As Phelistoth’s talons wrapped around Tolemek, bullets fired from a dozen directions. Nothing hit him. As he was pulled into the air, Tolemek tightened his grip around the emperor, realizing that this was their chance, assuming Phelistoth had switched back to their side. He couldn’t be positive of that, but he wrapped both arms around his prisoner. The talons gripping him were like vises, tightening to keep him from falling, nearly crushing his ribs in the process.
The dragon’s other foot extended and wrapped around Kaika, pulling her up into the air as well. More rifles fired, but Phelistoth flapped his wings, the bullets bouncing away when they struck his invisible barrier. He took them into the sky, then surprised and terrified Tolemek by flinging him up toward his back. With his arms wrapped around the emperor, he couldn’t reach out to grab anything, not that the smooth scales offered any handholds.
But some magic directed him, levitating him in the air until he could right himself. He landed astride Phelistoth’s back with the emperor flopping onto his stomach in front of him. Blood dripped from the dragon’s sides where long, deep scratches had gouged into him, tearing away scales and exposing bluish pink flesh. There were many wounds, and Phelistoth must have felt as battered as Tolemek, but he flew without a hitch, his powerful wingbeats taking them away from the water. Kaika landed in front of Tolemek, flailing and cursing until she touched down. She dropped to her stomach and spread her arms, fingers doing their best to grip the dragon’s smooth scales.
Maybe Tolemek should have been scared too—they had already risen a hundred feet or more, with the sounds of gunshots growing faint. But he felt the magic holding them in place, and he’d seen Tylie ride Phelistoth enough times to know she was never in danger up here. So long as the dragon wanted them here, they should be fine. He just hoped that was the case and that Phelistoth wasn’t taking them up to one of the imperial airships to sell them to the empire. He craned his neck, trying to see if Cas and the others were harassing the Cofah craft and spotted three fliers breaking away, flying toward the city. Phelistoth had already flown out over the sea, and Tolemek couldn’t tell who was piloting them.
No, I am not taking you to their ships. The empire does not want my help. Bitterness flavored Phelistoth’s telepathic words. They have aligned with Yisharnesh and prefer to work with gold dragons.
Tolemek almost scoffed at the dragon’s problem, but was uneasily reminded of himself. They don’t want me either. Just my knowledge. It rankled that the gold dragon apparently now knew everything he knew about chemistry and science. He hoped she had a poor memory and forgot it all.
I offered the emperor his daughter as an act of good faith, so he would see my value, since I recovered her for him, and he accused me of kidnapping her just so I could bargain with her.
He’s not known for being a reasonable man. Tolemek looked down at their prisoner, but he had fallen unconscious—or he was pretending to be unconscious—and was either ignoring this conversation or wasn’t aware of it.
Kaika had glanced at Tolemek a few times, and he thought Phelistoth might also be sharing his words with her.
As I was attempting to change his mind and inform him that Tylie should be permitted to study in Cofahre and live with her family, as is healthy for young humans, Yisharnesh came and drove me off. She forbade me, a lowly silver dragon, to speak with an emperor who rules over millions. As if any human is better than a dragon!
Tolemek kept his mind still, lest he make a sarcastic comment. The last thing he wanted was to drive Phelistoth and his fickle loyalties back toward land.
The emperor heard all of this, and he said nothing to gainsay it. He stood there with that haughty expression on his face, agreeing and believing that aligning with a gold dragon, one offering to breed and make an army of dragons, meant there would be no room for Tylie and me to have a home in the empire.
That alliance may prove foolish for him, given that Yisharnesh came out of that cavern of criminals. She may have been lying to him about much. Tolemek wondered if an alliance would continue if they succeeded at making the emperor disappear. The idea of an army of gold dragons was alarming.
I told him that! He chose not to believe me. Yisharnesh purred in his ear like a fat, content cat.
I believe King Angulus would not be so arrogant as to object to multiple dragons living in his country. Tolemek almost laughed, realizing he was negotiating on behalf of the country he hadn’t even decided would be his long-term home. Or maybe he had. He smiled when he thought of his lab and of Cas. He wished he had a way to communicate with her now, to tell her that he was on his way home and hoped she was too.
