The True Dragon

by Andy Holland

  "Are your scouts up to the task?" asked the Blue Dragon member who had spoken earlier. "Yes, you Golden Dragons may be very fast, but wielding the black lance requires strength and bravery. This is a task for warriors, those used to charging into battle knowing that they may die. Not just mere scouts."

  Gabriel swelled up angrily, glaring with undisguised contempt. "Perhaps the Blue Dragon representative is unaware of the status of scouts within our army. We use the term in quite a different way to you. Scouts are our elite warriors, the fastest, the most skilled of our dragons and they would be the first to engage our enemies in battle. They should be the ones to form this Extermination Group."

  Mark rolled his eyes. They didn't have an army, they had a defence force, and although Gabriel was broadly correct, they fought in battles so rarely that it was largely irrelevant. He wasn't fond of the name either, knowing that it was likely to stick now and there was nothing he could to change it. He stood up to speak.

  "This should be a joint operation. The True Dragons threaten all of us; therefore all races should be involved in eliminating the threat. And those who participate should be volunteers. Hal is right about the risks, so those that take part should do so freely. I, of course, will volunteer."

  "The operation hasn't been approved yet," the chairman pointed out. "Perhaps it is time for a vote, then, if approved, we can discuss the details. Those in favour of forming the Extermination Group?"

  The motion was unanimously carried, as was the subsequent motion to put Gabriel in charge of the operation, formed of volunteers from each member country. Mark would have liked to have been party to the discussions of the details, but the Assembly decided to discuss that in a closed session, so Mark had to leave. Outside, he ran into Gabriel.

  "Captain Mark, it is good to finally meet you," Gabriel said slightly stiffly. "I've heard a lot about you. Well, your family, anyway. I was a little disappointed that you didn't see fit to entrust this mission to our own forces alone."

  "This matter affects all of us," Mark replied, meeting the older man's disapproving gaze. "The Blues have already killed one, and the Browns have all of the experience. They can play a useful part."

  "They will get themselves killed," Gabriel corrected. "Perhaps that doesn't bother you?"

  "Avoidable deaths always bother me," Mark replied coldly. "That's why I volunteered to take part in the mission to help the Reds defend themselves, to stop an entire race being wiped out. Did you miss that call for volunteers?"

  "Ah, yes, the campaign against the Blues. The whole reason we're in this sorry mess. I guess you must feel indirectly responsible, as it was your brother who provoked these creatures in the first place. Didn't you say something about avoidable deaths? How many dragons have the True Dragons killed so far? Does anyone even know?"

  "Far less than the Blue Dragons would have killed if left unchecked," Mark countered, now regarding Gabriel with contempt. "You didn't see the size of their army. John prevented the Reds being wiped out."

  "Unless these things succeed where the Blues failed, but taking the Browns, Blues and us with them."

  "Something you're now tasked with stopping," Mark pointed out. "Let’s hope you’re more successful leading this than you were leading the tracking team. Tell me, are you going to run this operation in the same way you ran that mission? With the other captains taking all of the risks and you safely tucked away in this city? We're lucky to have such a brave leader."

  "Who is now your leader," Gabriel retorted, his face flush with anger. "In case you forgot. You'll see exactly what sort of leader I am very soon. Look out for your orders over the next couple of days. Goodbye, Captain Mark." And with that he turned around and marched away, leaving Mark realising that he may have won that argument, but he was probably going to have to pay for it.

  Chapter 14: Searching for John

  Crystal & Natan stood outside the collapsed entrance, still coughing in the suffocating cloud of dust. Crystal's torch had gone out, but they still had Natan's; otherwise, they would be in complete darkness.

  "What do we do?" Crystal asked once the dust had settled. "It's night, so we can't transform."

  Natan held his torch up to the entrance to the now blocked corridor. It hadn't just collapsed randomly but was sealed tightly shut. "I'm not sure how much we could do anyway. Look at how this corridor is blocked. This has been carefully planned. Worm Dragons built this place, and they'd know how to keep other dragons out."

