Flight of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 5 of 10) (Tail of the Dragon) by Craig Halloran Read Free Book Online Page A

The world was a disaster. Evil had it by the throat again.
    “Brenwar, what do you think I should do? I’m not even sure I should be looking for him at the moment. You said it yourself: he knows what he’s doing. But … I don’t fully believe that in this case.”
    “We’ll find him. Besides, wherever he is, we’ll find the heart of the trouble. You’re kind of like him in that manner.” A pair of deer bounded through the woods right in front of them and vanished into the brush. “See, a good sign.”
    “Deer crossing one’s path is not a good sign. It’s just deer crossing a path.” Nath took his scabbard filled with Fang from his back and lay it on the ground. He sat down.
    Brenwar came to a stop and looked down at him. The dwarf had plenty of recent scuffs and scars to show for himself. A gash in his leg. New dents peppering his breastplate. A wurmer’s claw marks in the leather of his tunic arms. “What are you doing on your backside? We need to go.”
    “Go where?”
    Shaking his war hammer, the dwarf said, “To the heart of the fight!”
    Nath huffed. “That’s a fine idea, except we don’t know where the heart of the fight is.” He grabbed a pine cone and slung it hard into the woods. “It’s hard to fight an enemy we can’t find.”
    “What are you talking about? They’re giants. Huge! They aren’t hiding. They’re out in the wide open. We’re the best trackers in the world. How can we not find them?”
    “I’m not as much of a tracker as I used to be. Guzan!” Nath held up his missing hand.” What am I supposed to do with half of my hand missing? The enemy gets stronger. I get whittled away a hunk at a time.”
    “You’ll get used to it.” Brenwar scratched his nose with his skeleton fingers. “Besides, you should be tired of looking like you’ve never been in a fight before. Heavy scars put the fear in people.”
    “I know.” With a stick, Nath stirred patterns in the ground. His thoughts were heavy. Something inside of him just didn’t feel right. “Brenwar, do you ever feel like sometimes I go about things the wrong way?”
    “Like how?”
    “Well, like fighting. I feel like maybe I’m always doing it the hard way.”
    “Fighting’s not supposed to be easy.” Brenwar huffed. “If it was easy, it wouldn’t be any fun.”
    “I just feel like I’m working harder and not smarter. I mean, is the fate of the world only up to a few of us? Shouldn’t we have more help? We can’t count on the elves and dwarves, because they’re hunting us. Leaves us with the humans and halflings. Maybe some gnomes.”
    “Har!”
    “Why just us? There has to be a smarter way to go about things. I like to fight. I love to fight. Not only do I want to fight harder than ever before, but I feel like I need to fight smarter as well. What am I doing wrong?”
    Eyeing Mortuun, Brenwar spun the great hammer in his hands. “I’ve been fighting and feuding in one way or another for hundreds of years, Nath. I’ve never fought with anybody like you. You have instincts only a few who ever lived had. Trust your instincts. What do they tell you?”
    Nath brushed his hair from his eyes. “They tell me I need more help than you and me.” He looked at what was left of his missing hand. “Clearly.”
    “If you need help, then ask for it.”
    “I can’t drag Bayzog and Ben back into this. Did you see them? They looked like a bull dragon chewed them up and spat them out. No, I’ve asked plenty from them. I’ve asked plenty from you. I’m tired of seeing my friends hurt.”
    “You can’t protect them always, Nath. They’re in this fight too. But they aren’t the only friends you have. And you have family, too.” Brenwar took a quick look up into the sky. “Lots of family.”
    Nath lifted his chin. Puffy white clouds with gray at the bottom drifted through the rich blue sky. Flocks of birds crossed his line of sight and disappeared into the great beyond.
    I sure miss flying.
    “Are you