Chapter 97 Dragon Boats

Chapter 97 Dragon Boats
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ra'Jeem said to Perrin as he got to his feet.

Perrin shook his head. "I didn't feel like it was my place."

"You should have told us," the Disciple growled and then ran after Zorrik.

"Ra'Jeem!" Perrin called after him and started to get up.

Zyla placed a hand on his arm. "Let him go, child."

Outside, Ra'Jeem frantically looked for his Mate, but he was nowhere to be seen. A moment later, he heard a thrashing on the forest floor and looked down to see Zorrik hacking at the jungle with his dagger. He cried out in anger and grief, and Ra'Jeem quickly climbed down from the tree houses.

Zorrik was swinging wildly, doing little damage to the jungle, but quickly wearing himself out. He screamed again and then tripped and almost fell. He caught himself and then took a moment to catch his breath, hands on his knees.

Ra'Jeem waited, a heaviness in his chest. He wanted to run to his Mate, to hold him, but he knew better than to get too close to a highly trained, desperate man, wielding a blade. When Zorrik stopped to catch his breath, he moved closer and drew his scimitar.

"Perhaps a bigger blade would be more useful," he softly said and held it out.

Zorrik turned his head and glanced at the scimitar. Then he looked into his Mate's face and managed a small huff of humor. He tried to take a deep breath, but it didn't seem to give him any air. His knees went weak, and then he fell to the forest floor.

"Zorrik," Ra'Jeem whispered and dropped his scimitar. He ran to him and fell to his knees beside him.

"Just breathe," he said and wrapped his arms around his Mate.

Zorrik did the same, but he barely had the strength to hold on. Ra'Jeem had to keep him from falling over. Sobs began to rack his body, and he couldn't hold back the cries of anguish. He could feel his Disciple crying lightly too, and it somehow helped. After a few minutes, he stopped to catch his breath.

He noticed Ra'Jeem's scimitar and croaked, "You dropped your weapon. An Assassin never drops his weapon."

Ra'Jeem smiled and ran his hand through Zorrik's hair. "I had something more important to hold onto."

The two of them stayed there until Zorrik had enough strength to get back to his feet. Then they climbed up to their tree house. At the foot of the bed they shared were two woven boxes. They'd stored their warmer clothes inside them, but there were also local clothes the Zytherians had given them, light robes and pants. The two Assassins slowly changed clothes, not saying anything, and packed away their robes for good.

From there, they went back to the community building. Zyla and Perrin both stood as the two Assassins walked in.

The Zytherian leader nodded. "You are ready."

Zorrik gritted his teeth but nodded back.

"I'm sorry about what I said before," Ra'Jeem said to Perrin. The relief on the young man's face made him chuckle, and he patted his arm.

"Where do we go from here?" Zorrik said, the Master Assassin ready to lead once again.

A sly smile slowly crossed Zyla's face, and she beckoned for them to follow. She led them out of the tree houses and down to the beach. Then they walked, silently, to the other side of the cove. Beyond it was a rocky point. There was a narrow path, though, so Zorrik, Ra'Jeem, and Perrin continued to follow. Once they crossed the point, they saw that the trail led to a small inlet, where the sea met a river at the edge of the jungle.

"Wow," Perrin exclaimed as the two Assassins simply gasped in awe.

The mouth of the small river was full of dragon boats, rows and rows of them as far back into the jungle as they could see. These weren't the ceremonial kind, either, but sleek, narrow boats built for speed with bows built for ramming.

"You see," Zyla said, "though the wave didn't wipe us out, it was truly devastating. It took a long time to rebuild our homes, our numbers, and even our confidence. I know it feels like we've been here, hiding from the world, but we have been preparing for a very long time."

Zorrik grinned. "And your people have been training?"

"Our people have been training for generations," she answered. "But if you are to lead us, there is something you must do. And I feel very much like you should lead us, Zorrik."

The Master Assassin was taken aback, and he looked to Ra'Jeem, who nodded.

"What is it I need to do?" he asked.

"Riding Seadragons?" Perrin repeated in disbelief as they made their way back to the cove.

"My ancestors were known to do it," Zorrik answered. "I had no idea it had become common practice again."

"Well, not exactly common," Zyla said. "It's mostly a right of passage, or done for certain ceremonies. It's certainly not a daily practice," she finished with a chuckle.

"But...how?" Perrin asked, still amazed.

"That is what I'm about to demonstrate."

"You're going to ride a Seadragon?" Perrin said, this time with enough disbelief in his voice that Zorrik and Ra'Jeem gave him stern looks.

Zyla laughed heartily. "Not me, child. I'm a bit beyond years for that. We leave it mostly for the younger people, and those younger at heart," she added, glancing over at Zorrik.

With that, she called to her people, and they joined the four of them at the beach. Zyla raised her arms, and everyone began ululating. A few minutes later, the blue-green Seadragon Perrin and the Assassins had seen the day they arrived, surfaced in the cove. As the people continued to call, a couple of the younger ones ran out and dove into the water. They cautiously swam closer to Seadragon, which lifted its head out of the water, and then slammed it back in again.

"Watch carefully," Zyla said to Zorrik.

"I don't think I can watch this at all," Perrin squeaked and squeezed his eyes shut.