Chapter 14 #3
A wing almost clipped him in the head as Uxtar swooped in low. He didn’t strike Vorik, though, instead plucking up his rider and swinging her onto his back. Even as Shi landed athwart the dragon, she threw the knife she’d drawn at Vorik.
Her aim was accurate, but he saw the attack coming with enough time to spring to the side.
The blade clinked off the rocks where he’d stood.
He picked it up and thought about throwing it back at her, but Uxtar was already flying into the air.
Once he’d achieved sufficient height, the dragon banked and prepared to dive at Vorik again with his maw open.
This time, Uxtar would breathe fire. And people were cheering.
Vorik gritted his teeth, annoyed that the tribes would root for a cheater, even if they had reasons not to want to see him win. He crouched, debating which way to dodge when the inevitable dragon fire came. All around, people were backing away.
Agrevlari swooped in from the side, reaching Vorik just before Uxtar unleashed a torrent of flame. Even as talons wrapped around him and plucked him into the air, Vorik felt the intense heat. He swung himself up onto Agrevlari’s back as his dragon roared. Some of those flames had caught him.
“Sword!” Shi called to someone as the flames stopped and her dragon glided over the onlookers.
Chief Tenilor tossed a gargoyle-bone blade up to Shi.
“As if that woman doesn’t have enough weapons,” Vorik growled, looking down for his brother.
Jhiton still held Vorik’s sword, but would he throw it up? Yes, he’d unsheathed it and didn’t hesitate to toss it up hilt-first when Agrevlari passed over his head.
Vorik leaned over and caught it, glad that his brother, whatever he felt toward him after their last encounter, would always strive to keep a duel fair. This one had started with daggers, but it would end with swords and dragons.
Uxtar roared. So did Agrevlari. The two dragons circled, then, like spear sharks prepared to clash over a tender squid, flew at each other at top speed.
Shi held her blade aloft, prepared to go for Vorik’s head. He raised his own sword.
As the dragons flew together, talons extending, maws opening to tear into each other, Vorik saw Shi shift her weight slightly. Though she kept her sword raised in her right hand, she drew another weapon with her left. A throwing knife? Where had she secreted that?
Her dragon roared and spewed flames at Agrevlari. Guessing what Shi would do, Vorik sank low on Agrevlari’s back, only keeping his head up enough to see.
The throwing knife sped through the flames and over Agrevlari’s head, right between his horns. It would have struck Vorik if he hadn’t anticipated the attack.
“This woman does not know how to fight fair,” he said as the dragons came together, talons slashing, flames dying down as jaws snapped for each other’s throats.
Though Agrevlari’s back tilted and turned wildly, Vorik managed to throw the knife Shi had attacked him with earlier.
It spun toward her chest. As practiced at defending from a dragon’s back as he, Shi leaned sideways enough to avoid it.
Vorik threw another weapon right behind it, his own dagger.
She wasn’t as prepared for that one, and it caught her in the shoulder.
She screamed as her dragon roared. Uxtar had been biting for Agrevlari’s neck, but, when his rider cried out, he beat his wings rapidly and lunged upward toward Vorik.
Hooked by his leg and hanging on with his magic, Vorik dropped low on Agrevlari’s far side, but he also swept upward with his sword.
The gargoyle-bone blade had enough magic to cut into Uxtar’s jaw as the dragon snapped for him.
Even as it bit deep, Agrevlari banked hard, almost rolling onto his back as he slashed upward with his talons to rake Uxtar’s belly.
Only magic and sheer willpower kept Vorik from falling off. A good thing he had both because the battle had carried the dragons out over the bluff. Sharp rocks and churning water were all that lay below—far below.
The dragons flew apart, wings flapping hard as they recovered, returning to flying upright. They both bled from numerous wounds, and Shi… Vorik gaped. Sometime during the slashes and bites, she’d jumped—or fallen—off her dragon’s back.
She clung to the side of the cliff twenty feet below the ledge, blood saturating the shoulder of her tunic and her face twisted with pain. Was she too wounded to climb up?
Several people had run forward to look down, and Chief Tenilor shouted for someone to bring a rope.
