“Do you see the people on that trail?” Hubric said at last.
“Sure.”
“That’s trouble right there. Pray – if that’s something that you do – that they haven’t found my stash.”
His stash? What would he be stashing up here? Gold? Weapons? My eyes widened suddenly. Maybe being patient and waiting to see what happened next had been a good idea. Especially if –
“Skies and Stars! Hold on!” Hubric yelled.
I barely had time to grip the saddle before we were diving toward the ground.
Chapter Five
IT WAS ALL I COULD do to hold down my bile. We were falling like a stone from the sky, my stomach in my throat. I held tightly to the saddle, but images of Kyrowat, Hubric and I splatting on the stone like overripe berries made me ill.
The wind whipped my cloak up, so that it flapped above my head, leaving my body exposed to the harrowing cold. I clenched my jaw and squinted my eyes against the rushing air. The trees punched into my vision like a bad memory, suddenly filling every empty space with swinging evergreen branches and thwack sounds as we hit one branch after another. No wonder Kyrowat was so gnarled if this was how he landed!
And then he was rolling in the air like a fish in water, so that I went from falling to spinning to the side. I ducked as a branch nearly took my head off. I couldn’t tell if I was more terrified or exhilarated.
Kyrowat completed the roll. Oof! The air was knocked out of me as we spun back upright. Something must have hit me on the way. I couldn’t even be sure what it was. My head was spinning. Were we slowing?
Bright lights flared in front of me, and for a moment I thought they were in my pounding head. But wait! Was that -?
Magic!
A ball of fuchsia fire arched across the sky, smacking into one of the trees and lighting it ablaze. Sparks rained down with pops and crackles. I wouldn’t mind standing near that right about now. My fingers were losing their grip on the saddle they were so cold. I flexed them, trying to get them limber again. What if I had to grab something? I needed my fingers!
Yells and calls filled the air along with the continued thwack thwack of branches hitting dragon.
“You had a knife with you, didn’t you, boy?” Hubric called back to me.
I barely managed to answer, “Yes!”
“Unbuckle from the harness.”
Was he crazy?
“Do it now!”
He was crazy! What was I thinking getting involved with this? I gulped a mouthful of air and fumbled at the buckle, my cold fingers dull and thick.
“When we get close to her, jump off and cut her free! Kyrowat and I will do the rest!”
Her? I had a sudden mental image of a pretty girl in a red dress half-fainting against a tree, wrapped in ropes as thick as my wrist. I’d save her and she’d be so grateful ...
I strained to look, but I couldn’t see anything past Hubric’s blowing white hair. He should cut it.
“Ready?”
A fireball whizzed past us, inches away, and smacked the tree right beside me. It lit up like a torch. I yelped – a distinctively unmanly yelp and felt my face heat. Who were these guys? What kind of people flung fireballs around like stones?
“Three ... two ... one .. go!”
Go!
I leapt. Why? I couldn’t have said, but there was something about Kyrowat’s voice in my head that made him difficult to disobey. I landed lightly on my feet, gasping in gratitude that the drop hadn’t been very far. Kyrowat must have been flying with his belly skimming the ground.
Now, to find the girl ...
A second fireball splashed across the frozen ground in front of me, lighting dead grass and sticks up in eerie half-normal, half-magical flames. I dodged to the side, trying to get my bearings. Men with arms raised surrounded me. Some in colorful ornate robes. Some dressed like normal townsfolk. Normal townsfolk didn’t throw arcs of green flames the way that man was, though. The arc barely missed Kyrowat as he spun through the trees, circling to come back to where we were.
Where was the girl? I scanned the trees, my eyes skipping across them so quickly in my haste and fear that I barely seemed to digest what I was seeing.
There was a tumbledown cabin – in flames now. Men and women in Magika robes were pawing through the brush around the cabin and standing in a ring nearby throwing fireballs at Kyrowat. They had packs and packhorses with them like they were travelers and the one nearest me had a frown that furrowed his brow worse than a farmer’s field. What were they worried about? They were the ones desperate to share the gift of fire with the world, not us!
