Secrets of the Sword 2 (Death Before Dragons Book 8) Read online

  Zav landed on one of the stone buildings and levitated me off his back.

  “We’re fighting here?” I landed on the flat slab of a roof, grunting again at the heavy gravity, and drew my weapons.

  You will hide among the buildings and may vex them from afar if you wish, though it is unlikely they will respond to your words. I will destroy them. Zav sprang into the air before I could utter a protest. They cannot shift into smaller shapes, so it should be difficult for them to reach you if you stay inside the buildings.

  “Zav! You can’t take on eight by yourself.” And how the hell was destroying them investigating anything?

  I will take on no more than two at once, Zav assured me, flying not toward the creatures arrowing toward us but for a dark cave or depression in the wall of the canyon. He landed in it and turned to face them, his back and flanks protected by the rock.

  From what I’d always seen, Zav’s fighting style was akin to aerial martial arts with magic thrown in. Would he be able to defend himself effectively from the ground? From inside a cave?

  Seven of the creatures veered toward him. One flapped its leathery wings and streaked toward me. Its power preceded it, battering my senses with the same intensity of Zav’s aura. That scared me. Were we facing enemies equivalent to a dragon? To eight dragons?

  “This may not go well,” I muttered.

  12

  The winged creature dove closer, its empty eye sockets glowing as they fixated on me. Its jaw opened, sword-like fangs looking every bit as deadly as the teeth of a living animal—a living predator.

  I rubbed Sindari’s charm to call for his help as I pointed Fezzik between those eye sockets and fired.

  The creature didn’t erect a magical barrier to bounce my bullets away, and they struck its skull, right where I’d aimed. They ricocheted off the bone as surely as they would have a magical shield, and the creature didn’t flinch or alter its path. Could undead skeletons feel pain? Probably not.

  Sindari formed at my side and groaned into my mind. A little more time for preparation would be appreciated, Val.

  Sorry, I was on Zav’s back until a few seconds ago. I holstered Fezzik as the creature came in, talons outstretched, and crouched with Chopper in both hands, ready to vex the creature. Don’t let it cut you.

  The undead have the power of the grave.

  Which I assumed was bad. I had no experience with death magic, and I didn’t want it.

  I timed the creature’s approach and jumped to one side of the roof, dodging the grasping talons. Sindari sprang to the opposite side to avoid them. I leaped back in, hoping to slash at the creature’s back end before it passed out of range, but a blast of power hit me like a tornado.

  Before I could get my own modest magical defenses up, the attack knocked me from the roof, turning me in somersaults. The power had the chill of death, and it numbed my skin as I tumbled through the air. I glimpsed Sindari, who hadn’t been struck by the power, springing for the creature’s flank.

  I twisted and managed to land on my feet in the undergrowth, but the heavier gravity made it more jarring than I was used to. Pain stabbed my ankles and made me pause instead of climbing back to the roof. Maybe I could fight the creature from the ground.

  Sword raised, I turned to track it, hoping for another shot. This time, I would use Freysha’s teachings to create a shield around myself.

  Sindari had caught the beast’s side and now hung from its skeletal flank, gnashing at one of its huge ribs. It flew past the abandoned village and over the trees, and I lost sight of them.

  “Come back over here and face me!” I yelled, frustrated to find myself on the ground and unable to help.

  Off to the side of the village, the other seven creatures descended on Zav in a flurry of magic and wingbeats. Their dark auras surrounded his, and I could barely sense him through the malevolent cloud. Because of the trees, I couldn’t see much of the battle either, only catching glimpses through the leaves.

  Several blasts of pure power slammed into the side of the canyon where Zav crouched, throwing his own magic at his attackers in waves. Two flew backward, somersaulting as I had, skeletal tails flying over skulls. That didn’t keep the others from attacking.

  Zav’s magical barrier protected him, but shards of rock the size of boulders split off the canyon wall. The creatures were trying to bury him in that cave.

