Dragon Tear (Agents of the Crown Book 5) Read online

  Another dozen hunters joined the first group, bringing the count to more than thirty, and Jev was glad his group had decided not to attack. Since Zenia’s dragon tear feared orcs and had trouble acting against them, they would be vastly outmatched.

  The two original scouts rose with a few harsh words to others standing too close behind them, then pointed up the road. They led the way, jogging toward Jev’s group.

  Jev swallowed and glanced toward the spot where the unicorn had been. He didn’t see her.

  What if she’d decided to abandon them? Was his group truly camouflaged? How could he know? He could see Rhi, Cutter, and Hydal farther down the road, tucked into the brush but visible to his eye. If the unicorn was using magic on them, it was too subtle for him to sense.

  The concerned expression on Zenia’s face as she leaned farther behind the tree did not reassure him.

  The orcs jogged up the road in pairs, reminding him of a practiced military unit on the move. Zenia’s knuckles whitened as she gripped her dragon tear harder.

  The first orcs passed Cutter and Rhi, their weapons in hand and their faces tense. Jev doubted either of them wanted to fight now that they’d seen how many orcs were in this party.

  The big hunters passed them without glancing in their direction and soon drew even with Jev. He wasn’t far enough off the road to be fully out of sight, but they didn’t glance his way. He dared let himself believe the unicorn truly was hiding them.

  As more orcs strode past, Jev began to believe this would work, that they were safe, but the scouts at the head of the party stopped abruptly. They lifted their noses into the air like dogs, their tusks twitching as they sniffed loudly.

  Unease flowed into Jev’s limbs. Had the unicorn thought to hide their scents? Jev would have thought to mask their magical items, if possible, but he wouldn’t have thought of body odor.

  One of the sniffing scouts turned a full circle. One of his comrades asked a question, and he barked a short answer. Soon, all the orcs were sniffing the air.

  Jev rested his hand on the hilt of his elven sword.

  The lead scout lowered his snout and stared straight at him with beady black eyes. He waved his comrades aside and took a step toward Jev. And then another. His lips curled up, more fully revealing those sharp tusks.

  Jev could feel the tension in Zenia’s body, her back pressed into his chest. He was a second from drawing his sword and springing out to ensure they had to go through him before reaching her. But then the scout halted, his eyes widening as his gaze shifted back down the road.

  The rest of the orcs shifted their weight and fingered their weapons. Jev didn’t dare stick his head out to look down the road, but the light grew dimmer, as if clouds had drifted across the sun, and a breeze stirred the branches. The surrounding birds fell silent.

  The orcs muttered a few words to each other, then spun and jogged down the road, running in the direction Jev and the others had been heading. Toward their valleys and settlements?

  Jev didn’t move until they were out of sight and the jangle of their metal rings had faded.

  “What happened?” Rhi asked, stepping out of the brush and peering both ways along the road.

  “They must have smelled my fierce masculinity,” Borti said, “and fled in fear.”

  “Is it hard to smell fiercely masculine when your hands stink of rat droppings?” Rhi asked.

  “No, that increases the masculinity.”

  Not in the mood for jokes, Jev eased around Zenia and stepped out onto the road. He half-expected to see the unicorn behind them, having cast some illusion to scare the orcs, but she wasn’t in sight. Jev had no idea what would cause a band of orcs that large to be uneasy, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

  Zenia joined him on the road. Her dragon tear was glowing softly.

  “Do you know what scared them?” Jev asked.

  “No. I don’t sense anything back there other than the same wildlife we’ve been surrounded by all day.”

  I fooled them into believing that someone dangerous who is following this group is much closer than he is and could be a threat to them, the unicorn spoke into their minds as she stepped out onto the road.

  “Someone dangerous following this group?” Jev grimaced.

  “The troll shaman?” Zenia asked, matching his grimace.

  A troll shaman follows at a distance, yes.

  Jev groaned. All that effort and all those injuries, and for what? The shaman had found another way up the river. Maybe a manticore had given him a ride.

