Dragon Flight: Sisera's Gift 3 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 5)

by Robyn Wideman

  Apophis ordered the rest of the dragons to stay at a distance so Caritha did not feel threatened or crowded. Sisera made one last failed plea to Caritha before making way for the white-gold.

  The presence of the alpha dragon seemed to have a significant impact on Caritha and she began to calm down as Apophis spoke to her. Soon, the pale dragon shook her wings loose and make her way out of the shelter where she and Apophis talked for a long time.

  Isabella was at first disappointed that she could not understand the dragon tongue but Sisera could give her a loose translation.

  “Caritha keeps repeating ‘I have to go to her.’ I suppose she is talking about Shayla. Perhaps the bond is strengthening because they got closer by bringing her here.”

  “Makes sense. So, that means Shayla is somewhere west of here,” Isabella said through the mindlink. “What is west of here?”

  “Nothing. Ocean.”

  “Solotine.”

  The name of land in the far west brought back her earliest memories from childhood and the stories Raven used to tell her set in the far off, exotic country.

  “You think Shayla is in Solotine? Would the portal have taken them that far?”

  “I have no idea. I’m sure it is possible with strong enough magic,” Isabella mindlinked.

  Apophis turned to face the Sisera and Isabella as well as the rest of the dragons. “I have decided I must stay here with Caritha,” she said. “Brendoth will lead the dragons in the search for Nelarth.”

  The cacophony of dragon tongue filled the air briefly as the dragons shared their opinions, all in favor of the alpha’s decision. Brendoth stepped forward.

  “It will be my honor,” the blue-white said, bowing his head to the alpha.

  “It is very important that if you happen to confront Nelarth, then, before anything else, you send a messenger to me. You may contain him but make it very clear that I will speak with him. He will accept the word of no one else and we need to avoid any further escalation.”

  “Understood,” Brendoth said, bowing his head again. “Be safe.” He turned and began to shout orders to the dragons to begin their preparations for their journey to the north.

  Apophis stayed close by Caritha’s side while Adina tended to the pale dragon with food, water, and medicine. Caritha at first rejected the treatment, now she was conscious, but after some coercion from the white-gold, she accepted the healers help.

  Isabella and Sisera took the first watch and flew up to a cliffside perch where they could look over the whole valley.

  “You know,” the Dragonblood girl said with a smile. “I think that things are starting to look up.”

  37

  As soon as the sky lightened enough, Bastion deemed it safe to begin their trek to the river crossing. The forest was still as silent as it was the night before so they moved as quickly and quietly as possible. They reached the bank well before the sun reached its peak.

  “Thank the gods,” Bastion said as a small boat came into sight, pulled up on the rocky shore.

  Kai was so relieved that he let out an audible sigh. Things were finally starting to look up for them. He felt like he found the bounce in his step again.

  “This is very clever” said Aarav as he inspected the boat. There were steel eyelets attached to each end of the boat with long, thick ropes attached to them. One rope was tied securely to a metal band that was fused to a thick boulder. The other end disappeared into the river. Aarav grabbed the rope and gave it a sturdy tug. The rope appeared above the surface, covered with a mossy substance, as it was pulled taut and appeared to be sturdy. “Let’s see if it floats. Help me push it out,” he said to Kai.

  The two soldiers heaved the wooden boat into the fast moving current while Bastion held the rope so the boat would not float away.

  “It sits high and it’s not taking on water. Looks like we are in a good standing right now,” Aarav said with a smile.

  “This is very good news,” Bastion said with a nod. “Pull it back up for now. We will wait out the day here and start across about sunset.”

  It was a rare treat to have a rest during the daylight hours. Bastion wandered off to do his own thing while Kai and Aarav stripped off their armor and dirt-encrusted clothing. They washed their clothes as best they could and hung them to dry in the hot sun while they went for a swim.

