Slayer

  Next time I’ll teach those little humans just what a child of the sky can do, thought Valao with a huff.

  Thetra was continuing on to the next building when something approaching from the west caught Valao’s eye. He immediately was alert, head raised high for any danger.

  “Thetra!” yelled Valao in Thetra’s direction, and Thetra turned around to face Valao, a questioning expression on his face. Valao gestured to the shape coming in from the west, and saw Thetra look and see the creature.

  “It’s a horse!” announced Thetra, but Valao was not sure. It did not look like a horse, but a giant animal with their fist in the air.

  “Are you sure?” yelled Valao to Thetra, who was running toward him like a bullet.

  “Aye,” said Thetra once he reached Valao. “What does it look like to you?”

  Valao squinted his eyes to try and see, examining the shape very closely. “It looks like...a human on a horse with their sword in the air.”

  Thetra breathed in a big breath of air. “That could only mean one thing. Get the others!”

  Thetra, Valao, Ejarshöh, Casmig, and Algonge all bolted in different directions, gathering the best Dark Destroyers and telling them what was happening, for they were quite confused when they were awoken from their mid-day sleep.

  Once all the soldiers were together, they all set out to meet the rider on horseback.

  Thetra led them out far west, all the way to the horse, for the rider was not moving now that it was so close. Valao figured that the rider may be frightened, a youngling that wanted to join the Good Army but did not know what to expect. Yet Valao still felt no sympathy, no matter who it was. He only felt sympathy for Thetra, and Thetra alone.

  Once they were within a mile of the rider, they stopped, for the horse was now moving towards them. It was moving very slowly as if it were cautious, which it probably was.

  Valao started to wander off, looking at nature and different things in the world of Destville. He saw an unusual plant and decided to stay away from it, thinking it might be the poisonous léverujosk, for it met all of the exceptions to be one.

  When Valao returned to the place where the group had stopped, they were waiting for him. Once he arrived, they continued on with what was now a half mile.

  Once the puny humans were within shooting range of the horse and human, they noticed the full details of the rider’s expression. Since the humans were hiding behind a sharp row of thorn rose bushes, the rider did not notice them. But the four dragons were up above the clouds, out of sight.

  “Do you think the human caught them yet?” asked Casmig.

  “No,” responded Ghuar. “But I believe that since the odds are fourteen to one, we stand a good chance.”

  “I agree with Ghuar,” said Ejarshöh.

  “I do as well,” said Valao, flying higher above all the other dragons.

  “Valao, do come down and join us,” said Ghaur. “We need all the dragons down here to discuss who we think the rider on the horse might be.”

  “My tooth is loose,” lied Valao.

  “Valao, you are a wimp if you’re making an excuse like that,” said Casmig.

  “Be quiet!” barked Valao, but laughter had already broken out among the dragons, and Valao could feel his face getting hot with humiliation.

  “But seriously Valao, please come down here,” said Ejarshöh. “Ghuar is right. We need all of the dragons that will participate in the fight to prepare for the fight.”

  “Well said, Ejarshöh,” said Ghuar.

  “Alright,” said Valao, climbing down through the air.

  Once Valao was with the others, Ghuar began the conversation by saying, “So how do we help the humans?”

  “I have an idea,” said Ejarshöh. “We go down a little further in the clouds and stay hidden in them…”

  “How would that help us?” wondered Valao.

  “Well, we would still be able to see.”

  “Oh?” said Ghuar.

  “Aye. We would be high enough in the clouds so that we would be out of sight, yet we would be low enough to be able to spy on the fight and watch to see if our help is needed.”

  “That’s not bad,” said Ghuar, his expression showing that he was thinking hard. “So you suggest we fly down a bit further?”

  “Aye,” replied Ejarshöh.

  “I like the idea,” said Casmig. “Let us do it.”

  “Let Ejarshöh lead the way,” said Valao abruptly. “He was the one who formed the idea.”

