Strife In The Sky (Book 7) (16 page)

Perhaps it’s because I’m a dragon.
They wouldn’t be looking for dragons, but instead, people. Ignorant ghosts.

He realigned his thoughts. In the throng of battle earlier, a thought had struck him. Perhaps the entrance to the mines didn’t lie on the surface of the city, but below it. From ground level, by the river, he’d observed many stairs on the edge of the rock, similar to the one he came up when he battled the spiny-backed crawler. It never occurred to him that one might mine something from below, rather than above, but this city was different, to say the least.

Why not? Nothing else makes any sense.

Finding the edge, he jogged over the rocky terrain. Unlike the rest of the city, which was well laid-out, the edge was the beginning of a cliff. Here, it was clear that this enormous rock had been ripped up out of the ground. As far as he understood it, the Floating City moved, but a bit slowly. It stayed its course along the wind currents of the river. There was a crater where the city had originally lain in the earth. He hadn’t seen it, but he’d heard about it.

With whipping winds in his face, he pushed forward along the edge, scanning for any signs of a stairway. He’d walked hundreds of yards through the rubble, finding nothing out of the ordinary. He halted. He could feel eyes on his back. Everywhere. Above, he noticed dragons on the roofs of buildings, glaring down at him like hungry vultures.

“Come on,” Nath said, wagging Fang’s steel at them, “get a closer look.”

These dragons weren’t big. Some were bigger than him, others smaller, but he counted almost a dozen of them, watching his every move. Their long serpentine necks stooped down, and their faces wore hawkish looks. Their dark wings and tails told him they’d been turned by Barnabus.

Waving his sword once more, Nath turned his back to them and continued on.

I wish we could have one final fight right here, right now. I’m sick of these monsters.

He came across another stone-cut staircase leading down the side of the Floating City’s cliffs. The staircase was wide enough for three men, and the slope was easy, curving along the cliffs. Gradually, it narrowed, and the stairs became steeper. Nath could see the river again, a blue-green line between the trees. The wind tore at his hair and slammed into him. He dug his claws into the cliff to steady himself.

“This almost makes me miss those skeletons.”

He felt small again. An ant on a hillside trying to save the world from destruction. He eased his way down to the last step, which ended at the edge of the rock. The next step was the river.

Why would they even have steps here? They have to lead somewhere.

He started back up the stairs. The scraping of bone on stone caught his ear. He dashed up and peered around the bend. Skeletons advanced, filling the stairs as far as he could see.

Great!

Down the steps he went. A stair of rocks floated nearby, similar to the one that got him here to begin with. The first step floated no more than twenty feet away and several feet downward. It wasn’t very big though. Not quite as wide as the span of his arms.

I can make it.

The first skeleton appeared. Its body rattled with every step on shaky legs. Its eyes were bright green fire.

I have to make it!

Winds whistling through his ears and battering his clothes, he squatted into position, eyeing the distance. If he missed the mark, he’d start all over again.

This might be my worst idea ever.

The skeletons closed in, crowding one another. The gusty wind ripped two off their feet, hurtling them over the edge of the cliff.

Good. Two down, one thousand to go.

Steps away, the first skeleton was almost there.

He jumped. Having accounted for the wind this time, he sailed and landed right on target. He hugged the stone.

“Yes!”

He sat on the stone, a big dragon man on a tiny island.

The first skeleton took the leap. It sailed several feet and plummeted downward. One right after the other, they plunged to their second deaths into the depths of the river.

Nath laughed.
It’s true, what the old dwarves say. ‘Every glum day has a cheery outline.’

He’d watched over a dozen go when the madness stopped. The skeletons, one and all, stopped moving. The nearest few began to commune with one another. Seconds later, they set their weapons aside. Some actually sheathed them in their scabbards. They locked hands and arms, forming a chain, and started lowering themselves over the edge. Seconds later, they were swinging like a rope. Coming his way.

Nath popped up into standing position.

It’s always back to another thing dwarves say, ‘Evil is unrelenting’!

