Test of the Dragon

by Jessica Drake

  I asked Halldor to fetch Rhia and Tavarian, then led the two riders to a private room off the main hall.

  Rhia and Tavarian joined us shortly, bringing bread and cheese from the rations as well as a pitcher of water. "Sorry about the meager fare," I said as they tore into the food. "It's after breakfast and the fish we caught for lunch isn't going to be ready for a while."

  "Oh no, this is wonderful," Sirion said. "We've had nothing to eat but meat and berries for the past few days, so this is a nice change of pace."

  I took a minute to introduce the rest of the people in the room, then prompted the two riders to tell us their story. "What news do you have from the mainland?" I asked.

  "It is a terrible time for dragon riders," Nimor said sadly. "The Zallabarians are destroying all living dragons they encounter and confiscating any dragon eggs they can find. We thought we would be safe since we both live in remote country estates, well hidden away, but the enemy has managed to rally even the country folk to their sides. They have been ratting out our locations, forcing us to flee so they can loot our estates and steal our land. The only reason Sirion and I escaped is because our servants warned us what was coming."

  "That's terrible," Rhia said, her voice full of sympathy. Her lack of reaction told me that the men were telling the truth, and I relaxed a little even as my heart ached for their plight.

  "Terrible doesn't even begin to cover it," Sirion said. While his partner was sad, his dark eyes blazed with pent-up rage. "If I were a young man and my dragon were stronger, I would have stayed and fought with everything I had. They're not just killing our dragons, they're also taking away our children!"

  "Dragon rider children?" I frowned, remembering the children Rhia had brought with her when we met up in Ruisin. I exchanged a worried glance with Tavarian.

  "Are they only taking dragon rider children?" Tavarian asked them. "Or commoners as well?"

  "Just dragon rider children, and only boys," Nimor said with a puzzled frown. "I imagine that's because there are no women in the Zallabarian army. The only thing we can think of is that they're planning to brainwash our children and the newly hatched dragons into fighting for them."

  "I wonder why the autocrator is putting so much time and effort into this," Jallis said with a frown. "After all, he's already proven that he doesn't need dragons to win wars. Much as it pains me to say it, it would be easier to kill them all."

  "I have met Reichstein on two occasions, back when he was still just a general," Tavarian said, his tone turning sour with distaste. "The man is ruthless and pragmatic, but he is also quite forward-thinking. My guess is that he sees a military use for the dragons that we have not thought of, possibly a pairing of dragon riders and technology."

  "What, you mean like mounting guns on the backs of dragons?" The very idea sent a chill through my bones. "Why would that be better than just using airships?"

  "Dragons can execute all kinds of maneuvers in the air that ships can't," Jallis pointed out reluctantly. "If we'd had guns mounted on the backs of our dragons, the war might have gone differently."

  The older dragons looked appalled at the idea, so I quickly changed the subject. "Did you have any other news for us?"

  Nimor opened the flap of the brown leather satchel slung around his shoulder and removed a large oval object wrapped in thick cloth. "No, but we did manage to save these eggs on our way out." Everyone in the room sucked in sharp breaths as he laid out three dragon eggs on the floor. They shimmered like jewels in the shaft of light coming through the window, and my breath caught as I remembered the first time I'd laid eyes on Lessie's egg. I'd barely realized what I'd been holding when she decided to hatch after lying dormant for hundreds of years, and that moment had changed my life forever.

  Now, here were three shining opportunities for other lives to be changed. So long as the Zallabarians didn't find us here first.

  "Please, Commandant," Sirion implored. "You must send a contingent back to Elantia and rescue the remaining dragon eggs. If we can also rescue the male children, so much the better, but it is absolutely imperative that we seize the rest of the eggs while there is still a chance."

  I froze, torn between the desire to help and the instinct to stay as far away from the enemy as possible. "Do you have any idea which families have yet to be hit?" Tavarian asked.

  "I'm afraid not," Nimor said. "But we can tell you which ones have already been targeted, which may help narrow things down."

