Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (27 page)

“O.K.!” said Rebecca, her dagger scorching another orc that had gotten too brave.

“You too, Tyris,” said the mage.

Somewhere within the wall of flame a voice responded. “I will go last. You must all clear the cavern.”

Vera had reached the mage. “Hold your shield until the others get here,” said Kazin. Vera nodded.

“Now!” ordered Kazin. As the elf, cyclops and dwarf came running, Kazin showered their pursuers with fireballs to slow them down. The three fighters dove through the portal.

“You next, Vera!” ordered the mage.

The cleric disappeared through the portal, wondering how Kazin could be operating the portal, holding the shield by himself, and casting fireballs at the same time. Her respect for the mage increased even more.

“Come on, Tyris!” cried Kazin. The orcs were surging into the room too fast for him to contain them.

“Go first and I’ll follow!” called Tyris, his form beginning to change.

Kazin dove into the portal. He knew he could sustain it from the other side. His only fear was that some of the orcs would get through before the elemental did. Screams of agony reached his ears just before he disappeared to the other side, where the heavy breathing of his companions was the predominant sound.

A few moments later, the elemental arrived in his human form, unscathed. “I wouldn’t go back there for a while,” he said calmly. “The smell of roasted orc flesh is almost unbearable.” He looked around at the unlikely group that was assembled before him. Vera and Alric sat on the floor, the cleric busy healing the elf’s arm. The cyclops was leaning against the wall, fatigued as a result of the heavy fighting. Kazin and Rebecca were still breathing heavily from their own exertion. On the ground nearby were two dead lizardmen.

The elemental directed his attention to Kazin. “Are we now in lizardman territory?” He indicated the fallen lizardmen.

Kazin nodded. “These two were guarding this portal when we stumbled upon them. I figured there was something important through the portal, so we investigated it. That’s when we ran into you guys.”

Tyris nodded. “This portal leads to the orcs’ realm. This is where the lizardmen delivered several barrels of water to them in exchange for troops for some battle or other.”

Vera, finished with Alric’s wound, stood up. “They’re recruiting orcs? Oh, no!”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Did I miss something?”

The cleric looked at the dwarf. “They’re preparing to attack the humans! The ogres have already agreed to fight for the lizardmen! Now the orcs are joining them! With the mages out of commission, and the clerics overwhelmed by all of the sick and dying, we don’t stand a chance!”

“The mages are out of commission?” asked Rebecca uncertainly. She looked searchingly at Kazin. “How?”

“There was an intruder at the Tower of Sorcery,” explained Kazin. “Most of the mages have been poisoned.”

Rebecca held a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened in fear. Then she lowered her hand and whispered, “Who could have done such a terrible deed?”

Kazin shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Alric was just as stunned as Rebecca. It was he who had done that deed! Now he knew what he had been manipulated to do. He was glad no one was looking at him. His guilty expression would have betrayed him.

“We should alert the dwarves,” said Rebecca. “They will help, I’m sure!” She turned to face the red-faced elf. “You should alert the elves!”

“There’s no time,” said Kazin. “We have to stop the lizardmen before they get their plan off the ground.”

“How do we do that?” asked Rebecca.

“We have to save the elementals,” said Kazin. “Hopefully that will thwart the lizardmens’ plans before they launch their attack.”

Alric, who had been somberly silent until now, rose to his feet. His fists were clenched. “Let’s get going, then. I’m not letting these lizardmen get away with this! The lizardmage behind all this is going to pay! Dearly!”

Kazin was surprised by the elf’s vehemence. Although he was not sure about the elf’s motives, he was sure of one thing: their goals coincided.

Chapter 21

D
o you really think the orcs would know where the fire elemental might be?” asked a lizardman. He looked sidelong at their leader as he walked down the tunnel beside him.

“Even if they have seen it, what makes you think they will tell us?” asked a female lizardwoman behind them. “They have no reason to trust us.”

Lynch rounded on the two who challenged his plan. “They will answer our questions truthfully! If they want additional water, they’ll do anything!” With that outburst, he turned on his heel and continued down the corridor.

