The Dracones
Chapter Nine

Over the next two weeks, Trayvon sticks to me like sap off of a pine tree. He even slept in the same room as me. I couldn’t even use the restroom without him waiting outside for me. He constantly drilled into me his country’s history. When I wasn’t looking at a book, he was training me in close combat, shooting bows from dragon back, and sword fighting from their backs as well. That is after we spent the first two days and nights trying to get me over my fear of heights.

Today is the day Alienis is making me fly on his back without the safety of a belt. We’re already in the sky. I’m clinging to the horn of the saddle as I’m forcing myself not to look down. Trayvon is flying below us, trying to make me see that if I fall, he’ll catch me. About a half-hour into the flight, and I hit all my targets, Trayvon yells that he has to return to camp.

“Don’t you dare leave me!” I yell down at him. He just laughs and waves as Gracial makes a sharp U-turn. “I hate you, you son of a bitch!” I yell at him as I latch on to Alienis’s neck.

“Would you just calm down?” Alienis snaps at me. “I swear I won’t let you fall, and I know you trust me. Just relax.”

“I can’t Alienis. You’ve seen that night in my head. The whole story. Would you be so willing to put that faith in someone once again so quickly?” Still, I take a deep breath and force myself to sit up straight, for Alienis’s sake.

“That’s my girl. Now, what do you see?”

I look around. I see smoke. Mountains. Forests. Lakes. Rivers. And something else. “Alienis look to your left. About two miles southwest. What is that? Your eyes are better than mine.” I try to look. All I see is smoke, brown, and gray. Trayvon has not gotten far enough into our lessons to teach me how I can see through Alienis’s eyes yet. A red dot shoots out of the trees and quickly grows.

“Dragon!” I yell as I spot a rider. I do not know this dragon. It’s not one of the clan’s. Alienis roars, nearly making me lose my hearing. He pumps his wings harder as I draw my bow. I am begging in my head for this unknown dragon to stay away from me. Please just be a nomad’s dragon. Please.

I fire when the red dragon below us starts shooting fireballs at us. It roars in pain as my arrow lodges into its massive eye. Despite my arrow, the dragon below us still is heading straight at us.

“Alienis climb!” I yell in disbelief that I actually said those words and they came from my mouth. “He means to attack you from below.” I let loose another arrow right into his eye again. “Now!” I yell when my arrow does not slow him.

Alienis begins to climb. I nudge his right, so he moves to his right. The red dragon zooms past him. I nudge Alienis on his left as I touch his neck. My stomach fills with butterflies as my organs try to escape my lungs once more while he plummets toward the earth.

“Up!” I yell as I hit his right, narrowly avoiding the red dragon again. This time, I catch sight of its rider; and he’s wearing the same damn cloak the Adversantem wear. I pull my bow and let loose an arrow into his shoulder. The arrow stays lodged there as he grunts. My eyes widen when he looks up to give me a mocking grin. It is then that Alienis’s back is slammed with the back of the red dragon. I lose my grip and am knocked off the saddle.

“Alienis!” I scream as air whips at me. I catch sight of the red dragon moving in to bite a disoriented Alienis. It is like a second part of my brain is activated. Quickly I ready my bow and aim. The arrow flies through the air as I drop at a quicker rate. The arrow lodges in the red dragon’s eye again, joining its partners from earlier. The red dragon roars and flinches, just barely missing biting Alienis’s neck.

By this time, I’m halfway to the ground. Alienis is near the ground. I turn my body, so I face the ground. I spread my arms and legs wide, trying to make myself as big as possible to slow my fall. “Alienis!” I yell, panic clear in my voice. I do not like how fast the ground is racing up to meet me.

Alienis snaps back to our world. I know this by a strong pull on my mind. “Pull up!” I yell at him through my mind. I’m trying to control my breathing. Harsh wind is grabbing at my skin, trying to find a weak point in it. His wings spread wide and pulls himself up at a sharp one hundred and twenty-five degree angle. Something hard grips my waist, crushing the air out of my lungs. I cry in pain while I try to pull at the massive red claws around me.

“We got her, Malbright. Home! Before her dragon figures out how to fly again.” A hard voice whoops, celebrating his victory. Concerned by his words, I look down and see Alienis fumbling in his flight patterns before starting to crash again.

“Alienis!” I scream through my mouth and mind. “Pump your wings, Alienis. I know you’re hurt, but I need your help.” I risk dropping my bow as I try to figure out a way to help him. I reach through the space between my captor’s claws and grab one of my blue-tipped knives from my belt. Remembering Trayvon’s anatomy lesson, I stab it into the dragon’s foot; right into a nerve. The dragon howls his pain and lets loose of his grip automatically. I painfully gasp as pressure is released around my lungs, and they expand in their quest for air.

