Dragon's Flame

by Lee Hayton

  While each mage fell, Sulli kept his eyes fixed on the main target. Cade stood within a swirling cloud of darkness, a sneer twisting his face. “A quarrel? Oh, no.” He flapped his hands in a mocking gesture, disdain pouring forth in a flood.

  A bolt of darkness span out from Cade’s right hand, spilling a bounty of toothsome creatures forth. They flew at Sulli’s face, but he used the darkness to bat them away. Behind him, Zen screamed, and a knife blade sliced through the air.

  “Call your creatures off my friends. Your fight isn’t with them.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t take it back,” Cade simpered. “They’ll just have to try their luck.”

  Sulli turned, giving a yell to Io, who nodded and ran to the spot where Shandra and Zen were swinging wildly, fighting beasts they couldn’t see. He turned en route, his mass transforming into a green dragon that launched into the sky.

  A flame shot from his mouth, aimed to where the majority of the small creatures hurtled through the air. Soon, the mountains echoed with the screams of the beasts as they burned, thudding to the ground as charred husks.

  “Well. I see you found your brethren.” Cade raised an eyebrow and inclined his head. “And here I thought I’d never see another of your kind.”

  “There are many of us.” Sulli’s hand itched to draw a weapon. If this was a standard fight with a blade and shield, he’d now begin to thrust and parry. The introductions should be over. It was time to fight.

  But the ways of magic didn’t run true to the ways of a swordsman.

  Cade breathed in again, an impossible breath that sucked the shadows away from everything in the clearing, leaving it hard to see in the brilliant light of untempered day.

  Sulli squinted against the overwhelming flood of sunlight, sending a small portion of the darkness in his hand up to shield his eyes. He blew another small whisper of the dark toward Cade’s lips, sealing them shut for a split-second.

  The shadows escaped back into the clearing, settling into place. Cade’s focus shifted as he tore at his mouth, using another pinch of darkness to open it again.

  “So”—Cade smiled and advanced a step toward Sulli—“I see your revulsion for the dark magic didn’t stop you taking it on board. If you want a fight, I’ll give you one, but not here.” He reached out and grabbed hold of Sulli’s wrist, hard enough it felt like being bitten down to the bone. “We can do this elsewhere.”

  In a blink, Cade pulled them both through to the realm between worlds. A place where his clan brothers couldn’t follow.

  The darkness was around him, over him, inside him. Sulli opened his mouth to scream at the sensation and blackness crawled inside, punching its way down his throat. Inside his belly, it swirled and danced, whirled and twisted. He felt the rush of energy at the same time his mind drained away.

  “You can’t give up that easy.” Cade appeared in the remnants of Sulli’s consciousness, flickering in and out like a dying star. “If you let the darkness take you, I’ll have no fun whatsoever.”

  Even through the darkness choking his throat, Sulli forced out a laugh. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of making it easy for you. I’ll keep you occupied out here until your spirit turns to dust.”

  The small expression of resistance strengthened Sulli’s presence and memories flooded back into his mind. Where before, there’d been empty space, now there were fields of wheat, skies roiling with a thunderstorm, the face of his mother.

  “You’ve spent too long out here, Cade.” Sulli grew back another memory, meeting with Mal for the first time and agreeing to travel together. “I doubt there’s the slightest trace of your human-self left.”

  Cade laughed with delight. “As though I have need of that shell. If it wasn’t for the ability to carry me in and out of worlds, I’d have discarded that sleeve long ago. This is my essence. Your essence. If you want to expose your core being, give up on your skin, your bones, and the weak flesh they hold between them.”

  He danced around Sulli, ducking in and diving back out again until Sulli was left spinning trying to keep track.

  “You were my brother once. Not like these dragons, our bond ran deeper than kin. Join me, say you’ll sit at the foot of my table once more and I’ll let your pathetic band of friends live.”

  “They’ll live, anyway. Just as soon as I demolish you from the inside out.”