  “How far back is he?” Hydal asked.

  Many miles still, the unicorn assured them. There is no need to worry that he will catch up today.

  “What about tomorrow?” Jev asked.

  The unicorn started up the road again without answering his question. The orcs are far enough ahead that we can continue on. When the time comes, I will do my best to distract the one who comes from behind.

  “Do we trust her?” Borti asked as Jev turned to follow her along the road again.

  “She’s the only one here who’s not trying to kill us.” Jev had no doubt that those orcs had been on the verge of discovering them and would have attacked without waiting to see how fine the curry he’d brought for trade was.

  “That wasn’t a yes.”

  “No,” Jev said. “It wasn’t.”

  14

  As twilight darkened the jungle, Zenia looked around for possible places for her team to camp. Even though she walked a lot back home, since she’d never had her own horse, her soles ached and a blister on her heel was giving her a lopsided gait. Jev kept giving her concerned looks. Zyndar probably didn’t get blisters.

  The group was still following what Zenia had come to think of as an orc highway, with Eysinor, their quiet unicorn guide, leading the way. The branches had been cut back recently to keep the route clear, but little growth was trimmed back beyond the dirt road itself, and Zenia couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a clearing.

  “We won’t make it to their valleys tonight, I assume?” Jev lifted his eyebrows.

  “The unicorn said it was a hundred miles from the outpost,” Zenia said, “and though it seems like we’ve gone that far today, I’m sure we haven’t.”

  “No.” He glanced toward her dragon tear, and she realized he might have been hoping for some intelligence from it.

  Zenia wasn’t sure they would get it. The gem had been lying inert against her chest all day, other than a twinge or two when it had warned her of trouble, and she hadn’t sensed anything at all from it since the orc hunting party had gone by. It was as if the magic—and the soul linked to it—had been driven into dormancy by the presence of so many orcs.

  She touched the dragon tear and focused her mind as she attempted to request information on how far they were from the first orc settlements. The faintest hint of a feeling emanated from the gem. Fear. Fear of announcing its presence by calling upon its magic and fear of what the orcs would do to it—to her—when the dragon tear and dragon were together. The dragon longed to be free, but she was terrified of being magically bound to an eternity of pain and torture.

  Please show me where you are and how far away it is, Zenia thought. We’re going to free you. You won’t be hurt and tortured anymore. To convey the message without words, she envisioned a dragon flying over the ocean and back to Kor.

  She sensed skepticism. Concerned that was all she would receive until they succeeded in freeing the dragon, Zenia lowered her hand and shook her head.

  But a vision came to her then. Her mind’s eye was swept farther down the road at a speed that caused the trees and foliage to turn into a green blur. Eventually, the road branched into other roads and paths. They turned down a few of them, and Zenia struggled to remember which ones, because it looked like a maze of routes lay ahead.

  Her vision took her up a rise to an overlook high above a valley with a great lake in the middle. The valley was vast and green, mostly cleared o
f trees and filled with dwellings and buildings and roads—and also filled with orcs. It was a city, not the small tribal village that Zenia had envisioned, and she had to consciously stifle the feeling of bleakness that filled her. How were they going to infiltrate this?

  An island rose from the center of the lake, a small rocky mountain at its core. Little foliage grew on uneven slopes that appeared to be made from lava rock. Larger and more impressive volcanos rose in the distance, lining the far side of the valley. Foliage did grow on their sides, including large trees, so that made Zenia think they had been dormant for a long time. Only one of the volcanos had bare sides, the dark-gray hardened lava barren of life. Its peak had been blown off in what must have been a relatively recent eruption.

  The dragon tear nudged her attention back to the island, to the small mountain in the center. A few orc dwellings ringed the base, and farther up, caves dotted the slopes. One of the largest, which faced the distant volcanos and the far side of the valley, had an opening high enough for a dragon to fly through. Zenia realized with certainty that her dragon ally was trapped inside of it. Chained with iron and magic to prevent her from flying away.

  “Zenia?” Jev gripped her shoulder gently.

