He thrust his blade forward, but Galedar blocked the strike. Devarius pushed forward. He noticed the emperor was tiring, not as much as a normal man, but he was slower than before. Devarius had had a break, the emperor hadn’t. His sword flashed as he used Dancing Firefly. He moved his body to the attack, his legs hiking high with each strike. Devarius used his whole body for each strike, leaning forward, pushing his leg and knee forward with his strike. It was working. Devarius was on the complete offensive. Galedar barely kept up with his defensive blocks, but he was keeping up.
Clumsy footsteps pounded against the earth to the side of their battle. Devarius’ eyes shifted as he saw Galedar’s dragon approaching. The beast was injured, and limping the whole way, but it was still more powerful than Devarius. When the dragon neared, its mouth opened. Flames erupted from the creature toward Devarius. Devarius flinched, but he dared not take his attention away from Galedar. If he did, he would certainly die.
Before the flames could reach him, a blast of ice breath intercepted them. The air from the fire blast continued forward, and a warm rain began falling sideways against Devarius and Galedar. Devarius didn’t need to turn around to know Ayla was there. She was protecting him.
Thank you, Devarius said in his mind.
You’re welcome, little one. You need to finish this. I can’t stop this dragon forever.
I’m trying.
Devarius pressed on. He noticed the emperor’s blocks growing less precise. Devarius’ eyebrows furrowed. He pressed on, changing forms to Swat the Bee. It was a more sporadic attack, more random. He was gaining an edge. His sword broke through Galedar’s defenses. He slashed the emperor’s weapon down, then shoved the sword into Galedar’s gut. Galedar stepped away swiftly, but the damage had been done. He immediately refocused and was able to block the rest of Devarius’ attacks.
The dragon roared, a roar louder than any he’d heard. His dragon was mad. Galedar brought his hand in front of his body and used magic to push Devarius back. Then Galedar ran to his dragon.
“Attack!” Devarius yelled, pointing his sword toward the emperor.
Arrows flew. Dozens of them bounced off the side of the dragon as Galedar climbed the ladder up the beast’s side.
“Use the oil!” Devarius shouted.
More arrows flew. Many of them were doused in ice wyvern oil. Parts of the dragon began to turn blue and tried to freeze. The dragon growled as it frantically spat fire on itself to warm its body.
Devarius ran forward as the dragon was distracted. He approached the beast, slamming his sword into the dragon’s chest. It penetrated through the scales, but not by much. The dragon shrieked as it looked down. It tried to blow fire, but nothing came from its throat but wind. The breath was enough to blow Devarius off his feet. His sword fell with him, falling out of the dragon’s chest. Blood stained its tip, a deeper crimson than anything else he’d seen.
The dragon leapt into the air. Its wings flapped as it attempted to exit the city. Before it could flee too far, a ballista bolt pierced its wing. The dragon faltered for a moment as it used its good wing to help propel it from the city. Its flight wasn’t pretty, but it had enough strength to exit the city.
Devarius turned around to see Naveen at the mounted ballista. He smiled at her. They hadn’t defeated the emperor, but they had won the battle. The tide had turned.
Chapter 39
Devarius rushed into the city, Zaviana at his side. He went through alleyways until he found the shop he was looking for. Stepping inside, he gasped. Half the vials he’d brought with him were missing. His teeth clenched.
“What are you doing?” Zaviana asked from behind him.
“We need to finish this battle,” Devarius said through clenched teeth.
He opened his sash and carefully began placing vials of wyvern oil inside.
“What do you plan to do?” Zaviana asked.
“Ayla and I will take to skies to join the rest of the wyvernriders.”
“My wyvern is injured. I can’t join you.”
Devarius smiled. “It’s all right, sister. I can handle this.”
“I want to help.”
Devarius wrinkled his nose. “How hurt is your wyvern?”
“Her wing is damaged.”
“Is it broken?” he asked.
“I don’t believe so. I think it’s dislocated.”
Devarius grabbed an extra blue and red vial. “Let me try something.”
Zaviana bit her lip. She gathered several vials to put in her sash. Then she followed Devarius out the door.
“Call her,” Devarius said.
“Yasmirah,” Zaviana said.
The purple wyvern approached them. Devarius put both vials in his left hand as he reached out with his right. Yasmirah sniffed him, but stood rigid.
