League of Improbable Riders

[Ranger of the North]

9

xxxxxShaska pounded down the hall, feet flying. Once again, she was beating Rogue at a race. Why does he bother challenging me? She chuckled to herself. He always loses.
xxxxxSkidding around a corner, she shoved a wooden door open and dashed inside the weapon room.
xxxxxAfter weeks of hard training, they had permission—from Jareck himself, this time—to go with a small retinue of riders to take over a Commoner village called Leanon. They still hadn’t found their companions from the prophecy: no green eyes and no nothing.
xxxxxShe grabbed her bow off of its rack and slung a quiver of arrows over her shoulder just as Rogue panted in.
xxxxx“Why do you bother torturing yourself?” she teased. “I beat you every time!”
xxxxx“I’ll win one day,” he gasped, leaning against the doorway as his eyes sparkled.
xxxxxShaska laughed mischievously, “No you won’t,” she vowed. “Look at you! You’re gonna collapse and I’m hardly even puffed.” With a cheeky smirk she sprinted out the doorway.
xxxxxRunning to her room, she quickly mounted the impatient Taz, and, spreading his wings, the dragon leaped into the air and cork-screwed out the doorway, flicking it shut with his tail as he left; Shaska whooped.
xxxxxThey arrived at the gate in the Southern Wall where they were departing almost a quarter of an hour before Shadow and Rogue eventually appeared.
xxxxxAlfsten was going with them, and at his command the dragons sprang into the air and followed his lead away north.
xxxxxThe flight was considerably longer than the one to Gordean, and colder, but Shaska enjoyed it: it was nice to be free for once.
xxxxxThey swooped down silently on the town, trying to stay out of sight, and first took out the scorway rookeries, collapsing the buildings and setting them on fire before slaughtering the birds as they tried to escape the hungry flames. Alfsten was a good commander.
xxxxxThen they descended on the town and Taz’s battle-rage was awoken. He roared ferociously and dove for the kill, burning and biting like the dragon he was, and burning several Commoners as they tried to flee.
xxxxx“Stop, Taz!” Shaska cried, horrified. “Don’t kill them needlessly!”
xxxxxTaz rumbled deep in his throat and turned to swipe at a spear-wielding boy, throwing him into the air.
xxxxxShaska watched him as he spun and, for an instant, her eyes met his and they were—green.
xxxxxGreen eyes—how can you get more unlikely than a Commoner? The thoughts flashed through her head in an instant.
xxxxx“Taz!” she yelled. “Catch him! Quick!”
xxxxxSurprised, Taz leaped forward and swooped under the flailing boy and he landed in a heap on the dragon’s back.
xxxxxSwift as lightning, Shaska seized him, pinning him still, and whipped an arrow out of her quiver, holding the sharp point to his
throat. She wasn’t actually going to hurt him, but he didn’t know that and froze, hardly breathing.
xxxxx“Can you fly us somewhere safe please, Taz?” Shaska asked the dragon and he growled, unwilling to leave the battle, but did as she’d asked anyway, wheeling around and flying a short way out of the town.
xxxxxHe touched down and Shaska leaped out of the saddle, dragging the boy behind down by his hair. She didn’t like being so violent, but she had to keep up the pretence that she would kill him at any moment.
xxxxxYanking him over, she pinned him against a tree and examined him with narrowed eyes. “Who are you?”
xxxxxHis blond hair quivered and his eyes showed intense fear as he gave out all the information he could think of. “My name’s Kanah; I’m the oldest twin of Robine, close companion to the chief. I don’t—” He was wild with terror and bantered on, talking nonsense.
Shaska sighed, “I don’t really care.”
xxxxxHe stopped with a gulp and Shaska shook him, frustrated that he wasn’t answering properly, and she didn’t know the right questions to ask.
xxxxxTaz approached and lowered his head to look him in the eye, snorting smoke in his face and ruffling his hair. “Ask him if he knows anything about dragons,” he suggested after a bit.
xxxxxShaska did so and the boy shook his head frantically, “No, nothing—only, I love dragon steaks.”
xxxxxTaz snarled angrily, his lips curling to reveal fearsome teeth.
xxxxxThe boy shrieked, “I’m sorry! Sorry, sorry! I thought all dragons thought that’s fair!”
xxxxx“Ah ha!” Shaska crowed. “You do know something about them!
xxxxx“Spill it,” she ended grimly.
xxxxxKanah sighed, “Fine, but please don’t hurt us.”
xxxxx“We won’t.”
xxxxxIsh.
xxxxx“I’m a Commoner; but, several days ago when I went to kill a dragon—to be considered an adult, you understand—I don’t know how, but—I mean we touched and—Oh,” he sighed, and shook his head, unable to describe how he felt. Then he met her eye with a determined expression. “I’ll never let you take him. You can kill me, or torture me, but I won’t reveal his location.”
xxxxxShaska nodded, pleased, but she had to make sure he couldn’t escape. “Good,” she nodded, and promptly punched him in the head, knocking him out.
xxxxxShaska stepped away from his limp body, letting him topple to the ground, and rubbed her wrist ruefully; wishing she hadn’t had to punch him; before fishing a length of rope out of a special saddle-bag on Taz’s saddle and tying him firmly to a tree. “Sorry,” she muttered as she finished the knot.
xxxxxLeaping onto Taz’s back, she rubbed his neck and patted his side. “Come on, Taz,” she said, “Alfsten still needs us.”
xxxxxTaz roared and leapt into the air, beating his wings powerfully and accidentally tossing Kanah’s head back into the tree from the force of the wind.
xxxxxThey flew back to the town, but the battle was all but over, Shaska and Taz helped finish it off and destroy the last remaining buildings before meeting up with Shadow and Rogue.
xxxxx“Where’d you disappear off to?” Rogue asked accusingly, a teasing smile playing at his lips.
xxxxxShaska was sober, she couldn’t understand how a Commoner could be part of a dragon and riders’ prophecy. How could a Commoner even bond with a dragon? But she said: “I think I might’ve found the third person of the prophecy.”
xxxxxShadow started, and Rogue looked incredulous, “Here?”
xxxxxShe nodded, “Yup.”
xxxxx“But, but what’s a rider doing out here?”
xxxxxShe looked him in the eye. “Rogue, he’s a Commoner.”
xxxxx“What?” Rogue yelped and clutched at the spike in front of him as Shadow nearly fell out of the air, but just managed to catch herself.
xxxxx“Woah, you guys,” Shaska teased, “it’s like you think a Commoner bonding with a dragon is weird, or something. Calm down.”
xxxxxRogue ignored her. “That’s—that’s insane!” he sputtered. “That’s not even possible!
xxxxx“I don’t believe you,” he decided finally, “you’ve got to be wrong. Where is he? I want to see him.”
xxxxx“He’s over there,” Shaska told him, pointing.
xxxxxRogue grinned, managing to recover himself slightly, “You let him go free? Unguarded?” He laughed.
xxxxx“Nah, I knocked him out and tied him to a tree.”
xxxxx“What?”
xxxxxShaska laughed at his surprised face. “You heard.
xxxxx“Come on, Taz,” she said aside to her dragon, “we’d better tell Alfsten about—Kanah, did he say his name was?”
xxxxxTaz rumbled and flipped over and around, facing the other way, before spiralling forward and down toward the distant shape of Teradun.