  I took a few steps in that direction, but a surge of power came from the one that had attacked me. A second later, Sindari flew back into view, tumbling through the air. He got his feet under him, but like me, he came down hard, his breath expelling in a grunt that turned into an angry snarl.

  The creature flew back into view, coming for us as I ran to Sindari to help him if he needed it. It dove toward us, and I raised Chopper, determined to get in fast enough to strike at it this time.

  But the yellow eyes focused on the sword, and the creature didn’t come within range. It flew over us like a bomber, hurling down magical blasts of energy.

  I hurried to form my defenses, imagining mental fern fronds matting together in a dome-shaped barrier over Sindari and me—and hoping it would work. I’d never tried to extend my shield and protect someone else before, and I had no idea how effective my magic would be on this world.

  Power railed at us like a hailstorm wind, tearing up the undergrowth all around us and slamming into my barrier. One of the stone structures crumbled as if a wrecking ball had crashed into the roof, and the noise almost startled me into dropping my defenses. Chunks of stone struck the barrier—would have struck us—and bounced off. The creature sailed out of view over more dwellings.

  Dwarven buildings are usually indestructible, Sindari noted of the crumbled stone near us.

  “I’m glad I didn’t take Zav’s advice to hide in one.”

  I lowered my barrier and drew Fezzik again. If the creature wouldn’t come close enough to strike with my blade—maybe it was even avoiding Chopper—I had to figure out a way to make the bullets work. Assuming the creature came back and wasn’t going to join its buddies.

  With buildings and trees in the way, I couldn’t see Zav’s fight, but the raw power being expended by both sides clawed at my senses, so intense that it made me want to crawl under a rock and put my arms over my head. Not that doing so would help.

  A dragon’s roar thundered through the canyon, echoing from the walls. Zav was not pleased.

  It is returning. Sindari shook his fur and crouched to face our foe again.

  I started to raise my barrier, but I could only focus on using my power for one thing at a time. In the past, I’d managed to use my magic to burrow holes in the defenses of enemies so that Chopper could slip in and strike. Could I do the same for Fezzik? Or could I weaken the creature’s body? It didn’t seem to have a magical barrier; it was the bones themselves that were impervious.

  Our attacker returned, arrowing toward us from above, talons outstretched. I willed my mental fern fronds to combine and twist into spears, then visualized jamming them into the creature’s skull. Faint cracks appeared, and I fired Fezzik’s magical bullets, hoping they would do more damage this time.

  Nothing came of the cracks, and the bullets bounced off. I cursed in frustration. The creature’s wings blotted out the sun as it dove straight at me.

  I sprinted to the side, leaping behind one of the standing structures for cover. The creature landed instead of flying up into the air again. Seeing an opportunity, Sindari rushed in, leaping for its back while it looked at me.

  But the creature sensed him and shifted focus quickly. It spun around, jaws snapping and a taloned limb raking toward him.

  Now, its back was toward me, so I rushed in with Chopper. It crouched to spring. I focused all of my magic on the root spell, willing entangling tendrils to grow from the ground and grab it while I swung my blade.

  As on the fae world, my magic worked more easily here, and long roots thrust from the ground, grasping its legs before it could spring away.
It startled the creature, and it lurched sideways.

  I smashed Chopper’s blade into its rib cage. It was far harder than bare bone should have been, but Chopper flared blue, and its magic let it slice through.

  On the creature’s other side, Sindari dodged its jaws and clawed his way onto its back. He ran up the vertebrae toward the skull as I sliced Chopper through another rib bone.

  A wing lifted and tried to pound me into the ground. I dove under the creature’s rib cage an instant before it struck me, and I came up in a crouch. Shifting my grip, I drove Chopper up into its breastbone. A satisfying crunch filled my ears, even though the creature didn’t react. It felt nothing. Would we have to hack it into a thousand pieces to destroy it?

  Another crunch came from above. Sindari sinking his fangs into the creature’s skull, I hoped.

