SWNOVELS Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns – Chapter 45
Ayla sped toward the dragon in the middle. Devarius clutched two vials in his hand: one red, one green. From the appearance of the three dragonriders, it looked as if the one in the center was the leader. At a distance, it was hard to tell too many features, but his armor had a bit more color to it, which usually distinguished an officer. Devarius hoped to take out their leader. He prayed it would spread them into chaos or defeat.
The two dragons on the leader’s sides turned to him, both of their mouths opened, and two massive spirals of fire collided together to become one enormous flame spiraling straight for Ayla and Devarius.
“Ayla, dive!” Devarius screamed.
Devarius felt the heat on his back, but the flames didn’t touch him. Ayla nose-dived straight down as soon as he told her, and they escaped the massive flames. They descended nearly to the ground before Ayla leveled out. Devarius stared wide-eyed at the trees in front of them as they approached. He closed his eyes. Ayla angled back up. As he opened his eyes, he flinched when he saw Ayla’s feet scrape against the tips of the pine trees. Ayla circled around the dragons as she was ascending, approaching them from behind.
Devarius saw two more wyvernriders fall. A lump formed in his throat. Those were his comrades, people he’d spent time training with for months. His jaw clenched.
“Get me above him, Ayla.”
Ayla continued her climb, much higher than he would have liked. The abruptness of it made his head spin and his ears clog. He closed his eyes as he held onto the saddle tightly, grateful his feet were tied to the saddle.
When Ayla leveled out, he opened his eyes and realized they were hundreds of feet above the dragons.
“Too far, Ayla. Descend.” He clutched the two vials in his hands.
Ayla nose-dived. Between her speed, and the gravity, there was little the dragonrider could do to escape. When Ayla neared the dragon, she flapped her wings, slowing down her flight, until she was only twenty feet above, where she glided.
Devarius glanced down and saw the dragonrider, the leader, looking up at him. The suns’ light bounced off the scales of the large dragon, glimmering a violet-red. Devarius gasped. The creature looked to be a mix of a red and a purple dragon. Perhaps there were more than just red dragons. He wondered if they had the same powers as the wyverns—he wondered if the empire knew.
He dropped the vials. The rider leapt from the back of the dragon seconds before the vials struck. Devarius watched as he fell toward the ground. One of the other dragonriders saw him and dove down to catch the rider.
The two vials shattered on the back of the dragon below him. The acid ate through the saddle and burned the dragon, and the other vial shattered on its bare back. Oil trickled from the dragon’s back to its wings.
“Now, Ayla!”
Ayla dove down, opened her mouth, and blew cold icy air at the dragon. When the ice breath met the blue oil coving the dragon’s body, the entire creature began to freeze into a block of ice. It plunged toward the ground. As the violet-red dragon fell, it turned toward Devarius. Its large mouth opened wide and a flame pushed by a gust of wind flew at them an instant before its head became trapped by ice. Ayla moved, but not fast enough; part of the flame struck her side, spiraling Ayla and Devarius away from the last two dragons.
When they stopped spinning, Devarius searched for the leader. He saw him atop one of the other dragons, holding onto its rider from behind. The leader turned to look at Devarius once before the dragon turned and began flying north, away from the battle. Devarius gritted his teeth. The man couldn’t escape … he would warn the empire about the wyverns.
“Ayla!” Devarius screamed. “After that dragon!”
Ayla tried to fly forward, but the last dragonrider moved in the way, flame extruding from its mouth. Ayla dipped down, avoiding the blast, but before she made it too far, another burst of fire filled the air below them. She had to maneuver to the side to avoid it.
Devarius gritted his teeth. He looked around, but realized there were only three wyvernriders left. His head shifted from side to side, frantically looking for the other wyvernriders. When he looked down, he gasped. They weren’t all dead … but many were on the ground, injured, and out of the fight.
The three wyvernriders flew side by side, watching the dragon blocking them. Devarius turned to his side and noticed Paedyn and Tynaer with him. He eyed the two of them, then an idea popped in his head. His gaze shifted to the dragon, and his head tilted.
“Paedyn, remember when I went hog hunting?” Devarius yelled.
Paedyn glanced over to Devarius. “Yeah … what about it?”
“That hog was so much larger than our three dogs.”
Paedyn’s head tilted. “Who finishes the creature off?”
“I will. You two just—”
“Distract. Got it.” Paedyn grinned.