CHAPTER 35

With the palm of his hand on his forehead, Nath shook his head. There were more floating rocks nearby, but where would he go? No matter where he went, the skeletons would follow. And they clearly wouldn’t stop until he vacated the city. And the dragons, they were probably just the guardians of the jaxite. If he didn’t take it, they’d leave him alone, but he had to take it.

I’m not stopping now.

Dangling from the steps, the chain of skeletons kept swinging back and forth, the end getting closer and closer to the rock he stood on. Two skeletons swung at the bottom of the chain with their arms stretched out like branches. They swooped backward under the stairs and forward underneath his rock.

The undead chain stopped when their bony hands locked onto the sides of the rock. A bridge was formed. Skeletons started across. Nath whipped out Fang and chopped the fingers away. The bridge twisted and tossed. The skeletons plummeted through the air, then it started all over again. Skeleton climbed down skeleton, and the chain resumed its full form.

Stubborn as dwarves as well!

Searching for another rock, something caught his eye. The staircase continued to run beneath the city, inverted, and accompanied by a solid iron railing.

I’ll be. I knew there’d have to be something.

He could almost jump and reach it, but the skeletons were in the way. Swinging like a rattling trapeze in the air. He wished he had Akron and some of those special arrows. They’d make a fine hand right now.

Hmmm…

Back and forth they swung. 

Nath snapped his fingers.

This might work.

The next time the skeletons swung forth with outstretched arms, Nath snatched them by the wrist, hoisted them up, jumped off the rock and swung himself underneath the staircase and rail. The skeletons bit at him, but the chain held. Underneath the rock they swung, and he grabbed hold of the iron rail with one hand and jerked his other arm free from the skeletons. Away they swung. Without hesitation, Nath worked himself down the railing, hand over hand, following the steps. Glancing back, the skeletons had swung to a stop.

Let them figure
this
out.

Toes dangling over the river, he shimmied down the rail. The staircase led into a cavern, and then the warm blue-green glow of the jaxite was everywhere. The stairs kept going, winding and winding with no up or down.

What madness is this?

Nath reached over to the rail on the other side and hung suspended from both of them. His weight came from torso to toe, bearing down on his head. He brought his toes to the stairs with ease. He let go of one rail, then the other. He stood on the stairs, upside down but not falling anywhere.

I hope those skeletons never figure this out.

Inverted, he continued along the stairs. Jaxite was everywhere. A world of it, and nothing else. Beautiful, magnificent, living. With mystic radiance. Its colors were of many gemstones in one. It reminded him of Dragon Home.

The stairs came to a stop on a large landing tiled in dark-blue marble. A stone archway twelve feet high gaped open like a dragon’s maw.

Chink. Chink. Chink. Chink.

Something lived, moved, breathed, and worked in there.

Nath got Fang ready and strode straight through the archway. Little hairy bearded men were hard at work. Glowing chisels and hammers were in their skilled hands, but they weren’t dwarves.

Gads! Gnomes!

Shorter and leaner than dwarves, the gnomes hammered and chiseled away. Ten of them was all Nath could count, wearing long working smocks and leather aprons. Their beards were neatly trimmed to a point in most cases. A few didn’t have beards at all. The best way to tell a dwarf from a gnome, if one didn’t know better, was that gnomes smiled. Dwarves didn’t.

It’s a good thing Brenwar isn’t here.

Nath remained still. The gnomes continued working on chunks of jaxite. Pieces large and small were scattered all over the cavern floor, with much of the mystic light of the jaxite gone. A shirtless gnome with a bald head and a leather apron held a polished piece of jaxite in front of his grey eyes and smiled. Polishing it with a cloth, he said something to the others in Gnomish. They crowded around the man and stared with wonder. Their comments were excited and incredulous. They passed the glowing stone around.

That’ll do. I just need a couple more. And some questions answered as well.  

Nath made a quick glance around the room and saw nothing suspicious.

I’ve killed dozens of skeletons. A few gnomes shouldn’t be a problem.

Fang secured, he strolled over and looked down at the circle of gnomes. He noticed a strange blue hue to their skin.

