CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
We flew around the collision site in the Monument Yard, using it as an excuse to build some height and emerged on to the open plateau. Theo and Taicasso were streaking towards the edge, halfway there.
Feverish energy built up in my chest, rushing out into my limbs before taking over my head too. The thrill of the race was doubling. Theo had been right – racing an old teammate really was excellent motivation.
We dived, using our height advantage to pick up speed. Gottyk cut through the air. I could see the moisture of the clouds rippling on my armour. My visor locked on to Theo. He was preparing for the hairpin turn.
So was I.
The slipstream was visible thanks to the heavy moisture in the air. White tendrils followed Taicasso, outlining the pocket of clean air he was leaving behind. I nudged Gottyk into the tunnel of clean air. The lack of air resistance was beautiful. We were on their tail in half a second.
As Theo and Taicasso twisted over the edge of the island. So did we. The speed made us overshoot by several feet, but it kept us from colliding with them.
Fast and fair.
The four of us raced downwards towards the cave entrance.
Without arcans to attack us and without corners to slow us down this came down to precision.
Where I aimed would determine if I ended up ahead of, or behind, Theo as we turned into the arcanite maze in ten seconds time.
Theo had always been better than me at this part.
It’s how he’d clawed ahead in the Mirendi race.
My training over the summer hadn’t improved me enough for that, but while Theo had been racing for five years I’d been busy raising dragons.
Specifically, my dragon. Just like Bach had said back at the ranch: riders performed better when they had a strong bond.
I didn’t need to be more precise than Theo, because I knew Gottyk was better than the both of us. I trusted my dragon.
I loosened my grip on the reins, confident.
We shot into the darkness for the last time. I leaned with Gottyk, following his lead. The bright blue glow from the edges of Theo’s armour dropped into place beside me. I allowed myself the pleasure of gloating. I turned my head, making sure the bright white glow from my visor was facing Theo.
Two blue spots of light returned my gaze. We were nothing but white and blue silhouettes in the darkness, but we didn’t need more to know exactly what the other was thinking.
Especially when I lifted a hand off the reins to salute Theo. My body felt ten times lighter knowing he was fuming at my audacity.
My helmet whirred softly as my visor shifted again. This time to dim my vision as the lights of the arcanite maze flooded my eyes. When I blinked away the dancing spots, there was no one beside me.
I’d overtaken Theo.
‘That’s my boy!’ I clapped Gottyk on the shoulder blade, taking the reins back up again.
My heart swelled. It had been a long time since his first shaky leap into the air and I was so proud of every leap he’d made since.
‘The caves are nearly full.’ Josie’s voice joined us in the dark. ‘You’ll need to lap Thorne and Boll and overtake Ruan and Potts. Take Bach’s route from lap ten in fifty-six.’
I blew out a whistle. That was asking a lot.
Volitant regulations made it so those in last place should move out of my way when I came around, but I had no faith in them following the rules for me.
I hadn’t exactly endeared myself to Gordi Boll lately and Thorne …
he’d suggested that I wouldn’t even be finishing my race.
I directed Gottyk through the first section, mindful of Theo on my tail. The route Josie had mentioned required sticking to the far side of the giant cave, but had fewer obstructions. Once we got there we had a real shot.
‘Thorne is in the path to your left. Watch out when you exit.’
I glanced to the side, my visor working overtime to dull the pink-white arcanite light. Between the gaps in the stones I could see flashes of orange. It was too early to worry about him. Our lanes wouldn’t converge until we reached the other side of the cave.
Fire erupted in front of us. I crouched as we flew through it. My suit went crazy – the cooling augments flooded the system while the proximity sensors on my left made my skin tingle from the intensity.
Thorne was on us. The talons of his dragon scraped across the top of my helmet. Even ducked as I was, there was hardly room for all of us as we banked around towards the rear of the cave.
‘What the actual fuck?’ I roared into comms. ‘Did he just blast through the stones? Is he fucking stupid?’
Josie knew how to translate angry riders. ‘I’ve reported it, Lena. Keep pushing. Ditch the bastard.’
Hearing her swear over comms soothed my own anger – a little. She may still have had her cool tone, but her cold fury balanced my own explosive brand.
My right hand flexed. I itched to defend with my axe, but I’d end up in as much trouble as Thorne if I drew my weapon in the caves. Not to mention I’d be risking his dragon.
He didn’t feel the same way.
