Sisera's Gift 2: Sacred Blood

by Robyn Wideman

  “Unfortunately, I have no idea where Apophis is. She has been traveling all over the place, trying to keep the peace between humans and dragons. She is mainly worried about Nelarth, and his followers. She could not keep them on the Isle, so she split them up hoping to dissuade any revolts. She travels so much so she can check on them. Making sure they are where they are supposed to be.”

  “We haven’t told you yet about Venia,” Sisera exclaimed.

  “The little tan-blue psychopath? What about her?” Tyrath looked concerned.

  Sisera told him the events of the past few days and the look got deeper and deeper.

  “If Venia has left the island, that means that something is going on,” Tyrath said when she was done.

  “So, what do we do?” asked Isabella.

  “Well, I think the best thing to do would be to find Brendoth.”

  “Who is Brendoth?”

  “Brendoth,” said Sisera, “is Apophis’ lieutenant. He would definitely know where to find her.”

  “Where do we find Brendoth?”

  Tyrath sat back and thought for a moment. “Apophis’ home is on Droll, in the southwest mountains. She would not be there, though, as the humans have moved into close proximity. If I know dragons, and I think that I do, then she would nest somewhere close to that. Brendoth would be protecting her nest.”

  Isabella laughed. “Like she is a bird.”

  Tyrath gave her an inquisitive look.

  “Shut up,” Sisera mindlinked. “We are not birds in the same way we are not dogs. What is it with you humans, always trying to compare us to things that are vaguely similar.”

  “It’s just the way he said it,” Isabella said, defensively.

  “So, we start on Droll?” Sisera said aloud, changing the subject.

  “Yes,” said Tyrath. “And I am coming with you.”

  Sisera and Isabella both looked at the older dragon with surprise.

  “If Venia is on the loose that means something big is going to happen. Or has happened. Either way, I would like to know so, yes, I am coming with you.”

  The idea of an escort made Isabella feel slightly better. If Venia was to attack again, they might be able to defeat her for good with two dragons.

  “Okay, I guess it is settled then,” Sisera said. “How do we get there?”

  Isabella already had her map and compass out. She pointed to the south- west. “That way.”

  The dragons took off, making a direct line for Droll. They flew as high as Isabella could stand, to make the best time, and hopefully go unnoticed as they flew over inhabited lands.

  “I wonder if we should stop at the Tower on our way past? To check in,” Isabella said that night, as they took shelter in a huge cave by the ocean.

  “That would add at least a day to our journey,” Sisera said as she laid her head on the hard ground. “But I suppose that we could. What do you think, Tyrath?”

  The bronze-yellow was already fast asleep.

  Isabella laughed. “It was a hard day of flying.”

  “I’m ready to join him,” Sisera said. “I haven’t flown this much in years. We did not even fly this much when we were coming back from the Isle.”

  “I thought dragons could go for days?” asked Isabella.

  “We can. That doesn’t mean that we won’t pay for it afterward,” said Sisera. “Takes a lot of energy. I’m going to have to eat tomorrow. It has been a couple of days.”

  “Okay,” Isabella said, as she lay down next to the dragon.

  The next morning, all three were up before dawn. Sisera and Tyrath flew out into the ocean to catch fish. Tyrath mentioned that large tuna were in the area and immediately Sisera demanded they go.

  Isabella waited on the beach for them to return, enjoying her own breakfast of nuts and fruit. Before she had finished her meager meal, the dragons returned with their spoils.

  “Too bad you don’t eat raw fish,” said Sisera. “You have no idea what you are missing.”

  Isabella raised her arm, hand out. A small column of flame shot up from her palm. “I could cook it,” she said.

  Sisera grunted. “Catch your own.” She tore into her meal.

  After the two dragons had devoured their last morsel, Isabella mounted Sisera and they resumed their journey south towards Droll.

  “We should have gone straight south if you wanted to stop at your Tower. Followed the route that you took to get here. We are on the other side of Seron. It will be backtracking if we do,” Tyrath said when they asked about going to Mara.

