“Hey! He’s my mount.” Junior slid his sword home.
“Swoop will carry you. With your chainmail, you’ll weigh more than Tamra,” Lurker said, nuzzling Reecah’s face with his own.
Junior backed away from Swoop, his hands up. “Uh uh. I’ve seen her fly. I’ve no wish to become a human missile.”
Swoop stepped up to him and knelt down. “Either get on or learn to fly on your own.”
Junior gaped, his frightened gaze on Reecah.
She raised her eyebrows and flapped her arms. “Well?”
Junior bit his lower lip. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve never dropped anyone,” Swoop said. “Hurry up. They’ll be here soon.”
Junior glared at Swoop. “How many people have you flown?”
“You’re the first.”
Reecah spit out a laugh as a movement in the darkened forest caught her attention. Silence’s deep purple colouring made her hard to see away from the flickering light of the campfire. The quiet dragon lowered to the ground behind Tamra.
Tamra regarded Silence the same way Junior had Swoop.
“It’s okay,” Reecah assured her. “Silence won’t hurt you. Mount between her neck and wings. Much like a horse. Watch.”
Reecah was by no means a professional dragon rider, but she climbed aboard Lurker like she had flown him her entire life. “Secure your weapons and get on. Wrap your arms around her neck, but don’t squeeze too tight. The last thing you want is to choke her unconscious in the air.”
Tamra hesitated. “The last thing I want is to fly her.”
The sound of horses galloping across the open field rose in crescendo. Bobbing torchlight carried by the riders could be seen through the break in the trees where the roadway exited the King’s Wood.
Junior settled onto Swoop with terror in his eyes.
Reecah wrapped her arms around Lurker’s neck. “Suit yourself. I don’t know who you are, but if they catch you, it won’t go well.”
She patted Lurker’s neck, anticipating the rush of feeling the wind in her hair. “To the air, Lurker. Let’s fly!”
Lurker leaned back and sprung forward, flapping his wings in rapid succession. Lifting off the ground, he folded his wings to pass through a narrow gap in the treetops before winging his way east, over the broad expanse of the King’s Wood.
Behind them, Junior’s cry of helplessness made Reecah laugh. Now that they were past the rough part of the take-off, she eased her grip on Lurker’s neck and searched for Silence. It took her a moment to locate the dark blot against the treetops far below. It was hard to tell, but she noticed a wisp of long hair behind the quiet dragon’s neck.
If You Fall, I Will Carry You
Junior paced around the campfire thankful to be alive. They had flown well into the night until they came across the shores of a lake so large it could have passed for an inland sea. Tamra claimed the body of water was known as the Lake of the Lost—dangerous to anyone sailing its choppy waters. She had mentioned something about krakens.
Lurker and Swoop knelt on either side of Reecah, carrying on what he assumed was a private conversation as the dragons’ voices never entered his head although Reecah could be heard whispering to them. Where Silence had flown off to, he didn’t know.
Tamra Stoneheart had ridden the purple dragon quite bravely, though when all was said and done, she had dismounted, staggered behind a clump of groundcover and promptly thrown up. She now sat quietly in front of the large campfire she had built—her great axes resting upside down in holders across her back.
Junior shivered, never wishing to be on the receiving end of those weapons.
Standing by himself, he didn’t want to interrupt Reecah’s reunion with her dragons. He almost laughed out loud—her dragons. Witnessing their bond firsthand, he knew he wasn’t far off the mark.
Clad as he was, the temperature had dropped considerably, chilling him to the bone. He puffed out a visible breath, eyeing the fire. Its warmth called to him, but the coldness Tamra exuded deterred him from getting closer.
A shiver passed through him. Sucking up his dread of the fur clad woman, he approached the fire.
Tamra’s uninviting glare regarded him from beneath a heavy brow.
He forced a smile for her benefit but she returned her gaze to the stick she used to stir the embers.
