by Apryl Baker
They’d watched as her form contorted, her face becoming one of a monster. She’d grown to the size of a small mountain and he and Valeria had understood just how deadly this place was. She’d become a dragon: a vicious, fire-breathing dragon. They’d barely escaped the island with their lives and the ship had sustained more damage than when they’d first arrived. He had a feeling it was going to be a bigger fight to get out this time around. Previously, there had been only one dragon; now he felt so many eyes boring into him. There had to be at least a dozen people out there watching him and his crew.
“We need to check the area around the ship: go into the tree line,” he finally said. “She’s in the jungle.”
“Sir…maybe we should consider the possibility…”
Lukas turned before the words were out of the sailor’s mouth. “That our Captain is dead? Emerald is not dead. She wouldn’t leave us and we’re not leaving her. Do you understand?” The last word was snarled and the crewmember backed away slowly. His anger burned and he took slow deep breaths. He needed to stay focused on the danger around them and the search for Valeria, or Emerald, as everyone except he called her. “Move out.”
They tiptoed deeper into the tree line, wary of any movement out of place. Lukas heard things creeping around in the underbrush, yet every time he checked, he saw nothing except undisturbed black dirt. He knew something had been there, however there were no tracks. How was that possible? He and Valeria had often talked about what else might inhabit the island and they’d both agreed neither wanted to find out. The sentiment still held true. He just wanted to find his friend and get out.
Unfortunately, he didn’t think it would be that easy.
The trees were thicker the farther they went from the two downed-ships. The limbs bowed, clutching at the pirates’ moving forms. It unsettled Lukas more than he wanted to admit. Being back here was giving him a serious case of nerves. He knew what was going to attack. He just wanted to find Valeria and get out.
The scout held up a hand and they all paused. Lukas crept forward and crouched. His eyes went to where the scout was pointing. He saw it then: a flash of color. The ground around the flash of light was splattered with blood. The creature hiding in there was injured. He motioned for his men to move forward quietly as he cautiously approached the first of the blood. It was wet, fresh.
He was about three inches from the trees where the blood led when something launched itself at him. He lost his balance and went rolling, whomever or whatever that attacked him hung on. When Lukas finally stopped rolling, he was staring up into a pair of spitting mad, emerald green eyes.
“Took you bloody long enough.”
***
The merchant ship’s hold was empty. The fire consuming the ship was enough to send any hideaway running for the jungle. With his prisoners and the men and women from the merchant ship in tow, Stephen had a choice to make. He could either push deeper into the jungle to search for the pirate ship or return to his own ship with the survivors he already had.
More than anything, he wanted to capture the remaining pirates left to guard their own downed ship. They were responsible for the events that now found them in the middle of the forbidden island. No matter how much his moral compass told him bringing the brigands to justice was the right thing to do, the risks were just too great.
With both civilians and prisoners in tow, along with more enemies watching them from the jungle undergrowth, the odds were stacked against he and his men. The only choice now was to return to his ship, deposit the people at hand, and then go and confront the remaining pirates.
“You hate this don’t you?”
Stephen looked over to his friend with a blank expression. “What are you talking about?”
Amil walked side by side with Stephen through the jungle, retracing their steps back to The Dragoon. They traveled in the middle of the convoy. Smoke from the burning merchant ship waved a slow, steady goodbye behind them.
“Come on, I know you want to go after that pirate ship and the crew that’s been left on board to guard it as much as I do,” Amil said.
“You’re right. I do, but we have to consider the civilians. This is the safest plan for everyone.”
“You know,” Amil said as he patted the stock of his rifle. “You could just send me in. The ship couldn’t have more than a handful on board left to guard it. I could have it cleared in a few minutes.”
Stephen loved Amil like a brother, still the two didn’t see eye to eye when it came to the ethical guidelines of combat. “I’m sure you would. You’d probably kill them all without giving them a chance to surrender.”
Amil shrugged. “They made their decision when they chose to break the law. Besides, look how it passed for you when you gave them the choice to surrender.”
Stephen shook his head. The two men were on the verge of repeating an old conversation, one which never turned out any differently. Before Stephen could voice his opinion, a roar split the air.
The noise was loud enough to make Stephen’s sternum vibrate. It was a noise he was sure he had never heard before. As the roar continued, Stephen realized it was not one throat bellowing the cry; it was many.
Stephen and his convoy stopped as the sound continued and began to eat away at their courage. The noises were coming from every direction. Some were far off, others too close for any sense of security.
Even as the orders to run were on Stephen’s lips, two new plums of fire and smoke rose toward the sky. Stephen’s heart sank. He knew what was happening. “Get back to The Dragoon!” He was sure his shout was lost in the cacophony of monstrous sounds. Whether they heard him or were just running to escape the sound, the group took off at a dead run.
The unknown assailants watching them in the jungle were smart. Instead of attacking the group, they were patient enough to wait and cripple any means of escape first. A new pillar of smoke was rising from where the pirate ship landed and another near to where his own craft had came to a rest.
