by D K Drake
I don’t like this. Azurrior’s claws dug through the pack into Javan’s back. Make him stop.
“Slow down, Silverspike.” Javan’s legs slipped an inch with every rotation. “I’m losing my grip!”
Can’t. Lightning breath. Control. Lightning breath. Anything. Two breaths of lightning.
“Then I’ve got no choice.” If Javan fell from this high up, he didn’t stand much chance of survival. If he died, so would Azurrior. “Fly fast, Silverspike. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.” He reached his right hand between his stomach and the dragon’s neck. Once his fingers touched the hilt of his teleporting sword, he closed his eyes and imagined the smooth white surface of the Zandadorian portal near Gri.
◊◊◊
Taliya used every ounce of her concentration and strength to maintain control of the reigns of the okty in the midst of the commotion. It wanted to join its friends and fly away, but she needed it to stay put until the portal shut down. She kept one eye on the portal and one on the approaching water bursts and steaming waves. “Come on, come on, come on,” she mumbled when the first of the waves kissed the sand near her toes.
“Taliya, what are you doing?” Micah flew down to her after chasing the soldiers away. “You’ll get covered with water if you stay there!”
“I can’t leave without the activation scales.”
“We’ll get you another set. Use that okty to fly out of here before anyone realizes what is causing that lightning storm.”
“You go ahead.” Those scales were the only valuable thing her father ever gave her. She wasn’t about to leave them behind. “I’ll be on my way as soon as—”
BOOM!
Lightning hit the water fifty feet away. Her okty screeched, jerked free from her grip, and flew out of sight. She fell to her hands and knees in the hot, wet sand at the same instant the portal closed. “Finally.” She scrambled to the portal on all fours, retrieved the scales, and stuffed them in her bag.
“Taliya, watch out!”
Micah’s warning wasn’t in time. A giant, hot wave smashed her into the wall. Her forehead hit the rock. Blood gushed over her left eye and down her burning skin. Another smaller wave smacked her face first into the sand.
“You Protectors do foolish things for your ridiculous dragon scales.” The Destroyer appeared, lifted Taliya out of the sand, and tossed her on her okty. “If I didn’t need you for the Battle, I would have left you here to die.”
“Worst life-saving speech ever.” Dizzy and disoriented, Taliya struggled to remain upright as they dashed into the sky. And she wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw the grey figure of Silverspike spiraling over the trees. Why was he visible? What happened to Javan?
He better not have fallen. He had her dragon.
Chapter 53
Separated
Javan expected the spinning to stop once he teleported off Silverspike. He was wrong.
He landed on his side, dropped his invisibility sword, and rolled across the wide surface of the West Zandadorian portal. He finally stopped on his back when he hit the grass. He put his hands on his chest to calm his heart and stared at the clear blue sky. What a ride.
Can’t. Breathe. Azurrior’s feet kicked Javan’s back.
“Oh. Sorry!” He jerked to his knees, shook the pack off, and unzipped it. Azurrior’s blue face stared up at him with an angry scowl. “You okay, buddy?”
He shook his head and dangled his claws in front of his chest. Legs got squished. Not sure they work anymore.
“That’s a bit dramatic. I’m sure they’ll be fine once you stretch them out.” Picking the dragon up with his left hand and grabbing the leash with his right, Javan freed Azurrior from the pack and placed him on the ground. “Welcome to the Land of Zandador.”
Azurrior gulped in the air and gazed around with his round black eyes. What’s that?
“What’s what?” He followed the dragon’s gaze to the open meadow to the right. “I don’t see anything.”
That. He darted toward whatever his eyes saw. Javan’s upper body lurched forward from his kneeling position and smacked into the ground. The dragon tried to drag him forward, but his chipmunk-sized body wasn’t quite strong enough to make Javan move.
“Hold on, pal. I’ll let you stretch your legs and explore, but you need to let me get up first.”
The dragon tapped his front paw as Javan stood. Now?
Javan brushed himself off and nodded. “Now.”
