The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain) Read online

  Hayden focused on Draek again and found that just the few minutes of eating the deer had already calmed him down enough so that he could talk again.

  Draek, how do you feel now? Draek did not respond and Hayden could feel his confusion as to where the voice had come from, then he remembered that he had a rider and continued to eat as he communicated with Hayden.

  I am much better now that I have eaten. I felt you watching me while I hunted and I am glad that you were here for it.

  Hayden felt joy and pride well up inside his chest as he listened to his dragon. I am very impressed that you took down such a large buck; I have never seen such a large deer before.

  I hope all our hunts go this well. Draek replied as he took another bite from the animal.

  Well once you are as big as a mountain and you can fly and breathe fire I don’t see how a hunt will go bad. Hayden laughed and he felt the same rumble in his head that let him know the Draek was laughing too.

  Giles and Sebastian both started blinking a lot, and they both had a confused look on their face for a few seconds till the remembered that they were in their own bodies again. Hayden was sure that they did not care to hear how his and Draek’s hunting had gone, so he was content to say nothing.

  “What’s wrong with you, are you really that dumb?” Giles asked; anger was burning through his eyes. Sebastian looked just as mad, but he was turning red like he was having a hard time breathing.

  “What are you talking about?” Hayden replied; I really wish they would leave me alone. He projected his thoughts out to Draek. Draek showed him an image of him hunting down their dragons in the woods and repeating what he had done to the buck to them.

  Hayden had to use all his self control not to burst with laughter or agree with Draek and send him off hunting their dragons. He was able to remain calm, and told Draek to just continue with whatever it was he was doing. Draek seemed not to care either way so Hayden returned back to the conversation he was having with Giles and Sebastian.

  “What your dragon did out there you idiot. He could have gotten our dragons hurt.”

  “I still don’t know what it is you are talking about, what did Draek do that was so bad? All he did was hunt a deer and kill it, how could that have gotten anyone hurt?” Hayden did not understand why they were so mad but whatever their reason it was starting to make him mad by how they were talking about Draek.

  “All your dragon did was bugle out that he had killed a buck so that everything in the forest got startled and all the deer got terrified. The one we were hunting actually tried to fight us. If it wouldn’t have been for my quick thinking Kurok and I would be dead.” Giles stood up and stormed out of the room. He kept his fists clenched up tight and he looked back a few times as if he had something more to say. Sebastian was still red, but he followed in silence.

  Hayden decided to wait for Shane, who still hadn’t stirred from his connection with Rilora. Hayden worried that it was going to take a long time when finally Shane opened his eyes. He seemed to know exactly where he was because he did not look confused or disoriented. He just smiled at Hayden and started to get up.

  “Where are you going?” Hayden asked as Shane threw his leg over the bench he had been sitting on.

  “We have to go meet up with Estraken don’t we?”

  “We do, but what happened, how did your hunt go? It took you the longest to come back so I figured I would wait for you.” Shane seemed to think about what Hayden had said and when he realized that both Giles and Sebastian were gone he sat down and a smile broke out across his face.

  “Well, Rilora was the last one to get off the giant dragon. We watched Draek jump off right before the dragon touched down. The other two silvers went off together not long after Draek was gone. Rilora hit the ground and just started sniffing around. She told me there was no point tiring herself running through the woods without knowing if she was getting close to anything.” Shane caught the eye of one of the kitchen Karons and asked if he could have more to drink since they had already cleared their table right after Hayden’s outburst.

  “So she finally caught a sent from a deer and she ran after it just like the others had. She was amazing; she would sprint for a while and then she would stop to make sure she was still following the scent. She found the deer by a little waterfall, nothing more than ten feet high, and she slowly stalked it till she was right behind it. She was about to strike when Draek roared and it scared both the deer and Rilora half to death.

  “I could feel her heart pounding in my head as the deer turned to face her. The deer was about to bolt and I completely froze up. I had no idea what to do, I thought that the deer was about to disappear and Rilora was going to have to start again. Luckily the few second hesitation by the deer was all that Rilora needed.

  “She slashed with her claws at the deer’s neck before it was aware that she had moved. It ran about seven feet and then it just lay down and the hunt was over. How about you, how did yours go?” Hayden had listened to Shane as he retold what had happened to him. He could not help but feel guilty for Draek’s roar that could have gotten Rilora hurt, but he was happy that nothing bad had happened.

  Hayden went through and told Shane about how their hunt had gone, and when they had finished talking they started heading down the corridors to Estraken’s library. They walked for a few minutes before they realized that they were lost. They tried to backtrack, but they could not find where they had started from.

  Hayden was finally able to find someone who could show them to the library, and as they got there Giles and Sebastian were both already there and in mid lesson.

  “So you boys do want to learn, that’s good because I was starting to think that all you wanted to do was fly messages around. Now I will not repeat myself so you will have to find out about what we have covered so far from these two.” Estraken pointed at Giles and Sebastian, who were both facing them with wicked grins on their faces.

