Clever! Shall we return to inform the others?
Yeah, there’s nothing here but a pile of rocks. We’ll have better luck getting ahead of them. Let them think they’ve outmaneuvered us for now. They can’t hide forever.
The dragon voices quieted and Anders heard their wings pumping air as they took flight. He remained perfectly still, keeping a hold on Lazuran. Making sure the dragons had departed and that their conversation wasn’t just a ruse to get his group to expose themselves, Anders and the others kept quiet for several hours.
When Raffa finally lifted his wings, exposing them to the night, he said, It’s time to move.
“What if they’re watching out for us?” Anders asked.
You heard them as well as I, they are setting an ambush along the elven border. They’ve flown away now and it’s safe for us to travel, Raffa said.
“And how far is it to the elven border?” Anders asked.
I have never made this journey on foot. I do not know. Raffa said.
Anders turned to Zahara. She said, It will take many days to venture on foot.
Could you fly? he asked.
I can, but I’ll need more healing. Raffa will have to provide the energy source.
Anders couldn’t think of any other option. If Raffa used his energy to boost Zahara again, he would be left weakened as well, but they needed to leave the land of dragons with haste. Wishing he had more energy in the crystal, Anders addressed Raffa.
Without hesitation, Raffa accepted and prepared to share more of his energy with Zahara. Anders prepared himself to act as a conduit for their transfer.
Maija stopped him saying, “Anders, wait.”
Frowning, he looked at her confused as to why she would protest. He realized why she’d stopped him when she reached for his blade. Taking it and running in the opposite direction, Maija distanced herself from them.
Focusing back on the task of siphoning off some of the scarlet dragon’s powers, Anders began working the spell.
Halting on a grass-covered hill, Anders searched the moonlit landscape. In the distance he could see the tree line marking the Everlight Kingdom. Remaining still as he stood alone on the hilltop, Anders watched for any sign of movement. In the dark, he saw a dim orange glow on the forested horizon.
Dragons didn’t need fire to warm themselves; they could warm up from within using their own fire. The glow would have to signify elven civilization. Anders recalled the lesson of elven culture in his broad but brief instruction on their people’s history. Ivan sped through lessons on the villagers among the trees in the Everlight Kingdom. Marking the glow’s location, Anders retreated down the hill to address his companions.
Zahara rustled her wings when she saw him return, giving Anders the sense that she was ready to fly again. He, too, felt more than ready to take to the sky, but now that they were so close to the dragons’ trap, he knew they couldn’t risk it. “We’re close now. Not more than a five-hour walk to the border,” Anders said as he neared his group.
“Did you see any dragons patrolling the edge?” Maija asked.
Shaking his head, Anders said, “No, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I would say we could risk the flight, but this moon will expose us for certain, and if we’re spotted, all our patience will have been for naught.”
Your instincts are correct, Zahara said, her voice confirming his notion. We would better see their positions in the daytime and know where to cross the border undetected.
“I saw a glowing in the forest,” Anders said.
“What could it be?” Maija asked.
“Most likely an elven village. It would be our best shot at finding food and water before continuing to Cedarbridge,” he suggested, eyeing their empty gourds, the remnants of those Maija had picked back at their camp, two days of hard flying to the east. It had been twenty-four hours since their narrow escape from Kodoulen and his C.F.D.D. dragons. The transfer of energy into Zahara left Raffa depleted and they had to work together to take down five hump-backed cattle to restore the energy loss in the red dragon. The killing had been the only stop they’d made in their continuous flight west for the Everlight Kingdom. Anders took the opportunity to eat as much charred meat as he could stomach, knowing the sustenance would help restore his own energy stores.
The dragons at the border will not venture far into the forest if that’s where they’re hidden, Raffa’s powerful voice boomed in Anders’ mind. We can continue under cover of this drainage and find a place to enter the forest in the morning.
“I think we’ll be good to keep going for a few more hours; then, come morning, we’ll see where the dragons are, as you suggest,” Anders said.
As they followed the widening drainage toward the forest, Anders asked Maija, “Did Raffa answer your questions about them?”
Maija nodded, slowing her pace and allowing them to fall out of earshot. “He didn’t want to offend you, that’s why he never replied yesterday day when you asked him yourself. Apparently, a sort of leader among them arrives occasionally to give them new standing orders. The dragons in the C.F.D.D claim that he’s a prophet that will lead them to a new world order.”
“One without dragonrider pairs,” Anders said.
“Yes. The leader is careful in protecting his identity and only reveals himself to a select few dragons. They take orders and spread them among the community. Raffa said they tried to recruit him before he met me.”
“I wondered if there were still tensions among the dragons in Nagano and riders, but I never thought they’d go to such an extreme as to try to exterminate all rider pairs,” Anders said.
“It is a trying time for Kartania,” Maija said.
Anders nodded, quickening their pace to fall in behind Zahara and Raffa again as they continued their travels in the dark until they needed rest.
When dawn arrived, Anders and the others were already in position, sprawled in the grass with their heads low to the ground, watching from the sloped drainage. Anders didn’t have to wait long before he spotted a dragon rising from the trees. From their position on the grassy slope, he watched the winged figure glide out low to the trees. The dragon flew along the forested front, heading south, almost out of sight before turning back. Anders watched to see where the dragon would touch down for the day. The dragon’s assigned area appeared to be wider than Anders expected. He saw the dragon fly north out of sight, returning for another pass after leaving the area for nearly an hour. This left Anders hopeful that they would have an opportunity to cross into the Everlight Kingdom sooner than they’d expected.
If he goes back out of sight, we could slip past, Zahara said.
And even if he doesn’t, we could fly low, hoping to get by before he comes back, Raffa added.
How do you know it’s a he? Maija asked.
You cannot tell? Raffa asked. He projects his masculine dominance so strongly. I thought it was obvious.
