THE DELIVERER'S DESTINY

Chapter 6, Part 3 - Annabella

Lundama Jungle, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

Annabella was well-trained at fighting exhaustion, but still, it warred within her. The wound in her thigh was incredibly painful; was it possible that infection had set in from the water she had trudged through? She managed to reach the edge of the jungle before nightfall, stopping before the terrain traded thick underbrush for dry sand. Finding a shaded spot, she stripped off her pants again to check her wound. It looked ugly, jagged and red, but it had stopped bleeding at least. Her sewing job was only okay. The chances of infection were quite high. She needed professional medical attention beyond herself and her little first aid kit, something she had no access to in the middle of this barren wasteland.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she spread an ointment over the wound that was supposed to soothe it and help fight infection before wrapping it again in clean gauze. She was just pulling her trousers back on when she heard the screaming.

Annabella drew her sword, squinting as she looked out into the desert. Whoever was screaming was out there. Finally, she spotted the source. Off in the distance, a figure was running in her direction. Above them was a scout, following them through the air like a shadow, about ready to swoop down and pluck the person from the ground.

Annabella grimaced. If she had brought a bow, she could have had a chance at taking the scout down. But she hadn't, and if she ran out there and was spotted, her cover was blown. Chances were the scout would attack, but the chance of it taking off and bringing the knowledge of her location to Motch was also there. The vision had told her that the Deliverer would be here. She couldn't imagine the Deliverer screaming like that, but maybe whoever it was knew where to find him.

Taking a deep breath, she left the shelter of the trees, hurrying across the sand toward the two. The boy — she realized it was a boy now — was running quite fast, taking the sand in long strides, his scream of terror still going strong. She began to run as well, doing her best to ignore the searing pain in her leg when she saw the dragon swoop down, claws outstretched to snatch the boy up. The boy saw it too and panicked, lunging away a bit too hard and cutting off his own scream with a mouthful of sand. Annabella ran for him, hoping to reach him before the scout did, but with a landing that sent sand scattering and dust rising, the dragon put itself between her and the boy. It had clearly seen her coming. She stopped, squinting through the dirty air at the enemy before her.

"Put down the sword, Princess," he hissed, baring dozens of long, sharp teeth. "You don't want to fight me."

She slid her right foot back, holding her sword in both hands, ready. When he didn't move, she cocked an eyebrow. Come at me.

The dragon narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. Without warning, he snapped at her like a snake, straining his long neck. She dodged it, thrusting her sword at his neck, narrowly missing it as he veered away. He rose into the air, pounding his powerful wings and sending sand and dust into her face. She leapt away, rolling on her shoulder and springing back to her feet on his left. He landed hard, whipping his tail at her. She blocked the strike with her sword, slicing at least a foot of his tail clean off. With a howl of pain and anger, he took off into the air.

"Come at me, you coward!" she yelled at him as he began to fly away. "You disgrace the Birumis name!"

Just as she hoped he would, the scout turned back, roaring in anger and flying at her with incredible speed. She stood still, letting him get just feet away before she dove forward, just barely missing his sharp claws as she rolled. He crashed into the ground, too blinded by his anger to think to veer up. Annabella was on her feet in a moment, leaping onto the stunned dragon with a yell and shoving her sword through the scales on his back, piercing his heart. The dragon gave an ear-shattering scream, jerking and nearly throwing Annabella off. In seconds, he stopped writhing. A moment later, he took his last breath.