The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain) (53 page)

             
They walked past the dining hall and Estraken’s library, using the same corridors that they had used almost every day of their training. They walked out of the Metallic Pyramid and past the blacksmith’s shop where they had all trained.

             
They passed every place that had been important to their training over the past year as they made their way out of the city. They took the same paths to their training ground and they all looked at the snow covered clearings that had once been the home of pain and sweat.

             
They continued walking through the forest, making sure to be careful about not touching an overhanging branch. Unless they wanted to accidently bury themselves or the person next to them underneath the snow that was suspended overhead.

             
Snow began to fall in thick flakes as they made it out of the forest, it stuck to their furs and, as the snow fell harder it started to impair their vision. They walked through the thickening snow and made their way to the River Savior.

             
The river was covered in ice near the snow covered banks, but at the center of the river the water still raged on. They walked alongside the river until they came up to a bridge that would allow them to cross over safely.

             
The bridge looked to be made out of snow and ice. Benet walked across the bridge with ease, but the five riders all took their time and were carful crossing over it. No one wanted to fall down in the snow; if they were unlucky enough to fall into the raging water below them it would mean death within minutes.

             
When they made it to the other side of the bridge, having slid down the last few sections, they were starting to get a little winded. Trudging through snow with all the weight of their gear on was becoming a harder task then they had thought.

             
Benet did not slow down, he did not speak at all to them, and if any of them made a noise he turned around swiftly and silenced them. They made their way past the arena Elizabeth had decided to keep it up and reuse in the years to come and headed to the Orchard of Souls.

             
They made their way through the rows of snow covered trees until they made it to the center where all the trees had been burnt down. Waiting for them were four dragons: a silvers, a gold and two coppers.

             
Bryce, Elizabeth and Caine sat on the back of their dragons while the other silver dragon had an empty saddle. The saddle on the silver was unlike any Hayden had ever seen. It had a seat for the dragon rider, but it also had straps all along the sides of the saddle and was much longer than any Hayden had seen.

             
Benet led the five riders right up in front of the dragons.

             
“Welcome,” Elizabeth said from the back of her dragon.

             
“I have brought the five riders who have done all that has been required of them save one thing; your approval,” Benet spoke formally. When he finished his small speech he left Hayden and the others and got onto his dragon’s back.

             
“Our approval; the only thing standing between being a trainee and a full rider. Are you ready to face the biggest challenge of your lives?” She did not wait for them to answer, instead she pointed to Benet and his dragon.

             
At her signal, Benet and his dragon walked in between the two groups.

             
“Each of you, climb up on the saddle and grab hold of the straps.” Benet had lost his friendly tone in exchange for a serious formal one. Hayden was the first to move, and he did as he was told.

             
There where two leather handles for him to grab onto and two metal rings on the bottom of the saddle that jutted out and was big enough for him to put his feet in. It wasn’t uncomfortable for Hayden and he could hold himself up.

             
The others followed his example and climbed up. Benet wanted them to be as even as possible so Giles, Sebastian and Cass got on one side while Shane was next to Hayden.

             
When Benet told Cass to go to the other side it was the first time in a while that Sebastian acknowledged
Hayden, but it was only with a devilish grin. Hayden could do nothing about it but grit his teeth.

             
“Hey, at least you got me on your side,” Shane said; trying to cheer Hayden up, knowing how he felt about Cass.             

             
Hayden guessed that they would have to fly like this and figured that this was the test; they would fly over the city and then land and it would prove their bravery.

             
“You will have to show absolute trust during this; you will be afraid but don’t let it rule you.” Benet spoke quietly so that only they could hear him. Elizabeth was the first to take flight, and as soon as she was clear of them the others followed.

             
Hayden had been in the air many times in the last few months; sometimes without his saddle. This time however, was an entirely different experience for him. He felt the same sensations he did while flying, but now he was not sitting on the dragon’s back, now he was holding on for dear life.

             
His hands were gripping so tightly that they were starting to hurt, even though he was wearing gloves. Normally he would try to match his body’s movements with his dragon as Draek struggled to fly higher. He couldn’t do that from the side of a dragon though and the wind was strong enough to almost pull him off.

             
The dragon was much bigger than Draek, so it had no trouble flying with the extra weight. Hayden was expecting it to fly just above the city, but instead all four dragons continued to fly higher and higher until they were about to break through the clouds.

             
Hayden looked down and saw just how far up they were and was reminded again that the only thing holding him onto the dragon was his half frozen hands. The silver dragon started to level off and Hayden decided it was best not to look down any more.

             
The clouds had been one giant thick sheet of white ever since the first snow storm. Everyday seemed to be nothing but grey skies and constant snow fall. Hayden watched as the thick clouds engulfed them and cut back his visibility to almost nothing.

             
He could see the others’ shapes, but no more, and he could feel the wetness that came from flying through clouds dampen his fur. He got a weird sensation as he realized he could not see the ground below him or the skies above him, nothing but grey filled his vision.

