Red Dragon

Episode II Return of the Dragon

Chapter 12 Dragon’s Bane

Melissa ducked beneath the blade of the Sea Warrior and drove her dagger into his guts, then whirling she caught the blade of the man behind her on her own sword. Driving forward she slammed her foot into her opponent’s knee. The crunch of cartilage was lost in the man’s scream. She cut it short by jabbing the point of her sword into his throat. Two more men lunged toward her, but suddenly halted as a dozen darts pierced their bodies. She lowered her sword. Surveying the carnage about her she decided that all threats had been eliminated. Carefully wiping the blade on the cloak of one of the dead men, she returned it to its scabbard.

Several young women immediately surrounded her. “We did it, mistress,” said one of them, nursing a cut on her upper arm.

“Yes, Jerriah,” Melissa said wryly. “We did indeed. But we better do it with more skill next time.” She placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder and took a quick look at the wound. “A nasty gash. Get it looked after. There’s no telling where that sword might have been.”

“Gather their weapons and armour,” she said to the other women. There were twenty young women in all. That was about as many as Melissa wanted to bring on any raiding expedition. Her troop did not yet have enough discipline to operate in numbers larger than that. Because of that she was forced to concentrate on small targets, such as the half dozen Sea Warriors she had ambushed today. Unfortunately, it turned out that there were more than six of the enemy. The farm they had turned into a barracks had hidden another eight men in the barn. The plan had been simple. Set fire to the house and when the warriors emerged shower them with missiles.

It was a plan that had worked before, but when eight other men had emerged from the barn the ambush had turned into a melee. Melissa had been forced to charge into the fray to prevent her inexperienced charges from being cut to pieces. Fortunately, none of the enemy had been armed with missile weapons and Melissa’s female warrior band had enough sense to remain at a distance and use their darts and bows to deal with the warriors while Melissa charged forward and kept them busy. But it had been a near thing. The Sea Warriors were becoming more clever. Melissa’s hit and run tactics had resulted in them moving about in much larger numbers. It reduced their ability to control the country, but made it more difficult for her to continue her harassment of the invaders.

“Soon,” she thought. Soon she would be able to take her troops out in larger numbers. They were progressing. The calm behaviour of the score of young women in today’s action had illustrated that they were almost ready. Just a little more training and she would be really able to give the sea barbarians real trouble. She and Rohvan. That last thought stirred something within her. It was time to head back to her lover’s base.

Melissa cried out as Rohvan thrust deep within her. He was kneeling between her thighs, his phallus impaling her like a mighty lance. His powerful arms were around her narrow waist, arching her body and throwing her weight onto her shoulders. Each thrust shook her body, bouncing her swollen breasts and sending an indescribable wave of pleasure through her. She was completely at his mercy and reveled in the sensation of helplessness. Surrendering to him, she wrapped her long, strong legs around him and drew him into her.

Their lovemaking was a bit more frantic than usual. On this occasion they had returned to the waterfall where they had first kissed. In a few days they were heading out to challenge the Sea Warriors and there was every chance that one or the other of them would be killed or injured.

Rohvan had been gone from the camp for two weeks, taking only a handful of men with him. While he was gone Melissa had continued her training of the women under her command. She missed the resistance leader more than she had wanted to admit, but she couldn’t let her feeling for him interfere with his fight against the Sea Warriors, and so she had concentrated on her work. By now she had her three hundred female warriors trained to a point where she thought they might be useful in battle. They were considerably better trained than a lot of the farm boys who had shown up. However, she had no illusions that they were capable of standing up to trained soldiers one on one. If they fought from ambush they might acquit themselves well, but in an all out melee few would survive.

Gasping with pleasure, Melissa fell back as Rohvan released into her. He was a patient lover, controlling his own urges until he was sure that she was satisfied. Her chest heaving she wrapped her arms about him and held him close.

