Dragons of Marak: Book 1, Wings & Sword

#2

 Ana bolted across the dirt. She smashed through the brush. She weaved between the trees. Cee kept pace above her head. For a dragon so small, he flew fast. He spun through the air above her. Every time she looked his way, no matter how vigorously she ran, he was always there. She had scratches, pricks, and bruises. Still, she couldn't lose him.

"Why do you keep following me?" she finally called out, feeling annoyed. She dodged a tree.

"Because," Cee said. "Somebody needs to stop that spindelldra. They're tearing the forest to shreds."

"And trying to tear us to shreds," Ana added in between labored breaths. She slowed down. She was not used to running so hard. Also, her dress was ruined. It was ripped open in several places along the belly, bottom, and the back, showing a very inappropriate amount of skin. "I'm not going to fight, so just stop asking me already."

"Don't you wonder why they are acting like that?" Cee said. "We dragons aren't normally all wild and violent. Unless someone attacks us. You didn't attack the spindelldra, did you?"

Ana ducked underneath a branch, and she narrowly avoided a blow to the face. She skidded to a halt at the same time as Cee.

"No," she said. "I didn't. I told you I'm not a fighter."

She wondered if Cee was one of the dragons that Mr. Dimas had meant to introduce her to. But no, that couldn't be the case. She was supposed to be meeting a trio of dragons. They would be traveling together.

The spindelldra roared again, and Ana looked up. They crashed through the branches above her. Their body was ragged with cuts and bruises, but they showed no sign of slowing down. They dove to the ground. Their eyes were trained on something...or rather, someone.

Ana's friend, Leti.

Leti moved carefully through the brush. She was struggling. Her dress was caught in a thorny vine. Ana shouted a warning. The spindelldra made a cacophony of noise. They were closing in. Ana trembled. The dragon was a mammoth in size. They emitted their high-pitched screech-roar, for what felt like the millionth time. Ana shouted. "DUCK!"

She dropped to the ground just moments before the spindelldra got to her. She could only hope Leti had done the same. The spindelldra flew by, and blasted her with wind. Ana shot back to her feet. She looked up. The spindelldra was ascending. They crashed through more tree branches. Across the way, Leti was stumbling towards her. She was okay. Thank the Uniter.

"Holy Uniter, Ana, your dress is torn to shreds."

Leti's dress was in bad shape too. It was muddy, and had a few small tears. But she evidently hadn't been doing as much running as Ana. It was still recognizable as a dress.

"I'll take it from here!" Cee shouted. Ana turned. He sucked in a breath. His body inflated.

The spindelldra was approaching again. She hadn't heard them roar this time.

As they neared, Cee sprayed their face with a jet of water. But the larger dragon didn't even slow down. In fact, they sped up. The dragon shook the water off like it was rain. They roared. Ana and Leti dropped to the ground just in time to avoid a bloody haircut.

When she got up, Ana saw that Cee had somehow dodged the blow-by. He tried to follow the spindelldra as it ascended.

"You can run, but you can't win!" Cee shouted.

Ana thought that he was the one who should be running. She certainly had plans to get away from here.

"Let's get out of here," Leti said.