Chapter 11

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    “Chaser pay attention!  He’s part Skrill!”  Amber’s warning snaps his mind back into action.  Taking a step forward to close distance with his foe, Chaser’s leg buckles and a quiet hiss of pain escapes his lips.  His eyes dart down to his forelimb, ‘No sign of a break…  Maybe a sprain?’ 

    The snarl of rage from Ahadi brings his attention back to the here-and-now.  “You dare!”  Ahadi nearly screams.  Unfurling his wings to make himself appear as large as possible, he utters a roar of pain.  His right wing fails to open, instead it is bent at an unnatural angle.  The gleaming ‘talon’ on the leading edge is missing, broken off and leaving trails of crimson trickling from the crumpled leather.  “My wing!!  I will kill you!  Soulfire did the old one no good when I took this pack from him!  It will do you even less!!”  The grounded Shade-skrill crackles with energy before he launches his first bolt.

    Chaser was already moving.  His wings pumping against his sides as he takes to the air.  The crackling bolt of blue-white lightning lights up the night, casting strange shadows as he leaps over the blast.  Nyota screams in agony as the bolt strikes the ground where Chaser had just been standing.  Just as Amber was hit by the arcing attack earlier, Nyota was caught this time.  

“Nyota!”  Chaser roars, the glow in his scales flares with a brilliant light.  His leap ends with him charging head first into the larger male.  Ignoring the spear of pain in his forelimb, Chaser crashes bodily into Ahadi.  The pair roll in a tangle of claws, fangs and wings.

  The initial impact winds Ahadi, preventing a second bolt from being fired as the roll brings all of Chaser’s weight to bear on his foes' broken wing.  The sound of bone grinding against bone is almost drowned out by the snapping of jaws and the flare of pain in his own leg as Ahadi manages to catch his forelimb between his teeth.

Snapping jaws, roars of pain and rage echo through the battlefield.  The ground and grass were painted dark with the two dragon’s blood.  In the flurry of attacks, no one was able to see who had the true advantage.  Unlike Ahadi, Chaser had yet to use his flame.  The younger dragon wouldn’t dare with so many so close.  Ahadi had no such compulsion and would fire off randomly, trying to to strike his foe.   

Amber watches on in horror as the two males tear into each other.  ‘Ahadi has the advantage in size and age, but Chaser is clearly more muscled and more agile.  Thicker scales and denser muscles are probably the only reason Chaser didn’t lose his leg to the other’s sharp teeth.’

With a roar, and a kick, Chaser pushes Ahadi away.  Glancing down he sees the deep rents in his flesh, the torn scales and freely flowing blood dripping onto the ground.  Shaking his head to clear his mind, he sees Ahadi drop his own head just before charging forward.  The larger dragon’s speed is impressive, covering the distance between them in just a heartbeat.  The thunder of his heart pounds in his ears, and without another thought, Chaser leaps into the air.  

Ahadi is surprised by the sudden attempt at evasion.  His feet kick up loose stones and dirt as he slides to a stop, his head darts back and forth, scanning for his prey.

Chaser’s wings give a single pump before folding as close to his body as possible.  With his spine fins still open, he twists in midair.  Folding his body back upon itself, he lands with all four legs onto a single point.  Ahadi screams as the younger dragon lands squarely upon his spine, driving the wind from his lungs.  Chaser feels, almost as much as he hears, the larger dragon’s spine shatter under the weight of his impact.

The world falls silent for what seems an eternity, before Chaser staggers away from the broken dragon before him.

“Finish… it!  Kill me!”  Ahadi gasps out.  His forelimb scrambles in the dirt, as his lower half lies motionless behind him.  “Do IT!!!”

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