“And it would take far too long,” Hubric said. “You’re in a race, remember? A race where the first stop is in the Dominion.”
“A race that will be over the moment we’re caught,” I whispered. “Unless you know a quicker way to get there.”
“Mmmph,” Hubric grunted. “Maybe. We could try the warrens – if we dare.”
“Warrens?”
“Underground tunnels. They lead to unexpected places. But they’re hard to navigate. Sometimes even impossible. And I don’t know where the entrances to them might be in the Lands of Haz’drazen. If we get through the Dawn’s Gate to the human lands again, we might be able to find one. But by then, we’d be close enough to Dominion City that it might not make a difference.”
Kyrowat was already slipping out from behind the rock, flying low to the beach and hugging the rocky cliff along the side of the ocean. He’d have to be careful. His purple scales stood out along the blackened volcanic rocks and we didn’t help him hide at all.
I retreated into my own mind, desperately looking for a way to defeat the Manticores and escape the Lands of the Dragons alive.
The next hours left my teeth on edge and my nerves sizzling. We hid in every rock, cave or outcrop we could find as we dodged groups of Manticores bearing riders in bunches of anywhere from five to a hundred. We saw no other dragons.
Nasataa was restless and I had chewed my bottom lip raw by the time the sun began to set.
“We need to stop soon,” Heron announced. “I think this man is bleeding. And if you want that information we saved him for, we’ll have to stop to tend his wounds.”
A harsh voice cried out from the dusky light. A warning? A challenge?
We fell silent, but it called again.
“Hold on,” Hubric whispered and then Kyrowat sprang forward, flying faster and harder than I thought a dragon of his age could possibly go.
You wound me, girl.
We flew in tense silence for what felt like hours as the darkness grew thicker and thicker.
As we flew, I thought.
I was in an impossible race against an adversary who outnumbered us in the one place you would think that lovers of dragons would have the most friends – the Lands of Haz’drazen. We were poorly supplied, didn’t know where we were going, and were fleeing for our lives. And if we didn’t succeed, little Nasataa would pay with his life. We had no option but to go on and keep trying. But everything in me was screaming that we’d already failed.
Heron leaned forward, whispering in my ear just as I thought that, “Be strong, Seleska. Bravery is doing the impossible because you hope in something bigger than yourself. Strength comes from love and gratitude, not the ability to rend and tear apart. Your bright eyes make my heart stronger every day.”
I felt a warm little rush at his words and it kept me going as the hours passed and the wind whipped up, disguising the sound of our flight until it felt like we’d been flying half the night.
I thought I could see Manticores behind us every time I looked back, chasing us in the light of the moon, their broken teeth gleaming in the silver light.
But it was only my own terrors chasing me.
Chapter Two
The night was half-gone by the time Kyrowat collapsed in a rocky cave somewhere in a set of low mountains. In the darkness, with all the hiding and creeping through low rocky outcroppings, I’d lost my bearings almost entirely. I couldn’t have judged east from west I was so tired, but I helped Heron pull Jeriath off Kyrowat’s back and as Hubric tended his dragon and Nasataa curled up beside him to sleep, we wearily checked him over.
“He’s been stabbed here, in the back,” Heron said. “No wonder he’s doing so poorly. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“Do you think it’s infected?” I whispered. “It’s been hours since you caught him.”
Heron shrugged, too tired to speak more. And what was there to say? If he was too hurt to live, there was nothing we could do about that, anyway. I bit my lip as we bandaged him.
Tiredness weighed on me like a heavy rock, slowing my movements and sinking my spirits. I fought against it as I worked with fumbling fingers, helping Heron to make Jeriath comfortable on the sand before collapsing in the sand myself. I hoped we wouldn’t be discovered here. Hoped we would hear anyone coming before they found us. They wouldn’t travel at night, would they? Hoped ...
