“He’s right,” Redwing said. “It looks like land.”
“Get on,” Larkin said. “We can make better time if you’re riding me rather than walking beside me.”
Redwing nudged the wizard. “You too,” she said.
Patrik wrapped his arms around Larkin and noticed that the wizard had done the same thing as they charged through the sea, splashing up huge fountains of water. They began moving so fast that the water became shallow, and Redwing was able to spread her wings and take to the air, dumping Rat into the sea. The large animal hissed, snarled, and then began dog-paddling with the same excitement the dragons had shown.
Larkin was right behind her. From the air, both humans could see what had gotten the dragons and Rat so excited. It was land.
The dragons circled the peninsula several times before landing.
“What are you doing?” Patrik asked, anxious to dismount and once again have dry land beneath his feet.
“Looking for water, Patrik. It’s easier to do from the air than on land.”
“Good thinking,” Patrik said, feeling a little foolish.
Even in the growing darkness, they could see from the air that the strip of land they found stretched into the sea like a long, skinny finger with water surrounding it on three sides. Behind it a jungle-covered mountain rose straight up into the sky.
“No wonder everyone says there’s no way across,” Patrik said. “There’s nothing but sea surrounding it. We were very lucky to have found it when we did.”
“Yes, we were,” the wizard said. “We can be thankful Larkin’s singing held out as long as it did.”
Patrik was about to reply when both the dragons made a nosedive for land, only pulling back up into landing position when they were about six feet from the ground. Beneath them sparkled a bright, clear stream of fresh water surrounded by green grasses on three sides and sand in front. Rat joined them in a flat-out run, and was soon lapping up the sparkling water.
Larkin didn’t even wait to be unpacked. He charged for the stream, kicking up great spouts of sand, and plunged his head into the water. Patrik and the others followed his example. After taking a few big gulps, he pulled back on Larkin’s harness, forcing his head out of the water.
“Not too much at first, Larkin,” he said. “If you drink too much you’ll be sick.”
The dragon groaned, nodded, and nudged Redwing with his nose. “That’s enough for now,” he said.
She reluctantly obeyed, and backed away from the water.
Although they were all exhausted, they knew they needed to set up camp. The dragons helped by gathering firewood, and finished the job in about a quarter sunmark. As Patrik and Allard collapsed on their sleeping rolls, both dragons headed for the stream and jumped into the clear, cool water.
“What are you doing?” Patrik asked. “I thought you hated getting wet.”
“This salt water itches, and I don’t think it’s good for our scales,” Larkin replied.
Both Patrik and Allard rose, grabbed up their extra robes, and jumped into the stream after the dragons. Using their robes as wash cloths, they scrubbed the dragons from head to toe, even cleaning out from beneath their claws where bits of the reef clung like sticky cake crumbs to their nails.
“Thank you,” Larkin sighed. “You did a much better job than we could have. I guess that’s why the dragon king made the two races. So we could help each other.”
“I could have never gotten the seawater off my back,” Redwing agreed. “Thank you.”
“You saved our lives,” Patrik said. “Helping you is only the right thing to do.”
“And it’s nothing in comparison for what you have done for us,” agreed the wizard.
Patrik turned his gaze to Rat who was stretched out on a rock, sunning herself. “Do you think we should wash the seawater off of Rat?” he asked Allard.
The older man pursed his lips. “Probably, but have you ever tried to give a cat a bath? Let alone one the size of that monster?”
“You have a point, but if we don’t, it might make her wounds worse. Maybe we can get the dragons to help.”
“It’s going to take a dragon to give that animal a bath,” Allard replied.
“Larkin,” Patrik called, “we need a favor.”
The dragon approached the cat with caution, moving with slow deliberate steps. When he was directly above her sunning place, he bent his head down, and gently clamped his teeth down on the scruff of her neck. Rat didn’t waste any time in letting her fury be known. She yowled as if she was in a fight with another mountain prowler, and pawed the air with furious angry swipes of her claws.
