“Your water dragon wants to go,” Silver said. “Close your eyes … Feel what she feels. Your Shorsa will tell you I’m right.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Ferdi shouted.
The guards were closing in on them. It was now or never. Mele let out a shrill whistle, and the Shorsa dove toward her. Mele scrambled onto the water dragon’s back.
“Follow me,” Ferdi said. And then he disappeared under the lake, with Mele and her Shorsa close behind.
Hiyyan lifted into the sky. Silver took a deep breath. Then they turned and dove into the lake.
Silver kept her eyes open for Ferdi and Mele as they sliced through the water. But they were hard to see. The Shorsa was small and very quick, and Hoonazoor’s glittering coloring went dark once underwater, blending into the shadows. But they also trailed bubbles behind them, which Nebekker’s pendant lit with an eerie effervescence. Hiyyan followed those bubbles until they broke through the water and surfaced behind Mele.
Silver reached into her bag for her lantern before remembering it had smashed in the caves. Her hand brushed against her dagger, and she pulled it out, fastening it around her waist with a bit of scarf.
“Not far now.” Ferdi’s voice came just ahead of Mele’s.
“Where are we?”
“Sonflir River caves,” Mele said. “There are well openings for the fruit orchards farther down the river. That’s how Brajon will get in. They’ll provide us with some light, too.”
“How do you know your way?”
“My family works in one of the orchards. It was down here that I first saw Luap,” Mele said, patting her Shorsa’s neck.
“That Shorsa wasn’t meant for the Calidians,” Ferdi said. “She was bred for another nation. Mine. See the marking on her tail?”
Silver and Mele both examined the spot: three diagonal lines and a sunburst.
“My father’s crest,” Ferdi said.
“Your father,” Silver said. “I keep forgetting that you are Prince Ferdi.”
Ferdi sighed. “A free prince, for once. Or so I’d thought.”
“A special guest of the queen, and friend to Sagittaria,” Silver said carefully.
“That first part is true,” he said. “The second is not.”
Silver gave a soft grunt. “That’s why you weren’t upset when I beat you today.”
“You’ll never let me live that down.” Ferdi laughed. “Yes, I would’ve been at the Winners’ Audience win or lose. As is my duty,” he said. “Anyway, we have to hurry. The guards—and who knows who else—will be down here before we know it. The holding tanks aren’t far.”
“Swim faster,” Mele said. “Brajon should be just ahead of us.”
Mele put emphasis on should, which made Silver worry. Her cousin could be in real trouble.
The water dragons pushed on, fighting against the current. Hiyyan was strong, but after the race and all the flying he’d done earlier that day, Silver could feel his exhaustion in her bones. They were both spent.
“We just need to find your mother, then get far enough away that we can rest safely,” she told her Aquinder. “It’s almost over.”
The cave opened suddenly, and they swam into a colossal room, bigger than any underground space Silver had seen before. Crystals glittered from the ceiling, bouncing light everywhere, and Silver had to look down to keep from getting dizzy. The lake was like a perfectly clear topaz, and it was ringed with a shoreline of glittering white sand.
When her head stopped twirling, Silver looked up again. The walls were a rainbow of colors, showing the history of the river cutting through the cavern. And in the middle of it all, huge glass cages held water dragons.
Most bobbed docilely. Some were even asleep. But a few paced back and forth anxiously, and one Decodro even rammed its head against its cage over and over again, trying to break free. Silver’s heart squeezed at the sight.
“We have to let them all go,” she said to Mele.
“We can’t. And they’re not all here against their will. Some are part of the regular royal kennel.”
“Kennel?”
“What we call the water dragons belonging to the royals.”
Silver urged Hiyyan forward, looking for Kirja. She kept sneaking glances at the water dragon ramming its head, until tears began to roll down her face.
“Ow,” Silver suddenly cried. Nebekker’s pendant glowed hot enough to sear Silver’s skin before cooling once more. “There’s Kirja!”
Hiyyan let out a happy roar, but the old Aquinder stayed still and snorted in their direction. A warning.
“Oh, you found us. I thought you might come here.”
The haughty voice of Sagittaria Wonder rang out. Silver whipped her head around to see the other side of the cave. Sagittaria was weaving in and out of the water tanks on the back of her Dwakka. Her dragon’s two heads were focused on Silver’s companions: one on Ferdi, the other on Mele.
