The dragons tried to fly ahead of the empire’s army, and as Devarius had feared, they all began breathing fire on the ground leading up to the resistance. Devarius had hoped they wouldn’t think of such a tactic, but he was a fool to believe otherwise.
“Charge!” he yelled.
Devarius knew the other wvyernriders wouldn’t be able to hear him, but he knew the wyverns would. All the wyvernriders charged toward the incoming dragonriders. Wind from purple wyverns sent dragons spinning backward. Ice froze fire, and made rain fall upon the battle below. Acid from green wyverns made its way to the wings of dragons, making it near impossible for them to keep aflight. Lightning crackled in the sky before zapping several of the dragonriders, making the men fly from the dragon’s back. Gold dragons gleamed in the two moons’ light.
Ayla circled a dragon, and as she did, Devarius dropped a small glass vial of green liquid. It shattered on the saddle of the dragon, burning straight through the leather, and causing the rider to fall off its back and onto the ground below. When they turned around, another dragon approached them, its jaw wide. Devarius’ eyes widened as he stared.
An arrow flew toward the dragon, entering its mouth, and piercing its uvula. The creature shrieked, and no fire escaped its mouth. Ayla used the distraction to maneuver to above the dragon, and blow ice from her mouth to cover the creature in a hard shell. The dragon fell.
When Devarius looked down, his eyes widened. The dragon was falling on top of the resistance.
“Ayla!” he shouted.
Before the dragon could crash atop the resistance, a purple wyvern flew from the south, its mouth dropping wide, and an invisible force of wind blowing from it. The frozen dragon blew hundreds of feet north and crashed into the empire’s soldiers.
Thank you, Ayla. Good plan. Perhaps you can let a few of the purple wyverns to be on standby for such occasions.
Agreed, Ayla said.
He turned to look at the person who’d saved them. Aquila smiled back at him atop her purple wyvern. Devarius waved to her with a half-smile. He was grateful for her help, and he was glad to see her, but he still worried about her. Devarius had spent his entire life bent on revenge and finding his sister. The last thing he had wanted was a relationship, but the creator had other ideas when he thrust Aquila into his life. She was irresistible. More than a few times, he’d spent entire nights just talking to her. He knew he was slipping before they found the resistance, and he tried to push her away several times. It hadn’t worked. He still couldn’t get her off his mind. When he finally gave in, and accepted the relationship, he’d never felt better. But, he did everything he could to keep her safe. He’d already lost his family, and even his sister for a long while before he found her again. Devarius had lost many friends as well. And he knew the one thing he couldn’t lose was her. Not after he finally relented and accepted her. He knew that if he lost her, he’d be forever lost. He’d be shattered, broken, and nothing in the world would fill the void. So, he wanted her far away from danger. He’d wanted her safe. Now she was here, at the largest battle to ever take place between the resistance and the empire.
And Devarius was terrified.
He knew he was going to try to find her every few minutes to make sure she was all right. Devarius had to know. He had to know if she was safe.
Devarius. She is safe. I assure you, her wyvern is going to take great care of her, Ayla said.
Devarius clenched his eyes tight. He took a deep breath. I know. But that won’t stop me from being worried.
Your mate is safe. I’ve seen to it.
Devarius titled his head. What do you mean you’ve seen to it?
I know you cannot be distracted this day. It’s too important. Her wyvern knows to keep her away from the danger. She will still be a part of the battle, but since she’s an archer, she will never get too close to danger. And her wyvern is instructed to flee if they become focused on. She will be safe.
Devarius exhaled loudly. You didn’t have to do that for me, and besides, if Aquila finds out, I’m as good as dead.
It is not only her. It is all the archer wyverns. Like the archers on the ground, they’re important, and must not be too close to the combat to be effective. I’ve already coordinated this with all of them. You can relax. And besides, I will tell you if anything happens to her. You need not worry over it.
Thank you, Ayla.
Devarius focused back on the battle. He glanced to the ground where he saw the calvary breaking through the empire’s front lines. Many of the empire’s soldiers ran in fear as they saw the drakes. Like the wyverns, they had their abilities, and fires as well as ice broke through the lines of the empire. What was once a small v between the mountain and the forest broke into a large v, with the dominance coming from the resistance. Devarius smiled as he looked below. Everything was progressing well.