[Ranger of the North]

10

“You what?” Alfsten exclaimed, staring in disbelief. “You’ve done what?” He was standing before his dragon, facing Shaska and Taz just outside the ruined village.

As soon as she had caught Alfsten’s and Teradun’s attention, Shaska had directed them to the ground, not wanting any accidents to ensue after Rogue and Shadow’s near fall.

“I’ve found the third person of the prophecy,” Shaska repeated patiently. “And—he’s a Commoner.”

“What?!”

Shaska winced, she felt like Alfsten was blaming her; it wasn’t her fault. “Yeah.”

“Where is he?” the man demanded. “We must secure both the boy and his dragon as soon as possible.”

“Erm, I... tied him to a tree. And… I haven’t seen his dragon: he said he won’t reveal its location,” she shuffled guiltily.

Alfsten ground his teeth as Teradun lashed his tail. “We need the boy’s dragon. Until we see it, we can’t be sure that he is the one of the prophecy.”

He stood for a minute or two, arms crossed and head bowed, thinking.

He finally seemed to decide on a course of action and leapt up onto his dragon’s back. “Lead us to the boy,” he commanded
Shaska and Taz, “let’s just hope the dragon hasn’t released him.”

Shaska grimaced, she hadn’t thought of that; then thought hopefully of Rogue and Shadow: they had gone down to examine the strange Commoner, so hopefully he wouldn’t’ve escaped.

The two dragons lifted into the air, where Alfsten let out a piercing whistle, calling all the riders to regroup, and all around them, from every direction, more dragons rose into the air and followed their leader out of the town and down to a small copse of trees.

The dragons landed heavily beside Shadow, shaking the ground, and inspected the boy curiously, snuffling around the tree one by one.

Alfsten stared as Teradun ringed the tree, a slight frown on his face. “What do you think?” he asked, and the brown dragon growled an answer.

Alfsten nodded and dismounted, peering at the boy suspiciously. “I don’t—” he began, then abruptly stopped as Kanah groaned and opened his eyes, staring fearfully at his assembled enemies.

Alfsten’s mouth dropped open in shock as he met the boy’s green gaze, and he stumbled slightly. “A Commoner,” Shaska heard him murmur, “how can this be? Our doom is nigh. What will Jareck say?” Teradun nosed his friend’s shoulder mournfully and hummed.

The boy stared, confused, as he scanned the riders, then his gaze fell on Shaska and his expression changed. “You said—you said you wouldn’t hurt me!” he exclaimed accusingly.

Shaska shifted uncomfortably, “I had to, and I didn’t hurt your dragon; you said, ‘don’t hurt us,’” she muttered angrily, looking down as the other riders turned to look at her: riders kept their word. If they didn’t have a valid reason for not doing so, they were rejected as oath breakers.

“She didn’t, anyway,” Rogue broke in, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth, “she hit you so hard that it didn’t actually hurt, did it?”

The boy scowled.

“Enough,” Alfsten commanded, rising, “Rougim, you need to watch your tongue; you speak without thinking far too often, and it’s the perfect way to make enemies. But nevertheless, you are right, in a way—although stupid to point it out—and it was almost the only thing Shaska could do.”

Shaska exhaled in relief, glad that she was justified in striking him.

“Release the boy,” Alfsten commanded Rogue, who was the only one who had dismounted so far, apart from himself.

Rogue nodded, and, knowing Shaska’s knots, drew his knife and cut the rope twined around the other boy, then grabbed his arm, steadying him as he toppled forward.

Kanah shook him off, but cast him a grateful look, then rubbed his wrists and sore head, grimacing. With a sudden start he twisted back and stared back at his village.

When he saw the cloud of smoke his face fell, and he dropped to his knees, shock plain on his face.

Shaska’s heart smote her and she slid down from Taz’s back, approaching him in time to hear him speak brokenly in a quiet voice.

“Keera!” he breathed. “Mum! Father!” A tear rolled slowly down his cheek.

Shaska felt terrible and awkwardly crouched next to him. “Sorry, Kanah,” she whispered. “I’m supposed to help stop the war, but I don’t feel like I’m doing a good job. I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent this in some way.”

She paused briefly.

“We think you might be part of ending all this.”

He turned his tear-stained face toward her in shock, “What?”

Shaska nodded, “Come with us, and I can explain,” she said, standing, and knowing he would come after she had revealed that tantalizing fact. “Are you sure you won’t ride your dragon back?”

Kanah paused, considering: he was used to riding on Ember, now, and trusted the dragon, but he didn’t think he could handle being that high on a strange dragon, so the best thing to do would be to find him.

But on the other hand, he didn’t trust the riders; they might be trying to trap both him and Ember. His parents were probably dead, he didn’t know where his sister was, and Ember was the only thing he had left; he had to keep the dragon safe. As for himself, going with the riders was the only option he had.

Kanah shook his head, “I won’t. I’ll be fine.”

Shaska nodded, unsurprised, and turned; nearly walking into Taz, who had approached them without her knowing; before mounting up onto his back.

Kanah saw Taz and shrank back, fear in his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Shaska said reassuringly as she strapped her legs in, “Taz won’t hurt you.

“Anymore,” she added guiltily. She held out her hand to help him up and he hesitantly took it, scrambling clumsily up the dragon’s side.

“What’s its name?” Kanah asked as he settled down behind her.

“His,” Shaska corrected, as Taz growled slightly. “And his name’s Taz.”

Like I just said, she thought, but remained silent.

Kanah nodded, and then jerked forward with a yelp, crushing Shaska in a desperate hug as Taz jumped into the air and caught a stream of wind.

“Yow,” Shaska groaned, trying to loosen his death hug, “you’re killing me. Calm down, y’ wuss.”

Kanah grunted and let go enough for her to breathe properly. He decided to talk to try and take his mind off his fear and the sadness; there was so much he wanted to know—not that he was guaranteed to get answers, since he was pretty much their unofficial prisoner.

“So, what’s the deal with me taming a dragon?” he asked. “And why can he suddenly speak but I can’t understand any other dragon? And what were you saying about me and you stopping the war?”

Shaska took a deep breath: this was going to be a long flight! “You got me a bit lost,” she said, “what was the first question?”

Kanah felt a small glow of excitement as he realized his questions would receive answers. “How on earth did I possibly tame a dragon?” he repeated, steadfastly ignoring the ground below.

“Sadly, that’s what I want to know. Tell me everything that happened.” Maybe the flight wouldn’t be so long after all.

And so Kanah told her about his tribe’s customs, and about meeting, trying to kill, and naming Ember.

Something in his narration caught her attention and she twisted back to peer at him. “What was that?” she said loudly; the wind made it difficult to hear, “you touched him?”

Kanah nodded, and Shaska turned back to sit properly. Interesting, she thought, he touched a dragon and they bonded.

