Silver Batal and the Water Dragon Races

by K. D. Halbrook

  “Mrrph.” Hiyyan shook his head and scuttled out of the cave entrance, dragging bits of wool in the sand.

  “Hiyyan! There isn’t enough camouin to cover your wings.”

  “Mrrrawww!”

  “Come here!”

  The Aquinder shook his head, then ducked his neck down and backed right out of the fabric disguise. Silver scrambled out, limped to the wool, and gathered it in her arms. It was heavy, but Hiyyan was big and strong. It probably felt like nothing to him.

  “Sagittaria Wonder knows I’m here, but she doesn’t know all the reasons why. If people know what kind of dragon you are, there’s going to be trouble.” Silver sent Hiyyan an image of the crowds in Calidia. “They’ll go wild, and then how will we get to the Winners’ Audience and ask for your mother back?”

  Hiyyan flopped on his belly and looked away from her.

  Silver dropped the wool on the ground and went to her water dragon, sitting beside him and putting her arms around his neck.

  “It’s not just Kirja. If we don’t race, they’ll try to kidnap you, too. Those are the rules.”

  Hiyyan’s skin went cold. Silver got his message loud and clear: Those aren’t the rules in my world.

  “We’re not in your world,” she said.

  Silver thought back to what Nebekker had said about never racing Kirja. A bond wasn’t the same as claiming. Silver understood that, but she had seen other things, too. Like the green-and-white dragon she’d passed during her cart ride. It was contained by several lengths of chain, wrapped around its body and head, with three men keeping it from running off. At first, she’d thought its face was angry, but perhaps it was sad … or desperate.

  Hiyyan absorbed the image, then turned his head to her, searching her face with his big, dark eyes.

  “On the other hand,” Silver said, “there were those adorable Abruqs in the pools. They seemed happy enough to be where they were.”

  Hiyyan nudged her and showed his teeth.

  “No, I don’t want to trade you for an Abruq. Knock that off.”

  “Mrruggrr.” Hiyyan stuck his chin in the air.

  Silver’s voice softened. “I don’t want to lose you at all, Hiyyan. Ever. We’ll show up and cross that finish line, and that’s it. One Aquinder safe. We can be together without fear in any world. We’ll be free. Your wings will never be bound again. Then all we’ll have to do is get your mother back.”

  Hiyyan sighed, blowing a ball of sand into the air. He tucked his muzzle into Silver’s palm.

  “Let’s practice. Without the disguise. You can get your first taste of the sea.”

  Hiyyan’s eyes flashed, and his grin was as big as the desert.

  THIRTY-THREE

  Silver poked her head out of the cave entrance and looked around. A desert beetle marched in front of her, but all else was quiet. Were there still guards among the trees, scouring the orchard for any sign of her? Was the boy going to come back?

  There should be a way to access the sea without going through Calidia, she thought. The city was a semicircle, with the sea making a border along the edges. That meant the city tucked around the water, like there was an inlet. But the shoreline must continue past the city in at least one direction.

  Hiyyan stood and shook the sand out of his wings impatiently.

  “We can’t fly,” Silver said. “Someone might see us.”

  The water dragon let out a whoosh of air that sounded almost like a sigh.

  “But we don’t have time for anything else.”

  Hiyyan flapped his wings so hard with joy that he lifted off the ground and churned dirt all over Silver. She spit gravel out of her mouth.

  “Thanks for that.” She laughed.

  Hiyyan landed and bent his leg for her to climb up. Silver’s heart beat so fast and hard she thought her chest would burst.

  It was finally happening. She was going to fly.

  She dug her fingers into Hiyyan’s ever-growing mane and hoisted herself up, swinging her still-painful foot over his back and landing square in the middle, her face pressed against his lizardlike skin.

  Hiyyan straightened his legs and rose, unfurling his wings to their massive span. He began to run.

  Silver wasn’t ready. Her hands clutched at his mane again, but she couldn’t hold on. She toppled off the water dragon and landed with a crunching thud.

