“Interesting.”
“What I am most curious about is the black wyverns.”
“How about you don’t try to stick your head inside any strange wyvern’s mouth?”
Devarius grinned.
“How many vials are there?”
“Hundreds.”
“Hundreds?”
He held his finger three centimeters apart. “They’re small. You don’t need much to do damage. I didn’t want to make large vials. I figured it’d be a waste of oil.”
“There are so many possibilities with these as a weapon.”
Devarius nodded. “Yes, I’ve already used them as weapons.”
“When?”
“The first time we had to face dragonriders. When I dropped ice oil on a dragon, its entire body was encased in ice. Fire oil caught them aflame. Each oil I used was very effective.”
“Perhaps hope isn’t as lost as I feared.”
“Hope is never lost. Besides, we also have hundreds of wyvernriders. And we’ve been training.”
“Good.”
Devarius glanced around. “You best get to your ship, sister. We’re about to leave.”
Zaviana turned to the ships to notice everything was packed. Wyverns took to the air all around the ship, including dozens of purple wyverns flying close by.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ll be flying.”
“Flying?” she asked.
A small blue wyvern flapped its wings above them as it descended to land next to her brother. It stood as tall as a house, but was still a good bit smaller than most of the others. The wyvern’s scales glittered in the sunlight. It was gorgeous.
“Zavi, meet Ayla. She’s my wyvern, and I’m her rider.”
“Ayla,” Zaviana whispered.
She reached up to touch the wyvern’s nose. A tingle flowed through her body.
Hello, Devarius’ sister, a soft feminine voice said inside of her head.
Zaviana’s mouth dropped. “You ... you ...” She cleared her throat. “You can talk?”
The wyvern nodded.
Zaviana closed her mouth.
“Introduce yourself,” Devarius said.
Zaviana shivered. “I’m Zaviana. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ayla.”
The pleasure is mine, Zaviana.
21
Naveen grinned as she looked down at Cederic. She offered a hand, which he accepted gratefully. They’d been practicing with swords for over an hour. He’d been getting better, but she still bested him. Both of them were still far from being a master with a sword. Naveen would have preferred to spar out of the city so no one would see them or, more importantly, their lack of skill, but after the attack, everyone had been forbidden from leaving the city.
Saefron was once a happy city, full of positive energy even with the ill news of the Dragonia Empire arriving, but after the attack, everyone was on edge. It was understandable, but the gloom was making Naveen depressed. She was glad she could focus her energy on practicing swords with Cederic. And she was really loving her new shoes. She wiggled her toes again inside after she helped Cederic up. Her whole life, she’d never known shoes could be so comfortable.
“Thanks.” Cederic blushed.
Naveen smiled. “Anytime.”
“I believe I’m done for the day. I need to rest. You’re improving a lot.”
“As are you,” Naveen responded.
He shrugged. “I don’t believe I’ll ever be good with a sword.”
She laughed. “I’m no expert either. We’ll get there.”
He wrinkled his nose. His mouth opened like he was about to respond, but instead his eyes grew wide.
“What is it?” she asked.
He ran toward her, tackling her to the ground. Naveen tried to get up, but he held her down, shielding her from the sky. She fought back, but stopped when a shadow passed overhead, blocking out the glow of the red sun. Shivers traveled along her spine. When the shadow disappeared, light flooded the streets.
Cederic rolled off of her. She glanced to the sky but didn’t see anything.
“What was that?” she asked.
“A dragon …”
She glanced around, eyes wide, until she spotted the beast in the sky, heading back toward them. Naveen grabbed his hand and pulled him away. Fire blazed through the sky, scorching the ground where Cederic had just stood.
His eyes were wide in shock. He quivered.
“Thank you.”
She smiled. “I’m just returning the favor.”
“We better get out of here. Our mediocre sword fighting isn’t going to do anything to a dragon.”
Her smile turned upside down. “They’re here too soon. Zaviana isn’t back yet.”
