Liberator Read Free

motionless.
    Koren returned to her task, her body rocking with the raft as she continued thrusting. “Oh, Jason!” Her voice weakened, and her face again grew pale. “I don’t know if I’m doing this right. The images are so blurry!”
    “Should I blow air into her again?”
    Tears now streaming, Koren nodded and pulled back, giving him room.
    Jason took a breath and blew into Elyssa’s mouth. Her chest rose, then sank. She lay motionless, limp, and silent.
    Koren set her hands on Elyssa’s chest. Her thrusts punctuated her words. “Keep … doing … it…. Don’t … stop…. Both at … the same time.”
    With the raft shifting and tilting, Jason’s lips kept sliding away from Elyssa’s. He lifted her head and held it still as he blew again and again.
This has to work! Koren’s vision has to be true!
    Out of the corner of his eye, light flashed. A fireball slammed into the edge of the raft, and flames splatteredacross the surface. As the sloshing water doused the fire around her knees, Koren continued shoving down on Elyssa’s chest.
    The guardian dragon dove at them. Jason and Koren ducked under its surging claws. Jason reached for the sword, but Koren batted his hand away. “Keep breathing into her! Get on the raft while I talk to the dragon! The farther we get from the wall, the better!”
    Jason pushed off the riverbed and thrust the raft into the current, sliding onto the logs in the same motion. He knelt next to Elyssa and again pressed his lips over hers. As he breathed into her lungs, sucking in a breath after each blow, Koren kept thrusting against Elyssa’s chest while shouting toward the sky. “Pay heed to me again … guardian of the wall! … If you wish to … protect your domain … leave us be! … We are fleeing … your protective flames … and have no desire to … pass the barrier!”
    As they rode the current downstream, the dragon flew toward them from behind, its toothy maw spitting sizzling wads of fire. “I will ensure that you make haste!” With its forelegs extended, it grabbed the back edge of the raft with its claws. Beating its wings, it propelled them forward, faster and faster.
    While Jason continued breathing into Elyssa’s mouth, the sound of rushing water reached his ears. As the rush became a roar, the current grew swifter. A rising spray appeared in the distance. He glanced at the steering pole lying on the raft. He couldn’t stop breathing into Elyssa to battle the dragon or try to halt their momentum. She would die. Only one option remained—ride it out.
    Jason hugged Elyssa close, still breathing into her. The raft hurtled toward the falls. The front tipped over the precipice and stopped. Below, the water cascaded down a steep slope of grass and rocks, including boulders partially hidden by violent splashes.
    “Leave us be!” Koren shouted, her voice failing. “You must … pay heed to me!”
    “As you wish.” The dragon lifted off, calling as it ascended, “Pay heed to yourself, Starlighter. You are weaker than you realize.”

Two
    A s water gushed from behind, the raft teetered in place. Spray cascaded all around. Koren pointed at the sky. “Look!” A different dragon flew northward, carrying a human in its claws. “He’s taking Yeager to your army.”
    Jason pushed another breath into Elyssa. Her chest lifted, then settled again to a motionless state. “We have to warn them!” His arms trembling, he grabbed the steering pole, lurched to the front, and jammed it against the rock. Pulling against the pole with his full weight, he battled the jamming stone and the pounding current.
    Finally, the raft broke free and surged backwards several feet. With water splashing and sloshing over her body, Koren snatched the supply bags and held them in her lap. Jason threw the pole down, hooked elbows with Koren, and scooped Elyssa into his arms.
    As the raft again reached the precipice, this time missing the stone, Jason leaned backwards. “Here we