by Sarah Hite
With the majority of dragons and men engaged, a group of men crept from the brush. Their armor was painted black. The only color was from a gold serpent that had been painted on the right shoulder of each uniform. They carried a sword in their right hands, morning stars and flails hung from their hips, long thin blades were strapped to the backs of some, with the handles protruding above their shoulders. The rest bore chains that were wrapped around their armor like a sash. They moved through the King’s Men, cutting them down as they went. As they neared an open section of the field, they stopped and looked around. One of these men pointed at Kym, who had just dispatched several of the soldiers. They spread out and encircled her from a distance, slowly closing her in.
Ryou was standing near the back of the ranks. The old Forest dragon called out to the rest, Regroup and come together! The remaining dragons did as they were told. They grouped together and fought back. The old commander looked out over his troops. He could see them working together. Some were shielding the humans while others were freeing more from the nets that continued to drop from the trees. He saw Ryell and a small group of men fighting in a cluster of writhing bodies. One of them fell as Ryell pulled his sword free.
He turned his head and saw Kym, now backed up against the trees and surrounded by thirteen men in black armor. Kenjin! They were the duke’s specially trained dragon slayers. She would not stand a chance against them. To the Queen! he bellowed as the lead Kenjin raised his sword. The group attacked before any could come to her aid. She called out painfully as their swords cut her flesh; blood ran down her legs and sides. She cried out as the weapons struck her again and again. She tried to fight back, but they were well trained. They continuously dodged her strikes and counterattacks, and as she fought off some; others would attack from another side. As reinforcements arrived and attacked the Kenjin, the lead Kenjin raised his flail; the spiked ball chinked as it dangled from the chain. She winced as he began to swing the weapon at her.
After slaying the last of the men he had been fighting, Seoung ran to help them and watched in horror as he swung the weapon and struck her in the temple. Dazed and weak, she collapsed to the forest floor. He repeatedly struck her as his comrades fought the coming dragons. Seoung bellowed furiously and leapt over another group of soldiers. As he charged to her rescue a large group with lances and bows stopped him. They shoved the lances at him, forcing him to stop. As he engaged the men, Kym looked up at her attacker; blood ran down her face and she blinked, trying to clear her eyes. She heard a fearful scream, but in her dazed state, she could not tell if it was mental, out loud, or if she had just imagined it.
Movement in the distance made her look past the Kenjin. Her heart filled with dread as she saw the wagon Sayden had been hiding under now ablaze. He tore from the wagon and ran for the trees. Only a few yards from safety, he yelped and went down, one of the heavy nets pinning him to the ground. He struggled but could barely move under the weight of the iron mesh. Sayden! She tried to rise but only fell down again. Sayden! Her vision blurred and she began to lose consciousness. As her vision went black, the Kenjin before her was suddenly rent in two. He fell to the ground, leaving Seoung in his place.
Seoung looked up at his brother. He felt ashamed and looked back at the ground. “Between the fires and arrows we lost about a third of our troops. Nets took down many dragons, and heavy arrows did the rest. There were fifty dragons with us when we started out; now we’re lucky to have twenty remaining. Kym... Kym was injured pretty badly. She’s not doing very well.” His voice held all the emotion necessary to understand the severity of the attack.
This news was upsetting. They asked him several more questions that he answered the best he could. Mychal asked him to describe the ‘heavy arrows’ in greater detail. “They were longer than an average arrow, and thicker. They were also about three and a half feet long and roughly an inch thick. Ryell is bringing some with him.”
When Ania asked him why he had been looking for Moon he closed his eyes. “Sayden’s gone. When things settled down, we tried to find him… They took him, and we don’t know where.”
“Who’d they take?” The council turned to see Moon and Kwan, who had approached in time to hear him. Moon repeated the question, “Who did they take?” Seoung’s head dropped, and he could not meet her eyes.