They lay there for awhile and then Rohvan pushed himself up on to one elbow. “I am going to leave early tomorrow. If this expedition is going to be successful I need to properly scout out the enemy position.”

Melissa contained her disappointment. It had been her impression that he would remain with his army until the day they marched on the enemy. This bit of news came as a surprise to her. Rohvan smiled down at her. He swept a stray strand of her hair out of her eyes. “I want you to come with me. There will be just a few of us, so we will be able to have some time to ourselves.”

“I thought you had already reconnoitered the enemy position,” Melissa replied, running her hands over his broad shoulders.

“I have, my love,” Rohvan replied, kissing her on her forehead. “But I would like your opinion. I value you for more than just for your body,” Rohvan smiled. “You have had military experience, which is more than most of my officers can claim. I would like you to review what I have planned and the best way to do that is to first observe the enemy positions.”

Rohvan was the focal point of the resistance movement. The men and women who followed him were loyal and dedicated, but none of them had seen a real battle, just raids on small enemy detachments. During the last few weeks Rohvan had learned enough about her to value her point of view. “Alright,” she agreed. “I will go with you. Saphora can continue the training in my absence.”

“Excellent,” Rohvan grinned. He kissed her on the lips and as she responded lengthened the kiss until their mouths were fully joined.

Melissa arched her body into him. Incredibly she could feel the hardness of his manhood. He had recovered already. She broke off the kiss and guided him into her. “Tomorrow,” she said, and then groaned in pleasure as Rohvan pressed into her.

“You are a fool,” Vehan Noric growled as he confronted Zirhan Khan. “You have a major revolt in the east and yet you spend all of your time in the palace mounting the former queen like a love-sick stallion.”

“But I am king,” Khan replied, rising from his throne. “And you have no right to speak to me like that. You are my servant.”

“Servant!” Noric raged. “I think you forget that it was I who enabled you to unite the quarreling dogs you call Sea Warriors into something resembling an army. Without me you would be nothing but a pirate waylaying merchantmen and despoiling fishing villages. You belong with your warriors and if you do not lead them you will soon find that your reign will be a very short one. Already your neighbours are eyeing your border regions like ravenous dogs about to descend on a sick cow. There have been several border incursions and you have made no effort to reply.”

“Can you not use your powers to deal with the problem?” Khan asked. “I thought nothing could stand before your magic.”

“That is true,” Noric conceded, “but I am only one man. I cannot be everywhere at once and I am just as vulnerable to a stray arrow as anyone else. You have six thousand men under your command. Use them and I will deal with anyone that comes through the cracks.”

“What about this Red Dragon?” Khan asked. “You spoke of seeing her in your viewing stone.”

“Yes,” Noric admitted. “And I have seen more of her since then. She is a danger that cannot be dealt with in the usual manner. She is more than just a renegade, but I am not sure exactly what. It is strange that the stone fixates on her so strongly. But do not fear, my king, I have set plans in motion to deal with her.”

“Then,” Khan said, “I shall do as you council. Tomorrow I will gather my army and sweep toward the border. My neighbours will know what it is to threaten me.”

Noric smiled. “Spoken like a true king. You deal with the military threats and I will take care of everything else. In a few weeks we will have the situation under control.” He bowed. “With your permission, my liege.” Without waiting for a reply he turned and strode from the room.

Zirhan Khan looked after the retreating wizard and shuddered. He knew that Noric was right. He owed everything to the sorcerer. He just wished that it was not so. With a sigh he returned to his throne. “Bring me wine,” he said to his cupbearer. He cursed under his breath. Sometimes being a king hardly seemed worth the aggravation.

Noric retired to his chambers. Once more he consulted the dark stone. The images as usual were cryptic, but the centre of their focus was unmistakable. A red-haired woman over which was superimposed the image of a dragon. “Red Dragon,” he thought. The message seemed unmistakable. She was the most serious danger.

