Dragon Blood

Fifty-Six: Linked

The gold dragon soared over the heads of the army, burning blue fire streaming from his open maw. He hummed in pleasure as the human screams reached his ear, but he knew there weren't as many as there should be. As he gained altitude and banked around, he peered over the mass of soldiers. Those that hadn't gotten a chance to prepare themselves were left in charred dust, but those that had were rising from where they had knelt on the ground, flipping their cloaks over their shoulders again. As he studied closer, he realized that he recognized the fabric of their cloaks.

Dragon skin.

He roared in fury. The skin below their scales was fire proof, as were the scales that covered it. The skin with scales attached would have been far too heavy for humans to use as covering, but after removing the scales, they were left with a lightweight, fireproof cloak. He didn't know how many dragons had lost their lives, Wildlings or not, to supply Draco's army with so many garments, but it infuriated him nonetheless.

The cloaks are made of dragon skin! Orion shouted through the clan link. They're fire proof.

Make sure your attacks are fast then, gentleman! Leo growled in response, the black dragon swooping past Orion to let out another stream of deep red flames down on the men. Each sweep of flame took a few humans, those that were too slow to get their cloaks over their heads, but the majority were trained for this, and they were expecting this sort of attack. They were dragons, of course they would attack from above.

The gold dragon heard the clicking of the javelin launcher again, his ears specifically listening for the noise, and he spun to find the source. He didn't hover, that would make him too easy a target, so he pumped his wings to bring him higher. They needed to take out as many of the launchers and catapults as they could. If the humans couldn't attack them while flying, the dragons would have an overwhelming advantage.

He peered around the immense battlefield. Dragons flew every which way, their formation upon their approach having been long forgotten. They were so greatly outnumbered, but they took out plenty of humans before the army could prepare. They were ready now, though, and fighting just as hard. The constant flashes of flame left the battlefield lit up in brilliant light. The soldiers could see them nearly as well as they could see the soldiers with how much light they were providing. That wasn't something they could worry about now. Their fire was their greatest weapon, even with the dragon skin cloaks, and they couldn't give it up yet. Gold bared his teeth as he continued to search for the javelin. He stayed in motion so they couldn't target him, but his eyes desperately searched for the source of the noise.

He spotted the javelin, but it wasn't pointed at him. It was pointed directly down the throat of an advancing dragon. He was one of Kellan's clan, one who didn't have a rider. Orion didn't recognize him, but he realized the dragon was a stupid one. He flew directly at the weapon, giving the shooter an easy target. The gold roared in warning as he watched the human prepare to launch.

Stop! he shouted, angling directly at his fellow dragon with the intention of knocking him out of the way, but even with his frantic flapping, he was too slow. 

With nothing more than a quiet whoosh, the spear was flying through the air. The gold dragon watched in horror as the spear landed squarely between the other dragon's eyes, piercing the skull with a sickening crunch he could hear even above the sounds of dragons roaring and men shouting. The dead dragon didn't even have time to screech or roar in pain. He was dead in an instant. His body went limp in the air and plummeted toward the earth, landing hard enough for the ground to shake.

Both clans felt his loss through the link, and they roared in unison. It was the first dragon loss, and, though they knew there would be more, it was still hard to accept.