Page 139 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

At the last possible blink—just as Carnage opened his mouth and poured a stream of flame that filled the air with sulphur and shimmering heat that stung the bare skin on my forehead—Kgosi tilted, whirled, his entire body rolling in the sky.

The force stopped my breath in my lungs as I hung on. Halfway through, while we were under the dark shadow of Carnage’s belly, our momentum shuddered and jarred, and for a split second I thought we’d collided.

Carnage screamed. Kgosi roared and arched, and the dizzying sight of the ground below—full of rioting dragons—filled my view, then blue sky, then the ground again, and then, order restored, Kgosi’s wings snapped wide to either side and I was thrown forward against his neck.

‘Did he get you, Keg?’ I asked breathlessly, unable to do more than lay my ear against his neck and twist my head around to look behind us—where Carnage had also extended his wings to flap as we circled back. ‘Did he fucking burn you?!’

Kgosi growled with the menace of boulders crashing down a hill. ‘Do I look flammable to you? No. But he will piss out of his belly if I get one more pass,’ Kgosi muttered in the bond, showing me the memory of that jarring moment—when his talons sliced the paler, softer scales of Carnage’s belly. Not a mortal wound—not even a deep one, yet. But my dragon was certain he could take another slice at the same precise spot, and open Carnage’s stomach.

I would have laughed, but he was already turning to position himself, to find Carnage’s line.

The big blue roared and shook his head as he banked, and Kgosi hesitated—I thought because Carnage hadn’t yet faced us properly and he didn’t want to get too close before he found the line. But to my horror, Carnage had banked to face us… then continued on the path and was now wheeling down, ears flat against his skull, tail lashing… diving straight for the herd below.

“What the fuck—Ruin! Stop your dragon!” I screamed. Had Carnage lost his mind?

We’d both gained height in the banking and flapping to reposition and facing each other once more. So, Kgosi and I were too distant to sweep between Carnage and the poor, milling dragons below, who’d just barely realized they were a target.

The herd scattered again, peeling aside from the center… to leave a single, solitary male, legs braced and wings high—a dragon’s protective posture—bowing low in front with head extended and teeth bared next to Benji.

‘Kgosi! We have to get down—’

Kgosi dove. But we were too late and off to the side. We’d never reach them in time.

The boy stood with his feet wide and hands clenched, one fist raised, lips peeled back from his teeth, shouting defiance at the bull bearing down on him, the dragon at his back roaring his resistance too.

Carnage opened his mouth and I screamed protest, preparing to watch the poor boy be flamed from existence—just as Kgosi roared and a spear of white-hot flame poured from his mouth between Benji and the plummeting Carnage—who would fly directly into that deadly flame if he didn’t shift his line.

The dragon screamed and twisted. Ruin shouted a curse. We whipped past them, Kgosi flapping furiously to keep us higher than Carnage. I could do nothing but turn my head and try to see past Kgosi’s shoulder and wings, but from this angle Benji disappeared into the massive cloud of smoke and dust that rose from the ground. For a moment I thought Carnage had dropped out of the sky entirely, crushing them both.

But then the fucker rose out of that haze, screaming again… and didn’t bank.

Didn’t wheel.

Didn’t turn back.

The fucking coward flew on, wings beating at the air in a desperate but powerful rhythm, pushing the pair higher and faster, screaming his protest, but not turning back.

My heart sank and leaped in the same breath. ‘We’ve got him, Kgosi—he’s running—’

But as my dragon wheeled once more and I was certain he’d hunt the little bastard down, instead he began to descend.

‘Kgosi, what are you doing?!’

‘I am ensuring our souls are safe—and learning the truth of what has occurred. This dragon has broken free. We will finally know the true depravity that this pair have wreaked. Armed with that, I will hunt Carnage, and I will not rest until he bears the full weight of his crimes.’

‘But he’s right there—’

‘This is not vengeance, Donavyn. It is justice. And we cannot punish an offense of which we are ignorant.’

I wanted to pull out my hair. Wanted to scream and swear as Carnage’s silhouette slowly shrank into the distance, still raising the occasional scream.

But then we were down, Kgosi lumbering to a halt as quickly as he was able—and to my surprise, on clear ground.

The herd had scattered from the fight, but were now clustered at the other side of the small valley, all turned to face us, watching.

I hurriedly unwrapped myself from the straps and untied the knots in the safety strap so I’d be free to dismount when Kgosi stopped.

But Kgosi did not stop. The moment he’d found his equilibrium back on solid ground and we were safe, he raised his head and turned, wings still half-extended, head high, and breath huffing through an open mouth as he strode towards the single dragon at the center of the valley floor, now half-obscured in dust and the dissipating smoke.