someone has unified them, it can’t be good.”

“Is that a ‘yes’ for evacuating, then?”

“No. Not yet, anyway. I think we need to figure out what they’re doing.”

“How do you propose we do that?” I asked, then waited for the insanity of her plan.

“We’ll need to get inside the camp.”

That was about what I had expected her to say, so I wasn’t too surprised. “You do realize we probably won’t be able to go undetected, right? They’ll spot us. And then what? We fight our way out? Call Sion and Demris to come and flame them all? If that’s the case, then we may as well have them just do that now.”

“Yes, they would probably see us, but that’s why we’ll go in disguise.”

“What do you mean?”

Maren smiled at me. It was the one she used whenever she was going to say something that I knew would get us into trouble. And it was the same one that I always fell for.

“I’ll cast an illusion spell that will make us look like goblins. Then, we’ll be able to walk around the camp freely without worrying about being seen.”

I blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. It was a clever idea to be sure, but it was still risky. “What if you lose focus on the spell?”

“I won’t.”

“How do you know you won’t?”

Maren huffed. “I just won’t. Look, we could just send Demris and Sion over there to burn them all to a crisp, but it would be a good idea to know why they are here to begin with. What if there are more of them somewhere else? What if we kill these ones and go back to the Citadel, and then another group of them attack the towns in retribution?”

She made a valid point. I still didn’t like the risk involved with her illusion idea, but I didn’t have an idea of my own to offer. I looked at Sion, expecting her to side with me.

It sounds like an adventure, Sion said. You should go.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

“I’m not talking you out of this, am I?”

“Not a chance,” Maren replied, smiling again.

“How will this work? You’ll cast a spell and we’ll look like goblins?”

“Exactly.”

“We don’t speak goblin. Will the spell give us that ability?”

Maren hesitated. “No, it won’t. We’ll have to refrain from speaking.”

I stared at her, hoping she was kidding. She wasn’t.

“It’s not like we plan to live among them,” Maren said. “We just need to figure out what they’re doing.”

“Well, if we don’t speak goblin, how will we do that? I don’t think you’ve got this all figured out.”

“Demris knows goblin. He’ll listen through the bond and tell me what they’re saying.”

I thought I’d found a reason for us not to go through with her plan, but it crumbled like sand and blew away.

“Fine, but if things start to go wrong, we’re out of there and these two,” I pointed to Sion and Demris, “burn the entire camp down.”

“That’s fair,” Maren replied.

“And I’m keeping my sword.”

“No problem. I can hide it under the illusion.”

It seemed Maren had an answer for everything.

An hour later, Sion and Demris dropped us off within walking distance of the goblin camp. It had taken Maren a while to craft our illusions, but she guaranteed that the amount of detail she put into them would keep us from drawing attention to ourselves.

I lifted my hands and admired Maren’s work. My skin was the same mottled color as the goblin from Keth. It was too bad I couldn’t fully see myself in a mirror. I was certain I looked terrifying.

We started the trek toward the camp. As we walked, I kept an eye out for scouts. As long as our illusions held up, I doubted we’d have any issues, but I wanted to ensure we had a clear way of escape if something happened. We followed the natural trail that twisted between the hills and, eventually, reached the outskirts of the camp.

Three goblins armed with spears were standing guard as we came around a bend. I tensed, but they barely acknowledged us. I kept my hand on the hilt of my sword, and we walked past them and continued into the camp. Groups of the creatures were gathered near different tents, conversing in their guttural language. Maren had said there were different tribes of goblins, but aside from different shades of skin color, I couldn’t tell a difference between them.

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“To that big tent,” Maren replied, nodding toward it. “I saw it earlier. That’s probably the leader’s and the best place to hear what’s being planned.”

I stayed beside Maren, glancing around at all the goblins as we walked. It seemed surreal that we were marching around in the middle of an army of goblins. I reached out through the bond and touched Sion’s mind. Her presence was comforting and eased my nerves.

I’m close, she said. If there’s trouble, I’ll be there quickly.

That’s the main reason I agreed to do this, I replied. Maren is a capable sorcerer, but our bond is different in a way I can’t explain. I trust her, and I trust you, but with you … it’s just different. Does that make any sense?

No, but humans are odd, Sion said. I’ll grow to understand you fully one day. I hope. She made a sound that resembled a snicker. I smiled and tried not to laugh. We were drawing closer to the huge tent that towered over the rest. Unlike the others, this one wasn’t made of animal skin. It was made of cloth. I glanced at Maren questioningly.

