Dorelle whipped out her dagger and hacked at the tentacle in front of her while Mashira fought to stay aloft. The dragon dragged the kraken with her, clawing at the tentacle around her leg and breathing fire at the area where the head was.
But the sheer weight of the huge, massive kraken was taking its toll on the dragon’s strength. More tentacles curled up.
Dorelle frantically wished for her bow. Instead, she was reduced to hacking at the one tentacle she could reach. Pale liquids poured out of the cuts she dealt out, and Dorelle assumed this was the kraken’s blood. Yet the beast seemed almost oblivious to pain. The tentacle didn’t even flinch when she hacked at it again. Dorelle gritted her teeth.
Mashira sagged, as another tentacle wrapped around her lower body, almost fouling her wings. The dragon fought valiantly, but the kraken was now pulling her closer and closer to the water.
Dorelle screamed in frustration and plunged her knife into the tentacle in front of her. She could tell that Mashira was losing her fight, the massive dragon’s strength being drained away.
More tentacles reached for Mashira. Dorelle hacked on in desperation. Suddenly the hideous head of the kraken appeared above the water. One large, black eye glared at her, full of malice. Or so it seemed to Dorelle, when the creature’s beak clicked a few time.
Mashira was gasping for air. Yet another tentacle wrapped itself around her forelegs. Already, her claws were underwater, and she was being dragged down more. The kraken glared at Dorelle, lifting its head higher.
Did the beast hate humans?
Its beak clicked, very close to Dorelle’s leg.
In a last, desperate move, she flung her dagger at the huge eye just beyond her knee. She couldn’t miss.
The creature shuddered. The black eye swirled with pale fluids. Dorelle realized that the kraken lacked eyelids. Instead, the eye retreated among folds of skin, but not before she saw that it was completely destroyed, her dagger deeply embedded in it.
The tentacles slipped away from the dragon as the kraken sank back into the sea.
Wearily, Mashira rose higher, out of reach of any tentacles. Dorelle hugged the smooth, scaly neck that still bore round impressions of the kraken’s attack.
“Oh, my darling”, she whispered. “Find a safe place to land and rest.”
The dragon glided over to a large rock towering near the coast. She had no strength left for a graceful landing, she just grabbed the rock and sagged down, wings hanging low with exhaustion.
That thing almost had me, she admitted after a long while. I never thought anything could match a dragon’s strength.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t a better fighter. I should have brought my weapons.”
Your dagger did the trick, Mashira replied. And we live.
That was true. Dorelle took a deep breath and looked around. All three ships were out of sight, and she just hoped they had used the opportunity to escape.
It was evening when Mashira wearily returned to the fishing village. In the water, Kraken lurked and jumped at her shadow before they reached the beach.
The rescued ships had arrived long before her. A crowd gathered where the dragon landed. Dorelle slipped off her dragon’s back and found the elder.
“Mashira needs food very urgently. Do you have any old goats or sheep that you wouldn’t mind losing?”
Serand smiled. “Your friend will not lack food. I will tell the village. We’re already preparing a feast, and she shall not go without.”
Just a few minutes later, two boys herded a small group of animals toward Mashira. The dragon reached out with one foreleg, grabbed a sheep and tore out its throat.
One of the boys screamed, and Dorelle went to him. The boy was shaking. Dorelle touched his arm.
“She is a dragon. I’m sorry that she’s a messy eater.”
The boy looked up at her. “She’s so fast. What if she wants to eat me?”
Dorelle smiled. “Never. You can be sure of that. A dragon will never harm a human unless that human is threatening her or her rider.”
When Mashira was curled up and falling asleep, Dorelle joined the feast.
She discovered that she was supposed to sit next to Serand. She almost refused this place of honor, but he insisted.
“You saved our ships and our family members. You discovered the threat to our village and way of life. And you and your dragon killed the giant beasts. Now we can send out the ships to fish again.”
