Dragon Approved Complete Box Set

by Ramy Vance

  It’ll knock him off-balance, she replied. He’ll be thinking the entire time, ‘How did a blind girl do that?’ Half of any fight is mental.

  Chine laughed loudly in her head as he turned in the air to face Gill. I like this part of you, Dustling. You have a warrior deep within you.

  Alex and Gill stared at each other across the skies. Alex’s heart was fluttering; she wished she could better see Gill’s black eyes, but this wasn’t the time for that. She could see the outline of him and his dragon, and that was all she needed. Her crush could wait until later.

  Gill made the first move. He flew at Alex full-speed, which caught her off-guard. She had assumed the drow would be much more calculating in his strategy. He seemed like such a passive person.

  Alex pulled Chine to the left, narrowly avoiding Gill, who hadn’t even bothered to raise his lance. He must have just been planning to have Timber tackle Chine. Why would he do that? Alex thought. He could be knocked off as well.

  Gill wasted no time. He turned instantly and went for another attack. Alex hardly had a moment to recover and narrowly missed being knocked to the ground.

  Timber looked over his shoulder, opened his mouth, and sent a concussive force through the air that hit Alex square in the chest.

  The force of the blast almost knocked her off Chine. Her chest heaved in pain, and she doubled over. She hadn’t been prepared for Gill to attack her straight on. Also, she couldn’t see the attack. She tried to remember what she’d read about earth dragons the day before.

  All of a sudden, her late-night reading came back to her. Chine! she said. I need you to watch for Timber’s invisible attacks. I can’t see them. I can only see outlines. Can you dodge them on your own?

  Her opponents were flying toward her again. She heard the blast charging in Timber’s throat, but she couldn’t tell where it was going to come from. Easily. Chine chuckled as he turned to the right and dipped so the blast went past him.

  Alex was about to congratulate him when Gill’s lance came shooting toward her. She wasn’t able to move in time, and it hit her shoulder. She almost lost balance, but then she gripped more tightly, strengthening her anchor to Chine. As she pulled right and let the dragon roll in midair, hoping she wouldn’t fall while the dragon was upside-down.

  The gamble worked. Alex didn’t need to be right-side-up anyway, and now she had a plan. Chine, you can briefly turn invisible, right?

  For a few seconds. Maybe a minute.

  All right. On my signal, use your invisibility.

  Alex didn’t bother turning him upright. Instead, she flew under Gill and stomped on Chine’s back as the signal to camouflage himself.

  Chine shimmered out of sight, and Alex waited for Gill to take the bait. “Tell me when his lance hits you,” she commanded.

  Alex heard the lance hit Chine’s stomach as the dragon said, “He’s made contact. Alex released her dragon anchor as she held onto Chine’s back, then she scrambled up his side as fast as she could until she got to his stomach.

  Alex knew invisibility only applied to the person who could turn invisible. When her dragon popped out of sight, all Gill would see was Alex, a defenseless target. She banked on him attacking before thinking the odd sight through.

  Alex reached out and grabbed Gill’s lance, pulling hard.

  Out of reflex, Gill leaned back and called his lance back, which was just what Alex was waiting for. She held as tightly as she could to the lance as it withdrew back to Gill.

  She stretched out her lance and focused, launching it at Gill as his was returning to its normal length.

  It hit Gill in the chest, and he lost his grip on his own and went flying through the air. Alex attached her dragon anchor to Timber and pulled as hard as she could, fighting with Timber for control. It was just enough.

  Timber pulled hard to the left as his rider went flying off the dragon’s right side. Once she heard Gill hit the net, she detached from Timber and leapt off as she called to Chine, Please don’t let me fall!

  The dragon swooped under Alex, and she landed on his back. I believed you had a warrior in you. I didn’t realize she was a madwoman.

  Chine and Alex touched down to the cheers of the other cadets. Alex rushed over to the Loser’s Box while Chine took off.

  Jollies was waiting for Alex and exclaimed, “That was amazing!”

  Gill walked up behind Alex and bowed. “It really was. You use…very unorthodox tactics.”

