GloryBringer Stories

I Most Definitely Do Not Need a Bodyguard . . . . . . But I Might Need You

"I most definitely do not need a bodyguard," snapped Glory. "I can handle myself."

Deathbringer flapped his wings lazily, easily keeping up with the angry queen. "I don't doubt that. What I do doubt is your sense of reason."

Glory swerved under a branch. "I have a very good sense of reason."

"Ha, ha. And using yourself as bait to find out the source of something that obviously hates RainWings is a good idea."

"I was expecting something would rush out and attempt to kill me. Not kidnap me."

"Exactly why you need me around."

Glory glared at him, then suddenly swerved to the left and dove down, blending into the canopy.

Deathbringer folded his wings and plunged after her, arrowing toward the blur that meant very-pissed-off-NightWing/RainWing queen. He swerved under Glory and lightly clipped her with his wingtip, startling the Queen out of camouflage. "Got you."

Glory snarled at him. "Screw you."

They flew in silence for a few more minutes, their wingbeats stirring the tranquil rainforest air, startling iridescent birds out of hiding. Then Deathbringer glanced at Glory, noted her suspiciously impassive face, and said, "Don't do that again. This rainforest is already hard enough on my wings without having to go after you."

Glory growled, "You sound like an old dragon. And I am not your dragonet."

Deathbringer flew slightly ahead of her. "Just promise."

Glory stared ahead. "Only if you agree that my plan was reasonable."

Deathbringer paused, hovering. "I'm not quite sure if I should answer that honestly," he mused.

Glory's tail whipped around and smacked him in the face.

"Ow." Deathbringer beat his wings hard to catch up. "Your terms are very unreasonable."

Glory glanced around at him. Her scales were a calm forest green, reflecting the rainforest around her.

That should have been Deathbringer's first warning sign.

With a whoosh, Glory darted down into the canopy, total invisibility rolling across her scales. At the same time, her tail whipped around and cracked Deathbringer across the shoulder, knocking him out of his flight pattern.

Deathbringer yelped and struggled back into the air, star-spangled wings beating the air to shreds. Then he immediately scanned the forest below for any sign of Glory.

There were none.

"Great," he sighed. "Now I gotta go into assassin mode again."

.

.

.

Glory plunged through the trees and cannoned onto a branch, immediately adjusting her scale color so it appeared that no dragon had ever lain a claw on the limb. She closed her eyed and took several deep breaths, panting hard.

Pretty much directly after she calmed herself down, she heard a loud crashing noise, followed by several yelps and swear words. She half-closed her eyes and watched as a pair of black-and-purple wings, the colors of the night sky, appeared out of the foliage. Deathbringer followed soon after, crashing haphazardly onto a branch only slightly away from Glory's. She dared herself not to move, then watched amusedly as Deathbringer yanked vines from his wings and shook splinters out of his snout.

Deathbringer settled down on the bough and curled his tail around it, peering around the trees with an expression that appeared unconcerned, but Glory really knew was a piercing, miss-nothing assassin's sweep. She closed her emerald-flame eyes as his dark purple ones raked over her hiding spot, and only opened them again when the prickling sensation left her scales.