Empire of Serpents: Dragons of Isentol Book 3 by pdmac & Richard Fierce

Author:pdmac & Richard Fierce [Fierce, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonfire Press
Published: 2020-12-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Conal

To Conal’s good fortune, the army approaching from the south was two regiments from Clagmoran’s home guard, commanded by a thick-necked bulldog of a man named Awstyn who barged in to where Conal and the others stood outside the gates of the city, demanding, “Which one of you is Conal?”

“That would be Lord Conal,” Lorkan not so politely corrected him.

“Oh… ah… huh, never said anything about that. My apologies, m’Lord,” Awstyn said, glancing around to see which one was the Lord.

“Apology accepted,” Conal replied with a tired smile.

Expecting to see an older man, Awstyn cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “Ah… Lord Kilmaryn sends his respects, wishing he could send more but the security of the kingdom is equally important.”

“I am thankful Lord Kilmaryn was able to spare so many.” He curved a hand at Storri and Lorkan. “General Lorkan and General Storri are my primary commanders along with Commander Sorcha. You will command your soldiers as the fourth division of this army. Coordinate as you see fit. We leave in the morning.”

“Yes, m’Lord.” He smiled with contented excitement.

“War council in twenty minutes. Be there.”

“Yes, m’Lord… uh where?”

Conal glanced up at the too close city, the ghosts of the innocent dead seeming to hover at the open gates. Looking back over his shoulder at the charred remains of the battlefield, he smelled the acrid stench of burned bodies wood then turned back to Storri. “How about we meet at your tent.”

“As you wish, m’Lord,” Storri replied, pleased with the specific attention.

“I’ll meet you there then,” Conal said. “But first I need to talk to Drustan and Meinir. Madlyn and Korla, I also want you two to stay.”

Recognizing the tone of dismissal, the commanders slipped away to coordinate boundaries and liaison officers. Conal turned a sharp eye to Korla.

“Don’t ever go off on your own again. What you did was stupid. I told you to stay with Madlyn and that is where you will stay from now on. Understood?”

“I was only trying to help,” she said, embarrassed to be chastised in front of the others, especially Madlyn.

“You can help by being where you’re supposed to be. Had I needed mage support, no one knew where you were.” Conal then turned his attention to the two druids. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he fussed at them. “While I appreciated the attack on Hafgan’s army, you put yourselves in danger. Was that smart?”

“It was expedient,” Meinir answered. “Taking the battle to Hafgan on your own would have taken too much time. Yes, you would have won, but at what cost? You now have your army intact and ready to go.”

“Suppose some errant arrow found you like it did Bryok?” he pointedly stated.

“We have greater protection as dragons than humans.”

“Wait, what?” Korla startled, her embarrassment forgotten. “You’re dragons?”

Madlyn shook her head with maternal patience. “Yes, dearie. They are shapeshifters. You’re a mage. You should know about that.”

“I do, I mean, I’ve read about them, but I’ve never seen one in real life.” She stared at them with fascination.

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