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.The gormons had a great size advantage and were able to kill three, four or five men at once with their acidic fire.Not content with fighting the soldiers, the gormons were destroying doors to houses.Pernus saw one gormon enter a palatial terrace.The sound of women and children screaming reached his ears, then silence.Exiting the home, saturated in blood that clearly was not his, the gormon looked left then right before choosing where to continue his murdering spree.Pernus sprinted along the wall, trying to help those who were battling the ghoulish beasts, Aramonius behind him, shouting advice when he could.The odors of battle assaulted Pernus’s senses—burning flesh, the metallic tang of blood and the smell of fear and vomit.Mixed in with these was the unfamiliar sulfuric, swampy stench of the gormons.“Calen!” The captain ran faster.A gormon held his young errand boy by the ankles, dangling him in the air above his open mouth, like a bunch of juicy grapes.The child flailed his arms and screamed, trying to break free.“Pernus, I’ll distract it; you try to grab the child.When you grab him, run as fast as you can.I’m going to light that Third-Realm kindling.” When they reached the duo, the dragon breathed a small spurt of fire at the gormon’s feet, but it sputtered out.“Argh!” The Third-Realm creature fixed the dragon with its red-eyed stare.“You dare interrupt my meal, you Drakon-loving lizard.I’m Embrax, third brother and priest of the great Klazich, soon-to-be co-ruler of Talia.You will bow down to me!”“Who are you calling a lizard, you slimy excuse for a worm?”The gormon flung the boy high over his shoulder and advanced on Aramonius.Pernus watched helplessly as Calen flew through the air, having no hope of getting to him in time.Luckily, a nearby archer broke his fall.The captain heard an angry roar and looked over his shoulder.Embrax was close enough to breathe his deadly fire on the red dragon.Remembering, finally, to get out of the way, Pernus ran toward where Calen had landed and grabbed one of his soldiers on the way, dragging him along.Aramonius couldn’t hold off any longer without giving the gormon a free shot.He opened his mouth wide and a torrent of flames gushed out.The dragon almost laughed at the comical expression of surprise on Embrax’s face—did he forget dragons could breathe fire, or did he think he was invincible? The dragon fire consumed his face.Once his shield dissipated, the flames galloped along his neck, arms, and down his body, dancing to the sizzle and hiss of blistering skin.Aramonius attacked again and set the gormon’s wings alight.The gormon’s wings shriveled and turned to ash.As Embrax crumpled to the ground, a mournful wail echoed across Bayerlon.The sound weighed Bayerlon down with its promise of a city doomed.Fighting stopped momentarily as the gormons listened, and the Talians looked around—to see where the threat was coming from or to look for a place to run.Pernus looked to the south.A gormon, far larger than the one they had just slain, soared toward them, fire raining down from its mouth to the hapless people below.A few of the archers fired burning arrows, but the ones that connected bounced off harmlessly.This gormon was coming for them.Pernus assessed their odds, picked up Calen and sprinted for the stairs.“Run! Regroup downstairs.Now!” As he bolted, he felt the heat of gormon fire at his back.***Death was instant—the gormon that Arcese had struck with the stone shaft grunted before it released Edmund and crashed to the floor.Finally able to breathe again, Elphus coughed and sat up, and the king dry wretched before standing.Edmund looked at Elphus and Arcese, deciding the dragon needed his aid more than the realmist.“Did they stab you? What’s wrong?”She held her hand up, indicating that he had to wait.Elphus’s gasping breaths sounded thin in the cool expanse of the underground chamber—so quiet now compared to the sound of fighting from moments ago.Edmund waited.Finally, Arcese slowly straightened.“No, I’m okay.It was just a cramp.”“The egg?”“Probably.Using too much power must be dangerous.What if I’ve hurt it?” The worry in her eyes surprised Edmund.He had never thought about the love dragons have for their young—but of course she would be upset.He caressed her folded wing.“Everything will be all right.Sit down for a moment.Let me check that there’s nothing else coming.” He peered around the corner but couldn’t see any other creatures from the Third Realm.“All clear.Can either of you walk?”Elphus rubbed his chest with the palm of his hand and took a deep breath.“I seem to be okay.Nothing broken.I could use a little help though.” The realmist rolled over to his hands and knees and pushed off the ground to kneel.Edmund grabbed his arm.“Ready? On three: one, two, three [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]