War of Dragons (63 page)

I'm not leaving till I find out what happened to John,
Daisy insisted.

Suddenly, hurtling out of nowhere appeared a lone Golden Dragon, approaching them as quickly as possible.
Flee! Flee for your lives! What are you still doing here? Why aren't you following your army?

John!
Daisy squealed in delight, flying up to greet him.
John, you're alive!

Daisy? What are you doing here?
John sounded utterly shocked.
Just leave! All of you, now! Can't you see those things behind me? It's all over now for the Blues. If we don't leave now, it'll be all over for us as well. GO!

Chapter 33 - Aftermath

"Are you sure we're safe here?" Lord Oscar asked, glancing about nervously. They stood on top of a hill, where they had transformed to watch the outcome of the battle between the Blue Army and the two True Dragons. The Red Dragon Army had turned back and were now safely out of sight, but Jude, Mark, Prince Gerald and Lord Oscar had flown onto a vantage point to determine the outcome of the fight.

"Leave if you wish," Prince Gerald replied icily, watching the carnage unfolding before their eyes. "Although I thought you told Prince Henry that you'd make sure we knew how much of the Blue Dragon Army remained alive."

"It's a little late to leave," Mark pointed out. "As men, we're harder to spot and of little interest to these creatures. Transform and you're suddenly very interesting."

Oscar fretted, looking about for anywhere they could hide, but Mark kept his eyes fixed on the fight ahead of them. It didn't look good for the Blues at the moment, who were still being slaughtered in their thousands. The air was filled with the nearly continuous piercing shrieks of the Blue Dragons, only interrupted by the occasional deafening roar of one of the two True Dragons. Any attempts to fight them had been abandoned and the Blues were merely trying to flee. Mark was mightily relieved that the Reds had turned around when they did, doubting that many would have survived had one of the two creatures attacked them instead of the Blues.

"They're so fast," Gerald muttered in wonder. "How are they able to fly like that?"

Mark shook his head, not knowing the answer to the question himself. He was amazed that the Red Dragons were completely unaware of these creatures that lived so close to their border. Of course, he also knew very little about them. He now understood how they had been surprised by one on their way back to Furnace, not realising that there was more than one of them. It could have turned out a lot worse for them if they had met all three.

The clouds ahead of them lit up for a few seconds as one of the True Dragons filled the sky with fire, triggering another round of blood curdling shrieks from the dying Blues.

"When will they stop?" Gerald asked in wonder. "They've killed so many already. Why are they even fighting the Blues?"

Mark shrugged. "I suspect it has something to do with the one which is injured. The Blues must have brought it down, although I have no idea how they could have managed it. They're so large and potentially destructive yet we know almost nothing about them. Who knows what they're going to do?"

"Isn't that even more reason to have a plan for retreat?" Oscar asked. "If one of them decided to come this way, what would we do?"

"Just watch what's happening," Gerald replied, half ignoring him. "When your beloved leader asks you what happened, don't you want to know how to answer? Or do you want to tell him that you fled with your tail between your legs?"

Oscar puffed himself up angrily. "I know exactly how to answer any questions that Prince Henry may have, thank you. That we saw the Blues defeated and then left the battlefield once it became too dangerous to remain."

"But how many were killed and more importantly, how many are left? That's what everyone will want to know."

"Less and less by the minute," Mark observed. "Those things are relentless. At least the Blues have finally realised that they need to scatter. Why they insisted on remaining in battle formation for so long is beyond me. It made it easy for those things to catch them and it wasn't as if they could damage them."

"Not much point in trying to fight them," Gerald agreed. "Good thing they never fly far from their home. They could destroy any of our cities if they chose to. I don't think we could do much to stop them."

"Mark, aren't those Blues headed in our direction?" Oscar pointed out nervously. "I think that one of the True Dragons is following them. Wouldn't this be a good moment to take to the skies?"

