Rin

 

 

 

Becky’s right, there are definitely Vikons coming up the stairs. My heart sinks. Targon is still missing, and we’re running out of time. Adrenaline pulses through my blood. All my thoughts turn toward making sure the girls get out of here alive. I set my face in stone, doing my best to look the part of a leader, and turn toward the girls.

“We can’t wait any longer,” I say. I run over to the back edge of the temple, to the spot where I climbed up, and signal for the girls to follow. “You all need to escape into the jungle. Climb down and run for it. Don’t look back. Don’t stop moving. Keep going until you can’t see the temple anymore.”

“What about you, Rin?” asks Becky. She runs over and takes my hand. A look of sadness comes over her. “You have to come with us. You don’t know what those guys will do to you if they catch you. It’s horrible.”

I squeeze her hands in mine. “I’ll be right behind you,” I tell her, smiling a fake smile. I guide her toward the edge. “I’ll wait up here until you’re all safely down. I don’t want anyone coming after you. But you all need to go now.”

The stones beneath our feet tremble, and not far off I hear an incredible roar. The girls duck down and cover their ears as the terrifying sound reverberates through the sky. My heart skips a beat, and I look toward the source. I watch as the canopies of the trees shake violently, and then a huge red dragon bursts from the foliage. Another fierce roar rings out, and another dragon bursts from the jungle. This one is green. I watch in horror as they fly up into the air and circle overhead. On their backs I can just barely make out men in armor. In one hand they hold long bows, and in the other they hold the reigns of their dragons.

The riders Targon told me about.

A lump forms in my throat. On the other side of the temple five Vikon warriors come up the stairs, terrifying masks on their faces and weapons in their hands. They quickly spot us and begin closing in. Everyone except Becky is already over the side. They were hesitant to go at first, fearful of how high we are from the ground. But once the bellows of dragons filled the air, they were all racing each other to get to the bottom. I grab Becky by the shoulder. “Go!” I yell, looking her in the eyes. “You have to get out of here.”

With a final tearful glance she kneels at the ledge and reluctantly climbs over.

The warriors are almost to me, screaming and yelling battle cries as they raise their spears and get ready to cut me down. I bare my teeth and point my spear toward them, doing my best to look fearsome. It does little good. They’re so close now, raising their weapons to strike, but then they pause. Looks of terror consume them and they begin back-pedaling toward the steps.

“That’s right motherfuckers,” I yell, thrusting my spear. For a moment I feel like a real badass. “Yeah you better back off!” I yell. These guys are all tough when fighting unarmed girls, but give me a spear and see how they like it. Then an earth-rattling roar shakes the stones. This one is close, and I dive to the ground with my hands covering my ears. I’m completely shocked by the sudden noise, and when I look behind me, I see Targon pass overhead then land a few feet away.

Rin! He calls out. Stay down!

He faces the Vikon warriors and rears back. The warriors toss their spears then turn and run for their lives, but it’s too late. The spears sail harmlessly past Targon, and a moment later a stream of fire, glowing white hot, streams from his mouth. It engulfs them. They scream and run in circles while they burn, flailing their arms and trying to put out the flames. But it doesn’t take long before they collapse to the ground, char-broiled.

Targon stomps to my side and looks me over, checking me for injuries.

“I was so worried about you,” I say to him. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him repeatedly.

He nuzzles me. I’m sorry, my love. The riders chased me off for a moment, but I rushed back to make sure you were okay.

Overhead the dragon riders spot Targon and begin diving toward us. I point them out to Targon and he urges me to go. Join your friends—hurry before it’s too late. But the dragons move swiftly and before I can take two steps they are upon us. Targon lifts me onto his back and yells for me to hang on. The red dragon shoots by, extending his claws and lashing out, but we duck out of the way. Targon leaps off the edge of the temple just as the green dragon flashes past and strikes out. We hit the ground hard and I climb off Targon’s back. As soon as he sees I’m safe he leaps back into the sky and flies off after the dragons.

 

 

Targon

 

That was too close. Rin barely escaped with her life, and I need to get these dragons away from the girls. I flap my wings hard as I power through the sky, flying straight at the red dragon who just attacked me. I don’t recognize either one of these dragons. They must be from a tribe on the other side of the Wildlands. I look around me, trying to figure out the best course of action. The green dragon broke off and flew off to my right, while the red one is straight ahead and I’m closing fast.