  Cade ducked around behind Sulli again, keeping out of sight. “You can’t even catch me. Your mind is heavy with your human flesh. The light is weighing you down. Release it and join me.”

  The temptation of the darkness struck at Sulli’s heart. He felt the tug of memory and of desire as it enfolded him in its black arms. Who needed warmth when there was the icy chill of the endless night waiting to absorb you and make you whole?

  “Don’t worry. I have you. You can’t go too far.”

  The voice came out of nowhere, but everything around Sulli was nowhere. Inside him was nowhere and nothing and the chasm where the light went to die.

  “Trust me, Sulli. Our bond will never break, not while there’s still breath left in my body.”

  A surge of energy poured out of him, drowning the space between worlds in its brilliant light. A different energy, one that set his heart pulsing and his brain racing at a million miles an hour. It sprang out in a beam, skewering Cade where he floated in the dark.

  “I can feel you,” Sulli shouted back. “Hold me tight.”

  “Oh, my.” Cade laughed, ducking in until his face floated only an inch away from Sulli’s. “Did you finally find a bigger whore than your mother to lay with?”

  He darted away then, as Sulli tried to find him again, thrust his face forth again. “Don’t worry, little brother. If you want to bed women, I’ll teach you a thousand tricks to achieve your aim. Prettier than that one. A hundred times more experienced. I’ll let you have women who will twist your body inside out with pleasure. I’ll show you how to explode in an orgasm lasting for years.”

  Sulli closed his eyes as Shandra hugged him tightly, filling him with warmth enough to drive out the last shreds of darkness. His body glowed, stuffed to bursting with love and happiness. As the darkness reacted to this new invasion, Cade shrank like a shadow cast by the first rays of morning light.

  “You chose the wrong path,” Sulli called out. “Dark magic might feel good, but it does nothing except expand the void in your soul.”

  He concentrated, finding Cade’s position in the gigantic realm. The mage’s movements had slowed, the light sapping his strength as it filled Sulli with energy. He gathered some of it together, throwing it as though it were a snowball, calculating the trajectory of where Cade would be in a second rather than where he was now.

  “Stop it!”

  The light burned its target. In the explosion of radiance where it hit, Sulli could see the lines of pain etched on Cade’s face.

  “I won’t ever join you, Cade, but I’ll give you one last chance. Join me and I’ll teach you how to heal the empty spaces in your heart. Join my tribe and we’ll help you find the path back to goodness.”

  Cade threw his own weapon, striking at the side of Sulli’s head and making it whirl, split apart, explode into the corners of the realm. For a moment, he was nothing, the dark ate at him greedily, stuffing itself full.

  A heartbeat in the darkness. A whisper. “Come back.”

  A breath found Sulli’s ear, helped him trace the path to the rest of his body. By the thousand-fold, his memories spilled back to fill up his mind.

  “One last chance,” Sulli called out. He gathered up all the shreds of light at his disposal. He made a snowball of energy as big as a house, big as a planet. “Join me and come back into the light.”

  “Go fuck yourself, loser.”

  Sulli aimed the mass of energy at the voice, falling back into his body as it exploded into Cade. He thumped down, feeling the weight of his arms and legs, the pressure of a hug around his torso, soft lips against his face.

  “Are yo
u back with me?” Shandra’s voice was a whisper, but it sounded as powerful as all the darkness polluting the realms.

  “I’m here.” Sulli coughed, bringing up the darkness that lingered in his stomach. He threw it up in a glut that dissipated in seconds, fleeing the scene like a coward.

  The normal world made him feel woozy. As he struggled to his feet, the nerve endings tingled and sparked. Finally, Sulli stood, swaying back and forth as he adjusted to seeing through his eyes again, instead of with his mind.

  “Where’s Cade?” he asked, panic suddenly flooding through his system. Then Shandra’s calming arms were around him again, peace flowing through his heart.

