TAW Tales: How to Train Your Shifters (#1)

~ Chapter 17 ~

"EEEEEEEEEEEEP!" I shrieked.

Wavebreaker made a rumbling noise in his chest that I took for laughter.

"You just can't get used to this, can you?" Astrid yelled form beside me as the wind whistled through our ears.

"Absolutely NOT!" I shouted back, my white fingers scrabbling against Wavebreaker's smooth scales. We soared over the trees side-by-side until we emerged over the top of a cliff. The dragons flared their wings and hovered, leaving us to overlook the landscape below.

The village was on fire.

Several buildings had been smashed, while others were literally on fire. Smoke curled from the houses, and some Vikings ran about on the ground, trying desperately to fend off the attacking Outcasts.

Even I could tell which ones were Outcasts; they had larger muscles, and were covered in scars. They were all wearing battle armor, while the Berks, caught unawares, were dressed in their normal clothing.

But most Vikings swooped down on dragons of all different shapes, sizes and colours. Even as we watched, a team of Monstrous Nightmares dove down in a line on the huge Outcast ships that were docked in the bay. In unison, they opened their mouths and flooded the ships with liquid fire before soaring upwards and rounding around for another attack.

But they still needed help.

"Come on!" Astrid yelled. Stormfly folded in her wings and shot down towards the village. The other dragons, including Wavebreaker, followed.

As we got closer, I could hear the desperate shouts of Vikings and the pained roars of dragons. I shuddered. I'd always been safe behind the screen while I watched raids like this. The Dragon-Riders always swooped in to save the day, and I could watch them from my safe chair.

Now, I was one of those Dragon-Riders, tasked with saving the village from destruction.

Stormfly and Hookfang shot off to blast fire at a group of Outcasts who seemed to find it amusing to tear people's clothes down from the lines they were hung on (I mean really, who does that???). Barf and Belch swooped down to catch out a line of Outcasts, slamming them down between their twin necks, while one left a thick trail of green gas behind.

At the end, the other head gave a spark and the line of gas literally exploded.

Meatlug dipped in to knock out several people with her club-like tail, which left me and Wavebreaker flapping over the scene. I could see the fear in Wavebreaker's eyes; he still didn't trust humans enough to want to save them.

"C'mon pal," I whispered into his ear, "It's time for us to get in there."

As if all he needed were my gentle words, Wavebreaker roared and dove down to a group of Outcasts who had surrounded a family of three Vikings; Mum, Dad and a small child of about eight.

"Heads up!" I shouted as Wavebreaker shrieked again and reached out, claws outstretched.

He seized two Outcasts in his talons and slammed them into their companions, leaving four very dizzy attackers. The remaining two seemed to hesitate, unsure of whether they wanted to battle with Wavebreaker's inch-long claws.

They didn't have much of a choice.

Wavebreaker roared again and shot a blast of purple electricity between them, exploding the ground under their feet and causing them to jump to either side to avoid being electrocuted. As we swooped upwards again to swing around, one of them jumped to their feet and knocked an arrow to the longbow that had been slung around his shoulder.