Page 19 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“And he got the miners out?” Maccauley peeked up then.

“Oh, yeah, and then he went in dragon form and killed the mine owners! Totally slagged them!” Tobey answered with enthusiasm.

Maccauley groaned and hid her head again.

“He’s made safety and fair wages and good working conditions for workers the focus of his territory. And any employer that doesn’t act responsibly towards their workers gets--”

“Slagged?” Tilly guessed.

“Yep! Needless to say some of the investment in his territory has been down, but he says that the people who would have come in if he didn’t have such rules would just cause more harm than good,” Tobey added.

“The Black Dragon King Valerius doesn’t, uhm, slag people, right? I’ve never heard of him interfering with business or anything,” Maccauley asked softly.

“No, he’s pretty much left the economy alone so it’s stayed like it was before,” Tobey answered. “But he has established far larger areas of undeveloped woods and fields. Plus, there used to be all these really ugly strip malls according to my mom that were abandoned after people mostly started to shop online, and he’s had those torn down and turned into parks.”

Tilly shuddered. “Strip malls even sound wrong. And all the parks are awesome.”

“Reach wasn’t here before the war, Tilly. Valerius created this mountain. It used to be completely flat here. He can control the earth, and supposedly loads of other things,” Tobey informed her a little archly.

Tilly colored. “Yeah, well, I just meant that parks are awesomein generaland that it’s cool Valerius did that.”

And as if talking about Raziel and Valerius caused them to appear, the massive Black Dragon was suddenly justthere. Raziel had flown in silently and was blocking Eldoron’s path. There would not be another playful loop. Raziel’s red eyes were glowing hotly and there was no mistaking the anger in them, not to mention a hint of that volcanic rage that Valerius tried hard to control.

Raziel’s sudden appearance in its path had Eldoron awkwardly cutting to the left and losing altitude. The television crews that had been retreating due to the police chief’s threat had stopped after Eldoron’s appearance and had been filming the whole thing with breathless commentary. They had all been in awe of Eldoron’s beauty and flying ability, but the moment that Raziel came and threw Eldoron off its game they really got excited.

Caden heard one nearby reporter say into his mic, “Looks like Eldoron can’t compete with our Raziel though! Raziel came in so suddenly and unexpectedly that no one realized it was there, including Eldoron, until it was too late! Raziel moved as if part of the night itself!”

Eldoron seemed all too aware that Raziel had taken some of the shine off of its victory with the press, and Caden supposed, with Iolaire. Eldoron’s eyes narrowed as it righted itself. With a mighty flap of wings, it shot towards Raziel only veering away at the very last second, leaving only a few inches between their nearest wings. But Raziel did not flinch, and the wake of Eldoron’s nearby flight did not affect the Black Dragon in the least.

Go, Raziel! Go, Valerius!Caden cried.

Iolaire hooted its support.

While Caden felt the brush of Valerius and Raziel’s minds against his and Iolaire’s, no words were sent. Despite their seeming nonchalance with Eldoron’s antics, clearly, they had to give the Gold Dragon all their attention. While not as large or aggressive as Illarion and Mephous were, Eldoron was clearly not to be underestimated.

“It looks like there will be quite a few Dragons posturing over the city to get your attention, Iolaire,” the police chief said with a sigh. “Not that I can’t appreciate shows of dominance, but Dragons are not known for being careful.”

Caden flashed back on what happened at the Gash. No, they were not when they were angry or scared. But, though it was clear that Valerius was not happy with Tezcacoatl, it was also very clear to Caden that both he and Raziel were being as careful and controlled as they could be.

“If Eldoron is trying to impress Iolaire, I do not think it's working,” Tilly said to the police chief. “Raziel is so much cooler.”

“Our Dragon King Valerius is the greatest of them all,” the police chief said in approval. “And I think Raziel is going to end Eldoron’s preening. Oh, yes, here we go.”

What he was referring to was Raziel, who had been simply hovering while Eldoron was swooping in the air around it, moved impossibly quickly for something so big. Raziel shot upwards and flew directly above Eldoron. The Black Dragon then flapped its huge wings. The unexpected, powerful downdraft sent Eldoron falling towards the earth. It only managed to gain control ten feet from the ground and landed heavily, digging large furrows in the grass.

“Whoa!” Tobey cried and pumped a fist in the air. “Go, Raziel!”

“You showed Eldoron who is the boss, Raziel!” Tilly shouted into the air.

“Oh, my God, Raziel is evenbiggerthan I thought!” Maccauley squeaked and buried her face against Iolaire’s back.

The police chief snorted. “Eldoron looks like a cat that’s fallen down and is trying to pretend it meant to do that all along.”

Indeed that was the perfect way to describe Eldoron as it quickly sat down, lifting its magnificent head and doing its very best to ignore Raziel doing a victory lap up above them. Caden felt a touch of awe--and a little fear--as Raziel tossed its huge head back and let out a gout of red and gold flames. He swore he could almost feel the heat from here.

One of the reporters who had come quite a bit closer now was saying breathlessly into his mic, “Such a magnificent display of dominance by our Black Dragon King Valerius! One wonders if we will get to see yet more aerial acrobatics in the upcoming days as the rest of the Dragon Shifters arrive!”

Let’s hope not!Caden mentally shook his head at the reporter.

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