“It- It’s you,” Damara wheezed, her numb mind racing in efforts to develop a plan. Chasm was sure to kill her if she didn’t give him a reason not to.
Chasm’s eyes became thin slits as he scrutinized her. His breath was warm against her face.
He must have dug me out, which means…he thinks I’m of use to him.
She rummaged frantically through her brain, searching for what next to say.
“You were right,” she told him, swallowing painfully. She closed her eyes, praying he wouldn’t see straight through her lies. “Everyone wants me dead. The Dragon Knight would’ve killed me had I not come here…”
She waited for him to respond, squirming inside.
There was a pause and then, just as before, Chasm exposed his side to her, ordering, “Climb up.”
Damara knew that if she were to hesitate, she’d only endanger herself.
Sorely, she sat up. A tumbling sensation still haunted her and she gripped a nearby tree for support, shakily getting to her feet. She could tell the place she stood wasn’t where the avalanche happened. Everything looked in perfect order.
Chasm must have flown me here. Which means…Lynx probably doesn’t know where I am.
Chasm watched her, poised as still as a mountain lion. The membrane of his wings was warped by battle scars and his tail was kinked, as though once broken. Nonetheless, he looked as strong as ever.
Will he take me to where the clutch is? Damara wondered.
The ropes she once tied around him were gone, but that was the least of her worries. She approached him with gritted teeth, determined not to stagger into him before taking hold and heaving herself up onto his back.
Back to this?! Something screamed inside of her. She straddled the base of Chasm’s neck with a shudder.
No, she told herself angrily as Chasm took to the air. I just have to wait for Lynx to come and maybe…just maybe, I’ll find out where the clutch is.
The back of Chasm’s head bore an especially visible battle scar, reminding Damara of the metal spear tip once lodged there. Deformed scales dipped into a big divot in his skull, grotesque and frightening to look at. It made her wonder if any weapon could ever kill him- or if he’d just keep rising up, again and again.
Her heavy cloak caught the wind, lifting at times like a pair of wings. Something nestled into her side and she spooked, wrenching up her arm to see what clung underneath.
She was baffled, staring down at Ivory, who was snagged onto her clothes, seemingly unharmed. How are you not dead?!
My cloak could’ve held you in…but still, it must be by the grace of God you weren’t crushed. And my dagger is still sheathed in my belt.
She stroked the crippled wyvern, comforted to know she wasn’t alone with Chasm.
If we can both survive an avalanche, she considered hopefully, maybe we’ll live to see your master again.
Or even my brother.
The dream of Xander came back to her, like a moth fluttering inside her chest, soft and silent but very much alive.
Sister, come home.
Damara breathed in deep, feeling each powerful stroke of Chasm’s wings. The threat he posed seemed to wither away from her concerns. Now, she saw him as an obstacle. One she was sure to pass over, just as long as she had the determination enough to do so. And there was no question about that.
Where is he taking me? They left the mountain range, entering what was once called dragon territory. It’s not really the dragons’ territory now, is it? she thought, gazing down at the fresh, spring canopy of trees. There on the ground was where the battle had happened, when Wystil nearly slew the entire dragon population.
Wystil had their losses, too, she remembered grievously. Her heart felt as though it were scalding as she imagined her own brother’s skeleton, lying among countless others.
No! she yelled at the vision. Xander’s alive. He’s waiting for me to come home.
And soon I’ll be with him.
I will.
. . .
Several days passed and Damara’s hopes for Lynx withered away.
She often held Ivory close, regarding her as some precious holder of memories.
“Look here, Son, and I’ll show you how to tell the gender of a dragon,” Ivory imitated a gruff but cheery man. “See those enlarged scales near the base of Ivory’s tail…Ty, are you paying attention?”
Ivory took on a young boy’s voice to say, “Kara said if I ever looked at a girl like that, she’d give me a dozen lashes!”
“Did she now?” Ivory hollered with laughter. “Oh, your mother would’ve loved to hear that…”
Damara’s heart fluttered in merriment, but she pressed her fingers against her lips to stop any sound from slipping through. She treasured the glimpse of Tyrone’s life formed in her head, soothed by how familiarly the voices addressed each other. It told of family. It told of love.
