“You’ve retrieved it for me,” he said. “Excellent.”
A thump sounded at the top of the steps leading into the cargo hold.
Horis growled and stretched a hand toward Rysha. An invisible force tugged at the journal. She clamped down on it, refusing to let go without striking a deal.
Light came from the steps, Trip running into the dark hold with Jaxi and Azarwrath glowing in his hands.
Horis jerked his chin toward him, and something akin to a hurricane gusted past Rysha and toward Trip. Even though she wasn’t the target, she stumbled away, knocked into a post.
Trip halted at the bottom of the stairs and glared past several hammocks and toward Horis. He or the soulblades must have raised a barrier because the wind didn’t stir his hair. But he grimaced, as if in pain. From the effort of blocking that blow?
Horis’s cold gaze landed on him, and Trip stuttered forward, legs carrying him toward the dragon in awkward little steps. His grimace deepened.
Rysha growled and fired at Horis.
Her bullet hit an invisible field and bounced off, burrowing into the ceiling. Useless.
Or was it? It seemed to distract the dragon for a split second.
Trip growled, and Horis-Xandyrothol dropped to a knee. A fireball tore through the air, incinerating hammocks as it passed, and nearly burning Rysha’s eyebrows off. It slammed into the kneeling human figure.
Rysha backed farther away, though she hated leaving the stasis chambers. For the thousandth time, she wished she had Dorfindral. Even if she could have done nothing else, she might have rested her hand on the devices and protected them with the blade’s power.
Lightning streaked across the hold as the fireball dissipated, revealing Xandyrothol standing again, neither flesh nor clothing even slightly charred. Rysha groaned.
Then the dragon’s eyes tightened and filled with confusion.
Shoot now, Trip cried into Rysha’s mind.
She fired immediately, trusting he’d changed something. Her bullet slammed into Xandyrothol’s shoulder, and he cried out in pain, just as a human being would do.
Rysha fired three more times, hoping to take advantage, to finish him off, but he got his barrier back up, and the bullets bounced off again.
Xandyrothol roared savagely, and Trip flew through the air, hurled by another blast of power. He soared past Rysha, arms flailing, and slammed into the stasis chambers. She winced as they wobbled, threatening to topple over. A snap sounded, followed by a wisp of smoke coming from one. Seven gods, would they be destroyed right in front of her eyes?
Xandyrothol’s lips curled into a smile as Trip slumped to the deck, dropping one of the soulblades. He kept the other in his grip, but he had crumpled to his hands and knees, panting. It looked like some great weight had landed on his back and would force him flat any second.
Rysha ran and jumped over him, hoping to distract the dragon if nothing else. She fired one more time, though she wasn’t surprised when the bullet ricocheted away before hitting him.
Cold copper eyes settled on her, and she saw her death in them.
Before Xandyrothol could attack, his head was knocked back, as if a sledgehammer had struck him in the face.
Trip leaped to his feet and lunged at Xandyrothol with one of the soulblades. Azarwrath. The tip stopped a foot in front of the dragon, as if it had met a stone wall. But lightning streaked out, wrapping all around the invisible bubble encompassing Xandyrothol.
Trip stood like a statue, the point pressed against the barrier, as Azarwrath’s lightning danced and crackled, attempting to find a weak spot. All the while, he held the dragon’s gaze. They glared at each other, eyes tight, jaws clenched, engaged in some mental battle.
The barrier disappeared, and Trip almost fell forward, the soulblade’s tip leading. Rysha thought it might skewer the human-shaped dragon. But Xandyrothol whipped his hand up faster than the eye could see, and he caught the blade in midair. He pushed back, and it appeared he’d gained the upper hand.
Until Trip roared, thrusting and wrenching with his arms, tearing the blade free. Xandyrothol flew out the hole he’d entered, disappearing from sight.
A splash arose from below, reminding Rysha that Kaika was down there, possibly drowning.
“Good to see you,” she blurted to Trip as she rushed to the hole in the hull to check on Kaika and the dragon.
