Dragon Sword (The Dragon Lord’s Bride #2)

Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Will jumped to his feet and rushed to the door which he flung open. I followed on his heels and the two of us hit the balcony at almost the same moment. The shouts had become screams as people scrambled into the building. Many looked over their shoulders and all had an expression of terror on their faces.

Kipu joined us at the railing and grasped the bar to frown down into the lobby where her assistant was trying to control the mob. “What is going on?”

The young elf maiden was trying to travel upstream in a flood of terrified elves. “I do not know!”

“Monsters!” one of the panicked people shouted. “There are monsters out there!”

Will pursed his lips and rushed down the balcony to the front where glass windows looked out on the streets. Chaos and anarchy reigned supreme as elves dashed hither and thither trying to escape a swarm of bugs that blanketed the skies. The tiny gnat-like creatures flocked together in black bands that descended on any hapless elf. The citizen was bitten and stung, and their bodies were left with hideous black welts. Those wounds looked like the early stages of the disease.

Sylvia hurried over to us and her eyes widened. “What the hell is happening?”

“Our foes are making their first move,” Will replied as he looked over his shoulder at Kipu. “Bring them all inside! They can’t get bitten by those bugs!”

“Everyone, inside!” Kipu snapped as she hurried down the stairs and over to the door.

Will turned to me and grasped my upper arms. “I know you won’t stay here, but remember what you promised me.”

I nodded. “I know. Run if there’s a big danger.”

He smiled and pecked a kiss on my forehead. “Smart girl. Now then-” He grasped my hand and glanced over to our compatriot, “-let us see who can bag the most bugs.”

Sylvia patted her bag. “You’re on.”

We rushed down the steps and onto the foyer floor. The doors were partially closed as fewer elves sought shelter. Many of the latecomers were the worst bitten and their wounds had already begun to show signs of infection.

Kipu settled them into the wings of the library and looked up as we passed. “Mind yourselves! I do not want more wounded to treat!”

Will bowed his head. “I am always sure to do so.”

She scoffed and returned to tending those bitten by the infected insects. We stepped out and my mouth dropped open. There were now so many bugs in the sky that they blotted out the sun. Their shadows moved across the ground like ominous clouds with a stiff wind at their backs. The screams and cries of the citizens echoed off the walls and a few stragglers stumbled past us to enter the library. They were the last and the doors shut ominously behind us.

Sylvia dropped her bag onto the ground and knelt in front of it where she began rummaging through the contents. “Now where the heck is that thing?”

She shoved her head into the bag just as I heard a high-pitched humming. The sound grew louder and I turned to watch a huge cloud of bugs descend toward us. Will swung his arm in front of himself and a huge band of fire shot out. The flames sliced through the bugs, burning most to cinders and scattering the rest.

More buzzing came to my ears and I grasped my hands together as though holding a heavy sword. My fiery weapon burst out of my palms and illuminated the shadowed area around us. I couldn’t stop the pounding of my heart as my eyes flickered over the streets.

“Damn all these things!” Sylvia snapped as she practically flung the rest of her body into the bag.

“Whatever you have planned, I suggest you put the plan into action soon,” Will spoke up as more buzzing came to my ears.

A half dozen of the attacking bug clouds flew out of the side streets. We were the only targets left so they all zipped toward us. I tightened my grip on my sword and lunged at the leader to my right while Will took those to the left. Our fiery attacks warmed up the air as I slashed and he used his enflamed claws to slice through the creatures.

I swung downward and cut a huge group into two. The closest ones burst into flames while those that survived scooted back and regrouped. And then they regrouped. And then they regrouped again, creating a massive swarm of black fury. I gaped up at the cloud as it blocked out the sun.

“Will?” I whispered as I stumbled back to his side.

His brow glistened with sweat and the fireballs in his palms were not as large as before. “Whatever happens, stay behind me.”

I whipped my head around and glared at him. “Don’t think I’m going to-”

“Found it!”

Sylvia jumped to her feet and pulled out a massive wooden canister. The tube was some three feet long and half a foot in diameter. Both ends were covered with hatches and a complicated mechanism of buttons stuck out of the top.

Sylvia shouldered her weapon and pointed it at the cloud. “Alright, let’s see if they like a good covering of swamp muck!”

I blinked at her. “Swamp-” The swarm shuddered before it dove down toward us.

“You’re in the line of fire!” she shouted as she glared at us. “Duck and cover!”

Will tackled me to the ground and covered me with his body. I peeked out from under him and watched the bugs swoop low toward the two of us.

“This is for Steve!” Sylvia shouted as she pressed two of the buttons.

The front hatch of the canister dropped open and revealed smaller tubes like a complicated firecracker. A bright yellow light ignited deep within the bowels of one of the tubes and something shot out. The thing whistled over our heads and crashed into the center of the throng. The bugs didn’t catch fire but they did begin to spin in circles, crashing into each other and dropping onto the ground on their backs. The things twitched their tiny legs a moment before they last still. A faint odor passed over me and I wrinkled my nose. It certainly smelled like swamp water of the most potent variety.

“Ah-ha!” Sylvia crowed as she hopped up once. “How is that?”

The bugs replied by regrouping and diving at us. She laughed and pressed another button. Another tube ignited and something green shot out. This strange concoction was more powder than sparkle and coated their wings, dropping them to the ground to join their dead brethren.

Sylvia didn’t top there but popped all the buttons, leading to a rainbow of chaos as she swung to and fro taking out all our foes. In a few moments, all the bugs lay on the ground twitching or not moving at all. Will dared help me to my feet and away from the creatures.

I cocked my head to one side and studied the canister. “What is it?”

Sylvia patted the side and a hollow noise came from inside. “This is a special setup Steve made for us. It packs all the magic of the swamps. Everything from the putrid air to the poison plants is tucked into here waiting to explode out.” She dropped her weapon onto the ground with a dull thud and puffed out her chest. “And look at that! It took care of them all.”

Something was off. I lifted my eyes to the sky and furrowed my brow. “If they’re all gone then why isn’t the fog leaving?”

“Do not move!”

My first reaction was to spin around in the direction of the palace. A contingent of soldiers hurried toward us with Luja in the lead. The weazing figure of Lady Akka scurried along at his side with all the grace of a hippo. The guards surrounded the three of us and pointed their spears in our direction.

Luja stalked up to Will and glared at him. “You have made your true face known to us after all these centuries!”

Will faced him with a steady gaze. “I mean only to help you.”

Lady Akka clasped her hands together in front of herself and scoffed. “Such weak lies. You were banned from entering the city and yet you broke the king’s command. You still fraternize with the eagles. Now a darkness has befallen us and here you stand in the midst of it all pretending you know nothing of the matter.”

“We know that the shadow sealed beneath the grave of the first king is at fault,” Will shot back.

She narrowed her eyes at him and I noticed her hands tightened their grip on each other. “What do you mean?”

Will looked at each of the soldiers, trapping their attention on him. “The darkness that now covers your land is from the tomb of your king. The magic has weakened and it now tries to escape to wreak havoc on your kingdom once again. We must stop it together.” More than one guard glanced at his compatriot.

“More lies to save yourself from a century in the lowest dungeons!” Luja shouted. His face was red and his body shook as he swept his eyes over the guards. He stabbed a quivering finger at all of us. “Take them to the lower depths where they may join the other traitor!” The guards tensed, captured by indecision. Luja’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head and the muscles on his neck popped out. “Did you not hear me? Take them away!”

That’s when I heard a faint crackling noise beneath my feet.