by D K Drake
“Come on, girl.” She nudged her stomach, not daring to get close to her mouth. “I need you to wake up.”
“Good.” Javan appeared out of nowhere. “You’re still here.”
“Whoa.” Taliya stumbled into the dragon’s body and put her hand over her chest. “Javan. You scared me. I hate it when you pop in on me like that.”
“It can’t be helped.” A concerned look washed over his face as he walked over to her. “What’s wrong with your nose?”
“This?” She tenderly touched her sore nose. She had tried snapping the bone back in place when she washed the blood off in a stream but couldn’t quite get the leverage she needed to make it move. “This was Krystyn’s way of showing her appreciation for my encouraging Azurrior to run from her.”
“Are you okay?”
“Other than being a touch tender, yeah.” She didn’t feel the need to tell him about her bruised ribs. “Why are you here? You should be chasing Azurrior, not talking to me.”
“Azurrior’s the reason I’m here. I need you to come with me.” He stretched out the hand that wasn’t holding his teleporting sword. “Please.”
The pleading in his pained eyes said more than his words. Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.
◊◊◊
Javan resisted the urge to grab Taliya’s hand and teleport her back to that awful scene. But he needed her to stay calm and clear her mind if he had any chance of teleporting them both. “Please,” he said again. “Azurrior’s in trouble, and he needs your help.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“It’s easier to show you.” She would panic if he told her about the crazed bugs swarming the dragon and wiggled his fingers. “We need to hurry.”
“Okay.” She placed her hand in his.
“Thank you.” He wrapped his fingers around her palm. Closed his eyes. Concentrated on the ledge he had just come from.
“Shouldn’t we start walking?”
He looked around and saw they hadn’t gone anywhere. “I’m trying to teleport us. Can you close your eyes and clear your mind?”
“I’ll try.”
“Thanks.” He waited for her to close her eyes, then tried teleporting them again.
Once again, they went nowhere.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not good at shutting off my mind. I’m worried about Starshade and have no idea what’s happening to Azurrior. We should probably start walking.”
“There’s no time for that!” He could only think of one way to distract her. The hard part would be keeping his own mind focused on where they needed to go.
As she opened her mouth to speak again, he covered her lips with his.
Chapter 64
Fire Wings
Micah stepped in front of Krystyn and drew his sword. “You’re going to have to get past me before you can get near that dragon.”
“No need for such heroics.” She shrugged and sat on the ledge of the small cliff. Below them, Azurrior roared and yelped as he battled a swarm of buzzing insects that had yellow bodies and red wings. “I want the dragon to die, not me. I’ll wait for the creatures to do their job, which could take a few hours. Then I’ll finish the dragon off once he’s close to death. I certainly don’t want those things crawling on me. They’ll kill me a lot faster than they will the dragon.”
“How can you be this cold and cruel?”
“I’ve seen how cold and cruel dragons can be. They don’t deserve to live. None of them do.”
“What happened to you? Did a dragon kill your parents or something?”
She sat up straighter and pursed her lips, indicating that she was done talking. The Wordless Wonder had returned.
Micah hoped Javan would return as well. He needed to get down there and save that dragon. The fate of the Land of Zandador depended on it.
◊◊◊
Taliya startled when Javan’s lips met hers. She naturally closed her eyes and surrendered to the soft touch. All thoughts of dragons washed out of her mind, and she thought of nothing except the pleasure of being connected to Javan.
In the next instant, she felt herself swirling through the air. The swirling stopped when Javan pulled back. Which left her off balance. And in a different place. Buzzing and screeching hurt her ears, ruining the moment. “Where are we? What is that noise?”
“Down there.” Javan kept his arm around her and pointed at the world below them with his sword. “Do you know what those bugs are and how to get rid of them?”
She gasped at the sight of Azurrior paralyzed by a swarm of yellow and red insects. “Oh, no. Fire wings.”
Krystyn clapped beside her. “The girl knows her bugs.”
“What are fire wings?” Micah asked.
“They’re like ticks with wings. They attach to your skin, suck your blood, and fly away when they get full. Then another one takes its place. They’ll burrow under Azurrior’s scales and literally suck the life out of him.”
“It’s a long, slow, painful process,” Krystyn said. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
“Actually, there is.” Taliya turned her back to Krystyn and focused on Javan. “You have to get on him. Ride him north to the marshland. Make him bathe in the swampy mud.”
“What good will that do?”
“They use their wings to extract the blood. If their wings can’t flap, they can’t suck any blood. Drowning them in mud is the only way to save Azurrior.”
“Won’t those things crawl on me, too?”
“Unfortunately, yes. You just have to make Azurrior run as fast as he can. He has to get you to the mud before the fire wings suck the life out of you.”
Taliya watched the fear take over Javan’s eyes. He was ready to bolt, and not in the direction that would save Azurrior. What could she say to convince him to put his own life on the line to save the life of the dragon?
◊◊◊
“This can’t be happening.” Javan ran his fingers through his hair and tried unsuccessfully to ignore that dreadful buzzing from the blood-sucking bugs. How had his life come to this point? Even if he could save Azurrior, would he be able to get to the mud in time to save himself? “I don’t think I can do this.”