Trip panted an unintelligible response, looking like he would fall over at any second. Rysha could only imagine what doing mental battle with a dragon was like.
“Any chance you can help Kaika?” Rysha squinted into the water, then spotted her. She’d floated away on the current. “There!”
Even as she pointed, the bronze dragon arrowed out of the water, his wings flapping, flinging droplets in every direction.
Rysha groaned again. She may have shot the human version of Xandyrothol in the shoulder, but the dragon appeared uninjured as those powerful wings beat, carrying him into the sky.
Cannons fired from the artillery stations on either side of the harbor. Rysha didn’t even look. She knew those cannonballs wouldn’t strike the dragon or bother him at all.
Trip held a hand toward Kaika, his eyes closing to slits in concentration. “She lost her sword?”
“I’m afraid so. They’re both on the bottom of the harbor now.”
He grimaced, but didn’t speak again. Kaika floated out of the water. She hung as limp as a rag doll.
“Is she alive?” Rysha asked, afraid Kaika might have inhaled water and drowned.
“Yes, but unconscious. She’s got a huge knot forming on her head.”
Rysha slumped in relief. “Being run over by a boat will do that to you.”
Screams came from above them as a shadow blotted out the sun. Xandyrothol. He wasn’t done with them yet, but instead of returning to their hole in the hull, he dove toward the deck of the steamer.
Rifles fired, and cries of agony sounded. Metal ripped, torn free, and Rysha feared the dragon would destroy the vessel out of anger or revenge. Or just because it enjoyed causing havoc.
Kaika floated through the hull, coming to rest at Trip’s feet.
Rysha wanted to check on her, but he knelt first, touching a hand to her forehead.
Will you check the stasis chambers? Trip asked silently. I think we’re going to have to move them, but I sense that they were damaged. I’m worried that… I’m just worried. I can’t lose any more of them.
Remembering that smoke, Rysha ran toward them.
Greetings, Storyteller! an exuberant voice cried into her mind, and she tripped, catching herself on the stasis chamber stack.
Shulina Arya?
Yes, it is I. I was sent to check on your progress. There is much dragon activity on the west coast of Iskandoth, and threats have been made by numerous aggressive conquerors. Your king wishes all of his great warriors back in the country to defend it.
Great warriors. Rysha almost scoffed, feeling anything but that right now.
No other dragon was willing to venture to this dark land, Shulina Arya continued, but I was curious about it and also wanted to see what you were doing. It’s actually a bright land. There is much sun, and there are many dolphins and whales playing in the ocean along its shores. I do sense the magic dead zone, but you are not in it. This is wonderful. Oh, but there is a bronze dragon where you are. Are you battling with it? Humans are quite fragile. I do not believe this is wise.
No, it’s not wise at all. He gave us little choice. Is there any chance you can help us get rid of him? I’ll tell you whatever story you want to hear.
Oh? I asked Bhrava Saruth if he knew the tale of how the first dragons became bonded with the first human riders, but he did not. He said humans likely flocked to the dragons to worship them. I know this is not true. The legends say they respected each other and treated each other as equals, but I would like to hear the human stories.
I can absolutely share what was recorded in our histories. If I survive t
his day.
I am flying toward you, but I am still many miles out over the ocean. I shall arrive soon. A bronze is no match for a gold dragon! Even one who is tricking people into believing he is a gold. Do you see that illusion he is maintaining? How audacious!
He is definitely that, Rysha thought.
“Shit,” Kaika groaned. She sat up and rubbed her head, water pooling on the deck underneath her. “Was that a dragon that ran me over?”
“An armored boat,” Rysha said.
“I’m not sure if that’s worse or not.”
“Armored boats don’t breathe fire.”
“I guess that’s a perk.”
“The bronze dragon can’t breathe fire either,” Trip said.
“I jumped onto the back of a gold dragon,” Kaika said.
“It was fooling you.”
