Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns (Dragonia Empire Book 1)

by Craig A. Price Jr.

  Ayla sped away. Devarius held onto the saddle tight as Ayla flew hard, turning from side to side, maneuvering through the air. She pulled upward hard, forcing Devarius to lean back, and the blood to rush to his head. When she straightened, his head was spinning. Everything looked blurry. Tingles shivered through his entire body. He looked down and saw three dragons where he knew there should only be one. His fists clenched. He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. The three dragons turned into one. He grabbed a blue vial from his sash.

  “Tilt to your left,” he called.

  Ayla complied.

  Devarius had a clear target, one that wouldn’t compromise Ayla under him. He took a deep breath and let the vial go. It sped through the air, picking up speed with each second. The vial shattered when it struck the rider. Blue ice encased him in seconds, and he slid off of the dragon, tumbling to the ground. The dragon’s neck spun to look for its rider as blue ice began to encase it as well. Its wings slowed, ice traveling from its back toward its legs. The dragon looked at Devarius, and its eyes glowed crimson. It tried to spin toward Devarius, but before it could, the rest of its body was wrapped in ice.

  Devarius watched as the dragon spiraled toward the ground and shattered into thousands of pieces. His jaw dropped; his aim had been perfect. He knew if the vial would have struck a little to either side, he would have only hit the rider, or the dragon. Devarius prayed the others had such luck.

  Chapter 43

  Paedyn laughed as his wyvern twisted and turned in the sky, spinning the two of them in circles. They wedged between two dragons, circled around, and blew fire on their flanks.

  “And to think, I always asked my parents for a boat.”

  The wyvern dove downward, avoiding dragonsfire that rained down upon them. Paedyn held on tight as the wyvern leaned to the right. They circled back around, hiding behind the dragons’ rear once more.

  “Peek-a-boo!” Paedyn yelled. “Hit them with fire again.”

  His wyvern complied; its mouth opened wide, and a flame of deep red spiraled toward the back of each dragon’s head in turn.

  The dragons snarled and attempted to turn themselves to face their foe, but Paedyn patted the neck of his wyvern, and they flew upward to fly back around to the dragons’ other side.

  “Fire!” Paedyn yelled

  The wyvern grumbled, but complied. They’d repeated the same steps a few dozen times. It didn’t seem to faze Paedyn. His grin never faltered.

  “You know,” Paedyn said, “my mother told me that I got distracted too easily ... can you believe that? My friends’ mothers told me I was a distraction for their sons. My whole life ... I have been told I’m nothing but a distraction.” Paedyn frowned for only an instant, then his smile returned in full force.

  He shrugged. “As it turns out ... it’s what I’m good at.”

  The wyvern blew fire again as they prepared to make another pass. Once they were clear of the dragons, it twisted its neck to look back at Paedyn, a touch of sadness leaking through their bond.

  “Do not be sad for me, dear Pyro. Look at the advantage our distraction is giving the others.”

  The two of them circled around the dragons and looped a few times until they were gliding above the battle scene. Both caught their breath for a moment as they watched the battle. The dragons they had been tormenting were all out of sorts, constantly checking behind them as wyvernriders fought against them. While the dragons were distracted, one of the green wyverns blew acid at one of the beasts. It burned the rider, and he appeared in so much pain that he leapt from the back of the dragon. The dragon escaped most of the acid, but its wing had been damaged and it began spiraling toward the ground, flapping its one good wing to try and cushion its abrupt landing.

  Pyro snorted. Paedyn grinned.

  “See ... I told you. Just because we’re not hurting the dragons doesn’t mean we aren’t being useful.”

  Pyro’s head dipped in acknowledgment.

  Paedyn’s eyes bulged as he saw dragonsfire consume a blue wyvern and its rider. Both fell to the ground, lifeless. Paedyn clenched his teeth.

  He withdrew a green vial from his sash and tossed it up in the air an inch before catching it. “I found our next target, Pyro. Let’s get your flame on.”

  Pyro roared before diving toward the dragon.

