On my other side, the Wyvern grunted as if annoyed, then stormed to the side. Terrified, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Was this when it all ended? Would they kill me now? I almost hoped so, because that would be much better than the horrors Mr. Cassidy had warned us about. I did not want them to hold me down and use my body!

Where the Wyvern stopped was a collection of leather and cloth. Blinking hard, I pushed away the glare long enough to see him open one of the lumps, proving it was a pack of some kind. Shoving his hand deep into it, he pulled something out and marched back towards me, thrusting it into my face.

"Ier."

I had no clue what his words meant, but the smell of the thing assaulted me. Sweet, salty, and strong. I couldn't even name the scents, but I did recognize the texture. The item in his hands looked exactly like pieces of meat that were cooked far too long.

I shook my head. No, if they were going to kill or torture me, then I wouldn't make it easy! I would not choke back some disgusting flesh just to appease them. The Wyvern thrust it at me again, and again I refused, trying to back away from him - but that only pressed me closer to the one holding me.

With a weary sigh, the Wyvern lifted the chunk of dry meat to his lips and took a bite, revealing teeth shaped almost like mine. Pointedly, he chewed it, then he made a production of swallowing. I stared in complete fascination.

His face was so human! Well, his nose was wider than mine, and the top of it attached to his forehead a little differently - but that could've been his coloration too. Pale stripes marked his cheeks and brow with more dipping from his lower lip, down his neck, to fade into the soft grey color of his chest and belly.

Then the Wyvern thrust the half-eaten piece of food at me again. "Ier, Orin."

Nope, I was not going to eat that. The taste of it would make me vomit, and that would make me even weaker. If I wanted a chance to get away - even a slim one - then being hungry would be better than being nauseous.

Yet once again the Wyvern sighed. This time louder than before. Tearing off the end where he'd bit into the meat, he broke the chunk apart. The half where his teeth had left their mark was tossed into his mouth. The remainder was thrust at me one more time.

"I'm not going to eat that!" I snapped.

Which made the Dragon holding me chuckle. I glanced back to see him gesture towards the Wyvern, and then the brilliantly-colored monster eased me forward. When I looked back, it was just in time to see the Wyvern grab the loop in the middle of my chain. The same one that had been over the hook on the tree. He didn't hold it hard, though. The creature looked almost lazy about restraining me.

This time, the other one headed for the packs. He opened one, searched inside it, then moved to another. Smiling - just like a man would - he pulled out what at first appeared to be a fist-sized rock. Then he found something else and opened it to pour what looked like water across the rock, making it darker. Dark enough to match the color of the fifth Dragon.

When all of that was done, the Dragon in pants walked back over. "Zasen, lad ar gou. Ai douna feenk sa izgouna roun."

The Wyvern immediately released my chain. Letting out another grumbling sound, he tossed his dark hands into the air, turned, and walked away.

Wait. The others were gone too! Blinking hard, I struggled to clear my eyes. That helped, but only until the watering from this bright light blurred everything again. It still gave me enough time to notice that only the yellow, orange, red, and turquoise Dragon was close to me. Sadly, the others were still around, placed in a loose circle.

There were gaps between them now. Large ones. Big enough that I debated trying to run for it, until I noticed the solid green one glance over. Okay, so they'd spread out, but it seemed they were still watching me.

Then the Dragon beside me lightly touched my arm. "Orin?"

I looked over to see him sink down to the ground, crossing his legs as he sat on the dirt. Lifting a hand, he waved me down, making it clear he wanted me to do the same. I paused to look around me one more time, but I was well and truly trapped. There was no point in trying to run, so what did I have to lose?

I sat.

The Dragon beside me held up the rock. I could see the basic form of it, but with my tears streaming from my eyes, the details were lost. Yet since he wasn't trying to grab me or pull me apart, I dared to reach up and wipe my eyes clear again. This time, I used both hands, but when my vision was clear, I looked at the Dragon, not the item he was holding.

