When they finally stood in front of the young riders Hayden and the others were not given a chance to speak or even a moment to wonder what the riders were going to do.
“Remove your helmets.” The silver rider spoke in a rough voice. All five riders were male but because of their helmets they could not see the faces hidden beneath. Hayden’s hands took on a mind of their own as his fingers began fumbling with his chin strap. He lowered his head and removed his silver eagle helmet.
The silver rider stepped up to Hayden and took his eagle helmet out of his hands and grabbed Hayden by the chin, just like a mother grabs a child to clean the child’s face. He turned Hayden’s face uncomfortably to look at his ears.
“Good.” Was the entirety of what the rider said as he let go of Hayden’s face. He moved to Shane and quickly did the same thing to him but he lingered with Cass, holding her face in his hands and looking her over.
“Glad to see your lot did not try to trick us with putting some of your kind in the place of our riders.” The silver rider spoke to Aelfrie without taking his eyes off of Cass or releasing his hold on her.
Cass finally pulled her face out of his hand and massaged her jaw. The silver rider tilted his head and kept his hand held in place. All the while looking at his empty armored hand as if he could not figure out where her face had gone. He slowly lowered his hand but never took his gaze off of Cass until she stepped back from him.
“Well then I guess there is nothing left for us to do here. Mount up riders and make sure that you three don’t try anything while we are flying. You will ride with me on my dragon.” The silver rider pointed at Cass.
Cass tried her best to make herself small and unnoticed but it did not help. The silver rider laughed as he removed his helmet and reveled his scar covered face.
“Oh don’t be afraid of me.” He smiled, causing the scars around his mouth to pull tight.
“No! No no no.” Cass said as she backed behind Shane and Hayden, something she would never do unless she was completely terrified.
“What is it Cass?” Shane asked but no one took their eyes off the silver rider.
“It’s Kraten, the butcher of Threstrin.” Cass said in fear as Kraten laughed. “They said he did unthinkable things to the dwarves in that battle, even to the ones that surrendered…” Kraten cut Cass off before she could say anything else.
“And not always to my enemies, on a lonely night a friend will do just as well.” Kraten’s hand shot forward and he grabbed Cass by the hair, quickly pulling her out from behind Hayden and Shane. As Hayden and Shane both fumbled trying to get their blades out Kirin lunged at Kraten with her thin blade drawn.
The copper riders got in between Kraten and Kirin and used their own copper blades to parry Kirin’s attacks. Aelfrie ran forward to stop the fighting, waving his hands and yelling to get everyone’s attention.
Kraten was still trying to drag Cass towards his dragon but she was putting up a bigger fight than he anticipated.
“Please, there is no need for violence.” Aelfrie stated as he slowly stepped closer and closer to Kraten with his empty hands out stretched in front of him. As he passed by Kirin and the copper riders, who had stopped fighting for the moment, he gently placed his hand on his daughter’s sword and lowered the tip to the ground. As he neared Kraten the silver rider stood still to watch him but Cass still struggled trying to get free of his grasp.
“Please.” Aelfrie began, “They will go with you, there is no need for this.” Aelfrie finally stepped within arm’s reach of Kraten and he gently placed his hand on the silver breast plate that the rider wore. “Peace.” Aelfrie spoke no louder than a whisper.
Kraten had stood completely still as Aelfrie had neared him. When the elf kind reached out and touched his armor Kraten just stared at the elves’ hand. Cass did not slow her struggling down as Aelfrie had neared. She continued hitting his armored hands and screaming threats at him.
Without warning Kraten lowered his shoulder and backhanded Aelfrie with all his might. Aelfrie was lifted off the ground and spun twice while in the air before landing on his stomach. Hayden watched Aelfrie land and when he turned to face Kraten he saw the gore dripping from the spikes on the dragonauts and instantly realized the gravity of what was happening.
Hayden saw Kirin scream and fall to her knees. He watched as Kraten shook his hand and shouted orders at his men and pointed at Kirin. Hayden saw it all happen but did not hear it. He was in shock because of the stone body of the king laying still on top of Out Post.
