Dragon Riders

Chapter 27: Reassurance

Aspen POV:

All the Teffs and Viys formed a huddle around Iris and Shade.

"Listen up!" Iris ordered in a hushed tone. "We have to get to the first volcano in the row of six without being seen. So, we are going to go a pair at a time. Each Viy and Teff will slowly and silently descend down the mountain and retreat behind the cover of the volcano. Understand?" Everyone nodded. "Shade and I will be the first to go, Aspen and Serafina will be the last. They will ensure everyone has made it through." Iris made eye contact with me and I nodded in understanding. Everyone parted so that Shade and Iris could get through.

In a matter if minutes, they reached the base of the mountain effortlessly. Then, they crossed the area between Sci and the first Volcanos. When they reached the base, Iris reflected the light of her sword and light glinted off the metal. I pointed at the nearest Viy, a tall guy with red hair and glasses.

"Take your Teff and go!" I instructed. After several hours of this, only Gwen and Eli, Maya and Lazaro, Orion and Cade, and Serafina and I remained. I sent Eli and Gwen first, but had Eli climb on Gwen. Eli was notorious for causing loud noises as he walked and we couldn't risk being caught. After another glint of light from Iris, I sent Orion and Cade. Another glint alerted me of their safe passing. With a sigh of relief, I sent Maya and Lazaro. Lazaro accidentally knocked a rock of a cliff and it landed with a loud thud. I thrust out my hand in an open palm, a signal for them to stop. After ten minutes elapsed and no attack commenced, I waved them onwards. With no further accidents, the last beam of reflected light came.

As the first star appeared in the now night sky, Serafina and I began our descent down the mountainside. I have no idea how more people didn't knock rocks off. The terrain was so rocky, I was surprised each person didn't cause a loud thud. Halfway down the slope, I spotted a patrol Phoenix. After alerting Iris with two reflected lights, we searched for a place to hide. The mountainside had evergreens growing, so Serafina grabbed me and camouflaged us as one.

The fiery bird circled the mountaintop once then flew along the volcanoes, not spotting any Teffs or Viys. After performing this strange routine five times, he flew away.

Must be some kind of daily check, Serafina guessed.

Or they somehow figured out that we were coming this way, I reminded her of the less favorable reason.

Let's hope I'm right, Serafina convinced me.

But let's not get false hopes, I countered. The Rocs were allies with the Phoenixes when they wiped out the Unicorns!

Yes, Serafina acknowledged my point, but retorted, but they refused to attack the Pegasi and broke the alliance.

True, I gave in, but we should still be careful. We finally reached the bottom of the mountain and snuck across the rocky area. As we got closer and closer to the volcano, the blistering heat grew stronger and stronger. I was sweating buckets by the time we reached Iris and Shade.

"Alright," Iris called out in a whisper. "Everyone get some shut eye. In the morning, we will walk until we reach the third volcano. Then, we will sleep. After which, we will keep going until we reach the end of this mini volcano range. Then, we will take the remaining days to prepare and rest for the attack. Okay?" Everyone nodded then formed groups, each one containing a Water Dragon, who made it cooler for everyone in their group. My group was my usual crowd of all my friends: Cade, Orion, Eli, Gwen, Iris, Shade, Lazaro, Maya, and, of course, Serafina.

Maya cooled down our area and made it a bearable temperature. The five Viys, including myself formed a circle. I sat between Cade and Iris; Iris had Lazaro to her right. Eli had his head in Cade's lap and Cade held my hand and put his arm around my waist. Our Teffs formed a outer circle around our inner circle. Serafina and Orion sat behind Cade and I, snuggling. Serafina had Maya to her right and Orion had Shade to his left. Between Maya and Shade sat Gwen. The three girl Teffs were chatting eagerly, much like Iris and I. Lazaro and Cade were bragging about how many Ogres and Rocs they each killed.