Of Dragon Riders and Shadows

Chapter Ten - Wanted

Trusting his magyk to protect him, Rex pushed past the pain and exhaustion.

The inside of the inn was in shambles, and the darkness lit by smouldering embers didn't help visibility. Cursing as he tripped and staggered through the main room, Rex followed the voice screaming for help. Desperate as he was, for every moment in this wreck of a building was a chance the daughter would die, he begged to any god that would listen on her behalf. Please...

Rex used his cloak to cover his mouth against the lung-ruining smoke, and forged ahead. The stairs leading to the upper levels – were useless. The fire had destroyed them too well. Having no time to waste, Rex stopped covering his mouth and began scaling the wall diagonally, and all but threw himself on the landing. The wood groaned underneath him, but he ignored it. Either it would hold his weight or it wouldn't.

He was barely able to see anything now. Only long weeks spent practicing enchantments allowed Rex to conjure a tiny globe of light in his hand, though his head almost split from the pain and his legs were barely able to keep him upright. Using the wall as a support, he slowly made his way through the second floor, still following cries that became fainter and fainter.

"There!" he croaked. Many of the rooms currently had no door, and so he was able to – with the help of his light – peer into each of them. One of the smouldering rooms held a prone figure trapped underneath a beam. It must be her.

Carefully entering the room and stepping over debris, Rex made his way to the person. While it was hard to tell, in the terrible lighting and soot covering everything, she looked to be about his age or maybe younger. A child still.

"Come on!" The beam, long and wide, refused to be budged. At this point, he felt that he had no reserve of magyk left... But he had to rescue the daughter... This place could fall down on top of them any minute... Panting, he strained against the obstacle, face grimacing in pain. This wasn't working! Wait –

'Abraxan! I need help. Can you lend me temporary strength?' Somehow, the message went through. The panting stopped, his legs steadied, his mind felt sharp. Pushing all of the magyk he could through his body, Rex made a pushing motion at the beam. Intent. Groaning and crumbling, it flew threw the air and hit a wall. Debris fell from the ceiling, but the girl was free.

Not trusting the strength of his arms, though Abraxan's help lasted still, he heaved her up so that she was draped over his shoulder. The climb downstairs, where he had to scale down the wall while carrying someone, passed in a haze. Afterwards, he would be unsure just how he had managed it.

Fresh air greeted them, and Rex carefully laid the person down on the ground. Thank be to the gods she was breathing, though that soon turned to coughing. Her mother threw herself beside her, and Rex took it as his cue to stagger away.

"You can take it back," he said groggily, and spent the next minutes leaning against Abraxan's comforting left flank. "I just...hope...no-one else..."

'Do not worry, my princeling,' Abraxan replied, voice sounding...strange. 'There was no one but that girl left in that inn.'

            "That's good," Rex slurred. Soon enough, Abraxan's presence allowed Rex to become more coherent, and once again he looked around. At this point, the villagers were in aftermath control, picking up the pieces.

Perhaps it was time to go, before they got in the way and all collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Just as before, the others seemed to be of the same mind. Ander rushed toward Rex, motioning to the others that they should be taking off. No-one bothered to comment about their upcoming departure, not interested in the sight of five children dressed in red cloaks heaving themselves on dragons.