The smell of the fire woke me from my troubled sleep and I pulled myself up to sitting with a start. Sunlight drifted in bright and golden into the sandy caves between the rocks. Someone’s arm was draped over my waist.
Heron.
He must have fallen in the sand beside me. I couldn’t see the sky from where I was. A good thing, considering our enemy could fly. I rubbed my eyes blearily.
Where was Nasataa? My heart was already racing before I was on my feet scouring the sand and cave with my gaze.
“Above,” a deep voice rumbled.
I strode forward until I was out of the cliff’s overhang and I could look to the cliffs above. I thought I saw the shape of a dragon silhouetted above with another, smaller dragon beside him. Before I could blink, the first dragon fell from the cliff and then the little dragon fell after him.
I gasped.
No!
Nasataa wasn’t ready yet! He was too little to fly! I bit my lip looking for where I should stand to catch him – could I catch him? I’d have to try! There was no one else to do it.
“He’s the size of a dog,” the deep voice said. “I hope you don’t plan to catch him. Come get some tea. It’s much better.”
“I’ll do what I have to,” I said through gritted teeth, sparing a quick glance for the voice. It was Hubric carefully drinking from a cup beside the fire. His drink steamed invitingly.
“Well, I’m glad you’re not my mother fretting and worrying like that. You’d drive a sane person mad,” he said. “And for the record, our prisoner’s wounds are beginning to look better, though the fever still has him. I poured some water down his throat this morning.”
My eyes were locked on Nasataa’s little form. Was he scared? Was he panicked?
I opened my arms wide, ready, ready.
Just before he fell into them, he pulled up, his scaly belly swiping my reaching fingers. He shot into the sky with a look in his eye that made me think of a laughing dog.
Kyrowat, Hubric’s full-grown dragon, flew a lazy circle around to him and the two of them glided side by side in an arc together.
I let out a long breath.
“They’re dragons,” Hubric said. “They fly. What did you think the wings were for, hmmm?”
“I thought he would need to be taught,” I said tightly.
“Well, now is a good time to learn. We’re being chased by enemies and between the five of us we’re too heavy for Kyrowat. He barely made it through the flight last night and I worry for him. He’s pushing himself too hard. If Nasataa can fly for himself, that’s one fewer to carry.”
I felt a tightness in my chest at not carrying him anymore. Would he be okay flying on his own? What if he got tired? I’d just have to watch for that. I was not going to have my little dragon worn out just because Hubric or Kyrowat thought it might be good training.
“They’ll be seen up there in the sky!” I protested.
“Needs to be done.”
“That’s my decision,” I said boldly but then withered under his sharp gaze “Don’t you think? I mean, well, I am his guardian.”
He laughed. “Well, now, I suppose it is. Why don’t you tell him what he can and can’t do?”
He winked at me as Kyrowat and Nasataa landed together right in front of us.
My eyes went big and with my biggest, brightest smile I rushed to Nasataa.
“You did it! You flew for the very first time! I saw you and it was amazing!”
He leapt up, fluttering a little in the air and knocking me backward. I stumbled back. Tripping against his enthusiastic weight and falling to the ground.
Strong, Sela. Strong!
“Yes, very strong, Nasataa!”
“He’ll need more practice before we set out,” Hubric said with a grunt. He kept his face schooled to seriousness, but I thought he might just be a little touched by Nasataa’s success, too.
“Wasn’t he amazing, Hubric! Tell him how great he was!”
“Yes, it’s truly amazing when a thing does what it’s designed to do. Well done, dragon,” he said dryly. He shoved a mug of tea in my hands as I stood. “Here. Drink.”
“And what were you designed for, Hubric?” I asked innocently. “Making tea?”
He scowled as the dragons took off again. “Go wake your boy. I thought of something while you two were sleeping.”
“Something good, I hope,” I said giving him my brightest smile and indulging in a long sip of hot tea.
“Ha! Go charm him. It doesn’t work on me.”