  “He’s not moving.” Zen walked over to the prone form, poking it with the end of his sword. The flesh surrendered to the blade and a red spot appeared. Sulli stared at the motionless limb, waiting for blood to flow.

  Nothing came. There was no heartbeat to send it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Although Shandra had warmed to her brother enough to invite him back to the farm, Zen declined.

  “I’d rather stay with my freedom fighters, for the time being. I think things might change for the better around here.”

  “Okay. But promise me you’ll write,” Shandra said with a light punch to his arm. “And don’t go getting yourself killed any time soon. If I’m going to the trouble of explaining to Ricci and Halv you’re alive, I don’t want you contradicting me.”

  “Yes, sir!” Zen gave her a mock salute while rolling his eyes.

  “And don’t feel you have to stay away, just because you’re making that decision today.” Shandra gave him a hug, feeling a pang for the lost brother in her memory as she slotted the new one in place. “There’ll always be a place for you at the farm, no matter what happens.”

  “Unless you lose it to the money-lenders. If I’m going to promise to keep myself out of trouble, then you promise to keep your heads above water without dipping into somebody else’s purse.”

  Shandra offered him a quizzical frown but agreed. Odd how her brother could display such tight morals in some areas when he was so loose in others. She wondered where he’d learned that lesson.

  Perhaps she’d ask him one day if their promised correspondence ever got off the ground.

  She and the clan brothers gratefully accepted the hospitality of Zen’s compatriots for the night. It was far too late to be safe making the trek down the side of the mountain and none of them felt inspired enough to head out.

  The large blonde-braids woman, whose name turned out to be Heldred, happily offered to cook them all a large meal in celebration, using up the supplies they scavenged from Cade’s camp. She also gave Shandra free-range on their medical supplies, so she could bind up their various wounds.

  Even though the main battle had taken place in a realm mostly beyond Shandra’s comprehension, each of the warriors had still managed to earn their share of physical scrapes. An invisible flying beast had bitten a chunk from her arm before Io put paid to it, and Zen had a gash on his thigh that cut halfway down to the bone.

  As they sat around the campfire following their meal, Shandra rested her head upon Sulli’s shoulder. Her eyes took longer and longer between each blink to reopen. Images spun in and out of her mind, forming strange interconnections—a prelude to dreaming.

  “They’re headed up the mountain!”

  Shandra sat bolt upright, stirred more by the panic in the boy’s voice than the words he said.

  Zen ran to the young fighter, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Who is? What did you see?”

  “Wella has mobilized her army. They’re headed straight up toward us. If you stare down the side of the hill, you can see their line of torches. They look set to travel throughout the night.”

  In a minute, the camp was in a flurry. It appeared they were used to traveling light as the tents came down and the horses were saddled and packed up in the space of twenty minutes.

  Shandra stood back, standing with the clan brothers while the freedom fighters organized themselves to decamp. “I guess Wella promises are as good a value as ever,” she grumbled.

  In the back of her mind, the dream of the war ending had always been a long shot. Still, to have the hope burst so quickly left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “Come on,” Mal called out, having packed up their own belongings and horses. “We don’t have the same beef with Wella, but that doesn’t mean I want to confront her army in the middle of the night.”

  Shandra told her goodbyes to Zen, then joined her group to set off on a different route down the hillside. As soon as they got to a flat area, barely six yards across, they called it a night and settled down, not bothering to lay a fire.

  In the morning, Shandra checked the track ahead of them with keen eyes. No sign of Wella. With a weary sigh, she mounted Starburst and followed along behind Mal as he led them on the long journey home.

  “Ricci. Get your ass out here,” Halv called out in delight, his legs tearing up the yard as he propelled his stout body toward Shandra. “I can’t believe you’re back so soon. I thought you’d be out fighting until at least the next full moon.”

