First Flight

by Sarah K. L. Wilson

  I shut my eyes as Raolcan maneuvered in and out of the silver dragons.

  Keep them shut. I don’t even need them. I have these shiners beat! I can smell their fear, see their miscalculations in the color fluctuations of their minds.

  Oh yeah. I forgot that he needed my eyes. I opened them quickly. We plunged through heavy flakes of snow as Raolcan headed off a Silver dragon, grabbing the other dragon’s tail with his teeth and shaking him. He flung the dragon away and pounced after another one like a cat chasing chickens.

  The intelligence differential is about the same.

  What?

  I am so much smarter than they are.

  Very humble.

  Very true.

  I lost track of the others fighting. Between the dark and the snow, I was disoriented but Raolcan was having the time of his life, chasing and charging after every Silver he could see. It should have been hard to disrupt dragons and riders trained for fighting, but the snow that blinded both me and our opponents was no hindrance to my dragon.

  See? I told you being blind wasn’t all bad. I can still see their minds. They can’t see anything at all.

  As long as he still knew where the ground was.

  Seriously? You doubt me again? When will you learn that I’m limitless?

  Wait! Not him.

  Not who?

  That Silver and his rider. That’s Ralk Wheelspinner. He wasn’t unkind to me when he was my captor. I don’t want to see him die.

  You realize he’s the enemy, right?

  I realize he can be a captive. He doesn’t have to die.

  Fine. He’s the last of them anyway.

  Really? We were so close! We were so close!

  And then I gasped. Not because I was hurt. Not because I was crazy, but because that burst of light stole my vision again.

  No! Not now! Not when things were going our way!

  I chewed my lip as I waited for my vision to clear. I could only hope that things hadn’t become worse for us.

  We were flying over the battlefield studying the widening crack, but this time there was no snow. Well, that could be worse, right? All it meant was that we were going to have to fight the Silvers again and this time without being soaking wet from melting snow.

  And without the surprise of snow cloaking our attack or the veil of it to disguise my pounces ...

  I swallowed. I was too tired to do the same things over and over, fighting a battle only to have to fight it again a moment later. Being rejected by creatures from beneath the earth only to have them give me cryptic answers after all. If I saw a chance – any chance – to end this constant cycle I was going to grab it. I didn’t care what it was. I didn’t care what the consequence was. I was going to end it.

  WE’RE HERE.

  There was a boom and a loud squeal like metal bending and then the earth in the center of the field pulled farther back and the ghostly forms of Troglodytes slowly climbed out of the void below.

  Chapter Ten

  It was hard to concentrate on diving toward the Silver dragons when I knew that Troglodytes were squeezing through the crack in the earth and entering the battlefield. How did they get here so quickly? How was that even possible.

  Remember the last time that you talked to them? When you promised to return he Pipe and defeat Iskaris?

  How could I forget?

  I think it’s likely that they planned to help you then. Maybe they were already on their way.

  Then why did they make me think that they’d abandoned us? Why did they make me work so hard for their favor when they were planning to give it anyway?

  They admire you. They might even like you.

  It was hard to think of them as liking anyone. They felt so – other – so different from who we were as humans and dragons.

  Do you think so? Interesting. I never thought like that. To me, they have always just been – like the moon and sun, like the tides and rocks below.

  The Reds passed us again, streaking toward the Silver dragons, their leader waving politely. Déjà vu didn’t even begin to explain the strange feeling of living a patch of my life a second time. I stole a glance at Leng over on Ahlskibi.

  No distractions!

  And then I turned quickly to look back at the Troglodytes, their knobbly toes left raking marks across the mud and the last rays of the setting sun glinted oddly off their slightly glowing skin.

  We have our own business to deal with. Leave them to theirs.

  I glanced to the other side to see Savette leap into the air, light spinning around her and flashing in every direction as she landed. Three Ifrits were knocked off their feet, but Starie held up a hand almost nonchalantly and the power deflected in a thousand other directions. Nothing could stick to Starie Atrelan.

