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No one answered him.
9
Remis
Some time ago, Remis had lost track of the hours and both Percy and Merritt had gone silent. A nervous fluttering fear had grabbed a hold of them the first time they’d sworn they’d seen flapping wings in the distant sky. The looming idea of death had subsequently stolen whatever words they had left to speak.
Blisters were forming on the back of his ankles and each small toe. He cursed his new boots and contemplated taking them off entirely. Though that might be just as terrible. What if he stepped on a snake? Or if the highwaymen, whom they’d not seen any more of, reappeared and took the shoes right out of his hands? It was not worth the risk. So he gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore the pain.
Ahead of them, the dirt road was widening, a sign that he took to mean they were getting closer to Olden. When they finally got there, he was sure he could talk his way into getting them a room for the night and a decent meal for less than the amount he had left in his pocket.
The rhythm of their steps became the music which carried them forth through the woods. Only the occasional rustle of wildlife became the harmony to their song. Remis could hardly manage to even glance at his friends. He was not worth what his friends were willing to give and if he’d been in their shoes, he was certain he’d already be back at home by now with a bottle of liquor and a girl on his arm. He’d always been the lesser man when it came to their trio.
Percy stopped, clutching his book to his chest. Merritt and Remis stopped a step later. “What is that?” Percy asked.
Remis followed his friend's gaze, goosebumps rising all along his shoulders and down his spine. The feel of his sword against his hip was no comfort as his imagination went wild. Up his attention rose to the treetops and past them into the sky. Stars winked back at him. Branches waved in the soft swell of the wind.
“What is what?” Merritt asked, also searching the sky for whatever Percy was staring so intently at.
Then they saw it as a wave of stars blinked out and a shape cut through the sky. If they hadn’t been staring so intently, they never would have been able to see it. Even the being that blotted out the stars was speckled with white in such a way that a passing glance would have never seen the difference between it and the night sky.
Not a single muscle in his body twitched as every part of him became paralyzed with fear. Even the wind died down and the trees around them stilled. Whatever wildlife they’d once heard was silent as the predator circled them.
It was significantly larger than he’d expected it to be. Even from a distance it looked as though the dragonis could swoop down and swallow him whole. In stories, the animals were double the size of a grown man. Not this dragonis, this one was likely four times, no, five times bigger.
Remis swore that he’d seen a dragonis before but had never seen one quite so large, though they’d always been much farther away. The monsters that attacked the city on occasion were spindly little things with long skinny necks, reptilian eyes, and thin bat-like wings.
“Dragonis,” Percy wheezed out the word. “What do we do?”
“Standing here waiting like a readied meal is not an option,” Remis started, “Run? The city can’t be too far ahead. If we get close enough, the watch should spot us and the dragonis should it come down to attack.”
“Run,” Merritt quickly agreed.
They shared only one last look before the men took off toward Olden. Dust rose around their stomping boots. Their surroundings became no more than a blur of images as the brush and trees reached out toward them trying to snag their clothes and slow them down. Pulling away from the slap of spindly twigs, they bumped against each other, eyes always looking up.
The dark spot that revealed the dragonis was never lost to them as the animal flew in steady arching circles, never drifting far enough to ease the worry nipping at their heels. Remis’ blisters were bleeding now, dampening his socks and pulsing in pain. It was easier to ignore their demanding aching with the rush of adrenaline that screamed at him to survive.
Live. Live. Live. His body chanted.
The Deadwoods were already thinning, the lights of the city calling them to hope, like beacons of safety. They’d taken the most direct path, or so Remis hoped with his memory of the map and the most traveled road. Even if they didn’t expect anyone to be sprinting into the city, especially on foot, someone had to be waiting for them. No respectable warlord would leave his city without a patrol watching for the dragonis at all hours of the season. It was that certainty that fueled them as they barreled toward Olden.
Air pillaged his lungs. Sweat collected underneath his cloak, the hood blown back from his face in their haste. The sword slapped against his thigh, useless for anything other than show at this point.
“Nearly there,” he gritted out through his teeth. He pushed himself harder, thankful for the training that allowed him the endurance. Percy was slowing though, his cheeks a brilliant shade of red, and his breaths a noisy reminder that he was not as well versed in anything this physical.
Merritt grabbed Percy’s arm, dragging him along. “Percy, drop the damn book, it's heavy and slowing you down.”
“If I’m,” Percy sucked in a breath, “to die,” he breathed the words out, “then I’ll do so with my,” he wheezed, “book.” His friend slowed further.
Damn it. Percy was stubborn even in the face of death.
“Stop being foolish,” Remis wanted to yell but kept his voice low for fear of drawing the dragonis lower. “We have to get to the city before that thing eats us—” He lost his words as he looked up, frantically searching to find the dragonis above them, but the animal that had blocked out the sky was gone, and only the stars shone down, unaware of the startling terror shooting through the men below them.“It’s gone? Where did it go? Can you see it?”
Their steps slowed a fraction as they craned their necks to view between the stretch of branches.
“I don’t see it.” Merritt stopped, turning in a circle as Remis and Percy settled at his sides. Percy doubled over gasping for air and holding his side. “Maybe it found something better to eat than us?”
A tingling sensation raced across Remis’ skin before a tremble traveled down his spine and into his knees. He wiped his sweaty palms against his shirt, heart resounding in his ears.