  “She’s home sick,” Sisera said.

  “I am not,” Isabella said quickly. “I just thought it would be nice to see everyone.”

  “It’s out of the question,” said Tyrath

  They flew for days.

  They spent the second night in Lyrke, an island between Seron and Droll. They slept on an open beach, taking turns on watch.

  On the third night, they reached the north end of Droll. They stayed as far away from the bustling North Port byways as possible.

  They flew west into the Pyrese mountain range, which would provide them cover for most of the journey to the southern end of the island.

  They found a pleasant little valley with a glacial lake. Isabella was delighted to clean up with a long swim in the fresh water. The dragons also enjoyed the much smaller lake fish.

  “I think you humans call them appetizers,” Sisera said, licking her lips.

  On the fourth day, Tyrath warned that they were entering a particularly dangerous part of the island.

  “There are strong magics on this island. Apophis warned us all about the hazards of this area,” he said. The story is that many dragons once used to live in these mountains. During the war, the humans raided and destroyed many of the nests all through these ranges. They set traps, both mechanical and magical, to deter any dragons from returning here. No dragon knows for sure if the story is true, but no dragon wants to be the first to find out if it is.”

  “Are we going to find out?” asked Isabella nervously.

  “No. We are going to head back to the shoreline. There is more of a chance that we will be spotted but that is a chance we have to take,” said the bronze-yellow.

  Isabella breathed a sigh of relief.

  They spent the night in a cave along the shoreline, overlooking the Gulf of Babur.

  “I heard somebody say once that you have never seen a sunset until you’ve seen the sun set over the Gulf of Babur,” Isabella said, as she and the two dragons sat on the shore watching it.

  “It is very beautiful,” Sisera said.

  “It beats the sunsets on the Karxus,” Tyrath said.

  “That’s because the Karxus Sea is a harrowing place, filled with maelstroms and sea monsters,” Sisera said.

  “That’s true,” shrugged Tyrath.

  “Where is the Karxus Sea?” asked Isabella.

  “It is a vast ocean in the north that separates the Dragon Isle and the continent of Partha. It is the reason the Isle was chosen for the dragons. Human ships cannot cross the Sea. Many have tried but storms rage fiercely and none survived.”

  “Can’t they follow the shoreline and go around?” asked Isabella.

  “They can, yes. But, there are many things that lurk in that ocean. It would not be the safest journey. I have never heard of any ship making it around the Horn intact.”

  “The Horn is the north-east end of Partha,” Sisera said.

  “Humans would not want to go anywhere near that region nowadays anyway. That is where Apophis sent Nelarth to nest,” Tyrath said. “The farther away from humans, the better.”

  Isabella looked at Sisera. “You have not told me very much about Nelarth, just that he is an evil dragon with a bunch of followers.”

  Sisera nodded. “That’s because I don’t know very much about Nelarth. He had no interest in the younglings of other dragons. Basically, his lot stayed on their lands and we stayed on ours.”

  “Nelarth just has diff
erent ideas. His bloodline had major contributions to the Wars for the side of the dragons. However, they opposed the dragonbloods, even though they fought for the same side. Nelarth was taught that humans should be nothing more than food or slaves. For a human to converse with a dragon, let alone ride on her back.” He gave a nod to Isabella and Sisera, “is unthinkable to him. He believes that dragons are gods on this earth and that we should take back our rightful place at the top of the food chain instead of bowing to the humans.”

  Isabella thought about what the bronze-yellow had told her.

  “So, what you’re saying.” Isabella smiled. “Is that in his mind, Sisera is bowing to me?”

  “Yes, he would see it as Sisera being subservient to a human,” Tyrath said.

  “No. I see where you are going with this!” said Sisera as she glared at Isabella and jumped to her feet.

  “Like she was my loyal steed.” Isabella laughed, rolling onto her back.

  Sisera stamped her foot and turned away. She flew over to the cave they had found and disappeared inside.

