The Magical Flight of Dodie Rue

The Magical Flight of Dodie Rue by F.C. Shaw Page B

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Authors: F.C. Shaw
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braided loops.
    A shadow cast over him. Then Atallah’s green and gold carpet grazed his face. Atallah was threading on him.
    Dodie swerved away as Atallah zoomed ahead, laughing.
    For several hours, Dodie kept a good air speed, staying ahead of several racers, but still within eyesight of the larger group. They crossed mile after mile of red sand and soft rippled dunes. There seemed to be no end to the Fringe. As the afternoon wore on, the temperature climbed. Dodie tried not to fly too low, for the sand gave off a dry heat. He also felt the sun’s rays burning through his skin-tight white linen tunic and leggings. He thought about the red yurt with its shade and well of cool water more and more as the heat continued to rise. His legs were cramping up, and his back was aching. He also had to pee. He noticed the racer Nye, riding a black and red carpet, scoot his legs out from under his body and stretch. Dodie copied him, and felt immediate relief in his legs. He stayed flying like this, stretched out on his belly, for another hour, and caught himself dozing off once or twice. Nearby a thudding sound snapped him to his senses. He turned quickly to look behind him, and saw a racer rolling down a dune.
    Atallah, flying nearby, laughed. “Idiot! Must’ve fallen asleep!”
    Dodie blinked his eyes and slapped his face to make sure he stayed wide awake now.
    Across the Fringe, he spied a snaking figure a few miles ahead. As he flew closer, he saw a long single line of camels slowly trekking across the dunes. There must have been over fifty camels, all packed with bundles and riders sheathed in layers of fabric. Several camels dragged large metal boxes that made smooth tracks in the sand.
    The racers tensed, tightening their grips and tucking their legs under them, and a few rose higher in the air. Dodie wondered what they had to be worried about, so he pulled Phoenix back a little, letting the front racers pass over the merchant caravan.
    As soon as the flying carpets neared the caravan, the merchants jumped off their camels and hurried to the metal boxes. They threw open the tops and a swarm of flying creatures of different colors burst out of the boxes and took to the sky. They screeched and headed straight for the racers, their leathery wings stirring up the air.
    Dodie couldn’t tell if they were birds or bats or—
    â€œDragons!” he yelled, partly in awe and partly in terror as jets of fire shot from the flock.
    The dragons were small, about the size of hawks, and varied in color from blood-red to poison-green. Their scales shimmered in the sunlight as they zipped around at incredible speeds. Four dragons attacked the front racer on an orange and blue carpet by spitting fire at him. The racer’s tunic ignited, and with a scream, he fell off his carpet. He somersaulted downward through the air, and crashed on the sand. A golden dragon and a royal blue dragon caught his magic carpet midair in their front claws and flew off with it. When they dropped the carpet near their caravan, it rolled itself up and landed with a plop. The merchants on the ground carried off the racer rug.
    The racer who had fallen was rolling around in the sand trying to extinguish the flames eating up his clothing. Just as he managed to, the merchants fell upon him and beat him furiously, leaving him unconscious in the sand.
    Dodie gulped as he watched the dragons head toward him and the other racers. Atallah expertly dodged shooting flames. Out of the corner of his eye, Dodie saw Zinnia whiz by him.
    â€œNo! Wait!” he shouted to her.
    She didn’t look back. A purple dragon screeched and spit fire straight at her, but she pulled up Amethyst and swerved to the right, missing the flames.
    Dodie was worried, for he had no skills when it came to advanced flying. He hoped Phoenix would make up for it. He heard a thud and a scream on his right. Another racer fell burning through the sky and landed in the sand below

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