The Dragon Liberator: Escapee

POV: Fendrel

The two dragons were coming back with armed horsemen racing just paces behind. The horses kicked up dust clouds, which drifted away as soon as they came.

Fendrel’s hands sifted through the sand as he tried to keep his nerves at ease. He picked the dust from his fingernails but kept his eyes trained on Fog and Birch’s flying forms.

Venom and Fendrel shared a concerned look.

“Six horsemen.” Fendrel looked back at the approaching figures.

“Oh good, there’s only six.” Cassius sighed with relief.

Fendrel glared at him.

“What?” Cassius shrank back. “Isn’t that a low number?”

“For the royal guard, yes.” Fendrel sneered. “For dragon hunters, definitely no.”

As the dragons and their pursuers came nearer, Fendrel noticed the visible panic on Fog’s and Birch’s faces.

Two hunters stayed behind the dragons while the other four flanked Birch and Fog. One side took spears from their horses’ flanks and aimed.

Fendrel clenched his fists, sand biting his palms. “They’re going to herd them back toward the Stronghold.”

“They’re almost over the dunes. Once they cross, we can act without anyone from the Stronghold seeing.” Venom tried to keep his voice calm.

Fog was in the lead, beating her wings feverishly. Her eyes landed on Fendrel and the others.

Fendrel mouthed “duck” to her and flattened himself more to the ground.

The vapor dragon tucked in her wings and let herself fall a few feet before reopening them.

A spear from one of the hunters shot over her where she had been flying moments before.

They crossed the first dune.

Now the only things the Stronghold hunters can see are Birch and Fog. Fendrel braced himself to run forward. He took a dagger out of his bag.

He heard sand shifting and looked over to see Thea elbow-crawling up beside him, the vial clutched in her fist.

When the hunters breached the second dune, Venom sprang out from cover and barreled toward one of the horsemen.

The horseman screamed in alarm, causing his steed to rear up and toss him into the sand. His spear flew from his grasp and stuck up in the sand.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fendrel saw Cassius tense as he eyed the spear before hiding further behind the dune.

Two more horses slipped from their riders forcefully steering them away from Venom. One hunter tumbled away and struggled to his knees while the other lay pinned under his kicking horse, trying to squirm out.

Fendrel fished the remainder of the knockout powder out of his bag. He got to his feet and followed Venom.

Venom grabbed a spear shaft and flung it at the hunter holding it away from the others.

Biting the hilt of his dagger to free one of his hands, Fendrel approached a groaning hunter and sprinkled a pinch of knockout powder on his face.

Thea took off, crushing up the vial’s contents and dropping the pieces as she ran around the hunters and their horses.

The horses that neared the ring whinnied and reared up, backing away from the spell.

Fog and Birch landed heavily, kicking up sand as they nearly collapsed.

They don’t look injured, just exhausted.

Fendrel felt a wave of relief. He continued to knock out other hunters. When he looked back up, Venom had already smacked the remaining two hunters from their horses and had them pinned under his paws.

Venom lowered his head toward the hunters, baring his fangs and growling.

As Fendrel approached, Venom lifted his head. “Do we need them awake?”

Fendrel shook his head and sprinkled the last of the powder over their heads. “I just need a horse, one of their scarves… and one of their ranking fangs.” He had never worn ranking fangs before, not even to infiltrate a base.

The sounds of the horses’ panicked cries ripped Fendrel away from his thoughts.

“Why are they so spooked?” Fendrel eyed the ring.

Cassius, Birch, and Fog came over the dune.

The horses refused to move farther than where they stood.

“It’s not a big deal. I just cast a spell on the flower petals to make the horses and hunters think that wherever the petals were was a wall of fire instead.” Thea put her hands on her hips.

Fendrel pointed at her. “Genius.”

Thea flipped her hair with her hand and shrugged. “Guilty.”

“All right. I should get in there now.” Fendrel wrenched a scarf from one of the hunters and batted it at the sand to shake off any knockout powder. He donned the scarf, covering the bottom half of his face. He untied the string that went through the fangs that displayed the hunter’s ranking and secured it to his own arm, tightening it with his free hand and teeth. Carefully, Fendrel took the reins of one of the horses and tried to soothe it.

Thea kicked the flower petals away, causing a few of the horses to make a break for freedom.

The horse Fendrel had a grip on didn’t run, but it stamped its hooves in agitation.

Fendrel hoisted himself into the horse’s saddle. “I’ll see you when I have the information I need.”

“Don’t stay in there too long.” Venom nudged Fendrel’s shoulder with his nose.

Fendrel smiled under his scarf. “I won’t.” He urged the horse into a gallop toward the Stronghold.

<~><~><~>

Fendrel gripped the reins of the horse. He rolled his shoulders, trying to get rid of his nerves.

