Lost Rider- Book 2

Four

Ronyo is in the picture.

Orange and pink streaked across the morning sky, as the sun rose. Later into the day, rain began to drizzle down. Lorelie wrapped her cloak around herself, covering her face with her cowl. Ronyo trotted beside her, with his head down, gloomy eyes and ears flat against his skull. His fur was soaked. His fluffy tail became heavy from the accumulating water, causing it to flop and drag behind him.

When the rain increased, Lorelie picked her friend up and held him close. Ronyo snuggled into her chest contently. Struggling to see through the pelting rain, Lorelie trudged on, keeping her hand outstretched in front of her so a majority of water stayed out of her eyes. Her other hand held securely onto her fox.

"Ronyo, we're near the coastline" Lorelie pointed out, peering down at the tiny animal nestled in her bosom. Ronyo squeaked in agreement.

Unable to find a town or village of sorts, Lorelie sat under the cover of a bundle of trees. Slightly shielded by their large leaves. She sat down, Ronyo settling into her lap and keeping watch as his owner slept.

In her dream, Lorelie was surrounded by darkness. Screeching griffons could be heard, but she didn't see any. A dragon roared, a harpy wailed and people screamed. An unsteady image formed before her, a dragon. Half black and half white. One eye shone a brilliant aquamarine, the other one, a dangerous crimson.

"Atta?" Lorelie breathed, unable to believe her beloved snow-white dragon, had been corrupted by darkness.

Voices whispered around her. "Atta, the wise white", "the darkness that has taken part of you, has taken all of her" and "the lost rider",were just a few of the strange things she heard. Before she could wonder what they meant, she felt a sharp, but small, pain in her hand.

Lorelie snapped awake, glaring daggers at a certain fox. Ronyo let out small screeches, urgent noises.

"What is it, Ronyo?" She asked, looking around to see if there was any danger. The little fox continued screeching. Causing the dragon-rider to stand abruptly, she dove into the underbrush behind her. By this time, the skies had cleared, and the ground was only a little damp.

She couldn't be seen, she knew not why. But, Lorelie just had a certain feeling to stay hidden from the world. For now. She waited for a while, gripping Ronyo somewhat gently. Despite the obvious need to stay quiet, the little fox continued to squeak.

"Shut it!" Lorelie whisper-yelled, clasping her other hand around the canines muzzle. Silencing him.

With her heightened senses, Lorelie managed to apprehend the sounds of many treading feet. Before the owners of the noise could get close, the dragon-rider hurriedly pulled her cowl over her head. The dull blue-grey material was far less noticeable, than her bright orange hair.

When a group of men came into view, Lorelie lay rigid in the grass of the roadside. She recognised the weapons they carried. Bows with mighty arrows to kill dragons as they flew. Swords as strong as an Orpheous Rock, but not as strong as a dragons hide.

The Orpheous Rock was a rare material, that could only be found by a dragon. Which is why, dragons made their armour out of this material. The hunters most probably got their hands on it, by killing a warrior dragon, still in armour.

The medium-sized group was lead by a tall man, mounted on a beige paint horse. The steed seemed young, but was scrawny and obviously not taken care of properly. The rider was almost equal to his horse, with little muscle at all. He constantly jabbed his horse in the gut with his heel, having no affect on the mount, who seemed to dislike him to great measures.

Looking over the group, Lorelie estimated that there was at least twenty men. Some were half dead with severe wounds. Listening intently, she heard what most men were whispering about.

"That damned black dragon" a voice said quietly. "The riderless-white-dragon wasn't even there!" Another whispered. "They even killed our new recruit, the lad with the orange hair"

"Stop whispering! Ears are everywhere!" The leader yelled. Lorelie's attention snapped to him. Ronyo began to squirm and try to get out of Lorelie's hold, unfortunately for him, she wasn't letting go.

Lorelie was assembling a plan in her head. With her strength in magic, she could easily take out all of these men, steal the leaders horse and gallop off with Ronyo. Her thoughts were interrupted when a branch abover her rustled loudly, looks like someone else was already planning to attack the group.