by Bianca D’Arc
“We’re ready on the beach,” Gowan told them, Hrardorr having brought him into the conversation.
“Sir Hrardorr is nearly in position, and Sir Gowan reports that the two-legged defenders are ready on the beach,” Seth said, reading surprise in the way the gryphon general reared back a bit. “Hrardorr wants to know if the winged contingent is ready.”
“We are,” the general said. “Though we cannot do much about the sshipss with thosse evil weaponss, we are more than able to defend the land. The two-legged, asss you call them, are the firsst line of defensse, and we will block any that might get through a weak sspot.”
Seth relayed the gryphon’s words to Hrardorr.
“Good. Keep the gryphons away from the water for now. I don’t need their help just yet, but if they are able to drop boulders from great heights with any accuracy, that could help later, once I’m clear,” Hrardorr told Seth in return.
Seth passed on Hrardorr’s words to the gryphon, drawing an unexpected laugh from the giant cat-bird.
“That we can do,” the general agreed. “When your dragon friend hass cleared the sscene.”
“I’m starting my first run,” Hrardorr told Seth at that moment, and a split second later, Seth saw the dragon erupt from the water, shooting flames into the sails of the ships at the far end of the beach.
“There he is!” Seth pointed as a cheer went up from the two-legged defenders down on that end of the long, wide beach.
The gryphon’s beak clacked open in what Seth thought was surprise. “I never thought to ssee the like.”
Hrardorr felt alive again as he hadn’t since the last battle. He was a warrior. This was what he lived for. If dragons could grin, he’d have been wearing the widest smile in the universe as he flamed the sails on a half dozen ships on his first run.
He dove back down into the water, preparing for his next flame run. He’d have to hit them hard and fast before they could turn those dragon-killer weapons on him.
He leapt out of the water and did a second run, farther down the beach. He’d targeted the most dangerous ships for his first few runs. If he destroyed their catapults and sank the stores of diamond-bladed weapons, so much the better for everyone with wings.
On his third flame run, a blade nearly clipped him as he dove back down into the water. The enemy had adjusted. No more flame runs just yet. No, now, he would go to work below the water line, as he had in the cove, to disable the most important ships—those with the most deadly armament. He would ruin their rudders so they couldn’t steer. He’d poke holes in sensitive places with his talons. He would sink what he could and damage the rest.
He could see underwater, after a fashion, and stars knew he could navigate in the depths much better than in the air. This was his battleground now. If he could, he would have made it his home, but the one thing that he hadn’t inherited from his sea dragon ancestor was the ability to breathe underwater.
Hrardorr had no gills. Oh, he could hold his air for a long, long time. Nearly an hour, if he’d judged it right, but at some point, he had to surface to get a gulp of air into his lungs. True sea dragons, he believed, didn’t have to do that. Although…he’d never met a real sea dragon, so he was just going by the old tales he’d heard of his ancestor.
Hrardorr set to work on the hull of the nearest ship—one that was loaded with deadly diamond-bladed spears. He attached himself to the underside of the ship like a giant barnacle, trying to crush his way through the thick wood with his talons.
Something brushed past his tail, making him bleed, and Hrardorr realized archers were shooting diamond-tipped arrows down into the water. He’d have to be more careful about his wings and tail. He’d have to keep all of his body directly under their hulls while he worked and dive deep before moving on to his next victim.
As it was, he was bleeding, but it was only a flesh wound, as far as he could tell. Seth would fix it up for him when this was all over, Hrardorr thought fondly. Seth always set him right. He was a good lad.
“What are you doing?”
Hrardorr stilled as an unknown voice came to him…from below. He turned his head, using that underwater sense he had to distinguish several large bodies swimming directly below him. Dragon-shaped bodies, if he wasn’t much mistaken.
“Hello. I’m Hrardorr. I’m helping those living on Gryphon Isle to defend their shores from the men in these ships. They have been shooting at dragons and gryphons and have killed several with their deadly spears.”
“Killing dragons?” came the curious voice again in his mind, tinged with concern now. “And gryphons?”