Kwan added, “And who are they?” Before anyone could answer, she noticed that he was hurt. Confusion and anxiety filled her. “Seoung, what…” She saw the expressions of the council and knew. She backed away, shaking her head. “No… no!” She turned and ran as fast as she could, leaving a very confused Kwan behind. Elder drew him aside and told him about the attack. He said nothing, but they could tell he shared Moon’s pain.
“I should find her,” he said, slowly turning away. “I’ll join you,” Kyeon said, starting to follow. “No, Sire, Kym needs you. I will help find your sister.” The King turned to Elder. After a minute he agreed. Mychal suggested Kei-ata help the shaman in Ryell’s battalion. “He may be injured as well.” “Take reinforcements with you,” Flame added, holding back his anger.
Fear
Kwan tiredly laid down next to a large boulder, still warm from the sun. He had just returned from another attempt to find Moon. It had been three days since she had taken flight, three days since learning of Sayden’s abduction. Kwan was not happy. He was worried about his son; he worried about what the duke would do to the boy. He knew, better than any other dragon, what that man was capable of; but what worried him more—more than the Duke and more than his son’s fate—was Moon. She did not answer their calls or come to them. He was worried for her safety.
When she had left after the Nesting Cave’s destruction, she had been ill and weak. It was not due to the lack of food, or a difficult nesting, but because of a broken heart. She had lost her clutch, home, friends, and her brother’s trust, all in one day. On that day she had lost her faith in herself, in men, and in her own kind. Only Ania and her friends, and Pai’s belief in her, had restored her faith, but they had only restored some of what she once had. When they had found each other, she still had a great deal of recovering to do. She had been given her children after she had thought they were lost. Her mate had returned to her after he had disappeared, and her brothers when she had been lost to them. This had restored her even more, but she was barely holding on. She could easily be pushed over the edge, and now Sayden was gone. There was no telling what she would do.
He sighed and closed his eyes. Then looked out over the hills to the distant horizon, hoping, wishing for a sight of her. A bump on his shoulder made him look down. Shaelynn stood there, her black hide still visible in the waning light. She nuzzled him again and curled up by his side. It’ll be okay, Papa. She’ll be back.
I know. I’m just worried about her. She’s been hurt so much. I… I don’t know what she’ll do, he said with despair.
She nuzzled him again, her violet eyes shining in the near darkness. It’ll be okay. It will. He nuzzled her cheek and nodded. She was so young, yet she seemed to have a way of knowing things, and her reassurances calmed his whirling thoughts. He decided to ask Ania for help in the morning.
When Kwan awoke the next day, Shaelynn was already gone. She returned to him just as he climbed to his feet. She seemed excited. For a moment he thought Moon might have returned, but as they met the council, he sadly realized that it was not her. Instead, the council was talking with three men. Long hooded cloaks covered their faces and bodies. One of the men carried a sword on his hip; another one carried a spear in his right hand, and a bow hung across his back. The third man carried no weapons, but an intricately carved breastplate could be seen beneath his cloak.
Shaelynn ran off as they approached and Ryell looked up. “Ah, Kwan, you made it.”
“Has there been any news?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not” was the answer.
A soft voice made him look to his left. “If it helps, Ania left with Elder early this morning.” He
looked down at Stone for a moment, then nodded, knowing that if anyone could find her, Ania could.
He turned his attention back to the three strangers when one of them exclaimed, “Is that a black dragon?” The other two men, as well as the council turned to look at Shaelynn. She had returned to her father’s side. As she became the focus of the group’s attention, she ducked behind Kwan’s foreleg and, hiding behind it, she peeked out at the strangers. Somewhat amused, Kwan stepped back. Using his noise, Kwan pushed her out in front of him. She squeaked and ran back underneath him, hiding in his shadow.
Flame introduced Shaelynn to the strangers, and then explained that she was Kwan’s daughter. The man, who carried no weapons, stepped forward and knelt down. He tried to coax her out from under Kwan, but she only shook her head and retreated further underneath him. Flame watched them for a moment and then looked up at the dragon. Sensing his question he shook his head, saying, “I don’t know why she’s acting like this. After being raised around humans, she shouldn’t be afraid of them. Maybe she’s thrown off by her mother’s disappearance.”
