Page 53 of Lightningborn

“Where do you think you’re going, rat?” The pirate dragged him backward. “No one needs you up there; you’re supposed to be getting the…Wait a second.”

Remy’s cap was suddenly knocked off, falling to the floor. “I don’t recognize you,” the pirate growled. “Where did we pick you up, rat?”

His mouth dry with terror, Remy started to answer when a shout of alarm rang out from the main deck. “Incoming!” someone screamed. Remy looked up and saw theQueen’s Bladeswoop overhead. As it passed, several dark shapes suddenly dropped from the ship. “Fire barrels!” someone shrieked. “Captain—”

There was a roar, and a tornado sprang up out of nowhere, seeming to rise directly out of the deck planks. It caught most of the barrels and sent them spinning away, flying in all directions to plunge into the Vortex. Remy felt his blood turn to ice. He looked across the deck to the forecastle and saw Jhaeros himself standing on the edge, hands raised and magic swirling around him. His eyes glowed with power, his coat and white hair snapping behind him in the gale, and he looked truly terrifying. The tornado howled, spinning the barrels in all directions, but one barrel hit the sails, bounced off, and fell back toward the deck.

There was a flare, and a wave of heat blasted Remy in the face as the barrel exploded against the deck, sending a bloom of fire into the air. The pirate holding him gave a yell and reeled back, nearly falling down the steps. Remy instantly bolted up the stairs onto the main deck—and found himself in the center of organized chaos. Tongues of fire snapped, eating at the deck and railings of theWindshark, and pirates rushed to put out the flames. Men scrambled back and forth, some in the riggings, some on swivel guns mounted to the railings, some loading even more cannons on the main deck. Wind shrieked in Remy’s ears, and the roar of the Vortex echoed even above the cacophony of cannon fire and battling ships.

Remy glanced at the forecastle and saw Jhaeros shouting orders to his crew as theQueen’s Bladecircled overhead. For just a moment, the pirate mage looked down, and his gaze locked with Remy’s. A frown crossed his face, but then theQueen’s Bladepassed very close, casting him in its shadow. Glancing back at the enemy ship, the pirate mage bared his teeth and raised an arm, and a streak of lightning flashed from his open palm, slamming into the hull of theQueen’s Blade. For a moment, everyone’s attention was focused solely on Jhaeros or the other vessel, and Remy bolted for the door of the captain’s quarters.

No one stopped him, though he did have to dodge several bodies and leap over a section of burning wood before he came to the door in the aftcastle. The captain’s private chambers. Praying that it wasn’t locked, Remy reached for the handle.

It wasn’t locked. The brass handle turned easily in his palm, and he slipped through the frame with barely a squeak. Beyond the door, the room was cloaked in shadow, thick curtains drawn across a row of windows on the back wall. This room was much larger than Captain Cutlass’s private quarters, with a plush red carpet and shelves stacked floor to ceiling. But the most prominent feature in the room was an enormous curved horn hanging from the ceiling. It was longer than Remy was tall, and bigger than any horn, tooth, or talon he had ever seen before. There was no doubt in his mind; this must be the horn of a True Dragon.

“Storm,” he whispered, easing into the room. “I’m here. Where are you?”

A weak trill answered him. A wooden desk sat near the far wall, an iron birdcage sitting beside it, draped with a blanket. Remy hurried over, stripped off the blanket, and met the purple eyes of his dragon peering at him through the bars.

Relief shot through him. Storm was all right. The dragon looked scared, and he barely had room to turn around in a cage meant for a parrot, but he was alive. He squeaked at Remy, pressing himself against the side of the cage, clawing frantically at the bars. Remy winced as the birdcage rattled loudly and put a hand against the side.

“Shh, Storm, take it easy. They’ll hear us.”

The hatchling immediately calmed, gazing up at Remy imploringly. Remy frowned, examining the iron lock on the door, and shook his head.