Cederic shook his head. “I don’t think they’re going to be back in time. They’ve had to travel too far. We may have to fight alone.”
Naveen bit her lip. “We won’t win.”
He shook his head. “No, we won’t.”
Naveen looked back up into the sky. Three dragons circled overhead, but only one came close enough to the city to be a threat. As the dragon nosedived, arrows sprung into the air. Naveen turned around to see over a dozen archers with arrows nocked. More arrows released into the air. Most of them bounced off the scales of the dragon, but one penetrated the dragon’s wing.
“The wing!” she shouted.
All the archers glanced her way. “Aim for the dragon’s wings!”
She didn’t need to say it again. All the archers loosed again. Arrows fluttered into the horizon. Several missed, and several more bounced harmlessly off the underbelly scales, but a few more penetrated into the wings of the beast.
Naveen smiled. Her smile faded as the dragon flew closer. She grabbed Cederic’s arm, turned around, and ran. Fire plummeted into the ground, burning in a straight line. Men and women screamed. Naveen spun around briefly to see several of the archers’ charred remains. The remaining archers ran. Fire burned the ground in a straight line, building a wall through the courtyard.
Cederic pulled her forward. Naveen closed her eyes for an instant, fighting back tears. Shivers ran down her spine. Her head spun. She tried to keep moving, but her body grew weak and her hands trembled. Fear overtook her. Blackness threatened to take hold. She felt someone dragging her by the arms.
Cold. Wet.
She shook her head, seeing color fill back into her vision. Water dripped from her hair. She looked up to see Cederic standing over her, an empty pail in his hands.
“Naveen?” he asked.
“I’m here. What happened?”
She was sitting on the ground. They were no longer outside. Shoes sat on shelves on each wall. They were inside Cederic’s business.
“You blacked out before we could reach safety. I had to drag you the rest of the way here.”
“Where are the other archers?”
He tilted his head.
“The archers who were following behind us?”
He looked to the ground, away from her.
“Where are they?” she demanded.
“They—they didn’t make it.”
She stood, her legs wobbling. Cederic grabbed her, keeping her steady. She tried to take a step, but dizziness took over.
“You need to rest,” he said.
“We have to help.”
“The archers are gone.”
“How?” she demanded.
He sighed. “Consumed by fire.”
“No …”
“We cannot fight them, Naveen. They are too strong.”
“We have to,” she retorted. “If we don’t, they’ll all land in the city and we’re all dead.”
He shook his head. “Then we’re all dead.”
Naveen jerked away from him. She opened the door and gasped. All the streets were blazing in fire. No one was outside. She scanned the area. Surrounded in fire was a mounted ballista, a massive crossbow aimed toward the sky. It was built to defend against dragons. Naveen glanc
ed to the sky. She saw one dragon, but it was flying away. Gathering up her courage, she bolted out the door.
“Naveen!” Cederic called.
She blocked out his voice. If someone didn’t do something, all the dragonriders would land. The city would fall. They would all die. The empire would win. She gritted her teeth. Not if she had anything to say about it.
Her legs carried her as fast as they could. She skidded to a halt at the edge of the flames. The ballista was on the other side. She closed her eyes, concentrated, then shoved her hands forward. Air enveloped her, then exploded forward, brushing the flames to the side to create a small opening. She bolted through it, diving to the ground as the flames closed the gap behind her. Sweat covered her forehead. She panted, trying to catch her breath. Smoke filled her lungs. Tears came to her eyes. She closed them, concentrated, and channeled clean air into her lungs.
Naveen got to her feet. Fatigue tormented her. She pressed on. The ballista was inches away. She checked the massive bolt. It was loaded. Naveen inspected the machine to familiarize herself with its use. She’d seen people practicing with it, but she wished she’d spent time learning how to use it.