  Shandra laughed and pushed him back long enough to clamber down from Starburst. Her thighs ached and her stomach growled, unfed since two nights before.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she called out and pulled him close for a hug. Even Ricci let her embrace him, their days apart having mellowed his resentment down to a low simmer.

  “Tell me everything,” Halv yelled out in joy, skipping in circles around Shandra as she tried to unpack the horse.

  “Give me a hand to get settled, then I’ll tell you everything.” She stepped back as Halv launched himself at Starburst, pulling everything down off her in one large sweep of his arms. “Is there enough supper cooking for all of us?”

  “I’ll do that,” Ricci said. “It’s my turn tonight.”

  “Make extra. We haven’t eaten for a couple of days. We were trying to make such good time back here we didn’t want to stop and hunt for food.”

  Ricci gave a wave to acknowledge her words but didn’t turn back. Shandra stared after him, feeling the rise in tension return. Back to normal.

  “How did the fight go? Did you whip the mage’s ass?”

  “What’s with all the swearing?” Shandra pulled Halv close and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “You’ve got a better vocabulary than that.”

  His sudden descent into swear words reminded her of Zen. Although she’d told her elder brother she’d let the family know he was still alive, now she was home, the thought of going through the explanations did nothing for her.

  Let him keep up his end of the bargain and send them correspondence first. If he did that, then Shandra would let the boys know. Otherwise, the knowledge did them no good and the last thing she wanted was Ricci defecting to join his elder brother in the mountain camp.

  Or, even worse, Halv doing so.

  When she’d stabled and fed the horses, Shandra set off to clean herself up. Even after scrubbing herself down in a stream that morning, she felt as though every inch of her skin had a thin film of dirt.

  As she walked toward the house, she pulled Mal aside. “Could you let your brothers know not to tell the boys about Zen? I’d prefer to let them know only after he’s made some effort to contact us.”

  He agreed and gave her a hug, both glad to be home. “Is there anything else we should skate over in our discussions tonight? Perhaps they’re too young to know all about the true horror of war.”

  “I don’t know.” Shandra thought of the images lodged inside her head. “Part of me thinks we shouldn’t sugar coat it. If they know the realities of a battlefield, maybe they’ll think twice before they sign on to join the army.”

  “I can’t imagine either of them wanting to join up with Wella,” Mal pointed out. “Not after she went back on her word.”

  “And you’d better watch out,” Shandra teased him. “Now she’s a
single lady again, you and the clan brothers are fair game.”

  Mal laughed and shook his head. “I bet she’d already assembled a new harem by the time she trekked back up the mountain.” He licked his finger, then pressed it against his rear end while making a hissing sound. “She can look but she can’t touch.”

  As Shandra lathered her body in a cold tub of water—too impatient to wait for it to warm over the fire—she thought about Wella. The woman had made it clear she still wanted the clan brothers.

  She was a woman used to getting exactly what she wanted.

  Mal was right in one way. If Wella was collecting a new harem, the rules of the land stated she no longer had the right to pursue Shandra’s men. Unless…

  Unless Shandra wasn’t around to lay claim to them.

  The cold water caused her to shiver and Shandra stepped out of the tub to wrap herself in a large towel. Despite the warmth of the room, her teeth continued to chatter even after she’d dried off.

  It was the sounds of Halv laughing and firing questions at Baile that raised a smile on Shandra’s lips again. Tomorrow was tomorrow. Today she was home with her family, warm food, and the harem she’d grown to love.

  THANKS FOR READING!

  If you enjoyed this story, the next book in the series should be available for purchase shortly (or it’s available now and I’ve been too lazy to update this section!)

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  Coming Soon…

  The Hearts of Dragons - Book Three

  DRAGON’S VALOR

  Also by Lee Hayton

  Dragon’s Curse (The Hearts of Dragons)

  Claws That Catch (Misfits of Magic)

  Blood Like Ice (Misfits of Magic)

  Nerves of Steel (Misfits of Magic)