by Zara Zenia
My entire life up until this point had felt that way, always aware that my world, my life would come crashing down. Back then, all that I was losing was status, power . . . shallow things. Now, I had something real, something to fight for, and I wasn’t backing down.
I breathed in, closed my eyes, pictured Andie’s face, and flew into the misty, luminescent fog to face my fate. I would win. I had to win. There was no other choice.
I smelled the air, trying to track the sulfuric reek of him. I picked up whiffs of it, but the air was moving too quickly. I smelled him everywhere, and yet he was nowhere. I went up and circled above the fog line.
I caught a flash of red horns and dove down. The mists swirled around me, and as I struck out at where I had seen him, he was gone. I roared in frustration and let loose a plume of fire, which had the added benefit of moving the mist back.
I flew forward then, letting dragon fire flow freely, hoping to flush him out. Suddenly, I felt a heavy thump on my back as he landed and his blood red claws dug between my shoulder blades.
The skin of my dragon form was thick and armor-like, but it could be pierced, and the Infernian’s claws were well-suited to the task.
I dove down and rolled, hoping to shake him. He held firm, flattening his body, even as he did his best to wound me.
I felt the jagged ends of his claws sink into my throat, and I knew I had to act fast. I flew straight at the rock wall and shifted just before impact, crushing us both against the wall, knocking his grip loose from my back.
We tumbled down at least one hundred feet and landed hard on the ground below. I quickly shifted again and charged at him. He was up on his feet already, and instead of sidestepping, he lunged at me.
We collided with force, and he used it to his advantage, clinging to my chest and tearing at my neck with his claws and teeth once more. I felt my own blood gushing out, thick and warm.
Energy drained out of me—he’d slit an artery. I stumbled clumsily, feeling a little colder. Blood loss couldn’t kill me, but if I lost enough, I would be rendered unconscious for a full day while my body regenerated itself. Fear took hold as I thought what would become of Andie.
Andie. Soft, beautiful, feisty Andie. The thought of her brought a surge of protectiveness, and with that coursing through my veins, I rolled with the demon toward the icy river.
Seeing my destination and correctly guessing that the cold would weaken him, Baluwama expanded his wings and tried to break free of me. As he did, I bit at one of his wings.
The thin, veiny membrane tore easily, like ripping a dry leaf. I bit and pulled, detaching the wing cleanly from his body.
Baluwama shrieked in pain as the bright red of his blood spilled across his back, spurted out, and stained the dirt. He bared his teeth, yellowed fangs that were rimmed in red, the blood in his mouth evidence of his own internal wounds.
We were both hurt but focused with the feral intensity of wild animals. My next move needed to be strategic because in this weakened state, another gash at my neck would bring a swift end to this battle.
My feet were chilled by the cool current of water as I stepped backward and into the water.
“You Dragselian bastard! I’m going to kill you all!” He howled and lunged forward, much more gracelessly now that he’d lost a wing.
As he tripped in the water, floundering in the cold dampness, I looked up to Andie’s perch, hoping she saw the opening. I leapt forward, knocking him down as I rose out of the water and into the air.
Andie didn’t fail me. She fired a shot at the river near him, and it lit up with electricity for just a moment. Baluwama’s form seized awkwardly.
As soon as the charge had died out, he tried to stand back up, but I quickly landed once more, on top of him, and held him under the water. He slashed at me, slicing off two of my toes, and in the water, I lost blood even faster.
I thought of Andie, remembered what I was fighting for, and focused my strength. As he started to gain purchase and scramble his way up and out of the water, I took one last, great swipe at him with my good arm.
My claws cut cleanly through the tissue and sinew. His head rolled lopsidedly to the ground at my feet.
I heaved, having lost too much blood to feel all the relief of my victory. As I closed my eyes, taking a breath of gratitude, I heard Andie scream to me.
“Behind you, Karun!” she shouted.
