CHAPTER TEN
LIEUTENANT DEKARIO DUNDRA
“Take the ship. Fly her straight,” I said as I unbuckled my belt as we flew into Kelon.
“What? Why? What are you doing?” Kavik said as he grabbed the wheel piloting the ship.
“Get her to a thousand feet. I’m getting out,” I said.
“Are you insane? Can you not wait until we have landed the ship?” he said.
“No. It is a waste of time,” I said as I shifted into dragon form. “There is no time to lose. Commander Triq would already have her by now. Any second now could be the second he tries to take her,” I said in anger.
“But only a few more seconds until—”
“Kavik, what if it was Luka?” I said angrily.
He was quiet and then said, “Nearing one thousand feet in twenty seconds. Twenty, nineteen…”
As he counted down, I moved toward the door and grabbed the latch. He shouted, “One thousand feet!”
I opened the door, and the air rushed in. I jumped from the door and flew into the sky. We were very high, and so I dove straight down as fast as I could plummet. It was such a high speed that I just folded my wings behind my back and allowed the pull of Kelon to take me down toward the surface. When I was a hundred feet above the surface, I spread my wings and flew out toward the village in the distance. In seconds, I was standing on the veranda with the four huts where the humans Luka, Phoenix, and my Reena were staying.
“Reena! Reena!” I called out to her as I moved to her hut. I kicked open the door as I yelled for her. “Shit,” I said. There were signs of a struggle, and it was obvious that he had already been here. He must have her.
“Reena!” I shouted.
“Dekario?!” I heard a female voice say. But it was not Reena. I ran out the door of the hut onto the veranda.
“Dekario! Thank god,” Luka said as she ran toward me. “Where is Kavik?” she asked looking concerned.
“He is on his way. He will be here in minutes. Where is Reena? What happened here, Luka?” I asked in a panic.
“She was taken. I saw it. I have just come back from telling the king!” Phoenix shouted at me as he ran across the bridge to us.
“He is right. It was Commander Triq. He took her. We heard her screaming, but we could not get to her in time,” Luka added.
“It was the black dragon. I was running toward her hut when it emerged from her hut out the window with her screaming in his arms,” Phoenix said.
I growled at hearing this. I did not like to think of her in a frightened state. I did not want that for her. Commander Triq would pay for this.
“He went that way, toward the port. But Reena’s screaming woke up the entire village and I think that deterred him from landing there. So he flew that way, over the jungle. Then he was out of sight,” Phoenix said.
“You have told the king this?” I asked.
“Yes. He is gathering a search party of warriors now,” Phoenix said.
“That will take too long. I am going now. Tell the king I have returned and followed the path of Commander Triq,” I said.
“You are going by yourself?” Phoenix asked.
“I have to. Go tell the king now,” I said.
I jumped off the veranda on the tall tree and flew out away from the village above the tree canopy of the jungle in the night sky. I could see that it was almost dawn at this vantage point as the sun’s light began to illuminate the ocean. My mind raced as I thought about where Commander Triq could have taken Reena. There was nothing out in that direction except for a dormant volcano called the Manta. That would be the perfect hiding place. It was uninhabited, and no one went there often because it was a long flight.
“Dekario!” Kavik shouted as he shot up through the canopy and hung in the air.
“Tell the king I am to the Manta! I am sure that is where he has gone!” I shouted back at him across the trees as I hung in the air.
“By yourself? You cannot go by yourself. Wait for us to gather!”
“No, you go and gather forces, but I’m losing time every second she is in danger. Go now!” I shouted as I turned and flew in the direction of the ocean.
I was not going to wait for reinforcements of any kind. I had already lost a lot of time by being unconscious on Tiok. I only hoped that I was not too late. If he harmed her, then I would tear him to pieces with my bare hands.
As I thought about it, I grew angrier and angrier, and with this anger, I was somehow able to push myself faster through the sky. It was as if my mind was allowing it to happen. I was using the power within me to cut through the sky so fast that everything was a blur to me. I had never flown this fast before, and it was a new experience.
Then as I came upon the black cone of The Manta sticking out from the sea, I slowed down. I did not know what I would be flying into. The sun was barely starting to peak over the ocean, and everything was illuminated a shade of orange and pink.
It was then in this light that I noticed activity on the volcano island. I could see movement, and that let me know that the king’s suspicions were right. There was activity on the outer islands without his knowledge. This must be a post of the opposition, and now that I knew that Commander Triq was a traitor, this would be the perfect place for him to go. I would have to be careful, and I would have to infiltrate this quietly.
