CHAPTER EIGHTEEN #3
In all the races I’d flown so far we’d been separated by several other dragons and riders. Also skill, something that I would freely admit. When it came to Bach I had no ego, I knew he was the better rider, but I had flown to third place on my own merit.
If this was my last race then it was also my last chance to race against my hero. I wasn’t going to waste it.
I had Gottyk slow down for the entry into a corner, but Bach kept going. Rosinder only paused a fraction of a second before the mountainside, throwing herself into it at the last possible moment. It was amazing. I didn’t mind that I’d been overtaken, not when the one overtaking me was him.
I patted Gottyk’s shoulder. We could play this game, we’d done it before in the Victrolia forest. It was time to be a copycat again. Hunkering down against the gale-force winds, I pulled the reins near taut. There was no time for slack – whatever Bach did I had to do too.
My visor lenses shifted as I locked on to Bach.
The rain made it more difficult, but thankfully he was in bright orange armour.
I’d watched him fly this race countless times.
I knew he liked to take the corners close.
I knew he preferred the medium route even if he already had found an arsenal so he could build up more height before the first straight.
I just had to do the exact same in extreme wind, rain and fog. Easy.
Through the next few laps I was living my dream.
On dragonback in the midst of a wild storm, following my hero as we sliced through arcans.
The fans around the circuit and watching the casts back home would be confused, Thorne didn’t play nicely with teammates and he definitely didn’t like to fly like Bach.
I wasn’t Thorne though. Not in this last race.
I was Lena Paldon and I was the first woman to fly in Volitant. My heart had been stomped on, my career had been snuffed out and my fire had died, but I still flew. They could take away my wings, but nothing would stop me from racing.
Josie piped up. ‘Lena, I can see Mirendi crew rushing down the hallway. Something’s up.’
‘Mirendi?’ Josie’s hunch about the Bolls being involved may have been correct this whole time.
‘Just keep going. It might not be him.’
Gottyk and I pushed as hard as we could. No longer were we on Bach’s tail, but instead flying neck and neck, racing for that last place on the podium. Even if I ended up disgraced by Thorne, he wouldn’t be able to take away a result like that.
My proximity sensors were constantly reminding me that Bach was next to us, but they started alerting me from behind too. I threw a glance over my shoulder – the Bolls had caught up.
Four dragons and riders, flying two by two around the tight corners of the Prevere circuit. Somewhere ahead of us Colly and Quinn were dealing with the arcans, leaving a clear path for us to fly through.
I kept close to Bach, hoping that by flying two abreast we could block any overtakes. With only three laps to go I hoped Bach would work with Thorne.
The Mirendi whites snapped at our tails, getting closer by the second. A rogue arcan dived down at us. My axe was out in my hand before I had time to think about it. I slammed the blade into the glowing metallic beast and swiped it away, sending it tumbling back towards the Bolls.
‘A present for you, boys.’ I grinned inside my helmet. Chaos suited me.
They didn’t take kindly to my gift. They surged forwards. I ducked low in my saddle, but needn’t have bothered. The Mirendi riders bypassed me and went for Bach. One flew between us, separating me from my Kiestral twin and the other disappeared into the mist below.
‘They’re squeezing Bach!’
Rider-on-rider violence wasn’t allowed. The moment I raised my weapon against someone I’d be penalized.
The way to get around that rule was to do as I had – send an arcan flying at their head after fighting it myself.
Or, in the case of the Bolls below, fly like idiots and put the other rider in a dangerous position.
‘I’m on the team comms. They know. Use this to get ahead, Lena.’
My heart dropped into my stomach. I knew racing wasn’t a team sport.
Yes, there were pairs of riders and dragons, but that was a cost-efficient choice for the business of racing.
Once we were all out there in the sky, only a direct order would make us work together. It was every rider for themselves.
Still, I didn’t want to leave Bach behind.
I steeled myself and did as Josie had instructed. There was more on the line than Bach being overtaken by the Boll brothers. My proximity sensors dulled as the others were slowed by their battle. I was in third place. I was going to get a podium. A trophy. I could taste the success already.
My visor flashed red. The arcanite lights in the corners of my helmet had shifted from white. Out on the edges of the circuit red banners roiled in the wind.
‘Red light!’ Josie called through the comms. ‘Land on the start–finish line. The race is postponed. Red light!’
Hector echoed Josie’s warning. ‘Red light. Come back in.’
My heart was clasped in a vice. There was only one reason a race would be delayed like this.
‘Who is it?’
The comms were quiet.
‘Josie, who crashed?’
Her voice cracked. ‘Bach.’