No, it couldn’t be his ship. Stephen’s mind raced with every kind of scenario as he charged through the jungle. Vines and tree branches struck his face and hands as he ran forward. The sting of scrapes and cuts across his body lost their pain in the face of his current circumstances.
Stephen flew past his men, prisoners, and the freed members of the merchant ship. Across all their faces was the same look of confused horror. With the roars all around them, they weren’t sure if they were running toward the enemy or away from whatever it was.
It was a small act to give them hope; nevertheless Stephen was willing to take any opportunity he had to secure all remained of their morale. “This way,” he yelled as he took the lead. “Follow me.”
Heartbeat matching his thoughts for speed, Stephen cleared the last outline of trees and came to a skidding halt. His heart sank. They were too late. The Dragoon was a roaring ball of fire.
Chapter 8
Val’s ears rang from the roar of the dragon. She and Lukas were in a dead run trying to get out of the trees and back to the shore where The Emerald Queen was docked. She only hoped her sailors who had been guarding the Navy ship were able to escape, but her heart told her that no one could survive that blast. It had happened too quickly and they’d hit both ships at the same time, giving neither any warning. She glanced back and saw two of her sailors take hold of Tobias and carry him. His injuries must have finally caught up with him. She shook her head and prayed they’d make it to the ship before the dragons found it.
Screaming started behind them and she winced. It had to be the crews from the merchant ship, the pirates, and the royal Navy. She could hear the flapping of the wings overhead and hugged the tree line in response. Her own crew did the same. They’d seen what the beasts could do and wanted no part of it.
The smell of smoke and charred flesh reached them and they all winced. The dragons were closer than Val originally thought. She could see the trees overhead swaying violently from the air created by their win
gs. Her heartbeat sped up and she pushed her legs even faster. They had to reach The Emerald Queen before the dragons. She couldn’t lose her ship. She wouldn’t lose her ship. It’s all she had in the world. Everything she valued was on that craft including the people she considered family.
Her sailors were prepping the vessel for takeoff when they broke through the trees. Val breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her ship. The deep emerald color was the exact same shade of green as her eyes. It rose nine decks high. She’d had it built small in order for it to be faster than most of the ships travelling the skies. Less bulk meant they could overtake their prey and escape just as quickly. The design was hers and there wasn’t another ship like it anywhere. She loved her ship.
Dragons weren’t touching her baby.
Another group of stragglers burst from the trees about three hundred yards away from her, but she paid them no mind. Her sole focus was getting on her craft. If they made it, they made it. Her concern was her sailors, not the Royal Navy or the survivors of the pirate and merchant vessels. She pushed her legs faster, knowing if they didn’t take off within the next few moments, The Emerald Queen would suffer the same fate as the other two ships.
A shout sounded from the other group and her head turned slightly. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and cursed. Stephen. Blood ran down his face as he led the way through the jungle, toward her ship. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t leave him behind. She owed him her life. He’d bought her way out of the Royal Navy. She’d planned on just going AWOL, but he said they’d execute her if she did. She hadn’t known what else to do at the time. She’d had no money, no family she could go to for help. Stephen hadn’t told her about buying her papers until after he’d done it. She owed him and she hated owing people. Especially Royals. They were bloody irritating.
Sighing, she returned her attention back to getting on board. If she wasn’t in the air in less than five minutes, none of them had any chance of escape. She breathed a sigh of relief when her hands grabbed the rope ladder and she began pulling herself up the hull of the ship. Her men had closed the ship’s doors leading in and pulled the walkway. All that remained were dozens of rope ladders swung over the side. Once her feet hit the deck, she began barking orders. The steam engine beneath them was fired up and ready to go. All that remained was getting her crew and Stephen on board.
Lukas shook his head in disbelief at Val when she told him to fetch the captain of the Royal Navy’s vessel, but she gave him the stare that challenged him to defy her and be left to rot here on this island. It wasn’t one she gave often; still it had him barreling back toward the beach in seconds. With Stephen taken care of, she ran up to the helm and checked her guidance system. They were fifty clicks from the nearest safety zone. One thing she had discovered: the dragons kept to a relatively small area, although they were territorial over that area. She just had to outfly and outmaneuver a couple dozen of the beasts who breathe fire at every turn.
Easy.
She laughed at her own sarcasm. This was going to be the biggest fight of her life. Val glanced down to see if Lukas had made it back to the ship when she saw her. The girl was standing on the deck, looking at the sailors running here and there curiously. Although she couldn’t have been more than twenty, her hair was a solid shade of white. Even from here, Val could see the color of her eyes. They glittered a pure purple in the bright sunlight. Why did no one else see her? They were sidestepping her, although none of the crew seemed to be fully conscious she was there. Was it some sort of mind control the girl was using on them? And why wasn’t it working on Val?