The red dragon rider looks back over his shoulder and sees me. He pulls his reigns in and they arc through the air until they’re flying directly at me. I extend my claws and prepare myself for impact. We’re both moving so fast that we close the distance between us in a heartbeat. Our bodies slam together, knocking the wind from me. We grapple each other with our legs, slashing and ripping each other’s armor and scales as we fall through the sky. The dragon’s head shoots forward, his teeth tearing into my neck. I head-butt him away and slash at his throat.

The rider stands and draws his bow, sending an arrow streaking by my face. Lucky for me his aim was off, but I’ve got to do something quick before he fires again. I swing my fist at him and he ducks, reaching back to re-nock his bow. The dragon’s claws are caught on my armor and doing little damage, but the ground is approaching fast. If I don’t untangle myself from him soon, we’re both going to die.

I kick at his chest and finally break free as the treetops rush toward us. The force of my kick causes the rider to drop his weapon. The ground is rushing toward us at breakneck speed. I flap my wings with every ounce of strength I’ve got left and manage to get some forward momentum. I’m so close to the ground that great clouds of dust kick up beneath me, but with effort I manage to lift away in time to avoid impact.

The other dragon is not so lucky. He and his rider smash into an outcropping of rock. I hear the snapping of bone and a final scream from the rider, and then they are no more. My neck is bleeding and I’m exhausted, but I’m lucky to have avoided any major injuries. I climb up into the sky, searching for my next target. A short distance away I spot the green dragon coming toward me.

We clash in the air, twisting and turning. I’m kicking and slashing with my claws, doing everything I can to inflict damage while trying my best to avoid the arrows of the rider. But this dragon is a lot stronger than the last one. Every time I try to get a hit in, he blocks it. He counters with a kick, digging his claws deep into my side and slashing down. I roar with pain and claw at his face, drawing blood. I watch as the rider lets go of his bowstring and an arrow zips straight through my wing. It stings and causes me to jerk away. A moment later we are falling.

We drop toward the ground but this time I’m able to flap my wings and slow us down. We’re falling at angle, constantly fighting each other, and soon the canopies are rushing past. We smash through the treetops, branches snapping and leaves flying everywhere. With a loud thud we hit the ground, flying apart and engulfed by a huge cloud of dust. I’m knocked senseless. The world around me starts going black and I see stars, but I shake it away, trying my hardest to stay conscious.

I push myself up onto my feet and see the green dragon stumbling a short distance away. His rider has fallen to the ground. He’s on his hands and knees, choking and coughing as he regains his breath. This is my chance. I take the medallion from around my neck and rush over to the green dragon, thrusting the gem into a circular slot on his collar. He tries to stop me, grasping at my hands and snapping at me, but I’m able to yank the collar free.

With the collar on his eyes were glazed over and vacant, but as the collar drops away his expression changes and he comes back to himself. He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and for a moment he stares at me blankly.

“I’m not your enemy,” I say to him, stepping away to give him space. “You’ve been imprisoned by the Other-Worlders. I’ve set you free.”

He bares his fangs and rears back his head. I prepare myself for his imminent attack, but he swings his neck around and bites down on the Vikon rider, hauling him up into the air and thrashing him around until his limbs stop flailing. He flings the body into a tree and begins spitting disgustedly.

He faces me—eyes burning, his body tense.

“Those guys sure do taste bad,” he says.

A flood of relief washes over me. He’s back, and hopefully friendly.

“Where are we?” he asks.

“We’re in the jungle just beyond the Fire Temple,” I say to him. “I’ve come to rescue my clan. The Vikon used you and a red dragon to attack me.”

A look of dread comes over him. “Where is the red dragon? What happened to him?”

“We clashed in the sky and fell. He wasn’t able to fly away in time and crashed into the rocks.” I lower my eyes, realizing this dragon likely knew the red one. “It didn’t look like he survived the impact.”

For a moment the dragon is overcome by emotion. He bows his head and goes completely silent. I feel for him, having experienced first-hand the loss of loved ones. But there’s nothing I can do. He seems to come to the same conclusion and lifts his eyes to mine.

“My name is Logar,” he says.

“I’m Targon.”

A steadiness comes over him and he holds his head high. “You said you’re here to free your clan?”

“Yes.”

“Then follow me. I know the way.” He leaps up into the air and I follow right behind him. Soon we’re over the temple, and Logar guides me into a small cave that I’ve never noticed before. It’s hidden beneath the treetops and has a hut built around it as camouflage. We land outside the structure and continue on foot. It’s completely dark as we make our way into the cave, and the tunnels seem to continue on and on, branching off in every direction. I’m concerned about losing my way and becoming trapped down here, but Logar is confident and I’d do anything to find my clan.