  Rakturan turned his back on the Ifrit he’d just slain to link hands with his wife.

  I flashed into her mind for a moment.

  Starie was distracted, her gaze drifting constantly to Iskaris, though new Ifrits continued to pop up in the muddy swath of ground between us.

  “I return, bride and morning light,” Rakturan said. “Take my heart, my strength, and my light. All is yours to use as you will.”

  His look of devotion was almost shocking. I’d never seen anything like it from the man. But I’d never been in Savette’s mind when he was looking at her before. There was love there, mixed with bittersweet loyalty and strength.

  “My heart warms to see you one last time, Dark Prince,” she said, a sweet depth in her voice. “I would have done anything short of failing in my purpose if it meant seeing your face again.”

  Already her glow was stronger. When he leaned in to steal a kiss, I snapped back to my own mind, but my gaze lingered on them. What would happen next?

  When they both raised the other hand, white light shot out from both of them, meeting in the middle to slice toward Starie.

  I need your eyes up front!

  We were almost at the platform. Moonlight glinted on Iskaris’ masked crown as he shifted his hands to urge his Ifrits forward – if they were his.

  If Rakturan was right, Starie was controlling them through him. That might explain her distraction. How did Savette and Rakturan avoid her controlling them with her mirror magic?

  No time for thinking!

  We dodged as a Silver plunged toward us, diving out of the way and then spinning so Raolcan could take his flame on his underbelly. I held the chains as tightly as I could, jerking and straining against his maneuvers.

  But if I had to guess, I’d say that the light probably protects them.

  My dragon! A warrior and a scholar!

  And a great charmer with the ladies – but you wouldn’t know about that.

  One day, I’d meet one of these fictional lady dragons.

  Hold on!

  We were dodging again. From the corner of my eye, I saw a Red dragged to the ground by a pair of Silvers. One of them plucked the rider from his dragon’s back, snapping him in half in a single bite. A shudder of terror ran through me and my gasp sounded more like a pained cry.

  We circled to the side as Raolcan chased after a Silver. His rider was distracted with trying to catch Ahlskibi off guard. All around us, Reds fell from the sky. We were losing. Without the surprise attack through the snow, they had seen us coming and they were too used to training and fighting alongside each other. We were no match for them.

  Got him!

  Raolcan grabbed the Silver’s tail, yanking him backward at the same time that Ahlskibi whirled and crunched the Silver’s head in his jaws. Ahlskibi wrenched his head back and forth like a dog fighting for a stick, and then released the dragon, letting him fall from the sky. I watched in grim horror as his rider screamed throughout the fall to his death. That could be me. It could be all of us.

  It was already most of us.

  I’d lost track of Hubric in the fighting and I didn’t see him now. Leng on Ahlskibi was with us, but as the Silvers re-entered formation, a chill formed in
me.

  The Reds were gone – obliterated. We’d only escaped because we were at the tail end of the fighting.

  I craned my neck back to look for help. Across the field of battle, Ashana finally had the other dragons formed up, heading into battle, but she was going to the aid of the warriors in the field, not to our aid. There would be no help for us.

  Leng was signing something. It wasn’t a sign I knew. He always forgot that I hadn’t been at Dragon School for very long.

  When the odds are stacked against you, throw something at that stack! If nothing else, it will be fun to watch it topple.

  We were diving so suddenly that a scream wrenched from my throat. My hair was streaming behind me, my eyes watering. Raolcan’s neck was stretched as far forward as it would go. A Silver dragon barely managed to dodge our flight. We were a meteor descending from the heavens. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were flames around us as we shot down from the sky toward the ancient stone of the ruined healing arches.

  Someone was yelling from behind us.

  I think Leng’s mad that we went first. He and Ahlskibi are a pair of glory-hogs!

  And then we struck the stones with a mighty crack. Crumbling rock flew in every direction. The smell of char was heavy in the air. We skidded out of control until we came to a stop – finally – just behind the terrifying figure of Iskaris – the false Dominar – the crown-stealer.