I flew to the top of the volcano and landed on along the rim. I laid down, clinging to the outside wall as I looked in. I was shocked at what I saw. There was an entire base inside the volcano. I felt a sense of failure as I saw it. I had failed the king. He was right all along, but we had been looking in the wrong place. Now, this opposition base had been put together right under our noses.
“Take the prisoner water and food. Do not speak to her!” I heard a voice shout. It caught my attention. I looked down to see a familiar Draqua. I had seen him many years before when he was exiled from Kelon. He was known as Captain Hicium. He pointed in the direction of the prisoner. Was it Reena? Why would they have her prisoner?
Then I saw Commander Triq moving toward Captain Hicium. He was angry, and he spoke loud enough for me to hear at the height that I was at. “This is unnecessary. I have told you that I was not followed. There is no need to prepare for an invasion by the king’s warriors.”
“I am in charge here. I am to be trusted, not you. I would not expect you to understand how you rampaging through the village with a screaming human female in your arms would cause alarm and a search party to happen. That is probably why you never made it past commander even in your old age. I am a captain for good reason,” he spat the words at Commander Triq. I tried to hold in my laughter as he berated Commander Triq, but I needed to go into action. I knew what side of the volcano she was being held on because the Captain had pointed in that direction. Now that Commander Triq was occupied with his squabble with the captain, it was the perfect time to find her and get her out of this hell hole.
I moved to the other side of the volcano and found an entrance. There was no one guarding it, and I remembered the Captain say they were getting ready for an invasion by the king’s warriors. This was good for me. That meant there would be very few guards at positions because they were all getting ready for battle. They were expecting a large force and not one single Draqua slithering about the place.
“Here, human! If it were up to me, I wouldn’t feed you at all!” a voice echoed up the stairs. I heard the clinging of metal bars.
“Hurry, Captain wants us manning the ships now!” another Draqua shouted. I heard the bars cling again. Then heavy footsteps went away from me. I lightly stepped down the stairs, careful not to let my heavy boots make a noise.
Then my heart stopped when I heard sobbing. It was Reena. I would recognize her whimpers anywhere. Grief filled me that she was in this spot instead of in my warm bed with a smile on her face. She should not be experiencing this, and it was my fault for not staying with her. I had a dark feeling that something was looming in her future but I had brushed that feeling aside, and now she was paying for my carelessness.
I quietly appeared on the prison level and walked in. There was one guard standing there, and he was watching the warriors in the courtyard scramble and prepare for battle. I caught him off guard and hit him in the back of the head with my gun. He fell to the ground. I pulled him into an empty cell and pulled the keys off of him and then I closed and locked the cell door. Then I walked down the corridor of cells, and the sobbing became louder.
“Reena?” I whispered.
“What? Dekario? Is that you?” she said with such hope.
“It is me…shh,” I said as I ran quickly toward her.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe it,” she cried so hard she was convulsing.
“Shh… it’s okay. It’s okay.1 I’m right here,” I said as she hugged me through the bars. “I’m going to get you out of here. We must be quick.”
“I had hoped and prayed that you would show up, but Commander Triq told me he had you tied up on Tiok and I lost all hope. Captain Hicium wants to kill me and…”
“Shh, Commander Triq underestimated me. Come on, let’s get you out of here,” I said as I opened the door. She ran to me. I threw my arms around her and pressed against her trembling lips. Her face was wet from crying. She was violently shaking as she cried in my arms. I could tell that she was truly scared and I wanted to kill Commander Triq for putting her through this.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I heard a voice boom behind me. I turned to see Commander Triq glaring at me with shock.
I put myself in front of Reena as she gasped. “You underestimated me again,” I said as I used my mind power to throw him into the air quickly. His head hit on the rock ceiling of the corridor. He fell to the ground, but he was not knocked out, only dazed.
“What the hell are you up to now, Commander Triq? Did I not tell you to leave the human female alone? She will be dead in hours!” another voice said. Captain Hicium walked in. He took one look at us and pulled out his blaster gun faster than anyone I had ever seen. But I was on top of it and used my mind power to pull it out of his hand and across the corridor to the other end.
“You hybrid scum!” he shouted as he came at me. I flew over to the side away from Reena.
“Reena hide!” I shouted. She screamed as she ran away from me down the hall. I needed her to be out of harm's way in order to not be distracted from this fight.
“What is it with this female? Why is she so special that you and Commander Triq are after her?” Captain Hicium shouted as he charged at me again. I didn’t answer him. I wanted him to take his focus off of Reena.