Since when do Commoners touch live dragons?

Never, really. And when one finally touches one: they bond! Interesting. Shaska had a suspicion that she had just stumbled across a valuable discovery, but she decided to keep it quiet, for now: if the info got into the wrong hands, the riders might end up having to face enemy riders that could also control scorways.

Not. Good.

No, the wisest plan was to keep it secret until the proper situation arose.

“Well,” she said as he finished, “I don’t really know how you tamed one, but I do know why you can understand him. Ish.

“Anyway, when you bond with a dragon, your connection allows you to understand the speech of the dragon’s type, but no other types. That doesn’t usually matter, though, because dragons can still understand each other. For example, I can understand the speech of Jewel-flames, but not anything else. But since Taz translates for me it’s not an issue.”

Kanah was silent for a minute. “Okay,” he said finally. “But, what were you talking about when you said we’re going to stop the
war?”

“Well what type of dragon do you have, and what colour is he, first of all?”

“He’s a green Cinder Blaster—I know, weird, right?”

Shaska almost fell out of the saddle. He is the one in the prophecy! We found him!

But she still hadn’t answered his question, so she told him about the attack on the Southern wall, the death of Alisha and Raden, Blind Shoreck’s prophecy, and Serelah’s dream, too.

Kanah was silent for the rest of the trip. And it didn’t seem like a good silence.

They landed just outside the Southern Wall’s gate and Alfsten motioned Taz nearer. “Take them to Jareck,” he told the blue dragon.

Taz nodded and bounded through the gate.

[Ranger of the North]

11

Shaska stood next to Taz and Kanah, facing her brother and his dragon.

Jareck sat in a wooden chair, Fury beside him; dark eyes boring into the boy with a strange intensity that made him squirm.

“A Commoner,” Jareck said finally, his voice laced with disgust and hatred. “A Commoner.”

Kanah swallowed and glared back, but made no reply, probably sensing that Jareck just wanted an excuse to kill him.

Fury glared at the two humans and the dragon; top lip curled in a snarl though she made no noise.

Shaska shifted uncomfortably, Jareck and Fury in a mood was bad enough; Jareck and Fury in a mood for no reason was infinitely worse.

Her movement attracted Jareck’s attention. “You…” he growled.

Something inside Shaska snapped suddenly. She didn’t mind being yelled at when she had erred, but this was for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

“Oh, snap out of it, Jareck, you’re being ridiculous,” she exclaimed. “So Kanah’s part of the prophecy? So he’s a Commoner? Who
cares! What’s the big deal?

“The prophecy didn’t make him a hero; so don’t be made at that—which I know you already are—all the prophecy did was tell us that he already is!

“And it’s not my fault I happened to find him. It could’ve been anyone! It’s just that Taz was the one who attacked him!” she ended defensively.

Jareck’s face turned white with fury. “He killed Alisha,” he stated brokenly, forcing the words out between clenched teeth.

“He did not,” Shaska scoffed. She was rattled to see that her brother meant what he’d said.

“He did. And he will pay—”

Shaska couldn’t stand it anymore, she had tried to be respectful, but Jareck was being a total idiot and not listening. “No, he didn’t! He’s never killed anything!” she yelled angrily. “But you just slaughtered his whole family! All his friends! Destroyed his home! And now you’re whining at him?

“What a two-year-old,” she finished in a mutter.

Jareck rose, his eyes alight with rage. “Shaska—”

She knew what was coming: an undeserved lecture, and stubbornly blocked her ears, but Kanah interrupted the older man.

“Forget it,” he said, “I’m not helping you. At all.”

Shaska glanced at him in admiration and surprise: his jaw was set in a way that made her think nothing in the world would convince him otherwise.

Taz bumped her shoulder: Jareck was speechless with surprise and rage. “We need to leave,” he said, eyeing Fury’s lashing tail nervously. “Now.”

Shaska nodded and climbed nimbly up onto his back, hoisting Kanah up behind her.

“I’m sick of that grumpy old man,” she said in a loud voice, making sure Jareck could hear.

Fury roared, unable to stand their insolence anymore, and leapt forward, but Taz was already gone and she thumped her snout on the closing door.

She drew back, growling thunderously as she rubbed her nose, and looked questioningly at her rider. Why was he just standing there?

He caught her gaze and smiled unpleasantly. “It’s alright, Fury, your time will come,” he promised as she turned and clawed toward him. “They. Will. Pay.”

Fury chuckled deep in her throat; the fact that Shaska was her rider’s sister didn’t bother her, there was more than one way to hurt a person.

And that Taz had no connection to them whatsoever; she had often wanted to hurt him, but Jareck had soothed her anger. Now he, too, hated the Jewel-flame.

That Jareck would want her to kill Taz she wasn’t sure, but she would definitely try.
 

[Ranger of the North]

12

“So, what w’s that about?” Kanah asked, breaking the long silence.

Taz had flown after leaving Jareck’s meeting room, and had landed near Shaska’s room where she’d gotten a worker to start
readying a room for the boy. Afterward, Kanah had wanted to explore on his own two feet, so now the three of them were
wandering through all the passages and hallways that wound through the mountain ranges.

Shaska groaned slightly, and Taz flicked his tail in displeasure. “Well a few weeks ago when the—I mean when you—uh…” she
stuttered, trying not to seem or sound offensive.

“The Commoners, yep,” Kanah nodded, helping her out.

“Yeah that one,” she said quickly, and continued. “Anyway: …Attacked the Southern Wall, Jareck’s fiancé was killed.

“He changed when he saw her. Something changed in him and not in a good way. He used to not kill unless he absolutely had to,”
she frowned, “and now he wants me, Taz, Shadow, and Rogue—at the very least—to completely wipe the Commoners out.” Her
frown deepened as she contemplated her brother’s strange actions. She wondered if maybe Fury’s natural ferocity had over flowed
onto Jareck just a little too much.

Kanah frowned thoughtfully and chewed his nail. “Odd.” Then added methodically, “Strange things happen when those we love are
in danger.” Then he made a strange noise suddenly.

“What was that?” Shaska asked, slightly amused.

The boy avoided her eyes. “Nothing.”

Shaska grinned, then turned suddenly, hearing a call, to see Rogue and Shadow racing toward them, both on-foot.

“What’s up?” she asked as they neared. She knew Rogue well enough to know something was going on.

“Jareck,” the boy panted, eyeing Kanah curiously, “wants us to meet him in half an hour: says we need to find out who the fourth
person is.

“Is he the third?” he changed the subject and stared at Kanah; Shadow snuffed his hair curiously and he tensed.

“Yup.” Shaska nodded.

“What—where’s your dragon?”

“He’s a green Cinder Blaster,” Kanah told him, evasively dodging the actual question, “and his name’s Ember.”

“Ember? Isn’t that a g—”

“No, actually,” Kanah interrupted, grinning slightly for no apparent reason, “it’s not.”

“Do you know who the fourth kid of the prophecy could be?” Shaska asked suddenly, she had ignored the boys’ conversation,
distracted by her thoughts.

Kanah looked away. “N—no.”