Oh, I know that. Angulus is transparent in what he wishes. But sharing such a small continent with Bhrava Saruth. The dragon made a grumbling noise in Tolemek’s head.
Tolemek snorted. Trust me, I felt the same way about sharing it with Zirkander.
Yes, Phelistoth said slowly. It is odd, but we are similar, I suppose. Outcasts. Never again to fly over the homeland where we grew up. He shared images of that flying, of crossing mountains and plains, lakes and forests. They weren’t quite the same as the Cofahre Tolemek remembered—for one thing, the empire was much more populated now, and there were far fewer wildernesses left—but the terrain was familiar, and a twinge of homesickness stirred in his breast. He pushed it away and thought of Cas again.
The difference between a homeland and a home is that one is a place and one is people. It’s the people that matter.
My people are gone.
You have new people, if you’re willing to accept them. Tolemek thought of Tylie and also of the comrades he had made since entering Iskandia, people who had freed Phelistoth from his prison and from the Cofah scientists. This wasn’t the first time the empire had treated him poorly.
Phelistoth sighed. Do you think Angulus would give me a region to myself, where Bhrava Saruth isn’t allowed to go?
Perhaps you could negotiate that with him. I’m sure he would be more open to dealing than Salatak.
Perhaps.
When the dragon fell silent, Tolemek’s thoughts returned to Cas and how he had come to think of Iskandia as home. He wished he could check on her, to see if she was all right. He had seen three fliers but not all four.
Tylie? he asked in his mind, not expecting a response, since he believed they’d already gone many miles. Are you out there?
Yes, came her cheerful response. I heard you talking to Phel.
She must have been linked to him in a way that enhanced her telepathic range.
Good. Are you all right? Is Cas all right?
I’m flying with Cas now, Tylie added brightly. We are both happy you and Captain Kaika are safe.
Are you heading our way? Tolemek looked toward land again, but they were now too far away to see even the hulking airships. He saw no sign of the fliers.
Not yet. We’re following Wasley and Farris into the city to look for Zia. Colonel Abram isn’t happy about it, but I told him we couldn’t keep up with the dragons anyway. He sent Captain Blazer to accompany you and Captain Kaika. Phel is much faster, so we’ll arrive home later than you.
Home, Tolemek mused. Tylie was calling Iskandia that too.
We’ll come as soon as we can. Colonel Abram is adamant that you keep an eye on the emperor. Did you really get the emperor, Tolie? That’s amazing. Is he angry? Will he punish Mother and Father?
I’m not sure. We’re hoping he won’t be able to punish anyone if we can escape cleanly. Can you tell if there’s pursuit? Is the gold dragon coming?
Not yet, but if she realizes what’s going on, she might come after you. To help the emperor. Tylie stuck out her tongue in her mind.
Where is she now?
I ensured she was busy, Phelistoth announced, sounding smug.
He shared imagery with Tolemek, perhaps with everybody, showing him fleeing the bay with the gold dragon in close pursuit. He flew over the trees along the coast and dipped toward the city, soaring over the rope bridges
and diving and weaving among the treetop structures. He goaded Yisharnesh, laughing at her because she wasn’t any faster than a puny silver dragon. Infuriated, she hurled waves of energy while streaming gouts of flame after Phelistoth. Several times, he was clipped by her power, or her fire hammered against his shields, but the city suffered the most from their air battle. Entire structures were knocked from the treetops. Wood and rope bridges burst into flames. Observers leaped from elevated platforms and bridges and into the river or marsh waters to avoid being struck.
And the city, believing itself in terrible danger, retaliated. Paddle boats with cannons and shamans came out into the wide delta, doing their best to defend against and even sling attacks at the gold dragon. Phelistoth led her close to them, somehow avoiding being shot at himself. Yisharnesh was in little danger of being killed or seriously wounded by the townspeople, even the shamans, but Phelistoth attacked her while the humans distracted and harried her. The shamans fired a launcher, and a magically imbued net flew into the air, spreading wide enough to entangle the gold dragon. Phelistoth took his chance to escape, leaving her to deal with the determined citizens while he took off to check in on the battle. He spotted Tolemek and Kaika in the water and, at Tylie’s urging, swept in to grab them.
