Alliance (16 page)

Nykin greeted the others around the table before taking his seat. His mouth watered when one of the kitchen maids set a steaming-hot plate of food in front of him. He’d been too busy spending time with Fimor and had missed lunch. That meant Selene had missed it too. He hoped someone had the foresight to send food up to the Eyrie, otherwise they’d be starving up there. Perhaps it was worth mentioning to Ryneq after the meal.

“Have you just come from the Eyrie, Nykin?” Nysad set down his knife and fork and reached for his wine.

Nykin had a mouthful of food, so he just nodded in reply.

“I assume Eldin told you all about the new plans?” Ryneq added and pushed his plate to the side. He looked every bit the king—confident and self-assured—but Nykin noticed the flash of concern in his eyes.

“Yes. The riders are on twelve-hour shifts. I’m on second shift, so with your permission, Sire, I need to leave shortly and try to get some sleep.”

“Of course, Nykin. Do as you must.”

Nykin smiled, but before he could comment further, all the elves at the table immediately stiffened, their cutlery clattering on the table. The piece of bread he’d just swallowed lodged in his throat as he exchanged looks with Ryneq and Nysad.

Glaevahl rose up out of his chair, the other elves following suit. “It has begun, Your Highness. The witch is attacking the barrier as we speak. We must hurry in order to repair any damage she causes.”

“Nysad”—Ryneq shoved his chair back—“escort the elves on horseback and ensure the archers are ready.”

“Yes, Sire.” Nysad bowed his head and hurried toward the door with the elves hot on his heels. That was when Nykin remembered the letter in his pocket and his promise to Selene.

“Lerran, wait.” He rushed to catch up with them and drew Lerran quickly to one side. “Selene asked me to give you this.” He pressed the letter into Lerran’s hands. “She’s on first shift, so she’ll be riding out soon.”

“Thank you.” Lerran clutched the letter tightly and looked as though he wanted to say more, but Nysad and the others were already halfway down the passageway. He turned away without another word.

“Nykin?”

Nykin’s tattoo flared bright and hot as his connection with Fimor burst to life.

“Eldin has called all riders back to the Eyrie. The first shift are already preparing to fly out. You need to come now.”

“On my way.”

He turned sharply and collided with Ryneq. “I have to go, Eldin’s orders.”

“I know.” He pulled Nykin close and kissed him. “I want you back in one piece this time.” Ryneq’s voice was hard, leaving no room for argument, but as much as he’d like to, it wasn’t anything Nykin could promise. So instead he leaned in to kiss Ryneq again before turning on his heel and running for the Eyrie steps.

“Fimor? What’s happening?”
Nykin wasn’t the only one rushing up from the palace. Three people were already climbing the steps when he got there, with two more coming up behind him.

“The riders are airborne now, circling behind Mount Tors until the witch exhausts her magic. It will be any moment now. I can feel it.”

Nykin took the last few steps two at a time, following those ahead of him along the tunnels leading to the storeroom. They wished each other good luck as they collected their harnesses and headed out to the caves.

“The attack has begun, Nykin. We are to provide backup as soon as we’re in the sky with the others.”

“Is the barrier intact still?”
Nykin ran through the tunnels, hefting the harness back up onto his shoulder each time it threatened to slip.
“And where are you?”

“The first of the caves on the lower level, and yes, the barrier sustained some damage, but I can already feel them repairing it.”

Nykin gasped for breath as he skidded through the entranceway, a light sheen of sweat coating his brow. Fimor sat waiting for him, his tail swishing impatiently back and forth.

“Hurry, Nykin.”

Nykin threw the saddle over Fimor’s back and strapped the harness on with deft hands.
“Tell me what’s happening?”
He used Fimor’s wing as a step to climb onto his back.

“I can’t tell. It’s all happening too fast. We’ll be able to see for ourselves when we get up in the sky.”
As Nykin buckled the thigh straps in place, Fimor shifted his huge body around until they were facing the cave mouth.
“Ready?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Fimor leapt out into sky, the light fading as dusk approached. He circled back around to join the other dragons already waiting. Two more exited the landing caves after them.
“That’s all of us, Nykin. We’re just waiting on your command.”