I felt two large gusts of wind and spun in time to see the other two Infernians hovering above me. The golden-horned leader wore a menacing grin. He had both arms, to my great dismay.
His companion, the squat black-skinned one with the red-orange wings, wore a look of pure rage and also carried a blade, though shorter and more primitive looking.
“Permission, Korael, to end this worthless sack of Dragselian shit,” he beseeched his leader.
“We’ll end him together, Seragnan. I always love tearing a Dragselian apart, limb from limb.” It would seem they were not after my spinal fluid after all. There was little relief in that now, though.
The leader, Korael, swooped toward me, wielding his curved Infernian blade. Injured and worn down as I was from the first fight, my reflexes were not fast enough, and though I blocked the slice of his blade, he cut deeply into one of my wings.
The blow knocked me back, and I fell, crashing onto the bank. The squat black demon came racing forward as well and landed hard on my injured wing. The pain of breaking bones wrenched through my arm.
Just then, he was thrown back and yelped in pain. Andie had shot him with a stun charge.
I saw a wicked smile curl across Korael’s features.
“Ahh, the human woman, what a nice surprise. It’s been so long since I have been able to ride one. I do love how they scream!” He rose into the air and dodged one of her shots.
“Korael! No! We need to finish the dragon. The woman is not our objective!” The squat one flew to him, blocking another stunner round for his commander.
“Stand down, Seragnan!” he barked, throwing him back and against the rock wall.
Momentarily distracted, Korael didn’t notice me rising up into the air behind him until I hit him with a burst of my dragon fire.
“Was that supposed to hurt me? You pathetic halfwit!” As he turned back to me to mock my strike, he fell prey to one of Andie’s stun charges, and as it struck him, I flew at him, biting into his freshly healed arm.
As I did, I felt the slice of the other demon’s blade at my back. The hit forced me to release my grip on Korael’s arm.
The two of them took turns swinging their blades at me, far too many of their hits connecting with my weary body.
I tried to outmaneuver them, but I was on my last legs. Andie continued to spray shots from her post, hitting them enough times to slow down their progress. Still, they finally forced me down onto the riverbank once more.
Korael raised his blade. “I’ve always wanted to behead a prince,” he said, a crazed gleam in his eye. Before he could swing down and end me, Andie hit him with two quick shots.
His blade clattered out of his hands, his face grew swollen with anger, and when he growled, spittle went flying from his mouth.
“Bitch! You’re going to pay for that!” He flew into the air in her direction. I roared in desperation, but I couldn’t move. Seragnan, his stocky lieutenant, had pinned me down.
I rolled, trying to shake him, but my strength was waning and he pummeled me with his bare fists.
I heard the rifle fire and the sound of rocks falling, followed by Andie’s scream. The demon came flying back, now with Andie in his arms. He touched down in front of me as Seragnan continued beating me, and I fought fruitlessly to stunt the assault.
Andie jerked, trying to strike at him and maneuver out of his grasp, but his arms trapped her like a steel cage. He brought one hand to her breast as he sniffed her hair and then spat.
“Whore!” Korael shouted at her, kicking her in the stomach as she fell to the ground.
; He picked up his sword as he shook his head at her. “You shouldn’t have wasted that beautiful body on a dragon, you filthy little wench. Now, you’ll die even sooner.”
I roared again but watched in slow motion as he swung the blade. Right before it struck Andie’s body, I saw the huge bronze dragon form of Zaruv collide with him, sending the blade off its course.
Seragnan leapt into the air to defend him but was caught by Pavar, who snagged him out of the air by his legs and flung him like a doll into the river. Ragal went to Zaruv and, too weak to join, I watched as they took turns striking Korael.
For his part, Korael tried to fly away and outmaneuver them, but Ragal flew up behind him and grabbed him by the wings. Zaruv came up on the other side and bit into the flesh of Korael’s mottled arms. Swiftly, they tore him apart as he, himself, had promised to do me.