Hayden pulled his blade smoothly out of his sheath, his movements as fluid as the wind that made the trees sway. He slowly stepped forward, one step gently landing in front of the other. The copper riders saw Hayden’s advance and two of them broke off to deal with Hayden and Shane.
Shane too had been standing still, looking at Aelfrie, until he noticed the two copper riders moving to face Hayden. He roared his challenge and bolted at the nearest copper rider, not even drawing his blade. The dragons were not going to be left out of this fight even if their riders weren’t on their backs.
As Shane and Hayden began their fight Draek, Rilora, Shaylin and Nignra jumped over their riders and lunged at the new metallic dragons. Draek attacked the silver dragon and the two dragons tumbled over the side of Out Post. The copper dragons took to the sky and forced their pursuers to follow them high above the ground.
Shane ran and tackled a copper rider as Hayden and the other rider began slashing their swords at each other. One of the other copper riders followed Kraten’s orders and descended upon Kirin while the final rider turned to stone where he stood, his dragon being swiftly killed by Rilora.
Hayden did not toy with the rider, normally they would take turns attacking and defending until someone found a weak spot in the others defense. Hayden only attacked three times, forcing the copper rider to defend each deadly blow. By the third attack Hayden feinted to left and, while jumping in the air, brought down his silver sword into the copper riders shoulder.
Hayden’s blade went deep and the rider fell to his knees. Hayden ripped his blade free before the rider turned to stone. Hayden turned to help Shane but Shane had the rider pinned down on the ground with his legs and was pulling the riders helmet off. Once the helmet was free he used it as a hammer and began smashing it down on the rider’s head. It wasn’t long until Hayden heard the sound of the helmet hitting stone.
Hayden moved slowly to Kraten, their eyes finally meeting after the silver rider witnessed what had happened to three of his four riders. Somehow the last copper dragon was able to break free from the melee long enough to land on Out Post and release a small stream of fire. Hayden rolled away from the hot flames and saw the last surviving copper rider run away from Kirin and jump on his dragon to take off. Shaylin and Nignra fell upon the dragon and rider pair just as they had taken off from Out Post.
Kirin crawled over to her father’s stone body and continued to weep; taking no notice to the battle that was raging on around her. Kraten saw that he was out numbered and he began to steps backwards, holding Cass close and looking up for his silver dragon.
“It’s too late.” Hayden said as he stepped closer to Kraten. Keeping his blood stained sword between himself and the silver rider.
“Do you know what you have done? You have murdered Metallic Riders! You can never go back to Celestial City now, more will come and they will hunt you down. They will follow you were ever you go.” Kraten spat out his threats at Hayden and Shane as they closed in around him. Kraten still looked up for his dragon but Draek and Rilora were keeping the giant silver dragon busy high above Out Post.
“You killed the King.” Shane roared at Kraten. “He was unarmed and you killed him!” Shane charged the silver rider without warning. The copper rider had fallen to Shane that way but Kraten proved to be a better fighter.
As Shane neared Kraten moved out the way and kneed Shane in the gut. Hayden heard the wind go out of Shane as he was lifted off the
ground by the hit. Kraten stepped over Shane and kept his eyes on Hayden, waiting for any and every attack Hayden would throw at him.
The attack did not come from Hayden though. As Kraten had stepped over Shane Cass had drawn his giant copper sword and stabbed it into the armored side of Kraten. Cass was unable to plunge the blade deep enough to kill him but she was able to hurt him enough that he let her go.
As soon as Cass was free she lowered herself and spun on the balls of her feet, letting the large copper blade swing out in front of her. The blade found its mark in the back of Kraten’s knees. The blade did not cut all the way through but his legs were ruined as he collapsed on the ground.
Kraten did not scream as he fell to his knees; he slowly reached behind him and tried to pull his blade out of the sheath. Hayden quickly grabbed the sword and pulled it free of the rider’s weakened grasp. Hayden stepped back once the blade was in his hand and looked over to Cass. Cass’s hair was disheveled as she knelt by Shane to make sure he was ok.
