Band of Breakers

by Alisha Klapheke

  One water skin slid free and plopped onto the ground.

  Heart snapping in fear, Vahly dropped the branch and the rest of the skins and ran.

  “Nix!”

  What could have happened to destroy their relationship in the time she’d been gone?

  Arc had his back to Vahly. He held up a hand. “It’s all right. Stay back, please.”

  Nix’s fire had lessened in strength at Vahly’s shout, but she increased its intensity now. The air filled with crackling pops. Wind rushed past Vahly’s ears, and the smell of dragon magic combined with Arc’s natural, elven scent.

  The tongues of dragonfire spooled around twisting fingers of light and dark air magic. The elements created an eddy of power.

  What were they up to?

  Vahly wiped her sweating palms on her trousers.

  If Nix raised her head just a few inches, Arc would be roasted. Vahly didn’t think Nix would intentionally hurt him, but accidents happened in the realm of dragons. Lots of accidents.

  “Down,” Arc called out, his hands held apart, his fingers curling above the gust and snap of their combined magic.

  They directed the whirling mass of fire and color toward the ground.

  Chunks of dirt, prickly snakeweed, and tiny rocks flew from their creation, but most of the ground dissolved into black smoke on contact.

  Vahly stepped closer. A rock pinged against her cheek, but she kept on. Her ears roared with the noise.

  “So much for keeping this quest quiet,” she called out, hands extended in a gesture of helplessness.

  The rogues would hear this chaos if they were anywhere nearby. Half of her wanted to look over her shoulder in case they were already approaching, barreling toward them with talons out and fire blazing. But the other half of her was far too entranced with this new magic to turn away for even a moment.

  Arc lifted his hands and met Nix’s gaze, and as one, they ceased their spellwork. The easy sounds of sea, breeze, and birds reigned again.

  Vahly rushed over.

  Between them, a great hole extended into the earth, deep enough to hide all three of them, one on top of the other.

  Nix dusted her hands and smoothed her hair. “That was decidedly not dull, Arcturus. In fact, I might now be quite in love with you and your ridiculously creative mind.”

  Vahly crouched to touch a scorched stone at the edge of the pit. A surprised laugh bubbled out of her. “Arc, if we do survive the Sea Queen, do you know how much gold the dragon guilds will pay for this magic? They can fire-drill into rock just fine, but earth? They have a tough time with digging out earthworks. You’ll be as rich as Amona.”

  She stood and patted his shoulder. He was practically glowing with what she assumed was happiness at what his experiment had wrought.

  “If you live through all the horrors I’m sure to heap on you, that is,” she added.

  Arc flexed his fingers, and his excited gaze locked onto her. “We should repeat this trial with your earth magic, then compare the results.”

  Nix lounged on a patch of verdigris-hued plants, adjusting her wings to avoid the nearby snakeweed. “He doesn’t seem to care about his potential fortune, Vahly. I suggest we get his apathy on this issue in writing.” She winked at Arc.

  Vahly’s cheeks lifted in a smile. Here was another glimpse of the old Nix, more valuable than any measure of coin.

  “How can we use this to fight the sea folk?” she asked Arc.

  “I don’t have any solid ideas on that yet. But are you willing to try our three magicks together?”

  “Definitely.”

  “It may result in an unwieldy storm of power.”

  “Oh!” Nix brushed her sleeve free of debris. “Can that be your nickname for me?”

  Arc raised one dark eyebrow. “Aren’t nicknames supposed to be shorter than one’s given name?”

  “Pssssh.” Nix waved a hand. “You and your rules.” Her stomach growled.

  “Stones, Nix,” Vahly said. “You inhaled three deer last night. How on earth are you hungry?”

  “Experimenting with dangerous elven magic demands that one consume a full herd of deer.”

  “I do hope not.” Arc chuckled and patted his own flat stomach.

  “Your lesser digestion capabilities are not my problem,” Nix said.

  “But your greater stomach needs might well become his if you are too tired to hunt,” Vahly joked.

