Naatos came alongside her. "It may be best to let Tacky go."
She scowled. "We're in scorpion territory. Tacky's terrified of them. If we let it go, they'll eat it. Besides we haven't even seen any dolmaths since we've come here. It's like releasing a pet rabbit into the wild. All we'd be doing is sentencing Tacky to a horrible death away from us."
"Tacky would have as much of a fighting chance as we do."
"Tacky's terrified already."
Naatos pressed his lips in a tight line. "If I have to choose between you and the dolmath, you know it isn't even a question."
She moved the satchel to her side and presented her arms. "See, I won't get impaled by the bowl now."
"Almost two months ago you were practically in hysterics about them being near you."
"Yes, well, now I'll go into hysterics if anything happens to him. Or Proteus for that matter. Or any of you. Things change."
Grumbling, he shook his head. "If you like, I can carry it."
Ducking her head, she tried to hide the big smile breaking free. "That's very generous. But I don't think Tacky'd feel safe, and it might try to get away. If you were in your state of rest, that'd be one thing. Soon though you're going to be a big scary dragon as far as it knows."
"Do not jeopardize yourself for a dolmath."
She nodded her understanding but didn't have a particularly good response. She wasn't letting anything happen to Tacky though. Proteus either, but he was far more challenging to protect. QueQoa had him, and she knew he'd do well. They were going to get through. All of them.
The brothers finished dividing up the supplies in three piles. QueQoa took the smallest, AaQar the largest, and WroOth the last.
Naatos shifted immediately, his variation of this dragon form more catlike, the scales dusted with the faintest hint of green. His claws and horns curved more dramatically with far sharper points.
When QueQoa, AaQar, and WroOth shifted though, they drew the hide-wrapped piles into themselves and shifted around them. All three appeared like ordinary dragons, no sign of their supplies remaining.
WroOth retained his turquoise eye coloring though he changed the pupil, and his crest and horns were significantly larger and longer, the horns evenly arranged, making them much easier to hold onto without risking her getting impaled. His scales, not surprisingly, had the strongest red tone. QueQoa's dragon form was more squared, reminiscent of his iron dragon form although this shape only had four legs rather than six. AaQar's was longer and more whip-like with a bluer shade, especially in the natural armoring. They all started rotating joints, popping their shoulders, and testing out their new forms.
She adjusted the straps on her satchels, checked Tacky, and then stepped closer to WroOth. "Did you all just… absorb our supplies?"
WroOth cracked his neck with a long dramatic roll. "Formed around it. Convenient way to handle luggage, albeit rather unpleasant." He dropped his shoulder down.
"Does it hurt?" She climbed up.
"More like a bad case of heartburn brewing, and it does constrict the breath if done improperly. But for anything that isn't alive, this is a good compromise."
"Doing that to something or someone alive sounds like torture for both parties."
"It is," AaQar said. "And it's incredibly dangerous." He rolled his shoulders. A series of loud pops crackled out. "It's one of the fastest ways to destroy someone's mind unless you take certain precautions."
"We can talk about all that later, but once we're near the dragons, there must be no talking until we're on the other side unless there is no other choice," Naatos said testily. "QueQoa, you're certain you can handle Proteus?"
QueQoa nodded. Proteus had been placed in the cage, his eyes and trunk secured. "The handles make this much easier. Now we pray the rels hold."
Amelia situated herself on WroOth's neck. So weird. Not quite as weird as when she tried to take him hostage. Hopefully this flight went better. She wouldn't be hanging on by a scarf at least.
WroOth gestured with his head toward the canyon. "If you get knocked off somehow and find yourself on the ground and still capable of walking, get out as fast as you can. The bottom of that canyon and the lower crevices belong to mountain scorpions. The only thing they love more than a good fight is a good chase."
"How fast are they?" She rubbed her palm, recalling the last time she had been stung.