I let my head fall back, and I took a much-needed moment to rest on the ground. Andie had scrambled to her feet and rushed over to me. When she touched me, I felt the surge of energy from our link and shifted.
She threw her arms around me, and to my surprise, she cried.
“Are you okay? What can I do? Don’t die on me, please, please, don’t die on me,” she said, choking on her tears and scouring my body, assessing all of my injuries.
“I’m not going to die, but sadly, I am too beaten up to fully enjoy your eager little hands right now,” I said teasingly, my voice dry and raspy.
She laughed through her tears. “Damn you, you shouldn’t be making jokes. You just almost died.”
I raised a hand to her cheek and brought her into as tight an embrace as I could manage. “Don’t cry, my love. We’re safe now,” I murmured into her hair as I stroked her back.
We held each other as Pavar dragged Seragnan’s broken, but still living, body out of the river where he had crashed.
Zaruv and Ragal both landed as well, all of them shifting and looking at Andie and me with smug smiles.
Zaruv finally cleared his throat, and Andie let go of me, wiping at her face.
“Come, let us celebrate this victory with Jennifer and Hardin. You both need some patching up,” Zaruv said.
I slumped onto Zaruv’s back, Ragal escorted Andie, and Pavar insisted on holding onto our prisoner himself. We flew up out of the crag and back over the open desert to our camp.
Epilogue
Andie
As we flew back, high over the snaking lines of the crags, the wind rushed past us in cleansing gusts. My fear, my uncertainty, all felt like they washed away. It was an incredible rush, flying with a pack of dragons.
I looked over at Karun as he held on to Zaruv’s mighty bronze back. He had nearly died defending us from those monstrous Infernians, and still, when I cried, he had tried to comfort me. A lump formed in my throat and I felt a surge of love.
His eyes, previously closed, opened and looked back at me, reflecting the emotions swirling inside me. I didn’t think I would entirely get over the awe of being so incredibly connected, but one thing I did know was that I would risk anything to protect it.
When we landed, Jennifer rushed to Karun’s aid. She attended to him and to the minor abrasions I had incurred as well as the wounds on my back that were still healing.
“I’m so glad they got to you in time. We have all been so worried,” she said, looking teary eyed.
I hugged her tightly, surprising her and myself. “Thank you, Jen. If you hadn’t tried EEing me, we wouldn’t have called out, the Infernians would have found us, and I don’t want to think of how that would have ended.”
Breaking our embrace, I asked, “How bad are Karun’s injuries?”
She winced. “Well, they’re not great. He’s got a broken humerus, several broken ribs, a perforated lung, massive blood loss, a dissected artery, he lost a couple of toes . . .” My stomach felt like it was dropping through my feet.
“He’s in pain, that’s certain, but he seems to be in good spirits, which always helps to speed healing. I hear that you might have something to do with that?” She smiled.
Before I could answer, Hardin and Zaruv came in, wanting to ready everyone for departure. I didn’t want to move Karun so suddenly, but he was eager to get on our way.
As we loaded into the rovers, I took up the rear space with him and let Ragal drive my rover. He reached out from the cot where he was resting and regenerating and held my hand.
“You’re sure you’re okay to travel right now?”
He smiled. “I have you keeping guard over me. Surely, I’m the safest I could be.”
We rode across the plains, weaving around the crags and making unbelievable time. Ragal was a masterful driver, and I was grateful for the rest.
The suns were setting when we finally arrived outside the great shining walls of Steel City. Having been there only once before, the place was mysterious and a little dangerous.
Steel City had originally been planned as the transport and flight station for Vaxivia’s wealthy vacationers, as well as the base for the head operators. It was to be the grand entryway to a lost paradise.
There was some infrastructure, sleek and beautiful, that had been put into place before Vaxivia’s prospects had been abandoned, but much of the city was left looking somewhat skeletal, taken over by the real pioneers of our planet. It was a striking contrast between elegance and ruggedness.
