"A daughter of Oldforge, a village in the shadow of the escarpment where dragons once flew." She snickered. "As a child, I even loved one, a boy named Tanin. Of course I didn't know he was a diseased reptile then." Her voice dropped. "One day, I managed to trap Tanin's father, a beast named Jeid Blacksmith, the King of Weredragons. I brought him to our village. I fired arrows into his flesh. He escaped half-dead . . . but not before blowing his fire."

Slowly, as gingerly as one lifting a newborn babe, the woman removed her bronze mask.

Raem's lip twitched.

The woman's face was gone, burned away with dragonfire. She hadn't much of a mouth left, but Raem thought that she was smiling. She placed the mask back on.

"I am Ciana," she said. "I've hunted weredragons for many years. Now I will hunt with you."

LAIRA

 
LAIRA

Laira stood upon the stalagmite, her fingers tingling. All around her, the tribesmen of Leatherwing chanted, their voices echoing in the craggy, torchlit innards of Two Skull Mountain.

"Release the Beast of Bride's Blood! Release the hydragrif!"

Laira gazed around. The vast chamber seemed to spin around her, the torches all whirring into blurred lines. Hundreds of tribesmen stood below, raising their spears, their voices thudding against her eardrums. Standing by the throne of Chieftain Oritan, she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"A beast? I have to fight to wed you?"

Oritan placed the ape-skull helmet back over his head, hiding his face. He stared at her through the eye sockets. "It is the custom of Leatherwing. Chieftains of our tribe may only marry the strongest women, those who can defeat a hydragrif in battle. Summon your roc, Laira Seran of Goldtusk. You will ride upon her in battle here in this cavern."

Laira stared down from the pillar of stone she stood on. Upon the cavern floor—a hundred feet below her—men were tugging on ropes, turning winches, and opening a massive trapdoor built of the natural stone floor. The opening began to widen like a woman in labor, and in the shadowy womb below, white eyes stared, claws scratched at stone, and grunts echoed. A beast hid within that underground cavern—it seemed larger than a dragon—though she could see only its eyes and tufts of white fur.

She stared back at Oritan. "This is wrong. This is barbaric!"

"This is the way of our people, Laira Seran." He leaned back in his throne. "Do you want my help fighting a demon army? Prove that you yourself are a warrior."

The creature's grunts below grew into squeals. The entrance opened wider, and claws ringed with white fur emerged into the chamber, scratching at stone. The tribesmen cheered. Laira's heart thudded, and she spun toward Jeid, hoping he'd have something to say, a way to stop this madness.