“Six direct hits!” Hern crowed. “A perfect run!”
Kanin began a sweeping turn, headed back the way they had come.
THUMP.
“Yeah, we really need to shorten these ropes for the next run,” Sermas shouted.
“Easy for you to say, you didn’t get hit in the head,” Hern growled.
“Landing!” Khollo announced. “Hold on.”
Kanin adjusted the angle of his wings, gliding down towards the West Bank, aiming to land in front of the gate sheltered by the high cliffs. Below, villagers looked up, shading their eyes. The soaring dragon had become a typical sight over the last few hours while Khollo, Hern, and Sermas practiced their oil dropping runs.
About ten feet above the ground Kanin stopped, hovering briefly, and released Sermas and Hern. The cadets tumbled to the hard-packed dirt, falling only a meter or so, getting to their feet quickly. Kanin landed a moment later, folding his great wings.
Khollo slid down from the dragon’s back. “So you want to shorten the ropes even more?” he asked Sermas and Hern, looking from one to the other.
“If we swing into each other like that we’re liable to drop our oil jar at the wrong time,” Sermas explained.
“Besides, it hurts,” Hern added.
Khollo sighed. He had hoped for just a few practice runs, some minor adjustments, and then a restful evening with a nice large dinner, maybe in the warm smithy with his friends. But they had just completed their seventeenth practice run, and still Hern and Sermas were making adjustments. Even worse, this was only the third perfect run they had achieved.
“Look, we’re close, Khollo. Really,” Sermas promised.
Khollo raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “We were close an hour ago,” he said slowly.
“Well, yes,” Hern agreed. “But we’re closer now than we were then.”
“Yes, and soon we’ll be eating dinner and resting by a roaring fire and then sleeping,” Sermas continued.
“Assuming the vertaga don’t attack tonight,” Hern interjected.
“We would know if they were attacking tonight!” Sermas protested. “One of Leon’s scouts would have seen them and warned us.”
“I don’t know, the vertaga seem to have disappeared,” Hern said doubtfully. “Either that or more of Leon’s scouts have disappeared.”
“I hope not,” Khollo murmured. “This season has been hard on Leon and his team.”
An awkward silence ensued. Then, abruptly, Hern began tugging at a slip knot on his harness.
“Right, another meter or so ought to do it,” he said brightly. “Who’s up for one more run?”
Khollo groaned and looked over at Kanin. Do you have one more run in you?
The dragon edged forward, jabbing his nose into Hern’s face. The cadet froze uncertainly, leaning back to put more distance between himself and the dragon. “Um, Khollo? What is your dragon doing?”
One more only, Kanin said to Khollo, snorting. The force of the blast whipped Hern’s hair around his face and nearly knocked him down.
“Kanin says one more only,” Khollo reported, glaring at the two cadets for emphasis.
“Of course, just one more,” Hern agreed quickly. “That’s just what we were thinking, right Sermas?”
“Don’t drag me into this,” Sermas growled. “If you annoy the dragon it’s entirely on you.”
Khollo climbed onto Kanin’s back. “Put your harnesses on so we can get this over with,” Khollo called. “Do you have your three rocks?”
“Got ‘em,” Sermas called.
Khollo nodded. Well, take us up, Kanin.
The dragon pushed off and hovered for a moment, claws a few feet off the ground. He waited while Hern and Sermas passed the ropes up to him. Then, taking the ropes securely in his claws, Kanin rose higher into the air, all the way to their practice altitude. He wheeled towards the charred target zone, the two cadets dangling below him.
“Yes!” Hern shouted. “No swinging into each other this time! I think we’ve done it, Sermas!”
“Target zone approaching,” Khollo announced.
Silence. Then, “Release!” Sermas shouted. A trail of six rocks appeared below them, plummeting earthward. Khollo watched until the missiles struck, all well within the charred patch, then patted Kanin’s neck.
All right, Kanin, take us back to the fortress.
Kanin snorted and glided lower. Below them, Hern let out a triumphant yawp.
“We did it! And not one collision the whole time! What a – !”
Hern broke off with a yelp suddenly as Kanin went into a steep dive, spinning over and over. Khollo clung grimly on, wondering what had gotten into the dragon. Finally, Kanin righted himself and Khollo looked down where he could usually see Sermas and Hern hanging. Neither was there, but the ropes were, each straining towards a point directly below the center of Kanin’s belly.
Khollo leaned out of the saddle a little further and burst out laughing. By spinning as he had, Kanin had twined the two ropes together so that Sermas and Hern were sandwiched against each other, swearing and struggling to free themselves. As Khollo watched, the cadets began spinning slowly as the twisted rope straightened itself out. The cadets gained more and more speed until they were flying in great circles.
Landing, Kanin announced. Suddenly, he dropped the cadets from a height of three or four feet. The two cadets hit the ground hard and lay there.
Kanin landed several meters beyond the still forms of his passengers. Khollo dismounted quickly and ran back to his friends. You didn’t kill them did you?
No, all I did was drop them.
Khollo rolled Sermas over. The younger boy groaned, rubbing his head, and looked around, dazed.
“Why am I laying on the ground?” he muttered. “I thought we were flying?”
Hern groaned and sat up, a look of happy idiocy on his face. “Well, that was fun,” he said with a high-pitched giggle. He toppled backwards and lay there, grinning foolishly and moving his arms vaguely.
Khollo exchanged a glance with Kanin.
Oops, the dragon said innocently.
Oops?! Khollo demanded. Look at them!
