Dragon Bones And Tombstones (Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

sure Brenwar’s keen eyes would pick it out. The creature's head turned my way again, tilted, and paused. Now my heart was racing. I saw the white of its teeth. A set of fangs in particular. Its body stiffened, and something fluttered at its side. It looked as if the ape-like creature had— wings! It came closer, wading into the stream, big fists splashing in the water.
    I didn’t move. I didn’t dare move. The last thing you should do when you are facing the unknown is panic. Or move, until you figure out what that move is going to be. My bow was ready. It was just another extension to my body after years of practice and training. If the winged ape made any sudden moves, I would shoot a pointed feather into it. But this thing was big, much bigger than me, and I wasn’t going to start a fight with it if I didn’t have to. It’s not like it was an orc or a lizard man. If that were the case, I’d have shot ten times already.
    It growled, spread its wings, pounded its chest, and charged.

 
    CHAPTER 4
     
     
    My first shot zinged over the ape’s head. Not because my aim was off, but because it wasn’t. That thing was fast. Really fast, almost as fast as me, I hated to admit. My second shot hit it in the pack of muscles in its shoulder and bounced off like a toothpick hitting a wall of stone. You see, there’s a difference between the three types of arrows I use: non-magic arrows for hunting, mithril ones that can shoot through almost anything, and enchanted ones with special abilities. I didn’t need a magic one ninety-nine times out of a hundred, but I needed one right now.
    Drat!
    And the third shot, a magic arrow from my quiver, well that wasn’t going to happen. The ape was too close, too quick, and just a few yards from rushing into me. I hooked my bow Akron over my shoulders. The dwarven armor Brenwar made me had a design for that. I braced myself for impact, reaching down to wrap my hand around the hilt of my sword, Fang.
    Too late, Dragon!  
    Brenwar jumped from the reeds and slammed his war-hammer into the ape’s chest, drawing forth a howl of anger. Brenwar was a couple hundred pounds of solid brawn facing eight hundred pounds of raw muscle.
    The ape snatched Brenwar from the waters of the stream,  hoisted him over its head, and hurled him like a log that disappeared into the woods.
    Brenwar would never live that down if we lived to tell about it, and I wasn’t ready to die without recounting it one last time.
    I ripped Fang from his scabbard and thrust at the ape’s belly.
    It jumped over top of me, landed in the stream, and kicked me in the back with its feet.
    I slammed into a boulder, and Fang almost slipped from my grip. I held on as I fought to regain the wind that was knocked out of me. Whatever that thing was, it was strong, fast―a real monster. Not as big as many I’ve faced but still bigger than me.
    It came at me again, face full of fury, its black eyes intelligent and cunning. A real killer.
    I chopped.
    It twisted.
    I stabbed.
    It jumped.
    I cut.
    It ducked.
    I pressed the attack.
    It howled as I clipped its arm. It shuffled backward, spread its wings, and flew away, disappearing into the night. 
    Eyes skyward, I stood, alone, basking in the light of my sword's glow, looking skyward. Where did that thing go? I whirled around as Brenwar burst forth from the brush, brandishing his hammer.
    “Where is that thing! Nobody! Not nothing, not anything throws a dwarf without permission! Especially when yer not a dwarf!” 
    “I think I scared it away,” I said, sheathing my sword. My leg was aching more now than ever and started to bleed again. “What was that, Brenwar? Any idea at all?”
    The once quiet forest was alive and well now. The night owls hooted, and the pixies were singing. Of course, the pixies often disguised themselves as crickets and such. It was really hard to tell the difference.
    “I don’t know what that was,” Brenwar said. “It’s not any part of the lore that