Free Flight of the Dragon (The Chronicles of Dragon, Series 2, Book 5 of 10) (Tail of the Dragon) by Craig Halloran Page B

prince. The battle is up to them. But in their stead, I’ll certainly do what must be done in defense. Between now and then, I need you to find them.”
    “I’d be glad to track them down, but the search would go quicker with wings beneath me.”
    “Getting out of here will be easier without them.” Grahleyna’s eyes scanned the horizon.
    Wurmers flocked through the air like birds. Selene couldn’t count them by the hundreds. The insect-like dragons made an evil humming sound, swarming like locusts. They weren’t the biggest dragons—only the size of large dogs or small horses—but there were so many it didn’t matter.
    “Couldn’t you send dragons out to search?”
    “I could send a flight of dragons out and hope some of them squeezed through the ranks of those foul things, but I’ve made my decision. No dragons are going out. There are some in Dragon Home, Selene, but not many. I have to wait things out. It won’t be easy.”
    Selene found it hard to breathe. A dreadful feeling overcame her. Her failures haunted her. She was part of the reason the wurmers thrived, and she hadn’t yet figured out how to stop them. A strong part of her wanted to resume that quest. “If the dragons can’t leave, how am I supposed to get out of here?”
    “There are other methods.” Grahleyna turned.
    Something caught Selene’s eye: a flock of small dragons whose wings beat with rapid fury. “Oh my!”
    They were young crimson dynamos, cinnamon scaled and very deadly. The three of them formed a wedge. The one in the rear fought to keep up, with its damaged wing. The dragons must have slipped through the wurmer ranks undetected.
    But the wurmers caught the burst of wings and scales beating through the sky. A sea of the evil creatures let out a shrill sound, splitting the air. They gave pursuit. And closed in fast.
    Crimson dynamo dragons were not known for their speed. They were a breed strong in power. And this group was young.
    “Come to me, brothers and sisters, come to me!” Grahleyna cried out. Her body shimmered. She was transforming into her dragon self.
    Selene caught her by the arm. “No, you can’t go out there. It’s just what they want. We can’t lose you, Grahleyna.”
    In a voice wroth with anger, Grahleyna yelled at Selene, “Unhand me!” With eyes like fire, she jerked her arm away. Wings sprouted from her back.
    But Selene knew it was too late. Just as she lifted her gaze into the distance, the wurmers caught up with the young crimson dragons. Swarmed the three of them. Claws and teeth flashed. Fire exploded in the sky. Wurmers crackled and sizzled, but not enough of them. The fires of the young dynamos faded. The wurmers latched onto them and tore them to shreds.
    Grahleyna screamed, “Nooooooooooooooooooo!”
    Selene held her back by the waist. It was difficult.
    Suddenly the sky darkened. Wurmers were everywhere, blanketing the sky like clouds.
    “We must get back inside!” Selene felt Grahleyna sag in her arms.
    The three young dynamos’ broken bodies hung from the jaws of the wurmers, which flew away in triumph and dropped the dead dragons into the waiting arms of the giants.
    Above, the wurmers circled in a taunting formation, hundreds of them all at once. The hum they made was deafening.
    “We must go inside, Grahleyna, we must!” Selene urged. “Come. They need you inside.”
    Wurmers landed on the peaks of Dragon Home.
    Selene’s own blood stirred. An enemy dragon landing on the peaks of Dragon Home was like an orc planting an orcen flag in Morgdon. She was appalled. Finally leading the reluctant Grahleyna back inside, she said, “We’re going to end them, my queen. We’re going to end them!”
    But how?

CHAPTER 18
     
     
    Nath smacked the whistle away from the man’s lips before he had time to blow. The metal whistle spun around the man’s neck and whacked him in the side of the head.
    “Ow!” The man reached up to rub his temple.
    Brenwar knocked the man down to his knees