The Hungering Flame (10 page)

“
Kadreaan!
”
the rider shouted, his voice hoarse and angry.

The dragon disappeared from sight, its roar a mournful cry. It reappeared a moment later, soaring above the pit as it beat its mighty wings, dragging itself into the sky.

They watched it fly away, too stunned to speak. When it was gone at last, Garrett and the prince looked to Warren for an explanation.

Warren shrugged his furry shoulders.
“
How do I know?
”
he said,
“
Let’s just get down from here before he decides to come back.
”

They descended the rest of the way, anxiously looking up time and again, fully expecting the dragon to return at any moment and burn them all to ashes. Too grateful to dare question their luck, they pushed on as fast as they were able.

The last ten feet of descent to the floor of the cavern cost Garrett a number of scrapes and bruises. Unable to ride their mounts beneath a rocky overhang, the three of them dismounted and led the wolves and horse to the edge of a final drop to the rubble-strewn floor. Warren and the wolves went first. Garrett braced himself and jumped down, crumpling and rolling, shoulder-first, into a largish rock. He groaned and rubbed his freshest bruise as he watched Warren shoo the wolves clear of a relatively flat patch of rocks.

“
Best place for the horse to land,
”
Warren said, looking up at the prince and his horse, still on the ledge above.

“
It’s too high for him!
”
Cabre shouted,
“
He’s too heavy.
”

Warren gave an exaggerated shrug, a pained expression on his face.

Garrett looked around, but saw no better option.

Cabre cursed, running his hand through his hair.
“
There’s nothing for it, boy,
”
he said,
“
You must jump.
”

Inglefras snorted and stamped, the sound of his hooves on stone echoing through the subterranean chamber. The big horse shook his mane and backed away from the edge, then suddenly sprang forward, soaring out into empty air.

Warren jumped clear as the massive warhorse crashed down onto the rocky floor. Inglefras screamed as his right foreleg went all the way to the knee into a crevice between two rocks.

“
Inglefras!
”
Cabre shouted, jumping down after his horse.

The horse twisted his body, trying to free his leg from the crevice. Bright blood stained his silvery
coat
, and Garrett’s stomach knotted up at the sound of the animal’s panicked cries.

Cabre dared the approach to the wildly thrashing horse, trying to get close enough to help Inglefras pull his leg free. Warren sprang forward and grabbed the crown of the largest rock, ripping it from the ground with a great heave. Inglefras hopped clear of the rock, blood streaming from his twisted leg.

“
No!
”
Cabre sobbed, running to Inglefras’s side and calming him. Cabre knelt to examine the wound, a look of horror on his face.

Garrett felt suddenly sick.
“
Is he all right?
”
he asked.

“
No!
”
Cabre shouted,
“
He’s not all right! His leg is broken.
”

“
We can help him though,
”
Garret
t
said,
“
We can do something.
”

“
What can we do?
”
Cabre said, burying his face in Inglefras’s mane.
“
Inglefras, I’m sorry,
”
he murmured.

Garrett looked at Warren, but the ghoul only hung his head and looked away.

“
There has to be something...
”
Garrett said.

“
Just...
”
Cabre said, his voice trembling,
“
Just leave us alone.
”

Warren reached out a long, shaggy arm and tugged at Garrett’s sleeve, pulling him away. Garrett followed him to the edge of the dark pool at the center of the chamber.

Warren looked back at where the prince stood, calming the injured horse.
“
It’ll be all right, Gar,
”
Warren said softly,
“
Let’s get the smell of smoke washed off us.
”

Garrett blinked, realizing how he must smell to the ghoul. The soot of the burning forest
formed
a thin grime on his clothes and skin. The uncomfortable dampness in his trousers alone demanded that he remove this shameful reminder of his fear. He nodded mutely and went to the pack on Ghausse’s back to retrieve a fresh set of clothes.

He returned to find Warren waist-deep in the dark pool scrubbing his fur clean. The fading daylight lent a rosy hue to the piles of bones all around.

“
Is the water safe?
”
Garrett asked.

Warren scooped up a pawful and gulped it down.
“
Tastes a little bony,
”
he said with a grin.

Garrett scowled and picked his way down to the water’s edge, finding a spot where a largish bone heap would afford him a bit of privacy. Warren, humming tunelessly to himself, turned his back and busily scratched his armpit with a leg bone.

Garrett washed himself and changed as quickly as he could, his eyes drawn, again and again to an ivory skull that sat, perched on a ledge, seeming to watch him with empty eyes.

“
How did all these people die?
”
Garrett asked.

