Mark of a Dragon Rider.

Chapter 19

The stranger seemed to shrink under Blaze. "The Old King sent me!! I never wanted to but if I didn't he would have destroyed a whole village. I didn't have a choice." He said. Anger flows through me and I can tell I am not the only one feeling this way. Looking at my team we all know what comes next. 

"Well now we have a bit of a problem." I say and all eyes go to me. "We can't just let him go. Not to mention that if the Old King threatened to destroy a whole village. So I guess we will have to bring him with us." I say thoughtfully. 

"No no you don't need to do that. I'll just go into hiding and let the king assume I died." The stranger said. I shake my head. "We don't know if we can trust you yet. So you're staying with us. Oh and if you don't agree to this Drake will most likely kill you." I warn him. 

His face paled a few more shades. "So what's your choice?" I ask him looking him in the eyes. Sky is right next to me at this point and I can tell Sky is hoping that the stranger says kill. For some reason Sky really doesn't like him. I understand why he doesn't like this guy. He did try to kill me. 

This kid can't be much older than us. Maybe 2 years or so. His hair is black and he is seriously considering his options. Then he spoke. "It's not like I want to die but I also don't want to go with you either. At this point I'm out of options though as there is no way I can outrun or hide from dragons." He said thinking out loud. 

Sky is still between us and I can see him. Suddenly Sky's movements shift. He goes from some amateur fighter to a pro in an instant. All I know is that Sky isn't an amateur. This raises a lot of questions for me. Why would he have been leading me on? 

Realization hits me. He's been watching me this whole time. For what I don't know. "Blaze we have a major problem. I think Sky is a spy. Just playing me. Can you find out from Zen what is going on please?" I ask my dragon. Blaze sends me feelings of uncertainty and understanding. She will do as I asked. 

My head clears and I look back at the guy and put a look of coldness on my face and into my voice. "So what's your option or do I get to pick for you?" I ask him coldly. The guy gulped. I might come off as light and easy going but when it comes to protecting Dragon Riders I'm anything but. 

"I'll go with you." He said unsurely. I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. Sky is still in a defensive stance in front of me. I walk up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Relax I think we need to have another little talk." I say seriously.  Sky nods his head and sighs. Pain and conflict are in his eyes. 

"Alright Drake you're in charge of this boy. Sofia you're in charge of the fire. Stella can you make sure Clawdet stays here? Sky your with me and we are going hunting. I believe we ran out of meat last night." I give my orders. Everyone jumps to do as they're told. The dragons all watch us get ready for camp. 

There is no need for us to take up a huge amount of room and the dragons have there own preparations to be made. The four of them box us in so that we are in a safe area at night now. It is known for there to be wolves in this area but they can't hurt a dragon. That's all good for us and plus it will make it harder for our prisoner to escape. 

I watch as everyone gets going on what they where told to do. There isn't room for error as it will be dark soon. I unfold my bow and stalk into the woods with Sky right behind me. I know he is watching me for hints at what my mood is. I don't give him any. He sighs and grabs his own bow off Zen before running to catch up with me. 

"Listen I know your mad I didn't tell you but how could I after you took me down so easily at your house when we met? Was I suppose to be like 'hey I'm highly skilled in fighting actually I'm just out of it today'?" He asks me in an easy voice. Letting out a sigh I turn to the task at hand. Listening for the deer I know I saw earlier when we were coming in.

"Once we get a deer we will talk." I say in a level voice as I scale the nearest tree and start running through the treetops. Sky is quick to follow me but unlike earlier he is showing his skill and mastery of running through the trees. He is almost as good as I am but I am far more agile then he is and I always well be. I'm much faster to. I notice with great amusement.

Suddenly the trees open up and there is a creek in a very small amount of open space but this is where the deer are. I signal to Sky to hold his ground and stay still. We only will need two deer and that will keep the humans fed for today, tomorrow, and maybe the day after. It will make things easier as we should reach Owl Eye tomorrow. 

I draw the bow back and let two arrows fly. They both meet there marks and the rest of the herd takes off running. I had made sure to get older deer that wouldn't have made it over the winter. Sky jumps down and grabs both deer lifting them onto his shoulders. "We will take them back to camp. Me and Sofia will clean them." I say shortly. I'm still mad. 

"We need to talk first." He said. I can tell he's getting stressed. I sigh and look towards the sky. It's a brilliant dark blue. "Alright fine. When were you going to tell me you are not some amateur? Why didn't you inform me sooner? Do you know how much time we wasted because of your lie?" I ask him with anger in my voice. 

Sky looks so ashamed I just want to hug him. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to. Things were going so well. I didn't want to ruin that. I have another thing to tell you but I want you to know that I really do have feelings for you." Sky said looking at the ground. I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "Tell me I will hear you out." I tell him calmly. I understand it better now. 

"It was never our mission to break into your house that day. The real mission was to get me placed close to you. We knew Drake was your biological father and the leaders wanted payback on him. They never knew I was a rider. After meeting you I couldn't do what they wanted me to. I fell for you instead and decided it would be in my best interest to protect you from them instead of handing you over to them." Sky explained to me. 

The first bit cut threw me like an arrow. I understand everything so much better now. "I understand. You where doing what you thought was necessary. You better have real feelings for me though as I will leave you in the dust if your lying to me once again. My feelings are real." I say in a serious voice. 

With that we turn back to lighter conversation and head back. Once we get back me and Sofia start cleaning the deer and then Drake and Sky cook it together. There getting along a lot better now and that makes my heart swell in pride seeing them getting along. I never take my eyes fully off the prisoner which we have secured with rope and there is always a dragon staring him down. 

When it's a dragon watching over you to make sure you don't escape you know better then to even try. I lean against Blaze who is taking this turn with me. "So what's your name. Mine is Shadow." I say calmly. He looks at me and smirks. "My name is Reaper Stillblood." He tells me before falling silent. My blood runs cold. He is the King's top assassin.

A/N

Word Count: 1472

I'm sorry because I haven't updated in forever. This is my favorite book that i'm writing and most likely to be the first one I ever finish. There is going to be a second book and this book is nearing it's end. Only 5 chapters tops until it is finished. There will be at least one more chapter (I hope).