The Dragon Games

Say Thy Name

As the wyvern drew nearer, I pressed my back harder against the tree, the bark tearing into my skin. It was so close, I could feel the heat of its breath. I dared not move, even to breath.

Through a crack in the trunk, I spied a Windsor boy standing ten yards front of me, hiding behind another tree. He had a hand clamped against his mouth, his body trembling like a leaf as the wyvern drew closer. Shut up, I willed him. 

The wyvern had almost passed us without noticing our presence. Just a few more seconds and we'd be in the clear. I met his terrified eyes, just as his foot slipped, cracking a twig. The boy's eyes widened. Then he was yanked back, kicking and screaming as he and the wyvern disappeared into the fog.

A ragged breath left my chest, but I took the chance and ran. I needed to find a hiding place, somewhere with decent coverage. Just as I spotted some bushes, a whistle caught my ear, followed by a flash of steel. I threw myself to the right, just a dagger shot by me, clipping my eyebrow.

Tobias sprinted from the fog, his eyes locked on me. I unsheathed my shank, but an invisible hand caught my wrist before I could swing it. I recognized the familiar burn – Rick's Divine. He wrapped another invisible hand around my neck and dragged me into the bushes. Tobias was quick to follow.

Tobias shoved my on my stomach and dug a knee into my back, using his weight to push me further into the ground. Then he clamped one meaty hand around my wrists, locking my arms behind my back. Only then, when I was completely trapped, did Rick's Divine release me, and I could finally breathe.

While I sucked in ragged breathes, Rick entered the shrubbery, breathing hard. Tobias paid him no mind, his eyes locked on me.

"I meant to draw this out," Tobias said. He never looked particuarly stable, but now his eyes had a wild, manic edge, like a starving wolf. "But I suppose I'll just have to savor the little moments I have."

"What are you wasting time on me for?" I snapped. "The wyvern will be on us at any second!"

Rick slid the clue under my face. Suddenly, Tobias' earlier words echoed through my head. They thought the wyvern refused to bond with Grace because I din not spill all my lifeblood, and now they were going to remedy that mistake. 

I jerked my head back, slamming my skull into Tobias' nose. He swore, but before I could hit him again, Rick's Divine grabbed the back of my head, shoving me face into the clue. As Tobias unsheathed his sword, I could not move.

All I could do was stare at the clue. It was the first time I had really looked at it. The alien words meant nothing to me, but they were arranged around the paper to form a shape – a shape I recognized, had seen nearly every day of my life hanging from the sky above. 

Tobias fisted my hair, jerking my head back. He set the tip of his sword against my throat –

"Wait!" I shouted. "Look at the clue! It's a constellation! The clue is a constellation!"

"The hell are you on about?" Rick said.

"I'm opening her throat," Tobias hissed. "That'll shut her up."

"Don't read each word individually," I rasped, breathing hard. "Look at the shape they form as a whole."

Rick kneeled, squinting at the clue. She ran her finger across the words, tracing a raindrop-like shape. "She's right," Rick said in astonishment. "This is the rainfall constellation."

Tobias pressed the cool metal harder against my throat. "So what?"

"The clue said 'say thy name'," I said. "And here it is. Rainfall. It cannot be a coincidence. Say the name of the constellation, and the wyvern is yours. Do it, Tobias, and you will have what you are due. I have never been more certain of anything in my life."

In truth, the only thing I was 'certain' of was wanting Tobias' sword away from neck, and this seemed like the best way to make that happen. 

If Rainfall was the wyvern's true name, Tobias could bond with it and stop the attack. If Rainfall was wrong, the wyvern would kill Tobias. In other words, it was a win-win scenario. But I did have to so much more convincing. The prospect of a wyvern was too tempting to pass up.

Tobias limped into the open. "Wyvern!" she screamed into the woods. "Wyvern! Wyvern, I know thy – "

Instantly, the wyvern appeared, snarling. Tobias opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a wave of Divine slammed into him. He shot through the woods and his skull cracked against a tree with a vicous thud. He dropped to the grass, his head twisted all the way around like an owl's, facing the ground while his chest faced the sky.

Rick lowered his hand, the black already fading from his eyes. Then he shoved the shrubbery aside, exposing both of our locations. He wore a wide grin as he approached the wyvern, his eyes gleaming.

I paused, a sudden realization hitting me. If the clue was written in Iraxus, shouldn't the wyvern's name also be said in Iraxus? But then again, names are often universal between languages. Even if Rick spoke in the wrong language, surely the wyvern would probably understand him anyway.

"Rainfall!" Rick roared.

In a silver blur, the wyvern swung its talons. One moment Rick was yelling. The next, his Skydescent jacket was damp with blood. He was dead before he even hit the ground.Then the wyvern turned to me.

My stomach gave a sharp jolt, and I had a split second to think. I cycled through different iterations Sammy taught me of the constellations, from island tongues to century old folklore, high court astrologist to back alley madmen. 

All the different options flashed through my mind in the blink of an eye – the same amount of time it took the wyvern to snap its teeth and lunge. It was nowhere near enough time to be careful about my guess or speak with any real certainty. I just shouted the first name that came to my mind.

"Βροχοποιός!" I shouted.

I squeezed my eyes shut and threw an arm up to cover my face. It was such a stupid, useless gesture – like an arm would offer any protection against a wyvern – but animal instinct took over in a moment of blind terror. A second passed. 

My chest rose and fell with rapid, shallow breaths. Slowly, I lowered my arm and opened my eyes to find the wyvern gone, nothing but the woods ahead of me. Suddenly, my feet ripped from the ground.

My legs swung wildly, kicking at the open air. The wyvern's claws had hooked around my shoulders. Then the wyvern jerked up, and a scream ripped from my throat, as we shot out of the woods and into the night sky.