War of Dragons (62 page)

Excellent,
Prince Henry replied enthusiastically.
You shall be apologising to me for your lack of faith this evening, Noah. We shall soon see the back of the Blue Dragons for good.

How far is it?
Daisy asked.
Will we see the army soon, do you think?

Not long, I suspect,
Noah told her.
Especially if they are flying towards us. If that is the case, I would advise you to turn around immediately, Princess, and return to your capital. You can do two useful things by doing that; passing on useful information, and surviving.

Come now,
Prince Gerald argued,
there's no need for such negativity, Noah. We're committed now. Try and show a little faith.

We'll see them long before we meet in the air,
Lord Daniel told the young princess.
This will be a sizeable army and we'll be able to spot them from far away. I'd like to surprise them, but our numbers are too high for that.

There's a Golden Dragon approaching,
Jude announced, flying towards them.
Not one of my spies, though, and I'm not sure who he is to be honest. I've sent one of my men to meet him. I think we can see the Blue Dragons in the distance behind as well.
Jude turned and flew back to meet the newcomer.

He's flying quickly,
Crystal observed, spotting the approaching dragon.
Whoever he is, he appears to be in a hurry. Hey, is that a Brown Dragon behind him?

Why, it is!
Princess Daisy replied brightly.
Perhaps they've arrived to help us in the battle.

I doubt there would be just one if that were the case,
Noah replied.
Let's find out what they're doing here. Lords, a single Brown doesn't pose a threat, and remember, they are our allies. Please, come with me to meet him.

The commanding party sped up, slowly moving to the front of the army to meet the two dragons approaching them. Jude and one of his men had joined it in the air and were flying back towards them, leaving the two newcomers behind.

Turn the army around!
Jude called out urgently as he approached.
Now! Quickly, get everyone out of here.

Turn around?
Prince Henry replied incredulously.
Don't be ridiculous; we're on the verge of victory here.

The verge of utter destruction,
Jude countered.
Give the order now! I'll explain afterwards.

I'll do no such thing,
Prince Henry replied.
Not until you've explained yourself.

True Dragon!
the new Golden Dragon screamed as it approached.
Flee for your lives! It's coming this way!
The Golden Dragon turned around after giving this warning, flying back to join the Brown Dragon.

That's John!
Daisy screamed, recognising his voice.
John! Come back!

But John was already too far away, having missed seeing the children behind the commanders, and was now flying swiftly with the Brown Dragon, heading away from the army back to where he had come from.

A True Dragon?
Prince Henry asked.
What on earth is that?

Turn the troops around!
Lord Robert commanded loudly.
Captain, give the order to the troops.

Of course, sir,
the captain beside Lord Robert replied, flying ahead.

Wait a minute!
Prince Henry objected angrily.
I'm leading this attack, remember, Lord Robert.

These are not all your troops,
Lord Robert replied sharply.
They're here to help you, but I lead them and mine will be retreating and yours should as well if they want to survive. Lord Daniel, command yours to retreat if you want to have any alive after today.

Lord Daniel gave the order to his captains and the order began to spread throughout the army.

What's a True Dragon? Will someone tell me—
Prince Henry's words died mid-sentence, as in the distance a huge, green, flying beast became visible, bearing straight for them.
It's not possible,
he gasped in shock.
Nothing is that large!

That's a True Dragon,
Prince Henry,
Arthur told him, the alarm evident in his voice.
I really think we should be leaving now. It's flying straight towards us.

That can't be real,
Lord Daniel said slowly.

It is, and your troops are not turning fast enough,
Noah replied anxiously. Up ahead, the army was splitting in two, with half turning to the right and half to the left. They were packed too closely, and changing direction was going to take too long to avoid the approaching danger.

Shouldn't we go back now?
Jenna asked nervously.
That thing is faster than the Golden Dragons. If it comes after us it'll catch us.

Yes, turn about now,
Lord Robert replied, an urgent tone in his thoughts.
Crystal, that's an order. All of you, go back now!

What about you, Father?
Crystal asked.
I told you how fast that thing is. You have to flee now if you're going to escape it.

I'll be able to concentrate on escaping once I know that you're out of here,
Lord Robert replied.
Go now!

Crystal, Seth, Jenna and Arthur began to turn, flying away from the commanders, who were still flying with the army, which was changing direction incredibly slowly.
Hey, Daisy,
Arthur called, flying back towards her,
why aren't you coming?

Look!
she called.
It's John. He's flying straight at that True Dragon. What's he doing?
she wailed.
He'll be killed! Doesn't he know how dangerous it is?

I think he knows exactly how dangerous it is,
Arthur replied,
and he wouldn't want you anywhere near here. If something is going to happen to him he wouldn't want you to watch.

I'm staying,
Daisy replied firmly.
Arthur, you can leave if you want. I'm not leaving till I see what happens to John.

He's almost reached it,
Noah called from above. John was flying away from them very fast so Noah flew higher to get a better look at what he was doing.
Wait, I can't believe it. There's a second one! It's just visible, approaching us from the south. I thought there was only just one.

That's it, Daisy. Leave!
Prince Gerald yelled at her.

You leave! You're the heir. I'm staying!

John's flying directly towards it,
Noah called to them, now flying high above them.
He's getting closer, closer… wait, he just threw something at its head!