  “Now as I was saying; you will want to make sure that your dragon is eating until it is completely full. They won’t let them hunt every day, so on the days that they eat here or they fail at hunting, you must make sure that they do not go hungry. A dragon will grow faster and larger if there is plenty of food. They must also eat both the hair and the bones of their meals. It will help with digestion and there are lots of nutrients in the bones.”

  Hayden and Shane sat down quickly and Hayden tried to take everything in. This was all information that was going to help him and Draek. Shane was sitting on the edge of his seat and listening just as intently as Hayden was. Hayden had to do his best not to communicate with Draek because he kept getting images and thoughts of Draek play fighting with Rilora in a ditch while their dragon instructors walked them through their fight.

  Hayden could feel that Draek was having fun, but that he was also taking it very seriously. Hayden almost jumped when a surge of triumph came pouring in as Draek pinned Rilora down and won their first fight.

  Estraken never seemed to notice anything around him, he just continued to teach whether any of them were listening or not. Hayden listened to him talk about what animals were good to eat and which were not. He started to tell them about what to expect to happen to their dragons in the next few months when he stopped mid sentence.

  “You will first notice that they will start flapping their wings open and closed more, that is the first sign that they are almost ready to fly. Then they will……. You may now return to your rooms, your dragons will meet you there shortly.” He started putting up all the scrolls and books that he had opened during their lesson and ignored their questioning gazes as he did so.

  The four young riders slowly got up and headed back to their rooms to await their dragons. Hayden and Shane walked a little faster than Giles and Sebastian so they soon where out of their earshot.

  “What do you think that was all about, ending our lesson like that?” Hayden asked Shane as they made their way through the corridor that would lead them to t
heir rooms. This was one of the few ways they knew how to go without getting lost.

  “I am not sure, but have you noticed that there are a lot fewer people around here then there are normally. Actually, I don’t think we have seen anyone since we left Estraken’s.” Shane looked behind them just to make sure that they had not passed anyone without realizing it.

  “We haven’t seen anyone, were can they all be?” Hayden asked, knowing Shane did not have an answer to his question.

  “They have been called away.” A voice came from around the corner that they were about to pass. The voice had startled Hayden and Shane so that they both stopped walking. They took the last few steps to the corner a found a young boy, less than half as tall as Hayden, leaning against the wall.

  “Who are you?” Shane asked. “And how do you know that they have been called away and what does that mean?”

  “My name is Harth; my father is Artues the silver. I was with him when the call went out; all the dragons and riders that are able to fight have left Celestial City.” Harth spoke very calmly as if this sort of thing happened all the time. Although Harth answered the questions Shane had asked him the way he did so just made new questions.

  “What is the call, and where have they all gone, is there a fight about to happen, are we at war?” Hayden blurted out all his questions in one breath. Harth smiled a little kid smile and laughed but did he was not thrown off by Hayden’s questions.

  “They call is when someone of high rank decides it’s time to do something that involves a lot of dragons. The person’s dragon then sends out what they want to happen to leaders under them and then those spread the word down to the next level of people until finally the message gets to everyone. My father’s dragon heard the call from his leader’s dragon and then he passed it on to the riders that fly under him.

  “My father did not tell me if they were going to be fighting or if this was just a drill to see how long it would take them to be ready to fight if an enemy was attacking.”

  Draek, is what he saying true, are there any other dragons in Celestial City?

  He is speaking the truth, they are all gone except for a few that are to sick or to hurt to fly. Can you hurry up back to our room, I am already here. Draek asked, Hayden was still worn out and he could feel that Draek was just as tired.

  I am on my way, I will be there soon, he reassured Draek.

  “Do you know when they will be back?” Hayden asked.

  “They will come back when they are finished doing what they need to do,” Harth replied.

  “Harth, come inside now.” A door further down the corridor that Harth was standing in opened and a voice came from within the room. Harth turned and ran to the door with no regard for Shane or Hayden.

  “What do you think is going on?” Shane asked Hayden as they started walking again.

  “I have no idea, but Draek will tell me when the dragons get back, by then he will probably know everything.” Hayden knew that all the dragons talked to each other about everything, so if Draek did not have an answer to something he would just ask the other dragons.

  “Rilora is always talking to the other dragons here. We need to hurry back though; she is starting to get restless about having me back there.” They sped up their walk until they got to their rooms. Hayden said goodbye to Shane and went in to see Draek.

  Draek was laying flat on the floor with his wings completely extended and resting on the floor. Hayden walked over to him and sat down beside him; Draek slowly lifted his head up and opened his silver eyelids.

  Hayden talked Draek into getting up and walking to the cleaning stalls. He wanted to give him a full cleaning because he was covered in dirt and grime that he had collected from the day’s training, but Draek was having a hard time staying awake as Hayden started cleaning. Hayden decided just to clean the dirt off and oil him so he would be comfortable through the night.