“How do you like my kennel?” Sagittaria asked. “I’ve spent my whole life building this water dragon empire. I started young. How old are you, ele-jeweler?”
“Thirteen,” Silver said, to keep her distracted. Silver quickly glanced around the cavern. Where was Brajon?
“I began working with water dragons when I was five and an orphan. My parents were traders who were killed on the road to Calidia. When my only other relative learned they were dead, she left me at the docks. Do you know what that means for a Calidian child?”
A flicker of movement caught Silver’s attention. Probably Sagittaria’s shadow on the crystals. But just in case, Silver kept her eyes fixed on Sagittaria. She didn’t want her to suspect anything.
“The lucky ones scraped by as beggars, but other children were snatched up by sailors to toil on their ships, never to be seen again. Once they’d outlived their usefulness … let’s just say the seas are vast.”
Silver swallowed. Another flicker of movement. Silver chanced another glance into the crystals and nearly gave a shout. Peeking from behind a rock was her cousin. Brajon pressed his finger to his lips. Silver had to keep the great dragon racer occupied.
“But not you,” Silver said loudly. “You weren’t taken, and you weren’t killed.”
“No. I would survive to get revenge on my aunt.”
“What do you mean?” Silver asked.
Suddenly, the Dwakka’s heads twisted away from Ferdi and Mele, swaying to the left and right. Their stubby ears were perked, listening.
“I asked you a question,” Silver shouted. Her voice echoed. Brajon needed more time.
Sagittaria Wonder raised her eyebrows. The Dwakka heads swiveled back to Silver, whatever they’d heard drowned out.
“A combative Dwakka hung around the docks.” Sagittaria patted her water dragon. “And I was the only person who wasn’t afraid of it, didn’t want to hurt it, or steal it. Dwakkas can be a little intense. Only I could compel him to bend to my will.”
Sagittaria Wonder smirked. Silver gulped as she looked at the Dwakka, which didn’t even have one smiling head to offset the ferocious one. Both heads were scowling.
Sagittaria continued. “Despite befriending this dragon and gaining his loyalty, despite winning our first races, despite gaining the attention and favor of the royal court—an orphan!—there was always something I wanted more than anything else.”
“Revenge on your aunt.”
Sagittaria Wonder waved her hand. “Oh, that. No, I achieved that quickly. Did you know water dragons hate the taste of human flesh? But whatever I ask for, I get.”
Sagittaria patted the Dwakka again, and Silver’s stomach turned.
“No, what I wanted was to realize my dreams. Sound familiar, Desert Fox? I care nothing for the spats the royals have, or for money. But to be the greatest? To show the whole world what this unwanted, pathetic little dock girl was capable of? That drives me, Desert Fox. That drives us. And later, when I heard there was a water dragon breed no one had seen in centuries … I had to know. Could it
be real? Could I, a nobody from nowhere, hold a legend in my hands?”
Sagittaria Wonder pivoted suddenly and gazed at Kirja. Brajon, halfway to Kirja, dropped to the ground, pressing his face into the sand. He almost blended in, his dark clothing a shadow on the shoreline, but all Sagittaria had to do was look past Kirja’s tank and she would see him.
“You know how it feels, Silver Batal of Jaspaton,” Sagittaria Wonder said softly, turning back to her. “You know how all of it feels.”
This time, the regret on her face seemed genuine. “I care more for the fate of water dragons than just about anything else, but I still can’t give Kirja back.”
“But she’s not yours,” Ferdi exclaimed. “Let us take her and go.”
“No, she’s not mine. But you, of all people, Prince, know these games are more complex than any commoner can imagine.” Sagittaria Wonder nearly snarled at Ferdi. “And you might not survive if you get involved.”
“I don’t care about games,” Silver said. “Kirja and Nebekker belong together.”
“I’m sorry,” Sagittaria Wonder said. And she really did sound sorry.
The Dwakka moved slowly in Silver’s direction, both heads focused on her. “Kirja belongs to the queen now. And you, ele-jeweler … I wish you had run when you had the chance.”
The Dwakka shot at Silver, both mouths open wide and fangs dripping with anticipation.
