Page 9 of Drakhana's Secret
Soon, we see the retreating group on the horizon. I flap my wings and gain on them. I open my maw and clamp down on the tail of the closest fire dragon. He whips his head toward me and screams.
Branson is at my side, tangling with a second dragon who comes to the rescue of the fire that I’m currently cutting off the tip of its tail with my teeth. I don’t let go no matter how much the fire dragon flails. Then he opens his maw and douses me with its flames.
Only then do I let go and fly up. The column of fire barely misses the tip of my own tail. The damn bastard.
I reach out with my claws and land on his back. I take him down with me until we crash into a field right outside the city. Behind us is the plume of smoke that comes from the fire raging on our building.
What I don’t account for when we reach the ground are the reinforcements that the fire dragons brought with them. There are more than twenty of them in total based on one glance. I send a psychic blast out to any earth dragon that can hear me to join in on the fight. Then I focus on dispatching the dragon that’s already pretty made at me for biting its tail.
The rest of the earth dragons with me land. We face off with the fire dragons. It’s complete mayhem. Dragons biting at each other’s throats. Scratching at sensitive underbellies.
It seemed like we had the upper hand at first since we were earth dragons, taking out power from the land that we stand upon. But it soon became apparent that the rumors were true. The fire dragons have learned how to harness their ancient powers, calling on the lava that is beneath the earth.
They blast us with their flames, hotter than what we can withstand. When some of my brethren catch flame and flail in death, I call for a retreat. It doesn’t take a genius military strategist to see that we will not win this fight. We are too outgunned.
I give the order to Branson and he passes it along with the rest of the earth dragons. We scramble and take flight immediately. I send all of them the coordinates of a small warehouse that we own just outside the city. We can hide out there for now.
At first, I think that the fire dragons will fly in pursuit of us. It seems that they have done what they have come to do, which is burn down the building. They soon leave when I turn around and look toward the open field that we just left.
Just in case, we bank higher up than we are used to. It’s colder at higher altitudes, which means the fire dragons won’t tolerate it for long. We grit our teeth through the frost gathering along our scales.
I’m the first to spot the warehouse. We had just cleared the inside of inventory stock so we should have enough space to tend to our wounded. I circle before making a landing.
The cost is clear so I call the rest of my brethren to come and join me. Many of them can’t even make a decent landing because of their injuries. I shed my dragon and meet with the caretakers inside.
Branson is bleeding from a cut on his head, but he still helps set up cots for those with more severe injuries. The caretakers excuse themselves to gather whatever healing supplies we need. Meanwhile, Branson and I guide the dragons to each cot that’s ready for them.
I breathe my first sigh of relief when the caretakers return with several boxes of left-over healing salve and tonics. There are also several rolls of gauze. If we run out, they will boil clothes that can be used.
I thank them and we all go about tending to the wounded. I give Branson a pot of the salve and ask him to clean his wound before he helps the others. Can’t have him dripping blood on the other dragons. He begrudgingly does what I tell him to.
Besides a burn on my arm, I’m not injured enough not to help. I slather some cooling salve on the burn and get to work on the closest dragon to me. I keep a brave face, not letting on what the defeat does to my psyche.
I make the executive decision to fly home when the worst of the wounded are healed enough to make the journey. We need to regroup and plan our next steps ahead. Knowing the fire dragons, they won’t stop at just a building.
Seven
Sapphire
Ifloat in a void of nothingness. It’s the kind of sleep that’s deep enough that I might as well be dead to the world. Baba calls it a healing sleep. This has happened to me before when I over taxed myself during my earlier training sessions.
I’m not sure how much time passes. When I float back up to the surface from the void and I open my eyes, the sky is grayish light. I’m lying on a cot with a blanket over me.
A pounding begins at the back of my head and moves forward. I reach up and massage my forehead as I sit up. A gentle hand touches my shoulder.
“Slowly, child,” the comforting voice of Baba says. She brings a cup to my lips. “Here, drink this.”
I cover her hand with mine as I begin to swallow the warm tonic. It tastes of lemon, ginger, and cayenne pepper. It’s what we give patients who we want to kickstart the metabolism and wake up the digestive system to get the body moving.
Already I feel the comfort that the brew brings. It zips renewed energy into me. I’m more awake than I was when I first opened my eyes.
Baba relinquishes the cup into my care as she takes a small tub of salve and swipes her fingertips over the yellowish wax. Then she brings it to my forehead and wipes it there. Already I can feel the combination of the peppermint and pine working along with the various essential oils that we’ve added to ensure effectiveness.
Baba has nursed me back to health on countless occasions. She’s always been there after my training sessions with whatever concoction she believes I will need. She hasn’t stirred me wrong yet.
Then she replaces the empty cup with a bowl of her oatmeal. I bring a spoonful into my mouth. As I chew, the berries she added burst in my mouth, spilling their sweet juices onto my tongue.
“I don’t understand why the fire clan would attack us like this,” Baba says, looking deflated for the first time since the attack.
