Dalkeira jumped forward. Using her claws, she pinned down the animal’s closest feet to prevent it from lashing out at her. Her jaws struck the creature’s neck as she bit with all her might into the tiny feathers behind the lizard’s head. Drinking water had certainly been refreshing, but she still had not fully recovered her strength from the lack of food and rest. The lizard’s skin was tough to break through and the muscles made it difficult to bite deep enough.
Dalkeira clenched her jaws together as hard as possible and shook her head. She felt the flesh tear as she ripped a piece of skin from the lizard’s neck. Bleeding heavily, the animal thrashed around, launching Dalkeira upward, but the damage had already been done. With a single bite Dalkeira had severed the main artery of the belly-crawling creature. Now she only needed to wait until it bled out.
The thrashing slowed and the lizard grew still. Dalkeira launched forward, driven by the scream of hunger inside her.
A fresh kill! Food!
She tore at the flesh around the wound. It was difficult to rip off, but she managed to swallow a few bites before hearing the lizard hiss again. Startled, she jumped back—only to see her kill lay motionless in the sand.
“Dalkeira, the door! There’s more,” called Decan from the other end of the room.
The dragon could now hear a multitude of hisses coming from the dark hallways. The sound flowed into the room like a river, bouncing off the walls. She stared at the doorways. Her eyes readjusted to the darkness just as two more lizards entered the room, both at least two feet bigger than the one dead in front of her. She gazed wistfully at her kill, quickly tore off another piece and took to the air. She flew straight for Decan, who was already climbing to the top of the sand mountain.
“I am coming, Decan,” said Dalkeira, but her voice did not seem to reach the boy anymore.
She tried to remember what she had done to let her voice reach him. It was not that she had focused on him, and she could not hear his thoughts. It felt like she had deliberately not focused on anything in particular; just sent her voice into her direct surroundings. She tried a second time.
“Decan, get ready. You grab me. My claws will cut you open if I catch you!”
“Be careful!” called Trista from above.
The boy looked straight at her as she approached. He had heard her. The look in his eyes still showed his confusion at hearing Dalkeira’s voice for the first time, but he knew better than to stop and ponder on these events while giant lizards were trying to eat him.
Dalkeira reached the boy, slowing her approach as much as possible by beating her wings at an angle. She could not hang still in mid-air, but her approach was slow enough for Decan to make the jump. With arms spread wide, he locked them in an embrace around her waist.
Dalkeira gasped as the added weight knocked her out of balance. She quickly beat her wings to adjust to the new point of gravity, only barely able to stay in the air. She further increased her efforts to get out of the hole, but only managed to climb a few feet before her exhaustion caught up with her.
Both dragon and boy crashed down onto the pile of sand again. Dalkeira slid down the slope, trying to pull in her wings to prevent injury. At the top, Decan was able to keep himself from tumbling down and quickly scrambled to his feet.
“Triss, what do we do?”
“I’ll look for something!” she called down before disappearing from sight.
Dalkeira rolled back to her feet and turned to face the oncoming lizards. The animals raced toward her, expecting the dragon to be vulnerable from the fall. Immediately, she jumped further back, trying to get a better position. Her reaction slowed the lizards’ approach. With caution, they stalked closer to her. One snapped its jaws at the other as they argued over who would get the first bite of the unfamiliar intruder.
The pecking order established, a mass of feathers, claws and teeth rushed toward Dalkeira. She could do little but retreat to a safe distance every time the lizards got close. She needed to create an opening before she could even think about launching an attack. She repeatedly positioned herself so that one lizard was blocking the other, but the creatures simply clawed over one another to get to her.
In the meantime, she saw Decan looking for another way out of the room, but the distance to the collapsed ceiling made it impossible and the walls were much too smooth to climb. The dark hallways were definitely not an option either; who knew what else was out there? There was nothing else he could do but wait and see what Trista came up with from above.
