Dragon: A Histories of Purga Novel

Chapter Fourteen

They flew as fast as they could, but Rone wasn't stupid. If Roanoke had been taken, then they couldn't just fly over it without someone seeing them. Besides, if whoever was leading the Blak Army was smart enough to seize control of the city, then he was smart enough to post soldiers in the air above it.

He pulled in close to Darvian and gestured to his friend to land. Then they both angled into a dive and headed toward the ground.

They'd just flown over Raleigh, one of the cities in the Outposts, and it looked reasonably secure to Rone. He decided it was as good a place as any to regroup and come up with a real plan.

In a few moments, they landed. About three hundred miles away, they could faintly see Roanoke's colossal outer wall. Despite how far away they were, the massive city could still be seen, like distant mountains. Rone stared at it, frozen in anger and shock as dozens of thinning smoke columns spiraled into the sky.

Rone and Darvian sat hunkered on the ground, watching the city and trying to figure out their plan to gain access into it when the sand in front of them exploded outward in a huge cloud. They flew backward, trying to scramble away.

A girl about the same age as themselves appeared when the dust cleared holding a blaster on them.

"Stay where you are!" the girl shouted. She had fiery red hair that was pulled up into a messy pony-tail. She wore standard Infantry armor and ballistic gear. A pair of dark shades covered her eyes and a half mask covered her jaw, mouth, and chin.

To their left and right, dozens of other people exploded out of the sand too. In a matter of seconds, Rone and Darvian were surrounded.

"Stop!" Rone shouted, his heart hammering in his chest. "Stop. We're unarmed. I am Prince Rone."

"Rone?" the girl asked. She pulled off her shades, showing bright green eyes, and then took off the mask.

"Fiona?" he asked, relieved. She was Lord Milo Rosburg's daughter. Raleigh was the city he governed. "What are you doing out here?"

"Setting a trap for the Blak Army," she replied in a voice that said it should be obvious. "Where have you been? You're father's been kidnapped. The Blak Army has taken Roanoke and killed thousands of our people. The Royal Infantry and Imperial Guards are all MIA. Panic is taking over. Everyone is scared. They need someone to rally behind."

"They tried to take me out, but they failed. I spent some time recovering but I'm back now," he explained. "I want to fix things. Where's your father?"

Anger, guilt and shame warred for space on her face.

"He's been gone ten months now," she responded, coldly. "He was sent on an urgent mission to the Polaris Mountains." She paused, tears sliding down her face. "He didn't return."

"You think the Blak Army got him?"

"My father was Imperial Guard before he was given his title. He was the best. No one could take him down," she replied. "Unless they were waiting for him. They probably set a trap and took him before he had a chance to protect himself."

"Can you tell them to put their guns away?" Darvian cut in.

Fiona absently waved a hand and the soldiers dropped their weapons. Then she deliberately rolled her eyes at Darvian, which he ignored.

"Return to your spots," she yelled.

The Raleigh soldiers ducked back into whatever holes they'd climbed out of and it was just the three of them again.

"Why would they take your father?" Rone asked. "They attacked Roanoke. He's the Lord of Raleigh. An Outpost city. What about your father was threatening enough to remove him ten months before the army even attacked? It doesn't make any sense."