He puzzled over this awhile. The stone never lied. It had given him an advantage over his rivals that had enabled him to defeat them all, simply by pinpointing his most immediate threat. Ever since the conquest of Sandor it had been the same. The woman’s face came up every time. It was about time he did something about her. He covered the dark stone and sat back. Tomorrow he would set out to find her. With any luck in just a few days she would be his prisoner. He thought of her image in the stone and licked his lips. He was looking forward to questioning her. Looking forward to it very much indeed.

“There?” asked Melissa. “Might we not be riding into a trap?”

Rohvan shook his head. “No, it is safe. I had it scouted yesterday and my men are still in position.”

Melissa relaxed a little. Rohvan had not stayed alive so long without being careful. However, the narrow defile below them was not a place she was comfortable riding into so deep in enemy territory. Heavy brush on both sides of the high-walled gap could conceal a hundred enemy soldiers and Rohvan’s small scouting party would be overwhelmed. Astride a horse in the centre of the pass was a lone rider who was waving them forward.

“That’s Adron,” said Rohvan. “The way is safe.” He spurred his horse down slope.

Kicking her heels into the flanks of her horse, Melissa followed as did the other five members of the scouting party. A few minutes later they joined the waiting rider.

Rohvan nodded to the waiting scout. “Is everything in place?” he asked.

“It is my lord. You just need to give the signal.”

Melissa reined in alongside her lover. “What signal, my lord?”

“This,” replied Rohvan. He reached across and withdrew Melissa’s sword from its scabbard. At that moment there were shouts from in front and behind her.

Melissa glanced both ways. Over a hundred men had flooded onto the trail, completely surrounding Rohvan’s small party, but she knew instinctively that it was not Rohvan who was in danger. “What is this, my lord?” Even as she spoke, Melissa was assessing the situation. Her sword was gone, but she had several other weapons about her, including throwing stars and several daggers.

“Do not resist, my love,” Rohvan said, turning his horse across hers. “You will die if you do.”

Melissa’s hand strayed to the pouch containing her throwing stars, but even as she did so her situation became more hopeless. Rohvan held the bridle of her horse and on every side men hemmed her in. Each of them held a crossbow and it was trained directly upon her. The sense of betrayal almost overwhelmed her. She looked into Rohvan’s eyes. The guilt and shame that stared back at her told her all she wanted to know. “Why, my lord?” she asked. Her sense of astonishment at Rohvan’s betrayal froze her where she was. How could one who had so fervently made love to her treat her in so treacherous a manner?

“Let me answer that for you, Red Dragon.” The crowd of crossbowmen surrounding her parted as a tall figure draped in black robes rode out of the woods. He was followed by five women dressed in dark leather and sporting ebony cloaks trimmed with silver.

He halted in front of her and continued. “It is a simple thing really. Lord Rohvan is the cousin of the late king. He has the strongest claim to the throne, provided he can take it. I have offered him my support and in turn he has given me what I asked.”

Melissa did not wait to hear more. The arrival of the man in black had given her the slight opening she needed. The throwing stars in her pouch flew into her hands. Faster than the eye could follow she flicked them toward the men around her and as they fell back she spurred her horse into the gap. Ahead of her loomed the forested slopes of the pass. If she could just gain the shelter of the trees…

Crossbow bolts whizzed by her head, but she was crouched low over her horse’s neck. Behind her she heard a scream of rage, but it was not directed at her. “Hold your arrows, you fools. I do not want her dead.” Then there was a crackle of energy. Her horse stumbled and then went down as if it had slammed into a wall. The sudden stop threw Melissa from the saddle, but she somersaulted in mid air and landed running. Four strides took her into the trees, and then she stopped in stunned surprise. Arrayed across the forest path were the five young women who had followed the dark-robed man. Their sudden appearance caught her completely off-guard. Where had they come from? She was sure that they had been behind her when she had made her break.

Her shock did not last long, however. Recovering rapidly Melissa drew two daggers from her boots and with one in each had advanced on the women blocking her. “Get out of my way,” she warned.

