Sky Warriors: Poleuthan's Thief (Sky Warriors Saga Book 1) (17 page)

Ange swallowed the bread she had been chewing and set down the bowl, feeling her stomach clench and an ominous shiver ran down her spine.

Showl snarled and turned away, his eyes alight with fear.

“Thank you for telling me Richard. We must leave quickly, and I suggest you follow your father’s words and flee. I fear he might have contacted the Adherent.”

Ange felt the hairs on her arms stand and she froze in place.

“The Adherent of the True Five?” Richard hissed, frightened.

Showl nodded staidly.

Ange felt petrified, something was terribly wrong, something felt like it was crawling across her skin. On her lap,
Felis leapt up and began to hiss in fear, her ears pressed flat to her skull.

“Showl,” Ange hissed.

He was tense as well, his eyes wide. “We’re too late,” he stood up suddenly. “Move! Ange we must get out of here,” he snarled.

She nodded and got up as
Felis leapt off her lap. She grabbed the first pack near her as Richard skidded to his feet and ran out of the barn.

“No, Richard!” Ange yelled after him.

“Put the cloak on,” Showl ordered as he rushed to the door and gazed outside, his hands were wide open displaying all his burnished metal claws as the darkness of the night gathered over the world.

Ange rushed down and yanked the cloak, spilling the remainder of the soup across the floor as she tied the two silky cords around her neck, she picked up the other pack and rushed after Showl, staying in his shadow and peering out the door. Everything was quiet and still outside.

Too still.

A scream pierced through the air from the house. Richard.

Ange didn’t know what compelled her, but she rushed immediately towards the scream despite the instinct of danger that rushed through her and instructed her to run in the opposite direction. Showl yelled out behind her.

“No! Angeline, get back here!”

His footfalls quickly followed her own as she rushed past the open forge and rushed into the living room of the blacksmith’s house, she tripped over a leg she hadn’t noticed, landing on her hands she turned to see whose leg she had tripped over. Her eyes met Richard’s wide, frightened eyes as they stared ahead, his face pale, his lower lip trembling.

Arms suddenly pulled her up as a voice echoed in the darkness.

“If it isn’t our lost little Rex Glacies,” purred a beautiful and cruel voice.

Ange stared up, past Richard to the dim of the home, the sol lantern on the wall glowed softly over red pools amidst the wooden floor. Richard’s mother was there, gray short hair splayed as her dull eyes gazed at the ceiling, blood leaked from her ripped throat. Next to her was
Gregor, fear evident in his still pale face as blood dripped from his ravaged throat, his body hoisted up from the ground as a gray blue gauntlet held tight to his left arm.

As Ange followed the gleam of the bloodstained armor, her eyes met two
tawny eyes in a face of cream as sleek black shoulder-length hair framed the face of a beautiful woman with a wicked grin on her lips.

The woman was taller than her but significantly shorter than Showl, her body was a slim yet graceful figure. Adorned with armor that was obviously crafted for someone who relied on speed and flexibility, it was not fused into massive pieces. A simple and ornate chest plate protected her chest as a thin and curved long blade rested on her hip.

“Sora,” Showl snarled as he pushed Ange back and took up a protective stance before her.

“Is she your
Soulbound?” Sora snickered as she peered at Ange with fierce eyes. “No very impressive,” she commented with disdain in her voice.

Ange felt a twang of rage at her words, as well as fear.

“Leave Sora,” Showl demanded with a harsh voice. “You’ve done enough harm here.”

“What nonsense,” Sora scolded lightly. “Why don’t you hand over the girl, Rex
Galcies? I could teach you how to bind her, then we can free our great queen,” she smiled sweetly, her voice persuasive.

Ange felt her body grow cold at the dragon lady’s words. Fear swirled through her mind as she tried to suppress it, she did not succeed. She found herself cowering behind Showl, petrified. As she stared, a young woman walked out from
Sora’s shadow. Her hair was locks of brown around her pale face, her brown eyes were dull, empty as she stared at nothing. She wore armor similar to Sora, but not a spark of life existed in her face, not even as she moved, it was as if she was dead. A birthmark of dark blue gray spiraled just under her collarbone. Ange suddenly understood what Showl had spoken of only days earlier about the Adherent’s Dragonbounds.

“You and your damn
able words, did you not hear me? I said,
leave
,” he snarled, his eyes began to glow as his teeth lengthened.

“Is that any way of speaking to your old mate?” she chided disappointed.

Ange flinched, shocked by her words.

“You are not
Alya, and I am not Harfang. Now be gone!” he spat.

Sora’s
eyes became hard, angry. “I won’t leave, Rex Glacies, not till you bond with the girl and tell me where you entombed our Phoenix Queen!”

“Never!” Showl roared.

What happened next was lost to Ange as Showl and Sora shot straight for each other. Monstrous roaring filled the air, the sol lantern by the wall somehow burst into flame with a bright explosion, Ange stumbled back and gasped as a hand grasp her wrist and yanked her away from the main room.

Stone fell, walls shattered as gust of winds blasted past her face and ice began to cap over every object in sight.

“Run!” Richard shoved her past the forge.

“But Showl!” Ange protested. Turning back she watched as Showl shoved Sora into a wall with a roar as she snarled, grappling with him for control of the fight. Ange’s eyes widened as the other
Dragondbound dodged around the fight and slowly trudged towards them, her eyes hollow and deadly.

Ange felt completely useless, she had no weapon and she doubt she could take the girl on without one.

A weighty load was shoved suddenly into her arms.

“Move!” Richard snapped.

Ange glanced down at the sack for a moment, confused. She didn’t take time to figure out what it was as she bolted for away, outside to the night. Three moons were climbing slowly up the sky as she stared up, wondering where she could possible run to.

