SWNOVELS Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns – Chapter 42
Ayla’s speed made up for what she lacked in size. Devarius and Ayla led the other wyvernriders to Kaeldroga. They traveled north of their lumber yard. Devarius didn’t want them to appear like they were coming from the sea in case they failed.
When they reached the camp, they found it in ruins. In the sky, the three silver wyverns were still alive. However, there were now eleven dragonriders.
“Slow down, girl. Let me study the battle.”
Ayla slowed to a glide as he took in the scene before him.
The eleven dragons were all red. If their scale color determined their abilities like the wyverns, all they could do was breathe fire. Devarius shook his head. All they could do … as if it wasn’t enough. Fire burned. He watched the three wyverns … each of which had a rider on their back … all without saddles since they had been carrying lumber instead. Devarius didn’t see any survivors on the ground. He hoped they’d fled into the forest. Still, three men lived. He couldn’t be sure, but he assumed one of them was the captain. Devarius wondered how the fire from the dragons hadn’t killed the wyvernriders.
The dragons were much larger, but as he watched, he noticed the wyverns were swift. With each flame projecting from a dragon’s mouth, the wyverns dipped and twisted to easily avoid it.
Paedyn and his red wyvern approached from Devarius’s side. “What’s the plan?”
“They’re all red. I don’t know if that means they can only use fire, or if they’re different. But I imagine our orange vials may be useless, except on the riders. Ride hard and attack. Ready your swords. Hopefully they’re strong enough to cut into dragonwings. Otherwise, get in positions to drop vials on their backs. Remember, they’re stronger. Don’t face them head-on. We’re going to have to maneuver to survive.”
Paedyn nodded. “At your command.”
Devarius studied the dragons one last time. He waited for an opening. They outnumbered the dragons … twenty-one plus the three silver wyverns made twenty-four versus eleven dragons. However, what could mere flies do to a horse? He took a deep breath and nodded.
Paedyn grinned. He whispered to his wyvern, and it flew off at an incredible speed.
Devarius clenched his eyes, opened them, then patted Ayla on her neck. Ayla began flapping her wings. They flew onward at an unbelievable speed, passing Paedyn and his wyvern. As they neared the first dragon, Ayla opened her mouth at the same time as the dragon. Fire met ice. Both elements dissipated, and rain began to fall. The fire dragon closed its mouth for a second, taking a breath, then opened it again, trying its fire once more. Before anything happened, a focused gust of wind tore into its underbelly, and the dragon spun out of control backward, higher into the sky. Devarius glanced down and waved at the purple wyvern. Its rider grinned back at him.
Devarius directed Ayla to maneuver below the other dragons to get away from being their main focus. He searched the sky, searching for an opening. With the wyverns being two to one, even though they weren’t as strong, the dragons had a hard time splitting their attention.
“Ayla, the red to your left. It’s having a hard time focusing on the two wyverns. Fly around its backside until you’re directly on top of it.”
Ayla sped away. Devarius held onto the saddle tight as Ayla flew hard, turning from side to side, maneuvering through the air. She pulled upward hard, forcing Devarius to lean back, and the blood to rush to his head. When she straightened, his head was spinning. Everything looked blurry. Tingles shivered through his entire body. He looked down and saw three dragons where he knew there should only be one. His fists clenched. He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. The three dragons turned into one. He grabbed a blue vial from his sash.
“Tilt to your left,” he called.
Ayla complied.
Devarius had a clear target, one that wouldn’t compromise Ayla under him. He took a deep breath and let the vial go. It sped through the air, picking up speed with each second. The vial shattered when it struck the rider. Blue ice encased him in seconds, and he slid off of the dragon, tumbling to the ground. The dragon’s neck spun to look for its rider as blue ice began to encase it as well. Its wings slowed, ice traveling from its back toward its legs. The dragon looked at Devarius, and its eyes glowed crimson. It tried to spin toward Devarius, but before it could, the rest of its body was wrapped in ice.
Devarius watched as the dragon spiraled toward the ground and shattered into thousands of pieces. His jaw dropped; his aim had been perfect. He knew if the vial would have struck a little to either side, he would have only hit the rider, or the dragon. Devarius prayed the others had such luck.