Race Riders (The Hidden Quest- Book One) (23 page)

“They do so love you,” yelled Ilsa to Dredd with a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Dredd waved to the crowd and the applause was thunderous. He glared at Ilsa in an unnerving manner.

“Hey Zach,” he said. “You look good, ride swift and strong.”

“Thanks Dredd, you too, but you don’t need any encouragement from me.” He gestured to his fan club.

Dredd rolled his eyes, “What can I do, you know how it is.”

Zach smiled but inside he was thinking about the green one. The wee-bies’ warning still stuck in his mind. He would keep an eye on the orc as Andi had asked. Dredd was his friend and was sure if the roles were reversed Dredd would do the same. He thought of Mella’s singing stones and stuck his hand in his pocket to see if they were still there. Maybe they would bring him luck today.

“Very well said Algor Palgon, start on the second horn.” The wizard gestured to the contestants, “Riders!”

The dragons positioned their large wings for the first downbeat as the Raceriders braced themselves for the take-off leap. Zach felt his heart in his throat as he held on to the reins tightly; the force of the take-off would be violent. A split second after the horn sounded he felt as if he weighed a thousand pounds. The sudden acceleration forced him into the saddle so hard he could not even move. Enormous wings beating at full strength sounded thunderous as the dragons leapt into an almost vertical climb to gain altitude swiftly. He did not realize dragons could go this fast, the rush of raw power and speed was incredible. Zach’s heart was pounding not from fear, but from the sheer rush of adrenaline pulsing through his veins. Xandar-Sym leveled off gradually and the other raceriders followed his lead. All were cruising a little above treetop level down the main straight. The five mile long straight was going by fast and the racers were approaching the first turn. This was called Monks Turn, appropriately named for the large monastery on this part of the course. The towering castle was on the outside of the turn, with thick forests on the right. Approaching the sharp right at the correct speed was critical, or dragon and rider could become a part of the tall steeples. The racers were following closely together as they narrowed in an undulating staggered line. Zach and Xandar, Ilsa and Sennah, Lash and Azzreen, Alghern and Razorback followed by Dredd and his dragon Payne.

Dredd always liked to hang back to size up his competition, this was his strategy. However, this time he wanted to keep an eye out for Zach. “He is doing very well,” Dredd said to himself, “at least he hasn’t fallen off yet. I trained him well.”

The four towers of Ohlinnia were looming close. These immense towers, part of the monastery, would be navigated slalom style at high speed. They were close together and could be a problem if flight angles were not tight. Fluid motion along with precise timing was the key. For the dragons, this was natural. However if the riders did not move with them the right way in their saddle, balance would be thrown off and that could be disastrous.

“Concentrate” Zach kept saying to himself, “balance.” Xandar-Sym tucked his wings close to his body, immediately picking up great speed. Zach leaned forward to streamline himself as much as possible. The rushing wind whistled past his ears. They banked to the right so close to the first tower, he could see a pair of monk’s eyes peering out for a second. They banked to the left past the second tower while the third and fourth towers went by faster still. All the other raceriders followed nose to tail. There is some drafting going on here, Dredd thought smiling, good race! So far it was a clean contest and he was a little surprised by this, but the race had just begun. Anything could happen and he was ready for it. The racers continued at full speed banking towards the left around a large six-mile expanse of forests and open fields. They were coming up toward the Devil’s Claw Mountain. As the forest thinned, craggy ominous peaks started coming into view. Any mistake could mean a painful end. The out-cropping of rocks jagged as knives, jutted out at odd angles.

“Stay low as you can Zach,” bellowed Xandar, “don’t want to see you lose your head over your first race now do we?” The boy gripped hard, fists clenched and knuckles white. They soared between two large towers of rock at least several thousand feet high.

