Chapter 12

All of the cities on the eastern border had conceded to Tanas without a fight. A dragon had come to each gate, and whether from fear or actual support, the leaders gave in to the demands. Now, the enemy had free access to a number of inner cities, all less fortified than those on the border. There was little anyone could do since the largest part of Moriah’s forces had been sent north.

Groups of companions were dispatched to various areas, but each skirmish ended in defeat. The enemy was too numerous, and furthermore, twenty dragons had been confirmed in Moriah. One of the northern cities had been melted to the ground by no less than three of the behemoths. Refugees were pouring into Uru from the countryside until every street was packed with the homeless. Chayyoth helped evacuate as many people as possible. They brought stories of such horror that even the strongest supporters of Tanas dared not say so openly anymore. The day’s briefing the companions received was laced with desperation.

“The Moriahns sent their main force here,” a venerable rider said, pointing at the large map spread across a table. “The only thing that separates them from an enemy force twice their size is the Deepwood Forest. The Moriahns could hold the enemy in this pass here.” He traced a line from the Moriahns’ position to a road that divided a mountain range. “The only thing keeping them from moving to the pass is the enemy force here.” The place he pointed to was on the opposite side of the forest from the Moriahns. “There are a couple thousand Shedim, which would be challenging enough if it weren’t for the three dragons that accompany them. They’re the ones who destroyed Jarmuth.”

The battle-hardened Chayyoth and their riders showed no outward signs of fear or concern.

“How many companions will we be sending?” Corban asked.

“King Hayrik has approved sending half the Chayyoth army,” the man responded. “There will be three thousand of us.”

“Are there special orders for my team?”

The man looked at Corban. “None. Can your companions handle three dragons at once?”

“If yours can keep the Shedim off our backs, we’ll take care of the dragons,” Corban answered without a hint of boasting. To him, killing the dragons was as possible as eating bread for lunch.

***

Adhira was there to see them off the next afternoon. “You guys, be careful. I’m sure these dragons have heard of their buddy’s death and will be watching out for you.”

“We’ll be fine,” Neviah assured him.

“I’m itching to help, but I have to wait for the fight to come here,” he complained. “Maybe I should have been a rider.”

“You wouldn’t have liked it,” Neviah said.

“Why not?”

“We never get to sleep in.”

He laughed, but when the order came to leave, Adhira’s face became serious. “Come back, Neviah. All six of you.”

She nodded before Corban ran forward and launched them into the sky. Everyone’s confidence swelled at seeing so many of their brothers in arms moving with them. They covered ground quickly but made camp when the light of the day faded. The weather was pleasantly warm, which was good since no one was allowed to make a fire. Talking was kept to a minimum in case enemy scouts were around.

Neviah and her friends found a soft, grassy spot to relax in that evening. They were bathed in the soft blue light of Colossus as they lay silently looking at the sky. She tried not to think about the people who were likely dying in battle at that exact moment. The next day would bring more death, but at that moment, at least she had something beautiful to look at.

She wasn’t sure if it was the man screaming or the guttural howls that woke her from sleep. The warriors were up and ready to fight in seconds. Everyone slept with their weapons and there were no tents to obstruct the ranks quickly forming. All around them, in the dim light of Colossus, it looked as if the shadows were coming to life and attacking.

The creatures that sprang from the woods, Se’irim, were the stuff of nightmares. They were awkward, hairy creatures, no taller than a man, though they stood hunched with long arms that looked as if they belonged to creatures twice their height. Their hands ended in jagged claws, each longer than a dagger. Howls escaped from cruel, fang-filled mouths, grotesquely oversized as they loped across the open ground. Their nocturnal eyes glowed gold in the pale blue light. No sooner had the Chayyoth and their riders formed lines than the assault crashed into them.

The companions held firm under the initial charge, where the Chayyoth’s superior size and armor made a nearly impenetrable wall. The back rank of riders sprung into the air, raining down arrows on their enemy. The press of the creatures was so great that it looked like the ground was a large, oily black wave undulating toward the companions, threatening to overpower them.