Azurrior shot through the high grass. They zigzagged through the field, chasing some figment of the dragon’s imagination. But Javan couldn’t maintain Azurrior’s pace. He was about to put an end to their escapade when the dragon halted, sniffed, and spit.
“What was that for?” Javan leaned on his knees to catch his breath.
I swallowed a bug.
“You’re a dragon,” he said, chuckling. “You should like bugs.”
I wasn’t hungry. Azurrior nudged his nose to the sky. They are, though.
He turned and saw two golden dragons flying toward the portal with the grey Silverspike leading the way in a triangle formation. He couldn’t make out the figures of Kenton and Starshade, but he knew they were on one of the golden dragons. “Come on.” He tugged the leash. “We have to see if Starshade is okay.”
They sprinted toward the portal. This time Javan had no trouble keeping up with the Dusk Stalker.
◊◊◊
“Why are we stopping?” Taliya held her hand over her bleeding head and tried not to think about how much her stinging skin hurt. Had she lost consciousness on the trip? Is that why the ride seemed so short? “Are we there?”
“We’re where we need to be.” The Destroyer guided the okty to a dirt patch by the edge of the river. She dismounted, pulled Taliya down with her, and took the harness off the okty. “You need to cool off before we go any further.”
“Huh?” Between the warm blood filling her hand and the burning sensation overpowering her brain, that’s the only word she could think to form. Her toes dragged along the dirt under the helping hand of Jane the Destroyer. They were going toward the water, the fast-flowing blue water. If she fell in, that current would whisk her downstream in a flash.
Taliya tried to back away. Jane held her in place and tied a leather reign from the okty’s harness around her chest. She tugged at it but couldn’t get it off before Jane threw her into the river.
Initial pain. Immediate soothing. Crazy panic.
Water filled her lungs while the current took her away. Or it tried to. Thanks to the strap tied to her chest, she wasn’t going anywhere. She kicked and splashed until her head popped through the surface. She saw Jane standing on dry land holding the other end of the harness. “What are you doing?” Taliya yelled, flailing her arms to keep her head above water. “Get me out of here!”
“Not yet.” She yawned. “Those lightning charged waves made your skin look like a ripe tomato. You need to soak for a bit before we go anywhere.”
The sensible explanation calmed Taliya. The water did make a difference. The more she waved her arms under the water, the less pain she felt. The only part of her that continued to burn was her face. “In that case,” she said, “hold on tight. I need to submerge my head.”
She took a deep breath, relaxed her muscles, and dipped under water. With the current pulling her forward and Jane holding her back, she let the water wash away the burning pain. When she couldn’t stand the breathless treatment any longer, she resurfaced. “Okay,” she said, gasping for air. “Let’s go meet up with the guys.”
“Yes. Let’s.” Jane reeled her in and helped her out of the water. “I’m anxious to tell them about our little deal.”
Taliya considered jumping back in the river. Letting herself be washed away suddenly seemed more appealing than honoring the deal she made with the Destroyer.
◊◊◊
Micah dug his heels into the furry sides of the smelly okty, urging it to fly faster. The dragons would already be
there, and he wanted to send them back out to search for the Destroyer and Taliya. He had watched Jane rescue Taliya from the waves and assumed they would be right behind him. They weren’t.
After nearly thirty minutes in the air, he spotted the rendezvous point. The Noon Stalkers were nowhere to be seen. They could be invisible, but the more likely scenario had them out hunting for their meal. Silverspike walked in slow circles around the portal with Azurrior tied to his neck while Javan and Kenton huddled over the limp body of Starshade. If she wasn’t breathing yet, she probably wouldn’t ever breathe again.
Good thing they brought two Dusk Stalkers back with them.
Micah touched down by the trees, tied his okty to a branch, and waved Kenton over to him. “Mind if I borrow Silverspike? I need to go look for the Destroyer and Taliya.”
“No can do.” Kenton shook his head. “Silverspike is still too hyped up from his trip through the portal to do any flying.”