  When Hayden had finished getting the dirt off he walked Draek back to their room and then returned by himself to the stalls to get the oil. He oiled Draek back in their rooms and Draek fell asleep halfway through it.

  Shane knocked on the door after he had finished taking care of Rilora, Hayden was worried that they would wake up Draek, but Shane just laughed at his concern.

  “They are so tired they could sleep through anything right now,” Shane said.

  Shane and Hayden talked for a few minutes about all the dragons and riders leaving, thinking about different ideas that got more and more outlandish as they spoke. The entire time Draek did not even stir from his sleep while they talked.

  “How about we go and get some supper? The dining hall isn’t far from here and if the dragons need anything they can call us and we will be right back.” As soon as Shane mentioned food Hayden’s stomach started to growl, and Shane took that as an answer.

  They made the short trip to the dining hall, which was completely empty except for the Karons who were serving them. They ate steamed potatoes with a thick beef stew and boiled vegetables. They did not talk much while they ate, but once they were finished they decided to go back to their rooms. They sat outside Hayden’s room and watched the sun set over the high metal walls.

  “What do you think Cass did today? She didn’t train with us or go to our lesson, I think it’s weird that they keep her away from us so much, she is a rider just like us after all.” Hayden sat down on the cold metal floor and leaned against the base of the pyramid.

  “She isn’t like us, Hayden, you aren’t even like me. You are a silver rider and I am a copper rider. You will always be held above me no matter what, and as much as you and I are different, Cass is much more important than both of us put together. She is a rider of a gold dragon. There is a chance that you and I might one day sit on thrones, but Cass is almost guaranteed to sit on the throne and rule over Arvain.”

  “You don’t know that she will get to do that anymore then we will.” Hayden did not like that someone could be set above him just because their dragon was a different color than his.

  “Hayden, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of copper riders that I would have to be better than to sit on the throne. You have less competition, but you probably still have a few hundred other silver riders, but Cass has only a handful of gold riders with her. Most of them are too old to rule; the only person who could take the throne from her is sitting on the throne now. She will sit on the throne one day.”

  Before Hayden could respond the air around them started blowing hard, Hayden’s ears popped and it sounded like thunder was rolling on top of them. Hayden thought the sky was falling on of them.

  Hayden looked up, and through the clouds dropped hundreds of dragons with riders sitting on their backs. Hayden had never seen so many dragons; most were about normal compared to the ones he had seen, but Hayden saw a few that wingspans blotted out whole dragons.

  Hayden watched as they started to land in the pyramid, and the larger ones continued on to the fields past the city. Hayden could not hear anything but the roars of hundreds of dragons and flapping of thousands of wings. After a few minutes of chaos the sound died down enough for them to yell at each other and be heard.

  Shane yelled something about it being amazing, but Hayden could not be sure if he heard him right. Hayden was still amazed by the different formations that they flew in and how even though the sky was full of dragons, who’s different shades of metallic scales reflected to now deep red sun, without even coming close to colliding in mid air.

  Hayden noticed a few dragons that seemed to be struggling to stay in the air; some even flew with their heads hanging low almost pointing at the ground far below them. Hayden knew they did not leave in that condition.

  “It looks like this was not just for training,” Hayden yelled to Shane. Shane looked at him confused until Hayden pointed up at the wounded dragons flying in last. Shane’s eyes got wide and he nodded in agreement with Hayden.

  “It looks like we are about to find out what happened to
day that could call every dragon out of Celestial City and bring some of them back wounded,” Shane shouted back to Hayden; it was now Hayden’s turn to nod.

  Chapter 12

  Hayden and Shane both went back into the pyramid through the large dragon entrance they had gone out of. Hayden walked over to Draek, but he was still asleep.

  “I guess we will have to actually go find someone who knows what’s going on,” Hayden told Shane when Draek did not wake up. They both went to the door and started heading through the corridors looking for anyone who would know what had happened.

  It did not take long till the walkways were full of people running in different directions, all screaming something different. Hayden and Shane both tried to stop people to ask them what was going on but they kept getting pushed out of the way. They started to see glints of armor throughout the crowd as dragon riders started to enter the already crowded corridors.

  They did not see anyone they knew and the riders were surrounded by people so they could not get anywhere near them to ask what was going on. They were pushed down an empty corridor that they decided to follow just to get away from the throngs of yelling people. They never expected to run into a familiar face.

  “Benet, are you ok, what happened today? What’s going on?” Hayden asked. Benet had been walking through the all but abandoned corridor slowly, he was dragging his feet and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He was wearing his armor, except his helmet and his dragonauts. He looked up when he heard his name and gave the two young riders a slight smile.

  “Well hello, you two, I am surprised to see you up this late. Normally the first years are passed out early after their first day of real training.” He even spoke like a man half dead. Benet was unable to keep his head up for longer than a few seconds. He stumbled a few times so Hayden and Shane both helped him back to his room, with Benet directing them through the twisting halls and flights of stairs that they had not been through yet.