Chapter 24: Rescue?

"Ber-Berserker." I managed to gasp. She smirked.

"What did ya' think I was? A Peaceable? Ha! Far from those wimps. Zapz and Moonshine, the mighty Berserker queens!" She shouted out, no fear of being overheard as we were now over the forest.

"My-my dragon will get you." I could barely speak, but I was getting over the initial pain.

"Ha! Not likely. That Puny Daydream couldn't track a stinkdragon. Not to mention that we- heheheh- 'handled' him earlier." I felt despair. I was now high in the air, away from people, and with no knowledge of what they could have possibly done to my beloved dragon. But I had one advantage- judging from what she said, they didn't know of Glowworm.

I just hung beneath them. What else could I do? Then I noticed a- a disturbance below us in the forest. It was like when heat rises off of stone in the summer- that weird shimmer. My eyes widened when I also saw a glimpse of black and white. Just as I started to try and make sense of it- BOOM! Three forms broke out of the canopy below. And then all I could feel was open air as I was knocked from the silver nadder's claws with a Roar! and a flash of gold. I saw stars as another set of claws caught me.

I heard the nadder's laugh, and felt it shaking its talons in excitement some as it did so, making my side burn. "Dark Thief, stop that! You're hurting her." I heard a voice scold the nadder, but I didn't take it in. My world was going fuzzy around the edges.

"Now, she is my captive! So you better fly back to that rock you came from!" A third voice shouted, with a deep, threatening undercurrent.

As my vision started coming back around, I saw the Berserker- Zapz she had called herself- facing off with Yarlo.. and his changewing. Both parties looked fit to kill.

"A rescue effort, hmm? Well, you're not getting her! I got a bone to pick." Zapz was snarky and sneering still, though I couldn't imagine her not feeling some frustration or fear at the new situation.

"Think of it as a changing of hands." Yarlo growled back. "I got my own business to attend to with her."

"Well get in line, I had her first."

"We can agree to disagree, lightning-head. I'm not leaving without her."

"Neither am I-"

"Yes, you are. She's mine now." And a spray of acid shot towards the Berserker, who retreated to avoid it. He looked over at Ney'ite, who was hovering on her boneknapper next to me. "Take her back. I can handle this." She nodded, and we turned, leaving Yarlo sparring with the nadder-rider.

"Ne- Ney'ite." I coughed out.

"Hey, it's okay. I saw you get snatched, and so I grabbed Yarlo to come and find you." I wasn't overly reassured. I hadn't had the best experiences with Yarlo in the past. But at least Ney'ite seemed strangely nice to me, considering she was helping someone who admitted to having "business to attend to" with me. We landed in the clearing that I had first seen the changewing in. "We'll wait here for Yarlo." I leaned against a tree. There was no use running, as I wouldn't be able to get far before they could catch me. Before too long, the golden scales of the changewing appeared in the trees.

"It seems you're more valuable than I thought." He spat on the ground, and I saw a slight tinge of red. "You'd better be worth it." He snapped his fingers, and the changewing zeroed in on him. "Rorrim, hold her down." Instantly the dragon was at my side, his long antennae wrapping around me. I struggled weakly, but each time I moved his grip tightened, and I stopped moving as my lungs burned as hard as my side.

"He's a trained professional. He's not going to be so easy to slip away from." As my breath panted in and out, I looked at him with narrow eyes. "Now, on the subject of slipping away- I know that you live in quite the secluded place, don't you Frost? In an area frequented by poachers and dragon traders." His voice was deceptively smooth. It was scary. This was not the Yarlo that I had seen before- the one that was so overwhelmed with his temper that he was attacking me on the bluffs at the school. This was.. controlled. It was even more frightening for it.

"It must be so easy to obtain dragons. No one would suspect. Everyone thought your family was dead." He pulled a knife out of his belt, and started looking at it closely. "And you were at the convergence point, no less. ...how convenient."

His knowledge of me was even more disconcerting than his controlled manner. Very few even knew there was a convergence point, and even fewer would understand the significance of it. It was the one point where most different dragon migrations passed over. His voice turned to a bored drawl. "You even have your own bay that meets the northern sea. A safe harbor for ships. It's the perfect set up. I have to say, I applaud your family's foresight in this operation." He fiddled with the knife, finally turning it to point at me. "So, just when did it go from capturing wild dragons to stealing tame ones, hmmm? When did you start supplying the poachers?"

"What a-are you talking about? We don't work with p-poachers!" My words were rough, spoken through gritted teeth as the changewing held its grip. I gasped as the changewing responded by tightening the coils around me.

"Oh, do you now? Well, maybe you'll change your mind after we talk a little more." His voice dripped with acid honey. "After all, we have quite a deal of evidence to the contrary. Ney'ite?" He looked over to where she stood with Phantom and Dark Thief, his sharp gesture pointing to her saddle bags. She pulled out a thick book, tossing it to him, which he proceeded to flip through. "Hmmm.. The shark-winged fangtail. Fast, dangerous, and strong. Good for scuttling ships." He read off facts as he skimmed, then suddenly looked at me. "Sound familiar? After all, how would you know it is good for such without trying it out once or twice?"

I tried to speak, but a quick squeeze from the dragon shut my mouth in a grimace. "Raptortongue. Incredibly shy and hard to find, but very useful as rides, as they have very little need to rest. They power up their bodies from solar rays." His flipping got faster and faster as he started to rapidly read off names in a growing frenzy of anger. "Deceptibite. Polarserpent. Ferocious Riverfang! Clacklesting! Grapplewing!" He was ferociously turning pages now, practically tearing them from the binding! "Whipfang, Huntspri, Rustling Death!" He was panting now from all the shouting, slamming the book shut in my face. I winced. But the motion continued, and the book went sailing away into the dirt as his hands flew up to slam onto the tree on either side of my head. "How did you find them!? Where are you getting this information from!?" He glared at me, his hot , angry breath in my face. The distrust and hatred palpable. "These are dragons so rare or reclusive that most people don't know they exist. Species that are mysterious enough that they aren't found in the standard Book of Dragons." His voice was a low growl. I could do nothing to hide my fear and pain. "Dragons that are some of the strongest and most dangerous in the entire Archipelago." Then, unexpectedly, he backed off. He stopped a few paces away. "And I know why you track them down." He pointed an accusing finger at me. "I know why you look for strong, rare, powerful dragons. You are supplying the poachers. You're a trapper. A dragon trapper." He spit on the ground again, disgusted. "And even worse, a thief. You're a rotten-toothed, half-troll, DRAGON STEALER." His last two words came out from between bared teeth, a pure, unrestrained look of hatred twisting his features. "So, how much were you planning on selling that night fury to that Berserker for, huh? She would be practically priceless!"

"I-I wouldn't se-elllll Glowwwworm!" I managed to gasp out, the force of my emotions giving me strength. His eyebrows dropped in a slight amount confusion. "Nnnnoooo poaaching. Nnnooo ste-ealing. R-rescu-uers." I used the last of my air in an attempt to get this crazy, scary boy to let me breath! My vision was growing blurry again.

He looked away, his eyebrows harsh and debating. "Rorrim, drop her." I fell gasping to the ground, sucking in as much precious, beautiful damp air as I could. "Ney'ite, keep a close eye on her." And he walked away with Dark Thief following. Rorrim simply melted away into the trees. Ney'ite and Phantom walked me back to the tent, and left me to try and sleep for whatever was left of the night. But they also left me with a warning; a warning that they would be watching.