Chapter one of the Lost Lands - Book 5 of the Sojourn Chronicles
Chapter One
Quhi soared into the air, banked to the right and circled back toward the ruined outpost in a wide arch. His sharp eyes searched the ground for signs of movement, hunting for an indication of which way the Gorg pack had gone. Birds dove for the trees. Small rabbits, and other animals, looked up and stood still, noses quivering, as his shadow passed. Quhi ignored them. He sailed over the crater and shivered, grateful to have fled in time. Melted slag lined the inside of the depression and the acrid scent of the smoke lingered in the air. The dragon gagged and rolled, then headed back toward the Dryad's woods and soared high over the landscape, flying in an ever widening circle as the darkness descended over the landscape. Frustration set in as night obscured the details and forced him to fly lower than felt safe. Quhi swooped through a valley and startled a herd of deer, climbed into the air again and rolled to the left. As the night wore away, his temper frayed and his searching became erratic.
I know there are more of them down there, he thought as he rounded a shoulder of a mountain miles to the north from where he had started. They can't be this far away!
He closed his wings and fell into a dive, pulled up short and landed on top of a wide ledge. The tip of the moon slipped above the distant peaks and Quhi watched it rise, then reluctantly gave in to the demands of his body. He curled up on the ledge, dropped his chin on his forepaws and shut his eyes. His sleep was restless and bothered by dreams of Gorg who ran faster than he could fly. The morning sun peered over the edge of the mountains too soon and shone in his eyes. Quhi blinked and
squinted at the sun, put a wing over his head and drifted off to sleep once more.
When next he awoke, the sun had climbed almost to zenith. He sat up on his haunches and winced as hunger pangs knotted his stomach. Breakfast. He squinted at the sun and noted its position. Or lunch, rather. I'm starving! I wonder what Gorg tastes like? He stood up and stretched. The faint sound of a distant explosion caught his attention and he craned his neck around searching for the source. A large box canyon lay at the foot of the mountain and he could see a ranch house nestled against the far side. Quhi peered at the house, roared in anger and sprang into the air, then sped across the canyon toward the ranch and the five Gorg he could see in its yard.
~~~*~~~
The day had begun like any other on the ranch with its never ending chores. Lale rounded the corner of the house on his way to the front yard and frowned, put his hands on his hips and shook his head. ?You children get yourselves out of that mud puddle right this instant!? he hollered at the top of his voice. ?You're mother's gonna tan your hides when she finds out!?
His son and daughter jumped, and the boy rounded on his sister. ?See? I told you we wasn't 'sposed ta play in it!?
?Well, it was your idea,? his sister said and stuck her tongue out.
Lale watched his twelve-year old twins bickering like they were babies and sighed, then started across the yard. A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he stared in shock. Running toward the ranch at an incredible speed were five massive creatures. His mind went numb for a moment, then adrenaline shocked through him and he reacted. ?Get in the house!? The urgency in his voice cut through the children's squabbling. ?Go!?
The children turned to see what their father looking was looking at and the girl screamed in terror. ?Meria!? her brother grabbed her arm and tugged her toward a tree. ?Come on!?
The Gorg split up and headed for different areas of the main yard. Lale ran for the woodpile, jerked his axe free from the chopping stump and whirled around in time to see his son swing up into the large oak tree that dominated one corner of the front yard, then pull his sister up into its branches with him. One of the Gorg ran toward the tree while another of them slowed and began walking toward Lale, drops of saliva dripping from its fangs. Lale gulped, terrified for the first time in his life, gripped the axe handle harder, and backed away.
Inside the house, Lale's wife looked up as her husband shouted to the children, and glanced out the window. She gasped and dashed to the door, dropped the heavy bolt in place, then fled to the front closet and pulled out the shotgun. Her hands shook and she dropped the shells twice before managing to load the weapon, then ran back to the window. The Gorg had reached the yard and one was on the porch, reaching for the door. She raised the window a crack, shoved the shot-gun barrel underneath it, aimed at the monster?s belly and pulled both triggers. The blast from the shotgun knocked her backwards, and peppered the Gorg?s hide with small round shot. It let out a roar of pain and grabbed at a rapidly spreading redness leaking from a minor wound.
Lale took another step back as the blast from the shotgun echoed from the canyon walls. The Gorg snarled and reached its massive hands toward him. His daughter's scream split the air and Lale's heart nearly stopped. He readied the axe to strike and took another step backward.
~~~*~~~
Quhi folded his wings and arched into a screaming dive toward the closest of the Gorg. He drew in a deep breath as he neared it and expelled a blast of intense cold in a tight stream. It caught the monster dead center and froze it solid. Quhi pulled up sharply, rolled to the left and headed for the second Gorg.
~~~*~~~
Lale stared in shock as the Dragon swooped down and froze the Gorg, then watched Quhi climb back into the sky. The Gorg toppled over a moment later and Lale jumped to the side barely in time. He set his jaw, hefted the axe and swung. The blade bit into the massive neck with a solid thunk. Lale pulled the axe free, swung it over his head once more and brought it crashing down. The neck resisted his strokes, but slowly a crack appeared in the skin and after several blows, the head rolled free of the shoulders. Lale lowered his axe, turned toward his front yard and fought to catch his breath.
~~~*~~~
Quhi drew another breath into his lungs and aimed himself at a second Gorg. Blaster bolts screamed through the air beside him, fired by the Gorg on the porch, and he dodged, then leveled off and released the blast of cold in a single, intense burst at the Gorg under the tree. The water within its cells crystallized and it exploded into fragments. As Quhi passed the remaining Gorg in the yard, and started to pull up again, one of them swung a spiked club in a backhanded arch and caught his right wing. The wing snapped and Quhi roared in pain. He fell from the sky, extended his claws and aimed for one of the remaining Gorg as he came down.
~~~*~~~
Lale's wife jerked the shotgun out from under the window. She ejected the shells, fumbled two more into the chambers and cocked the gun, then shoved it back under the window. She aimed the shotgun at the Gorg?s head and pulled both triggers. The kickback knocked her away from the window and shattered the glass pane as the barrel slammed up from the sill. The Gorg howled, fell forward onto the porch, and expired. One single bead of metal had found its way into the monster?s skull through its temple, then ricocheted off the dense bone inside. With in moments it had caromed back and forth several hundred times and reduced the grey matter it passed through to the consistency of chopped liver.
~~~*~~~
Quhi struggled to ignore the pain in his broken wing and slammed front feet first into the Gorg in the middle of the yard. His claws ripped into the monster's chest and it went over backwards. As it hit the ground, the dragon snaked his head around, closed his jaws around its throat and squeezed. The Gorg clenched its hands into fists and slammed them into the sides of Quhi's head. Lights shot off through the dragon?s vision. He clamped his jaw shut and ripped the Gorg's throat apart by reflex. Blood gushed out of what was left of the neck and flooded the yard with a thick, purple puddle. The Gorg's eyes rolled back in its head and its body shook with a massive convulsion, then lay still.
Quhi spat the flesh out of his mouth, revolted by the taste, and tried to move away from the corpse. He flexed his wings out of habit and sharp pain shot through his right side. He gasped and lashed his tail, caught the remaining Gorg by accident and threw it through the air. The Gorg struggled up to its feet, glanced quickly around the yard, then bolted at top speed away from the ranch and back into the wilderness. It disappeared into the trees and Quhi growled, then grimaced as he moved his wing again. A wave of dizziness crashed over him and he collapsed to his side on the ground. As darkness descended he forced himself to shift back to human form, then passed out.
Reply With Quote
You're welcome, Nate. Thanks for the compliment.
Bookmarks