  Nix rolled onto her stomach and set her chin on her folded arms. Her scales threw sunlight toward the sky. “I believe Arc has been holding back on his abilities with those throwing knives. Now, scurry off, my lovelies, and slaughter all the adorable animals in the vicinity for me.”

  Arc shook his head, grinning. “Such a ghastly beast.” He helped Vahly pick up the water skins she had dropped.

  “And, Blackwater curse me, how I adore her,” Vahly said.

  They started off again, searching for the plant Arc wanted to use on Vahly.

  Two boulders the size of Amona in full dragon form hulked over what looked like a small spring, complete with a few thickly leaved trees and an area of high grass.

  Vahly scanned the area, keeping an eye out for the Jade rogues. “Perhaps if the rogues spot me with all this blood on my face, they’ll think twice about threatening us.”

  “They should,” Arc said.

  Vahly huffed. “Ha. They’re dragons.”

  “I said they should. Not that they would.”

  “I heard that.” Nix flew into sight and landed behind Arc.

  “Weren’t you going to take a nap?” Vahly wouldn’t have blamed her, what with the healing wing and all. She seemed to be flying fairly well though.

  Nix waved a hand, her rings sparkling. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

  The spring gurgled as the wind picked up, smelling like sea and metal. The coming storm kicked dust and fallen leaves around Vahly’s legs and into her eyes. She rubbed her face, then bent to search the area below an olive tree.

  “See anything?” Vahly asked Arc.

  Lightning cracked, making Vahly jump. She glanced at Nix, who was staring into the sky wistfully. Nix had to be wishing she were up there in the lightning, relishing her fire magic’s secondary source.

  “I see what might be the correct plant.” Arc pointed beyond the boulders to a hill covered in the color of bruises.

  “That’s eyewort?” Vahly handed her pack to him, then scaled the nearest boulder to get a better view. It was a similar color to the vivanias she’d plucked from the cliffs on a day that felt very long ago indeed.

  Beside the plants and their hill, a flash of bright emerald green showed in a rocky pass.

  Vahly’s heart seized.

  A chill ran down her back.

  A Jade dragon? She flattened herself on the boulder. She hadn’t seen enough to know if it had just been a blowing cluster of leaves, a Jade in human-like form, or a fully shifted dragon.

  Vahly? Arc said inside her mind. Is it the rogues?

  If it was, we are in a heap of trouble.

  Chapter Ten

  I may have seen one Jade dragon. Let me watch for a minute, Vahly said telepathically to Arc.

  The wind gusted. Rain began to splatter, creating large circles on the boulder around Vahly and wetting her recently dried hair.

  Lightning cracked.

  No more possible Jades appeared, so she climbed back down to where Nix and Arc waited. Arc handed over her satchel, and Vahly settled it across her body.

  Nix’s wings shuffled, and she sniffed the air. “I can’t scent any dragons. Not with this storm.”

  Rain streamed down in sheets, and thunder shook the ground like a herd of enormous deer were headed their way. Nix stretched her wings over all three of them, creating an amethyst ceiling with sapphire beams.

  Hands fisted, Vahly watched the area that surrounded the boulders. Arc cleared his throat, and she jumped, thinking a rogue was about to leap from the storm. This weather was terrible for
scouting, searching for plants, and for magic.

  “I don’t think I can test out your blood and your plant in this weather, Arc,” she said. “The waves would swallow me whole even if we managed the magic. Let’s go back down and rest.”

  “And eat.” Nix licked her lips, her azure tongue like the bottom of a flame. “When in doubt, eat. I still have some of the bacon plant in my bag. If you massage my injured wing, I might be inclined to share.” She walked between Arc and Vahly, keeping them somewhat sheltered from the blowing storm.

  Vahly glanced backward, but now she couldn’t see around Nix to watch for Jades. She slid out of her friend’s shelter. “I’ll watch our backs. You two go on. Just in case that wasn’t my imagination up there.”

  Rain darkened the sandy ground and splashed against the wide leaves of a tuberous succulent.

  Vahly’s satchel rubbed against her neck as she walked behind Arc and Nix. Every few steps, Vahly turned to look into the pouring rain. Lines of gray water rushed to the earth, hiding everything more than arm’s length from her face and muddying the path. Water began to seep into her boots despite the coating of balm she’d applied before leaving the Lapis mountain palace.

