The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 24: Mathias

"Dragon!" a soldier shouted into the otherwise eerily calm night. The shout shook the crew out of its anxious idleness, turning the deck of the Fury of the Dawn into a cacophony of frantic activity.

"Portside! Eight degrees above the rails! Coming straight for us!" the same soldier added, and every eye aboard turned to where the soldier pointed.

A brilliant spark hung in the horizon, fixed in the sky like a star. After staring at it for a long, heart-wrenching moment, Mathias could almost believe he could see the waving of wings emanating from that distant speck of fire.

"I was wondering what that noise was," Tabitha mused, ahead of him, as she held the wheel lazily in her hands.

Mathias glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "My hearing is better than yours, and I haven't heard anything unusual."

"I can hear its fires," Tabitha said as if that were an explanation. The crafter frowned and stared out at the distant speck. "Well, feel it. Every Crafter in Central probably can, right now. Abyss below, that is intimidating."

"What?" Mathias asked.

"That Dragon wills the flame it uses to fly. Each flap of its wings is more than many Crafters could ever attempt. There's enough fire around its wings to melt stone on contact," Tabitha shook her head and clenched her fist. Mathias was startled to see flames flickering around it.

"Has the power behind the Gloam finally revealed itself?" Tabitha wondered, aloud. Mathias nodded to himself, considering his charge's surprising insight.

"So if we kill it, the Gloam might disappear?" Mathias asked, with a grin.

"It's possible," she replied.

"Then let's kill it and find out," Mathias said, as nonchalantly as he could manage. He hoped he sounded brave.

Tabitha laughed and flexed her fingers. "Let's."

"Dremora! Take the wheel!" Tabitha called out, stepping away from the controls and starting down the stairs. Mathias followed.

Tabitha marched away from Mathias and raised her voice to a shout. "Helm, hold position! Port side, load the Valkyries! Use incendiary shot! Aim to converge at a point level with the deck, three-hundred yards away!"

"Incendiary?" Lieutenant Keates asked, startled. "That's almost Salamander range."

"If we use round shot, every miss will kill someone down below," Tabitha insisted, firmly.

"Can we really afford such humanity?" Mathias asked.

"Fires below, I hope so," Tabitha admitted, and Mathias nodded solemnly, glancing back at the now discernible shape still flying straight towards them.

The beast was over a mile away, but Mathias could begin to make out the billowing flame that marked every beat of its wings. Each flash of flame was a feat of the Craft that many wielders of the flame could never manage, wielded simply to keep the beast aloft.

Against that, a suddenly frail looking metal boat, a dozen Valkyries, and a nearly spent Crafter.

"Burning blight of the underworld!" Adrian Keates whispered, stepping beside him.

"Quite possibly," Mathias replied, impressed with how calm he sounded. He was almost certain his voice would crack.

"How the burning hell are you so calm?" Adrian asked.

"I'm not. If anyone on this ship is calm right now, there's something wrong with them," Mathias said and forced himself to smile. "It's easier on me. I've had practice being in danger."