by D K Drake
“Well…” Javan continued to look for the dragon while he steadily backed away from the angry panther deliberately plodding toward him. “I’m pretty good with stun balls. I would throw one now at this charming cat that wants to eat me, but this time trap would slow it down too much to make it work.”
The time trap should be slowing you down, too. Why isn’t it?
Javan patted his leather pouch. “Energy balls.” Where was that dragon? He had to be close. “You have to be getting hungry. I’ll share—if you let me ride you.”
The panther let out a loud, long roar, obscuring whatever response the dragon might have made. Javan jumped, calmed himself down, then said, “So is it a deal? I save you from the time trap, and you save me from the panther?”
The dragon laughed. I’ve outlasted time traps before. I’ll outlast this one. I may be unbearably hungry when it passes, but I’ll still be free.
“Not for long. A Hunter just captured Mertzer with the help of the entire Zandadorian army. He’ll soon set his sights on the Noon Stalkers. With only three of you left, your odds of escaping him are not good.”
Considering you have yet to find me even though you can speak with me, I’m not worried about this Hunter you speak of.
The dragon had a good point. How was Javan supposed to counter that argument? “Well, you may be able to elude the Hunter, but his father is the king and not someone you’ll be able to ignore much longer. If he is able to reign for another hundred years, he will see to it that all dragons outside his captivity are eliminated.”
Aren’t you the dramatic one.
“Just warning you.” Javan, careful to avoid the angry panther, began to make his way around the clover-covered clearing. He waved at the air as he walked, hoping to connect with the dragon. “The Dark King is the reason Silverspike and Skylark are hiding on earth.”
Skylark? Did you say Skylark? You’ve seen her? She’s still alive?
“Yes, I’ve seen her,” Javan said. He recognized that sense of desperate interest behind those words. This dragon had a little dragon crush.
That’s how Javan used to talk about his crush, Julianne. Wow. Julianne. The girl who once dominated his thoughts now seemed so far away. And insignificant.
So Skylark is well?
“Yes.” Javan shook his head to clear that chapter of his life away. If he wanted to survive this chapter he was currently living, Javan had to convince this dragon to let him ride him. “Her Collector is taking good care of her. He’ll bring her back to Zandador once my own collection is complete and the Dark King is no longer a threat.”
How close are you to completing your collection?
Javan winced. “Well, once I add you, I’ll only need three more dragons.”
So you’ve got nothing right now.
Javan made his way to the tail end of the panther and paused his air-striking endeavor. “True.”
And you expect me to just let you hop on and be the first dragon you ever ride?
“Yes and no. You should let me hop on so we can become partners in the fight against the Dark King. Otherwise your choices are captivity or death.” Javan swiped the air behind him. Nothing. “But you won’t be the first dragon I’ve ever ridden. Skylark let me ride her.”
She did?
“Yes.” How else could he use this Skylark thing to his advantage? “She even defended me when Silverspike wanted to zap me with one of his lightning bolts.”
Hmm. Then perhaps you are worthy to be my Collector.
“Does that mean you’ll let me ride you?” Javan held his breath as he awaited the response.
You’re sure that Skylark will return to Zandador once you complete your collection?
“Yes. I’m certain.”
It took the dragon a few minutes, but he finally replied. Then yes, you may ride me.
“Fantastic!” Javan jumped with excitement and clapped his hands. Astor was right. Connecting with the dragon and reasoning with him worked. “You won’t regret this. I promise.”
Just get on before I change my mind.
“Right. Of course. Sorry for the emotional outburst. It’s just that you’re saving my life. Because if I don’t have a dragon by tomorrow--”
You’re still talking when you should be riding. I’m hungry and want out of this time trap.
“Oh. Sorry. My bad. Getting on…wait.” Javan spun around and still couldn’t spot the dragon. “Where are you?”
Where I’ve been this whole time. Look up.
Chapter 45
Trust?
Look up? The dragon was above him?
