Page 11

11

CHARLIE

O llie stood at my side, biting a thumbnail and watching the dragons wheel above us. We were both watching one dragon and one rider in particular.

“Her dragon moves well,” I said, then silently cursed myself. Would a reporter make a judgement about the combat ability of a dragon? I doubted it. True, there were viewing stations along the coast where Admites could drop a nickel into a slot and watch through a huge set of binoculars as aces and dragons battled over the sea. But Kitty would never have made a pronouncement about a dragon’s maneuverability. Be more careful, I chided myself.

But if Ollie noticed anything amiss, he didn’t show it.

“Othura is one of the best at dodging,” he said. “She’s had to be. If she weren’t, she and Essa wouldn’t have lived this long.”

“Why doesn’t the princess have a lance?” I asked.

Ollie looked at me sidelong, a hint of mockery in his raised eyebrow.

“She has only one arm,” he said. “Even with the special saddles riders have, their legs alone aren’t capable of keeping them in place through all their maneuvers. They have to hold on with one hand. And Essa’s other limb isn’t capable of holding a lance.”

I frowned. “But couldn’t there be some sort of prosthetic made?”

The eunuch glanced at me. “A what?”

“Prosthetic. A fake limb. They can make them with hooks, or hands, or even pinchers that?—”

“We don’t worship machines as your people do,” Ollie said, a sharpness in his tone that silenced me for a second.

I watched the dragons darting and moving once more.

“Why doesn’t her dragon blow fire?” I asked.

“She’s a libran,” he said, then noticed my blank look. “A wind dragon. They don’t breathe fire. They?—”

As if on cue, Essaphine’s dragon opened its mouth and a whirlwind burst forth. It turned a much larger dragon around, sending its rider flying into the lake.

“That was impressive,” I said. I’d never seen a dragon in combat using such a technique, but my guess was in would be hell on a plane’s vertical rudder.

“Are they rare?” I asked.

Ollie nodded. “Not as rare as some types, but fairly rare. There are only a few riding them right now. Remind me and I’ll deliver a few books on dragons to your room.”

“I would appreciate?—”

“Uh oh,” Ollie whispered, interrupting me.

Above, three large dragons were descending on Essaphine and Othura. I felt my heart beat faster. I recognized these dragons and their riders. I’d fought them. They were three of the best. And they were all closing in on the princess.

“He’s above you,” I muttered. “Dive, dive, dive.”

Essaphine seemed to see the dragon above her—but another was behind her, winging her way fast.

“Watch your eight!” I blurted.

The rider swooped in, his lance blasting the princess from the saddle. Ollie gave a cry and I held my breath as the princess fell what had to be at least three hundred feet. The world seemed to hang in silent suspension for a terribly long moment as she fell, then there came the crash and the explosion of spray as she hit the water.

Ollie ran to the lake’s edge and I followed him, both of us staring across the water with our hands shading our eyes, waiting for the princess to come up. Only she didn’t.

“The lance…” I started to say, but Ollie cut me off.

“They’re blunted,” he said. “Still, the impact… and if she hit a rock…”

We both stared across the water.

“There!” the Torouman pointed, and I saw the princess’s head emerge. She took a breath and began paddling haphazardly toward the shore. I found myself breathing again as well, though I hadn’t realized I’d stopped. Othura swooped in, dropping her tail into the water. The princess grabbed it and the dragon began towing her back toward the shore.

“She’s okay,” Ollie said, a hand over his heart.

I looked at him. “You really care for her, don’t you?”

“Of course. She might as well be my twin sister.” He bent double and put his elbows on his knees. “Ugh. I might retch.”

Now that I knew the princess had lived, my analytical mind had returned.

“There are more trials like this?”

Ollie nodded. “Twelve in total, leading up to the final challenge.”

I shook my head. “She can’t compete when everyone else has a lance and she doesn’t. It’s too much of a disadvantage.”

“I’m sure she would agree with you,” Ollie said, spitting into the dirt.

A stack of spare lances lay on the beach nearby. I picked one up.

“God, it’s heavy. Solid wood?”

“Ash,” Ollie nodded, shading his eyes again and watching as the princess made her way to toward shore. “Riders train for years to wield them. The princess is so slight, she can barely hold one even with her good arm.”

I hefted the lance one more time. The thing had to be at least twelve feet long. With a frown and a grunt, I dropped it on the pile with the rest, then I turned back to the lake.

The princess was reaching the shore now some distance from us, and three women in pale green robes surrounded her. She was nodding to them and gesturing to her side.

“Should we go over?” I asked.

Ollie shook his head. “The healers are not to be disturbed. Essa will come to us once they’ve checked her over.”

We turned our attention to the sky once more. Many riders had fallen since the princess had taken our attention. Only perhaps two dozen remained, among them Laynine and the three who had defeated Essaphine.

Those four dragons and their riders were the most powerful and skilled, and we watched as they systematically eliminated the others one by one by one. Essaphine’s friend Dagar and his golden dragon were already out. Her friend Pocha soon followed. Lure, on a mighty purple fire-breather with ram’s horns, put up an impressive fight. Together they knocked off five riders—including one of the four best—when Laynine swept in. Her dragon stunned the Lure’s with a crackle of lightning, then changed direction and slapped Lure out of the saddle with a whip of its tail. Lure went skipping and tumbling across the water, nearly to the shore, but emerged again fast, alive and cursing.

My attention returned to Laynine. I’d seen that dark blue dragon of hers before. In fact, she was the one who’d taken down a friend of mine, Edith, only a month earlier. But I’d never seen her dragon use lightning before.

So, they’re holding that in reserve. Interesting.

Laynine and her dragon were good. Not only powerful, but clever. Calculating. Strategic. From what I could judge, they were even better than Paemalla and her dragon had been. And that would spell trouble for my squadron.

“Is it true what I’ve heard, that the lead dragon can communicate telepathically and give orders to the others?” I asked Ollie.

He eyed me. I knew the calculation he was making. He didn’t wish to give away any valuable secrets that might wind up in the Ironberg paper. But he was also under orders from the queen to share information with me. I’d have to thank her later…

“Yes,” he said.

I looked back across the lake. Only Laynine and two of her three companions remained. Together, the three sailed down to alight on the water like ducks. The other two riders leapt off into the water, leaving Laynine the last one still mounted. A horn sounded and a cheer went up from the shores, followed by shouts of Laynine, Laynine, Laynine!

Here was a danger. With a leader like her, these dragon riders might be able to tip the scales of the war. Laynine was the strongest rider, and her dragon was the most formidable—that was clear.

But what if she didn’t win the position of Irska? What if, instead of Laynine, a weaker rider were to win the challenge? What if the very weakest rider won?

My eyes went to the princess again. Her armor was removed, revealing a wet bodice as the healers ran a bandage around her ribs. The sunlight seemed to shine upon her like a halo, and droplets of water hung in her hair like diamonds. Even in pain, in defeat, her face looked radiant, like an image I’d seen in a dream and tried to hold onto upon waking.

A pretty face concealing a wicked heart, I thought, remembering her kicking my legs out from under me.

I hated her, sure. But I could use her.

A plan was forming in my mind, a gamble so outrageous that its chances of working were slim, its dangers immense. But if it did work, it might just win the war and make me the biggest hero in URA history.

I would help Essaphine defeat Laynine and become Irska of the Maethalian flyers.

Then, I would destroy them all.