A Joust of Knights (Book #16 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

A Joust of Knights (Book #16 in the Sorcerer's Ring) by Morgan Rice Page B

Book: A Joust of Knights (Book #16 in the Sorcerer's Ring) by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online
Authors: Morgan Rice
sweeping his feet out from under
him.
    As other soldiers ran and swung for him,
he jumped high in the air, missing one sword slash, then brought his staff
straight down, jabbing the man in the back of the neck and felling him.
    On and on he went, spinning and slashing
and jabbing and ducking, a whirlwind, creating havoc in every direction and disarming
one after the next, and then felling each one.
    As he knocked down the last of them, he
stepped forward and held the tip of his staff at the man’s throat, pinning him
to the ground. He slowly surveyed the battlefield, the dozen soldiers all disarmed,
on their backs or hands and knees, groaning, and he looked over at the Empire taskmaster
and grinned.
    “I believe the boy is mine,” he said.
    The taskmaster turned and stormed away,
and the man turned and met Darius’s gaze. He was the most noble and skilled
warrior Darius had ever laid eyes upon, and he felt in awe to be in his
presence. It was the first time a man had ever risked his life for him, and he
hardly knew what to say.
    He didn’t have time, though, because the
mysterious man turned abruptly and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Darius
baffled. Who was this man? And why would he risk his life for him?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
     
     
    Thor held tight to Lycoples’s neck,
gripping his rough scales as they soared through the air, exhilarated to be
riding on the back of a dragon again. They tore through the air at full speed, the
clouds whipping Thor in the face, as they raced for the pack of gargoyles on
the horizon carrying Guwayne. Thor burned with determined to retrieve his son,
so close now, finally, urging Lycoples on to ever greater speeds.
    “Faster!” Thor prodded.
    Lycoples flapped her wings again and
again, lowering her head, equally determined to save Thor’s son.
    Thor felt elated to be riding with
Mycoples and Ralibar’s offspring—it made him feel as if he were back with Mycoples
again. He had missed her terribly every day since she’d died, and riding with
her offspring made him feel restored. There was also no more exhilarating
feeling than flying through the air, moving at such speed, crossing oceans in
days when it would take ships moons. It made him feel invincible once again. He
felt light, as fast as a bird, with nothing left in the world to stand in his
way.
    Thorgrin also felt an intense connection
with Lycoples, a very different energy than with her mother. Lycoples was much
smaller, still young, half the size of a full-grown dragon, and she flew with an
awkward passion, bounding through the air, not quite in full control of all her
powers yet. Flying on her back, he felt new life coming into the world again,
the birth of a new race unfolding before him.
    Thorgrin also found himself easily able
to share his thoughts and feelings with her, and he knew she sensed his urgency
to find Guwayne. She flapped furiously without his needing to prod, going faster
than he could ask her to. They flew so fast that he could barely catch his
breath, dipping in and out of the clouds, closing in on the gargoyles. Thor
clutched her scales while with his free hand he gripped the Sword of the Dead.
He could feel it throbbing in his hand, eager for blood.
    They began to close in, getting closer to
the pack of gargoyles, now but a hundred yards away, and Thorgrin wondered
where they were flying to, where they were so eager to take Guwayne. As he squinted
he could see Guwayne, dangling from the claws of one of those creatures at the
head of the pack. Were they really taking him to the Land of Blood? If so, why?
    Thor looked out at the horizon and saw
nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see; he saw no Land of Blood. Had Ragon been mistaken? Were those just the words of a dying man?
    Suddenly, Thorgrin was surprised to see
the huge flock of gargoyles split in two, half of them circling back and racing
to confront him, while the other half continued on. As they approached he got a
good look at them and could

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