Dragons Rising ✔️

Ch 58: Frazin Riders

When I woke up, I had a pounding headache, and my stomach was churning terribly.

Leera stood over me, sniffing at my face. [I think you poisoned yourself.] She sat back on her haunches.

[What? How-]

[You weren't used to your own venom, and you poisoned yourself.]

[Am I going to die?] I groaned.

[No. You'll just feel sick for a while.]

I clutched my stomach. [I feel like I'm dying.]

[You're not. All dragons go through the same thing. When they're two years old.] She chuckled.

[How long is a while?]

[An hour or two.]

[I've never poisoned myself before, and I've been sleeping with my fangs out for a while.]

[You never tried to use them until tonight, so the venom stayed in your venom sacks. When you spit, some of it dripped off of your fangs into your mouth.]

[I have venom sacks?] I grimaced.

[Yes, you do.]

Over the next hour, which felt much longer than it actually was, Leera told me everything I could possibly need to know about being half katalni. Like the fact that my blood was probably poisonous now. Or that I shouldn't eat any plant that had red flowers and blue leaves because it was dragonsbane and would probably kill me.

By the time I finally stop feeling sick, the fire had all but burned out, and I'd put my gloves and tail scarfs back on. Leera laid down so I could climb on her bare back, and we headed back in the direction of the camp.

When we got there, I had a bad feeling about it. The sentry looked like he was asleep beside his thunderbeast, and the thunderbeast was also asleep. I dismounted from Leera's back and walked past my tent to take a closer look. Before I could reach him, there was a loud thump from behind me. I spun around and saw that Leera had collapsed on the ground with kind of dart sticking out of her neck.

A man's voice came out of the shadows speaking in Ferish.

"I don't know Ferish." I raised my hands to show I was unarmed.

A daltek stepped into view. "You Lykelan?"

"I am. What you want from us?"

"Supplies. Magic, alabris, wands, weapons. Hand them over." He aimed a blowgun at me, and an assortment of daggers were strapped to his belt.

"Who are you?"

"Is not important. Give me things."

I had an idea. It was a long-shot, but it might just work. "I don't think so." I spit at him. Twin streams of black venom flew ten feet through the air and hit him right in the face.

He dropped his weapons and clawed at his face, howling in pain. There were shouts from other parts of the camp. I recognized some of the voices to be my friends'. Their tents were near mine, and my friends burst out of them like they'd caught on fire.

Kuertis ran over to me first, fully dressed and carrying a long sword. He looked like he was about to fight the daltek I'd spit on, but my victim was currently rolling on the ground in pain and didn't seem to pose a threat to anyone.

"What did you do to him?" Kuertis asked, sounding amazed.

"Leera got him before he knocked her out."

Tawny and Clarisa ran up a second later, unarmed.