  “Hey!” she said.

  Hiyyan looked at Silver sheepishly.

  “Let’s try again,” she said. “This time, give me a warning before sprinting off.”

  Hiyyan crouched. Silver raised herself up. Once she was centered on her water dragon’s back, he craned his head at her, a silent question in his eyes.

  “Okay. I’m ready.” Silver lowered her body so that only her head was up. She held onto his mane for dear life.

  Hiyyan’s wings stretched again, the beautiful violets, blues, and pinks that, Silver had read, were reserved for the male Aquinder on full display. He took a few steps toward the road, sending waves of warmth back to Silver, to check in on her.

  She tightened her grip until her knuckles went white. Then she nodded.

  Hiyyan burst into a run.

  Silver bounced on his back, clenching her thigh muscles and digging her feet in, determined not to be thrown off again. Her eyes squinted against the sting of rushing air. She anticipated what it’d feel like to fly, and her thoughts went back to the feeling of soaring down the sand dunes on Brajon’s dune board.

  It will be freedom, she thought to Hiyyan. It will be everything.

  When they had gained enough speed that the orchard trees blurred together, Hiyyan gave one great thrust of his wings. Silver’s stomach dropped to the desert floor as they darted into the air.

  She sucked in her first breath of sapphire-blue sky and let out a sound of pure wonder.

  The air was crystal clear and cool. As Hiyyan flapped his wings, he radiated happiness, and his emotion seeped into Silver’s bones. She loosened her grip and slowly, carefully sat up higher and higher. Her hair whipped behind her, snapping at the ends. The wind bit at her lips and ears.

  The feeling of flying was hard to describe. She felt unstoppable, and exhilarated to her very core. Everything she’d ever wanted, and everything she wanted for Hiyyan, was coming alive in that moment.

  “We did it, Hiyyan!” Silver said. She laughed and laughed as they soared across the desert. “Woooooo!”

  Her shrieks must have startled desert foxes back into their underground burrows and made sleepy desert beetles roll over on their backs. Hiyyan honked, too, his joy echoing over the sands.

  Silver never would have predicted how natural it felt to be on Hiyyan’s back. How smooth and graceful they both were. Especially for two creatures who flopped and tripped whenever they went about on their own two, or four, feet.

  In the distance, Silver saw the indigo of the sea.

  “Let’s go this way.” She tugged gently on the left side of Hiyyan’s mane.

  As he turned, his body was all muscle and power. Silver held on tight again so she wouldn’t slip down his side. Her feet tucked into the nooks where his wings met his body.

  Every turn and swoop felt huge. Like they were carving the sky into pieces. Eventually, Silver got comfortable enough to sit up fully, her back tall, and close her eyes to just feel the world rush past her.

  “We have to fly as far from Calidia as we can,” she said. “The clouds will help camouflage us, and I don’t think there will be very many people looking up when they’re distracted by the races, but just in case, we have to be careful.”

  Silver looked back at Calidia. The palace towers pushed into the sky above all else. From up this high, she could even see the sea. The great cargo ships that waited at the docks looked like children’s toys. She wished she could see Kirja from here.

  Silver craned her neck farther over her shoulder. Deep in the orchards, a smattering of specks roved among the trees. One of those specks stopped moving and seemed to be looki
ng up. She quickly looked forward again. Had any of them seen her?

  There was nothing to do but move forward with her plans. She still had her disguise to count on. With her arm outstretched toward the water, Silver sent her thoughts to Hiyyan. See that cliff? Let’s enter the sea on the other side of it. We’ll be out of view of Calidia there.

  Hiyyan grunted his response, and Silver grinned. When Kirja had been rescued and this was all over, Silver would test the limits of their communication, moving farther and farther away from Hiyyan to see if he could still hear her. It had worked when she was in the orchard and he was near the river cave. Maybe there was no limit to how far apart they could be.

  They flew over the cliff, and as soon as the dragon cleared the rock, he dove toward the water. Silver’s mouth opened in a silent scream. Salty sea air rushed past her ears so loud it sounded like rampaging herd animals. Her stomach wasn’t near her feet anymore; it had lurched up and got stuck in her throat.