“And people,” Hrardorr confirmed, letting go of the hull he’d been menacing and swimming a little deeper. “Are you sea dragons?”
“Of course,” the melodic voice answered. “Aren’t you?”
“I’m only part sea dragon. One of my ancestors was of your kind, but my other forbearers were fighting dragons from the land of Draconia.”
“I am Salwinalia,” the soft voice continued. “I’ve never met a land dragon before. Can you really breathe flame?”
“Isn’t that what drew you here? The light from above? Those are my flames, torching the invading fleet right now. But they have deadly weapons on these ships, and I cannot chance another flame run right now, so I’m working from below.”
“How? Can we help? We like the people and gryphons on this island. They have always been kind to us. We would like to help, if we may, but we have never battled people in ships before. Mostly we just leave them alone, and they do the same.”
“I would be grateful for your help. It is a lot for one dragon to disable an entire fleet. I am coordinating with those above, who are fighting the invaders on the surface, but if we can disable their ships, it will be a major step in the victory. It is dangerous, however. I have already been hit by one diamond-tipped arrow on my tail. You must keep all of your bodies hidden by the ship you are working on, then dive deep before coming out of its shadow to move to the next. Understand?”
“Yes, Hrardorr. We’re fast learners. And a little impetuous. There goes Neri.”
Hrardorr sensed one of the pack of sea dragons break away, heading for the closest hull. He wished he could see her with his eyes, but underwater, his other senses were almost as sharp as his sight had been above. He sensed when the small sea dragon turned its tail on the hull, using the sharp points on its tail to poke massive holes in it.
That ship was destined for the bottom of the sea, no doubt about it. When two-legged bodies started jumping off the sinking ship, the sea dragon created a wave under them that swept them onto the beach. Hrardorr wasn’t sure how the dragon had generated the wave, but it was definitely a handy trick.
The small sea dragon called Neri came back to the group and was congratulated by the others. They seemed a happy bunch, game to try the same trick.
“Was that all right?” Salwinalia asked Hrardorr, a bit of amusement in her tone.
“That was fantastic,” Hrardorr told her, glad of the chance to meet actual sea dragons and even happier that they were willing to help him, and the inhabitants of Gryphon Isle. “And sweeping the men into shore is a good thing. If we don’t have to kill them, we should not,” Hrardorr told them solemnly, not sure what ethical standard sea dragons lived by, if any.
“What will happen to them?” Salwinalia asked, sounding curious.
“The people on shore will make them prisoners, question them, and then send them back to their homelands when this is all over, if at all possible.”
“That is a good fate. I can see why you ally yourself with the creatures on the island. I have always thought the gryphons were noble beings, and the fair folk must be, as well, to be allied so closely with the gryphons.”
“So you’ll help me then?” Hrardorr wanted to get back to the business of sabotage, though this interlude hadn’t taken long at all.
“Oh, yes. It looks like great fun.”
“Dangerous fun,” Hrardorr reminded Sa
lwinalia.
“We are not unfamiliar with danger. Living in the sea is not all fun and games, though we try to make it that way.”
Hrardorr thought he had just gained a small insight into the way of sea dragons, but he wanted to learn so much more. Still, this was an amazing start and a fortuitous encounter.
“Excellent. Then, let us begin.”
“Lead the way, Hrardorr. We’re with you and will follow your lead.”
Seth almost didn’t believe it when Hrardorr told him and Gowan that the underwater campaign had just found a few unlikely recruits. He passed along the information to the gryphon general and wished he had time to discuss the new development with Gowan, but things were going to happen really fast from here on out. The speed with which the sea dragons took out a large part of the attacking fleet was simply astounding.
And the sea dragons did something to usher the swimming men onto shore. The defenders had their hands full, trying to corral those who came ashore. Some wanted to fight. Many just wanted to surrender and have their feet on solid ground, without fear of drowning or being eaten by whatever was macerating their ships.
