Free Flight of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 5 of 10) (Tail of the Dragon) by Craig Halloran Page A

“And you have a blind spot.”
    Scar lifted up his eye patch, revealing a solid milky white eye. “Do you know what blinded me, boy?”
    “I couldn’t care less.” Rerry tested the heft of the longsword. The fine elven steel was well balanced, but it was still heavier than the rapier Scar carried. “So, are we going to spar or not?”
    Scar flipped his eye patch away. It left his appearance unsettling. Menacing. “A blade caught me, in a sparring match such as this. They told me my career as a soldier was over. They washed me out of the ranks. But I practiced and practiced and practiced until I overcame my disadvantage. I climbed back up the ranks.” He flicked the blade around in a twirl of blinking light. “I defeated my own master.”
    Rerry swallowed. There was truth in Scar’s words. He didn’t doubt a single syllable. Rerry was the bigger of the two, looking down at the smaller elven man whose presence yet seemed as big as his own. A sparring match seemed impractical, but his pride wanted to take a shot at the cocky elven captain.
    Just one mark. I’ll give him a scar he’ll remember.
    “I tell you what, Scar, let’s fight for blood. If I nick you three times, you have to leave us be.”
    Scar huffed. “I can’t do that. An elf releasing a prisoner? Shame myself? If I lose you, I have to suffer the fate they had in store for you, and I’d rather not know what it is.”
    “You sound like you fear you might lose.”
    “Hardly. I’m just giving you an education. I should have known it wouldn’t have been a custom you were aware of, seeing how horrible a captor you are.”
    “Well, if I win, you can be my indentured servant. At least then you could be on the right side of things.”
    “I’m on the right side when I follow orders.” Scar eyed his sword’s keen edge. “And what are you offering me when you lose? Oh, that’s right, you have nothing to offer. But maybe, just maybe, you could give me one of those eyes of yours.”
    “That’s just sick.”
    “That’s life with an edge. So, do you want to spar, surrender, or just fight? The truth is, Rerry, your only chance to escape and help your mother is to beat me. What are you willing to lose to save your mother?”
    Rerry readied his sword. “Everything.”
    “It sounds like we have a fight then.” Scar’s feet twisted in the dirt. He lowered himself into a swordsman’s stance and waved Rerry over. “Let the steel dance.”
    Rerry rushed in swinging. He delivered hard, fast blows.
    Scar parried and shifted. Metal smacked on metal. Scar batted Rerry’s sword from his hand and cut his forearm open.
    Rerry jumped away, holding his bleeding arm.
    “It was a fine attack. Fast. Powerful.” Scar took out a cloth and wiped the blood from his sword. “But you lack refinement. Finesse.” With the tip of his rapier, he flipped the fallen longsword up into Rerry’s hands by its crossguard. “This time, don’t try to kill me. Just use what you know and fight.”
    Grimacing and with a flutter in his ear, Rerry poised his sword. Staring Scar right in the elf’s bad eye, he said, “So be it then.”
     
     

CHAPTER 17
     
     
    “That’s an awful lot of giants,” Selene said to Grahleyna. “And the wurmers. Their numbers will only grow. You need to strike fast if you’re going to strike at all. Scatter those forces before their numbers become even stronger.”
    “No army has ever penetrated Dragon Home. No army ever will.”
    “I don’t mean any disrespect,” Selene said. “But have the dragons ever had to fend off an army so big?”
    “Selene, we’ll stay on the defensive and seal all the entrances. But I’m not going to send the dragons out to attack. Not without Balzurth or Nath.” Grahleyna stood out on the very edge of the mountain. The wind tore at her elegant robes. Hair streaming in the wind, she said, “I’m not willing to risk the dragons in a fight right now. Not if I don’t have to. Balzurth is King. Nath is the