The dragon morphing meant trouble and Val had no intention of letting the girl call to her kind. Val scrambled down the ladder and grabbed one of the pistols from the holster of a crewmember she passed as she ran. The girl turned when Val was inches from her. The surprise in her eyes didn’t make Val hesitate. She brought the pistol down hard on the girl’s head, knocking her out cold. She gave instructions to bind the girl to the first crewman she found: to gag her and secure her safely to the mast. Val wasn’t about to put her in the brig where she couldn’t watch her. If she shifted into her dragon form in the hold of the ship, it would be ripped apart. Dragons were massive beasts that could easily span two of the largest war ships the Royal Navy had.
People were streaming toward her ship and she frowned. There was no way they were all going to be able to board. She saw Lukas climb up, throwing Stephen on the deck. The man was unconscious. She quirked an eyebrow at her first mate and he glared back at her, his eye already bruising. That was going to be some shiner. An older woman climbed up next and Val quickly turned away before the woman saw her face. No one except her crew knew what the notorious pirate Emerald really looked like. It wouldn’t do for the Navy to figure out who she was. They’d execute her on outraged principle alone. She trusted Lukas to see to the “prisoners” safety. She laughed mirthlessly. Who would have thought that she’d end up running for her life and rescuing a prince of the Royal house of DeCadia as well? Especially one who she had given her heart to long ago. It wouldn’t do for him to find out who Emerald was. Not at all.
She gave the order to lift off and then turned her attention back to the helm. She could hear the roars coming closer. The dragons would be here within moments. The ship groaned as she lifted off the ground: the people still climbing up the ladders began to scream as they fell. Only a precious few made it aboard as The Emerald Queen reached the skies. Val closed off her mind to the screams of those she had to leave behind. She’d seen Tobias struggle aboard and that was all that she would let herself dwell on. Collateral damage. That’s what the Navy had called casualties that were left behind. Collateral damage. She boxed it off in a corner of her mind and said a silent prayer to the gods as she spotted the first dragon break the tree line. The enormous jet black beast let out a war cry and Val’s hands tightened on the wheel.
Here we go, she thought.
***
The room was a spinning mass of blackness and pain. Stephen winced and regretted the action at once. Discomfort drummed deep in the back of his skull and promised him that a, enduring headache was inevitable. Voices around him made Stephen focus past the agony. He was lying on his stomach on a harsh wooden floor. All his weapons were gone. Steel bars surrounding him on three sides with a thick wooden wall making up the fourth behind him.
A single circular window allowed light to enter his cell. As Stephen struggled to his feet, he realized where the shouts and noises were originating. The familiar sound of boots hitting a deck in hasty preparation told him he was on a ship. How long he had been out and who had knocked him unconscious was only just coming back to him.
The last thing Stephen remembered was running. Panic gripped him. The last thing he remembered was seeing his own ship on fire before being chased by winged behemoths through the jungle. His remaining crew following, they had reached a clearing with an unknown vessel. Before he could make sense of where the ship had come from or whose it was, Stephen was knocked unconscious by a man he’d never seen.
But that wasn’t important now. Now, he needed to find out the situation of the men and women under his command. They were his responsibility. Stephen pushed himself to his feet just as the boards underneath him creaked and swayed. The ship was starting to move. Stephen made his way to the gate of his cell. Both hands on the cold steel, he shook the metal with irritation.
“Is anyone there!? Hello!?”
His shouts were answered by the faint sounds of running feet and terrified voices from somewhere above. Stephen shook the bars again not because he thought they would move but his frustration demanded an outlet. Years of experience told him the ship he was on was gaining altitude.
With no way to tell where he was—or more importantly, whether his crew was safe—Stephen’s mind raced to find a course of action. The room where he was kept was small; three cells on either side separated by a narrow walkway with closed doors on both sides.
His vision was limited at best. Still he could make out the canopy of many-hued green below him as the ship rose in the air. Heat filled the air as flames danced past his small outlet. Stephen took a quick step back. Information raced through his pounding head just as fast as he could form thoughts. He must not have been out for long. He was on the mystery ship he had seen in the jungle after being chased away from the inferno that was his own craft. Now the dragons were attacking.
Fear for the lives of those under his command was the only thing on his mind. An attack from a pack of dragons meant their odds of survival were beyond slim. Unless the steamship had one ace of a pilot behind the hull, he and whoever else was on board were about to die.
Stephen hammered at the wood around the window with closed fists. He knew the motion was pointless but he had to try something. Screams from the dying and the acrid stench of burned flesh wafted through his small, open cell window. His fists were bleeding by the time he stopped trying to rip the wood away from the window.
The ship shook as one of the dragons made impact. Stephen bottled his frustration and focused on seeing as much as he could of the events outside. For a moment the whole world went dark. A rush of night covered any of the sun’s light. A running mass of dark scales flew by.
Stephen got his first look at a dragon up close as the creature did a complete circle right outside his cell window. The monster was easily bigger than his own ship. Perhaps even twice the size of any ship in the Royal Navy. The beast’s head was larger than Stephen’s entire body. A mass of rippling muscles lay protected under the armor of thick scales.