A growl filled the air. Chill bumps formed over Naveen’s arms. She looked to the sky. The dragon was coming back, and it was looking directly at her. Fear tried to consume her, but she forced it away. She planted her hands on the machine, circling it around to point toward the dragon. She waited. It would need to come closer. But she’d have to release the bolt before it was too close, before it could breathe fire on her. She watched; she waited. The dragon’s mouth opened a fraction. It was time.
Naveen checked her aim, then released the massive bolt. It soared into the air. She’d misjudged her target. The bolt was going to miss. It was soaring too high. The dragon’s mouth continued to open. Fire would come soon. She’d die here.
Naveen closed her eyes, her lips pressing tightly together. She needed serenity. Air flowed all around her, not as much as normal with all the fire, but it was there. She brought it all to her, as much as she could muster. Her body trembled from the power, from the fatigue.
She opened her eyes, found the ballista’s bolt, then threw all of the air at it, redirecting its flight. It adjusted itself, then sprang forward at an even faster speed.
Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open. The dragon’s mouth was fully open. The bolt flew inside of it, angling toward the creature’s upper jaw. It penetrated all the way, piercing through the top of its head between its eyes. No flames came. The wings ceased flapping; they fell limp. It fell toward the ground.
Naveen was dizzy, exhausted. She fought against it as she watched the dragon crash into the street to the right. The creature skidded on the ground a long ways, its rider falling off in the process.
Naveen tried to hold on for a moment longer, but her strength wouldn’t let her. She collapsed onto the ground, holding onto the side of the ballista. Her strength was depleted, and darkness welcomed her.
22
Zaviana stepped on the land, wanting with all of her heart to kiss it. She’d thought traveling by ship was rough the first time. However, at least the first time they were traveling at normal speeds. Being blown across an ocean by wind wyverns in a day was terrifying, and sickening. She’d vomited three times during the journey.
Her head still spun as she walked forward. Devarius rushed to her side, keeping her from falling onto the ground.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She shook her head. “That was a miserable experience.”
Zaviana looked around. No one else was experiencing the same feeling as she. People unloaded the ship as if nothing were wrong.
“What is wrong with these people? How are they not as sick as me?” she asked.
Devarius laughed. “Unlike you, we’ve been riding in ships pushed by wyverns for a while now. We’ve been conditioning in case it was needed.”
Zaviana shook her head. “Well, I guess it’s good that you’ve been conditioning them, because if they all felt like me, we wouldn’t reach Saefron for another day.”
Pounding footsteps jerked her attention away from her brother. Someone ran toward them. He wore the traditional resistance colors and light leather armor. He panted when he reached them.
“What’s wrong?” Devarius asked.
“I’m ...” The man caught his breath. “Glad you’ve arrived.” He panted a few more times before sucking in one large breath. “Dragons are attacking the city.”
Devarius cringed. “We’re late.”
“They haven’t been attacking it long. No men have breached the city, but dragons are using fire from above.”
Devarius faced Zaviana. “Zavi … I must go.”
“Be safe.”
“Always.” Devarius kissed her forehead.
He turned to the side, looking to the sky. After a few silent moments, a wyvern appeared, gliding to the ground to land at his side.
He took one last look at Zaviana. “Lead them safely to the city, Zavi. Make sure to stay in the mountains and go around the eastern side to the northern side of the city.”
Zaviana frowned. “The gate is on the south side, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “It is, and if there’s an attack, that’s where the empire will be. They will try to breach the gate. However, there is a way inside on the northern side. Lilianya will show you.”
Zaviana nodded. “I won’t let you down.”
“Nor I you, sister.”
With that, he climbed atop his wyvern’s saddle, and together they flew into the air. More than a hundred wyvernriders followed him.
