Fell Dragon
Greetings Readers!
It has been a long week but the weekend is finally here. I managed to write a little more on the last book of Fell Dragon, but not much. Turns out that when your workplace starts allowing clients to rate your work, your time slots quickly fill up with new projects. I am now fully booked to mid-October.
Anyway, here is your next chapter of Fell Dragon. A brand new race gets introduced today. Have fun.
Grumbling Saita went to her computer to turn the recording off. She realised that she had accidentally set it to loop and now had no idea how long she had been asleep. Confused, she looked at Kiai and mumbled. “How long have I been asleep?”
“A day, I wouldn’t have woken you if I didn’t need help.”
Saita scratched at her hair. “A day? I do feel better, it must have been a day.”
“Saita! Wolves!”
“Shoot them, you don’t need my help with that.” Saita undid the hair tie and started to arrange her hair less messily.
“Half my soldiers have been attacked! I need your help!” Kiai grabbed at Saita and pulled her along.
“Your soldiers can’t be that good if they are bested by wolves.”
“I wouldn’t need your help if they were plain wolves.”
Finally, the fog of sleep lifted from Saita’s vision, and she heard the screams. The screams were not from the outside, they were too deep in the compound. These wolves were inside.
“How the hell…”
Saita was interrupted as a clawed hand shot out from the hallway and made to grab at Kiai. The woman froze in shock, but Saita didn’t. The arm was ripped from the body before the claws were used to separate the head from the shoulders. Saita got her first look at the natives of the planet. Wolves. Big, much taller than her and muscular like a man. They were clearly bipedal.
“Go back to my room,” she instructed her cousin. “Now!”
She then grabbed the head and ran to where she heard the most screaming. It was the mess hall. As soon as she stepped into the room, she banged the doors closed and threw the head into the air for it to land among the creatures which were trying to round up the humans to do what was anyone’s guess. The banging doors had interrupted them, and they turned to look at the head that flew through the air which bounced a few times before coming to rest at the feet of a large black wolf. The wolf tilted his head a little as if unsure who was before him but then Saita saw the realisation dawn on his face.
It looked up at her and growled. All the others growled. There were six in total with him being the biggest. They abandoned their human prey and turned to come at Saita. She was momentarily frozen. She hadn’t thought this through. Six against one. They had claws, teeth and clearly the advantage of height and strength and she was just human. Human...no, she was less, she was a monster, and she would fight monsters her way.
“I may not look it, but I have my own claws and teeth,” she warned.
The black wolf stopped and then got to its hind legs. It towered over her. The other five continued to stalk forward before he barked at them. All but one stopped. The one who was the mate of the one killed. He growled but she still stalked forward, unaware of the danger she was placing herself in. The creature before them was not like the soft fleshy things they had torn through earlier. Their metal machines had hurt and could kill but this one did not carry a weapon yet the feeling of power that came from it was blinding.
“Last warning,” said Saita as she looked at the grey wolf stalking off to her left.
The grey wolf leapt, and Saita turned to place a flat hand against its chest. It was at that moment that she saw the fear in the animal’s face as the wind ripped through its chest. Spraying those behind it with internal organ pieces. It flew back and Saita could only look on in surprise, but she didn’t have much time to marvel at the power as the black beast latched itself onto her right arm with a crunch.
However, it wasn’t her arm that went crunch as much as its teeth shattered as it bit into the metal bones. Both of them howled in pain. The black beast released its prey and skipped backwards nursing its mouth. Saita gritted her teeth and gripped her bleeding arm. Somehow the beast’s bite hadn’t managed to tear her arteries open, but it hurt, and her head swum. She quickly remembered her mother’s technique and distanced herself from the pain. Once the pain faded from her mind, she drew herself up to her full height. Her mind was a flurry of thoughts on how to face wolves. What had Aleux’s books said about their hierarchy?
“Your bones are steel.” said the black wolf as it pawed at its mouth with clawed fingers.
For a moment Saita was sure her mind was delirious with pain, and she blinked a few times.
“But you bleed. You are not machine,” it growled as it spat broken teeth from its mouth.
“I guess,” she mumbled, not sure of what else to say.
The mess hall was starting to fill with soldiers who looked like they were planning to shoot the wolves. The black one looked at the two dead ones that already lay on the floor then looked down at Saita.
“You win,” it said. “Stupid our clan was.”
“You’re native?”
It shook its head. “Native?”
“Live on the planet.”
“You are the first to speak to us,” it said as it nodded its head. “Yet you stink of fear. You have always stunk of fear and pain.”
Saita realised that though she had never sensed them they had clearly been watching her as she ran in the forest. They had waited to make a move and now they were here.
“You are machine and meat,” it said. “Not like the meat that carries metal.”
Saita indicated that the soldiers should lower their weapons.
“Not wise.” said the wolf.
“We have invaded your home. Your planet. Is that why you attacked?” she asked.
“Why does meat care?” barked one wolf.
“Well, the meat surrounding you will kill you,” said Saita slowly, trying to match the tone and speed at which they spoke.
The black one growled and said. “Leader fights!”
“I don’t understand.”
“You take our food. Take our place. Leaders must fight.”
Saita shook her right arm; it didn’t hurt but the blood was flowing steadily and soon she would become lightheaded.
“No. We can bargain,” she said.
“We do not bargain with thieves.”
Again, the guns were raised and Saita ordered them to lower them. This time no one listened.
“Ah! You are not the leader.” it grinned. “You hold no power.”
