Riders of Elysium

Chapter Thirteen

----Third Person----

"There's no easy way to-"

"For goodness sake, I already know I'll never be able to walk again," Rayna said, somehow able to smile despite all of this. That was what Azariah most admired about her.

That and the fact that this girl could survive falling off a cliff and nearly drowning, and still be able to more or less walk afterwards. Until she'd lost all her strength altogether. She claimed it was an adrenaline rush, and that's how she was able to climb half way up a mountain.

Honestly, Azariah believed she was magic.

He sighed, "There's one way to fix that. A familiar."

"You're saying that we need to go back down the mountain to where the assassins all want to kill us to get me a familiar so that I might be able to walk again?"

"Exactly," Azariah said.

Rayna smiled wickedly, "I'm in."

Azariah helped carry her to Ash. Eyre stood there glaring at him, which she was incredibly good at, despite the fact that she couldn't actually see him.

He sensed she was having one of those telepathic conversations with Ash, so he didn't interrupt.

"If there's so much as a loose scale when she get's back, I swear I will hunt you down and kill you," Eyre said.

Ash took off with Azariah and Rayna. Rayna was secured into the saddle harness because unlike Azariah, she didn't have the strength to hold on.

Scarlet and Mr. Artweild rode on Shadow.

Amias was taking that really well, but Azariah guessed that's because he trusted a pair of teachers more than a pair of assassins. Azariah could respect that.

They landed, and Azariah helped Rayna down so she could lean on Ash.

Mr. Artweild nearly shrieked when he saw Rayna's face and shoulder, "What happened-"

Scarlet cut him off, "Don't ask. The girl's an assassin."

"Why are we helping an assassin?" Mr. Artweild dared to ask.

"Because if she can't walk, she can't run away from the others when they come after us," Azariah said, "And if they kill her, I will personally insure that anyone who could've helped her but didn't is dead."

Mr. Artweild then decided to shut up and prepare the familiar spell. He made Rayna mutter a few words. They sat and waited. A fox ran up to her.

"Wow," Rayna said, seemingly talking to it, "Everyone, this is Syala."

"Okay, the nickname foxface is never going away now," Azariah said. Scarlet looked at him, "Back with Kugen, that was her nickname."

Rayna sighed, "The nickname only you ever used. How do familiars work?"

"It's not like a dragon," Scarlet said, "You can talk to all animals of your familiar's species, but you only have a telepathic link with one of them. You can trade energy."

"She said she knows that I need some of her energy to walk, and asked if Ash could carry her back up to Elysium with us while she rests," Rayna said.

Azariah smiled, "Thank you so much."

"She said that if you try to pet her, she will bite your hand off," Rayna said.

The energy transfer began, and Rayna slowly stood up.

Scarlet was on edge, "We need to get back to Elysium. I hear people coming."

They mounted the dragons again, Syala on Rayna's lap. Azariah could imagine the telepathic conversation going on right then.

Probably something like, 'if you drop me, I will kill you.'

Rayna changed into a dark blue vest that had a partial skirt coming out of it. A deeper blue belt around her waist had a couple of daggers slotted into it. A quiver rested on her back along with a bow.

This over the top of black leggings and knee high boots. They were made for riding dragons, but it was the best Elysium had, considering assassins aren't really common visitors.

She also had dark blue arm braces going up to above her elbow, where they were held on by the same deeper blue bands that the belt was made of. There was another band holding it around each wrist. The arm brace itself hooked around her thumb.

Meanwhile, Azariah was just wearing his normal fighting suit, which unlike Rayna's, didn't have a bunch of stab holes in it, as well as blood stains.

"Where do you think you're going?" Velika asked, "You are our prisoners-"

"They are no such thing," Scarlet said.

Velika growled, "They are a threat to the safety of Elysium. They know their way around the school and the mountains. They should be eliminated."

"Touch her and you're dead," Azariah stepped in front of Rayna once again.

"I don't have to," Velika said, "Bobby will do it for me."

Right on cue, a lynx landed on Rayna's back, pinning her to the ground, jaws placed at her neck. Scarlet couldn't do anything. If she or Accalia attacked Velika or Bobby, they'd be exiled or executed.

Azariah raised his bow, "I swear if you hurt her-"

"Stand down and allow us to arrest you," Velika said, "And we'll all be fine."

"If I lower this bow, how do I know you won't just kill her anyway?"

Velika smiled, "You have my word."

"What good is that?"

"If you don't lower that bow, that lynx over there called Bobby kills her." Rayna would've been able to get the lynx off of her if it were a normal sized lynx. But it was huge.

Rayna said, "Put down the bow, Azariah."

"See, the girl has sense," Velika said as Azariah lowered the bow and put his arrow back in the quiver. Velika handcuffed Azariah, and as she walked over to Rayna, Bobby moved so that she could do the same to Rayna.

"No, she just has a plan," Azariah said. Rayna leapt up off the ground and readied herself to attack. At least this time, the lynx didn't have the advantage of surprise. Rayna did.

If an assassin had the element of surprise, they were lethal.

"Scarlet, help!" Velika yelled as Azariah pinned her to the ground.

"I'm not taking a side," Scarlet said, "I'd side with them if it didn't result in my expulsion from Elysium."

Velika growled as Azariah grabbed the key to the handcuffs. Meanwhile, Rayna was fighting a lynx.

"You've got no where to run," Velika said, "From what I hear, the assassins down there want you dead, and you've just made enemies here as well."

Rayna smiled, "I'm more concerned about my siblings who are currently being brainwashed by a psychopath, and I will not hesitate to kill anyone in my way, dragon rider or not, so I suggest you leave us alone."

Velika grunted and walked away, dragging Scarlet with her.

"I swear, people need to stop threatening you," Azariah said.

"I'm alive, am I not?" Rayna said as they started climbing down the mountain. Ash arrived to give them a lift, and left them in the woods.

Azariah smiled slightly, "So what's the plan?"

"If we're going to help Regina and Zoya, we'll need help," Rayna said, "So we're going to have to find the others."