The group of lizardmen marched on in silence, allowing their irate leader to lead on. Bringing up the rear was Lyrr. He said nothing, because for once he thought Lynch had come up with a reasonable plan. Days of aimless searching had shortened Lynch’s already short fuse. After giving several suggestions to Lynch, Lyrr finally convinced him to ask other mountain dwellers if they had seen the elemental.

Lyrr was pulled from his reverie when he nearly bumped into the lizardman in front of him. The group had stopped. Pushing past the others, Lyrr made it to the front to see what was up.

Kneeling beside a prone lizardman body, Lynch was examining it for a cause of death. Lynch rose to his feet and faced the others excitedly. “He was killed by a fireball! It could have been our elemental!”

“Almost anyone can cast a fireball,” challenged another lizardman. “What makes you think he was killed by an elemental?”

“Why would another lizardman kill some guards protecting a portal to the realm of the orcs?” challenged Lynch in return. He pointed at another lizardman nearby. “That one’s dead from the same cause.”

“Maybe the orcs can tell us something,” suggested the lizardwoman.

“That’s what I’ve been saying all along!” snarled Lynch. The leader looked at Lyrr and pointed to the portal’s location. “Lyrr, would you like to do the honours?”

Lyrr leered. He knew Lynch had trouble with portal magic and was afraid to admit it. Nevertheless, he stepped forward and activated the portal. Everyone stepped through and Lyrr went through last. He closed the portal behind him.

The air around them was thick with the smoke of charred flesh, and the gore of orc remains lay sprawled about the cavern. The stench was almost unbearable.

“Uggh!” gasped the lizardwoman. “What happened here?”

Lynch turned to face her, his expression elated. “Don’t you see? It was here! The elemental was here! We’re getting close!”

Lyrr looked around at the carnage and had to agree. The devastation was more than any lone lizardmage could cause, even Graf himself. This was the work of a more powerful being.

“Attack!”

The battle cry caught the lizardmen off guard. Streaming in from every direction were hordes of orcs.

The lizardmen let loose with a number of fireballs and magic arrows, but the number of orcs was too great.

Lyrr turned to reactivate the portal, but was surprised to see it had already been opened. Lizardmen, armed with staves and spears, appeared in the cavern. Seeing their fellow lizardmen in trouble, they immediately entered the fray, doling out additional offensive magic. The front rows of orcs were killed, but not before killing four of Lynch’s party. Some bolts fired from orc crossbows found their marks in the newcomers.

“Fall back!” shouted an armed lizardman, who appeared to be a lieutenant, judging by the insignia on his breastplate.

Lynch’s party fell back to the portal while the lizardmages provided cover with fireballs. Soon, all of the surviving lizardmen had returned to their own realm. The portal closed, sealing them off from the enraged orcs.

The lieutenant spun on Lynch’s party. “Who is in charge here?”

“I am,” said Lynch. He was rubbing his left shoulder which had suffered a blow from an orc’s club.

“What was going on in there?” demanded the lieutenant.

“The orcs came out of nowhere and attacked us,” said Lynch sourly.

“Why?” asked the lieutenant.

“How the hell should I know?” retorted Lynch. “We just entered the cavern and before we knew it, they attacked.”

“Did you kill all those orcs?” asked the lieutenant, unfazed by Lynch’s attitude. “The orcs that were burned?”

Lynch shook his head. “No. They were like that when we got there.”

The lizardman pointed to the two dead sentries who lay nearby. “What about them?”

Lynch shrugged. “They were dead when we found them.”

The lieutenant’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why didn’t you report this to a command post? You know the rules!”

Lynch shrugged again. “We decided to see if the orcs knew anything. It would have been better to report the incident with some idea of what had happened.” He was playing it cool.

The lieutenant was not convinced. “You realize this is a restricted area? What is your business here? Do you have permission to even be here?”

Lynch pulled out a document and thrust it angrily into the lieutenant’s face. “Here! My mission is to find and capture a fire elemental whatever it takes! The document is signed by Graf himself!”

