Page 49 of Prison Moon
Soft voices once again filled the arena. Those aliens on the walkway were all watching him, shifting on their feet. When the speaker the announcer was using popped as if they were going to speak again, Toren stilled.
Two more wyvern jumped onto the platform with Sarra, the one closest to her grabbing her from behind, his large hand banded around her throat. Toren’s body went rigid, fire burning in his chest as the announcer said, “Careful, Draegon. One false move and you’ll be executed on the spot and your precious mate given to our enforcers as a special treat.”
* * *
Fire blazed in Toren’s eyes. Sara stared at him, trying to reassure him she was all right despite the thick hand wrapped around her throat. The other two wyvern jumping onto the platform with her was not a good sign. Nor were the three new wyvern entering the arena from the same door Toren had been led through.
Feedback from the speakers whistled as the announcer said, “The rules have changed. We have new competitors entering the ring.”
The wyvern? Sara watched them walk to the center of the arena, making a wide circle around Toren.
“Since the Draegon race is much superior to the average species, the rules will change for this fight. Draegon, in order to win your mate, you will battle them all—together.”
The hushed whispers grew loud again as Toren turned his head to look at the wyvern at his back, then the two flanking him. All three of them wore nothing but pants. They were void of weapons and that small bit of knowledge made it seem more fair. Not that Toren having to fight all three of them at once was fairer but if they were all bare handed, then it evened the odds a bit.
As one, all three wyverns smiled, then removed their pants. The move drew a silent pause over the crowd. Sara was still trying to figure out why they were going to fight naked when the one to the left of Toren stepped back and shifted, then jumped into the air. The other two did the same and that small bit of relief she felt at them not using a weapon against Toren died. How was he supposed to fight three wyvern in their shifted form with his bare hands?
Another wyvern approached the center of the ring as the one who held her pushed her to the edge of the platform. The announcer’s voice filled the silence again. “Draegon, you will be released from your collar. One single move from you and your mate’s life is forfeit. Do you understand?”
Toren locked eyes with her as he nodded his head. “Yes.”
The wyvern who’d entered the ring and approached him lifted a small metal disk and laid it against the side of the collar. It snapped open a moment later. Toren’s muscles strained, small veins in his neck bulging as he physically restrained the dragon. The three wyvern climbed higher into the air. The orbs that tracked all movement here followed them, circling around the three of them while other orbs still hovered over the arena. Toren never lifted his gaze, never moved a muscle as he stared at her.
The wyvern hovering above the arena screeched out a deafening, high pitched roar. Toren never blinked, she wasn’t even sure he was breathing as he watched her.
“Draegon, the rules for this fight are simple.” The announcer’s voice held a note of laughter as he spoke now. “Kill the three wyvern who volunteered to battle you and you may keep your mate. Fail, and she, along with your hoard, will be given to the victor. The fight begins the moment you shift and bring forth the dragon.”
Sara jerked her head up, looking at the three wyvern, then back down to Toren. Could he take on three at once? He smiled at her, his limbs growing as he said, “I will come for you, my Sarra.”
His dragon burst into life and she realized as he stood there in the ring how much bigger he was than the wyvern. He was longer from head to tail, his mass bulkier. The dragon’s purple eyes lowered to look at her, a huff of warm air ruffling her hair before he turned and jumped into the sky, his wings lifting, then lowering, as he climbed. As he reached the altitude the three wyvern were, he reared back, his chest puffing out before he roared, a blast of fire painting the sky in bright red and orange.
The three wyverns belched out their own blasts of fire but they weren’t nearly as massive. The flames burnt out quickly, their color a watered-down version of Toren’s. “They have fire.”
“Some of us do. Not all.”
Sara stilled as the wyvern who still held her whispered the words close to her head. He took a step closer, her hair shifting as he lowered his head and said, “Those are the three strongest. They’re generals in our chain of command. The rest of us no longer produce fire. They took the ability to do so from us.” She tried to turn her head to look at him but his hold tightened. “Don’t move. And do not speak to me. They’ll kill us both.”