  "There must be some dragon though," Crystal replied. "What could you transform into, that could get through this door?"

  Natan looked around them at the vicious spikes protruding from the corridor walls. "Nothing that could fit in this space. Red Dragons are the biggest thing that could fit in this space without getting skewered, and they couldn't get through that door. There probably are dragons but none that I can take the form of. But it doesn’t matter anyway, as you said, it’s night."

  Crystal leaned against the wall by the entrance, feeling utterly defeated. "So that's it, John's stuck in there?"

  Natan pulled her away from the entrance, looking a little alarmed. "Let's be careful what we touch from now on. John may have known what he was doing when he pulled that lever, but we don't. We should go for help. There are plenty of Golden Dragons in the Circle, remember?"

  "How?" Crystal asked. "It's dark, so we can't fly, and John told us that there aren't any tunnels near the centre of the Circle. There'll be no one nearby."

  Crystal was to be proven wrong almost immediately, and they heard voices calling from outside. They must have heard the ceiling collapse. Before Crystal could call out Natan clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her towards him.

  "Shhhh," he whispered nervously. "They might be here with Perak."

  Crystal shivered involuntarily. She had forgotten about him. He wouldn't have left anything to chance. She was surprised that they hadn't picked them up when they had first arrived.

  "What do we do?" Crystal asked once he released her. "We're trapped in here. They'll be down here in a minute, and they'll find us!"

  Natan held his torch aloft, studying the large hall they were in. The only things in there were the two statues and they couldn't hide behind those. At one end of the room was the sealed entrance to the city and at the other was the entrance to the long passageway that led back to the surface. Natan took her hand and led her towards the passageway.

  "What are you doing?" Crystal asked. "They'll see us!"

  Natan stood against the back wall, just to the left of the entrance. He extinguished his torch, plunging them into darkness. "Stay pressed against the back wall. They may miss us when they come in. Once they're all in, we can creep past them and back up to the surface."

  "That'll never work!" Crystal objected in horror. "They'll see us!"

  "Shhhh," Natan replied irritably. "If you have a better plan, tell me. Otherwise, shut up and wait. And get ready to move when I tell you."

  Crystal resisted the urge to reply, realising that although this was a terrible plan she didn't have anything better. She reached out in the darkness for the wall and moved to stand as close to it as she could. It was pitch black, and the only thing she could hear was Natan's breathing and her own heart pounding in her chest. But the silence didn't last. The sound of footsteps echoed down the steps, probably from a large group of men judging from the noise. Only one spoke, barking orders at the rest and urging them to move more quickly. The distant light of their torches reflecting along the tunnel began to illuminate the hall, and she pressed even closer against the wall. Natan stood between her and the passageway, his gaze fixed on the entrance. Without looking at her, he reached over and took her hand. It wasn't a romantic or comforting gesture, Crystal knew that much. He meant to pull her along as soon as he thought it was safe to move. As they stood side by side against the wall she could feel him trembling; for all his bravado, he was just as terrified as she was.

  The footsteps were now very loud, and t
he man's voice was quite clear. He sounded rather pompous.

  "Follow me, quickly now, men. Definitely a tunnel collapse. We will have to work quickly to get the General out of there. I hope you're all up to the job."

  He burst into the room, head held high and a torch in his outstretched left hand. His right hand waved away the air, although the dust had long since settled. He was a bit overweight, and the sweat glistened on his forehead.

  "As I thought," he declared loudly, approaching the sealed entrance, followed by a line of blue-haired men. "The tunnel has collapsed. These Worm Dragons aren't quite as great as we've been led to believe. I doubt their underground cities would have lasted for more than a few days in the north of our land, with our earthquakes. They'd collapse immediately. Yes, gather around, have a look at this."

