Star Rigger #05 - Dragon Rigger by Jeffrey A. Carver

Author:Jeffrey A. Carver [Carver, Jeffrey A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780812533231
Google: qSN4obw1O38C
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 1993-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

Now he saw a flicker of fire: dragon flames. "Battle ahead!"

he called softly. "Be sharp! And stay quiet!"

Cavern-shadows flowed past them as they picked up speed. Windrush scanned ahead, trying to discern the shapes of dragons, of drahls, of anything that moved. He saw several more flashes of flame, and then they sped through a great dark archway. A pale moon came into view beneath the inverted horizon, shining up into the caverns from below.

Its ghostly illumination was enough to let Windrush make out the outlines of the ceiling and walls.

289 1:19:25

He strained to pick out, at last, the shapes of the dragons and the enemy.

It was a chamber called the Cavern of Clouds Below, roofed above with vaulting stone ceilings and floored with sky-and far below, a layer of cottony white, ever-present cloud. Windrush knew this place a little. The clouds below were a place where dragons never went, but up here in the cavern, dragons had once gathered in great numbers, perching on hollowed-out ledges and crooks of stone. Beyond this cavern, on the far side, was the place called the Flowing Springs.

Whether the enemy was there or not, Windrush couldn't tell-because the Cavern of Clouds Below was swarming with drahls, and with a much smaller number of dragons who were trying to drive them away. It was clear that the dragons were in desperate need of help!

Guided by the flickering of fire-hot, yellow flames of dragons, and ice-blue flames of drahls-Windrush and the six arrowed straight for the center of the battle. Soon they could see the banking, climbing, diving shapes of the combatants, and they began to pick out dragons who most needed help. In the noise and turbulence, no one seemed to have noticed their arrival. Windrush thundered out a battle cry: "DRAGON BROTHERS, HELP HAS ARRIVED!"

The six behind him echoed the cry, and for an instant the battle seemed to pause while everyone registered their presence.

The beleaguered dragons cried out, and hisses filled the chamber as the drahls realized that they faced fresh opponents. Windrush wasted no time: he dove upon the nearest drahl and blasted it until it tumbled, burning, toward the clouds. He turned instantly to climb again for a new target-and to avoid several drahis who were wheeling toward him. He heard the shrieks of several other drahls dying, and knew that his companions had joined him in taking advantage of their surprise.

The advantage did not last long. The dragons who had been defending this place were tired, and hurt, and reduced in numbers.

They had lasted this long by darting in and out from sheltered places in the upper reaches of the cavern, but a look revealed that many of those shelters had been blasted away by the attacking drahls.

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These dragons would not have survived much longer. Windrush did not want to think how many the realm had lost already tonight. They were still outnumbered, but with the addition of his seven, they could certainly fight back. "TURN THE TIDE!" he called out.

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