“Maybe they stole it,” she whispered.

A hulking goblin was standing near the entrance, much larger than the others I’d seen. He was as tall as I was, with thick flabs of skin showing through his assorted pieces of rusty armor, and he leaned on the end of the shaft of an ax. The bladed end was pressed into the ground under his weight. We walked around to the back of the tent. Thankfully, there were no guards here.

Maren pressed her ear against the tent and listened. I stood near her, keeping an eye out for any unwelcome company. After a few minutes, Maren snapped her fingers to get my attention. I turned to face her.

“There are a few different voices in there, but whoever the leader is asked why dragons flew over the camp. He’s afraid his plans have been discovered.”

“What are his plans?”

Maren shook her head. “He hasn’t said, but whatever they are, he’s decided to speed them up. He—” She paused, listening again. “He’s telling the others to prepare for something, but Demris doesn’t know what the word means.”

We stared at one another quietly for a moment. I had an idea, but I didn’t know how we’d implement it.

“They can’t execute their plans without a leader.”

Maren grinned at me. “Let’s wait until he’s alone. Come on.”

We hurried around to the front of the tent, but we steered clear of the guard. The tent flaps opened, and five goblins stepped out. They looked different than the others, but they weren’t as large as the guard. They wore necklaces of teeth, ears, and other body parts.

“Those are chieftains,” Maren said.

“What about the big one? The guard?”

“That’s a hobgoblin.”

The chieftains dispersed to different parts of the camp, leaving the leader by himself. We were about to sneak back around the tent when he stepped out. Maren sucked in a breath, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach.

It was the sorcerer from Tiradale.

4

“Impossible,” Maren whispered.

“Please tell me I’m seeing things,” I said.

“If you are, then I am.”

The sorcerer walked to the center of the camp and stood near the fire. He pulled his hood back, and there was no mistaking it. The black hair, the hawkish nose. It was him. He spoke, his words booming across the camp, but he was speaking in the goblin tongue. The rasping, throaty words echoed off the surrounding hills.

“He’s using magic,” Maren said.

“Well, I didn’t think he spoke that loud normally.”

“No. I mean, yes, he is projecting his voice, but he’s using other magic, too. It’s the same slippery magic from Tiradale. He must have another flute.”

“There’s something else,” I said. “He’s able to talk. Didn’t Giffor say he removed the man’s tongue?”

“You’re right,” Maren replied. “I’d forgotten about that.” She frowned. “Giffor must have released him, but why?”

“I don’t think he’d do that. The man kidnapped his daughter, after all. He must’ve escaped. The real mystery is how is he talking without his tongue? Can magic restore body parts like that?”

Maren shook her head. I quieted as the sorcerer continued speaking. The camp was hushed, the creatures enthralled by his every word. When he finished speaking, a cheer rose from the goblins, driving them into a frenzy. They began chanting and lifting their weapons into the air.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“He’s summoned more tribes, and they have answered his call. They’re coming down from the mountains.”

“We need to warn the towns and help them evacuate,” I said.

“It’s too late for that. We already know the goblins have scouts out there. If they get wind that the people are fleeing …” She let the words hang in the air.

The goblins had formed into small groups and continued their chanting.

“We need to do something,” I said. “I’m calling Sion.”

“No!” Maren clasped my hand. “We can stop this.”

“How?”

“We’ll capture the sorcerer. Without a head, the snake can’t see.”

“But it can still move,” I argued.

Maren stared at me in silence for a moment, then pushed past me and ran toward the tent. The sorcerer was watching his army, not paying attention to us. I muttered a curse and sprinted after Maren. She reached the tent and the hobgoblin stepped in front of her path, lifting his ax and hurling a string of gravelly words at her. I drew my sword and lunged at him, driving the blade between an opening in his armor. The sword plunged into his stomach, and he went down with a gurgled cry of surprise.

I looked back to see if we’d drawn attention, but his cry must’ve been drowned in the tumult of the other goblins. I wiped the blade on his tattered pant leg and sheathed it. Maren helped me pull him into the tent, and we dropped him to the side. I grabbed the edge of a rug and pulled it over him, then we moved to opposite sides of the entrance and waited.

My heart was thundering in my ears. This was insane. If something went wrong, we’d be dead before Sion and Demris could get to us. My mind swirled with horrifying possibilities, and I reached out for Sion. Something was blocking our connection. It was dark and empty, like some kind of void.

Sion?