Liar, Shaska thought as he refused to meet her searching gaze. But she said nothing, only mentioned that they should be heading back if they wanted to get to the meeting. She was determined to interrogate him later.

[Ranger of the North]

13

The meeting as usual, was boring and uneventful; though there was a strange tension in the air borne of having a Commoner in their midst. Both Kanah and Blind Shoreck—What’s the old man even doing in here? Shaska thought; she suspected that he had simply snuck in, for some reason—seemed to be hiding something, and Jareck’s gaze was malevolent and savage; not to mention Fury’s.

Taz filed out of the hall behind Shadow; his rider and Kanah seated on his back.

Shaska leaned forward and spoke quietly to the dragon. “Taz, could take us somewhere private?”

Taz rumbled in acknowledgement and leapt into the air—nearly brushing their heads on the rock ceiling—and darted away.

“Spill it,” Shaska demanded as she jumped down from Taz’s back, and looked up at the boy determinedly.

Kanah was startled. “What?” he asked innocently, fidgeting with Taz’s saddle.

“You know who the fourth person is and you’re not telling us,” she said accusingly. “Who is it?”

Kanah face darkened. “You’re not getting my sister,” he muttered sullenly.

“What?” This was unexpected. “You’ve got a sister?”

He nodded sullenly. “And she’s classed with my dragon: you’re not kidnapping her, either.”

Shaska nodded. “Of course; but, think about it: she’s all alone in a dangerous world, her home is destroyed; her village is
destroyed; her parents are dead, and she most likely thinks you’re dead. Do you want to leave her alone like that?”

Kanah wavered; Shaska knew what she was doing.

“Wait,” Taz objected, “how do we even know whether a random girl is the right person?”

Shaska stopped, stymied. “Oh, yeah.”

She turned on Kanah, “Why would your sister be part of the prophecy? Does that even make sense?”

Kanah stared at the ground and nodded as he finally slipped down from Taz’s back. “Yes. She’s my twin and her eyes are green;
we could quite easily be classed as one person. And her dragon is ‘unique amongst its kind’, too: she’s a silver Fire-thrower.”

Shaska stepped back, wonder in her eyes.

Bending his neck Taz blew a smoky breath over the two of them. “This’s unexpected,” he observed. “Who would’ve thought it?”

Shaska shook her head. “Not me,” she murmured.

Kanah gazed at her, fear in his green eyes. “I can’t do it,” he said, panic seeping into his voice, “I—I want Keera to be safe, but I
can’t thrust her into destroying every Commoner with me. I can’t.

“I don’t even know if I’ll have the strength to!” he continued wildly. “I can’t force my sister into destroying our whole world.

“I’m not strong enough.” He sank to the ground, covering his face with his arms.

Shaska stood chewing her nail; she didn’t want to say this, but she had to: “Is—do you think she’s even alive?”

Kanah quivered, and Shaska hated herself as he didn’t answer.

“Sorry,” she said, half sheepish and half guilty.

Taz spoke suddenly, and as he continued, Shaska’s delighted smile grew.

“Of course!” she crowed. “That’s it!”

Kanah raised his tear-stained face and gave her a curious glance. “What?”

“Me, Taz, and you,” Shaska began in hurried excitement, “maybe Shadow and Rogue: we can go back to your town, search for your
sister and your dragons, and hide the three of them somewhere where you can visit them occasionally!”

Kanah leapt to his feet. “It’s perfect, Taz!” he cried. Then he paused, suspicion entering his mind. “But, you might betray them to Jareck and Fury,” he said cautiously, “how do I know I can trust you two?”

Shaska looked slightly troubled, and Taz flicked his tail.

“I don’t know,” the girl said slowly, “I guess you’re going to have to choose between keeping them safe from us, and possibly not seeing them again; and trusting me, moving them, seeing them occasionally, and maybe being betrayed. But if I revealed anything, then Jareck would bring them here, to stay with us; the world is a dangerous place for dragon riders.

“There’s no way for me or Taz to prove ourselves to you, but we can say that neither of us likes being in the prophecy or the ‘new’ Jareck. You can trust us if you need to.”

Kanah had nearly made his decision, but he needed one more question to be answered. “Why are you helping me? Aren’t you worried that we’ll mess up the prophecy? We are Commoners, after all.”

Shaska laughed. “Of course not! The prophecy only says what will eventually happen, so we can do what we want: the prophecy doesn’t rule us, it was only a few words to give us hope. Words predicting what will happen.” She laid a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “And take heart in this: the prophecy never says that we’ll kill the Commoners—those are Jareck’s words—all it says is that we will stop the war.”

Kanah nodded. “Alright,” he said shakily, “I can’t bear to be apart from my dragon or my twin any longer.

“I trust you; you’re my only hope.”

“Good.” Shaska grinned, “But you’re still gonna need to wait while I sort out supplies and see if Shadow’s willing to bring Rogue.”

Kanah groaned, but he was hiding a grin. “Thanks, Shaska. And you too, Taz; good idea.”

Taz dipped his head in acknowledgment.

They ran back to the younger peoples’ rooms, and Shaska showed Kanah his before hunting down Rogue on her own: Taz decided to stay in their room and sleep.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Rogue tilted his head thoughtfully, “Oh yep; okay,” he said, “I’ll come if Shadow wants to. Sounds fun!” He grinned, then turned and rubbed the sleeping dragon’s scales.

Shadow was sleeping in a large, well-padded indentation in Rogue’s bedroom, next to the bed, and Rogue was sitting with her, enjoying her company as Shaska perched on her usual spot—the table corner—and laid out her plan.

The camo dragon stirred, breathing a plume of smoke, and opened one black eye, looking first at Rogue, then at Shaska with curiosity in her gaze. She rumbled something and Rogue quickly explained the plan, ending with an inquiry as to whether she wanted to go or not. Shadow raised her head and peered at Shaska with a knowing curl of her upper-lip. She grunted, and Rogue jumped up with a cheer.

“Count us in!”

Shaska pumped the air. “Thanks, guys!

“I have the feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get,” she added soberly.

[Ranger of the North]

14

Taz landed heavily yet silently in the grassy glade; tucking his wings into his sides; and swung his head around to examine his surroundings, snuffing at the cool early-morning air as he did so.

Shaska watched him from the saddle on his back, fascinated by the light reflecting off of his dark blue scales.

After a week or so of amassing supplies, they were now just outside the ruined village of Leanon. Shaska hoped that their mission would only take a day, but it never hurt to be safe, so she almost had a week’s worth of food.

Beside them, Shadow thudded down and Kanah slid from her back—wobbling slightly on his shaky legs—staring at what was visible of his former home in shock.

Nature was taking over swiftly, weeds, vines, and grass consuming the ruined buildings and rotted Scorway bodies.

Kanah turned on his companions, hate smouldering in his eyes. “What did you do with the people?” he asked angrily. “With all the
bodies? Let me guess: you left them; let them lie in the weather to be devoured by beasts and plants?

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Shaska heard him mutter sullenly as he crossed his arms.

His words angered her; that he still thought they were savages; and she was about to respond when Taz cut her off.