  If I had been afraid before, it was nothing compared to this.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ahlskibi’s aim wasn’t as accurate as Raolcan’s. He careened across the platform. Skidding and spinning, flaming randomly at anything that moved. I ducked low, protecting my face with my arms in case he hit me. What was he thinking?

  It’s a dragon fear response. He doesn’t like what Leng is telling him. Not one bit.

  What was my husband telling him?

  I looked up to see Leng leap off of Ahlskibi’s back, sword in hand. He sprang into a fighting stance and gave a shout. Iskaris spun, his masked crown gleaming in the light of the rising moon. The intricate dragons in the carved crown seemed to gleam with a light of their own. He drew a blade with his lone hand, but his head tilted to the side in curiosity.

  “My brother’s blood calls out for you,” Leng called. “Come. Face me. I will join your death to his.”

  “Brother?” Iskaris was not loud, but his voice seemed to ring across the platform. Was that natural to him, or an effect of the masked crown?

  “Shonan, Dominar of these lands.”

  Iskaris’ laugh was mocking. “He was your brother? I killed him before your eyes!”

  “I haven’t forgotten.”

  “Boy, I’ve killed a thousand men and I’ll kill a thousand more. I can add you to the tally if you’re so set on it.”

  “You stole a crown that isn’t yours, stole a nation that didn’t belong to you, stole the lives of innocents. It’s time you paid for that.”

  Iskaris slashed his sword through the air dramatically. “I’ve never taken anything that didn’t already belong to me. This whole land and every soul within it ... they’re mine.”

  What was Leng thinking? If Shonan couldn’t defeat Iskaris one on one, why did Leng think he could? I felt ill watching him mock a man like Iskaris - ill with worry. I didn’t want to watch my love slain on these stones any more than I’d wanted to watch Shonan die. Couldn’t there be another way? After all, we had two dragons just sitting here while they threw comments back and forth? Why didn’t they try to knock this imposter off his feet?

  Raolcan moved subtlely and Ahlskibi – now riderless – joined him. Flames burst from their mouths, hot and quick, narrowly missing Leng as they concentrated their power to destroy one single target.

  The Dominar laughed as their flames washed over him, never touching his skin, though it singed the guards around him.

  “I suppose you don’t know much about the dragon crown, do you? I didn’t at first, either. But it makes a lot of sense. If a man is going to lead a kingdom of dragons, he’ll need to be immune to their flames. Whoever crafted this crown was ingenious. As long as I’m wearing it, the flame does nothing to me. Your dragons are useless.”

  A half dozen Silver dragons descended suddenly, surrounding our dragons with their bulk. Not only was their flame useless, they were also blocked from physically interfering with the fight.

  And now Leng was trapped into a fight with Iskaris. There was no way out.

  They circled each other, blades up. I couldn’t see Iskaris’ face, but I didn’t need to, to know he was smiling. Just as he dragged Shonan out of the circle to die, just as he stole his life and Dominion, just as he fought him to his last breath and then brutally murdered him – so he would do that to Leng – to the one who was more precious to me than the skies and the stars.

  I reached toward Raolcan, but all I felt in him was matching horror. There was no way out of this.

  My breath came in short gasps, my heart pounded so hard that my head hurt. There was no way out. Unless ... but those flashes backward in time didn’t come when you needed them most.

  They didn’t come when Iskaris’ blade darted out and nicked Leng’s hand before the battle had even begun.

  They didn’t come when Iskaris laughed wickedly.

  “You’ll die like your brother and I will have everything. Do you know what it was like to serve as a dragoon all those years? I watched the crown go to that boy. He had nothing to recommend himself to anyone. He had no reason to be given it, but the law doesn’t care about fair. It didn’t care about how hard I worked. It didn’t care that I was better than him, smarter than him, faster than him. It didn’t care that he gave such weak orders, that he ignored good advice. When we fled on the ground, carrying his litter, all I could think of was what a fool I’d been to hope in a man. All men let you down. Every human story is a sad story.”

