Atlantian

Becoming Atlantian [11] unedited

Chapter 11

Tiberius did not let go of Aubrey’s hand the entire time that he pulled her through the maze of corridors that were filled to the brim of people shouting out orders to each other and walking around at a brisk pace. She had been bumped on the shoulder many times but no one called back an apology to her but continued on their merry way. For the first time people did not bother to be courteous as they were too intent on their own actions to care about anyone else. This was the first time since Aubrey’s arrival that she had truly seen the Atlantian’s in action.

As they rounded yet another corner, Tiberius yanked Aubrey to the side just as a ball of flames flew past them and crashed into the wall singing the brick work. Aubrey sucked in a sharp breath. That had been too close for comfort and her cheek felt flushed where the heat had grazed against her, singing some of her hair on its way past so that acrid smell was sticking to the inside of her nose.

Tiberius quickly pulled her back into the stream of people but Aubrey could tell that he was angry which was only proven right when he stepped into the large open courtyard. His voice bellowed out to two people holding down a dragon in the middle of the courtyard. They were trying to do something to the dragon as black as a moonless but she was having none of it and was bucking under their hands.

While Tiberius tried to calm the situation and left her standing on her own, Aubrey spun on her heel to take in the place. She remembered it from her first day in Atlantis and when she had nearly gone a full circle, she came face to face with the damn dragon that had been a little less than civil to her on their first meeting. She offered the dragon a timid smile understanding that dragons understood more that she had first thought before turning her head away when the beast snorted a puff of smoke through her nose. Aubrey understood the gesture too well, the bloody dragon was laughing at her.

Offended at the dragon’s mockery, she turned to see Tiberius trying to restrain the dragon. No words he spoke would calm the beast down and she kept blowing off breaths of fire that swept through the courtyard in burning torrents. People fled out of its path but several people became singed as the flames licked at their clothes.

Aubrey lifted her eyes up to the distressed dragon. She felt herself being drawn in by her eyes; they were as black as the colour of its scales. Taking a step forwards, she couldn’t take her eyes off of the magnificent beast even though her heart was pounding in her chest and her mouth had gone dry with fear. Strangely enough though, as she was staring into those bottomless pits of blackness, she didn’t think that the dragon would harm her.

Before she could take another step forwards, Tiberius wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest as he tried to drag her away. Aubrey panicked causing her legs and arms to flail as she fought his hold. She couldn’t let him drag her away.

“No!” She cried as she successfully landed her elbow into Tiberius’ stomach so that the breath whooshed from his mouth.

She dropped to the floor as he released her and she crawled her way to the dragon. Aubrey could feel dozens of sets of eyes trained upon her causing her face to turn as red as her hair in a nervous blush. She continued forwards until her fingers brushed against the claw of the angry beast.  Pushing to her feet, she followed the dragon’s eyes to where they were glaring at a young man. He was tightening a saddle to the dragons back with trembling hands.

Aubrey frowned before walking over to the man-boy and pushed him away. She didn’t know what compelled her to do it, but she undid the fiddly straps fastening the saddle to the dragon and pulled it from his back. The black beast settled as soon as its body was no longer fined and let out a puff of smoke through its mouth like a sigh of relief.