Chapter 61 Ro
Ro
We found the dragon’s nest.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. We’d ascended further up the mountain, settling on a plain of flat rock that almost became a valley between the mountains. Nestled among the boulders and rocky ledges were massive creatures covered in scales and wings and horns.
“Stay on me. If they go to make a move, I’ll get us out of here,” Dae said.
His steps were careful and quiet. I was sure the sound of my thundering heart was loud enough to echo across the rock, but kept my mind silent and clear.
When I picked up on faint murmurings of conversation, I knew I was in range.
“I’m here looking for the dragons,” I shouted internally from atop Dae’s back.
The beasts reacted, unfurling from their laying down positions, rising to their full stature.
Colossal.
I wondered how the mountains could even hide their full size. Maybe they were the mountains. I suddenly grew a profound appreciation for Braxius’s size.
My heart pounded erratically, the strain painful. It was all I could do to stay balanced on Dae.
One stormed toward us, onyx scales glistening, ground shaking, talons piercing the rocky ledge, wings splayed. Threat glistened in its eyes.
“We’ve come to warn you. We mean you no harm.” Was this a mistake? It felt like a mistake as the behemoth form of the massive black beast quickly ate the distance.
But then the dragon coasted to a stop, sending gravel skittering toward us. It gave me a chance to catch my breath. Had I pissed myself? No, I didn’t think so. Definitely close, though.
“You speak among the dragons?” he asked, his voice soaked in ancient tenor.
I lowered my head instinctively. A creature this primordial, this foreboding, required the ultimate respect. “I speak with all creatures.”
“Is that why you ride a wild cat? Curious to see this kind of creature here.”
Technically, it wasn’t an incorrect statement. “Yes.”
“Why does it allow you such a privilege?”
Preferring to not get into the specifics of mine and Dae’s relationship, I restated, “We’ve come to warn you of danger. There is a group accessing a pool of dark magic. They know you are immune to its effects. I think they mean to eliminate you as a threat.”
Only the wind whipping through the mountain pass made any noise. I waited for a response, not wanting to press my luck. I also kind of wanted to vomit, but assumed Dae wouldn’t appreciate the proximity.
“You do not reek of the Black Pool.”
Was it a question? I pondered how to respond. “No, and I am not aligned with the group who does.”
“Why come here at all? Humans cannot stand against dragons. Your warning is unnecessary.” He puffed his chest and huffed air through his nostrils indignantly.
Befriending the dragons should be a piece of cake for me.
Yes, I’d come to warn them, but if I could also convince them to stand with us, we could end this fight before it even begins.
Radhak masterfully exchanged political discourse to favor his desired outcome, time for me to do the same. “We just wanted to make you aware—”
“DO NOT LIE.” His voice ripped across my mind like a vicious tornado, and I swore the trees below swayed from the force.
My body quaked involuntarily. Okay, dragons could scent ulterior motives, then. Suddenly I was grateful the dragons had secluded themselves among the mountains the past century.
“Is everything okay?” Dae asked. His muscles remained poised beneath me.
Without time on our side, I had no choice but to play the honesty card. “Those who hunt you are also planning a war against innocent people. We have no means to stop the spread of dark magic, our armies will fall. I thought, if you and your kind are resistant, you might—”
The primal tenor boomed across the rocky terrain. “Help a race that sentences itself to its own demise? Who holds no honor for life? Another has done the same before.”
I gathered he referred to the original dark wielder. If it felt appropriate to list my good deeds, I might have tried. Instead, my gaze remained fastened to Dae’s back, terror too thick to allow me to move or respond to his berating tone.
“Even you carelessly risk yours, and this cat’s life, by coming here, deigning to speak with the dragons. The Black Pool is no threat to us. Humans are no threat to us. Your war is your own making.”
I mentally muttered to Dae, “Pretty sure we’re not getting any help.” The air at this elevation thinned, making it hard to breathe with a racing heart.
“What is that sound?” Dae asked.
Faint rumbling built, barely stronger than the wind.
I peered up for the first time, witnessing the chest of the gigantic black dragon swell as he slowly inhaled.
The lighter scales along the front of his throat began to brighten.
At first I questioned if it was a reflection of the sun, but as the glow turned orange, I recognized what it was.
Fire.
“You do not leave with knowledge of the dragons,” he said.
“DAE, RUN!”
