Rogue Currents

Chapter Four

Lamprey swam over the coral. He was within a day's travel of the Summer Palace, and he could see more dragons around, mostly in groups of four or five. The marks of violence were fewer here, but they were still horribly evident. Many of the dragons had scars or fresh wounds.

Lamprey remembered what his father had told him before he had left. If you have the choice, hide rather than fight. You're smaller than most dragons you'll likely meet. Find a small space to hide and wait for them to leave. Be careful.

Lamprey looked back over his shoulder. Behind him, a dragon was peering down into the coral as though something had caught his attention. Lamprey looked ahead again as he crested another ridge of coral. Ahead of him was a narrow trench, as though a large SeaWing had dragged a claw through the seafloor. As he neared it, a feeling of unease came over him. He drifted closer to the coral and looked back again.

He saw the other dragon again, closer this time. Lamprey narrowed his eyes, and the other dragon saw him staring. The other dragon spread his wings and flashed the stripes beneath them. Now.

Lamprey whirled around, and saw three dragons surging from the trench. Lamprey yelped and dove for the coral. His claws wrapped around an outcropping as larger claws scraped his tail. Lamprey pulled himself forward, aiming for a gap in the coral. Claws closed around his wing before he could reach it, and he was hauled back into the open. He kicked out, jabbing one of them in the ribs. The grip on his left wing loosened, and Lamprey jerked it free. He held it close to his body as he twisted right, lashing out at the dragon on that side, who recoiled from his claws.

Lamprey turned to the coral again, but the third dragon had blocked his path. Lamprey twisted and pounded his wings, aiming for the surface. He surged out of the water, flying south as fast as he could.

The dragon who'd been following him erupted from the water in front of him, and Lamprey slowed dramatically, trying to backpedal.

"What do you want?" he cried.

The other dragon didn't answer, and claws dug into Lamprey's tail, pulling him underwater again. Lamprey twisted, mouth opening to take a chunk out of whoever had hold of him, but a second pair of claws grabbed his horns and slammed his head against something hard. The last thing Lamprey saw before blacking out was the walls of the trench rising above him.