  As I tugged Chopper out to strike again, the creature lowered itself.

  Startled, I dove to the side, yanking my feet out of the way before it could crush me. A wing smashed down from above, and this time, I didn’t have time to dodge it. It swatted me to the side, and I rolled into one of the buildings, thudding hard against the wall. I avoided cracking my head but lost my concentration, and the magical roots disappeared.

  With a blast of power, the creature hurled Sindari off its back and into the trees. Then it turned and stalked toward me.

  I leaped to my feet and faced it with Chopper raised. The creature left behind bones and a piece of its skull that we’d cut off, but its eyes still glowed, and its sharp fangs were still intact. What did I need to do to kill this thing?

  I formed a barrier around myself again but didn’t trust that it would be enough to stop those fangs, so I crouched to jump out of its path. A burst of magic came from it, hefted me into the air, and pinned me to the wall, my feet dangling several feet above the ground. I managed to keep my magical defenses up, but it didn’t matter. The creature had trapped me with the barrier still around me.

  Less than five feet away, it lifted its head, jaws spreading wide. Though pinned to the wall, I could lift my arms. I brought up Chopper and willed all of my energy into my barrier.

  The fangs descended like jackhammers. They struck my magical shield and slowed but not enough. The tips drove through and toward my face, the piercing of my barrier jolting my brain like a snapped rubber band.

  I sliced upward and sideways with Chopper, cutting through the tips of both fangs. One of them drove down and caught my shoulder, punching me to the ground. The now-blunt fang didn’t pierce my skin, but bruising pain pummeled my body.

  A roar came from behind the creature, and Sindari flew out of the trees and landed on its back. Its head turned to face the new threat. I dropped my barrier so I could try to remake the roots, though my head was throbbing almost as much as my shoulder.

  Frustrating seconds passed before I could coax them out of the ground. Finally, roots snaked up and grasped our enemy’s legs again.

  Distracted, its power disappeared, releasing me from the wall. I fought the instinct to rush away from the creature before it could strike me again and instead leaped in with Chopper. I swung at its skull from beneath, frustration and pain adding strength to my blow. The blade severed the bottom of its jaw, and the bone tumbled free. The blow did not stop its attack.

  Sindari avoided its wings and talons and ran up the creature’s back again, this time targeting the vertebrae of its neck instead of its skull. Would severing its head destroy it? I rushed in from underneath and leaped up to reach those same vertebrae from below. With another blast of magic, our foe hurled Sindari away again. But the wave didn’t catch me this time. The tip of Chopper’s blade reached the vertebrae and sliced through them, my sword flaring a bright blue, as if to add its own power to the blow.

  Bone crunched, and the skull plopped off. I leaped to the side, barely avoiding being struck by it.

  Not trusting that was the end, I whirled to face the creature again. But with the skull detached, the body stopped moving. The bones shuddered, swayed, then collapsed into a pile.

  Finally. Sindari stalked out of the trees, moving tenderly. I have not been thrown around so many times since I was a cub wrestling with my uncle.

  “It’s hard to imagine such a regal and noble predator as a cub.” I’d met a cub from his kind before, and she had been a big goofball that ate my seatbelts. “I bet you were cute and goofy.”

  I was regal, even as a cub.

  “Even while you were being thrown through the air?” I released my magic, and roots slid back into the ground. The remains of the creature did not move, and its aura disappeared.

  Yes.

  I was about to run over to check on Zav—the cracking and roars of his battle promised it was still going on—but Sindari glanced at his side, drawing my eye to red blood.

  “It cut you,” I blurted, rushing over and dropping to my knees beside him.

  I rested a hand on his flank, Zav’s warning ringing in my mind. The creature’s talons had raked three deep gouges in Sindari’s side, splitting fur and flesh and revealing muscle. My senses told me there was something magical about the wounds, and there was a faint purple glow over them that reminded me uncomfortably of the box.

