The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain) (46 page)

             
Hayden looked at Draek’s wings and nodded, he wasn’t favoring them as if they hurt him. “They are healing up well. He still gets a little stiff and sore if he flies for long periods of time but they will be fine.” Hayden climbed into his saddle and started tightening down the safety straps. “How is Rilora doing with not competing in the Festival of Games?”

             
“She is ok with it,” Shane said as he had gotten into his own saddle. Rilora shot her head up and turned her head so she could see Shane. “Well she’s not really ok with it. I am feeling kind of bad with tomorrow being the Crucible and all.”

             
“They said they are going to divide us up, right? Well that means that Giles and Sebastian will almost certainly be on the same side, which means that that leaves me alone because they will probably have Cass and Shaylin judging again. I could really use you tomorrow.”

             
Shane thought about it for a few seconds, they had to wait for some of the other dragons to take off and clear up the skies. He looked at Rilora and smiled. “What do you think, girl, think we could give them a hand.” Rilora jumped straight into the air and Hayden heard Shane’s scream grow fainter as she flew further away.             

Chapter 23

The sun was just starting to rise as they stood in between the two stands; a few hundred bodies all huddled together so they could hear what the speaker was saying. The air above them was full of s
team from all of them breathing; it reminded Hayden of a pile of hot coals when water is poured over it.

             
The Crucible was about to start for the competitors a few hours earlier than it did for the people watching it. The stands were all but empty, and just a few people wanted to watch every part of the Festival of Games so they had gotten up early just to watch the competitors stand around and say things that they could not hope to hear.

             
Hayden and Shane were near the center of the group, but there was no need for them to be there; the judge who was speaking was only addressing the ground troops, not the riders.

             
“This is a mock battle, so take it as seriously as if it was a real one. The weapons that you will be given have been blunted; they won’t cut skin open easily, but that is a possibility. They can still cause damage, so if you notice someone fall to the ground they are considered dead, do not try to hit them again. If it is you that falls to the ground do not get back up and keep fighting, just stay where you are until a judge can make it to you to escort you out of the arena.” Hayden and Shane were talking about strategies,
and they were arguing about whether or not they should stay together or separate.

             
“We need to separate, because that way we can take them on one on one and the first one who finishes with theirs can help the other,” Shane was saying. Hayden knew that it was Rilora’s idea. She had been forced to stay grounded during the Festival of Games and now she wanted a chance to shine on her own.

             
It was perfectly normal and understandable for her to feel that way. Understandable yes; a good idea no.

             
“And what happens if they take me or you out, then they will do the same thing to us. It leaves too much up to chance. We need to stick together, and once we see how they are fighting we need to figure out a plan to beat them.” Hayden had thought about it last night with Draek and it seemed that it was the best plan they had.

             
They had no idea what tricks Giles and Sebastian would throw at them so it was their best bet to face them together and not separated.

             
“I guess you are right but….” Shane looked uncomfortable and Hayden knew what was coming before he asked.

             
“Don’t worry, Draek and I won’t get all the glory here.” Shane smiled and faced where Rilora was resting in the clearing. They couldn’t see where there their dragons were, but Hayden knew that Shane and Rilora were talking.

             
“Riders, did you hear me?” the judge asked. Hayden and Shane quickly faced him and tried to pretend like they had been listening. The judge did not believe them and Sebastian snickered at them. “Is something funny young rider? Can you tell them what I was saying?”

             
Sebastian wore the same face that Hayden and Shane had just had on as he tried to remember something he had not heard. The judge did not make him suffer long; he repeated what he had just said since he was sure that he now had their full attention.

             
“Riders are not allowed to intervene with the ground troops directly. No picking them up or landing to fight them. They have their own mission and you are not to alter that. Now, ground troops, you may head to the east entrance to be divided into your teams. Riders, you all stay here.”

             
The crowd started to move in one big wave, and the ones that wanted to fight the most pushed their way to the front. Friends tried to stay together, hoping that that would help them to get picked on the same team.

             
Once they had all moved on and were getting separated the judge started talking to them again.

             
“Now during the Crucible every pair of eyes will be on you four and your dragons. With that said, you all will not come in during the beginning but wait till the fighting is about half way done. That way the ground troops feel like they are just as important as you all are.

             
“Your tasks are simple; when the Crucible starts there will be two large piles of wood set on either side of the arena, each team will try to light the others fire while protecting their own. If a dragon is forced to land, they are out and are not allowed to continue in the event.”

             
The judge spoke quickly but there was no doubt in Hayden’s mind as to what he was supposed to do. He was already trying to form a plan in his head that would help them win.