"Fast enough for their size. The only thing they'll probably hate more than us is the dragons. Otherwise, they'd chase you to the edge of their boundaries. If one does start chasing you, get into a crevice that's just big enough for you and out of their reach." He tilted his head. "How close are those horns to hitting your face or your throat?"
"Misses me by about two feet or so."
"If you fall off, start blowing that whistle at once. Don't scream if you can help it. It'll draw them fast. If we have to dive, you need to lock in with your knees and hold fast. There are notches in the horns for you to wrap your arms or your hands around, depending on where you go."
She adjusted her hands along the notches. They were easy to grasp and smooth. "I won't let go."
"You better not," he muttered. "I'm serious about not forgiving you if you die." He then unfurled his wings.
Tacky whimpered under the flap of the satchel, neatly nestled in the bowl. She stroked its little head. "It's going to be fine, baby. We'll be through soon." One more check ensured that her weapons were properly holstered and ready.
"Hold tight, dear heart," WroOth said.
As easily as walking, they leaped into the sky and angled toward the canyon in a procession. It would take most of the night, but by dawn, they'd be safe. Well past Dry Deep and any risk of entering it and hopefully beyond these new dragons as well.
They covered the land between the forest and the canyon swiftly, consuming the miles and gaining height until the ground was a vague mass far, far below. The mountains on the right side of the canyon rose so high into the sky that they vanished into the noctilucent clouds. If Ecekom was like Earth, then that meant those night shining clouds were anywhere from 249,000 to 279,000 feet. No wonder Naatos had said it was too difficult a journey to cross over rather than through.
To the left lay Dry Deep. The mountains there were far shorter, the wall between the canyon and Dry Deep no more than a few thousand feet. Strange how that could now seem small. She wished it was higher though. Even at a few thousand feet, it felt too close. As if they might slip into Dry Deep. Or worse still she might fall off WroOth's neck and plummet through.
No.
None of that.
That wasn't helpful at all.
She chewed on the inside of the lip, wishing she could hide her wrist elmis against her chest.
Thick fog covered the mountains and canyon like a sea. Spires of stone jutted up at intervals, and occasionally, when their wings thrust down, the mist parted to reveal jagged rocks mere inches away. Islands of clear air appeared at intervals, the ground thousands of feet below. Cracks and crevices peppered the rock face. No scorpions, but AaQar said that the scorpions slept until midnight or so.
Enormous nests, similar to eagles', had been built into the walls of the cliff and on the ledges. Dragons slept in some of these, their heads tucked beneath their wings. Other dragons rested on the ledges with their wings spread beneath the moonlight. A few turned their squared faces upward, their amber and gold eyes glittering in the dark.
Each time they passed into the fog, the cold engulfed Amelia and her dread spiked. She hated not seeing the dragons. They could be anywhere.
Flying through the fog provided additional challenges. How the brothers were navigating this without even scraping the stones she didn't know. Perhaps some form of echolocation or eyes that could see through the fog.
The rise and fall of dragon wings thundered through the air. She remained still, avoiding the urge to move around or peek too far over WroOth's crest. If she had been thinking about it, she would have gotten a blanket.
>
Shuddering, she cast a searching glance about. The wind whistled in her ears, then boomed with the flapping of their wings. Her skin prickled in goosebumps as her elmis fluttered with alarm. Not just the ones on the back of her knees but her feet and wrists and forehead. A tight coil of dread worked up her spine.
All around them were dragons.
Dragons on ledges.
Dragons in nests.
Dragons moonbathing.
Dragons grooming.
Dragons sleeping.
The moonlight made their natural armor more silver purple or muted blue, but their eyes lost none of their intensity. Despite not being fire dragons, their eyes glowed and burned as if great flames lit them from within. And those eyes were increasingly fixed above.
On them.
She swallowed.
They had barely flown for an hour. There were at least six more to go. With each turn they made through the canyon pass, the more dragons there were. The rocks surrounded them on both sides, the canyon itself narrowing at points, twisting and widening at others.