The woman in front of her smiled. Despite herself, Melissa shuddered. The woman’s eyes were flat black orbs, devoid of any humanity and the parted ruby lips revealed a row of dagger-like teeth. Behind her the other ebony clad women displayed similar humourless grins. “You are ours,” the woman replied. “And soon you will be one of us.”

Melissa replied with a grin of her own. Behind her she could hear her pursuers closing on her. “Have it your way,” she said. She darted toward the women blocking her path.

“Aaagghhh!” The sudden pain that surged through her was crippling, driving her to her knees. Her weapons dropped from nerveless fingers. Around her a halo of blue light clung to her skin, bringing with it excruciating pain.

Behind her a harsh laugh sounded. “Excellent. Bind her, my beauties. We will bend her to our wills.”

The women closed about her. A look into their faces sent a chill through her. Needle-sharp teeth gleamed behind blood-red lips. Dark, feral eyes stared out of chalk-white features and clawed fingers clutched at her clothing. In quick order they stripped her of her weapons, seemingly unaffected by the blue glow that suffused her. Helpless, Melissa felt her arms drawn behind her back. Rough cords were wound about her wrists and drawn tight enough to cut off her circulation. Although unable to move, Melissa could still feel everything that was being done to her. She suppressed a grimace as her arms were bound above each elbow and drawn toward the centre of her back, arching her body forward.

A second rope was tied about her neck and she was jerked to her feet. Still surrounded by the feral women she was dragged to her feet. One of them smiled into her face. Her clawed fingers traced a pattern over the front of Melissa’s shirt, the razor edges parting the material as if it had been cut by scissors. The shirt opened displaying the sweet curve of her breasts. The woman licked her lips like a cat and opened her shirt a bit more. “Can I play with her, master?” the woman asked.

“Later, Doria,” the dark-robed man replied. “Later. I am certain you and the Red Dragon will be spending lots of time together.”

The blue glow dissipated. Melissa found that she could speak. As she was dragged by the rope onto the trail she caught sight of Rohvan riding away. He did not look back. Melissa felt something wrench inside her.

“It was so easy to turn your lover,” the dark-robed man sneered. He stood before her., his hands on his hips. “Of course, an offer of a kingdom was hard to resist.”

“You are the wizard,” Melissa said. She strained at the ropes that held her at the same time measuring the distance to the grinning magician. Three steps and she could drive her foot into his groin. However, she remembered how easily he had stopped her attack before.

“Vehan Noric, at your service,” the dark-robed mage replied with a mock bow. He straightened. “And soon you will be at my service.”

Rohvan stifled a feeling of regret. His betrayal of the Red Dragon was unforgivable, a clear breach of honour. Perhaps even worse the redheaded warrior was the most incredible lover he had ever experienced. However, the desire to mate with her was as nothing compared to the offer of Sandor. With Noric’s help he would replace Zirhan Khan as the leader of the Sea Warriors. Together with his own troops and his connection to the throne he would easily secure leadership of the country.

Zhirhan Khan would not go down without a fight, but the Sea Warrior king had lost much of his support. Fighting a serious uprising, and threatened by neighbouring countries, many of Khan’s followers had already deserted him. With his own army and the backing of Noric’s magic, Rohvan knew that he was almost assured of taking power. Then the kingdom would be his and with it Princess Vanora. He pursed his lips at that thought and then grinned. He had lost one lover, but would soon have something even better; a wife who would give him a clear claim to Sandor’s throne.

Melissa stumbled forward. She was on foot behind Noric’s horse. On either side of her rode one of the strange women. Already the way that she was bound was causing her discomfort. Her elbows were pulled together, forcing her chest forward and making breathing difficult. But the physical distress she felt was as nothing compared to the way she felt about Rohvan’s treachery. There seemed to be a hollow within her where her heart should be. As the rope dragged her down the trail she bowed her head. That way none of her captors would see the tears that fell into the dust.

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