“So these are the Dragon’s Teeth, no wonder they call them that.” Zach yelled to the dragon. The Dragon’s Teeth were the name given to the entryway of the Devil’s Claw Mountain. No sooner than he said it, the entry way split into two separate routes. If you were not careful, you would miss the split and plunge headlong into the center rocks, which protruded forth like stone spikes. Just before they turned, Zach thought he caught a glimpse of two orange-red orbs flashing by. No, it must be the light reflecting off something, he thought. The riders took the split; three went to the right and two to the left. Zach, Dredd, and Alghern were on the same path. Ilsa and Lash took the other way. Dredd reluctantly took the lead away from Zach, zooming past him as they navigated through the mountain course. The orc and his dragon trailed both of them closely. The race through the mountains was not as treacherous as it appeared, the only problem was the occasional falling rock. Light tremors shook deep in the ground beneath, and this would cause bits of mountain to fall. As long as the racers kept to the center of the course, they could avoid the falling shards. Ilsa and Lash, who took the southern path, traded places a few times. Both were determined to win and were riding hard. Dredd, Zach, and Alghern were fast approaching the end of the northern pass and the other two were coming to the merge point at the same time. An overhanging of sharp rock loosened and began to tumble toward the ground, while lash and Ilsa weaved for position, pieces of the falling shards sliced through the thin membrane of Azzreen’s wing. It wasn’t a dangerous tear, but enough to slow him down. Ilsa took advantage as she and Sennah rocketed ahead. The three riders from the northern pass merged with Ilsa and Lash and they were all together again, taking a tight banking turn to the left. Ilsa was keeping pace with Dredd, followed by Zach, Lash, and the orc. The painful tear in his wing made Azzreen wince, and his wing beats were now uneven causing him to lose the ability to maneuver efficiently. Alghern’s dragon saw this and powered by. Lash and Azzreen didn’t fall far behind, but the injury was now a handicap. Lash cursed and pounded his thigh in anger. Just keeping up is our challenge now, he thought bleakly.

Coming out of the turn was a vast darkness, shriveled and dead trees reached into the skies. The thick black branches intertwined as grotesque hands. Everdark Forest was a most unfortunate place to have any sort of problem, there was an evil presence and foreboding that permeated throughout.

Zach looked down with a shudder. He could sense the evil and he shook it off, turning his concentration back where it belonged. Xandar shouted hoarsely, “Stay focused boy! I am with you.

That’s it Zachary, stay with me.” They soared above the gnarled trees, slowly descending but still keeping a rapid pace. Three miles over the forest the ravine appeared. This was the beginning to the entryway into Greenstone Cavern. A large opening resembling a mouth with fang-like teeth came into view. The Demon’s Jaw was the doorway leading into the long narrow cavern. As the five raceriders neared it, a thick, grey mist seemed to envelope everything, it had a liquid way of moving. The dragons and their riders plunged down into the cave opening and Zach was quite surprised that it wasn’t as dark as he originally thought. Emanating from within was a neon green glow, the light in actuality was coming from the mossy slime covering almost everything. He wrinkled his nose in distaste at the awful stench that seeped throughout. It had a musty thickness that seemed to close in on him, but the cavern was beautiful in its own unique way.

He was grateful to be flying through rather than on foot because many crawling things slithered along the cavern floor. They passed through and around unusual rock formations and were occasionally buzzed by flying insects that he didn’t recognize from his walks through the Brandiss-Dor forests.

“It will be nice to get out of here Xandar, can we make this a little faster?” But he knew to be patient, it was simply too narrow and one wrong move could spell a wreck. It was single file going through here for all; there wasn’t any room for maneuvering. After what felt like forever, Zach could finally see daylight.

As they neared the end of the long tunnel, he smelled fresh air again. Xandar-Sym flexed his wings in a sudden powerful downbeat as they accelerated out of the great opening and flew over a large mist-covered lake. He almost wanted to ask the dragon to take a plunge into the water so he could wash off the stench. The mist swirled as the dragon riders flew overhead. Cheering fans urged the racers on. Wooden boats of all sizes and bright colors dotted the waters, and small cottages lined the vast lake, their docks jutting out from the shore.

