Read Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy for Free Online

his spell book beneath his cloak. “You are fortunate, thief. I could kill you easily if I wanted to, but I may have need of your services in the future.”
    “Never!” screamed the thief in rage.
    The lizardmage looked nervously toward the end of the shrubbery, then back in the thief’s general direction. “We’ll see.”
    Just as Alric made a desperate lunge at his counterpart, the lizardmage rubbed a ring on his scaly hand and disappeared. Alric landed unceremoniously in the shrubbery behind the bench. When he managed to pull himself clear, he saw two men from the island patrol nearing his location. He saw the leather pouch still on the bench and hesitated only briefly before snatching it up and making good his escape.
    As the thief left the Square, he cursed himself for making such a huge mistake. To be manipulated by an elf was one thing. To be controlled by a lizardmage was something else entirely.
    Unfortunately, he couldn’t undo what he had done. No one would believe his story about getting in and out of the Tower of Sorcery undetected unless he mentioned the cloak, and that he wasn’t prepared to do. Even if he did, the irrational humans would probably punish him for his actions and imprison him or something.
    The elf could only do one thing to regain his integrity. He could use whatever means necessary to track down the lizardmage and make him pay for his treachery. That much he would be only too glad to do.
    The thief headed for the port to make arrangements to sail to Warral. The mountains to the north were where the lizardmage had said he was headed. That was as good a place as any to begin his search.
    Then a thought occurred to him. He still had the ring the lizardmage had given him. It was worth a shot. He rubbed the ring, and sure enough, the scene before him changed. The island and the Tower of Sorcery disappeared, to be replaced by a sheer granite cliff. The elf instinctively took a step back and nearly lost his balance. Carefully, he looked down - way down. The landscape below was swallowed up in mist. He examined the precarious ledge he was standing on and gulped. Down was not an option. He checked above and to either side for an exit but found none. His ledge was the only safe place to stand.
    Alric grit his teeth. Where was he? Where could he go? He rubbed the ring again but nothing happened. Its magic was spent. Now what? He was just beginning to despair when he spotted a narrow opening in the rock face to his left. It was hard to reach but not impossible. He was still agile enough to make the jump over to the spot. What lay beyond he did not know, but he knew staying put was futile.
    With a mighty lunge, the elf sprang across the gap and landed at the crevice entrance. With a short cry of victory, he pulled himself to his feet and stared into the opening. Just as he thought! The crevice was an entrance to a tunnel! Without looking back, Alric strode into the tunnel. Elves normally hated caves and tunnels, preferring open air and trees, but Alric wasn’t afraid. He was equipped with an invisibility cloak, his pack still contained enough supplies for a time, and his keen eyesight quickly adapted to the darkness. Besides, he had a score to settle with a certain lizardmage. Nobody had ever gotten the better of him, and the fact that a lizardmage had used him was unsettling. It was time to turn the tables.

Chapter 4
    H e’s right ahead of us!” hissed Lynch. He ran faster and heard the others keep pace. The light at the end of the tunnel started to dim as the seven lizardmen rounded the bend.
    “There he is!” cried Lynch. He pointed at the bright orange-red figure, which was in view for only a moment before rounding another bend. “Hurry!”
    Lizardmen are not known for their running ability. A short run was one thing, but these lizardmen had been running for more than five minutes, all the while losing ground to their quarry. The long run was taking its toll on Lynch, and before they