CHAPTER XXIV
The Sun had set and they tried to sleep. Dylan would have told them all about the stone wife, but the meeting with the Princess had given him other things to think about and he was grateful for a blanket and sleep.
It was full dark when he awoke to the stirring of the horses and a beating sound in the air.
“They arrive,” Mattaeus said standing.
There was only a crescent moon to light them as they pushed to the far side of the copse and there glittering slightly in the moonlight were three dragons.
“Nagendra,” the Shadow Ranger said.
“And you know Delinda from the Isle d’Muerte,” Nagendra said in their heads.
“We are well met,” Mattaeus agreed.
“But you do not know Falaeus. Only he would join us at this time.”
“It is enough,” Mattaeus replied.
“Soldiers approach,” Nagendra said.
“They are with us.”
“Thunderground?” d’Gaz asked.
“He can’t resist a good battle,” the Shadow Ranger smiled at them.
“We thank you for your help, Falaeus,” Bell said.
“I was bored of hiding away,” the dragon, who was white and green striped, said.
“So we wait for the Stormclouds and then attack?” Connor asked holding Dylan’s hand.
“No,” the Shadow Ranger replied. “The darkness would hinder as much as help us, we will have to attack in daylight.”
“That does not sound like an enjoyable venture,” Lucas said.
“They’ll pick us off from afar,” d’Gaz commented.
“You still have the bow of Galvyn?” Nagendra asked Bell.
“I do.”
“Then you can pick them off first.”
“Impossible,” Bell protested. “Even from the top of a tree I would be well out of range.”
“Not for Galvyn’s bow,” the dragon said and smiled a dragon’s smile.
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The dawn was breaking and the sun through the trees awoke Dylan. Around him people were getting up and eating cold meat. The copse was now full of Stormclouds and Dylan could see Thunderground talking with the Shadow Ranger.
“Come with me,” Lucas told him. “We have to make haste, these trees can’t hide three dragons. Three dragons!” he shook his head.
The Sun rose above the trees and lit the foreboding front of the prison. It was huge and had high walls of stone built out from the mountainside. The walls were dotted with guard towers. They were completely flat and smooth on the outside and Dylan guessed on the inside too.
Lucas, Connor and Dylan climbed onto the back of the dragon, Delinda. She was covered in scales that they could grab hold of, but despite this she felt quite smooth. Delinda spoke to them, telling them to move around until they were sitting in a spot she felt was the safest or them.
Mattaeus and d’Gaz took to Nagendra and the Twin Magicians rode upon Falaeus. The Stormclouds stood in the trees, ready to run at the large, wooden prison gates and Bell stood at the very edge of the clearing.
“Remember,” Nagendra said, “think of your target, envision it and Galvyn’s bow will do the rest. Even if you can’t see someone, the bow can find them.”
Bell merely nodded.
“Let us be to it,” the Shadow Ranger said.
Bell took an arrow and notched it. He sighted on a guard who was standing in one of the towers and pulled back. He breathed slowly three times and then let the arrow fly. It flew up into the air and whistled along. It went much further than an arrow should have and struck the guard in the chest.
Bell was then moving with speed, sighting guards and firing upon them, keeping the Chinerthian in his mind as he did so.
With the first shot the three dragons took to the air. Dylan felt the ground disappear under him and he left his stomach down there too. He gripped the dragon’s scales and stared at its back. The whole of the dragon’s body seemed to shake as it flapped its massive wings. And then Nagendra was flying past and Delinda sped up, aiming for the prison.
At first the guards were too stunned by the sight of the dragons to do anything, but then they were notching arrows into their bows. One let an arrow fly before Bell could take him down, another two didn’t get the chance. Someone started to ring an alarm bell before Bell shot him. It was enough though and the guards were scrambling to their stations.
The dragons were fast though and already they were over the prison walls and circling. Nagendra breathed fire across a guard tower and guards fell out screaming. As Falaeus flew over the gate he shot a fire bolt at it while the Twin Magicians shot magic bolts at the same time. The gate buckled, but did not yield.
Now Nagendra swooped into the compound and the Shadow Ranger and d’Gaz jumped from his back onto the walls. Immediately they were greeted by guards and they clashed swords back to back.
Nagendra lashed out at the gates with his taloned foot and it cracked outwards.
More guards were rushing out of the mountainside and Delinda covered them in fire before swooping up.
