Wielder

Chapter 23 - Flying

If she had known flying would be as terrifying, stomach-flipping, exhilarating, and freeing as this, Alie would have tried it ages ago. 

   The wind whipped at her hair. The ground shrank beneath their feet.  Everything she knew about the world, about magic and the Realm and herself, changed. 

   She was riding a dragon. 

   It was like sledding down a hill. But faster. Warmer. Better. The dragon pumped its wings, lifting them ever higher, as the flowers turned into a blur of color under her feet. Low-lying clouds became a mist that she flung her hands into. The air smelled sweeter; the magic tasted stronger. She breathed in the energy of it, the life and wellbeing, and it flowed through her as pure as rain. 

   Darrel whooped behind her, thrusting a triumphant fist in the air. "That was the best escape ever!"

   Alie twisted again, looking behind them. The dragon's tail swayed in the wind, its longer spikes whipping like a flag. For a moment, she feared the demons chasing them might have jumped upon it... but it was clear. 

   Adrenaline shot through her blood. She faced forward, leaning into the dragon's neck and gripping its amber scales with shaking fingers. "Hold on," she grinned. 

   The dragon was her creation. It listened to her thoughts, to her will. Without her having to say a word, it angled itself into the wind, flapping furiously to gain altitude. It swept over land with overwhelming speed. 

   And then, it turned around. 

   Darrel's fingers tightened over her waist. "What are you doing? Freedom is that way."

   "Michael's still back there," she said. 

   He slumped behind her into a heap of disappointment. "Right." 

   She leaned closer to the dragon's neck. It could move faster. It had to. "I'd go back for you."

   "Oh, I know. I know." He was probably rolling his eyes at the back of her head. 

   She didn't care. She willed the dragon to fly faster. 

   It tucked its wings in tight and dropped like a rocket from the sky. 

   "WOAH!" Darrel grabbed her with both hands, his legs locking around hers. "What the hell are you doing?"

   She angled the dragon toward the black creatures still scrambling across the road, chasing after them. She clenched her jaw, aiming straight for them. "I want to see what this baby can do." 

   The dragon unfurled its wings and soared, the wind behind it pushing it forward. It curled back its head, a warmth spreading down the length of its throat. 

   Darrel leaned over her. "Oh, I think I'm going to enjoy this."

   The monsters were close. Close enough to see the fiery red of their eyes burning. Close enough to see the muscles across their back flexing as they tore across the road. 

   Before they could jump for her, she unfurled a blast of dragon fire on them. 

   The flames were worse than anything she'd imagined before. It flowed from the dragon's jaws in whorls. It dripped like lava from its jaws. And it stuck to everything it touched, scorching the road, the meadow, and the monsters beneath them. 

   Alie felt the heat of that fire lap at her feet as they soared over where it burned. She angled the dragon up again, those mighty red wings a steady drum beat in the otherwise still morning. She reveled in the sight of the death that lay beneath her, not a single Evil spared from the dragon's wrath.