Archers from the mountain loosed arrows onto the empire, but they soon halted, as the empire was too far away from them. Spell casters and dragomen fought deep into lines of the empire. Wyverns flew around the dragons, fighting gallantly. Though everything seemed to be going well, there were casualties. Devarius saw more than a dozen wyvernriders fall to the ground. Hundreds of men and women warriors on the ground on the resistance’s side had fallen.
He tried not to dwell on the losses, but focus on the victories as Ayla continued to fly into battle. They’d bested two dragons, and they approached a third. Heat filled the atmosphere as Ayla spun to barely avoid the direct path of fire. Devarius held onto the saddle tight as blood rushed to his head.
Get above him, Devarius said to Ayla.
Ayla didn’t waste any time as she maneuvered around the blazing flames. Three more dragons were around them, and there weren’t any additional wyvernriders to help them out. Ayla spun clockwise, then flapped her wings hard to get above the dragon. The rider turned his head to look back at them.
Devarius undid his straps.
What are you doing! Ayla screamed into his head.
Trust me, he reassured her.
Devarius unsheathed the dagger from his boot, and placed the blade in his mouth. He then looked down, judging the distance. It was only a dozen feet. He took a breath, which was slow as it went around the blade in his mouth. Then he jumped. The momentum of the air took him farther back than where he aimed, but he’d made the calculation in his head already.
He landed directly behind the dragonrider. Devarius grabbed the dagger from his mouth, and slit the throat of the rider in front of him. He untied the man’s feet from the saddle, and let him drop from the dragon.
The dragon reared its neck to look at him. Its neck couldn’t reach all the way, and so it couldn’t breathe fire on him, but instead, it attempted to spin upside down to make Devarius fall off. He’d already slipped in the dragonrider’s place, and strapped his feet in.
Ayla, focus on the other dragons for now. I’ll rejoin you soon, Devarius said.
Foolish humans, Ayla cursed.
Devarius smiled. He held on tight as the dragon tried its best to knock him off. Devarius dared not let it. He grew dizzier by the second, but he would not let the dragon knock him off. The dragon continued to thrash from side to side, making it look like a fool compared to the rest of the dragons. It even crashed into a few of the dragons as it attempted to knock Devarius off. Devarius smiled as he continued to hold tight.
After a few minutes, the dragon grew tired, and ceased its rapid maneuvers. Devarius grinned. He reached into his sash and pulled out the dragon stone. No one had known he’d brought it, and he did his best to conceal it. If the empire knew, they’d all come after him. He glanced from side to side, then reached down and pressed the dragon stone against the side of the dragon. A jolt of electricity pulsed through Devarius and into the stone. The dragon convulsed for a moment, before it stopped. The dragon stone glowed bright red, then turned black once more. Devarius moved the dragon stone back to his sash where he hid it from sight once again.
Wh
o are you? a voice asked inside of his head.
Devarius smiled. Devarius. And what is your name?
My name? My name? My rider used to call me dog.
Devarius frowned. That is not a good name. That is a mean name. You need a new name.
Onyarious?
Devarius’ lips scrunched together. Onyarious? Sure, why not? It’s nice to meet you.
Where have I been?
Lost, Devarius said. I brought you back home. I want to do the same with all the dragons, but unlike you, they’re all still lost.
Thank you.
An inner peace filled Devarius. You’re welcome.
You brought the dragon stone? Ayla asked.
Yes.
We need to be even more careful than before, Ayla said.
Devarius petted Onyarious’ neck. I know.
Devarius wished he could land on every dragon and touch the dragon stone to it, but he knew it was not possible. Dragons would die, as would men and women, but he hoped to be able to reach a few dragons during the battle to set free. He pondered what he should do with the dragon. Devarius couldn’t ask the creature to fight against its own kind. But he couldn’t let it remain in the sky if it wasn’t going to be int he battle. He needed to get the dragon to safety.
