Earth Born (The Earth Born Cycle Book 1)

by N. E. Conneely

  Satisfied, Shasta turned back around, keeping her eyes ahead of them. From time to time she glanced back, but for the most part she tucked herself against Randolph’s back as the cold air washed over them both. About two hours into the flight, she looked back again. Tracy was surging forward with each downward thrust of her wings and falling back as she recovered enough to propel herself forward again. Perhaps on a day when she wasn’t sore, she would’ve been able to carry the rock longer, but yesterday had taken a lot out of all the dragons.

  Shasta surveyed the ground below. It was a nice open area with plenty of room to land. There was even a small stream to one side. She leaned forward and shouted, “Randolph, let’s land and take a break.”

  Under her, he angled down and started a loose spiral. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually they were on the ground. Randolph trotted over to the creek and took some greedy gulps of water. Shasta slid off his back, thanked him, and watched the other dragons land.

  Tracy glided down, attempting to backwing to lower herself and the rock to the ground. Shasta wasn’t sure if it was the breeze or something else, but Tracy tipped to one side. When she touched down, all her weight landed on her left hind leg, which crumpled under her. She landed heavily on her hip, the rock sliding out of her talons.

  Shasta sprinted over to Tracy. The dragon sat there, all her weight on the one hip, and blinked slowly. Tracy wobbled, and Shasta was afraid she was going to fall. Instead, she cranked her neck around and looked at her rump as if she was trying to figure out what had happened to her hind end.

  Shasta skidded to a stop a few feet from the dragon, not wanting to startle her. “Tracy, are you hurt?”

  Tracy slowly swung her head back to Shasta. She shook her head and then focused one big eye on Shasta. “I do not believe so. I think I’m more startled than hurt.”

  “I can check you for injury.” Shasta stepped closer.

  Tracy moved one forelimb out in front of her and then the other, slowly lowering herself until she was lying down. “Please.”

  Shasta walked around to Tracy’s left hind leg, placed her hands on the dragon’s scales, closed her eyes, and exhaled. She let her shields down as her senses extended into the dragon. Most of Tracy’s wing muscles were strained and somewhat bruised, but that had already begun to heal. Shasta redirected her attention to the leg, feeling for anything that was wrong. There was a bit of inflammation that she suspected would turn into swelling soon, some signs of strain, but she didn’t find any torn muscles or broken bones.

  She sent out some of her own energy, stimulating the area and speeding up the healing. Shasta repeated that with Tracy’s back, ensuring that by tomorrow the dragon wouldn’t be in pain. Leaving just enough power behind to give Tracy the energy to get home, Shasta slowly disentangled herself from the dragon, pulling her powers back inside her shields. For a moment she felt light-headed, but energy flowed up her legs, a gift given to her by the earth. She took what she needed before blocking off the flow. She knelt down and whispered, “Thank you, Mother.”

  The grass tickled her palm.

  Smiling, Shasta stood back up and walked toward Tracy’s head. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes.” Tracy sighed contentedly. “I do not hurt.”

  “Good. But you’ll be going home.” She held up a hand, holding off the dragon’s protest. “I healed you, and before you know it you’ll be tired. If you think you can make the flight home alone, I’ll send you, if not I’ll send someone else too.”

  Tracy stretched out her wings and gave them two light flaps. “I’m well enough to fly home alone.”

  Folding her arms over her chest, Shasta looked over the dragon. While Tracy wasn’t in the best shape, she was reliable and always told the truth about her abilities. However, she was still Shasta’s responsibility and it would be better if someone went back with her. “Let me see if anyone else needs to go home too.”

  Shasta pivoted on her heel, intending to walk back to the stream and the rest of the dragons. Instead, she found all of them standing right behind her. She stumbled to a stop. “Well, I guess you heard that. I know several of you were sore this morning. Do any of you need to return home?”

  One by one the dragons shook their heads.

  Shasta put her hands at her hips. “I don’t want bravery; I want honesty. Do you need to go back to town and rest?”