  The current was strong but there were pockets in the riverbend where the pull was light enough that they could swim without any worry of being dragged downstream. Kai dunked his head into the cool, refreshing water and held it there for as long as his breath would hold out. After Aarav retreated to shore, Kai remained in the river because he found the water helped to soothe his aching muscles.

  Kai could not remember the last time he had felt so content. The mission wasn’t completed yet but they had time to kill and they were so close to their destination that he didn’t feel bad about taking some time to relax. He tried to lay back in the water but found himself being continually dragged downriver by the current so he tied a thin rope to his foot and anchored it to a nearby tree. The simple device allowed him to lay back and not get pulled away. Proud of his cleverness, Kai floated happily as he basked in the hot afternoon sun.

  “Get out of the water.”

  The sound was muffled by the water but Kai recognized the urgency in the tone. He opened his eyes just in time to see a large tentacle coming down on him. He tried to swim ahead but the thin rope held him securely in place. The tentacle, which was as thick as his thigh slapped him on the back and pushed him underwater as it wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his side. He struggled against the pressure but the arm was too strong and maintained its tight grip.

  Suddenly, the tentacle drew him out of the water and suspended him above the surface. It tried to pull him away from shore but the thin rope held strong. Kai was sure it was going to rip his leg off if he didn’t drown first.

  He tried to see what the tentacle belonged to but he was held in place and could only see when the arm flung him around. However, he could see Aarav on shore, shooting arrow after arrow at whatever it was that had Kai wrapped up. The volley did not seem to make a difference though and the tentacle held strong.

  Kai tried to gasp for air but the tentacle refused to let him breathe. His vision began to blur when he heard a scream over the noise of thrashing water. All sound was then drowned out by a thunderous explosion and suddenly the tentacle released its grip.

  Kai dropped into the rush of the river current and was immediately swept downstream. He resisted taking a lungful of air until he was safely at the surface of the flowing water. He looked back to see a spray of five tentacles dancing in the water as they were hit with bolts of white-blue light.

  “Get out of the water,” Aarav screamed as he ran down the river back, chasing Kai as he floated downstream. He repeated it as he ran.

  Kai was not sure how it happened but he managed to swim to the shore and drag himself up onto the rocky bank. He lay there gasping for air until Aarav finally reached him.

  “Are you OK?” Aarav asked as he skidded to a halt next to his friend.

  “Just winded,” Kai said with a wincing smile.

  “I have never seen anything like that,” Aarav said. He held out his hand and help Kai to his feet.

  “What in the hells is it?”

  “I don’t know. Bastion didn’t give much of an explanation before he began to fight it.”

  “Fight it?” Kai was shocked. “How is he fighting that?”

  “It looks like he knows what he’s doing. I have never seen a wizard in battle so I have no idea what it is supposed to look like but it seems like he’s pretty good.”

  Kai was skeptical until they passed through enough of the forest that he could once again see the open area by the beach where they were going to cross. At first, he didn’t see the source of the blue lightning that was repeatedly striking at the tentacles. The beach was clear except for the occasional tentacle that would slam into
the ground. Then, he looked up.

  Forty feet above the ground, Bastion was flying back and forth, throwing bolts of lightning at the creature as he avoided waving tentacles. Kai’s jaw dropped. He had no idea the boy was capable of such power.

  “We need to help him,” Kai shouted and ran for his pack. He quickly strung his bow and was about to start firing at the tentacles when Bastion flew down toward him.

  “Those won’t harm the beast,” the boy shouted as he landed next to Kai. He continued to hurl bolts of lightning toward their foe as he shouted. “It has a soft underbelly. You need to shoot at that.”

  Kai was about to ask how he was going to do that but Bastion had already flown off. The apparent transition in the boy was incredible. Bastion nimbly dodged between the flapping arms that would send him flying if they were to hit him. Every time he hit an arm with a bolt of lightning, it would cease to move for a few seconds which allowed him to get closer to the beast. It seemed the closer he was to the arm, the longer the effect would last.