But Agrevlari wasn’t ready for the fight to end. When Uxtar flew toward Shi, probably intending to pluck her up, Agrevlari sped toward the blue dragon at full speed.
Uxtar flew faster, trying to reach Shi before Agrevlari reached him.
Not deterred, Agrevlari roared, his battle lust fully roused, and he also flew faster.
Shi glared at Vorik with utter hatred. But, at this point, he had nothing to do with the battle and doubted he could have stopped Agrevlari even if he’d shouted for the dragon to abate.
And there wasn’t time for that. With the cliff looming ahead, Vorik could only brace himself.
It appeared inevitable that the dragons would crash together—and then hit the rock face.
They didn’t quite, but Agrevlari’s left wingtip did brush the cliff as he smashed into Uxtar.
The other dragon had surely seen him coming but hadn’t been willing to give up on rescuing Shi.
Between Agrevlari’s momentum and weight, he hit the blue dragon solidly enough to knock Uxtar into the cliff.
Bone crunched audibly, and the jolt of the collision was almost enough to hurl Vorik from Agrevlari’s back. Again, only magic and willpower kept him from flying off. But while Agrevlari bit and tore into his foe, Shi produced one more weapon. Another throwing knife.
Gravity caught up with the dragons and, even as they bit and clawed, they started falling toward the sea. Shi threw her knife.
Vorik flattened himself to Agrevlari’s twisting and tilting back.
The blade sliced through his side, laying open clothing and flesh, but didn’t sink in deep.
And the move cost Shi. She’d only been hanging onto the cliff by one hand, and the rock or maybe her grip gave way.
As the dragons struggled to extricate themselves from each other and find enough room to flap their wings and fly up before hitting the rocks below, Shi tumbled past them.
Uxtar saw her falling and tried to turn to retrieve her, but he wasn’t fast enough. She landed on a jagged rock that might as well have been a spear. It killed her immediately.
Vorik slumped to Agrevlari’s back as his dragon flew away from Uxtar.
Looking away from the bloody rocks, Vorik didn’t know whether to be horrified or relieved by Shi’s end.
He told himself that she’d brought it upon herself, that he’d only wanted to take charge of the tribe, not kill any of his own people.
As Agrevlari flew upward, Vorik grew aware of all the dragons that had been circling above the battlefield, watching but not interfering. At least until now.
Agrevlari landed on the bluff. The stormer onlookers had backed to the trees, silent, as if they all knew something else was coming.
And it was. Though Uxtar had flown off down the coastline, probably too wounded to confront Vorik and Agrevlari further, most of the dragons landed on the ledge.
Vorik feared the battle wasn’t over, at least not for him and his ally.
A couple of other dragons, including Wise’s Tonasketal, alighted near Agrevlari and faced those at the edge of the bluff, as if saying they would stand by him.
But far more landed with their backs to the sea, facing Vorik and Agrevlari, their fangs on display.
In the end, only two dragons stood with them, and sixteen opposed them.
Some of their eyes glowed. None of them looked happy.
I don’t think the dragons wanted to see me win, Agrevlari.
They believe you will sway your people to seek peace with the Kingdom.
And they don’t want that.
They always supported what Jhiton and other prominent stormers before him promised: an end to the shields that protect the islands on which they desire to hunt.
Are they willing to kill me if I oppose that? Vorik asked.
Oh, they’ll kill you for much less than that.
Wonderful.
I will stand with you. Even though you have chosen a flight path that may bring our deaths, you have brought me many delicious meals of smoked salmon, sung wondrous ballads to me, and supported me in my attempts to court Wreylith.
Despite his predicament and possible imminent death, Vorik blinked with emotion, touched. Thank you, Agrevlari, but I believe I should tell you to step aside and save your own life as I face that which I’ve wrought.
Oh, you should, but I will ignore your suggestion, regardless.
As you’ve ignored many of my suggestions in life?
Indeed.
The dragons advanced, and Vorik said nothing more to Agrevlari. If he was to save his own life, he would have to think of something to say to all the irate dragons.
But what?