Crown of horns

Chapter nineteen

"I feel ill having to wear this." I mumble adjusting the tight scale armor I now regret purchasing from the sanguine village.

"It does not scream. Be calm, filia de dracones. I will not be upset, this in fact makes you a true dragon. You have your own scales. It is a weak but you can speak our language. I am proud to be walking in to battle with you."

I follow opaskai leads the way across the territory. Rendroktheil
Waits at the tunnel entrance. With him, any dragon that could be spared from protecting the territory.

"Alys. Opaskai. Are you ready?" Rendroktheil approaches through the dark.

"Yes." I answer, my fingers tugging gently on the braids through my hair.

The two dragons step to either side of me, shifting perfectly between strides.

Rendroktheil, I suddenly realize is still extremely tall. He towers over myself, Opaskai's head barely reaches the bottom of his chin. This makes me feel extremely small.

I find my fingers twisted around the small pink scale from Opaskai.

"Do not fret Alys. We will stand by you, always." Opaskai reminds me. I nod.

Behind us, the dragons Rendroktheil called to stand with us have taken to the sky, only few remain on the ground behind us. An array of colors and shapes and sizes scattered around. Such amazing diversity, beautiful and strong. Graceful while deadly.

As we approach the keep, the air around us becomes cold, stiff. Faintly underlined with ash.

Along the peaks of the view towers are large crossbows; the very same ones that shot Rendroktheil down when this started.

There are no guards in sight. Another trick.

"Alys? Your people, they should not burn?" This is an odd question. I turn to opaskai. "No. The people do not burn. They are far enough away from the keep we do not have need to draw them in to battle." I answer.

"But perhaps close enough it was wise for your sister to... rid of them?" I turn to follow his gaze, a small cry leaves my lips. I don't care I charge into a headlong sprint towards the fort, still in hot smolder.

"Alys! Stop!"
"Alys! No!"

Two pairs of footsteps chase behind me. Despite being far older, and far more adapt they do not catch up.

I slip under the half closed gate, headlong into the market.  An empty market. Nothing is burning, nothing has changed. All is simply quiet.

"Alys. This is unwise." Rendroktheil reaches out, his hand does not reach my skin before being knocked down. I weave between tall frames.

Opaskai kicks a timber of stray wood before bending down to retrieve the small object trapped beneath. A small rag doll, smudged with soot and flecked with embers.

Hidden among the huts is a large smoking bonfire. The tower of smoke caused by this bonfire is over a hundred feet high. An easy illusion of a burning town and behind stone walls, anyone could believe it.

"Why would she bring us down here?"

"I do not know but I believe it is time to-"

"IN THE FORT!"

"FIRE!"

The two dragons dive into different directions, sending up a spray of ash and dirt. I fall backwards, into an open hut.

"Alys!" Rendroktheil shouts. "Ren!" I scream. From inside I can hear the rain of arrows. Through the splintered doorframe, a single harpoon was shot into the non fire, reigniting the flames.

"Alys run! Run now! We will take this attention away from you!" Opaskai shouts.

My heart begins to beat in reverse, flipping, rolling. My fingers shake. I crawl across the dirt, to my feet my hands braced on the frame. Smoke rolls across the ground. I search for a place to run. To escape the keep towers view. Where? How? Can Opaskai or Rendroktheil keep their attention long enough for me to run?

A shriek burns the air, I catch a flash of dark scales and take the chance. My feet slap the dirt, it sprays behind me. I stumble through the smoke, into the first wall my shoulder makes contact with and bolt along it. Into the shadow. My eyes burn from the smoke.

"Alys?!"

"I'm here!" I shout running along the wall. I blindly feel ahead of me, my fingers run smack into something solid and I yelp. My eyes begin to water.

"Alys?!" Opaskai shrieks, somewhere in the smoke ahead. "I'm alright!" I answer bringing my hand to my chest to cradle my fingers.

"Be careful Alys! The smoke was meant to blind us!" Rendroktheil shouts. He sounds farther to my left.

"They are relying on us being split up, everyone stop shouting unless necessary!" I answer. I receive no reply, assuming they've agreed I continue blindly.

Finding the outer stones I quicken my pace until I find the gate, now having been shut almost completely. At the bottom is just enough distance to slide beneath.

"Opaskai! Rendroktheil! I found the gate!" I shout.

"Stay there. We are coming to you!" Rendroktheil shouts back. I roll under the gate and out of the smoke. Moments later the familiar sound of armor clanking catches my attention.

"They are by the gate, close it!" The order rings loud.

"Opaskai! Rendroktheil! Run!" I scream before sprinting around the wall.

"Alys?!"

The slam of metal on stone shakes the ground beneath my feet. They closed the gate.

I keep running around the other side of the fort and up the hill into the courtyard of the keep.

"Ysme!" I shout viciously marching down the halls.

"Ysme!" I demand shouldering the door into the main hall open.

Inside there stand ten guards, behind them, an empty throne.

"The traitor." One man gasps. "Your dead! The queen. She said you died!" Another gasps.

I draw the blade from my side. My blood boils. Rendroktheil and Opaskai will be trapped in the fort until I can open the gate again. The top will be guarded to heavily for them to fly out.

"If I am dead then this will not hurt."