A few yards away, Chasm slopped about in the green swamp that surrounded them. Methodically he searched, just as he had since the day Damara was forced to join with him again. He never told her what he was looking for, but there was no question about it.
He was looking for the clutch.
How can he not know where it is? Damara brooded. Did Iris lie to him?
Does the clutch even exist at all? She wouldn’t put it past the jealous female to put on an act just for Chasm’s approval.
Damara looked up at the fully leaved trees, feeling the warm sun on her face. Didn’t Tyrone say the clutch would hatch at the end of spring?
“Climb up,” Chasm stood before her now, pond scum dripping from his wings.
What does he even want with me? she lamented, climbing up onto his back. Before, he made me plant symbols and serve as his protection in battle. I was his slave.
He must have some other reason for keeping me. Another purpose.
Does he want me to handle the eggs for him when he finds them? If he finds them?
Is he afraid someone might still come after him?
Chasm flicked his tail and gnashed his teeth, muttering to himself.
He just keeps getting angrier.
What if he kills me?
I’m powerless.
Her eyes fell to her reflection in the water. Even sitting on the back of a magnificent beast, she looked so defeated. So broken spirited.
It made her angry.
Have I really let myself become his captive again?! she questioned herself furiously.
“Damara, look!” Ivory exclaimed from her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. “She matches your ring!”
Faren. Damara slumped at the sound of the sweet child’s voice. It reminded her that she wasn’t the only one in danger. Faren, Tyrone, Xander…everyone was at stake.
Can’t I do something to save them? Whatever happens now will affect everyone. All the ones I love. The entire kingdom.
Damara squeezed her eyes shut.
God, she prayed genuinely. If I have to stop all this myself…
Please, just show me how.
Chasm took flight, crashing up through the canopy of the moss-coated trees. He flew with rapid strokes, as though the faster he went brought him that much closer to finding what he wanted.
Damara had trouble breathing and holding on at such breakneck speed. She could barely keep her eyes open enough to see Chasm fly daringly close between two tall trees. Twigs smacked her forehead and she ducked to avoid a branch as thick as Chasm’s neck. I’ll get knocked off if he keeps this up!
Be still! she willed her pounding heart. Think of Xander.
The dream returned to her, a refuge inside her mind.
Sister, come home.
The wind robbed her eyes of the tears that welled inside them.
From the distance, a noise grew louder and louder. Sucking and smashing, pushing and pulling. Damara stared out in expectation, gasping when she saw the earth drop with alarming abruptness to open up to an endless, ever stirring mass.
The sea!
/> Chasm turned his body to fly along the line of the coast. Dark ocean waters spread out on one side of her, green land on the other. Taller than any castle wall, sheer cliffs stood strong against the colossal waves that rose up and bashed into them. The sound was tremendous.
Then, Chasm banked, back towards the land and Damara focused her eyes on something up ahead.
What is that?
Chasm stiffened beneath her as they approached a gaping hole in the ground. Damara saw that it was a rounded cave with water trapped inside, like a deeply sunken pond.
A giant bowl naturally dug out of the earth…
Chasm landed heavily on the surrounding wall’s edge, sending pebbles down into the water from where he perched. A growl reverberated deep within his throat.
Damara’s eyes widened as she saw someone inside, curled up in the farthest corner of the dark pit.
It can’t be…
Chasm gathered his powerful haunches beneath him, readying as if to pounce.
Wait!
Damara dug her nails into her legs.
It’s…it’s…
“Tide!” she screamed out to the teal dragon below. “Get out!”
He made no response. Made no move.
Chasm, however, craned his neck to stare over his shoulder at her.
Damara stared back in terror.
Is he going to kill us?!
“Don’t hurt him,” she begged.
Fury blazed through the dragon’s eyes.
With creases gathered around his jagged, bare teeth, he snarled, “Watch.”
No!
Chasm snapped his head forward and dove.
Tide remained upsettingly still as Chasm headed straight for him.