  Alex blushed and waved away Gill’s compliment. “Let me take a seat with you guys.”

  The three of them watched the next few matches, Alex occasionally pulling up her blindfold on one eye, practicing being able to see for longer periods of time. Finally, Fier called her name again. “Alex Bound and Brath Gimbel to the field.”

  Alex leaped out of her seat. “Wish me luck,” she said before turning to Manny. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Manny jumped at Alex’s voice. “Wait, me? You did so well on your own.”

  “Nope, you’re not getting out of this. I need you.” She had a plan that needed Manny’s sight to pull off. In fact, it needed more than just his sight. She’d need to use all her eyes.

  Brath was already waiting for Alex on the field. He didn’t bother looking at her, just raised his dragon anchor before Fier said anything. Within a few seconds, Furi hit the ground behind him, radiating smoke and heat.

  Alex raised her own and Chine promptly landed behind her, ether smoke seeping from his nostrils. Alex leaped onto him, and neither she nor Brath waited for Fier to declare the fight had begun.

  The dragons rose higher than any of the other dragonriders had, and the riders glared at each other. “All right, human, time to learn your place!” the gnome shouted.

  Furi shot a blast of fire at Chine as he and Brath flew around, trying to flank Alex. Brath pointed his lance, and it went flying toward her.

  She pulled back on Chine, doing a barrel roll that set Manny screaming. The dragon shot ether fire, canceling out Furi’s blast.

  Furi screamed in rage and bolted toward Chine, and the two dragons collided. Furi’s claws raked across Chine’s chest.

  As the dragons fought, Brath pulled off his cloak, then ran up Furi’s head, leaped through the air, and tossed his cloak on Manny.

  The cloth wrapped around Manny as if it were alive. Alex turned and tried to pull the coat off Manny but couldn’t. It must have been magic.

  Brath ran back to his spot on Furi’s back. “Gotcha!” he shouted. “What’s a dragonrider without her eyes?”

  Alex reached out to Chine. Hey, can you keep everything steady? she asked. Don’t let go of Furi, but give us a big show, all right? Lots of roaring and fire.

  Chine’s voice boomed in Alex’s head. I can do that, he said as he produced another jet of black ether fire.

  Alex stood up, grabbed her blindfold, and pulled it off. The light was dazzling at first, but she closed her eyes to concentrate before opening them again. Now she saw the world through her own eyes.

  Everything was clear. She could see each scale on Furi’s and Chine’s bodies. She could tell how far away Brath was and see the confusion in his eyes. He’d expected her to use Manny’s vision.

  He had underestimated her, and he was going to pay for that mistake.

  Don’t let go of Furi, all right? she requested of her dragon.

  Alex ran down Chine’s back, raised her lance, and jumped, stretching the wood out like a pole. Vaulting over the dragons’ heads, she passed through the chaos of fire and kicked Brath square in the chest.

  Brath went flying, but Alex didn’t stop there. She punched him off the big dragon, then leapt off Furi, aimed her lance at Brath, and concentrated. The weapon struck Brath’s chest, and he fell faster.

  The invisible net popped out beneath him, and he disappeared as soon as he hit it.

  Alex’s lance caught the net and stopped her from falling. She swayed back and forth on the pole until Chine sped down to catch her. The net disa
ppeared and Chine landed, then Alex jumped off his back, leaving Manny to fend for himself. She was greeted by the roars of the crowd of cadets. He finally pried the cloak off his head and floated disgustedly off the field.

  Fier’s excited voice rose over the crowd. “And after an insane gamble, Alex Bound is the winner of the first-year cadets jousting competition!” she shouted.

  Roy and Toppinir, who were sitting at Fier’s side, rose as well. They lifted their hands to quiet the crowd. Alex turned to face them, not knowing what else to do since she was still in the middle of the field.

  Toppinir stepped forward, his hands still extended. “We have the collected points of all champions.” He paused, letting the tension build. “And the champion of today’s jousts is Alex Bound, with fifteen thousand and thirty-five points for technique, skill, and unrivaled showmanship!”