But I was pretty sure that my smiles did work on him because he was failing at hiding his own smile under that grey mustache of his. Triumphantly, I returned to where Jeriath and Heron still slept. I checked Jeriath first. Still breathing, but not awake. Well, at least he hadn’t died in the night.
Hopefully, whatever idea Hubric had was a good one, because, despite Nasataa’s success and the joy I felt for him, we were still in a big mess here.
I crouched down beside Heron and shook him gently.
“Just a moment more,” he muttered sleepily. “Just a moment more, sweet honey.”
A stab of recognition shot through me. He’d said that when he was bringing me to the dragons for help, hadn’t he? He’d called me “sweet honey” when I was fading in and out of consciousness. How had I forgotten that until now? I bit my lip. Maybe all his joking about making him fall in love with me – maybe it had just been the plain truth. Was it possible that Heron thought of me as more than just his best friend?
I opened my mouth, trying to form the exact right sentence when the hiss of steam and a sharp cry met my ears.
“We’ve got company!” Hubric called.
Chapter Three
I grabbed my staff from where I’d left it the night before, gulping down the rest of the tea and stuffing the tin mug into my belt pouch. I tugged at the tight swim clothing – not very useful away from the water – as I stumbled slightly in my haste to rush to Hubric’s side. Nasataa dove from the sky, hitting the ground hard and skidding along it until he stopped at my feet in a cloud of dust.
“Are you okay, little guy?” I asked, but he was already rolling up on his feet and prancing forward to where Kyrowat had landed beside Hubric.
The older dragon flashed a bright-eyed wink at little Nasataa. Maybe he wasn’t as crusty as he seemed.
I’m much crustier. My friends call me Metamorphic.
Was that a dragon joke? Was he joking while we were under attack?
Shadows darkened the ground, one after another and I shielded my eyes with a hand, looking up into the too-bright morning sky, my heart racing. How many were there?
My heart was stuttering so hard that I was having trouble breathing evenly. I clutched my dragon staff, ready to fight when the Manticores came. Those rotten teeth would never touch my Nasataa!
He spurted a small flame into the air like he was thinking the same thing.
“Good boy!” I said as I scanned the sky.
Dark bodies blotted out the sun, at least four or five silhouettes passed over us, curling around to lose altitude and get closer. They’d definitely seen us! They must have noticed Kyrowat and Nasataa’s flights. I knew that would draw too much attention!
But wait. Those outlines didn’t look like Manticores at all.
“They’re dragons!” Heron’s voice was full of awe despite the sleepy note to it. “Free dragons without riders.”
“Now we can test your theory,” Hubric said wryly. “How much are you willing to bet that a free dragon will be willing to carry your heavy frame around while fleeing the destruction of his home, hmmm? I’ll wager my second best knife that you won’t find any takers.”
Heron looked uncertain as he shifted back and forth but he pointed to his belt buckle after a moment. “It’s silver. Will you take it against the knife?”
Hubric laughed. “Keep the confidence. Dragons like confidence.”
And then it was too loud to speak as winds beat against us in every direction. The dragons were landing in our small clearing in front of the cave – all of them at once – their cupped wings furling and huge feet hitting the sand sent a thrill through me. They were so large, so magnificent as the sun hit their scales and glinted off. Who would ever want to harm such magnificent creatures?
The Rock Eaters had no respect for life – not human life and not dragon life. And people who didn’t respect life had lost something close to their hearts. My belly burned a little hot at that thought and I felt a wave of nausea. I’d swallowed one of their stones. One of the things that they made by sucking the life out of people. I’d made a terrible mistake doing that, hadn’t I? Hopefully, it would turn out to be a dud and not do anything. After all, it hadn’t done anything yet, right?
No point getting bogged down in worries about things that couldn’t be changed. Confidence and enthusiasm were what we needed now. I held my staff in both hands and walked up boldly to the dragon closest to me – a thickly scaled red with ruby scales that made me just want to stare and stare at the subtle black striping wrapping around his back.
