His imposing figure leaned over her as his claws dug grooves into the rocky ground. “What is your name, human?”
“Seraphina. But everyone just calls me Sera.”
His eyes sharpened for a moment while he considered her. “Interesting. And where do you come from?”
“Mandar City.” If she could keep him talking, maybe he wouldn’t eat her and she could keep working on an escape plan. “I work at the Mythic Relations Office.”
He snorted. “Doing what, may I ask?”
“I’m a Tracker. My job is to track down mythical creatures who have broken the law and report their position back to the Mythic Relations Office. Depending on the crime they either send a Negotiator to speak with them or a Hunter to...” she trailed off, unsure if she should finish the sentence given the position she was in.
“I know what a Hunter does.” He dismissed her explanation with a flick of his tail. She could almost hear the eye roll in his tone. “At least you’re a Tracker. Those Hunters from the MRO are utterly intolerable. They are far too arrogant for their own good.”
“You know about the MRO?” She had figured that if her workplace didn’t know dragons still existed, then dragons wouldn’t know about the Mythic Relations Office.
“Of course,” he sneered. “You all seem to think that you know what is best for this world when you’re the ones throwing off the balance.”
“That’s not fair,” she said with a scowl. “We do important work, keeping the lines of communication open and relationships friendly between all magical creatures and the human race.”
“Really? Is that what you truly believe? Oh dear. And how do you think our relationship is going?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Frowning, Sera opened her mouth to respond but then closed it, unable to find a fitting retort. No one had ever trained her to deal with a dragon’s sharp tongue.
Stretching his wings, he strode away from her towards the mouth of the cave. “They really have shrouded the truth in a pretty lie. We will speak more after I have returned from the hunt.”
With that, he spread his wings and leapt into the air, dropping out of sight. He reappeared a few moments later, covered in the silvery moonlight, and flew east before vanishing behind the cloud. She was finally alone.
Chapter Three – Four Weeks Ago
Sera’s steps quickened as she eagerly made her way to the stables to meet Balthazar. Three times a week Sera would meet with the unicorn for a combination of endurance and combat training. He was a buckskin stallion and a great warrior. There had been a few incidences in Sera’s short Tracking career where she had stumbled upon an aggressive wild animal whilst on a mission and Balthazar had saved her life by skewering the beast. However, he did like to make sure she knew how much she was in his debt.
“Hey Balthazar, how goes the war?” Sera grinned at the unicorn.
“Poorly,” he huffed. “Those damnable colts think they know everything. I’ve been asked to teach them some manners, but I swear to Ghaia, the next one to try and nip me will spend the next ten years ploughing the field.”
“You’re a grumpy old thing today, aren’t you?” she teased, scratching his wither.
He snorted at her and shook his black mane in agitation.
“Come on, it’s endurance training today, and I need to get away from these jerks,” she said and tightened his girth.
“As do I,” was his wry response as she leapt onto his back. Once she was settled, he set off at a steady trot away from the stables and the peculiarly sweet smell of manure.
Following the Mythic War much infrastructure had been destroyed, including the factories that built vehicles. They were recovering slowly – certain government officials had access to the few cars and helicopters produced since the war – but resources were thin, and their attention had been dedicated to the production of fresh water, food and shelter first. To combat the lack of vehicles available, the MRO had made a treaty with the wild unicorns that roamed the countryside. Their services were required as a means of transport when Trackers or Hunters needed to travel long distances in rough country to find rogues. They were also handy with their horn in a tight spot. In return, they were offered stables, feed and protection from the werewolves that still hunted them in the wilds. They were finicky beasts, demanding respect from their riders. They allowed a saddle and bridle to be worn for the comfort of the rider but flatly refused to accept a bit in their mouth. When the Trackers and Hunters graduated from MINATH and commenced employment with the MRO, they were partnered with a unicorn. There was never any problem matching the riders with their mounts, as the unicorns would make the decisions for themselves. That didn’t mean the unicorns always made the right choice, but they would never admit that themselves.
