Wings of Fire: Secret of the Bushes

Chapter 6

Fern barely had time to react as he saw the rope snap right before him causing one of his men to plummet down the cliff.

Fern rushed to the edge, preparing his grappling hook to catch the two men falling, but as he was about to look over the edge, something dove in front of him and knocked him back from the sheer force of the wind that kicked up.

Others nearby were also knocked off their feet and scrambled to get back up on their toes. Fern rushed back to the edge to see what had happened but only saw a mess of splinters and rocks on the sand that used to be a crate full of ore.

"DRAGON!"

Fern quickly turned his head as one of the seaside villagers began shouting. He saw a faint spot in the ocean horizon but he quickly discerned its shape. It was a dragon. The midday sun reflected of it's silver scales as the dragon circled back and headed towards them.

He saw Kingfisher, the man he had been negotiating with, shift his tune as the elder ordered his men to line up by the trenches and prepare their arrows. He quickly followed suit and gathered his own men to ready their crossbows.

However not all of his men were supplied with crossbows in time and so they had to make do with their bows on hand. It may not be as effective at dealing with the dragon, but the bows are perfectly capable of hitting a large moving target.

As he set up his crossbow, Fern noticed the wave clan soldiers setting their arrows aflame using the braziers on the side. He saw small rags wrapped around the arrows, dripping with some sort of sticky and flammable substance but it was too thick to be oil. As soon as the fire made contact with the substance, it ignited quickly and fiercely.

The dragon was heading closer but Fern began to realize that there was something on its talons.

"That's Kite! The dragon has Kite!" One of his men perfectly expressed the thoughts Fern had at that moment.

Kite was in the dragon's clutches with another man, who had been helping move the crates earlier, on the other talon. If he shot at the dragon, that would risk Kite getting hit. But the wave clan soldiers haven't realized it.

"Fire!"

Kingfisher sounded the signal and the barrage of burning arrows headed towards the dragon. The arrows flew below the dragon barely grazing the feet of the dragon's captives.

"Stop! You can't risk hitting our men!"

Fern's word fell on deaf ears as Kingfisher readied his men for another barrage.

"Fire!"

The arrows flew and a few managed to hit the dragon's wings as it rose up, leaving a sizable holes on its wing tips but it still managed to fly. The dragon was now above them, observing them and trying to figure out its next move. Fern couldn't do anything while the dragon still had Kite. All the fighting was left to Kingfisher as he readied his men for another barrage.

"Fire!"

Once more the burning arrows hurtled towards the dragon. It missed againbut now the dragon was circling in for a dive.

"Brace!"

Fern and his men dove into the trenches to avoid the attack. The other soldiers also ducked behind the walls of the trenches as they brace for the strike. But moments passed and nothing came. Fern looked over the trenches but the dragon flew over him, bringing in a strong gust and kicking up dirt as it passed. He staggered from the force of the wind and nearly fell back on the ground. After recovering, he looked behind the trenches and saw the dragon fleeing into the forest.