The plains in front of the temple were flat and rich with good soil and thick vegetation. I’d been told that they’d been covered with herds of wild animals until the soldiers arrived. Now the animals had scattered, and the two armies faced each other across their former home.
The Black Dragon’s army stretched far and wide, blocking entrance to the Spirit Temple. Onyx Army soldiers in their gleaming black armor waited for the command to attack, lined up in columns that were all too familiar to me. Red, blue, and green markings flashed on their shoulders, along with a few sporting yellow. If the Fire God had chosen another as his Dragon, I’d probably be with them now, wishing I were anywhere else.
On either side of them, dark shadowy figures hovered off the ground, their eerily glowing eyes staring across the field. There were hundreds of shades, more than I’d ever seen before, and the sight of them sent a chill down my spine. Their deadly hunger was palpable even from a distance, and they wanted nothing more than to drain the life from every person who stood behind me.
Today I wore the Onyx Army armor again, except instead of the red markings for the Fire Realm, mine were bright silver—the color we were using to represent Kira. Across the field, dozens of black banners were raised with a silvery dragon in the center and red, blue, green, and yellow corners. The banner of the Silver Dragon and her mates.
Our army was made up of many different people from all over the four Realms. Men and women with armor and weapons stood side by side with people in regular clothes holding torches, buckets of water, or piles of rocks. Everyone had a task, a way they could help to fight the soldiers or the shades, but there was no question that we were outnumbered and outmatched. If the elementals were fighting beside us, we’d stand a better chance—but they were not. We’d have to do the best we could with what we had.
Garet signaled that they were ready, and I moved to stand in the middle of the field, facing our army. Once there, I shifted into my dragon form, while Kira’s other mates stretched out beside me and did the same. Kira walked over wearing her fighting gear with a flowing silver cloak, her glowing sword on her hip. When my red scales flashed under the sunlight she climbed onto my back. I spread my wings and took to the sky, hovering over our soldiers.
“The Black Dragon and her men have ruled over this world for too long,” I called out, my dragon voice louder than mine could ever be. “They were meant to protect us, and instead they oppressed us. They were meant to bring peace and order, and instead they brought death and chaos. They were meant to serve the Gods, and instead they imprisoned them. It’s time for new Dragons to rise.”
Auric, Reven, and Slade flew into the air beside me at those words and let out ear-splitting roars that echoed across the land. The soldiers below us raised their weapons and shouted and cheered, their energy growing with their fervor. Kira had asked me to give this speech, to become the leader the Fire God had told me to be, and though I’d been reluctant at first, I was ready to embrace my destiny as Kira’s General. Kira was their symbol, the thing they fought behind, but I would be the one leading them into battle.
“Today we fight for the Silver Dragon,” I roared. “We fight for freedom, justice, and equality. We fight for the four Realms. We fight for the Gods. And most of all, we fight for the future of our people.” I spread my wings wide. “Today the Black Dragon will be defeated, and the Silver Dragon will ascend!”
The cheers and shouts grew louder, and the army started forward across the field into the fog Auric and Reven had summoned, hiding their numbers. Ahead of them, pools of lava waited for the other army, courtesy of me and Slade. Below us, I spotted Calla and her priests, ready to fight the shades. Garet led the soldiers, directing them to march ahead. The Resistance, the bandits, and the assassins filled in the gaps, while Faya stood in the back with Brin and Leni at her side, all of them looking fierce. As I gazed down at them, I truly believed we could win this battle.
Until the Black Dragon emerged from the Spirit Temple.
33
Kira
A massive dragon with scales the color of midnight filled the sky, blocking out the sun. Storm clouds surrounded her, lightning flashed behind her, hail fell around her, and the ground beneath her rumbled. The sky turned dark and ominous, and the other four Dragons flew to her side. My heart clenched at the sight of my father with them.