“I don’t suppose the key would be lying around anywhere,” he muttered. A quick scan of the cabin told him he was correct; there was no golden key sitting in plain sight to make his life easier. “Hang on, then, Storm,” he said, kneeling down and pulling out his lock picks. “This shouldn’t take me too long.”

Carefully, Remy inserted the picks into place, biting his lip in concentration as he began working the lock. After a few moments, Storm gave an impatient trill, thumping his tail against the bars. Remy winced as the whole cage rattled.

“This takes time, you know,” he muttered without looking up. “It’s a delicate process; I can’t just snap my fingers and…Aha.” The lock clicked, and Remy grinned triumphantly. “Got it.”

He swung back the door, and Storm leaped into his arms. Remy clutched the hatchling tight, feeling its heart race against his. Fragments of emotion flickered through his head: relief, fear, sadness, anger toward the pirate mage who brought him here. Remy wasn’t sure if these emotions were his or Storm’s, but there was no time to wonder about that now. They still had to get back to theQueen’s Blade, and out of range of theWindshark, before they were truly safe.

“All right.” Remy set his dragon on the floor and turned to look at the balcony doors. With any luck, Gem and Bart would be waiting for them on Cloud. “It’s been a day. Let’s get you out of here.”

With a deafening noise, the cabin door crashed open. Storm gave a squawk of fear and alarm as Jhaeros stepped into the room, cold blue eyes narrowed in rage.

“I thought I recognized you,” the mage crooned, smiling evilly at Remy. “The street rat from Cutthroat Wedge. Where do you think you’re going with my dragon?”

Storm let out a high-pitched snarl and leaped in front of Remy, flaring his wings and baring tiny fangs at the pirate mage looming in the doorway.

Jhaeros laughed. “Don’t worry, beast. I’ll get to you in a moment.” He shook his head and gazed at Remy again. “So this is why we’re being attacked, eh? I figured it had to be the dragon; no one would be so foolish to engage theWindsharkone-on-one otherwise. But I’m afraid your little mission ends right here, boy. That dragon isn’t going anywhere.”

“Storm, run!” Remy cried, and he bolted for the balcony doors, hoping to beat the pirate mage to the captain’s walk. They still had a chance. If Gem and Cloud were waiting as they’d promised, he and Storm could still get away.

“Get back here!” There was a blast of wind, and the balcony doors burst open, glass shattering as the vicious gust came through. The wind slammed into Remy, plucking him off his feet and hurling him back into the cabin. He hit the ground and rolled into a cabinet, feeling the world spin around him. Dazed, he looked up to see Jhaeros step forward, drawing his sword as he did. He was still smiling.

“You are nothing,” Jhaeros said as that deadly curved blade rose, angling toward Remy’s heart. “A mud rat. A nobody. You are unworthy to have a dragon. And when I kill you, no one will even notice you’re gone.”

He drew back his sword, and Storm leaped forward with a screech, his jaws gaping wide. Blue light glowed from his mouth a second before a streak of lightning flashed through the air, striking the pirate mage in the chest. Jhaeros was hurled away, smashing into a bookshelf, tomes and crystals falling around him. Remy leaped to his feet, scooped Storm up, and ran for the balcony.

Behind him, he heard Jhaeros lunge upright with a bellow of rage. Remy burst through the swinging balcony doors and gazed around wildly, looking for the white dragon. But the captain’s walk and the skies were empty. Gem and Cloud were nowhere to be seen.

“Nowhere to run now, rat.” Jhaeros pushed through the doors. His eyes glowed ominously, watching as Remy scurried back as far as he could, Storm hissing and snarling in his arms. They hit the railings, and Remy could only watch as the pirate mage stepped closer, smiling again. “Your ship is crippled, your allies have failed, and soon you will join them as I hurl you all into the Vortex.”

“Remy!”

A shadow fell over him, and Cloud swooped down from overhead, soaring alongside the balcony. Gem reached out a hand, her eyes wide with fear. “Jump!”

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