Scourge of the Dragons by Cody J. Sherer Page A

replied.
    “Already awake it seems. Let’s see if we
can’t loosen that jaw.” Kade flinched as he heard the man talk.
    “I had an entirely different idea,
Goraine.”
    “Let’s hear it. You weren’t appointed to
your job for nothing.”
    “We inflicted a great deal of pain on the
boy yesterday and he still remained silent.”
    “You think we should try to get the
information out of her?” The Knight of Ardevale asked.
    “Not exactly. We threaten to harm her if he
doesn’t give the information we are looking for.”
    “Sadistically ingenious, as always. Cut her
loose and bring her to me.”
    “Wait, nobody deserves to be injured on my
account. Please, just listen to me,” Kade said as he dropped to his
knees.
    “This not just any nobody, my young friend,
I believe you call her Amber.”
    Kade shook uncontrollably as he fell to the
ground. Every fiber of his being attempted to cry for help, but he
could not even get any words out. He began to drift out of
consciousness only to be snapped back. Everything was in a haze,
but his vision was beginning to return. The tent was gone, replaced
by a strange room of stone. There were several strangers looking at
him in confusion. Nothing felt quite right as he tried to get up
off the floor. He froze in terror as he spotted a massive winged
beast staring down at him. The creature brought its head in close
to examine him. It pulled back with a loud snort. His heart pounded
as they helped him to his feet and walked him toward the great
beast. Everything was foreign to him. Even those that were helping
him walk forward looked strange to him.
    “What have you done with me?” He cried out
in terror.
    “This is not Wrotan,” the great creature
said.
    *
    The hunter groaned as he came awake. He
immediately noticed that something was wrong. His face was
throbbing and his vision was blurry at best. Everything seemed to
be blocked out by some sort of fog. Isaack’s teachings kicked in
instantly and he closed his eyes and listened. There were two
others in the room that he could hear. They were laughing
hysterically about something. He could also make out the voice of a
woman. By the sound of it, she was pleading with them about
somebody named Kade. The fog seemed to lift, but his vision
remained impaired.
    “Please, we don’t know anything about the
scourge,” the woman said.
    “How do you explain the spot on the back of
his hand?” One of the men asked.
    “This is the first that I’ve heard of
it.”
    “She seems to be telling the truth,” the
other man said.
    “That matters little, her presence here is
to make that one talk.”
    “You’ll get no information out of me,”
Wrotan said as he stood up.
    He heard one of the two men move toward him.
His muscles tensed as he waited for them to make contact. The man
grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him closer. Wrotan slipped out
of the man’s grip and brought his palm up into the man’s chest. His
opponent staggered back a few steps, but it didn’t have the effect
the hunter was expecting. He took a few steps back and listened for
his opponent’s next move. The man laughed as he strode toward his
handicapped target. Wrotan pivoted forward and slapped the man in
the face. He gambled on the fact that most people would flinch from
a light slap and brought his elbow into his opponent’s chest with
all the force he could muster. The man groaned as he dropped to one
knee and Wrotan brought his elbow down into the man’s face.
    *
    Julian yelled at the top of his lungs as he
ran toward the camp. He threw his knife at the closest of the
guards and crashed into the next. The three remaining Knights
surrounded him and drew their swords. He dropped to his knees and
pleaded for them to spare him. One of the guards shook his head as
he pulled the young man to his feet. Julian flinched when he saw
the sword heading for the man’s neck. He looked away and covered
his eyes, but the sounds of slaughter were distinct. He waited