The Wings of Dragons: Book One of the Dragoon Saga Read Online Free Page A

not work
against the Quodivar. My last mission proved this. Instead, I will
assemble a small team, an elite force of Haldessa’s finest. With
this team we shall seek out the Quodivar and battle them the way
they battle us: with stealth and cunning. I come here tonight to
name the two men with whom I intend to enter battle. I will trust
these two with my life, and with the fate of Lodia
itself.”
    A young boy near the front cried excitedly,
“Who? Who will save us along with you, Captain Angustion?”
    Amroth smiled kindly at the child,
apparently not begrudging the interruption at all. “The first is a
man whom you all know as a fine swordsman, a capable leader, and a
loyal companion: Sergeant Balear Platarch!”
    The crowd cheered heartily, and Balear,
seated about midway between Amroth and the back of the room, stood
and waved his hand with an embarrassed gesture. He bore the vacant
expression of someone who had clearly drunk too much. Amroth
motioned for him to come to the platform and stand beside him.
Balear tripped more than once, but in the end he reached his
beloved commander.
    Across the room, Iren arrived at the
chandelier’s cord. He spun the knife in his hand expectantly. He
would time it just as Amroth finished his speech. The moment they
stepped off the stage, he would cut the cord and drop the
chandelier. It would crash horrendously behind them, everyone would
gasp, and he would have the pleasure of watching both Amroth and
Balear pick themselves off the floor.
    When the cheers calmed, Amroth became
contemplative as he said, “The second person I have chosen you all
know well, and yet, I would guess, also do not know at all. I have
thought long and hard on this choice. I do not make it lightly. I
make it for the sake of Lodia, for we must have the best to succeed
in this endeavor. For the final of my group I have chosen Iren
Saitosan!”
    The shouts of praise died in the crowd’s
throats. Iren whipped his head up, utterly shocked, and then it
happened. As his body jerked to face the captain, his hand swung
downward. The sharpened carving knife sliced through the
chandelier’s rope without pause.
    Only Amroth’s quick reactions saved him from
death. When he’d called Iren’s name, he had turned to face the lad,
revealing that he’d known all along where Iren was. Reaching out,
the captain grabbed Balear by the sleeve and tugged hard. The pair
spilled over the dais just as the chandelier smashed down,
splintering the stage, the light fixture, and all the musical
instruments into countless pieces. Shards rained over the audience,
but fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
    As the crowd slowly recovered, all eyes
turned to Iren. He gulped at their faces. Some looked at him with
fear, others with loathing, and still more with blank stares
pretending he didn’t exist at all.
    King Azuluu slammed his meaty hands on
either side of his throne. “Seize him!” he roared. “Bring him
forward to meet the justice of Lodia!”
    Two Castle Guard members approached Iren.
Though they looked like touching him was the last thing they wanted
to do, they grabbed him roughly and shoved him on his knees before
the king, Amroth, and Balear.
    “ Too long have we suffered
your antics! Now you’ve nearly killed the heir to the throne!” The
king swung his fat fist. “I took you in when any other man would
have let you die, filthy Left orphan dog. This is the thanks I get
for my kindness. Well, it ends here. Justice!
Execution!”
    The crowd cheered, their faces gleaming with
sadistic glee. The denizens of Haldessa enjoyed nothing more than a
public beheading.
    Iren scowled at the unfairness of it all. He
hadn’t meant to hurt anyone; it was just a mistake of timing. The
oaf only wanted an excuse to get rid of him.
    “ My liege, please do not do
that.”
    Iren’s eyes leapt to the speaker: none other
than Captain Amroth Angustion himself. He had spoken quietly, so
that only Balear, Azuluu, Iren, and the guards