His head darted forward with blinding quickness, snapping up another man, this time one of Ayela’s. Again, he took his time chewing.
A volley of arrows rained against his scales, bouncing harmlessly away.
Rankosi laughed, a deep rumbling sound filled with derision, cut short when he snatched up another man. The Rangers backed farther away, sending another volley of arrows, this time aiming for the eyes. Several would have hit, except Rankosi simply blinked.
He reared back in preparation to lunge into the mass of men arrayed before him when Trajan came racing out of the jungle, screaming incoherently, charging the shade-controlled dragon with reckless and wild abandon. Rankosi looked bemused, redirecting his attention to Trajan, waiting for him to get close enough to eat, but then he flinched, a yelp of fear escaping from him as the null magic field brushed up against him. He tumbled backwards away from Trajan, scrambling desperately, rolling onto his feet and running several giant steps before taking flight, frustration and rage in his roar.
Trajan stopped in their midst, his men flowing out of the jungle to stand with their leader. Rankosi tipped his wing and dove, breathing a gout of orange-red fiery death at them. Lacy fell to her knees, throwing her hands over her head in expectation of sudden annihilation … but it didn’t come.
She heard the roar of the fire, saw the light glow brightly all around her, even felt hot air flow over her … but she wasn’t dead. She looked up just in time to see the last of the dragon fire washing over a perfectly spherical half-shell surrounding them. Only the few men standing outside the thirty-foot range of Trajan’s Goiri bone died in the attack.
Rankosi roared again, floating out over the jungle before turning toward Stobi, apparently abandoning his attack.
Trajan stalked up to his sister like he was going to hit her, then stopped, his expression morphing from one of fury to one of great relief, tears welling up in his eyes.
Ayela hugged him, then held him at arm’s length, appraising him with a mixture of hope and worry.
“Thank you, Trajan. That’s twice you’ve saved our lives in as many days.”
“Many soldiers come for you and Lady Reishi’s friends.”
“No, they’re coming for you and the bone,” Ayela said. “You have to flee. Go north to more familiar jungles. Phane cannot be allowed to get that cursed bone.”
Trajan smiled confidently, holding up the femur and testing its weight. “He won’t-at least not like he wants it.”
“Trajan, you promised me you wouldn’t go after him,” Ayela said, sudden alarm in her voice. “He has too many soldiers.”
He frowned, scratching his head. “I forgot about that.”
“I know,” Ayela whispered. “Go north.”
“No, I’ll stay with you in case the dragon returns.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Wyatt said.
“If Trajan gets too close to the box, it’ll open,” Lacy said. “We can’t risk it.”
“And how will you stand against a dragon without me?” Trajan shouted, suddenly furious. “I alone can defeat magic!”
Lacy was taken aback and a bit fearful. Wyatt eased closer to her, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Trajan!” Ayela snapped.
He seemed suddenly surprised by her presence, then he started looking around quickly, his head jerking this way and that before he fixed on a point in the empty air, staring at it as if there was a dragon poised to strike. He turned and ran screaming into the jungle, terror and madness fading with each stride. His men followed without a word as if such occurrences were not uncommon.
“He’s getting worse,” Ayela said.
“What do you mean?” Lacy asked.
“Ever since he took possession of that bone, he’s been slowly losing his mind. I’m afraid it might already be too late to get him back.”
“I’m sorry,” Lacy whispered, putting her hand on Ayela’s arm.
“Me too,” she said with a forced smile. “We should go; the road isn’t safe.”
They moved back into the jungle and turned north toward Stobi, traveling parallel to the road but far enough away that they couldn’t be spotted through the dense foliage. Again, Lacy found herself searching her mind for a strategy or tactic that would lead to success against the witch and the dragon, but she couldn’t find a single one.
The depressing truth was, she was simply outmatched. A Sin’Rath witch against a hunting party comprised of mostly men had a decisive advantage, and confronting a demon-possessed dragon was nothing short of suicidally insane, yet she and her companions pressed on until they stepped past the edge of the jungle into the farm fields surrounding the medium-sized port town of Stobi.
Lacy stopped, frustration and hopelessness finally overcoming her drive toward a potentially fatal confrontation. The death of half of the men she’d been traveling with weighed on her conscience. She had enlisted their assistance, she had set their course, she had delivered them to their doom.
“What are we going to do once we find her?”
The rest of her company stopped.
“I was thinking we’d kill her and take the box, then commandeer a ship and head for Ithilian,” Wyatt said.
“Do you think this is a joke, Captain? You just lost half your men-dead.”
Wyatt stepped close to her, forcing her to back away a little. “You needn’t remind me what I’ve lost, Princess. I can name every single man who’s died under my command … they were all good men, every one of them, and they were my friends. I’ve been fighting this war from the beginning, so I understand what’s at stake better than most. If you have a plan that will improve our odds of success, then I would hear it.”
Lacy held her ground even though she could feel her knees trembling. “That’s just it, we don’t have a plan. She’ll charm you and your men the moment you get too close, and then what?”
“We just need to get close enough to put a few arrows into her,” Wyatt said.
“That’s assuming we can catch her off guard,” Ayela said. “If she sees us coming, your arrows will be useless.”
“She probably thinks we’re all dead,” Wren said. “That might give us a chance to surprise her.”
“But not if we go into town as a group,” Ayela said. “Regency guards don’t take kindly to soldiers in strange uniforms.”
“Fair enough,” Wyatt said, dropping his pack and pulling out a worn leather cloak. “We’ll go in with three teams of two, make our way to the docks and locate the witch. Everyone else will withdraw into the jungle and wait for us to return.”
Lacy shook her head, “No. I’m coming with you.”
“Are you any good with a bow? Can you fight?”
Her face fell. “Not really.”
“Then you stay here,” Wyatt said. “You’ll be safer and we’ll be able to do our job without worrying about you.”
“But … the box is my responsibility,” Lacy protested.
“You are a princess,” Wyatt said. “As such, you’ll have to become accustomed to sending others to fight for you. Now is as good a time as any to learn that lesson.”
Lacy felt helpless, yet again. She knew Wyatt was right, yet desperately didn’t want to accept it. Tears started to well up in her eyes even over her desperate desire to put on a brave face.
Wyatt smiled gently. “Deal in what is, not what if. That’s one of Lord Reishi’s favorite sayings, and there’s wisdom in those words. The result is what matters and we stand a far better chance of getting that box back if you stay here.”
“He’s right, Lacy,” Wren said. “If we go with him, he’ll be too busy trying to protect us to focus on the job at hand.”
Lacy swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded tightly. “Be safe, Captain.”
“I’ll do my best,” Wyatt said, donning his cloak.
“I’ll go with you,” Ayela said. “I may have a thing or two in my bag that could prove useful.”
“Very well,” Wyatt said, selecting the rest of the detail. Once they were away, Lacy, Wren, and the remaining men withdrew into the jungle to wait.