Fortunately, for Larkin, his head and nose, positioned behind her head, were well out of range as he carried the angry cat to the stream and dunked her beneath the water. He kept his mouth clamped onto her neck as Patrik and Allard washed the seawater from her body. They bypassed her head as neither one of them dared come close to fangs. She made a beeline toward the jungle when Larkin finally released her, yowling and hissing all the way.
The sun was high in the sky by the time they finished, and all four of them were totally exhausted. The dragons found warm patches of sand to spread out their wings and were soon asleep as the sun dried and warmed their bodies. Patrik and Allard curled up on their sleeping rolls and joined their friends in an exhausted slumber.
A chill evening breeze blew across their campsite, waking them well after moonrise. Patrik groaned, closed his eyes, and tried to ignore his rumbling stomach. He turned over, lifted his head, and noticed the two dragons on the beach were also stirring. Rat had finally returned but made her anger known by staying well out of arm’s length.
“Are you awake?” he asked.
“Yes, Patrik. And so is Redwing. We’re both hungry.”
“So am I.”
“As am I,” said the wizard who had just awakened.
“I will hunt for you,” Redwing said, rising from the beach and spreading her wings for take-off .
“Larkin, do you think you can flame our fire?” Allard asked.
The sound of the dragon’s sigh sounded like wind blowing through a willow patch. “I can try,” he said hesitantly.
The dragon trudged through the sand, his claws leaving deep groves in the sand behind him, to where the firewood lay stacked. He took a deep breath and flexed his chest muscles in and out with all the strength he could muster. A small puff of smoke rewarded his effort. He tried it again, several more times, before giving up. “I guess you’ll just have to wait for Redwing,” he said, his head hanging low in shame.
“It’s okay, Larkin,” Patrik said, scratching the dragon’s head ridges. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll learn how to do it. Some things just take time. Look at me, I still can’t do magic. At the rate I’m going, I’ll probably never learn.”
Larkin rubbed his nose affectionately against Patrik’s chest. “We’re kind of alike, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are.”
Larkin’s stomach rumbled, sounding like a small thunderstorm.
Patrik laughed, “You better get something to eat before your stomach eats itself. “He gave the dragon a gentle shove.
“I’ll bring you back some fruit and salad greens,” the dragon said, plunging into the darkened jungle.
The humans waited in silence for the dragons’ return, still too tired to do much of anything. Redwing arrived first, a large doe in her jaws. She ripped off one of its hindquarters for the humans, flamed the fire to life, and returned to the jungle to eat her meal. This demonstration was a potent reminder to Patrik and Allard of her power, and they were both once again humbled by her willingness to be their friend and partner.
It wasn’t long before the salivating smell of roasted meat filled the campsite. It was tempting enough that even Rat took a place beside the fire. Larkin returned and deposited a mouthful of fresh greens and ruby-red fruit at their feet. “I’ve had my fill,” he said, and sighed with contentment. “I’m going to sleep now,” he said with a yawn. “I will see you in the morning,” he said as he curled up as close as he could to their campfire and almost immediately began to snore.
Redwing returned as Patrik and Allard were finishing their meal, and knowing that the smell of fresh meat could bring unwanted jungle animals into their campsite, they hung the leftovers high in the nearest tree. Nose to Larkin’s tail, Redwing also snuggled up to the campfire. Circled by their friends, the two humans and the cat also nestled down to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
The large green dragon roared out her anger, spitting fire in huge sheets down upon the tiny human in front of her. The first order magician’s shield held as the fire engulfed him like a glove, leaving him unharmed. He raised his arms and lightning bolts blasted from his fingertips toward the towering dragon. She flinched as they penetrated her scales, but she held her ground, screeching in fury, she stretched out one giant leg and clawed the magician off his feet. Seeing her enemy helpless, she charged him, snatching him up, and dashing him to the earth.
“That’s another one of our first order magicians down,” King Harrold said to Advisor Blackwell from the safety of his tent, far behind the front lines, but high on a hill where the battle could be viewed in safety. “I thought you said the dragons would be helpless against our magic.”
Blackwell tapped one black fingernail against his teeth as he thought. The war was going exactly as he thought it would, but he needed to keep this fact from the king. “I may have underestimated their strength, Your Highness, but we will still win the day. They have had many casualties already. You have seen the numbers our magicians have brought down.”
