The Draykon Series (1-3)

Orlind: Chapter Twenty-Six

Llandry waited too, tense and scarcely breathing. This would be it, the deciding confrontation. If the flyers could turn about and come at the remaining drayks fast enough, they might be able to reduce their numbers quickly enough to win the fight. If not...

'Time to pray, Llan,' Ori said.

Llandry prayed.

But as the flyers began their final attack, Llan tugged on Ori's sleeve. 'Ori! Let's help.'

Ori looked down at her, a grin spreading across his face. 'You're right! Why don't we?' He let out a whoop, then sprang into the air, already shifting into his draykon shape. Llandry watched him take off, her stomach fluttering with apprehension and excitement.

Perched atop their damaged glissenwol tree, they were already high up in the air. Llandry stepped to the edge, steeled herself, and fell forward into thin air. Wind rushed past her face and tugged at her clothing as she fell...

... then she had flashed into draykon shape and the wind rushed instead past polished scales the colour of the clouds. Shrieking defiance, she rose into the skies to take her place with Ori, behind the straggling line of flying machines.

Together, they flew at the remaining draykoni.

The guns started up as soon as the flyers were within range. The drayks had grown wise to the way the machines operated, and some of them managed to dive and weave away without being hit. But the pilots were ready for that, too. They manoeuvred their vehicles with amazing skill, keeping at those beasts who tried to evade or run. Two draykoni screamed and fell, then three. Four.

Attack, Llan! Ori yelled in her mind. They think we're the enemy!

He was right, of course; she should have foreseen that. One of the flyers was trying to angle around to get a shot at her. She dodged, flew over the top of the machine, and hurled herself at the nearest drayk. Her war-cry was full of all the pain and frustration and fear they had inflicted on her people since she and Pensould had woken up Isand.

Her opponent was larger than she, a fine beast with moss-blue scales. She circled around it, making sure that its bulk was between her and the flyers. She didn't want to be fired upon by her own side. When it whirled to face her, she went for the throat.

Now the brilliance of Iver's strategy was confirmed, for the drayk was fatally confused to find himself attacked by another draykon. Their non-appearance during the rest of the battle had convinced the enemy that the two draykons they knew about weren't going to fight - and they hadn't known about Ori at all. Ruthless, she took advantage of his confusion to sink her powerful teeth into his throat, then tore her jaws free, rending the flesh on the way. The draykon gave a gurgling cry and fell.

Llan! I'm going for Eterna.

Oh no... Eterna? The female draykon was the leader, and among the largest of them. Ori couldn't hope to prevail by himself.

I'm coming, she told him, casting about for a sight of his white-gold scales. There he was above her, his hide flashing brilliantly in the sun as he tore away in Eterna's direction. Llandry fought to catch up with him, wishing that for once she didn't have to be the smallest.

Ori didn't wait. He climbed high above Eterna while Llandry was still trying to reach him. Then he dropped, talons extended and jaws open, ready to claw and bite.

But Eterna turned as he dived, ready for his attack. Ori crashed headlong into her and the two of them went tumbling through the air, getting dangerously close to the flyers' guns.

Ori! she shrieked. You idiot, you're going to get killed!

But... it's working!