“Got it!” they shouted in unison and then they began taking inventory of what was there with a devious look.
“Trin, Proctor, do what you can. Looks like there are enough barricades to provide cover to make it to the first who have fallen,” she told us. “Be safe.”
“You too,” I told her. Hoping she wouldn’t do something as stupid as sacrificing herself again.
Then she unfolded fiery wings from her back at the same time I heard the whooshing sound of dragon wings. I saw one approach the battlefield in the distance, it came from the inland. This must have been the dragon willing to fight on behalf of the Prince. One by one the dragons that Violet had brought with her launched into the air from the ships they had been resting on. They were so large, they needed the entire ship deck for each of their massive bodies.
They flew into the air and headed straight toward their brethren. Their roars were deafening and drowned out the sound of the battle below them. Flames spewed from their mouths, assaulting each other with fire.
I turned back and Violet was already in the air flapping her fiery wings.
“Grab on, I’m going to get you onto the beach quickly,” she said, looking at Proctor and I. He and I looked at each other, then ran to Violet. Each of us grabbed onto an arm and then we were soaring over the water. My toes skimmed the surface of the water which helped keep me cool. I could feel the heat of Violet’s wings on my face, arms and back, and it was hot as hell. Her wings were no doubt real fire.
Just as fast as the flight started, it ended and I was on my feet behind a rock barricade, with a dead body at my feet. Violet sent a surge of energy into my hand before she flew into the battle. If I wasn’t buzzing before from the adrenalin, then I definitely was now. I had too much energy and I didn’t have the ability to store it, so I needed to start using it right away. I looked down at the guy at my feet, who had taken an arrow to his shoulder. I pulled out the weapon, and then I got to work.
Chapter Twenty Six
Violet
I looked around and saw nothing but pure chaos. The dragons were engaged in a fight in the air. The dragon that Kennan had fighting for him was the largest I had ever seen. He was even bigger than the Dragon King, which was likely why he was here, the king couldn’t stop him. If I hadn’t been successful in my mission, I might have been terrified at the sight of the massive beast, flying towards us. Even as the Dragon-Kissed, I likely wouldn’t have been able to stop them. However, I had three dragons on my side, and that had to help even out the playing field, or in this case airfield. They shot flames at each other as they did flips and dodges through the air. Part of me wished I could watch as their fight played out, but I had my own to get to. None of this would stop until either Kennan and Samantha and their father perished, or I fell instead.
What a sobering thought.
Arrows flew all around me. I dodged them to the best of my ability. The ones that tried to hit my wings were burnt to a crisp and went through them, the arrow tip coming out burnt on the other side. I didn’t hang around in one spot long enough for those archers to take aim at me again, and I kept moving along the beach.
Magical blasts were being exchanged from across the battlefield as the magic-workers engaged each other. I wasn’t worried about the magic-workers at this exact moment. While I worried about them as a whole, the person I needed to keep an eye out for right now didn’t have magic. I finally spotted him engaged in a sword fight with an enemy much larger than him. His sword vibrated each time it clashed with his opponent’s. I hurled a fireball at the enemy which distracted him long enough for Thomas to make his finishing move, dragging the blade along the man’s neck. He crumpled to the ground as he bled out, gasping for breath that wouldn’t come.
“Thanks!” Thomas called out, as I circled above him.
“Need a lift?” I asked. All around him, people were engaged in close quarters combat and he was trapped. He’d have to fight his way out to make any ground.
“Please?” he asked, and I swooped down to get him.
“Tell me where,” I said, as I lifted him in the air. He was just as heavy as Axel, and it was a struggle to gain some height to get us out of danger.
“The front line has progressed almost to the treeline. Drop me in a tree and I can make a stealth attack, then create a diversion,” he answered.
I swooped down to the treetops, careful not to let my wings touch any of the leaves. While I could put out a small fire if I needed to, I needed to save all the magic I could, and didn’t need to waste it on fire fighting.