The carnage of splintered wood and sinking ships was incredible. Even having seen what happened in Dragonscove, Seth was impressed by the massive scale of the destruction happening now. Hrardorr’s sea dragon friends were pretty amazing, and Seth hoped he might catch a glimpse of one of those elusive creatures when this was all done. He’d love to see where that special part of Hrardorr had come from. The part that made him so much more than the other dragons Seth had grown up with.
Hrardorr was special. Seth had felt that way from the moment he’d first seen the blind dragon being led into the Lair.
“Your dragon and his friendss are doing a great job,” General Falthith said to Seth, between sending his people out in pairs and squads to deal with the prisoners and the few who kept trying to fight on land. “Perhapss it iss ssafe enough now for uss to fly and help from above?” the general asked, cocking his beak to the side in what Seth interpreted as a gryphon expression of a question.
“I’ll ask,” Seth replied quickly, relaying the question to Hrardorr. But the dragon was quick to reply in the negative. “Too many of those ships still have dragon-killing weapons aboard, Sir. The best use of your strength is here on land for now, or so Sir Hrardorr advises.”
The gryphon seemed disappointed but resigned. Seth felt he was getting better at interpreting the lay of his feathers and the slight ruffle of his wings, not to mention the position of that dangerous-looking beak. The more Seth was around the gryphons, the more he recognized certain traits they had in common with dragons.
Just at that moment, Hrardorr broke the surface, flaming for all he was worth toward one of the larger ships that had been resistant so far to the attack from below. Bright orange and yellow flames shot from his mouth as he arced through the air in a sideways dive that brought him out of the water only long enough to loose his fiery breath on the enemy. They barely had time to get a shot off at him, so fast did he move, but Seth saw the arrows follow Hrardorr back into the water and grew concerned. The tips of those arrows gleamed and sparkled in the firelight.
“Are you all right?” Seth held his breath waiting for a response from the dragon.
“Mostly,” Hrardorr said after a slight delay. “A couple of those arrows hit me, but I don’t think it’s anything serious. You can take a look when we’re done here.”
Seth frowned. He had no idea how much longer the battle would take. He didn’t like the idea of Hrardorr continuing to fight while injured. Hrardorr couldn’t see to really assess his injuries, and he’d fought while in agony before. That’s how he’d become blind in the first place. Seth wanted to tell the dragon to break off and come ashore so Seth could take a good look at him, but he knew he could not.
For one thing, Hrardorr was enjoying this too much, and Seth would not take it away from him. For another, Hrardorr was needed. He was the only one who could really do something against these pirate ships. And he had somehow gotten sea dragons to help too. If Hrardorr left the battle, would they abandon it too? Seth wasn’t sure, but it was important to keep all the allies they could working on the problem, while they had them. Which meant Hrardorr’s injuries would have to wait.
Seth tried to console himself with the thought that he would take the best care of Hrardorr any dragon had ever received when he was finally free to be treated. Seth would find him the best meal he could and set up Hrardorr in as comfortable a wallow as he could devise, waiting on the dragon hand and foot. If Hrardorr let him.
Seth would make sure Hrardorr let him. Somehow.
“There are sshipss on the horizon, coming from the direction of the mainland,” the general told Seth, shaking him out of his reverie.
Seth realized that the gryphons had eyesight like dragons—maybe better, considering their bird-like heads. They could see things mere humans could not.
“Can you see what flags they are flying?”
Seth knew the emblems of most of the ships that frequented Dragonscove. If the approaching ships were friendly, they would be flying their colors. The pirates, by contrast, flew no flags at all, and some had the black sails of those who crept about at night, not wanting their movements tracked.
“They all fly the ssame flag in different ssizess. A dark flag with crossssed ssaberss,” the gryphon general reported.
Could it be?
“Sir, that is most likely the flag of Captain O’Dare. He is a resident of Dragonscove, and his daughter is the one who is even now making her way to the keep over land with your envoy, Sir Flurrthith. It’s just possible that her father decided to sail here to help.” And to chase after Livia, Seth thought privately.
“We musst have confirmation,” the general snapped out. “If it iss the enemy, other planss will have to be made.”