I’d never seen the Black Dragon as anything other than human before, and she was truly terrifying like this. Her claws and talons were razor sharp, and dark, deadly power emanated from her, much like it did from the shades. I found myself gripping Jasin’s scales tighter as fear spread through me.
When she spoke, her voice echoed across the plains. “Surrender now and your deaths will be quick and painless. Fight, and my shades will feast on your souls while my Dragons rip you to shreds.”
Her words were probably supposed to make me want to run away, and though I was terrified, all they did was make me angry—and even more determined. I raised my sword into the air and reached for the power inside me. A bright silver light appeared and stretched high into the sky, casting a glow over my assembled army and breaking through the darkness. “We will never surrender! Your time is at an end!”
Her green eyes narrowed. “Then you shall meet your doom.”
As soon as she spoke the words she dipped down, plummeting toward the ground so fast it only took her seconds to reach it. She stretched her talons wide and scooped up a handful of our soldiers in each fist, then reared back into the sky. I thought she would let the men fall to their deaths, but as they screamed and struggled, she opened her mouth and a stream of darkness began to flow from their mouths into hers. One by one the soldiers’ heads drooped, their bodies becoming lifeless, while my mother’s scales seemed to become blacker and blacker.
“She’s draining them,” I whispered, horrified at what I was seeing.
“And taking their life to fuel her own power,” Jasin said, as Nysa opened her claws and let the bodies drop to the ground, one by one.
How were we supposed to stop her? She had no weaknesses. She could control all the elements, and thus was immune to them. She could drain the life of anyone she touched and it only made her stronger. We had no way to defeat her. And even if we did, we’d have to face the Spirit Goddess next.
Her soldiers and shades lurched forward, clashing with our army. The sounds of battle began to ring out, while the storm raged on around us, casting lightning and hail at our soldiers. I spread my arms and reached for it with my magic, calming the raging elements until the clouds began to dissipate, and the sun shined through again.
But the storm was only the beginning of our problems. While the soldiers and shades fought, Sark spewed flame, Heldor ripped open huge trenches in the ground, and Isen created a tornado to tear through our ranks. My own mates dashed forward to combat them, finding the other Dragon they were strongest—and weakest—against, the way Doran had taught them.
Doran…my eyes searched the battle for him, but he wasn’t attacking our army. Where did he go?
As Nysa swooped down again to reach for more lives to drain, another dragon slammed into her, knocking her back. They hit the ground in a tangle of black and blue scales, claws and fangs flashing.
My heart leapt into my throat. “Father!” I screamed.
He was actually fighting her, even with the bond between them. His words came back to me. You’re my daughter. Whatever happens, I’m on your side. Always.
He hadn’t betrayed us. He’d been doing everything he could to get close to Nysa again, to win back her trust, so that he could surprise her in this moment. Nysa did have one weakness—her own mates. She wouldn’t kill one of her own, not without making herself vulnerable. Doran couldn’t kill her either, not without killing himself in the process, but he could distract her for a while to give us a chance.
“Doran is buying us time!” I called out to Jasin. “We have to take out the other Dragons.”
“We should get to the Spiri
t Temple,” he said. “The Dragons will follow us and that will give our soldiers a better chance.”
“Let’s go. Hurry!”
He took off, darting toward the Spirit Temple. Lightning streaked toward us, but I directed it away before it could hit Jasin’s wings. He spun and dove, avoiding the numerous elemental attacks flying through the air, and I held on tight. In the chaos I lost track of my other mates, though I knew they were out there, fighting the other Dragons.
Below us, Calla threw fire at the shades around her, while her priests and other people fought with torches, water, and rocks—but it wasn’t enough. The dark, ghostly figures swarmed over them, draining their lives, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before Calla and her priests succumbed too. And once they were gone, there was little to stop the shades from devouring the rest of our people.
“Wait,” I called out to Jasin. “We have to help them fight the shades or they’ll never make it.”
“We don’t have time!”
“We can’t let them all die!”
