Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Jerrison
It had been a job like any other. Just another job scouting the Wilds. Flying over those vast forests had been terrifying at first. But by now Copperat and I had gotten used to it. The wild dragons kept to themselves. Unless they were hunting or mating, you rarely even caught a glimpse of them. Scout and Messenger Division were smaller and less noticeable. Juggernauts and gliders would have been attacked on sight.
We were on our way back and I was brushing snow off Copperat’s bronze horns. The wind was at our backs and steady and we had the observation data we needed. But one thing made me uneasy. Well, uneasier than usual.
“Copperat,” I spoke up, wiped melted flakes off my goggles. “Am I being paranoid or-“
You’re not. There isn’t a single dragon in the sky when there should be several, he replied as the city’s walls came within sight.
The fires were burning, so that meant the guards were at their posts. But where were the other Riders? At any given time, there could be anywhere from four to twenty coming and going at once. Never before had I seen the sky so empty. Or quiet. Nor did anyone greet us as we drifted over the wall. Trading caravans stood outside the main gate, people gathered around fires.
“Why aren’t they being let into the city?” I muttered. “The king would never allow this much backup.”
I gripped the handle on the saddle a bit tighter. My nerves were starting to make my stomach turn.
Something tells me there isn’t a pleasant explanation for all this, Copperat mentioned as we took a turn at the Starlit Spire, where the scholars studied and the priests of Caelum, the Skyfather, lived and worshipped. The Temple District had always had the tallest, fanciest buildings. I didn’t go as much as I should. It wasn’t as if the gods took much notice of my sorry life. They had more important people to look out for.
The closer we got to the palace, the more foreboding the whole place felt. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. And when I glanced down at the streets, I could have sworn I saw pairs of bright yellow eyes in the shadows. No, my eyes must have been playing tricks on me.
Copperat’s eyes rolled back to me.
I saw them too.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My stomach continued to churn. A mage must have fouled up some dangerous experiment and Laeith was being quarantined until the situation could be contained Yes, that was it. It had to be. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? Except what were the chances of that? There were, what, seven mages in the entire city? I’d met a few of them. Surely none of them were capable of something like this. Explosions, definitely. But nothing that would shut down an entire city.
There were three landing areas, one for each division. We eased into the domed landing. Usually there would have been junior Riders to help me out of the harnesses and remove Copperat’s saddle. But there were none. A shiver went up my spine.
Four big bulky men in gray made their way over to me. Each could have easily towered over me. Copperate tensed up beneath me as my heart beat faster. I didn’t move to loosen the harnesses, especially when I saw the longswords at their belts. Me against four ugly brutes with a shortsword and knives? One maybe. But two, let alone four-the odds were shakier.
I slid my fogged goggles up over my head and tried to clear my dry throat.
“W-who are you?” I demanded, my voice shaking.
They chuckled at my stutter. Damn. I could already feel my face and ears begin to burn. My fingers twitched against my belt. How successfully could I throw a knife before the others went for us?
Stay calm, Copperat urged me, crouching low and pulling his head back.
“We’re the people in charge of this city now, little man,” the tallest of them informed us, his voice almost emotionless. “We serve our Lord Dareth. He has power of this city now.”
Keep them talking and keep your hand at your blades.
Copperat didn’t need to tell me the latter twice.
“And w-who would that b-be?” I pressed, my tongue as clumsy as if I were talking to a girl.
One of them, who I couldn’t tell if he was more fat or muscle, gave a slow grin.
“Your better, boy. The one who is going to turn this shite world around,” he rumbled.
“Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be, Private Jerrison,” said the third in a calm voice as he wiped his optics with a piece of red cloth. “We would rather not use force, but we will if need be.”
“You-you still h-haven’t s-said why you’re he-here!” I exclaimed. My stutter was getting worse.
The man with spectacles must have been the leader of the group. The other three looked to him. He seemed to have a wall of cool confidence build around him, keeping his back straight as a board. He didn’t have a hair out of place. Granted, most of them were slicked back. Everything about him was precise and calculated. His shirt was buttoned all the way up to his throat and each button gleamed even in the darkness. The tips of his mustache were waxed to dangerous points. There wasn’t so much as a whisker of a beard, though perhaps the sideburns made up for it. And those eyes. They were like stone. Just as gray and just as cold.
“That is none of your concern, Private,” he responded as he inspected his cufflinks. “The king, his court, and your general are in our custody. It is in your best interest to cooperate and surrender without conflict.”