  We took down the list from the two riders, then called an emergency council meeting in the great hall. In addition to the men and women I'd come to depend on—Ullion, Kade, Daria, Rhia, Jallis, and Halldor—there were also ten others, all high-ranking officers of varying ages and temperaments. Jallis knew them all far better than I did after being stuck with them in that Zallabarian prison mine, but after a few days here I was already learning their names.

  As expected, Sirion and Nimor's news caused an uproar amongst the council members. "I have two little brothers back home!" Byron, a hot-headed lieutenant with unruly blond hair, shouted as he jumped to his feet. "We need to go back to Elantia right away and rescue the remaining children."

  "My mother has two eggs hidden on our property," Daria said, her face pale. "Do you think they've taken them already?"

  "We will mount a rescue mission to retrieve as many eggs and children as we can," Tavarian said sternly. Somehow, he managed to pitch his voice above the clamor without raising it, and the din died down a bit. "But no one is running off half-cocked to do this by themselves. We will form a plan and execute it. Understood?"

  Mutterings of "yes" rippled through the room, while others were more enthusiastic. "We should try to take back whatever gold and valuables we can as well," one of the older officers said eagerly. "We need all we can if we're going to establish a proper base and fight back."

  "I do have something in mind regarding that," I said. "If we plan this right, there's no reason we can't kill three birds with one stone."

  We started off our agenda by making a list of all known dragon children and eggs at risk, as well as who would be in charge of rescuing them. Since they were fairly spread out around the country, we decided it would be best to send teams of three to each of Elantia's ten prefectures—thirty riders total—and an additional ten to ferret out any gold and treasure we could take back with us.

  "Is it worth it to attempt a rescue at Zuar City?" one of the officers argued. "We all know the city is firmly under Zallabarian control and will be heavily guarded."

  "They will have already evicted everyone from Dragon's Table by now, and taken over the residences themselves," Tavarian said grimly. "Zara and I can attempt a flyover, since I have my cloaking spell, to see if there are any dragons in the area, but I doubt we will be able to get anywhere."

  I met Rhia's eyes from across the room and felt a squirm of guilt as she blinked back tears. I knew she was thinking of her mother, whom she'd been forced to leave behind. By the time she'd reached Zuar City, sent to warn them of the attack, they had already been hit and she'd barely escaped with her life. "We'll let you know if we find anything," I said, and she nodded tersely. It was the best I could do.

  "So where are we taking the gold from?" Kade asked, his eyes gleaming. I could tell the prospect of a treasure hunt excited him, even if we were risking our lives to do it. "Are we going to break into the estates the Zallabarians have taken over? It's little more than what they deserve, and if they can't pay their troops, so much the better."

  "That would be extremely dangerous," Tavarian said. "We don't have the necessary intelligence, and even if we did, those estates are likely well-armed.”

  "What about the floating islands?" Daria asked. "The Zallabarians haven't occupied Elantia for very long. It's likely they've left them untouched."

  Tavarian and I exchanged startled glances. "That's...an excellent idea," he said. "I'm not sure why I didn't think of it myself."

  Daria grinned. "You two don't have to thi
nk of everything," she said. "We're a team, and the rest of us can contribute too."

  "You're absolutely right." I smiled as Daria's words settled around my shoulders like a warm blanket. Tavarian and I didn't have to think of everything on our own. The men and women we'd surrounded ourselves with were smart and capable, more so than me in many ways. I might have been their reluctant leader, but there was no reason I couldn't lean on them for support and guidance when needed.

  The cooking volunteers announced that the fish was ready, so we had lunch brought into the council room while we continued to hash out the details of our rescue operation. I was halfway through my plate when Halldor suddenly jumped up from his seat and rushed to the window.

  "There's a ship approaching!" he shouted. "With roughly four hundred passengers aboard!"

  "Four hundred?" I nearly shrieked. "What flag are they flying?"

  "They're running one up the mast right now," Halldor said. "It's...Elantian."

