Draggah (19 page)

He considered conjuring fire, but he doubted he could do much with the flames other than prolong the inevitable.  He needed something else, something more powerful, to sway the odds in their favor.  Then it hit him. He didn
’
t need to attack the creature, just subdue it.

He closed his eyes and rose to his feet in the stirrups of the saddle.  The creature
’
s roars and growling were so loud that Tiberius couldn
’
t hear the words as he said them, but he could feel the magic swirling into action around him.

“
Somni Incantatio
,
”
he said. 
“
Somni Incantatio, Somni Incantatio
.
”

The magic almost took on a physical weight.  It reminded Tiberius of stirring a pot of thick oatmeal.  The more he chanted the spell, the more power and mass it seemed to take on.  He swirled and swirled the magic until he had a massive blob.  Then he waved his arms as if he were physically throwing something at the creature.  He felt the magic flying away from him.  This time the creature didn
’
t see the attack, and Tiberius felt the magic slam into the beast
’
s head.  The massive bone skull was practically impenetrable by any physical attack, but the magic soaked in.

Tiberius watched and waited.  The creature had been shifting back to attack the Rogu who had just darted in on the creature
’
s left side and suddenly, it hesitated.  Tiberius held his breath and watched.  The creature
’
s head drooped for a moment.  The roaring shifted into a deep-throated rasp.  The beastly mouth opened wide, teeth strangely extended.  Tiberius thought that his spell had failed and the creature was about to attack again, but instead its tongue arched out of its mouth and Tiberius realized the monster was just yawning.  Then the creature slowly leaned forward, shaking its head.

“
What
’
s it doing?
”
Lexi asked.  She had led her horse and Olyva
’
s up behind Tiberius.

“
Trying to wake up,
”
he said. 
“
I cast a sleeping spell on it.
”

“
Is it going to work?
”

“
I don
’
t know.  I think maybe it’s too weak.  I
’
m going to try again.
”

He closed his eyes, concentrating.  He could feel a tenuous connection between himself and the creature now, almost like a spiderweb.  He let his mind run up the connection and he felt the beast
’
s stupor.  His spell had worked, making the creature unnaturally drowsy, but the monster
’
s adrenaline and sense of self-preservation made it reluctant to give in and fall asleep.

“
Somni Incantatio
,
”
Tiberius whispered.  He didn
’
t wait for the spell to build in power this time, but sent it racing up the tendril that tied him to the massive creature. 
“
Somni Incantatio, Somni Incantatio
.
”

The beast moaned and Tiberius felt a sense of regret pass through the magical tendril that connected him to the creature.  Then it scrambled its legs, pawing at the ground and air, but not really trying to flee.  It came down on its stomach in a rather graceful collapse.

The creature was obviously still alive, its heavy growlish breathing was unmistakable.  No one moved.  The Rogu looked on in awe. Lexi took hold of Tiberius, who didn
’
t know if she was hiding behind him or making sure he didn
’
t rush off to do something foolhardy.

Finally, after several minutes of intense scrutiny, Rafe came forward on his horse.  He circled around the beast, alert for any signs of treachery.  Once he was satisfied that the creature wasn
’
t playing some sort of trick, he rode over to Tiberius.

“
This your handiwork?
”
he asked.

“
I cast a sleeping spell,
”
Tiberius replied.

“
How long will it last?
”

“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
Should we call the tribe back?  Have them move the camp?
”

“
It could wake up at any minute,
”
Tiberius said.

“
Then there
’
s only one option,
”
Rafe said. 
“
We have to kill it.
”

Chapter 14

Rafe

The look on Tiberius
’
face was surprising.  It was almost as if he felt sorry for the creature that had just tried to kill them.  Rafe
’
s belief that he was up for any challenge had never wavered. But looking at the sheer size of the monster snoring before them, he was amazed that they had survived, let alone defeated the creature without a single man getting hurt or killed.  Still, just because the beast wasn
’
t a threat at that exact moment didn
’
t mean it wouldn
’
t wreak havoc on the tribe if it came to.  It simply wasn
’
t a risk they could afford to take.

“
Are you sure?
”
Tiberius said.

“
Are you sure you could stop it again if it wakes up?
”

Tiberius hesitated. 
“
No,
”
he finally admitted.

“
So what, you feel sorry for this thing now?
”
Rafe asked.

“
I don
’
t feel sorry for it,
”
Tiberius tried to explain. 
“
But I do have empathy.
”

“
He
’
s connected to it because of the spell he cast,
”
Lexi said. 
“
Am I right?
”

“
Yes,
”
Tiberius replied,
“
in a way.  This creature responded to magic differently than anything else I
’
ve ever encountered.
”

“
How so?
”
Rafe asked.

“
When I cast the sleeping spell on it, we were connected.  Still are really.  It
’
s hard to explain.
”

“
Why would that happen?
”
Rafe asked.