  “I agree,” said Ghuar, hovering out of the way so that Ejarshöh could lead them down.

  As they climbed down further through the hazy mist Valao thought he saw Thetra kneeling.

  Once they reached the place in the clouds that Ejarshöh led them to, Valao realized he was correct. He could see Thetra kneeling, bleeding.

  “Ghuar,” said Valao.

  “Keep your voice down!” said Ghuar in a hushed whisper. “Since we are farther down in the clouds the woman can hear us better. Now what do you need?”

  “Thetra is bleeding.”

  Ghuar looked shocked. He looked down to see for himself, and Valao saw him discover that it was true when his expression turned to shock. “Oh my,” he said.

  “Shall we go help him?” asked Casmig.

  “No. Stay here. The humans down there will heal him somehow,” said Ghuar.

  Valao wanted to roar as loud as he possibly could, for he could bear it no longer that his Rider was injured and bleeding and he could do nothing about it other than just watch.

  “Ghuar, let me go down there. There’s nothing the woman can do to me. I am invincible to all other than myself.”

  Valao could tell that Ghuar was regarding Valao with a newborn respect. “Alright,” he said. “You may go. But under only one condition.”

  “Oh?” said Valao, eager to go save Thetra.

  “You return the moment Thetra is healed.”

  Valao sighed. “Aye.” Then he took off down toward Thetra.

  But as Valao flew down, something caught his eye. He looked at the dot he saw and realized that Mordon was wandering away from the pack. He was going to a source of water east from the group.

  Suspicious, Valao flew after him.

  He saw Mordon wading through the ways until he reached the center of a small lake. Valao saw Mordon bend down and put his hand in the water, as if to feel the climate of the liquid.

  Valao still stayed high in the air, unseen. He squinted his eyes to see what exactly Mordon was doing. After about a minute of searching around the water, Valao saw Mordon pick something out of the water.

  Although he could not see exactly what Mordon had discovered, Valao could easily assume it was a glass jar by the looks of the object.

  But what was in the jar Valao did not know. It looked to him like a liquid mixture between a vapor and a venomous poison.

  Valao started gliding closer to the ground to get a better look at what Mordon had found.

  But as he flew, Mordon looked up and saw who was spying on him.

  Valao immediately shot up towards the sky and tried to find where the other dragons were. But he soon discovered that it was nearly impossible to pinpoint their exact location in the clouds.

  Valao was afraid that since Mordon had spotted him, he assumed that Valao had very valuable information stored in his brain, which Valao did not, as he had no idea what Mordon was doing at the lake.

  What did Mordon think of Valao now that he had caught him? Did he think that Valao was always stalking creatures? Valao was afraid of the answer.

  Valao continued flying in the direction he thought the other dragons were but he couldn’t be too sure. He was lost in the clouds, drifting through the puffy white blanket, not having a clue about his friends’ location.

  But as Valao flew along the edge of the clouds, feeling the warm coziness of the inside of the clouds he loved to swim in, Valao heard a high-pitched yell. He did not recognize the scream at all, and assumed it b
elonged to Mordon as Valao had never heard his yell. Valao flew lower to investigate.

  As Valao hovered in the clouds, just being able to see the ground far below, he checked to see if he was hidden.

  He looked down at his belly, seeing if any square inch of it was being exposed to the world beneath the clouds, and he immediately felt mortified as he discovered that his abdomen was below the clouds, along with the tips of his claws. He sucked his stomach in, raised his legs, and hoped for the best as he continued searching for both the screamer and his friendswhichever came first.

  Valao flew over lakes and ponds, enjoying the interesting view of the world below him. He admired the fresh smell of the pine trees, and was pleased to see all of the grass on the ground, with no dirt.

  But he soon realized that although he enjoyed exploring nature, he was not completing his task.

  I have flown too far, he thought, horrified.

  Panicking, Valao quickly turned around. But he should not have, for what he saw was not something he had ever wanted to witness since only about an hour ago, when he had caught Mordon up to something suspicious.