  “Hiyyan!” Silver’s eyes teared up. She could see nothing but water.

  And then, Hiyyan hit the sea with a monumental splash. Silver had time to suck in one last breath before they dove under the waves. She squeezed her legs and clutched her fists around the dragon’s mane. Silver’s lungs began to burn, but before she started to really panic, they burst back up and bobbed on the surface of the sea.

  “I can’t swim—you know that!” she sputtered. Her clothes were soaked, but at least her bag, made of soft but tough leather, repelled the water.

  Hiyyan snorted and paddled his legs.

  “Oh, you would have saved me if I’d fallen off?” Silver coughed up seawater. “I think a better idea is that we get you fitted for a saddle.”

  This time, her Aquinder growled.

  “Just learn to swim? That’s easy for you to say. I don’t have webbed toes like you do.”

  The Aquinder huffed two short breaths. Silver glared and squeezed seawater out of her hair. Hiyyan laughed.

  “Since we’re bonded,” she said, “what do you think would happen to you if I drowned?”

  She laughed as Hiyyan’s jaw dropped open.

  “Enough teasing. Time to be serious. The race is in a few hours, and you’ve never even swum in an open ocean. So … swim.”

  Hiyyan didn’t have to be told twice.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  The dragon pulled his wings close to his body and paddled harder with his legs. They picked up some speed, but Silver knew it wasn’t nearly fast enough to win any races.

  “Use your tail, too,” she suggested.

  He swished his tail side to side—slowly at first, then more quickly as he established an easy rhythm. That definitely helped them gain speed. Hiyyan sank lower into the water, and Silver followed his lead until her head just barely reached over the top of Hiyyan’s, letting her see what was ahead of them.

  “Now your wings,” Silver said.

  The Aquinder unfurled his wings over the water, skimming the surface with their tips. He dipped them under, pushed them back, lifted them, and dipped again. Each time he dipped, Silver thought she was going to slip off his back. But after a few rows, she got the hang of the rhythm.

  “Okay,” she said. “Faster now.”

  Hiyyan followed her instruction, rowing his wings quickly. His movements were rough at first. It took a few attempts, but it wasn’t long until he seemed to figure out the best height to lift his wings, and how deep to put them in the water to gain the most speed as quickly as possible.

  Good, Silver thought. Keep it up.

  He responded with an image of them flying away from Calidia with Kirja in tow.

  Exactly, Silver thought. For Kirja. And for us.

  She wished she’d stayed longer near the seawall and watched the other water dragons practicing. She had no idea what kinds of water dragon abilities they might be up against. She didn’t even know the length of the races. Was it a sprint, or a longer distance? Would they have to surge forward quickly, or was there time to build up their speed?

  Silver swallowed. She wasn’t well prepared for the races. She wasn’t well prepared for any of the things she was doing. But she was going to succeed. There was no other option.

  “On the count of three, turn and go back the way we came,” she told her Aquinder. “One, two, three!”

  Hiyyan was a natural at turning. He dipped one wing into the water and spun them around, then propelled them forward in a straight line again.

  “Nice! Let’s do it again.”

  They practiced turning, building up speed, turning, and sprinting some more. At first, Hiyyan got better and faster with every pass, but after about an hour of practicing, he began to slow down and his breathing came heavier.

  Silver patted him on the side. “Okay. You’re tired. Let’s take a break.” She looked at the drooping sun. “We’re going to need to head back to Calidia soon anyway. The races are about to start.”

  Silver changed out of her wet clothing on a cove beach as Hiyyan bobbed in the water, ducking his head under every few minutes to catch a fish. She had begun shivering, but at least the cold had numbed the pain in her foot. When she slid on the racing suit Nebekker had made her, she warmed right through to her bones. She pulled her tunic back over her racing suit and forced her boots back on her feet.

