The Bandits of Infinity Forest

Chapter Nine

Sure enough, he doesn't appear until, on the night of our escape I'm roughly shaken awake. I sit up, startled to see an ominous black figure above me.

"Luckily they let you keep your—black—clothes," says Sa'an's muffled voice.

"Here." He hands me my horn and turns back to re-open the door, bowing as I step out.

He leads me through the empty guard-room and up and down various passages until he opens the door into a luxurious bedroom.

"Come on," he says, pulling me inside as he glances furtively down the hall. "This is my room."

He pulls a good, strong bow and a quiver of about sixty arrows out from under his bed and wordlessly hands them to me before buckling a sword around his waist. He hands me a knife, too.

We journey through the castle until we arrive outside a pair of large doors where Sa'an nods to the guards, who step respectfully aside. He quickly pushes past them, blocking my view until I step through the door-way.

I stop in wonder and amazement and Sa'an grins happily at my reaction: the room is full of dragons!

Then my vision clouds in anger: the dragons are chained and bolted to the floor with Blackwire and there are cruel muzzles on their snouts.

I stride to the nearest, despite Sa'an's warning, and begin trying futilely to release him from the chains.

"Thank you, stranger," he says wearily, aqua scales rippling, "but leave me, you will be punished."

"It's not right," I mutter, "and I'm being executed for not torturing you, anyway, what do I care?"

The dragon looks surprised, "You resisted?"

I nod.

"I guess, by the way Sa'an's trying to get your attention, that you're both leaving?"

I nod again, wishing I could help him.

He jerks suddenly, knocking me backwards.

"Take some eggs!" he pleads. "Take some of our unhatched young, we will die willingly, if only our children have a better future than this! Please!"

I turn to Sa'an, who nods, "I was expecting this and planned for it," he says.

The dragon's eyes fill with hope and he raises a wing as much as he can, "Then please, take this," he says, "my mate laid it days before she died and it will hatch soon. I won't be able to keep it hidden for much longer."

I slip under his wing and, in wonder, gently touch the large, sky-blue oval.

Picking it up, I cradle it in my arms as I leave from under his wing. "I'll guard it with my life," I promise.

His eyes soften, "Thank you."

Sa'an hands me a light but strong pack filled with soft, fluffy down. "It can hold two," he tells me.

I carefully place the egg inside and cover it. "Are there more?" I ask. "Eggs, I mean."

"Heaps," Sa'an answers. He walks over to a small door in the wall, which he opens.

The room is packed with eggs.

Sa'an retrieves another pack from his cloak and gently loads it with two eggs, one blood-red and the other emerald-green. He motions me over and I carefully choose a small cloudy-purple egg before he shuts and locks the door.

We fasten the packs, gingerly slip our arms through the straps, whisper a quick good-bye to the many dragons, and exit through another door.

A couple halls later, we enter a dimly lit, well pillared room where a sixteen year old girl-brown-haired like Sa'an-and a black haired twelve year old stand waiting.