Dandd dragonlance an.., p.32
D&D - Dragonlance - Anthologies - Tales 01.2,
p.32
The feeder shot helplessly past with the sword swing, moving too quickly for sight. By the time it stopped, it was even with Tanis, who had caught up with Riverwind and Goldmoon. Hissing with frustration, it beat its wings swiftly and aimed at Tanis’s heart.
Tanis leaped toward the draconians and smote one of the creatures from behind, using the flat of his sword, then made a backhand swing at another.
The feeder missed Tanis’s heart but caught in his clothes. Its red eyes glowed brighter as it twisted its head sideways and back, ready to expose its fangs and sink them into Tanis’s side.
As Riverwind, low on arrows and lacking a sword, bounded toward Tanis, the half-elf’s hand brushed the smooth back of the feeder’s head.
Tanis let his enemies get past him, fending off the creatures with the flat of his sword. “Here, take this dagger!” he shouted to Riverwind. Riverwind grabbed it.
Pulled from Tanis’s waist just prior to its final deadly thrust, the feeder strained to reach Riverwind’s intruding hand. The fangs were out; the Plainsman’s thumb was in reach. After all, now Riverwind had possession …
… He reversed it and struck one of the creatures on the jaw …
Too greedily, the feeder sank its teeth into the draconian flesh. The taste was tangy, yet frighteningly familiar; there was a bond here. The feeder’s body struck against a neck ornament on a thong, a silver copy of its own head.
The draconian jerked forward in a poison-induced spasm, and the feeder’s fangs sank deeper. Even in the frenzy of feeding, it thought calmly; there was plenty of time to withdraw its fangs and pull back before the draconian turned to stone …
… Jabbing upward with the hilt, Riverwind broke its neck.
The Plainsman grunted with the effort as the draconian gasped and died. The feeder, trapped by its own bite, spasmed in Riverwind’s hand. Startled, the Plainsman dropped it. The stone draconian fell forward heavily, shattering the blade of the feeder. Tiny replicant daggers the size and softness of earwigs flopped on the ground, dying before birth.
The Queen’s voice sighed across the broken feeder, all but freezing it.
YOU HAVE FAILED, she said indifferently, BUT I SHALL NOT, AND IF I NEED THESE LIVES, I CAN
TAKE THEM ELSEWHERE. DIE, THEN. The voice was still, and the feeder knew it would hear no more from her.
Even so, the light in the pommel’s eyes lasted some time.
Table of Contents
PENGUIN BOOKS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
Gully Dwarves;Gnomes # Margaret Weis;Tracy Hickman (eds) Kender, D&D - Dragonlance - Anthologies - Tales 01.2