They won’t recognize me. Most of the hunters in here are just students from this year so they wouldn’t know my voice…Fendrel took a deep breath. The hunters we just took out must have been instructors or dragon handlers.

He caught himself reciting the ranks of the hunters in order from lowest to highest in case he had to speak to one. Sadon is the head, Charles is the second head, but he’s not one of them anymore. Instructors, wranglers, and advanced hunters have three fangs, standard hunters have two fangs, and stable workers have one fang.

He glanced at the fangs tied to his arm. Three fangs.

Biting his lip, Fendrel hoped no one would question what position he held.

Fendrel steered his horse toward the stables, a small sandstone structure connected to the main building of the Stronghold.

Someone with a cheery smile emerged from the stables to greet him. “What happened to the rogues? Did you catch them?”

“They’re being handled. I was told to return here if the situation seemed under control.” Fendrel avoided his gaze.

The stable boy nodded, taking the horse’s reins as Fendrel dismounted.

Fendrel peered at the hunter’s single fang. This hunter wasn’t a student, but he probably hadn’t been there long. He still had the joy of someone who didn’t realize what he’s gotten himself into…so he probably didn’t know anything about Zoricus.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fendrel noticed Zoricus’ prized black stallion in a stall. He gulped.

As he entered the Stronghold, Fendrel glanced over his shoulder and saw the sun was beginning to set.

The students will be heading to bed soon. I should grab one of the instructors and see if they know anything about Zoricus.

The halls were empty. Footsteps could faintly be heard, but their echoes made it hard to tell where they were coming from. After stalking down the halls he was still frustratingly familiar with, Fendrel heard voices.

He crept toward the room Sadon stayed in whenever he visited the Stronghold. Two people were talking within the room and the door was cracked open.

Fendrel crouched by the door and peeked in, flattening himself against the wall.

Sadon sat in a chair. He twirled a knife in one hand.

Another figure, out of Fendrel’s sight, paced in front of Sadon’s desk.

“I don’t agree with this.” The unseen man’s voice sounded strained.

With a careless glance up, Sadon tapped his index finger on his desk. “Well, you better make up your mind now or I’ll finish the mission without you or your requests.” He studied a blade in his hands.

“No!” The man stopped pacing. “I still need to be a part of this, but I just don’t see the point in manipulating Sadie.”

Sadon stared at him for a long pause. “Why can’t you get this through your thick skull? If the princess finds out you were trying to kill her brother, how would she react?”

The man slammed his fist on the desk.

Fendrel suppressed a gasp. It was Zoricus.

“If you hurt her because of my unwillingness—” Zoricus clenched his teeth.

“I never said to hurt her.” Sadon stood and shoved his face in front of Zoricus’. He took a deep breath and stood up. “I was simply implying that we do something to keep her from finding out. If you can’t think of anything, you can forget about letting your uncle die of natural causes…It’s not that I want to hurt people, Zoricus. But losing a few to save the many is a decision I must make.”

Zoricus began to pace. “I- I can ask the royal family’s mage to make Sadie forget Cassius ever existed.”

Sadon smirked. “Good. That’s the kind of thinking I like. Which brings me to something else I need to discuss with you.”

The knight looked at Sadon with full attention.

“I’ve recently been informed that Charles, my second head, has died while fighting a rogue.” Sadon sat back down. “I’d like for you to take his place once this is all over.”

“But I’m the head of the royal guard—”

Sadon waved his hand. “Soon enough, with you as the second head of the dragon hunters, you’ll be so much more than just the commander of the royal guard. You can have anything you want.”

Zoricus exhaled, a noticeable shake in his breath. “Okay, but only as long as Sadie is spared.”

“One more thing.” Sadon raised his finger. “If you come across Fendrel—”

The knight tilted his head, confusion marking his face.

“The dragon Liberator—” Sadon sneered “—If he shows up, kill him.”

“You don’t want to kill him yourself?” Zoricus stepped toward the desk.

Sadon snorted. “Believe me, I’ve tried, but at this point I just want him gone so he can’t interfere. I don’t care how quickly or slowly you kill him, just make sure he doesn’t ruin anything.” He stared at his blade and watched the glint of the torchlight on it. “He has quite the reputation of ruining my plans.”

“What if he doesn’t appear during our infiltration?” Zoricus crossed his arms.

“Then I trust you’ll take care of him as soon as you can. You are dismissed.” Sadon waved him off.

Zoricus nodded and turned toward the door but stopped short. “Sir, I have a question.”

Sadon raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“What should we do with Miss Adila?”

“Hmm. Kill her, too. We won’t need her when we’re done.” Sadon’s voice emoted as much as a rock.

Fendrel stood and began walking away as Zoricus reached for the door handle.

Zoricus exited the room and stared at Fendrel’s retreating form. “Hey, you. What are you doing here?”

Sadon called from his study. “You don’t have authority over them yet. Let them go to their posts, or wherever they need to go.”