“Good luck, stay safe. I promised Trin you’d be ok, don’t do anything heroic or stupid,” I warned him.
He looked gutted at the mention of her name.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“On the beach, bringing back the dead.”
He looked terrified, not of what she was doing, but of the risk it posed to her.
“She’s just as worried about you. I’ve got to go, but when this is all over, just tell her how you feel,” I said.
“Are you asking that as my Queen?” he asked.
“No, there’s no order. Just asking as someone who cares about you both. Stay alive, Thomas,” I said, and then took back to the sky.
I heard Thomas drop down to the ground and charge toward the backs of our enemies. I hoped to the Goddess that he wouldn't make me into a liar. The last thing I wanted was to see a broken hearted Trin, or have her hate me for not protecting him. But I couldn’t fully protect him and pick my own battles. He was a very skilled fighter and he knew what he was doing. Now that I had given him the advantage of picking where he launched an attack from, I had to hope that would be enough.
As I hovered in the air, I looked for Victoria and Kennan. I spotted Victoria, barely. Her transparent spirit was engaged in combat with Samantha. Thank the Goddess for that, because if I came across Samantha and Kennan at the same time, I probably wouldn’t stand a chance. Not if Kennan continued to siphon power from magic-workers up until today. There was no telling how powerful he had become since I killed him in the last trials. Samantha was a natural born magic-worker, and she was very skilled with her ability.
Blast after blast was hurled between Samantha and Victoria. Anything that would have hit Victoria phased right through her. She just needed to wear Samantha down to do some damage.I wasn’t sure exactly what Victoria could do to Samantha without having a physical form, but I couldn’t stay to find out, even though I wanted to. I’d never have an opportunity like this again to watch my great grandmother in action. She was truly the definition of a bad ass, and even in death she put in work. Objects went flying through the air as she hurled them at Samantha, who had to move double time to avoid them. It would drain Samantha, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Samantha was in all black. Her leggings hugged her figure, and her black v-neck had a couple of singe marks in it. She looked like a rabid animal, her hair was wild and so were her eyes. I swooped down to see if I could assist Victoria, deciding to at least provide a distraction to help.
“Go!” she shouted. “Find the Prince.”
I didn’t want to leave her, but I knew she was right, I needed to find Kennan. Fighting side by side with Victoria wasn’t meant to be.
“Have you seen him?” I asked.
“No,” she answered, hurling a powerful blast of air at Samantha, which knocked her off balance for a moment. Samantha recovered and stalked Victoria’s transparent form in a circle, looking for any weakness or opening she could use.
Victoria generated lighting with her hands and shot it at Samantha in a series of quick strikes. One hit Samantha and she seemed to absorb it. Then she smiled, and it sent a shiver up my spine. She could actually be worse than her brother, not only was she more sadistic, but she was silent so you never knew what she was thinking. Her brother on the other hand was desperate to prove himself, which had him begging for recognition. That was his weakness. He wanted others to know what he could do, ho
w powerful he was. Samantha had no obvious weaknesses that I could identify.
She too might have been my cousin, but I saw no family resemblance. The only thing we had in common was a quiet intellect.
“I said go, child. I’ve got this one,” Victoria ordered.
“Be safe,” I said.
“She can’t hurt me like she can you,” Victoria said.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, old goat,” Samantha said, with a deep chuckle.
I caught the breeze with my wings and left before I could find out what Samantha was talking about.
Where the hell could Kennan be? Is he really that much of a coward that he couldn’t face me?
I looked at the fighting going on below. The beasts were helping the femen take on the wolves, but the numbers of Kennan’s army seemed to be growing, despite the number we had already taken down. With the thick tree cover behind the beach, it would be easy to hide how many troops there really were. We would continue to fight thinking there was a light at the end of the tunnel when there wasn’t. There could be a hundred or a thousand men hiding in the forests and we’d have no idea. The one thing we had going for us were our two necromancers who could keep our numbers from dropping too low. There was a good chance I could probably bring back the dead too, but I had no training, and it would be pure luck for me to bring anyone back. That would have to be something I tried after this fight was over. I had to get into the thick of it and take out Kennan to stop this. Once he, his sister, and his father fell, the fighting would stop and I would win.