The city had been the hub for a lot of the criminal activity that had plagued Vaxivia. However, over the last few years, thanks to the efforts of their current leader, Charles Janeway, and militia efforts across several sectors, it was once again a center for trade and development.
Hardin ran up the chain of command and negotiated an audience with Janeway. I hadn’t met the man before, so when we were finally ushered into his quarters inside an unassuming warehouse in the heart of Steel City, I was a little nervous.
His muscular frame didn’t fill the doorway as he entered, but his presence was every bit as striking. He was shorter than Karun and his brothers, but then, most were. With his short salt and pepper hair, heavily worn fatigues, and serious eyes, he looked like someone who didn’t mess around.
The smooth ebony perfection of his skin was marred by one long ropy scar that ran from the underside of his jaw all the way up to his eye, stopping just half an inch from the outside corner.
The room we had been ushered into, after descending into the underbelly of the warehouse, was anointed with minimal embellishments save for the large polished steel table in the middle encircled by a medley of chairs. We seated ourselves, but for Pavar, who had been transferring Seragnan to Janeway’s guards.
Karun had recovered somewhat during the ride, enough to walk, at least. His arm was in a sling while the bones healed, and he walked somewhat awkwardly, avoiding weight on the foot that had lost toes.
Janeway entered from the far side of the room with several other armed men.
Coming to the head of the table, he took Zaruv’s hand first. “Welcome to Steel City. I’m Charles Janeway.”
“Mayor Janeway, you mean,” Hardin cut in. The two shook hands, clearly familiar with one another.
“Zach, good to see you, but please, everyone, just call me Charles.” We went around the room, brusquely introducing ourselves.
“Thank you for seeing us,” Zaruv began as we all sat back down.
“Of course. Now, let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get to business—like the fact that I’m told we have an Infernian in our custody,” Charles said, grimacing as though the name, itself, tasted foul in his mouth.
“Are you familiar with their kind?” Zaruv asked.
Raising his chin and exposing his facial scar, he answered, “I’m more familiar than I would like to be. This isn’t their first time here on Vaxivia. About twenty years ago, I came to Vaxivia as a young man looking for a new start. I joined the militia here in Steel City, but this is a wild and rough place and our militia was little more than an extended arm for the crime lords who ran the sector.
“As a result, I spent many years in service to one, in particular. When my men and I discovered the full extent and breadth of the criminal activities we were aiding in, it became impossible for us to carry on. We rebelled against the overlords, and with time and a lot of bloodshed, we defeated them. The man I had worked for was revealed to be an Infernian. He nearly took my eye, but I took his life and the city back.”
Zaruv looked at him admiringly. “You have my respect. Infernians are cunning and not easily killed.”
“Indeed, so you’ll understand my concern. Who is this Infernian, and how did you come to capture him?”
Zaruv, Karun, and Hardin proceeded to brief Janeway and his men on the events leading up to our audience in Steel City.
“So, I don’t understand—if these Infernians simply wanted your spinal fluid, why did they shoot down your space vessel and nearly kill you? Strategically, it doesn’t make sense,” Janeway said when they had finished explaining the details.
Karun spoke up. “I have begun to question this as well. During our battle in the crag, Korael told me he had always wanted to behead a prince.”
Zaruv looked confused. “How did he know you were a prince?”
“Well, only a royal can breathe fire, but that doesn’t imply that you’re a prince. Any dragon of the royal line can do so, and our royal family has been nothing if not prolific, even if most of those children were exiled at some point,” Ragal pointed out.
“Our ship was a standard transport vessel, one of any thousands used regularly throughout the galaxy. Nothing about how or where we were travelling would have given away our position,” Karun continued.
Janeway looked uneasy. “I don’t like this. The last thing we need is another Infernian menace trying to set up shop here.” He turned to one of his men. “Bring the demon bastard in here. I don’t trust a damn word they say, but maybe you have ways of getting one to talk,” he said, directing the last part toward Zaruv.
