The Flames of Dragons by Josh VanBrakle

Author:Josh VanBrakle [VanBrakle, Josh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-06-22T23:00:00+00:00

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Minawë crouched behind a piece of driftwood on the beach. With her long leather cap obscuring her green hair, she would be all but invisible to the anchored ships.

In her right hand Minawë clutched the Forest Dragon Bow. Its energy flowed through her, and she sent that power into the sand and out into the water. As Rondel had claimed, there were plants out there, though they felt unlike any Minawë had interacted with. Their speech had a long rhythm to it, a flow like the waves that came and went.

Strange as the kelp were, Minawë could understand them well enough. She told them the mission she had for them, and they knew they could handle it.

Minawë focused her attention on the most distant ship. With luck everyone would be watching Rondel’s diversion. They wouldn’t be looking back over the water.

Guided by Minawë’s magic, the kelp beneath her target ship grew. Their stems lengthened and thickened until they rose from the sea. They attached to the ship, lashing themselves to any imperfections they could find in the wood.

Minawë let the kelp build. She had probably gathered enough to sink the junk, but she didn’t want to risk attacking too soon. She didn’t want the Maantecs to realize what was happening until it was too late to stop.

At last she was ready. Minawë poured the full might of her magic into the kelp, and it erupted up the junk’s sides. It climbed onto the masts and rigging and ripped them all down. The ship was crippled.

But that wasn’t good enough. The junks could be repaired. The only way to ensure they didn’t travel to Lodia was to sink them.

That proved a harder task. The ship’s thick hull resisted compression, and the kelp lacked sharp edges or thorns to cut with.

Even so, Minawë wouldn’t give up. This was their only chance to stop Melwar before he set off for war. She was the only one who could do this.

Sweat poured off her, but finally the kelp broke through the hull. A sickening crunch reached Minawë over the ocean’s waves. She gulped. It wasn’t just that the sound would alert the Maantecs to what she was doing. It was also the realization that she’d just cast a thousand men into the sea.

She released her spell on the kelp; the vessel was doomed now. Minawë could see it sinking, see the dots leaping off it as the crew tried to save themselves. Most would swim to shore and live, but any soldiers in armor would sink along with their ship.

Minawë put both hands on the beach and panted. She hadn’t expected destroying one ship to be so draining. She had no idea how she was going to take down eleven more.

There was no time to worry about it. The Maantecs on the remaining ships were running about the decks. They knew they were under attack now.

Let them worry. Maybe it would make them second-guess launching a war that would inflict the same fear.

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