  The paths down to sea level forked—the way they had come twisted through an open area, free of boulders and growth, while the other was a narrow passage through two rock formations reminiscent of great fists. Weak light showed from the pass, indicating the opening extended all the way through.

  They tucked themselves into a cluster of olive trees for cover, and Vahly patted the egg inside her pack. She sighed as she ran a hand all along its rounded form, checking for any damage. The egg seemed well enough so far.

  It simply had to hatch. Her heart squeezed with a love that truly made no sense. Shaking her head at herself, she drew a slow breath to calm her pulse. She couldn’t handle the thought of this little creature being gone from the world.

  Under the sparse olive leaves, rain dripped between Nix’s wings. Droplets slid down Nix’s forehead and over the thick lashes of her yellow eyes. Arc was soaked too, and the water only made him look more otherworldly as it glistened against his skin.

  Vahly wiped a chill hand over her face to clear it of water. “I think we should take the passage there.” The waterfalls pouring off the rocks drowned her voice. She pointed between the giant knuckles of stone. “Less chance of an ambush, because we’ll be hidden from view. I would hate to stroll right through an open field,” she said more loudly. “I’ll go out first.”

  “No. You are the most valuable. When will you accept that?” Nix tsked. “I’ll go out first, and if the rogues hit me, you’ll know to act. It’s not going to be easy for me to force my way through though, not with these beauties.” Her wings shivered, and she slapped a thigh proudly.

  Without another word, she headed into the narrow passage, her wings stretched wide like she was flying sideways through the opening.

  Vahly’s stomach twisted, and imaginary needles pricked the back of her neck. She set her jaw and tried not to worry.

  “Go ahead, Vahly.” Arc nodded toward the passage, his lips wet with rain.

  She touched his chest, her fingers pressing into the fine cloth of his surcoat and feeling the muscle and bone beneath. “Please keep all your fancy elven magic blazing strong. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  “Should we get Nix and go back the other way? The way we approached?”

  “No. This way is less exposed than that wide-open death meadow. I think. I hope.” Cursing under her breath, she followed Nix into the pass.

  The rain disappeared as the stone hands welcomed Vahly. The smell of Nix’s magic mixed with the scent of rain and cave. Vahly’s knee scraped the rock wall, tearing her trousers and sending a line of pain across her skin, and she bit her lip, hissing before she continued shuffling along. Her boots squelched in the mud as Arc called her name behind her.

  “Are you all right?” The passageway cloaked his face in near darkness.

  Vahly blinked and glanced to the side to glimpse his magic. “I’m fine.”

  The passageway rose under their sodden boots, then turned northward. Thunder shook the air and lightning flashed, showing the exit beyond the shape of Nix’s sideways form.

  Vahly’s warm breath bounced off the rock before her, easing the chill on her chin and cheeks. Her hands spread over the rock at her back, steadying her. The magic inside her was quiet for the moment. She wondered if it was because they were in danger. Or perhaps that was just how the magic worked, waxing and waning with her purpose and energy levels. She knew so little about her power, about herself.

  A loose stone rolled beneath her boot, and she jerked. Her bag fell forward and hit the stone wall with a sickening thud.

  Her heart seized.

  Sweating, she frantically felt around the egg’s shape, checking it. The back of her tongue tasted bitter. If it was broken …

  Her magic surged inside her, and she gasped.

  “Vahly!” Nix and Arc called to her in unison.

  Eyes closed, she fought to keep from crying or screaming or exploding—whatever it was her magic was trying to do to her. She felt like a cracking egg herself, her power trying to burst from the shell of her body. She drew in a deep breath, her pulse racing as power flooded her veins and thrummed deep in her chest like a caged animal. Swallowing, she fought to stay in one piece.

  “What is happening to me?” she croaked.

  Arc and Nix touched her shoulder, her arm, her hand. Her skin seemed to soak in their warmth.

  “I don’t know, but we’re here. We won’t leave you,” Arc said.

