Screams.

            Horrible screaming rent the night as fire shot up like a geyser, its hungry tendrils tickling the dark sky. Fwoomp! Another blaze shot into existence not one hundred yards from where Lauri was perching. As she watched, the men stumbled out of their burning tents, clumsily grabbing their weapons to defy the attackers. Some were on fire. Others lay, dead, their burned bodies still smoking.

            It was a brilliant plan, really. Lauri would never admit it to the Commander of the Army though. The Vulnairians had camped in the little dip of meadow, surrounded by the great oak trees ten miles north of Baroke. They had thought that it would be easier to defend themselves in an open place, but what they didn’t realize that the trees held ample shadow to envelop the predatory eyes of Barokian braves. Right now, literally one hundred of them had just jumped out of the forest to block the escape of the Vulnairians fleeing the flames.

            But what had made those flames?

            It was simple, hilariously deadly. A lean, ugly goat had been drenched in Thistle’s amazing version of Greek fire. With a small spark and a very surprised goat, it was sent running into the camp, setting fire to everything in sight. Lauri leaned forward, her eyes searching the camp. The fires still blazed strong, but they weren’t spreading as they should have. Lauri shook her head grimly. Ryan had said that the fire wouldn’t kill the animal immediately, that it would rampage through the whole camp before it succumbed to the heat. But he had been wrong. And now the whole rest of the camp was alerted of their presence.

            The Commander-in-Chief seemed to notice also and the twittering call of the paradise bird echoed through the forest. In response to his call, the rest of the Barokian braves burst from cover to attack while they still had the element of surprise.

            Lauri frowned. This couldn’t be right. How much land did the fire actually cover? She climbed nimbly higher up the tree, her deerskin boots not making a noise against the bark. She grunted before heaving herself onto a wide bough, sliding her legs over the side and narrowing her eyes against the glare. She was shocked at what she saw. Six tents. Six pitiful tents had gone up in flame. And the tents were placed so far from one another that the rest were free from the blaze. But there was something else. Her glowing eyes intensified as she focused in closer. The rest of the tents billowed in the wind, their cheap fabric belying their lack of occupants. Her eyes widened. It had been a trap!

            Like a nimble mountain goat, she hopped down thirty feet to land softly on the leaves. “IT’S A TRAP!” she screamed, racing towards the braves. “Retreat! Retreat!” Her legs flying faster than any human’s, she rocketed to the Commander-in-Chief, who had plunged his spear into the stomach of a Vulnairian with grim satisfaction pulling at his strong jaw. “Ripley!” Lauri hissed from behind him, alerting him of her presence.

            Ripley twisted around, his grey eyes lighting up in anger. “Lauri, what are you doing here? This is not your mission, dragon-woman.”

            “Shut up and listen to me, you block-headed fool.” Lauri felt like slapping him across his whole face. “It’s a trap. Tell your men to retreat or we’ll all be-”

            A bugle sounded, it’s rustic cry booming in everyone’s ears.

            Ripley’s eyes widened. “Retreat!” he roared, jerking his spear out of the Vulnairian’s stomach to wave it in the air. “Run, fools, run!”

            Lights topped the small hill over the fake encampment. Like thousands of pairs of eyes, they glowed with dim affirmation and struck cold fear in the pit of every Barokian brave’s stomach. They turned tail and ran.

            The Vulnairians, sensing their victory, let out a great cheer and charged, their swords glinting as they broke their lanterns onto the forest floor. The flames sputtered and were swallowed in the darkness, washing the Barokians in suffocating black. All the poor soldiers could hear was their own hearts thumping, their hoarse breaths rasping in their lungs. Then a sharp cry and a clatter of metal thumping to the ground. One was down. Then another. And yet another.

            They can’t have caught up on us that fast, Lauri thought. She jumped out of the shadows to give a nasty knock to the side of one’s man’s head with the butt of her javelin, planting a nasty kick to the one on her right before racing through the forest to find the man who was taking down her men so fast.

            Something padded up next to her, breathing heavily. It was one of the soldiers, a blonde named Derrick. “Puh-please help,” then he turned to look at her fully and his forehead smoothed, his eyes widening with emotion.

            The eyes were black.

            Lauri jumped into action. Jumping high into the air, she hefted her javelin with both hands, ready to sink the metal edge between his eyes.