“Why do you need to go look for them?” Javan entered the conversation from fifty feet away and marched toward Micah as he spoke. “What happened? Why aren’t they with you? I need Taliya here. She’s the only one who knows what to do to help Starshade.”
The desperation in Javan’s voice made Micah cringe. Taliya or no Taliya, Starshade didn’t stand much of a chance. He didn’t know how to tell Javan that, though. “You know what?” Micah shrugged and waved off his concern. “I’m sure Jane and Taliya will be along shortly. The okty they are on must be flying slower cause it’s carrying two people rather than one.”
“That wasn’t the plan,” Javan said. “You were each supposed to get your own okty. If she needed a ride, why didn’t you pick her up? How could you let Jane take her? What if she plans to turn Taliya in for a reward?”
Javan’s words brought life to Micah’s fears, but he wasn’t going to take the blame for something that was out of his control. “We were ready to ride out of there free and clear until Silverspike decided to put on a lightning show.”
“I see what you’re doing,” Kenton said. “You’re implying it’s my dragon’s fault that you couldn’t protect the Protector.”
“I wasn’t implying anything. I was stating a fact. It is Silverspike’s fault!”
“Yo!” A familiar voice interrupted the growing yell fest. “Why are you shouting at each other over there when this baby dragon over here clearly needs help?”
Micah looked between Javan and Kenton. The first thing he noticed was Kisa standing on the portal. Then his eyes looked over to see Ravier kneeling by Starshade. Thankful for the distraction and suddenly anxious about Mertzer, he pushed through the two men in front of him and ran to kneel by Ravier. “Since you’re here and safe, am I correct to assume that Mertzer is also safe?”
“That’s all you’re worried about?” Javan asked, approaching them. “Your dragon? What about my dragon who is almost dead and Taliya who might already be dead?”
“Taliya’s dead?” Ravier stood, alarm sounding in his voice. “I saw three people and assumed one was Taliya.” His eyes stuck on Kenton as the man strolled over. “Grandfather? What are you doing back in Zandador? It’s not safe for you yet.”
“Calm down,” Kenton said. “This place will be safe for me soon enough. As for Taliya, she is most certainly alive. It wouldn’t be in the Destroyer’s best interest to kill her at this point.”
“Agreed.” Micah nodded and rose to his feet. “We have something she wants, and she won’t do anything to harm Taliya until she gets it.” He wanted his words to be true. That didn’t mean they were. If something had happened to her, he would forever regret letting her and the Destroyer out of his sight.
“I’m not following,” Ravier said. “Who’s this Destroyer you speak of, and what deal did you make with her?”
“We don’t know her name or what she wants,” Micah said. Movement in the sky caught his eye. At first, he thought it was one of the Noon Stalkers returning, but the blip was too small. That could only be an okty. He pointed to the sky, hoping that okty had two riders. “I have a feeling we’re about to find out together.”
Chapter 54
The Destroyer’s Deal
“S
tarshade!” Taliya forgot all about her headache, water-logged clothes, and tingling skin the second she saw the white dragon laying on the ground struggling to breathe. She jumped off the okty before they even landed and rushed to Starshade’s side, ignoring the inquiries of the four men surrounding the dragon. “Come on, girl. Breathe.”
The dragon took in a shallow breath, released it, and waited for another eleven seconds before breathing again.
“No. You have to do better than that. I need you to survive.” Taliya lay her head on the dragon’s side, willing herself to hear a steady heartbeat. When she thought she would never hear what she wanted to hear, the dragon took in a big gulp of air and lifted her head.
“Thata girl!” Taliya hugged her and rubbed her side. “Now keep breathing. Deeper and more often.”
“How did you do that?” Javan stared at her with wide eyes. So did everyone else. Except the Destroyer. She stood at a distance from the crowd with her arms crossed and looking bored.