Naatos led the way. AaQar brought up the rear this time with QueQoa and WroOth in between. They moved through the air with ease, sliding through the mist and around the spires as if they sailed this sort of obstacle course all the time. But the ease was forced. Focus surrounded them, and caution rippled out from all of them. At some points, she thought she could almost catch individual thoughts. WroOth was especially clear.
She could practically see the threads of his mind.
Not that she would look.
If she slipped and dropped both of them into the deep mindreading, well—she shuddered. Perhaps it was for the best she couldn't even manage telepathy for now. She was on edge just feeling their general emotions. Catching full thoughts?
She sighed.
Dragons were no less impressive up here but far more terrifying. The sheer size of them took her breath away. Especially now. It was like being submerged in the clearest of oceans and surrounded by enormous sharks that could swallow her whole. And this high up in the air, she was about as useful as she would be in the depths of a great ocean.
Two of the dragons below took flight. They were small, almost identical, though one had more of a hooked snout and one had a broad slash of grey over its eye. They flew alongside, but when they reached the rels barrier, they did not withdraw. Both pulled up and away, then immediately they began circling, tightening their course and getting closer and closer with each pass.
No…no! Amelia's eyes widened.
They were pushing against the barriers of the rels like the sarsqueches.
Everyone else noticed as well. Their alarm and concern struck her like a thousand blades. She pulled her hands free and drove her elmis against her torso, fighting to keep it from swallowing her up.
Too much. Just too much!
She ducked her head as she reoriented herself. Her barriers wavered, crackling with energy and tightening the threads, but they held. Her head spun as she strengthened them. Even that wasn't enough to keep her own panic from rising though.
These dragons could get through the rels if they wanted to, and they were hours from safety.
Naatos snarled as the two drew closer. He swept up and slammed his shoulder into the nearest of the investigating dragons. It shrieked and then hissed. He bared his teeth at it and lifted his scales as if they were hackles.
The smaller dragon bit at the air, not even close to Naatos, but Naatos seized it by the throat and flung it into the nearest stone spire. The grey-blue stone cracked as rubble and silt rained down.
The dragon shook its head, grunting as it hunched up its shoulders and dropped its neck.
The second one fled. It disappeared behind another column, its tail whisking out of sight like a scared salamander.
Another dragon, slightly bigger, leaped up. It sliced through the air up toward QueQoa and began circling as well.
Naatos spun around and darted at the intruder. Baring his teeth, he snarled. When the dragon didn't back off, he lunged at it. His claws grazed its throat.
The dragon growled back but fell away. When it made a move toward WroOth, AaQar swept in. He nicked the dragon as WroOth sailed higher, giving his own warning growl in the wake.
Amelia pressed her forehead to WroOth's horns.
They weren't going to make it. Not with the dragons adjusting so quickly to the rels. They had to get out. And fast.
A few more dragons came up, eager to draw their own conclusions. It only took four passes around the rels before they had adjusted enough to be within biting range. One butted its head against AaQar's side. He responded with a sharp bite at its face. Naatos did not wait for the one that investigated him to touch him before he clawed it across the snout.
The one that soared up beneath QueQoa was met with a similar response as QueQoa growled and AaQar intervened with claws and teeth. Instead of leading and bringing up the rear, AaQar and Naatos now circled QueQoa and WroOth, driving away the inquisitive reptiles.
Her elmis flashed hot. She lifted her head as the misty fog above parted. A dragon with a large overbite swooped down, almost silent, its wings drawn up to its back rather than spread. She struck her hand against WroOth's crest to warn him. He narrowly ducked and veered to the left as Naatos maneuvered between them.
This dragon didn't pull away as quickly. It snarled back and clawed at Naatos, then lunged.
Naatos seized the dragon at the throat, shaking it as he dragged it away from their family. The dragon flailed. It nearly bucked Naatos away a time or two. Each time, Naatos bit down harder. Alarmed squawls and roars rippled out from a few of the dragons. A twenty-footer leaped up to intervene, but AaQar drove him back with a swift swipe of his tail and snap of his jaws.
