Page 46 of Spectral Seas (Spectral Worlds #2)

W ITH THE DISC floating forward, Abby too shifted his focus to detecting their assailant. With a tightening of the muscles around his forehead and temples, the mods embedded deep within his brain executed an algorithm, a calculation comprising the appropriate dose of DMT and the exact diatomic quantum flop needed to enhance his perception. The nanites flowing through his blood stream instantly went to work. A quivering shrill shot up his implanted prosthetic spine and with the next breath, the mist was saltier, the moisture cooler, and Leta’s grasp tighter on his waist. He noticed her breasts against his back, her hair on his neck, and her breaths faint on his shoulder blades.

And high above, hidden in the mist, a faint VERRUP .

Abby tuned in on that one unique sound.

Fifty meters from where the first instance registered, another VERRUP .

“ It’s a flap ,” he chipped.

“ What is ?” asked Leta.

“ That VERRUP sound .”

“ I can’t hear it .”

“ I can .” VERRUP . “ It’s circling us .”

“ How does it know where we are ?” she asked.

“ The rider,” said Abby. “He knows.”

“Psionics .”

“ Psionics .”

VERRUP.

“ It’s coming ,” he said. “ Hold on .”

VERRUP, SCREEEEECH!

The dragon was on top of them.

Abby thrust his weight to the side, spinning the transport to a one-eighty, narrowly dodging the talons of the flying beast.

The dragon disappeared while further out in the mist came another SCREEEEECH .

“ It’s another ,” chipped Leta. “ It’s attacking Soren .”

“ Great ,” said Abby. “ Just what we need .”

“ Othersss will join ,” said Sss’kyrone. “ The dragon ridersss hunt the missst in packsss .”

VERRUP.

“ Should we change directions again ?” asked Leta.

“ I don’t think it will matter ,” said Abby.

SCREEEEECH!

The dragon dove again.

Abby threw a foot forward to brace himself. “Hang on!” he yelled, then willed the platform to brake. Instantly the disc stopped. The momentum hurled Abby into the hoop and Leta forward onto his back. The rapid move disoriented the dragon. It rolled to its side, the leathery wing of the giant lizard narrowly missing them. Abby connected eye to eye with the armored rider as he rose from his saddle, arms outstretched, holding tight to the reigns.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, the flying beast was gone.

VERRUP.

“ I have an idea ,” said Abby. “ Trade places with me .”

“ What ?” asked Leta.

“ Just come up here. Take the wheel.”

Hugging his side, Leta maneuvered herself around to his front. For a brief moment they were embraced, face to face. Leta met his eyes, then with a nod, spun to take hold of the hoop. As she placed her hands onto the metal ring, Abby removed his, and slid them around her narrow waist.

“ What now ?” she asked.

“ Go forward ,” he said.

The vaporing mist blew against his face.

VERRUP.

“ Okay ,” chipped Abby. “ Whatever you do, just stay the course .”

“ What are you thinking, Squire ?”

“ Just keep it steady .”

VERRUP.

Abby’s tactical augments lit up again when the dragon reappeared from the mist, and as the large menace dove, they calculated its direction and velocity. Abby let loose of Leta’s waist, feinted right, then just before the creature grabbed hold to pluck him from the disc, he ducked, spun, and wrapped his arms above the beast’s lunging talons.

“Squire!” Leta yelled as he was jerked from behind.

VERRUP, VERRUP, SCREEEEECH!

The dragon vigorously flapped and reared back to free itself from Abby’s clutch. But Abby hugged the leg tight.

Slowly, he began to climb.

The rider was leaning back, near horizontal, his arms tugging at the reigns in a frantic fight to calm his mount. The rider kicked toward Abby as he climbed up around the wing, but Abby was easily able to circumvent the thrusts of the reptoid’s leather boot and managed to grip the saddle with one hand then the second. With both hands secure, Abby jerked himself up, but as he rose onto the back of the beast, the painful onslaught of a psionic wave smashed into him. At once, a million fires burned throughout his body and an invisible ice dagger stabbed deep into his forehead. The tactical measures embedded in his system overrode the pain, and without a thought, Abby reeled back and launched his fist into the face of the leather armored rider.

The psionic blast stopped, the rider went limp, and for long second, appeared to hang in the air, only to be whisked into the fog. Abby yanked himself forward into the vacant saddle and grabbed hold of the reins.

“ Squire? Squire? ” chipped Leta. “ Are you in the water? Squire? Where are you?”

“Look to your right. ”

Leta turned her head to the side in time to watch a dragon soar in beneath her, and with Abby in the saddle.

“Squire?” she said aloud. “Are you insane?”

“Maybe,” he said. “You want a lift?”

“No. I’m fine with this, thanks.”

“Okay,” said Abby. “Let Soren know I’m on my way.” Then he gently leaned to the side and silently careened into the mist.

The dragon didn’t seem to mind its new rider and Abby took to guiding and riding intuitively. The indigo dragon beneath him was in charge, each tug or pull of the reins a mere suggestion, but it took those suggestions easily and without resistance. Abby found dragon riding easier than piloting the flying disc and it freed him to focus on the other faint flaps. VERRUP, VERRUP. The DMT inducing nanotech continued to course through his brain. His mind, mods, and oculars were in synch, linked with the plane. VERRUP, VERRUP. He aimed the dragon toward the soft sound.

The fluid aerodynamics of the dragon shielded Abby from the brunt of the moisture in the mist, but his warm wet hair still felt upended at the roots and his scalp tingled from nanite induced tactile hallucination.

VERRUP, VERRUP. A new beacon appeared in his augments, followed by a second, two distinct dragon signs, in separate directions. Abby veered his dragon toward the closest, ascending to approach it from up high. When he reached a point above his target, he silently coasted in a gradually descending spiral over the beast. As he drew closer the target dragon’s silhouette slowly materialized beneath the augment—the tail, the rider, then the whole beast.

“ Here goes nothing ,” he chipped. “ Death from above. ”

He pushed his toes down against the saddle’s fixed open stirrups and leaned forward into the dragon’s sleek blue-black neck. The beast’s head dropped forward and silently the creature swooped down.

Abby prepped for the battle. Without his blade the fight would be hand to hand, dragon to dragon. He closed in fast, gritted his teeth, and sucked in a breath. A meter from target he tensed his muscles to strike, pounce, or defend.

Abby’s dragon effortlessly plucked the unsuspecting rider from its steed and flung it to the sea.

Abby swung his head back in time to catch a glimpse of the riderless dragon before it disappeared. “ Huh ,” he chipped. “ That worked .”

He scanned the mist for the second sign, but it had disappeared. He pulled back the reigns to slow his dragon, gently closed his eyelids, and focused on finding it. He singled out the faint VERRUP, VERRUP far off to his left. He opened his eyes and gazed toward the sound. The second dragon flapped again VERRUP, VERRUP, igniting an augmented overlay . Abby grinned and aimed his dragon toward the beacon.

Using the same tactic as the first attack, he again ascended, coasted in a spiral toward his prey, then stealthily dove down onto another unsuspecting rider, and sent it into the mist.

Again, he paused to listen to the surrounding clouds to detect only the riderless dragons flying away, back toward what he guessed was the direction of the abbey. There were no others.

Abby veered his course back toward the coordinates Leta had shared.

“ They’re gone ,” he chipped.

~*~