Dredd and Payne swooped low toward the fans on Boggs Lake. The spectators liked this, waving and yelling wildly as the other raceriders did the same. They continued on, picking up speed.

The only turn-marker was a giant hot air balloon hovering motionless. They all made a wide bank to the left and powered out towards the large balloon. Turbulent wake caused the race official to fall in the basket. It was a comical sight with his spectacles sliding off his nose and his windblown hat askew on his head.

Gigantic waving purple and gold flags marked the last leg of the course. A multitude of people lined this part of the race, which they named the Crunch. Nearby, vendors sold crunch crisps and fans were waving their chocolate treats proudly. They enthusiastically showed support for their favorite Race Riders with Choco-Dipped Dredds, Ilsa Almond, Lash Caramel, Zippy Zach Mint, and even Chewy Coconut Orcs.

The youngsters couldn’t buy enough of the yummy treats while Thomas chuckled waiting patiently in line to purchase his Zippy Zach Mint.
The name
Crunch, given by previous riders was because of the fast, tight race lane. The name stuck. A rider and dragon would pick up as much speed as they could. This was the part of the race that determined the winner and loser, it was an all-out sprint. Contestants moved dangerously close to each other and the threat of hard contact was almost inevitable.

The sound of the Race Riders overhead was like a whistling freight train and as they passed. People covered their ears, and held on to their hats. Small children screamed and laughed, their eyes bright with excitement. Thomas loudly cheered as Zach and Xandar thundered by. “His mother and father would be so proud,” he said through moistened eyes. “Be safe boy.”

They were quickly nearing the start of the second lap as the fountain came into view.

“Ready to go again Zach” yelled Xandar-Sym.

“Lets go, I’m ready! It’s an awesome ride” Zach shot back. Still, as he said this he remembered Andi’s warning at the start of the race. “Xandar, I think there’s going to be trouble coming,” Zach said looking straight ahead.

“I know,” the dragon exclaimed. “I heard Andi too, Stay ready!”

Zach gave him a quick nod as they made their next turn around the fountain towards the start of lap number two. The Race Riders soared over the sea of cheering people, while the horn sounded the start of their second pass through the course. Feeling confident Zach reached for his water, took a quick, refreshing gulp and slung it back over his shoulder. All were keeping an even pace except for Lash and Azzreen. The tear in Azzreen’s wing membrane was flapping painfully at these speeds, and rider and dragon were falling behind. Lash was quite upset trying to urge the dragon on by digging his heels into Azzreen’s side. The injured dragon glared back at Lash Beckett with a menacing snarl. Beckett thought it best to stop, and he did.

Nineteen - Danger Over Everdark Forest

They all rocketed down the straight; this time there was more jockeying for position, it was best to advance position before obstacles came into play. Dredd, Ilsa, and Zach each held the lead for brief moments.

Alghern the orc was holding a steady position just ahead of Lash and Azzreen. Lash thought it a little odd that the orc didn’t seem to be concerned with challenging. He just shrugged and shook his head. All took Monks Turn swiftly, and soon approached the first of the four towers of Ohlinnia.

Weaving between these magnificent towers at speed was a wonderful feeling thought Zach. It was like a beautiful, serpentine winged-dance. Through the turns and around the sweeping wide left loomed the mountains once again. The entryway of two sharp peaks, the Dragons Teeth pierced the sky. Ilsa was leading; Dredd was a close second, their wings tip to tip. A wry smile was on Ilsa’s windburned face, and she was in her glory matching Dredd. The treacherous split was ahead and approaching fast.

“This is my race Dredd!” She shouted in a determined, almost maniacal way. Dredd had to admit that she and her dragon Sennah were racing as true champions.

“The race isn’t over yet sweetheart!” He shot back.

Ilsa let out a war cry and leaned in closer to her dragon. Dredd and Payne did the same and they once again took the split through the northern pass. The orc and his black dragon Razorback, went north following Dredd and Ilsa. Lash Beckett and the struggling Azzreen were lagging badly behind. They took the southern route as well as Zach and Xandar-Sym.