             
Hayden held on even tighter as he felt the dragon start to turn in the air. His feet slipped off the metal rings and for a second he was stretched out and his feet were dangling freely in the air.

             
Hayden’s lungs seized up and he couldn’t ask for help or even breath, all he could do was try to pull himself up. His heart seemed to stop beating all together as his body rose closer and closer to where his feet could get back into the metal rings. His right hand started to slip and he pulled even harder.

             
His put his foot into the loop just before his hand slipped off the leather strap. He started breathing again once he was secure against the dragon. No one seemed to notice what had just happened, and just as Hayden was about to tell Shane they heard Benet’s voice through the clouds.

             
“Trust is what holds a rider to their dragon. Trust is what makes us deadly in battle and trust allows us to survive as long as we do. If you do not trust your dragon with your life, for yours are linked together, then you are not worthy to become Metallic Riders.”

             
They listened to Benet speak as the wind seemed to carry his voice back to them.

             
“It is time for your last test, one last trial, one last sacrifice. You must be willing to trust your dragon above all reason and above everything in this world. You know that if you fall from this height, you will die. Nothing can change that truth; you will hit the ground going so fast that all we will have to do is put dirt on top of you.

             
“Even so, your last challenge is this: jump.” There was silence after that last word. Each of them heard it but none of them believed it.

             
“You want us to jump, as in … off your dragon?” Sebastian asked. His voice squeaked slightly as he talked. Fear was all too apparent in his voice.

             
“Jump,” was all that Benet said.

             
Draek where are you? Draek, answer me!
Hayden desperately tried to feel his dragons mind, but all he met was nothingness, just like the clouds around him. Fear grew like a tree in his heart; starting off small and insignificant but quickly growing and spreading throughout his body till it was too thick to cut out.

             
Hayden started to panic and he grew disoriented and confused. He wasn’t sure if things were starting to get fuzzy or if it was just the clouds around him closing in. He heard the voices of the others but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

             
Each of them seemed to be trying to shout over the other one. Hayden felt his grip slipping and something told him deep inside that it was ok to let go. The voices around him stopped, everyone seemed to be facing him like they knew he was about to do something, just like how he knew he was going to do something.

             
He looked over at Shane and the clouds cleared just enough for them to see each other’s faces in the clouds. Shane looked confused and Hayden could only guess that he looked the same way.

             
Shane asked a question that Hayden never heard. Hayden looked down at his hands and let his mind go blank. He stood up on the loops and pushed off the dragon with his hands, letting go of the straps and letting his feet fall free of the loops.

             
He heard voices yell his name as he stretched out his arms and kept his feet together while falling away from the dragon. He caught a glimpse of the dragon’s shape in the clouds and it reminded him of a giant fish swimming in the water. It was the last thought in his head before the wind was sucked out of him and he started struggling to scream.

             
Hayden fell through the clouds, he knew he was falling but he could not see anything. Finally the clouds broke around him and while he had been falling through the clouds he had managed to turn himself over so he was facing the ground that was, but would not remain so for long, far away.

             
All sense of calm and any feeling he had that made him think that he was doing the right thing left him as quickly as he had left the dragon. His arms flailed around him and he knew he had made a drastic mistake.

             
He yelled as loud as he could but his voice sounded different to him, almost dragon like.

             
Hayden was about to yell again when he heard the sound again, this time he was sure it was a dragon’s roar. He turned himself over again so he could face the clouds; the sensation of falling backwards was more terrifying than seeing the ground rushing up at him.

             
The clouds were further away now; he had fallen so far in such a short time. He knew that he did not have much time left before he hit the ground bellow. He realized that just as Draek’s thoughts jumped back into his head.

             
It was like taking a bath; all of Draek’s thoughts and emotions flooded him at once. There were so many thoughts and feeling that’s they all got jumbled together. Hayden could pick out sorrow and worry among them.

             
I am sorry, Draek; I was being stupid and jumped off. I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have done it.
Hayden felt his eyes tear up, but the air rushing past him pulled them off his face before they could roll down his cheek.

             
You did great, Hayden; you trust me.
Hayden was confused again. He did not understand what it mattered if he trusted Draek if they were both about to die.

             
The clouds above Hayden ruptured as Draek came tearing through the sky. The clouds exploded around him, and as he passed out of them they twirled around his wing tips. Two lines of white streaked behind his wings as he dove faster and faster, heading straight for Hayden.

             
Hayden saw all that and was relieved to see his dragon; his friend. Draek had his riding saddle on and was catching up to Hayden. Hayden got excited as he realized what Draek was trying to do.

             
Turn so that you are falling head first, you will go faster but I will still catch you.
Hayden tried to do what Draek said but as it was more difficult than he had thought it was going to be.

             
He finally got it right, and Draek was telling the truth because once his body was lined up he immediately started picking up speed.