            The cat responded in a split second. It dived from under her so that she would miss it. Then it crouched, ready to jump on her the second she landed.

            Lauri had expected this to happen. She landed like a wren on a branch, steadying herself as the branch wobbled underneath her. Strapping her javelin to her back, her eyes searched the darkness for her opponent. She could barely see it, it was so black it seemed to be a shadow. She wouldn’t have spotted it all if it hadn’t pounced. Now, heading straight for her, it opened its jaws in a fanged smile, ready to snap her neck.

            She let herself fall back, catching the branch she had been sitting on in a deft movement, using her momentum to propel herself forward. She straightened her legs as she swung her body upwards, hitting the cat on the soft part of its jaw. It fell backwards with a groan and she let go of the branch to follow its descent. Unstrapping her twin javelins mid-air, she brought them down with crushing force on its chest. It roared in pain, its paws flailing for her wildly before whump, its body hit the forest floor and the javelins dove through its entire body.

            Lauri crouched over, breathing heavily, as the approaching Vulnairians swirled around her, their raucous battle cries lost to  her ears. She felt suddenly very sick as she knelt on its furry chest, her hands on the bloody javelins.

            Get out of there. Now. Vali roared in her mind. You mustn’t fight them alone. Run out of the forest and meet me there. If we fight, we shall do it together.

            For once, I’m not arguing with you on that one, Lauri slowly got to her feet, trying to fight the wave of nausea. She shook her head vigorously. “I’ve been through a lot more than this. I can’t be going weak-legged now!”

            No you can’t. Watch it, there’s someone trying to sneak up on you from behind. Vali’s agitation was clear in her voice. Do not waste any time, Rider.

            Vali, you are always worrying about me, Lauri sighed as she snapped out her hunting knives from her thighs, spinning around like a hurricane to slit a soldier’s neck. Wiping her face with the back of her hand as he fell to the ground, she turned around and sprinted up the hillside, darting between the men and slashing at any unarmored parts. Vulnairian armor, she thought haughtily as she slashed at a man’s chest and cut deftly between his ribs, So weak.

            Suddenly she spun behind a tree, cautiously peeking around. Glittering green eyes met her own. She cursed to herself. She had been followed.

            Sliding out of her hiding place, she desperately hoped she wasn’t shaking when she faced the man. “You know, taking on his body won’t fool me. I know what you are.”

            It cocked its head, its curling smile twisting upwards. “I knew that.” It stalked closer, its face wreathing in shadow as a cloud passed over the moon. The crowd around them seem to slow down. She gripped her hunting knives tighter, desperately wishing she still had her javelin. “Tell me, how has it been for you the last few months?” it purred. “Have you missed me?”

            Lauri crouched into battle stance, her eyes slits. “I know you’re not Jaydon, cat,” she spat.

            “Then how about me?” the cat shrunk a few inches, messy raven hair lighting to an sun-kissed brown. Arching eyebrows jumped over deep, expressive green eyes and a wide, wry smile created dimples on his cheeks. He held his arms wide for her. “Tell me, have you missed me, Lauri?”

            Never before had Lauri been so furious. Anger coursed through her veins like Greek fire, igniting her blood with passion. Her vision turned red as her knuckles turned a stark white. “How dare you take on his body?” her voice shook with the deadly whisper.

             “This hasn’t been the first time we’ve met, Great Destroyer. You killed my family in the Great War. I, in turn, will kill you.” Claws shot out of his palms like sabres. He smiled.

            Lauri! Vali’s voice was swallowed by Lauri’s hatred. She raised her hunting knives. “Prepare to die, you rakkima!”

            The Felinus laughed, it’s lips pulling back to reveal its sabre white teeth. “Ladies first.” Then he pounced.

            Lauri was ready. She dodged out of the way for the cover of a large oak tree. But the pouncing cat’s paws snagged her braid, yanking her bodily back to the forest floor. She screamed and stabbed it in the paw, wrenching the blade so that it tore apart muscle and bones. The cat roared in pain, but it didn’t unleash its grip on the Rider. Sharp talons unsheathed, digging into Lauri’s shoulders and almost taking her breath away. It pushed its whole weight on her, its jaw set.

            Lauri knew that it could just snap forward and bite her head off, but she still had tricks up her sleeve. “Happy now?” she asked, digging her knife deeper into its paw.