  Crystal had no idea what he was going to show them as Natan tugged on her arm, pulling her towards the entrance. The last man had passed by only seconds earlier, but Natan had decided that this was their moment. Crystal offered no resistance, meekly following and trying to walk as quietly as possible. They passed through the tunnel entrance without anyone noticing and began the long climb up the steps. Natan was walking slowly and delicately, placing his feet very carefully to avoid making even the slightest sound and was still holding her hand, pulling her along with him. The steps went on forever, and a thousand terrifying ideas flooded her mind. Suppose that man sent some of his men to fetch tools. Suppose she tripped and one of the men heard her. Or suppose he had left more men stationed at the top. They wouldn't be able to get past without being seen. Then what would they do?

  But she remained silent, passively allowing Natan to lead her up the steps. They had to be getting near the end as the tunnel was starting to get lighter. It wasn't daylight, but the Blues must have left a torch near the way in. Natan was moving more quickly now, impatient to get out. They could still hear the self-important voice of the Blue Dragon from down below, but it was silent above them.

  "Quickly now," Natan whispered. "They're coming back."

  How he had been listening to their conversation she couldn't tell, but sure enough, she heard their footsteps echoing from the other end of the tunnel as they approached. They moved as quickly as they could, staying low in the hope that they wouldn't be seen. It wasn't far to the end.

  "Look there! Golden Dragons!" The pompous Blue Dragon had spotted them. "After them! Don't let them escape."

  Natan let go of her hand and sprinted towards the surface, taking three steps at a time as he dashed for freedom. Crystal couldn't keep up, but she ran as fast as she could anyway, hoping that no Blue Dragons were waiting for them at the other end. She burst through the exit and into the open air, panting heavily as she stopped for breath.

  "Come on," Natan urged. "We have a head start, but they'll be here soon."

  "Which way?" Crystal asked. "It won't be light for hours. We won't be able to transform and fly away."

  "Any direction," Natan replied. "We need to hide. Follow me!"

  He ran east, along a broad path between the buildings. They had a few minutes head start by Crystal's reckoning, but the Blue Dragons were Perak's troops and were probably a lot fitter than they were and it might not take them as long to reach the surface. Natan stopped and pulled Crystal into a ruin.

  "Wait," he told her, gasping for breath. "They'll be at the surface any second now. If they see us, they'll catch us, but they don't know which way to go at the moment. With luck, they'll go the wrong way."

  Sure enough, Crystal saw lights appear from the tunnel just seconds afterwards. They were too far away to hear what the Blue Dragon leader was shouting to the others, but the torch lights started to spread out as they began their search.

  "I think there are ten of them," Natan said, peering over the edge of the ruin. "That's unfortunate. They are spreading out quite effectively. I don't think it would take them too long to find us here."

  Crystal’s heart sank. Surely they were due some luck at some point. "What do we do? Can we fight them?"

  Natan shook his head despondently. "I have no weapons, and they will all have one, and they're probably very well trained in the use of those weapons. And if we could kill one, all the others would know where we were immediately."

  Crystal peered over the edge of the ruin. The nearest one was still a few hundred metres away. She looked up at the sky. It was cloudy and it was quite dark.

  "Then we keep moving," Crystal said. "If we stay low, it will be hard to see us. They'll be checking in ruins to see if they can find us so that will slow them down. We can stay ahead of them."

  "We'll reach the edge of the buildings before dawn," Natan pointed out. "Then what?"

  "Hopefully, we'll be far enough away to start running," Crystal replied. "Do you have a better plan?"

  Natan shook his head. "I guess not. Follow me."

  He ducked through the low doorway of the ruin and started moving away from the building, staying as low as he could. Crystal followed him, also trying to stay low. They kept near to the buildings, hoping that it would keep them hidden. They managed to continue like this for quite some distance.

  "You know," Natan said, beginning to sound more confident, "this might actually work. I think we've put some distance between them and us now."