Dorelle shook her head sadly. “Those were only three of an entire army we saw. Kraken are probably all over the coast. I don’t think you will be able to fish any time soon.”
Serand stared at her. “An army of kraken? Attacking us?”
The dragonrider sat in thought. “No, I don’t think so. They would need less to keep you from fishing. This looks like a big attack on something else. Maybe your entire coast. Maybe all humans who venture to sea. Those kraken are not stupid.”
“They are not mindless?” The elder’s eyes were huge. “They have a plan?”
“That’s what I believe. There was too much hatred in their eyes.”
“Oh, my.” The elder fell silent for a while. Then suddenly, his face brightened. “We can still celebrate today’s victory. Let us worry about everything else tomorrow.”
Dorelle smiled wearily. Serand was right. She gratefully accepted the plate full of meat and vegetables he handed her.
MASHIRA NEEDED a few days of rest before she was willing to fly out with Dorelle to watch for more of sea monsters. Even then, she only took them up to the first cloud height. When the sun slanted across the sea, they discovered that Dorelle’s fears had been well founded.
Kraken were traveling along the coast in large numbers. And they were traveling south. Dorelle bit her lip. She asked Mashira to follow them for a while, and even as the land curved over to the west, the kraken continued southwards.
“We have to warn them,” Dorelle whispered, fear grabbing her heart. “Even if it means going back and running into Zomel and Ferren. I can’t betray my parents and my kingdom by hiding.”
I understand, Mashira said very gently. Then she took them back to the village.
THE NEXT day, Dorelle got ready for the journey.
“Serand, I have to go back. My parents are fisher folk. If we hurry, I might get there before the kraken arrive.”
The elder nodded thoughtfully. “You are a brave woman, to want to cross the sea again. But I understand the call of your blood.”
Dorelle’s heart felt like bursting. She quickly hugged the old man, who was clearly surprised by the gesture.
“You saved my life,” she said. “I am grateful, and I wish I could stay. You gave me a home away from home.”
Serand smiled. “Know that you will always have a home here.”
“Thank you.” Dorelle found it hard to speak as all the worries crowded her thoughts. “I may have to take you up on that.”
“For now, safe travels, my friend. And I hope we shall see you again here in the Cloud Lands.”
This time, the hug lasted much longer.
THE JOURNEY back wasn’t easy. Even though they knew what they were looking for, they almost missed the island where Dorelle had been attacked by cats. Mashira was trembling with exhaustion when she discovered it further east than they had thought. And they only saw it because the rising moon shone on a barren peak.
This time, we rest in a high place, Mashira grumbled as she finally glided in towards that island.
“That’s a good idea.” Dorelle didn’t look forward to a night or two on the cat-infested island, but they had no choice. The waters below them were full of kraken.
The dragon found a flat outcrop just below the peak that had guided them to the island. It wasn’t very protected from the elements, but there was no need to fear an attack, either.
Dorelle took off her dragon’s harness quickly, and fed her some of the dried meat she had been given by Serlun. Then she wrapped a blanket around herself and c
urled up next to Mashira, chewing on her own piece of dried meat. Sleep came quickly for both of them.
The next morning they decided to rest for another day before risking the flight to the barren island which was the next step to Dorelle’s home. Mashira killed one of the big cats for food.
Sweet revenge, she chuckled as she settled back down on the outcrop, tearing into her prey.
Dorelle didn’t watch her dragon devour the cat. Too many memories swamped her mind, as it was. It took her longer to fall asleep that night, with weird sounds wafting up from the forests at the foot of the mountain.
Mashira woke her before sunrise. Quickly, Dorelle slipped the harness on her dragon and soon they were in the air. Unerringly, Mashira aimed south.
I can almost smell home, she said quietly at Dorelle’s amazement.
“We still have to find that barren island,” the dragonrider warned.
Mashira grumbled. That horrible place. I wish we could leave it alone.