“Of course you can’t,” Krystyn said. “Only a suicidal fool would risk jumping on the back of a hungry, hurting dragon and into a swarm of insects eager to drain his blood.”
“Of course you can.” Taliya squeezed his wrist and pulled him away from Krystyn and Micah. “You’re the only one who can do this. All you have to do is jump on him from that tree he’s standing under and tell him to run like his life depends on it. Because it does.
“This isn’t about winning the throne. This is about saving one dragon’s life, a dragon who wouldn’t even be alive if it wasn’t for you. Much to my dismay, you’ve had a special bond with him before he even hatched. Are you really going to stand here and listen to him die?”
As if on cue, Azurrior let out a wail that tore through Javan’s heart.
“I just have to get him to the mud?”
She put her hands on his cheeks. “You just have to get him to the mud.”
He took a deep breath, put his hands over hers, and nodded. “Pray for me.”
“I will.”
“If I fail—”
“Stop that sentence. You’re going to succeed.” She wrapped her arms around him, squeezed, and pulled back. “You have to go. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He sighed and took off down the hill, thankful that even if this insane adventure didn’t have a happy ending, at least he got his first kiss out of it.
Chapter 65
Into the Swarm
“I
s he down there yet?” Taliya wondered what was taking Javan so long to get to the tree, but it was a steep hill, and it had only been five minutes. In that time, though, the buzzing from the bugs became louder, and the wailing from Azurrior became more agonized. She needed Javan to hurry. “Why isn’t he down there yet?”
“He’s got time,” Micah said. “Krystyn said it could take hours for those things to kill Azurrior. Javan will get to him way before then.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” She paced along the ledge and kept her eyes on the ground. Most of Azurrior’s scales were a deep, translucent blue with a dash of pink here and there. He had to be starving but was too traumatized by the fire wings to eat or move. She wanted to help but knew the best thing she could do was nothing.
“He made it.” Micah tapped Taliya’s arm. “He’s climbing the tree.”
Taliya dropped to her knees as Javan did the same. She stayed riveted in one spot as she watched him crawl across the thick branch that dangled over the back of Azurrior. When he looked like he was ready to jump, she closed her eyes and prayed to Javan’s God.
◊◊◊
Javan wobbled over Azurrior on the weakening branch of the oak tree. The dragon was beginning to look more yellow and red than his natural blue thanks to the insects flying on and around him. None of the fire wings noticed Javan yet, but their buzzing was too loud to give him a chance to communicate with Azurrior. Javan was just going to have to pray and jump.
“God,” he prayed, looking skyward, “I know this is the stupidest thing I have ever done, but I’d be ever so grateful if You could keep me safe. I’d prefer not to die today.” Unsure how God would choose to answer his prayer, Javan launched himself out of the tree and toward Azurrior.
The dragon jerked to the left as Javan fell. He barely managed to catch Azurrior’s neck, and he clawed his feet up the dragon’s side through the swarm of fire wings. Sharp pinches pricked his skin as he fought to position himself at the base of Azurrior’s neck.
Fear gripped the dragon’s mind, jumbling his thoughts.
“Run, Azurrior!” Javan spit a bug out of his mouth and yelled again. “Get out of here. Now!”
The dragon didn’t respond. Or move.
◊◊◊
Taliya winced as she watched Javan struggle to secure his seat on top of the dragon. Bugs were swarming over his arms and legs and neck. If those things killed him, it would be her fault. She’s the one who convinced him to run right to them.
His screams added to the chorus of buzzing and wailing. What had she done?
No. That was the wrong question. She needed to be asking herself what she could do now. How could she get Azurrior to run?
“I don’t really want to watch poor Javan die.” Krystyn stood, sending a dusting of pebbles and sand over the edge. “I’m going to take a little nap while those bugs finish their feast. Wake me when he’s dead, will you?” She waved and wandered off, but her dusty departure gave Taliya an idea.
“Rocks, Micah. Pick them up and throw them.” She picked up a rock half the size of her fist, loaded it into her sling, and aimed it at Azurrior’s rear. “We have to startle him enough to get him to move.”
“Doubt that will do much good, but it’s better than standing here doing nothing.”
As Micah hunted for rocks, she released her first shot. It hit its target and caused Azurrior to roar and fling his front legs in the air. He still didn’t move, so Taliya shot him again, this time with a bigger rock. “Run, Azurrior. Run or die!”
Chapter 66
The Perfect Name
Javan dug his fingers around several of Azurrior’s scales and hung on tight as the dragon raised up on his back legs the way his horse Storm used to do. Javan stayed on then, and he stayed on now. What felt like rocks pelted his back, and he heard the dragon grunt when something solid hit his side.
Whatever it was got Azurrior’s attention. Rather than merely buck up, he took a few steps forward. “That’s it. Keep going. Just move a whole lot faster!”
He stumbled toward the woods to his right. “No. Not that way. Straight ahead. We need to go north.”