Swallowing his discomfort, he held his hands out and rubbed them together. “Gonna be a cold night.”
Tamra didn’t respond.
“I envy you your furs.”
Tamra carried on as if he hadn’t spoken.
It was obvious the woman wanted nothing to do with him. She had made it clear from the outset that she didn’t approve of his presence. He had no idea why. He hadn’t done anything to her. As much as he realized that she wished to ignore him, his nerves got the better of him and he blurted, “Where’re you from?”
Tamra’s eyes flicked up to meet his though she never moved her head. “What’s it matter to you?”
“Um, I, uh…it doesn’t, really, I guess.”
Tamra held his gaze for a moment before dropping it back to the stick.
He couldn’t stop himself. “You just look different. I mean, your ears. They’re…” He didn’t know how to phrase what he meant.
“Pointed?”
“Yes, pointed.”
Tamra lifted her head, squinting her light-blue eyes with contempt. “You want to make something of it?”
Junior gaped. “No! Not at all. I just thought—”
“You should keep your thoughts to yourself,” Tamra growled. “They may end up being the death of you.”
Junior swallowed, watching her hands—afraid they might pull those damned axes free. Considering her muscular, bare arm, she probably didn’t require a weapon to dispatch him.
He glanced at Reecah and the dragons. A strange jealousy seeped into him. He couldn’t tell whether he was envious of Reecah’s devotion to the scaly beasts—creatures whose company he had shared for over a fortnight—or how the dragons doted on her. It was as if Reecah hardly knew he existed. His family history hadn’t done him any favours.
“What are you doing here?” Tamra asked, her intense gaze boring into him.
He flinched, not sure how to answer. “I’m cold. I thought you wouldn’t mind if I shared the fire. I’ll leave if you want.”
“Not here,” Tamra growled. “Why are you with the dragons and the Windwalker? You don’t fit in.”
If the woman only knew how prophetic her words were. He didn’t fit in anywhere. A nervous chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “Truth be told, I don’t know myself. I was on my way to join the dragon hunt when the dragons dropped out of the sky and demanded I join them.”
“You’re their hostage then?”
“Not exactly.” Thinking back, Lurker had threatened to drag him here, but he had never thought twice about accompanying them if there was a chance he might save Reecah. Flying the massive lizards was another issue, but after surviving the flight out of the Draakval Colony, and despite his recent flight aboard the erratic flying Swoop, he found himself looking forward to the otherworldly sensation of being transported through the sky at incredible speed.
“The dragons thought I could save her from the dark heir.”
“J’kwaad? Why would the prince wish her harm? Unless he knows about her already.”
He didn’t think it wise to share their role in the battle for Dragon Home with a stranger. If Tamra proved to be a royal sympathizer, she might kill them while they slept. “It’s a long story.”
“Then sit. I have all night.”
Junior hesitated.
Lurker’s voice startled him. “It’s okay. Let’s see how she reacts to the whole story.”
He looked at Lurker, barely visible beyond the flames’ reach. It was like the green dragon heard everything that went on.
Lurker nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Junior lowe
red himself to the ground. “Alright. Lurker said it’s okay to tell you our story.”
“When did he say that?”
“Just now.”
“So, you speak with the dragons? Interesting.”
“I said so earlier. You weren’t listening.”
Tamra nodded. “So you did. Perhaps I was wrong to contemplate killing you.”
Junior blinked at that. Tamra’s one hand held the fire poker while her other remained hidden beside her. He checked to make sure both axe handles protruded over her broad shoulders. They did, but he couldn’t help wonder what other weapons she hid within her fur shawls and boiled leather armour.
“Convince me you’re worthy of the Windwalker’s company.”
Junior swallowed. “I never claimed to be worthy of anything. They chose me.”
Tamra’s piercing stare did little to ease his mounting discomfort but there was nothing to be done about it. He started his tale from the time he and Jaxon stumbled upon Reecah lying beside the slain purple dragonling. He left nothing out, except his observation of Reecah at the base of the waterfall. That was a private memory he would take to his grave.
