Fugitive's Flight (Dragon Castaway Book 2)

Chapter 13

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's party time" Jake muttered under his breath as he watched the light from the fort grow closer and closer at terrifying speed. Steeling himself he made sure not to lose the count still repeating in his mind. What he was aiming for required pin point timing and he couldn't afford a blunder right at this moment.

Reaching the critical point in his countdown Jake sent his wishes out through the link, hoping against hope that the guards hadn't changed their pattern. Feeling Jake's wishes Ragnarök quickly shot upwards before lining up, holding open his wings in order to quickly and glide towards the fort.

Positioning the dragon into a shallow dive, Jake concentrated hard on the flat roof of the citadel and willed himself not to get distracted as the trio passed silently over the walls.

Taking a deep breath Jake help up five fingers so that Wyena could see and began the final countdown in his mind.

"Five" he thought putting down one finger. "Four, three, two, one!"

As the last finger came down Jake vaulted off Ragnarok's back just as they came over the citadel's roof. As soon as he did so the great black dragon shifted his wings and propelled himself straight upwards remaining as silent as he had on his approach.

Bending his knees to avoid breaking his legs Jake tucked and rolled as soon as his feet made contact with the mudbrick roof. Hearing Wyena rolling in his wake Jake held his breath, his heart beat against his chest like a base drum as he waited for an alarm to sound.

Finally, after another few moments of silence that seemed like an eternity Jake let out a sigh of relief. Against all odds the first phase of his plan had succeeded.

"I think it worked" Wyena said looking every bit as tense as he felt as she looked around then back at him. "You think so?"

"When the lump of coal in my ass has become a diamond I'll let you know" Jake replied wryly. "But for right now I think we're good, just need to find out where Jadiak is staying."

"That's an easy one" Wyena replied as she matter-of-factly indicated the roof beneath them. "In a multi-story structure like this the officer's quarters will usually consist of the top few floors. Since Jadiak is a rider and by extension a high noble, he should be at the very top along with the fort's commander."

"Fair enough" Jake agreed. "Now we just have to find him without barging into the commander's room."

"I just wish I knew who he was" Wyena lamented as the pair quietly crept towards the edge of the roof and peered into the grounds of the fort below. "Some will be more competent than others."

"Don't be too hard on yourself for not knowing every titled society twit who bought a commission." Jake replied with a wry grin. "Besides, if this works out how we hope, his name will automaticall becomes captain who-gives-a-shit."

"Smartass" Wyena replied stifling a giggle as she continued to scan the ground and balconies beneath them. "Still, we aren't out yet. You didn't happen to come up with an exit strategy, did you? Or were you just going to park the biggest dragon known to exist in the middle of one of Rindar's forts and hope that no one notices?"

"Fun as that sounds, I was banking on something less flashy for a change. Right now, let's focus on what we came here to do." Jake deadpanned as he trained his eyes on the location he felt was the most likely place to find what he was looking for, the dragon stables.

Sure enough, minutes later he spotted a tall, dark-skinned man with long braids tied together down his back making his way out of the citadel and walking at a sedate pace in the direction of the stables. He was fairly certain that it was Jadiak from their limited meetings but he needed to be positive.