Selix was ferocious, but Bartoom’s scales were much harder and the older dragon was taking less damage than its golden opponent. Selix felt its scales being shredded by Bartoom’s talons and fought savagely to keep the black beast’s massive jaws from its golden neck.
Brianna felt the communication as her pride fought. There were flashes and images racing through her mind, but she couldn’t keep up. She ran and jumped off a rock that was jutting into the air, catching a thermal current and gliding upward. She wanted to be with her dragons, but she couldn’t match their speed.
Selix pushed off of Bartoom just as Tig and Torc slammed into the larger dragon’s side. Their talons impacted Bartoom, but their mass wasn’t enough to injure the larger beast. Selix pulled away as Bartoom turned to face the new attackers, but they sped away before Bartoom could retaliate.
Then Ferno reached Bartoom. Bartoom was larger, but Ferno was thicker and just as heavy. Ferno’s massive muscles tensed as it clashed with the black dragon. Bartoom roared fire, but Ferno ignored it, choosing instead to sink its razor sharp teeth into the black dragon’s shoulder, ripping away flesh before letting go and looping back up. Bartoom was hurt and angry, but the voice inside its head was ordering it to kill the other dragons.
Bartoom flapped its massive wings and flew away from the other dragons, gaining altitude as it flew. Gyia was high overhead, directing the other dragons. Tig and Torc harassed Bartoom, one flying in from one direction, drawing the older dragon’s attention while the other raced in from the opposite side for a hit-and-run attack.
Selix was bleeding from a dozen wounds, but flew to Brianna, who settled lightly on the golden dragon’s back and began immediately healing Selix’s wounds. They flew high over the mountains, where the air was very cold and it was difficult for Brianna to catch her breath in the thin air. Then they dove, hurtling at breakneck speed back toward the fight.
Ferno followed Bartoom, closing with the larger dragon when it slowed to attack the twin dragons. The green dragon’s strength was able to batter Bartoom off course. Ferno started with a massive charge, slamming into the black dragon and then following Bartoom in free fall. Brianna suddenly saw in her mind Bartoom’s wings, the message clear. Ferno twisted around and tried to bite Bartoom’s left wing, but missed. Then the green dragon clawed out with its massive talons, raking across the black dragon’s leathery wings, ripping and shredding.
Bartoom’s tail wrapped around Ferno’s throat and pulled the green dragon backward, then the big black beast flapped its wings, shooting upward. The force of the bigger dragon’s change of direction wrenched Ferno’s neck, but the green dragon’s massive muscles and Bartoom’s wounded wing kept the force from breaking the green dragon’s neck as Bartoom had been trying to do.
Brianna sent out images of the pride regrouping and of Bartoom escaping. She pushed her thoughts toward the other dragons and they flew to her. Selix was growling angrily.
“I know,” she shouted. “But Bartoom is under the control of an evil wizard. We must follow and find this wizard to free our brother.”
Ferno sent images of ripping the dragon apart, but Brianna shook her head.
“We must not kill our kind, not if we can help it.”
They hung back, flying closely together. Brianna sent Tig to watch Bartoom while the others landed and rested from the fight. She checked each of the other dragons, but only Ferno was hurt. She had healed the lacerations that Selix had endured from Bartoom while they were still in the air. The cuts had not been deep and healing them was easy. Ferno, on the other hand, was worse off. The green dragon had several pulled muscles that were spasming in its neck and back, causing the dragon a great deal of pain. Healing those muscles took time.
Once she finished, Brianna took a long drink of her water and then took a loaf of bread from her pack. Then she jumped up in the air, flipping like an acrobat and landing softly on Selix’s back.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s fly!”
Chapter 14
It took Zollin three days of hard riding to reach Luxing City. The town was not all that large. The most impressive building was the castle, a massive structure with high walls and lookout towers on all four sides. The structures around the castle were small, mostly wooden buildings. The entire city seemed quiet, almost empty.
Zollin and Mansel rode into the city while Eustice took the other horses and their supplies around. Zollin didn’t want to waste time in Luxing City, but he did want to find out what was happening with the army. He hoped they might be able to skirt around the army at Luxing. He had thought that King Zorlan would stay in the castle, or at least make camp for a few days. The road had been trampled by the army, and many of the small villages along their route had been picked clean of food and supplies. Some of the farms had even been burned. It made no sense to Zollin, who couldn’t understand why the king would let his army raze his own people.
Unfortunately, it was obvious that the army wasn’t still in Luxing. There were plenty of signs that they had been there, but the town was almost completely empty. Even from a distance Zollin could tell that. Still, they rode into the city to see what they could learn.
“It seems to me that perhaps the rumors of King Belphan’s death weren’t true,” Zollin said.
“What makes you say that?” Mansel said.
“None of this makes sense,” Zollin said. “Why wouldn’t King Zorlan stay here, even for just a few days?”
“Maybe he is here,” Mansel said. “He could have sent the army on ahead of him.”
“But you saw the burned farms. Why would he let his army sack his own villages?”
“I don’t know,” Mansel said. “But to be honest, I don’t know why most people do the things they do.”
“So you think it’s normal behavior, even for a king?”
“I don’t know what’s normal and what isn’t. I just know that the king I met was more than a little crazy. You saved his life and his kingdom from his usurping son, yet he was ready to hand you over to the enemy. None of that makes sense to me.”
“I guess you’re right, I just don’t understand what is driving Zorlan so hard.”
“It’s probably because he thinks that if he doesn’t go lay claim to Osla, someone else will. The witch was marching south with the army from Ortis. At least that’s the rumor. If we’ve heard it, surely King Zorlan has too. I doubt he’d want to sit around in his castle and let someone else beat him to the throne of Osla.”
“How come kings are never content with their own kingdoms?” Zollin asked. “They’re always invading some other kingdom or trying to expand into someone else’s lands. It’s almost predictable.”
“Yet here we are, trying to figure out what is going on with another king and his army.”
“We could just go home if there wasn’t an evil wizard trying to hunt me down.”
“Not to mention the dragon,” Mansel said with a smile. “We’ve got to do something about that dragon.”
They both laughed at the absurdity of their situation. It made no sense to think that two men and one servant could affect the outcome of kingdoms whose armies were at each others’ throats-not to mention the magical creatures that seemed bent on destroying them wherever they went.
They passed several quiet homes and a few workshops. If people were inside, Zollin couldn’t see or hear them. They certainly didn’t reveal themselves. They rode further into the town and found several inns near the castle walls. Zollin swung off his horse and handed the reins to his friend.
“What?” Mansel asked with a grin. “You think I’m really going to sit out here and hold onto the horses?”
“I guess that was a little silly, wasn’t it?” Zollin replied.