Scourge of the Dragons by Cody J. Sherer Read Free Book Online Page A

turned to the
Prince.
    “I’m not sure I understand. The scourge runs
through my blood as well. We are all on the same side. Even if I
did mean you harm, I’m not even close to being an expert
swordsman,” Hadrin replied.
    “Have you not told him?” Ungaroth asked as
he turned to the night elf King.
    “I have not, there was never a time when I
felt comfortable revealing the truth,” Obrin replied.
    “Then we must all go to the inner tower at
once. There is much that needs to be discussed.”
    *
    Kade groaned as he came to. His head
throbbed as he tried to gather his bearings. They had tied him to a
stake in the middle of a tent. There was nothing else inside the
tent, but there were two guards just outside. He tried to wriggle
free, but his bonds were too tight. His mind was still in a fog,
but things were starting to slowly come back to him. He remembered
what happened in the tavern, but nothing after that. His thoughts
were interrupted by the sound of men entering the tent. He
recognized the man that had kidnapped him, but the other man was
unknown to him. They whispered to one another before coming closer
and untying the rope. The thought of escape hovered in the back of
Kade’s mind as he looked up at the two men.
    “Time for some answers, boy. You’ll want to
make it easy on yourself now,” the leader said.
    “What do you want to know?” Kade asked.
    “Let’s start with a name. What do I call
you?” The other man asked.
    “Kade.”
    “I am Ansom, this is Knight-Commander
Goraine. We can make things much easier on you if you answer our
questions.”
    “You didn’t need to tell him our names,” the
Knight-Commander said.
    “I have my ways, Goraine. Now, tell me what
you know of this scourge.”
    “I know nothing about it. One day the back
of my hand was clear, the next there was a small black mark. That
was about a month ago. In that time, the mark has grown a bit,”
Kade said.
    “You expect us to believe you know nothing
about it? We are not fools. Who is responsible?” Ansom asked.
    “Nobody is responsible, it just
happened.”
    “Things like this do not just happen, boy.
Perhaps we should apply pain.”
    *
    Mariah handed a knife to each of her
companions before drawing her sword. Julian opened his mouth to
protest, but she had already moved on. The Knights of Ardevale had
made camp in a small meadow in the midst of the forest. By the
sound of it, they had begun torturing the young man they had
captured. This had the guardswoman’s blood boiling. There were few
things she hated as much as torture. She motioned for the other two
to follow as she ducked down behind some bushes. They made their
way to the edge of the bush before making their move. Mariah
vaulted over the bush and shouldered the nearest Knight. Julian and
Amber followed behind and attacked the other sentry. Amber froze
when she had the chance to kill the man, but Julian had no such
hesitation.
    The other Knights began to stir. Mariah slew
two of them before they could even stand. Julian knocked a third
into the fire, but the other four got to their feet before they
could be attacked. Goraine and Ansom came out of the tent with Kade
in tow. The Knight-Commander barked to the torturer to take Kade
while he went after the others. Mariah managed to hold off two of
the Knights and Julian held off another. The fourth Knight grabbed
hold of Amber and dragged her toward where the torturer had gone.
Goraine joined the fight and Mariah was forced to defend Julian.
The youngster threw his knife, taking one of the Knights in the
shoulder. He ducked back behind the guardswoman and looked for
another weapon. She held off the others, but Goraine called for a
retreat. Julian started to give chase, but Mariah grabbed him by
the shoulder.
    “We cannot chase them,” she said.
    “Why not?” He asked.
    “They will likely try to set a trap for us.
We need to move forward with caution and avoid any traps they may
set. There is still a chance we