Chapter 5
Jack slashed the wing off one of the mechanical dragons and peeled away as it tumbled toward the ground. It was a good thing that Niji had no wings, or this would have been a lot more difficult. He heard the sound of lasers powering up behind him and sent Niji into a dive just as a pair of red beams lanced through the air. He flew up in a curving loop, then sliced the robot dragon along its belly. He could feel the heat from its explosion as he and Niji darted away.
To his side he noticed that Kez was being chased by two of Aku's monsters. He brought Niji around in a sharp turn to intercept one of them. With a loud yell he bore down on it and got Niji to incinerate it with a fireball. Then they went into a vertical dive and he reached out the blade of his sword to slice the head off the other one.
None of the dragons, metal or living, were flying in formation now. The battle had dissolved into a cacophany of dogfights, flames, lasers, and crashes. Jack adjusted course just in time to keep from colliding with a wrecked robot that was shooting for the ground in a gout of flame. He lifted his sword to deflect a laser beam from another opponent, which bounced and hit a mechanical beast flying above and to the side of it. Then he charged for the one that had fired the beam and drew the point of his sword along its body. There was a series of small explosions along the cut, and one of its wings stopped moving - then it dropped suddenly to crash into the rocks below.
Aku's forces had been numerous, but now they were dwindling under the fierce assault of the dragonriders. Soon they would be no more than piles of scrap metal on the rocks far below.
But the worst was yet to come, for a great circle of flame opened in the sky, and out of it shot a huge, black beast with a double set of horns, a green snout with great curving fangs, and flaming eyebrows and beard. Jack recognized his archenemy in an instant - and Aku saw him as well.
Jack narrowed his eyes, raised his sword and set Niji on a dead-straight course for the demon. They dodged around other dragons, both friends and foes, focused on this single target.
Aku's grin looked as awful as it always did. He mocked the samurai with a malevolent snicker, then opened wide his jaws...
Niji twisted out of the path of the column of red flame just as it shot forth from Aku's gaping mouth. Jack realized that he had been foolish to head straight for Aku, and instead directed Niji on a looping, weaving course for the demonic dragon.
Since he was so big, Aku was not particularly maneuverable, and he was not able to keep up with Niji's dodges and dives. Jack was able to slash his flank, creating a rent in his shadowy substance. Aku cried out in pain and lashed out at Jack with a clawed foot, but Niji darted out of the way.
Aku grasped the flaw in his strategy at that moment and began to shrink, until he was about Niji's size. Now he was able to match her move for move, and managed to get behind her so that he could spit gouts of flame at the rider on her back.
No matter how many loops and rolls he took Niji through, Jack could not shake the pursuing demon. He would have to do something more drastic.
He headed for a steep mountainside, swerving Niji back and forth to avoid Aku's bursts of flame. As he got closer to the sheer rock, it seemed to approach faster and faster.
Don't turn away until the last possible moment, he told Niji, since she knew her limits better than he did. The cliff face filled his vision now...
When Niji made a sharp turn to the right they were so close to the cliff face that Jack could have brushed it with his hand. Aku was not able to change course as quickly, and he smashed into the side of the cliff, turning into an indistinct black mass as he did so. Jack looked behind him as Niji ascended, to see the slick oily mass of the demon pour down the cliff face and into a canyon below. But he didn't assume that was the end of it.
He was right. Aku came shooting upwards again, back in his dragon form, with his claws extended and his mouth wide. Jack dodged out of the way and hacked at the passing demon with his sword. Aku wheeled around and belched flame right at him, but Niji retaliated with a flame of her own and the two cancelled each other out. Both dragons turned aside before they could collide with each other.
Jack made sure to get Niji on Aku's tail this time. She lashed out with a fireball, which seemed to have some effect on the demon. Aku took a sudden dive and they followed him, down into a series of branching canyons below. Jack followed him, left, right, left, right, right, through an arch of stone, and left again.
But after that last left turn he couldn't see Aku anymore. And then he looked up just in time to see the demon bearing down on them, claws extended.
Aku sank his talons into Niji's sides, causing her to scream in pain. Jack could feel the sensation as well, but he tried to push it down. He had to concentrate on keeping Aku's snapping jaws away from him.
Niji was sinking to the floor of the canyon, the wounds too much for her to bear. Jack slashed frantically at Aku whenever he got the chance, trying to drive off the demon, but to no avail. The three of them hit the canyon floor and skidded for several yards before coming up against a rock wall.
Aku was stunned for a moment, which Jack took to slash his harness apart and roll off Niji's back. He was aware then of the ruby blood pouring from her wounds - there seemed to be quite a lot of it, even for a creature of her size. With a roar he rushed at Aku, but the demon recovered enough to launch himself into the air. Jack jumped high and took a slash at him, but barely managed to scratch him. The demon ascended higher with a cruel laugh.
