Wrath and Ruin by Richard Fierce

Author:Richard Fierce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonfire Press

10

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at Shadamar’s boots.

I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees and looked straight. The black stones of the Temple of the Bond glinted under the sun. Nemryth was standing a few feet away, a scowl plastered on her face.

“Why did you lead them here?” she demanded.

“I’m sorry. I had no choice. You must leave. Now. The king seeks your destruction.”

“We will not leave our home. If the king wants a fight, I will give him one.”

“No.” I shook my head. “He has a soldier watching Maren. If you kill the king, the soldier will kill her.”

Nemryth stared at me for a long moment in silence.

“Fine,” she said. “We’re still searching for Risod, so that will give us an excuse to leave the temple. How long do you need?”

An idea came to me.

“Is there anything of Risod’s you can give me?”

“Why?”

“The king wants to find you, but because of the enchantments of the forest, he wasn’t able to. He needed me to show him. I’m sure his sorcerer here,” I kicked Shadamar’s foot, “can track Risod down if he had one of her belongings. It’s how someone found me once. He will lead us to the dragon slayers, and if all goes well, they’ll wipe each other out.”

Nemryth smirked, and I knew she liked my plan.

“That’s clever of you,” she said. “I will leave something out for them to find. Once they are on the trail, we will follow you.”

“Don’t let them see you or that will throw off everything.”

“They will not detect our presence.”

I nodded. “You should go before they wake up.”

Nemryth chuckled. “You know we control when the magic lets you wake up, don’t you? They will not come to until I let them. It is the only thing about the enchantments that has not changed.”

I did not know that, but it was great news.

“Put me back to sleep,” I said. “And let the king wake before me. This needs to be believable.”

“As you wish. We will leave now. It won’t take long. Hopefully, this works.”

“It will,” I said. It had to.

“See you soon.”

The grogginess washed over me, and I crumpled to the ground. The next thing I knew, someone was shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Erling standing over me. His guards were gathered around him, weapons drawn.

“Get up,” Erling said.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been down, but the sun wasn’t much further into the sky. Rising to my feet, I glanced around the clearing.

“Where are they?”

I pointed at the temple. “They should be inside there.”

“Take the lead,” he ordered.

I walked across the clearing and ascended the steps. The king and his men followed at a distance. He was being wary. I pushed against the doors, but they didn’t budge.

“It’s locked,” I said, looking over my shoulder.

Erling nodded his head at Shadamar. “Open them.”

The sorcerer joined me near the doors and held his right hand up. He flicked his gaze at me. “Get behind me.

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