Richard kept hauling her till they were at the center of the open field behind the house that expanded out into the dark horizon.

“I’ll try to stop the girl. Get out of here and find something, anything that can run fast!” he ordered with a hard and determined gaze.

“What can you do?” Ange protested. “This is a
Dragonbound we’re talking about here. Her magic could easily surpass yours.”

“I know,” Richard said grimly and in a rush. “But I can
buy you some time.”

“Promise me, you won’t do something stupid,” Ange stopped him, gazing up at him stubbornly. “Promise me I’ll find you at the Tower of
Ingled, safe and studying and boasting like the pain you are,” she insisted.

He smiled gravely, his expression unconfident. “I’ll try.”

They both flinched as an explosion of wood flung towards them suddenly, Ange shoved Richard down as wood pelted them. She braced herself as chunks painfully landed against her back and hugged the bag Richard had given her tighter and didn’t dare as to so much let out a moan.

“Ange, look out!” Richard yelled.

Ange gasped as the muscular young man easily flipped her over and rolled her away as large eight foot beam landed with a loud thud where they had been laying only moments before, it’s surface aflame.

Ange looked back towards the scene of the house as she sat up, wondering what had caused the large piece of wood to dislodge from its foundation. She gasped in bewilderment.

Over the glow of the flames that was quickly ravishing the house were two mighty beasts that had already rendered the house into rubble. She couldn’t help but gasp in awe at the sight despite the danger that seemed to electrify the very air.

The first dragon was small compared to its opponent, slate colored feathers covered its back down to a long tail, its white throat flashed in the glow of the flames as its reared its head and opened its short maw filled with hundreds of small white teeth that gleamed as sharp as any blade, a black beak-like edge curved to the tip of its mouth. Its front legs slashed up, covered in bright yellow scales that came up to bright orange feathers that covered the upper part of its legs. Short black horns curled out of the dragon’s navy
crowned skull, the scales and feathers starting from the base of the neck had black streaks cutting through their shapes.

Ange understood why Showl had stated they looked a bit like birds. Feathers covered the majority of their bodies, their jaws had the edge of beak up to the tip, their heads sleeked down to their necks. Yet they held all the ferocity of a dragon, a long snake-like tail lashed from their hips with long feathers like a bird pressed close to the end of the tail except when fanned out. Scales covered their legs while under the feathers shin
ed plate scales under their throats to the end of their tails, and as Ange looked closer she could see scales under their feathers, covering their entire lengths. And hidden under the feathers she could see long spines running in equal segments from the base of their skulls to the tips of their tails.

What Ange hadn’t expected was their overwhelming immensity. The smaller dragon could easily tower twenty feet over her from just its
shoulder. She could only hope to be the length of one of its smallest primary feathers.

Up until that moment, Ange had still doubted a little about the existence of giant dragons.

She recognized Showl in a heartbeat. He was a mighty, and a beauty in her eyes, even as his black fangs gleamed dangerously in the firelight, his eyes glowed with golden fire as his unearthly roar filled the skies and made her tremble with fear.

He was easily three times the size of Sora, his body was covered in pure white feathers, the lower feathers of his tail and wings were dusted lightly with black flecks. His jaws were short like the other dragon, but his ebony fangs were longer as an inky beak edged his jaws, and long curling ebony horns branched from his head. His legs were covered in feathers, unlike Sora, up to his long claw tipped toes that resembled closely to human hands, only with four digits. Long black talons gleam
ed with deadly sharpness as he reared onto his back legs, slashing down on the smaller dragon.

His long claws connected with the smaller dragon’s shoulder with a horrible shredding and snapping noise where the wing was connected. Sora roared out in pain and fury as she leapt away with wings spread wide, knocking the building further into disarray.

Above, the sky grew darker.

As Ange focused her gaze skyward she noticed thick clouds begin to form, a process that took time quickly played out before her eyes, a chill descended through the air, while the wind lashed violently.

“Get out of here!” Ange shoved Richard away as snow began to swirl through the rough air currents.

Richard tore his gaze away from the dragons and nodded once, without a word he jumped to his feet and rushed away from the house and the fighting. Ange noticed that lights were moving quickly through the storm toward the burning house.

She glanced around, utterly lost and confused. Perhaps she should have followed Richard.

An agonized roar made her wince as anxiety rushed through her, she turned her gaze back to the dragons.

“Showl!” she yelled as she saw Sora’s jaws clamped around right forearm, blood leaked from her jaws and stained Showl’s pure white feathers crimson. Showl roared and opened his jaws.

Ange expected him to lunge for
Sora’s neck, it was vulnerable and could easily be snapped if he applied the proper force, but to her shock a stream of ice escaped from his maw instead.

The cone of cold was like an intensified,
concentrated, stream of crystals denser than any blizzard.

The ice pelted against
Sora’s back like a fierce and unrelenting tide, freezing over feathers in thick caps of ice, the smaller female dragon recoiled with a roar of anger as ice began to climb up her slate colored wings.

Showl quickly retaliated, cutting off the stream of ice as he quickly twisted around. His tail lashed her side with a loud slap, prompting the smaller dragon to tumble away into one of the standing walls of the house, forcing it to collapse over her side in a dust of rocks and dirt.

Ange watched in horror as Showl ignored the smaller dragon and charged straight towards her, she took one step back before she fell to the ground under the tremendous quakes that shuddered through the earth from his every footfall.

She screamed in horror as his massive paw reached for her, she closed her eyes and clutched her heavy burden with dread as his long fingers curled around her, insulating her body instantly as soft feathers tickled her skin and made her shiver.