Doomraga's Revenge Read Online Free Page B

fire. When at last the onslaught ceased, he lifted his head again. Surveying the ferocious dragons, he declared, “Flames you have, my cousins. Flames and power! But I ask you—what good are they? Are such great gifts worth no more than this, to spend them on lives of thieving and murdering? Is there no greater calling for dragons, the most wondrous creatures in any realm of any world?”
    He paused, letting his words hover on the night air. Lowering his voice to a deep rumble, he asked, “Why not use your great power for something else, something more worthy? Why not use them for the good of all?”
    A few of the dragons, including Lo Valdearg, snorted with contempt or laughed out loud. But Basilgarrad’s steady gaze did not waver. Over on the crater, Merlin nodded in agreement, while Hallia and Krystallus poked their heads above the rim to watch.
    “I ask you, fellow dragons,” continued Basilgarrad, “what is a life of conquest but an empty egg? If everything you own has been stolen from others or ripped from the land, what value have you created? True value—and yes, true greatness—lies not in what we take, but what we give.”
    Surprisingly, a few of the dragons looked anxiously at each other. Another few, feeling the sting of his words, cocked their heads in thought. A small but growing murmur of uncertainty began to rise around the circle.
    “Ignore that treachery!” Lo Valdearg’s voice thundered, echoing on the volcanic ridges around them. As the largest dragon in the ring—even bigger than the orange leader, though still smaller than Basilgarrad—he spoke with commanding authority. All the other dragons turned his way. “For treachery it is.”
    Emboldened by the vastly superior numbers on his side, Lo Valdearg took a few steps forward. Facing the green intruder who had dared to challenge the dragons’ ways, he roared, “You are nothing but a tool—a pet of that wizard over there. He controls your life, not you! And a dragon should be free. Or he is not really a dragon at all!”
    Almost all the dragons around the ring nodded their heads. Several banged their huge tails against the ground, thumping their approval.
    Looking straight into the intruder’s eyes, Lo Valdearg sneered, “You dishonor all your kind. Look at you, green pet! Why, you can’t even breathe fire.”
    Several of the surrounding dragons grunted in surprise. Though only Merlin noticed, Basilgarrad himself winced ever so slightly.
    “That’s right,” Lo Valdearg went on. “He may be big, but he’s still just a Green from Woodroot. He couldn’t light a little campfire, let alone make a powerful blaze. No wonder he preaches peace—he’s not fit for war!”
    Without warning, the scarlet dragon blew a raging breath of fire straight at his foe. So great was the hot blast that Merlin was nearly blown over backward into the crater. But Basilgarrad did not retreat. He merely turned his face away momentarily and took the full force of the attack on the scales of his neck and chest. When the flames died down, he slowly turned back to face Lo Valdearg.
    “You really are stupid.” Basilgarrad shook his head. “Even more stupid than you look. And that’s nearly impossible.”
    At that, Lo Valdearg blew another searing blast at his face. At the same time, he charged with frightening speed, aiming to sink his teeth into any part of Basilgarrad’s body. If only one of those teeth cracked a scale—that would be a grievous wound.
    Simultaneously, the orange dragon called to the others, “Help Lo Valdearg! Vanquish the enemy!”
    Heeding the command, every dragon in the ring rushed forward. Teeth bared, they blew a torrent of flames. So fast did they move, they were on their enemy in a flash.
    Not fast enough, though. Basilgarrad spun away from Lo Valdearg with surprising speed, then did something completely unexpected. Bracing his immense body, he whipped his mighty tail—and wrapped it around the scarlet dragon’s neck. With a