  Natalia sighed. “I should return.”

  “Done. Anyone else?” When no one else volunteered, Shasta nodded. “Then you’re stuck with me for the rest of the day. Natalia, Tracy, you’re dismissed. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight in the morning.”

  The two dragons lumbered into the air, neither flying as quickly as they had been on the way out here. With the two of them well away, Shasta turned her attention back to the rest of the dragons. “Romeo, it’s your turn for the rock. Randolph, you did well. I’m moving to Byron for the next leg. Rest for about twenty more minutes, then we’ll press on.”

  With that, Shasta strode over to Randolph, poked the embossing on the back of the saddle, and waited for it to unstick before lifting it off him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re an easy passenger.” His tongue flicked out, touching the tip of his nose, and then retreated into his mouth. “Is it true some dragons support themselves by being couriers and transporting people?”

  “Do you mind if I eat while we discuss this? Healing takes energy, and I don’t want to run out before the flight is over.”

  “You’re the teacher.”

  Shasta nodded gratefully, sat down, set her pack next to her, pulled a canteen out of her pack, and took a long drink. “Yes, dragons can earn a good living doing either of those things. Does that interest you?” She found a pack of cashews and started munching.

  His eyes brightened. “Yes. I like to fly, and I would like to leave the Dragon Lands for a time.” He flexed his talons, digging them into the ground. “Here we have our herds of cattle and sheep and brownies to help us. Out there I would need to earn money, be able to care for myself.”

  “Dragons can make good money as couriers. Compared to most other races, you’re basically indestructible and unstoppable. You’re hard to hurt, never mind kill, and almost as hard to spell. If you want, we can do some extra lessons, really try to prepare you for that line of work. I’ll make the time.” Shasta popped a handful of cashews in her mouth.

  “Really?” Randolph’s tail twitched behind him.

  Shasta chased the nuts with a gulp of water from the canteen. “Absolutely.”

  He sighed dreamily. “That would be wonderful.”

  “Well, today’s run is good training, and I’ll think of some other training we can do to help you out.” She shoved the container of nuts and the canteen in her backpack, settled it on her shoulders, stood up, and dusted off her pants. “Let’s keep moving.”

  It didn’t take long to saddle Byron. Then she was on board and they were flying away from the rest spot. Romeo hadn’t struggled too much on the takeoffs, but the group was moving at a more leisurely pace than before, partly to conserve energy and partly because Romeo didn’t seem up to going as fast as Tracy had. When she was satisfied that everyone was doing well in their positions, she crouched close to Byron’s neck. It would be nice to see one of the dragons she’d trained actually leave the Dragon Lands; after all, that was the whole point of the training. So far none of them had, though the dragons seemed to consider it good education even if their youngsters spent their entire lives in this area.

  The blue sky stretched on forever, the sun painting bright spots and shadows on the land below. With all this beauty, she couldn’t blame the dragons for staying. Part of her wanted to stay.

  Byron shuddered under her. She tightened her grip on the pommel and leaned forward to ask if he needed to land. His big body convulsed again. Her teeth snapped together, shooting pain through her head and cutting off her words.

  She shook her head, trying to get her brain to work again. She open
ed her eyes in time to see Byron’s wings go limp. Then they were falling.

  Chapter Five

  They were plummeting toward the ground. Shasta doubted even a dragon would survive an impact from this height, and she was sure she wouldn’t. Logically, she knew there was still a long time between now and reaching the ground and Byron might recover before the worst happened.

  The angle of the dive got even steeper, and she felt herself lift away from the saddle. She held on to the pommel for all she was worth, trying to push herself back into the seat. If she fell off, she was dead for sure. A piece of leather fluttered against her leg. Her eyes darted down, spotting the straps that she’d never used before. They were there to hold people in, but how was she supposed to tie them when gravity was pulling her away from Byron?