  Chapter 44

  Ayla circled around a dragon as its flame swirled behind her. Once away from the danger zone, they turned back around. Devarius’s heart dropped. One of his men and his wyvern had been burned. Devarius watched helplessly as both man and wyvern plunged to the ground. He clenched his teeth as they circled back around. Ayla blew ice at the dragon’s backside, but it turned just enough that the ice only hit its tail. It began to freeze, but the dragon blew fire once more and coiled its tail into the flames, successfully dispelling the ice.

  They circled around for another pass, and Devarius saw another wyvernrider speeding toward them. It was a red wyvern, and from the arrogant approach, Devarius could only assume it was Paedyn. Devarius didn’t like the swift approach, especially if it was Paedyn ... it meant he had something foolish in mind.

  “Fly, Ayla! Whatever Paedyn has in mind, I don’t believe we should be caught in the middle of it.”

  Ayla glanced up and saw Paedyn’s wyvern approaching fast toward the dragon’s upper flank. She recognized the danger Paedyn might start, and curved her flight. Another wyvernrider near them had the same suspicion, and sped along with her. The wyverns flew side by side as they fled the dragon.

  Devarius glanced behind him. He saw the dragon open its mouth. “Evade!” he called. “Dragonsfire!”

  Ayla and the wyvern separated briefly, Ayla dipping to the left, the other to the right. They held positions for a brief moment, trying to convince the dragon to breathe his fire between the two for the most effective attack. As the dragonsfire escaped the creature’s mouth, Ayla and the other wyvern crossed flight patterns and angled straight up. The fire missed each of them by inches, instead blazing through the air to strike another dragonrider, who was fending against two wyverns. The wyvernriders saw the flames in time and sped away, but the dragon couldn’t maneuver as fast, and its entire body was encased in flame. Its rider screamed and fell of the beast, but the dragon, besides being mildly irritated, was mostly unharmed.

  The riderless dragon turned on Ayla, its eyes blazing red with rage. Before it could move to attack, two gold wyverns sped in from behind, a bolt of lightning coming from both wyverns into each of the dragon’s wings. The dragon lit up as electricity filled its body. Its wings were charred black, then it fell out of the sky.

  Devarius exhaled, relief overcoming him at the chance to catch his breath and re-evaluate the battle. He glanced over just in time to see Paedyn over the dragon they had just fled from. He dropped a vial, then the wyvern readjusted and blew flame toward the vial just before it hit the dragon. The vial exploded in flames, sending the dragonrider flying and screaming. The dragon was knocked off course and dropped a hundred feet, charred, injured, and angry. Paedyn and his wyvern, Pyro, dipped down to follow the dragon. Once they were close to the top of it, Paedyn dropped another vial. When it shattered, the dragon convulsed like being electrocuted, then a bolt of lightning came from the clouds to zap the dragon out of the sky. It was finished. The creature had no more energy, and spiraled toward the earth.

  Devarius watched as his wyvernriders defeated three more dragonriders. He made a quick count and realized only three dragonriders remained. His face split in a grin, but then he paused as he counted again. He had lost eight wyvernriders.

  “We need to finish them,” Devarius growled. “Before they kill any more wyvernriders.”

  Chapter 45

  Ayla sped toward the dragon in the middle. Devarius clutched two vials in his hand: one red, one green. From the appearance of the three dragonriders, it looked as if the one in the center was the leader. At a distance, it was hard to tell too many features, but his armor had a
bit more color to it, which usually distinguished an officer. Devarius hoped to take out their leader. He prayed it would spread them into chaos or defeat.

  The two dragons on the leader’s sides turned to him, both of their mouths opened, and two massive spirals of fire collided together to become one enormous flame spiraling straight for Ayla and Devarius.

  “Ayla, dive!” Devarius screamed.

  Devarius felt the heat on his back, but the flames didn’t touch him. Ayla nose-dived straight down as soon as he told her, and they escaped the massive flames. They descended nearly to the ground before Ayla leveled out. Devarius stared wide-eyed at the trees in front of them as they approached. He closed his eyes. Ayla angled back up. As he opened his eyes, he flinched when he saw Ayla’s feet scrape against the tips of the pine trees. Ayla circled around the dragons as she was ascending, approaching them from behind.