Odd.

With Nath towering over them, the gnomes continued talking, heads down, lips moving with excitement as if a newborn baby had arrived. They went on and on in Gnomish gibberish. Not a single one made a glance up at him.

“Ahem,” Nath said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Not a single chin turned up his way.

These gnomes were just as engrossed in their work as dwarven builders got. Once they started, they didn’t stop, often to the point of death. Nath recollected a time when dwarves were building a bridge and were under attack. Volley after volley of arrows came, but the dwarves weren’t any more distracted by them than they would be by a mosquito. They worked wounded, dying, and even falling to their deaths. Nath could still see one hammering away with several arrows in him until the blood loss let him fall to his death.

Nath cleared his throat again. Same result. He reached over them and snatched the vibrant stone from one of their hands. Blinking, they all murmured back and forth at one another and started to shove and push each other. Nath understood bits of it.

“Where did it go?”

“Who took it?”

“I didn’t get to see it.”

Nath growled in his throat and spoke in his best Gnomish in an unfriendly tone.

“Excuse me!” he said, dangling the stone over their faces.

One by one, their heads turned up toward him. All of their looks were puzzled.

“Who made him?” one said, scratching the hairs on his head.

The circle of gnomes encircled him.

“He’s so lifelike, and my,” said another gnome with bright white teeth, “these scales are marvelous craftsmanship.”

They started poking and prodding. That was another thing about gnomes. Their inquisitive and obnoxious nature. They treated every living creature like a specimen for their amusement.

“And his eyes are perfectly aligned in his head.”

“And rivers of gold flow in them.”

“Let me fetch my chisel. I’ll have a closer look at them.”

His lips curling up in a snarl, Nath hoisted that last one by the collar and shook him like a rug.

“I’m no creation. I’m Nath Dragon. No more musings. You’ve been warned.”

“That’s not possible,” the gnome said, stretching out its arms and feeling Nath’s face. “No man can invade this cavern. My, you really are real.” It shook its head and looked down at the tall bald one with knotty arms. “What do you think, Snarggell?”

“Yes,” Nath said, looking at the gnome he presumed to be the leader. He dropped the other gnome to his feet. “What do you think, Snarggell?”

Pecking at his teeth, the lead gnome didn’t say a thing. Then, it broke out speaking in Common, but so fast a normal man might not have understood.

“Ithinkyemayhavegotteninhere,butyouwon’tgetout.Howdidyoumakeit?Butdieyouwill.Still,Imustknowwhoyouareandwhyyouarehere.Weneverhaveanyvisitorshere.Nicetohavesomecompany,eventhoughtheybealreadydeadones.Thefirstintwentysomeyears.We’lltalk,dine,andchiselyourgrave.Thelurkercomessoontosuckthemarrowfromyourbones.”

Snarggell spoke fast, but not too fast for Nath. Still, the gnome’s last words crawled through his veins like mud.

“Excuse me, but what’s going to suck the marrow from my bones?”

CHAPTER 36

Nath swatted Snarggell’s frisky hands away. The persistent gnome continued to poke and prod.

“What is this thing, this monster you mentioned?”

“It’s no matter. No matter at all. The end of your presence is inevitable.” He grabbed Nath’s elbow. “This skin is fascinating. I hope there’s enough left so we can keep it.”

Nath shoved him back.

“That’s enough.”

“No matter. I’ll inspect when you’re dead.”

“I’m not going to die,” Nath said, pointed to his chest.

The gnomes giggled.

“Stop that. I assure you I’ve faced tougher monsters than this
lurker
you’ve mentioned.”

The gnomes gaffed. They all spoke Common now, fast, but plenty understandable to Nath.

“Nothing can defeat the lurker,” one said, shaking his head.

“Nothing,” said another.

“Not ever,” said the third.

Nath wasn’t used to anyone telling him that he was going to lose or die to anything. If he could handle a full-scaled dragon, he could handle just about anything else. Nath’s arms tensed at his sides. His scales rippled.

The gnomes ooh-ed and ah-ed.