Following the fence line, Sera and Balthazar travelled briskly, past the building that housed the Mythic Relations Office and out onto the main road out of town. She nodded to one of the Negotiators, Aaron, who was on his phone outside the office. Sweat rolled down his ebony forehead as he argued the case of a rogue mythic to a Hunter. Negotiators acted like counsellors and helped rehabilitate creatures that had started down the wrong path. If it was their first offence and the crime wasn’t too serious, the Negotiator would take them on as a patient and help them get back on the right path. This was usually through a combination of therapy sessions and volunteering in the local community. Aaron lifted a hand in silent greeting and continued his dispute. A small sigh of frustration escaped her lips.
“Come now, Seraphina,” her unicorn coaxed her. “Speak to me. What has happened that has caused you to, once again, label your colleagues as jerks?”
“Aside from the fact that none of them gave me the time of day during my apprenticeship? And then did a complete one-eighty when Tyler chose me as his partnered Tracker?”
“Yes. Aside from all that. We have previously discussed at length their idiotic need to conform. We don’t need to go over it again.”
“That’s true. But I’m always keen to criticise them some more.”
“Don’t wallow, Seraphina. It’s unbecoming,” he reproached.
“Gods, don’t you sound old-fashioned today?” She sniggered.
“And now you’re deflecting.” He flicked his tail hard enough for the end of it to swing up and sting her on the thigh.
“Hey! You did that on purpose!”
He snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean. There was a fly.”
She poked her tongue out at the back of his head before dropping her shoulders in defeat. She whispered, “I can’t stand him.”
“Hunter Tyler?”
“Yes.”
Balthazar cocked a sympathetic ear back towards her. “What happened?”
Letting go of the reins, Sera wrapped her arms around her middle. “He thinks he owns everyone. Including me.”
“How so?”
“I… I don’t know if I can find the right words. The way he speaks to me… it makes me feel physically ill. I go out of my way to avoid him at work. He makes me feel… unsafe. I don’t trust him. If I can’t trust my Hunter, who can I trust?”
“You can trust me,” Balthazar offered.
She leaned forward to hug his neck, burying her face in his mane, and mumbled, “Thank goodness I have you.”
He nickered to her and turned his head to nudge her boot.
The gentle sway of his walk eased her troubled thoughts as they made their way through the farmer’s fields in companionable silence. There were still many buildings, particularly on the outskirts of the city, that were dilapidated. Damaged from the Mythic War, the government had condemned the older houses and left them to rot. Sera always felt a pang of sadness when they rode past the broken structures. So many families had lost loved ones in the war and then, to add insult to injury, had lost their homes when they couldn’t afford to fix them.
The stifling heat of the day made her green uniform cling to her, and Balthazar’s creamy coat al
ready had a sheen of sweat on it. Sera kept the reins loose, he didn’t need her to add to his discomfort, and they both knew where they were going today. The ocean was only a half hour’s ride from the stables and would offer a perfect place to work on their stamina together. The ride there was a great warm-up for them both and gave them the chance to talk. Whenever the Trackers and their unicorns weren’t away on a mission for the MRO, they were required to train together throughout the week.
As they approached the coast, they passed a black lynx. The lynx sat down on his haunches and watched, unblinking, as they trotted past. Small dark flames licked around his neck like a mane before following his spine down to his tail where the fire flared at the tip. She raised a hand in greeting and it blinked once. Sera shrugged it off; in her experience, most of the feline mythics were aloof. The ocean glimmered ahead of them, like a precious jewel reflecting the sun’s rays. She inhaled the crisp scent of the sea air, the slight stickiness of the salt coating her face. The wind whispered through the sand reeds, their spiky heads nodding to the sun.