            Its face twisted in pain. “It does give me some recompense to see you so helpless.” She turned her head away as it leaned forward, its jaws just inches away from her ear. “Are you really the great destroyer? I never thought you’d be so.. weak.”

            Lauri twisted her head and spat, straight into the cats mouth. Poof! A cloud of red surrounded the cat’s head like an evil halo, causing it to rear and choke. When its talons retracted out of her shoulders, she jumped up and backflipped, her knives already ready. “You better believe I’m the great destroyer,” Lauri said hoarsely, her eyes turning a paralyzing blue. She flung one of her daggers at the opaque mist and heard a scream, meaning she had hit her target.

            And then everything froze.

            The Vulnairians stopped chasing the Baroke braves, the fighting stopped, the cat even stopped struggling, its ears perked to the mountains. It didn’t even seem to notice the dagger sticking out of the side of its jaw like an ear-ring. Nobody moved a muscle.

            A beautiful melody drifted through the wood, faint, but still strong like the cry of a griffin. Not a creature dared to disturb it with their scurrying, not a man dared to even breathe. Everyone turned towards the noise, their probing eyes trying to find the source of the wonderful cry. The haunting melody shivered through their souls, clawing at their hearts. It was a song of great sadness. It was a song of grief.

            Lauri knew it was the mourning cry of a dragon. She couldn’t understand the words- it was a long forgotten language from the time of the wingless dragons. But in her heart she knew the message- someone had died. Her heart fell within her, then rose as the song picked up, its notes caressed by the warm northern wind. It was a tale of bravery. This man had been a great warrior. He had killed his foes with a mighty hand! Lauri felt her heart swelling with pride. She closed her eyes, letting the song wash over her like a wave. Her hands fell limp at her sides, her daggers dropping into the leaves.

            The cats eyes narrowed at where the sound was coming from. Where was the dragon that was singing? Before he could even try to pinpoint it, a huge boom made it shriek in pain and cover its ears, its black eyes widening at the sky.

            Lauri was similarly transfixed as lightning lit up the whole sky, six huge bolts meeting as one. A balloon of energy expanded in the sky like a second sun blooming over the northern mountains. Men gasped and stepped back, their faces a mask of fear.

            Then it exploded.

            Golden rays filled the sky, rushing through the forest, bathing them all in glorious light. Lauri tried to close her eyes to retain her night vision, but her eyelids shone brilliant golden as if she hadn’t been closing them. In the distance, Vali roared.

            Then it was gone. Lauri gasped as the darkness took back the throne, this time deeper than ever before. She could hear the sounds of men shuffling awkwardly, not sure what had just happened. The barks of the generals, who had just recovered, tried to shake the men back to reality. Lauri shook her head, trying to blink her way out of her groggy state. Lauri, Vali warned. The cat is watching you. Be strong, I will be there in no time.

            Lauri couldn’t even see the cat in the darkness. All she could see was glaring golden, all she could feel was grief. Her hands groped for her knives,  she felt defenseless. When she finally found it on the forest floor, it was getting slippery in her sweaty hands, her breaths were soft and shallow as the pain intensified in her shoulders. Think, think, she demanded to her sluggish brain. Her hands met the rough bark of a tree and reaching up, she felt the thick knob of a branch. Climbing was second nature to her. She swung herself up as her brain slowly cleared, biting her lip to keep from screaming in pain as her shoulder muscles were stretched.

            Lightning, she thought to herself, that means something. But what? What does it mean? Suddenly a memory bombarded her mind. The great emerald dragon, sitting on the cliff, laughing. Ralem sat next to him, leaning on his scaly side as he threw bread crumbs as far as he could over the ocean. Every time Jaydon would nod his head and a lightning bolt would come out of nowhere to strike it mid-air, rendering it ash. A few times he had even managed to nail a bird, which Lauri had thought was sick but it had made Ralem double up laughing. They hadn’t known she was watching. Could it really be…

            I have not seen another dragon that could do the likes of that.

            Lauri smiled before her senses sharpened. She opened her eyes.

            The cat was right there. Its huge mouth was open, ready to strike. Claws gouged into the tree, the hurt paw dangling from the wrist.

            Lauri did the only thing she could. She threw her last knife at its eye.

