The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 98

A great yawn overtook Ralf as Mirum flew slowly, patrolling the land for any signs of trouble. He was exhausted from the night before. His family had stayed up well into the night celebrating Shade and Elysia's marriage, and Ralf barely got a wink of sleep before he was reminded to take David home. 

He spent the better part of the morning giving David a ride back to his family's farm, only to be invited in for lunch and cider. By the time he returned to the castle, it was his turn for patrol duty. 

Ralf did his best to stay alert while Mirum flew. Fortunately, Mirum's eyes were better than his anyway. He allowed himself to doze briefly, knowing any trouble and Mirum would wake him. With the repetitive beating of his dragon's wings, together with the gentle movement as Mirum flew, Ralf soon was taken into a deep slumber. 

The Prince hadn't expected to nap for so long, and he definitely hadn't expected trouble. Regardless of his expectations, he was roughly woken by Mirum's frantic voice in his head. Such a rude awakening made him jolt upright, his senses immediately searching for the disturbance. 

What he saw before him was something of nightmares. A slender, silver-scaled dragon flew quickly before them, its body darting clear of Mirum's claws. 

It took Ralf a moment to wake up and realize what was happening and where he was. 

Ralf heard the fire before he smelled it. The wind was blowing east, away from their position in the sky. But sure enough, Ralf could hear the sharp crackling and popping of wood and hay burning hotly below. The flames reached high in some places, still consuming its structures, while in more distant areas it was already smoldering. 

An entire village was melting away before them. With horror, Ralf realized whose village it was. He recognized the house and plot of land. Mavis.

"We have to get down there!" Ralf yelled, frantic to make sure Mavis and her family were okay.

But Mirum resisted his urge. "Not until I take care of this dragon."

Taking a look at the chaos below, Ralf worried there might not be any survivors to save. Regardless, he knew he needed to send for Henry. Though the distance was great, Ralf did his best to communicate a cry for help to his parents. He screamed the words over and over in his mind, waiting for the connection to reach. 

Eventually, he felt the familiar tug on the other end of the line. One of his parents had heard him. This time he focused on his location, sending them a mental image of the village. Finally, knowing it needed to be done, he asked them to send Henry as well. 

If Mavis was alive, he would want to be the first to know. And if she wasn't...well, Ralf knew Henry would want to know that as well. 

The dragon that caused this mayhem was currently avoiding Mirum's pursuit. Even still, though it was being chased, it managed to spew a few more streams of fire down onto the helpless structures below. What little was left was now engulfed in red and orange. 

It was terrible to watch. Ralf felt helpless. Everything was moving too fast for him to think. He had magic, he had power. But Mirum was flying so fast, and the other dragon was so quick, that Ralf struggled to react. He wanted to use his powers, to stop the dragon. But what could he do?

"It's too fast for us!" Ralf hollered.

Mirum continued her pursuit. She flew with enraged determination. This attack was personal for her. No matter what Ralf said, she seemed intent on making this dragon pay for its violence. 

What didn't make sense to Ralf was why this village? Why here and why now? Obviously this dragon was from Niebla, though it had no rider. Most of their dragons didn't need riders, since Niebla tracked dragon riders down and held them captive, bending the dragons to their own will. For all he knew, this dragon could have a rider rotting away in some Nieblan prison.