The lieutenant read the document. “Lynch,” he said at last. “Of course! You’re known for getting into trouble. Do you know what trouble you’ve caused this time? You may have broken the alliance we’ve worked so hard to achieve with the orcs! I should report you!”

“Go ahead!” retorted Lynch. “I didn’t do anything wrong! If anything, it’s that blasted fire elemental who did this. Every minute I waste talking to you gives the elemental more time to escape! Do you want to be responsible for any further damage that the elemental causes?” Lynch grabbed his documents back. “If you’re finished your interrogation, I’ve got work to do!” With that, he turned and headed down the tunnel, his remaining party in tow.

The lieutenant stared after him. “You realize I still have to report you!”

Lynch said nothing and raised and lowered his arm in a gesture of dismissal. Lyrr leered at the lieutenant and said, “Thanks for your assistance.” Then he turned and followed his party. He knew that Lynch was going to be in trouble for his actions sooner or later, but he also knew Lynch would suffer endless ridicule if he returned empty-handed. The elemental had to be captured, and for once, he felt like they were on the right track.

* * * * *

“The council recognizes Narla,” said the speaker below Graf’s alcove.

Narla spread her fish-like lips into a sensual grin. “The air elemental is still under control, but somehow succeeds in making the odd crack through which some of his magic occasionally escapes. Fortunately, we catch the openings before he can escape or release any of his magic against us. His power is great, and should greatly assist us in the upcoming battle.”

Murmurs of approval filtered through the hall below.

“I have also determined,” continued Narla, “that under the present conditions, the elemental’s power will likely be limited. In trying to escape, it is depleting its energy at a phenomenal rate.”

“What do you propose?” asked Graf.

Narla looked up at her leader. “If we had more lizardmages available for summoning, the elemental would not be resisting us, and would obey us willingly. That would allow the elemental to gain strength instead of wasting it trying to escape.”

Graf stared. “You already have more spell casters than you need! Why do you need more?”

Narla hesitated. “There appears to be some unexplained resistance. It’s as if someone else is trying to summon that elemental.”

Graf was surprised. Who could be trying to summon the air elemental? The black mages in the human realm were not known to use summoning magic, and they were by now too few to accomplish this anyway. Could it be the clerics in the Tower of Hope? Doubtful. Something else was going on here. “Recruit more lizardmages as necessary,” said Graf sullenly, “but don’t give me any more excuses.”

Narla nodded. “Thank you.” Then she sat down.

General Slong rose and the speaker announced him.

“One of my lieutenants has reported an incident,” began the general. His bronze breastplate glistened in the torchlight.

Graf nodded. “Carry on.”

Slong continued. “Apparently, one of the portals to the orcs’ realm has been breached.”

Murmurs of surprise shot through the throng below. Graf stiffened in his chair. “Go on.”

“They discovered two sentries, murdered, and went through the portal to investigate. In the orc cavern, they came upon a battle in progress between some lizardmen and numerous orcs. Reacting quickly, our troops extracted our people and returned them to our side of the portal. There were several casualties.”

The murmurs and hisses in the crowd were starting to get too loud and Graf yelled for silence. The crowd settled down and Graf said, “Who were these lizardmen, and why were they in orc territory?”

Slong cleared his throat. “It was a party legally in the process of tracking down the fire elemental. They were led by lizardman Lynch.”

Graf’s eyes widened. “What! What was he trying to do?”

Slong shook his head. “I don’t know. My lieutenant had no choice but to let him continue on his way. He had written permission to leave no stone unturned in his quest for the fire elemental.”

Graf threw his hands up in despair. “But what does this have to do with a security breach?”

“The sentries who were killed were killed by magic,” explained Slong. “Fireballs, to be precise.”

“And?”

“Numerous orcs on the other side of the portal were also killed by fire magic.”

“I assume Lynch took them out?” asked Graf.

“I don’t think so,” said Slong. “My lieutenant claims that Lynch and his team came upon a massacre that had already occurred. The orcs that they saw massacred in the cavern numbered in the dozens. It was as if they had been overwhelmed by an enormous inferno.”

“The fire elemental?” hissed Graf in surprise. The crowd began to make noise again, but Graf rapped his staff on the floor to restore silence.