            It batted it away like it was a fly. “Ready to die, Rider?” it purred, licking its black lips. Then it struck.

            Lauri screamed and fell backwards. She heard a crash and dully wondered if it was her head hitting a rock. Screams rent the air, she wasn’t sure if it was her own. She could hear her heart beat, banging against the sides of her skull. Something tore into her hurt shoulder and she could feel horrible pressure on her stomach.

            Lauri, come to your senses. Vali’s voice thundered in her mind. Immediately Lauri opened her eyes just to see Vali with the cat’s broken body in her mouth. The water dragon spat it out with distaste to focus again on Lauri. “You are hurt, my small one. Come, get the healing salve and we will leave this place.”

            Lauri slowly got to her feet, feeling suddenly light headed. “I don’t know what happened to me, Vali. I never do that.” She rubbed the back of her skull and felt something warm and sticky. Blood. Suddenly she was on alert. “Vali- what of the other Barokian braves? Shouldn’t we help them?”

            “They are long gone, Lauri,” Vali said softly, bending down so that Lauri could reach her saddle bag. “Now heal yourself up. This was only the first wave. The Commander-in-Chief was one of the first killed. Now it is up to us to recruit the rest of the army.”

            Lauri fumbled in the bag before coming up with a small vial that was a dark green. Uncapping it, a foul smell permeated the air, of burning rubber. Gritting her teeth, she let one fetid drop sizzle onto the wound on her shoulder. The pain inflamed and she bit her lip until blood dribbled down her chin. After a quick burning sensation, she felt bitter stabs as if thousands of needles were being injected into her skin. She sighed as the sensation dwindled, only to put another drop on her other shoulder, then the back of her head.

            Vali cringed in sympathetic pain. “Rider, you know we weren’t supposed to be here.”

            Lauri rolled her eyes. “Don’t lecture me, dragon. This was perfect for us, even if we return bearing ill news. Now we know what we’re up against. Where did the Vulnarians go?”

            “They disappeared, probably to regroup. My guess is that they’ll be back within the hour to topple us while we are still unsteady.” Vali’s voice was stern. Lauri could tell she was a little miffed at the way she had addressed her. When her wounds had healed, Lauri took a running jump and landed smoothly in the saddle. “No time to waste,” she said as Vali took off into a loping sprint. Her eyes drifted to the sunrise, which was blood red in foretelling of the day to come. “My little wind king will be arriving shortly.”

            “Thistle! Ryan complained as Thistle delicately tried to put the concoction together with his talons. “Let me do it! My hands can hold that a lot better than yours can!”

            “Get to work making the death coconuts. We both know that I have a more steady hand than you,” he chuckled. “And besides, this Greek fire is delicate stuff. I don’t want it to burn you.”

            Ryan knew that the forest dragon burned almost as easily as he did, but he didn’t want to point that out. With a sigh he turned back to his worktable to continue making his ‘death coconuts’, so named for their size and weight. But don’t be fooled, inside the glossy black exterior you won’t find some lukewarm milk, but rather an explosion that could take out fifty men at a time. That is, if they fell just right. Ryan had just lowered his goggles onto his eyes and grabbed his pliers when a man rushed into the room.

            At first the man seemed surprised to find the boy working next to a fire pit and a dragon standing on two legs, goggle plastered to its scaly face and an apron filled with various gadgets and concoctions hanging from his chest. When Thistle realized the man was staring at him he didn’t let go of his precious pan but nodded to the man. “Go on.”

            The man stuttered something indiscernible.

            “Come on man, have you never seen a dragon making Greek fire? Get yourself together and spit it out or I’ll test this neurological chemical bomb on you!” Ryan threatened.

            The man gulped. “Er- Lauri wants you two… immediately.”

            “Wha-what?” Ryan snapped to attention. Thistle jerked on his pan and green goop slipped onto the oven top, quickly eating away the metal. “Tell Lauri I’ll be right there!” Thistle said nervously, patting away the glob with his metal talon gloves. A fire sprung up on his apron and he quickly doused it with water. “Go Ryan!” he yelled, “I’ll take care of this!”

            Ryan shook his head but raced out, following the soldier to Lauri’s quarters. The soldier paused at the door and let Ryan knock. “Uh… Lauri?” he called.

            Her reply was immediate. “Come in.”

            He slowly eased the door open.