  “You’re so sensitive,” Isabella mindlinked, but received no response. She pushed herself back up into a seating position and brushed the sand from her hands.

  “How do you know so much about Nelarth?” she asked Tyrath.

  The big dragon shifted, finding a more comfortable position, then laid his head on top of his front legs. “I used to be part of his gaggle. My bloodlines were followers of Nelarth’s. Then as I got older and my beliefs aligned more with those of Apophis’. My brood-mate is still with him, though. His name is Sudrien.”

  They sat in silence for some time, Isabella considering what Tyrath had just told her.

  “How are we going to find Brendoth?” Isabella asked sullenly.

  “I’m not sure,” said Tyrath.

  36

  “Fireworks.”

  Isabella looked over at Tyrath and Sisera, who were sitting on the beach, staring out into the open bay. They were brainstorming ideas on how to find Brendoth.

  “Fire what?” the bronze-yellow asked.

  “Fireworks.” Isabella sat up. “A magic fire exhibition. Maybe he’ll see it and come investigate.”

  “That sounds a little farfetched.” Tyrath chuckled.

  “Think about it. If you were trying to suppress the impact dragons are having on the human world, wouldn’t you investigate brilliant explosions of colored fire bursting in the night sky?”

  Sisera scoffed. “What else would come investigate that as well?”

  Isabella jumped up and turned to face the two dragons, excitement radiating from her.

  “I know it’s risky,” she said. “But it might just work. If he is around here somewhere, he’ll come looking.”

  “We don’t even know if he is in this area for sure,” Sisera said. “It just attracting unwanted attention.”

  Tyrath extended his wings out, stretching them to full length, and tilted his neck back.

  “We have to do something. We can’t just remain here, contemplating the unknown. I say, at the very least, we continue to fly around the area, and hopefully, that will draw him out.”

  “We can do both,” said Isabella. “We’ll spend the day searching, and if we haven’t found them yet, then tonight I’ll light up the sky.”

  “At least if you do it at night, it will cover our escape when who know what comes looking for us.” Sisera nodded.

  Tyrath slowly rose to his feet. “Alright, let’s go,” he said as he started running down the beach. He leaped into the air and pumped his huge wings. Soon he was high above them, circling and waiting.

  Isabella laughed. “I guess he really wanted to go,” she said as she loaded the saddle back on Sisera’s back.

  “He was getting stir crazy. Dragons don’t like to sit for too long,” Sisera said.

  “Why do you like to sit so much?” asked Isabella with mock innocence.

  “I need the rest. It takes a lot out of energy to be bonded with a sassy little brat,” Sisera said, throwing her nose in the air.

  Isabella chuckled and jumped up into the saddle. She checked to make sure her gear was stowed and tightly laced. She then grabbed the saddle horn and dug her heels into Sisera’s side.

  “Onward, donkey,” she said.

  “Someday I am going to bite you. Hard.”

  The gold-purple leaped into the air and climbed quickly to reunite with Tyrath, the bronze-yellow. The trio flew higher so that they could get a wider view of the landscape. There were only specific spots that dragons would even consider using as a nest but there was a lot of them.

  “Let’s go down the coast and back up through the mountains,” said Tyrath.

  They followed the coast southwards, avoiding the ample amount of human settlements as best they could. Tyrath suggested they spread out to see more area with each pass, but after hours of flying, they still found no clues. Light began to fade as they returned to the beach they had occupied the night before.

  “Well, looks like we are going to put on a show,” said Isabella to Sisera.

  When the sky darkened, they prepared to take off and perform some aerial magic.

  “Fly high,” Tyrath said. “I will keep a look out.”

  Isabella nodded and the pair took off. Sisera flew up until their friend was nothing more than a dot below them. As Isabella began to throw the fireballs she could not help but think about the night of the celebration at the Tower. The night she met Makal.

  “Hey, watch it,” Sisera shouted.

  Isabella snapped back into the moment. She had just ignited a huge blast of purple fire right in their flight path. “Sorry. I got distracted.”

