Free Rage of the Dragon by Margaret Weis

rowers to sail his vessel. His galley’s speed would be reduced to a crawl.
    The godlord made a peremptory gesture, cutting off the shaman’s argument, and ordered his warriors to draw up the boarding ropes. He was going to agree to the attack. Before Skylan could say a word, a piercing shriek caused his hair to stand on end.
    Screaming Raegar’s name, Treia began waving her arms and jumping up and down and pointing at something.
    “She’s gone mad!” Skylan said to himself.
    Raegar was still some distance away, too far to hear or see her. Skylan looked to see what she was pointing at so wildly and saw another ogre ship. Treia was pointing at Sigurd, trying to draw Raegar’s attention.
    Skylan snorted. Let her yell herself hoarse. Raegar couldn’t hear her from this distance.
    “Raegar’s ship is changing course, Skylan!” Acronis reported.
    “What? That’s not possible. How—” He looked at Acronis, who had his spyglass to his eye, and he knew how. Raegar must have a spyglass of his own. He could see Treia, if he could not hear her. He could see the deck of the Venjekar . What he would not see were Sigurd and the other Torgun warriors on board the ogre ship.
    “Shut her up!” Skylan bellowed. “Take her below!”
    But he was too late. The harm was done.
    “Raegar’s changed course,” Acronis repeated, adding, “He’s chasing after Sigurd. And as slowly as that ogre ship your goddess gave us is moving, Raegar’s new dragonship has a fair chance of catching him.”
    Skylan was cursing his luck and wondering if Aylaen would care very much if he lopped off her sister’s head when Farinn gave a warning shout. Skylan whipped around to see the ogre godlord flanked by ten ogres, all carrying massive spears.
    All the spear points were aimed at Skylan.
    “It was a trap!” the godlord roared.
    “No, I swear by Torval—”
    “I saw your female signaling to your friends! Surrender your ship to me or die!”
    Skylan barely heard. He was instead focused on a strange sight. He could suddenly see the thread of his own wyrd stretching across the sea, running from the base of the World Tree, where the three Norn sat spinning, to where he stood on the Venjekar . As he watched, the thread split. One strand continued on unbroken toward the far horizon. The other stopped only a short distance ahead, slashed, cut short.
    Skylan clasped the amulet of Torval around his neck and spoke a prayer. The threads remained and he knew the vision was real, sent to him by the god, and that it had to do with the decision he was about to make. The question: which wyrd was which? And should that even matter?
    A spear thudded to the deck at his feet.

CHAPTER
    7
    “Be with me, Torval!” Skylan breathed, touching the amulet. He yanked the spear out of the deck and brandished it, holding it aloft, not threatening, but as a call to battle.
    “I will prove that I am a friend!” Skylan shouted. He turned to Aylaen and said loudly, for all to hear, “Command the Dragon Kahg! We are going to attack Raegar’s ship.”
    Aylaen stared at him, open-mouthed. She could command the dragon all she liked, but would he listen? Aylaen glanced at the spear-wielding ogres, gulped a little, and then clasped the spiritbone of the Dragon Kahg in her hand. Her lips moved. She reached down, dipped the spiritbone in one of the puddles.
    “What is she doing?” Acronis asked, lowering his spyglass.
    “Summoning the dragon,” said Skylan. He added beneath his breath, “I hope…”
    He waited tensely, keeping an eye on the ogres.
    “They’ve freed their anchor,” Farinn reported.
    Aylaen cast the spiritbone in the air. The bone hung there for a moment. Skylan watched it, praying to every god in the pantheon that the Dragon Kahg would materialize.
    The bone fell to the deck.
    Aylaen cast Skylan a despairing glance. He sighed deeply and wondered what he was going to do next. The ogre godlord was arguing with the shaman, who was insisting that the