“It fooled me and hit me with a boat? That’s it. I want it dead.” Kaika looked around. “Damn it, I lost the sword, didn’t I?”
“Losing priceless artifacts in the harbor has become trendy,” Rysha said without humor.
Another wrenching of metal came from above, and something humongous splashed into the water, creating a wave so great that it rocked the steamer.
“What was that?” Rysha spread her legs for balance.
“One of the smokestacks,” Trip said grimly.
“Shulina Arya is coming.” Rysha hoped it would be soon enough.
“I know.”
“She said she’d help if I tell her a story.”
“Sounds like a good deal.”
“That’s the female dragon?” Kaika asked, rubbing her head again.
“Yes, ma’am. She came to check on us.” Rysha decided not to mention that there was trouble at home, and Angulus needed all his great warriors back. Without the chapaharii blades, there wasn’t much she or even Kaika could do. And they had more immediate concerns.
She rested her hand on one of the stasis chambers, wondering how she was supposed to tell if they continued to function.
“I’m starting to like that dragon more and more,” Kaika said.
Another huge splash came from below, and again, a wave rocked the steamer.
“I’ll like her even more if she arrives in time to do something about that,” Kaika added.
Rysha peered into the stasis chamber she touched, but the light was too poor for her to make out the baby inside. The device was cool to the touch. Hadn’t it been slightly warm before?
“They were damaged,” Trip said, his eyes toward her, a distant aspect to them. “And I have no idea how to fix them. Maybe in time, and with a technical manual, but… there wasn’t one that came with them.”
“I’m not sure they wrote technical manuals back then,” Rysha said. “Paper hadn’t been invented yet.”
“They could have carved it into clay tablets,” Kaika said.
Trip’s expression grew helpless and bleak as he stared at the stasis chambers. Rysha wished she knew what to say, some useful suggestion to make. Could they uncork them? Would the babies survive the process? It seemed they would surely die if they were left inside in those gels. If the magic wasn’t providing… whatever it provided, they could end up being entombed in there and dying before they got a chance to live.
Something slammed into the side of the ship, and the deck pitched alarmingly. Snaps and groans came from the steamer’s frame. A great tearing noise ripped through the air.
“Abandon ship!” came a yell from above decks.
The stasis chambers started to slide sideways. Trip jerked a hand up, and they halted.
A wave splashed against the ship, this time high enough that water washed in through the holes in the hull.
“Can you float them out of here, Trip?” Rysha gripped a post for support—and to keep her legs from being swept out from underneath her. “We need to get to safety.”
Wherever that was.
The pitch of the deck grew steeper and steeper. Finally, the steamer tipped over completely. More snaps and cracks sounded, this time from outside. They must have smashed down on the dock.
“Yes,” Trip said, “but wait a second.”
“I don’t know how many seconds we have,” Kaika growled, also holding a post. Water flowed into the hold from multiple directions now. There had to be holes on the other side of the ship too.
Trip twitched his fingers, and Jaxi, the soulblade that had been dropped before, flew out of the water and into his hand. He spun toward the hole, climbing out to stand half on the hull, somehow keeping his footing on the impossible perch.
He raised both swords, and fireballs and lightning streaked out once again.
“Oh yes, this is the perfect place for a last stand,” Kaika growled.
Storyteller, I have arrived! This bronze dragon is making an awful mess.
I noticed.
Such carnage. What does he hope to gain?
A cult.
What?
It’s a long story, which I will happily share on the way home. Just—can you please help? If you stop him, Trip, Kaika, and I will be extremely grateful. Rysha almost promised that those stasis babies would be, too, but would they even survive?
Tears threatened at the thought that her team had taken them from a safe if forgotten home in that dragon lair and brought them out into the world to possibly die.
Of course! Do you wish to ride with me? We can go into valiant battle together.
I… Rysha hadn’t expected the offer and didn’t know what to say. Despite all the craziness going on around them, including Trip hurling attacks out into the harbor and water pouring in from all sides, a surge of excitement went through her at the thought. She’d dreamed of flying into battle on a dragon’s back since she’d been a little girl. I lost my sword. She formed an image of Dorfindral in her mind.
