Rae Gandos - Dragon Slayer
A little more revealed of Dragon Slayer:
‘Damn it, Rae. Will you quit with
the sighing?’ said George, turning round. ‘It’s loud enough to…’
‘George!’ interrupted Rae. She gestured to her left. A bush about 30
metres away was moving, but there was little wind. Suspicion rose noisily in
Rae’s stomach. Fear flowed through her throat. Terror sucked the saliva from
her mouth.
A grinning face appeared.
Hunters!
‘Run!’ cried George, his arms swinging wildly.
Rae was rooted to the stop. Panic had set in. Her heart pounded, nausea now
rose in her throat.
Aware of her absence, George came to a stop and looked back.
The hunters had left the bush behind and were heading straight for her.
‘Rae!’
Her bulging eyes were fixed ahead, non-blinking. Her mouth had dropped
open, fighting against the gagging sensation rearing its head.
‘Freakin’ hell! Move now, Raelyer… or die!’ shouted George, gesturing
towards the trees.
The word ‘die’ swung it. She flew to catch him, following his impeccable
sense of direction. Her feet barely touched the ground as she leapt over roots
and pushed through the undergrowth. Her breath quickened as the fight for more oxygen
began. A banging in her chest resounded loudly in her head, reminding her of
what was at stake.
George stormed ahead, pushing through the greenery. His heavy feet
crushed branches and twigs noisily making a ready made pathway for Rae to
follow. The trees scratched spitefully at his arms and face, blood oozing as he
ploughed through. He stole a glance behind, making sure she was keeping up. He
tried a reassuring smile, but was met with a face filled with stark terror and
fear.
‘Keep going,’ he called softly, pushing further in front. ‘I know where
we are.’
Rae couldn’t manage any kind of response. It was all she could do to
move let alone talk. She scrambled through after George, painfully aware that
he was pulling further and further ahead with each step. Her breath quickened.
Sweat dripped down her back. She couldn’t go on much more.
‘George,’ she gasped. ‘Stop! I can’t…’
George stopped, turning around in disbelief. ‘You can, Rae! Come on.’ He
rushed off again, holding out his hand before disappearing into yet another
band of trees.
Seeing the back of him vanish, Rae came to an abrupt halt, bending over
to catch her breath. As her rapid panting slowed, she suddenly became aware of
other noises not far behind. Crashing sounds of broken branches startled her
back into action. The chase was back on again. She had to move, and fast!
Ploughing through the undergrowth, Rae found a new burst of energy and
pushed the pain behind her. She sprinted as never before, her feet pressing
hard against the ground with each step. Before long, she had caught up to
George, tugging at his shirt as she passed.
‘Wait! Listen!’ he call-whispered. He stopped still. ‘I think we’ve lost
them.’
Rae slid to a halt, grabbing a high up branch to slow her down.
‘You sure?’ she whispered, her hands curled tightly round the bark.
George looked around for a moment taking in the lack of noise and
movement. The trees were almost still, just a light breeze blew through the
leaves making them shimmer in the afternoon light. He tilted his head, listening
cautiously, his eyes darting around wildly. Then he nodded.
Collapsing onto her knees, Rae gasped, catching her breath. Her hands
fell to the ground as she bent forward and took in a large lungful of air. She
wiped an arm across her forehead, mopping the sweat which was dripping into her
eyes.
‘You okay?’ said George, placing a hand across her back. He knelt
slightly, watching her closely.
‘I think I’m going to…’ She retched as the meagre contents of her
stomach spilled out before her. ‘Sorry,’ she said, wiping some drool from her
mouth.
‘Hey, no need for sorry,’ said George, patting her reassuringly on the
back. ‘Feel a bit like that myself.’
Rae retched again though little more than bile spewed out now. Shakily,
she reached up to George, taking his arm for balance.
‘I hate to say it, but we really need to keep moving,’ he said,
steadying her. ‘Take my hand, Rae.’
Clinging onto George, she let herself be pulled through the trees, her
other hand clutching at her stomach. After a while she began to feel a little
better, colour returning to her cheeks and enough to walk on her own.
They clambered deeper into the mass of trees. All around them, branches hung
low, sweeping out like fingers, waiting to trip them up. Vines trawled in front
like string curtains, blocking out the view of what lay ahead. They never saw
the rope on the ground as they strode through a small clearing.
The net swallowed them up instantly, leaving them hanging far above the
ground helpless.
‘What the hell?’ whispered Rae, her right leg stuck right through a gap
up to her thigh. She held on to the net, looking like a prisoner through rope
bars. ‘I thought you knew where you were going!’
George was squashed in behind her, his face pressed up so close to the
net that his cheeks were pushed out like marshmallows. One of his arms was
trapped at his side.
‘I do, I mean, I did. I just didn’t expect to find a rope trap there,
did I?’ snapped George. ‘And stop jiggling about! You’re giving me cramp in my
arm.’
Rae looked down. The ground seemed a long way beneath them.
‘The hunters!’ she said. ‘They’ll be here any minute. We have to get
out.’ She thrashed about around, catching George’s arm in the process.
‘Arrggh! Just stay still,’ said George. ‘There’s nothing we can do...’
‘Hey! How’s it hanging?’ said a voice from below.
So this is the cover I've been playing with. Not set in stone, but I like the font of the title and the colour. Going with the steampunk theme, I've brought in some cogs and wheels with a metal dragon overlay. Just a draft, but I do really like it. What do you think?
V 