“Hush,” he rumbled, “remember all that he’s been through. How would you feel?”

Shaska shut her mouth, and instead pointed to a large mound in the distance where they had buried the bodies after returning a
few days after the battle. The Commoners were the riders’ enemies, yes, but they were still humans.

“Would you have done the same for us?” Rogue asked him pointedly.

Kanah refused to meet their gazes. In his mind, memories were surfacing of watching the warriors of his village throw a rider’s
body down into a ravine, and afterwards feasting on dragon flesh. He bit his lip, ashamed of his anger.

“Well?” Rogue demanded. “What do you Commoners do to us?” Once again his quick tongue got the better of him, and Shaska
winced as Kanah’s face darkened.

“Rogue, stop,” she exclaimed, “it doesn’t matter. Let it go.”

Rogue looked aggravated but, to her relief, he stayed silent.

“Come,” she said, extending a hand toward Kanah, “let’s find that sister of yours.” She suspected—and guessed rightly—that he
wasn’t bearing the nicest feelings toward Rogue anymore, and wouldn’t willingly ride with him. She was also afraid that Rogue’s
tongue might once again get the better of him and cause more damage.

Kanah gladly gripped her hand and she hoisted him up onto Taz’s back. “They were hiding in a cave beyond the other end of the
village, last I knew,” he told Taz, and the dragon leapt into the air, his hind legs carving deep gouges out of the earth.

About half-way over the ruined village Kanah started suddenly and shook his head, nearly slipping off of Taz’s back.

“What’s up?” Shaska asked, grabbing at his wrist as he jerked sideways.

“I don’t know, I—I think just heard… Ember’s voice.”

Shaska turned to look at him with a steely gaze, but there was concern in her eyes. “What?”

He nodded, wondering if he’d gone mad.

“Listen!” she said sharply. “Listen to what he’s saying, and tell us if his message is urgent.” She righted herself and quickly told
Taz.

The blue dragon growled slightly. “This is bad. If Ember found his ability without being told about it, he must be desperate.”

Shaska nodded. “Let’s just hope he’s only concerned with Kanah’s safety.”

Their hopes were dashed, however, as Kanah suddenly gripped her shoulder so hard that it hurt.

“Keera!” he gasped. “Quick, he said they’ve got her! They’re over there!” He pointed frantically ahead of them at a small hole in
the base of a hill a few kilometres outside of the village.

Taz immediately angled his two pairs of wings to shoot toward the cave, but Shaska was startled.

“What?” she asked. “Who’s got who? What happened, Kanah?”

“Faster!” the boy yelled instead of answering. “Launch is trying to get herself killed, and Ember can’t hold her for much longer!”

Almost before the words were out of his mouth a great pain-filled roar rang out, and a dragon shot out of the cave.

Shaska gaped. A silver Fire-thrower! She couldn’t believe her eyes.

Taz grunted suddenly in surprise, and he rose a little more as he lost some of the weight on his back.

Shaska gasped and glanced behind her, realizing that Kanah was gone. She looked down, horrified, to see the boy plummeting
down toward the crazed dragon, blond hair streaming out behind him.

“What the hell are you doing!” she heard Rogue yell from behind her, terror in his voice.

Something in Shaska’s brain clicked suddenly and she knew what he was going on. “Shut it!” she called urgently as Rogue began to
shout again. “You’ll distract him!”

They watched in horrified fascination as Kanah fell, just managing to seize the dragon’s tail as she whizzed past underneath him.

Launch jerked, frightened, and rose swiftly into the air, whirling wildly in an attempt to throw her attacker off.

It worked.

Taz had seen a dark-green snout watching helplessly from the cave, so focused his attention on the dragon, rather than the boy:
he knew Ember would catch him.

“Taz! What’re you doing, Kanah’s falling!” Shaska yelled as he angled toward Launch rather than the tumbling human.

“Hold on,” Taz warned, then tucked his wings in and hurtled after the other dragon, swooping down and around.

With his extra pair of wings, Taz was able to go that little bit faster, so rose a few meters higher into the air…

Beat his wings until he was just above the other dragon…

And dove; crashing down onto her back with the full force of his weight and pinning her neck between his jaws, driving her toward
the ground.

Launch struggled furiously, lashing out ineffectually with fangs and talons and beating her wings, trying to both gain height and
dislodge Taz.

“Stop!” Taz roared angrily. “You’re going to kill yourself!” When she didn’t listen he growled, and dug his claws into her back,
determined to pin her down.

Shaska realized that Taz was this close to losing control, and since he had the advantage he might seriously hurt the Fire-thrower.

She quickly scratched his scaly neck. “It’s alright, Taz, you’ve got her; stay calm there, buddy,” she said as reassuringly as she
could, but she had to raise her voice to be heard over the dragons and the wind from their passage.

Taz relaxed slightly, but he was still agitated.

Thinking fast, Shaska released her legs from the saddle straps, and unsteadily crawled over Taz’s snout and onto Launch’s back.

Taz rumbled slightly in surprise, concern plain in his eyes.

She quickly rubbed the scales between his eyes before turning and slowly clambering up the other dragon’s neck.

“Launch!” she roared desperately as she nearly fell. “Stop!” As she had hoped, Launch stopped struggling for a brief moment.

“Taz, leave her!” Shaska said quickly, taking advantage of Launch’s calmness.

As she felt the other dragon retreat, Launch twisted her neck back and gazed at the girl on her back with fright and curiosity
mixed in her silver eyes.

Shaska desperately clutched the neck-spike in front of her and straightened into a proper sitting position. “I’m really sorry about
attacking you, Launch,” she said, deciding to try calm the dragon by answering her unspoken questions. “I’m Shaska. That was
Taz, my dragon. Yes, I’m a dragon rider.

“I know your name because I know Kanah; your rider’s twin. We were coming to find you to move you somewhere nearer to our
base so Kanah can visit you.”

She couldn’t resist the question, “What’s happened to Keera?”

At the mention of the girl’s name Launch’s eyes grew hard and she growled, a plume of smoke trickling out of her nostrils and
mouth.

“Woah, woah, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you; calm down. I don’t know what’s happened to Keera, but we’re going to need your
help if we want to rescue her, okay?

“So please calm down and land so we can figure out a plan. Please?” Shaska didn’t like riding other dragons as much as she
enjoyed riding Taz, and Launch was half crazy with fear and sorrow, making her dangerous—although out of the corner of her eye
she saw Taz gliding nearby, ready to rush to her defence if she was in life-threatening danger.

Shaska heaved a huge sigh of relief as Launch emitted a friendly growl, swung back around, and tilted her wings to glide back to
the others.

She gave the worried Taz a grin and a cheery thumbs-up as they passed him, and he hastily back-flapped as Launch snarled; a look
of undisguised relief on his snout.

As her mount landed near the cave, Shaska slid down one white wing and landed running, she quickly hugged Taz around his scaly
blue neck.

“Don’t ever do that again!” he admonished, snuffing affectionately at her hair.

She grinned as she leaned back to look him in the eye, scratching his jaw. “No promises.”