Thorne lowered down, forcing Gottyk’s feet to scrape along the column of arcanite beneath us. He hardly had room to flap his wings.
‘He’d better get disqualified for this!’ I channelled my rage away from the fight I so desperately wanted to rise to. ‘I swear, if he doesn’t even get a penalty I’ll punch—’
I bit myself off. Threatening anyone over public comms wasn’t a good idea.
We passed the centre of the cave. The biggest piece of arcanite that hung down for at least a mile was now behind us. Dozens of smaller ones overlapped my path and Thorne blocked my exits by flying close. He’d completely lost his mind.
‘Oh, shit!’ A solution had materialized.
While I remembered everything Bach had done, I also did my best to remember everything he’d said too. I tilted Gottyk up, trying to make as much room below us as possible.
‘Lena, what are you doing? There’s no space to force him up.’
‘I have a plan – lap seventeen, forty-six.’ If Thorne was going to act like an idiot, so was I.
‘Forty-six? Bach didn’t start until fifty-one …’ Josie trailed off. I could hear paper flipping in the background.
If my hero didn’t hold a solution to my problem I would use the next best thing: his hero.
‘The best year for racing, Josie. Last race of the season, Writter took a shortcut.’
‘No! Lena, don’t you dare!’ She understood now, but it was too late for her to argue.
The gap was there. I focused on it. The place where three columns met, leaving an accidental tunnel between them. Big enough for one small dragon and one small rider. Going for that gap – that was the difference between flying and racing.
I nudged Gottyk, placing a hand on his shoulder to ensure he understood.
He did. Using the space we’d created he ducked, twisting into the tunnel.
One flap of his wings was all we had time for before we were plummeting down.
The arcanite walls got closer. They pinned his wings in.
Time stretched out as we held position, an arrow piercing through the air, while an inch in the wrong direction would destroy us.
The comms were silent. Josie knew better than to make me flinch in here.
It was only me and Gottyk. I tried to let confidence flow out of me, hoping my dragon could feel it.
I flexed my hand on his shoulder to help, but my knuckles sparked as they caught the arcanite.
A split second of contact and the armour plate on my hand was nearly gone.
My eyes started to lose focus as panic shot through me. It wasn’t just me in here – I’d put Gottyk in danger. My hand trembled as I flattened it as close to him as I could.
Gottyk rumbled. I could feel it everywhere – through my hand, the reins and in my calves where I clamped down on his sides. He was soothing me. My dragon was plummeting to the ground, through giant arcanite so powerful it made my bones cry … and he was comforting me.
I closed my eyes, feeling the rush.
‘Thank you, buddy.’
Light dimmed.
I opened my eyes. The visor did its job, adjusting the world around me. The arcanite was gone – we were out of the cave and into open air. We’d made it!
‘Ten-second penalty!’ Josie was harried for the first time.
So they’d finally decided to punish Thorne for his dangerous flying. Good. I directed us upwards, turning on to the island once again.
‘It should be twenty for what he did!’ I unhooked the hilt from my back, lighting up my axe as we shot into the Monument Yard.
‘To clarify,’ Josie continued, her voice pitching, ‘you have a ten-second penalty for the Writter move. You need to hurry now.’
‘Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!’ I let out a stream of expletives that would have to be censored on the race cast. I sent an arcan to the ground in two pieces.
‘Lena,’ Josie yelled through the comms. ‘Shut up and fly! You’re in first place!’
My whole body stuttered.
Gottyk dodged around the base of an ancient dragon statue. We were nearly out of the Monument Yard.
‘What?’ I asked, but I hadn’t tapped into comms. I blinked, waking up from the news. I was in first place. That was incredible – but I had a ten-second penalty. It would be added to my time, forcing my position back behind everyone who finished within ten seconds of me.
Now I understood why Josie was panicking.
Volitant didn’t want me to win this race.
Just like Thorne, they didn’t like it when I showed them up.
They clearly didn’t know me very well. If they had been paying attention they would have known their plan wouldn’t work.
Because if there was one thing that spurred me on … it was proving people wrong.
Under my visor I was grinning like never before. My hands gripped the reins, my head ducked low and my dragon fought to take us over the finish line. I stowed my axe and made myself as small as possible, tucking down behind Gottyk’s spikes.
We shot out of the forest and on to the plateau. I could see the finish line. My visor let me track it, rapidly getting closer.