The enemy force was well and truly trapped. Surrounded on all sides, peppered with fire, arrows, even small boulders fired from ship-mounted catapults. There was no escape route, save the west gate of Ishkabur, which was packed with warriors, slowly withdrawing into the city and preparing to shut the gates.
There was really only one option left to the vertaga: charge the gate with everything they had and hope to break through. And that is exactly what the brutes did, swarming forth to crash down upon the defenders at the gate.
Khollo and Kanin continued to conduct flaming passes, slowly reducing the space that the vertaga had to maneuver. Dozens died, bellowing with pain as they were burned alive. Dozens more were shot down by the Ishkabur archers, who kept the air thick with deadly shafts.
After one last pass, Khollo and Kanin withdrew slightly, hovering above the battle, well out of arrow range. The vertaga were all but defeated, save for a knot of a hundred or so beasts fighting to get through Ishkabur’s gate. They were driving the defenders back now, close to gaining access to the city. Vertaga with nothing left to lose were proving to be fearsome opponents.
Let’s end this, Khollo said fiercely. We’ll fight them on the ground.
Gladly, Kanin growled, folding his wings. They dropped straight down, landing just behind the last rank of vertaga. The nearest beasts shrank back with fear as Kanin jabbed his head forward, menacing them.
Khollo slid off Kanin’s back and drew his Sen-teel, attaching the two halves and holding the weapon at the ready. Just like we practiced, he told Kanin. Pattern three.
Kanin let loose a deafening roar and stomped forward, blasting the front rank with a short controlled burst of flame, cooking two vertaga before they could even raise their weapons. Then he lunged forward with his head, snapping up one vertag and flinging it from side to side until its neck broke. Kanin turned slightly to one side and his tail whipped forward, sending another of the monsters flying.
Khollo meanwhile ran forward, Sen-teel poised for action, guarding Kanin’s left side. The double-sided weapon flashed back and forth, slashing vertaga across the arms, legs, and chest. Khollo felt energy coursing through him, the fear he normally felt in battle replaced by a savage joy for this dance of death.
Switch sides! Kanin said suddenly. They press too close on my right.
Give me a lift? Khollo asked.
Kanin stuck out a foreleg and Khollo ran up the scaly limb, flipping over Kanin’s back and rolling to the ground. Sure enough, half a dozen vertaga were closing in, eying Kanin’s relatively delicate wings.
Khollo raced forward, Sen-teel flying. The vertaga hesitated a moment, then ran to meet him. Khollo sized up his opponents and realized he could not fight this many alone.
The first vertag swung a single-bladed war axe at Khollo, sweeping left to right with the massive blade. Khollo ducked and slid, jabbing his Sen-teel up and into the vertag’s chest as he passed by. The beast grunted in surprise and stumbled. Black blood pumped from the wound as Khollo withdrew his blade and stood. The remaining five vertaga turned to face him in a ragged line, leering unpleasantly.
Kanin, tail swipe!
The dragon’s thick tail flicked out without hesitation, batting two of the vertaga into the air and scattering the other three. Khollo spun his Sen-teel and lanced one of the monsters through the throat, then laid open another’s chest with the other blade. By then, one of the other vertaga had recovered and Khollo had to deflect the beast’s broadsword. The vertag stumbled as its blade skidded across the stone road, sending up sparks. Khollo finished it with a quick thrust. The other two vertaga had vanished, retreating to the temporary safety of their own ranks.
Khollo stepped closer to Kanin and took a deep breath. Around him, vertaga were dying in droves, corpses piling up before the walls of Ishkabur. Most had been struck down by arrows, but Khollo could see a fair number that had been burned or battered to death by Kanin. And Khollo himself had accounted for a few. There were only a couple dozen vertaga left, scattered across the road, most cowering under shields.
Let’s finish this, Khollo said, hefting the Sen-teel.
Kanin swung around and incinerated a vertag on the spot with his flame, then smashed another against the walls of Ishkabur with his tail. After that, it was a chaotic firestorm of death. Khollo accounted for a few more vertaga, but for the most part he left the mop up to Kanin, who was better equipped for this sort of fight and seemed to be enjoying himself tremendously.
Finally, Kanin ran out of targets, his great head swiveling back and forth, searching out the slightest movement. It is finished, he said at last, sounding quite disappointed.
Khollo laughed and rested a hand on the dragon’s flank affectionately. Don’t worry. There are plenty more battles in our future.
There better be. How was I?
You were amazing! Khollo replied, grinning. Those beasts never knew what hit them! I’ve never seen anything like it.
It would not have been possible without your father’s training, Kanin replied gently.
For a moment, Khollo’s grin faded and an immense sorrow swept over the pair of them. I wish he could have been here to see this, Khollo said finally. He would have been proud. We fight for him now, and all those others who have gone before.
Yes, Kanin agreed. To the fallen.