  She took a deep breath, trying to force the panic down. She had to think clearly. She was a half elf; there had to be some way for her to get those things tied. Her arms started quaking with the effort of holding her in the saddle.

  She tucked her head and looked back at the straps waving around her right leg. Reaching out her power, she felt the leather. It was a thing of an animal, though very much different than it had been when it was alive, but that gave her a connection to it. Tie yourself so that my leg is held to the saddle. She focused all her will upon those words.

  The leather straps twitched, moving against the wind, and then the two pieces connected. In the blink of an eye, they tied into a strong knot that cut into her thigh but held her in place. She reached for the next strap, below her knee, and repeated the process. It, too, clenched down tight enough to leave marks in her skin. Bruising wasn’t a problem right now, falling off was.

  She turned her head to look at her other leg. Shasta extended her powers until she could feel all four straps. Both sets tightened down simultaneously without her giving them any direction. Her legs hurt, but she was firmly attached to the saddle. She relaxed her arms, but they kept quaking with fatigue.

  A draconic scream rang out about her. She twisted, looking up. The boulder Romeo had been carrying was hurtling toward her, somehow falling even faster than Byron. Not even the adrenaline coursing through her was enough to keep her blood from turning cold. Romeo pointed his nose down, tucked his wings against his back, and dove after the stone. Maybe it should’ve been an encouraging sign, but she had only one thought. Now there were two things trying to squish her.

  Byron twisted under her. Shasta jerked her eyes back to the front. He lifted his head up and curved his back, trying to level out the dive without unfurling his wings just yet. She felt her weight settle a little bit more into the saddle but couldn’t tell if that was because what he was doing was working or if the moment of weightlessness had passed.

  She looked up, only to see the rock moving ever closer. She bit her lip. There had to be something useful she could do. But if she spoke to Byron, she could distract him, and they might end up crashing into the ground and dying. Of course, if she didn’t talk to him and the rock hit them, they could die anyway. There was also the chance that Romeo could somehow crash into them and all three of them could die. All that out of what had been intended to be a simple training flight.

  Yesterday’s training flight had been a mess too, and she might be able to replicate some of what she’d done. Maybe even force the rock to the side. Of course, without any good way to communicate with the dragons, there was always a chance they would interfere and this could all go terribly wrong. Since the rock was continuing to gain on them, Shasta didn’t see much of a choice.

  Shasta dropped her shields, letting her elven and magical powers mingle freely. She reached out to the air. Carry it away, move that far from us, set it gently on the ground. Do no harm. Tendrils of power flowed through the air, latching onto the rock. For a long moment nothing happened, then the rock slowly shifted its course, moving so it was no longer directly above Shasta.

  She didn’t have time to be relieved because Byron was still falling. She reached out to the air once more. Lift us; keep us in the sky.

  It would take more than helpful air to keep them aloft. Byron would have to pull out of the dive, which was going to strain him to the breaking point. She set a hand against his scales and pushed her remaining power into him. It infused every bit of him with strength, reinforcing bones and muscles, giving him new energy reserves. When she was out of magic and had done as much as her elven abilities would allow, she lifted her hand from his scales and grabbed the saddle.

  Shasta glanced back up over her shoulder. The rock was still moving away, but it had yet to move far enough that Romeo could open his wings without danger. She leaned forward. “Stay in the dive! Don’t open your wings until I tell you!” she shouted, hoping the air would carry her words to his ears. The only signs that he’d heard were the tension in his body and the wings still tucked against his sides.

  Below them, the ground was getting ever closer. Only moments ago they’d been flying so high that the trees, bushes, and grasses had faded into another part of the tapestry below them. Now the bushes had individual textures and clumps of grass were visible.

  She twisted around. The rock was still moving away, but she wasn’t sure if Byron could get his wings fully open without hitting it. If they had more time, it wouldn’t matter, but the ground was getting awfully close. Shasta eyed the distance. Her eyes returned to the ground. It was close, too close.

  “Pull up! Pull up!”