There was no reply. I tried to navigate around the darkness, but it was everywhere. It sucked in all of the words and feelings I tried to convey to Sion, forcing them into the void. I looked at Maren, confusion starting to give way to panic. Before I could say anything, the sorcerer stepped inside the tent. He walked to a table covered with a map. Small figurines were scattered across its surface. Maren lifted her hand, drawing my attention. She had three fingers up, then two, then one.

“I know you’re there,” the sorcerer said.

Maren paused mid-step, and I grabbed the hilt of my sword. The man didn’t move.

“Your illusion is good, but it’s not perfect,” he continued. “Who are you? And why are you here?” His tone was calm and collected as if he wasn’t the least bit concerned about us. He moved one of the figurines, then turned around, his gaze sweeping past me and landing on Maren.

“Wait. Let me guess … those dragons belong to you two, don’t they?”

“Don’t act like you don’t recognize us,” Maren said.

“Should I?” He whispered something under his breath, and our illusions faded. I drew my sword and took a step forward.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, his eyes flicking over at me momentarily.

“How did you escape?” I demanded. “The baron isn’t going to spare your life this time.”

The sorcerer’s brow furrowed. “I truly have no idea what you’re talking about. I will ask one final time. Why are you here?”

“He’s lying,” Maren said.

“I know,” I replied.

“Suit yourselves.” The sorcerer began chanting the words to a spell. Maren also cast a spell, and she completed hers before he did. A blast of invisible force knocked the man backward. He struck the table and tumbled over it, falling to the ground. The map and figurines went flying in all directions. Maren rushed forward and put her boot against the sorcerer’s neck.

I joined her, pressing my blade against the palm of his left hand.

“How did you escape?” I repeated.

“Fools,” he rasped. Maren’s foot was cutting off his airway, his breaths coming in strained wheezes.

“Maybe he was tortured to the point he doesn’t remember anything?” I suggested.

“No, he’s lying. And I can prove it.”

“How?” I asked, glancing at the entrance. The clamor of the goblins outside hadn’t subdued, but I didn’t want any of them walking in and surprising us.

“The dragon bone flute,” Maren answered. “Check inside his robes.”

I knelt beside him, setting my sword down, and patted his chest and sides. Something solid was on his left side. I pulled his robes open and saw the edge of the white flute peeking out from a pocket. As I reached for it, the man tried to say something, but Maren pressed her foot down harder, cutting off his words. He struggled against her, his entire body jostling about. I managed to grab ahold of the flute.

“Hold still!” Maren snapped.

The sorcerer’s free hand swung up from the ground, striking the back of Maren’s leg—the one holding her weight. Her leg involuntarily bent, and she toppled backward with a cry of surprise. The man sat up and hit me in the throat. I choked and released the flute, my hands going to my neck. My eyes watered, blurring my vision.

I saw Maren’s vague outline moving, and the two began struggling. I fought to inhale, adrenaline making my vision pulse. I blinked rapidly, clearing the tears from my eyes. Maren was trying to grab the flute from the sorcerer, but he was stronger and faster. He smacked her hand away and scrambled backward. I finally got air into my lungs and reached for my sword, clutching the hilt weakly. In desperation, I tried to call out to Sion.

The darkness was still blocking our bond, and I had a feeling it had something to do with the sorcerer. I staggered to my feet and swung sloppily, my balance off-center. I missed, and the sword went flying from my grasp, clattering somewhere behind me. I cursed my weak hand and turned to look for it.

The sorcerer chanted, firing off a spell. I threw myself to the ground and rolled over, looking for the danger. Whatever he’d cast hadn’t been meant for me, but Maren must have countered it. She was unharmed and in the middle of casting her own spell. I scrambled on my hands and knees and spotted my sword lying nearby. I crawled over and snatched it up, then stood and rushed the sorcerer. My grip was firmer this time, and I swung horizontally, trying to score a hit across his ribs.

My blade landed, tearing a long cut through the robes, but the victory was short-lived. The robes hung in the air for a moment, then collapsed to the ground. The sorcerer was gone. I whirled around, expecting an attack from behind. He wasn’t there.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“He’s gone,” Maren replied. “He used a teleportation spell.”

“Blast it!” I struck the fallen table with my sword. “We need to get out of here and warn the towns. Can you reach Demris?”

There was a pause, then she shook her head. “No. Something is blocking the bond.”

“I’m having the same problem. I guess we’ll have to flee on foot. Maybe if we go north, we can circle back to where Sion and Demris are.”

Maren nodded, but she seemed troubled.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” I said, though I wasn’t sure I believed the words myself. When we’d encountered the sorcerer’s magic before, it had caused all kinds of issues with our dragons. I assumed this was the same situation.

