Dragon Breeder 3 by Dante King (e novels to read online .TXT) 📕

“They allowed our legions to take the fortress, yes,” Penelope said patiently, “but, in the process, they also painted themselves into a corner.”

“The kobolds probably think that the Empire has sent as many troops as they can presently,” Jazmyn said. “Now that they have Elenari, Antou, and all of our soldiers penned up, they’re probably not too fuckin’ bothered about biding their time and wearing them down. They have the numbers to lose ten times the amount of fighters that Elenari and Antou can and not rue it.”

Renji made a deep affirmative sound. “I think you’re right. What is more, they have those to help them.”

It was obvious what she meant by ‘those’ for, at that moment, there was a shrieking, snarling chorus of roars and three wild dragons flapped out onto the plain from where they had been lurking in the shadows cast by a hill of rubble and boulders of the mighty skeletal ruin. The trio were made up of one gold, one silver, and one black dragon. The black was by far the largest, and for a moment, I thought that it must surely be another Onyx.

“No,” Noctis said. “It lacks my scale-sheen. It is more matte, can you not see?”

“I don’t have your eyes, not all of their power at any rate,” I said. “What kind do you think it is then?”

“It is an Opal Dragon, I believe,” Noctis ventured, in his deep, rolling croon. “Though it has been many a long age since I have laid eyes upon a dragon of that kind. I might be wrong. If it is, then I recommend not taking it lightly. The Opals were a vulpine and duplicitous breed.”

The golden dragon was the smallest of the trio in build, but it looked to be the quickest. It moved in the short, sharp bursts of a gecko or skink. The silver creature lumbered along with a strange rolling gate that made me think it was more at home in the air than on the ground.

I gritted my teeth as I watched the three mighty beasts tramp toward the back of the kobold lines.

“It looks like the wild dragons are giving the kobolds the orders,” Renji said thoughtfully.

Saya barked a laugh that was almost a snarl. “That’s where worshipping and idolizing, rather than building relationships of mutual respect, gets you. The fucking kobolds probably wanted to make their gods happy by luring in a nice snack in the form of our soldiers.”

“I think that’s probably what it boils down to, yes, Saya,” Penelope said.

“So, now the dumb shits are caught between a rock and a hard place, right?” I said, shaking my head. “If they fight and lose against Elenari and her soldiers, then they die. If they fight and things look like they’re going badly and they try to run, I bet those three dragons will just turn on them and eat them as the easier option.”

“My people have always said that if you dance with demons, then you should prepare to have your toes trodden on,” Saya muttered, grinding her teeth audibly.

“Can we stop talking and get down there and help?” Tamsin hissed.

“We’re not just going to go in there with our heads down and horns on show and hope for the fuckin’ best,” Jazmyn said sternly. “That isn’t the way that dragonmancers conduct their affairs. That’s not what makes us elite.”

“Jaz is right,” said Ashrin. “We’ll move in closer and assess just how we can turn the tide. The ratfolk might be dumb enough that nine times out of ten they could throw themselves to the floor and miss, but not so the kobolds.”

“And these kobolds are guided by dragons,” Jazmyn added.

Chapter 22

The seven of us dropped down from the perch that our dragons had taken and flew through the intervening airspace that divided us from the kobold army. We stayed high and silent, and our dragons made sure to flap their wings as little as possible.

Luckily, the numerous massive, smoking bonfires of the kobolds, fueled by some sort of peat in the place of wood, supplied all the updrafts and convection currents that such skilled flyers could ever need. The smoke also gave us cover, although it also limited our visibility.

I led the way and dropped Pan to land in the very pile of huge boulders that the wild dragons had recently vacated. The enemy dragons, and the kobolds they drove on like cattle before them, did not notice us land only a few hundred yards to their rear.

“Shit, look at them go,” Jazmyn said, her eyes wide with awe as she watched the silver and gold dragon take to the air.

The pair of glittering beasts, shining in the smoky light cast by the bonfires, flapped up into the air and headed for the defenders on the wall.

Now that we were closer, I could make out individual helmet-covered heads up on the wall. As the dragons neared, the defenders turned to face them, and a hail of longbow shafts leaped up to meet them. From our vantage point, they seemed little more than matchsticks rising to meet the mythical gold and silver killing machines. However, having spent as much time on the archery range as we had, my fellow dragonmancers and I were well aware of just how deadly dangerous Imperial yew longbows could be.

The bows had a draw weight of one hundred pounds and could shoot a bodkin point arrow up to three hundred and fifty yards. Once an arrow had completed this impressive journey, it struck its target with enough energy to punch through mail, armor, and, if they struck the right spot between scales, dragonhide.

They were dangerous weapons in the right hands. Our preceptors had gone to great lengths to drill into us just how dangerous they were to both dragonmancer and