The Se’irims’ monstrous claws were impossibly sharp. Neviah saw one of the creatures slash through a Chayya’s hardened leather armor right in front of her, leaving deep furrows in his chest before the Chayya bit the monster’s head off.

Neviah and her friends made use of their bows, bringing down creature after creature.

“Skyward!” the order echoed down the lines, and everyone able to spring into the air did so. The companions who were already airborne pumped arrows into the enemy front line to free up their allies who were desperately trying to break free of the melee.

Many Chayyoth and humans lay dead or dying on the field. The monstrous Se’irim were formidable foes on the ground. Fortunately, they couldn’t fly, and they weren’t too smart. Instead of retreating to the cover of the woods, they fought over the remains of the dead companions while the living riddled them with arrows. The morning light had just begun to spread over the battlefield when the last of the creatures fell.

“And those are Se’irim,” Corban said grimly as they landed. “We can add them to the list of monsters that serve Tanas.”

It took several hours to sort out the allies from the enemy. The dead companions, nearly a hundred, were buried, being too many to bear back to Uru. The Se’irim, hundreds of the vile beasts, were left where they died. There wasn’t time to burn them and they had another battle to get to.

Though no one spoke of it, Neviah could tell the losses angered everyone. They took up the flight path from the day before and were ready for a fight when the enemy came into view. Tents and fires spread far across the hillside as the enemy remained camped. They were holding positions for some reason. The Chayyoth ignored this camp. Humans were of little concern. They’d be easy enough to deal with once air superiority had been gained. If it could be gained.

The Shedim enemy was already airborne, flying in formation, and on their way to meet the companions in battle. The Shedim force was larger than they’d been briefed, and at their rear flew three enormous dragons. Neviah tensed as the lines neared one another. The humans readied spears on the front rank while the ones behind them shot arrows. The Shedim led with arrows of their own, and many on both sides fell to the projectiles. With bone-shattering crashes in front of her, the two lines met.

The companions drove deep into the enemy ranks, but the Shedim threatened to spill over and under with their superior numbers. The rear ranks of companions met them, and it was a game of plugging holes the Shedim continued to make. Neviah shot several arrows that brought down many of the enemies at a time.

“Stop wasting your shots!” Corban ordered. “Your arrows aren’t needed on lesser targets!” She immediately understood. The dragons were the biggest threat and hung back from the fight, no doubt waiting for the teens to appear. So, they did.

Corban motioned for them to climb higher into the sky. They traveled so high that the air was extremely thin before they leveled out, Enya and Rafal flanking them. Corban pointed to each pair and then a dragon below. Asa and Rafal had the red. Victoria and Enya had the green. Neviah had the brown, which, of course, was the biggest.

As they began their dives, their arrows traveled ahead of them. The wind whipped Neviah’s ponytail around so forcefully it became a stinging whip against her neck. She ignored the stings and continued to fire at her target. She led some shots and fired some to the left and right of the dragon, trying to get a good spread. The result was a wall of arrows streaking down at the brown dragon. They were five hundred feet away, then four hundred. Three hundred.

A reserve unit of Shedim, which had been holding formation behind the dragon, shot forward and used their own bodies as shields against the projectiles. The arrows pierced them and kept moving, but the impacts, coupled with their angle of movement, sent the arrows flying in different directions, some killing more Shedim but most flying off to do no further harm. Neviah fired as fast as she could manage but there were too many Shedim willing to sacrifice themselves. Suddenly, she and Corban were the projectile.

Corban lowered his armored head to use as a ram. Neviah hung low to his neck as they plowed through the wall of enemies. The Shedim attempted to come in behind them, but they were moving too fast. As soon as she was free of the bodies, she rapid-fired several more arrows. The Shedim shield having failed, the dragon was already moving away. Most of the arrows missed. She was a decent shot, but firing from the back of a constantly moving mount at an evading enemy was difficult. Two arrows did manage to pierce its lower back and one hit the tail. The dragon banked low, but they pursued.

