Embers at Galdrilene (59 page)

Sadira staggered to her feet. The throbbing in her head was so intense, she could barely see through the tears forming in her eyes. She held her head in her hands. It hurt too much to open her eyes all the way. She squinted at the battle. What had that stupid cow done to her? Where was Ranit?
“Ranit, you useless lizard, get over here. I can’t fight like this. Take me back to the Kormai. Now!”

Ranit landed next to her with a thud. Sadira grabbed for the saddle. Several of Ranit’s scales look melted together and blood flowed from tears in the leading edge of her wing. Sadira pulled herself into the saddle. Ranit would have to fend for herself. Her head hurt too much to care about the dragon’s injuries.
“Go, get me out of here.”

Ranit launched into the sky, flying low and hugging the canyons. Sadira’s stomach rolled and she vomited down the dragon’s shoulder.

A massive swirl of wavering air filled the sky extending to the ground. Galdrilene Defenders poured out of the swirl as the huge shape of Mernoth burst out above them. With a roar that thundered over the din of the battle, he landed in the middle of the Kojen, crushing several of them. His jaws opened impossibly wide and a wave of flame, that dwarfed anything the younger dragons could produce, raged forth. He burned across the mass of Kojen, fire dripping from his jaws.

Howls of pain filled the air. Smoke billowed up and the sickly-sweet smell of charred flesh hung like a cloud. Bardeck ignored the stench that filled his nose and the smoke choking his lungs. He ripped away the safety straps and leaped down from the infuriated gold dragon. He sprinted across the battlefield toward Emallya, trusting Mernoth to protect him. His heart pounding, he dropped to his knees next to her. Bardeck pressed his hands against the wound. The gray shade of her skin struck terror into his heart. He reached for his magic and let it flow into her injured body. Not enough. As tears leaked down his cheeks, Bardeck tried to stem the flow of blood. He had to get her back to Galdrilene; it would take linked healers to repair the damage.

Defenders rushed past him, clashing with the remaining Kojen. Several Defenders formed a wall around Bardeck and Emallya. A black dragon spit green fire at Mernoth. Smoke rose from his scales. He turned with a hiss, his eyes tracking it across the sky. The wind buffeted the combatants and whipped sand into dust devils as the great, golden dragon launched himself into the air.

Mernoth surged after the shadow. The agony in his wings dulled by the fury and adrenaline in his veins. He’d lost two mates to these foul things and now he might lose Emallya. She might be Bardeck’s mate, but she was beyond special to him.

The black screeched with fear and flew faster, but it couldn’t match Mernoth’s speed. He overtook the Shadow Dragon and crashed into it. His massive jaws closed over the head, his claws ripped through the black scales and dug into the flesh underneath. He flexed his claws, anchoring them in the muscle. With a wrenching twist of his neck, he tore the head off the black. Dark blood sprayed across his chest and through the air. He released the body and watched it fall until it hit the ground.

He picked out the screaming of the black’s rider from the pandemonium below. Now to find the new Benduiren and end him.

Serena battled the Kojen in front of her while Miya did her best to defend her back. To her left, the Healing mage went down screaming, clutching at his chest. A fading weave of magic surrounded the Healer. A man stepped out of the horde of Kojen. Broad shouldered with black hair and gray eyes. His features reminded her of Mckale except this man was not her friend. His eyes held only malice and pain. A mixture of hate and sorrow twisted his scarred face when he saw her.

She watched as he began a weave. He worked the shadow side of Healing. The weave would stop her heart if it reached her. Serena started working her own magic, but he would finish first. His weave was nearly finished when he fumbled it. He stared at her, indecision written on his face. Then the hard swung end of a quarterstaff smacked into the side of his head. With a howl, he grabbed his skull.

Serena watched as the woman who held the quarterstaff swung at him again. He narrowly deflected the second blow before turning and running. The woman turned to her. “I’m Taela. Did he hurt you?”

“I’m Serena and no he didn’t, thanks to you. Where is Paki?”

“She’s supposed to be hiding, but it isn’t working out too well,” Taela said, moving to deflect a blow from a Kojen. Serena also turned to intercept the blades of one of the unnatural beasts. She fought side-by-side with Taela. The Kojen pressed in. Too many. Serena started to reach for Miya to say goodbye, when Defenders carved a path to them. Taela turned to attack one of the men. Serena yelled over the din, “No. They are on our side.”

Taela spared her a glance. “How did they get here?”

Serena smiled with relief. “I have no idea, but I’m not going to complain.”

Kellinar laid about him with his zahri. When he could, he grabbed groups of the foul beasts and bound them together with air. He tied each weave off and left them to struggle with their invisible bonds. Behind him, the Weather mage fought with a sword, holding her own well. She also tied the beasts up though her strength allowed only one instead of groups.

Defenders, the red sleeves of their coats showing under their armor, charged past him. Where had they come from? A massive golden dragon streaked across the sky. His stomach clenched. What could bring Mernoth here?

He caught a movement out the corner of his eye and dodged just in time to avoid a ball of green fire. It exploded on the ground next to him. The second ball of fire landed squarely on his leg, burning and blistering as it ate through the leather breaches. He threw a shield of air up around himself and dropped the zahri to use both hands to beat the flames. Outside his shield, Shryden roared and a burst of orange flame shot over his head.

By the time he put the flames out and dropped his shield to rejoin the fight, he had lost sight of the Weather mage.

A woman walked toward him, the Kojen parting in front of her. Kellinar’s instincts screamed at him. He threw up a shield in time to block the bolt of green lighting that leaped from her hands. He lashed out with air and wrapped it around the woman. He set it to tighten. Her eyes bulged and she thrashed frantically. The weave crushed the life from her.

Near the canyons, a black dragon shrieked with the sound of nails on metal. Black smoke rose up around it as it snapped mindlessly at nothing. The leather of its wings tore and crumbled. Its body sunk in on itself until it was nothing more than scale-covered bones. The shriek faded and it fell to the ground, dead.

So that was what happened to a Shadow Dragon when its rider died. He felt no remorse.

A scream made him turn. Loki and Paki were no longer near Maleena. They fought near a broken black rock. Paki clawed and snapped at several Kojen. Kellinar sprinted toward them. Loki fell to his knees, his hands pressed to his head. Horror flooded Kellinar as he watched Paki grab Loki by the shoulder and throw him against a rock. Loki’s head bounced against the stone, his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

With a swipe of his tail, Shryden cleared away the Kojen fighting Paki. Kellinar knelt next to Loki. Blood ran down the side of the boy’s face. “Why, Paki?”

Shryden’s calm voice entered his head.
“She did what she thought she had to in order to save him. A Kojen cannot attack an unconscious mind.”

Kellinar closed his eyes. Paki was right. The move saved Loki. Not the way he would have chosen, but saved all the same. He looked up at the draclet who sported more than a few wounds of her own. “Thank you for doing what you had to.”

Syrakynn plummeted toward the ground, her fangs buried in the neck of a black dragon. The black reached around and snapped uselessly at the air. Syrakynn dug her back claws into the creature’s back and raked them backward, ripping up skin and scales. The black shrieked.

She kept tearing at the dragon until they fell within a few paces of the ground. She brought her wings down, and tore out chunks of flesh as she yanked her teeth out of its neck. The black smacked into the ground. Syrakynn nearly did the same. She had almost waited too long. Her breath rushed out from the impact, but the black softened the blow and her wings soon pulled her into the air again.

She swung her head around, searching for Kirynn among the combatants on the ground.