  “I know,” said the dragon. “He’s the love of your life but please focus right now.”

  Isabella nodded and continued to carefully ignite her fireworks in the night sky. They did a few more loops then returned to Tyrath on the beach.

  “We must be diligent,” Tyrath said as they settled down. “Anyone or anything could have seen that and come looking.”

  The hours passed but neither dragon nor Isabella saw anything out of the ordinary.

  “Maybe we should do it again?” she asked.

  “Perhaps anyone who would come is waiting until daylight when it won’t be so dangerous,” Tyrath said.

  “That makes sense,” said Isabella. “Should we try to get some sleep?”

  “It would be best if we watched in shifts,” Tyrath said. “Just in case.”

  The night passed without incident, much to the relief of Isabella, who had troubling dreams of vicious wolves attacking her. Sisera woke her just a few hours before dawn for her turn for watch. The night was cold but Isabella barely felt it. She sat next to a small fire, staring into the night over the ocean.

  She pulled out the leather map she received from Camdyn and spread it out on the ground in front of her. She traced their route down the map, all the way from Seron to their approximate location on Droll. She intently studied the map until one of the dragons finally stirred.

  “No trouble?” Tyrath asked as he rolled over.

  “None,” said Isabella. “According to my map, there are a few islands around this area. Do you think it would be worth searching those too?’

  “Couldn’t hurt. I don’t know how populated they are by humans but it is worth a look. We are out of ideas so this is as good as any.”

  “The big island is crawling with humans but the others are clear for nests,” a voice said from behind them.

  Isabella leaped to her feet and spun around, fire already burning in her palms. Tyrath was on his feet and air born in an instant. Sisera rolled over and let out a snore.

  Standing on a rock outcropping was a young woman, early twenties Isabella figured, holding a large staff. She had long light brown hair that tossed back and forth in the ocean breeze. She was dressed in a similar fashion to Isabella. In fact, there were a lot of similarities to Isabella. The most notable being the strips of white-red scales
running down her face as well as the large white-red dragon that stood behind her.

  37

  “Who in the hells are you?!” Isabella screamed as she prepared to throw two white-hot, flaming orbs in the direction of the mysterious intruder.

  The young woman hopped down from the rock outcropping. She landed lightly on ground even though the drop was more than fifteen yards. She began to walk toward Isabella and her sleeping dragon, swinging the staff around as if it were a baton.

  The dragon remained behind, leaping to the top of the outcropping to get a better view. Isabella stared at the white-red. It was the biggest dragon she had ever seen although she had only ever seen three in her life.

  “That is Caritha,” she said, pointing over her shoulder at the huge beast. “I am Shayla Lastname. I believe you are Isabella the Dragon Princess.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Shayla laughed. “Because you are famous. Everyone has heard the story of the girl who slew an army with dragon fire. That was nice work, by the way.”

  Isabella lowered her guard for just a moment. Then raised her hands to throw the flaming orbs. “What do you want?” she shouted.

  Shayla put up her hands. “Whoa. There is no need for that. We just want to talk.”

  “We want to help you,” said Caritha, jumping off the rock and landing next to Shayla, causing the earth to rumble with the shock of it.

  Sisera rolled over and moaned. “Shut up, Cari. Let me sleep.”

  Shocked, Isabella turned to look at the sleeping dragon.

  “Sisera. Wake up” Isabella said through the mindlink.

  “Not yet. My stomach hurts from the lack of shark in my diet thanks to you.” The dragon grumbled and rolled over again.

  “Sisera?” the white-red said.

  The gold-purple dragon slowly opened her left eye. Then she opened her right eye. She quickly rolled over and hopped up to her feet, shaking the sand from her scales.

  “Cari?” she exclaimed. “What is going on?”

  “It is you!” Caritha ran toward Sisera, who ran towards her as well.

  Isabella feared for a moment that the two beasts would start fighting however it quickly became clear that they had no intention of battling. The two dragons met and began to rub the necks together.