Taz snorted.

Launch stepped forward; whipping her tail agitatedly and clawed at the ground as she rumbled mournfully, successfully attracting
Shaska’s attention.

“Sorry, Launch,” she said, sitting cross-legged on the grass as Taz settled behind her. “What on earth happened?”

Kanah, Rogue, Shadow, and a dark-green Cinder Blaster approached, seating themselves so that all together they formed a giant
ring.

Kanah began speaking, as he had already heard the story from Ember. “Keera was here visiting Ember and Launch when you
attacked.” Anger and sadness flashed in his eyes for a moment before disappearing. “They forced her to stay in the cave until
you’d left, then Launch flew her out and the three of them inspected the town. You killed everyone.” His voice trembled with emotion, but he took a deep breath and continued, “They stayed in the cave for a week, while Ember slowly decided I was still
alive, and they refused to let her leave.

“After several more days, they finally let her go for a walk on her own; she said she needed some alone time. That was two days
ago, and they haven’t seen her since,” his voice trembled and Ember laid his head comfortingly on the boy’s shoulder; Launch
hummed mournfully, kneading the dirt below her claws in distress.

Shaska chewed her fingernail, troubled; there was no way of finding the girl, as far as she knew. But she sensed that Kanah’s story
was not yet finished. “What happened after that?”

Kanah shrugged. “They waited. Launch had grown frantic, by that time, and they were fighting when Ember contacted me,”
Ember growled slightly, and raised a wing to reveal a jagged, bloody gash in his side, and Launch rumbled apologetically. “He
knew she would be killed,” Kanah continued, “but she didn’t care.”

He gave Shaska a searching look. “How did Ember do that, anyway? How did he speak in my mind?”

“Riders and dragons possess the gift of telepathy—but only between each-other. We mostly only use it in emergencies, or if we’re
separated: it’s an imprecise gift, and we don’t know what draw-backs it might have,” Shaska explained.

Kanah nodded thoughtfully, frowning at the blowing grass as a light breeze played with his hair.

“Do you know what happened to Keera, though?” Taz asked. “It sure seemed like it with all your hollering.” He gave the boy a sly
look, even though he couldn’t understand. “And if you do: how?”

Shaska repeated the question and Kanah replied, “Ember forced Launch to stay in the cave while he tracked Keera, and in one
place her scent was mixed with many others. He followed the other villagers to their town and realized it was the Seerowns.
They’re our—that is, the Ruvings’—mortal enemies. And they’ve captured her.” His face darkened as he scowled.

Shaska chewed her nail thoughtfully, nervous. She didn’t know what they could do. “The only solutions I can see,” she began
hesitantly after a minute or two, for she knew Kanah wouldn’t like either idea, “is either tell Jareck, and he’ll gladly storm the
village,” Kanah’s face hardened, and she rushed on before he could interrupt, “or leave her; she should be fine, since we haven’t
stopped the war yet.”

“No,” Kanah shook his head firmly. “Absolutely not. That might be how we stop the war: we abandon her and she dies.”

Rogue laughed slightly. “No, if anyone dies, it’ll be Shaska: ‘born to save, her life down she’ll lay’,” he quoted, grinning slightly at
what he thought was a joke.

Shaska glared at him and Taz growled angrily, his tail flicking like a cat readying himself to pounce, even Shadow looked
appalled. “That’s not funny, Rogue,” Shaska said between gritted teeth.

The boy’s face fell as he realized the impact of what he’d said. “Oh, man; sorry, Shaska; my stupid tongue: I can’t seem to control
it! I’m really sorry,” he apologised.

“Oh, Alfsten was right: this’s the perfect way to make enemies,” he groaned, and hid his face in his hands.

Shaska grunted, disturbed: she’d never thought about that. Would she end up dying trying to save everyone? She shivered, and Taz
snorted, blowing a gust of warm breath over her, then hummed comfortingly.

“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly, “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He glowered darkly at Rogue.

Shaska shook herself, discarding the dark thoughts as well as she was able; they needed to focus on rescuing Keera or die trying.
She shuddered.

“Anyway,” Shaska renewed the conversation, avoiding Rogue’s gaze, “does anyone have any ideas on how to save Keera?”

Silence fell as they racked their brains for a plan.

After several pensive minutes, Ember stirred and snorted a plume of smoke impatiently before rumbling something deep in his
chest.

“He said,” Taz translated, as Kanah forgot to, “that, since there’s nothing that we can really do, we may as well go investigate
D’reedan and form a plan from there.”

Shaska frowned, “D’reedan?”

“The Seerowns’ village,” Kanah explained as he jumped to his feet. “I think that’s the best plan. Shall we?”

Rogue and Shaska both nodded. “But first,” Shaska grinned at him as she stood, “we’d better get a saddle on Ember; and maybe
you, too, Launch. I managed to nab a couple and hide them on the other side of the town a few days ago.”

Rogue’s face crinkled into a mischievous smile. “So that’s where you disappeared to!” he observed.

Shaska nodded, still not pleased with him about alluding to her possible death.

After flying across the ruined town once again—Kanah seated behind her for the last time—Shaska dismounted and showed him how
to correctly arrange the saddle, adjust it for if either he or Ember grew, and how to strap his legs in securely to allow for
maximum safety.

Rogue put the other saddle on Shadow for if their mission succeeded; explaining how to adjust it as he did so, so she could relay
the information to Keera if needed.

Then, after giving Kanah a few pointers on how to mount while keep himself and Ember safe, Shaska and Rogue seated themselves

securely on Taz and Shadow’s backs, and the four dragons leaped effortlessly into the air.

[Ranger of the North]

15

The dragons landed that evening a few kilometres outside D’reedan and walked the rest of the way to avoid being seen by Seerown sentinels. In the light of the fading sun, Shaska and her companions dismounted and cautiously crept up the side of a nearby hill to observe the offending village.

Kanah was bursting at the seams, wanting desperately to talk about his first flight, which Shaska understood; the best day of her life was when she and Taz first flew together, but if he talked, it would almost definitely jeopardize their mission: D’reedan was just down the cliff, and the streets below were swarming with people readying themselves for some kind of festival or celebration. She quickly caught his attention and laid a finger to her lips just as he opened his mouth.

He subsided with a disgruntled expression, and Shaska got the distinct feeling that he was thinking at Ember. She sighed and swiveled around to kick him.

Rogue grinned mischievously at her, his blue eyes twinkling.

“Cut it out!” she hissed at Kanah. “You’ll only distract yourself—and Ember—and there may be drawbacks! Only address your thoughts to him on the direst of emergencies.” Kanah huffed a sigh and turned his attention sulkily back to the town, as did Shaska.

A large bonfire burned in the middle of the village, surrounded by wooden planks, some higher than the others; the lower ones were occupied by men and women with their children, while the others were being loaded with food and drinks of all kinds. More people were trickling into the centre of the town at a steady rate, eager for a feast. Countless cooks scurried about, roasting something above the fire. Something that smelled appetizing but absolutely repulsive at the same time, as its scent drifted through the air.