So she’s back there now, laying destruction to the city where Cas and Tylie are going? Tolemek scowled.
Nobody answered him. The sea stretched below, the shoreline growing distant behind them. They must have flown out of Tylie’s range. Tolemek turned his scowl back toward land. Even though they had, against all odds, achieved their objective and kidnapped the emperor, he couldn’t help but feel he was running away from people who needed his help.
Chapter 16
Flames leaped from numerous spots in the city as Cas flew above the trees and the delta came into view. Charred boards floated in the river, some with people clinging to them. Other survivors swam for the riverbanks. Buildings that had perched elegantly in the trees were now smashed with only broken platforms remaining. Several of those trees were on fire, and a number of homes on stilts along the banks had been destroyed, the roofs caved in.
Cas let Pimples take the lead as they flew along the river, but she stayed close, hugging his left wing, not sure what to expect. After the air battle over the bay, they had landed briefly so Blazer could fix something that had been rattling in Cas’s flier. Quataldo had then sent the captain off to catch up with Tolemek, Kaika, and Phelistoth with orders to keep an eye on them and report to General Ort if the rest of the squadron was delayed retrieving Zia. Quataldo had almost gone with Blazer, but he’d seemed reluctant to leave lieutenants in charge of finding the Cofah princess and had climbed in with Pimples, his stomach still queasy, perhaps, after experiencing Cas’s dragon-shaking tactics. Cas now had Tylie, and Duck flew off Pimples’ other wing, his back seat empty. He was also sticking close, since he did not have a communication crystal.
Tylie leaned over the side of the flier, peering down at the city, smoke wafting up from all directions. She had alerted them as they approached the city that the gold dragon was attacking Tildar Dem, fooled into doing so by Phelistoth. Cas was relieved that Tolemek and Kaika had gotten away, but she worried they might have condemned the princess to a horrible fate by leaving her behind. Had Zia reached the city yet? Maybe she was still out on that raft and hadn’t been caught up in this.
As they flew closer, the gold dragon came into view, and Cas gawked. She was tangled in a net and thrashing in the river. Several boats were out in the water around her, firing cannons and harpoons. On two of those boats, men in strange clothing made from alligator hides stood in the bows, their hands outstretched. Shamans? Neither magical nor mundane attacks seemed to be harming the dragon, but for some reason, she couldn’t escape that net. Why couldn’t she simply incinerate it with her flames?
It’s magical, Tylie spoke into her mind as Cas flew over the scene, looking for sign of Zia. And very old, I think. It feels so strong, so much more magical than my brother’s potions and other items I’ve seen. Almost like Kasandral. Or Jaxi!
The net doesn’t talk, does it?
Tylie giggled. I don’t think so. But it may be an artifact from ancient times, something made when dragon wars were common and sorcerers were very powerful and could create powerful things. Phel’s told me much about those times. He misses them so much!
Cas did not care about Phelistoth’s homesickness. She wanted to find Pimples’ new girlfriend and get out of here.
“I don’t see Zia anywhere,” Pimples said over the crystal. “Can Tylie tell where she is?”
She’s coming, Tylie announced.
“Coming? Coming from where?” Cas and the others had flown past the city, so she turned back toward it. She watched the ground, both to look for Zia and because she worried that those riverboat shamans might think the fliers were hostile and open fire. So far, the people down there had been too busy with the dragon to notice them, but that might not last.
Down the river, Tylie said.
Cas flew out over the waterway, then cursed when she spotted Zia. She was still on the raft. Of course—where else would she be since she couldn’t leave that log? She must have been caught up in the current, or maybe she hadn’t been able to steer toward a landing place with so many bridges and platforms being destroyed.
“She’s heading straight toward the dragon and the boats,” Pimples shouted.