Was he friend or foe? Sara did as he said and didn’t try to move again but her mind was racing at the possibilities that one of these enforcers could tell her what the others would not.
“If Toren wins, will they let us go?” His hand around her throat tightened but he said nothing. His silence was answer enough. Sara stared at the sky, watching as one of the wyvern clamped taloned feet onto Toren’s wings. He roared, fire filling the sky as he turned to shake the one on his back off.
The fight was a rolling mass of fire and burnt flesh, roars, and loud screeches filling the air. All four of them clashed at once. Toren tumbled, falling a great distance before he twisted and got his wings raised enough to regain his altitude. Sara released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as he engaged the other three again.
Toren had the others in size but with every passing moment, Sara realized it may not matter. Three against one was shitty odds regardless of how you looked at it and as the wyvern kept attacking, and Toren kept falling, dread filled every inch of her body.
They dove back in together as Toren reached them. He blew another jet of fire at the wyvern in front of him and when it swept back away from him, Toren turned suddenly, catching the one to his right off guard enough to sink clawed feet into his belly, for his fangs to dig in deep into his throat. A screeching roar and the flap of faltering wings as they both fell toward the ground was followed by a spray of blood as the wyvern’s throat was ripped out. Toren let go and its massive body began to fall, half of the orbs following him down, the others swarming in around Toren.
The wyvern’s body hit the ground just beyond the arena walls. Toren shot back into the sky, the two remaining wyverns roaring as they once again attacked. For a small eternity, Sara watched the sky with everyone else, the battle taking place overhead too riveting to look away from. Several spots on Toren’s blue hide was singed black from the wyvern’s fire. One of his wings looked as if it was split on the left side, his ability to stay aloft affected by it. As they all three clashed again, all three of them spewing fire, one of the wyverns started to tumble. His scales were so dark it was hard to tell if he’d been burned enough to kill him but as he continued to fall, his wings flapping uselessly in the wind, she got her answer. He disappeared into the trees, the orbs following before shooting back into the sky a moment later.
Toren and the remaining wyvern flew in a wide circle over the arena. They were closer to the ground than they had been, their wings not lifting as high or fast as before. Sara figured fatigue had a lot to do with that. They’d been aloft for a long while.
The wyvern made the first move. He spewed fire in Toren’s direction, her blue dragon rearing back, his left wing faltering enough his entire body shifted. It was enough for the wyvern to get close, to sink claws into Toren’s hide and Sara gasped as they started to fall, their massive bodies rolling through the sky. They both roared, fire blazing into the others face until Toren suddenly stopped. His wings fell loose at his side, his head falling back, and Sara bit her lip to keep from screaming.
Fire spewed into the sky above them as the wyvern roared at his sudden victory. Their descent back to the ground was fast and every ounce of energy Sara had died in an instant as she watched them fall. Her knees went weak and the wyvern at her back, his hand still around her throat, was the only thing keeping her from falling to the platform.
She closed her eyes, unwilling to watch as the wyvern continued to roar, the sound of his continued spray of fire echoing across the sky as she wondered what would become of her now. Several gasps were loud enough she opened her eyes again, blinking into the sun as she looked up at Toren and the wyvern in time to see her blue dragon open his mouth and bite into the wyvern’s throat. The wyvern’s roar turned into a shriek of pain, blood pouring into the air and coating Toren’s muzzle as he moved his head back and forth, his legs pushing against the wyvern to knock him away.
The wyvern tumbled, his wings flapping uselessly before they went slack, its body rolling in on itself a bit before falling. Toren stayed aloft as the wyvern fell, lifting his head to roar, fire bleeding across the sky in a shower of orange and red. Sara laughed, a choked burst of sound as Toren’s wings folded into his sides and he dove to the ground. He was coming for her, could tell by the way his front legs extended. She tried to move away from the wyvern at her back but his hold tightened.
“Let me go,” she yelled.
The two wyvern at the edge of the platform both turned as one, each of them lifting the long metal cylinders she knew was a weapon. Toren’s roar was deafening. He hovered above the arena, the wind stirred by his wings enough to send dirt flying into the air.