I pinched his skin, clinging tightly as he ripped from his place on the rock and weaved around the barrage of boulders leading to the ledge.
Flames pelted from overhead, my back heating instantly.
I screamed, unable to curb the fear. Dae didn’t stop.
He moved with terrific speed and we continued descending at a rapid rate.
The beat of wings pounded the air, enough to send pummeling pressure into my eardrums. We’d become dragon prey. I’d been able to pull off some pretty incredible escapes over the years, but not one speck of hope simmered within me this time.
I thought of Tula. Of my mom and dad. Of Tio and Rav and Radhak. Of Braxius.
I thought of Dae. Of how he’d been a gods send during this last awful part of my life. How he wouldn’t get to see his brothers because he wouldn’t let me go on this mission alone.
“I’m sorry Dae. I wish we had more time. You have my heart.”
Another booming flap of wings closed in, but Dae didn’t relent, didn’t yield to the uneven terrain. He kept moving, dodging, leaping, tearing up the ground beneath his giant paws.
“Ro!” The tiny voice in my mind let me know the end was near. My brain was calling upon memories, or hearing the beckoning call of those beyond this life. “Tyberius! Leave them be! They are no threat to you.” Strange, I’d never heard that before?
“Braxius?” Tyberius’s voice rumbled like an overseer of the world.
“Brax?” I asked in a confused stupor, still gripping Dae, who scurried down the steep mountainside. “Stop,” I managed to say.
Dae slowed, but rightfully questioned, “Are you sure?”
The slower pace allowed me to peer up from my death grip around Dae’s neck. I glanced around, hoping my mind hadn’t played tricks on me.
The black dragon hovered above, and flapping in front of him was a tiny blue dot. Seeing Braxius in comparison to the behemoth beast froze my heart in my chest. He was so small. If I was prey, he was a gnat.
Suddenly my arrow was nocked and aimed at Tyberius.
As if my puny weapon would create any lasting damage, if it could even break the leathery hide at all.
My magnified focus drowned out the muttered exchange between the two dragons.
A moment later, a gust of wind rushed through the trees and into my hair, strands whipping against my face as Tyberius retreated into the mountains above, navigating the sky like a fish does water.
I lowered my arrow, my jaw hanging slack from shock. “He did it.”
Dae adjusted, witnessing the same thing I had. A blue blur raced toward us and I slid off Dae, ready to give that little dragon all the hugs and kisses I could muster.
“Ro, they took them! They’re taking them back!”
It was possible that life-threatening fear had turned my brain to mush because I craned my head to the side, trying to make sense of what he was saying but falling short. “Who? Who took who where?”
“What?” Dae asked.
Appropriate response.
“Tio and his bright blonde lady. The Order took them!”
I swayed in place and shook my head. “What? No, that’s not—they couldn’t. How would they…You couldn’t have…” A dozen thoughts clambered for first place. Braxius couldn’t have traveled to Rahana and back so fast. If he couldn’t, The Order members couldn’t either, so how would they have them?
“Ro, talk to me.” Dae had transformed into his human form, resting his hand on my shoulder.
Braxius flapped his tiny wings, hovering before us.
“I took the letter, but Dante, his gargoyle friend, Tio, and her were already traveling north. I ran into them and Tio took the letter. I came back with them when I heard what they were doing.”
“What were they doing?” I asked, panic steadily growing as this unlikely reality seemed more plausible by the second. Dae remained silent at my side, his hand moving to grip the back of my sweaty neck beneath my hair, essentially keeping me upright.
“They wanted to test her magic to see if she could break the curse with her light. She couldn’t, and The Order found them. They fought and almost won, but they took them. They’re heading back through Witches Pass. I came as fast as I could.”
“No. No, no, no.”
Dae caught me before I sank to the ground. “Ro, talk to me.”
“My friends. They were coming north. The Order got them.” I looked at him, tears staining my eyes. “They got them, Dae. They got them.” My bottom lip quivered, my voice soft and broken. I gripped his shoulders, clawing at them for support.
He hauled me up. My legs wrapped around his waist, and I sobbed into his shoulder. With his hands pressed into my back and cupping the nape of my neck, he said, “We’ll get them out.”
I fell into his warmth, leaning into the softness of his skin. I held onto him tighter as reality crashed into me, as if the mountain peak broke off and crushed me beneath it.