“Calm down. It is only me.”
She groaned. “Sike.
You scared me to death. What are
you doing waking me up?”
“I want to show
you something.” His black shape flitted
about the cave.
Mind foggy with
sleep she muttered. “Now? It’s nighttime. I should, you should, be sleeping.”
“Just come. And get your sword.”
Outside of the
cave, the bright moonlight bathed the cliffs and crags that surrounded
her. “Which way?”
“Head towards
Benzan.”
She bit back a
retort. Oh, yeah, let’s just forget the fact that it is across the valley, a
good distance away.
The stillness of
the night was only broken by Sike’s wings and her footsteps. The dark shawdows of trees surrounded them as
they made their way up the mountain side to the clearing on top. “There, we made it.” She collapsed belly down on the grass. “So, what do you have to show me?”
Fear filled Sike's voice. “Look.”
Far away under
the starry sky lights flickered.
“Campfires.” Her pulse
quickened. “Whose are they?”
“The
Viskens. Elise, they are getting very
close. They will soon find our abode, if
they haven’t all ready.”
“What? How?
No, no. This can’t be
happening.” She rose to her feet,
frustrated. Her life was about to be
torn apart again.
“You need to make
a decision. Soon.”
“I-“ The crack of a branch cut off her words. Her fingers latched around her sword. All was silent. Then, from behind, footsteps approached. She whirled, her sword sliding out of the
sheath with a metallic ring. Sike hissed
from nearby then a tiny ball of fire shot from his mouth. It wasn’t much, but enough for her to block the
man’s blow. A loud clang filled the
clearing.
“Come on. Put down your sword,” the
man before her growled.
“I don’t think
so.” She surveyed her opponent trying to
fight down rising panic. The dragons had
taught her to sword fight, but she had never fought against a flesh and blood
human. The man before her glowered as he
took a step closer. The way he held his
sword, the way he walked, all screamed that he was a skilled swordsman.
“Well, then it
appears I will have to change your mind.” His sword flew through the air
towards her.
All her training
over the past years crashed over her like a wave. She ducked and whirled away, using the
momentum to swing a blow at him. Their
swords crashed together with a sound that reverberated through the small
clearing. He grinned then swung the
sword at her head, forcing her to duck and step back. A small stick beneath her foot rolled. “Ah!” she hit the ground hard and rolled away
as his sword soared down towards her. He
slammed the flat of his blade against her sword tearing it from her hand. Cold steel rested against her neck. She stared
at him, hate pouring out of every pore of her body.
He poked her neck harder. “It would seem I have won.”
Out of the corner
of her eye, Elise spotted something.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” A pale body slammed into the man sending him
flying.
“Come on.” Vaender flapped his wings and landed on the ground. “I think some of their guards heard the
ruckus and are headed this way.”
“Where’s my
sword? And where’s Sike?”
“You’re sword is
over there, and Sike is back with the rest of the dragons. He came to get me.”
She sheathed her
sword and jumped onto the dragon’s back.
“Let’s go.”
“Halt!” shadowy
figures appeared from the woods.
Vaender threw
back his head and roared, shaking the ground.
With one large beat of his wings they were airborne. Behind them the clearing was quickly swallowed up by the darkness. “Hey, we are headed the
wrong way, the valley is that way.”
“Do you want to
lead them to it? We want to keep it a
secret for as long as possible!”
“Oh.”
The air grew
chillier as they rose up high in the sky.
“There’s their camp.”
Elise huddled
close to the dragon, trying to warm herself.
She hadn't dressed for a night of flying. Down below the fires grew near until they
were flying right above them. “There
sure are a lot of them.”
Vaender remained
silent for a moment studying the camp.
“The king will need our help.
You realize that don’t you?”
“Yes.”
He grunted.
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