Book 5 Ch28: Don’t look up at the things in the sky.

    Arthur didn’t even consider being nervous until he found himself standing in front of his wing riders and faced with their wary expressions.

    His wing riders. People who he was responsible for, not only to keep safe during the eruption, but also to make sure they never fell victim to the blood price.

    This had all happened very fast, in his opinion. It felt like not too long ago, Brixaby was breaking his shell, and now people were looking at him for safety and what to do next.

    Now it was his duty to either lead these people into danger . . . or possibly great wealth. Which one remained to be seen.

    Yes, he was meant to be a leader in Wolf Moon Hive, but that hadn’t panned out. Frankly, Arthur hadn’t been ready for it. He still wasn’t sure if he was ready for this, but it wasn’t like there was anyone else.

    “Welcome,” he said to his arranged wing. Ugh, his voice sounded awkward even to his own ears.

    Griff had brought in the four other Uncommon purple riders. His own retinue sat on the other side of the room. He had decided that the empty cave Brixaby had found would be a good meeting place and had filled it with chairs from his and Brixaby’s Personal Space.

    The hatchlings were in their own group outside. Equinox and Asha were saying hello to little Rosie, who seemed to be thrilled that she could hang out with older hatchlings.

    And finally, there was Thackeray and Steve with their two dragons. They sat together—two Commons outnumbered by higher rankers.

    Arthur took in a breath and then started the meeting by introducing the new hatchlings as well as the new Common riders.

    “Thackeray, Soledad, Amanda, and Marion will be staying back this evening,” Arthur said. “Thackeray, I know Candy Floss can carry you, but your riding style is . . . unconventional, and I need to be sure about what we’re facing before I take you along next time.”

    “What will we be doing?” Griff asked. “Wing exercises, right?” He added a hasty “sir.”

    “Not quite,” Arthur said, “but I don’t want to give too many details until we’re away from this hive. Speaking of,” he added quickly, “let me tell you a little bit about our capabilities. During a recent eruption, Bisbee and I were lucky enough to come by a portal card. You will all find it to be . . . rather unusual.”

    “Freakish,” Horatio muttered.

    Arthur ignored him. “But it is mana efficient and will get us where we need to go.”

    The questions came quickly, all from the Uncommon riders. “Where is that, sir?”

    “Why do we need to go somewhere else? Everything we want is here!”

    “Is this advanced training?”

    “Combat training?”

    It was notable that only the Uncommons were speaking up. Steve remained quiet and watchful. And of course, Cressida and Horatio always had his back.

    “I know you have all been doing fairly well for yourselves—especially since you managed to get by while paying twice what you normally should have. And maybe because of that, you think that you don’t need to keep pushing.” He leveled a hard look at them. “But what if you have one bad eruption where you don’t harvest what you normally would? Or even two in a row? Or what if you and your dragon get hurt? Does the blood price magically stop?”

    Several people looked down at that, and others looked angry enough for Arthur to know that he had hit the hammer right on the thumb.

    Arthur continued, “Yes, purples can’t fight very well, but they have their advantages, too. They have to be faster and more maneuverable so that scourglings, and other dragons,” he added significantly, “can’t catch them. And we are their riders, which means that we do a lot of the thinking and tactics for them.”

    He let that sit for a moment. “But something that people in this hive like to forget is that it is our duty as dragon riders to make sure there are no more scourglings anywhere. That the land has been completely cleared out and it is safe for people to rebuild their lives again. I have the feeling with so many eruptions recently, the hives have been a little lazy in that regard.”

    That was an easy guess. After all, the vultures swept in afterward for a very good reason. There were usually enough single scourglings running around causing havoc that it made it worth it to harvest them for shards or die trying.

    “And if that’s not enough, think of this little experiment in terms of profit and future security. I have reason to believe that there are . . . unplumbed depths to an eruption cone. And if I’m right, we won’t have to worry about the blood price anymore.”

    That certainly got everyone’s attention. Arthur let his last words sink in for a moment as he looked around, making sure to meet every eye. When he spoke again, his voice was dead serious.

    “It goes without saying that what we’re about to do stays within the wing. If you’re stupid enough to share this around, you will deal directly with me.”

    “And me,” Brixaby added.

    Two simple words, but he managed to put a portion of his Stunning Shout into it as well as layering on his Mind Whisper ability. So those two words seemed to vibrate inside their heads and out.

    All of them jumped, and a few sent weary glances in his direction.

    Arthur did not like ruling through fear, but he had to admit that it was the language that the people in Blood Moon Hive understood.

    Arthur extended his hand to the rowboat. One by one, all the dragons and the riders boarded.

    The purple Uncommons had to be admonished a few times to stay within the boat and not simply buzz above it. However, they were a little less flighty than the Commons, so telling them twice—or three times, in the case of Squish—did the trick.

    The rower waited until everyone was seated—apparently the transfer to the other end of the portal would pause the moment someone left the boat.

    He pushed off the bank as easy as you please, even though the sheer weight inside the rowboat would have made it an impossibility if this were in the real world.

    “One more thing,” Arthur said, casually. “Don’t look up at the things in the sky.”