Falaeus swooped down to let the Twin Magicians hit the door once again with their magic and this time the doors split open. Falaeus sheathed the remains with fire and it burned.
From the copse Thunderground shouted the charge and the Stormclouds ran towards the now open prison.
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Delinda was already flying up to where the True King was being held and they could see rooms were built up along the mountainside, maybe carved from it. They flew to one with a small window.
“How do we get in there?” Lucas shouted.
“I can rip away the rock,” Delinda said.
“We might hurt the King,” Connor warned.
“I can fit through the window and warn him,” Dylan told them.
“Absolutely not,” Lucas commanded.
“We have to get him before they move him,” Connor said.
“Just be fast,” Dylan said squeezing Lucas’ shoulder and then he was up and running along Delinda’s tail which was held out to the window. He jumped and dived through the window, which was little more than a hole in the rock.
“What is this?” shouted one of the two guards in the room. The True King took no time to be amazed, but rather grabbed the shocked guard’s sword and hit him. The other guard drew his sword and the True King began fighting him.
Suddenly the wall started shaking.
“Get away from the wall,” Dylan shouted and the True King moved back whilst still fighting.
Outside the Twin Magicians blasted the rock with their magic opening up cracks which Delinda could get her talons into and tear a huge chunk away.
Some of the wall was pulled free and the guard stopped fighting to stare at the dragon outside. The True King slayed him before turning to Dylan.
“What is this?”
“Rescue party,” Dylan grinned.
Lucas ran unsteadily along the tail of the dragon, this was not fun for him, until he could jump through the hole. He ran to Dylan to check he was OK, bowed quickly to the True King and then ran to the door to guard it.
“Come on,” his Dad shouted to them as Falaeus swooped away to protect them.
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Thunderground and his men and women had pushed through the courtyard and into the prison entrance in the side of the mountain. There were more guards inside and they had the upper hand as they could hide and shoot arrows at anyone trying to enter.
“We need to get the people out,” the Shadow Ranger said as he ran up to Thunderground.
“I’m aware of that, Ranger, not as easy as it looks.”
“The dragonstone” d’Gaz shouted as he locked swords with a Chinerthian guard.
“What?”
“The Dragonstone, got to be plenty of skeletons in there.”
“Of course,” Mattaeus said and reached into his bag for Delinda’s Dragonstone.
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The True King had managed to climb across Delinda’s tail
and sat behind Connor.
“A pleasure to meet you, your Majesty.”
“Has the world changed so much in my captivity?”
“It’s changing now.”
Dylan climbed back onto the dragon, followed slowly by Lucas.
“Let’s go,” he shouted and Delinda flew high and then away from the prison to the Copse of Free Men.
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Inside the caves the bones of those who had collapsed and been left to rot were once again active and attacking the Chinerthians as if in revenge for their cruel treatment. Terrified guards fought their way out of the mountain entrance, rushing out away from the skeletons and into the blades of the Stormcloaks.
d’Gaz and Thunderground protected Mattaeus as he held the dragonstone, eyes closed, picturing Chinerthian guards in his head. He could feel the skeletons inside the prison; he felt light as if floating, as if he were many places at once.
The Chinerthians did not know what the Shadow Ranger was doing, but it made him look like the leader and captains shouted for him to be killed. Men piled at them and d’Gaz and Thunderground found themselves fighting two or three men at a time. Bell was still sighting men on the walls and firing arrows at them, stopping a lot, but not all from firing their own arrows at those inside.
“Get in there,” commanded Thunderground clashing with another guard, and Stormcloaks rushed in to set the captives free.
Though the Shadow Ranger was sure that the skeletons would only attack those he wanted them to, he wasn’t that sure and he opened his eyes and dropped the Dragonstone back into his bag.
Inside the prison the Stormclouds fought the leftover guards and tied up those who had given up at the sight of the skeletons. They shouted at the prisoners to escape out and where they found cells they smashed the locks and all around them lay the bones of the skeletons along with Chinerthian bodies.
Outside the battle was slowly ending as the attacking force now overwhelmed the Chinerthian guards and corralled them together to be bound. The Shadow Ranger and d’Gaz went back out the prison gates where Nagendra landed and flew them the short distance to the copse. Thunderground and his Stormclouds stayed behind to round up any remaining guards while prisoners flocked out of the gates and then stopped, not sure what to do with their sudden freedom.