Gripping tight and horrified, Damara could see Stag’s death begin to re-enact itself. His once strong body suddenly powerless, slaughtered in his courageous last moments. She remembered the abhorrent sounds of his flesh tearing. The sight of his blood covering the ground.
And now it was going to happen all over again…to Tide.
No.
Tearing her eyes away from Tide’s vulnerable form huddled below, Damara stared at Chasm’s head directly in front of her. There was the battle-scar at the base of his skull, pulsating to the beat of his heart.
A flood of strength came over her and she took the dagger from her belt. Shadows of the cave swallowed them as she heaved herself forward, blade held out in front of her, and then-
Thukk
In one mighty thrust, Damara shoved the blade into the chink of Chasm’s skull. Past the hilt. Far as it would go.
Immediately, the dragon lurched. His wings, once tucked in for the dive, flung out as wind caught them and he spiraled uncontrollably. Damara tried to hold on, just realizing what she’d done.
Chasm was dead.
Like a stone, they dropped. Damara panicked, pushing off with her legs as they plummeted for the water. Chasm’s corpse hit the surface just before she did, sending a wave up to meet her. Water engulfed her.
Her body seized up and she cried out, water filling her mouth. She struggled to remove her heavy cloak, feeling Ivory’s claws dig into her neck.
Save me, Tide!
Something writhed in front of her. A long, dark body that whipped against her legs.
Chasm?!
Terrified, she kicked off from the beast, coughing and sputtering as she broke the surface.
Get out! Get away! Damara splashed for the shore, spotting Tide still curled up in the farthest reaches of the cave. She heard something huge emerge behind her as she scrambled out of the water and sprinted for Tide.
She slammed herself against the cave wall before daring to look back at the murky pond.
Hissing, with eyes locked on her, was not Chasm, but a sea serpent poised in the water. Damara pressed further back against the wall.
The orange, spiny creature arched itself grotesquely. Small, sharp teeth lined its jaws. Webbing crowned its head. Glaring at her a moment longer, the serpent turned its slick head and disappeared underwater.
Sopping wet, Damara collapsed to the ground, retching. Her entire body trembled wildly. Tide lay beside her.
“Tide!” she pleaded, shaking the dragon. “Tide!”
She feared he was dead.
Please, no! Wake up!
At last, he groaned, lifting his heavy eyelids to look up at her.
“Damara?” he rasped weakly. Only then did she realize he was curled around something, several things.
As he stirred, his wing lifted and she gasped. Spherical objects, at least a half-dozen of them, lay there in a pile, gleaming in the gloom of the cave.
Iris’ clutch!
He slightly readjusted his body, forming a protective shield around them.
“Tide,” she wept. “Are you alright?”
The dragon’s sides heaved and he opened his eyes to peer at her again. The sea serpent reappeared, coiling its thin body in the center of the pond to peer at them.
Tide cringed.
“Damara, listen,” he urged without raising his head. “I can’t leave the clutch. The eggs are starting to hatch and the younglings might wander too close to that beast. You need to climb out of here and go get help.”
“No, no…Tide, please,” she sobbed. “I can’t…”
“You have to-” he wheezed. “Just follow along the coast until you reach the dry creek bed. There’s a wizard at the other end of that trail. Tell him to get Tyrone.”
Wet hair clung to Damara’s face and her limbs wouldn’t stop from quavering. She could barely keep herself upright, but knew there was no other option.
“I’ll try,” she cried, salty tears blending with the pond water already on her lips.
“Wait,” Tide puffed. He moved his foreclaw, letting something wriggle out from under it.
A hatchling.
“Take him.”
But how?! Damara caught the little one up in her arms.
Tide let his head loll and closed his eyes once more. There was no way he could keep hold of the hatchling for much longer.
I have to do it.
Already the hatchling gripped onto Damara’s clothes, holding tight as if it were his nature to do so. Soaked, her dress stuck to her legs. It was hard for her to breathe, as though fear had her lungs in its grasp.
With Ivory around her neck and the hatchling at her waist, Damara placed her dripping hands on rugged stone, gazing up at the large sky hole overhead.
I’m too weak! she cried inside, uneven breath glancing off the rock she drew closer to.
Give me strength…
Chapter 29