  A loud cry from far behind them told them that he had spoken moments too soon. They both stopped and turned, crouching down low, but in the distance, they saw that all of the lights that were spread over the ruins had changed direction and were all heading towards them.

  "Time to run," Natan said. "No point being quiet now. They know that we're here now."

  "Yes, they do," Crystal replied, noticing a cave just outside the ruins, about a kilometre away. It was probably another entrance to one of the Worm Dragon's tunnels. "But I have an idea. Run towards that cave."

  "Why?" Natan asked, having already started to run. "We can't hide in there. They'll see us go in."

  "If they get there," Crystal replied. "They might change direction. Just go there." She ran past him, sprinting for the first hundred or so metres, before running out of breath and beginning to jog. Natan caught up with her and passed her, before pausing to wait.

  "They'll catch us easily," he pointed out. "If you're hoping for something from that cave then I think you're going to be disappointed. Most of these Worm Dragon tunnels are very long with few turnings. We won't be able to lose them."

  Crystal paused for a second before letting out as loud a scream as she could manage. "Aaaaaaah!"

  "What are you doing?" Natan asked in alarm. "Are you crazy?"

  Crystal jogged after him. "No, not crazy. Just trust me. Scream as loud as you can. Aaaaaah!"

  "Just run!" Natan urged frantically, grabbing her arm and propelling her along. "They'll be here in a minute. They're not that far behind. Why are you shouting anyway?"

  Crystal let out one more scream before jogging along with him. "Please trust me. It will work. Help me make some noise."

  "You're crazy," he replied. "How will this help?"

  In the distance, they heard the roar of a distant True Dragon. "Like that," she replied. "Aaaaaah!"

  "What are you doing?" Natan asked in alarm, taking her arm again and pulling her along. "Do you want to be eaten by one of them?"

  "No," Crystal replied. "But if one does come along, who will it find first? They have torches, remember. And who is nearest to safety? While it attacks them, we'll get to the caves and then we'll be safe."

  A smile spread across Natan's face as he saw the beauty of the plan. "Aaaaaah!" he shouted loudly. "Come and get us!"

  A second roar was heard, this time nearer and louder. "Nice one," Crystal replied. "I think it is working. But let's keep heading towards the cave. Just yell every now and then to keep it interested."

  Natan glanced back. "They're still coming anyway. Better keep moving, or they'll get us before it gets them." He ran quickly, leaving Crystal behind and then stopped to let her catch up, ye
lling as loud as he could till she caught up. "Don't stop," he urged. "I'm faster than you. Each time I get ahead, I'll stop to yell until you catch me up."

  Crystal didn't reply, jogging ahead with her eyes fixed on the cave ahead. She wasn't used to running like this, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep going. Her leg muscles felt as if they were on fire and she was beginning to feel nauseous, but she knew that she had to go on. They were almost at the edge of the ruins now, and outside the ruins, there was nothing but grasslands, with no trees or bushes or anything to provide cover. For either the Blues or the True Dragons finding them here would be all too easy, so there was only one thing she could do: keep running.

  If leaving the ruins worried Natan, he didn’t show it, sprinting across the open grasslands ahead of her. He stopped about forty metres ahead of her to yell once again, and this time, the True Dragon replied almost immediately, sounding dangerously close and very angry.

  "Sounds near," he said as she passed him, beginning to run to stay with her. "It's definitely heading for us. But they're still coming after us as well. Question is, will they reach the cave before it reaches them?"

  Crystal was unable to reply, gasping for breath. She just had a few hundred metres to go and then she could breathe. Even if the True Dragon didn’t get the Blues, they would have to take cover for a while, and she would have enough of a head start to get away. Unless the tunnel led to a dead end, of course, in which case they would be doomed.

  Before she could start to worry about that possibility, she heard the creature roar once again, but this time it was so loud that she slid to a halt and spun around to face the direction that the sound had come from. To her horror she saw the unmistakable silhouette of the black True Dragon in the night sky, bearing down on them at an alarming pace.