Sera kept her torso flexible and moved with Balthazar as he left the farmlands behind them and slipped cautiously down onto the dunes. He had to be careful not to canter through the soft sand, as even magical creatures could tear their muscles. They made it to the harder sand where he wasn’t at risk of damaging any tendons and she swung off his back. Small waves folded onto the shoreline and made for a peaceful ambience. Sera eyed the ocean distrustfully; no matter how serene it appeared she knew the dangers that lurked beneath the surface. So long as they didn’t run into any kraken or seahorses, she’d consider it a successful training day.
Balthazar followed her gaze, then nudged her shoulder. “Don’t fret, I can handle anything that comes out of the water.”
“If you say so.” She shrugged. No use worrying about it until it happened.
Together, they started their training session, her jogging beside the unicorn’s striking figure. He was the stuff of every little girl’s dreams, his long, black tail swinging with each powerful stride, his mane rippling in the ocean breeze. But it was Balthazar’s horn that was the most awe-inspiring thing about him. It was hard as diamond and longer than her forearm. Onyx stones encircled the base of the obsidian horn, and while Balthazar refused to tell her their purpose, she was certain she had seen them glowing during battle.
Sand flicked up and coated his flanks as he galloped ahead of her, pushing his limits. She switched between running and jogging, giving her body time to recover between sprints. Staying alert, she kept a close eye on the shallows. Balthazar returned from his gallop, blowing hard, but within minutes had regained his composure.
“Ready to surf?” She grinned at him.
He rolled his brown eyes and snorted at her. “Has anyone ever told you how strange you are, even for a human?”
“Not in so many words.” She bumped his shoulder with her elbow, enjoying his easy companionship.
Sand surfing was her favourite part of their training regime. She pulled the small fibreglass board from where it was folded up on the back of the saddle and clicked the catch to release it. It sprung open to four times its size in an oval shape, at which point she placed it on the ground. She clipped the long reins onto a buckle at the back of the saddle and ran them back to the board. Balthazar leant down to the board and tapped it with his horn, creating a protective ward around the front of it. This would stop her getting a mouthful of the sand that would be kicked up by his hooves when they were galloping. She patted the unicorn on the rump before picking up the reins and stepping onto the board.
“Ready when you are, Balthazar.”
He eased into a walk, and the board jerked forward under Sera’s weight as she used the reins to balance. He jumped into a trot and she leant back slightly to keep the board under her feet. He tossed a quick look over his shoulder to check that she was still upright before leaping into a canter.
She kept her core strong and held onto the reins. The pounding of Balthazar’s hooves kept a steady rhythm as the board slid easily over the wet sand. Grinning, Sera leant right and scooted the board closer to the ocean. She could barely call it exercise when it was this much fun. Even though she would have sore arms and abs tomorrow, it was worth it for the adrenaline. It was a great way for them to use each other’s strength to improve their own. Pulling her weight behind him whilst cantering on the beach helped Balthazar to further develop his stamina, while she worked on her upper body. A wild laugh bubbled up from Sera’s belly as the wind whipped through the ward and tangled her hair. Any sand that flew into the ward slid off to the side as it hit the invisible barrier. They both were sprayed by ocean mist from the wave crests as they crashed onto the coast. Together they flew along the shoreline until they arrived at the rocky cliffs that blocked them from going further. Balthazar bent his hocks and dropped his rump low into a sliding stop, forcing Sera to leap from the board to avoid catapulting into him. She tried to take a few running steps to slow her forward momentum but failed. As she fell, she tucked herself into a ball and managed an ungainly forward roll back up onto her feet.
Panting, Sera dusted the sand off her clothes and raised an eyebrow at Balthazar. “What was that for?”
The unicorn chuffed a few times in his version of a laugh. “Just keeping you on your toes. You’ve got to be ready for anything.” He snorted at her, covering her arm in dirt and mucous from his nostrils.
“Gross. You know I hate it when you do that.” Sera screwed up her nose in disgust as she wiped off the scum on her tank top.
“You should be delighted that a unicorn as majestic as myself has deigned to share my mucous with a human such as yourself.”
