***
I opened my eyes and shot up so fast my head collided with Seth's. I clutched my head and said, “Ow.” Seth stretched his arm to rub his eyes.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” I looked at the beads of sweat on his forehead. “What's wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I'm just hot because when someone sleeps on someone else, that person kind of gets hot.”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his arm. “You fell asleep leaning against my arm. Were you cold?”
My face went red. “I didn't mean to, sorry.”
“It's not a problem, at least no one was cold,” he said.
“I need to tell you something,” I said. “I had another dream and I saw you in it. It was kind of spooky, actually.”
“Really,” he said. “You were in my dream too.”
“There was a voice calling my name,” I said, remembering the creepy dream. “It was saying to beware of the shadows. Then I saw this ghost-like girl before I saw you. Then I woke up.”
Seth nodded. “Mine was calling my name too and said to beware of the shadows. But I saw a ghost-like boy instead. Then I saw a glimpse of you and then I woke up.”
“Who do you think they were?” I asked. “The ghost kids.”
“I don't know but I have a feeling that they weren't on Kojas' side,” he replied.
I glanced over at Emily and Jason, making sure they were still sleeping. “Why do you think they were in our dreams? Was the 'beware of the shadows' that important?”
“Does any of this ever make sense to us?” Seth asked with a shrug. “We just wait it out like we always do.”
Emily groaned and stretched. She opened her eyes, squinting at the two of us. “Morning.”
“Good morning Emily, sleep well?” I asked, wondering if she had the same type of dream as we did.
She shrugged. “I slept soundly, why?”
“Nothing, just curious.”
“Okay,” she stood up and tip toed towards Jason. “Now the best part, waking up the grump.”
She bent over close to his ear. She took in a deep breath and then yelled at the top of her lungs, “PIE!”
Jason jumped up so fast that Emily had to jump back to avoid getting hit in the head. He almost fell backward but he steadied himself against the wall. One of his knives slid into his hand but by the time he realized what was going on, we were all laughing hard I was getting the hiccups.
Jason panted out each word, “That...is...not...funny!” He glared at Emily so hard she must of thought that he had laser eyes.
Emily was holding herself and trying to stop laughing so she could speak. “I'm sorry Jason...but you were such a grouch yesterday...we had to get you back!”
“I will get you back,” Jason said angrily. “I will.”
“Okay Jason,” I hiccupped. “But you're going to have to wait a while.”
“Dude that was hilarious,” Seth choked out and had a smile on his face the size of the cave. “I'm surprised you didn't scream like a little girl. But you did jump like one.”
Jason's face went red. “I thought I'd get some support from you, Seth.” He crossed his arms. “You might be next, you know.”
Seth shrugged. “Maybe, but I don't care. We all need a good laugh to keep our spirits up and if that means scaring the crap out of me, I'm fine with it.”
“So you'll be fine with me dragging you outside while you were sleeping and leaving you in the rain?” Emily asked.
Seth narrowed his eyes. “No, I'd be cold, wet and annoyed. You can do that if you feel like having me be grouchy all day.”
“Nah,” Emily said. “I don't think it would be worth it.”
“Are we just going to sit here and talk or are we going to get a move on?” I asked.
“Alright then,” Emily said and walked out of the cave. “If you want to go in the dreary woods so bad, we'll go.”
Jason walked after her, shoulders hunched. I went to follow him when Seth said, “We should tell them about our dreams.”
I turned around and faced him. “We should, they need to know in case they have ones like ours.”
Seth nodded and followed me as we joined everyone else outside. Emily waited for us and then headed into the woods. She waved to the dragon and we disappeared once more.
I stared off into the trees, waiting for Seth's cue to tell them about the ghost kids. Seth raised his hand, signaling for us to stop. He put a finger to his lips and pointed in front of him. I crept up and peered at where he was pointing.
A bunch of dwarves and tall, muscular men crowded around something. The men had double swords sheathed on their back, long ears, and long black hair. They were wearing some type of combat boots and thick coats. One of them moved and I saw a tied dragon staked to the ground. It continued to try to stand but it seemed to weak and fell back down. I heard Emily gasp in horror and I felt the same way. One of the men poked it in the side with the butt of his sword and the dragon grunted in pain. I looked over my shoulder at Emily. She looked like she was about to start crying any second. Seth drew his sword and crouched down. He shuffled forward and motioned for us to follow.
We slid through the trees as quietly as we could. I kept my eye on the faery men, waiting for one of them to turn around and notice us hiding in the trees. I ducked behind a tree and looked over just in time to see Emily trip and fall out of her bush. The faery and dwarves looked at her in surprise. I guess they’ve never seen a teenage half-ling girl fall out of a bush before.
“Am I interrupting something?” Emily asked with a gulp.
The faery men drew their double swords and charged at her. I released an arrow and it buried itself in one of their necks. It fell backward and they turned to my hiding spot, searching for me. Two knives flew and a dwarf and man collapsed on the ground. I saw Jason hide behind his tree again. One dwarf got too close to Emily and she raised her arms, dousing him in flames. He screeched and fell to the ground, withering and then went still. Seth ran from the trees, brandishing his sword. He swung it around and clashed with one of the faery's swords. The faery brought the other around and Seth twisted to avoid it. He grabbed the blade and flung it out of the man's arms. He roared angrily and threw his sword down on Seth, who raised his up to block it. Seth pushed back, but I could see him shaking. Right when I thought he was winning, my mouth dropped open. Time seemed to slow as one of the other faery guys ran over to Seth and the one he was locked with. The faery raised one of the hilts of his sword and brought it down on Seth. It collided with his head and Seth dropped his sword. He crumpled to ground and didn't move.