Yes, she was. And Cas had no idea how to do anything about it. She had rope in her storage compartment and might be able to dangle the end down so Zia could grab it, but how could that help if she couldn’t be pulled from that log? There was no way their aircraft could lift a heavy raft out of the water and fly it off somewhere.
Her breath caught. They shouldn’t have to.
“Pimples,” she said, “get your rope out. I’m doing the same thing. If she can grab the end or hook it to the raft, maybe we can pull her up the river or over to the bank.”
Cas eyed the trees on either side, wondering if they could possibly do what she imagined. The only place there was clear enough air for them to fly low was right above the water, and even then, branches stretched out, branches that could catch their wings and impede them—or cause them to crash.
“That could kill her,” Pimples said. “At our speed, we’d tear the raft to pieces as we dragged it upriver, and her with it. I mean, we could switch to thrusters, but then we’d quickly lose our forward momentum.”
Even though she was listening to him, Cas had dug out her rope. She tied it off using the base of her seat and flung the end over the side. “I’m going to try. I’ll switch to thrusters as I come in. All I need is enough momentum to drag her to the shore. Tylie, can you tell her my intent?”
“Raptor,” Pimples said, “it’s too dangerous.”
“So is crashing into a furious dragon.”
The dragon punctuated her last words by spewing flames from her snout, bathing the closest riverboat. The net held, but the people on the deck flung themselves into the water, all save for a shaman that stayed, his hands raised and his head bowed. At first, the flames beat against an invisible concave shield around him, but as Cas circled over the river, finding an angle where she could dive toward Zia, the shaman’s shield faltered and disappeared. He tried to leap off the deck, as the others had done, but the dragon’s fire engulfed him. A charred, unmoving body hit the water.
Cas swore, hardly noticing when Tylie tapped her shoulder.
“Do it, Raptor,” Pimples said. “Better to have the raft ripped apart than to die like that.”
That raft was in the middle of the river heading inexorably downstream, straight toward the trapped dragon. Zia kept trying to find ground to push off with her pole, but the water was too deep. She had no way to steer.
Free me, a voice commanded.
It was so jarring and so full of power that Cas found herself turning toward the source—the dragon—before she caught herself. Images of flying down and so
mehow cutting through the net crashed into her mind. She recognized the mental compulsion for what it was but still struggled to push it aside. Down in the water, people swam toward the dragon. Cas had no idea if they would be able to help, or if the creature would even let them. What if she was so furious that the dragon simply burned them alive?
“Raptor?” Pimples said. “I’m going to come in behind you. Zia’s raft is almost to the dragon. I’m lowering my rope too. Can Tylie tell Zia to grab it and tie it to a log? We’ll only get one shot, and she’s going to have to tie quickly. Otherwise, we’ll be past her, ripping the rope from her hands before... damn it, this is never going to work.”
Cas forced her attention back to the waterway and the raft. “We’ll try. Tylie?”
I told her. She believes your plan is crazy and thinks what she’s heard about Iskandians is true.
Cas decided not to ask what that might be. There wasn’t time. She flew over the dragon, watching to make sure she didn’t raise her head and breathe fire through the net at her, then dipped as low as she could, making the rope dangle into the water. Cas lined up her approach so that it would trail across the raft.
Zia tossed aside her useless pole, then braced herself and reached out toward the rope.
Cas cut the power to the propeller and let her hand hover over the switch that activated the thrusters. Even though she was still twenty or thirty feet above Zia, she worried their heat would reach her. It might not be as deadly as the dragon fire, but it wouldn’t feel good.
Zia reached for the rope, but as Cas had feared, even with her propeller off, her momentum took her past too quickly. Zia barely got her hands around it before it was torn from her grip.
“I was afraid of that,” Pimples groaned, the same thing happening on his run. “I knew this wouldn’t work. Damn it.”
Cas activated her thrusters and looked for a spot to land amid the trees and branches. Going back for another try would be useless, but maybe they could come down somewhere ahead of the raft, leave their fliers, and run along the bank and throw a rope out to Zia.