  Bastion made his way through the tentacles as Kai and Aarav stood by and watched helplessly. Suddenly, the boy turned in mid-air and thrust his arms toward the water. The water began to bubble and churn with great ferocity until a bulbous form broke the surface of the river.

  “He’s pulling it up,” Kai shouted and jumped into action. He ran toward the river so he could get a better shot when one came available. Aarav followed close behind.

  The creature had leathery gray skin that was as thick and strong as any armor. It was so strong that when the two men began to launch arrows at the exposed target, a great many exploded into splinters on contact.

  Three arrows found their mark in a spot that was a darker gray than the rest but there was no change in the creature’s actions. It still thrashed around just as violently as before even with the viciously barbed arrows protruding from its gut.

  Once they were out of ammunition, Kai and Aarav retreated to a safe distance to regroup.

  “What’s he doing?” Aarav shouted, pointing toward the beast.

  Kai turned just in time to see Bastion drop his hold on the creature and as it fell, he flew around and dropped feet first on the three protruding arrows, driving them into the underbelly. The force tore open a hole in the creature’s belly and the boy looked to be knee-deep inside when it hit the water and began to sink. Just as they hit, there was a great flash of blue and white and a crack of deafening thunder.

  “He’s crazy!” Kai managed to say before a shockwave sent both men flying backward.

  Kai managed to just skim past an old tree that grew proudly on the beach but Aarav was not so lucky. He slammed full force into the thick trunk with the back of his head and shoulders. He slumped to the ground and remained motionless. Kai struggled to regain his breath while he crawled to his fallen friend who was unconscious but thankfully alive.

  Kai pulled Aarav’s motionless body behind the tree for protection before he struggled to his feet to try to help the boy if he could. He could see that Bastion was still stuck feet first inside the beast but, somehow, it seemed as if the boy had the upper hand.

  Bastion had his arms raised and he was shouting words that Kai could not understand over the sound the monster made, thrashing about in the river. The beast was moving in a fashion that suggested to Kai that it was being pinned down by a larger being. Or force, Kai thought. He decided that the boy was likely using magic to wrestle the tentacled monster. The match looked even, though, so Kai quickly looked for a way to assist.

  “The weak spot is its belly but he’s sticking out of it, blocking a shot,” Kai said to himself as he searched frantically for a stray arrow.

  Then, he saw one. It was intact and protruding from one of the beast’s appendages. Without another thought Kai chased after the flailing arm, trying to devise a method of extracting it.

  The creature was trying to remove Bastion from its belly but its arms could not bend back to reach him so the beast resorted to slamming them around wildly as it fought against the magic that held it down.

  Kai dodged around the other swinging arms as he tried to maintain a sight on the arrow. At the right moment, Kai dived toward the arm as it swung toward the ground. He grabbed the arrow with one hand and wrapped his legs around the tentacle for grip. He tugged on the shaft but the barbed end remained firmly planted in the tip of the appendage. He held on tightly as the arm flung him this way and that. Fortunately, the motion violently twisted the arrow which tore up the meat that it was anchored to and allowed Kai to pull it free.

  With the arrow firmly gripped between his teeth, Kai released his hold on the creature’s appendage when it looked like he could make a clean landing and allowed the motion of the arm to throw him away. His timing was a bit off and he landed on a rocky section to the right of the grassy area he was aiming for. Pain shot through his body as he rolled over the pointed stones but when he came to a halt he found that he was still fully intact and nothing was broken. Kai had let out a scream when he hit the rocks and let the arrow drop but he found that to be unbroken as well.

  “Thank the gods,” Kai said as he grabbed the arrow. He ran up the beach to find his pack and bow.

  Bastion and the creature were still wrestling violently in the water. The boy had managed to pull one foot out of the creature but the other still looked to be firmly lodged.

