Dragon Riders

Chapter Four: Part Two Myra

Chapter 4

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Myra

Isle of the Blessed: Dragon’s Den

3 days after Myra receives her job

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30 minutes later

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“We’re here,”

Meeka holds out her left arm to stop me from going any further forward. She speaks in a hushed but firm tone, and for some reason I take comfort from her words. She reminds me of an older Temple Mother; calm and caring but strict all the same.

“We do this as quickly and as quietly as possible. As long as they don’t hear or see us, we can get out of here alive.”

“I understand.”

Meeka gives me a quick glance and a slight frown appears on her face.

“All we have to do is empty the barrel into the trough and leave.”

“I understand.”

“Remember: if something goes wrong, run. Don’t stop and don’t look back. They may be underfed and weak, but they can still melt your flesh.”

“I understand.”

I wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt and prepare myself to start creeping forward.

“Let’s go.”

Meeka crouches and starts to move at a quick pace, pulling the meat laden wheel-barrow from behind her. She helps me avoid the bumpier parts of the ground and I track her every step. D told me that these Dragons are severely underfed in order to keep them stagnant. As long as they get food, they won’t leave. It also helps that they’re bound in place by thick chains.

Chains that slowly come into view.

I feel my heart quicken and focus on breathing and keeping close to Meeka.

And then I see them.

Even though the Den has opened up into a high ceiling, their heads almost scratch the top of it. The one closest to us lifts its wings up and roars, making the pebbles beneath us shake.Teeth flash and wings lift and spread in a splay of dominance. My entire body could fit into that dragon's mouth, and I tremble.

Meeka continues on, unbothered by the display. She is completely focused with the task at hand.

I look around her and see the trough a few feet away from us, and I start to calm. Once we’re there we just have to sneak back. We could even pick up the empty barrel if we wanted to just so we could be faster. We creep up to the side of the trough and carefully lower the meat into the serving station. We make as little noise as physically possible, and I feel like weeping when we finish the task. Seeing my display of weakness, Meeka places one of her ruined hands on my shoulder and gives me a small smile.

Almost there.

Meeka moves behind me and presses a large, square button on the floor. The trough shoots to the middle of the room and the five dragons are now trained on it. They snap at each other but never actually bite. They chortle and make noise at each other.

Their focus means they won’t be paying attention to where the meat came from.

Or that was the plan until Meeka trips, tripping over the front of the wheel-barrow.

The ensuing crash silences the great beasts and we both freeze.

I slowly turn my head to the dragons and see them all watching us. Their eyes are full of intelligence.

And hunger.

The closest one to us is now fully turned, waiting for us to move. Daring us to. I glance down at Meeka and see her getting ready to rise, getting ready to run for her life. She whispers as slowly as she can, and as loudly as she dares.

“When I say, run back to where we came from. There’s a metal door on the wall made for just this.”

We make eye contact and I feel my heart beat harder. My breathing is labored, and I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my entire life.

“NOW!”

Meeka shoots up from the stone floor. Her and I rocket back towards the direction we came from. The dragons begin to let out shrill shrieks in excitement.

I feel a hot blast of air get close to my feet and push myself harder. Meeka reaches blindly behind her and grabs my arm, pulling me along with her. I stumble at her sudden grab but quickly regain my composure. We race across the floor, the roaring becoming the background noise to our pounding feet and hearts.

I see the small metal door and let out a sob in relief, but Meeka doesn’t let me slow down.

“KEEP GOING!”

The door in question suddenly flings open and I am greeted by D. Her horrified face fuels my adrenaline and thoroughly scares me. The only expression I had ever seen from her was cold indifference. The scar on her face twists her features as she looks on, hopeless and with terror.

Time slows down.

Each step is another mile we walk, each inch is another minute that we won’t make it.

Meeka’s hand loosens from my arm

D stretches out her hand

The air behind me is getting hotter

Our feet

Thud

On the rocky floor beneath us

We’re still a few feet from the door

Thud

I feel my sweat is starting to evaporate

Thud

Meeka won’t make it because she’s dragging me

Thud

Meeka won’t make it

Thud

Because I am slow

Thud

Because I am inadequate

Thud

I have to make a choice

Thud

And I don’t have time to think about the consequences.

Thud

I don’t have time to even think

Thud

I just have time to do something

I wrench my arm from her grasp and with all of my strength I slam my hands into her back. My hands make solid contact with her strong back and the desired effect is achieved. Meeka crashes through the doorway and I crash into the door itself, sealing Meeka and D in safety from the flame.

Flames wash over me in a hellish baptism. I see the metal heat up beneath my fingers and I hear the horrified screams coming from beyond the door. The door turns a deep red, as if it is lit from within. Reds and golds surround me and I kneel, awaiting the pain to wash over me the same way the heat is. Terrified to feel a pain I know will be greater than any other.

It never comes

I can feel how hot it is, but it doesn’t hurt; it just feels……..uncomfortable.

Like being slightly too hot in bed.

When the metal door starts to glow a brighter red, the flames around me stop. I stay on the floor, afraid to see my burnt body. What horrified shriek will leave my lips when I see my own charred flesh?

Why am I alive to see it in the first place?

Could I be a spectator from beyond? Still attached to my body before I pass? Is the reason I didn’t feel heat simply because I died at the first contact of it?

For once the dragons are absolutely silent. I also don’t hear any noise beyond the metal door which tells me that D and Meeka have left. I just hear my low sobs, too scared to move or look at anything beyond the rapidly cooling metal door.

I stay crouched for Gods only knows how long before I push myself up from the floor.

The first thing I see are my hands.

My unburnt hands.

I allow myself to shed a few tears in relief before I feel a moist wind on my back. I pivot slowly on my heel and come face to face with the dragon that tried to roast me. The beast turns its face to the side so that it can look at me through its left eye which is almost as tall as me.

I keep very still as it looks at me, and a squeal goes past my lips when it suddenly decides to pick me up between its front teeth.I keep still as it walks back to its resting place, chains dragging across the floor.

The other dragons look at me as I’m dropped down in between all of them. Grumbles and chuffs are exchanged between them all and I keep as still, and as low to the ground as possible. I carefully look around and realize that the one that brought me over here is now blocking my exit.

As a red dragon, this one has the hottest flames out of the others in the brood. The other dragons are just as starved but all are different colors.

The more I look at them, the more I can see just how underfed they are. That one trough of meat might be enough to feed a single dragon, but not five. I’m surprised they haven’t died. It’s also probably why the flames didn’t last longer or why they haven’t broken free from their chains; it is now physically impossible for them.

Once the grumbling stops I look back to the red dragon, who carefully picks me up again. I watch my feet swing freely and then look up once we come to a darker part of the den.

“A balcony?’ I whisper to myself.

Why is that here?

Once my feet are flat on the balcony I turn around to look. All of the dragons are staring at me and I once again keep still, praying to every God that I know that they’ll lose interest.

They keep watching me and I decide to take a risk and back myself further into the cover of the balcony. I keep backing up until my butt touches the stone wall. Keeping my back against the smooth, cool wall I scoot along it trying to find a door.

I find a doorway instead.

I keep scooting until my back is in the middle of the doorway and go inside.