FORTY-EIGHT
Mele screamed. Her Shorsa reared up in surprise, throwing Mele off and into the lake. Before Silver could lunge for her, one huge Dwakka head descended on Hiyyan and clamped its fangs onto the Aquinder’s neck. Hiyyan screeched and threw his head back.
“No, Hiyyan,” Silver yelled. It took all of her strength to keep hold of his mane and stay on his back. The lake was deep. If she got thrown off, she would drown.
“Hold on,” Ferdi called, rushing toward the Dwakka. His Glithern rammed the Dwakka’s underbelly, and the other Dwakka head screamed.
Silver pulled her knife from her belt and stuck it between her teeth, a metallic taste filling her mouth. She crawled up Hiyyan’s back until she was within arm’s reach of the Dwakka head that still held on to Hiyyan. She raised her arm and brought the knife down across its face. The sharp blade sliced into its cheek. The first head screeched and let go, but she didn’t see the second head coming. It slammed into her shoulder.
“Augh!” she yelled. There was a popping sound, and sharp waves of pain exploded down her arm. She dropped the knife into the lake.
The second head aimed for her again, but Hiyyan saw and spun them around, whipping his tail at the Dwakka. He missed the head, instead swatting at its neck. It was enough to put the two-headed water dragon off balance.
“Again,” Sagittaria Wonder said to the injured Dwakka head.
Dark-blue blood dripped down the side of the cut on the Dwakka’s face, and from its mouth. Silver couldn’t tell if all the blood was the Dwakka’s, or if Hiyyan’s blood was mixed in. Her Aquinder’s neck was bleeding badly, and her own neck throbbed with pain.
And now Silver didn’t have a weapon.
Except for her body.
Silver pulled herself to her feet, standing on Hiyyan’s back with shaky legs. This could be the most reckless thing she’d ever done. If she missed, she would land in the lake. So she couldn’t miss. That was the only option.
When the Dwakka head sailed close to Hiyyan, Silver let loose a battle cry and launched herself into the air. Surprised, the Dwakka pulled back suddenly. Silver gasped as the gap between her and the fearsome dragon grew. She reached her one good arm out as far as she could and managed to catch her fingers in the Dwakka’s neck fins. The sharp scales at the edges of the fins sliced into her hands, but she held on, gritting her teeth, until she could swing herself onto the Dwakka’s neck.
“Aaaaiiieee,” Silver cried.
The Dwakka flung its head side to side, trying to dislodge her. She wrapped her arm around the neck and held on tight.
“Get off my dragon,” Sagittaria Wonder yelled.
Ferdi held back as the Dwakka kept swinging Silver around. He must have known that if Hoonazoor rammed again, Silver would get flung off into the water. Silver closed her eyes and squeezed tighter. She just had to hold on until Kirja was free. Her head swam with so much dizziness she thought she was going to pass out. But she held on. Just a little longer. She opened her eyes. That’s when she saw Brajon at Kirja’s tank.
“It’s locked,” Brajon shouted.
Ferdi rushed over to help. Sagittaria grabbed Silver’s ankle and pulled.
“Come here!” the great water dragon rider said as she yanked Silver down the Dwakka’s neck.
Instead of fighting, Silver let go. She slid down so fast she surprised Sagittaria Wonder, knocking her sideways in her saddle. Silver placed her boot on the champion’s side and shoved. Sagittaria slid until she was hanging from the saddle by one foot, her head skimming the surface of the lake.
“Hurry, Brajon,” Silver yelled.
She snatched the Dwakka’s reins and tugged its heads back. They fought her for control, tearing the leather ropes right through her hands, leaving burning red marks across her palms. They lurched for Hiyyan again.
“I’m trying,” Brajon said. His teeth were clenched. The lock wouldn’t give.
Back on her Shorsa, Mele pointed. “Help him, Luap!”
The smallest of the water dragons in the cavern sped past the Dwakka and smashed into Kirja’s tank. The glass held.
“Keep it up,” Silver yelled. A hand gripped her calf. Sagittaria Wonder was using Silver to pull herself up, and Silver now tipped to the side. Sagittaria’s jaw was clenched, her eyes furious slits.
Silver reached for the reins again, but they were too far away. Sagittaria pulled her down, and Silver fell. Her fingers scrambled and wrapped around the saddle, trying to keep herself on the Dwakka as her body stretched under Sagittaria’s weight. She kicked her legs, but Sagittaria held them tightly.