Wind brushed against Devarius’ face as Ayla carried him swiftly to Saefron. She was still one of the smallest wyverns with a rider, but she was the fastest. They flew high in the air, with a hundred wyverns trailing behind them, resembling a flock of birds in a V formation. Devarius led them northeast, around the eastern side of the city. What would have taken them a full day walking, took less than an hour. He looked down below, noticing a full force of soldiers near the front gate of Saefron. They weren’t attacking; they were camping. Fires were ablaze, thousands of warriors surrounding them to stay warm in the harsh winter of the southern mountains. Dragons stayed in the camp as well, but what was most alarming for Devarius were the three dragons circling inside the city. They were spewing flames over the streets. Devarius clenched his teeth.
He angled hard to the right, to lead them away from the camp. Devarius hoped they didn’t get too close. He didn’t want them to know they’d arrived. They circled around the city, entering it from the northern side. Devarius’ mouth dropped when they crossed the southern gate. The entire city was drenched in flames. Several of the buildings, and all of the streets and courtyards, were bathed in it.
Three dragons circled the city, breathing flames onto rooftops as they passed. One dragon flew down toward one of the courtyards. Devarius angled Ayla toward the dragon. With Devarius unable to talk against the heavy wind while in flight, he’d learned how to give Ayla signals for where he wanted to go. When they approached the dragon, Devarius saw a woman at a ballista. His eyes widened when the bolt soared into the air, and then nearly bulged out of their sockets when he saw her use magic to push the bolt into the dragon’s open mouth.
How?
The dragon didn’t shriek, didn’t cry, but it stopped moving and crashed to the ground, its rider falling off during the creature’s skid along the flaming roads.
Devarius signaled to the others to fight the two remaining dragons in the city. He led Ayla to the ground to check on the woman.
The dragonrider rose to his feet. He held his left arm against his side. It was limp, and most likely broken. The man unsheathed a dagger and approached the woman at the ballista. Devarius urged Ayla faster. The woman lay on the ground, unconscious.
The dragonrider reached the woman. A malicious grin pasted across his face as he raised the weapon. Devarius wouldn’t reach her in time. He turned his h
ead to the side and shouted.
“Ayla!”
He spun his head back around. They were close, but not close enough for Devarius to do anything. Ayla’s mouth opened, and a blue streak of fog filled the air in front of her. When the man’s dagger was mere inches away from the unconscious woman, his body froze, literally. Blue ice traveled all over his body, freezing him inside.
Devarius landed in front of him. He wrapped his arms around the unconscious woman, dragging her out of the way. Ayla roared into the air, her neck stretching and her voice ear-shattering. Devarius covered his ears as he looked into the sky.
The wyverns defeated the dragons. One of them was falling out of the sky outside of the city, and the last dragon was in full retreat. They’d saved the city. But how many were lost?
“Ayla?”
Yes, little one?
He laughed. “I’m still older than you.”
But you’re still little.
“Can you do something about all the fire?”
Yes.
Ayla leapt into the sky, flapping her wings to soar above all the flames. Her mouth opened, and blue mist filled her path. The ice turned to water when it hit the flames, and the fire ceased blazing. Several of the other ice wyverns followed Ayla’s lead. Fires were put out all over the city. People began to fill the streets.
Devarius saw the resistance’s leader, Ellisar, approach.
“You’ve made it,” Ellisar said, a smile spreading across his face.
Devarius’ cheeks puffed out. “A little late.”
“You did fine. How many came?”
“We have more bringing the crates from the ships, but they won’t be here for a day. They’re going to have to go around the gate to the northern entrance.”
Ellisar nodded. “You best send a few wyvernriders to help protect them.”
“Yes. Right now they’re just toying with us. We’ll need to make sure we’re better prepared for their next strike. And we’ll need everyone to be successful.”
23
Naveen’s eyes fluttered open. She lay in a room. Her body felt sore. She edged to the end of the bed to sit up. Flashes came to her mind, broken scenes of what happened. Dragons attacking. The city on fire. Her, running through the fire to shoot down a dragon. Blackness. A muscular man with brown skin carrying her. Warmth.
Dragonia- Dragonia Empire series Box Set Page 28