            Lauri’s room was a mess. Knives peppered the wall, the dummy in the corner wasn’t even identifiable. He had to step over a decapitated dummy to make his way to her mahogany desk, behind which she was sharpening one of her javelins. She tested the point and smiled before turning to him with a grim smile. “Ryan. Sit down.”

            Ryan wasn’t sure he liked that tone of voice. He sat down slowly, easing the goggles off his eyes. “Yes?”

            “The Commander-in-Chief is dead.”

            Ryan blanched. “Wait.. what?”

            “Which means I’m in charge of the whole army now,” Lauri continued, her tone emotionless. “Our whole team was killed. It was a trap. But now I’ve gathered two very important pieces of evidence. One is that an evil race of Felinus is back. And believe me, these are the best shape-shifters out there. In other words, don’t trust anybody. I’ve already discussed this with the Frostys. We need to have code words between our dragons and Riders- just to make sure that we are really us. Mine is Afftera. If I approach you, I will always say that, okay? Daemon’s is Lumi. And I’ll let you figure out yours.”

            “Nah. I’ve already got mine. How about I’m the bomb? Does that sound good?” he grinned cheekily at her.

            She rolled her eyes but nodded. “If it works. But that’s besides the point. I’m going to need you to remember all your training because these next few hours are going to be life or death. Whether fighting above or below, be sure you have an open mind with Thistle, and I’d prefer you not to be in close combat. Drop as many bombs as you can, then use rocks if you have to. Our main goal right now is to hold them off until the Wind King arrives.” She smiled.

            “Jaydon?” Ryan echoed, “But isn’t he dead?” he blurted.

            Lauri shot him a glance. “It seems I trained  him well enough. He’s alive and kicking. And as a wolf is drawn to a dying deer, he will surely be here before the sun reaches its peak. But until then we must stay strong.” She let her hand rest on his shoulders. “I’m counting on you, Ryan. Your plan is to divert them. Give a good supply of your bombs to Fraylon so he can help.” She noticed the look on his face and shut him up with a glare. “No buts. Tell your dragon, too.” She turned around and picked up another javelin, “You are leaving in fifteen minutes. Get ready and move out. That’s an order.”

            “Fif-“ Ryan exclaimed.

            “Did I just hear anything?” Lauri asked sweetly.

            “No ma’am,” Ryan moaned inside. He dashed outside, mentally filling Thistle in, who almost dropped his pan when he heard the news. Fifteen minutes? And Jaydon? And..wha?

            Ryan was so deep in thought he almost bumped into Daemon. “Ryan. Stop bumbling around. You’re going to hurt someone,” Daemon tried to joke pathetically.

            Ryan just waved a hand at him impatiently. “Come on. We’re moving out in fifteen minutes!”

            “Fif-“

            “Just get a move on!” Ryan snapped, feeling his heart clam up in his throat.

            When he got back to his room, Thistle had just finished the Greek fire and was pouring it meticulously in a large green vial. When Daemon saw him on two legs his eyebrows rode up on his forehead but he said nothing. Frantically, Ryan started stuffing his dragon’s saddle bags with bombs, tossing a few to Daemon, who yelped and held them is if they were fragile glass. At his bidding, the frost dragon drifted in the room, kneeling to let Daemon fill his own saddle bags.

            “Rakk!” Ryan yelped as he saw Fraylon looking smart in full battle armor. “Thistle, we don’t even have your armor on!”

            Immediately Thistle was by Ryan’s side, helping him get the armor on. “Hey, a little help here?” Ryan squeaked as he tried to lift Thistle’s heavy neck piece. Daemon obliged and grunted as he heaved the silver plates onto the heavily muscled neck. Thistle put on his own skull plate as Ryan snapped the tail plates together, then Daemon helped tie the chest piece to Thistle’s breast and between his legs. “Good enough,” Ryan said hoarsely, even though there were a few pieces left. “We’re not going in for close combat anyway. At least they can’t hurt your chest and neck. You’re built like a tank anyway, I’ve seen arrows glance off you. We’ll be fine.”

            “I hate to interrupt the prep talk but we got to go.” Daemon said hastily, leading Fraylon outside. “Fifteen minutes ended fifteen minutes ago!”

(Okay so the updates are going to be a lot slower because I caught up with myself! I'm almost to the end! Woot woot!)