The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain) (54 page)

             
Draek was falling just like Hayden was, but faster. He gained on Hayden and accidently passed him. He opened his wings up slightly and slowed down, but then Hayden passed him. It took them a few tries before Draek got the speed right.

             
Once they were falling side by side Draek turned so that the saddle was facing Hayden. Hayden had no say in where he was falling so it was up to Draek to slowly move close enough to him so he could grab on.

             
The first attempt Draek did not move far enough over and Hayden was still out of reach.

             
Move closer, you’re still too far,
Hayden told Draek. Draek then moved too far over and knocked into Hayden, sending him tumbling through the air. Hayden immediately slowed down and Draek shot past him.

             
Sorry,
Draek said as Hayden tried to right himself. Draek slowed down and they tried again, but this time Hayden was in a hurry because he noticed that the ground was close, very, very close.

             
Hayden was able to contain his panic and focus on getting into the saddle while Draek lined up to try again. This time he moved slower, and even though Hayden was upside down, he was able to grab onto the saddle.

             
As soon as his hands gripped leather they went to work without his brain telling them what to do. Which was a good thing because his brain was saying “We’re going to die” over and over again in his head.

             
He pulled himself onto the saddle and strapped his legs in. He had to look down to tighten his safety straps.

             
Hurry up, I need to pull up,
Draek seemed urgent and it caused Hayden to look up from his straps, which he had just finished tightening. They were close enough to the ground that Hayden could see people, who had been watching the dragons, were running away from Draek.

             
I’m in, go!!
Hayden leaned as close as he could to Draek as he pulled out of the dive. Draek tried to fly out of the dive instead of stopping himself. As he pulled out of the dive, not losing any of his speed, he flew right through the city.

             
Hayden looked up just in time to see them flying straight for the golden dragon statue on the northern corner on the wall. Draek did a quick spin, and when he righted himself he flew clear of the statue.

             
Draek did not have to flap his wings as they rose into the air; they were still going so fast he just glided.

             
We have done it, Hayden, we are now Metallic Riders!
Draek could not contain his excitement; he roared and blew fire in every direction. Hayden laughed at him, but joined in with his own shouting.

             
An old man stood in the woods and smiled as he watched Hayden and Draek fly through the air. He had come a long way just to see them finish their training.

             
“Good job, you two,” he grumbled to himself. He pulled his fur cloak closer to his body and tried to fight off the ever creeping cold. Now that he had come back to see them it was time to leave again. He knew that it was no longer safe for him around Celestial City. He turned to disappear back into the woods, but someone was standing right in front of him.

             
“Leaving so soon, Fendrel?” the man asked. Fendrel recognized the voice and lowered his head. There was no way for him to escape his fate; even if he had run from it for many years.

             
Hayden heard screams coming from above and turned to watch the others free fall through the clouds. One at a time he watched as they popped out of the clouds, only to have their dragon burst out right behind them and catch them.

             
Everyone made it out fine, no one had as close of a catch as Hayden and Draek had. Giles and Sebastian flew off straight for the Metallic Pyramid while Hayden and his friends decided to celebrate before they went back.

             
They lined up in their normal formation and circled the Celestial City; shouting the whole way. They each broke off from the formation to do flips and turns in the air, after which they would return to their spot.

             
They did a few laps before making the flight back to the pyramid, where a crowd had grown. The people and dragons that were there moved away to make room for the three landing dragons.

             
The ground was covered with people moving around like ants. Hayden guessed that they were there to congratulate them on finishing their training. As their dragons landed and the wind storm that they had created died down, the people around them quickly ran to them.

             
“Go back to your rooms and get your weapons and gear then go to the Orchard of Souls and meet the other riders,” a guard yelled at them. Hayden was about to ask what was going on when Draek and the other two dragons raised their head and turned to face some unheard sound.

             
“What is it?” Hayden asked out loud. He heard Shane and Cass ask the same thing to their dragons.

             
Draek did not answer Hayden; he seemed to become a statue underneath him. Draek finally crouched down and almost threw Hayden out of the saddle. Hayden stumbled to get to his feet but Draek kept nudging him towards their room.

             
What are you doing? What’s going on?
  Hayden asked. His friends were getting the same treatment from their dragons.

             
Get your gear, quickly, we have to leave immediately,
Draek finally told him. Hayden ran through their room and strapped on his sword. He grabbed his shield and his eagle helmet and tied them onto Draek’s saddle. He quickly strapped on his throwing knives and made sure that each blade was securely in its sheath.

             
The whole time Hayden was getting his gear Draek didn’t answer him anymore and he kept looking out of their room like he was expecting to see something coming.

             
The last thing that Hayden grabbed was his bow and quiver; he left his bow unstrung and he strapped the quiver onto the saddle and made sure that he had everything.

             
Draek started to almost walk in place because he was so nervous. Hayden could feel him being anxious to go and thinking of nothing else but getting into the air.

