Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

            Blackscales almost fell onto the cold, wet ground in exhaustion as he hauled Autumn behind him. His eyes were half-closed as he dragged both of their bodies through the seemingly endless forest. It was the middle of the night after he began his journey. Needless to say, he hadn’t intended on travelling for an entire day. He was absolutely clueless about how far he’d gone, but to him it felt like he had gone a thousand leagues. To make matters worse, his exhaustion prevented him from being able to talk to Inferno.

            He could feel the dragon pushing against his mind, but his weariness made him unable to respond in any way. It was reassuring knowing that the dragon knew that he was at least still alive and making his way to the town, but the worry and concern was there, nevertheless. Even worse, Inferno couldn’t go on a search for his rider and Autumn, because their general position was unknown thanks to their inability communicate. Blackscales never forgot to check in on Autumn though.

            Thanks to their close proximity, the rider could at least make an appearance on the outside of the imaginary building that trapped his friend. Over time, however, that too began to disintegrate until he was unsure whether or not Autumn knew he was even there anymore. She must have been worse off than him though, and that urged him on even when he felt like his legs and arms were going to fall off.

            Blackscales felt his head swimming, and nothing seemed to make sense to him anymore. Numerous times he felt his legs give out and both he and Autumn collapsed onto the ground, but he just stood up and continued walking. He almost couldn’t see at all; his vision almost completely blurred until he couldn’t even tell if he was sleeping or awake. All he knew anymore was the constant beating of his heart, and the continuous beat of his feet dragging across the hard ground. Even the cold didn’t bother him anymore; he was far to exhausted to care.

            That was when he thought he saw a flag poking above the trees. No, it was definitely there; a piece of red cloth that whipped around with the wind. At last! He had reached the town, Autumn still held firmly in his arms. And to the right of the trail, well-hidden by trees and brush but not completely out of sight, was the magnificent dragon. Blackscales never thought he’d be so glad to see Inferno.

            “I was wondering what had happened to you,” the dragon said.

            Still feeling exhausted beyond measure, all Blackscales could do was nod. He half dropped, half set Autumn on the ground as he forced himself to stay upright and did what he could to disguise his fatigue, but Inferno could sense it easily, though he seemed awfully tired himself after his long flight.

            “Come,” Inferno said as he picked Autumn up with his front paws and rested all of his weight on his hind legs. “We are both very exhausted. There is a clearing not far from here where we can rest.”

            Once again, all Blackscales could do was nod. With the dragon’s permission, he climbed into the saddle on his back and just waited for the dragon to bring them to the clearing he spoke of. He had flown most of the way, since dragons weren’t really accustomed to walking on two legs, not to mention how tired he was and the fact that he was carrying two people. But, soon enough, they made it to the clearing.

            Without any thought or conscious decision, Blackscales literally slid out of the saddle and crashed against the ground. He ignored the pain that lanced throughout his body as he watched Inferno place Autumn next to him, and spread one of his wings to cover him again. Blackscales hardly even felt the temperature change drastically, as he felt his body just immediately fall into a deep slumber.