  I wanted to scream that it wasn’t true. But how could I say that? Every human story eventually ended in death. Oh, you could put it off for a while – maybe for a long time. You could do meaningful things and love people and make life worth living, but in the end, we all had to turn and face the long shadow. In the end, we all had to look back and see the errors, the failings, the weakness. In the end, there was no way across that terrible chasm except to leap – and we had to leap alone. He was right. Every human story was a sad story.

  And as I looked out over the battlefield I saw that playing out in a thousand individual dramas as dragons fell from the sky and smashed on the ground below, as soldiers died in blood and fear, as those citizens who ran bravely into danger when anyone else would have fled, dashed against the Ifrit army like surf on the shore, as Baojang – noble, proud Baojang – was whittled to a sliver, as even our Troglodyte allies began to stumble, to fall into the mud like candles sinking in a swamp. I looked over to Savette and Rakturan, the last hopes of two nations. Starie raised a hand and they both stumbled, dropping to one knee. Even there, it would not be enough.

  “And this sad story needs an audience,” Iskaris said, easily parrying Leng’s charging rush and swatting him aside. “You’re not good for much beyond destroying plans, cripple.” He was talking to me! “Let’s see how badly you destroy this man’s plans just by watching. Come down off that dragon.”

  Why would I do that? He had to know there was no reason that I would!

  The Silver dragons pulled in tighter so that Ahlskibi and Raolcan had to back up. There were more of them, too. The surviving Silvers from our battle slowly rejoined the ranks. Three of them dragged a purple dragon to join us at the edge of the platform. Kyrowat! Hubric clung to his back, but both were muddy and injured, surrounded by Silver dragons.

  “Come down, or watch these loyal Silvers melt your dragons into oblivion with their flame. And if they so much as twitch – my dragoons will flame you to smoking bones and ash.”

  I scrambled off of Raolcan’s back, adjusted my crutch and hobbled forward. He knew how to make me obey. I’d do anyth
ing for my dragon.

  Leng, face screwed up in concentration, attempted to leap under Iskaris’ reach, but the older man stepped out of range at the last second, smacking Leng’s back with the flat of his sword.

  “A little closer.”

  I hobbled closer.

  “Good. Stay there. It will keep us both focused and give an audience for what is coming.”

  “And what is that?” I asked.

  “When I finish chopping this man into mince, you can tell the world what you saw. You can tell them how I destroyed all challengers and how you – somehow a catalyst for the Lightbringers – are now bending the knee to me and to the Chosen One.”

  I tried to shoot a determined look at Leng, but he was concentrating on Iskaris. Why couldn’t one of those blasts come? This would be the right time! This would be the perfect time for it!

  Nothing happened except that Iskaris and Leng sped up, their blows and counter-blows beginning to blur with movement.

  “Stay back!” Iskaris called to his dragoons as they shifted impatiently around the perimeter. “This battle is between me and the boy. The regular rules apply. If my crown is taken from me, it is taken fairly. But, it won’t be. There is no threat here.”

  I bit my lip, leaned on the crutch and hoped against hope that Leng would stay quick, that he wouldn’t let Iskaris get the better of him, that he still had a chance.

  Every story might be a sad story, Amel, but that’s not the whole story. Why do you think that Ibrenicus wrote down the prophecies? Why do you think that the Lightbringers cling to them? Why do you think that the power of truth in Savette’s magic is still enough to fling back Ifrits and push Starie’s mirror magic away?

  Why?

  Because this life is only the beginning. And that chasm you must leap is only the beginning. I believe with all my heart that once it’s been leapt you will be surprised to realize that it wasn’t as deep as you thought it was and that it never had the power to swallow you up.

  He was just saying that because I thought we were going to die and he was trying to cheer me up.

  I’m certain that it’s true. And Amel?