  Shasta’s fingers clenched the pommel so hard her knuckles turned white. She should’ve been focused on the ground, or Byron, but instead all she could do was stare at the rock and pray.

  He pushed his wings out, holding them close to his body, cupping the wind to slow them down. The thin skin vibrated, and the big bones flexed as he battled the force of the air. The rock shot past them, heading for the ground. She felt the spells on it shatter as the rock plummeted, well, like a rock.

  As soon as the rock was below them, Byron fully spread his wings. The frantic fall turned into a glide, throwing her against the back of the saddle. She righted herself and forced her aching hands to grip the pommel once again. Admittedly, the glide was steep, but the hard knot of fear in her chest eased. Byron could land from this. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but it was doable.

  Her rapid pulse started to slow, and she was able take a few deep breaths before a tingling along her spine had her turning around. Romeo had pulled out of his dive as well and was now gliding above and off to the left of her and Byron, but behind him an amethyst dragon’s wings had folded up, sending the dragon tumbling through the air. The angle of the sun made it hard for her to see, and she couldn’t tell if it was Randolph or Matilda.

  All of this was just like yesterday at the obstacle course. Something had done this. Shasta dropped her shields enough to feel the energies around her, and there was a lingering pulse of a spell. That answered the question of what had happened yesterday but didn’t help her save the amethyst dragon today.

  Air, hold them aloft. Nothing happened. Shasta clenched her teeth, digging through her fatigue to what little energy she had left to throw into a spell and commanding the elements. Air, hold!

  Byron thumped into the ground, tossing her forward. Her head connected with his spine, and her vision darkened. Under her, she could feel Byron running forward, gradually slowing until he stopped. Shasta sat up, shaking her head to clear it. Byron swung his head around to look for the rest of the group. Shasta’s gaze followed his. What had happened to everyone else?

  There was an amethyst dragon on the ground in the distance, but her vision was spotty from the impact and she still couldn’t tell who it was. Romeo landed heavily beside them, and one amethyst dragon was gliding in to land next to them.

  Shasta tried to lift her leg up to dismount, but it wouldn’t move. She jerked at it once more before the two strips of pain registered. She reached down, finding the leather that had held her on Byron’s back. She quickly untied the straps on both legs. Then she
half climbed, half fell off Byron. The impact with the ground jarred her, but the backpack cushioned her fall, and she scrambled to her feet with little more than additional bruises.

  The last dragon landed heavily, shaking the earth under her feet. This close Shasta could see the deep undertones in the scales. Randolph was here, which meant the other dragon was Matilda. She shaded her eyes. Matilda hadn’t moved since landing.

  Shasta took off in a lumbering run, pack bouncing on her back, toward the downed dragon. Fatigue dragged at every one of her muscles, but she pushed forward. She had to get to Matilda. Her foot landed on a bald patch of ground and slid to the side, sending her crashing to the ground. She hit the earth hard, bruising her hip and her shoulder. Shasta rolled to her knees, slowly lifting herself up. Pain radiated all up and down her right side. She lifted her eyes from the earth, blinking in surprise. Matilda was gone. There was no trace of Matilda, not even a bent blade of grass. It was as if she had been a mirage. Shasta dropped her shields, feeling for magic, but if it had been there, it was gone.

  She sat there on the ground, and this time the earth did not ease her wounds. Long moments empty of anything but disbelief passed while she looked blankly where Matilda had been. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few moments, the dragons joined her.

  “What happened?” Randolph hissed.

  “I don’t know.” Her voice faltered. “I don’t know.”

  Four faces looked at her, eyes wide, curls of smoke leaking out of nostrils or escaping from the corners of their mouths.

  She needed to know what happened and what to do next. Anywhere else in the world, the dragons would be considered fearsome predators, but they were the equivalent of teenagers and had discovered that home wasn’t nearly as safe as they’d believed. They were her responsibility. She had to keep them safe and get them back to town. Especially Matilda. She had to find Matilda.