The knight said something under his breath and left in the other direction.

As Fendrel walked away, shaking. So it’s definitely true that Zoricus is working with Sadon, but how are we going to prove it?

Fendrel took note of the empty halls, the echoing footsteps now absent. Even the torches were dying, the halls even more dimmed than when he entered.

Everyone should be asleep by now, even the instructors, and I don’t know their proficiencies in fighting so it wouldn’t be wise to make them talk. Even if I did get them to talk, who’s to say that person wasn’t just lying?

He gave a heavy sigh.

I guess we’ll just have to rely on Zoricus being flustered or overly defensive in order to get the king to see the truth.

Fendrel kept his head down and walked back to the stables.

The stable boy sat on a stool, staring out at the moonlit dunes. His head turned at Fendrel’s approach. “They haven’t come back yet.”

Fendrel inwardly chastised himself for what he was about to say. “Why are you here?”

The stable boy dropped his head. “I know I should be getting my rest, sir, but I just wanted to wait for my friends.”

“No, I mean…Why did you decide to become a dragon hunter?”

The hunter stared out at the dunes with an empty expression. “We didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Fendrel opened his mouth, then shut it. Neither did we…

He went up beside the stable boy. “Saddle me up.”

The stable boy looked up expectantly. “Are you going out to look for them?”

“I have orders to retrieve them.” Fendrel felt guilt crush his lungs when the hunter smiled and rushed to prepare a horse.

“Here!” The hunter led a saddled horse to Fendrel.

Fendrel noticed Zoricus’ stallion was missing from the stables as he mounted the horse.

“Do you know who the owner of that fancy-looking black horse was?” Fendrel nodded at the empty stall.

The stable boy scratched his head. “I think that was the king’s nephew. He rides here every two weeks to speak with our leader, I think.” He began to whisper and leaned toward Fendrel. “Don’t tell anyone, but I heard on the rumor mill that the king wants to keep dragons safe, so Zoricus is defying him because his true loyalties lay with our leader.” He smiled.

Fendrel nodded. A thought crossed his mind. “What do you think of Charles?”

Squinting, the stable boy tilted his head. “You haven’t heard? He died while fighting a rogue. Can you believe that? The next in line after Sadon died doing what the wranglers do every day. How pathetic is that?”

Keeping silent, Fendrel nodded.

“I mean Sadon, er, our leader, lost faith in him after he failed to stop a whole class from leaving right before an initiation ceremony.”

“Get some sleep if you can.” Fendrel spurred his horse forward.

The moon was out, and the desert was no longer warm, but almost as cold as the Frost Peaks.

As he neared the spot where he left the others, Fendrel pulled down the scarf covering his mouth. “I’m back.” He dismounted and let the horse run away.

Cassius clambered up a dune. “Did you find anything?”

Fendrel sighed. “Not anything physical, but I heard it first-hand.”

<~><~><~>

The Summer Festival’s activities would end when the moon was at its highest every night, which was the same time Fendrel and the others arrived back to the Twin Oases.

Fendrel filled the others in on the conversation he overheard between Sadon and Zoricus while they flew back to the sandstone palace.

The city was quiet, and barely any fire dragons were outside of their homes. Fendrel hoped Ember was still awake.

She was.

Ember rested on the rug. Her head lifted when they entered. “You’re back?”

“It’s too cold to sleep in the middle of the desert, and we have news.” Venom suppressed a yawn.

Ember’s ears perked up. “Oh? Do tell.”

“Our suspicions were correct. The knight is working with the dragon hunters. They’re planning on killing Cassius, his fiancé, and probably the king of the humans. We’re going to try to get rid of the knight tomorrow, and you need to send messages to the other tribes just in case the hunters attack us afterwards.” Venom’s spines bristled. “They won’t be too happy with their plot being derailed.”

“I will.” Ember rose from her rug. “There are rooms through that hall for you to sleep in.” She pointed toward a doorway and dragged herself to a different room, her wings slouched with the burden of sleep.

<~><~><~>

POV: Charles

Oliver was dead asleep, mumbling. Every now and then his fingers twitched.

Charles sat not far from him, only understanding half of what Oliver spoke in his dreams.

He’s dreaming about his cage again. Charles felt heavy. He stroked the boy’s hair from his face and recited what he used to tell Oliver back in the hunter bases.

“You’re safe as long as I’m here. I’ll make sure you get out of here safe and sound. You will be free and happy.”

Oliver’s twitching subsided and his mumbles were replaced with snores.

Adder and Viper slept curled in a ball nearby with the rest of the dusk hatchlings piled around them.

Charles sighed in relief. His eyes grew heavy now that his worries died down.

“I guess it’s time to take my own advice.” Charles thought back to his mantra. “I’m safe now, I’m far away from Sadon and his accomplices. I am free, and I refuse not to be happy now.”