  An image of Kirja found her again, and then a particular scent, and Silver realized Hiyyan could smell his mother in the riding suit, her fur woven into the fibers. Silver wished she had something like that … some way to feel close to her mother right then.

  She shook away thoughts of Sersha Batal. There wasn’t time to be sentimental. She walked around the cove until she spotted a small hole in a stone wall, high enough up a sheer cliff that no human could see or reach it.

  Hiyyan, she thought. Can you hide my things up in that hole, please?

  The water dragon took her sack and lifted it up to the hole. Then he came back for her, a questioning look in his eyes.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s time to get you dressed, too.”

  Hiyyan pulled his body onto the beach and held still as Silver draped the fabric over his back. She tried to be gentle as she tucked his wings in, but when she accidentally hit a tender spot in his joint, she felt it in her shoulders, too.

  The final touch was to pull the hood over Hiyyan’s head: It was fashioned to look like a fox, just like hers. She took a step back and tilted her head to the side. Hiyyan’s wings were mostly hidden, but Silver was going to spread the little bit of camouin she had over the exposed parts once they got closer to the city. Then he would look mottled, rather than blue, sort of like the green-and-white dragon in Calidia. His mane still poked out here and there, but that actually added furry authenticity to the disguise. It had to be enough.

  “I hope there’s nothing in the rules against these uniforms,” she said. Her belly began to hurt again. Nerves were making her sick. But she pressed her face against Hiyyan’s, soaking in his calmness, and nodded.

  “Ready to win?” she asked.

  Her Aquinder grinned, and Silver did, too.

  “Let’s go.”

  THIRTY-FIVE

  They hugged the shoreline as they paddled toward Calidia. Silver had been mulling over how to enter the city so that they could save the surprise of their presence for the race. She still had to check the lineups at the seawall to find out what time she was scheduled to race. And she needed to find Brajon. If it were even possible to find him in the crowds.

  Hiyyan breathed heavily, pulling Silver out of her thoughts.

  “You’re tired already?”

  Silver looked down one of Hiyyan’s flanks and saw that his woven disguise was now sodden with seawater. There was no way he could win a race dragging all that heavy, wet wool.

  Silver frowned. “This is not Jaspatonian-quality wool.”

  She racked her brain, but first, she needed to know how much time she had to come up with a new plan. As they moved closer to the docks, she patted Hiyyan’s side. />
  “Let me off by that big ship right there. The one with the red flags. It looks empty. I’ll climb onto the dock and run over to see what time our race is. Hide behind the ship until I get back.”

  Hiyyan pulled in next to the dock, and Silver felt a change come over him. He mewled softly as he ducked his head down close to the water.

  Silver followed the line of his gaze. Just around the tip of another ship, she could see the very edge of the water dragon warm-up area. Hiyyan watched the other dragons with curiosity, but there was another emotion there, too: uncertainty.

  Silver felt a pang of sorrow. Hiyyan had grown up all alone in the desert.

  “I’m sorry you can’t go over to those dragons right now,” she told him. “After we win, I’ll take you to meet all the dragons in the world.”

  Hiyyan turned his face away and batted his eyes closed.

  Silver pulled her mask on, climbed onto the dock, and dashed to the seawall. The crowds were shoulder to shoulder. Even someone as small as she was had trouble moving between everyone.

  “Excuse me. Please, let me through.”

  “Back in your place,” a large man with a gravelly voice said, shoving her. Silver fell on her backside.

  “How rude,” a woman said, helping Silver to her feet, then tapping the man on the shoulder. “Did you push this little girl?”

  The man turned and crossed his arms over his chest. “If she wanted a better spot, she should have gotten here earlier.”

  “Well…”

  While the two adults argued, Silver darted past and shoved her way to the front rows. That’s when she realized why the crowds were so dense and so loud. The races had started already.

  “Oh no.” Silver stood on her tiptoes, straining to see the schedule. What if her number had already been called? But before she could find out, she saw something even better. There, standing on top of the wall near the registration platform, was her cousin. Relief so overwhelmed Silver that she almost fell over again.