“It is all right, Yasmirah. Trust him.”
Yasmirah leaned down, showing Devarius her injured wing. Devarius reached his hand up and touched the injury. Yasmirah whimpered. He cupped his hand around the joint attaching the wing to the wyvern’s body and squeezed gently. The wyvern snarled.
“It’s not broken. I believe you’re right, Zavi. It looks to be dislocated. I believe I can pop it back into the socket, but it will hurt ... a lot.”
“Yasmirah?” Zaviana paused as she listened. She turned to Devarius and nodded. “She will allow you to try.”
“Tell her not to eat me.” Devarius grinned.
Zaviana laughed. The wyvern snickered.
Devarius grabbed the joint again, this time with both hands, and shoved it back into place. The wyvern shrieked and flung its wings back.
“Calm down, girl. Here, this will help.”
Yasmirah relaxed a little, but her wings shivered. Devarius removed the cork to the fire oil. He poured a small amount on the joint. The wyvern moaned as the oil caught aflame, burning lightly on the wyvern’s joint. Devarius capped the vial, then grabbed the ice oil. He slowly poured it over the soft flames at the wyvern’s joint. The flames disappeared, and ice took its place, forming over the joint with frost radiating from it.
Devarius capped the vial, then placed it in his sash with the others. “It’s not a perfect fix, but the heat and cold should help soothe the ache. You’ll still need to rest for a few days, but at least for now you should be able to fly. That is, if you want to.”
Zaviana smiled. “Yasmirah?”
Devarius raised his brows.
“Let’s go,” Zaviana said.
Devarius called Ayla to him. He climbed onto the saddle, and they flew into the sky. Zaviana and her wyvern were right behind them. Devarius grinned. It was time to end this battle.
The dragons were outnumbered, with the wyverns gaining an edge. Galedar and his dragon were nowhere to be seen. Devarius flew up to circle one of the dragons giving several of his wyvernriders a hard time. Ayla flew over the dragon, and Devarius dropped one of his ice vials. It shattered onto the wing of the dragon. Ice entrapped the wing, causing the dragon to falter and begin to glide toward the ground. Devarius left the dragon, letting his wyvernriders finish off the beast as he focused on the next.
Zaviana wasn’t too far away, fighting her own foes. Devarius watched her use magic as well as the vials she’d taken to defeat several dragonriders. He was proud of her.
Devarius refocused on his own opponents. He and Ayla circled around dragon after dragon, throwing vials and blasting ice, and Devarius used his sword to slash at the wings of the massive dragons. From spins to loops, they fought. The dragons were overwhelmed by the hundreds of wyvernriders.
Together, they fought against the remaining dragonriders until the odds were so much in the favor of the resistance that the rest of the dragons fled. Devarius grinned as he heard the signal for retreat. Ayla and he watched as the dragons fled. They continued to attack, but not as vigorously. Devarius wanted them to keep retreating and not try to take one more wyvern out as they fled. He signaled for the rest of the wyvernriders to join him as they pushed the drago
ns out of the city. Devarius was done with the battle. He wanted it to be over, but for it to truly be over, they had to achieve victory. If the dragonriders only retreated to outside the city to regroup before another attack, it wouldn’t be good enough.
Outside the city, the empire was regrouping. Devarius snarled. He raised his sword in the air, and wyvern roars surrounded him as his wyvernriders pushed past him to attack the camps. Fire, ice, acid, wind, and lightning blazed the camps of the Dragonia Empire. Men fled their camps, grabbing what supplies they dared, and traveled west. The dragonriders attempted to fight back, but they were overwhelmed with the power of the wyvernriders. They dared not relent, and with the dragons grouped together, it was easier for the wyverns to use their elemental powers to strike multiple dragonriders at a time.
A battle began between the remaining dragonriders and the wyvernriders. All the men on foot were fleeing the mountain, but the dragonriders remained. Devarius entered the battle, fighting his hardest. He saw less than a hundred dragonriders remaining, and they still had at least two hundred wyvernriders. Many of his allies and friends had fallen, but not all. There were many of them injured back in Saefron.
Devarius pressed on, his sword swinging hard against the wings of dragons. Ayla’s breath froze as many wings as she could, and Devarius depleted the rest of his vials against the remaining dragonriders. They defeated three more of the dragonriders before they fled with the rest of their army.
