Sam Bowring - Destiny's Rift

‘Having fun?’ said Jaya with a wry smile.

‘Got to enjoy the perks,’ said Bel, sitting back down as they continued, rising again. ‘To the south-west!’ he called to the dragon.

A couple of hours later they could see Holdwith on the horizon, a brown blob amidst grey plains, shadowed by an offshoot of the Cloud. Bel scowled when he saw that. His counterpart had made inroads in his absence, had taken full advantage of knowing Bel was not around to stop him. Impatience to beat Losara back ate at him. He had to show the Kainordans that their champion was not ill-named, had not abandoned them to this travesty. Soon, he swore, he would see the Cloud waft back to where it belonged – nay, not just that: all the way to its damned source.

They spotted a vanguard of the Kainordan force about a league north of Holdwith.

‘Descend!’ cried Bel, and Olakanzar banked heavily. They came down some fifty paces from the soldiers. It was a shaky landing that would have flung them far if not for the ropes.

‘Erk,’ complained Jaya as Olakanzar tottered to a standstill. ‘That was rough.’

Bel wasted no time slicing himself free of the ropes, and she went to work as well. Together they tossed the mutilated web off the dragon, then made their way carefully to his lowered tail. Olakanzar’s head came snaking around as they stepped down onto the ground.

‘Many things I see not in the crowd,’ he said, ‘and goblins and burned men and Shadowdreamers are amongst those I do not see.’

‘They are in the fort ahead,’ said Bel. ‘But hold a moment, noble dragon. I must speak with my people, and then we will come to watch you take your revenge.’

A group of soldiers was heading towards them, understandably tentative, led by a lightfist.

‘Blade Bel?’ she called.

‘Indeed!’ replied Bel, spinning about jovially. Behind him Olakanzar craned his head towards the fort, all but ignoring everyone else, and sniffed.

The lightfist was around thirty, with brown hair and a diamond stud in her slightly upturned nose. There was a hard look in her dark eyes that contrasted with the red of her robe. Around her waist was a cinched belt from which ornate hammers hung on either side, swinging as she moved.

‘You know her?’ said Jaya guardedly.

‘No,’ said Bel. ‘I assume she recognises me from …well, you know.’

The lightfist raised her hand to draw her soldiers to a halt some paces away.

‘We had no word of your coming,’ she said warily, and glanced beyond them at the dragon. ‘Nor of your mode of transportation. You are lucky we saw you on its back, for I was on the verge of ordering an attack.’

‘And you are lucky that you hesitated,’ said Bel. ‘I did not plan to arrive this way, but fortune or fate favoured us in a time of need. You are in charge of this group?’

‘Yes. My name is Nicha.’

‘How many do you have with you?’

‘Some two hundred riders, and a hundred lightfists.’

‘Excellent. We shall make for the fort together, with Olakanzar. The dragon,’ he answered her unspoken question.

‘What’s wrong with its eye?’ she asked.

‘I would not stare too hard, my friend,’ said Bel.

She broke her gaze. ‘With all due respect, our orders are quite plain. The Throne does not wish us to attack the fort, but simply to observe.’

‘That was before he knew that I’d be here,’ said Bel. ‘With a revenge-hungry dragon.’

‘He poses no threat to us?’ said Nicha.

‘No,’ said Bel, hoping it was true. ‘He is not concerned with us.’

Nicha raised fingers to rub her temples, as if to dispel a headache. ‘I still do not think it wise to march on Holdwith,’ she said. ‘We are not a sizeable force.’

‘There will be no talking the dragon out of it,’ said Bel. ‘At the very least we should go to observe , and be ready. If Olakanzar kills enough of the enemy, we may be in a position to press the advantage.’

‘Besides,’ added Jaya, ‘who are you to defy the orders of the blue-haired man?’

Nicha glanced at her irritably, but whatever anger rose within her was expressed not from her mouth but in her eyes.

‘Very well,’ she said crisply. ‘I will have the soldiers make ready.’

Horses were brought for Bel and Jaya. Once all were assembled Bel rode out in front of them, feeling it would be right to say something.

‘My friends!’ he called. ‘We may be few, but we have a mighty ally on our side! Once the flames of Olakanzar cleanse Holdwith of the scum collected there, we shall reclaim that which is rightfully ours. Are you with me?’

The response was not as whole-hearted as he would have liked. The soldiers were skittish, he told himself, because of the presence of the dragon. For his part, Olakanzar remained strangely quiet, still craning his neck towards the fort like a dog straining against an invisible leash, muttering inaudibly. Bel did not think he would wait much longer.

‘Let us ride!’ he called, and wheeled his horse to lead them off. He broke into a gallop and was gratified to hear the sounds of others following. Had he doubted that they would? Of course not.

‘Fly, Olakanzar!’ he bellowed. ‘Fly and take your vengeance!’

The dragon roared, and they felt his might as he took off into the afternoon sky. The sunlight darkened for a moment as he passed overhead.

‘Itchy!’ he howled. ‘Itchy, itchy, itchy no more!’

What would the troops make of that? Bel wondered.

Holdwith was not far across the flats, and the small patch of Cloud above it did little to stop the light flooding in from all sides. Olakanzar circled the fort once, twice …and as they drew to a stop out of spell range, he dived.

Like a great green eagle he dropped from the sky, jaws snapping wide to spew forth a tremendous stream of fire across the walls. Cries went up and blue bolts crackled after him, sizzling harmlessly on his thick hide. He turned in a wide arc and strafed the walls once more, his liquid flame slow to die. Flailing bodies fell alight, ash before they hit the ground. Larger bolts began to fly as shadow mages channelled in groups. One smacked into Olakanzar’s side and he curled in the air, dropping some distance before spreading his wings wide to soar shakily onwards. As he flew past the cobblestone tower he gave it an almost idle whack with his tail. The tower, already in a state of disrepair, toppled and crashed inside the fort. It must have hit the inside wall, for towards ground level, brickwork exploded outwards, creating a hole in the side of the fort.

‘A way in!’ said Bel.

Nicha regarded him doubtfully.

‘Everyone inside will be distracted,’ said Bel. ‘It’s the perfect opportunity.’ He turned to the troops. ‘Lads, ladies – follow me!’

Without waiting for a reply he led the charge, flanked by hundreds. No bolts came towards them from the blazing walls, and no cries warned of their approach – though there were cries enough within. Bel felt his bloodlust rising but had no sense of any paths . To blazes with it , he thought. I am my own man, not some mindless cart moving along a preordained route. I can make decisions for myself.

‘Look!’ Nicha called. Bel followed her gaze, and started in surprise.

‘Hold!’ he bellowed, drawing up his horse, and three hundred pairs of hooves came to a stop around him.

From around the side of the fort something large came into view. Some fifteen paces long, it looked like a wingless dragon but smoother, blood-scarlet and with black, slit eyes. The creature moved swiftly, climbing the fort walls with a rippling, dextrous ease, its body making S-shapes like a lizard. Once atop the walls it froze, tense, ready to pounce. As Olakanzar came diving down, preceded by fire, the thing leaped straight through the flames. Olakanzar’s jaws snapped shut, cutting off his fire as he was slammed backwards in the air. The creature barrelled into him, slashing at his belly with cruel claws. Together they spiralled down, Olakanzar’s wings flapping uselessly. Just before they hit the ground the creature twisted free and jumped away to land on its feet. Olakanzar crashed on his side with an almighty thud, one wing crushed beneath his bulk. Slowly he pulled himself onto his feet, trailing a broken and battered wing, bellowing defiance as the creature circled him.