As I fall, I start being able to make out individual leaf shapes in the trees in my increasingly quick descent. I cover my face with my arms and swear in my head repeatedly. Should have stuck with being the dragon’s captive. Right when I expect to meet my death, claws grab around my waist in a hard protective motion. My head snaps backward as I am pushed forward. When I lower my arms, I see white claws around me this time and breathe a sigh of relief.

Alienis is able to fly for a few minutes before he’s forced to take shelter in a cave; crashing through the mountainside to widen its entrance as his wings give out on him. He had crashed landed on his back and has me cradled on top of his stomach, to cushion my landing at least. Hearing the sounds of falling rocks, I curl into a ball and manage to avoid some large rocks that are still dropping from his rough entry.

When everything settles, I take a steadying breath before cold realization hits me. “Alienis!” I call through the dust clouds. All I see is smoke and darkness. His grip is loose around me and I can’t feel his mind, pushing my desperation into panic. I grab his scaly claw and push against it, trying to escape his grasp. Gasping anguished breaths as excruciating pain is produced from my ribs, I pull myself out of his grip and roll to the ground; knocking all air out of me. I focus on taking ragged breaths of air to keep me conscious; while I find the will to fight for my body to listen to me.

Eventually, I push through my pain. I grab hold of a bone of Alienis’s folded up wing and pull myself up. I still can’t feel his mind within mine like I always do, but the expanding and contracting pattern of his ribs give me comfort. I need to get help for him. Only problem is I can’t breathe, and I have no idea where I am. There is wetness heard in Alienis’s breath so waiting for help is not an option.

I go to his head. His eyes are closed and there is fresh blood on his skull. I kiss his head. “Wait here Alienis. I’ll get help. I promise.” I start for the entrance, about twice as big as it once was thanks to Alienis’s crash landing. I kick the rock out of the way as I bat the cloud of dust from my face.

When outside I have to cover my face as harsh light attacks my eyes. Slowly I lower my arms and swear. I’m on a steep cliff that is a hundred-meter drop at minimum. Forest is all I can see. There is no sign of the red cliffs that I have come to recognize in this land. Where in the name of Dawn am I? I hadn’t realized I relied on Alienis this much to get us home. If I get out of this, I’m making a map.

A dark shadow covers me, giving me some relief from the blistering heat. I look up and dive to the other side of the cliff, narrowly missing a red claw. I hiss in pain when I shift my arms to get them under me. The red dragon’s claw had sliced through my back skin like it was butter. I hear a soft thump land as I force myself to stand. When I look up, I see the cloaked man. His face is harsh. Green eyes sparkle in delighted sadistic amusement. A scar is on his neck while fresh blood races down his shoulder.

The member of the Adversantem grins at me while removing his hood, revealing a bald head with a sun tattooed on it. “Well done, Dracones, but this is where you fall.” He pulls a knife from his belt and steps toward me.

“What in the name of Dawn is wrong with you people!” I cry, tired of all this; resting my hands on my knees while I force myself to remain standing. I’m bruised, soar, and out of breath and royally pissed. “Why can’t you just be like normal people and talk things out? Not kidnap people, hold them captive, and expect them to play along.” I straighten as anger fuels my body. The Adversantem is looking at me with pure disbelief. “And this sure as night is not where I fall. This is where you die.”

He barks a laugh. “And who is going to be doing this killing? You’re weak and nearly off your feet right now. If you are to survive you have no clue where to go. My fellow men surround this mountain as I speak, and more are coming. You’re from the north, I know that accent. You’re lost in this world.”

“I’ve been in worse spots before.” I step into a defensive stance. “And the North would eat your ass alive. Survival is what we do best. Now quit talking and let’s go.” The Adversantem chuckles. He moves forward at full speed. I step quickly as I grab his wrist and twist it while pushing on his pressure point. I flip the knife out of his wrist as he spins back; catching it the moment it leaves his hand. I duck and swipe with his knife at his stomach. Blood sprays while the metal hisses at the contact, which is easily drowned out by the man’s cry of pain. I duck since the man keeps going and step back. I grin at the man while he turns back to give me a glare that looks like it’s coming from death. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I straighten while I take a much needed breath. “Told you.”

His jaw goes tight, and he quickly charges at me again. I step out of the way and slam his shoulder with my fist, forcing him to spin. I high-kick his chest, sending him right over the cliff. Gladly, I take a small moment to rest as I look around. My body tenses when I hear the distinct sound of a dragon’s roar.

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