Jasin let out a frustrated roar, but then he changed direction, darting down. As we flew over the shades, he let out a stream of fire while I blasted them with lightning and ice. They let out horrifying shrieks as they disappeared, but more filled their place almost instantly.
We fought and we fought, but as I took in the battle around us, my hope of victory quickly diminished. We were stretched too thin and the other Dragons were too strong. There were too many shades, too many soldiers, and not enough people on our side to fight them back. Getting to the Spirit Temple would be impossible without sacrificing the lives of everyone fighting for us on the battlefield. Was that what it would take?
I couldn’t do it. Which meant we were going to fail.
I prepared myself to make a tough decision, though I wasn’t sure if it would be to retreat or to push forward. But then a bright flare shot up from the crest of the southern mountain, drawing my attention. A fire burned, spreading wider and wider across the rocky slopes.
No, not a fire, I realized, my breath catching in my throat. Fire elementals.
They were moving fast, gliding over the land as they approached, and there were hundreds of them. Not just fire, but earth, air, and water elementals, all heading toward us at speeds that only a dragon could match.
“They came.” Tears filled my eyes and I let out a soft laugh, the relief making me almost giddy. Somehow I had gotten through to them, and they’d changed their minds and decided to fight. And with their help, we might actually stand a chance.
34
Kira
A surge of hope renewed my energy and Jasin and I fought back the shades until the elementals joined the fray. Our new allies struck down the shades with ease, along with many of the Black Dragon’s soldiers who weren’t prepared to battle such things. Our soldiers shied away at first, hesitant about the elementals, but then rallied when they realized they were on our side.
Once I was sure the elementals had it under control, I touched Jasin’s neck to get his attention. “To the Spirit Temple!”
He let out a roar in response and spread his wings, lifting us over the battlefield to fly toward the shimmering building ahead of us. The other Dragons were still fighting, and elemental attacks flashed through the air, but we rushed past all of them. As we approached the temple, I saw the entrance was sealed with stone, and there seemed no other way inside. With my earth magic I blasted the barrier apart, sending rocks flying, and Jasin dove for the hole I’d made.
Another dragon let out a shriek and a tornado suddenly slammed into Jasin, knocking me off his back. I flew through the air in a daze, trying to breathe, scrambling to grab hold of something. Then my training kicked in and I gathered the air around me, stopping my fall and lifting me higher into the sky.
As I hovered there, a dark green dragon flew toward me. I leaped onto Slade’s back, and he sped toward the temple. With his great size he was slower than Jasin, but we managed to fly through the entrance and come to a halt inside.
Jasin and Isen were right at our heels, both of them crashing into the floor with heavy thuds that sent cracks through the marble. Isen was up first, his lithe golden body twisting to attack Jasin with his claws, but Slade blocked him with his own larger frame. My Emerald Dragon let out a deep roar that made the entire temple tremble, and the marble below us split open down a line from him to Isen. The other dragon leaped into the air to avoid the attack, before throwing a lightning bolt at Slade.
Slade shifted back into a human, decreasing his size instantly, and rolled out of the way—a trick we’d learned from Doran. He yanked his axe off his back and charged forward with a shout, his eyes wild. Isen knocked Slade back with his tail, but then Jasin tackled him, tearing into his side with his claws. I trapped Isen’s front and back legs with earth magic, forming stone around them so that he was unable to move. He struggled against me and I added ice, making it creep up his body, but he was so strong I knew I couldn’t hold him for long.
“Now, Slade!” I yelled.
Slade’s axe flashed with a glow the color of fresh leaves before he swung it at Isen’s chest. The Golden Dragon let out a piercing shriek as the blade cut through his scales, fueled by Slade’s own magic. Isen thrashed and fought with everything he had, blasting us with lightning and wind that sent us flying back, but we didn’t stop.
Where the axe touched Isen, stone began to form. Dark gray slate quickly spread across his body, covering the golden scales, while his ear-piercing howls continued. When the stone covered his face, the Golden Dragon finally went silent.
