The flames raged, their heat darkening the wooden hull until charcoaled flakes of wood crumbled in clouds of sparks. The heat beat at James’s face, providing a physical accent to his lamentation. In his head, he read off the names of the crew from memory, sending them into the ether with every lick of the richly coloured flames and the roar of the conflagration.

  The hull groaned and the deck collapsed, crashing into the bowels of the ship and sending thousands of sparks into the air that danced out to sea before blinking out of existence.

  James gave the airship a solemn salute and turned to the waiting dragons and their riders.

  Azael studied him as he walked across the sands. He was in no mood for the man’s antics, sure that he would beat the man off his saddle if he tried anything.

  When he returned to Liana’s side, Daekhota was waiting for him. He gave the airman a knowing nod and stepped aside. James’s belongings, aside from the pistol, had been placed in a sack tied to the pommel of the saddle. James hauled himself up and sat, taking one last look at the burning wreckage.

  Daekhota hopped into the saddle and turned. “Time passes. Heart heals,” the rider said with a solemn tone.

  There was a screech in the distance. Daekhota turned and peered into the bright sky. Two dark silhouettes of dragons glided towards them.

  “Sorakum!” Daekhota cried. He pulled on the reins and kicked. James struggled to grab the man’s waist as Liana threw herself into the air. Her wings beat with ferocity. Palm trees waved against the onslaught of wind the creature generated. They were barely off the ground when Daekhota turned the dragon, swooping over the crashing waves. Spray struck James’s face.

  James looked at the approaching dragons, they were moving at speed. He could see the emerald and crimson colouration of their scales. He studied the riders, noticing how they wore black armour, rather than the cream colour light garments Daekhota and Azael wore.

  James surmised that they must have been some rival nation. More worrying was the speed advantage their dragons had, Liana and the other dragon were sluggish having only just taken wing.

  He turned back in the direction they were flying, accelerating across the water. Azael gave Daekhota furious hand gestures. Daekhota replied with a clear nod. “Hold on, James!”

  Liana snapped to the left, a blistering speed that James didn’t know was possible while flying. No airship he had flown had been capable of anything close to that move. They had turned parallel to the coast, the two riders splitting up as targets.

  The enemy riders had a choice to make, split up themselves or commit to a single target. James was dismayed to see the two dragons turning to follow Liana. “ James shouted over the wind. He swore at himself. “They come,” he bellowed in Sehtalen.

  Daekhota nudged the dragon with his thighs, forcing Liana onward. Her wings beat harder, and the waves blurred passed in streaks of white.

  Still the enemy riders came.

  …

  Daekhota spurned Liana on, hoping their ploy would work. The two riders of the lost tribe were on his tail. The turn had cost them speed, giving Liana a chance to even the odds.

  They followed the coast, a deadly game of chase that would end with only one tribe victorious that day.

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  He wondered.

  One of the enemy drakes screeched. Daekhota turned his head in time to see the drake to the right with its mouth open, its gullet glowing with fire.

  He pulled Liana to the right. He felt the flame before he saw it, touching his neck and shoulders with its warm embrace. A jet of fire shot by, where they had been only a moment before. The flames curled away from the roiling ocean. Deakhota felt Na-tol’s hands grip his sides harder.

  “Jesus Christ!”shouted James.

  Daekhota snapped them to the left again, continuing their original course. The enemy drakes followed with relentless certainty.

  He pulled Liana up, racing for the clouds. he muttered as he tucked against Liana’s neck. The drake screeched and roared, complaining at how hard she was being pushed. He knew her resolve would not falter. Liana had never failed him before.

  Clouds kissed them, embracing them into their opaque whiteness. Dew wet Daekhota’s skin. The two Jarashemen drakes were ghostly silhouettes behind them and ever present.

  Daekhota tugged the reins and kicked his heels. Liana’s neck craned down and the rest of her body followed, her large wings tucking. They dove through the cloud, emerging as a ferocious dart. Daekhota had but a moment to view the expansive sea, the winding coastline and the emerald expanse of Maa Ilam. His eyes returned to his duty, focussing on the approaching water. Air thrashed at him and the Foreigner, threatening to tear them from the drake’s neck.

  He pulled Liana out of the dive, her wings extending and catching the wind with a mighty roar as it pummelled their membranes.

  Daekhota looked back in time to see the two riders diving in an attack formation, one rider diagonally held back from the other.

  A jet of flame burst from the right, engulfing the lead drake. Azael’s drake swooped by, a speeding dart of crimson.

  The rear rider burst through the smoke enveloping the burning drake of his wingman. The creature tumbled towards the sea, dying and screaming in agony.

  He pulled Liana to the right, causing the rider to scream past. Daekhota checked and saw the remaining drake pulling out of the dive. “Now, Liana.” He clicked the reins and kicked his heels, sending her diving towards the enemy drake.

  Liana roared with bloodlust, dark smoke trailing from her nostrils.

  Daekhota eyeballed their range, waiting for the perfect moment.

  “Ura halor!” he roared.

  The jet of fire burst forward, a flaming spear of heat that enveloped the enemy drake. Her membranes caught fire, withering and bursting almost immediately. Her skin burned and the rider on her back flailed in agony as he burned alive strapped to her back.

  Daekhota pulled out of the dive and had Liana glide, watching the last drake tumble snout over tail until she splashed into the sea.

  “Ura naya, Halor-kura,” Daekhota whispered to the fallen drakes. Their dark bodies floated on the surface of the water, dancing in the swell. Azael and Daekhota remained until the drakes slipped under the water.

  They turned back along the coast, returning to Tolilam.

  He remained silent. There was no honour to be had in the killing of a drake, no matter the mortal war they fought with the lost tribe of the north. He mourned the great creatures, their fires lost forever.

  Daekhota stroked Liana’s neck. he thought. He felt the great creature purring through his hand and thighs.

  …

  The dragons circled the city, descending towards the building they were housed within. The landing was slow and soft. The creature was silent as James climbed out of the saddle. He was surprised to see that Daekhota looked like he had lost someone in battle. He should have been shouting and making his way to the nearest bar.

  The dragon lumbered towards the wooden building, her head held low. Her tail almost dragged through the dirt.

  Azael and his dragon looked the same.

  “You fight well!” James offered, trying to lighten the mood.

  Daekhota turned on him, pushing him to the ground.

  “Tu na tora, Na-tol!” he shouted at him. He spoke so fast, James struggled to make out the words. The rider paced with anger. He turned again, pointing. “” he said in English. “Get up.”

  James got to his feet slowly, holding out his hands. “Naya nahum, Daekhota,” he said.

  Daekhota removed the sack of his belongings and threw them at James who caught them in surprise. “Go inside.”

  His limbs shook with shock and the weariness of his legs. James stumbled across the yard towards the hospital. He hoped Miyan would be there. Perhaps he could find a way to ask what he had done.

  , he thought.

  James entered the hospital to find it empty.