"I will not kill you now, samurai, for her death will be ten times more painful to you than her own!" No!
As Aku vanished, his laughter hanging in the air behind him, Jack sheathed his sword and ran to Niji's side. He pulled off his goggles and hood, ripped the veil from his face.
She was breathing hard, and when he put his hand in her mane he could feel her hurts. He felt tears well up in his eyes, not from the pain of those wounds, but because he knew that they were mortal ones. He fell to his knees under the weight of his despair.
"This is my fault," he whispered hoarsely. "What have I done?"
It is not your fault. Her voice in his head was weak, but still gentle. Do not blame yourself. All things have their time to die, and this is my time. It is a worthy way to go.
This was true, but it gave him no comfort. "I would rather...that it had been me."
No! Niji lifted her head for emphasis as she said it. Do not wish such a foolish thing! You must live to bring the light back to this world. Do it for me, and for all the others who have fallen. My end will be meaningless if you do not live to complete your quest.
Other dragons were landing in the canyon now. He could hear them, and their riders, talking to each other, though he did not know what they were saying.
I am glad, Niji told him, in her fading voice, To have fought this battle with you, and glad that I had such a friend.
"So am I," Jack said softly. "Thank you, for everything. I will never forget you, or what you have done today."
Then I am content, Niji told him. Perhaps we will meet again, in the next life...
Then her eyes closed for the last time, and her breathing ended. Jack could no longer feel her mind; the loss hit him like a physical blow. Niji's body collapsed in a pile of red-orange scales and dust. The dragons raised their heads and joined together in a high, keening wail.
A tear spilled out of Jack's eye and fell down his cheek, before dropping to make a crater in the dust.
~***~
The rain was finally letting up. Kez had been ordered to fly Jack to the foothills this morning, but the downpour had made it impossible. Now, though, the air was clearing, and he would be able to go. Kez headed for the hospital as quickly as he could, to find Jack and bring him to the Aerie for the flight down.
The warrior was in his room, as he had been for the past three days. Niji's loss had hurt him badly, as the loss of a dragon always hurt the rider, and he had spent the past days in mourning. Morwanneg and the Seer had tried their best to comfort him, but only time would bring him out of it. He was sitting in a chair before the fireplace, dressed as he had been when Kez had first found him (except that his robe was whole again). Morwanneg was serving him a mug of tea.
Kez felt awkward disturbing him like this, but he had no choice. "Jack?" The samurai turned around to look at him. The expression on his face made Kez's heart drop like a stone. "The rain's gone. We can go now."
Jack nodded, stood up and got his sword, then put it through his sash. He bowed to Morwanneg. "Thank you for all your hospitality. I can only hope to meet others half as kind as yourself on my travels." He stood up straight again. "Farewell."
Morwanneg's eyes began to shine in an odd way. Kez realized that she was very close to crying. "I'm going to miss you, lad. Just…take care of yourself, promise?"
"I will," Jack agreed. Morwanneg nodded and turned away as Jack went to join Kez. "Let us go, then," he said softly.
Kez tried to talk to Jack as they made their way to the Aerie, but all his attempts at conversation failed, and after a while he gave up. They walked on into the dragons' part of the cavern in silence. In the center of the floor Maktuu, the King and the Seer were waiting for them.
Jack said his farewells to the monarch and his mage while Kez made a final check of Maktuu's saddle straps. Then he looked out of the cavern and up at the sky. It was mostly blue now, and the clouds were clearing away. There was something else, too. "Look at that," Kez remarked to Maktuu, "There's a rainbow out."
Although Jack had been saying something to the King, he broke off in mid sentence at Kez's announcement, then turned to look for himself. Kez's brow furrowed in puzzlement as he watched the other man stare out at the sky. Then a smile appeared on Jack's face – it was a small one, but unmistakably a smile. Kez's brow furrowed in puzzlement. Even if he'd had a hundred years, he'd never be able to understand that man.
Jack turned to the Dragon King again and bowed. "It was an honor to serve you," he said. "I wish you and your people the best of luck."
"You have my blessings," the King told him. "Our hearts and our hopes go with you." He bowed his head. Jack bowed to the Seer again before taking his place on Maktuu's back. He removed his sandals and hung them on his belt, since they wouldn't fit in the slippers, then began to secure himself with the harnesses. Kez took his place in the forward part of the saddle.
He turned to Jack. "Are you ready?"
Jack nodded. "Yes, I am, thank you." For some reason, he seemed to be answering a question that was a lot bigger than the one Kez had just asked him.
With a wave to the King and the Seer, and a flick of his will, Kez sent Maktuu launching up into the sky, taking Jack on his last flight and back to his quest.