Hunt For The Hero (Book 5) by Craig Halloran Read Free Book Online

Legionaries had seen them coming or going , either. It made me wonder if Ben had come after us or if maybe something bad had happened to them.
    “Look!” a villager yelled , pointing.
    A Man staggered down the path of a grassy gnoll. It was Ben, and he was clutching his belly. I ran to him and caught him in my arms when he collapsed. His eyes were weak and his hands were bloody.
    “Ben,” I said . “What happened? Who did this?”
    “G-Garrison,” he sputtered out.
    He pushed his hand into mine and handed me something. It was a small totem. A figurine.
    “Barnabus,” Ben said. “He spied for Barnabus. Set us all …” his body shook, “u-up.” His eyes rolled into his head.
    I screamed.

 
    CHAPTER 12
     
     
    Leagues away, Kryzak waited in a strange grove in the woods. The trees stood, but they had no leaves. Reptiles and bugs crawled over the dirt. A Draykis carried stones as big as skulls and placed them on the ground, completing a full circle. It was big enough for a Man to lie down in.
    “That will do,” Kryzak said.
    He reached inside a pouch and tossed a colorful powder inside the ring, adding some small Dragon bones and Dragon claws. He clutched a large Dragon tooth inside his hand and squeezed.
    The time to report to Selen e had come.
    He took a deep breath.
    Selene. As much as he adored her, he feared her. Perhaps that was what drew him to her. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful and evil before.
    She didn’t tolerate failure , however. She’d kill him at the slightest sign of weakness.
    The Draykis concerned him. They weren’t pawns the likes of Lizard Men, Gnolls, Goblins and acolytes. They were powerful weapons, and many of them had died. He wasn’t happy with that. So why should she be.
    He stretched his fist over the circle and squeezed the tooth, breaking his own skin. Blood dripped through his fingers and to the ground. Then he chanted an incantation, stepped back, and watched.
    The dust inside the circle stirred and a t iny vortex of mystic colors formed. A woman’s figure took shape. It was Selene, standing with her arms folded across her chest. The image twinkled with tiny sparks, filling it with color.
    Kryzak’s fingers stretched out.
    “Don’t you dare, Kryzak,” she said.
    He withdrew his hand.
    “My,” she said, “so eager to see me again, are we?”
    He bowed.
    “As always, but now more than ever.”
    “Your flattery is charming, but it won’t compensate for your failure,” she said, her colorful image darkening. “What is the situation of Nath Dragon?”
    “He lives, but his company is smaller.”
    “Go on.”
    Kryzak told her everything. How he had incorporated the Ettins and enlisted the aid of the Dragon Poachers. How he had trapped them in the tunnels and almost drowned them all. About his spies and Nath’s search for the Occular of Orray and about the cursed Rover Elf, Sansla Libor.
    Selen e’s tail brushed back and disappeared where it crossed the rocks. Her face was a mask of concentration.
    Kryzak’s hand fell to the wood en grip on his war mace. It gave him little comfort.
    “How many did Nath Dragon kill when he came back ?” she asked.
    “The tunnels were filled with death.”
    “And Nath Dragon,” she said, toying with her robes, “what was his condition?”
    “He was distraught. Confused. A storm trying to hold back its anger.”
    “And you saw the Rover die?”
    He nodded.
    “Interesting,” she paced inside the circle and folded her arms behind her back, “And what of my Draykis? Are they all dead as well?”
    “Save one,” Kryzak said, his head beading with sweat.
    “And the Dragons you mentioned,” she said . “I assume you still have them captured?”
    “It was me or them, but the Fury still remains.”
    “What!” she screamed. The dust exploded around her feet. “How many!”
    “Nine,” he said. “I’ll capture eighteen—”
    “With what, you fool! You have one Draykis!” Her eyes blazed like fire. “It will take