The weaponless man continued to try and coax her out of hiding while his companions returned to their previous conversation. “My Lord wishes to extend his greetings, and his apologies, for not meeting with you earlier. He wishes to aid your endeavors any way he can.”
“Who, might I ask, is your Lord?” Kyeon asked, rather suspiciously.
The third man chuckled and stood after not being able to convince the little dragon to come out. “My Lord Kayton wishes to extend his greetings to the young prince.” He turned back to the council and continued with a smile on his face. “My Lord also has a plan. To quote him, ‘We’ll scare the hair off the local squirrels and make them think they’re fish!’” Lord Kayton was a bit of an eccentric. He often used euphemisms and terms that made sense to no one but himself. He was a middle-aged man who seemed to spend more time on his hobbies than on his diplomatic duties.
He began to lay out Kayton’s plan when he was interrupted by the sound of approaching wings. The council looked up as Elder landed a little ways away from them. He glanced their way but walked away instead of approaching them. Flame was about to ask what happened, and why he returned without Ania, when Kwan shrank back, shaking his head. He took a half step to the left and turned to the south. There was something in his eyes that made Flame uneasy. He pushed the feeling aside and led Kayton’s envoys into the command tent.
Ania crouched next to a reddish brown boulder. She watched the opening in the cliff before her, unsure of how to proceed. She had seen the cave from Elder’s back as they flew by. She had Elder drop her off at the edge of the cliff, and had asked the old dragon to give the council an update on their progress. That had been an hour ago and she had still not entered the cave.
She studied the entrance a moment more before cautiously creeping forward. She crept along on all fours, being as quiet as possible. When she reached the entrance she peeked in from around the stone wall. The interior of the cave was dark. What light filtered in through the south-facing opening only illuminated the first few feet. The back of the cave was a mere void. An opening in the far wall could easily be concealed within its depths.
Ania quietly entered the cave and, using the stone wall as a guide, carefully made her way to the back of the cave. She felt along the wall until she found an opening and cautiously slipped through. She stood there, just past the opening, and let her eyes adjust to the pitch black of the inner chamber. As her eyes adjusted, she became aware of slow, steady breathing.
She stayed where she was and listened to the sound. There was something about the steady in-and-out breaths that gave Ania the impression of a great pain or sorrow. She had been told that dragons did not live in this section of the mountains, and she knew that the cave was an excellent place to hide. She slowly got down on her hands and knees and inched her way farther into the chamber.
A few moments later, she reached out and felt something warm and covered with scales. It was a dragon, but was this the one she was looking for? If this was not Moon, she did not want to wake them; if it was her, then they needed to talk. She carefully reached out until she felt the scaly hide. Gently, she followed what she had determined to be the tail and followed the downward slant until she found a foreleg. Judging by the size of the leg it was a small dragon either an adolescent, a small breed, or it was Moon.
She backed up a little and sat down. Quietly, she spoke. “Moon?” The dragon did not answer. “Moon, can you hear me?” she said a little louder. The dragon’s breathing quickened and she could hear claws scrape across the stone as the dragon moved. She could feel, more than see, the dragon lift its head, and she waited until the dragon’s breathing calmed down. “Moon?” she asked quietly. The dragon’s breathing quickened again and Ania could tell that they were looking around.
“Ania?” the dragon asked uneasily. Ania did not answer right away. She was not sure of what to say or how to begin. “Ania, are you there?” As Moon spoke again, she sounded scared, as if she were a lost child. Realizing that these were her true feelings, and that she was truly terrified, Ania crept closer. She still did not speak, but as Moon sighed and laid her head back down, Ania crawled over and curled up between her front paws. She felt Moon relax and was soon asleep. Ania listened to the sound of her breathing and tried to figure out what to say.
Some hours later, Moon nosed Ania, who had fallen asleep herself. When she awoke she felt Moon move one of her forelegs and no longer felt her presence. A moment later she heard Moon ask, “How did you get here?”
