Dragon Tamer

Chapter 23

I'd cursed the slippery volcanic sand on the way up the slope, but I thanked my lucky stars for it on the way down. It made gliding down to the base easier than surfing down an icy mountain in the heart of winter.

After seeing how I skidded down the volcano, some of the dragon scavengers followed suit, leaning back as their hands behind them stirred them towards me. What they didn't anticipate was for me to chuck a piece of Dragon Vain at them when they got too close. The explosions shook the mountainside, making some of them lose their footing and tumble down. The men cried out, on fire or limbs torn away from their bodies. At least ten were already out of commission. As much as that should excite me, it also pissed them off and made them all the more eager to catch me.

A whip struck out and caught my wrist; it jerked my arm back and stopped me in my tracks. Screaming, I ripped my sword out and cut the line before they got too close. I threw another piece of stone at them then ran the rest of the way to the base. Before I knew it, I was running through the jungle, jumping over ferns and fallen logs. Their shouts were muffled by the broad green leaves between me and them, but I knew they hadn't stopped their chase. I'd taken away their prize--they wouldn't let me get away with it.

I stumbled onto a gravel trail and slipped on the unexpected material on the ground. Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I saw a pair of horses and the ballista cart sitting at the end of the trail, waiting to be ridden.

This must be how they got around so quickly. A trail was nothing for horses, they could run along this path all night if their masters wanted them to. I could get away from these men faster.

I'd never ridden a horse before, but assuming it was like riding a dragon, I freed their reins and swung up into the saddle, kicking it into a gallop. I nearly fell off, the ride was so bumpy. Snapping my senses back into gear, I dug my heels in and clutched the horn of the saddle.

"She stole a horse!" one of the scavengers called, leaping out of the jungle onto the trail. He thrust a finger in my direction, as if that was going to help any of them in catching me.

Soon more horses jumped into view and galloped after me. One of the men brandished a bow and arrow. Panicked, I kicked the horse to go faster. It wasn't quite like riding a dragon; it wasn't very fast and there were no air currents for us to ride along to go faster. It was insanely infuriating when trying to escape a band of dragon scavengers.

An arrow whistled passed my head. Yelping, I ducked against the horse, grabbing hold of its mane. More arrows soared through the air, narrowly missing me. Luckily the horse appeared to be used to being in battle and paid the arrows no mind. Not until one embedded itself into its hindquarters.

The horse reared up and threw me off. The impact raked my back in pain and a flash of white was all I could see for far too long of a time.

Coughing on all the dust filling my lungs, I rolled to my feet--and was met with a sword swinging my way. I ducked and swept a leg underneath him. While he was down, I sliced my blade across his throat, having no time to think about the blood staining my pants.

Another scavenger came my way with a club. I dodged him and rammed my shoulder into his chest. He staggered back but quickly fixed his stance and caught my hair. He yanked down hard; I fell to my knees, screaming. My eyes came level with his crotch--I rammed the hilt of my sword into it, kicked him back then cut his hand off. He cried out, wailing his stump around.

The others were swiftly approaching, but seemed to hesitate when they saw what I'd done to their comrades. I took that moment to dive into the forest. They couldn't shoot me with arrows with all the broad leaves and trees in the way.

My legs burned with every leap and bound over the flora in my way.  My lungs screamed for me to stop and take a moment to breathe properly. Unfortunately for my body, it didn't quite understand how much trouble I'd be in if I slowed down for even a minute. The scavengers were hot on my tail, more pissed off than a ravenous dragon.