It’s quiet—almost too quiet. I’d anticipated having to fight off Vikon warriors and even other dragons. But no one seems to be aware of our presence. We go down and down until I’m convinced we must be nearing the center of the planet, and then I see a red glow up ahead. The temperature quickly rises, hot fumes fill the air, and a low, steady rumble emanates from all around.

“The Other-Worlders keep us locked up just ahead,” Logar says. “They are a tricky bunch, with strange magic and metal suits. Be ready.”

After a final stretch of tunnel we come to a huge cavernous opening. Lava flows from the roof of the cave in streams and giant pools of glowing molten rock form on the floor. At the far end of the cavern it is pitch black, but I can make out eyes. They glow red and I recognize them immediately as the eyes of dragons.

“The captives are over there,” Logar says, pointing into the shadows.

“We need to free them,” I say, eager to see Aedan and the other clan members again. I’m hoping they are unharmed and able to fly back to my lair. No doubt they will need medicine and food, and the coming days will be busy with hunting and nursing them back to health, but I look forward to the process. It has been a nightmare imagining them being tortured and held against their will. Anything I can do to make their lives normal again I will do with great joy.

But Logar holds me back. “Careful, this could be a trap,” he says. We both look around for signs—signs of what, I don’t know. But anything that looks suspicious. I’ve heard stories about the Others and their strange devices. Still, I’ve never seen them with my own eyes, and I don’t know what to expect.

Cautiously we step forward, making our way along a narrow elevated strip of cave floor. Bubbling pools of lava flank the strip to either side, and if anyone were to attack us right now, we’d have few options fighting back. The cavern is noisy with the flow of magma cascading down from holes in the ceiling, but I keep my senses sharp, alert for the presence of enemies.

We’re halfway there, near the center of the cavern, when a bolt of red energy fires at us from the shadows. It flies between our heads and sizzles as it strikes the far end of the cave. A moment later white lights blare in my face and a strange, mechanical sound fills the space around us. Logar leaps at me, knocking me to the ground.  I fall beneath him as he covers me from the ensuing fire.

Explosions rock the cavern. Bursts of blinding light flash before my eyes. The world shakes. I scramble up, ready for battle, and that’s when I see one of the Others for the first time. A strange figure, clad in armor wrapped around him like a skeleton, approaches from the far side of the cavern. I can see the being between the glimmering metal struts, small and feeble looking but empowered by his suit. There is some kind of energy around him, pulsing and emitting a glow like the midnight lights that sometimes dance from the heavens. Underneath is his pale, atrophied frame, fragile and as easily breakable as shells on the seashore.

Another blast fires from the arms of his metal suit, smashing the rocks around us and sending debris flying. Lava spits and hisses as rocks splash into the roiling pools. I raise myself from the ground and begin running toward the alien creature. Logar is right behind me. On the far side of the cavern I can make out my clan: there is my brother Aedan, and beside him my good friend Drake. Tyrus sits at the end of the line, his face glum, and beside him is Byron and Atraeus, so passive and out of character. Around their necks are the collars that control their minds.

I’m filled with rage at the sight of my loved ones so cruelly imprisoned, and a surge of energy pulses through me. Everything happens so fast—bursts of light, loud explosions. There is chaos all around, and I hardly have time to register what’s going on. I’m charging toward the alien with murderous intent when suddenly one of his blasts strikes home and sends me reeling. Fiery pain surges through me—I cry out in pain. I’m nearly knocked back into the pools of lava, but Logar reaches out and pushes me onto solid ground.

I watch him rush toward the Other-Worlder, charging and roaring like a true dragon warrior. Bursts of light blind me, loud screams fill my ears. Chaos and rumbling ensue and by the time I make it across the causeway and strike out at the alien, Logar lies dead on the ground. He dies as he leaps in front of a beam that was intended for me. I’m striking and swinging, raking my claws as mechanical arms reach out and strike me with intense force. The fighting is fast and furious, the world a blur, and as I tear through the aliens head with my claws I’m struck by a huge blow.

I fall to the ground. My reality fades. Visions of my lair flash into my head, and images of my brother and I flying high over the mountains as young dragons consume my thoughts. I think about my first meeting with Rin, and see her constellation burning bright in the nighttime sky. I say her name out loud, knowing it is the last time I ever will. Rin, if you can hear me, know that I love you. Darkness overtakes me, and the last thing I see is her eyes, flaming bright like the stars.