  The vision faded, the dragon soul retreating back into the gem, and Zenia grew aware of everyone gathered around and looking at her. Even the unicorn had stopped to gaze back over her shoulder.

  “I asked it how far away we were from the settlement,” Zenia said. “And it showed me. It showed me more than I expected.”

  “What do you mean?” Rhi asked.

  “There’s a huge valley with a city of orcs in it.”

  “A city?”

  Jev scratched his jaw. “The ogress didn’t mention a city, just settlements.”

  “Apparently, the orcs got fecund after they settled. We’re going to have to sneak past through a lot of busy roads and cross a lake and climb a mountain to reach the cave where the dragon is held.”

  “I assumed more would be involved than ambling up and picking a lock on some shackles.” Jev hitched a shoulder.

  Zenia didn’t know if he was truly undaunted or if he was putting on an unfazed front for her sake. He hadn’t seen the vision, so he probably didn’t understand the vastness of the task ahead of them.

  She couldn’t read anyone else’s expression since daylight was fading quickly. “Why don’t we find a place to camp? If we light a couple of lanterns, I can draw a map of the valley so we can start coming up with clever plans.”

  “No chance of making it there tonight if we keep walking?” Jev asked. “Sneaking past orcs would be easier in the dark.”

  “Orcs can see in the dark,” Cutter said.

  “And they’re cathemeral,” Hydal said. “Just as likely to be active in the day as the night.”

  “So… not easier to sneak past them in the dark?” Jev asked.

  “Probably not,” Hydal said. “They do traditionally take naps after eating.”

  “Which can be at any time of the day?”

  “Yes.”

  “Helpful,” Jev said.

  Hydal spread his arms.

  “I think it’s still a long walk to reach the valley,” Zenia said. “It was hard to tell in the vision, but I got a sense of miles and miles of roads ahead of us.”

  “All right, we’ll spend the night and plan cleverness.” Jev smiled.

  “Where are we going to camp?” Rhi asked. “The middle of the road?”

  I know a place, Eysinor thought into their minds, the first words she’d shared in hours. Your party will be safe there for a night, so long as you haven’t given any elves a reason to loathe you.

  “Uh.” Jev looked at Zenia.

  “We haven’t offended any elves on this continent,” Zenia said hopefully.

  “Are there elves on this continent?” Cutter asked. “I thought they left Izstara for the orcs and trolls and ogres. My people do.”

  Elves traveled and explored the entire world once, Eysinor said, similarly to my kind. They left sanctuaries, places that allowed them to rest in peace and communicate with others back in their homelands.

  “Oh,” Jev said. “Like the communication stone on my land back home?”

  You should be safe for the night in this sanctuary, the unicorn said, continuing to walk forward in the gathering gloom. There are orcs about, but they avoid this place.

  “I like it already,” Jev said.

  They followed the unicorn for another mile as twilight grew deeper. If not for the way her white fur contrasted with the darkening jungle, Zenia would have missed it when Eysinor stepped off the road. She quickly disappeared into foliage to the left. When Jev and Zenia reached the spot, she didn’t see a trail, just a thick stand of bamboo and a lot of undergrowth.

  “Hm,” Jev said.

  Follow me, Eysinor spoke.

  As Zenia was about to ask how, the bamboo parted, the tall canes leaning to either side. This resulted in a narrow opening—Zenia hesitated to call it a trail—that she and Jev could barely walk single-file along.

  Cutter, with his broader shoulders, grunted in irritation and had to walk sideways in spots. He whacked at a few of the bamboo stalks with his hammer. It was even worse for the muscular twins. Rhi and Hydal, who brought up the rear, slipped through without comment.

  The unicorn led them deeper into bamboo interspersed with great fronded trees that Zenia couldn’t name. She’d only read of peoples and animals in her books.

  She longed to light a lantern so she could see where they were going, but she hated to delay the group. Her dragon tear sensed her problem and glowed a soft blue, though not as brightly as it usually did when Zenia needed light. She sensed the dragon still worried the gem would be discovered if too much magic came from it. Maybe that troll shaman was using its signature to track them. Zenia frowned, imagining him showing up in their supposed sanctuary.

