“This isn’t over yet,” Khollo warned. “There are still plenty of those brutes down there.”
“I noticed,” Hern said in a barely audible voice. “Now, can we get rid of the rest of these pots please?”
Khollo relayed the request to Kanin and the emerald dragon flew to a position directly over the middle of the vertaga line and hung there, flapping his great wings to maintain altitude. Sermas and Hern began dropping their few remaining oil pots, and Khollo watched them spin slowly earthward. The five pots burst in quick succession along the middle of the line, spreading the wall of flame right to the stone of the north wall, consuming a dozen more vertaga instantly and burning many more.
“We did it!” Hern shouted triumphantly, pumping his fist. “That’ll show them.”
Back to the north gate? Kanin asked pointedly. Hovering here like this is not easy.
Yes, we can land at the north gate for a moment, if we’re quick, Khollo agreed. Are you hurt at all?
I am fine, just a little tired. But the battle goes well and we have flamed many vertaga so I am content for the time being. I will certainly need to hunt tomorrow though.
Khollo laughed. I’ll need to hunt too, he agreed, grinning. But for now, back to the north gate.
As Kanin wheeled and prepared to head back to the north gate, Khollo heard an ominous creak coming from below Kanin. He looked down, frowning, and saw Sermas and Hern were still celebrating, shouting and shaking their fists and whooping loudly in between. Another creak sounded clearly over the cadets’ celebrations and Khollo divined the source.
“Oh no,” he muttered. “Kanin, we need to land, quickly.”
I feel the ropes weaken.
Another creak. Kanin barreled towards the north gate, descending as he went. But they were still a hundred meters above the ground when Khollo clearly heard one of the ropes snap and Sermas’ shouts of triumph turned to a drawn-out yell of pure fear as he fell.
Chapter 48
“Kanin!” Khollo shouted immediately, pointing.
Kanin folded his wings and dove. To Khollo’s right, Hern yelled in surprise and pain as his rope whipped around, then smacked him against Kanin’s side. After that, the cadet seemed to become weightless, floating above and behind them, tethered to Kanin by his harness.
Pull him in, Kanin said urgently. It will be easier to rescue the falling one if I have both front claws free.
Khollo nodded and leaned out to his right, grabbing hold of Hern’s rope. He pulled the cadet to him slowly, reeling him in like a fish on a line. Below him, he could hear Sermas still screaming as he fell, arms and legs flailing.
Finally, Khollo reached up and grabbed Hern by the forearm, pulling him down onto Kanin’s back. “Hold on to me!” he shouted over the air whistling past his face as they dove.
Hern nodded grimly, looking decidedly green, and wrapped his arms around Khollo.
I’ve got Hern, Khollo said anxiously, looking down at where Sermas was still falling. The cadet seemed closer now, but it was hard to tell. Do you think that we will reach him in time?
It will be close, Kanin said doubtfully. Very, very close.
Khollo bit his lip, frustrated and scared. Why had he allowed his friends to do this? He had known the risks, known that the ropes might snap, that they might be shot down, that any one of a thousand problems could send someone spinning earthward with no hope of rescue save a plummeting dragon. Why had he let this happen and put them in this position?
They were roughly midway between the north wall and the north gate now. Khollo heard shouts from the vertaga at the north wall, who were now tamping down the flames and crossing the trench, but also from the men manning the north gate. Their shouts of fear and surprise were what Khollo’s guilty ears heard above all of the rest.
Come on Kanin, he urged.
Nearly there, the dragon replied grimly. Just a few more meters.
Khollo looked past Kanin’s head and saw Sermas, still falling, still flailing, a look of abject terror on his face. Then he looked past Sermas and saw the ground looming, growing closer at an alarming rate.
Kanin!
I know!
The dragon’s wings snapped open and he swooped low. One moment, they were about to smash into the ground, the next they were gliding rather quickly towards the north gate. Khollo looked around wildly.
Did you get him?
Kanin looked down at his forelegs as a voice floated up to them. “Next time, can we just land normally instead of dropping me and diving? I mean, that was more exciting but it might not have ended well.”
Khollo groaned in relief. All right, Kanin, let’s get on up to the main fortress. We can land in the courtyard and see what can be done to help out with the battle there for –
Kanin roared suddenly. Khollo whirled around in time to see a second crossbow bolt sink into the dragon’s back right leg. The roar became a whimper and Kanin took a deep shuddering breath.
Up, up, Khollo said urgently. Just one more effort, Kanin. Just to the fortress proper.
It hurts, Kanin whimpered. I hate arrows.
I know, I’m sorry. So sorry, Khollo murmured frantically. How bad is it?
We will see.
Tears sprang to Khollo’s eyes. He could feel Kanin’s pain across their mental link, a burning pain aggravated by every move he made in the air. Hern and Sermas were babbling away, asking questions and demanding answers, shouting instructions and in general making nuisances of themselves. At one point, Hern shook Khollo roughly but the young warrior shrugged him off. He heard none of what they were saying, absorbed in
