OMARI HARU #2
Tyche froze, another cracker hanging in the air in front of his open mouth. The god smiled and pointed the cracker at Haru. “You know…I have some fun new magic that I’ve been dying to test out. But! Only if I’m allowed to ride on your back. You’re not dangling me from your claws like last time.”
The god drove a hard bargain. Haru preferred to allow only Adrian to ride him while he was in dragon form, but for all these displaced families running scared, he’d make an exception for Tyche. They would teach these invaders a lesson.
“Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!” Tyche chanted the curse like a prayer as he clung to the hard ridge along Haru’s spine, sounding terrified.
Haru hadn’t even done anything frightening yet.
He was simply gliding, sliding between the various mountain peaks.
If they weren’t on such an important mission, he’d be tempted to fly in a loop to see if he could get Tyche to scream.
However, stealth was imperative, and Shey would probably be furious if he made his new boyfriend scream.
Just after dusk, they’d sneaked out of the house and through the town, dodging sporadic patrols while following Shey’s map to the entrance of the pass.
It was after they’d arrived in the wilderness and had been walking along the pass across the Zastrad border that Haru had dared to shift into his dragon form.
After summoning up some thick clouds to cover the moon and stars, Shey had kissed Tyche and helped him onto Haru.
Adrian was remaining behind with Shey to keep the prince safe while they went off to cause a bit of mischief.
They were to wait hidden in a rock outcropping until dawn.
If Tyche and Haru didn’t return, Shey and Adrian would continue to Three Hills.
But Haru had no intention of allowing his mate to travel without him. If Adrian was busy protecting Shey, Haru was needed to watch Adrian’s back. Obviously, they all needed to keep an eye on Tyche. It was a wonder the god had lived for so long without someone protecting him.
As they cleared a last row of jagged peaks, they caught sight of glowing lights cutting through the night while harsh voices bounced off the side of the mountain. Engines roared as they were revved.
Haru circled twice, remaining out of the reach of the lights while trying to give Tyche a good view of the forces gathered below.
Shey had been correct that the Order would send troops in force.
There had to be at least fifty thousand soldiers gathered.
Possibly more. The Caspagir soldiers in Green Hollow didn’t have a prayer of stopping these invaders for long.
On the final loop, Haru spotted a ledge on the side of the mountain that was large enough to land upon. He settled on the shelf, being careful not to knock loose any rocks that would draw the attention of the nearby soldiers.
He twisted his head to look at the little god to find Tyche sitting up straight, his hands pressed together flat and his eyes closed. But his features appeared relaxed. It was as if the god were deep in prayer. Who would a god pray to? Other gods?
Tyche cracked an eye open and smirked at Haru. “Just sorting through my powers to see what I can do.”
Haru flinched. Could Tyche read his thoughts? It was one of the few annoying drawbacks that came with being in dragon form. He couldn’t communicate with humans. Dragons used a variety of trumpets and roars to communicate their needs, but he’d yet to meet a human who could understand their language.
A terrified scream tore through the steady murmur of noise, luring Haru’s attention to the Order’s staging area.
“Spiders! Spiders!” The man’s shouting echoed through the valley. It was more quietly followed by dark giggles from the god on Haru’s back. Was Tyche trying out his new nightmare powers?
“Spiders!” The soldier’s cries grew higher in pitch and more frantic. Other angry voices barked at the person. What they were saying wasn’t as clear, but they sounded a mix of angry and fearful.
Everything changed when automatic fire rattled through the gathering.
Men screamed, and more gunfire opened up.
It seemed as if the man who’d spotted the spiders had decided to take them out with his gun but ended up shooting several of his comrades.
That resulted in several people shooting the instigator to save the rest of them.
The moment the gunfire stopped, and a commanding voice rang out to get control of the situation, a roaring engine rattled somewhere in the distance. The vehicle choked and fell silent.
And then another.
And another.
Until someone was shouting for them to turn off all the engines.
Tyche snickered some more and patted Haru’s back. “That one was a mix of bad luck and accident. It’s just small things breaking in all the engines. Not much, but it’s enough to have their mechanics working through the night.”
Several yards away, south of where they hid, someone else started shouting, but this time it was about snakes. A third person screamed about spiders. More gunfire.
Something roared.
Something very big with equally big teeth.
Tyche stiffened and gulped, his hands tightening on Haru’s spine.
“That wasn’t me. I think maybe my magic woke up something in the Ordas and it’s coming to eat these soldiers.
” While that worked for their efforts, Tyche didn’t sound excited about it.
He patted Haru’s shoulder twice. “Let’s get out of here and return to the others.
Even without that monster, they won’t be going anywhere for several hours.
They could be here for a day or two. Assuming the Ordas doesn’t get them. ”
Haru grunted and spread his wings, catching the wind that was whipping through the valley.
As he reached a peak, he spotted an enormous boulder balanced over the gathering of soldiers.
Haru circled once before diving to slam his hind feet and tail into the rock, sending it rolling down the side of the mountain.
Tyche let out a scream of fear that ended in a cackle.
They were heading toward Eltos Pass when there was a loud explosion and crunching of metal as the boulder hit a vehicle. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give the Caspagir soldiers more breathing room, a little more time to prepare for the coming fight.
If they were lucky, they would end this war in a matter of weeks.
It was a good thing they had this little god on their side.