  The first-year cadets broke into cheers as they tackled Alex, who had quickly wrapped her blindfold back around her head. Jollies was buzzing in Alex’s ears. “Did you hear that, Alex? You won!”

  Toppinir’s voice came over the loudspeaker again as he leaned over and spoke with Roy. “I haven’t seen a match like that in years,” he whispered, despite it being loudly broadcast. “We should keep an eye on that Bound cadet.”

  Jollies grabbed Alex’s cheeks. “By the gods, you did it!”

  Alex laughed as she pried the pixie’s hands off. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.” She laughed. “I might not become a squire, but that kind of shout-out has to count for something, right?”

  “You bet it does!”

  Alex let herself get lost in the cheers of the crowd. She’d done it; this was her victory, and no one could take it away from her.

  Chapter Nine

  The pixies and the other new cadets brought Alex into the mess hall atop their shoulders. They had broken into a chant in a language Alex didn’t recognize. She assumed it was Dwarfish, from what she’d heard in Middang3ard.

  The mess hall was filled with the sounds of victory. The tables were decorated with the colors of the first-year cadets, and bottles of pixie mead had been placed on each. Pixies couldn’t drink alcohol, so the beverage was often provided to the underage cadets.

  Alex was taken to the largest table in the mess hall, which was covered with plate upon plate of decadent-looking meats and desserts. The cadets tried to get her to take the seat at the head of the table, but she opted out, instead choosing to sit toward the middle.

  Jollies took a sip from one of the pixie-sized cups as she flew toward Alex. “That was amazing, Alex,” she gushed. “I didn’t know you could ride like that. Hell, I didn’t know any first years could ride like that!”

  Alex laughed and tried not to let the praise go to her head, which was extremely difficult since this was the first good dragonriding-related thing she’d heard about herself. “Eh, it wasn’t anything,” she said. “I’m not going to say I just got lucky, but there was some luck in there.”

  The excitement from the joust hadn’t worn off. The rest of the cadets were all talking excitedly among themselves, going over each match play by play.

  Alex could feel the change in the room and in the way others were looking at her now. It felt good not to be seen as some kind of disabled charity case. It felt even better to shove Brath’s stupid face in his failure.

  Brath and Gill were sitting together across the mess hall. The gnome was stewing over his pixie mead, staring into the cup as if he could arrive at some understanding by contemplating the liquid within. Gill was talking quietly with a light elf who was sitting next to him.

  Alex didn’t realize she had been staring at Gill for some time. Even with her blindfold on, she could see him nearly as clearly as if she weren’t wearing it. It helped that Manny was on the other side of the room, snacking as usual. He had apparently recovered from their wild flight. Alex was looking forward to not relying so heavily on the Beholder’s assistance.

  Suddenly, Brath slammed down his cup. The table he was sitting at went silent as he stood and stalked over to Alex. “How’d you do it, human?” Brath asked. “You must have cheated!”

  For a second, Alex worried that Brath had heard the brief conversation she’d had with Chine, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if he had. She’d told her dragon she wanted to play it straight. No tricks. She wanted to win on her own merits.

  Alex leaned back in her seat, feeling more like her old self—the confident dragonrider who had impressed all of Middang3ard VR. “No such thing happened,” Alex replied, trying not to sound like she was gloating. “I won fair and square. Don’t be such a sore loser.”

  “I want a rematch. I’m not losing to a stinkin’ human.”

  “You already lost to a human. A rematch will just mean you get to lose again. Can your pride handle that?”

  Brath didn’t say anything, just glared at Alex. “What’s your problem with me anyway?” she asked. “Why does a blind human being a dragonrider affect you in any way? It’s not like there are a limited number of cadets who can make it through.”

  “Because I don’t want my ass getting scorched because some human can’t keep up. That’s how it’s been with all of you. When the gnomish and dwarfish realms asked for help, your people did nothing. You just sat on the sidelines and watched our worlds disappear. The only reason you’re here is that you humans suddenly realized you were in danger too.”