Paedyn and his wyvern moved closer to Tynaer and his silver wyvern. The two of them spoke for a short while before they both flew toward the dragon on opposite sides.
The massive dragon turned its head from one side to the other, trying to decide which wyvern to attack. It blew fire one way, and then the other. Both Tynaer and Paedyn dodged the flames and circled around to the backside of the dragon. The dragon turned away from Ayla and Devarius. They closed in on the creature, searching for an opening.
Tynaer’s silver wyvern transformed its scales into steel and darted sideways, tearing through the dragon’s wing. The beast rocked from side to side, losing its balance, but fighting harder to keep itself afloat. It didn’t give up. Paedyn’s wyvern, Pyro, blew flame on the dragon’s other side. The dragon turned to growl and return fire. Devarius saw his opening.
“Now, Ayla, go straight for the dragon’s neck, and bite hard.”
Ayla didn’t hesitate. She flew hard and fast. The dragon didn’t notice them. It aimed its attention upward, flame blazing from its mouth as it followed Paedyn’s wyvern from one side to the other. It took less than ten seconds for Ayla to reach the dragon. When she was close enough, she stopped flapping her wings, glided the rest of the way, and bit hard on the dragon’s throat. The creature howled in pain and jerked its neck from side to side. Ayla didn’t let go. Devarius had to hang on tight to the saddle to not be thrown off. Time seemed to slow as Ayla’s body was thrashed from side to side.
It took less than a minute for the dragon to cease moving. Ayla didn’t let up though. She kept her hold on the dragon’s neck. Its wings stopped flapping, and both of them began falling to the ground.
“Ayla?” Devarius asked.
Ayla didn’t hear him. They continued to fall to the ground. Devarius glanced to the side of the wyvern and down. They were approaching fast. He knew if they crashed, they wouldn’t survive. His body shook and his head spun. They were less than fifty feet from crashing. He clenched his fists.
“Ayla!” he screamed.
Ayla shook her head, then finally let go of the dragon’s neck. She tried to pull away from the dragon, but the dragon’s claws outstretched and tried to grab them. The claws ripped the ropes holding Devarius’s feet on the saddle, and he slipped off Ayla. Devarius yelled as he fell belly first toward the ground, no wyvern to protect him. He knew there was nothing he could do. All he could do was hope the Resistance would learn enough from the battle to prevail in the war to come. He closed his eyes, at peace; he accepted his fate.
Claws dug into his flesh, and he changed from falling to being thrust forward. He opened his eyes. Devarius was being carried forward. Pain surged through his back, making his entire body tremble in agony. He couldn’t turn around to see who or what had him, but whatever it was, wasn’t steady. Devarius’s body wavered from side to side. All he could do was wait. After several long minutes, they slowed as they descended. Devarius watched in amazement as the ground became only inches away. He reached his arms forward and touched the ground. The pain in his back let up, and whatever had a hold of him, relinquished it.
Devarius’s head spun, and he lay there for several long minutes before he pushed off of the ground to get on his knees. In front of him sat Ayla. Blue blood covered her face, scales, and wings. One of her wings appeared to be broken.
“Ayla … are you all right?”
Her nose dipped toward him and touched his forehead.
Yes I am, little one.
Devarius’s eyes bulged. “Did you just talk to me … in my head?”
Yes, I did.
“I didn’t know you could.”
It took me a while to fully understand your language.
Devarius grinned. “This is so neat.”
Ayla tilted her head.
His grin faltered. “How hurt are you?”
My wing.
“We need to get you back to the island. We have people there who may be able to help. I don’t know much about healing or medicine, but we have people who do.”
I don’t know if I can travel that far.
Devarius bit his lip. “We’ll figure something out.” He paused and looked around. “Where is the dragon? Where are the other wyverns?”
We defeated the dragon. It lies on the ground with its rider. The other dragon, the one with the two humans, has escaped. The rest of the surviving wyverns and humans are all together, checking on their injuries.
Devarius frowned. “I wish that dragon hadn’t escaped. Now the empire is going to know about us.”
Yes.
“But …” Devarius’s smile came back. “We won. The Resistance has never won a battle against the empire. Now we know it can be done.”
Ayla turned to look behind them. At what cost?
Devarius’s mouth twisted. “I know. We’ll have to train harder … but now we know what we’re up against. We should be better prepared for the next time.”
Ayla groaned.
Devarius took a deep breath. “Come, let’s go check on the others.”