“Seth!” I screamed. He didn't move and one of the faery men reached down to grab him but I screeched, “Leave him alone!” and sent an arrow into the guy's neck.
I heard Jason yell in rage and they started to drop like stones. Emily raised her arms and the ground shook under a faery. Roots twisted upward and wrapped around one of the five faery men that were left. The other four fell dead from my arrows and Jason's knives. I ran out from behind the tree and stormed over to the squirming faery man. Or I should to call them faery jerks now.
I grabbed his coat and forced him to look at me. He smirked and I couldn't hold back the urge to slap him. I slapped my hand across his face so hard it left a mark on his cheek.
“Start talking,” I snarled. “Who are you guys and what are you doing?”
The faery jerk smirked again. “We're part of Kojas' personal guard. We were sent to look for you half-lings.”
“Well I want you to know something,” I said and got closer to his face. “We will win this fight, mark my words. Kojas is going down, way down if you know what I mean.”
“Well,” he said, “if you let me go I'll give him your message.”
“I don't think so,” I whispered. “You can tell him when he joins you.” I rammed my knife into his stomach and pulled it out.
The faery's eyes
rolled upward and he went still. I wiped my knife on my pants and sheathed it. I ran over to Jason, who was crouched over the unconscious Seth. Jason looked up and I saw his face was full of concern.
“Can you help Emily, she's trying to release the trapped dragon,” I whispered to him.
Jason nodded. “Will do Jazell.” He stood up and walked over to Emily.
I sat on the ground next to Seth. His eyes were closed and he looked dead. His blue hair was ruffled up in all directions. I was so sure that he might be dead that I placed a hand on his chest, feeling for a heartbeat. I felt the steady thump under my fingers and I sighed in relief. I removed my hand and looked over at Emily. They had freed the dragon and they both were petting its head. It stretched its wings and they both had to duck to avoid being hit.
“Seth,” I whispered, “this is what I meant when I said things would get bad if we didn't tell them.” I looked back at my two friends, who were laughing. “I mean they are our friends, best buds, you get my drift. I understand that you're scared and worried but so am I. I'm scared that if I'm the only one who knows about this, I won't be enough to help you.”
“Jazell, I understand now. I'm sorry I was such a jerk, I should have listened to you.”
I turned back around to see Seth's eyes watching me. He was clutching his head and groaning. I gave him a hand and he grabbed it. I helped him sit up and handed him his sword. He laid it across his lap and looked at the ground.
“I'm glad that you're okay and that you've finally through your stubbornness,” I said and gave him a small smile.
“I just don't know what to tell them.”
“Well, tell them everything,” I said. “Start in the beginning and don't hold anything back. If you do, I'll tell them the rest.”
“Seth!” Jason said and ran over. “You're awake, man!”
“Yes and I feel like crap,” he said. “I think that if I try to stand up I'll either pass out or throw up.”
“Will you be okay flying?” Emily asked.
“What?” I asked. “Flying? What do you mean 'flying', Emily?”
“Our new dragon friend offered to fly us out of the woods region and towards more of the mountains. I said yes, of course, because I don't want to walk the whole way there,” she explained and walked towards the dragon.
“I guess...” Seth said and stood up. He paled and started to sway. Jason grabbed his shoulder to steady him. “Thanks Jason,” he panted.
“Take it easy, Seth. We can wait a minute if you need to rest,” but Seth shook his head.
“No let's move now. Emily, tell us what to do.”
“Alright, boss,” she said sarcastically. “Everyone come over.”
We walked over to her and the dragon with Seth leaning on Jason. The dragon was lying on the ground, watching us closely. Its long, leathery wings were tucked neatly on each of its sides. It snorted as Emily climbed onto its back. I stared at her, starting to think she was a little crazy.
“Come on!” she said and patted the dragon's back. “Do you think that you're too heavy? Well, you aren't, so get on his back.”
I walked over and climbed onto the dragon's back. Jason half hauled Seth on the dragon's back, and Seth almost fell on me. He grunted a sorry and pushed himself up in sitting position. Jason hopped on last and gave Emily two thumbs up.
“Alright,” she called. “Let’s move!”
The dragon stretched up and I bounced around for a second. It opened its huge wings and launched itself into the air.
If you’re thinking of trying dragon riding as a hobby, I wouldn’t. I fell backwards and landed on Seth who snapped at me to get off. I couldn’t move because we were still going up and if you paid attention in science class, this is usually when you can’t move. It’s called gravity.
The dragon righted itself and I scrambled back into sitting position. We were gliding high up in the eerie sky and the view was actually beautiful. The trees looked like an endless sea of lush green and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. I felt the urge to hold my arms out like they do in those movies so I could feel the wind on my arms. It was already making my hair flap all over the place.
I heard Seth huff out and I turned. He gave me a face and said, “Your hair keeps getting in my face.”
I turned back around. “Deal.”
We turned in the air and I could see the mountains in the distance. They were small but were growing fast as we neared them. I could feel the dragon’s muscles pump underneath my legs. Small gusts of air rolled off the dragon’s wings that blew Emily’s hair in her face. I smiled as she raked the pink strands out of her mouth.
We dipped down and I felt the “stomach-in-your-chest” feeling you usually get from rollercoasters. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore it but I couldn’t. I hated this feeling just as much as I hated puking, and the chills that liked to run up my spine at random times.
Then all of a sudden, the dragon stopped. My eyes opened in horror as I saw the small trickle of blood fall from a hole in the right wing.
Then we started to fall.
Chapter 9