“And there are still many kraken in the water. I hope we’ll get home in time to warn my parents.”
I hope so, too. I’d never seen one before we went to the Cloud Lands, let alone so many of those beasts.
“Just let’s hope that Ferren is not waiting for us. That man is insane.” Dorelle couldn’t stop worrying about running into her former commanding officer before she could warn her parents and the other fishers. “If he intercepts us…”
We have beaten Zomel once. We can do it again. Mashira rumbled angrily.
Dorelle bit her lip. Serand had even replaced the knife she had lost in their fight with the kraken, but she still felt anxious about returning. There was a death threat hanging over her, after all.
They reached the barren island easily enough, which amazed Dorelle. Neither of them found a lot of sleep that night, despite curling up in the same place they used the first time they had been here.
Tomorrow, we will find out if Zomel is still waiting for us, Mashira grumbled. I still want to kill him.
“He’s a dragon, my dear. We don’t kill dragons.”
Yes, we do. That’s what we’re learning to fight, the dragon said slowly. They just don’t tell us right away, but we’re learning how to fight dragons in a war.
Dorelle stared. “I… I don’t want to think about that. I love dragons.”
I know. That’s why I chose you. And dragon shouldn’t fight dragon. It’s a human war, after all.
Dorelle sighed heavily. “I wish…”
Try go get some sleep, Mashira said gently. It will be a long day tomorrow.
The dragon was right, of course, or so Dorelle told herself. And she tried hard, curled up next to Mashira, sheltered under her wing. But it took hours before she could find sleep, and it was fitful and marred by horrible dreams.
She woke even before first light. The moon was setting, and a dreadful sense of urgency filled her.
She had to warn her family!
Mashira stretched and grumbled, but she didn’t resist when Dorelle slipped the riding harness over her. Soon, they were on their way, steadily flying south.
Underneath them, in terrible silence, the kraken moved in the same direction.
This time, knowing where they were going, the journey seemed less long. The sun was still far from the horizon when the first clouds came into sight, and then the sliver of land at the edge of vision.
Mashira took a deep breath and sighed it out again. Dorelle felt an inexplicable elation at seeing her home land. One glance down at the sea where kraken were still moving just underneath the waves shattered that happiness.
“We have to warn them,” she whispered. “We just have to.”
Even if they were flying to their death, she added in her mind, fully aware what fate awaited deserters.
It won’t come to that, Mashira said comfortingly. Both knew her words were empty.
Soon, they were flying with the land at their side. Dorelle had almost identified Hery Bay, when the dragon veered sharply to her right.
A ship! In trouble!
Dorelle felt her heart pumping faster. The kraken had already found a victim! She readied her bow with hands that were steady from many hours of practice. This was what Ferren had drilled her for, and she knew a rare moment of gratitude for those exercises.
Mashira folded her wings and dropped into an attack run. Dorelle tightened her fighting straps and grabbed a handful of arrows from her quiver. Yes, she reminded herself, they were a good team and would save that ship.
They rushed closer and closer. There were two kraken attacking the ship, one wrapping its tentacles around the bow and pulling it, the other heaving its weight on the stern castle. The ship was listing to starboard, sitting deep in the water.
“We must hurry!”
Mashira didn’t change her attack flight at all. I’m doing what I can.
Suddenly the bowsprit broke off. The ship pitched violently, as the kraken at the bow slipped back into the water. Some crew members were thrown overboard and more kraken appeared to grab and devour them.
Faint screams reached Dorelle’s ears above the roaring of the wind.
“Mashira, please hurry!” She fought back tears.
We’ll be there in a moment.
The kraken at the bow heaved itself back on board, pulling the ship over on its side. More men dropped into the sea. Other kraken were feasting on them.
The ship sat lower in the water. Dorelle suspected that some planks had given away under the weight of the kraken and the wild movements. The ship would sink any moment now.
“Dear Gods, let us save even one of them!”