“Has anyone ever told you how strange you are, even for a unicorn?” she deadpanned, using his own words against him.
He chuffed at her once more. She chuckled along with him. Turning back towards the cliffs, they stepped up onto the rocky plateau at their base. Rockpools were exposed with a colourful array of life inhabiting the tiny pools. Electric blue starfish and vibrant purple crabs clung to the slippery walls while the silvery flash of tiny fish caught Sera’s eye as they darted undercover. Sera knelt to get a closer look. She loved observing the miniature ecosystems. As she leaned over, she felt the ground beneath her shift unnaturally. She leapt away blindly, splashing into the water, and pulled her knife from its sheath. The boulder she had been standing on rose up, cracking as it broke away from the rest of the stony outcrop. It wasn’t a boulder. Three pairs of spindly legs held up the armoured body, and large pincers clicked out from under the exoskeleton. Two long, segmented tails swung up threateningly.
“Shit! Balthazar, watch out for the scorpius!” she yelled.
This mythic was a master of camouflage and deceptively nimble. It wielded heavy clubs at the end of both its tails. The armoured back was almost as high as her shoulder, but the tails made it appear even taller. The scorpius whirled around and aimed a strike towards her torso. Dropping to the ground, she rolled to the side to evade the twin blows. The scrape of the rough rock bit unforgivingly into her skin. Chips of rock exploded beside her as the hammers struck the ground. She was a Tracker, not a Hunter. Much better equipped for hiding and finding traces of rogue mythics than open combat, it was still mandatory that she undergo some Hunter training for this exact scenario.
The MINATH mantra, “Capture, don’t kill,” echoed in her mind as she tried to find a pattern in the mythic’s movements.
She heard Balthazar whinny behind her, but she couldn’t spare him a look. Keeping her eyes trained on the creature she twirled Firinne between her fingers, using the familiar feel to help her focus, and searched for an opening. There was meant to be a small nodule in their armour in the centre of their abdomen. If she managed to hit the nub hard enough, it should become paralysed for half an hour, allowing her time to detain it.
Assuming it doesn’t club me to death while I’m trying to give it a belly rub.
The sc
orpius scuttled swiftly towards her, readying its heavy weapon for another attack. Concentrating on avoiding the deadly cudgels, she almost forgot about the pincers. A claw the size of her arm darted forward and barely missed her throat as she threw herself out of the way. Stumbling upright, she felt the blossom of blood dampen her shirt. The scorpius had missed her neck but sliced into her bicep. Hissing in pain, Sera stumbled backwards to get out of its range.
If I have to kill it to save myself, I will.
The thought of taking her first mythic life made her stomach clench, but if it was a case of kill or be killed, she’d prefer to do the killing. The creature scurried forward, taking advantage of her misstep, tails raised as it prepared to smash into her body.
“Balthazar!” Her voice crept up an octave.
The unicorn was already there. He double-barrelled the mythic’s plated body with his hind legs, and while it didn’t damage the armour, it did flip the creature onto its back. Sera seized the opportunity and vaulted onto its bared belly, plunging the hilt of Firinne onto its Achilles heel. The staghorn handle found its mark and, after a moment of resistance, the bump clicked down. The desperate scrabbling of the scorpius’ legs immediately froze and its body stiffened. Adrenaline still poured through her body as she slackened her tense hold on the knife. Pushing herself off the underbelly of the paralysed mythic, she staggered over to Balthazar.
She leant her head against his and whispered, “Thank you.”
“All in a day’s work,” was his gruff reply. But he followed it up with a soft whicker and snuffled her hair with his muzzle. “That’s five times I have saved your life now. I’m winning.”
Her heart rate slowing to a more reasonable rate, she flicked her long braid over her shoulder and flashed a cheeky grin. “I’m pretty sure I distracted him so you could save me, and I did incapacitate him… so I think we’re even.”
A Dragon's Mind: A New Adult Fantasy Dragon Series (The MINATH Chronicles Book 1) Page 2