I spot a pail filled with little spikes and a rubber mallet. “What are those?”
“Pitons, for underwater climbing.” She looks at me, clearly puzzled as to why I’m asking.
“Pound this into my skin. Thread a rope through, and that should be enough support.”
“Between your scales, into your flesh? That would be excruciating—I can’t do it. If you insist, I shall pound them into your scales—though I would rather not.”
“My scales are too tough; the spikes won’t penetrate.” I fetch the pail with my mouth; the old metal tastes like an expired iron supplement. I stretch my long neck and hold it out to her.
“What if I anchor them between?” She reluctantly takes the bucket from my mouth into her hands.
“They’ll fall out. Trust me, the pain’s fine. Plus, my body’s huge—those spikes are just pins to me. Besides…” I stare at her a moment, and the intensity of those fiery red eyes pulls me deeper and assures me I’m making the right choice. “It’s a small price for finding your parents. Besides—” I break eye contact. “I never should have left you.”
She sets down the bucket and cradles my enormous head. She presses her forehead against my brow and plants a kiss on my scaly skin.
“This is not your fault. The Baron is to blame.” She breaks off the embrace and looks to the horizon.
"Tanza, it's the only way," I say, employing my coldest boardroom voice to shut down her resistance. Then, shifting to a softer tone, I add, “And it’s what I want. Promise.”
I motion my head towards the pitons. Her shoulders slump, and wordlessly she retrieves a small mallet and one of the climbing spikes.
“Here?” she asks, her hands press softly against my scales. I nod. She pries up one of my scales, and my whole body shudders at the sickening, vulnerable sensation of a fingernail being lifted backward. The spike presses against bare flesh, and her hands tremble so much that she almost drops the mallet.
“Really, it’s okay.” I try to sound as fearless as possible.
She whispers an apology, and there’s the sound of the mallet hitting the piton hard, followed immediately by a stab of pain. It hurts like fuck, but I thought it would hurt worse. Honestly, it pales in comparison to so much I’d gone through in physical therapy.
Once she finishes the first, through gritted teeth, I bid her to hurry with the others.
Tanza washes my blood off her hands in the nearby ocean water. She leaves for a supplies shack, rummages around for a while, and returns with a long piece of leather that we’ll use as a makeshift bridle.
“Thank you.” She plants a kiss on my snout. Even through the pain, I can’t help but smile. Fiancé or not, this gorgeous princess has me tied around her little finger, and I’ll do anything to help make things right with her.
She threads the straps and rope and loops them tightly around my snout and horns, creating a makeshift harness.
"I'll pull left for left, right for right. Two tugs for 'stop'." She climbs atop me and gives the harness a light tug.
“Sounds good. Once the wind’s blowing hard, we won’t be able to talk. Anything you wanna say before takeoff?” I snake my neck around to look at her.
“As you said—” She smiles grimly. “Let’s get this fucker!”
She presses her body tight against my skin. So firm yet soft. So strong and graceful.
It’s time for flight.
Time to fight.
It’s time to dance again.
I’ve been avoiding dance ever since that night with Rich, but the time for running is over. I blink twice and press play on Veracocha “Carte Blanche (Extended Mix)”.
I charge the full length of the dock, flapping my wings hard, and as the synths swell and surge, I’m in the air again!
The bracing wind whipping across my face and the rhythmic thud of my wings contrast sharply with the soft, rolling synth strings. Through the chaos, there’s an inner radiance inside the moment. Little tears form on the edge of my eyes, and yes, it is partially because of the wind, but mostly it’s just so good to have music back in my life.
The pain from the pitons recedes to the background, and my focus remains centered on the music and Tanza’s gentle tugs and pulls—turning this way, then that, speeding up and slowing down as she beckons. Despite her exhaustion over the day, she’s a natural dragon-rider, and I let myself be guided high over the endless water.
In life, I’ve often tried to shoulder so much, to prove that I’m worthy to sit at the table of my father’s company, that there’s something almost erotic about giving control over to another. Yes, I’m facing a possible second death, but the princess’s body pressed against mine liberates me from fear.
Tanza pulls back on the reins, and I come to a hover. We’re close to the water. The smell of salt water is stirred up by my flapping wings. I take a moment to drink it in, getting the sense that this will be my last danger-free moment for a while.
“Look!” The wind no longer rushing at us, Tanza’s voice cuts through the repetitive thud of my flapping wings. She points to the horizon, and there it is.
The fleet cuts a sharp contrast to the angelic echoes of the song— they’re more an ominous black mass of jagged, floating spires than individual ships.
Tanza is frozen. Has she passed out? Though she hadn’t spoken of it, I’d seen the bruises on her body and the exhaustion behind her eyes. No, that’s not it! The slow rhythmic heartbeat against my neck reminds me of my own when I’m astral traveling. Whatever is going on, she’s not unconscious.
I blink twice, ditching the soft synths for a Hard Trance playlist better suited to a warzone. The pulsing synth and drone that opens Cortex Thrill’s “Syndrome” amps up the moment’s dark energy, but what’s dancing without tension and release?
Tanza slumps against my neck, breathing hard. Wherever she’d gone, she’s back.
“My parents—they’re on the flagship.” She leans towards my ear and speaks in a hoarse whisper as she points to a monstrous ship that sails in the center of the fleet.
It’s an imposing floating fortress of a ship. Twice as large as the others—it hulks over the fleet like a spikey titan—lethal cannons protruding like spines on a porcupine. My twelve-foot length suddenly feels minuscule when compared to that size.
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I know it should terrify me, but knowing Tanza’s parents are close, I feel my adrenaline surge.