Javan obeyed the dragon’s command but saw nothing except patches of blue sky between the leaves of the towering trees. “Yeah. I still don’t see you.”
I’m here. I’m trying to uncloak myself, but the time trap is making that difficult.
“If I can’t see you, how am I supposed to ride you?”
You’re just going to have scramble up one of these trees and leap.
“Leap into thin air and hope I choose the right direction? That sounds fun.”
I’ll guide you.
The panther was working on turning itself around. Javan decided climbing a tree wasn’t such a bad idea. The further away from that oversized cat he got, the safer he would feel, even if the panther was perfectly capable of climbing trees.
“Okay,” Javan said. “Which tree?”
The one behind you. Climb up. I’ll tell you when to jump.
Javan turned and rolled his eyes. “Fantastic.” The towering tree had no low-growing branches, but it did have several vines hanging down from the branches above. He grabbed one of the vines and pulled himself up hand over hand as though he were climbing a rope in gym class.
Sweat dripped from his forehead and every muscle in his arms, chest and back screamed in agony by the time he reached the first branch a good thirty feet above the ground. “Made it,” Javan said. “Now where are you? Which way should I jump?”
You’re not high enough. Keep going.
“All right.” Javan took a deep breath and scurried branch by branch another twenty feet into the air. “Now?”
Almost. You need to get to the top.
“I’m not sure I can.” Fifteen or so feet spanned the remaining distance to the top, but climbing any higher made Javan nervous. “The branches are getting thinner and might not hold me.”
Trust me. They’ll hold. Climb.
Trust him? Javan didn’t even know the dragon’s name. For all Javan knew, the dragon he had yet to lay eyes on was nowhere near him and liked convincing humans to climb trees and plummet to their deaths. Trust was risky, but the risk was necessary. So Javan climbed.
The branches creaked under his weight but held.
When he could climb no higher, he said, “Now?”
Now. Aim for the panther, and you’ll crash into me on the way down.
Javan closed his eyes, said a quick prayer and looked down. The view terrified him. He could see nothing but clear air in the sixty-five feet between him and the panther that looked like nothing more than a black dot on the ground below. “You sure you’re right above that panther? I can’t miss you if I jump from here?”
I’m sure. You can’t miss me. Now jump. Before those branches break.
“You said they would hold me!”
Not if you hang out up there. Jump!
Javan could feel the branches breaking beneath his feet. It was either jump or fall. He chose to jump. “Ready or not, here I come!”
Hoping the dragon and not the panther would break his fall, Javan leapt feet first into the air.
Chapter 46
The First Ride
Down, down, down Javan dropped. His feet flailed. His stomach flip-flopped. His heart stopped.
Where was that dragon?
Had Javan overshot the jump?
Had he leapt in the wrong direction?
This isn’t how he wanted to die!
As he sailed past the first br
anch of the tree he had encountered on the way up, Javan curled himself into a ball and braced for impact with the ground.
Impact came seconds later, but it wasn’t the ground he collided with. The soft, round wing of a dragon broke his fall instead.
He slid down the smooth wing, across the dragon’s wide, scaly back and halfway up the other wing before slipping back down and settling on the golden scales.
Welcome.
Just like with Skylark on earth, direct contact with the cloaked dragon allowed Javan to see the dragon’s entire body. It’s long tail and even longer body hung in the air with its wings spread. It looked like it was suspended in the canvas of a painting, and Javan was the only moving part in the picture.
His ability to move allowed him to display his frustration. Postponing his awe of the magnificent creature, he crawled up to the base of the dragon’s neck and beat both sides of it like a punching bag. “You didn’t need to make me climb that high!”
Probably not. The dragon chuckled. I wanted to see if you trusted me enough to do it.
“Glad I passed your test.” Javan sat back and shook his sore hands. Perhaps punching the dragon’s tough scales wasn’t the smartest way to retaliate. “By the way, my name’s Javan. What’s yours?”
