Dragon Riders

Chapter 28: Prevailing Love

Aspen POV:

As I think I have described enough of the tedious journey, I will skip the next day of uneventful walking. All that was important, is that we were done walking, and in the nick of time. Eli was dead asleep the entire trek through Dis. I think all that action and walking in Sci pooped him out. I am telling you, if we had to do any more walking, he would have probably died from exhaustion. My hair frizzed a ton and Cade was always sweating. Lazaro seemed like the only Viy who wasn't miserable. Even Iris complained about the heat as we walked and talked. Lazaro claimed he was used to the broiling temperatures because he lived on the beaches of Southern Del. I begged to differ. Eli was always grumbling about the heat too, and he was from Southern Del. Lazaro had some unnatural immunity to the heat, I swear. Sometimes, I even saw him chuckling at our frustrations and misery.

Regardless, when we finally reached the last volcano, we set up camp. Cade and I had saved most of our nice, fresh fruit for the days we knew we'd suffer in Dis. We planned on sharing it with our friends. Planning ahead, we had filled our canteens with water from the snow in Sci. We each still had five canteens full, although Cade only drank four. The other he let a dehydrated Viy have. As we set up camp, I peaked around the side of the Volcano. Reaching up to the clouds was Inferno's Fall. There was a golden throne at the top; in it sat the pitch black nightmare, Inferno. I gulped as I retreated back to my friends. Iris had circled up all the other Viys and Teffs and waited expectantly for me. When I took my spot to her right, she began,

"We need to come up with a strategy for attack. Our spy gathered that two days before the battle, Inferno gives an inspirational speech to all his fighters. I say we rain on his parade. Shade and I are going to fight his right hand... er .. wing man, the general. Axel, his son and heir to the throne is next on the kill list. I think Aspen and Serafina should go after Inferno though. They outwitted him once, and I'm sure they can do it again!" She gave me a reassuring look as I turned to Serafina. She nodded, so I turned to Iris and did the same. "Good, then that's settled. Aspen and Serafina will be the first out, closely followed by Shade and I then in descending order from that point on! Aspen and Serafina, do you all have any tips for fighting Phoenixes?"

"If you are in danger of death," I warned, "taunt and stall. They get filled with rage and are easier to outsmart and defeat." Everyone nodded.

"Also, remember, they will burn anything you try to use against them: vines, weapons, rocks, and so on." Serafina informed the crowd and they nodded once more.

"Thank you for the lifesaving advice," Iris continued. "Everyone rest and prepare yourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. We have three days before we must attack. Use them wisely. Also, there will be a check in each night to ensure no one has been captured or discovered. You all are dismissed." With that, the sun set and everyone readied themselves for bed. After a lot of worried shifting and snuggling with Cade, I fell asleep at last.

The morning brought lots of anxious pacing and nerve wracking waiting. Honestly, I wished we could have just attacked then. We were all sitting about doing nothing, because we were scared doing anything would make a noise. We just watched the skies and talked about the upcoming battle. Often, I would just break down into sobs regarding my opponent. Cade kept brushing my hair back to reveal my tear streaked face and whispered comforting words as he attempted to console me.

Truth be told, my worries were noticed by everyone, which put them all on edge. To see me, the strong Viy everyone looked up to, bawling like a baby, was off putting. Serafina would mentally console me and wrap one her paws around me. She would create a bed of clovers and flowers on her back for me to lay upon and calm myself. Almost every time this occurred, Eli would come curl up against me. Stroking my hand, he would tell me stories about Encantados and how he would save crabs in the sand by throwing them back into the water they needed. His soothing, little voice and the uplifting morals to his stories brought me back to my normal self.