The King of Thieves Book 2: The War of the Region

Chapter 3 - The Trap

             It took hours to finally get the dragons and the army on the move. After distracting Char, Dylan mounted Thorne and they were on the move again. Zlandi and the other riders found a secure spot and had heavy loads while his dragon carried only him. The mongooses and soldiers were on the ground, but his girlfriend clanged to him in the air looking at the land below.

"Are you ready to come face to face with your dad?" He asked, braking the silence between them. Dakota sighed and look him dead in the eye.

"I don't know if I am to be honest with you. I always knew I would meet him again, but, why would he come out here? I mean, isn't it odd?" She said admittedly. Dylan did think it wasn't right. Why would the general of both the military and honor guard come away from his army to them with only a few troops? It didn't make any sense to him.

The silence between them started again, and for the next couple hours, they flew and flew, until they saw Char and the others setting up a new campsite. They flew down to greet them, and helped with the unloading.

Dylan looked at his ring, the emerald dragon on the inside, and the black steel that surrounded it. Then he looked at his left hand. He had a second ring on his middle finger, but it was much different. It had black steel as well, but a beautiful sapphire in the middle. Inside was the carving of a crown. It was his mother's, only to be worn by whom the prince would marry, but it wasn't the average engagement ring. She gave it to him when he was exiled to Kikashi.

He took it off and put it into a small leather bag, which he then put in his pocket. The thought of his mother made him sad, since he couldn't even remember what she had looked like. The news of her execution traveled fast, and when he ran to a roof, he met his first friend, Sophia. She never deserved to die he thought as the image crept into his head once more.

The troops arrived later on in the day, and they set camp immediately. After lunch, Dakota went into her tent, and he followed. He walked in, and she turned to look at him. "Hey, Dakota. You have a minute?" He asked. She nodded at the question and look at him

"I have a gift for you, I think you will like it." He said as he pulled the leather pouch out. He handed it to her and she opened it to reveal the ring.

"Who's was this? I think it is beautiful, but, who did this belong to?" She asked as she put it on her right middle finger.

"It was my mothers before the execution." He said as he thought about the moment again. She thanked him, and after dinner, they went off to sleep.

He woke up to Dakota shaking him. He got up and went outside to something unexpected. The soldiers were readying their weapons an s grabbing shields. Zlandi came over to explain things. "Dabagar is ahead of schedule. He is walking distance!" He said as he grabbed his shield. Dylan rushed back into the tent and grabbed his katana.

Minutes later, he had chainmail on, and Dakota as well. The king and his friends along with other soldiers started to make way for the general's location. They had walked for nearly four hours before they came to what they were looking for, but it wasn't exactly what they were wanting.

             The enemy group was a group of seven, with their commander at the front. However.", instead of seeing the cold stare and unique helmet of the general, he saw a seventeen year old boy. He had the same hair as Dakota, and the exact same eyes. The teenager had a double-headed spear made of metal.

Both Dakota and the boy met eyes and dropped their weapons.

"Brian!" She said as she ran to hug him. The soldier had a look of worry in his eyes.

             "What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come, any of you!" He said as Dakota ceased. He groaned and tried to put words together.

"I left the army but we found out that dad was following us, so we tried to find a way to warn you. He is after Dylan and this is a trap!" He said as sweat ran down his face.

As soon as the words were processed in his mind, Dylan heard the whizz of an arrow and saw it pierce his arm. He looked in a tree to see the General with a bow and see him yell to attack.

He heard a ringing inside of his ears as Dakota became mute. He knelt to the ground and pulled out the arrow. On the tip was a purple liquid, and he recalled that it was a tranquilizer of some kind. Everything suddenly went black as he went unconscious.

He woke up in Dakota's tent and got up. Dylan went outside to see Brian, Zlandi, and Diane waiting.

"What happened?" he asked as he rubbed his head. He had a serious headache and couldn't think straight.

We kept fighting after my father hit you with the infused arrow. He finally retreated, but," Zlandi sighed as he tried to go on." When we looked to do a head count, Dakota wasn't there."