Read Online Dragon Down by Casey Knight - Free Book Online

it was too dark to tell. Whatever that was, I was going to acquire some on our way out. I could only stand just so much dried fruits and nuts.
    We hunched down to observe the area. It took us a while to be sure we hadn’t been spotted by any of the guards or sentries. Zane motioned for me to take the two sentries on the right and he would take out the two on the left. I hefted my staff, removed the safety from my gun and crawled toward the first of the two men. I inched up behind him, hit him hard on the head and caught him from behind. I didn’t let him hit the ground. I clamped my hand over his mouth and pulled him into the brush. Then I gaged and tied him, just in case he regained consciousness. Unlikely, I hit him hard enough I doubted he would regain consciousness any time soon. Then I turned my attention to the second man. I wriggled my way along the ground until I was even with him. I checked to make sure there was no one nearby and blasted him with my bracelet. I repeated what I did with the first man. Catching him before he hit the ground, I stopped just long enough to make sure he was out. Satisfied, I headed toward the mouth of the cave.
    I waited for Zane to appear. He came from the left and gave me the thumbs up sign. Now all we had to do was take out the two men in front and the four inside. Whispering, I suggested to him we drug the two guarding the entrance. I had my wizard’s recipe for chloroform. He nodded his agreement and I started to soak two small rags with the formula. That’s when I felt a chill go through me, just about the same time that Tokem’s streaking form nearly gave me a heart attack. Tokem was pointing toward our left. I froze and looked to see if Zane felt it too. None of us moved as our senses strained to find the reason for the alert. I cupped the rag in my hand and held it inside my shirt. I motioned for Zane to cover his. Then we waited. We spotted him at the same time. The fluid gait and the silence of his approach meant only one thing. He was a vampire. I sure as hell hoped he didn’t smell the rags.
    The vampire walked up to the men guarding the caves entrance and said something. I couldn’t hear it from where I stood and then he went inside. I slowly let out my breath and sank down to the ground. Zane crawled down beside me and we waited. There was no sense in trying to get inside with the vampire in residence. I’m sure we could subdue him, but not without a fight, which might bring the camp down on us.
    Whatever he was after , he took care of it in a timely manner. He was in and out in a little more than half an hour. I motioned for Tokem to follow him. He nodded and sped after the receding form of the vampire. Zane and I waited for Tokem to return. Since, neither of us wanted to get halfway into the cave only to have the vampire reappear. Tokem was gone for what seemed like an eternity, but was closer to twenty minutes. A minor stirring of the air over my head signaled his return. Tokem whispered that the vampire had entered a large tent in the center of the clearing. He had waited to see if the vampire was coming back out before he risked a peek into the tent. It was a mess hall. The vampire and about twenty men were eating and lounging around.
    I motioned to Zane the coast was clear. We edged our way toward the sentries from opposite directions. When Zane got within striking distance , I threw some pebbles his way. The nearest guard sauntered over to take a look. Zane grabbed him from behind and dragged him back into the brush. A few minutes later Zane reappeared wearing the man’s coat. He walked up to the other sentry and hit him hard before he could utter a sound and pulled the man over with the other sentry. Zane removed the second man’s coat and tossed it to me. While I donned the man’s jacket, he gagged and tied the two. Satisfied they wouldn’t alert any of their comrades we entered the cave. Once inside, we stopped and listened.
    Tokem flew ahead and