“
I
dunno,
”
Warren said,
“
M
aybe the first one jumped in the hole, and the rest of his friends jumped in after him.
”

Garrett frowned, pulling a fresh hood over his head.

“
They were elves,
”
Prince Cabre said as he walked slowly to the water’s edge and stooped to wash Inglefras’s blood from his hands.

“
Elves?
”
Garrett said.

“
The warhost of the elven queen,
”
Cabre said,
“
slain in battle with the armies of Brahnek Spellbreaker. Their armies clashed near here and the dead were cast down into the clefts of the earth.
”

“
Warhost, huh?
”
Warren scoffed. The ghoul stooped to fish something small and white from the water at his feet. Warren held aloft the dripping skull of a child, turning it in his paw for examination.
“
The humans must
'
a been shakin’ in their boots when they saw this one runnin’ at ‘em with a sword.
”

Cabre’s face went red, and his eyes fell.
“
Things like that happen in war,
”
he said.

“
Ah, well,
”
Warren sighed, tossing the skull. It sank with a dull splash into the depths of the pool.
“
They were only elves, right? Not like they were important, like humans.
”

Cabre stood up.
“
What do you want from me?
”
he snapped,
“
I didn’t kill these people!
”

“
I don’t know!
”
Warren yelled, waving his shaggy arms,
“
I’m just sick of you humans stomping around, wrecking and burning everything like nothing else in the world matters but what you want.
”

“
That’s how the world works!
”
Cabre shouted,
“
I don’t imagine that you ask anyone’s permission before you eat their dead grandmother.
”

“
At least I didn’t keep their grandmother in a cage until she was fat enough to eat!
”

“
You know what?
”
Cabre said, turning away in disgust,
“
I don’t know why I even came looking for your help! I’ve lost my knights, I’ve lost my dignity, and now I’ve lost...
”
Cabre clenched his teeth, not daring to complete the sentence. He looked at Inglefras. The big horse slowly hobbled to the pool’s edge to drink, his broken leg tucked up close to his body. Cabre’s shoulders shook with stifled sobs.
“
Gods!
”
he moaned.

Warren’s face softened, and his long arms slumped at his sides.
“
Look... I’m sorry,
”
he said,
“
We’ll find a way out of this... Inglefras too. I promise.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Garrett said,
“
not many people can say they saw a dragon and lived. We must be pretty lucky.
”

Warren looked thoughtful.
“
That’s two for us!
”
he said.

“
Does it count if it was the same dragon?
”
Garrett asked.

“
Uh, yeah, I think it still counts,
”
Warren said.

Cabre cast them a sideways glance.
“
I didn’t think I would...
”

“
Survive?
”
Warren asked.

Garrett saw something else in the prince’s expression.
“
You didn’t think you’d be scared, did you?
”

Cabre winced.
“
An Astorran knight is supposed to be fearless, even in the face of death.
”

Garrett’s face flushed as he recalled his own terror. He hesitated a moment and then spoke.
“
Did you wet your pants?
”

“
No!
”
Cabre said, taken aback.

“
Well, I did!
”
Garrett laughed,
“
And I’ve even seen the dragon before. I’d say you did pretty good for anybody.
”

Cabre smiled a little.

“
Yeah,
”
Warren said,
“
everybody’s afraid of dragons, once they’ve seen one. Even my dad.
”

“
Let’s just figure a way to help Inglefras and get out of here,
”
Garrett said.

Warren looked around, shielding his eyes against the dying sunlight with his paw.
“
Looks like the cave goes off in that direction,
”
he said, pointing with his other hand. He studied again the heaps of elvish bones.
“
Hey, Garrett, you wanna make us some helpers?
”

Garrett shook his head.
“
I can’t raise skeletons,
”
he said,
“
Only the Sisterhood knows how to do that. I’d need something with some meat still on it, and, anyway, I don’t have much essence. I’d rather save it until we really need it.
”

“
We need to rest,
”
Cabre said,
“
We’ve been on the road all day, and now...
”

“
Yeah,
”
Warren said,
“
I think we should. Maybe a little farther back in the cave.
”

“
The Chadiri know that we’re here!
”
Garrett said,
“
I think
we should try to get out of here as soon as we can.
”

Cabre’s jaw tightened, and he looked at his injured horse.

Warren frowned.
“
I think we can spare an hour or two to catch our breath,
”
he said.

Garrett nodded.
“
Do you think that rider would recognize you?
”
he asked.

Cabre looked thoughtful.
“
It’s possible... maybe some of the soldiers who captured me before survived. Still, I’m wearing a Gloaran tabard. He might have thought we were just a patrol.
”