  For what he saw was a dragon. It wasn’t any ordinary dragon; it was Ejarshöh.

  Sitting upon him was the man Valao least expectedMordon Teruisson.

  Mordon had his sword in hand, ready for anything that might jump at him or attack him. But he was not threatening Valao, so Valao stepped up and spoke.

  “Ho, Mordon. What brings you so far up in the wilderness of the sky?”

  “I was looking for you, Valao Valeosson. I wanted to ask you a question.”

  “Oh?”

  “I was wondering why you were spying on me down at the lake. Do you know what I was doing?”

  “I know not what you were doing, nor what you were intending to do, but I did know you were doing something.”

  “Indeed I was,” Mordon said mysteriously.

  “And what might that have been?” wondered Valao.

  “I was searching for a type of oil at the bottom of the small lake to heal Thetra’s wound.”

  “He was stabbed?”

  “Aye,” replied Mordon. “I am on a quest to save my friend.”

  “I see. Well hurry and take it to him! We don’t want him dying!”

  “Yes, dragon. Fly down, Ejarshöh! Fly down!” Mordon and Ejarshöh took off to land next to the group of men from the army.

  “No, Mordon, stop!” Valao yelled after him, remembering his battle theories for studying at the Great Hall back with Ghuar in the army.

  Ejarshöh came to an abrupt stop in the air. He turned around to let Mordon face Valao.

  “What is it, Valao?” asked Mordon.

  “Do you not think that the intruder would spy you flying in the sky and watch you fly down to behind those bushes and know that she was being spied upon?!” scolded Valao.

  Mordon hung his head. “I am sorry, dragon. What shall I do?”

  Valao thought for a long time on this.

  Maybe if Ejarshöh could fly around behind the intruder and Mordon could kill her in the back then she would easily be finished. But then Valao realized how the woman would most definitely hear them sneaking up on her.

  “I do not know, Mordon.”

  “Shall I just remain in the air out of sight until you sort your thoughts out?”

  “That would be fine, Mordon,” replied Valao, and that was exactly what Mordon did.

    

  Arek

  Arek sat down on a patch of grass and sighed.

  It seemed to him as if the meeting with the woman was going to take the rest of their lives, and he did not exaggerate when he thought this.

  Thetra was so annoying in the way he acted as if he were leading the group, which he was of course, but he did not have to order the troops in such a harsh way, especially his brother.

  Thetra had insisted they waited for Mordon to return from getting the oil, and they had grown so impatient and were complaining so much that Thetra sent Ejarshöh to go find Mordon.

  But Ejarshöh and Mordon were yet to return.

  The fact that they had not returned after about an hourif Arek’s estimate was correctworried Arek, for he cared about not only his dragon, but also had been becoming good friends with Mordon after all the sparring they did together.

  After a while, Arek couldn’t stop himself. He stomped over to his brother and got in Thetra’s face, yelling, “You need to learn that we care about our friends too!”

  Thetra’s jaw dropped and he looked as if he were struck. He tried to say something but to Arek it looked as if he were a fish gasping for air, for his mouth made no sound, only the action of opening and closing.

  “What are you trying to say, Brother?” asked Arek.

  After a minute Thetra began to talk. “I, I am not going to be influenced by you,” he said awkwardly.

  “Alright,” said Arek, not willing to look like Thetra did only a minute ago, dumbstruck.

  “Arek...”

  “What, Thetra?” asked Arek impatiently.

  “I am the leader of the army.”

  “You don’t say...” said Arek in a mocking tone, imitating his uncle who used to say that every time Thetra or Arek said something obvious.

  Uncle would be proud of us if only he knew instead of staying in that house of his, never seeing daylight, entranced by his books and scrolls.

  “What I mean is...” Thetra paused, then continued. “I mean you need to show respect. I have more power than you, Brother.”