Behind you!
I spun. Stumbling over a root as I turned. The world was swimming in my view and the sounds disoriented me even worse. Was that my heart thudding so hard that it seemed to be knocking me off my feet?
I caught my balance and looked up to see a dragon tied around the neck between four trees with wrist-thick ropes. How would you tie up a dragon like that? They must have caught him while he was sleeping! His hide was blackened and sooty, so I could barely tell what color he was underneath. One eye was swollen and there was a nasty rip in the corner of his mouth. He hadn’t let them take him without a fight. Good on him!
Cut her free!
Her who? What was the old man’s dragon talking about?
Saboraak!
I don’t speak dragon, you musty old rug! And I don’t see a girl. And you fools put me down in the middle of a hornet’s nest!
One of the Magikas rushed toward me and I fumbled to find my knife. The hurt dragon’s mouth was bound with rope – a thinner rope than he was tied with. He wouldn’t be any use. He might make good cover, though. Kyrowat had better hope they didn’t tie him up like this.
I won’t be surprised in my sleep.
I stumbled to the dragon’s side. Actually, if I cut that rope, maybe he could add a little flame. On an impulse, I pulled out my belt knife, grabbed the dragon’s snout forcefully with one hand, ignoring his widening eye, and then tucked my knife in behind the rope and sawed at it. This had better work! I never signed up for heroics.
My back was exposed. If I didn’t hurry, one of those magical creeps would plant a knife in it. There! The rope came apart in my hands like wet parchment and I flung it to the ground, diving for cover under the dragon’s belly.
He roared, flaming wildly.
Overall, it was one of my smarter choices. Under a dragon beats being in front of him when he was flaming. Maybe I should free him the rest of the way before I looked for this girl. Yeah. After all, I couldn’t save her if I was dead.
I rushed to the ropes holding the dragon’s head in place and began to saw at the first one. I tried not to look too hard at the blackened corpse smoking in front of the dragon. The snow was melting around him.
That guy really had been about to plant a knife in my back – or a fireball – or whatever magic creeps used to kill. But the smell of him brought back memories of my ruined city.
One rope down. I rushed to the next one, sawing at it, too.
“Hang in there, guy,” I said aloud. “I’ll get you free and you can roast the rest of them.”
I could hear him flaming again, but I didn’t turn to look. I didn’t need to see the carnage. The heat was nice, though. I was sick to death of being cold. Maybe this dragon would be grateful and light a fire for me to warm up next to. It was really the least he could do.
I cut through the third and fourth ropes as fast as I could with numb hands and a racing heart. I was going to have to sharpen this knife when I was done. I’d taken the edge off.
Another scream told me the dragon was doing his part.
When the last cord was cut, I finally looked up.
“Go get ‘em, fella!” I called.
Now, where was this girl?
Who, exactly, are you calling ‘fella’?
The voice speaking into my head was distinctively feminine and I froze in place, looking around. Wha-?
&
nbsp; The dragon fixed me with a single-eyed glare like a shard of ice.
Well?
Skies and stars! The dragon was a girl.
Chapter Six
KYROWAT LANDED BESIDE us, skidding to a stop.
“They burned my cabin!” Hubric said with a curse under his breath.
He was worried about his cabin when enemies lurked in the trees? I spun around in place, looking for any sign of our attackers. Blackened trails from fireballs and dragon flames spread out in every direction from our epicenter. The only sight I had of living enemies were flashes of color as figures slipped through the trees.
They’ve fled. For now.
The feminine voice in my head still surprised me. I thought dragons only spoke to people they liked. Kyrowat had only ever shared a few thoughts with me and Ephretti’s dragon never had.
Males don’t like talking to humans – most of them can’t even do it except for Purples – and they are only supposed to talk to the people they are bonded to. They say your minds are too strange for constant contact.
