Hatch (The Dragons Of Laton) (39 page)

Roth snorted. “I would if it were a true dragon! Anyone can touch a Tasche dragon, but if you insist!”

Ammon released his grip. Roth rubbed his wrist and glared at him disdainfully. He did nothing to hide the sarcasm in his voice. “Permission to inspect your painted dragon, sir!”

Another round of laughter filled the room and Ammon smiled as he nodded and whispered to Fulgid. “Rest easy.”

Roth gripped Fulgid firmly by the neck and scraped the black blade of his knife across the scales. The smirk on his face slowly disappeared as he pressed harder and harder, unable to leave so much as a scratch on the glittering scales. He gritted his teeth and his muscles began to strain as he pushed the tip of the blade hard against the little dragon.

Sasha turned back to the crowd. “It is as I said! The dragon’s golden color holds true against an Honor Blade!”

Furious, Roth jammed the knife hard against Fulgid’s scales, the clink of the blade ringing loudly. Without warning, Fulgid snatched the blade with his teeth and ripped it from the man’s hand. With a snarl, Roth grabbed the hilt and tried to yank it free from Fulgid’s mouth. A loud crunch echoed across the room, and Roth suddenly stumbled back with the empty hilt of the knife in his hand. Fulgid spit the remnants of the shattered blade onto the floor in tiny black pieces. Every man in the room stood up in shock as Roth reached down and picked up a piece from the floor. Even Sasha stood with her mouth gaping.

Bewildered, Roth turned to her and held up a piece of the shattered blade. “This…isn’t possible!” He turned to look at Fulgid as the dragon sat quietly on Ammon’s shoulder. “It just isn’t possible! What kind of creature are you?”

Obviously shaken, Sasha did her best to regain her composure and turned back to the assembly. “Does anyone now doubt the distinct…difference of this dragon? Does anyone doubt this is the fulfillment of prophecy? He is the Dragon of Gold and Ammon is the rightful King of DoTaria! Speak now if you still have doubts!”

Silence filled the room as each knight looked at each other. Scowling, Roth gathered the pieces of the blade and returned to his seat, staring at Fulgid with obvious disdain.

Another knight stood and nervously cleared his throat as he addressed Sasha. “What about the division of the Houses? The rift between the two sides must be dealt with to the mutual satisfaction of everyone! There can be no true unity in the Hall unless the division is healed!”

Sasha stood silently as everyone waited for her to speak. In a tired and reluctant voice she spoke. “I have thought long and hard about the rift. This political tear has torn DoTaria in two. Those who began this foolishness have long slept in their graves while the living continue to perpetuate the problem. Halos and I had conceived a solution, but he died before it could be carried out. I now put that solution before the Hall. The two houses must merge as one, thus ending the dispute.”

The room erupted into shouts until Sasha raised her hand for silence again. “If the two houses merge, than neither has more, or less of a claim to any of its possessions. They become one.” With a long sigh, Sasha stood up straight and shouted. “I put forth to the Hall a motion to bind the two Houses in an alliance that will end this feud forever! I await the answer of the Hall.”

For a long moment nothing happened. Then a single sword rose into the air, then another and another. One by one a sea of raised swords bristled above the crowd.

Sasha held up her hand again. “Then it is agreed by the majority of the Hall. A forced merger between Houses has not happened in more than a thousand years, but the unity of DoTaria outweighs the preferences of the individuals.”

Sadly, she turned towards El with tears in her eyes. “And it outweighs the preference of individuals too.” Stepping down, Sasha slowly walked down the aisle and out the door.

Confused, Ammon turned to El and noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t understand? What was that…” Ammon winced as a sharp pain stabbed him in the shoulder.  Fulgid’s claws had pushed under the armhole of his vest and were digging into his skin. The little dragon’s eyes were glowing bright white and his golden voice suddenly boomed in Ammon’s head.

“
WORMS COME! MANY WORMS
!”

Ammon’s eyes widened at the realization sank in. The Gathering had brought many DoTarian dragons to Laton, but few could defend themselves until they received a full weeks dose of calentar. They would have to depend on the
Gaul dragons for protection. He leapt to his feet he shouted. “Listen to me!” His voice crashed across the large hall like thunder and all heads turned to him. “Kala-Azar are attacking, lots of them! Everyone must get to the Hold if their dragons are unable to breathe fire! There is no time to waste!”

The knights quickly emptied out of the room, rushing to bring their dragons inside the Hold. Ammon followed Fulgid as they raced to the courtyard.

Within moments Theo had assembled the Gaul dragons in a protective circle around the doors of the Hold. Seeing Ammon, he pulled him aside and lowered his voice.

“What are you doing? What makes you think the slugs are attacking? Is this some trickery to get the DoTarian’s to support you?”

Ammon grimaced. “No!” He knew there wouldn’t be time to explain and Theo wasn’t likely to believe him anyway. “Just trust me!”

The bells in the palace towers started ringing, a last call to safety for anyone that might still be left in the city. Stalwart, the Captain of the DoTarian Guard lumbered across the courtyard towards them. A stocky man with a thick moustache, he had the same hardened look as Boris did. He nodded curtly to Theo before he crossed heavily muscled arms and peered down doubtfully at Ammon. “Why raise an alarm when there isn’t a sign of a slug anywhere?”

Ammon heard Fulgid’s voice in his head once more. “
WORMS COME…NOW
!”