With trembling hands, the boy picked up a large piece of stone and hurled it toward the closest of the two lizards. It hit the animal on the head, making it turn around with a hiss to look at this new attacker.
Right away, Dalkeira used the distraction to jump at the other lizard. Unfortunately, the starting angle had been wrong for a direct assault on its neck, so she clawed at its flank instead.
But as soon as Dalkeira leaped, the second lizard turned toward her again. It had deemed Decan too little a threat and refocused itself on the bigger and closer obstacle. Dalkeira shifted to dodge the incoming attack. The gaping jaws and sharp teeth missed her by an inch, but a claw tore through her skin on her lower back. She trumpeted at the unexpected jolt of pain.
She opened her wings again in the hope the sail membrane on the lizards’ backs would raise up in response. It would give her a chance to stay more hidden from the furthest one. But neither animal reacted to her threat. They outnumbered her; they saw no need to bluff their way to victory when their jaws could do the talking for them.
She jumped up and flew away with the lizards in hot pursuit, their heads stretching upward, forked tongues eagerly following her around. With little room to maneuver, Dalkeira was forced to land close to the water she had so eagerly drunk from earlier. Then she noticed something peculiar: both animals avoided the sunlight, scurrying along the wall as they approached her.
Behind her, Dalkeira smelled the fresh water she had so longed for these past few days. Despite her drink, it had lost none of its appeal. She looked over her shoulder and saw an uncountable number of sparkles flowing around; inviting her. She mused about how easy it was to glide through the water, how its refreshing touch upon her scales would cool her wound. Almost easier than flying. The water would work with her, assist her, as if it was listening to her—and suddenly she had an idea. Although perhaps idea was too big a word for it. Feeling, urge, or gamble was more appropriate.
She flipped around and jumped into the water, marveling in the sensation as she submerged herself in the cold liquid. For an instant, the water bit the scratch on her back before it brought a cool, welcome relief. She raised herself to her feet. The water easily reached her chest, but with her long neck, Dalkeira had no trouble staying above the surface. The lizards, with their stumpy legs and short, thick necks, would have much more difficulty staying above water—or at least that was what Dalkeira hoped.
But the water did nothing to deter the lizards. They reached the side of the basin and threw themselves into the water, barely able to keep their noses above the surface. Their rigid tails offered little help to stay afloat, but in combination with their hind legs allowed them to rapidly swim toward the dragon.
For the third time, Dalkeira spread her wings, but this time not to bait her attackers. She felt larger, like the water surrounding her was actually a part of her. Like she could just reach out and—and—
Both lizards were upon her already and launched their attack.
Deep inside Dalkeira’s mind, she rejected the events in front of her. The incoming attack was an insult to this marvelous connection she had with the water. She was queen of this domain; this was her place and those intruding should be banished. Inside her, something rushed forward out of the depths of her core and pushed. A small wave formed in front of her and moved away. It did not look very powerful, but it hit one of the lizards right in its widespread mouth. The animal panicked as the water forced its way down its throat. Hav
ing the advantage of movement for as long as they were in the water, Dalkeira jumped up and used her wings to dodge the other lizard’s attack. The feathered creature had little choice but to let Dalkeira pass over its head. As its legs were too short to reach the basin’s floor, it used its tail to launch itself out of the water in an attempt to snap at the dragon’s legs, only to drop back in failure with a splash.
It turned around as quickly as possible, but Dalkeira had already pushed the other lizard underwater with her front claws. The animal thrashed below the surface under her weight. Unable to keep sufficient pressure on the panicked lizard, she thrust her head under and tore a piece of flesh from the muscular neck, just like she had done with the first one. The water ran red as blood flowed out of the lizard’s wound.
Resurfacing, Dalkeira called out in triumph, but the other lizard cared little for its fellow hunter. Its eyes grew wide, the smell of blood sending it into a frenzy. It dashed forward, trying to take a bite out of Dalkeira’s own neck.