Too late, Corban realized what the dragon was doing. Arrows filled the air all around them as they pulled up and away from the human archers below. Her companion took several arrows in his wings, but his armor protected his vital organs. Once out of the archers’ range, they had a bigger problem.

The dragon had wheeled around and was coming straight for them. The Shedim they’d outrun were nearly caught up, preparing to assault them from the rear. The dragon opened its mouth, lined with razor-sharp teeth. More terrifying was the stream of fire that bellowed from its gaping maw. It was bright white as it enveloped them.

The Forest Shield sprung up to protect them, growing until it was large enough to bend the fire around them. The Shedim behind them were incinerated as the fire was redirected toward them. Corban strained to move them forward as the fire stalled their flight. Neither of them could see anything. It was all Neviah could do not to be pushed off her companion. Though the fire didn’t touch them, heat threatened to overwhelm them from the sides, above, and below. Sweat poured off her face, and her lungs labored for the oxygen the fire was burning away.

Then, it was like they hit a brick wall, more like Corban did, anyway. He stopped dead and she stumbled forward off of her companion, sure to keep her shield out in front of her since the fire never ceased. She gained her feet, and her shoes found a solid grip on a surface that felt like rough concrete. Risking a glance behind her to see where her companion was, trying to figure out what had happened, she saw teeth all around her and the red tongue she was standing on. She was in the dragon’s mouth!

With the fire still pushing strong, the dragon closed its mouth. At least it attempted to. The Forest Shield created a barrier the dragon’s powerful jaws couldn’t break. Leaning forward with all her weight, she was able to put one foot in front of the other, forcing her way deeper into the dragon’s throat. The dragon bit down again, and she had her chance. She took the Sword of Re’u and drove it up as hard as she could. The fire stopped instantly, and a roar of pain replaced it, pushing her back a few steps. She let the shield shrink as she jumped up and drove her sword higher into the dragon’s head. She followed this with two arrows for good measure.

Neviah plunged into darkness as the mouth closed. She tried to run to the giant teeth to carve a way out but instantly became weightless. The dragon was falling! She tumbled around, striking something hard at each impact. Her silver sword shined its bluish light, giving her a terrifying view of the inside of the dragon’s mouth.

She was quickly covered in the dragon’s blood and slid across the tongue, skinning her knees and elbows. She couldn’t stop her tumbling but started to swing the sword of Re’u wildly. Finally, she was able to puncture a hole large enough to let some light through. She caught a glimpse of the ground as it appeared through the tumble. It was growing rapidly closer.

Light suddenly flooded her tomb, and a familiar roar met her ears. Corban stood on the dragon’s lower lip and strained to raise its mouth enough for Neviah to see him. She tumbled away, landing at the back of the dragon’s throat. She could tell which way the beast was tumbling finally and readied herself. When gravity shifted, she sprang off the fire pouches, pushing herself toward her companion. She impacted him, knocking them both free of the dragon. The teeth snapped closed so quickly that Neviah was almost crushed.

She was free-falling, and despite her panic, her training kicked in and she held her body parallel to the ground, arms out to create as much resistance as possible. Corban quickly banked out of his fall, scooped her up, and slowed their plummet with a long swooping dive on wounded wings. They had just paused to look back when the dragon struck the ground with such force it caused the ground to shake, felling several trees.

She snapped her eyes back to the sky, seeing if her friends needed help, but Victoria’s dragon was already dead, lying across the valley from the one Neviah killed. Asa and Victoria were riddling Asa’s dragon with arrows, and Neviah knew the creature was done for. The army of Shedim was in full retreat, once again leaving the humans below to the mercy, or lack thereof, of the companions.

The Moriahns reached the battle below and partially surrounded the larger human force. With the help of the Chayyoth and their riders, they ran the enemy into the forest, clearing the field of victory. The cost had been high, though. The bodies of numerous companions littered the hills and forest below. This time, when they returned, the wails of grief would outweigh the cheers.