Shane grunted as he struggled to get to his feet but he kept nodding at Cass’s and telling her that he was ok. The same could not be said for Kraten.
“You can’t do this.” Kraten muttered, holding his side to try to slow the bleeding.
There was no reply. No one said a single word. Hayden held the two silver swords and moved closer to Kraten. Kraten’s eyes grew wider as Hayden drew near. His breathing quickened and he tried to crawl away but his hands kept slipping in his own blood.
“You can’t kill me. I…..I…..I am unarmed!” Kraten begged.
Kraten’s statement stopped Hayden in his tracks. I have never killed an unarmed man before. Hayden’s thought. Hayden stood silently thinking, all the while looking down upon the broken rider.
A terrible roar came from the sky above them, causing all of them to look up for its source. Hayden watched as Draek led Rilora and Shaylin in a constant attack against the silver dragon. The silver was wounded badly but was still able to fight back.
Its right wing had a massive tare in the webbing and was causing it to plummet out of the sky. Nignra flew behind the pack of dragons like a hawk watching its prey.
The silver dragon slammed into Out Post, the top half of its body smashed against the landing pad while the bottom half hit the railing. The dragon hit Out Post with a nasty crunching sound that caused Kraten to scream for the first time.
Kraten began to double his efforts to crawl to his grounded dragon while the other three metallic dragons circled overhead. Nignra dove out of the air and landed hard on top of the silver dragon’s back, slamming its head against the landing pad.
Nignra bit down just behind the dragon’s head and began shaking her head violently until there was a loud CRACK. The dragon began to turn to stone while Kraten too became a stone statue reaching just inches from his dragon’s side.
A dragon is never unarmed. Draek’s voice solemnly resonated in Hayden’s head.
Hayden stood over the statue of the silver rider with both swords still in his hands. He dropped Kraten’s sword and as it rattled against the stones of Out Post he sheathed his own sword.
Hayden glanced up at Draek and the other dragons and saw that they were covered in small scratches and wounds, some worse than others but none seemed life threatening. Everyone had been hurt in the battle but Hayden turned around to face the one that had lost the most.
Kirin had crawled over to her father’s stone body and wept over it while she gently stroked the stone hair that covered Aelfrie’s face. Her tears left little dots on the smooth cold stone.
“Father….” She cried as she reached out and held her father’s hand. The king looked as if he was sleeping; the hair that had covered his face covered the wound that had killed him.
No one knew what to say to Kirin so no one said anything at all. Nothing we say will make the pain go away. Hayden thought to Draek. The silver dragon lifted up his head and let out a long, low roar that echoed across the forest. Quickly Rilora, Shaylin and Nignra took up the call and all four dragons were trumpeting their sorrow.
The forest became alive as dragon after dragon lifted its head above the trees and echoed the dragon’s pain. Birds flew away in every direction trying to escape the sound that was engulfing the world. The hatch to the stairwell opened up and elves came forth with tears flowing freely down their faces. They did not need to be told with words what had happened, Aelfrie’s fate was told by the dragons.
Chapter 8
The elves took Aelfrie’s body away to prepare a place for him amongst his ancestors. Kirin would not leave her father’s side so the elves had to help her walk in her condition. Hayden and the others flew back to Feren while a group of elves came to deal with the stone bodies of the Metallic Riders.
So what happens now? Hayden wondered. Draek did not answer his question because he did not know. We have attacked and killed Metallic Riders; they will come for us again. Hayden didn’t know if Elizabeth the Gold knew what had happened yet but he was sure she would find out.
The dragons landed in Feren to a crowd of elves awaiting them. The elves helped Hayden and the others down off their dragons. As soon as they were off their dragons the elves made a circle around them and silently gazed upon the riders. Hayden didn’t know what was about to happen but he suddenly wished he was still in his saddle on top of Draek.