He explained how he had sent Jaxon away when they found Reecah trying to comfort the dying dragonling. Of how his father had beaten him for his transgression of helping Reecah elude the hunt as they returned home after the adult dragons attacked. Of how he prevented his father’s men from catching Reecah in her hut the day she had returned home to find it in shambles. Of how he purposely missed shooting Raver out of the air when the king’s men had set up camp outside of her hut to await the rest of their army. Of how Prince J’kwaad and his nasty brother had attacked him and left him for dead in the valley below the Dragon Temple. Of how he had tried to warn Reecah of her danger at the Dragon Temple, not once, but twice, and had taken an arrow in the back for his efforts.
Tamra said nothing during the retelling. He piqued her interest when he spoke of Grimclaw. Lamenting at the tragedy of the noble beast’s demise, he worried he had said too much as Tamra’s mood darkened at the mention of the elder dragon’s death.
He was so caught up in retelling his story from his point of view that he hadn’t heard Reecah walk up behind him. He jumped when she dropped to her knees beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, tears streaming from her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Junior. I never knew,” Reecah whispered into his ear.
He was so dumbstruck that he froze, not knowing what to do. Two larger than life dragons and a female warrior out of his darkest nightmares stared at him while the woman of his dreams cried on his shoulder. He was afraid to wrap her in his arms in case Reecah, or the others, took his actions the wrong way. If it were up to him, he would have hugged her tight and never let go.
Not knowing what to do, he pursed his lips and hung his head. Fighting back his own tears for making Reecah cry, he let her emotions run their course.
Tamra had rebuilt the fire by the time Reecah released Junior and leaned back on her knees to wipe at her smeared face. She looked sheepishly into his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I was wrong about you. I hope someday you can find it within your heart to forgive me.”
Junior swallowed at the lump in his throat. He fought to keep his eyes from spilling over.
Reecah hung her head in what looked like shame. “You shouldn’t have come. When the prince learns who I am, he’ll come for me. I’m not strong enough to stand up to him.”
Junior’s vibrant green eyes darkened at the thought of anyone harming her. Forgetting his reservations, he cupped her chin, lifting her tear-stained face to look him in the eye. “Reecah. If you fall, I will carry you.”
New Recruit
Long before the sun pushed aside the night, two dragons circled south, flying dangerously low across the frigid waters of the Lake of the Lost; one green and the other brown.
Raver and Silence had flown ahead, scouting their flanks to ensure the king’s army had passed beyond the eastern foothills of the Altirius Mountains, and to make sure the patrol who had come to investigate the dragon sighting last night hadn’t turned their intentions south.
The wind buffeting her unkempt hair, Reecah yawned wide and smiled at Junior clinging to Swoop’s neck. She had found it difficult to sleep after fleeing from the riders in the King’s Wood. She couldn’t quieten the thoughts rampaging through her head. Being reunited with Lurker and the other dragonlings was a wondrous occasion, but the knowledge of the king’s army marching south on another dragon campaign assaulted her mind—leaving her feeling helpless. The appearance of the powerful elf woman and her strange mannerisms unsettled her more than she cared to admit, but it was Jonas Junior’s revelation that threw her rational thought processes into a whirlwind of raw emotion.
She had fought so hard to lock away her feelings for the Waverunner boy, but once again, his presence had muddled her ability to think straight.
They approached the edge of the great lake with astonishing speed. Her stomach felt like it rose into her throat when Lurker suddenly shot up and over the treetops as the forested slopes of the King’s Wood rose up before them.
With Silence flying watch to the south and Raver to the north, they hoped that skimming the ground cover would avoid detection from afar—the shadow of South Fort on the northern horizon was visible in the predawn light.
Passing over a break in the trees marking the south road, Reecah said, “Drop us behind the hill east of the city. Come at it from the far side.”
