Free The Dragon Ring (Book 1) by C. Craig Coleman

boards. I don’t understand what’s holding the wood together, but I can’t find any water in the bottom.”
    As soon as Saxthor seated himself in the bow and Twit flitted to the stern, the vessel slid back from the shore on its own without a sound. It turned and moved forward out into the dark waters with the slightest ripple and wake.
    “Bodrin, did you see what I saw?” Saxthor glanced at bug-eyed Bodrin. “I think the eyes move.”
    “Yeah right, the figurehead’s wooden, Saxthor.”
    “No, I’m serious, they moved.” Saxthor turned back to face Bodrin. “And Tournak, he’s not steering, he’s talking to the boat. None of us has rowed. This thing is moving by itself.”
    Bodrin’s head jerked back and front, both stared at Tournak.
    The craft slid between the massive cypress trunks and islands in the swamp without a sound. After a while, the tannic water began to flow as they approached the river. A great blue heron studied them from the shore as a water moccasin slithered through the duckweed close to land.
    “How did you find this elfin treasure, Tournak?” Saxthor asked. “I was sure the elves were made-up story people. Today I got a magic sword, and I’m riding in a live boat.”
    This is the first time I’ve paid attention to the silent man’s strength, thought Saxthor.  He seems to be part of everything around him.
    “My grandmother was an elf,” Tournak said. “I rarely divulge that; people don’t believe me. Telling only causes trouble when they find out, so I don’t discuss it often. My relations made the vessel and loaned her to us.”
    “Oops!” Bodrin grinned and said in Saxthor’s ear. “Stuck your foot in the old mouth didn’t you? Hope you don’t get appointed foreign minister when we grow up.”
    “I imagine you’re proud to have strengths of both elf and man,” Saxthor said. He shot a brief grin at Bodrin.
    “And weaknesses,” Bodrin poked Saxthor in the ribs when Tournak looked away.
    “Yes, weaknesses, too,” Tournak said.
    Saxthor flicked Bodrin’s ear. “Guess elves have special hearing, huh, Bodrin?”
    Bodrin flushed.
    Saxthor chuckled, opened his mouth in a circle and pointed at Bodrin’s foot careful their guardian didn’t note the gesture.
    The sorcerer stood up without warning and rushed toward them. “Move to the stern when I slip between you and keep down.”
    “What’s the matter?” Saxthor asked.
    “Do as I say. Stay out of sight and be quiet. Don’t you hear the hiss?”
    “What hiss?”
    “Move, go now!”
    The boys stepped back over the middle seat to the one under the sternpost. Tournak rushed past them over the seats to the bow, where he scanned for why the face on the bow hissed.
    “The figurehead would only give warning at something evil, a threat close to the boat.”
    “I heard it that time, Saxthor,” Bodrin said. His head spun toward the sound.
    Saxthor shuffled toward the middle of the seat, his eyes fixed on the dark water. “I thought I saw a big fin cut through the duckweed beside the boat.”
    “Just a big catfish, Saxthor,” Bodrin said. “I don’t think the water is deep enough for monsters. We’re still a ways away from the river.”
    “I’m sure I saw something back there,” Saxthor said, his voice high pitched.
    “Maybe it’s something in the trees, but nothing is moving in the branches,” Bodrin said. “Tournak, do you see anything or is this just a practical joke to scare us so we behave?” Bodrin’s nervous chuckle died in the silence without response. Tournak continued to scan the water in front of the boat.
    The water erupted beside the craft as a huge, reptilian hand, green-scaled, with long thin digits and claws shot over the boat’s side and grabbed for Saxthor where he’d just been. The green fingers snatched his sandal with an iron grip, a claw scratching his foot.
    “Let go of me!”
    Saxthor jerked his leg. His foot slipped from the sandal and he fell backward over the seat. Panicked, he