My mind wasn’t strange. It was quick and clever. Maybe that was the problem. I was smarter than most dragons.
There was a hiss of steam beside me.
Hubric glanced over at us from where he was dismounting.
“Don’t irritate her. She’s been through a lot. They took her by surprise when she was in a deep sleep.”
“I didn’t do anything!” I protested. “She’s mad at my thoughts.”
“Then stop thinking stupid things! Here, come and look for the root cellar with me. I stashed some things in there. This place was supposed to stay hidden, but who could have predicted a mass migration through this forest?”
I backed up from the dragon, trying to keep some distance between us and nearly stumbled over one of the fallen Magikas. It was all I could do not to heave. What had I gotten myself into?
I gathered myself and followed Hubric over the frozen ground. This was too much. I needed to get out of this situation right now before it was too late. I didn’t owe Hubric anything. I didn’t have to stay. If I left now, I could get back to Vanika in a week or so and go back to my normal life. Why were my hands shaking like that? Stupid hands!
I dodged a small grass fire and looked over my back at the girl dragon. She was puffing flame across her own hide. Weird. I never would have suspected she was a girl. She didn’t look at all feminine. She paused to hiss at me and I jumped. Just nerves. I wasn’t afraid of her. I’d just been in a battle and I was standing in a forest that was partly on fire. Anyone would be nervous.
“She’s cleaning her scales,” Hubric said, following my gaze. “Heat helps. The Magika fire leaves an irritating residue.” Hubric kicked a pile of moss and leaves aside to reveal a wooden square in the dirt. A rope loop stuck up from it and he pulled up the trap door with ease. “They took what was in the cabin – which will be a problem for us. Either that, or they burned it, but at least there are supplies in here – or should be. Water. Food. A spare saddle and hopefully a cloak. You’re going to freeze to death in that one.”
“Well, excuse me for not being wealthy.”
“Come on. We don’t have all day. They’ll be regrouping and planning a counterattack. Two dragons are formidable, but a big enough group of Magikas can overwhelm them.”
He tossed me a thick wool cloak and I caught it, quickly ripping off my old threadbare cloak and replacing it. That was nice. Warmth and coziness. I could get used to this. I glanced up at Hubric stuffing gunny sacks into what looked like leather saddlebags.
“Why did they attack Saboraak ... that’s her name, right? Saboraak?”
“They want all dragons and the power they represent. Their power is dwindling and they’re panicking. Have you ever seen people fight over the last drop of water, over the last scrap of bread?”
“Yes.”
He looked up, startled, and then cleared his throat. “Well. Yes. It’s like that. A lot of people will throw moral compunctions aside if it’s a matter of survival – which is why we need to hurry.”
“Thank you for the cloak.” I felt awkward saying the words, but I was in his debt now. I didn’t like being in debt to anyone. It wasn’t a big debt though, was it? A nice gray cloak wasn’t enough debt to bind me to him forever. After all, I was still leaving as soon as I could figure out a good way to go. I couldn’t exactly leave when we were surrounded by hostile Magikas.
“Don’t thank me yet.” He threw a leather dragon saddle at me and I caught it awkwardly.
“Why not?”
“Because your next job is saddling Saboraak and she won’t like that.”
“Why would I saddle her?” I asked.
“Remember when I promised you I would push you off a cliff and let you fly a dragon?”
“Sure.”
“This will be worse. I’m gonna ask you to go up to that dragon and request a ride ... nicely.”
I laughed. How could that be worse? I was a charming guy. No one said no to me. Besides, this wasn’t the worst idea. I’d ride with them until tonight and then bail once the threat was gone.
“Watch and be amazed, old man.”
I left him to finish packing and climbed back up out of the root cellar. The burnt cabin and leafless trees were eerie and the scattered bodies even more so. I tried not to look at them. I tried not to think about how I’d helped put them there. Best not to think about it. There were things that were your problem and things that weren’t. People who tied up dragons and thought there wouldn’t be consequences definitely fell into the ‘not my problem’ category.