  “You’ll handle it, Vahl,” Nix whispered. “You’re a queen, and don’t you forget it.”

  Tears burned Vahly’s eyes, but she held them back as the vicious trembling died away. The walls of the pass held her up—without them, she would’ve been on the ground. She took two slow breaths, smiling weakly at her companions. Finally, with one more long inhalation, she began to feel somewhat normal.

  With shaking hands, she managed to flip the satchel’s flap open. Her fingers danced over the egg, first one side, then the other, the passageway severely restraining her movement. The egg was well and whole, and Vahly smiled like a fool to know it.

  “It’s not broken.” She exhaled in a rush. “I thought I’d cracked it. I tripped.”

  Arc’s shoulders dropped as he too relaxed. “Do you need me to tend to your knee? I might be able to despite these less than ideal surroundings.”

  “No, I’m fine. We need to get out of this tomb. Nix, if you don’t mind?”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice. I think I prefer almost anything to this place.” Her body scraped along the rock, nearing the exit.

  The lightning washed the passage in silver.

  “Anything?” Vahly asked, putting a hand to her hilt in preparation for leaving the sheltered pass. “Even Lapis nobility genealogy ceremonies?”

  “Oh, Stones. Do you think I ever even witnessed one of those monstrosities? I have a life, Vahly. Well, I did before you dragged me into the wilderness.”

  “If we get out of this alive and the world doesn’t end, I’ll be sure to invite you to one. It’ll set your bar for entertainment so low, you’ll never think anything is horrible ever again.”

  “Stop threatening me with torture, Queenie. I may be bound to serve you, but I don’t think suffering Lapis snobbery is part of the deal.”

  Vahly coughed a laugh as they approached the end of the passageway.

  Nix maneuvered her way out, wings tipping and curses stringing through the sound of thunder.

  Vahly glanced back at Arc only to realize he wasn’t there. She opened her mouth to call out to him—

  A full-sized Jade dragon knocked Nix to the ground.

  The rogue dragon smiled into the darkness.

  Chapter Eleven

  Vahly raged out of the passageway, arms scraping against the rocks and heart punching up into her throat. />
  The dragon barked what might have been a mocking laugh, the rain pelting his moss-green scales and the membrane of his outstretched wings.

  Vahly’s sword pierced through the pouring rain, and just when she could’ve shoved the point toward the soft spot in on the dragon’s groin—a place he would certainly block with ease—she turned to surprise him, swinging the blade under the rogue’s wing joint.

  The steel bit into the dragon’s flesh.

  He fell back, then lunged at her, his fiery, slitted eyes flashing. A razor-sharp talon raked across Vahly’s chest, then struck out horizontally again, this time missing her. A deep burning seared her flesh, and blood poured down her shirt between her breasts from the dragon’s first strike.

  Dragonfire erupted from the rogue’s open maw.

  Every inch of Vahly buzzed as she ducked in what seemed like a slowed version of time, her free hand covering the egg inside her pack as if she were a gryphon mother. Her gut clenched, and her heart screamed for the innocent creature inside. Dragonfire rippled—sapphire and citrine—the flames bright as jewels overhead. The heat, unhindered by the rainstorm, drew sweat from every pore on Vahly’s body.

  A battle cry tore the air behind her.

  Rotating in a crouch, she watched Arc raise an air magic wind that blasted the silver spears of rain away from his outstretched arms and pressed the dragonfire toward the Jade.

  The creature shrieked. His fire died.

  The air magic pushed against Vahly, and, wincing, she fell onto her injured knee. The wind circled, whirled, then dragged both her and Arc away from the rogue Jade before dropping them to the wet earth.

  Nix leapt to her feet, her face cloaked in mud, eyes like suns breaking through the storm. She stumbled toward the rogue Jade. “This is the Earth Queen, fool! She’s trying to save your arse from the sea!”

  The Jade twisted and threw a glare at Nix. His great tail lashed at Vahly and Arc, who flattened themselves to keep from being struck with a deadly blow.

  The dragon shifted to his human-like form in a flash, faster than she’d seen any dragon change.