Rain and Night - A Glorybringer Story

Chapter 2

All Deathbringer saw after the SandWings' entrance was a flash of pale, dusty scales hurling themselves at his queen with claws outstretched. Seeing their chance, Fierceteeth and her friend also ran at Glory, teeth flashing.

No. Not again. Not Glory. Suddenly, the image of him crouching inside a tree while two SandWings reported his mother's death flashed in his mind and his heart jumped with panic. If Glory died, it would be the end of the world for him. Glory was his whole life—he couldn't imagine living without her. 

With a roar, Deathbringer rammed into Fierceteeth, knocking her away while using his back talons to trip two of the SandWings. 

"Traitor!" Fierceteeth shrieked as she tore herself away from Deathbringer's grip. "You're supposed to fight with us, you idiot! You're a NightWing!"

"You're a NightWing, too, which means you shouldn't be attacking your very own queen," Deathbringer retorted. Fierceteeth hissed and raised a claw to strike him, but his main priority was Glory. Fangs bared, she whipped her head from side to side, daring the SandWings to provoke her. But, behind the SandWings, the large burly NightWing reared up to let out a blast of fire in Glory's direction. 

"Glory!" He screeched. "Duck down!" She was distracted, though, so in his desperation he threw himself at her and forced her onto the ground, narrowly avoiding the flames that set fire to her hammock. 

"Oh dear," Glory muttered, looking at the flames. 

Fierceteeth and her NightWing friend was now aware that they should spare one or two dragons to fight off Deathbringer, so that the other three could finish off Glory without fear. The two of them were closing in on Deathbringer, while the SandWings went after the RainWing queen. 

No one will ever lay a claw on Glory as long as I'm breathing, he thought angrily as he pinned down the male NightWing, who looked huge but was so skinny that he was lighter than Deathbringer. Without hesitation, without doubt, he slit the NightWing's throat as he had done to so many other dragons on his assassination missions. Deathbringer was no stranger to killing. But now, he would only do it to protect Glory. 

"Strongwings!!!" Fierceteeth cried out in alarm. She raced over and crouched down next to the dead NightWing, overcome with fury and grief. But Deathbringer didn't stick around to watch. At the far end of the room, Glory was still cornered and outnumbered, trapped by the deadly tails. Swiftly, Deathbringer threw one SandWing to the ground while he pinned down the tail of another. Now, there was only one SandWing pursuing Glory, who skillfully camouflaged herself. Deathbringer hissed, trying to draw the attention to himself. One SandWing, a lithe female one, darted over with her tail raised. 

Just as the tip of the barb was about to penetrate his scales, he dodged and slammed her into the ground once more, panting. The SandWing fell still, probably knocked out. Before he had time to react, Fierceteeth suddenly appeared behind him, and tripped him. She flipped him onto his back and was about to reach for his throat when Glory, flaming red with patches of lily green and white, rammed into her. Fierceteeth fought wildly, shouting out angry, unintelligible words, but Glory retrieved a stray sleeping dart from a pouch tied onto her ankle and the NightWing fell still, her chest rising and falling peacefully. 

"Oh, phew," Glory breathed a sigh of relief. "That sure was enough excitement for one night."

"Yeah," Deathbringer agreed, too tired to be as mischievous as he usually was. he glanced at the other dragons. "Should we sleeping-dart them, too?"

"Yes," Glory agreed. She went around and stuck darts into the necks of three more attackers. "Okay, one more to..."

Glory had had her back turned. She didn't know the danger. In the moment it had taken her to glance away, the remaining SandWing had risen and was hurtling at her, tail outstretched and aimed for her heart. 

"Glory! Look out!"

But it would be too late. In desperation, Deathbringer launched himself between Glory and the SandWing, and screamed as the venomous barb pierced deep into his forearm.