Bam! He connected with me as he hit me in the torso and pushed me all the way against the bars. He was a dragon, a full dragon, and I had to hope that he would not shift. It was a small space, and I knew it would be hard for him to maneuver if he did.
“You are weak and old, Captain Hicium!” I shouted at him.
He growled at me. “I will show you weak and old!”
Boom! He punched me across the jaw. It sent me reeling backward. The truth was he was very strong Draqua, and there were many stories about his accomplishments in battle before he was exiled. I assumed that he was the one leading the opposition here. It made sense that many Draqua would follow him because of the tales of his battle accomplishments.
I punched him in the gut with both of my hands clasped together. I threw all my energy into it, and he was thrown off balance and landed on the ground. I flew into the air and landed on top of him. I straddled him and pummeled him with a right and a left across the face. I was getting the upper hand. But then his hand caught my right fist before it came down for another blow. “Aagh!” I screamed as he turned my hand in a way that was not natural as he tried to break my wrist. I used my elbow of my left and jabbed it into his face. He let go of my hand and pushed me off of him. He got up while I recovered.
“Where is she? This human that is causing me so much trouble? Come out, human! It is time for you to die!” he shouted as he ran down the corridor.
“Don’t touch her!” I shouted back. But he rounded the corner of the corridor and was out of my sight.
“Dekario…” I heard Reena whisper. I looked to see that she was hiding in an open cell to the left of me. I smiled at her, knowing that she was safe.
“Come out…” I heard the Captain’s voice echo down the corridor. I needed to finish him, and now. If I did not, he was going to kill Reena as soon as he found her.
“Stay there,” I whispered to her. She nodded. I flew down the corridor toward Captain Hicium. I filled my lungs with air. The warmth in my torso was growing. I was going to shoot fire at him, but he was not in a straight line in front of me. If he saw my glowing torso he would be warned and get out of the way. No, I had to think of something much more clever than that. I got to the corner and breathed a large ball of fire into the air. Then I used my mind power to grab the ball of fire and whip it around the corner.
“Agh! Agh!!!” Captain Hicium shouted in pain as the fireball hit him. I quickly pulled my blaster gun from my boot holster and rounded the corner. He was on fire. Bam! Bam! I fired two shots into his head. He fell to the ground, dead. He was still on fire.
“Agh! Dekario!” Reena shouted. I turned to see Commander Triq pulling her from the cell.
“No! Don’t! Leave her alone!” I shouted as I flew toward them. But he yanked her out of sight. When I got to the cell, I followed them out of the arched doorway into the courtyard. It was bustling with many Draqua warriors of the opposition.
“He killed Captain Hicium! He killed the captain!” Commander Triq shouted as he pointed at me.
He had Reena in his arms. She screamed for me. “Dekario!”
But as she screamed, Commander Triq let her go. She ran for me, but behind her, I could see Commander Triq shift into dragon form. There were many warriors coming at me ready to fight. But I could only focus on her. As she was closer to me, she was picked up into the air by the black dragon of Commander Triq.
“No!” I shouted. He flew straight up inside the cone of the volcano. I shot up but was dragged down as a warrior had my leg. I shot fire at him from my mouth. He let go as he screamed.
“They are here! The army is coming!” a warrior shouted as he ran into the courtyard. “The warning fire has been lit. Prepare for battle!”
This warning was a blessing for me. The warriors moved their attention from me to the battle preparations. I flew straight up the volcano and landed on a ledge.
“Come any closer, and I will push her off this ledge,” Commander Triq said as he growled at me.
“No, don’t. I am staying right here; see?” I said putting my hands up in surrender. “Don’t hurt her. This is between you and I. It always has been, hasn’t it?” I said.
“You dirty hybrid! Why should you have powers and not I? It isn’t fair!” he shouted.
“And that is why you are breeding Aeriwana and Draqua? You want to use their powers to your benefit because you do not have them? Isn’t that so?” I said, taking a step forward.
“That is not your business, hybrid,” he said as he jerked Reena in his hands.
I stopped walking forward. I did not know how to get out of this. I did not have a clever plan. I did not know how far away the king’s warriors were or if Kavik was among them. I felt powerless as I stared into Reena’s brown eyes. She was terrified as she looked at me. Her hands were on her belly as though protecting it and she was breathing heavily. She was shaking. I had to think of something. Commander Triq could snap her neck in a second just out of spite of me. What could I do to save her?