Chapter 11

**Clary**


*I was flying…*

*So high in the air that the land that was dotted with towering trees, wetlands and castles with villages all looked like ants. Something warm and scaly was underneath my feet. I pulled my attention to the strong breathing creature beneath me. Her scales were bright white, like shining white pearls dotted with gold and black. She was so big that I had needed to use straps of leather tied around the base of her neck to keep me standing on her back without falling off. Unfortunately I couldn’t sit comfortably on her so my legs could grip her neck. I might have to look into making a saddle sometime soon.*

*She chirped and turned her head around to look at me. Her eyes were crystal blue, deep and intelligent. Streaks of gold scales framed her face and eyes. The small horn at the tip of her nose winked at me, reflecting the sunlight. On the top of her skull, three huge curved horns stood out proudly on her elegant face, the middle horn bigger than the other two beside it. I smiled at her, and in my mind I willed her to go faster.*

*She gave a playful growl and rose up higher into the air, picking up momentum, going faster already even though she was rising higher. The slight bumpy ridges that ran down her spine moved languidly as her muscles churned the air. Then, just when I couldn’t breathe anymore, just when we were able to see the curve of this realm, she started diving. I gripped the straps looped tightly around my vambraced arms and roared along with her at the excitement of traveling through the air so fast that I could barely breathe. It took all my strength to keep my feet planted on her back while my arms pulled with the effort of keeping me steady.*

*My firm legs were bent and clad in leather pants that clung to my body, my torso was tightly knotted in a dragon-scaled leather blazer, leaving my arms bare except for the hard leather and metal vambraces on my forearms and the leather gloves over my hands. The boots on my feet were tough and well-worn in. My light brown hair was thick and braided down my back all the way to the top of my thighs, leaving the wind to whip it behind me as we dove, the light blue eye-guards that were also crusted with dragon scales allowed for wind to be diverted from my eyes to the sides of my face so I could see through the air battering against my eyes. My right bicep was decorated in red and black ink, thick curving lines and claw markings to remind me and others that I was one of the lucky few chosen by a dragon.*

*Since I was chosen, my already blue eyes had deepened in color, making them look almost the same as my dragon’s. The village people look at me with pride, those with their own dragons watch me with envy and awe, especially whenever they saw Lerina.*

*Her race was a line of ancient dragons, dragons that had existed well before the newer generations. Her race was like that of royalty towards other dragons. At three years old she was already bigger than most of the fully matured dragons who’s riders also have to stand when they fly. And she was most definitely a sight to behold. Fierce, brave, proud, loyal, utterly beautiful, and almost extinct.*

*Lerina had the ability to blend into the forest, the sky, and even into other dragon colonies. She was so rich in magic that I’ve even begun using some of her magic in my own spell work. Otherwise she would have no idea of what to do with herself and end up causing trouble again because of her excessively youthful energy. I’ve also taken her flying a lot more often, but that is something I’ll never mind. Flying is freedom, making everything look so small, so insignificant in the face of the majesty you see when you are high in the heavens.*

*We plummet to the earth in wild abandon, having complete trust in each other…*

*The sky darkened suspiciously as we plummeted… right into the middle of a battlefield.*

*Fire burned fiercely all around us, tearing through the buildings and the people running for their lives. Spells were being flung and fired from dragon back and from the ground, riders with black and purple banded marks around their arms stormed our village from the forest.*

*My chest burned with anger, another battle to be fought, more lives to be lost! Why?! Lerina and I roared our rage as we dove into the fray. Lerina was biting, clawing and crushing already as I jumped off of her back to fight on the ground. My sword rested comfortably in my hands as my powerful arms worked the motions, cutting down enemies from every side that I saw them coming. Lerina let loose a ball of blue white flame as my sword crackled with my rage.*

*The witches of the village fought with their magic and their weapons, never letting up their attacks until the enemy was felled. I stumbled over something on the grass and went sprawling, I looked back and saw the gaping face of my best friend. His eyes wide and glossy, and his mouth stuck in an everlasting scream. The last time I had seen him that day, he had clapped me on the back after a sparring match.*

*I jumped up and turned, only to see a black dragon firing a stream of white hot fire straight at me. Lerina roared and blocked the attack with her neck, she swung her powerful tail and broke the other dragon’s neck in one whipping swing aimed at his jaw.*

*Then suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my side and heard Lerina scream. I rushed underneath her where I saw a pair of legs on her other side, I ran low and tackled the enemy to the ground with my sword stuck through his heart up to the hilt.*

*I turned back to Lerina just in time to see another enemy readying to throw a spear at her cut side. Without thinking, I rushed him, lifted both of my empty hands and let out a bellow as white-purple lightning came firing out of my palms. For a second, my vision was blinded, I felt pain running through my body, and my head buzzed. Through the whiteness I could hear Lerina roar in a rage, I could hear the people scream, but for that minute I was terrified, I was paralyzed, I couldn’t do anything…*