Nykin swallowed thickly. He’d never had this much responsibility before, but Eldin had faith in him, otherwise he wouldn’t have given him the lead.
“Are there enough dragons to shield us as we fly?”

“As long as we stay close and keep steady.”
Fimor moved into position as he answered, heading out to lead the way, with the others falling into a tight V formation behind him.

Nykin felt a light buzz over his skin, the dragons’ magic setting his nerve endings alight as they protected themselves from those below. They rounded the side of the mountain just in time to see Eldin and the others swoop down and streak through the sky above Seran’s army. Nykin gasped at the sight—Vashek huge and determined at the front as he led the attack.

Seran’s camp was a flurry of activity, one of the catapults already on fire, the flames hungrily licking along the wooden frame. Seran’s archers loosed a barrage of arrows, taking aim as the dragons flew overhead, but the arrows bounced off an invisible wall and clattered harmlessly back to the ground.

“They’re shielded?”
Nykin asked, tightly gripping Fimor’s harness as they angled down to join the fighting.

“Yes, but not when they attack. It’s too much to keep the shield up and use our fire.”

Eldin and the others were coming around for another sweep.
“Get below them, Fimor, we can help protect them against some of the arrows at least. Tell the others to hang back just enough to keep away from their fire. And let Eldin know too.”
The last thing they needed was to get in Eldin’s way.

Fimor dipped low, the other riders following the move
seamlessly, and they flew as one to cover the underside of the attacking dragons. This close to them, Nykin saw most of Eldin’s group had been hit by Seran’s archers. Vashek had at least three shafts poking out of his back and one in his tail, and both Domor and Kalesh looked to have caught a couple. According to Fimor, the arrows weren’t poisoned, so that was something, and the dragons looked no worse for their injuries. Their hides were thick and extremely difficult to penetrate, though, so the witch had probably enchanted the arrows somehow. Speaking of the witch….
“Fimor, can you sense the witch’s magic?”

“Barely. She’s still recovering, Nykin. We have time.”

Two more of the catapults were on fire now, and Nykin watched as the men underneath them scurried to try to put out the flames. That still left seven intact—more than enough to take out Torsere’s walls. Eldin’s group finished their run and looped in a wide arc to make another pass.

“Eldin says they’re going again and wants you to cover them if you can.”

“Tell him we’re right behind him.”
Nykin leaned to the right as Fimor turned in a tight circle, lining up ready to go in behind Eldin.
“Where’s Seran’s tent? Why aren’t they hitting that?”
Nykin scanned the rows of tents set up at the back of the sprawl, searching for anything resembling a king’s tent. There, right in the middle of them all, was one that looked bigger than the rest. The dark purple flag of Rodeth, two white, crossed daggers in the middle, flew proudly atop it.
“Is that it?”
He tightened his grip as Fimor picked up speed.
“The one with the flag?”

“Yes, but I can feel the magic protecting it from here. Attacking it would be a waste of Eldin’s time and energy.”

Arrows continued to fly at them as they shadowed the others, Nykin unable to help flinching even as they hit the dragons’ shield and bounced off. Some still managed to hit their target, though, as Fimor and the others were unable to protect Eldin’s group entirely. Two more catapults lit up in flames.

“Nykin, the witch’s magic is recovering faster now—not enough to attack the barrier, but maybe for spell casting. Eldin has ordered all dragons back to the Eyrie.”

As Fimor spoke, Vashek began to climb higher, his huge body angled in the direction of the Eyrie. Nykin had eased his fingers out of the death grip they had on Fimor’s harness, relieved they’d made it through without any major casualties, when an almighty roar sounded up ahead. Vashek faltered in the air, his body twitching and his wings beating furiously as though struggling to keep airborne.

“What’s happening?”
More anguished roars filled the air around them, as one by one the dragons in Eldin’s group fought to keep themselves in the sky. Nykin looked on helplessly at the dragons above him. He saw Kalesh and Domor at the back. Domor appeared relatively unaffected, but Kalesh’s head thrashed from side to side. He felt sick at the sight.
“Fimor! What the
—
”

“The arrows, Nykin. Do you see them?”

