Legions of Bone: Dragon Rider Book 3

Chapter 35: There Are Lies, But Where?

Oil swam in Nevaeha's stomach, her chest tightening at the sight. But she focused on not heaving everywhere.

Some were human. Others weren't.

Monsters. The word rang in her head like a warning. She'd only heard tales of things like this. Creatures with hunched backs and pinchers for legs and what looked like tiny arms beneath their soft bodies. Their eyes were tiny, but they had too many to count on their oddly shaped heads.

She looked to the front of the group. Norah and Dragon Bait seemed focused on something in front of them.

Nevaeha looked at Milo, desperate to know if she was alone in this awful sickness.

His lips were pressed tight, the corners pulled back in a grimace.

"What are they?" Milo asked, his voice gutted and low.

Norah shrugged. "Don't know. But they live in packs."

Nevaeha glanced around at the crustacean-like creatures, still spilling blood. There had to be at least ten of them, all about the size of Fin.

"They might come back if there were others," Nevaeha said. It was one of the few things she was certain of.

Norah stepped off to the side, revealing the mountain of objects show. Despite the smell, Nevaeha gasped.

Gold and silver. Rubies and gems. Swords and scrolls and armor and everything else you could have were piled on top of each other. No bones in the pile, just valuables.

"We need to be fast," Norah said. "If you have any questions about what looks expensive, ask Dagen."

Nevaeha found the necromancer with gleaming grey eyes. The happiest she'd ever seen the necromancer... Within the two days, she'd known him.

"And, if you see something you want, take it," she finished, tossing a bag at Milo. "I want to get in and out."

Dragon Bait was the first to reach the pile, shoving things into the bags and carefully placing others in his pockets under his cloak.

Nevaeha felt dirty taking blood money. She asked, "Why this?"

"We have no source of income," Norah said, slipping a diamond ring Dragon Bait approved of into her pocket. "And I don't want your efforts going unpaid. If you find something you like, you can have it."

Nevaeha blinked. She hadn't even considered money when accepting Norah's offer. But now that she knew, she felt a bit better about the jewels and weapons she was taking. She slipped a few rings into her pockets. They would look far better on her finger than rusting in this dump.

"Something's coming," Scylla said.

Nevaeha went cold. She repeated Scylla's warning to the group.

Norah nodded once. "Thank you." She pointed at them. "Keep going, we need everything we can get." She gave Dragon Bait the ring from her pocket and picked up a sword from a body, testing its weight before walking toward the entrance.

"Keep the swords with runes, they're more expensive than regular ones," Dragon Bait said, inspecting a particularly pointy dagger with squiggly marks--runes--down the center of the blade.

Nevaeha eyed the entrance, her heart rising in a slow, steady beat.

Fin stood at Milo's back, his narrowed eyes glaring into the depthless tunnel. He lowered his head, teeth bared in a silent snarl.

"This one has not felt such power for an age." The voice was air hissed between rocks. Neither male nor female, but the jagged shards found between grinding stone all grating against each other.