Finaan #2
“Left,” I yell as the point hurtles toward us, too close for me to see how Ruxi can get away.
But they’re wily, spinning in place so fast and unexpectedly, I have no idea how I’m still clinging to their claw, as they barrel to the side.
The shaft flies past us, falling to the ground a dragon’s-length away.
The elves aren’t close to done, though. Balin falls back to join their formation, removing the only barrier between the three dozen elves and us. “Aim,” he bellows, pulling the string on his bow as tight as it can go as his unicorn races forward again, closing the distance between us.
“Loose,” he yells, unleashing more arrows than we can possibly evade.
Ruxi doesn’t hesitate. They spin again and start sprinting to the closest wall.
Svend and Rata shriek in unison above me, their shrill voices bouncing off the stone while we hurtle toward the unbroken surface.
I have no idea what they’re doing, and I’m struggling to stop myself from squealing along with the others.
My vision is a tunnel, searching for the hole I hope is there, but that won’t do shit for us.
Turning around, I force myself to focus on the arrows about to catch up.
The still air is racing past me, a windstorm all I can hear, my eyes watering with the pressure.
I have no idea how they’ve managed to fly fast enough to keep so much distance from the death chasing us down, but I’m thanking every god that they have.
Ruxi’s swoop up and to the right almost dislodges me.
My heart throws itself into my throat again, and this time my clenched teeth can’t stop the vomit that spews out, covering their claws—and my arms and hands.
It’s all I can do to stop myself from puking again, the chaos of their flight and smell of whatever came out of me combining to pull up one more gag.
I plaster my body to the dragon, wrapping myself even tighter around the slippery mess I made.
We’ll reach the wall before the arrows, but it won’t matter. I spin my gaze again, desperately searching for anything that might protect us, but it’s solid. And they won’t be able to evade all of the weapons flying toward us. The elves aimed in a wide pattern to stop them from doing exactly this.
But then they twist again, and I see it.
A cavern barely big enough for a dragon looms ahead, waiting for us if we can reach it.
I have no idea where it leads, and we’re as likely to be trapped as we are to survive, but it’s our only hope.
This brave beast is throwing everything they have into reaching it.
Ruxi tucks their legs in at the last moment, pulling me up seconds before I’d be flung against the rock. And then they wrap their wings along their sides and dive into the hole.
A cacophony of arrows hitting the rock pounds behind us.
I’m sure we’ve survived them, at least for now.
But at the last second, Ruxi inhales sharply, a guttural moan trembling through their snout.
They stumble in the air, as if they’ve lost their footing, but then suck in one more breath and flip out the tips of their wings, regaining the momentum they’d lost. They’re trembling, and I almost can feel the echo of their pain through our bonds to Panta.
But this dragon is stronger than me, a warrior who won’t stop, and they’ll get us to safety if they can.
I spin my head to look behind us, a single pinpoint of light all I can see. It’s unbroken. None of the unicorns are following us. My heart slows, and I release a shaky exhale as my mind bounces around, searching for an explanation.
“They can’t fly in here,” Rata whispers, his low tone echoing around us. “It’s too narrow for the pressure they need to stay airborne. They’d have to run, but they’ll never catch us that way.”
“How do you know?” Svend murmurs. I think he’s as terrified as me of whatever may be hiding in these tunnels.
I can almost hear Rata’s smirk in his words, which warble around us. “I know more than you can possibly imagine,” he declares. “You don’t ferry messages along Yggdrasill for centuries without learning a thing or two.”
“We’re lucky to have you along,” Svend tells him, his voice full of respect.
“Yes, you are,” the squirrel agrees.
We all fall silent after that, trusting Ruxi to find their way forward in the dark.
They managed to pick a tunnel that seems to carve a path through the rock around us.
It’s grown large enough for now that the dragon can fully extend their wings.
I have no idea how they did it, but I’m so fucking grateful, I could nearly cry.
And I never cry. Twice, tears flow into my eyes, but I ignore them.
It’s probably nothing more than my body’s response to the muck still surrounding me.
They haven’t paused to let me climb on their back and I won’t ask. If they think we’re still in danger, I don’t want to slow them down, no matter how desperately my arms and legs scream at me.
A dozen times or more, they shift direction, and I wonder if the tunnel is splitting, making it harder for the elves to find us.
I can’t see shit, though. The darkness in here is suffocating and terrifying.
My faith in this beautiful purple dragon is the only thing keeping me from screaming my frustration and fury and fear at Balin and the rest of the elves.
Finally, long after we left that noxious cave, another opens in front of us. It’s sudden and feels so surreal, I wonder if I’ve fallen asleep and am dreaming it. But then I smell the puke on my hands, and my arms and legs start pounding again. I know I’m awake.
Like the last one, Yggdrasill’s root runs deep within a pool of water beneath us, bringing light and life to this little spot at the end of the tunnel.
Ruxi sinks toward the ground and collapses on the rock, pushing me out and away from them in time to shield my landing—and Svend and Rata’s.
They take the brunt of the fall themself.
I stumble forward, staring at the agony written on Ruxi’s face.
Their eyes are tight, tears streaming down across their feathers.
Short gasps escape through their teeth, which are clenched together as if they’re clinging to life.
Their chest is fluttering, and I wonder if the arrow pierced deeply enough to reach their lungs.
It must have had poison on it to do this much damage to this poor beast.
I have no idea how they made it here.
Scrambling toward their rear, I gasp, a rock dropping through my chest, when I see it.
The tip is deeply embedded, a third of the shaft buried beneath their feathers, and blood still flows as if it just pierced their skin.
Cut it out! Panta screams at me, panic in every word. They’re nearly gone. You need to get my draikani into the water to heal, and then you must chase after your mate. The evil one will kill him, and you’ll both die if that happens.
I stare at the wound for a moment, too dumbfounded to move.
Now! Panta screams, dragging me from my stupor.
Sucking in a deep breath and steeling myself for the trauma I’m about to put this poor dragon through, I pull out my largest knife. And then I start to dig into the beast who found the strength to carry us here, ignoring the screams they can’t hold back.