Aren’t you planning to tie me up, too?
The girl dragon was looking at me. I didn’t like how those golden eyes seemed to be able to see what I was thinking.
“It’s your lucky day,” I said with a smile. “You get the best rider in the Dominion – me.”
Were her golden eyes rolling?
I haven’t agreed to that.
Well, this wasn’t going the way I’d imagined. I’d imagined going to Dragon School and just picking the dragon of my choice. Green – obviously. I’d show him I was a good rider, strong, brave and not to be messed with and then we’d fly off into the sunset. Now, I just wanted a ride for a single afternoon until I could bail and this dragon was getting all snooty about it.
You have got to be joking.
Her soot-darkened skin changed suddenly from a soft grey color to a vibrant green and then she morphed into something larger with flashing yellow eyes and a wide frill.
I felt my jaw drop open.
That ... that ... that ... what? I was seeing things. Obviously. Dragons didn’t just change shapes and colors.
Female dragons do.
Hubric trotted up to stand beside me, looking up at the dragon with a smile on his face.
“Neat trick, hey? It’s a secret. Don’t tell anyone.”
“What’s a secret?” My mouth felt dry. “That she’s a ... a ... shapeshifter?”
“I like to think of it as being a Chameleon. She hides in plain sight. She can be any color or any shape. As long as it’s still dragon.”
The dragon smiled. Oh great. She knew she was better than me. That was going to be a problem. In my experience with girls – limited as it was – you really had to work to make sure they didn’t think they were better than you. If they did they’d order you around and try to dress you and feed you.
“Saboraak,” Hubric said, “Meet Tor. He shares your talent. He’s more than he seems.” Hubric turned to me. “Tor, stop gaping like a fresh-caught trout and ask Saboraak nicely if she will accept you as a rider.”
“Accept me?”
Hubric smacked me on the back of the head and I stumbled forward rubbing my skull irritably. How did he expect people to react to dragons just shifting color and shape? You couldn’t trust a creature that wasn’t the same from one minute to the next.
Saboraak’s eyes narrowed.
Can’t trust me? You’re not making
much of an impression.
Was she kidding? I wasn’t making much of an impression? She was arrogantly demanding that Ibeg to ride her! That’s not how it was supposed to work! I was supposed to be the one choosing my dragon, not begging a dragon to take me. I saw a blur of color racing through the trees. I swallowed. There was no way to run off right now. Not unless I fancied dying in a burst of green or fuchsia. I could either ride away on her or die magically.
That’s right, trout. It’s me or a painful death. Which do you prefer?
Oh, she’d picked up on that, had she.
“Boy!” Hubric’s word was almost like a dog’s bark. I startled.
“Will you let me ride you, Saboraak?” I asked with one of my patented false smiles. That saddle came with reins. She might think she had all the cards, but all I needed to do was get that saddle on her and she would have to do this my way.
This is why only males have ever gone to Dragon School! They’re the only ones fool enough to deal with you humans. I promised the Prince of Dragons I would do this but ... gah! I didn’t expect you.
Me? She was lucky to have me!
I turned to Hubric.
“I think we’re a poor match. We should go to Dragon School. I’m sure there will be a suitable dragon for me there. For now, I can just ride Kyrowat with you.”
Are you serious? The opportunity to ride me is an honor you are not worthy of! You should be so lucky.
Hubric’s expression was wry. A second flurry of color in the trees told me our time was limited. I bounced nervously from foot to foot. We needed to get into the air!
“I’ve decided to take you on as an apprentice, Tor. You aren’t going to Dragon School. Not now, not ever. Ashana Willowspring runs Dragon School now, and she’s given me full authority to take any trainee I want under my wing outside the training of the school. Last time I was there, I told her I was taking you. Do you know what that means?”
Dragon Chameleon: Episodes 1-4 Page 3