Devarius, Ayla asked.
Hmm?
I’m sorry to burst your thought bubble, but I have some bad news.
What’s that?
Remember how there were only a hundred or two dragonriders, and how they’re nearly equal in number with wyvernriders?
Yes, Devarius said slowly.
Well, not anymore.
What is it? Devarius asked.
Another hundred dragonriders approach.
Devarius gulped.
Chapter 44
Zaviana watched as the battle began. It began in the sky, and all everyone could do was look up and watch as wyverns collided with dragons. All of the resistance was silent as the dragons flew toward them, flames erupted onto the ground, and Zaviana held her breath. Closing her eyes, she concentrated.
She could feel the air all around her, and she let the power flow through her. A wind shield covered the front lines of the resistance. She didn’t know how long she could hold it. Her eyes opened, and she saw dozens of wyverns swoop in, fighting back the dragons before the fire could reach the resistance. All except for one.
Gritting her teeth, Zaviana held onto her shield. The flames bounced off of her shield. A bolt pierced the air from the mounted ballista on the mountain. Its aim was true as it penetrated through the dragon’s wing. Zaviana let go of her shield. She repositioned herself, focused on the vials of wyvern oil in her sash, and raised her hands into the air.
Lightning crackled in the sky, as she used the energy to bolt toward the dragon. It struck its chin, jerking it to the side with the impact. The dragon attempted to turn around and flee, but Zaviana grabbed another power. She concentrated on the acid vial this time, and directed the energy toward the fleeing dragon. A blast of acid struck each wing, unbalancing the creature as it unstabily crashed to the ground in the midst of the empire’s soldiers.
Zaviana smiled.
A large relief came over her and her shoulders relaxed. A hand squeezed her should and she spun her head to see Naveen smiling at her.
Zaviana chose to be with the others for now. She wanted to see how much of a difference she could make in the front of the battle, and so far, she was pleased with the outcome, but she knew if she needed it, she had a wyvern more than happy to bring her to the sky, which Zavivana had the suspicion would be needed by the end of the battle.
The empire’s soldiers charged. The battle in the sky was in full effect, and the dragons hadn’t been able to do too much against the resistance’s soldiers thanks to the wyverns. Calvary charged on both sides.
The difference was, half of the calvary of the resistance was mounted drakes. And that difference was astonishing.
Drakes weren’t as fast as horses, but, they were pretty quick. Even better than horses though, was they attacked. As the drakes broke through the front lines of the calvary, several of their jaws turned to snap at the horses or the mounted men, and many caught a horse’s neck in their grasp, jerking their head side to side, and tossing the rider off. Zaviana hated to see the horses being hurt, but was also grateful the drakes were on their side.
She turned her attention to the soldiers on foot. The first of the empire’s calvary arrived, and surprisingly, the villagers with pitchforks did better than the resistance’s seasoned warriors, though, to be fair, a long pitchfork to stab upward at a rider on a horse was much easier than using a sword.
Zaviana watched with interest as she saw rider after rider fall.
The empire didn’t give up though, and fought on, breaking through the first few lines and toward the archers. Zaviana held her ground as she summoned the magic she needed. She gave the archers their credit. They held their ground, continuing to loose arrows at the riders. Several of the calvary fell.
Zaviana released her energy as the last three horsemen arrived. They froze solid, but were moving too fast to stop, and so, slid into the ranks of resistance. It knocked many people off their feet, but at least they were alive instead of dead.
Zaviana looked to her archers. She discovered which archers were the most accurate, and she brought them small open jars of wyvern oil to use. When their arrows next met their foe, they would either burn, freeze, or poison them. She looked at her handiwork and was pleased.
Leading a battle wasn’t something Zaviana ever wanted to do, but she had little choice but to help the others. She didn’t want them to die when she could have done something. Zaviana looked up to her brother, Devarius, who had taken it upon himself to lead the resistance. She wasn’t nearly as strong, but she would do what she could to help by guiding them on the ground.
