27. Sirex

27

SIREX

S irex was not having the best time. His mount, Gerrr, had a mind of his own and he didn't have any intention of listening to instructions.

Riding a fire drake was easy compared to this! he thought, yanking on the long leather reins again to try and turn the wayward gallumpher back towards the pack.

With a fire drake, you just had to look the beast directly in its eyes and assert your will. Once you formed a psychic connection and the drake acknowledged you as dominant, you simply climbed on its back and it took you wherever you told it to go. Since Sirex was naturally extremely dominant, this had presented no difficulty at all—he had tamed the drake he'd ridden in mere minutes.

But it was different with the gallumpher. The beast he was riding had no intention of going where he told it to and there was no way to form any kind of connection to it. In fact, its main emotion seemed to be irritation that it had to carry him on its back.

At present they were soaring through the air—something he would have very much enjoyed, (he loved flying)—if they had been going in the right direction. But the main group of gallumphers was flapping away to the east while Gerrr was taking him to the west.

"Heel! Turn! Come about, you stubborn beast!" Sirex tugged uselessly on the reins. For some reason his mount was determined to leave the group behind.

After a little while, he found out why. As Gerrr gave a high, shrieking cry it was answered by an ululating warble. A moment later, a smaller gallumpher with shiny blue feathers and a pink beak flew into view. It clattered its beak at Gerrr, who snapped and clattered his beak back.

Abruptly Sirex remembered what the stable boy had said about Gerrr wanting to seek out the wild gallumphers for mating. Seven Hells! If he didn't do something quickly, he was going to be in the middle of the mating dance of two huge sky predators!

"Gerrr! No!" he roared, tugging on the reins again.

But it was useless. His mount was already diving to meet the blue female who was lifting her wings enticingly and showing him flashes of a red underbelly with a pulsing purple slit.

Sirex had a feeling he was going to be up here, soaring through the pink sky, for a long, long time…