by Andy Holland
Jude was so focused on watching the giant, sleeping creature that he missed seeing the two approaching dragons until they were almost upon him. One startled him by calling out a greeting.
Jude! A familiar voice sounded in his head. It's been a long time!
It was Captain Micah, an old friend and travelling companion from their journey to the Red Dragon capital earlier in the year when they had escorted Crystal and her friends home. The other dragon was Magda, his replacement.
Micah, what are you doing here? Jude asked in surprise. I thought you had retired from service along with Noah.
I thought about it, Micah replied, falling in beside Jude as he circled in the thermals above the sleeping True Dragon. I could have done so years ago, but I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Then this job came up, and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
What job? Jude asked. What have they got you doing?
Head of Security for Assembly, Micah replied. I get to work with all of the other races, so it's very interesting. Some Red Dragon was in the post but resigned a couple of weeks ago, and I was available, so here I am. Anyway, I thought I could hardly do my job without knowing more about what you lot are doing so Magda was kind enough to let me join her.
We ran into Asher a few minutes ago, Magda added. You were hard to find today. We thought you'd be further west.
We hoped we would be, Jude replied. Magda, I know we need to talk, but I should go and notify the other teams.
Already done, Micah replied cheerfully. We had another dragon with us, and Magda sent him on. I say, it is huge, isn't it? I've never seen one so close before. But I must admit, I was hoping to find you a lot further from Assembly than this. Do you think it's going to attack any time soon?
Jude wished he knew the answer to this question. It's hard to say for certain. It could go in any direction when it wakes. But if I were to guess, I'd say that it's not going to pass by you this time.
Oh? Have you noticed a pattern? Magda asked. Do you think it's going to go home soon?
Jude glanced downward at the black shape in the field below them, hoping that that might be the case. It’ll go home, but it won’t stay for long, and yes, I think there is a pattern.
Well, don't hold back, Micah replied enthusiastically. Tell us what it is!
I will do, Jude replied. Look, you know that it always goes back to the Circle, but then flies out again?
So I've heard, Micah replied. We're hoping that eventually, it will just stay there. It was there for three days last time, wasn't it? That's the longest stay so far.
Yes, Jude replied, it did stay for longer, but how long it stays in the Circle is a little random. What is not is how long it stays away, and there is a clearer pattern there. At first, it stayed for just two days at a time and then it started staying for three days before heading back.
Which it has done ever since, Magda replied. That hasn't changed for some weeks.
I'm afraid it has, Jude replied. When I started my shift, it had been out for two days and didn't return for a day and a half. It stayed in the Circle for two days before heading out again and flew for almost four days. It then spent three days in the Circle, and since then it has been out for three and a half days already.
So it's staying out longer and longer, Magda commented. That's not good.
And flying further and further, Jude added. Each journey has taken us further from the Circle.
Micah blew smoke from his nostrils.
I don't want to question your judgement, Jude, but my predecessor told me that you've been prophesying an attack for some time now. I can understand why you would want us to take this seriously, but how sure are you of this? After all, it could reach our cities in a few hours if it wanted but never does.
That could be just luck, Magda suggested. It has no idea that the cities are there. It follows a random, meandering flight path in any direction from the Circle. If it is staying out longer and longer, the chances are that it will stumble onto you at some point.
There's more to it than that, Jude replied. I'm not sure it is so random. I think it is exploring. It doesn't return to the same spot that often, other than when it has to when it is returning home. That’s why I think that you’ll be attacked soon because it’s systematically going everywhere in search of new victims.
Come on, Micah objected. It’s just a dumb animal. Surely you can’t believe that —
Sir, it's stirring, Abraham interrupted, having appeared beside them in the air. His voice sounded more animated than usual; something was bothering him.
Is anything wrong? Jude asked. What have you noticed?
Other than a True Dragon waking up below us… Micah began rather drily.
I see it, it's agitated, Jude said, cutting him off. Look, it's seen us. The creature hadn't taken off yet but was staring up into the sky, looking straight at them. Its long black tail swished angrily from side to side. It usually started slowly and didn't take off for quite some time after waking, but it looked alert and focussed already. More than that, it looked angry.
Disperse! Jude ordered to all of his dragons. Quickly!
But Jude knew that he was too late. The creature launched itself into the air, flying directly towards them and staring at them maliciously. Of course, as a Golden Dragon, Jude could fly like that, almost vertically, but there was something unnatural about such a massive creature being able to do it and doing it so alarmingly fast. Magda and Micah flew off together, and Jude flew with Abraham, trying to put as much space between them and the True Dragon as possible.
What's wrong? Zane asked, approaching them. He was returning from his task of warning the nearby villages and incredibly hadn't noticed what the True Dragon was doing.
Flee! Abraham shrieked as they reached him. It's coming for us!
He didn't turn around, but the expression on Zane's terrified face as he passed told Jude where the black True Dragon was: directly behind them. Jude sped up, keeping pace with Abraham.
