Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 41

Paku and Ziva burn more ships with their fire and electrical abilities, until they notice the flag ship, a huge frigate that begins to blast cannonballs at the two dragons. They jump aside quickly, avoiding the hail of metal balls and return fire, destroying the large vessel and killing dozens of the enemy within. With an explosion of smoke, flames, and debris, the once mighty ship sinks into the sea.

"Come on, we have to get back to the town!" Paku tells Ziva, before he can feel chains wrap around his legs, dragging him down to one of the ships. The buccaneer captain snarls, the same one that had captured Naria, as he now pulls Paku to the deck of the ship.

"You little whelp, I've been waiting for this a long time!" the captain growls, as he slashes Paku with his cutlass. The young black dragon grunts in pain, diving to the side, the chains restricting him. Ziva flies down, trying to help only to be met by a trio of buccaneers who attack her.

"You will not hurt him!" Ziva says defiantly, as she fires a beam of lightning straight at the three pirates. One of them falls, stunned by the force of the spell. The other two advance on Ziva, attacking her with their cutlasses. Paku squirms in the chains, swiping at the buccaneer captain who steps back.

"Pathetic. You're weak like your friend." the buccaneer taunts as he stabs his cutlass toward Paku, slicing open the young dragon's skin. Blood splatters across the deck, as the black dragon cries out in agony. He feels himself slipping away, as Ziva continues firing bolts of energy at the enemy.

The two other pirates are zapped by Ziva, who immediately rushes the buccaneer captain. "You won't hurt him no more you monster!"

She dives at the man, slamming him hard into the railing of the ship. The buccaneer grunts as he rips the chains off of the injured Paku, prepared to use them on Ziva. "Your mate is weak, and you'll die together."

He swings at Ziva with his sword, but Ziva dodges the blow easily. She leaps forward, landing on top of the pirate and straddling him. Her claws dig deep into the flesh of the man's chest, as blood drips from wounds. The man growls as he throws Ziva off him, wrapping the chains around Ziva's body and beginning to tighten them.

"...no..." Ziva gasps quietly as she tries to break free of the ropes. "I'm sorry... Paku?"

Suddenly, there's a flash of light, causing Ziva to fall backward. The buccaneer turns, to see Paku standing up. "You should've stayed down."

Paku gives an enraged look at the captain. No one hurt Ziva and got away with it. His eyes glow red with rage. The chain holding Ziva tight loosens slightly under the power of Paku's magic. But still too much for Ziva to escape. As the man prepares another strike at her, the ground shakes violently beneath them all, as Paku shoots a massive fireball at the buccaneer captain. In an instant, it strikes the captain, and he is immediately turned into a pile of ash.

The force knocks Paku back a bit, and causes Ziva to fall off the side of the boat into the water below. She sinks below the water, the chains causing her to fall further under.

Paku rushes off the deck, ignoring any pain as he dives into the water, looking for Ziva. He swims fast, searching through the depths of the river, trying to find her. Ziva struggles against her chains as she continues to sink, her lungs burning. She coughs loudly, feeling herself losing consciousness. Suddenly, something grabs hold of Paku's leg, pulling him down. It's Ziva!

"No!" Paku yells underwater, as he fights harder to save her. He grabs Ziva, swimming up, as his lungs burn for air, nearly drowning. A second later they burst above the surface of the water. Both dragons gasp heavily, as Paku helps Ziva onto shore. They both lie down on the grassy bank, panting as their bodies recover.

"That was too close..." Paku pants, as he helps Ziva remove the chains. "Thank you...for saving me."

Ziva smiles softly, giving Paku a hug. "It wasn't just my own life I risked."

They sit next to each other, as they look back to the main battlefield. The storm had arrived now, as rain began to pour down over the land. Thunder boomed loud enough that it shook the earth itself. Lightning flashed brightly, lighting up the sky.

"This isn't good," Ziva whispers nervously, as she looks up at the dark clouds gathering overhead. "We have to get back to the main fight. They're losing ground."

With that, Paku and Ziva take flight from the river banks, flying back towards the battle raging on outside of Peatsville. The defenders had suffered casualties, as the advancing army of orcs, goblins, and evil men began to attack the city gates. Their forces were being pushed farther and farther back by the time Ziva arrives, helping defend the gate with the rest of the soldiers.

A group of archers stand behind the wall, shooting arrows at the enemy horde. Bithor and the dragons land behind the walls, and any survivors now remain behind the gate as the enemy begins to batter it.

"Hold the gate! Hold it!" Winddred shouts.

"We're not going to be able to hold this town. We're going to need to cut the head off the snake." Bithor tells Paku and Ziva. "We are going to have to fight Cithior."