Swordsmen approached. The archers behind Zaviana loosed one last time, and then fell back. The next rank of melee warriors took their place, and standing in front of Zaviana, raised their weapons. Unlike the empire, they didn’t all have swords. Several wielded maces, hammers, pitchforks, swords, and pikes. It was a strange sight to behold for Zaviana as they passed her to meet the empire, but, Zaviana noticed, the empire was ill prepared to face such a random array of weapons.
Most of the swordsmen didn’t know how to face a pike or a pitchfork. They’d practiced amongst themselves, sword against sword. So the different weapons caught them off guard. At, first, it was a good thing. Zaviana saw several of the swordsmen fall, but on the other hand, after a few minutes, the swordsmen were able to overcome most of the resistance.
She continued casting spells, changing from ice to fire to lightning, and even to acid. Zaviana tried to be random about her selection, unless she noticed where one would be beneficial over another. She was glad for the reserves of wyvern oil in her sash, because she knew she’d be growing exhausted if she had to draw all the energy from the atmosphere.
Shadows appeared over the battlefield, and Zaviana held her breath as man after man around her began to fall to no one. A shadow appeared, then disappeared.
“Shadowmen,” Zaviana gasped.
She tried to focus on them, but they were distorted and near impossible to see. Zaviana didn’t give up, using fire as an element to cast above them. The fire above them made their shadows more visible, and Zaviana was able to focus on them. She casted acid at the first two, effectively injuring them long enough for the resistance to find and eliminate them.
Zaviana lost track of the third shadowman. She looked around frantically, but could not find him. Zaviana was sure she’d seen three of them. She spun around and felt a dagger pierce her stomach. Zaviana gasped. Channeling the air around her, she blasted the shadowman away from her. Three dragomen rushed toward the shadowman, cutting him down with fire and ice.
Zaviana fell to her knees, clutching her wound. She glanced down, cringing, as she looked at it. The wound wasn’t deep, but it had
hit a rib, making her sore. She ripped at her clothes, trying to block the bleeding as she focused her energy to cauterize the wound with fire. It burned, and it hurt more than anything she’d ever experienced, but when it was done, she sighed with relief.
She stood, and an arrow pierced her shoulder. The vial of wyvern oil she was holding fell to the ground. Her eyes opened wide with terror as the vial shattered on the ground. Ice formed and spread quickly, freezing empire soldiers and resistance alike.
“Yasmirah!” Zaviana shouted.
Her wyvern, Yasmirah, soared down. She flew over Zaviana, reaching her talons down to grab Zaviana as she passed. Zaviana closed her eyes as the wyvern flew farther and farther away from the battle. Once things quieted, Zaviana felt the ground under her feet. She opened her eyes, glanced around, then touched her feet on the earth.
“Thank you,” Zaviana said.
You’re welcome. Now, are you ready to quit being a fool and ride me into battle instead of getting yourself hurt on the ground?
Zaviana mounted the dragon, securing herself in the saddle, and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Chapter 45
Paedyn cackled as Pyro let another flame escape his mouth. It spiraled toward a dragon. The effect was nearly pointless, at least, for one with an inexperienced eye. Irritated, the dragon turned its attention to Paedyn and Pyro. Paedyn, being a gentleman, stuck his tongue out at the dragon. Growling, the dragon gave chase.
“Fly, Pyro!”
A bond formed between man and wyvern. Pyro knew to trust Paedyn without a doubt. It hadn’t taken long for them to develop the bond. Once Pyro fully realized how insane Paedyn was, he realized when Paedyn told him to do something, it was because there was a likely chance Paedyn had done something stupid. This time, however, it was Pyro’s flame that had irked the dragon, a trait Pryo learned from Paedyn.
Fighting fire against fire wasn’t an easy task. Paedyn and Pyro knew it. There was little chance a fire wyvern could defeat a fire dragon. The best case scenario would be to surprise the dragon rider by catching him or the saddle on fire, but to do such a thing wasn’t practical, and quite the challenge. Instead, Paedyn convinced Pyro to be foolish. They flew into battle without fear, and they fled just as gallantly. All they had to do was distract the dragonriders. The other wyvernriders would do the rest.
Dragonia: Dragon Stone (Dragonia Empire Book 3) Page 19