             
“Now the teams will be Sebastian and Giles verses Hayden and Shane.” Hayden and Shane looked at each other with the same expression;
big surprise.

             
“Your dragons will know where to meet with your teams, good luck to you all and try your hardest to please Elizabeth.” The judge almost pleaded with them as he pointed to the same place that the ground troops had gone.

             
Hayden and Shane took the lead and made their way back to the clearing where all their dragons were. Shane and Hayden did not speak about their plans; they did not want their opponents to know what they were thinking.

             
Sebastian and Giles had been planning their strategy during the entire Festival of Games. Knowing that they would be on the same team they had not wasted their time competing in the smaller events but had worked tirelessly preparing for the Crucible.

             
They had no need to discuss their upcoming plans because they already knew what they were going to do. Instead, they happily walked behind Hayden and Shane, watching them try to think of ways to beat them.

             
They made it to their dragons and mounted, preparing to head to their teams and get ready for the Crucible.

             
“Good luck you two, you’re really going to need it,” Sebastian yelled at them from across the clearing. Kurok nudged into Sullivan and got Sebastian to look at Giles, who shook his head at him. Kurok was the first to take off, and after Sebastian looked at them one last time he joined his partner.

             
Hayden and Shane flew to their own area and realized that the teams did not seem to have been picked evenly. There had been a good variety of ground troops that had been in the arena, some looking much stronger and better fit for the Crucible than others.

             
Their team had none of those ground troops. Some of their teammates were using their weapons to draw on the ground while others were arguing about who they thought should be the leader.

             
They cleared an area big enough for both Draek and Rilora to land without having to worry about squishing someone. Once on the ground Hayden and Shane quickly dismounted and made their way to where everyone had been arguing.

             
“Look, the dragon riders have come to take everything over, all the work we have done so far is about to get turned into dragon spit.” Hayden made a mental note to ask Draek later on if dragons could spit.

             
“What have you gotten done so far?” Hayden asked.

             
“Well, we have decided that I am the leader.” The same young man that had spoken earlier spoke again. He would have said more but he got interrupted.

             
“We did not decide that, you just blurted it out and kept repeating yourself,” someone in crowd yelled. Others agreed with that person more than they did with the speaker.

             
The first one had friends around him that started yelling at the top of their lungs that he was their leader and
everyone needed to listen to him.

             
“So you lot have accomplished nothing so far; that’s comforting,” Shane said.

             
“And what makes you think you can tell us what to do?”

             
Hayden was tall, and because of the past eight months of hard training his body was now lean and covered with muscles. Shane had a different build, he had become huge.

             
The soldier that was yelling at them stepped up and got really close to Shane. He should have known that he was outmatched but his pride forced him to assert his dominance.

             
He stood close to the same height as Shane, but the man’s build was just a little bit bigger than Hayden’s and it looked to be more fat then muscle.

             
There is always one who tries to bully his way to the top,
Hayden told Draek. Draek shook his head, understanding what Hayden had said, but not why someone had to do it.

             
“I say I am the leader here and there is nothing that anyone can do about it.”

             
Shane smiled at him as he grabbed the man’s breast plate and picked him up off the ground. There were no trees around so he slammed him up against Rilora’s leg.

             
“She believes that there is something she can do about it,” Shane said. Rilora growled so that everyone heard her agree with Shane and the speaker felt the growl shake his body.

             
“Now we will not be able to help you during this event, it looks like we are doing two different events at the same time. Nothing more.” Hayden spoke loudly so that everyone around them could hear.

             
Shane let go of the soldier’s breast plate, and the man leaned back against Rilora for a second to regain his composer. Rilora pushed against him and he fell face first onto the ground at Shane’s feet.

             
“Then why are you both here; why don’t you leave and worry about yourselves and we will take care of our own.” The man got up off the ground, still acting like nothing had changed.

             
“What’s your name?” Hayden asked.

             
“Turgun,” the man replied.

             
“Well, Turgun, the reason that we are here is because we want to win; and it will look silly if we win but our team gets bested like a bunch of small children.” Hayden did not have time to be nice; soon the horn would blow signaling that the battle was to begin.

             
“The teams were not picked fairly; I saw how their team looks compared to ours.” No one tried to dispute what Hayden was saying, they all knew that the best soldiers from this year were on the other team. “They are going to try to overpower you with sheer force.”

             
“What are we supposed to do about it?” A voice came from the back of the group.

             
“I have an idea.”

______________________

             
Hayden sat on Draek’s back and waited; waited for their signal to fly out over the cheering crowd and start their Crucible, waited to see if the half thought out plan that he had made up would work.

             
He had told them to go against what they had been taught to do. He hopped that is had worked out but there was no way of knowing until they flew over and saw how the battle went.