Varjiek.
“Good to meet you, Varjiek. Now fly us out of here.”
Can’t. Time trap, remember?
“Right. You need the energy balls.” Javan scrambled up Varjiek’s neck, over his head and onto his snout. “Sorry if this is uncomfortable, but I can’t think of a better way to get these energy balls into your mouth.”
Just be quick about it.
Javan slithered between Varjiek’s eyes and sprawled out over his cold, wet nose. “Wow. This hurts.”
You’re on my nose and are making me want to sneeze. How does this hurt you?
“I got a little scraped up in a sword fight yesterday. The cut on my chest is still raw.”
Oh. Sorry. But I am going to sneeze if you don’t hurry.
“Hurrying up.” Javan reached over the edge of Varjiek’s nose and emptied the bag of energy balls into the dragon’s slightly open mouth. “Done. Chew up, and let’s get out of here.”
Javan scurried back to his riding position at the bottom of Varjiek’s neck and watched another of Varjiek’s scales turn golden. Only a handful remained grey. “Why aren’t we moving?”
“We” need time to chew these energy balls.
Two more scales turned to gold before Varjiek flapped his right wing. Haha! I feel the energy balls working!
“Finally.”
Hold on, Javan, Varjiek said as he flitted up and back down. If you fall off, I’m not coming back for you.
Javan gripped two scales. “Ready.”
Excellent.
They shot straight up into the sky, spun around in some clouds and sped across the land Javan had traversed on his way to the jungle. “This is awesome! I’m never gonna want to ride another okty again!”
Okties are boring!
Varjiek flipped and turned, dove and climbed. But right in the middle of the exhilarating ride toward the sun, Varjiek stopped. Spread his wings. Drifted through the sky.
“Varjiek? You okay?” Javan leaned in, placed his head on Varjiek’s neck and listened. He could hear the rhythm of Varjiek’s heartbeat change as it began to beat in tune with Javan.
The change brought with it a new sense of responsibility that exceeded anything he had ever felt for his horse, Storm.
Strange things are happening to me.
“Me, too,” Javan said. He felt older. Wiser. More mature. He now had someone to take care of and think about besides himself, and he knew his life would never be the same from that moment on.
I feel connected to you, as though it is my duty to protect you, fight for you and serve you. I thought I liked my independence, but I think I like this feeling of purpose serving you as my Collector brings me.
Javan wasn’t sure how to respond to those humbling words, so he switched subjects. “Thanks, but enough sappiness. We need to get you fed before you decide I’d make a better meal than a leader.”
I am hungry. Where to?
“The meadows in the southwest tip of your territory. My friends should have your meal waiting for us there.”
Yes, sir. To the meadows we go. Varjiek made a sharp left and raced across the sky.
◊◊◊
“There they are!” Javan spotted Hamilton and Astor pacing in front of piles and piles of hay as well as several goats. He steered Varjiek to a landing behind the hay and slid off his front leg. “Eat up, big guy.”
Gladly.
While Varjiek feasted on the hay and goats, Javan ran over to his mentors. “I did it! I found the dragon, rode him, and now he’s mine. I’m a Dragon Collector who actually has a dragon in his collection!”
“Javan, what has taken you so long?” Astor’s question was riddled with irritation.
“We’re almost out of time,” Hamilton said. He also sounded upset.
“What’s the problem?” This was not the excited response Javan expected. “It’s not even noon yet. We still have 24 hours to get to Japheth, and it won’t take nearly that long on the back of this fast flying dragon. That I collected. That you haven’t congratulated me for yet.”
“Javan,” Hamilton said, sounding a little more calm, “you’ve been gone for almost 24 hours. This is Sunday morning.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“The time trap warps your perception of time, even with energy balls,” Astor said. “It’s nearly 11:00. You have just over an hour to get to Stalker Square or your mother and Ravier are dead.”
