Free Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon) by Scott Appleton Page B

the ancient dreads of Subterran, yes, even the Glorigathans and the Dudans … the Water Skeels, also.
    “Thou presumest to stand before me , little warrior, to do battle with me. But I can crush thee as an insect. Go thy way, leave now, and I will let thee go. I admire thy initiative, little warrior, but to stand against me thou hast neither the strength nor the means.”
    “But I am standing in your way.” Ilfedo poised his sword to aim its point at the monster’s head. “And for the crimes your minions have committed against my people, you will pay with your blood and they with their lives.”
    “Thou art brave, little warrior, to speak thus against me and mine.” The creature hissed, pulling back its head and opening wide its jaws. A blade-like fin unfolded from its head, rising from the tip of its snout and arching back to the base of its skull. It lowered its voice. “I do not leave brave enemies standing. I prefer thy death so that I may never confront thee again.”
    Ilfedo remained steady as the creature postured for attack. His life was on the line here and the odds seemed … towering. But when he considered the possibility of his own death, all he could see was the familiar face of she whom he loved. Death could only bring him back to her. It could only end his heart’s ache and bring him to meet the Creator.
    No, he had nothing to fear from death. He had nothing to fear from anything. And to die defending those who could not defend themselves was a far better way to leave this mortal existence than to die of old age.
    He faced the King of the Sea Serpents and held forth the weapon given to him by the albino dragon. His eye blinked involuntarily as a sunbeam reflected off of the silver band on his finger. The Eternal Band, its flame extinguished. He’d kept it nevertheless. It displayed to the entire world that his heart belonged to someone special. In his eyes it also stated that he would never give his heart to another.
    A swath of flames ignited from the blade as the enormous serpent’s head rushed upon him. The serpent’s white underbelly blackened as the flames struck, but the creature remained unfazed.
    Its head burrowed into the ground under his feet, ripping it out from under him, throwing him yards away as the head came up through the soil. The forked, purplish tongue lashed at him, roping his legs together as he fell.
    Before he could react, the serpent tossed him like a toy. It whipped him around, smashed him into the ground. He tensed his arms, swung the sword at the monster’s tongue. But the purplish thing unwrapped itself from his legs and he sprawled on the ground.
    The serpent’s tongue returned into its mouth. Sucking in its cheeks, the serpent parted its lips just enough to spit a dark wad at his face.
    Ilfedo held his blade in the venom’s path. The black liquid fizzled harmlessly against the blade.
    The enormous tail snaked toward him from behind. He dropped flat on the ground. The hard tip of the serpent’s tail stabbed the air where he had been.
    Thrusting his blade upward, he stabbed into the serpent’s tail. Blue blood spurted from the wound. Ilfedo immediately sent flames shooting from the sword, burning into the flesh exposed beneath the scales.
    A scream escaped the Serpent King. The creature recoiled from Ilfedo, its white eyes wide open. Its blade-fin altered from black to dark red.
    “Thy skill surprises me, little warrior.” The serpent hissed. “Thy manner is reminiscent of the ancient human kings, and the weapon thou bearest is no ordinary sword.”
    The serpent’s tongue slipped from its mouth, wetting its lips. “Perhaps thou wilt prove a worthy challenge for me. Perhaps”—its eyes glinted with anticipation—“ I will bury thee in a bed of coral beneath the sea instead of feasting upon thee along with the rest of thy people.”
    “ That is—not—going—to—happen.” Ilfedo dodged the serpent’s swinging tail, jumped onto its back and drove his