  "Damn." We raced out of the room collectively, and ten of us armored up and winged our way to the rocky shoreline to meet them. The settlement was located only a mile from there, and we knew that the locals would be waiting, ready to attack the newcomers and steal any resources they'd brought.

  Sure enough, there were several hundred locals waiting by the shore, armed with spears and bows and wooden swords. "No fire!" I shouted to the others as we dove toward them.

  Thankfully, the other dragons obeyed, keeping their flames firmly banked in their bellies. We swooped over the crowd, low enough for the dragons to knock back the villagers with the gusts of wind from their great beating wings, but high enough that they couldn't easily hurt us. A few stray arrows bounced off my dragon rider armor, and two of the riders got nicked, but after seeing how their projectiles bounced harmlessly off dragon hide, the villagers turned tail and ran for the hills.

  "Good job," I told Lessie as I patted her neck. "Now let's go see who these people are."

  Lessie flew over to the ship. Despite the flag, it seemed to be of Warosian make. None of the men and women on board showed any fear when we landed on deck, and when Tavarian and I dismounted, a man stepped forward to greet us. He, like everyone else on board, wore a tattered gray shirt and trousers, but his air of command told me he was in charge.

  "Good afternoon," he said in an upper-crust Elantian accent. "I am Captain Ragorin, and these are my fellow soldiers. We recently heard that the dragons and their riders were liberated in a daring rescue, and so we staged an escape of our own from the POW camp where we were held and came to find you. Are you the ones who executed the rescue mission?"

  "We are," I said. "I'm Zara Kenrook, and this is Lord Varrick Tavarian. Are you seeking refuge with us?"

  "We are," he confirmed. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

  I sighed. "There are people on the island, Elantians who were abandoned there a long time ago, who are extremely hostile to outsiders due to a lack of natural resources on the island. They are going to be furious if we bring you ashore."

  "Well, you're going to have to." A man wearing a tri-cornered hat stepped forward. The brass pommel of his sword stuck out from behind his long blue coat, and his clothes looked much finer than the rags the soldiers wore. "I'm Captain Longforth, and this is my ship. I agreed to help these men because they couldn't stay where they were, but I can't keep them aboard my ship indefinitely. They're going to have to get off here whether you like it or not."

  "We weren't planning on turning them away, Captain," Tavarian assured him. "We just want the men to understand what they're walking into."

  The captain brought the ship to shore, and the soldiers disembarked via rope ladder, dropping into the waves and swimming ashore. Tavarian and I thanked the captain for his assistance, then flew back to the base, helping the other riders escort the soldiers and protect them from any locals still thinking about striking out.

  "Great," Daria grumbled under her breath as we headed back in. "Just when I thought we had enough bedding and supplies, this happens. Where are these guys going to sleep?"

  "We're happy to camp out in the main hall at night," the captain said from behind us. "As for food, we all know how to hunt and live off the land."

  "Hunting is scarce here, and the locals see us as trespassing no matter where we go," I warned him. "Your men will need to be prepared for confrontations, and you cannot, under any circumstances, steal the livestock or the crops. These men and women may not like us, but they're still Elantians. We have no right to steal from them."

  "Understood," Ragorin said, and he sounded like he meant it.

  We brought the soldiers into the main hall and told the rest of the riders who they were and where they came from. Many of them were dismayed at the addition of so many mouths to feed, but others recognized them as potential manpower for the fight ahead. As I gazed at the sea of people, another headache started to brew behind my forehead. Just when I thought we'd handled the rations, even if temporarily, we’d increased our numbers to five times what we started with.

  "We're going to have to go fishing five times a day," Lessie said gloomily, and I might have laughed if I didn't half think it was true myself.

  Thankfully, the dragon riders didn’t grumble about the newcomers very long. Soon enough, they were helping the others figure out how to settle in, giving the bulk of the fish we'd caught to the men and breaking out more rations. "We were in the middle of a council meeting when you arrived," I told Ragorin. "As the leader of your men, you should join us."