The increased aggression triggered another defensive push deep inside the blue dragon. This time, a more direct stream of water hit the attacking lizard from the side. It was more powerful than the wave before, but Dalkeira was disappointed to see her attacker barely flinched. She dodged its lunge in an eruption of water. She circled to the side, trying to rush it. With all her might, Dalkeira threw herself into her attacker’s flank. For the third time, the water came to her aid. Together they hit the lizard with such force that it slammed into the nearest wall. Dazed by the impact, the lizard slid down and sank back into the water, showing its vulnerable belly. Dalkeira wasted no time and pounced forward. She ripped open the softer skin with her claws and killed it without hesitation.
High up on the sand hill, Decan stood with another stone in his hand. He cheered as Dalkeira finished off the last lizard, and slid down the sandy slope.
“How did you do that?” said Decan.
“Do what?” said Dalkeira.
She had difficulties coming to terms with what just happened herself. However, she had no intention of letting anyone else think she did not know precisely what was going on.
“There! You just did it again! You spoke, and I heard you!”
Dalkeira let out a sigh. From a distance the fight must have just looked like a lot of splashing in the water. It seemed Decan had not noticed anything special. That was good. It gave her some time to explore it herself.
“I guess you finally figured out how to listen,” said the dragon with a scoff.
One by one, Dalkeira pulled the lizards out of the water. She was still hungry and had every intention of devouring as much as she could.
Trista’s head popped over the edge.
“What’s happening? Are you two alright?”
Trista dropped a long string of tied-together canvas into the hole.
“You go ahead and climb out. I want to get my fill first,” said Dalkeira to the boy. In Trista’s head she added, “I can finally make myself heard.”
Trista felt a flow of complacent pride enter her mind. Dalkeira was very pleased with herself; she had not only just killed three large attackers, but also figured out a way to communicate with lesser-linked humans. The past days of hardship were forgotten for the moment as she took another bite from the lizard carcass and swallowed it whole.
“When you’re done, can you carry some of that out of there?” asked Trista politely.
But before Dalkeira could answer, a rumbling hiss rose from the darkness. Startled, Decan and Dalkeira looked at the dark doorways.
“There’s more?” said Decan, frightened.
The sound of scuffling claws flowed from the dark underground corridor. It intensified, coming closer.
“That is not just one animal. It cannot be,” said Dalkeira wearily, as the sound grew louder.
A flood of lizards burst out of the shadows and poured into the subterranean chamber. Some were as small as Decan’s foot; others were closer in size to the three that lay dead on the ground. Dozens—hundreds of lizards came running through the entrance. The little ones used their tiny claws to climb along the walls and get up higher, while the bigger ones plowed through the sand. Some even dove into it, trying to bury themselves.
Decan was already moving again, up the pile of sand and rubble. There, he grabbed the improvised rope of canvas. He tried to climb up, but his arms were weak. He kicked his legs and tried to get his feet twisted around the improvised rope, but it was no use. He fell back, punched the sand in anger and started to cry.
Dalkeira, staring at the sheer number of lizards, cautiously stepped back into the relative safety of the sunlight.
“How can that many survive down here? There is water, but what do they eat?” said Dalkeira inside Trista’s head in a misplaced moment of curiosity.
Trista stretched forward to look at the increasing number of lizards. The room flooded with the scraping sound of claws on stone and sand. Their hisses blended into a constant noise; it was almost like the breaking of waves on a beach.
“Something is strange,” said Dalkeira. “They are not attacking us at all. They act…scared. Like they are running away from somethi—”
Her sentence was cut off when a massive lizard crashed into the room out of the dark. It slammed into the stone door frame, barely fitting through the entrance. A large piece of ancient stone hurled violently through the chamber and squashed one of the smaller lizards on the sand.
