Page 60 of Sea of Stars

I slid off his stomach. His shirt was ripped and I expected his chest to be bleeding from the blow he had taken from the dragon’s spiked tail, but there was no blood.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. For the first time in my life I actually cared how a brutarian was doing.

“Brutarians have thick skin,” he replied as he hoisted himself up into a seated position. “But I don’t feel so well. I hit my head pretty hard.” He grabbed the back of his head and rubbed it with his hand. His cheeks puffed out and he leaned over and vomited.

I held my nose and moved away from him. Large people have large amounts of vomit. I felt a little nauseous myself from the disgusting smell. I looked up at the sky and saw the dragon disappearing from sight. Hopefully it wouldn’t be returning. “Don’t move. Let me go find the others.” I ran over to where I last saw Augury. She was hunched over in a ball, looking through her satchel. Her arm was soaked with blood.

“Augury, are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. She pulled out a needle and thread and began to stitch up her wound. Through gritted teeth, she added, “Go find Achates and Chinook.”

I didn’t want to watch her sew up her arm. I stood up and searched for Achates, but he was nowhere in sight. I ran toward a heap of sand in the distance. Could it be Achates? It wasn’t a good sign that it wasn't moving. The smell of burnt chicken suddenly filled my nostrils. Chinook had fallen to the ground ablaze and Denton was smacking her wing, trying to prevent the flames from spreading any further.

I ran over to where they had crashed into the sand a few feet in front of me. I pulled out the last of the water from my bag, poured it onto Chinook, and watched the fire diminish. I ripped off my shirt and doused the remaining flames on her wing. Chinook hooted faintly. Half the feathers on one of her wings had been scorched off. I searched through my bag, but I was out of salt water. There was nothing I could do. I looked up from my satchel and shook my head. She hooted lightly again. It was such a heart-wrenching noise.

Denton was looking in his bag as well. “Found it!” he said. He pulled the cap off of a bottle and tapped it gently so the liquid would trickle onto Chinook's burns. Chinook’s eyes got large and she squawked and flapped her wings in pain. With her wings uneven she lost her balance and teetered to the side. She hooted sadly and dropped her head. I wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to fly again.

The sound of distant sobs tore me away from Chinook.

“I’ll be right back,” I told them.

Augury was on her knees trying to revive the old man. She pressed her hands on Achates' chest.

“No, no,” she sobbed. “Achates, please.”

She pinched his nose with two fingers and put her lips on his. I saw his chest rise. She pressed on his chest rhythmically.

“Augury?”

“Stop,” she cried. “He needs space. He can’t breathe.”

I kept my distance. I watched her repeat the process of breathing into his mouth and pressing down on his chest. “Augury, I don’t think…”

“No,” she said cutting me off. “No!” She was growing hysterical.

I heard Vellswar pounding toward us. “Move,” he said. Vellswar lifted Augury up

and gently tossed her to the side.

He knelt down and slammed his fist onto the center of Achates' chest. Nothing happened.

“You’re killing him!” Augury shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You'll break his ribs. Vellswar, please!"

“Hold her back,” Vellswar demanded.

I grabbed Augury by the shoulders and kept her from running back to Achates' side. Vellswar raised his arm into the air and pounded his fist onto Achates' chest again.

Achates’ eyes opened wide. He made a gurgling noise and turned on his side as he coughed up sand.

“Achates!” Augury screamed. I released my grip on her shoulders and let her run to him. She collapsed in his arms.

“Ow!” he said, but he didn’t resist her hug.

“Your arm is broken!” she said pulling away. His arm hung limply by his side. It was already starting to swell in several places.

“Someone get me a stick,” she said. Her eyes stayed locked on Achates.

I turned and scanned the desert for a stick. Instead of finding one, I spotted Harish leaning over the large crevice in the ground. Ignoring Augury’s demand, I began walking toward him. Harish’s hands were still tied behind his back.

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