As soon as Owen had landed, and had set Raven down softly on the ground, he collapsed into a panting, aching heap. He did not even have the energy to shift back into human form right now. All he could do was lie there, breathing heavily and feeling slightly embarrassed that he was appearing this weak in front of Raven.
Of course, he should not have felt embarrassed at all. He had just flown faster than he ever had in his life, and for quite a great distance. He had thrown all his energy into getting as far away from Saul as he could, as quickly as possible. For the moment, at least, it looked like his efforts had succeeded. He was safe. Raven was safe. And, perhaps most importantly, the dragon amethyst was safe. He had no idea how long this feeling of safety would last, but he would enjoy it while it did.
He hadn’t realized until he stopped how exhausted he felt. As he looked around now, trying to take in his surroundings, he realized that everything looked slightly blurry. His eyes were too tired to focus properly on anything, and so he shut them. He knew that up ahead there was a small town. He guessed that they were somewhere in Colorado, but he couldn’t quite be sure. When morning came, he and Raven could regroup and figure out where they had landed.
The thought of Raven made him shudder with relief. There’d been a good stretch of time tonight, when he was fighting the dark wizards, when he’d thought he was never going to see Raven alive again. Remembering those moments made his heart feel like it was literally twisting into knots inside of him. He opened his eyes again for a moment, just to make sure that she was really there with him, really okay.
She was just shrugging out of the giant backpack that she wore, moving stiffly as she let it fall to the ground. Owen knew she probably felt exhausted, too, even though she’d only been a passenger on this flight. Rushing through the sky for hours while hanging from a dragon’s claws was not the most comfortable way to travel.
Raven did not complain, though. She rushed over to him as quickly as her stiff muscles would allow her to, and wrapped her arms around his large dragon head.
“Owen! Owen, are you alright? I was so scared for a while there. I think we’re okay now, though.”
Owen could not answer. All he could manage was a soft sigh, and then he closed his eyes. Sleep began to overtake him. He tried to fight it, but its pull was too strong and his exhaustion was too great. The last thing he remembered hearing before he lost consciousness was Raven’s voice as she cast protective spells over them.
“Magicae invisibilia. Magicae arma. Magicae…”
* * *
When Owen opened his eyes once again, the sky was lit up by a bright pink sunrise. He lifted his head, and was surprised at how heavy it felt. That’s when he realized he was still in dragon form. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to shake off the disoriented feeling that filled him. It had been a long time since he’d fallen asleep in dragon form, over a decade perhaps. He couldn’t figure out why he was in dragon form at first, but then the events of the night before came rushing back to him. He lifted his head further, looking around for Raven. He curled his dragon lips up in a smile when he realized that she was curled up next to his dragon belly, her chest rising and falling as she slept peacefully beside him. He took a few moments to enjoy her beauty. The dawn made her skin glow with a warm, rosy tint, and her shiny hair fell around her face and shoulders in thick waves. He sighed, wishing that he could lie here with her all day, enjoying her company, instead of worrying about Saul’s army or the dragon amethyst.
But it would be some time before he could hope to have the luxury of a carefree day again. As slowly and quietly as he could, he scooted his dragon body away from her and stood. He walked a good distance away to shift back to human form, hoping that he was far enough away that he wouldn’t wake her when he shifted. But before his body was even done turning back into human form, she was standing to her feet, watching him carefully. He walked back toward her, shrugging apologetically.
“Sorry. I thought I was far enough away to shift without waking you.”
She smiled. “I think I woke up when you moved. You were so warm, and then you were gone and I felt chilled.”
Owen pulled her into his arms, nuzzling the top of her head. “Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest. They stood like that for a few minutes, holding each other tightly and wondering at the fact that they were both alive, and free, and still had possession of the dragon stone. After several minutes, Owen finally pulled away and started to dig in their backpack for some clothes.
“Any idea where we are?” Raven asked him as he dressed.
Owen shook his head no. “Have you looked at the GPS unit you stole?”