QueQoa and WroOth kept following the path straight ahead through the canyon. The walls leaned together here, so narrow that only four of the dragons could fly wing to wing. The agitated murmurs of the dragons behind and before, above and below confirmed that more and more dragons were aware of their presence.
Naatos rammed the overbite dragon against one of the stone columns, released him, and soared back.
They were still going forward.
Her mouth went dry as WroOth flew around the corner of the pass and into the wider canyon chamber.
How many dragons were there?
Naatos had mentioned perhaps eighteen in a nest. Twenty at most.
But she'd lost count after thirty-four.
No wonder they battled the scorpions and took down the ilmas! The amount of food these creatures must require.
The wind picked up. It howled through the canyon, rattling the few skinny trees that fought for their lives in the stone. The fog and mist rolled away.
Her heart thudded faster, her palms sweating.
The canyon opened up into a series of broad ledges with numerous stone pillars and tent rocks. And here there were dragons.
Dozens and dozens.
At least fifty.
Fifty dragons. Maybe more.
Probably more.
More than fifty dragons just in this part of the canyon.
She tightened her grip on the horns, fighting to contain the panic that grew within her.
Oh, Elonumato.
Up ahead lay a large swath of stone so broad and flat it could have served as a ballroom floor. On it rested an absolutely enormous dragon moonbathing. If dragons had alphas based on size, this was their alpha. It was double Naatos's size with an especially large crest and broad lines of armor. Its wine-red scales almost seemed to absorb the moonlight, but its eyes burned silver. It lifted its head, almost lazy as it regarded them, but intelligence glinted behind those eyes. A ferocious and hungry intelligence that was not entirely convinced that they belonged in the upper levels of this canyon.
Several smaller dragons surrounded the alpha, all but one fanned out and on the edges of the flat surface. The one nearest the alpha rested, a much darker brown with amber eyes and
thicker, blunter claws. Even more important though, dozens and dozens of eggs lay in the nest at the very back of the flat surface.
The alpha dragon lifted its head. Its nostrils flared. A low growl rumbled up from its throat as it squared its shoulders. The smaller one responded in kind. All the rest of the dragons on the flat stone lifted their heads as well, their attention rapt upon the newcomers.
The alpha huffed. That huff rippled out, the smaller dragon following suit first and then the rest. The dragons on other ledges halted their moonbathing, grooming, and socializing. Even the sleeping dragons began to rouse, all mimicking the huff.
Naatos returned the huff, the sound more akin to a cough. QueQoa next. Then WroOth. Finally AaQar.
The alpha's nostrils flared wider. It growled this time, a long, lingering guttural sound. At the same time, the alpha's scales lifted up, and it broadened its stance. The dragon beside it followed suit. All the rest on the flat stone did the same, their scales rattling like thin metal blades striking against one another.
She held her breath, not daring to twitch even a muscle.
Lazily Naatos rolled his head in the alpha's direction, met its gaze, and then returned his focus to their path ahead. A large stone spire with numerous bulges and crevices forced them to turn, but instead of moving around it, Naatos turned back, his movements still languid. For all appearances, it was as if he didn't care.
WroOth and QueQoa followed, their manner just as easy. AaQar swiveled around the spire but kept the space between the four of them tight.
Amelia's stomach lurched. Her elmis burned; her heart hammered.
They were turning around.
Thank Elonumato.
She closed her eyes, calming herself as she prayed they could get out of this place as easily as they had gotten in. If they got out of here without being attacked, it would be a miracle. Dry Deep wouldn't be so bad. No matter what it held, it couldn't be worse than dozens of armored dragons all waiting to pounce.
The fog rose up from the base of the canyon, reaching higher and higher with each passing second.
If the Ki Valo Nakar came for her, there was a very simple way to handle it so that it wouldn't hurt anyone else.
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