Page 32 of Knotted By the Triad

I released him when his body went limp and let him collapse at my feet. I spun around, blade positioned in front of my face. Daemin had caught one of the smugglers by the throat. The man stabbed at him with a dagger, but Daemin caught his wrist before the blade reached his stomach.

The smuggler's eyes widened. Daemin twisted. Bone snapped. The man screamed. Daemin ripped the dagger from his useless hand and drove the hilt into his temple. The smuggler crumpled to the ground.

To my left, Zian caught his opponent’s wrist as the man swung at him. He twisted the smuggler’s arm behind his back and drove him face-first into the ground. Before the man could recover, Zian wrenched his arm higher until a sickening crack filled the air.

The smuggler screamed. Zian released the man’s broken arm, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and slammed his face into the dirt repeatedly. Blood splattered across the ground. On the fourth strike, the smuggler’s body went limp.

Zian let the guy’s head drop and rose calmly to his feet, as though he hadn't just beaten a man unconscious with his bare hands. They'd been light work. We'd taken them down in no time. I was about to order the guards watching from the shadows to tie them up and prepare them for transport when I heard a noise near the wagon.

My gaze snapped in that direction. The man I'd kicked into it was back on his feet. I'd made the mistake of assuming he'd stay down. He wasn't trying to fight us, though. He was backing away.

One hand disappeared beneath his tunic and came back gripping a chain around his neck. From it hung a glowing blue pendant. The man whispered three words. My dragon immediately stirred. Something wasn't right.

“Stop him!” I shouted.

Daemin was already moving, but the smuggler ripped the necklace free and raised his arm. Before Daemin could reach him, he threw the necklace against the ground and stomped on it. The pendant shattered. A pulse of power exploded through the clearing.

The force struck my chest and sent me stumbling backward as the air around us grew colder. For a moment, everything between us and the warehouse appeared to bend and ripple beneath the moonlight.

Daemin and Zian moved to stand on either side of me as ten enormous shapes began taking form within the distortion. One moment, there was nothing there. The next, ten creatures stood in the clearing.

“What the hell?” Daemin muttered.

The nearest creature lifted its head. It resembled a man only in shape, standing nearly nine feet tall with massive shoulders and arms thick enough to crush a man. Gray stone covered its body instead of flesh.

Strange symbols had been carved across various parts of its massive body. The markings glowed the same eerie blue as the pendant the smuggler had shattered. One by one, the creatures opened their eyes.

There were no pupils, no whites, nothing remotely human about them. Only pale blue light. My dragon snarled as ten pairs of glowing eyes turned toward us. I tightened my grip on my sword.

“Golems,” I sneered.

Daemin cursed under his breath while Zian lifted his blade. My attention remained fixed on the creatures in front of us and the magical markings glowing across their bodies. Golems didn't create themselves.

And they didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Someone had made them from stone, enchanted them, and somehow bound ten of the damn things to the pendant that smuggler had worn around his neck.

Whoever was moving Dragonblight through the capital wasn't working with dragons alone. They had magic users helping them. That realization barely had time to register before the first golem charged.

“Spread out!” I roared.

We scattered as its massive fist crashed down, aiming for the three of us. The ground shook beneath my feet. Dirt sprayed into the air where I'd been standing seconds earlier. I rolled across the ground, then rose into a crouch, sword ready.

Daemin darted around the creature's left side while Zian went right. The golem turned toward Daemin and swung one massive arm at him. Daemin ducked, and the stone fist continued past him before smashing through the side of the wagon.

Wood exploded across the clearing. One of the horses neighed loudly and reared against its harness while the other fought desperately to pull away.

“Guards, join us. Someone, move the wagon and DB out of the way. Don’t take your eyes off the DB!” I shouted. “No shifting. We can’t risk breaking those jars.”

Around us, our men emerged from the shadows. Zian's Shadow Guards appeared from between the trees while Daemin's assassins moved into the clearing, weapons already drawn. There was no reason to keep them hidden anymore.

From the corner of my eye, I saw someone moving the wagon. Another group of guardians protected the Dragonblight. A second golem charged toward Zian while two more started toward our men.

The others spread across the clearing, forcing everyone farther apart. My dragon pushed beneath my skin, riled by the sudden appearance of a threat we hadn't anticipated. Before I could determine which creature to attack next, a shadow fell over me.

I looked up to find one of the golems charging straight toward me. I tightened my grip on my sword and waited. The creature thundered closer, each heavy step shaking the ground. Twenty feet became ten, then five.

Behind me, I could hear a guard battling one of those big bastards. The creature before me raised both arms above its head, preparing to bring them down on me as it grew closer.

“Kai!” Daemin shouted.