“Understood, Sir. I believe I know how we can confirm this. We have another dragon and knight aloft who have been holding off until Sir Hrardorr could take out the most dangerous weapons to dragonkind. I propose we send Sir Leo and Sir Xanderanth out to meet the oncoming ships. They will recognize ships from Dragonscove, and Sir Leo knows Captain O’Dare personally.”
“A good plan. Ssee to it.” The gryphon general turned away, consulting with his lieutenants.
They gryphons were helping contain the prisoners, but there were a lot of them, and the situation was highly volatile. Some of the prisoners were trying to sneak away, and the gryphons and fair folk were having to chase them down.
Captain O’Dare fumed as they raced toward Gryphon Isle. The place was too damned far away. He used his spyglass to help him see, but all he could make out were the masts of many ships surrounding the island. Some looked too low in the water—as if the ships were sinking—but he didn’t see any dragons or gryphons flying above to explain it.
Perhaps the blind dragon was doing what reports said he’d done in Dragonscove. If he was attacking from below to spare the flying targets those diamond bolts, he was making good progress.
A dark spot in the sky caught the captain’s attention, and he focused on it. It was a dragon, growing larger as it flew toward him. It was dark blue and powerful, its wings propelling it quickly through the sky.
Captain O’Dare watched it come. He thought he recognized the dragon as one that had been frolicking on the beach with the Stuart children, the eldest of whom had been chosen as a knight. If so, that would make this Sir Xanderanth and his knight was Sir Leonhardt. O’Dare knew of them. He had employed Leo’s father since before the lad was born and trusted him to oversee the land-based side of his trade business.
The dots began to join together in O’Dare’s mind. Livia had been working with Stuart and had helped the family resettle nearer to Dragonscove when their eldest son and his dragon partner were assigned to the Southern Lair. No doubt Livia knew Sir Leo and the dark blue dragon. And now, that same dragon was approaching his ship. O’Dare planned to ask that young upst
art knight a thing or two, if he got the chance.
And it looked like he would. The dragon approached, flying around the fleet O’Dare had put together. Now, O’Dare could see the small figure of the knight atop the dragon’s shoulders. It was Leo, the eldest son of his long-time employee.
“Ahoy, the Olivia,” the knight called out as the dragon made a slow, spiraling pass around O’Dare’s flagship, named for his late wife.
“Ahoy!” the bosun called back, acknowledging the hail.
“Permission to come aboard?” the knight shouted on his next pass.
O’Dare didn’t believe the cheek of the youngster. How in the world did he expect to board? They were under full sail. If he splashed into the water, they’d have to stop and turn around to get him. There was also no place his dragon could land aboard the ship by the captain’s judgment. And if he tried to jump onto the deck, he’d go splat more likely than not. What was the young pup thinking?
“Captain?” the bosun looked up at O’Dare, seeking how to reply.
“If he can manage it without killing himself, he’s welcome aboard,” O’Dare said, wanting to shrug, but resisting the impulse. Fleet captains did not shrug.
“Permission granted!” the bosun shouted upward to the circling dragon.
The bosun was in charge of the men in the rigging and on the deck. This particular officer—a fellow named Penwith—had the most penetrating voice in O’Dare’s crew, so he was also the one who answered hails. He was fourth in line for the captain’s job should something happen to O’Dare and his other officers, so he had quite a bit of authority on the vessel.
What followed was the craziest thing O’Dare had ever seen. First, the dragon matched pace with the ship, gliding between wing beats until he was traveling at the same speed as the ship. O’Dare watched between the sheets of the sails, which were fully extended, as did everyone else who could spare a glance in the entire fleet.
Then, the dragon maneuvered lower…and lower still…until he was so close to the masts and the crow’s nest he could reach out and touch them. Which he did, much to everyone’s surprise. The dragon reached out to touch the tallest mast, on which the crow’s nest sat, and O’Dare held his breath. If the dragon exerted too much pressure, the mast could snap, and they’d all be done for.