“Yes, but how…?”
The arrows buried deep in Vashek’s back had somehow been pulled loose and were being drawn back down to the ground by an invisible force. They weren’t just falling, either, something, or
someone
was definitely controlling them. Soon enough a long stream of arrows littered the sky as each and every one tore its way loose.

“They were enchanted, Nykin. Her power is returning far quicker than we expected. The dragons should have been shielded.”

The implication made Nykin cold all over. They needed to get back behind the elven barrier. The dragons had recovered enough to fly again, and Eldin led them back to the Eyrie as fast as possible. Nykin didn’t breathe properly until they were all safely inside the landing caves. He slumped forward and let his head rest on Fimor’s neck, his hands trembling slightly where they gripped the harness.

“Are you all right, Nykin?”
Fimor asked softly.

“No, I don’t think so.”
Nykin shook his head a little, the rough scales scraping against his cheek.
“The arrows just tore themselves out. How are we supposed to fight against that?”
Nykin sat back up and started to undo his thigh straps.
“I don’t understand why she’d even want them back anyway. I’m sure Seran isn’t in danger of running out, and besides they’d be covered in…
Gods be merciful
…. They’ll be covered in
blood
, Fimor. Dragon’s blood.”

“Yes.”
Fimor sighed and put his wing out for Nykin to drop down onto.
“I fear our attack may not have been quite the surprise we were hoping for.”
He turned his head to meet Nykin’s gaze as soon as Nykin was on the ground.
“Eldin has ordered all riders on shift to report back to the Eyrie in two hours. He’s gone to meet with Ryneq and the elves first. Maybe you should go join them, Nykin. I’m sure your king will be worried.”

“Yes, I’ll go as soon as I’ve seen Selene and Jaken.”
He reached up and unbuckled the saddle and harness, slipped them off Fimor’s back, and set them on the floor of the cave.
“I just need to make sure they’re all right.”

“Of course.”
Fimor drew himself up, towering above Nykin as he did so.
“I need to get back up the mountain and be with the others now, but I will contact you later.”

Nykin nodded and watched as Fimor launched out of the cave and flew up to join the rest of the dragons in their lair atop Mount Tors.

Since they could be called back out at any time, Nykin didn’t bother taking the saddle and harness back down to the storeroom. He laid it carefully out of the way at the side of the cave and headed through the tunnels to the entrance.

He fell in step behind two of the riders from Eldin’s group; they were silent as they hurried along, and Nykin didn’t miss the stiff set to their shoulders. It must have been terrifying up there, not knowing what was happening and hoping your dragon didn’t just fall out of the sky.

“Nykin.”

Nykin stopped and turned around at the familiar voice. Selene rushed toward him, with Jaken not far behind her. He pulled them both in for a tight hug, not letting go until Jaken huffed and moaned that he couldn’t breathe. “Sorry, I was worried.”

“Us too.” Selene glanced at Jaken, and Nykin was struck by how pale they both looked. “I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so scared before. Kalesh had one of those arrows in the base of her neck. It wasn’t in that deep, but when it started to vibrate and
come out
, she went crazy.” Selene shuddered, and Jaken squeezed her shoulder.

“Domor only had them in the end of his tail, but it still made him off balance when they got pulled out.” Jaken rubbed the back of his neck. “It was the freakiest thing, Nykin. As though someone was tugging on them. I expected them to fall when they were out, but they didn’t. They just—”

“Floated down as if called by magic?”

“Yeah, exactly like that.” Jaken frowned. “They were coated in blood. That can’t bode well for us, can it? I mean that’s the whole point of it all, isn’t it? That Seran and the witch want to get their hands on dragon’s blood. What in the name of the Gods will happen now that they have some of it?”

Nykin sighed and shook his head. “I have no idea.” He started walking back along the tunnel toward the entrance. “Come on. We should try and get something to eat and drink before we have to meet with Eldin.”

Selene huffed. “Not sure my stomach could actually handle food at the moment, but I could do with a drink.” Jaken hummed in agreement, and Nykin imagined every single one of the riders would be in need of a drink to calm their nerves.