The Traitor's Heir

Chapter Twenty-One

Since they had first met Ausfela they had spent most of their time away from direct sunlight, first when they were underground and then later when they were in the forest.  Even when they were in the clearing she had lingered in the shadows, not taking flight until the sun was down below the horizon.  But now, looking down at the dragon beneath her legs, Quara realized that when they'd ridden out of the volcano and into the blinding light of their very first day above ground, she had never once looked at the dragon that she was riding on.

She had blinked back tears and shaded her eyes and tried to look up at the outside of the mountains that had been her home her entire life, but overcome by her curiosity about the outside world, she'd ignored their unusual mount.  She knew this now, with absolute certainty, and for a moment it distracted her from the very real struggle that she was experiencing to fill her lungs with air, for if she had looked at Ausfela as she gleamed directly in the light of day, even once, she knew that she would have never forgotten it.

            The sun danced on the dragon's metallic scales, reflecting the sun brightly back at the azure world that surrounded them, the bright blue world that she now realized they would never be able to disappear into.  They would never be mistaken for a small dark bird soaring on the currents high above the tree tops.  Ausfela would never appear to anyone who could see her as anything less than an extraordinary creature.  Quara's eyes watered as they had when she first emerged from the volcano as she stared at the brightness of the sun gleaming on Ausfela's scales.  Light danced across the dragon's shining form.  She tore her gaze away and looked back again at the dragon that was swooping down towards the ridge that they had stood on only a few moments earlier.

            Quara would later say that she knew the exact moment that he spotted their little group, for he had been racing downwards through the sky and she'd had the distinct impression that he was about to rain down fire onto the forest below, which she rather felt was overkill, since it seemed quite clear that the entire forest would now burn, even without his continued help as an overgrown flame thrower.  Quite suddenly he came to a complete stop.

Turning, her face back towards the direction that they were heading Quara screamed that they'd been seen.  She didn't have to turn back to know that the dragon was flying after them now and that their flight north had just become far more dangerous.  Their existence was no longer unknown to the enemy.

            "If the Emperor knows who we are and where we're fleeing from he will turn the entire force of his army away towards the Caverns, to find the rest of your family, and towards us as we flee north.  But we may have one small hope that we be spared that trial.  He is a secretive man, distrustful of any and all, even of his servants who appear to be the most loyal. If he has heard of the prophecy he may still be unlikely to have shared it, even with his generals.  He will likely fear that they may turn on him, a fear which any man who rules by terror is right to have.  So the sight of us, while unusual, and while certain to cause the chase that will now commence, may not mean as much to those on the other side who learn of it, as it should."  Ausfela spoke the words and then fell silent, putting every thought towards speed and out flying the dragon that was pursuing them.

            Instinctively Lina leaned forward, pressing herself close to the dragon's back, and Quara was pulled forward by her sister by her arms, which were still wrapped tightly about the younger girl's waist.  She leaned forward as she realized what Lina was doing, pressing her face to the side so that she could look back over her shoulder, hoping with all her might that she would not catch a glimpse of the other dragon.

            While her sister stared back, watching for the dragon, Lina looked over the dragon's shoulders and stared hard at the world spread out before them.  They were high now, slightly above even the top of the volcano and the air was cold, despite the heat of the summer day.  Below them lay mostly green mountains, rolling away as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the smoke that now blanketed everything within a full day's flight.  Ahead, and off to their right was a larger mountain and Lina squinted through the haze, trying to see if her eyes were in fact giving her a reason to hope.