The angry roars of the True Dragon filled the air immediately and Noah saw it turn abruptly to the right, flying to the east.
It's going after John!
he cried.
I have no idea what he threw at that dragon, but it's infuriated it. I think the other one is flying after him as well. He's leading them away from us.

Two True Dragons after him!
Daisy cried.
Noah, can't you do something?

Not really,
Noah replied.
They're True Dragons, Daisy. They're faster than we are. If it's after John, it'll catch him before I could get to him and even if I could get there first, there's nothing I could do.

Mark!
Daisy screamed.
Can you see this?

Mark dropped down to fly next to Noah.
I can see those True Dragons flying after that Golden Dragon. He's leading them away from this army, which means we can get you all out of here. What's the problem?

That's your brother!
Daisy screamed in desperation.
You have to do something!

Mark started in surprise, turning abruptly to face the True Dragon again. He would have had the same view of John that Noah would have had; John was doing well at dodging the huge dragon’s attacks, but it could only be a matter of time before he was caught and there wasn't anything that he could do.

We have to flee,
Noah urged him.
Don't let your brother's death be for nothing.

Mark was silent for a few seconds, his eyes fixed on the scene ahead of them. John was too far ahead of the second creature, but the first was gaining on him. In a few seconds he would almost certainly watch his brother die. Noah didn't want him to see that, or Daisy for that matter. Just before he spoke Mark saw something ahead.

Wait,
Mark said to Noah.
Look, ahead of John. What's that?

What's what?
Noah asked, seeing nothing but the two huge creatures chasing John. Suddenly he realised what Mark was referring to.
Oh, I don't believe it—

We can't see!
Daisy cried from below.
Tell us what you see.

Noah said nothing, watching the horizon in absolute horror. Just ahead of John, the sky was dark, and he had just realised what it was. The huge Blue Dragon Army was approaching them, so numerous that they blurred into a huge dark mass, and they were flying straight towards John and the two huge True Dragons.

Is that what I think it is?
Lord Robert asked, awestruck.

Enough Blue Dragons to utterly destroy this army,
Noah replied coldly.
It's fortunate that we're already turning around. We wouldn't stand a chance against them. I only hope we have enough of a lead to make it back.

I don't think it makes much difference now,
Mark pointed out.
Look what's happening!

Up ahead, John had just reached the Blue Dragon Army and had flown straight into their midst and disappeared. The Blue Dragon Army began to scatter, desperately trying to flee the charging True Dragon, but like the Red Dragon Army, they were too numerous to turn quickly. The sky lit up as the True Dragon flooded the approaching army with its flames and although they were too far away to be able to hear their agonised screams, Noah could have sworn he could hear them.

***

Perak! What do we do? There are two of them. Can you attack them again?

Perak didn't reply to Pan, panicking as he watched the disaster unfold below him. He no longer had a lance, his still buried behind the ear of the first True Dragon. Even if he did, he doubted he could pull off the same trick with these two. They were even larger and more destructive than the first, with the huge black one a truly terrifying sight. The first had used its flames but had relied more on its claws and teeth, but these two were flooding the sky with fire and were coordinating their attacks with devastating effectiveness.

Sir, what are your orders?
Eric asked.
We have no more lances. I could search for the ones that Kessick's dragons threw. They should be on the ground somewhere.

Perak still didn't reply. It was a ridiculous question anyway and Eric wouldn't have a chance of finding the lances before they killed him. They were relatively safe here, being higher and quite a long way away, but these creatures didn't appear to be in the mood to let any dragons survive; he watched the green one incinerate a group of dying dragons on the ground, as if to make sure they were dead.
How had this happened? Victory was so close!

Perak,
Pan said again.
What shall we do? They're killing the entire army!

Perak snapped out of his stupor.
Leave,
he replied.
There is nothing that can be done; it is over. Eric, instruct the men to scatter and retreat. These creatures will not follow far.

Of course, sir,
Eric replied, flying away to give the order.

How could this happen?
Pan asked.
We've lost the war. They've killed over half of our army.

I know,
Perak snapped.
If half escaped it would be a miracle,
he thought.

At least that Gold died,
Pan replied, glancing back to check that the True Dragons weren't flying after them.
It transformed into a Blue just before it reached our troops, but there is no way that it could have escaped those monsters.

I don't care about just one Gold,
Perak replied bitterly
. They'll all pay for this one day—mark my words. The whole nation!

***

What's happening to John?
Daisy asked as she flew near to Mark.
Can you see him?

No,
Mark replied.
He disappeared into that mass of dragons. It's utter chaos now.

The two True Dragons were tearing the Blue Dragon army apart. The cries of their fallen companion had reached them and it appeared that they had realised who the culprits were and were bent on revenge. The sky lit up every few seconds as the two dragons flooded the air with their terrible flames.

The Red Army had now turned about and was heading back north, but the commanders continued flying towards the Blues, watching the scene unfold in front of them. The Blue Dragon Army, an army they now realised was far too large for them to have a chance of defeating, was being destroyed by a force they hadn't even realised existed. They flew towards the destruction, repelled and drawn by the horror in front of them. The Blue Dragon Army was scattering in every direction, but the two True Dragons were relentless, killing them by their thousands.

He could have survived, couldn't he?
Daisy asked hopefully.
He is very fast, isn't he?

He is,
Mark replied without any conviction.
Daisy, you need to leave right now. Catch up with the others. You're not very fast and if the True Dragons come this way then you won't stand a chance. I won't be able to protect you.