Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [84]
His words were nearly drowned out by the twin bugling of dragons. Glancing up into a sky radiant with new sunlight, Caelan saw the two beasts circling high overhead. Kupel’s friends had arrived. Caelan’s heart sank.
Elandra chose that moment to stamp sharply on Kupel’s instep. Howling with pain, he hopped on one foot, and she rammed her elbow hard into his stomach. When he doubled over, she twisted free. He grabbed at her cloak, but there was an arm’s length of distance now between them. Caelan threw his dagger, and it thunked into Kupel’s chest.
An astonished look filled Kupel’s face; then his eyes rolled up, and he toppled over in the snow. Overhead, one of the dragons roared. Caelan raced across the ground, drawing his sword as he ran, and kicked Kupel over on his back to pull out his dagger.
“Take cover!” he shouted at Elandra. “Get back to the cave, if you can. The trees aren’t safe if they start breathing fire.”
She nodded, crouching low to pick up Kupel’s knife. “I should have let you kill him at the start,” she said, then ran in a flurry of long skirts.
He grinned after her, admiring her more than ever. She had been right to stop him; he could admit that now. He would tell her so later, if they survived this. But already one of the dragons was swooping low in her direction. Caelan’s heart nearly stopped. Again, he had to consciously shake off his fear. Somehow he had to distract them from her.
He held up Exoner so that its blade flashed in the rising sun. “Cowards of the sky!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “I have killed your chieftain’s son. I have killed Kupel and Shierfa, his dragon. Come and take the Dance of Death with me!”
One of the Thyzarenes howled with anger, and both dragons soared and wheeled in his direction. Caelan braced himself, knowing he could not fight both at the same time. But at least Elandra would have a chance to reach the cave. As long as she remained hidden inside it, the Thyzarenes would not be able to see it, and she would be safe.
“Dragon riders!” Elandra shouted, her voice shrill and clear. “I am the Empress Elandra, your sovereign. Call off your attack, and you will be well rewarded. I carry much gold, much imperial wealth. This I will share with you!”
Caelan groaned, furious with her for not following orders. He risked a glance in her direction and saw her standing in the open, straight and proud. Her arms were lifted, and the sun rose above the treetops at that moment to bathe her in golden radiance. With her auburn hair and gold-colored cloak, she looked like she was made of fire itself, blazing bright in the snow.
Caelan stared at her, momentarily forgetting the attacking rush of the dragons, even as one of them veered off again in her direction. Something primitive and elemental stirred inside him. The hair prickled on his scalp. What was she, this woman of fire?
Then he was ducking as the remaining dragon swept low over him. Caelan swung his sword, but managed no more than a shallow cut in the dragon’s scaled underbelly. Unlike Kupel, an untried boy, this rider and his dragon were battle-scarred and experienced. The dragon’s talons raked at Caelan, making him duck again, and its long tail whacked him solidly, knocking him off his feet.
By the time he rolled and came upright again, the dragon had wheeled and was making another pass. Caelan tried to see what was happening with Elandra, but that distraction cost him a second chance to attack his own opponent. The sharp point of a javelin tip skidded across his breastplate close to his throat, and woke him up.
Caelan jerked aside with a grunt of surprise. Bringing up his sword two-handed, he lunged upward. His breastplate kept him from being impaled on the javelin, and his sword tip cut the rider’s arm.
The Thyzarene swore at him, and the hovering dragon whipped its head around, baring its fangs in an attack of its own. But a sharp command sent it lifting before Caelan could cut off its head. Again its tail came at him, but this time he parried with his sword, and drew more dragon blood.
Roaring