  Devarius saw two more wyvernriders fall. A lump formed in his throat. Those were his comrades, people he’d spent time training with for months. His jaw clenched.

  “Get me above him, Ayla.”

  Ayla continued her climb, much higher than he would have liked. The abruptness of it made his head spin and his ears clog. He closed his eyes as he held onto the saddle tightly, grateful his feet were tied to the saddle.

  When Ayla leveled out, he opened his eyes and realized they were hundreds of feet above the dragons.

  “Too far, Ayla. Descend.” He clutched the two vials in his hands.

  Ayla nose-dived. Between her speed, and the gravity, there was little the dragonrider could do to escape. When Ayla neared the dragon, she flapped her wings, slowing down her flight, until she was only twenty feet above, where she glided.

  Devarius glanced down and saw the dragonrider, the leader, looking up at him. The suns’ light bounced off the scales of the large dragon, glimmering a violet-red. Devarius gasped. The creature looked to be a mix of a red and a purple dragon. Perhaps there were more than just red dragons. He wondered if they had the same powers as the wyverns—he wondered if the empire knew.

  He dropped the vials. The rider leapt from the back of the dragon seconds before the vials struck. Devarius watched as he fell toward the ground. One of the other dragonriders saw him and dove down to catch the rider.

  The two vials shattered on the back of the dragon below him. The acid ate through the saddle and burned the dragon, and the other vial shattered on its bare back. Oil trickled from the dragon’s back to its wings.

  “Now, Ayla!”

  Ayla dove down, opened her mouth, and blew cold icy air at the dragon. When the ice breath met the blue oil coving the dragon’s body, the entire creature began to freeze into a block of ice. It plunged toward the ground. As the violet-red dragon fell, it turned toward Devarius. Its large mouth opened wide and a flame pushed by a gust of wind flew at them an instant before its head became trapped by ice. Ayla moved, but not fast enough; part of the flame struck her side, spiraling Ayla and Devarius away from the last two dragons.

  When they stopped spinning, Devarius searched for the leader. He saw him atop one of the other dragons, holding onto its rider from behind. The leader turned to look at Devarius once before the dragon turned and began flying north, away from the battle. Devarius gritted his teeth. The man couldn’t escape ... he would warn the empire about the wyverns.

  “Ayla!” Devarius screamed. “After that dragon!”

  Ayla tried to fly forward, but the last dragonrider moved in the way, flame extruding from its mouth. Ayla dipped down, avoiding the blast, but before she made it too far, another burst of fire filled the air below them. She had to maneuver to the side to avoid it.

  Devarius gritted his teeth. He looked around, but realized there were only three wyvernriders left. His head shifted from side to side, frantically looking for the other wyvernriders. When he looked down, he gasped. They weren’t all dead ... but many were on the ground, injured, and out of the fight.

  The three wyvernriders flew side by side, watching the dragon blocking them. Devarius turned to his side and noticed Paedyn and Tynaer with him. He eyed the two of them, then an idea popped in his head. His gaze shifted to the dragon, and his head tilted.

  “Paedyn, remember when I went hog hunting?” Devarius yelled.

  Paedyn glanced over to Devarius. “Yeah ... what about it?”

  “That hog was so much larger than our three dogs.”

  Paedyn’s head tilted. “Who finishes the creature off?”

  “I will. You two just—”

  “Distract. Got it.” Paedyn grinned.

  Paedyn and his wyvern moved closer to Tynaer and his silver wyvern. The two of them spoke for a short while before they both flew toward the dragon on opposite sides.

  The massive dragon turned its head from one side to the other, trying to decide which wyvern to attack. It blew fire one way, and then the other. Both Tynaer and Paedyn dodged the flames and circled around to the backside of the dragon. The dragon turned away from Ayla and Devarius. They closed in on the creature, searching for an opening.

  Tynaer’s silver wyvern transformed its scales into steel and darted sideways, tearing through the dragon’s wing. The beast rocked from side to side, losing its balance, but fighting harder to keep itself afloat. It didn’t give up. Paedyn’s wyvern, Pyro, blew flame on the dragon’s other side. The dragon turned to growl and return fire. Devarius saw his opening.

