Page 79 of Of Scale and Blood

We haven’t got time to be cautious. Besides, the drakkons don’t do revenge. At least, not in the same way.

Vahree only knew, they could easily have hunted us out of existence from the plains and farmlands had they really wanted to—ballistas might successfully bring them down, but they were not the easiest of weapons to move around the countryside—but they’d simply retreated to more distant locations instead.

I agree, but you have to remember, people have feared them for a very long time, and that will not change overnight, regardless of how many drakkons help us through the current crisis.

Maybe not, but once the riders descend on us and their farms and livelihoods are destroyed, they’ll rather quickly change their minds.

You have far more faith in people than I do. The cursor blinked for a few seconds, and I had the strongest feeling that he wanted to add something else, something more personal, like “I miss you, I want you”… but maybe that was nothing more than a projection of my own emotions.Talk when you get back.

The tablet disconnected on their end, surprising me a little. I’d expected my father to get back online to offer a final few comments or to at least bid me to be careful, and I really hoped that the fact he hadn’t didn’t signal something had happened. Something like the riders who’d chased after us deciding to do a retaliatory run against Esan’s walls and people.

“Everything all right back home?” Kele asked, as I tucked the quill and tablet away.

I nodded. “They’re working on measures to protect the walls from the acid?—”

“I hope it also protectsusfrom the fucking acid,” Hannity commented, “because that will wipeusout faster than it’ll wipe out the walls.”

I glanced at her. Her leg was still propped up on the log, but she’d created a hollow in the sand and looked as comfortable as she was likely to get with half a good chunk of her thigh eaten away. “I think they consider the walls the priority right now.”

She snorted. “No use protecting the walls if there is no one left to stand and fight on them.”

That was a truth I couldn’t argue with. I pushed to my feet. “I’ve got a drakkon to repair. Kele, can you grab your first-aid kit? It’s going to take the rest of the sealer and webbing we have left to repair her wing.”

Kele nodded, handed Hannity the nuts she’d cracked open, then walked over to her packs. I climbed out of our shelter and called Rua out of the water.

She grumbled something along the lines of “about time” and rather awkwardly walked out, tucking her good wing up close to her body but letting the other trail behind her. Perhaps with all the loose membrane, she simply wasn’t able to draw it any closer.

With Kaia and Yara watching on—more to keep Rua in check from any instinctive, snappish reactions than any real interest in what we were doing—we stretched out Rua’s wing and started the repairs. The wing wasn’t as damaged as I’d feared—no major bones had been hit, even if a good percentage of her wing membrane either hung loose or had been completely eaten away—so there was a good possibility she would be able to fly tomorrow if we had enough webbing and sealer to rejoin the majority of it.

It took several hours to do that, though, and we used everything we had. I asked Rua to keep the wing extended for a couple of hours just to give the webbing additional time to set across the wider holes, then grabbed Hannity’s packs and walked back to the shelter. After a quick meal, I took first watch. The rain eased, and a pale half-moon sat low in the sky, no doubt providing just enough light for any passing riders to spot us.

They didn’t pass. Nothing did, not even pipistrelles—small, winged creatures whose fuzzy black bodies were no bigger than my fist and whose leathery wings were a glorious blue-black in color—despite the fact they were readily found on most islands situated in warmer climes.

I woke Kele once my four hours were over, then lay down on the warm sand, wrapped my coat around me, and went to sleep… only for it to be haunted by images of Vahree reaching with greedy hands to claim the souls of my family.

I hoped it was nothing more than the natural tension that rose from facing an unknown situation and foe. Hoped that it wasn’t an indication that Mom’s seeress ability was finally rising with greater strength in me.

Feared that hope would soon give way to reality, and all that I loved would soon disappear in a cloud of acid dust.

* * *

It was close to midday when we decided to risk the flight home. I scribed my father before we left, requesting not only a stretcher for Hannity—there was no sign of infection as far as I could see, but she was barely able to put weight on her leg, and the potions weren’t doing a whole lot to cut the level of her pain—but also additional webbing, sealer, and numbing salve. If Damon’s plan to do all three of us at the same time eventuated, then we needed both HannityandRua to be at peak fitness—especially given the danger of the spell and the physical toll it would take on us all.

We started off slowly, keeping low to the sea and our speed down, until we were sure Rua’s wings weren’t going to shred, then gradually raised our pace and height. The hours ticked by slowly, and by the time we neared the aerie, I was shaking with fatigue and so damn hungry I could have eaten a whole damn capra—raw if necessary.

Me eat three, came Kaia’s thought.

You’ve enough time to hunt before dusk, but don’t dillydally.

What dillydally?

Take too long to hunt or eat.

Hunt fast, bring back to aerie. Gria hungry.

Gria is always hungry.

Truth.

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