Hard to move. A coherent thought broke through the confusion. Pain everywhere.
“I feel it, too.” Another bug pinched the skin behind his ear. “You have to move. Work through the pain. Get us to the marshland. Diving into the swampy mud there is the only way to get these creatures off of us.”
They’ll come off in the mud?
“Yes.”
Without another word or warning, Azurrior launched forward.
◊◊◊
“That’s the wrong way.” Taliya screeched when Azurrior dashed to the east and cheered when he corrected course and shot to the north. Once he was out of sight, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to Krystyn. True to her word, she had perched herself beside a tree and appeared to be taking a nap.
“You lost.” Taliya kicked Krystyn’s legs to wake her up. “Azurrior is a warrior. It’s in his name. He’s on his way to get those despicable insects off of him with a Collector on his back. By the time they reach the swamp, he’ll be a part of Javan’s collection.”
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes remaining closed, “I’m not worried about that.”
“You should be,” Micah said. “Javan is riding Azurrior as we speak. You do understand that’s all he needs to do to win the battle.”
“He kind of needs to survive as well.” Krystyn smiled and finally opened her eyes so that they met Taliya’s. “I do believe you’ve miscalculated the distance to the swamp. It’s a good fifty miles from here. Even if the dragon makes it that far—which he might—skinny little Javan never will. Those bugs will have him drained dry before one hair of his touches the mud.”
“Fifty miles?” Taliya’s chest felt like it had a boa constrictor squeezing it. She thought they were only about ten or twelve miles away from the swamp. That was a tricky but reasonable distance to travel.
Even fifty miles wouldn’t be that big of a deal if Azurrior could cover the distance at his top speed, but he wouldn’t be able to run fast with hundreds of fire wings sucking his blood with every step. And Javan didn’t have nearly as much blood as Azurrior.
In other words, Taliya sent Javan to his death.
◊◊◊
To keep the fire wings from flying into his mouth, Javan kept his lips sealed. Soon the pain from the bug bites was replaced by an overwhelming weakness. At the same time, Azurrior’s sprint turned to a jog. Which turned to a walk. Which slowed to a stop.
Javan leaned his body against Azurrior as the dragon’s heart slowed. “Stay with me, buddy,” Javan whispered.
Azurrior’s head drooped. His front two legs collapsed.
“No. You can’t die. You’ve barely begun to live. Even if I don’t make it, you have to keep going. Save yourself. Please.”
Javan lost the thumpity-thump feel of the dragon’s heartbeat. He wanted to sob, but he was too tired.
A fire wing landed on Azurrior’s neck in front of Javan’s nose. “At least one of you is going to die with us.” Javan crushed it with his fist. That felt so good he crushed another one. And another.
Thumpity-thump. Thumpity-thump.
“Azurrior?”
The dragon stood, lifted his head. That was strange. His heart began beating stronger and faster than before. And it was beating in sync with Javan’s.
“I think we just bonded.”
I’m not sure what just happened, but I feel different. Better. Stronger.
“I’m still feeling pretty weak, so how about you keep running?”
As you wish. Azurrior roared and took off.
The last thing Javan remembered seeing was the azure of the sunset sky set against the azure of Azurrior’s scales. “You really do have the perfect name,” Javan said. Then smelly mud smothered his face.
Chapter 67
United
Taliya lagged behind Micah and Krystyn on the hike back towards Starshade. Images of Javan looped through her mind. The first time she saw him in her humminglo field. The night he learned he could become invisible. The mercy he displayed when he spared Micah’s life.
She also recalled the way his bright green eyes danced when he laughed, how he brushed his fingers thr
ough his hair whenever he was scared or nervous, and the confidence he exuded every time he spoke to a dragon. The most dominant memory, however, was the most recent. She would never forget the feel of those tender lips on hers as they simultaneously teleported from one spot to another.
“Taliya,” Micah said, drawing her back to the present, “I see Starshade up ahead.”
“Is she sitting or standing?”
“I can’t tell. We’ll set up camp here while you go check on her.”
“Cool.” Taliya worked her way through the moonlit path and entered the clearing. Starshade’s scales had returned to white, and she was sitting up. The goats and pile of food Taliya left for her were gone. “I trust you got enough to eat.”
The dragon nodded.
“Foot still hurt?”
She nodded again.
“It will take some time to heal. Will you let me check it?”
She jerked her head back and covered her hurt claw with her good one.
“I’ll take that as a no. How about this? You let me bring you food every evening until you’re able to walk on that leg again. Once you’re good, I’ll leave you alone.”
A hesitation. Then a nod.
Taliya smiled, thankful to be communicating with her dragon. But her happiness was obscured by an emptiness. What good would protecting a dragon do without Javan around? She thought she needed a dragon to protect to serve a purpose. What she really needed was to belong, to be part of a team. More specifically, she needed to be part of Javan’s team.
She never should have let him go anywhere near Azurrior and those fire wings. He was dead because of her.
No. He was dead because of Krystyn. She’s the one who set the trap. She’s the one who needed to be punished.