“Yes, but I’ve also seen the number of the first order magicians killed. If this doesn’t stop, we will be forced to use our second order ranks, and you and I both know they are not skilled enough. Also, the resulting drain of energy is taking its toll. We are losing almost as many basic magic users as we are first order magicians.”
Blackwell felt his hold over the king slipping. He thought quickly and said, “Surely, Sire, you knew this would be the case. One cannot use magic without drawing energy from someplace.”
King Harrold’s hands gripped the arms of his throne in frustration. “Yes, I knew it, but you assured me this would be an easy battle, quickly fought and quickly won. It has been twenty-five sunrises, and we are no closer to winning than when we started.”
“Ah, but that is not true,” Blackwell insisted. “The number of dragons we’ve defeated has surely hurt them. Their numbers are limited. Sooner or later, they will give up in defeat,” he lied.
“It had better be sooner rather than later,” King Harrold stated. “I am sick of this war and sick of seeing my people killed and injured.”
Blackwell hid his pleased smile behind his hand. All was going exactly as planned. The humans were losing and their earth was being destroyed with magic. Soon dragons would rule the earth the way they should have from the beginning. He cleared his throat and said, “I will go to the front lines and see if I can find a new strategy that will help.” He bowed his way out of the tent, smiling all the way.
∞
The weary travelers broke camp in a silence that was weighed down with worries and fears. The dawn of their thirty-sixth day shone bright and clear, and although they needed more rest, they all agreed to keep moving. They’d lost twenty-six days crossing the Sea of Lights and knew the war they had hoped to prevent must have already started. Their only hope now was to try to stop it before it destroyed their entire world.
They filled every gourd, flask, and bottle with water, and stored the leftover deer meat in a leather wrap. Larkin refused to carry it, but willingly let them strap on the extra water containers. “I can’t even stand the smell of it,” he complained. They were airborne within minutes, heading north, toward what they hoped were the Singing Mountains, the home of the dragon king.
“How much longer?” Patrik asked the wizard.
“I have no flaming idea. Remember that the maps I have with me ended at the Sea of Lights.”
“Oh yeah. I guess we’re on our own then.”
“According to our legends,” Larkin said, “the Singing Mountains are on the far side of the Valley of Death, where lost souls go when they can’t find their way to the Cloud Caverns.”
“And how do we find this valley?” the wizard asked.
Larkin shrugged, almost unseating Patrik and Rat, whose wounds were now mostly healed, and who had taken to riding the dragon behind Patrik instead of in a sling.
“Don’t do that,” Patrik said, grabbing the harness tighter.
“Oops, sorry, Patrik,” Larkin said.
“All we know for sure is that they lie in the north,” Redwing said. “And since we are flying north, we should end up there eventually.”
“That is just flaming wonderful,” Allard said, whose mood was deteriorating as rapidly as the forest beneath them.
They’d left the lush green jungle behind them several sunmarks ago, and as they flew toward the top of the mountains that guarded it, the vegetation became scraggly, small, and brown. The farther inland they flew, the less hospitable the surroundings. They reached the pinnacle of the mountain and both dragons slowed down and began to circle.
“I think we’ve found it,” Larkin said. “I’m going to land. I need a rest.”
Redwing followed Larkin’s lead, and landed on the mountain summit next to him. Patrik and Allard dismounted, and all four of them stared in stunned silence at the valley that lay before them. Rust-colored dirt stretched out, unbroken by any living thing. No trees, no grasses, no bushes, nothing but dried earth. Not a breath of wind, not a trickle of water. The valley was as dead as its name.
Patrik idly scratched Larkin’s head ridges while he stared at the land. The wizard cursed under his breath, and both dragons’ eyes whirled and turned dark brown with anxiousness.
Larkin finally broke the silence. “If we can cross the Sea of Lights, we can cross this.”
“We had the Guides and the water dragons,” the wizard said, unable to keep the gloom from his voice. “I don’t suppose either of you know how far this stretches?”
Both of the dragons shook their heads.
“I figured as much.” The wizard turned away and rummaged in his packs for his water flask.