Rogue Currents

Chapter Eleven

Lamprey awoke to a shout of fear. "They're here!" a male dragon roared from higher in the palace.

Lamprey scrambled up in the sand, still half-asleep, momentarily confused. Who was here?

Then he woke up fully and registered the chaos that was beginning to fill the palace. Dragons were scrambling for armor and spears, but the majority of the queen's army was in the Deep Palace, where they had been preparing for the ambush they had planned for Stingray.

"They come just before we're going to attack them?" one soldier snarled as he shot past Lamprey.

Lamprey knew that if all of Stingray's forces had come, the small force of SeaWings stationed at the Summer Palace would be vastly outnumbered.

He grabbed at the tail of a passing dragonet. "Get to the Deep Palace," he instructed her. "Tell them Stingray's forces are attacking. If one of them gets in your way, run. Do not fight them."

The dragonet nodded and dove for the exit. Lamprey followed the other dragons, who were flying for the trees and vines at the top of the Summer Palace. As he broke through the leaves, he saw an aerial battle taking place above the Summer Palace. With a sinking heart, he realized that he had been right: the dragons of the Summer Palace were greatly outnumbered. Stingray's forces were swatting them aside like flies.

Lamprey was about to launch himself at the battle when claws grabbed his wing. He whirled and saw Queen Dolphin next to him.

"Stay out of this," she commanded. "You're not a soldier."

"I'm also not a dragonet," Lamprey argued. "I'm seven years old, I can help!"

"Stay. Here," Dolphin said, looking him in the eye. "That's an order."

She leaped upward to join the fight, and Lamprey sagged back on the tree branch, staring at a sky thick with dragons fighting. He looked out over the waves, desperately hoping Thresher and her forces would show up soon. The queen and the other dragons of the Summer Palace were outnumbered easily two to one. Lamprey had seen several dragons fall from the sky already, trailing blood behind them.

After several minutes, Lamprey heard a series of splashes from the east. He looked over and saw Thresher's troops rising from the ocean surface, seeming to catch Stingray's dragons off guard. The tide didn't quite turn, but the sides were now much more even.

Lamprey watched as Stingray's dragons turned to face Thresher's. Thresher's army had armor and better weapons, but Stingray's had been preparing for this for years, whereas Dolphin's had only had a few days. As Lamprey watched, one dragon not much older than him, was surrounded by a pair of much larger dragons from Stingray's side of the battle. She fought hard, but two on one was wearing her down quickly.

Help her, please help her, Lamprey thought desperately, but none of Dolphin's dragons were able to do anything.

After a moment's hesitation, Lamprey leaped off the branch and raced towards the battle. He bit down hard on the wing of one of the attackers, tearing the membrane. His opponent howled in pain and turned away from his former victim. He ducked low, aiming for Lamprey's belly, but Lamprey dropped onto his neck and dug his claws in deep. The dragon choked, then fell away, blood streaming from his neck.

Lamprey turned to the other dragon, who was seeming less confident now that he had seen Lamprey defeat his accomplice in under a minute. He lunged at Lamprey anyway, but the dragon he had been attacking grabbed his tail and pulled him back. She slashed at his throat, and he fell as well. She nodded at Lamprey, who nodded back. He turned to scan the battlefield, and saw the queen hovering in a clear area in the midst of the battle. Facing her was Stingray, his eyes glinting with savage triumph. Several of Stingray's dragons were hovering around the outside of the circle, keeping any of Dolphin's dragons from helping their queen. Lamprey flew closer, listening to what the queen was saying.