He looked around warily. Fulgid hadn’t told him which direction they were coming from. “They’re here!…I don’t know where, but they’re here!”

Theo and the DoTarian Captain exchanged glances and the big man cleared his throat. “Now…uh…sire…You may be the unconfirmed king of DoTaria, but you are new to this land. I’ve been fighting the Kala…”

He was interrupted by an unmistakable hiss that rose into an entire chorus of screams. The color drained from his face as an increasing number of glistening, bulbous bodies emerged from the trees at the edge of the courtyard. Stalwart shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun and watched as the squirming gray line steadily approached. “By my dragons teeth there must be hundreds of them! How did they get into the city without notice?” He laid a thick hand on Ammon’s shoulder and lowered his head. “Forgive me, your highness! I doubted you. I won’t do so again!”

Ammon shrugged the man’s hand off and pushed him towards the door of the Hold. “Forget it. Now get inside! I don’t want anyone out here unless they have a dragon with fire!”

Stalwart looked confused for a moment as he looked down at Fulgid. “But sire…that little dragon won’t be able to protect you, and it is my duty as captain of the guard…”

Ammon cut him short. “Fulgid has more fire than any other dragon! If you must protect someone, protect my people in the Hold and get that door shut and barricaded with firewood!” Stalwart hesitated a moment, then reluctantly went inside and closed the door behind him.

Ammon drew his sword lthough he knew it was worthless against the Kala-Azar. It was the only defense he had if one of the slugs got past the circle of dragons. Dimly, he realized that he’d ordered Stalwart to protect
his
people. All this talk of kingship must be going to his head.

Outside the protective circle, a squad of
Gaul dragons were flying overhead were already raking the approaching mass of slugs with streams of fire. The ear-splitting screams from the maggot-like creatures were suddenly cut short as intense fireballs rained down on them. Again and again, the dragons swooped low. As soon as one finished its dive, another followed behind, covering the ground with flames. Acrid smoke billowed into the air, and the stench of burning slugs made Ammon gag.

The cobblestones in the courtyard began to crack and explode from the tremendous heat, but through the columns of wafting smoke, Ammon could still see the endless writhing forms push forward. Oblivious to the horrid death awaiting them, the Kala-Azar plunged themselves into the flames.

Ammon wiped the sweat from his brow and frowned. “Fulgid, this makes no sense! No creature is so stupid as to throw themselves into an inferno to die! If they had any intelligence at all they’d retreat …unless…” A horrid thought came to him and he looked down at Fulgid whose amber eyes met his gaze. “Unless this is a distraction! But a distraction from what?”

Ammon turned his back on the invading slugs and studied his surroundings intently. The huge doors of the Hold were shut tight. It was unlikely there were slugs inside or he’d hear the commotion and people would be streaming out the doors. He turned his attention to the building itself.

The Hold was located in the very foundation of the palace. The massive structure was almost pyramid shaped, with each floor slightly smaller than the one below. Directly above the Hold was the kitchen and staff rooms. On the far side of the courtyard, a large ramp led up so supply wagons could be driven straight into the second floor. The third floor held his chambers and the Hall, and the fourth floor was the knights chambers and the armory. The fifth floor was just empty rooms for potential knights to wait in during a Hatch, and the sixth and final floor was the Nest.

Ammon tilted his head back and suddenly saw what they were after. Lines of Kala-Azar were somehow clinging to the sheer walls of the palace and were close to reaching the dragon doors of the Nest. Ammon tried to get the attention of the knights flying overhead, but they were so intent on protecting the Hold that they could hear nothing but the steady screams of dying slugs.

Desperately Ammon broke into a run with Fulgid racing beside him. Derek would never have left the Nest, even if he had heard the tolling bells. He would protect his eggs no matter what, or die trying.

Ammon bounded up the stairs with Fulgid running a few paces ahead. As he passed the fifth floor, his breath was coming in gasps, but he forced his legs to keep climbing. His heart pounded as he cleared the last steps and ran down the hall. He could already hear the Kala-Azar screams as he drew his sword, kicked open the door, and charged into the Nest.

The dragon door had been forced open and daylight streamed in through the opening. Derek stood between the door and the eggs with a Kala-Azar struggling between his massive arms. His muscles strained as it writhed and screamed, the deadly mandibles snapping viscously at his head. Fulgid streaked past as four more of the slugs pushed past the door. He barely skidded to a stop before he let loose a ball of fire as big as the door itself. Orange flames boiled out across the ceiling, scorching the walls and blackening the door. With a mighty heave, Derek threw the slug toward the open door and it bounced once before another of Fulgid’s fireballs disintegrated it in midair.

Derek rushed forward and shoved against the door with all his might. The hinges groaned loudly as they reluctantly began to move. Ammon dropped his sword, put his shoulder to the door, and the two of them forced it closed. Just before it shut, a shadow passed in front of the opening and through the crack Ammon saw Theo astride Ebony fast approaching. Seconds later he heard a blast of fire strike the sides of the stone wall outside.

Ammon panted as he leaned back and wiped the sweat from his face. Derek hurried back to his eggs, checking each one carefully and talking soothingly as he patted the bone colored shells. Ammon could only smile and shake his head. The man had definitely found his calling.

Satisfied they were unharmed, Derek climbed out and his bearded face smiled crookedly as he picked Ammon up like a child and hugged him.