Wicked War of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 9) by John Corwin Read Free Book Online Page B

Elyssa knocking it out.
    "Let's hit them hard," I said.
    "Those construction golems have been modified," Shelton said. He pointed to large gemstones set in the faceless foreheads of the bulky humanoid shapes. "They're weaponized."
    Captain Takei grunted. "He's right. We'll need to take down the golems first."
    Michael rotated the recorded image. "I count six."
    "We don't have any siege equipment," Takei said. "If we focus all our firepower on the leg of one golem, we might bring it down quickly, unless they've also added magic-resistant charms to them."
    "Dollars to donuts they did." Shelton frowned. "There's no sense adding weaponry to those things if they don't have armor."
    A distant roar echoed through the forest. I looked in the direction it had come from and sighed. "I think the answer to our problems is on the way."
    "Not the tragon again," Elyssa said. "Do you know how many Lancer darts it took to knock that thing out before it ate you?"
    A flock of spider-bats burst from a giant oak tree near us with shrieks of panic as the thud of breaking branches grew closer. One of the freaky-looking creatures smacked into the shield surrounding the forest and plummeted onto the ground only a few feet away, all eight of its legs twitching.
    I shuddered and turned back to my girlfriend. "I'm not sick with the vampling curse like I was last time, plus I have a few more tricks up my sleeve."
    The ground trembled beneath us. A group of saplings bent to the side and a red-scaled reptilian snout poked through. It sniffed the air, plumes of smoke rising from nostrils the size of manhole covers. The rest of the muzzle pressed through the foliage followed by a creature the shape of a Tyrannosaurus rex and nearly twice the size. Tiny wings fluttered uselessly atop the monster's bony, ridged back.
    The tragon saw our little army and bellowed loud enough to wake a deaf corpse.
    Shelton backed away a few feet despite the shield keeping the tragon inside its forest prison. He looked up at the looming beast and shivered. "You're insane if you think you can make that thing fight for us."
    Lowering its head level with us, the tragon regarded me with one beady eye. Seeing its head this close gave me a better appreciation for just how massive it was. Its mouth looked large enough to swallow a car in one bite. It huffed. A blast of fire splashed against the shield. A low rumble built in its throat. Its muzzle parted to display rows of sharp teeth.
    "Do you remember me?" I asked it.
    The tragon growled louder.
    "I think it does." Shelton shook his head. "And it ain't a happy kind of memory." He glanced toward the stadium. "All this noise is going to attract attention."
    "Doubtful," Takei said. "The noise from the golems in the stadium attracted the tragon in the first place. I'm sure this isn't the first time it's come here and made a scene."
    "A territorial reaction," Michael said. "It sensed something threatening in the vicinity and challenged it."
    The tragon wasn't as large as the colossal golems, but it was easily larger than the construction golems. Maybe I was feeling cocky. Maybe I felt a little bit too cool for school after my fight against Aerianas. Maybe I felt like I still had something to prove. Whatever my reason, I decided having the tragon fight for us was the way to go.
    The shield was designed to keep monsters in. It didn't keep people out.
    So, I stepped across the line.
    Before I had a chance to do anything, the tragon ate me.
    Even with my supernatural reflexes, I was barely fast enough to put up a bubble shield before everything went dark. I heard teeth grinding against the shield. The tragon's mouth opened and closed as it tried to bite down on the barrier of Murk keeping me alive. It sounded like someone cracking their teeth on a jawbreaker.
    I caught a glimpse of Elyssa's stunned face as the tragon opened its mouth wide and chomped down again. My view spun as the spherical shield rolled in the creature's mouth.
    "How stupid