  “Now, Ayla, go straight for the dragon’s neck, and bite hard.”

  Ayla didn’t hesitate. She flew hard and fast. The dragon didn’t notice them. It aimed its attention upward, flame blazing from its mouth as it followed Paedyn’s wyvern from one side to the other. It took less than ten seconds for Ayla to reach the dragon. When she was close enough, she stopped flapping her wings, glided the rest of the way, and bit hard on the dragon’s throat. The creature howled in pain and jerked its neck from side to side. Ayla didn’t let go. Devarius had to hang on tight to the saddle to not be thrown off. Time seemed to slow as Ayla’s body was thrashed from side to side.

  It took less than a minute for the dragon to cease moving. Ayla didn’t let up though. She kept her hold on the dragon’s neck. Its wings stopped flapping, and both of them began falling to the ground.

  “Ayla?” Devarius asked.

  Ayla didn’t hear him. They continued to fall to the ground. Devarius glanced to the side of the wyvern and down. They were approaching fast. He knew if they crashed, they wouldn’t survive. His body shook and his head spun. They were less than fifty feet from crashing. He clenched his fists.

  “Ayla!” he screamed.

  Ayla shook her head, then finally let go of the dragon’s neck. She tried to pull away from the dragon, but the dragon’s claws outstretched and tried to grab them. The claws ripped the ropes holding Devarius’s feet on the saddle, and he slipped off Ayla. Devarius yelled as he fell belly first toward the ground, no wyvern to protect him. He knew there was nothing he could do. All he could do was hope the Resistance would learn enough from the battle to prevail in the war to come. He closed his eyes, at peace; he accepted his fate.

  Claws dug into his flesh, and he changed from falling to being thrust forward. He opened his eyes. Devarius was being carried forward. Pain surged through his back, making his entire body tremble in agony. He couldn’t turn around to see who or what had him, but whatever it was, wasn’t steady. Devarius’s body wavered from side to side. All he could do was wait. After several long minutes, they slowed as they descended. Devarius watched in amazement as the ground became only inches away. He reached his arms forward and touched the ground. The pain in his back let up, and whatever had a hold of him, relinquished it.

  Devarius’s head spun, and he lay there for several long minutes before he pushed off of the ground to get on his knees. In front of him sat Ayla. Blue blood covered her face, scales, and wings. One of her wings appeared to be broken.

  “Ayla ... are you all right?”

  Her nose dipped toward him and touc
hed his forehead.

  Yes I am, little one.

  Devarius’s eyes bulged. “Did you just talk to me ... in my head?”

  Yes, I did.

  “I didn’t know you could.”

  It took me a while to fully understand your language.

  Devarius grinned. “This is so neat.”

  Ayla tilted her head.

  His grin faltered. “How hurt are you?”

  My wing.

  “We need to get you back to the island. We have people there who may be able to help. I don’t know much about healing or medicine, but we have people who do.”

  I don’t know if I can travel that far.

  Devarius bit his lip. “We’ll figure something out.” He paused and looked around. “Where is the dragon? Where are the other wyverns?”

  We defeated the dragon. It lies on the ground with its rider. The other dragon, the one with the two humans, has escaped. The rest of the surviving wyverns and humans are all together, checking on their injuries.

  Devarius frowned. “I wish that dragon hadn’t escaped. Now the empire is going to know about us.”

  Yes.

  “But ...” Devarius’s smile came back. “We won. The Resistance has never won a battle against the empire. Now we know it can be done.”

  Ayla turned to look behind them. At what cost?

  Devarius’s mouth twisted. “I know. We’ll have to train harder ... but now we know what we’re up against. We should be better prepared for the next time.”

  Ayla groaned.

  Devarius took a deep breath. “Come, let’s go check on the others.”

  Chapter 46

  Devarius sat, outstretched on the beach of Adeth Peak Isle, watching the waves crash into the side of the mountain. The red sun set on the horizon, casting a scarlet glow across the ocean. The orange sun was no longer visible, and it wouldn’t be until winter was over. Snow covered the ground, only an inch or two, but enough to make it chilly. The temperature dropped as the sun disappeared. Devarius clutched his blanket, wrapping it around him tighter.