The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain) (52 page)

             
Hayden looked at Cass and their eyes met. For that moment they were both thinking the same thing, and they both knew it. One person, especially Elizabeth The Gold, one of the Three over the Metallic Riders and self appointed Queen of the Celestial City, could cause unimaginable trouble for all of Arvain.

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The next day the three friends stood in front of the main gate that led to the Metallic Pyramid. They each wore their ridding gear, but they had on extra furs to help with the winter’s cold. They stood there, huddled up together, with their dragons waiting for two more riders to show up.

             
They had been waiting for some time and Hayden found it amusing to watch the amount of steam that came from their dragon’s breathing compared to how much he could make. He even tried holding in his breath longer to see if that would help him make more steam, but no matter what he did he could not compete with the dragons.

             
“I don’t think they are coming,” Shane spoke out. They all had cloaks on instead of their normal capes and Shane was the only one with his hood down around his shoulders. Hayden did not understand why because even though Shane said he was not cold Hayden could tell by his glowing red ears that he was lying.

             
“They might be late,” Cass said defensively. She kept her gaze on the gates, hoping to see Giles and Sebastian come through with their dragons. They were supposed to practice flying patrols together, according to Elizabeth, as they would be doing for the next five years.

             
Cass had asked Shaylin to speak to all four of their dragons and tell them where and when to meet. Shane and Hayden had been more than happy to do as they had been asked, but Giles and Sebastian had not replied.

             
“Cass, I don’t think they are coming, we should go ahead and start without them,” Hayden repeated. “Besides, do either of you know how patrolling works? What all are we supposed to do while patrolling?”

             
Shane thought about the question for a second, but he shrugged his shoulders and admitted that he did not know.

             
“I don’t know, but they do.” Cass pointed up over the pyramid. She pointed at a group of eleven riders, ten copper led by one silver, flying in a V pattern. “They are flying patrols over the city and they have agreed to let us follow them.”

             
Cass sounded like she had gotten a great gift for someone, but the person that she intended on giving it to didn’t want it. Hayden and Shane were both impressed by her outgoingness.

             
They jumped into their saddles and fastened all their restraints and leg harness. Once they were all secure Hayden waited for the signal to fly. Even when it was practice they had been taught to always make sure the sky was clear of other dragons and wait for their leader to signal that they were ready to fly. You didn’t want all the dragons trying to fly up at the same time and crashing into each other if they were taking off in a confined space.

             
“Well, Hayden, are you ready or what?” Cass asked, her spirits having lifted since she got in the saddle. “We are waiting on you, you lead this.”

             
Why are you always so slow to take off?
Draek’s voice came through his head before he could give the signal. Hayden was about to reply to him when Draek suddenly jumped into the air, slamming Hayden back in his saddle.

             
Follow me!
Draek told the other two dragons. Hayden had to focus on leaning forward because he felt like he was being pulled in half. The three dragons gained on the eleven, who were leisurely flying.

             
They want us to form up behind them and try to copy their movements,
Draek told Hayden as they came up underneath the other riders. Hayden and Draek slowed down and fell in behind them, making their own flight pattern behind them.

             
Once they were in place the other riders increased their speed and Draek and the other dragons followed them. They went in the same direction until they had passed over the Celestial City and it was getting smaller and smaller behind them.

             
The riders in front of them dove down together and gained speed, Hayden and the others continued to follow.

             
What are we doing?
Hayden asked.

             
Following. They are showing us how they do their patrols. They know that closer to the city will most likely be safe but the further they get away from it the better chances are there will be enemies,
Draek said.

             
Hayden decided to stop asking questions, for the moment, and just watch. He noticed that the dragons moved their heads from side to side as they look over the ground underneath them. Their riders kept their eyes on the sky, looking for other dragons.

             
Their patrol lasted most of the morning, and by the time they had returned Hayden thought he was frozen to his saddle. Snow had fallen half way through their patrol, but they stopped for nothing, not until they had finished.

             
Hayden, Cass and Shane went inside to Hayden’s room to warm up. They had a servant bring in warm drinks while their dragons flew off in search for food; the cold did not bother them too much.

             
Hayden and the others got out of their ridding gear and changed into their normal grays; as soon as Hayden was in fresh clothes he added more logs into the fire.

             
“Well there was a lot more to that than what we had thought,” Hayden said as he sat down with his friends. He watched the fire spread onto the new logs as he listened to Draek give orders to the other dragons.

             
“A lot more,” Shane agreed.

             
“I can’t believe that all that is still necessary. The war has been over for so long,” Cass said. Hayden didn’t respond because the only thing he could think of was how the Metallic Riders had treated the dwarfs.