Rogue shuddered and drew back; Shaska followed a moment later, but Kanah stayed, watching the preparations with longing eyes.

Shaska eyed Taz uneasily; from the way he was acting—tense; upper lip curling into a silent snarl—she had a nasty suspicion of what was being roasted.

“What—what is it?” Rogue asked, looking sick.

Kanah stirred and murmured, “Dragon rib-cage! Don’t I wish I could be down there now!” He sighed.

Shaska dry-retched; Rogue was speechless, for once; Taz, Shadow, and Launch all snarled at the boy, but Ember seemed unperturbed and crawled up the ridge beside Kanah.

When he saw all the people he drooled and rumbled hungrily.

“He was pretty much just saying how tasty they look,” Taz translated grimly as Shadow did the same for Rogue.

Rogue grimaced. “That doesn’t seem like a very healthy relationship,” he muttered darkly.

Shaska barked a laugh.

With a shudder she pulled Kanah down undercover. “Don’t ever eat another dragon.”

His gaze, as he looked at her, was laced with scepticism. “Why?”

“Eugh,” Shaska shuddered again, making a face. “They’re not animals, that’s why! It’d be like eating a human! Or Ember.”

Kanah dropped his gaze and Ember peered down at them with narrowed eyes. “That does sound pretty… horrible. Gross.”

Ember rumbled in affirmation and nuzzled the boy gently as Kanah scratched his chin.

Launch growled suddenly and Shaska leapt to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Enough! We need to rescue Keera before something terrible happens,” Taz again translated.

Shaska nodded, sitting, and said, “Agreed.

“Kanah, what’s going on down there? Are their customs like yours, or completely foreign?”

“Like ours,” he nodded, “I recognize this festival. Their chief has just died. This is the coronation of their new one. He or she is hosting a feast for old and young alike of the fiercest dragon he could find, which he will’ve slain… mm, about two days ago? Afterward—” his face paled, “afterward will be the blood-sacrifice of a captured enemy. After he’s killed her, a family elder will anoint his forehead with her blood and declare him the new chief!” his voice cracked in terror and he leapt to his feet. “They’re going to kill Keera!” he hissed. “What can we do?!”

Shaska was horrified; they had to act fast, but he was right: what could they do?

“Shaska,” Taz said sharply, interrupting her troubled thoughts, “ask him how long the festival will continue! I might just have a plan, but I’m not sure if he’ll agree.”

When she repeated the question Kanah shrugged and peered out at a banner hanging over a building that was illuminated by the roaring fire.

“That’s Regyan’s emblem,” he showed them quietly, “he’s far from being the wealthiest runner-up, so this one should last about three days.”

Taz huffed a plume of smoke and stomped one of his clawed feet. “That’s not long enough,” he grumbled worriedly.

They thought in desperate silence, none coming up with any successful ideas no matter how hard they tried.

The sun set, plunging the land in darkness; the village, though, was brightly lit by torches and the glowing fire.

“Ah ha!” Rogue cheered finally. “I’ve got it!”

Shaska, Taz, Shadow, Launch, and Ember looked up, interested; Kanah stared at the other boy, desperation warring with hope in his eyes.

“What?” he asked eagerly.

Rogue leaned back on the damp, dewy grass pretending to be smug, but his eyes twinkled mischievously. “It’s simple really,” he teased. “I only had to think of it! It’s bound to work; I mean, why wouldn’t it?”

“What?” Kanah was exasperated and impatient. “What are you talking about, Rogue?”

“Rescuing Keera, of course!” He pretended to scold them, for not seeing it sooner; but finally said, “All we need to do is walk in there and release her! At the worst whoever goes’ll need to come back for reinforcements!”

“What?” Kanah was irritated beyond compare. “Stop fooling around. That’s—”

“Brilliant!” Shaska interrupted, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Of course, Rogue, why didn’t we think of it sooner? Haha!” she laughed delightedly.

“What? Come on, that’s got to be the tenth time I’ve said ‘what’! What’s going on; you don’t make sense!”

Rogue chuckled as Shaska animatedly explained his plan; they had been around each other so much that they usually knew what the other meant when something seemingly obscure or random was said.

“The Com—the Seerowns won’t recognize most of us, and they’ll all be at the feast; so one of us can sneak in there, locate Keera, and release her! The only problem will be if it’s impossible to rescue her alone, but then whoever went can just come back to get the rest of us!”

She grinned as an overjoyed smile spread across Kanah’s face.

“Of course!” he cried excitedly. “I’m going in.” He stood, but Shaska laid a quick hand on his arm.

“No,” she shook her head. Confusion and resentment flitted across Kanah’s face and she continued hurriedly, “someone might recognize you—even if they are all drunk,” she added with another grin. “I’ll go for you.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rogue protested, straightening to a sitting position, “it was my idea; neither of you should have to go. It should be me.” He was deadly serious.

Shaska shook her head; she had already made her mind up. “Sorry, Rogue,” she said, “if someone insults you or something like that your tongue will very easily get you into a deep amount of trouble.” He began to protest but she cut him off. “You’re proving my point.”

After about a half-hour of arguing Rogue and Kanah finally gave in, so Shaska draped a dark cloak over her shoulders, pulling her hood over her face.

She then reached for her bow, which she had left propped against Taz’s leg, only to stop, seeing Rogue holding it with a worried expression.

Shaska rolled her eyes. “I’m going to need that, y’know.”

He nodded, troubled. “I know.” Then added as he passed the weapon over, “Keep safe, little sister.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Little? I believe I’m sixteen seconds older than you.” He didn’t respond, and she realized that he truly was worried. “I’ll be fine, Rogue.”

“I know.” He finally grinned. “Don’t go and die on us, though, or Jareck will kill me.”

Shaska grinned back. “I don’t care, for once he won’t be mad at me!” she joked.

He made a face, “Jealous.”

Shaska nodded as Taz swung his head around to peer at her with one zircon-blue eye. “It’s time,” he rumbled, and nuzzled her gently.

Shaska hugged his snout tightly. “I’ll be back soon,” she said, “if anything’s wrong, let me know and I’ll return.”

Taz nodded. “And if anything happens to you, I will personally tear D’reedan apart and grind it to dust, tearing out Regyan’s throat with my fangs as I do so,” he swore.

“Thank you, Taz.” She knew he wouldn’t let her down.

She gave Kanah a quick hug. “I’ll be back with Keera before you know it.” Waved a good-bye to the other dragons; and melted into the gloom.

[Ranger of the North]

16

Shaska warily made her way down the hill, one hand clutching her bow and the other wrapped tightly around the hilt of her sheathed dagger.

This was no ordinary dagger, it was one known as a Shadow Blade, and was specially crafted of a rare material that would never break and would never catch the light, no matter how bright the sun. It was thin enough to slip easily between a pair of ribs, yet it was strong. Only dragon fire could destroy it, and she had sharpened it so that it would drive through solid bone like cheese. She had named it Berach which meant Sharp.

Shaska progressed down the sloping hill, rather than try to struggle down the cliff; she might attract attention by that route, and this way she would enter through the town’s gates, a weary traveller who had journeyed far to attend the festival and would be received graciously—she hoped.