She couldn’t go into battle without it. What would she do? Sit on Shulina Arya’s back and polish her scales while the dragon did all the work?
We will get it! A simple matter! Then we will fly after the bronze and smite him and drive your sword into him.
The dragon sounded even more excited by the notion than Rysha.
Though Rysha didn’t think retrieving the sword would be that easy, Shulina Arya spoke again before she could voice objections.
Stand next to your mate, and I will retrieve you. He is valiantly battling the bronze now by himself. We must hurry if we wish to participate!
Her mate? Trip?
“Major Kaika, can you watch the stasis chambers?” Rysha pushed through the water, gripping the shredded and charred remains of hammocks to pull herself toward the hole where Trip balanced, hurling his magical attacks.
“It does seem to be my lot in life.” Kaika swam over and gripped one of the devices, devices that were defying gravity to stay in one spot. Trip’s doing? “And now that I lost my sword, what else can I do? All my explosives are underwater too. This day is not going well.”
Rysha understood Kaika’s feeling of helplessness all too well—and how unusual it must be for the capable and confident major—but she couldn’t stop to commiserate with her. She reached the hole and pulled herself out beside Trip. He was almost fully standing on the exterior of the hull now. The steamer had pitched over, flattening the dock beside it.
Rysha crouched on the smooth, wet surface, careful not to slip. Trip, standing with his legs spread and the soulblades raised, looked down at her. The wind whipped at his hair and his clothing, and he almost glowed like a sun from all the power that poured off him.
The dragon, now appearing bronze instead of gold, wheeled in the sky and screeched. When it tried to dive toward Trip, talons extended, it struck an invisible barrier, one much larger than usual.
He seemed to be protecting the entire ship as well as attacking the dragon with the soulblades. People who had fallen in the water gaped at him and the dragon as they swam for the shore. Others scrambled along the remains of the dock toward the waterfront. Cannons still boomed ineffectuall
y.
The soulblades had stopped hurling fireballs and lightning from their tips, maybe because the attacks couldn’t go through Trip’s barrier, but explosions of light and energy appeared in the sky all around the dragon, making the creature dance as it flew.
Rysha, almost mesmerized by Trip, who once more looked like some powerful sorcerer of old, didn’t notice Shulina Arya’s approach until she was almost on top of them. Rysha twitched in surprise when the great gold dragon alighted on the hull beside them. Trip wasn’t surprised. He must have lowered his barrier long enough for her to fly in.
Jump atop my back, Storyteller, Shulina Arya said, crouching low.
Rysha hesitated, afraid she would slip and pitch into the water, but a magical force swept under her and lifted her from the deck. She tamped down the startled scream that almost escaped her lips. Great warriors did not scream before going into valiant battle.
She’d ridden Shulina Arya before when they’d left the ice caves in the Antarctic, and remembered there was no saddle or reins. Magic would keep her astride the dragon’s back. Even though she knew that, she flattened herself and spread her arms, trying to find a handhold.
Wheeee! Shulina Arya cried as they sprang from the ship and flew into the air over the harbor.
In all the hundreds of history books Rysha had read that revolved around dragons, she couldn’t remember it ever being mentioned that they made such exclamations as wheee. She wouldn’t complain. She was glad Shulina Arya wanted to help her.
Do you know where the sword is? Rysha asked, wondering how she could explain when even she didn’t know exactly where she’d lost it.
I can sense two of them, yes. Hold your breath.
That was all the warning Rysha got. She glimpsed the bronze still flying around the capsized steamer, trying to get to Trip—and perhaps to those stasis chambers—and then the water appeared straight below them. She grabbed her spectacles to keep them from flying off as they plunged into the blue depths. If physics had been the only thing at work, Rysha would have been hurled free when they hit, but magic kept her aboard the dragon’s back as the icy water wrapped around her.
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