“All I did was talk to her.” Content with the dragon’s stronger breathing pattern, she stood and changed the subject. Otherwise Javan might realize that Starshade was acting more like her dragon than his. “Ravier, it’s good to see you and Kisa. How is Mertzer? What have you been doing while we were gone? Is there any news we should know about? Did you find your wife? Did you bring any food with you?”
“He can answer those questions later,” Micah said. “Except the Mertzer one. That I want answered. But it’s your turn first. What did you promise the Wordless Wonder over there in return for her help in getting us through the portal?”
Taliya rubbed her throat as all eyes—dragon and human—trained themselves on her. “Is anyone else thirsty?” Eventually she would have to divulge the deal, but she wanted to stall. She preferred to talk to Javan on his own before sharing the deal with the entire group. “That trip through the portal has me parched. Perhaps we should find a source of water before we continue this conversation.”
“Talk.” Micah issued the word through a growl. He looked ready to turn her upside down and shake the words out of her.
She cleared her throat and swallowed. “That saliva helped.” She offered a smile. Micah scowled in return. Then she had another idea. “Where are our manners? We haven’t even introduced Ravier and Kisa to the baby dragons yet.”
“I’m a bit more interested in this deal,” Ravier said.
“Nonsense.” Taliya patted Starshade’s head. “This is Starshade. She had a bit of trouble breathing in Earth’s atmosphere but seems to be adjusting now. And over there on Silverspike is Azurrior.”
“That tiny little blue thing? That’s a dragon?”
“He is the most precious and beautiful dragon to ever live.”
“Please tell me he’s not the one Javan picked.”
“He’s not the one Javan picked; he’s mine to protect.”
“Nice.” Ravier squatted in front of Starshade. “She’ll grow her scales within the week and gain enough height to be ready to ride a few weeks after that. This will be the easiest collection ever. Usually dragons are released into the wild, but now we have her within our grasp.”
“I am aware of that usual practice, being that I am a Dragon Protector. And that’s precisely why they will follow the normal procedure and be released into Dusk Territory as soon as they have their scales.”
“We’re gonna do what with the dragons?” Javan ran his fingers through his hair and left them stuck on his head. “Why would we let them go when we’ve already started bonding with them?”
“We won’t.” Ravier didn’t raise his voice his voice or show any signs of anger. “That is not going to happen. I have dedicated my life to getting Omri off the throne. I will not have everything I have fought for compromised by some idealistic
Protector.”
“Too late.” The Destroyer stepped forward and nudged Taliya. “Now tell them the rest.”
“The rest?” Javan asked. “You mean there’s more?”
“Yes, there’s more.” Taliya wanted to smack the Destroyer. Why did she choose now to be chatty? “As you know, Jane played a critical role in getting us through the portal without being shot at or arrested. Because of that, the Dusk babies are still alive. In return, we will give her what she wants.”
“And what is that?” Kenton asked.
“She wants to pit the four Bloodlines against each other to battle for the dragons.”
Javan’s eyes widened. “Surely you’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”
“Oh, but she is.” The Destroyer flashed her white teeth. “With all four Bloodlines competing for the same two dragons at the same time in the same place, this will be the truest, most epic Battle for the Throne in the history of Zandador.”
“Don’t forget the final part of the deal,” Taliya quickly added. “You are not to touch Micah. This Battle makes the contract on his head null and void, and no one is allowed to physically harm another human before, during, or after the Battle. Furthermore, when Javan wins Starshade and I win Azurrior, you join our team and help Javan collect a Midnight Stalker.”
“You mean when I win the heads of those two Dusk Stalkers, Javan surrenders his quest for the throne.”
“That’s crazy!” Javan’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets. “I’m not surrendering anything.”
“No one is asking you to, Javan.” Taliya stopped herself from massaging her forehead to ease her growing headache. She didn’t want to rub the healing ointment off that she put on at the river’s edge. “What I’m asking is that you do your collecting thing after you give Starshade a chance to acclimate to the land and learn what it feels like to be a dragon. And think about it. How will riding a baby dragon who grew in captivity enhance your skills and confidence as a Collector?”
