Frantic birds had begun to gather in the tree above her. Several dogs and even a few cats came at a run. Dusty thought she saw rats and mice scurrying along the edge of the buildings. They had all come to help her, but she feared they could do nothing more than the humans were doing.
"Go," she told them. "Go and be safe!"
They didn't want to scatter. As Dusty started away, a few of the braver one stayed with her. Fox looked at them with a nod of appreciation, but he didn't suggest that she send them against the enemy.
The two of them had slowed; they could not help it. Fox held a hand to his wounded arm which he must have bounced and tested a few too many times in the last hour. Dusty limped along at a sort of jog. They'd abandoned the main road. Without saying so, they'd both realized the orcs would have no trouble on that broad expanse. Instead, they went through back alleys, warning people away when they saw them. The narrow paths would at least slow the orcs --
But not stop them. Dusty had begun to hear the sound of buildings coming down. Oh, there would be so much destruction! She only hoped that no one was hurt.
The orcs came closer. Dusty could hear their grunts and growls. Shivers ran through her body, and she feared she would fall.
Fox caught her arm and pointed to a tiny crevice between buildings. "Beyond -- beyond that another row of buildings and then you'll be at the square outside the castle gates. Not far Dusty. Go."
She nodded as she gasped and started for the opening -- and then stopped when she realized that he was not coming with her.
"Fox --"
"Go. I'll just slow them down a little by making them think you went a different way. I'll see you in the castle." He even smiled and waved her on.
She couldn't stand there and argue, but tears came to her eyes now as she slid sideways through the opening and into the shadows. Blue made a soft, worried sound, still hidden there in his bag. She held him close and tried not to sniff. She didn't want him to know how scared she was for him, Fox, and herself.
By the time she got out of the little crevice, she could hear the orcs in the area she had left behind. Fox had seemed to lead them elsewhere, and she needed to take advantage of the extra time he gave her. Not far to the castle. Not far to home and safety. The orcs would not get into the castle. They had magic there, and he imagined that the mages were preparing to deal with the orcs even now. That gave her strength. The castle really did mean safety.
But she still had to get there, and as she finally reached the edge of the square, Dusty found she had more trouble than she thought. The two orcs who had been following them were not the only ones to break through into the city. A dozen more stood outside the gate, their enormous hands starting to pound the ground so that everything trembled.
She'd never get Blue in that way.
Dusty slid back into the shadows again, and this time she opened the bag. Blue looked up at her, his eyes huge. She feared he trembled as she pulled him out.
"You are a brave dragon," she said. "And now you must show me how wise you are."
"Mama says I need to learn wisdom," he whispered. "I don't know how to be wise."
"Oh, I think you learned a lot of it on this journey," Dusty replied. She knelt there in the shadows and feared she would have trouble getting back up. "Do you see where the shadow of the castle crosses the square?"
"Y-yes," he whispered.
"I want you to run through that shadow, up the wall, and into the castle grounds. Then get to the building and wait for me. If I don't get there in an hour -- or if the orcs do break through -- find the queen or the mages. They'll likely be together."
"I don't want to leave you!" he cried and wrapped his little legs around her three of her fingers. "I don't want to be alone again!"
"If you do this for me, we'll be able to call for your mother all the sooner. Imagine how happy she'll be to see you! You are going to help me by getting inside so that if I have trouble, you can warn the others."
"They can't understand me."
"The mages can," she replied.
"Oh." He blinked and looked at the shadow and the wall. "What if they see me?"
"Run faster."
He gave a little giggle. Dusty just hoped that this was the right choice. Getting Blue into the castle seemed the wisest decision just now. She couldn't fight orcs, but she could -- like Fox -- lead them away from the baby dragon.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes." He leaned up and forward until his little tongue gave her a kiss on the nose. "I'll be brave."
Dusty put him down on the ground. He gave a little stretch, and then, without any more urging, Blue darted out along the edge of the building and then into the darkest part of the shadow.
Dusty watched him, glanced at the orcs, and then back to him. She thought it took too long for him to reach the wall. The orcs began to yell louder, but they did not seem to be looking his way.
Up the wall -- he climbed it so swiftly that for a moment she lost track of him. Then she saw the shape of him, tiny and distant, on the upper wall.
He disappeared.
Blue would be safe.
Now she had only to worry about herself and Fox.
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