“I hope you won’t be too offended,” I said, “but we could really use your help.”
Hubric snorted behind me and the Red dragon just stared at me, nostrils flaring.
“He must like you,” Hubric said.
“Why do you say that?” I asked, smiling at the dragon, and reaching toward him in an invitation to come closer.
“Because you still have that hand. Didn’t you pay any attention, Seleska? Dragons don’t talk to people. Except for Purples, and they don’t do it very often. Usually only to their riders.”
But he was wrong about that because dragons talked to me all the time. Purples, yes, but also Blues and Taoslil who was a white. And these dragons were all looking at me.
No, wait. They were all looking behind me. I glanced behind me to see Nasataa preening under all the attention. They were curious about the little dragon, weren’t they? I felt my face flaming in embarrassment, and I dropped my hand. Ooops. Not everything is about you, Seleska.
“We still need to get Nasataa to the Dominion, and he still needs our help,” I said to Hubric, feeling like such a fool. Of course, the dragons didn’t think I was something special. Why had I expected that? I was getting a swollen head, that was for sure! “And if we’re going to get him out of here in the middle of this conflict, then we need the help of dragons.”
One of the dragons pushed forward. He was thinner and a touch smaller than the others who were Red, Black, and Green. This one – a purple, looked almost lanky like he was young.
He is young, Kyrowat said to me. Too young to be making such hasty decisions. Tell your blacksmith, ‘no.’
What could he mean by that? But before I could ask, the Purple bounded forward like an excited horse, knocking the Red to the side and skidding to a halt right beside me.
It was all I could do, as my eyes went wide, not to flinch. I swallowed. He was soooo big. Even a small dragon seemed huge and terrifying when it came barreling toward you. But it wasn’t me he was interested in, or even Nasataa.
All his attention was on Heron, steam pouring from his nostrils as his yellow eyes narrowed and took all of Heron in like a wolf sizing up his prey. I spun to look back at Heron. Was he scared? Could he get out of the way? He’d been a prisoner of dragons only yesterday. Did this dragon know that?
Heron had
n’t even flinched. He was leaning forward slightly, the sun glinting off his dark skin and hair and a look of delighted awe painting his face. I felt a tiny pang of jealousy – that looked like love in his eyes – and then the dragon spun in place and ran along the ground a little awkwardly. I dodged backward, barely avoiding his tail as it whipsawed back and forth along the ground. Nasataa hissed, spitting fire into the sky like he was watching a sporting event rather than the world’s most confusing meeting, but when I looked back, I could see why.
Heron dashed along the black sand, running as fast as I’d ever seen him. The look in his eyes was pure exhilaration and then he was leaping through the air and grabbing the purple dragon by the tail at the same moment that the dragon kicked up from the ground into the sky.
Black sand flew up and swirled in the wind where his wings created turbulence. In the middle of all that sand and wind, was Heron, climbing up the dragon’s tail hand over hand as if those slick scales had any kind of purchase at all.
My heart was in my throat. I thought I might have screamed his name, but now they were so high up that it was hard to see. I felt freezing cold as I watched them, my belly lurching with fear at the thought of Heron losing a handhold and falling, falling, falling all the way to the black rocks below.
What was he thinking?
What would I do if I lost him?
I gasped as he seemed to almost somersault forward along the dragon’s spine and land right between his shoulders like a dragon rider with no saddle.
“Ah, the traditional way,” Hubric said happily from beside me. He was still drinking his tea. His tea! As if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. “That’s always nice. Purples are big suckers for people with wide-open hearts and I enjoy seeing the traditions upheld.”
“Wide-open hearts?”
“Isn’t your boy big-hearted? He sure seems stuck on you,” Hubric said calmly. “Well, best pack up. We have miles to cover, danger on every horizon, an impossible quest, and two dragons so wet behind the ears that it will take all of Kyrowat’s skill to keep them out of trouble.”
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