“The GPS unit I took with good intentions to pay later,” Raven said, giving him a cross look. “And yes, I’ve looked at it. We’re somewhere in southwest Colorado, it seems. You flew really far last night.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Owen said as he rubbed his upper arms. “I haven’t been sore like this for a long time.”
Raven sat down on a small rock and frowned. “I tried to contact Falcon Cross again, but there’s still no response. I’m trying not to panic, but I’m worried about everyone back home.”
Owen walked over to sit beside her. “Don’t get too worried just yet,” he said. “Saul had quite a large army with him in Sandview, and I don’t think an army that huge could have gotten from Falcon Cross to Sandview so quickly. I don’t think there’s been an attack on Falcon Cross. My guess is they’re having some trouble with their lines of communication. Perhaps Saul is trying to keep our different groups of shifters and wizards from communicating with each other.”
“We shouldn’t even try to contact them, then,” Raven said, looking even more worried now. “If he’s hacked into their communication systems, he might be able to trace us whenever we call, and figure out where we are.”
“It’s possible,” Owen said. “Which is why we shouldn’t hang around here long. We should keep moving. If you called Falcon Cross this morning, Saul’s army might already be on our way to try to attack us.”
“Great,” Raven said, putting her head in her hands. “I should have thought of that. We aren’t much of a match for his army on our own, as you’ve seen.”
Owen shrugged. “No, we’re not. But we are faster than them. And I’m not sure whether they know that we have the dragon amethyst. If they don’t realize that we have it, they might not be that interested in chasing us down. There’s not much point in sending a whole army after two rogue soldiers.”
“That’s true,” Raven said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if they did know we have the stone. If they caught up with the army retreating from the Redwoods, they would have realized that someone escaped with the stone in a different direction than the army.”
Owen and Raven were both quiet for a few minutes. Neither one of them wanted to think about the possibility that their friends had been caught by Saul’s army during the retreat from the Redwoods. But it was a very real possibility.
Finally, Raven let out a long sigh and broke the silence. “So what now?” she asked.
“Now, we make our way to Texas,” Owen said. “Our original mission was to get the dragon amethyst to the shifter protectors there, and I think we should continue to work toward that goal.”
“We haven’t been able to get a hold of the shifter protectors in Texas, either,” Raven said. “What if they aren’t there anymore?”
“I think they’re still there,” Owen said. “They’re just having trouble with their lines of communication, too. And, honestly, if they aren’t there any more, then we’re doomed. That would mean Saul’s army had managed to capture them despite the fact that they have both the dragon emerald and dragon sapphire.”
“True,” Raven said. “That does seem unlikely.”
She kicked at the dusty ground with her foot, and then let out another long sigh.
“Well,” she finally said as she looked up at Owen. “I guess we should get going, then. No sense hanging around here, where Saul’s army might be able to find us.”
“How are our supplies?” Owen asked.
Raven shrugged. “We’re alright for the time being, I think. We have plenty of food, and it should easily last us until we get to Texas as long as we keep flying at a relatively quick pace.”
Owen nodded. “I think we should go ahead and start flying, then. If we need to stop for supplies later, we can. But the most important thing now is to get away from here before Saul’s people find us. I would imagine they’re also not too happy that we discovered his little bat shifter project out in Sandview.”
“No, probably not,” Raven said. “Let’s eat a quick breakfast and get going, then.”
Owen and Raven both wolfed down meal bars, and then Owen started stripping off his clothes again in preparation to shift. He had just taken off his shirt when Raven looked up at him and gave him a sad smile.
“It kind of sucks, doesn’t it? Having to be on the run and worry about all this dark magic shit. I’d much rather go home and spend time hanging out with you, enjoying life.”
Owen winked at her as he started unbuttoning his pants. “Soon enough, Love,” he said. “Don’t give up hope just yet. Saul might have seen a few victories, but the war is far from over. We’ll beat the darkness yet, trust me on that.”
And with that, Owen tossed the last of his clothes to her, and began shifting into dragon from. It was time to get the dragon amethyst to safety.