The Serpent's Chains

Cole

Talon's feet hit the ground and he grunted. I slid down his shoulder and landed in a crouch, my bent knees absorbing the force.

Wyatt stood a few feet away in full armor. His curved sword hanging at his side. He crossed his arms as I straightened.

"What happened?"

"Stivalia mages formed a raiding party. They took out one of our smaller encampments to the north."

I arched an eyebrow. "Took out?"

Wyatt nodded his face like a stone statue. "No one survived. The entire encampment was leveled. They didn't hold back."

"Then it's an act of war."

Talon grumbled and nudged the back of my head with his nose. They want to provoke a confrontation.

"Then they've succeeded."

"Prince Cole, we need to tread carefully here. Once we engage the mages, Telasia will be at war with Stivalia, is that really what you want?"

I sniffed and slapped Talon's shoulder. He lowered his stomach to the ground and made himself comfortable.

"I know of one king who will be thrilled at the prospect."

Wyatt shook his head. "This isn't the answer."

"The reality is, they declared war on us. We're not on Stivalia lands. We're not even bordering their territories. No move has been made against them and they sneak into an encampment in the middle of the night and destroy unsuspecting warriors. It's barbaric."

"Then we should retaliate, but not by causing a war."

"I am the War Dragon." I grinned.

Talon yawned, the air crackling with heat from his breath. War is all but inevitable with a provocative enemy. Perhaps the question you should be concerned with is why that is their end goal.

"Talon's right. We should know why Stivalia is dead set on fighting a war with the greatest military power in the realm." I nodded.

"None of the mages will betray their king or country."

I smirked and clapped Wyatt on the shoulder. "Oh, how little faith you have. Together, we can break anyone."

A smile tugged at Wyatt's lips. "Then we will hunt some mages. I'll assemble a strike force."

"No." I held my hand up. "You, me and Talon. King Verill will have sent his most powerful magical warriors. The army isn't ready to handle this. They'll just slow us down."

"Lead the way." Wyatt held his arm out away from the camp.

Talon, fly above the clouds, and stay out of sight. Tell me what you see.

The dragon grunted and rose to his full height, his knee and elbow joints creaking. What am I looking for?

The mages will be in a group of four or six. They'll attempt to keep to the shadows but after their perceived victory, they won't be able to resist showing off.

Talon trumpeted one loud bugle and spread his wings. The down sweep threw me back and I braced my foot against the ground.

"We should prepare a room for our guest."

Wyatt motioned to the edge of camp. "There's a tent on the outskirts I use for such occasions."

I frowned. "You do this without me?"

"Only for the ones I know will break easily." Wyatt flashed me a grin and we headed to the interrogation tent.

A hard fact of battle, sometimes we have to get our hands dirty, in more ways than one.

The tent stood separated from all the others, the flap tied shut from the outside. Inside, it was completely empty except for a wooden chair in the center and a lantern in the corner. Ropes hung over the back of the chair. An interrogation room didn't need much else, especially when Wyatt and I got going. I licked my lips. We just needed to capture one alive.

I've found them. Talon's voice broke into my thoughts.

"Talon has the mages."

Wyatt's thin lips drew tight. "Are you sure you want to do this, just the two of us?"

"Three of us. Talon will be there too," I reminded him with a wry smile.

"Four or six of Stivalia's elite mages against you and Talon? I think you're overestimating your magical prowess."

I frowned. "Alone, I'm at least as strong as one of them. Talon... he's the equivalent of ten elite mages. This will be easy."

Wyatt bowed at the waist, his armor clinking. "If you say so, Your Highness."

I glared after him as he headed to the edge of camp. He always reverted to formalities when he didn't agree with my decisions.

Talon, pick me up on the edge of camp.

The red dragon circled down and landed with a soft thump on the ground. He flexed his black claws against the dirt.

There are six of them. I can still smell their blood-stained cowardice.

"Talon says there are six. I'll draw them away from their camp. They'll leave one guard behind. You apprehend the guard while Talon and I... deal with the others."

Wyatt nodded silently.

When Talon and I were airborne, I saw Wyatt grab his stallion. The steed would never approach a dragon.

I'm inclined to agree with your general, Talon told me as we glided through the night air.

I ignored him, flicking my eyes to the diamond-studded sky. The moon was just a sliver hanging over mountain peaks, the air crisp and cool. My breath clouded around me.

These elite mages are powerful. It is risky to rely only on ourselves...

Talon, these mages were sent to kill. And they will keep killing unless we do something about it. Any team made up of the average soldier won't be enough and they'll be sacrificed needlessly.

