The Wrath of the Lizard Lord by Jon Mayhew

earth.
    ‘They’re killing everyone!’ he gasped. ‘Quickly – give me that knife.’
    With trembling hands he sawed at the door’s thick reeds, which seemed to be tough as iron. More gunfire echoed and then a deep hissing roar made Dakkar pause and stare out between the boards.
    In the clearing stood a lizard, a biped, smaller than the one that had chased them up the tree. It pinned a wounded giant down with one powerful leg and sank its teeth into the poor man’s neck. Dakkar stared in horror – the lizard was harnessed and bridled like a horse, and a man sat on its back, wearing the black uniform of Count Cryptos.

Chapter Fourteen
    Cold Fury
    Dakkar slashed at the door’s bindings with trembling hands, pausing to rattle at the planks now and then in the vain hope that they had come apart.
    ‘What’re you playin’ at?’ Mary said. ‘There’s shootin’ goin’ on out there!’
    ‘Those men are evil,’ Dakkar spat. ‘They’re slaughtering Gog’s people. We’ve got to stop them.’
    ‘Stop them?’ Mary said faintly.
    ‘At last!’ Dakkar hissed as the reeds finally snapped and the door sagged on one hinge. He gripped it and threw his weight backward, tearing the door out of its frame.
    The scene outside horrified him. Giant bodies lay strewn around the camp. Fires smoked in the rush roofs of the huts. Dakkar swallowed hard and blinked back the stinging sensation in his eyes. Anger boiled up inside him.
    Scanning around, he counted six mounted Cryptos guards harrying a circle of giants that strove to protect the remaining children. He noticed that the women had grabbed spears and clubs too. One Cryptos guard lay crushed under his lizard, obviously a victim of Gog’s mighty club. Another lay further away, nearer the scrum, a huge spear pinning him to the ground.
    ‘Dakkar, you can’t!’ Mary shouted behind him. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
    ‘I’ll not stand by and watch women and children being murdered,’ he snapped, running over to the fallen guard.
    Dakkar squatted down, snatching the rifle from the dead man’s hands. He pulled the pistol from his belt and grabbed the powder horn. Then he backed into the hut, dragging Mary with him.
    ‘Load this,’ he said, pushing the pistol into her hands. ‘If any guards come in here, shoot them.’
    Once he’d loaded his rifle, he ran out into the clearing again. The Cryptos guards were occupied with attacking the giants and wouldn’t expect an attack from behind. Even in the short time it had taken Dakkar to load the rifle, two more giants had fallen. He needed to use the element of surprise to fullest effect.
    Glancing down, he saw that the other fallen guard’s rifle lay primed and ready on the ground. The dead man held a round metal ball in his hand. A grenade!
    Six guards , Dakkar thought, grabbing the grenade. Two rifles and this. I’ll have to shoot well!
    He straightened the fuse on the grenade and poked it into the fire that smouldered nearby. The fuse spat and flicked into life. Dakkar’s heart pounded as he waited. If he threw it too soon, the men might have time to kick it away or rip out the fuse. If he waited too long, it would explode as he threw it, maiming or killing him. The spark ate through the black fuse. As it reached halfway, Dakkar threw the grenade as hard as he could.
    The grenade whirled across the clearing and cracked one of the guards on the back of the head. Another turned as the bomb exploded with an ear-shattering bang. Shards of hot metal peppered the next guard, sending him flying from his saddle. The lizard he had been riding gave a shriek and fell on top of him, lashing its tail into a third rider.
    Dakkar dropped to the ground and fired the first rifle. He grinned as his shot clipped the fourth rider, who fell. Dakkar snatched up the second gun.
    The confusion had stunned the guards but also some of the giants, who cowered as the last roar of the grenade faded. But Gog had recovered and swung his huge club at