  The faint scent of orchids tickled Zenia’s nose, and she found it appealing after the omnipresent earthy smell of the jungle. A trickle of running water reached her ears, and she let herself hope for a chance to wash up before settling in for a night of sleeping on the ground.

  Finally, the trees and bamboo gave way to a clearing dominated by only a handful of towering trees. Their far-reaching branches blocked out the sky, ensuring no one would see this spot from above, should someone be perched atop one of those volcanos or other mountains.

  “Huh.” Jev pointed at a tall stone with a mushroom-like top off to one side. It was almost exactly like the communication stone on his family’s property, and a couple of ancient benches rested beneath it.

  The source of the trickling water lay about twenty yards past the stones, a curving pool with a small stream filling it from somewhere on the far side. A jumble of boulders lay back there, rough and porous, made from the same volcanic material that, in Zenia’s vision, had comprised the mountain where the dragon was imprisoned. She supposed most of the land around here had been created due to volcanic eruption, at least the surface layers.

  Rhi dropped her pack and her bo. “I’ve got no problem sleeping here tonight.”

  “It does appear peaceful.” Hydal sniffed the fragrant air. “If lacking in beds.”

  “You were a soldier for years,” Jev told him. “You ought to be used to sleeping on the ground.”

  “I am, but now I’m traveling with a lady, and she may prefer feather mattresses and soft linen sheets.”

  “Are you talking about Rhi?” Jev asked. “She rooms above a stable, you know.”

  “I put my bo down too soon, I see.” Rhi squinted at him.

  Jev smiled and lifted his hands.

  Borti and Horti set their gear down and walked over to look at the great elven stone.

  “Should we leave someone on watch?” Zenia waved toward the tiny path leading out of the sanctuary. The group appeared more relaxed already—those floral scents helped some of the tension to seep out of her muscles too—but they shouldn’t forget th
at they were deep within orc territory.

  I can set some magical alarms to alert us if anyone attempts to enter this area, the unicorn told them, but as I said, it is unlikely that the orcs will come back here. As you can see, only animals have passed this way. She lowered her equine head and pointed her horn to the lush grass and low undergrowth carpeting the clearing. It was undisturbed by boot prints. The elves and the orcs have been enemies for countless centuries, she continued. And orcs fear elves.

  “We should have brought Lornysh,” Jev said. “We could have sent him into their valley, waving his fiery sword, and then walked up to free the dragon while the orcs were all fleeing in fear.”

  Cutter grunted. “I doubt it would have been that simple.”

  “I hope that’s not an indicator of the kind of clever plans you’re going to come up with, Zyndar,” Borti said. “Sacrificing people as a distraction.”

  “No, I’m not planning to sacrifice anyone.” Jev set his gear down by the path, but he kept his weapons belt on. “I’ll stand the first watch.”

  Zenia was relieved that he agreed someone from their group should stay awake and alert through the night. Even though Eysinor hadn’t led them astray yet, she was still a stranger.

  “I’ll listen in and try to contribute to the plans,” Jev said, “but I think Zenia is more likely to come up with something clever than I am.”

  Zenia doubted that was true, but she did feel that the burden of finding a clever solution to their problem was on her shoulders. This was her mission. And she didn’t want to sacrifice anybody either. Maybe because they were getting close, the words of her anonymous message came to mind. Death awaits in Izstara.

  Thus far, they had avoided that, even when battling troll shamans, manticores, and hydras. Dare she hope that those dangers were the ones her unidentified advisor had alluded to? Even though her group had evaded death, any one of those incidents could have led to that fate.

  “Can we make a fire?” Rhi asked. “Or will that let the orcs sniff us out?”

  “I don’t think we need a fire,” Zenia said, catching Jev shaking his head, “but maybe a couple of lanterns for light. I want to draw the layout of the valley so everyone can see what I’m talking about.”