  Alex could see the pain in Brath’s eyes. He looked close to tears. For the first time, she understood how much he was hurting. “Brath, I didn’t have any control over that,” she told him softly. “I only just found out about the war, and as soon as I did, I decided to come. I wouldn’t—”

  “I don’t care!” he shouted.

  The two stared at each other as the rest of the cadets watched.

  The door to the mess hall exploded open as the second-year cadets burst into the room. “Where’s the chick who won?” one of the elvish cadets shouted.

  The first-year cadets all pointed at Alex.

  The second-year cadets stormed to her table and surrounded it. The elf who had shouted upon entering the mess hall stood in front of Alex. “How in the gods' names did you pull that off?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be blind?”

  Alex pointed at her blindfold. “Formerly blind, but I’m still working on it,” she coyly replied. “So, are all dragonrider cadets whiny sore losers?”

  The elf flipped Alex’s plate over, and some of the food hit Jollies in the face. “There’s no way a blind first-year beat all of us second-years without cheating,” the elf exclaimed.

  Alex stood and leaned over the table. “If you want, us first-years could come give you lessons,” she countered. “I’m pretty sure Jollies and Gill could show you a few things. Even Brath could; he still beat all you second-years.”

  Brath looked at Alex, obviously surprised she had included him in the list.

  The elf leaned forward, nearly nose to nose with Alex. “Or we could just wipe the floor with you all right now,” he threatened.

  Jollies zipped over to the elf, wiped the food off her face and smeared it across his. “How about we end it right now?” Jollies shouted before flying down, picking up a whole plate of food, and shoving it in the elf’s face.

  The elf stepped back and wiped the mashed potatoes off. His eyes were red with anger.

  Jollies grabbed another handful of food and tossed it at him, shouting, “Food fight!” before flying away, grabbing Alex by the shoulder, and pulling her under the table.

  Gill and Brath followed them as the mess hall exploded into a battlefield of edible projectiles, liquids as well.

  Alex and the other three crawled farther beneath the table as they tried to avoid being hit by the artillery.

  Jollies turned to Alex and Brath, grabbing each of them by their collars, and forced them to look at each other in the eye. “Okay, I know you guys have issues with each other,” the pixie said. “But right now, we have more important things to deal with. Do you wa
nt to get wrecked by those second-years?”

  Alex and Brath gazed at each other. She sure did not want to look like something a sick second-year had thrown up. “All right, I get it,” she said. She extended her hand to the gnome. “Truce?”

  Brath glared at Alex, his eyes still full of hate. “Just because there’s a food fight, it doesn’t mean your people didn’t leave us to die,” he growled.

  “Yeah, you’re right, but even if my people didn’t help yours, it doesn’t mean I’m not here to help you. I’m right here in front of you, aren’t I? That means I’m here to fight the Dark One, just like you, and I’ll protect anyone who needs it.”

  Brath looked at Gill, who nodded silently. “Fine,” Brath conceded. “Truce.”

  Gill smiled, the first time Alex had seen him do so, and reached up to the table. He felt around, brought a handful of the black mush down, and took a quick bite. “Are you guys ready to show the second-years that seniority doesn’t mean squat?” he asked.

  Jollies, Alex, and Brath nodded in agreement. “All right,” Alex said. “Let’s show ‘em why the first-year cadets destroyed the second-years in the joust.”

  Alex rolled out from under the table and shouted, “For the glory of the first-years! May we live in legend!”

  Alex tossed a handful of peas at the closest person, only to get a face full of pink and blue cake thrown hard enough to knock her off her feet. Jollies and the rest of them slid out from under the table and grabbed whatever they could before chucking it.

  Gill and Brath knelt and helped Alex to her feet. The gnome grabbed Alex’s blindfold, which had been knocked off, wiped it clean, and handed it to Gill, who promptly wrapped it around her head.

  The mess hall was quickly earning its name. Food was flying from every direction, and it was impossible to see which year was attacking whom. Some of the dwarves had decided to sit the fight out and were casually enjoying lunch in the midst of the pandemonium.

  Manny was content to nonchalantly float through the mess hall, licking up anything he came across.