Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 16

You sat anxiously beside Ember, the door of his cage half open. His eyes were dreary and almost completely closed. He couldn't have stood if he'd tried. In the last few days, he'd seemed weaker than ever. His deep, slow breaths struck terror within you, and his usually vibrant red scales seemed to have faded to a far paler shade. You had stayed here day and night with him through his deterioration. His appetite had vanished, and the usual glow in his eyes seemed to have disappeared. You didn't understand. Why had the antidote worked on you, but not him? Even after giving him another dose a few days ago, you hadn't seen any improvements in his condition. You placed a hand on his flank, and were alarmed by how cold his scales were. This didn't look good at all. Your heart sank, as you realized that each day Ember's condition worsened, his chance of survival shrank. In an overwhelming stampede of emotions, you buried yourself under his wing, and rested your face on his cold scales. You closed your eyes, trying to remember all the times you'd flown together, soaring above the clouds and swooping between trees, but it was no use. You felt a silent tear run smoothly down your cheek, as you tried to bite back your emotions. Again, it was no use. You let the tears flood down your face, trying to suppress your whimpering. Then, you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned around slowly, expecting to see Viggo. But, the man you looked up at was not Viggo at all. It was Ryker.

You instantly sprang to your feet, wiping the tears from your face, and shoving your emotions aside. Ryker was standing at the entrance of the cage, his arms crossed, and a smile lighting up his face.

"How did you? I thought the riders – "

"Never mind how." He bellowed, "I have some unfinished business to take care of." He said, unfolding his arms, and taking an intimidating step towards you. You knew exactly what he meant.

"You're stronger than you look. I'll give you that." he said, "But, I meant to kill you that night, and that's exactly what I'm going to finish off now." There was no escape. There was nothing you could do, as he lifted his rusted, yet razor sharp, sword over his shoulder for the blow. You quickly reached for your own sword - your only defense, as there didn't seem to be any possibility of thinking your way out of this one. You calculated you move, lunging in a desperate attempt to disarm him. But, almost in response to your thoughts, your sword was knocked from your hands, and cast aside. Another powerful hand seized your throat, making the chance of dodging the blow, as well as your attempts to struggle free, worthless. The sword was on its descent, and you prepared yourself for the lethal blow. For the first time in your life, your mind went completely blank. This was it.

 Suddenly, as the sword was about to come down on you, a flash of red threw itself between you and Ryker, biting the arm that Ryker was using to clasp your throat. You instantly felt the hand around your neck slacken. But the sword still came down, nonetheless, in a powerful sweep, hitting not you, but Ember, who fell to the ground limp.

"Ember!" you shouted, tumbling to the ground beside him. You heard Ryker chuckle, despite the flow of blood gushing from the arm Ember had bitten. As Ryker readied himself to strike again, you closed your eyes, grabbing tightly on to Ember. But the blow never came. You looked up to see Ryker with a contorted expression on his face. After a moment, he fell the ground, revealing Viggo standing behind him, a bloodied sword in hand. You gawked at him. He held out a hand to you, and you automatically clasped it, unable to speak. Glancing backwards, you could see Ryker's chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, as he lay on the ground unconscious. Ember's, alarmingly, wasn't. Viggo helped you up, and began turning to the exit.

"But, what about Ember?" you managed to stutter, already knowing the answer. Viggo looked back at you, a grave look on his face. You looked down at Ember. His body was lifeless, and his eyes glazed over. The world froze. You forgot how to breathe. You stared for a few moments, tears collecting in your eyes once more, and your lungs heaving.

"I'm sorry." You heard from behind you. It sounded muffled and distant, your mind too preoccupied with grief. Didn't Viggo hunt dragons for profit? But that didn't matter now. Nothing did. Ember was gone. And it was your fault.

  Your fault.

 The thought repulsed you.

 After what seemed like an eternity of not being able to move, you managed to drag your eyes back to Viggo. You felt sick, as your legs slowly brought you out of the cave, but your mind still lingered on what you had seen, in denial of what had transpired.

You could sense Viggo was about to say something. If you were being honest, normally you wouldn't have minded. But, this time, it was different. You purposefully walked ahead before he had the chance to say anything. Ember...How? It had all happened so quickly, you were still trying to piece the situation together. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be. But it was - that was the horror of it. It was like the most strikingly vivid nightmare you had ever had. And there was nothing you could do about it now. Nothing. That's what had caused Ember to sacrifice himself for you - you doing nothing. And now, it was too late. There was nothing you could do to change what had happened. Nothing.

You didn't want Viggo to see the tears flooding down your face. You clenched your jaw, willing yourself not to cry until you reached a tent. You felt like you had been repeatedly punched in the stomach, and your legs trembled as you had never known possible.

You sat on the bed of the first spare tent you'd found. You couldn't believe what had happened. Ember was gone. Before you had disappeared into the tent, Viggo had offered to help you carry out the ceremonious duties, but you had discourteously rejected his offer, saying that you needed time to yourself. Thinking about it now, you had probably come across as quite rude, but you had lost Ember. Why? Why had he jumped in front of you at the time that he had? The Changewing's loyalty now stung in your heart.

 This wasn't the first dragon you had lost, either. Was it all your fault? Were you an awful Dragon Rider? Perhaps the others were right to have sent you away, after all. None of the other riders had ever lost a dragon, and now you had lost two. You body shook violently, as more tears flooded down your face. You didn't care if the hunters heard you, you only regretted what had happened to Ember. You were the reason Ryker turned up in the first place. He wasn't interested in Ember, he came looking for you. You groaned. Perhaps if you'd been braver you could have stopped him, instead of cowering like an idiot. Why did you have to be so weak? Why couldn't you have thought of something to do on the spot?

You were grabbing strands of your hair tightly, as you realized that you didn't have the energy to cry anymore. You stood up, punching the walls of the tent and kicking the bed. Your fists and feet burned fiercely, as if you had broken them, but you continued kicking and punching everything in sight. Your angry shouts soon became desperate sobs, as you laid down on the bed, unable to take it anymore. You were exhausted.

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! This was a pretty intense chapter, and I know it was kind of depressing, but I still hope you enjoyed reading it. Don't worry - every character has ups and downs, and things should hopefully get better! Plus, I have an idea... But, for now, I don't want to give to much away!