Perhaps.

This way, no one is unnecessarily endangered and we can return the favor of sneaking up on them when they are unprepared.

Then it is vengeance.

"No." I sighed and tightened my knees on Talon's neck as he swooped sharply to the right.

On the mountainside, I caught sight of dancing flames. Easily mistaken for a common campfire, except the flames flickered in blue, green, purple, and other colors that a normal fire didn't present. Magic!

I urged Talon to get close enough that Wyatt could see where the mage camp was. He hovered in place, the wump, wump, wump of his wings a steady rhythm in the darkness. I could hear the mage's voices drifting into the night air but they remained oblivious to Talon and me.

Down the mountain path, I saw Wyatt pull his horse to a halt. He dismounted and pressed himself against the mountain, fading into shadow.

Smirking, I patted Talon's neck. Wyatt was in position, now it was our turn.

Let's give them a show.

Talon grunted. He folded his wings and dropped into their camp, a powerful snort extinguishing the flames.

I slid from Talon's back and drew my sword.

The mages stared, wide-eyed, frozen in place for a moment.

"Get him!" someone shouted and the camp erupted.

All six of them lunged at me.

Talon snarled and wrapped his tail around me. With a powerful tail sweep, he pushed the mages back.

I glanced up at him. Really? The point was to get the mages to chase us, not scare them. I put my sword away as the mages recovered.

"King Talis sends his regards!" I raised my arms and sucked in a deep breath. The air inside me swelled and warmed. I pressed my pointer finger and forefinger to my lips.

The mages looked at each other and shrugged.

I winked and blew air from my mouth. My exhale erupted in flame.

The smell of burnt hair and cloth filled my nostrils and the flames filled my view. It wouldn't take a group of elite mages long to clear the flames. I jumped on Talon's forearm and he lifted me to his neck.

With a bellow, Talon took to the skies again.

Stay low, so they can follow.

This isn't the first time we've done this.

I patted Talon's neck and chuckled. How long had we been on these battlefields? Sometimes, it seemed like we were raised here.

Talon found a flat clearing in the mountain range and touched down again. He spread his wings and snarled, swinging his head back and forth.

The mages rushed into the open space. Five of them, just like I knew would happen. By now, Wyatt was already apprehending the sixth for questioning.

"You've boxed yourself in War Dragon," one of the mages said. She stepped forward, her green eyes glowing through the darkness. She held her arm out straight, a ball of glowing energy swirling in her palm. "Now, we have the upper hand."

I raised my hands in surrender. "You're right. I'm not a match for five elite mages."

She slowed her approach, the energy in her hand flickering. Her eyes darted over my shoulder to the dragon.

"Tell me, Mage, have you ever tested your magic against that of a dragon?" I nodded toward Talon.

He hissed and pulled his scaly lips back, showing his sharp teeth.

The mage stopped dead, her eyes wide. "Why would I waste energy against a beast?"

I smirked as Talon stepped forward, the ground trembling under his stomp. "What do they teach you in Stivalia? Talon, why don't you show them why picking a fight with my country was a bad idea."

Just a demonstration?

No. I don't want to waste more time here than necessary.

Talon growled and sat back on his haunches. He thrust his wings open, a burst of air rippling through my hair. The great dragon bellowed to the sky and threw himself forward, his front paws crashed into the ground.

My knees knocked together and I reached out to the mountain wall as the entire mountain shuddered and trembled.

All five mages lost their footing. They hit the ground with startled cries.

Before any of them could recover, sharp, jagged rocks burst from the ground. They pierced the mages, fatally impaling them.

As the ground stopped shaking, I heard the dying gasps and moans of the mages.

I went to the green-eyed mage. Her eyes still glowed and she took short, gasping breaths. The rock spear had punctured her stomach. She wasn't dying as quickly as the others. I wondered if Talon planned that.

"Your king seems to have sent you into battle woefully unprepared. It's too bad you won't be getting that message back to him. Know with your dying breath that King Verill can send a hundred mages, a thousand, and between me and my siblings, they'll all meet this same fate."

Her eyes widened again and she gurgled. Foaming blood collected in the corner of her mouth. Her lips moved but no discernable words came out.

I climbed on Talon's back and he leaped into the air. Wyatt is probably waiting for us. If we make him wait too long, he'll start without me.

Talon grunted. What you told that mage... I could not defeat a hundred or a thousand mages. Your siblings are not trained for battle.

She doesn't know that. And she never will.