  Yes, and it feels like icicles burrowing into my torso. Sindari twisted and started licking at the wounds.

  “I’m sorry.” I needed to go help Zav but didn’t want to leave if the gouges could get worse quickly—what if they turned out to be fatal? “Will you be able to heal? Zav said…”

  I am certain he warned you not to let an undead creature cut you, yes, Sindari finished for me. I will need a healer’s touch, and I am uncertain if those among my kind know how to handle this type of wound taint. Without an experienced healer, such wounds turn necrotic and can take over your body and either kill you or turn you into one of them.

  “We won’t let that happen.” I hoped Zav was a good enough healer to keep that from happening. Fortunately, the noises and magic-flinging from his battle were fading—I sensed several of his foes flying away. “Dimitri wouldn’t pet an undead tiger. Too creepy.”

  Then I most assuredly do not want to let that come to pass.

  “Stay here. I’ll get Zav.”

  I ran through the trees, having to vault over trunks that had been torn from their roots by the power flying around during the fight. Others had been slammed to the ground by massive boulders tumbling from the canyon wall.

  Zav was on his feet amid a mess of bones and skulls scattered among rock rubble. Gray stone dust coated his black body and wings—the cave had collapsed behind him—and his enemies were vanquished. Relieved that he appeared more irritated than injured, I ran up and flung my arms around one of his forelegs.

  Four got away, he informed me with disgust, though he lowered a wing and gently rested it around my back.

  “Scared by your ferocity, I’m sure.”

  Scared by me blasting away their defenses with my power and destroying them, he growled into my mind. They do not feel fear, as living creatures do, but they are not without thought. When they realized their victory was uncertain, they fled. They will report our presence to whoever created them.

  “Your presence is hard not to notice. I imagine that their creator already knows you’re here.”

  Perhaps.

  “Sindari is hurt. Can you help him?”

  Sindari hadn’t remained behind, instead trailing me through the trees, and he sat on his haunches, his flank dark with blood.

  He allowed them to pierce his flesh. Zav gazed toward Sindari.

  “Not on purpose. He was helping me. Since the creature was knocking over buildings, we had to fight it instead of hiding inside.”

  Hm. Zav gazed at Sindari with consideration. I believe it will take a more skilled healer than I to repair his wound, but let me inspect it.

  I stepped out of the way, and Sindari came closer. My heel clunked against one of the skulls, causing it to roll down a rubble pile and land next to a skeletal le
g, the foot and talons still attached.

  “Your eyes aren’t glowing now, punk.” I glared at it.

  A few more bones dusted the rubble underneath me, smaller pieces that might have been shattered from a foot. Reminded of the finger bones from the artifacts room, I picked one up. All the bones I’d encountered in my life looked similar, so it wasn’t as if this had some proven link to the invisible wraith-beings that had attacked me, but the faint purple glow around Sindari’s gashes reminded me so much of that box that it was hard not to wonder if they were tied in somehow.

  But what would undead creatures flying around on another world have to do with a box made by dragons? Could they all have been created with the same type of magic?

  “Are those skeletal wyverns—or whatever they were—native to this world?” I asked, though Zav was gazing intently at Sindari, beaming healing magic at him.

  Then I remembered Zav had said the creatures were an oddity and that the dragon ruling this world should have done something about them. That implied they weren’t natural occurrences. Maybe they’d come from that haunted world.

  They are not, Zav replied without taking his focus from Sindari.

  “So someone could have brought them here? After capturing them there? Or making them there?” I wondered what Zoltan’s response would be if I taped another bone with a note to his door. I’d left before learning if he’d discovered anything useful about the other one.

  That is correct. Someone undead.

  “Only undead people—er, beings—can make undead… minions?” I’d known that it took a vampire to make another vampire, but I knew less about zombies, and I’d never even encountered an ambulatory—or aerial—skeleton before.

  Powerful beings. The presence of such a being here may account for the dwarves going into hiding.