  After checking on Aarav, Kai stopped for a moment to watch the intense battle that was taking place in the river. After watching dragons in battle, he never thought he would see such an impressive fight but watching a fourteen-year-old boy wrestle a thirty-foot tentacled water monster beat out the flying lizards, hands down.

  “He must be so tired,” Kai thought and dumped the contents of his pack on the ground. He sifted through until he found what he was looking for. He snatched up the bottle of poison he received from Oshri. This was definitely the time to use it, he thought. He used the entire bottle of the sticky black tar to cover the arrowhead, more than was recommended by the old wizard but this situation called for a little overkill.

  He ran back toward the battle and found the perfect vantage point that gave him line of sight to the impossible target. Kai took a deep breath and lifted the bow to take his shot. With one foot out, the boy had created a much bigger target which Kai was grateful for because the violent movements were making the shot very difficult, if he did not want to hit Bastion.

  Thirty yards. Melon-sized moving target, he thought as he gave his head a slight shake. He drew a deep breath. He had made countless shots similar to this before but he had to be perfect or else the boy would die. He released his breath followed by the arrow.

  The projectile flew straight and true but with all the violent movement, Kai could not be certain he had hit his mark. The struggle between the giant monster and the boy-wizard continued as it had before.

  “Damn the gods,” Kai shouted in disappointment. He searched the beach for options and his eyes came to rest on the boat. Better than nothing, he thought and jumped down from the boulder on which he was perched. He ran as fast as he could down the rocky shore and used his momentum to dislodge the boat, pushing it into the river torrent. He jumped into the vessel, grabbed the rope, and began to pull. Slowly the boat began to make its way across the river. The waves cause by the battle were rocking the boat violently but thankfully it did not capsize.

  Once Kai was parallel to the battle taking place downstream, he dove into the icy water and began to swim toward the beast. The current was in his favor but the waves caused by the creature’s thrashing was giving him some problems. Kai managed to keep himself afloat in the torrent and by some miracle he came within reach of the beast. Close enough now that the appendages could not reach him, Kai climbed the side of the creature.

  Bastion was still locked in a magical wrestling match with the creature with one foot remaining lodged in the soft underbelly. Sweat poured down his face which was twisted into a snarled expression caused by the effort of holding
the beast in stalemate. Inches from the boy’s stuck foot, Kai could see the fletching of the arrow protruding from the open wound.

  “What are you doing?” the boy shouted.

  “I’m trying to help,” Kai said. He pulled out his dagger and began chopping at the soft flesh around the boy’s leg. He gave the leg a hard yank and Bastion’s foot came loose.

  “Give me your hand,” the boy said. He was back to levitating and looked to have much better control of the struggling beast. “Step on that first,” he said, pointing to the arrow.

  Kai grabbed the boy’s hand and stomped on the shaft as he jumped up. Bastion flew him back toward the shore but let him drop safely into the shallow water.

  “I’m going to finish this,” Bastion shouted and flew back toward the flailing creature. When he was above the beast, he threw down a massive bolt of lightning, directly at the gushing wound.

  Suddenly a deafening screech filled the air. It lasted just a moment before all was silent again and all movement had stopped. The creature was dead.

  Bastion flew down to the beach where Kai was laying in the sand. The boy landed and crumbled to the ground next to Kai, exhausted.

  After a long few moments, the boy began to speak, “In the battlemage order, it is considered a highest test of skill and courage to battle the Cracyn. To gain the rank of Master, it is enough to face the beast and survive. None have ever defeated it and many have died trying. I have battled the beast once before and barely survived the encounter. To find it this far inland is surprising as well as troubling.”

  The boy’s comments made Kai laugh. “Are you OK?” he asked. “Are you injured?”

  “Oh.” The question seemed to confuse Bastion momentarily. “Yes, I am unharmed,” he said finally.

  Kai rolled over on the rocky sand to look at the youth. “It amazes me that, just moments ago, you were the most powerful wizard I had ever seen. I think that is probably something that you could have mentioned before.”