Harell, the dragons. I can hear them. They’re in pain. Do not listen to these men, Copperat warned me.
I’d never planned on it. But how on earth had they managed to capture Vereux? She was the best there was. I still couldn’t even look her in the eye. If she had been captured…I didn’t even want to think about it.
“I insist that you dismount, Private,” he urged. Did I see his eyes twitch?
I slowly shook my head. My mouth was suddenly too dry to speak. My fingers curled around the hilt of the short-sword as a growl gathered in Copperat’s chest. His claws scratched the floor as he edged back.
Before I knew it, one of the men lunged at Copperat. His jaws clamped down on the man’s arm and he screamed. The dragon violently shook him. I slashed at another, bloody spraying from a gash across his face. Another felt the sting of Copperat’s whip-like tail. Each let out a cry of pain as they fell back. The one who was bit lay on the ground screaming, clutching his bloody arm as Copperat lifted into the air.
Rapidly flapping his wings, Copperat twisted his body. When the man I’d cut proved he wasn’t deterred, my dragon kicked him back, claws digging into his belly that made my guts twist just thinking about the pain. He’d have more than the wind knocked out of him.
I barely had time to pull my goggles over my eyes before the cold hit me so fast that for a moment my lungs felt so tight I couldn’t breathe. Just as quickly as the wind had captured them, they were released and I gulped frigid air.
But the relief was short-lived as an arrow grazed my arm, taking some of my sleeve with it. I let out a hiss of pain and barely managed to dodge another that would have clipped off my ear. Dammit! Just my luck, they had archers on the battlements. I pressed my body against Copperat, the saddle digging into my chest as arrows whizzed past in a blur. We ducked, swerved, and zig-zagged. All the while, I had my head ducked down so low I couldn’t even see what was going on. I could have counted the scales in front of my nose. My hands shook as they gripped the edges of the saddle. Another arrow buried itself in Copperat’s thigh and he let out a cry.
We flew as fast as we could and eventually outflew the arrows. My heart hammering in my chest and breathing heavily, I moved to undo the harnesses.
Don’t, warned Copperat.
“B-but the arrow,” I breathed, feeling dazed.
We don’t know if there are others. We can’t be caught off-guard while you’re out of the harness.
“But it hurts,” I said weakly.
I can manage. It’s not deep. Be on your guard. They might have taken the walls as well.
I shook my head. Gods, my legs felt like jelly. And when would my heart stop pounding?
Breathe, Harell. Deep breaths.
I did as he instructed and took several shaky breaths. At least I wasn’t so dizzy anymore.
I looked down for only a moment. It was impossible to tell what it was with the darkness, but something was moving down there through the streets. And it was matching pace with us.
“What the blazes is going on?” I whispered, fear creeping into my voice.
We can discuss it later. Right now, we need to focus on escaping.
And go where? If they had Memoriums with them then surely they knew where we would go. All the hidden safe houses we used in the Corps would be useless.
Oh, gods, the Memoriums. Danyr and Belwyn. What did those people do with them? Memoriums were valuable. I’d heard rumors that they would kill themselves with special daggers before someone could misuse their knowledge. What if they had-
Not the time, Harell, Copperat pulled me back to the present.
We sharply turned, away from the city’s main gate. No doubt they had some of their own people on the walls. And I didn’t care for anymore injuries.
I looked down again to see that thing still following us. When I looked closer, there were more. What in gods’ names were they? A howl sent a chill down my spine. That couldn’t have come from the forest. It was too clear.
The city wall was in sight. We were almost there. I ducked again at more flurries of arrows. Copperat gave a powerful thrust of his wings, giving us a burst of speed over the gate. As we elevated, searing heat and a crackling shot past my ear. That had actually been a fireball.
Mages. Of all things they have to have mages as well.
We flew higher, higher until I was sure we could not be seen because the barrage of projectiles and magic had stopped. I could finally let out a sigh of relief.
“We need to get word to someone,” I gasped out.
We need distance first, added Copperat.
“But your wound,” I murmured, looking back at the wound, blood trickling down the bronze scales and steaming.
I can handle it, he answered.
But I could feel his weariness. We couldn’t stay in the air much longer. Not with his injury. We would have to stop somewhere before the sun came up.
My mind raced with too many questions and no answers as I sat there in the cold.
If I had been sensible enough to remember the words, I probably would have prayed.