Chapter 47
Back to Stalker Square
“F
aster! Faster! Faster!” Javan, having explained the situation to Varjiek while the dragon finished his meal, now urged the grey-scaled dragon onward.
Thanks to Varjiek’s ability to cloak himself, they flew undetected over the land. The westward flight seemed to be taking forever even though they were flying so fast that the land below them was nothing more than a blur, and Javan’s cheeks were pressed back to his ears from the force of the wind as they flew. He kept his sunglasses hooked to the front of his shirt to make sure they wouldn’t fly off his face.
If I could teleport there, I would, but this dragon has wings and must fly.
“Just get me there in time. Please.” If he was so much as a minute late, he would regret it for the rest of his life. How could he live with himself knowing his mother and grandfather died because he couldn’t get to Stalker Square on time? Would Omri even let him live and allow the Battle for the Throne to continue if Javan showed up late?
Would Javan want to live and continue to compete?
I will get you there, Varjiek said. Vasilis once made a habit of sabotaging my meals; I look forward to thwarting one of his. He won’t be eating your family today.
Thankful for the bad blood between the Noon Stalkers, Javan leaned in a little closer and held on a little tighter as Varjiek pushed the pace. Then, before Javan even realized where they were, Varjiek cut sharply to the left.
We’re here, he said, carving a circle in the sky. He slowed his speed from the long, fast flight as he spiraled his way down toward Stalker Square. Let me know when you want me to uncloak myself.
Quiet, submissive, defeated people dressed all in brown once again filled the Square, the stands and the road that led to the stadium. Spots of red and black indicated soldiers strategically placed around and throughout the crowd. And Omri’s four dragons dominated the center of the Square.
The two white Dawn and Dusk Stalkers stood among the crowd at either end of the stage while the grey Midnight Stalker claimed the area behind the stage. The mostly golden Noon Stalker shared the stage with three people: Omri, Esmeralda and Ravier.
Micah and Mertzer were nowhere to be seen.
Javan found that odd. He thought Omri would be proudly paradin
g his son and newest dragon in front of the people to display his increasing dominance over them.
“A week ago,” Omri was saying, “one of your own dared interrupt the execution of these rebels by initiating the Battle for the Throne. Out of respect for the law, I allowed him to compete. I even had my son join as a proxy competitor because you, my people, deserve to witness a fair fight between a Hunter and a Collector.”
Javan put his sunglasses on to hide his eyes and guided Varjiek to the front of the stage. They hovered just high enough above the crowd to keep the people from sensing the dragon’s presence.
Now? Varjiek asked.
“Not yet,” Javan whispered. He wanted to hear more of Omri’s pompous speech.
“But why drag out a battle if your competitors are weak and incompetent? So I gave them a week.” Omri stepped forward and spoke louder. “My son Micah proved his worth. He successfully hunted and captured the Dusk Stalker Mertzer on my behalf. I wanted to introduce you to my newest dragon today, but a more important mission arose. I felt it was critical to immerse Mertzer in his new role as my dragon slave and entrusted him and Micah with the mission which they are carrying out as we speak.”
Javan tensed at the mention of Mertzer and cringed as he recalled the agonizing screams of the dragon the night Micah cut off his tail.
“Your Collector, however,” Omri continued, “has proven himself to be nothing more than a coward. Not only did he fail to collect a dragon, he didn’t even have the courage to return here today and face the fate he agreed to: his life for those of these rebel prisoners.” Omri turned to the dragon standing behind him. “Vasilis, enjoy your meal.”
Finally, Vasilis said. He turned his head toward Esmeralda and Ravier and opened his mouth.
Javan nudged Varjiek and shouted, “Stop! I’m here!” The collective gasp Javan heard from the crowd let him know that Varjiek had taken the cue and uncloaked himself.
Varjiek! Vasilis roared and spewed a stream of fire into the air. The people below screamed and scurried out of the way of the falling ashes. How dare you interrupt my meal.