“It’s not just that,” Maren said. “I—”

A horn blared, followed by goblins pouring into the tent.

5

I pushed Maren behind me and turned to face the creatures.

They swarmed through the entrance, their ranks growing thicker by the second. I stepped forward and swung my sword, hacking an arm off the nearest goblin. It shrieked and grabbed at the stump, trying vainly to stop the bleeding. I kicked him out of the way and struck another one in the neck. My sword got stuck, but I jerked it free just in time to block a rusty sword from impaling me.

I parried the blade to the side, sending the goblin’s arm out wide, then planted my foot on his chest and kicked him backward while using the momentum to push myself away from more swinging blades. A goblin with a mace came at me, screaming murder. I ducked low and jabbed the tip of my sword into its knee. The creature crashed into my shoulder, dropping his weapon and flipping over my back. It landed hard on the ground behind me. I grabbed the fallen mace and came up quickly, swinging the weapon in an underhanded fashion.

It connected with another goblin’s jaw, cracking its head back with a loud snap. The goblin collapsed, tripping up two others. They tumbled to the ground at my feet, and I swiftly plunged my sword into their backs, one at a time. Another goblin rushed at me, swinging its sword wildly. I blocked the strike, the goblin’s rusty blade glancing off my cross-guard, and launched a counter-attack with the mace. The weapon collided with the side of the goblin’s head, resulting in a crunch that made me flinch.

In the back of my mind, I wondered why Maren hadn’t cast any spells. Perhaps she had, and I just hadn’t noticed. I pushed the thought away and tried to jerk the mace back, but it was pulled from my grasp as the dead goblin fell. The others held back, none of them willing to engage me. My sword lessons at the Citadel had paid off. I was breathing heavily, but I still had plenty of strength. It was doubtful I could cut our way out of here, but Maren could obliterate them all with a single spell.

I changed hands, tossing the sword to my other hand, then ran my right hand along my pants, wiping the sweat off. It was in that moment three goblins swiftly ran at me. I grabbed the hilt of my sword with both hands and swung as hard as I could. The first one went down as I severed its head from its body. I struck the second one, but my blade bounced off its pauldron and tremors ran along my arm. I leaped backward as the third one tried to jab me with a spear, and I managed to twist my sword around and chop the iron tip off.

One of the goblins shouted, their voice booming over the noise. The crowd of goblins parted, revealing one of the chieftains. He snarled something and took a step toward me. I raised my sword and leveled it at him. The goblin looked at the blade, then repeated what he’d said. I stared at him blankly. Did he expect me to surr—

Maren screamed.

I whirled around. Two goblins had grabbed her arms. She struggled against them, but more joined the fray and they subdued her, knocking her down. I raised my sword, but a piercing noise filled the air, sending a sharp pain through my head. I dropped my sword and covered my ears, but it didn’t help. The sound reverberated through every part of my being, forcing me to my knees.

And then a host of goblins overcame me. They punched and kicked me, but surprisingly didn’t stab me. Their blows hurt, but the piercing noise was worse. Finally, blessedly, the sound faded. The goblins jerked me to my feet and bound my arms behind my back. I looked for Maren and saw they had tied her up as well. The goblins forced us into the corner, and they went about clearing the bodies from the tent. Once their work was done, they left us alone. I looked at Maren.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“That’s good. I still can’t reach Sion. It must be that blasted sorcerer’s magic again.”

“I don’t think it is,” Maren said softly.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure, but … I think something is happening to magic. At first, I thought it was just me. When I cast certain spells, they don’t always work. And if they do, they quickly fail.”

I thought back to when we’d battled the basilisk. Maren had used a containment spell on the creature, but it had fizzled out. I shook my head.

“No, that can’t be it. There’s one thing connecting Tiradale and this place, and it’s the sorcerer. It has to be that flute he’s got.”

“Eldwin.” Maren turned her head toward me. “I noticed it first at the Citadel a few weeks ago. When we went to Tiradale, it was worse, but it started before that.”

I didn’t believe it. She had to be wrong. Perhaps she was just focusing too hard and overthinking things. How could something be wrong with magic? If there was a problem, surely Sion would … No, I thought. I considered her illness in Tiradale, the void in our bond now. Could it be true?

“Have you spoken to Anesko about it?”

“No.”

“You should. If there truly is something happening with magic, I’m sure he’s aware of it.”

“Unless we find a way out of here, I don’t think it’s going to matter,” Maren said.