What else was she going to do? Turn Eclipse around and run him right into the jaws of the dragon?
Talea gripped the reins with white knuckles and leaned forward the way she’d seen the Wardens do when galloping. Until Yhkon elbowed her back. She looked back to see what he needed—maybe instruction on how to properly sit in a saddle?—only to be whacked on the head by his bow as he lifted it over his head. That was when she realized what he was doing. Bow. Quiver of arrows. Sitting backwards. He was going to try and take down some of their pursuers. Well, at least she didn’t have to worry that he’d completely lost it.
Which was perhaps a good thing, because those pursuers were catching up. Being in charge of directing Eclipse, she could only catch glimpses over her shoulder, but it was obvious that the knights mounted on celiths were gaining, and so was the dragon. The only reason the beast hadn’t already devoured them, she figured, was because its flight was hindered by the trees. That would only protect them for so long, by the looks of it. And how long before one of their celiths caught its foot in the underbrush, or stepped in a hole and broke its leg?
Talea caught brief glimpses as Yhkon knocked an arrow and drew back the string, and let it fly. The arrow skimmed the armor of the dragon rider. Didn’t penetrate.
“Come on Yhkon, what was that?” Tarol called over the chaotic cacophony. Talea nearly gawked at him. What did he think, that this was a game?
Yhkon was scowling. “Well if you can do so much better, then get back here!”
“Challenge accepted!” Tarol’s celith soon raced beside Eclipse, with Ki at the reins and Tarol backwards behind him. He and Yhkon continued with the archery.
Yhkon was successful in taking down the dragon rider on the second try...except the dragon wasn’t dissuaded even after its master toppled off. Yhkon muttered just loud enough for her to hear. “This is why I hate dragons.”
“Why don’t you just shoot it, then?” she let the wind carry her words back.
“Can’t. Their scales are too thick for arrows.”
Typical.
Next thing she knew, Yhkon was snarling out another inarticulate sentence and slapped Eclipse’s hindquarters for more speed, before turning back around so he faced forward. She whipped her head around to see the dragon descending on them in all its fury, its fangs bared and an orange glow building in its throat. At first, that didn’t make sense. Then, it made all too much sense. Eclipse lunged into full stride. The dragon released a burst of angry flames from its jaws. Instinct made her duck as low as she could to the celith’s neck. Yhkon inclined so far forward that his body shoved her down anyway. Heat enveloped her, but no pain. And then it was gone, though the flapping of the dragon’s wings was not.
Yhkon sat back up, allowing her to do likewise. He had wrapped one of his arms around her and she could feel the tension coming from him like a physical tide. It settled around her like a sinister fog, creeping up her spine and bringing frenzy to her mind. Half of her was grateful for his protective hold. The other half had a wild desire to be free of his grasp. She could only satisfy the first half. He, meanwhile, shouted just behind her ear. “Grrake! Get us out of here!”
“Almost there!” came the wind-tossed reply from ahead of them. It was nearly drowned out by the constant, impending sound of the dragon’s wings moving through the air.
A high-pitched roar came terrifyingly close. Yhkon’s arm tightened around her and he leaned forward again, pushing her lower as well. “Hold on!” he exclaimed, just before the dragon dove.
Something else wrapped around her as Yhkon’s arm had. Only this was harder. It was sharp, lifting her from the saddle. It was the arm-length talons of the dragon. She screamed. Yhkon yelled. Air separated her from Eclipse while the pressure increased, squeezing her breath away and clamping her against Yhkon. A tremor traveled through the gigantic claws that imprisoned her, and the dragon screeched, so close that it left her ears ringing and paralyzed every muscle in her body. Yhkon yelled again and she could feel him moving against her. Then, the dragon dropped them.
Another scream tore from her lungs as they plummeted. Eclipse rushed toward them in a blur, and they collided painfully. Talea’s mind was blank but her limbs scrambled for a hold, somehow realizing that if she fell she’d be trampled. Yhkon’s arm was still around her. He grunted, then shouted as if in pain, before yanking her into the saddle. She found her balance and straddled Eclipse’s sides as tightly as she could. But Yhkon wasn’t in the saddle behind her. He was clinging to her with one arm, to Eclipse’s barrel with the other, precariously clasped to the galloping stallion’s side. Talea grabbed his arms and pulled with all her might. Eventually he was astride the celith rather than dangling. Both of them were panting. Yhkon still clutched her, even more rigidly than before, and now she clutched him right back with trembling hands.
“Grrake!” Yhkon’s voice was unusually strained.
“Almost!”
As if on cue, the forest they raced through suddenly opened up to a city. They galloped straight into it. The celiths’ hooves went from making a dull thunder to clattering sharply on the cobblestone. What about the dragon?! She turned enough to see it. The beast had lagged behind considerably. One of its feet was mutilated and bloody, and she realized Yhkon must have hacked at it with his sword to make it drop them. The creature seemed to be regaining its fervor and speeding up to catch them, while the Kaydorians were trying to stop it. She could hear their muted shouting as they slung ropes and spears at it. Finally, they brought the enraged dragon down.
That was hardly the end of their troubles. She faced forward again to see that they were about to run straight into another group of mounted knights.
Yhkon had taken the reins from her and was tugging on the bit. Eclipse planted his feet, hooves drifting roughly over the street to a halt. “Split up!” He eased the pressure on the reins and instead swerved the stallion left, sending him galloping again. Talea caught glimpses of the other Wardens driving their mounts in every direction, before the Kaydorians flooded the area they’d just been in and obstructed her view.
Under Yhkon’s hand, Eclipse carried them deeper into the city. Almost a dozen knights were still on their tail. Yhkon kept veering off and changing directions so often Talea soon had no idea where they were in relation to where they’d started. Everything looked the same. Cobblestone streets, wooden houses and shops, startled townspeople that scrambled to get out of their way.
On and on they went, yet they couldn’t shake their pursuers. And then, they rounded a corner, and were met by more knights.
Something like nausea clenched Talea’s stomach. Eclipse came to a clattering halt. For a moment, no one moved. Her eyes groped for an escape route, and she had no doubt Yhkon’s did as well, but they were caught on a street snugly lined with buildings. A person could run down the alleyway behind them and slip between the two houses at the end, but there was nowhere for a celith to go except through one of the groups of knights.
The Kaydorians started to advance. Yhkon began pushing her out of the saddle. “Talea, run!”
“What?!” She fought his prodding hands. “No! I can’t—”
He grabbed her waist and shoved her off. She stumbled onto the damp street, palms stinging as they scraped against gravel. The sound of the soldiers’ mounts moving closer got her to her feet and retreating backwards, eyes wide and on Yhkon. “Go!” he ordered. “I’ll catch up to you!” With that, he withdrew his sword from its scabbard, and wheeled Eclipse to face the knights.