Currently there were two enemies on the beach for every one of my allies. I didn’t like those odds, especially given what could still be hiding, and Kennan hadn’t even shown up yet.
The dragons flew past me, and they shot fire at each other. The heat was intense and I was sweating under my armor. Their roars were ear piercing and it was hard to hear myself think over the sounds. One of the dragons on my side flew right into the path of the one who fought for Kennan. They crashed into the distant forest in a chorus of anguished screams. The ground vibrated as they crashed into it, rattling everything like an earthquake. I looked around and no one else seemed to share the heart shattering feeling I had at their battle sounds. I could somehow feel their pain. The ability to feel their pain must be part of being Dragon-Kissed.
Just what I need, to feel more pain.
I strategically aimed balls of fire and ice into the forest, as I tried to draw out some of the enemies likely hiding there. I heard cries of pain as my hits made their marks. I tried to keep my hits clean, so that if they died, they’d be easier for Trin or Proctor to bring back. Eventually we’d save what part of Kennan’s forces we could, and make them surrender. We’d allow them to live in peace if they could do that.
Before I knew it, there was an arrow stuck in my thigh and I felt the urge to scream, but I reined it in. Blood began to flow from the wound and slowly trickled down my ankle. While still in the air I pulled the arrow free, letting out a painful gasp. I felt slightly woozy but I sent a little healing energy to the area before throwing more fire and ice to the enemies hiding in the trees. I hoped I hit that jerk that got me.
I slowly began to flush them out. Their only way to get away from my attacks was to move towards the beach. I was herding them like a flock of sheep. They would soon face my army. My forces seemed small when comparing numbers, but they were mighty, and I’d be providing arial support.
As Keenan’s army crowded their way onto the beach in a panic, I continued my attacks. I was shooting ice spears left and right at anyone who wasn't an ally. I could feel it taking its toll on me, and I’d need to rest soon, but I kept going, determined to give my side a more even advantage.
I heard an ungodly screeching sound. As I continued to hear the sounds, despite covering my ears, I realized that it wasn’t coming from one source, but many. There were hundreds of individual screams. The combined sound was enough to drive anyone mad, and instil terror in one’s heart. The screams suddenly became crying wails of sorrow which stopped me dead in my tracks. I recognized the source of those screams and cries. They were Trin, Star, Luna and Axel. I looked around desperately trying to see what was happening to them.
I dropped to the ground, because I knew I was going to have to run through the trees. I knew I was safer in the air, but I seemed to lose all reason, they were in trouble, and I needed to get to them. I followed the sound of their cries as I pushed through the trees, it felt like torture listening to so much anguish, and I felt a panic like I’d never known. After almost losing them in the first trials, thoughts of anything bad happening to them spiked my anxiety. My stomach had dropped, my heart was racing, and I was scared of what I would eventually find.
Wait, Star and Luna were supposed to be on the ship, protecting our family. I broke out into a cold sweat as their cries and screams got louder. I kept moving in the direction of the screams. I shot upward into the air, risking catching the trees on fire, and found our fleet of ships. Star and Luna tossed flaming rocks at the long tentacles of a massive sea creature. It lunged out of the way of a flaming boulder, causing a large wave that rocked the boats. Aunt Beetie, her daughters and other grandchildren were throwing the bombs that she had made. When they made contact with the creature, it screamed.
If they were on the ship, what was making their screams?
When I was upon the source, I almost peed myself.
Instead of seeing my family, I found hideous creatures. They appeared to be women with long matted and stringy dark hair. Their dark purple skin was rotting and covered in dirt, blood and leaves. They smelled horrible, like sewage and death. The screaming sounds were coming from their open mouths of decaying teeth.
