“I risk injury every time I battle tharuks.”
“But they have limplock,” Kierion said.
“Then we’ll have to kill the archers first.”
“We could let the other tharuks get closer, so the archers are in range. But it’s too dangerous.”
“Kierion, we’ve come this far, let’s go for it.”
That sounded suspiciously like something he’d say.
Riona gave a pathetic snarl. A puff of smoke issued from her nostrils.
“Flame’s broken,” yelled Dark Fur, waving the troop forward. “Attack.”
Tharuks rushed Riona.
Before the first archer could shoot, a green fire bolt sizzled through the air, hitting a furry chest and exploding. Dropping its bow, the tharuk archer writhed in the snow.
The other archers faltered until Dark Fur roared again, “Attack. Dragon meat.”
Snarling, tharuks ran at Riona, claws extended.
As one, the tharuk archers raised their bows, but Kierion fired first. His arrow sailed through the air, hitting an archer in the eye. The beast howled, grasping its face. Kierion’s next arrow hit another tharuk’s arm. It dropped its bow. Fenni’s fireball struck a fourth archer in the head, and it ran off, fur in flames.
The remaining two archers loosed their arrows at Riona, and re-nocked their bows.
“Riona, look out. Incoming arrows.”
A plume of mage flame shot past Riona and one arrow combusted. The second arrow hit a tharuk’s back.
“Thank the Egg,” Kierion yelled aloud, then fired again.
Riona swatted two tharuks with her tail, sending them crashing into tree trunks. She opened her jaws and blasted a swathe of fire at three more monsters. The stench of burned flesh and scorched hair filled the clearing. Riona howled, this time for real, as tharuks swarmed onto her back, raking her hide with their vicious claws.
Kierion bellowed, unheard above the racket, and nocked an arrow. But he couldn’t shoot. The risk of hitting Riona was too high. So, he focused on the remaining archers. Both had crept around the sides of the clearing toward him and Fenni. Oh shards, one was aiming right at him. He fired, but his arrow went wide. The beast ran toward him, kneeling to get a better shot. Kierion scrambled further up the tree to where the foliage was denser. A tharuk arrow thwacked into a branch near his boot. Swinging onto a higher branch, he yanked his legs up and readied his bow. His hand itched for his sword, but it’d be useless up here. He fired at the archer. It ducked. His arrow whistled over its head.
Fenni’s fireballs were zipping around the clearing, targeting tharuks, but none near Riona—it was too dangerous. One sailed through the air, incinerating the archer.
Riona shook herself like a dog. The tharuks swarming over her went flying, except Dark Fur, who clung like a burr to one of her spinal ridges. She blasted more monsters with fire. “That stubborn tharuk is worse than the most annoying tic,” she said, leaping into the air. Riona tilted her body, trying to shake Dark Fur off. Feet swinging, the tenacious tharuk hung on. Pain ripped through her spinal ridge, ricocheting through Kierion’s mind, as the tharuk twisted, gouging her with its claws.
“These monsters must pay for harming our people.” Riona landed, the tharuk still clinging to her. She shredded another beast with her talons, flinging its carcass into the trees.
That was enough. Kierion scrambled down the tree and drew his sword.
“Kierion. You were supposed to stay hidden,” Riona melded.
“Hold still.” Kierion leaped onto the wide part of her tail. Running up her spinal ridges, he swarmed up her back and swung his sword at Dark Fur. The troop leader’s head flew off. A spray of dark blood rained over his beautiful dragon’s purple scales, covering their golden glimmer with a sticky slick. The tharuk’s body twitched, its claws still impaled in Riona. Kierion yanked on the body, and it came free. He tossed it to the snow. Fenni incinerated it with wizard flame.
“That mage is handy to have around, isn’t he?” Riona said. “Get in the saddle. Let’s finish these tharuks off.”
Kierion was settling in the saddle when Fenni yelled, “Duck.”
Riona sank to the ground and Kierion flung himself against her hide. An arrow dripping with limplock zipped past, ruffling his hair. Kierion gulped.
Riona bunched her haunches and took off, swooping over the clearing to flame the remaining handful of tharuk grunts.
When all of the beasts were dead, Fenni climbed out of his strongwood tree and sat in the snow, leaning against the trunk.
Riona landed and Kierion slid onto the snow. He grabbed a waterskin from her saddlebags and went over to Fenni while she snatched up tharuk bodies, tossing them into a pile.
“Hey, are you all right?” Kierion asked.
Fenni’s face was pale and beaded with sweat. He was breathing heavily. “So that’s what Jael meant about building up stamina before I got into battle,” he gasped.
Kierion offered him a drink and he slugged it back. Riona set the tharuks alight and paced over. Kierion scratched her eye ridges. “Are you in pain?” He needn’t have asked—he could feel it.
“A little,” Riona answered.
If only he had some piaua juice.
“I think I need to eat,” Fenni said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Could you take me to Mage Gate?”
“Sure,” said Kierion. “Riona will need healing, too. Oh, will the mages be all right, seeing a dragon?”
“They’ll have to be,” said Fenni.
“They will if I’m with you.” A man, older than Kierion’s father, with thick bushy eyebrows, came into the clearing, his wizard cloak swishing around his tall, gangly frame.
“Master Giddi,” Fenni cried. “Ah, um, good to see you. This is my friend, Kierion.”
“Your friend?” Master Giddi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“From Montanara.” Kierion shook the wizard’s hand, a tingle of magic stinging his palm.
Branches cracked