“Elder dropped me off,” she answered quietly.
“How did he…?”
“He didn’t. I saw the entrance hidden in the shadows. I asked him to drop me off.”
“He’s here?” she asked uneasily.
“No. I sent him back to update the council. Do you know how long you’ve been gone?” Ania took her silence for her answer. “Moon, you’ve been gone for more than three days. Kwan’s been looking for you since you left. Your brothers don’t know what to do. Kym was critically injured in that battle. Vidar sent Kenjin,” she said sadly.
“What!”
“It was a strategic attack. They’re trying to destabilize Kyeon. Moon, it’s working. Kym is… out, and both you and Sayden are gone. He’s beginning to lose control. You need to help him.”
“I can’t… I don’t know if… if I can…”
Ania understood her fear. She was emotionally unstable and her senses were fractured. She was afraid she would hurt someone. “Moon, Elder, and Kei-ata can help you if you talk to them, but right now you need to help Kyeon. He needs you, Kwan needs you. We need you—”
Ania stopped mid-sentence. She gasped for breath. Her voice was strained as she tried to speak, “Moon, I… the only thing Moon heard after that was the sound of Ania’s body hitting the ground and her strangled breathing.
“Ania?” Moon called. “Ania!” Her own fears forgotten, Moon carefully groped around until she found Ania’s prone form, and then she carefully picked her up. She left the cavern as quickly as she dared, squinting as she entered the late afternoon light. She spread her wings, and holding Ania firmly in one forepaw, she pushed off with her hind legs. She flew quickly, and as the ground sped by beneath her, the sun began to fade. After about an hour she carefully landed and checked her direction, as well as Ania’s condition. She caught a glimpse of a dragon flying slowly in their direction.
Elder! she called out, trying to catch the old dragon’s attention. Elder, come quickly! I don’t know what to do.
Elder heard her call out and turned their way. He landed within a few minutes and saw Ania. He looked Moon over for a moment before turning his attention to the girl. Moon began to pace, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.” Elder turned back to the distraught young dragon, who showed her true age, as she continued to pace back and forth.
He sighed and set Ania back down. “Moon.” She pai
d no attention. “Moon.” He tried again a little louder; still she did not listen. He sighed again and caught her shoulder as she passed, forcing her to look at him. He looked down at her and gently said, “Moon, I know you’re scared, I know you’re confused, and I know that you’re having a hard time with recent events, but try to stay calm. I know what this child mean to you, but she will be all right.” He let her go and turned back to Ania. She lay there, her body rigid, her mouth slightly open, gasping for air. Her eyes were open, unfocused, and would have been blank if not for the terror they revealed. “We should get her back to camp.”
Elder landed quickly, just outside of the command tent. The rush of wind his landing created brought the war council outside. The human members of the council, mainly the lords, Captain Harden, Flame, Lukair, Stone, Silvrin, Martus, Tyanna and her parents, and Kayton’s envoys, came out with exclamations of anger and confusion.
“What in the world were you thinking?” Mychal shouted. The old dragon did not respond; he appeared to be looking for something. Silvrin noticed that the dragon had one of his huge forepaws curled beneath him, the same way he had when he had returned him to the Pycan Guard. “Elder, what happened?”
His question silenced the rest of the group. Elder still did not answer but, instead, turned westward at the sound of wing beats. Kei-ata Lorbrein landed about fifteen feet away and approached the group. He seemed confused. “What is it?”
The older dragon was clearly not happy; he slowly brought his paw around and carefully set Ania’s prone form on the ground. Flame rushed forward and knelt be- side her. “What happened?” he asked as the rest of the teenagers joined him.
Elder looked down at the group and said, “Take her to her tent. Keep an eye on her, and let me know when she comes out of it. I need to know what she saw.” He turned his big head to face the shaman. “Find Kwan. Moon will be back by sunrise. I sent her hunting; she hasn’t eaten in more than a week.”