I searched my mind for supernatural legends.
Were these banshees? Don’t they usually warn of death? Oh Goddess, I hope not.
I started shooting flames at the creatures to stop their screaming. I hit one, and listened to its screaming increase as it sizzled. Its hair caught on fire, and it writhed in pain. Finally it dropped to the ground, no longer moving. I turned my attention to the next one and put it out of its misery. I started targeting them one by one and had taken out ten of them when I was slammed in my side by a large object. I had still been flying, so whatever hit me had been airborne. I twisted my body and got my wings moving rapidly to catch the air, and stop my freefall into the trees below. When I got my shit together and I flew higher in elevation and I located Kennen.
He was the one who hit me, and he was flying. Scratch that, he wasn’t flying, but he was hovering. I could feel the manipulation of the air around him.
“What are those?” I shouted at Kennan over the screaming.
“Those, my dear Violet, are banshees. Everyone who hears them will hear the sounds of those they love dying. Right now your whole army should be crippled by the sounds of their loved ones screaming and crying in terror. Those stupid enough to try to follow the sounds to stop them, will be met by death at their disgusting hands,” he said..
Leave it to Kennan to start off our showdown with dramatics.
“All you have to do is make a promise to leave my kingdoms alone and stop hurting magic-workers, and we will leave,” I told him.
“Fat chance of that. If you leave here, I will follow you. This will end here, today. It’s about time that our strategies and plotting came to a head. I hear you no longer have a defensive fortress, that’s too bad,” he taunted.
At least he was honest about his intentions.
“That’s ok, it's just a stack of stones. When I kick your ass, I’ll go take back my home,” I said defiantly, with more confidence than I felt.
He had the nerve to laugh at that.
“Violet, while you’ve been preparing, I have been too. Since our last faceoff, where you kamikazed, taking us both out of the sky, I’ve been gaining more power. I’ve collected the power of half of my magic-workers. Those who don’t pledge to fight for me become a part of my persona
l collection,” he said, as he held his hand out.
He switched between the elements in his hand. Then he stuck up the four fingers of the hand and tucked in his thumb. On the tip of each finger was a different element. The pinky had water droplets moving above it. The ring finger had tiny pebbles which continued to collide with each other, over and over. The middle finger had what looked like a mini tornado spinning around on top of it. The pointer finger had a small flame, which looked like it had come from a lighter.
Considering he was doing all of that, while still maintaining his position in the air, I’d say he was right. He was better prepared, and my fight would be even harder than the last. I had to keep in mind I was more prepared too. I had even more control over my abilities, and I knew more about what I was capable of.
“Maybe you are the one who wants to change their mind. Do you wish to surrender?” he asked me, as he closed his hand into a fist. All the elements vanished.
“I didn’t bring all of this to your door to surrender,” I told him.
“Well then, looks like we will see who came better prepared,” he said, raising his fists like he was about to punch me.
“You forgot, back in Arlington I was a nerd, a scholarship kid. I was smart then, and my intelligence has only grown. Us nerds always show up prepared,” I said, hurling a gust of wind at him.
He let go of his control of the air and dropped down five feet to miss the wind. It didn’t slam into him like I hoped it would. He threw a ball of fire at me. I spun around and let my wings absorb it, and they grew a little brighter.
“Interesting,” he mumbled out loud, then he flew around to try to get a better look at my wings. I turned my body to prevent that, I had to keep him in front of me at all times. If wartime combat had a book for dummies, the name of the first chapter would be, “Don’t turn your back on the enemy, ever!”
He threw a handful of rocks the size of cannonballs at me. I watched as they soared up from the ground right at me. While I could form the rock in the air with my magic he could not. He wouldn’t be able to create new matter, which was interesting.
Emerald Wars (The Dream Traveler Book 3) Page 18