“
I don
’
t know.
”

“
You didn
’
t feel that way with the trees you burned up?
”

“
No,
”
Tiberius said.

“
What about when you fought Moswanee?
”
Lexi asked. 
“
Or when you were with Princess Ariel?
”

“
No, this is completely different.  When I work magic, I can feel it.  It
’
s sort of like a strong wind or a swift river flowing around me.  When I chant the incantation, it stirs the magic up, makes it stronger.  Then I direct it with my mind.  In this case, I threw the spell at the creature, but when it struck, we were connected.  Maybe it
’
s just this spell.  I
’
ve never cast it before.
”

“
It doesn
’
t sound good to me,
”
Rafe said. 
“
We need to keep you safe.  You
’
ve saved my bacon more than once with your spells, but I can
’
t say I like you working magic.
”

“
I
’
ll stay with him,
”
Lexi said. 
“
You do what needs to be done for the tribe.
”

Rafe nodded and slipped off his horse, handing Lexi the reins.  He couldn
’
t help but worry about Tiberius.  His friend had saved his life more than once using magic, but there was a reason it was banned in Valana.  The wizards of old had caused the cataclysm and since then, magic in any form was strictly forbidden.  It didn
’
t bode well for Tiberius that he felt a strong connection to the huge monster they
’
d just defeated.

Rafe turned his attention to killing the beast.  It wouldn
’
t be easy.  He had no idea how strong the sleeping spell was.  Perhaps he could do whatever he wanted to the creature and it wouldn
’
t notice.  On the other hand, the moment he hurt the beast it might wake up and attack him.  He needed to find a way to kill it quickly with one swift blow.

The creature was too large to lop off its head.  The neck was as big as a house, and the brain was protected under the thick dome of bone.  He could stab through the creature
’
s big eyes, but he had no idea how deep he would have to cut to reach the brain.  He could slash the throat, but even if he severed a major artery, it still might take several minutes for the beast to bleed to death.

He walked around the creature
’
s head.  The one intact spear was lodged in the beast
’
s jowls and covered with slobber.  The Rogu were cautiously moving closer and Rafe knew he was running out of time.  He made a decision and drew his sword, then he changed his mind and re-sheathed it.  He wasn
’
t excited about getting covered in the creature
’
s sludge-like saliva, but he would be sprayed with gore when he delivered the killing blow anyway.  And the spear gave him a greater chance of reaching the beast
’
s brain.

He took hold of the spear. The mucus smelled of rotting meat, and the creature
’
s breath blasted him with each exhale.  He moved quickly, wrenching the spear free and pausing just long enough to make sure the sensation didn
’
t wake the creature.  He carefully pulled the long weapon out from between the heavy flaps of skin.  His heart was racing and he wanted to finish his grisly task as soon as possible.  He backed up slowly, watching for any sign of movement from the creature.

Asleep, the beast looked much less frightening.  The teeth still stood out at odd angles from its mouth, some poking into the jowl flaps, others pointing almost straight out between the thin lips.  But its large eyes were closed. The only sign of the beast
’
s fearsome nature was its sheer size.

Rafe paused for a second, setting his feet and making sure he had a firm grip on the spear.  Then he charged forward, howling a battle cry as he ran.  The beast exhaled a powerful blast of hot air that blew against Rafe like a gale wind common on the tall watchtower of Avondale, but he didn
’
t slow down.  At the last minute, he jumped forward, throwing all his weight and strength into driving the spear forward.  His momentum carried the weapon forward and into one massive nostril.  He felt no resistance until most of his body was inside the hairy nose.  The grumbling breath was louder than before, and hot like the blast from a blacksmith
’
s forge.  He had to climb further into the beast
’
s head, pushing on the rough flesh, and pulling on the thick hair that grew inside creature
’
s nose.  Finally, the cavernous nostril turned, angling down toward the beast
’
s body.  Rafe decided it was time for his attack.  He slammed the spear upward, stabbing it into the soft tissue and heaving it deeper and deeper toward the creature
’
s brain.  A gush of hot fluid sprayed over him, and he felt the creature suck in a powerful breath, but Rafe drove the spear forward, digging his boots into the soft flesh of the nostril.

The spear cut through the soft flesh and scraped against bone, before finally plunging into the dense tissue of the creature
’
s brain.  Its feet began to shake and the huge body jerked in powerful death throes, knocking Rafe down in the dark passage of its nostril.  Only a sword length
’
s end of the spear was left inside the creature
’
s snout, and in one spasmatic jerk it was pulled out of Rafe
’
s hands.  The wooden shaft twitched one way, and just as Rafe was reaching for it to finish the job, it twitched back, slamming into his side and knocking him off his feet.  He cursed under his breath and felt a stich of pain.  He guessed the spear had cracked a rib, but the pain only made him more determined to finish the task.