Riley had
kind of lied to his dragon. His real reason for venturing into the woods was his unquenchable curiosity, and Dynamis' bulk would scare away wildlife Riley hoped to see.
Even from deep within the trees, Riley could tell the storm was starting to die off. Though an occasional drop of icy water still escaped the leafy cover and found its way into the collar of his shirt. Further into the woods, the tree trunks became thicker. A free breeze stirred his hair. The air smelled clean and fresh after the long downpour.
As he walked, Riley began to hear a sound like gurgling water. After a few more paces, he heard something else, too. Was that...... music?
He was so focused on the sound, he almost walked into an oak. Just to be safe, he stopped walking to listen. The sound was faint, and mixed in with the sound of running water, but he could definitely make out the sound of singing. He couldn't quite make out all the lyrics, but it seemed like a sad song.
The words were soft, and not unkind, but told a story of hurting.
Riley listened for a little while. When he decided to move on, he altered his course so he wasn't headed straight for the singer. The last thing he wanted was to stumble upon one of his party trying to take a bath in the river. Plus, the voice was definitely female, and that would be even worse.
The boy hadn't heard any music in a while. The song must have triggered something in his memories, because he caught himself humming a song his mother used to sing to him and his brother when they were little. He didn't remember the words, but he remembered how soothing and sweet it was. He sung it to Dynamis when he first hatched, but could not for the life of him find the lyrics.
He stopped abruptly, punching his first into his palm as he remembered a verse.
”Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day; Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away.” He murmured. Riley jumped when he heard a loud snarl. He automatically backed up against a tick tree and reached for his bow. He cursed his stupidity when he realized he left it in Dynamis' pack. Instead, he came up with his dagger. He held the weapon with the point angled toward where the sound came from. Although he was never as good at swordplay as his big brother, he could hold his own, and the dagger felt completely natural in his hands.
The bushes to his left quivered and he heard another growl. It was softer this time, but somehow more threatening. Riley's stance remained facing forward, resisting the urge to turn toward the sound and expose his back. With the tree directly behind him, he protected his blind spot.
He had never tried it from this distance, but he reached out for Dynamis through their mental link.
”I need you!”The brush stirred again, this time from his right. Then he heard something the would give him nightmares. The snarls had turned into a soft, gravelly laugh. After the first, others joined in, each more horrible then the last.
Riley winced when he felt a sharp pain in his head, followed by a chilling voice in his mind.
“Hello, little boy.” The boy gasped, one hand releasing the dagger and gripping his forehead. He looked around him frantically, the pain starting to elevate his fear. His heartbeat pounding in his ears, accompanied by the sound of more sneering laughter.
”Whats the matter, little boy?”
“Does it hurt, little boy?”
“Let us help you.”
“Are you hungry, too, little boy?”
“......little boy....... little boy...... are you scared, little boy?”The pain increased the more they spoke, many voices filling his head. He tried to reach for his dragon, but he couldn't focus. The pain spread from his head down his spine, ripping through his mind and body like flames. Now in a frantic state, he struggled to keep a hold on his weapon. His hands were shaking, and he looked around wildly. He saw brief glimpses of scarred, fury muzzles and unnaturally large teeth. The dark voices continued to circle in his mind, echoing a chant. They were wild, crazed, hungry.
“SHUT UP!” Riley screeched, panic and pain taking over. One of the
creatures leap from the brush. It resembled a canine, but had eyes that held a fierce intelligence. Riley moved quickly, and the creature's teeth and claws tore into the tree he had been using for cover. He took off running, back the way he had come. Everything felt like it was moving painfully slow, the pain starting to blur his vision. There wasn't enough room in his twelve year old mind for so many voices.
He heard his pursuers crashing through the woods behind him. By the sound of it, there were a lot of them. He didn't dare look back, instead keeping his head down as he ran. He fell forward as a set of claws raked across his shoulders, and screamed out in pain. He quickly regained himself and clambered to his feet, setting off again. A gray body blurred past in front of him, making him skid and trip again. Once again, he got up and continued running.
Riley didn't need much more evidence. They clearly had no problem keeping up. They were playing with him. It wasn't terribly far until camp now. He caught sight of the river, and steered to avoid it. He definitely didn't need to try and fight the things waist deep in water.
He was thirty paces from camp before he was able to get through to Dynamis. His mind was in such a state of disarray that he could not express an actual thought to his dragon. It wasn't necessary, because as soon as the connection was made, Dynamis could read all of Riley's pain and fear.
Dynamis let out an enraged roar, alerting the entire woods, just before Riley crashed into the clearing that was their camp.