Saita had never been trained to deal with this kind of situation before. She had been raised a fighter but now everything screamed in her that this could be dealt with diplomatically.
“Bargain with me or they will shoot.” she simply said. “I am not their leader; you are right but…”
She indicated to the bodies on the floor. “I can and will fight.”
The black wolf went to all fours and growled; fur raised on end. Guns were cocked and his ears flicked to the noise. There were whines from the other wolf creatures. The black brute turned and looked at those that remained with him. There was a grumble in his throat, and he spat one word. “Fine.”
Saita stepped away from the door and all the guns were trained on the beasts.
“Let them leave unharassed,” said Saita softly.
The soldiers bellowed their disapproval and all Saita said was. “We stole their planet. We can’t blame them for this.”
Guns were lowered this time and the wolves relaxed but Saita didn’t. She had no idea if what she had done was right, but she was holding to her choice. The brute looked at her just once with what seemed to be amusement before saying. “You, Metal-Meat, speak well. This problem is not going away.”
“I will seek you out tonight. At the wood’s edge. You and me. We will bargain with our leaders present.” whispered Saita as he walked past her.
“Deal.”
“Leave them!” Saita shouted. “Don’t harm them.”
Then she said to the last wolf that stalked past. “I will count the humans lost today.”
“Two,” it growled at her. “We count too.”
Saita pointed at two soldiers to follow the wolves out and then to go get Kiai from her room. She then organised that the remaining soldiers do a full report on how the beasts had entered the underground compound as well as counting the dead. Then she sat down on a bench and cradled her bitten arm to her chest. The bite wounds were deep, all the way to the bone, and it bled far more than what she thought it should have. Her head was spinning, and she set her back against the table to prevent her from falling over forward. She was leaning back on her elbows when Kiai joined her.
“I heard you were hurt. Why are you not in the sickbay?”
“Don’t feel the pain. This technique is double-edged. Still bleeding but with no pain...my head is spinning.” Saita held her head in her left hand and groaned. “I think I am going to pass out.”
“Come on.” Kiai took the uninjured arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Let’s get you looked at.”
She avoided looking at the damage caused in the mess hall.
Saita yawned as the doctor sealed the wounds in her arm. She was bored and somewhat tired. As long as she remained conscious the pain from the wounds would not bother her in the least. As the doctor worked Saita was telling her cousin about the creatures and Kiai was a nervous wreck.
“This is going to bring Karesh and more soldiers. I didn’t want more of his soldiers here.” she was marching up and down.
“Hey.” Saita twisted her head to look at Kiai as she paced. “I just had a brain fart.”
“You are lightheaded from blood loss. I don’t think any idea coming from your brain would be any good right now.”
“Dad should know that I am here,” Saita said with a grin.
“Are you insane!?” yelled Kiai.
“I might be but hear me out.” Saita tried to turn, pulling the needle and thread from the doctor. “Oops.”
“Madam Kiai please can you keep her still.” begged the doctor.
Kiai came to sit before Saita and the doctor resumed his work. Saita drank from a glass of water before starting again. “I need to be visible.”
“Why?” Kiai begged. “I can’t afford…”
“Those wolves will be back and if they get into the compound next time, they will slaughter people in their sleep. They seemed somewhat scared of me.”
“And what does that have to do with your father?”
“Beg for me to come here. Protect you. How could he refuse?”
“No!” Kiai said sternly. “You are not lucid right now. Do you realise what will happen if he comes here and he sees you? He will instantly be suspicious, and he will not trust you. My whole plan will be for nothing. We will need to find another way to deal with the natives.”
“If Father finds out you lost soldiers he will come here and he will destroy every single one of those wolves.” Saita leaned her head forward and placed it on her left arm. “I feel like I am about the vomit.”
“You are as white as a sheet,” said Kiai. “You need to rest.”
“You need to decide what you are going to tell Father,” mumbled Saita as she looked up. “How many humans were killed?”
“Surprisingly, no one was killed. Mostly frightened and some injured but you are the worst injured.”
“I killed two,” she mumbled. “This is their planet and I just killed two. They were only defending that which is theirs.”
“If you plan to vomit then at least do not do it over the surgical area.” said the doctor as he looked up from Saita’s arm.
Saita sat up and accepted the dustbin that Kiai offered yet fought not to be sick. “We need to think of something before Father catches wind of this.”
“A soldier told me that you agreed to meet the wolves…”
“Leaders need to talk…”
“Well over my dead body!” said Kiai.
“That’s why I am going to go.”
The doctor wrapped her arm, and she could finally sit back. “If I can calm them into thinking that we meant no harm. This will become a hospital planet, whether they like it or not. I’m offering them a way to live with those that will come.”
“You are insane from blood loss. You cannot possibly think that I would let you do this.”
“I do it or you do it. They will not stop. I killed two of their clan. There will be retribution if there is no communication.”
Kiai knew that this was true, but she grimaced at the thought of those claws that flashed for a moment on her face.
“You are welcome to stop me. The meeting is tonight.” Saita got to her feet rather unsteadily. “But you have seen what I can do now. Do you want to stand in my way?”
“Not really but I don’t know if this is a good idea. I have to come with you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that as we need to bargain with our leaders.” Saita grinned maniacally.
Enter the Vulpine, I loved designing this race. As of next week you'll get to know more about them.
For those of you just joining us, please note that this is the follow on book from Fell Dragon. Follow this link to read it
Fell Dragon Book 1
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
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Haven't read the other parts yet? Follow these handy links:
Part 13>>You are Here>>Part 15