Lurker and Swoop dropped below the western edge of the forest, their passage raising a trail of dust in their wake.
Though their speed had dropped off, flying close to the ground proved disconcerting as clusters of rock and bushes zipped by at an alarming rate.
Reecah was relieved when Lurker thrust out his back legs and reigned in their progress with a subtle back flap of his wings. She slipped from his shoulders and hugged his head—a feat that was getting harder to do. The dragonlings were growing at an astonishing rate.
Lurker rose to his full height. “We’ll be here when the sun goes down. If you need us before then, have Raver circle this spot.”
“Be safe, my friend.” Reecah patted his shoulder and stepped away to give him room to take off.
Swoop followed Lurker toward the unseen shoreline of the Unknown Sea. Silence appeared from the south, joining their westward course. It was everyone’s hope that someone would observe their flight over the sea and report back to South Fort that the dragons had returned to the Draakval Colony.
Raver dropped from the sky and rolled on the ground in a flurry of feathers and squawks. He righted himself and stared at Reecah, blinking twice.
Junior straightened his gear nearby, running his fingers through his unruly length of blonde hair. “Is he always that graceful?”
Reecah smiled. “Hardly. That was one of his better landings.”
Raver bobbed his head.
“It’s a wonder he doesn’t knock himself senseless.”
Reecah laughed. “Done that.”
The trek to South Fort allowed Reecah and Junior to get some warmth back into their bodies after their frosty, early morning flight. The sun broke over the eastern treetops across the field separating South Fort from the King’s Wood.
Reecah looked over at Junior a couple of times as they walked, admiring his chiselled features. His nose looked slightly different—a faint bump where someone had broken it.
When Junior caught her staring, she shyly turned her head away, smiling to herself.
Rounding the city’s southeastern corner and approaching the drawbridge, Junior said under his breath, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Reecah searched the high battlements for eavesdroppers as she considered his question. There were signs of unusual activity. Perhaps it wasn’t as safe as it had been before. She feared for Raver hanging about the castle.
She stopped and whistled for him. He took his time meandering back but when he landed on
her vambrace, he did so flawlessly.
“Okay, buddy. I need you to listen. Fly back to where Lurker and Swoop dropped us off and wait for us there. Do you understand?”
Raver blinked.
“I wish I knew what you were thinking. Blinking at me isn’t helpful.” She leaned her face next to his. “Fly back to Lurker. Begone.”
Throwing her arm into the air, Raver took flight, gaining altitude and disappearing beyond the castle to the west.
Junior waited for her to start walking again. “What about me? Do you think they’ll welcome a man with a sword and no money?”
“I don’t see why not. They’re always looking for new recruits to augment the king’s standing army. Now that the main army has left on campaign, I would think your sword will be welcomed more than ever.”
She paused at the end of the lowered drawbridge and nodded to the guards standing outside their huts. “It’s okay. He’s with me.”
Across the drawbridge, the portcullis was still down. That was good. They had arrived on time.
It wasn’t long before the winches creaked into action and the latticed iron gate rose.
Reecah recognized three of the eight watchmen at the wall. The number startled Reecah. They had doubled the Watch.
Four guards separated from the others and approached them halfway across the drawbridge. The tallest guard, Sir Batkin, the man who had first walked her into South Fort to meet Anvil all those days ago, winked at her, his eyes darting to Junior.
“Sir Batkin, allow me to introduce you to my brother, JJ.”
Reecah and Junior held their breath as Sir Batkin studied Junior’s appearance. His eyes rested on Junior’s black and silver sword hilt before they took in Junior’s wonderfully crafted, shining chainmail.
Sir Batkin’s serious face softened. “GG and JJ. Your parents didn’t spare any sweat naming you, did they?”
Reecah forced a nervous laugh. “Ha-ha. That’s for sure, isn’t it, JJ?”
Legends of the Lurker Box Set Page 48
