Broken Path, Starless Tail - 19. Chapter 19

“Working with wisps,” Valrinda grumbled. “I’m telling you, this will go bad for us.”

The wisps were bustling around, setting up a camp for the night. They’d spent the morning flying, and then Beckett had spent the afternoon passed out against Valrinda’s side. He’d nearly froze to death, and for what? To avoid these cute little characters who were skipping around and putting up colorful tents while chattering at each other? Everything they had was bright, or stitched with metals and stones that reflected the dying light of the sun.

“They don’t seem like bad people,” Beckett said. He grabbed some food out of his pouch and snuggled back against Valrinda’s side. He didn’t need a tent, or the fire that was too warm just an hour before but was getting more welcome as night fell and it grew colder in the desert.

“Not bad. Bad for you. Bad for me. Wisps only look out for their troop, and outsiders are not wisps. They say they’ll help, but that doesn’t mean their help won’t actually hurt us in the end.”

Beckett shook his head, taking a drink of water to wash down the bread that was going stale. “Are you always so cynical of others?”

“Yes.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re going to make the best of our helpers.” Who knew dragons could become jealous so easily? If Beckett didn’t know better, he’d worry Valrinda was gonna turn into Valery, a fucking annoying girl from his sophomore year who’d whined constantly to go together to a dance.

He didn’t dance.

“You’re my guide; they’re just helpers.” He put more effort into soothing Valrinda than he did Valery. He’d shouted at her to leave him the hell alone, and she’d ran off crying, so of course he’d landed in fucking detention. Maybe he was a little more mature now.

“Fine.” Valrinda was still huffy, but Beckett ignored it. The stones of the road were hard under his ass, but he wasn’t about to sleep in the sand. Not after Valrinda told him about burrowing eating creatures.

Their first argument about traveling the next day was when Beckett said he’d walk with the wisps instead of riding. Maybe it was risky, but he wanted to talk to them. Find out how they knew about him, where he was going, what he was doing. How else was he going to figure things out? It’d come to him, as he lay there trying and failing to sleep.

How did every fairytale creature in this place seem to know he was there, that he was a human, and that Parallax had lost his star?

He had been told not to trust everyone, but everyone he’d met had done nothing but help him so far. Where was the great conspiracy? The danger? So far it’d been nothing but a walk in the park, as it were.

In the end, neither of them were happy. Beckett walked and Valrinda flew. He flew so low he kept sweeping up fine clouds of sand so Beckett’s eyes watered and talking was made difficult. Plus talking to the ore wisps was like trying to understand chattering chipmunks. They spoke in fragments, talking over each other, and half the time it didn’t make sense. He persisted anyway and got a headache for his efforts. It wasn’t the quiet walk he’d had before or the flights Beckett had taken with Valrinda. What he wouldn’t do for a soda and chips, maybe a nap in a field of cold grass. Nope, all he had was a flask of water.

Endless water. He was so hot and sweaty, his feet sore, and Beckett was getting cranky. He was starting to think about calling Valrinda down so he could ride instead when the sky darkened.

Not the shadow of Valrinda’s wings as he swooped down over them again, it was bigger than that, and the scream that pierced the air sent the air wisps scrambling to hide, collapsing flat.

“What the fuck!” Beckett fell backward, staring up and then at the wisps burrowing into the sand at the side of the road in complete silence, something they’d never been.

Something huge, and bone white with sickly green claws was flapping leathery wings just above them, barely missing where they’d been standing. “Valrinda!” Beckett screamed.

“I’m coming!” Valrinda roared. Beckett watched as Valrinda arrowed, his wings folded tight to his body as he darted at the beast attacking them. He opened his jaw and shot blue fire, forcing it away.

Both the beast and Valrinda beat their wings hard, rising to crash together, clawing and screaming. The scent of burning flesh and acid, blood and fear and the horrific sounds of their battle drowned out the sounds of the desert.

The beast reared its head back and stabbed its horrific beak toward Valrinda’s neck.

“No!” Beckett screamed. Valrinda reared back, beating his wings sharply and pushed off with his claws, so the beast’s beak glanced off his scales instead of stabbing in deep.

Now free from Valrinda’s grasp, the beast swooped again, reaching for them, but instead of going to Beckett, it tried to grab a wisp.

“You shall not feed here!” Valrinda roared. He sent a blast of flame at the beast’s head, and it dropped the wisp who fell a dozen feet back to the sand. Beckett hoped it was okay, because it wasn’t moving. He didn’t want to move and draw that thing’s attention, but how long could he lay here? The stones were blazing hot, and the sounds of the battle could be drawing who knew what to them.

Valrinda pressed his advantage of being higher than the beast and went for the back of its head, neck, and wings, blasting his fire and racking his claws down its back. The beast screamed, and one of its wings bent awkwardly. It was flying, but erratically and not well. It took off, warbling, and quickly disappeared into the desert.