"No, unless you want to be eaten," Mark replied. "But it would be a good time to hide. Jude, is that tunnel finished?"

A moment later, Jude emerged from a hole halfway up the hill, his face covered in dirt. "It should be deep enough. I'd suggest making use of it now."

"Look over there," Gerald said excitedly, ignoring Mark and Jude's discussion. "There are loads of downed Blue Dragons! They're all walking to the east. Look how many there are!"

Among the burnt and ruined corpses strewn all over the ground they saw hundreds of Blue Dragons walking slowly away from them, all headed in the same direction. Some were barely able to walk, having sustained serious injuries, but others had no visible injuries whatsoever.

"Damaged wings probably," Mark suggested. "A lot of them were flying low, so they could have been injured but survived the fall."

"A lot more that didn't," Gerald replied. "This place is littered with bodies."

"And unless we want to be counted among them we should move now!" Oscar cried shrilly. "We have been tasked with reporting back on the outcome of this battle to the King himself, but I don't see how we can do that if we're all dead!"

Gerald groaned. "Go and hide if you want to. Go on, scurry along."

Oscar went purple with rage and looked as if he was going to shout back at Gerald, but caught sight of the approaching Blues and thought better of it. He hurried down the hill to where Jude was waiting.

"Come on, Gerald," Mark urged. "Let's go before they notice us."

The two young men jogged down the hill after Lord Oscar and followed the others into the freshly dug hole. Jude hadn't had time to dispose of the earth and rocks that he had excavated and Mark wondered if the large piles of material around the hole might give away their location. There was no time to do anything about it now; if he delayed any longer then he risked being seen. He crawled after Gerald, finding that the damp soil near the entrance soon gave way to solid rock, through which Jude had dug a long narrow tunnel, just wide enough to crawl through on all fours. The tunnel was not very long, terminating in a wider chamber, where the others were waiting. Jude had transformed back into a Worm Dragon and was waiting with a large rock that he pushed behind him after he entered the chamber, blotting out the light. The chamber lit up for a minute while he blew hot flames at the edges of the rock, sealing the tunnel.

"Hey!" Oscar cried when he realised what Jude had done. "You'll suffocate us! How will any air get into here, you fool?"

"It's not a perfect fit, Lord Oscar," Mark replied calmly as Jude transformed in the darkness. "He has only sealed it in a few spots, so air can still get in. But Blues cannot. If anyone saw us enter this tunnel, they could easily follow us down here and I hate to have to point it out, but we have no weapons and this tunnel is too small for you two to transform."

"So we're trapped!" Oscar cried in alarm. "I told you we should have flown away! You've brought us to our doom!"

"Oh be quiet!" Gerald snapped. "Will you ever stop your whining? You'd have died if you had flown away. How long should we stay in here?"

"We can hear them," Jude replied. "When it quietens down, I'll go out and check that it's clear."

"Would you be safe like that?" Oscar asked. "You could hardly defend yourself. You might just draw attention to where we are."

"There isn't a dragon that could defend themselves against those things—well, not one that we can transform into," Mark replied.

"I thought you could change into any dragon," Oscar commented. "Have we been misled?"

"Not by us," Mark replied. "There are many forms that we can take, but not all. We used to think we could till we discovered these dragons, although many of us refuse to think of them as dragons, as they can't transform. They stay like this all the time."

"Even at night?" Oscar asked in horror. "Then we can never be safe from them!"

"We're probably safer at night," Jude replied. "They seem less interested in attacking us while we're men."

"Any other dragons? That you can't change into, I mean," Gerald added.

"At least one we know of," Mark replied, "and probably many more. The Magpie Dragons. They don't have any fire, but use venom instead."

"Like a snake?" Oscar asked. "How vile!"

"Tell us about these Magpie Dragons," Gerald said. "Where do they live?"