“You ready for this?” I twist my neck to give Tanza an appraising look. She’s paler than a moment ago, but her red eyes burn with a steely resolve.
“I’m ready.” She yanks the reins, urging me straight towards our enemy.
“Rave on, princess—let’s do this!!”
The sawtooth synths and claps build, and the bass drum hits. Whether they like it or not, I’ve just found my dance partner!
A volley of laser cannon fire erupts towards us. We were going to be found out sooner or later, I guess sooner it is!
Drawing my wings close to my body, I dive low so that the blasts explode harmlessly overhead. By the time they’ve adjusted their aim, I’ve already closed the distance between us and the closest ship in the fleet.
I snake off to the side and dodge another round of blasts. Tanza, who’s impressively held tight throughout the maneuvers, pulls her rifle from her back and shoots at the closest ship to us. It’s out of range, but not by far.
The throbbing of the bass drums and from the pitons deep in my skin impels me forward—I rise, weaving my way through the latticework of blaster fire, climbing higher and higher into the sky, until the ships are little more than specks in the endless blue ocean.
Sampled vocal hits, pounding bass drums, hi-hats, claps, and buzzy synths build and build as I dive at breakneck speed towards the center of the fleet.
I spot it! A little ship, not as heavily armored as many of the others, positioned in the dead-center of the fleet. A few guards stand on the deck, smoking and talking, leaving the battle to better-equipped ships. Once they notice me coming, it’s already too late.
I descend to the deck, breathe deep, and pour my prismatic fire over the guards. The release of their shattered Kapaala clogs the air with an acrid scent, and they fall unconscious to the deck. Even after the destruction they’ve caused, I’m not ready to indiscriminately kill.
“JayMay, look out!” Tanza’s warning comes just in time. I leap into the air as the boat explodes into shards—cannonfire incinerating the ship and its crew. Those monsters! They’d kill their allies just to get a shot at me?
So much for using their own fleet as a human shield—I need to move!
Rotating in the air, I dodge another blast, get a bead on the flagship, and take off for it.
Wait a second? Is that a man riding a flat fish with wings? What the fuck?!
Ouch!
A jolt of pain staggers me. Something has pierced my side, penetrating my scales—a spear! The fish rider’s got a freaking speargun!
Before I can face off with him, he falls lifeless from his mount. Tanza and her rifle! Without its rider, the fish flies away.
Oh shit! Another dozen of the strange flying fish riders!
“Gliderfish!” Tanza’s voice cuts through the chaotic battlefield sounds and my music. Blasts from nearby laser cannons fill the air around me.
I take off for another smaller ship. Its crew strafes me with laserfire. One shot hits, but it’s a glancing wound and doesn’t even slow me down.
But the injury infuriates Tanza, who screams as she unloads against the boat’s crew, downing several of them. I dive behind the boat and watch as a spear sinks into another of the gun-toting crew. More friendly fire.
Snaking low to the water around the boat, I circle back towards the cavalry.
On the other side of the ship, I burst out high over the gliderfish.
Another spear sinks into my flank, and I’m racked with pain. I bite my cheek until the coppery taste of blood fills my mouth. Internal pain! That’s what it takes to keep myself focused through the external pain.
I open my jaw wide and descend on the rider who attacked me. My sharp fangs tear into the gliderfish mount. I like sushi as much as the next girl, but the raw, bitter flavor of the fish is disgusting. The rider falls into the water, screaming. Tanza blasts her twice.
After what’s happened to her kingdom, I can’t blame her bloodthirst, but that understanding doesn’t keep the chill from my heart as I see the corpse float facedown in the ocean waters.
But there’s no time for remorse; another three spears shoot at me from different angles, and I have to spiral in a figure-eight form to avoid being hit. I only pray Tanza can hold tight.
A piercing scream erupts from the princess. I curve my long neck to see what’s going on. A spear is lodged deep in her leg. Tears streaming unbidden, she slides the gun onto her back, pulls the spear out, and lets it drop.
“Princess?” How dare these fucking bastards do that to the princess! One of her is worth the entire fleet!
Enraged, I whip past the gliderfish, my heavy tail swatting two of the riders into the sky. I fly higher—I’m sure the advantage is mine the further we get from the water.
No such luck! Their wings grow longer, and they easily match my altitude. All I’ve done is make myself a bigger target for the laser cannons. An explosion a foot away sends me reeling.
Another nearby explosion misses me completely, instead blasting two of the fish riders to atoms.
With only a few of them left, I finally realize the gliderfish for what they are: distractions! I’ve let myself get sidetracked. If getting higher in the sky hasn’t helped, then—flying an inch off the water, I shoot like a torpedo towards a little skiff that blocks my way to the flagship.
The crew dives from the deck to the water. I pull up and jump over it at the last possible moment, laughing bitterly at their unnecessary escape. C’mon, idiots, I’m not gonna risk harming the princess by crashing into a ship!
The fishriders behind me are lost to my superior speed, and there’s nothing else remaining in front of us, except the flagship!
We’re so close to rescuing Tanza’s parents, I can taste it. Now to find her—
A direct hit!
My nerves light up like Daft Punk’s mixing board as cannonfire sends me reeling.
The pain cuts off my music. All I can hear is the wind whistling through the air as I sail uncontrolled towards the flagship.
I slam hard against the deck. With an agonizing squelch, the pitons tear from my flesh and Tanza, harness and all, tumbles far from me.
I try to stand, but my legs collapse under me—my body is burning up in fever and pain.
Black-armored soldiers swarm the deck around me. Behind them stalks a pair of sharp-toothed, muscular dogs, eyes flickering with unholy flames.
“Oh shit.”
I guess it was time for this little afterlife party to close its doors.