Dragon Thief Box Set

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

The eyes of the soldier commander widened before his face twisted with rage. He grasped his halberd in both hands and pointed the sharp tip at the man. “You! So, you are the thief who stole the staff!”

The masked man feigned shock, and as he spoke, I didn’t hear his words so much as feel them in my mind. It was like listening to someone speaking directly to your inner thoughts. “I, Commander Edouard? How could you ever believe such a thing?”

The commander sidled up to the side of one of those who held me. A sly smile slipped onto my lips as he kept his eyes on the man while he stabbed a finger at me. “We have your accomplice. What do you say to that?”

The man turned his attention to me and studied me for a moment. “I would say you have caught yourself a treasure, Commander, but not the one you seek.” He inclined his head toward me, and I swore I detected a hint of a smile beneath the thick collar. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I hope you haven’t been treated too harshly.”

I glared at the men who held me. “I’ve been treated better at a bar.”

A laugh escaped the masked fellow before he returned his focus to the commander. “You have caught yourself a spirited horse, Commander, but you are mistaken in believing I have tamed this one to my ways. I’ve never had the pleasure of setting my eyes on her before this evening.”

The commander scoffed. “She was caught with the staff, and only you could have taken it from the treasuries, but if you won’t admit to the deed, we’ll soon find out from your accomplice how that was accomplished.”

The masked man chuckled as he flicked the wrist of the hand that held the daggers. At the same time, he parted two fingers, releasing one of the blades so it flew into the air, and he caught it in his empty left hand. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to mistreat a visitor to our fair city so improperly, Commander.” He pointed the blade at the soldiers. “I’ll give you three seconds to release her.”

The commander swept his eyes over his men. “You’ve caught us off guard, but we’re more than a match for you in this open daylight.”

The man pointed his dagger over his shoulder at the sun. It had nearly disappeared beneath the horizon and dark shadows hung over much of the ground. “You have only a few moments left, Commander. Hand the girl over or you’ll have to contend with my daggers in the darkness.”

There was indecision in Edouard’s face before fury overtook him. “We will do nothing, thief!” He caught the eyes of his men and stabbed his halberd at his foe. “Get him down from there even if you have to chop the post down!”

The three of his men, unoccupied, hurried forward with their weapons clasped tightly in both their hands. The man in black laughed. “You needn’t have worried about coming to greet me, Commander.” He leapt from the post and opened his wings. They spread for many yards in both directions, allowing him to glide down and land between where I stood and the guards who had intended to capture him. He tossed another dagger into his left hand as the guards spun around. “I would rather come to you.”

Edouard caught his men’s attention and pointed at the man in black. “Stop standing there like dunces and get him!”

By this time a large crowd had gathered at the edge of the stalls and watched with curiosity. The men shouted and charged shoulder-to-shoulder with their halberds pointed in front of them. The man spun around, and as he did so he deflected the lead halberd with the short blade of his dagger. The man was thrown off and stumbled into his compatriot, and both of them fell into a heap to one side. The crowd roared with laughter.

While all of this played out, I looked to and fro between my captors. Their complete attention lay on the fight. I took the opportunity to lean down and snap my teeth into the exposed flesh just below the wrist of one of the men. The soldier gave a shout and his grip weakened enough that I twisted out of his hold. I swung my leg up and knocked one of the legs out from under the other man, and that freed me.

I shot forward and snatched the broom from Edouard’s hand. He spun around just as I was pressing the staff against myself. His eyes shone with fury as he leapt at me with one hand outstretched. “You little b***h!”

“Up!” I shouted as I hopped off the ground.

Then I landed back on the ground. My blood ran cold as I hopped again.

“Up!”

My feet still only left the ground for a second. Edouard snatched one of my wrists and twisted it, forcing me to release the staff. “I will have your head for this!”

“You’ll have to get in line, Commander.”

I looked past Edouard and at the man in black. He had tossed the last of the soldiers onto the pair who had nearly stood, sending all three of them toppling to the ground in a heap of frustration. The man turned to us and tossed another dagger into his left hand.

He pointed the blade at Edouard, and in the dim light, I could see that his eyes glowed bright red. “I claim that beautiful head for myself.”

Edouard sneered at him as he roughly yanked me against his side. He pressed the tip of his halberd against my throat, and I stiffened as the sharp blade cut into my flesh. A warm line of blood dribbled down my neck. “I won’t lose to you again, thief.”

The man’s bright eyes dropped to the wound on my neck, and as they narrowed, I couldn’t help but feel a strange, terrible aura come off him. The next moment the remaining daggers were thrown at my captor. Edouard managed to deflect one with the broad side of his weapon, but the other two stuck into his shoulders. The fury behind the throw sent him flying backward and pinned him to the ground.

The man in black darted forward and swept me into his arms, broom and all. “Don’t squirm too much.”

He opened his wings and leapt high into the air. I let out a gasp and pressed myself tightly against his muscular chest with the broom clutched against me. He flapped hard and we took to the air. Not to the great height from which I’d fallen, but enough that I had another view of the metropolis. The sight wasn’t quite as majestic as before, however, because the shadows of night had fallen on much of the city. Streetlamps and lit windows dotted the streets like random stars, and the populace scurried indoors against the encroaching darkness.

My rescuer glided downward at a gentle angle, using the myriad of house heights to hide us from the view of the soldiers. The sea of buildings ebbed and flowed, with large lawns and small parks dotting the landscape here and there. It was to one of the most overgrown parks that the strange man flew us.

Large gray stones ruled over a kingdom of vines and weeds. Dozens of ancient trees stretched their thick branches over the area, covering much of the ground in a cold layer of shadows. A wooden fence surrounded the park, though many of the panels had collapsed beneath the weight of the vines and time.

He landed amidst an overbearing silence and set me down. On the flight, I had lost my land legs, and when I set my feet down, I stumbled backward. My heel caught against a rock, and I tumbled onto my butt. The broom clattered to the ground between us.

In the dim light, the strange man looked down at me, and his red eyes glowed brightly in the dark. My breath caught in my throat and instinct took hold. I scuttled backward on my hands and butt until my back hit a hard stone.

The man didn’t heed my terror, but took a step forward and picked up the broom in one hand. He studied the details left by ants as his wings folded behind him. “How did you come to have this stick in your possession? Did you steal it?”