There was no way they could eliminate the dozen kraken that were milling around the ship and preying on the seamen. And Mashira could not carry many men.
Dorelle allowed her tears to flow.
Finally, they were in bow range. Dorelle targeted kraken eyes and shot her first arrow at the one still perched on the stern. It was reaching for a man who was climbing into the rigging to escape, even as another man was slashing at the tentacles.
The ship was tilting even more, and the kraken grabbed the man attacking it, pulling it into its beak. Dorelle couldn’t see any other crew, except for the one man clinging to the top spar. One tentacle snaked around his leg.
Dorelle placed two arrows in the kraken’s eyes. The tentacle dropped, as the kraken sank back into the sea. The ship shuddered again and the man slipped, hanging onto the rigging with just one hand. A weak cry reached Dorelle’s ears.
“Mashira, we must save him!”
The dragon swept in, dodging a tentacle reaching for it. Dorelle shot that kraken, as well, which gave a weird, reedy whistle as it dropped away in the water.
The ship’s deck sank below the waves, and great bubbles of air escaped from its hatches. In moments, it would sink.
Mashira grabbed the man in her front claws and labored to escape the sheets of the rigging. One of the kraken lunged at them, aiming three of its tentacles all at once. Dorelle whipped around and sent arrows at its eyes with a wild scream of her own.
One of the tentacles slapped Dorelle’s thigh, then dropped away like the other two. In Mashira’s claws, the man moaned.
He is injured, the dragon said, her voice concerned.
“We must take him to my mother. She can help him.”
Mashira gained height as the ship’s masts disappeared under the water. Kraken were still circling and obviously looking for prey. One even lunged at their shadow.
“Can we get him up to me so I can strap him in?” Dorelle asked her dragon.
Probably not. I don’t want to risk dropping him.
“All right. Let’s get home as fast as we can, then.”
Mashira winged towards the land, unerringly turning towards Dorelle’s home.
As the cliffs came in sight, the great dragon faltered.
“What is it?”
Zomel is still here.
Dorelle bit her lips. “We must get our passeng
er up to me. We cannot fight Zomel while you’re holding him.”
There was no doubt in her mind that they would have to fight the large dragon. Ferren would never forgive her, and do his best to bring them down.
Mashira stilled her wings and started to glide. Carefully, she turned on her side a little.
See if you can grab his hand. I’m telling him to reach for you.
Amazed that her dragon was willing to talk to this man, she leaned over and managed to grab his wrist.
“We’ll swing you up here,” she encouraged him. Just then, Mashira twisted a little, trying to lift the man towards Dorelle. The dragonrider pulled and only moments later, the man was lying across her thighs, not quite suppressing a moan.
Mashira resumed her normal flight position.
“Can you hear me?” Dorelle asked.
“Yes,” the man gasped.
“Good. We will face a fight with another dragon shortly, before I can take you to safety. I need to strap you in, so you’ll be safe while we maneuver.”
The man looked up at her in confusion.
“Fight with a dragon? But why?”
Dorelle shook her head. “No time to explain right now. Can you move so you’re sitting in front of me, then lie down along Mashira’s neck?”
The man moved so slowly and carefully that Dorelle realized he must be in great pain. And indeed, one of his legs looked strangely twisted. She suddenly understood that it must have been broken just inside his boots.
He’s coming.
Dorelle gritted her teeth. She didn’t have many arrows left. She would have to make every one of them count to save the man Mashira had plucked from the ship.
She glanced at that leg of her passenger again. Making a quick decision, she took some spare rope and wrapped it tightly around the man’s boot before tying it to the harness. He screamed once and shuddered, but then just clung to the straps on Mashira’s neck, gasping for breath.
“We’ll do some really wild turns, and this will protect your leg”, she said grimly. “Shove your arms under Mashira’s neck straps. And if you can pass out, all this will be much easier on you. Pray that we win.”
Dorelle's Journey Page 4