Zane's in trouble, Abraham murmured, having glanced behind them.
Jude allowed himself to look behind. Zane must have dived to pick up speed as he was now flying much lower than them. which made sense as he had been flying in the wrong direction and needed to accelerate quickly, but the True Dragon had now singled him out and was bearing down on him. It was only a hundred metres behind him and was gaining on him quickly. It would have him in a matter of seconds, and there was nothing that they could do about it.
Suddenly Zane dived again, just as the creature unleashed a huge ball of fire where seconds before he had been flying. It was a well-timed move and before the True Dragon could realise what had happened Zane was flying in a different direction, putting some distance between them. The creature roared in frustration and spotting Jude and Abraham high above it decided to shift its attention to them instead.
Our turn, Abraham commented grimly. Let's hope we fare as well as Zane did. Shall we split up?
We had better, Jude agreed. Go left, I'll go right. Jude was not a fan of unnecessary heroics, but he could never put a subordinate in more danger than himself and had calculated that the creature was more likely to follow him. He was right, but the outcome wasn't as he had hoped as he found himself flying near to Carmen and Joseph, putting them in danger.
What are you doing here? Jude demanded as the two of them banked to turn and fly with him. You should have been flying in the opposite direction to that thing.
There’s no shelter that way, Carmen replied. When it took after Zane, we thought we could get to the tunnel we were in last night without it noticing us.
No, you should have just flown away from it as fast as possible, Jude replied coldly, amazed that they would ignore this basic rule. Anything else is madness.
We should scatter, Joseph said. It might get one of us, but there is no reason to let it get all three of us.
The creature roared angrily behind them, focussing Jude's mind. Of course, Joseph, go left, Carmen
, go right. I'll continue straight ahead.
Again they split, but this time, Carmen was the unlucky one. She was flying a little slowly as if something was wrong.
What is she doing? Jude said, speaking to no one in particular. Why doesn't she speed up?
She can't, Joseph replied, appearing at his side, having flown back towards him. Her left wing is bothering her. She told me she would speak to you about it this morning.
She didn't! Jude replied angrily. You should have told me! She should have stayed in that hole. I would never have allowed her to join us while injured.
Too late now, Joseph replied grimly. The creature was almost on Carmen and she just evaded an attack by making an abrupt turn in the air to the left. It just missed her with its outstretched claws, but she didn't buy much time and had to repeat the manoeuvre just seconds later.
I can't watch this, Joseph declared and changed direction, flying towards the creature instead of away from it.
Stop! Jude commanded, but it was to no avail. Joseph caught up with them quickly, now that the True Dragon was zigzagging after Carmen. It didn't see him approaching and Joseph managed to fly right up to it without it seeing him. It almost had Carmen, having worked out when she was going to turn and having narrowed the distance between them, when Joseph struck, striking with his claws along the creature's right flank.
He may as well have attacked a mountain. The creature roared but with anger rather than pain, furious at having been distracted. Joseph dodged the creature's claws as it swiped at him, but he was now the target rather than Carmen. He could turn nimbly in the air and twice avoided the creature as it struggled to snap at him with its jaws, but it wasn’t going to give up. Unbelievably, Joseph found a last bit of energy and for a second he actually started to outpace the creature, now flying in a straight line to leave it behind. But it was a false hope. The True Dragon put on a new burst of speed and unleashed a terrible cloud of fire, engulfing Joseph. Before the flames could dissipate it snapped its jaws on where Joseph had been, pausing before roaring triumphantly. Jude couldn't believe what he had seen: his friend had died right in front of his eyes!
Carmen let out a shriek of shock, unwittingly drawing attention to herself again. She had managed to put a reasonable distance between herself and the True Dragon, but her flapping was laboured and she was flying far slower than normal. The True Dragon turned sharply in the air, flapping its powerful wings furiously to catch up with her. Just as with Joseph, Jude was too far away to intervene and even if he had been nearer there would have been little he could have done to help her. But help came from an unexpected quarter, this time both Micah and Magda diving past the True Dragon, firing a series of fireballs at the creature's eyes. Uninjured but momentarily blinded the creature flew past Carmen, who took advantage of the distraction to drop into a dive and fly in the opposite direction, joined by Micah and Magda.
It's not following you, Jude called from above. Keep flying and put some distance between you and it.
The True Dragon wasn't following them but was far from finished with them. In the distance, it had spotted Zane, Abraham and Asher and was headed straight for them. Why had they regrouped? Surely they must have known that would make them more of a target? It flew towards them very quickly, much faster than Jude had thought was possible. It appeared to be heading to the right of them, rather than directly towards them and the three of them responded by flying to the left but still staying together. It adjusted its course slightly, but again headed slightly to the right of them and again they turned to the left, still staying together.
It's herding them! Micah said in amazement. It’s going to drive them back towards us.
Jude hadn't noticed that Micah and Magda had climbed to join him, having been paying more attention to where Carmen was, but Micah was right and as the creature closed in on the three it drove them to the left once more so they were now heading back towards Jude and the other three dragons.