Slade yanked his axe from Isen’s chest. As soon as it was removed the dragon’s body broke apart, crumbling into hundreds of pieces of rubble at our feet.
A soul-rending scream filled our ears from outside the Spirit Temple, so loud and horrifying it could only be from the Black Dragon herself. She’d sensed her mate had died, and although I empathized with how much pain and suffering she must be going through, I didn’t feel bad for what we’d done.
As if responding to her screams, the temple walls on every side of us suddenly burst apart in a spray of stone and dust. It covered us, blinded us, and filled our lungs. When I could see again, I realized she’d torn open the temple’s walls, leaving only the roof and the columns holding it up. What had once been a beautiful building was now little more than ruins, which looked as though they might collapse at any moment. Gods, the Black Dragon was powerful. Too powerful, even now with one of her mates gone.
Now that the temple was open to the world on every side, I could see the other Dragons fighting under the hazy sky. Sark and Reven shot fire and ice at each other, both moving so quickly they were little more than a blur. The Black Dragon tossed my father aside, causing him to hit the rocky mountain behind the temple, where he fell and crashed into the stream below. She then soared back into the thick of the battle, grabbing more of our soldiers in her talons to drain their lives. We had to stop her quickly.
A huge green dragon slammed against the floor of the temple in front of me, his wings spread so wide it blocked out everything else. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done,” Heldor growled.
He snapped at me with his fangs, but then Auric was there, yanking me out of the way with his air magic. He blocked me with his golden body and faced Heldor down, while Jasin and Slade moved in from either side. Four huge dragons ready to fight, and me standing in the middle of them.
“Go,” Auric told me. “Help Reven. We’ve got this one.”
I sheathed my sword and ran out of the temple, or what was left of it anyway. As the plains below me came into a view, I stared at the destruction before me, the revulsion from so much death nearly overpowering my senses. It was against everything my life magic stood for, and it took all my power not to run away. The Black Dragon fed on death and misery, eating the darkness and becoming stronger. It was time to take away more of her powers and end this nightmare forever.
35
Reven
I felt a tug through the bond, urging me to go to Kira, and I changed course immediately to swoop down toward her. She stood in front of the crumbling temple, covered in pale dust, making her red hair appear almost white. As I drew near, she leaped onto my back, her eyes blazing with determination.
“Let’s stop Sark, once and for all,” she said.
A grin spread across my face, making my fangs emerge. Sark had taken everything from us—and now he was going to pay. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
I launched us into the air, the wind whipping at my wings. Sark rose before us, his blood red body shining under the sun. Hatred filled my chest, along with my need for vengeance, but I didn’t let it consume me. This wasn’t only about revenge or justice. This was about stopping him from hurting anyone else.
My body was already burnt in three places, and my ice had torn through the scales on Sark’s back. We’d already been fighting for what felt like hours, but neither of us could best the other. With Kira by my side, that might change.
The Crimson Dragon opened his mouth and scorching hot fire flew toward us. I let out a stream of water from my own mouth to combat it, while Kira threw bolts of lightning and blades of ice at Sark. He managed to dodge them all, moving unnaturally fast despite his size. In both forms he was an expert of combat, and he’d had many years to hone his skills. He was the one fighter I was willing to admit might be even better than me.
Across the field, the Black Dragon suddenly let out another of her terrible screams, which tore through my ears, struck me in the heart, and ripped through my bones. Balls of fire suddenly rained down from the sky, as if the sun itself was attacking us, and soldiers below us screamed in agony as they hit the fields and consumed them. Kira did her best to stop more flames from falling or the fires from spreading, while I blasted what I could with water, but it was too much for us to handle. The Black Dragon’s magic was too strong, fueled by her pain over her mates’ deaths and the lives she’d been stealing.
Her Elemental Dragons: The Complete Series Page 61