"They currently live in an area to the south-west of our home," Mark replied, "but it isn't where they are from. They washed up on the shores far to the south of where the Rhino Dragons live a number of years ago. Their original home is far, far away, across the seas and further than you could travel in a day, so they built boats and sailed. They didn't know where they were going, but they were fleeing a war and were willing to risk it. We helped them settle in their new home, but we don't know much about them."

"Sounds a little far-fetched to me," Oscar announced. "They could just as easily be the aggressors, here to plan their next invasion."

Mark shrugged. "Unlikely. They've been here for many years already. Anyway, I think they're the last thing we need to worry about for the moment. Once it's safe to go outside I suggest we head back. I think we've seen enough."

"Sounds like a good idea," Gerald replied. "The True Dragons have destroyed enough of the Blues that we don't have to worry about them regrouping here."

"For the moment, the True Dragons are more of a threat," Jude added. "I will stay on my own to keep track of them. I'll be flying far higher than any of the Blues though, so they won't notice me."

"Good," Mark replied. "Sounds like it's quietened down outside. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch up with the army."

***

Some way to the north, the massive Red Dragon Army was fleeing home. Crystal and her friends had were flying near the front, having managed to slowly overtake the lumbering army. John, who had been flying high above the Reds, descended to join them.

Are they following us?
Crystal asked as John positioned himself between her and Daisy.
Can you see what is happening?

I can't see anything any more.
No other dragons are in sight. I think we're probably safe now, but we should continue for as long as we can. Wami is convinced that the True Dragons will return home as soon as they calm down, but I want us to be far away from them just in case.

Where is your Brown Dragon friend?
Arthur asked.
I can't see him.

Up above us, with some of the other Golden Dragons,
John replied.
He's a bit nervous of flying so close to so many Reds. If it wasn't for the Blue Dragon Army behind us, he'd be flying home.

He'd be safe,
the prince replied.
You two just saved the entire Red Dragon Army. He'll be welcomed as a hero when we get back to Furnace. As will you.

You were amazing,
Daisy added.
I couldn't believe it when I saw what you were doing.

We won't get back to Furnace today,
John replied, ignoring the praise.
It's late and it's too far to go. Noah thinks we'll get to somewhere north of Obud.

What happened with the prisoners?
Arthur asked.
Did you manage to rescue many?

Thousands,
John replied.
And plenty of Red Dragon girls as well, but that's a long story. I'll tell you all about it when we land.

Come on,
Jenna said.
I'm guessing John would like to fly just with Daisy for a while. And I could be mistaken, but I actually think that John is struggling to keep up with us for once. Let's leave them behind.

Crystal was surprised at how considerate Jenna was being.
Sounds like a good idea. We'll see you when we land.

John and Daisy allowed themselves to fall behind the others and Crystal flew hard, trying to keep up with Jenna, Seth and Arthur. Now, more than ever, she wished she could transform into a Golden Dragon and leave them behind, rather than always being the slowest in the group.

Just before sunset, they reached a small town to the north of Obud. The main body of the army had stopped earlier and stayed in the camp that had left in the morning and just a few thousand Red Dragons continued on to this town. Crystal found John after she landed and transformed.

"John, you look exhausted!" she said after embracing him. "I am so glad to see you again."

He looked a little surprised by the warm welcome. "You saw me just an hour ago."

"You know what I mean. Are you alright? You look terrible." John looked like he had aged a few years since she last saw him.

"Thanks! I'm just tired. I've never flown as hard as I did today."

"Are you sure?" Crystal asked, noticing that he winced. "Is your chest still hurting?"

John shrugged awkwardly. "Sometimes. It comes and goes."

Crystal wasn't convinced. "Did your doctor tell you anything about how long it will take to get better?"

John nodded, avoiding looking her in the eye.

"Well, how long will it take?" Crystal asked. She still had hold of him and wouldn't let him turn away.

John shrugged again, still not answering.

Crystal wasn't to be put off. "It will get better though, won't it? I mean, it's not serious, is it?"

John looked away, struggling to answer. His delay told Crystal everything she needed to know.