Dragon Dodgers (Wounds in the Sky Prequels Book 1) (9 page)

“
Hey! Hey, you beasts! Heeeeeeeeey!” Serak
screamed.

He’s mad!
Anweh
thought.

“
Thamet, do something or
gods help you I’ll…”

“
Alright.” Thamet conceded. “That’s enough, Serak.” He
yelled.

But Serak wasn’t even listening
, as if everything that was left of him was
rage.

“
HEEEEEEEYYY!” He kept screaming. The veins on his neck
popping out. Then –

A raging
roar swept through the valley. So loud and fierce it made everyone
take a step back. The shape of a Dragon surged in the sky, shooting
towards them.

“
Here’s your Dragon, Captain.” Serak smiled like a mad man.
He got up, holding Targon by the neck. “I hope it chokes on
you.”

“
NO!” Anweh raced towards Serak
, screaming.

It made his
head turn and Targon took the chance to butt Serak in the temple,
sending him staggering backwards. The Captain turned around, saw
the Dragon open its mouth and his eyes went wide. He felt a shock
and was knocked down by Anweh.

They felt the heat of the gushing
flames a mere few inches from them. Targon rolled over, trying to
protect Anweh. He felt the heat go away and quickly jumped
up.

“
A blind bomb. Someone hit
him it with a blind bomb.” He yelled, helping Anweh to her
feet.

Around him, the Runners fiddled with
their equipment, tripping over themselves with the
shock.

“
We’re not taking orders
from you anymore.” He heard Serak say, then felt a punch on his
kidneys.

Targon fell
on his knees, grabbed Serak’s legs and swept them up, taking him
down. Then, as he was about to pin Serak to the ground, he looked
sideways, at Anweh, a few feet from him, and a scream froze in his
throat. He saw a shadow cover her as she stumbled back and fell,
then two massive jaws closed around her, sweeping her off the
ground.

Blind bombs quickly showered over the
Dragon
’s head, but the
creature flew away, clutching its prey firmly between its
fangs.

“
Come on, kid,
faster!” Balcazar said. “We’re losing it.”

“
But I…”
Enrig gasped.
“I have a broken arm.”

“
Oh, don’t be silly. I
drugged you out of your mind. You can’t feel a thing.”

Enrig did feel
different, as if he was floating, yet tremendously aware,
and despite having been Surface Running for the past several days,
his feet didn’t hurt, his bruises didn’t bother him and his muscles
were relaxed. It was like he could go on forever. So, he kept his
arm tucked in his chest, but tried to ignore its condition and sped
up. He was surprised when he felt no extra pain. Just the
discomfort of using only one arm to keep balance.

Balcazar, on
the other hand, was climbing up the mountain like he had lived
there all his life; chasing after the flying Dragon like a cat
after a fleeting mouse.

“
He’s heading to that crag up there.”
He said.

“
Maybe it’s tired.” Enrig said.

“
No.” Balcazar smiled. “I think we’re
even luckier than that.” He turned back to face
Enrig. “I think that’s his lair.”

Enrig
frowned; it did seem too good to be true. He raised himself up to a
small boulder, finally catching up to Balcazar, and watched as the
Dragon turned his body almost vertically to slow itself down. Dust,
pebbles and twigs danced into the air with the gust of wind from
its wings, and the Dragon’s hind legs touched the ground with a
thump.

“
A Samehrian Jaggedback…”
Balcazar uttered in fascination. He turned to Enrig. “You can tell
from the…”

“
Thingy’s on its back, yeah.”

“
Triangular plates.” Balcazar corrected.
“
They're probably bone,
growing from the spine, but who knows…” He sounded distant, as if
he was daydreaming.

“
We should head back. We
can still save Anweh.” Enrig told him.

Balcazar stood motionless, admirin
g as the creature entered a black hole in the
mountain.

“
Yes… We can still save
her.”

* * *

“
I ought to kill you right
now!” Targon paced left and right, screaming in a fury.

“
Then do it.”
Serak
replied. He was kneeling down, hands tied behind his back; his
green hair a sweaty mess spread across his face.

“
Don’t tempt me…” Targon
squeezed his own fist.

A
sound of rolling
rubble came from above them and they turned towards it.

“
Where the surface have you been?” Targon asked.

“
We followed the Dragon.”
Enrig said. “We found it.”

Targon stormed towards them and
grabbed Balcazar by the neck.

“
You took the kid after
the Dragon?!”

“
I… I thought you would be
happy to know we found its lair.” Balcazar babbled.

“
It’s less than a mile away.” Enrig said. “We can still save
Anweh.”

“
Stop it!” Targon yelled. “That’s enough.” He stood silent
for a moment. “We’re leaving.”

“
But…” Enrig
mumbled.

“
I’ve lost enough people, already. It’s over.” Targon shook
his head slowly and let Balcazar go with a shove.

“
Captain… She might still
be alive.” Balcazar insisted. “All we need is the
Glowstone.”

“
What Glowstone?
Where
is it? We’ve been climbing this mountain for hours, I’m starting to
think it doesn’t even exist.”

Serak began to chuckle.

“
What are you laughing
about?” Targon gnarled.

“
Now? Now you agree with me?! Gods of the grave, you
are
useless.”

Targon punched him. A red stream
emerged from Serak’s lower lip and he spat some blood.

“
Fair enough.” He said. “But we should get those crystals;
and we should kill that beast.”

“
We?” Targon gave a short
laugh. “You have a lot of nerve…”

“
It’s my fault she got taken. Let me help you save her.” He
was serious. Dead serious.