  "Of course." He quickened his step to keep pace with me and Tavarian as we headed back to the council chamber. "I'm sure I'll be able to be of some help."

  We all sat down again, and with Rhia in the room to vet every word, Captain Ragorin told about the escape. Inspired by the dragon riders' escape, they'd managed to break out of the prisoner camp in the middle of the night and had fought their way through to the Warosian border.

  "The Warosians wouldn't let us stay, of course," Ragorin said, "but they did let us pass through, and with the help of Captain Longforth, we managed to make it here. At first, we weren't sure where to go, but by the third day of our escape, your location had become common knowledge."

  The blood drained from every face in the room. "The Zallabarians know we're here?"

  "I would assume so, since the Warosians do. In every town we scouted for intelligence, people were talking about rumors of a dragon rider base in Polyba. Apparently, some sailors saw you guys land here, and they helpfully decided to spread the news."

  "Damn." Tavarian rubbed his jaw. "We were hoping to remain undetected a little longer. Even with five hundred men, we will be hard-pressed to defend the island if the Zallabarians decide to mount an assault."

  "Then we will need to move as soon as possible," Ragorin said. " I'm wondering why you haven't already."

  We explained about the airship accident, as well as the secret weapon we were looking for.

  "A weapon that could devastate the Zallabarians, eh?" Ragorin said as he scratched at his unruly beard. He likely hadn't been given the opportunity to shave or trim it since being captured. Nearly all the men with him sported unkempt beards and overgrown hair, against regulation. "Well, that's certainly worth sticking around for, but we'll have to search for it double-time. In the meantime, my men and I are more than happy to help with anything you need. There are several cooks amongst us, as well as mechanics who can help repair the damaged airship."

  "Real mechanics would help tremendously," Tavarian said, brightening for the first time since this conversation had started. "We might be able to shave a week off the repairs if we have experienced hands working on it."

  I certainly hope so, I thought. There was no way the dragons could carry all five hundred men across an entire ocean, and if that airship wasn't ready to go by the time the Zallabarians turned their attention our way, we were toast.

  5

  I spent the rest of the day out with Jallis, catching hundreds of fish t
o bring back for our exponentially larger army, as well as preparing defenses should the Zallabarians attack our base before we were ready to leave. Tavarian, Rhia, and I would likely have to start our quest for the forge before the airship was repaired, and I wanted to make sure the base was as well defended and prepared as possible before we left.

  By the time my head hit the pillow that night, my eyelids slammed shut and I fell asleep. But the deep, dreamless sleep I hoped for did not come, and I found myself racing through the darkness, trying to outrun the insidious voice whispering in my ear.

  Give it up, Zara, it cooed, wrapping around me like black silk on naked skin. This burden you carry is so heavy. Surely you can put it down for a little while.

  It was heavy, I realized, glancing down at my arms. At first, I thought I was holding a swaddled baby, but nestled in the cloth was the piece of heart, a black diamond that glittered even in the absence of all light. It seemed to glow from within, an eerie red light that was as mesmerizing as it was repulsive. I wanted to hold it close. I wanted to throw it far, far away.

  I just needed a break from all of this.

  "No!" I shouted, trying to snap myself out of the funk. But a great clawed hand appeared before me, twice as large as my entire body. Talons the length of my arm extended toward me, toward the diamond, and I reached for my dragon blade only to find it wasn't there...

  "Are you looking for this?"

  A familiar voice pierced the darkness, and the dragon god roared as a shaft of light struck the space between us. I gasped at the sight of my dragon blade standing right there, sticking out of the ground like a double-ended spear. I lunged for the weapon, and it came into my hand almost before I touched it, spinning and bending to my will as it always had.

  "Get back!" I cried, slashing at the dragon god's hand. White fire rippled along the wound, and the dragon roared again. Anger and pain reverberated through my skull as the white fire spread, engulfing everything until there was nothing but light...until there was nothing at all.