The King's Quest (Dragon Lords of Valdier) by S.E. Smith

Author:S.E. Smith [Smith, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montana Publishing
Published: 2021-03-22T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Five

The Minor Moon of Leviathan:

“Batty!” Tamblin yelled as the small bat tumbled from the sky.

He tightened his grip on the saddle as they spiraled downward. He could smell the pungent scent of burned hair. The tiny bat struggled to right himself.

Tamblin cursed when a rock wall came into view in front of them. Batty frantically flapped his wings, but they slammed into the wall. The impact knocked the rider from his perch.

He clung to the saddle, his feet dangling as they slid down the rock face. Tamblin lost his tenuous hold on the saddle when Batty used his thumbs to grip a narrow crevice in the rock.

For a brief second, he was weightless until his feet connected with a ledge. He teetered backwards, his arms flailing outward as he tried to keep his balance. He looked over his shoulder and swallowed. While the ledge he stood on might not be very high for a poacher, it was deadly to someone his size. He twisted and pressed his back against the rock wall behind him.

“I think I got one of them,” a man shouted.

Adrenaline poured through him when a bright light flashed in his direction. He crouched down and blindly felt behind him. There was a wide crack in the rock. He slid into it just as the light flashed by him again, illuminating the darkness.

Right inside the entrance there was a hollowed out area. He ducked into it, crouching to keep from hitting his head. The sound of heavy footsteps came closer. He reached down and pulled a knife from his boot.

“Anything yet, Harron?” a man asked.

“No. I could have sworn I hit the creature. Help me find it,” Harron replied.

Tamblin flattened his body as far as he could in the narrow gap. A light slowly flashed over the rock. Light danced across the opening, giving him a better view of the cave. It was deeper than he’d expected, going back several feet before widening.

He inhaled a swift breath when the light focused on the crevice where he was hiding. A dirty hand, almost as wide as he was tall, appeared. Tamblin tightened his grip on the knife in his hand.

His breathing grew shallow when long, thick fingers felt around the interior. As long as the man didn’t curl his fingers, he should be safe. The man cursed when a jagged piece of rock along the ceiling sliced his flesh. The man would have been able to remove his hand again if he hadn’t twisted it.

“What’s wrong?” the other man asked.

“My hand’s stuck,” Harron growled.

“Well, you should have known better than to stick it in there. There’s no telling what kind of poisonous creatures might live in the rocks,” the other man said with a snicker of amusement.

“Shut up and help me pull my arm out,” Harron snapped.

Tamblin lifted an arm to protect his head from falling debris as Harron yanked his arm free. He listened to the two men mutter to each other. Only when the light moved away did he lean his head back and take a deep, calming breath.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.