BLOOD OF THE DRAGON GOD

Chapter 7: The Blind Spot

The dark did not hide the killers, it just gave them a head start.

The shadows along the archive wall stretched longer as the armored boots came closer. Logan stood in front of Vivienne, his knuckles white around the heavy iron candle stand, ready to swing at the first throat that came through the archway.

Suddenly, a massive figure crashed through the side doorway, a giant steel broadsword swinging in a lethal circle.

Move, you idiots, Captain Garrick roared, his voice cutting through the damp air like a thunderclap.

Garrick, Vivienne gasped, her hand flying to her chest. How did you find us?

I have been tracking these robed freaks for three weeks while you two were busy playing scholar in the dust, Garrick barked, blocking a sudden crossbolt bolt with his steel gauntlet. The main force is right behind me. We are outnumbered twenty to one. Move your legs.

Where do we go? The stairs are blocked, Logan said, knocking down a charging cultist with a quick kick to the knee.

Up there, Garrick ordered, pointing his massive blade toward a rusting iron grate high on the crumbling brick wall. It is an old ventilation shaft from the old foundry. It leads straight out to the lower stables. Logan, break that grate.

Logan did not hesitate. He sprang onto the oak table, using his enhanced strength to drive his heel into the rusted iron. The metal gave way with a loud crunch, leaving a dark, narrow opening. He reached down, grabbing Vivienne by the waist and pulling her up into the tight shaft before turning to give Garrick a hand.

Get moving, Garrick muttered, squeezing his massive shoulders into the tight brick space just as a dozen red robed figures flooded the archive floor below, their blades hissing as they cut the empty air.

They crawled through the suffocating darkness, the scent of old soot and dry dirt filling their lungs. Logan led the way, his dragon vision helping him navigate the tight turns until the shaft slope tilted downward. They slid out one by one, landing heavily into a pile of fresh straw inside the deserted rear stables of the knights' quarters.

Garrick dropped onto the dirt floor, coughing up a mouthful of gray dust. He immediately barred the stable door with a heavy wooden beam and turned his sharp eyes toward Logan.

You are a clumsy idiot, Logan, the captain said, wiping sweat from his scarred forehead. But you have your father's timing.

Logan froze, his hand dropping from his leather vest. My father? He was just a low-ranking border guard who died in a skirmish.

That is the lie the academy told you to keep you quiet, Garrick said, walking over to a wooden water trough and splashing his face. I served with your father, Brandon, twenty years ago on the western peaks. He carried the exact same dragon crest you have burning under your shirt right now. I knew what you were the second you stepped into my courtyard.

Vivienne looked between the two men, her jaw dropping. You knew this entire time? And you still let him train in the open courtyard?

The high mages are arrogant, Vivienne, Garrick said, his tone turning dead serious. They only see what they expect to see. They expected a weak peasant boy, so that is all they saw. If I kept him hidden in a dungeon, Eldon would have known something was wrong within an hour. The safest place for a wild card is right under the dealer's nose.

Why didn't you tell me? Logan asked, anger flaring in his chest. I thought I was going crazy. I thought my own body was turning against me.

Because you needed to learn to control the human side first, Garrick snapped, stepping close enough that Logan could smell the old leather and iron on his armor. If you rely on the dragon blood every time you get scared, the magic will consume your mind. Your father learned that the hard way. You need to be a soldier before you can be a beast.

Vivienne pulled the silver scroll container from Logan's vest, holding it out to the captain. We found this in the circle. It has the royal treasury seal. Malakor has an insider.

Garrick took the container, his face darkening as he inspected the golden wax. This is worse than I thought. Malakor isn't just trying to overthrow the king. These specific rituals are designed to rip a tear in the dimensional barriers. He is actively trying to summon an abyssal vanguard to weaken the city defenses from the inside out.

An abyssal vanguard? Logan asked. What is that?

Monsters from the dark world, Vivienne whispered, her voice trembling slightly. Things that eat magic and flesh. If they get past the outer walls, the city will fall in a single night.

Then we tell the king right now, Logan said, turning toward the door.

We do not know who to trust, Logan, Garrick said, grabbing his shoulder. The treasury seal means the traitor sits at Alistair's right hand. If we walk into the throne room with this, we might be handing it straight to the man who paid for it.

Before Logan could answer, a massive, deafening explosion rocked the entire stronghold.

The ground beneath their feet violently shook, throwing stable buckets across the dirt floor and causing the horses in the far stalls to scream in terror. A bright orange glow lit up the high windows, reflecting off the stone walls of the courtyard outside.

It came from the lower districts, Vivienne said, scrambling up to look through a gap in the wooden boards. The warehouse sector is on fire.

A second later, a sound cut through the roaring flames. It was a terrifying, high-pitched screech that echoed from the distance, a sound that was completely non-human, filled with a cold, unnatural hunger that made the hairs on Logan’s arms stand straight up.

They are already here, Garrick said, drawing his broadsword as the distant screams of the citizens began to fill the night air.