             
Are you going to tell me what’s going on? I know you know something,
Hayden asked as he climbed up and got in the saddle. He strapped himself into the saddle; it was much easier staying still and doing it than while falling.

             
Draek did not answer, and the moment Hayden was finished Draek broke into a sprint and ran out of their room. Hayden held on tightly and tried not to get jerked back.

             
Draek did not stop running when
they cleared the Metallic Pyramid; instead he jumped onto the roof of one of the buildings and used it to throw himself into the air. Draek was flapping his wings as soon as he left the building’s roof.

             
“Draek, what’s the matter, what is going on?” he shouted in his mind and out loud; hoping that either one would get through to him. Hayden quit talking when they got high enough over the tree line for Hayden to see that the clearing in the center of the Orchard of Souls was full of dragons.

             
There were more in the air above the orchard, just flying lazily in circles because there was no room for them to land. Draek joined the circling dragons, but flew low enough to the ground so that Hayden could make out who some of the riders were.

             
Who is that in front of everyone?
Hayden asked Draek. Draek’s mind seemed calm again now that they were with the other dragons.

             
Elizabeth, she is telling everyone what has happened,
Draek replied solemnly.

             
Hayden waited for Draek to elaborate, but no more came from his dragon. He wondered what could have happened to cause all this. A few dragons took off from the ground and it allowed Hayden and Draek to land in their spot.

             
As soon as Draek folded up his wings he moved in between two other dragons so that he could make more room for others to land. From this place Hayden could hear what Elizabeth was saying.

             
“They have finally gone too far, pushed us when we have done nothing wrong,” she shouted over the dragon riders and many cheered.

             
“The dwarf rider spoke true when he said an army was coming. A few of the clans have banded together and are on the war path.” A hush went over the crowd as she spoke. Hayden couldn’t hear the few hundred dragons around him; everyone was silent and trying to hear what Elizabeth had to say.

             
“They killed our riders that were guarding the northern tower; they have killed all our friends. That is why we had no warning; that is why they have made it so far. All of our scouts that they have encountered have been overrun and slaughtered.” Angry growls came from both dragon and rider alike.

             
“But they did not expect us to have patrols flying all around our great city. They did not expect our riders to spot them and now we can avenge them that have fallen by those devil’s hands!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

             
Hayden could not believe what he was hearing; war had finally come to them. Draek jumped into the air before Elizabeth could say any more. Part of Hayden wanted to know what else she had to say but a bigger part of him wanted nothing to do with any of it.

             
Draek flew straight up through the circling dragons, making his way higher and higher as they neared the clouds. He leveled off when there were no more dragons above him and circled high above the others.

             
What are we going to do, Draek?
Hayden asked. He leaned over and looked at the multitude of dragons bellow. He didn’t know how many dragons the dwarfs had, but he was almost certain it wasn’t enough.

             
We wait,
Draek responded. Hayden did not have to wait long before he saw Shaylin and Rilora fly up from the circling dragons and fly level with Draek.

             
“What’s happening?” Hayden yelled out as soon as they were within ear shot.

             
“The dwarfs came down out of the mountains a few nights ago and killed everyone at the northern tower. Every group of Metallic Riders they have encountered they have killed, that way no one could warn us,” Cass shouted back.

             
“They are close now; a local patrol group spotted them less than a day’s flight away. They are marching straight for us and we are going to go out and meet them before they can make it to the city,” Shane added.

             
Hayden had no idea what to say or do. He knew that being a dragon rider meant that he would have to fight. He had spent the last year training with weapons, not just for tournaments, but for actual battles.

             
“Hayden, they expect us to fight also, now that we are full riders,” Cass yelled.

             
Hayden had guessed as much, but hearing it out loud put a lump in his throat that made it painful to swallow.

             
“How though, we haven’t trained with any of the wings; we won’t know how they work together,” Hayden knew what Cass’s response was before the words left his lips.

             
“We are going to fly together, the five of us,” Cass said. Hayden looked down at the ground and found Giles and Sebastian on their dragons. They were easy to pick out because they had the smallest silvers.

             
Hayden heard roars from down bellow; he heard them and he felt them as all the dragons roared in unison.

             
What’s going on now?
Hayden watched as the dragons started flying off in different directions. Most flew towards the northern point of the city, but a lot of them flew out randomly.

             
She is done speaking; now it’s time to fight.
Draek turned and began flying in the same direction as most of the dragons. Hayden didn’t have to tell his friends to fall in behind them; they already knew what to do.

             
Hayden knew that Giles and Sebastian would eventually join up with them, whenever it was convenient for them. So he did not worry about trying to talk them into hurrying up.

             
At first the sky seemed to be full of chaos as the couple hundred dragons tried to get to their wing leaders and form up. It didn’t take long before they were all flying in their organized patterns and Three Rulers took the lead in front of all the other dragons.