He was big. About the size of Tobias, I thought. Worse, the Wyvern and the tan one were even bigger. The dark brown one was smaller, and the green one was about the same size as the one before me. And while it was hard to pick a main color for this one - since he had so many - I realized his body was mainly yellow.

The orange-and-red marks were a pattern over that. The areas of those darker colors were irregular but large, reminding me of a spotted dog I'd once seen in a book - and they overlapped each other! The turquoise color? It was in dots and dashes that accented everything beneath.

He was beautiful. In all my life, I'd never seen colors as vivid as his skin, but as I looked him over, I eventually made it to his face. My eyes met his - turquoise, like those spots - and the Dragon smiled gently.

"Orin, tu aev da eed." And he offered me the rock again.

I shook my head, but this time because I had no idea what he was asking me.

So the Dragon's smile grew a little more, shifting to a smirk. Slowly, keeping eye contact with me the entire time, he lifted the rock to his lips and bit at the end.

There was a crunch, but not of stone. Beneath the dark brown exterior, bright orange insides were revealed. The color wasn't nearly as vivid as the spots on this Dragon's skin, but still very orange. Then, just like the Wyvern had, the yellow-and-multi-colored Dragon chewed and swallowed before offering me the item again.

But I recognized the sound of that crunch! I'd heard it before. No, this item didn't look the same, but so many times when I'd been assigned kitchen duty, I'd snuck a few bites of the raw tubers to silence my belly. Each bite had sounded the same. That was enough to make me accept the "rock."

Carefully lifting it to my nose, I sniffed. It didn't have much of a smell, but what was there was definitely a tuber. So, deciding I had nothing to lose, I tried a very small bite, just nibbling at the edge of where his teeth had revealed the orange beneath.

Sweet! Not overly, but the taste of this thing was definitely sweet compared to the tubers I knew. It was also good. I barely swallowed the tidbit before my stomach rumbled again, adding in a cramp of discomfort to encourage me. Needless to say, my next bite may not have been polite.

It was big, taking as much into my mouth as I could manage. With each chew, the tuber crunched against my teeth, and the taste of it was so good. I wanted to moan in approval, but not with these monsters around. Still, if I wanted to have a chance, I had to keep my strength up, and eating was the best way to do it.

Beside me, the multi-colored Dragon nodded his head in approval. The smile on his lips looked almost proud. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of what he'd possibly done to be proud of, but if he'd just won this round, then fine. I would win the next one.

Because one way or another, I would survive - or die trying.

SixteenKanik

"K

anik."

The sound of my name made me turn. I caught a flash of blue as Zasen strode towards me, looking like he had a purpose. I still found it funny how his chosen name - the Wyvern - had become what the Moles knew him by. Then again, he had made sure of it.

Jerking my chin his way, I waited until he was closer. "Whatcha need?"

"The girl's feet need to be treated," he said, crouching down near where I sat.

My eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh..." There had to be a catch. "And remind me again why you aren't handling that?"

He just pointed to his chest. "Wyvern. If I try to touch that girl, she'll kick and fight again. It looks like Rymar got her calmed down enough to eat something, so..." He lifted a brow ridge.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "So you want me to bandage her little tootsies?"

"You are used to working with scared kids," he pointed out. "She's scared, even if not a kid."

Yeah, okay, he had a point. Still, I wasn't convinced this was a good idea. "I also know almost nothing about medicine."

"You know enough to bandage the kids you teach," he countered. "And if we want to get away from the Mole base, we need to get moving. The longer she fights, the longer we'll be here."

I grumbled at that, because he wasn't wrong. "Okay, but I don't want any complaints about my first aid. Never mind that I won't be able to keep an eye on her while pulling splinters from her feet. So if she tries to attack, you'd best be ready to jump in."

That made him chuckle. "Kanik, look at her. I mean really look at her. The thing is half-starved. She hardly has any muscle, is wearing what I'm sure must be underwear, and damned near ran right into a coyote! Do you honestly think she's a threat?"

"Well, no," I admitted.

So he leaned in and lowered his voice. "She's either a spy or a convict, and I'm leaning toward the latter."