They won’t reach us, Magda added. We’re too far ahead, although if they don’t split up he'll get all three of them pretty soon
They won’t reach us, Magda added. We’re too far ahead, although if they don’t split up he'll get all three of them pretty soon.
Let’s not take any chances, Jude replied. Ascend. If we get high enough it might lose interest. And no more heroics. No one needs to follow Joseph's example. And if you see somewhere that you can take refuge don't hesitate to do so.
Magda and Micah immediately headed off in separate directions, flying quickly to put as much distance between themselves and the creature as they could. It might catch Abraham and the others, but at least two of them would escape. Jude flew hard as well, knowing that there was nothing that he could do to help the others and there was nothing to be gained by risking his own life.
After flying at speed for a couple of minutes, Jude finally looked back to see what was happening. To his initial relief, he had put a considerable distance between himself and the creature. It was now safe to start to climb and once high enough, it would be unlikely to bother coming after him. The others were not so safe. The True Dragon was still pursuing Abraham, Zane and Asher, just keeping pace rather than gaining on them, which seemed a little odd as it could have caught them by now. Then Jude understood what it was trying to do. It had managed to keep them flying together and they were on the verge of catching up with Carmen, who was still struggling to fly at a decent speed. To make it even worse, it appeared that they were no longer looking back to check where it was. Perhaps they thought it had lost interest in them or maybe they were so naïve to believe that it was actually unable to catch up with them. Jude gasped in horror, knowing that this was the moment that the creature had been waiting for. With a sudden burst of energy, it sped forwards as the four dragons converged into a single group, closing in on them with ease. It opened its jaws wide and let forth a terrible stream of fire, engulfing them completely. Their screams of pain were heart-wrenching but brief. The creature killed all four almost instantly. As horrified as he was, Jude still couldn’t turn away. When the flames cleared, four blackened corpses began to drop through the air, leaving long trails of smoke in an arc behind them. They didn't fall far, quickly being snatched up in the greedy creature's mouth and claws. It landed briefly to finish its meal, swallowing them one at a time. Moments later it was back in the air, now flapping its wings in a lazy fashion, its anger spent.
Jude was now high above the creature and was still climbing. He wouldn't stop until he was several thousand metres above it. Soon he was joined by Magda and Micah, the huge black True Dragon now a mere dot below them. Jude's whole unit was dead, destroyed in a matter of minutes. In the distance, he could see the other two units, also high in the sky, not anywhere near as high as they were but still keeping their distance from the murderous creature. They must have watched the whole disaster unfold and just like Jude, known that there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Now what? Magda asked. I'm meant to be leading a team but I have no dragons.
Jude glanced at her briefly in disgust. How could anyone be so utterly cold? I'm sorry if we have inconvenienced you.
Magda snorted in irritation. Be practical, Jude. We have a job to do here and if we don't do it many more will die. Can two teams keep up with that thing? Should I return with you and raise more troops or stay and help while you go back?
She was right, of course, and normally Jude would have admired such pragmatism but at this precise moment, it seemed unnecessarily callous. Still, the question needed to be answered, but he didn't know how to answer. He wasn't sure whether three teams were really enough, let alone two. The only thing he was certain of was that they needed to keep a lot more space between themselves and the monster.
Stay, Micah replied firmly. It won't take three of us to request more troops and besides, that would be my job anyway. Take two from each of the other teams and you'll have a third team. I will report all that has happened here.
St
ay high, Jude added. Stay much higher than we have been doing. You have to assume that it could decide to attack at any time and without warning. Always have a plan for escape. If the creature decides to attack, head for the nearest cover immediately.
It's on the move, Magda replied, not responding to Jude's advice, but that didn't bother him. She would heed it.
It's headed west, she continued. It should miss the new cities this time, Micah. Send any troops towards the Circle. It must be headed home. It will be there by nightfall.
Magda turned and flew away from them, not bothering to bid them farewell which was not like her. Maybe the dragons' deaths had affected her more than she had let on.
We should go as well, Jude told Micah, turning to head towards the east.
Jude, I'm really sorry, Micah replied, flying beside him. Did you know those dragons well?
Jude hesitated. Micah wouldn't know that Joseph was among the dragons that had just died. Micah had known him for several years now and it would be as painful for him as it was for Jude. Micah, let's not discuss that now. We need to get back to the new cities. We have to tell them what has happened. We've lost trackers before, but only when we've intervened in an attack on a settlement. It's never attacked us like this.
I know, Micah replied morosely. I read many of your reports, although I was sceptical up till now. I apologise for my lack of trust. This is a dangerous situation indeed. It was bad enough that it was staying out of the Circle for longer, but if it has decided to try and attack the trackers…
If we can't track it then we'll never know when it's going to attack, Jude finished. It could attack anywhere without warning and that just can't be allowed to happen.
Chapter 7: Back to the Valley