She walked in the dark around the village’s stolid walls and finally arrived at the gate. There were no guards, only two torches set on either side of the entrance. The walls were made of solid wood, and there was no actual gate, just a gap in the wood. It seemed like a pretty silly way to defend a village from dragons: all that wood.

With a shrug Shaska stepped inside the forbidding arch, fingering Berach nervously.

Shouts and drunken singing drifted through the cool night air toward her from the centre of town and she shivered.

Bolstering up her courage Shaska made her way deeper into the empty streets, gagging slightly at the stench of faeces—humans’ and animals’ alike.

She wandered aimlessly through the streets, until she abruptly realized that she didn’t have a hope of finding Keera unless she mingled with the villagers. With a shudder she made her decision and strode swiftly among the buildings until she emerged in the centre of the village, bathed in the feisty glow of the crackling fire; encompassed by its stifling heat right before a crowded bench seat.

She noticed, with a sense of relief, that everyone was mostly occupied in eating, so managed to conceal her bow and secure a place for herself amongst the rowdy towns-folk without comment.

The smells of beef and pork that wafted through the air reminded her tummy of how empty it was and she snagged a lamb-leg with a knife as it passed by. She refrained from using her own blade, however, as only riders possessed Shadow Blades; instead slipping a dagger out of the sheath that was strapped around a man beside her.

The girl across from them noticed her actions but said nothing, a cheeky smile playing at her lips. Shaska ignored her.

The atmosphere was jovial and boisterous, with hills to eat and oceans to drink; Shaska cautiously watched out the corner of her eye until the man next to her was on his sixth mug of beer before addressing him.

“Mighty good night, i’n it?” She jogged his elbow and he turned. “Who’s Regyan got for the sacrifice? Hopefully not the likes ’f us, eh?”

He eyed her in drunk astonishment. “Where’ve you ben?” he asked incredulously, his words slurred. “Un’er a rock? Why, not three days ago we captured a Ruvin’.” He spat the word out as if it tasted bad. “She’s a beaut, yep; but her looks can't ’elp much. She’s oo’s gonna pay th’ price for a noo chief.” He chuckled, swaying slightly and Shaska hurriedly asked her next question before he passed out.

“A Ruving!” she did her best to act surprised. “Well, well, whaddaya know! I’vn’t heard anything about this. Where’s she ben hiding?”

“Un’er th’ Dragons’ Keep, o’ course,” he grunted, then fell backwards with a dull thud.

Shaska looked down at his unconscious body. “Well that was disappointing,” she said, and resumed eating.

After a minute or two, the girl previously across from Shaska plopped down beside her.

“I’m Livetta,” she said immediately, despite the fact Shaska was a complete stranger.

Shaska grunted in response, slightly worried and wondering what the girl wanted.

“I heard you asking T’ppah about the Ruving,” Livetta continued in a conversational tone.

Shaska froze, heart beating wildly. Oh. Darn. “Aye,” she said, her tongue speaking almost of its own accord. She was glad her voice was relatively normal.

“Why’s that?”

With a gulp Shaska grabbed a skin of wine and took a small mouthful, stalling for time. Oh, what do I say?

Finally she managed to forced out, “Well, seein’‘s I’m new around here—I on’y came fer this feast, y’ see—I was nervous, not wantin’ t’ be sacrificed mesel’ y’ know.”

Livetta laughed, tossing her brown hair back; her pearly white teeth gleaming in the fire light.

“That’s funny, Stranger,” she chuckled. “But what’s yer name, anyway?”

Shaska’s thoughts raced frantically. Not Shaska; that could be dangerous. Not Alisha; they may’ve heard of her, too.

She finally decided. “Rilleta,” she said. Rilleta was her mother’s name; since she had died fourteen years ago it was doubtful that anyone else remembered her.

“Rilleta... nice name.”

Shaska dipped her head. “Thank you.”

She was uncomfortable: Livetta was too questioning and nosey. Shaska needed to leave, but if she did the girl would become suspicious.

Then she had an idea: the wine she held was strong, she’d only had one small mouthful, and her head was already slightly fuzzy.

“Livetta,” she said, “here, try this. It’s a good ‘n’.” She handed the skin over and watched slyly as Livetta drained it.

Then, as the drunk girl turned to grouch at the person beside her silently slipped away and retrieved her bow, leaving Livetta to sit shaking her head in bewilderment, wondering if Shaska was real.

Shaska slipped through the dark streets, determined to keep as far away from the occupants of the city as possible, then heard Taz’s voice suddenly in her head.

Shaska, are you okay? You’ve been gone for hours!

I’m fine, she thought at him. I’m heading for the Dragon Hold; apparently Keera’s being kept under it. Now don’t distract me, please?

His next words were reluctant, Alright.

She hadn’t seen the Dragon Hold from the hill, so figured that it was probably dug into the cliff and wound her way toward it. Taz, Rogue, and the others were gone, now, hiding as far away from the town as was safe.

Finally, after half-an-hour and several wrong turns, she stood before the rock pillars of a building designed specifically for containing wild dragons and creatures doomed for death.

Shaska shuddered: its dark halls reeked of despair.

A sound echoed out: the rattle of chains and a ghostly wail.

Drawing Berach, she took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped inside, under the forbidding archway.

A steely rasp met her ears, and the deadly command, “Halt.”

She froze as her heart bounded up into her throat.

Taz! Come quick, I think I’m in trouble, she thought desperately.

He growled in her mind, but it was tinged with anxiety. We’re on our way. Stand strong, dear one.

“Turn,” the voice ordered, “And don’t even think of fighting; you shall see why.” He laughed grimly.

Shaska carefully swiveled around on one foot, grasping Berach so tightly that her hand cramped around the hilt. She stared, dismayed.

A young man stood before her, a smirk plastered on his cruel face that was overshadowed by a huge, hooked nose. Four archers stood beside him, two at each side; their arrows trained at Shaska. Behind them were twenty or so more warriors, weapons at the ready.

“I am Regyan...” the lead man said, and his lip curled as he eyed Berach, “dragon rider. Fear me, for today you will die.”

Shaska adjusted her grip on her bow, seeking desperately for a way out, but she saw none. “H—how did you—” Keep away, Taz, she told him urgently and explained her predicament. If you come you’ll be shot down. I love you.

He didn’t reply, and Shaska knew he wouldn’t listen. She cursed quietly.

Regyan chuckled. “How did I know you were here? Your own stupidity gave you away.” He smiled tauntingly as Livetta stepped around him to stand by his side. “Thank you, my love.”

Livetta smiled.

Anger clouded Shaska’s vision; she knew she, Taz, and probably their companions would be killed, but she might be able to save some of them if she killed that snake.

She suddenly lunged forward; her dagger poised to strike deep into Regyan’s chest, but before she even neared him a Commoner who had snuck around behind gave her head a powerful wallop with his sword pommel.

The last thing she remembered was a dark figure leaping out of the shadows.

[Ranger of the North]

Bump!

[Nomonym]

I am allowed to mark this, yes? xD