Page 37 of Dragon Sword

Will bowed his head and I followed suit. “Greetings, Lord of the Eagles. My apologies for my unannounced return.”

The eagle stretched his wings and I gaped at the wide span that covered some hundred feet altogether. “Your unannounced return is less a concern for me than the timing. Why have you returned at this moment, my vassal?”

My eyes widened and I gaped at Will. He studiously tried to ignore my open-mouthed shock. “Perhaps it was fate, my lord, that we have arrived here in time to assist you. The elves have spoken of a shadow in the woods. You have felt it, as well?”

The great eagle slowly nodded its head. “We have more than felt it. Several in my flock have been afflicted by a terrible illness which has left them little more than mad animals.”

I felt as though someone squeezed my heart and I looked back to the lord. “Do they have black spots on their bodies?”

His sharp gray eyes studied me. “They do.”

“May we see them?” Will requested.

The eagle cocked its head to one side. “Why do you desire to see them?”

“We want to see if they are as the others we have seen,” Will explained.

His feathership stared at us a moment before he nodded. “You may see them.” He stretched out his wing and used the tip to point at a small corridor hardly large enough to fit one of the normal-sized birds. “We have trapped them down there for their own sake and ours.”

“Did they attack you?” I guessed.

“Attacked and infected others with their terrible curse.”

The color drained from my face as I recalled the terrible situation with the man and the wolf. Will slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it before he bowed to the eagle. “Thank you, My Lord. We will see them and return here to discuss with you what may be done.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Will sethis hand on the lower part of my back and guided me down the passage. I stayed close to him and lowered my voice to a whisper to avoid the echoes. “So, um, are they magical birds? Is that why they can talk?”

He nodded. “Their ancestors were granted the gift of speech by a passing wizard whom they saved long ago.”

I squinted my eyes and peered down the tunnel. There were no natural lights ahead of us, only darkness. “Is this such a good idea?”

“We need answers,” he pointed out as he raised his free hand. A small fireball popped out of his palm, illuminating the increasingly rough walls. The place was a dustbowl of settled dirt and a few cobwebs. I ducked low to avoid one of the impressive structures and in my distraction, I stumbled over something.

Will caught me in his arms. “Mind the bones.”

I blinked at him. “Bones?”

He lowered his light close to the floor. My mouth fell open as I beheld dozens and dozens of pale bones. They were of various sizes and some were yellowed by time, but all bore the unmistakable scars of claws and beaks. I couldn’t help but notice that some of the bones looked human.

“P-please tell me the eagles don’t have us on their menu.”

Will kept a tight hold on me as we continued. “They have been known to mete out harsh punishments for those who wronged them.”

“Like the elves?” I guessed.

“Like the elves.”

I thought back to our interview with the lord of the birds and my heart dropped into my stomach. “What about vassals who haven’t been keeping their duty?”

He smiled down at me. “The worst that could happen is they eat me.”

I dug my heels into the bone-littered ground and stopped us. Will half-turned to me and I stabbed a finger in his chest. “That isn’t funny.”

He laughed and drew me forward again into the bowels of the eagle lair. “Even with my errant ways, the eagles find me too valuable. I have acted as the only contact between the elves and them since my servitude began. They would be rather lost without me now.”

“How long are you going to remain a vassal?” I asked him.

---