The enormous animal was at least twice the length of Dalkeira. Its thick, muscled body clearly outweighed her far beyond that. The smaller lizards shot away as the creature snapped its jaws at near impossible speed, grabbing one of the mid-sized lizards with its teeth. It shook it wildly, tearing it in half. The monster threw its head back and swallowed the first half before picking up the other out of the sand and gobbling that down as well.
“They eat their own! That is how they are able to survive,” said Dalkeira inside Trista’s head.
Dalkeira turned to Decan, who forgot his tears as he stared at the oversized lizard in complete shock. For all its size, it was still covered in a dense layer of feathers along its back, while the head, legs and belly showed the more traditional hard skin that Trista and Decan knew from the small island lizards back home.
“Boy, you have to try again! There is no way I can stop one so big. Get up on that rope!” said Dalkeira as she pushed Decan to his feet with her head.
“I’ll pull you up. Just grab hold as hard as you can!” called Trista. “Twist it around your arm!”
Decan wrapped the makeshift rope around his hands and held on tight. Trista pulled with all her might, the canvas cutting into her skin. From a distance, the baby regarded Trista’s efforts with little comprehension of the dangers that moved beneath them. Trista slung the rope over her shoulder to take the tension off her hands.
“It’s working!” she heard Decan shout from inside the hole.
It was a bad choice to call out. The large lizard’s head shot up and immediately took notice of the strange being dangling from the ceiling.
“It is coming this way!” said Dalkeira directly to Trista.
Trista’s muscles were cramping in protest. She dug her heels in the sand and took another step. But she was already completely out of breath. The long walk through the desert had drained her too much.
No!
She shook her head and gritted her teeth. She had to do this. She had to save her little brother. She had not rescued him from the soldiers only to have him die in this goddess-forsaken place. She would not break her promise to their mother and father.
She breathed a few quick breaths and took another step—and fell on her back in the sand. One of the knots in the makeshift rope had come undone. She heard Decan yelp as he crashed back down hard and hit the pile of sand for the third time.
Dalkeira shot forward and grabbed the boy’s shirt with her teeth to keep him from sliding down. The large lizard lurked at the edge of the light, its long tong
ue flashing in and out.
“Stay in the light. They do not like it,” said Dalkeira.
The remark gave Trista an idea. She looked around for the metal plate she had been carrying. Spotting it, she quickly ran over and returned to the hole in the ground.
“Catch,” yelled Trista, dropping the metal plate into Decan’s hands. “Reflect the sunlight at it!”
Her little brother did as he was told and redirected the sunlight straight into the creature’s eyes. It let out a hiss and violently thrashed around, trying to escape the bright light.
“Triss! I think we just made it angrier!” said Decan, sounding worried.
The giant lizard moved its head out of the beam of light and took a step forward into the normal sunlight. Decan aimed the mirrored light directly into its eyes again. Once more the lizard thrashed its head around, this time sticking it in the sand and throwing sand up into the air. The dust cloud lessened the effect of the beam, enough for the lizard to take another step forward.
“You stay away from him!” shouted Trista, throwing every rock she could find. It had no effect at all.
Trista was looking around for another rock to throw when a shadow fell beside her on the ground. Startled, she looked up to see a dark silhouette standing only a few feet away. A pair of strong eyes peered out at her from the folds of a blue-scarfed turban that covered most of the head. The stranger's clothes were clearly meant to defy the desert heat. Simple cloth pants and light leather shoes allowed easy movement on the hot sand. The torso had a plain leather breastplate which was barely visible beneath the loose cloth coat, which consisted of the same fabric as the pants. A band was tied around the waist, holding together the coat, the sides of which reached as far down as the knees.
Had the situation not been so dire, the difference between their outfits would have made Trista extremely self-conscious, having nothing but torn and dirty clothes wrapped around her own head and body. The stranger did not seem to notice, looking Trista straight in the eye. The desert traveler held two long spears tipped with long, sharp bones. A leather bag rested on his hip while a small curved dagger hung on the other side.
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