Rain and Night - A Glorybringer Story

Chapter 3

"Deathbringer!" Glory screamed, panic rising in her chest. He landed heavily on the ground as blood seeped from his wound. "NO!" She raced to his side and inspected the puncture wound. To her dismay, it was deep, and probably a lot of venom had been injected into his bloodstream. He had his eyes screwed shut in pain and was moaning in agony. "Are you okay?" She said, her voice trembling. "Deathbringer, can you hear me? Deathbringer? Deathbringer?!"

She turned around to face the SandWing who had inflicted this wound. Without hesitation, Glory opened her mouth and let out a spray of venom. The SandWing flinched, but the acid still splattered over her shoulders and wing, and she shrieked in pain, before escaping out the entrance. Deciding that the SandWing probably wouldn't return, Glory turned her attention back to Deathbringer. 

"Deathbringer?" She said. To her own surprise, she reached out and grabbed one of his talons in both of hers. "Don't die, please. I order you." He only whimpered, adding to her despair. The wound was way too close to his vital organs, and it was probably in his bloodstream. 

No, no, no, no, no. He can't die. He can't, Glory thought desperately, trying not to panic, but it was useless. If he died, it would be her fault. Her fault for not being careful enough. Her fault for putting him in danger. I'm sorry, she thought to him, because she just couldn't say it out loud. 

Shaking, she raised her head to find that quite a crowd had gathered inside the room. The noises from the fighting had probably woken half the RainWing tribe. They were all green with fear. Glory spotted Jambu among the RainWings, and forced herself to stay calm. 

Channeling fear into anger, she barked at him, "Jambu! Take someone else and get Deathbringer to the healer's hut! Now!"

Silent with shock and fear, Jambu picked Liana, and they put Deathbringer into a discarded hammock before carrying him away in the hammock. Still, Glory was unsure that Deathbringer would live. 

Quite a lot of dragons were still present, and many were hungry for answers. 

"What happened?" Mangrove asked from the front of the crowd. 

"Yes, what happened, Your Majesty?" Another RainWing repeated. 

"Was there a fight?"

"Did you get attacked?"

"Who are these SandWings?"

Glory waited for the crowd to quiet down before she spoke. 

"Yes," she admitted. "I was attacked just then by two NightWings and three SandWings. Four of them are here and knocked out. One SandWing escaped into the rainforest. Right now, we need to focus on interrogating the prisoners and searching for the escapee. Would anyone like to volunteer to join a search patrol?" After a few RainWings had volunteered, Glory trusted them to figure out where to search and quickly dismissed the rest. She had to check on Deathbringer. 

As she neared the healer's hut, her body became rigid with apprehension. Is he still alive?  She thought fearfully, her heart pounding, tears welling up in her eyes. What if he was dead? What would she do then? Pretend to not care? No, Glory was sure that is would be impossible to pretend to be indifferent. He was one of the only dragons she could trust ... and she didn't want to admit it to anyone, but there were times when she felt like she genuinely liked him. Not as a bodyguard or subject. As an equal. 

She steeled herself as she walked into the healer's hut, expecting to see the worst. However, as she approached Deathbringer's bed, she realized he was breathing. "Oh, thank the moons," she whispered to herself. 

Suddenly, Deathbringer, who had been lying down with his eyes closed, lifted his head a little, and half-opened his eyes. "Glory?" He murmured weakly. 

She hesitated a moment before replying, in a calm voice, "Yes, I'm here." She'd expected him to say something, but he seemed content to remain to silent. Glory ended up just sitting there, observing his injury, for a while. 

Around fifteen minutes later, a pale blue and green healer came over and asked to speak with Glory. The healer's name was Mango, Glory remembered. The same healer had tried to treat Webs when the Dragonets of Destiny first came to the rainforest.

Mango looked at Glory with a grave expression, and her heart sank. 

"Deathbringer needs the antidote to SandWing venom," the healer explained, lowering her voice so Deathbringer wouldn't hear. "The cactus juice. According to my calculations, if we don't get the antidote ... I think ... he'll be dead in three days at most."

Glory's blood turned to ice, chilling her whole body. "Then we need to send someone to get the brightsting cactus!" She said loudly. 

"I don't think it's that easy, though. The tunnel's sealed now, remember?" Mango said. Glory felt a twinge of guilt. Several months ago, Thorn and Glory had agreed to seal off the magical tunnel between the rainforest and the desert, in case of future wars where the two tribes may be enemies. They had spent a week doing it, filling in the tunnel with large boulders, so that no more dragons would be able to use it. 

No! I can't just give up on Deathbringer! There has to be a way to get the antidote. 

"Send someone to fly there, then. Someone fast would get there and back in one and a half days," Glory insisted. 

Mango glanced around. "... I don't think that would work. The RainWings aren't trained to fly long distances, especially in heat. And, honestly, I think they'd just fall asleep. The NightWings, though ... I don't think they like Deathbringer very much. They wouldn't even try."

That was true. None of the RainWings or NightWings could be trusted to complete the important task. In desperation, Glory let out a moan, before she realized there was another way. Deathbringer has to live. He has to. I'll make sure of  it.

"We have to get the antidote, right?" Glory demanded. "If we really only have three days, in such a situation ... well, you can send me."

The expression of shock registered immediately on Mango's aqua-green face. 

"I ... I'm not sure if you yourself should go," the healer said. After glancing around, she continued, "I think you should ask some others first. 

So, taking Mango's advice, Glory sought out some RainWings that she could trust. 

"You want to fly all the way to the Sand Kingdom and back?" Grandeur said, frowning. "Hmph. Well, maybe, if it's to save a life, but how would the kingdom continue in your absence?"

"You're fine at running the kingdom," Glory assured her. "What do you think, Mangrove?"

Mangrove, who was a shade of deep magenta, replied, "I say yes. You should do it. You're reliable enough and I bet you won't fall asleep."

"True," Grandeur agreed. "Well, then, I think you should go, too." Glory breathed a sigh of relief. 

Quickly, she made her way back to the healer's hut to ask how much cacti Mango needed, (roughly two talonfuls) and then prepared to go. 

Don't worry, Deathbringer, Glory thought, glancing at him, unmoving on his bed. I'll get the antidote for you. Just wait.