             
If they treated the other races like that then Hayden did not have to wonder why they would continue to fight back. Hayden never doubted becoming a dragon rider, but it seemed like he was on the wrong side more and more.

             
They stayed together until right before night fall, when their dragons returned. Hayden and Cass hadn’t been alone since before the Festival of Games, but he did not press it anymore.

             
Sometimes it was by sheer chance that they wouldn’t be able to have some private time, but there were other instances when he knew that she avoided it on purpose.

             
When their dragons got back, Shane left first to make sure that Rilora was taken care of. Of all the dragons there it seemed that she required the most maintenance, and if she did not get it then it was bad for Shane.

             
Cass stayed for a little bit after Draek walked in. The silver dragon circled his sleeping area like a cat and plopped down with a loud thud.

             
I am going to sleep, so if something bad happens between you two I don’t want you thinking about it all night.
Draek lifted up his head and stared at Hayden with one of his giant silver eyes. Hayden remembered when Draek’s eyes were small enough for him to cover them with his hands. Now it would take both hands just to cover up most of the eye lid.

             
Nothing’s going to go wrong.
Hayden fired back. Cass noticed that they were speaking to each other and wondered what they were talking about.

             
“Is everything ok?” she asked. Hayden walked over and sat down next to her, closer than he would have if Shane had stayed.

             
“Yes, Draek is just saying that he thinks I am going to mess this up,” he said before he realized the words that were coming out of his mouth. Cass’s eyes got wide and her mouth opened slightly.

             
Draek shook his head and laid it down. Cass got up and walked out of the room, leaving Hayden trying to apologize while sitting on the floor.

             
Not a word,
Hayden said as Draek laughed. Hayden jumped onto his bed and covered up with the extra furs he had, and tried to go to sleep without thinking about what he had just done. It proved impossible.

             
The last few weeks of their training began to feel like real training again. They got up early to do their patrols every day; they flew with different groups because no group flew patrols every day. Giles and Sebastian joined them every so often, but they were not with them all the time.

             
When they were with them they still ignored them for the most part and they completely ignored Hayden’s orders. They learned to just live with them and hope that it would get better.

             
Before Hayden and Draek thought about it, it was time for their first flight. Hayden had been so focused on their training and flying with Draek in the snow storms that he forgotten about it.

             
Hayden got dressed in his armor and furs; it felt just like the Festival of Games all over again. It was early in the morning but Draek was already gone, and he wasn’t answering Hayden.

             
Draek, this isn’t funny, where are you, we are going to be late?
He shouted in his mind as loud as he could but he got no response. He could feel Draek, but Draek was ignoring him. He was sure that he was about to be embarrassed when he went to do his first flight without his dragon.

Chapter 26

             
Hayden walked through the halls of the pyramid, still trying to get Draek to answer him. He had been told to meet everyone in the Hall of Stories to get prepared for their first flight. When he walked through the giant door he realized that he was the last of the riders to make it there.

             
The other four riders were surrounded by servants who were cleaning and polishing the armor that they wore. Hayden didn’t realize how bad his armor looked until he stood next to Cass and watched how the light from the torches danced off her gleaming golden armor.

             
“Is Shaylin answering you?” he asked Cass as servants quickly surrounded him and stared cleaning and polishing his armor.

             
“No, but the servants told us not to worry that, it is part of the first flight ceremony. Apparently we have to do something on our own, like a rite of passage.”

             
“This doesn’t make sense,” Hayden complained.

             
“Does it ever?” Shane asked as they made him turn around to clean the back of his armor.

             
The servants made the riders take off their capes and helmets; they told them that they wouldn’t need them with what they were going to have to do. Once the rider’s armor was clean they lined up just outside the Hall of Stories and waited to be marched out.

             
Since the snow had first come up from the south the servants had kept twice as many torches inside the Metallic Pyramid lit to help take the edge off the cold. It was better than being outside, but it was by no means warm.

             
Benet walked down the hallway in his full rider gear. He tried to look official and serious, but a smile could not help but creep onto his face when he saw the young riders.

             
“It has been some time since I last saw you five,” Benet said as he got closer. They knew it was him before he had spoken, but they all wanted to hear his voice, just to make sure. Giles and Sebastian seemed to be completely oblivious to Benet and they remained quiet.

             
“Benet!” Cass, Shane and Hayden seemed to shout simultaneously. Hayden hadn’t seen him since Benet had fought the dwarfs back during his early part of his training
.

             
“It’s good to see you guys, but we will have to catch up later. I asked for a special job today and that job is escorting you five to your last challenge as trainees.” He bowed slightly to them and turned to walk back the way he came. He ushered for them to follow but to remain silent.