Targon felt like throwing him off a
cliff
, and probably would
have if the rest of the Dodgers weren’t there to stop him, but if
there really was a chance to get Anweh back…

“
Alright.” He told
Balcazar. “Get us to those crystals.”

Balcazar smiled.

“
This way.” He said.

“
And someone release this worm.” Targon said with a wave
towards Serak.

* * *

Targon leapt after Balcazar; his
fingers digging into the crooked rock so hard they became
white.

“
Where is it,
Balcazar?”

“
We’re almost
there.”

The Captain had received that same
answer three times already.

“
Can we help? Tell us what
to look for. Is it a cave?”

Every moment
they wasted was a stab in his chest. He couldn’t shake the thought
of Anweh, trapped, wounded and in pain; desperately waiting for her
own death in the dark, cold lair of the terrifying
beast.

“
It’s not a cave.”
Balcazar told him with a chuckle.

“
Don’t crystals grow on
caves?”

“
Not these crystals. Don’t
worry, Captain, we really are almost there.”

He heard the
crisp squawk of an eagle and looked up.

“
That’s a brave bird.”
He heard Nasur say from behind.

The whole Company stared at the
majestic shape of the eagle gliding across the sky.

“
First time we’ve had a
clean sky since we began to climb these mountains.” Thamet noted.
“I don’t like it.”

“
Who doesn’t like a clean sky?” Marek asked in
disbelief.

“
Ignore him, Marek.” Nasur sneered. “He left his brain in
Saggad.”

“
I already said I was sorry, Lieutenant.”
Thamet said.

“
Well, sorry is not gonna
bring Anweh back; or take care of this lump on the back of my
head.”

“
Be quiet!” Targon
barked.

“
It’s just around that rock.” Balcazar said. “Are you
ready?” He smiled.

“
For what?” The Captain
asked.

“
The original Akhami tribes lived in these mountains.”
Balcazar said. “And when the Dragons came and swept men from the
surface, the Akhami left the Shamissai Mountains and looked for
refuge underground. My Master was obsessed with studying these
early events. He collected ancient tablets and papyrus rolls. You
know, records of those times.” He stopped and grabbed the broken
stone beyond which he was taking them. “Most of those artifacts
were damaged, badly preserved or just irrelevant. But he did find
something interesting. References to special warriors, armed with
magic swords and lances, who bravely fought Dragons. It was hard to
believe, of course. At first, we assumed those were just myths,
campfire lore to keep the people’s hope alive. Until… we found a
map. A tablet with a rough depiction of the Shamissai Mountains and
warriors pulling their swords from it. So Master Kanuur sent me to
track down this place, which the map called, the Elder Spires.” He
smiled and crossed to the other side.

Targon and the Dodgers followed him, only to freeze a
couple of steps later
. The
sight before them defied reason. It was simply not possible. They
were now on one side of a deep ravine that sank so far below them,
that the ground was invisible. Springing up from it, as tall as the
mountain peaks themselves, rose massive, three faced spikes aiming
at the sky like a bear trap ready to be sprung.

They stepped forward, mouths dropped,
trying to make sure they weren’t in a dream.

“
It’s…” Nyssa mumbled.

“
It’s amazing.” Targon
said. “What is it?”

The spikes were made of some kind of
gray stone, polished to a gleam, as if they were
handcrafted. Blue crystals hued all over them, like dew covered
tree branches in a cold winter morning. Each spike had its own
inclination and they seemed to form a single file along the
ravine.

“
The Akhamis believed…” Balcazar sa
id. “That an ancient Dragon god once died and sank
into the seas, leaving only its back above the water, and that our
continent – Arkhemia – grew on top of it. This,” He indicated the
spikes. “…according to the tablet map, was the Dragon god’s spine.
The Elder Spires.”

“
Like the plates of a Jaggedback...” Enrig
whispered.

“
Like the plates of a
Jaggedback.” Balcazar agreed smilingly.

* * *

Marek and
Yarek swung themselves into the nearest Spire. The Glowstone stung
a little when they grabbed them, like an ice burn, but much
quicker, like a jolt. The red headed brothers returned with a
backpack brimming with crystals.

“
Here they are.” Marek
said, dropping the Glowstone. “What do we do with
it?”

Balcazar
picked a
sharp piece of shale off the ground.

“
Everyone grab one of
these and let’s start carving.” He said.

To
demonstrate, he put on his thick leather gloves, grabbed one of the
Glowstone shards and hit it hard with the sharp end of the shale.
The crystal shattered and a small piece of it came off. He kept
hitting it until the crystal was shaped like a small
blade.

“
Fit this on top of a
pole, and you have yourself a Dragon killing lance.” He
smiled.

Targon grabbed and inspected
it.

“
That was quicker than I thought.” He muttered. “This is
like fragile glass… Are you sure it can go through Dragon scales?
Because not even diamond can do that.”

“
Captain, you have seen the letter. I have done this
before.”

“
That reminds me…” Marek said. “I’ve been wanting to ask
this for a while. Did everyone in your team survive?”

“
Well
… Not everyone,
no.” Balcazar scratched the back of his head.

“
How many
, then?”
Targon asked.

“
Just me, I’m afraid.” There was a mournful silence. “The
Dragon didn’t actually kill everyone.” He paused. “Most of them
just didn’t resist their wounds...”

The Runners exchanged uncomfortable glances,
shift
ing their feet, until
Serak broke through the crowd and grabbed one of the
crystals.

“
I really wish you had remembered that detail, back when we
met you.” He told Balcazar.

* * *