Keeper of Dragons by J.A. Culican

Author:J.A. Culican [Culican, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragon Realm Press

Chapter Five

Eva and I made a break for it, half-carrying and half-dragging Jericho. With every step, he groaned in pain, but there was nothing we could do about it out here in the jungle. Behind us, the Realm Five dragons were blocking any Carnite chasing us. I felt bad about leaving them behind, but we had to get Jericho out of there.

Eva read my mind again, I guess, because she grunted and said, "I feel bad, too, but that's their job. We defend the True, and they defend us. Now focus. We have to get out of here."

I had begun to sweat and had to pause to shift my grip on Jericho. He groaned, but then his eyes flicked open and he looked at me. "We…have to retreat…away from Paraiso."

He was right, but if an army of Carnites wandered into Paraiso with its wards down and its tilium gone, the few free Trolls and Elves that remained would be lost.

"Eva," I said between gasps for air, "we need to head away from Paraiso. Maybe we can lure the Carnites away."

She didn't answer, but we turned east to move away from the Elves' home. I looked back once, wishing we could go there. Paraiso had been a paradise that felt like home more than Ochana did, but now it was powerless and almost abandoned.

We staggered through the jungle as fast as we could. At one spot, the canopy above us opened up and I caught a glimpse of the sun. It told me we’d been running for at least an hour.

I could still hear the Carnites crashing through the jungle behind us, but we had gained some distance. "We have to stop for a minute. We need to check on Jericho. You feel him sweating? That can't be good," I said, gasping.

"He's in shock," Eva said, and I could hear concern in her voice. "Lay him down gently."

We stopped and lowered him to the jungle floor. I pulled out my water skin and knelt beside him. "Can you hear me? You need some water. No, not too much… There we go, just sip at it."

I stood and stretched my back, looking around to check out our situation. None of the landmarks looked familiar. Then again, I didn’t grow up in the jungle. I had no idea how far from Paraiso we were.

"I hoped he would come around while we ran,” I said, “but he’s hurt worse than I thought. We need to get him to Ochana, or I think he might die."

Jericho’s eyes seemed to focus again. Faint and weak, he said, "We're about five miles from Paraiso." Then he coughed, and his whole body shook. I saw a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, and he grew pale. His eyes rolled up and he passed out again. I hoped he’d wake up a little before we had to continue running for our lives.

Eva put her fists on her hips and let out a sharp breath, then said, "You're right.

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