Finally, a lone elf stepped forward. Hayden wasn’t sure how old she was but from the white in her hair and the wrinkles on her skin he could tell she had seen many seasons come and go. The woman stepped closer to Hayden, who was standing between her and Cass and Shane. She got within arm’s reach of Hayden and stopped. She raised her right hand as if to slap Hayden but instead she placed it gently on his face.
“Thank you.” Was all she said. She stepped to Shane and Cass and repeated the process then she made her way over to their dragons to start pulling their saddles off. By the time she made it to Draek tears were flowing freely down her face.
Before Hayden had time to react to her the elves of Feren surged forward. Each elf taking their time to say thank you to each of the riders in person as they moved to help clean the wounds of their dragons.
I don’t understand, why are they thanking us? It’s because of us that Aelfrie is dead. Hayden was almost too shocked by the elves to ask Draek with his mind.
It is because their king is dead and we avenged him. They are heartbroken and distraught by their loss, but there are also grateful.
Hayden and the others made their way back to their huts, leaving their dragons in the care of the elves. Hayden did not wait to see what the others were going to do; he just silently pushed his way into his hut. As he was engulfed in the darkness of his tent the emotions that Hayden had kept bottled up came rushing out all at once.
Hayden fell to his knees and began to weep. He struggled to breathe as the ache that gripped his heart squeezed harder and harder until his muscles began to cramp. Hayden felt his body begin to rock back and forth as he knelt in the center of his small, damp hut.
Hayden had yet to put his helmet back on ever since he had gotten it back from Kraten. He stared at his eagle helmet and remembered what he had once thought a Metallic Rider stood for; what he thought he had trained so hard to be.
Hayden threw his helmet as hard as he could, bouncing it off the side of the hut before it shot outside and clanked off into the distance. Hayden bowed until his head lay in his empty hands. Draek was ever present in his mind but neither of them said anything to one another, there was nothing left to say.
Hayden’s weeping was finally interrupted by Raena as she slipped her way into the hut.
“Hayden.” Her voice floated softly through the air and pierced through Hayden’s misery causing him to look up to her.
Hayden did not speak, his throat was raw and sore from crying. He slowly stood up, now very aware of the cramps in his legs, and made his way to a bucket of water at the in the corner of his hut. There he washed his face and quenched th
e fire that had ignited within his throat.
Raena stood silently and waited for Hayden to finish. When he was done Hayden quickly worked on a small cooking fire until it was ablaze, adding some light to the hut. After the fire was built he sat on the floor across from his bed and motioned for Raena to sit on his bed.
Raena nodded her thanks to Hayden but before she could sit down she slowly stepped towards Hayden and produced his eagle helmet she had been concealing behind her back. The helmet was dirty and hand clumps of grass stuck in the silver feathers but it was undamaged from his throw.
“Thank you for bringing it back to me.” Hayden told her as he reached out his hand and took his helmet. Raena nodded again at Hayden and then finally sat down on his bed and stared at him.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Raena asked Hayden. She did not need to say what “it” was.
“Not really.” Hayden replied, speaking a little more harshly then he had intended to.
“Are you sure? I could help.”
“Ha! What do you know about this?” When Hayden looked at Raena all he saw was a young female elf; full of life and joy with a smile on her face
“Well I was very young when my parents were killed, but not so young that I don’t remember.” Raena responded with a smile on her face. Hayden felt like he had just been hit in the gut with his own helmet.
“….I… I ….. I’m sorry.” He finally mumbled.
“Don’t be, it was a long time ago and you were not the one who did it.” Raena leaned forward. “So I heard the king was unarmed.”
Hayden locked eyes with Raena and finally he understood. She needed to talk about it just as badly as he did. Hayden had respected and liked Aelfrie but Raena had loved her king.
Hayden felt the tears welling back up in his eyes as he lowered his head and began to relive what had happened on top of Out Post. “He was trying to protect Cass.”
The Clash of Land and Sea_The Dragon Riders of Arvain Page 9