  “I am older,” protested Arek.

  “That does not matter!” snapped Thetra. “I will listen to you no longer!”

  “Be quiet, Thetra. The intruder may hear us.”

  “What do you care?” Arek heard Thetra mutter under his breath.

  Thetra did not answer.

  But Arek heard something far in the distance. He pictured it as a dying bird without its flock, flying farther and farther away from his family. Arek imagined the bird as a crow, a fearless animal that would never give up.

  But in this case, it did, for the noise was only getting louder, as if the bird were flying towards them.

  Arek immediately looked up as he felt the wind rushing down to him from the beating of a winged animal.

  “Ahhh!” yelled Arek, and was immediately scolded by Thetra, who was not one to let his brother disobey his rules, even if Arek was older.

  “Thetra,” warned Arek, quieter this time. “What was that?”

  “I do not know, Brother. Let me”

  Thetra was interrupted by the rushing of wings once more, and this time Arek raised his hand high in the air and felt the animal’s belly.

  It was a dragon.

  Arek looked up as fast as he possibly could have and saw the glint of red scales just as the dragon disappeared out of view once more, only to come flying back again.

  “He’s circling,” said Thetra. “Most likely looking for a spot to land.”

  “Well I’m not moving,” declared Arek.

  After a moment’s silence, Thetra whispered loudly, “Arek, that’s your dragon!”

  Arek was astonished as he realized that Thetra was correct. Flying high above them was Ejarshöh Korjahbsson, soaring through the clouds so gracefully that Arek found a newborn satisfaction for his dragon.

  “Dragon!” yelled Arek. “Come down here at once! You will be seen and give our presence away!”

  But he already had. The intruder rustled the branches in front of her, and that gave the group of Dark Destroyers the signal that the time had come.

  As Arek started running, he felt something tug at his shoe. He attempted to continue racing forward to meet his dragon, but he was stuck. As he tried to pull his foot loose, he pulled so hard that his foot escaped the root that had wrapped itself around his ankle, only to run into another thorny branch, which he tripped over.

  “Ah!” he yelled too loudly. Thetra immediately scolded him and told him to continue more
quietly, but Arek could not walk. He was injured.

  Arek started crawling toward his destination, not using his leg.

  “Arek, what is wrong?” asked Thetra, starting towards his brother.

  “My ankle...it’s broken.”

  “What happened? We need the strongest soldiers for the battle!”

  “Just make me a potion or something. I tripped over a twig and twisted it. It is really severe, Thetra. I cannot walk.”

  “I shall make you a crutch, my brother.”

  “Thank you,” said Arek, wincing in pain with every movement.

  Thetra set to work, twisting boughs together in different combinations. He made one long stick, then another, and completed one crutch by tying them together with a strong weed that would hold. He then repeated the action once more, and finally, Arek had support.

  “It is crude, but what else can you hope for in these conditions?” Thetra gestured around him to the forest.

  “Thank you, Thetra,” said Arek.

  Thetra nodded in response. “Let us continue back to the group, for I believe your dragon has joined them.”

  They arrived shortly after dusk, using a slightly damaged lantern they found to lead them.

  Although the woman knew they were there, they remained hidden behind the bushes until the intruder made their move.

    

  Thetra

  NEARLY DEAD

  It happened immediately after midnight. The intruder made the action so blindingly fast, some of the group did not even realize it happened.

  However, Thetra did.

  He saw it, for his eyes were getting more and keener ever since he had underwent his Dragon Rider transformation.

  But he also happened not to be blinking at the moment it happened.

  The woman had reached into her pouch that she carried behind her. It was a large pouch, about three feet across and three feet tall.

  Out of the bag, she drew a bow with five arrows, and not only this, but she also nocked an arrow and pulled the string back, threatening them.

  “Be gone with you,” Thetra heard her mutter.

  We belong here, unlike you. You may not push us out of our land, for this is ours! thought Thetra, never daring to say such a thing.