“You. Are. So. Annoying,” Sagittaria Wonder said. She pulled.
Silver yelped. One of her hands slipped off the saddle, and she dangled over the lake.
“You can’t swim,” Sagittaria said, and she laughed. A terrible sound that bounced around the cavern. “What kind of dragon rider doesn’t know how to swim? I take back everything I’ve said. You don’t deserve that Aquinder. You’re nothing but a dockyard rat.”
Silver’s face burned. Her whole body groaned with the strain of holding on. But she was no rat.
She was a desert fox. Quick, clever, and capable.
Silver caught Ferdi’s eye and let go.
FORTY-NINE
The water greeted Silver Batal and Sagittaria Wonder with a mighty splash. Sagittaria flashed a terrible smile. Silver let out a trail of bubbles as Sagittaria pushed her even further down with her boot. Silver sank as Sagittaria propelled herself back up to the surface.
Right as Silver was about to run out of air, Hoonazoor appeared. With relief, she grabbed the Glithern’s tail, and they headed for Kirja’s cage. As she got closer, she saw that the thing she’d suspected was true.
She’d realized, as she watched the poor Decodro bang against the glass, that there had to be some way to access the dragons without opening the cages fully; one swift move and a dragon could escape. But tunnels—like burrows—were useful. And every glass cage had a small tunnel below the water surface. Not big enough for the dragons to get through. Not even big enough for most adults. A place to deliver food, most likely.
And a place to deliver a small rescuer. The tunnel hole was barely big enough for Silver to squeeze through, but once she was in the tank, Kirja helped her bob up to the surface.
“How did you swim in there?” Sagittaria said. She had fallen for it. “Get out!” The dragon racer furiously worked the puzzle on the lock, and the door clicked open.
Brajon sat on Hiyyan’s back, waiting for the right moment. “Go, Kirja!” he yelled.
Kirja grab
bed the back of Silver’s riding suit in her teeth and shot out of the cage. Hiyyan and Luap joined forces, shoving Sagittaria and her Dwakka into the cage. Ferdi slammed the door behind them and secured the lock.
Water dripped off Silver as she sat on Kirja’s back. She watched Sagittaria Wonder pound on the holding tank, her angry screams muffled by the thick glass. The dragon racer was too big to escape through the tunnel.
“I’m sorry,” Silver said. She meant it. Sagittaria wasn’t just the cold standoffish woman Silver had first met in Jaspaton, nor the loyal servant of the queen, nor a fellow racer. She was all of that, including Silver’s hero.
But she was an ugly kind of champion, someone who’d let her drive consume her. Silver would never let glory change her or destroy what she loved. She thought back to Jaspaton, to her father. She had things to mend.
“If you had run, I would have fought for your freedom,” Sagittaria said. “Now?” The great water dragon racer shrugged. “Good luck, little fox. You’ll need it.”
“She doesn’t need luck. She has us,” Brajon called out.
Silver grinned and turned toward her friends. For the first time, Brajon looked somewhat comfortable holding on to Hiyyan’s mane. Mele sat astride Luap; Hoonazoor had collected Ferdi; and Kirja and Hiyyan were nuzzling each other affectionately.
“Mele,” Silver said. “How do we get out of here? There are hundreds of guards at the palace.”
“We can go upriver to the well openings. You can fly home from there.”
Silver started. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“My place is here, near Luap.” Mele shook her head. “I won’t leave her, and I won’t steal her. I’m not a criminal.”
“Like me?” Silver pressed her palm against Hiyyan’s neck. The bond they shared was greater than some human-made law.
“We have to hurry,” Brajon said. “Look!”
He pointed to the opening that led back to the palace. Shadows flitted about in the river. More water dragons. Coming for them.
“That’s my cue to head back,” Ferdi said. “Unlike Mele, I don’t have a choice over whether to stay or go. But I promise I’ll delay them as much as I can. And I won’t tell them where you’ve gone. When you hear a story someday about how Prince Ferdi tried to capture the traitor Silver Batal, know that I had to lie about my involvement. Think of me instead as the one who arranged for dozens of dancing men in water dragon masks to infiltrate the Winners’ Audience. That’s the me I like best.”
Silver Batal and the Water Dragon Races Page 24