The wyvernriders began to cheer their victory. They didn’t chase the army or the dragonriders, but a few wyverns continued to spit their elements at them with satisfaction. The battle was over. The empire had lost. They’d saved Saefron ... for now.
“We did it.” Devarius grinned.
Yes we did, little one, Ayla said.
Chapter 40
Ayla landed in Saefron with Devarius on her back. The rest of the wyverns followed. Everyone dismounted as they cheered. Men and woman came out into the streets. They began cheering as well. The long battle was over, and everyone was relieved. Devarius hugged Zaviana, raising her hand high in the air.
Ellisar staggered toward them. His stomach had been bandaged, but he was still weak. He shook Devarius’ hand. Ellisar turned to the crowd.
“Everyone!” He coughed. The crowd became silent. “Everyone, congratulations are in order. We defeated the Dragonia Empire. But remember, this war is far from over. This was one battle. And if we don’t act soon, they’ll recoup and return.”
Murmurs began in the crowd once more.
“Saefron is no longer safe,” Devarius said.
Ellisar shook his head. “No, no it’s not.”
“What do we need to do?”
“First, bury the dead. They deserve a proper burial,” Ellisar said.
“What about the warriors of the empire?” Zaviana asked.
“Take them outside, pile them up to rot,” Ellisar said.
“They’re human too.”
“Yes, they are. But we don’t have time to offer them a burial. I imagine the empire will be back soon. They can bury their own dead. We need to take care of our own, and we need to leave this city.”
Devarius nodded.
“People,” Ellisar called into the crowd. “Saefron is no longer safe. We cannot stay here. I need everyone to gather their belongings. Tonight, we bury the dead, and we drag the dead bodies of our attackers out of this city. But tomorrow, tomorrow we leave. We cannot wait. We need to rebuild.”
Most of the people surrounding them nodded their heads with approval. Some of them scowled as they departed, but most understood.
Devarius was looking forward to leaving Saefron. Truth be told, he was looking forward to returning to Adeth Peak Isle. He missed Aquila. Devarius had left her there to tend the wyvern hatchlings, and because he wanted her safe. He’d lost a lot of friends over the last few days. Grief began to sink in.
Tears filled everyone’s eyes. Most were tears of sadness from their lost loved ones, but many others wore tears of joy. They’d won; they’d defeated the empire. However, now they were hurt, and it would take a long time to rebuild. Progress would be slow, and Saefron was lost. They needed to relocate; they needed to train more wyverns.
“How long will it take us to rebuild?” Devarius asked.
Ellisar turned to him. “Rebuild?”
“We lost a lot of men these past few days, Ellisar. Hundreds of them. Many wyverns died as well. We narrowly defeated the empire. However, we were in our own fortified walls. We could never survive a force like that if we struck their stronghold.”
“No, we wouldn’t.”
“When will we be strong enough to fight the empire? I don’t mean this hiding and building, I mean actually fight them.”
Ellisar shrugged. “I don’t know, Devarius. We don’t have enough men. We don’t have enough allies. But, we won an important battle today. The empire retreats in defeat. I don’t know how far they will go, but remember this, their tail is between their legs tonight. Someone will see them. Someone out there will know they lost this battle. They will know the resistance defeated the empire. That is what Galedar has been fearing all along. He doesn’t fear the resistance; he doesn’t fear the people. He fears hope. We have given the people hope. Now, we’ll begin to have real allies, and I’d wager some of them will come from inside the empire’s own ranks. We just need to be careful how we tread.”
Devarius nodded. “Patience. I know. I’m not good at it.”
Ellisar laughed, a loud, rumbling belly laugh. “No, Devarius, you’re not. But, that’s why I keep you around. I’m slow to action, putting effort first to thought. However, you’re quick to action, quick to step in and be the hero. That is what makes you great. People look up to you. And hopefully, all the plans I’ve made to fight back against the tyranny will finally be put to use through you, through your action.”
“Where are the elemental humans?” Devarius asked.
“Elemental humans?” Ellisar asked.
“The men who drank the wyvern oil.”
“Ah.” Ellisar smiled. “They’re resting. They won’t recover until tomorrow.”
“They’re in a coma?” Zaviana asked.
“In a fashion, yes. Just like the shadowmen. They used a lot of energy, a lot of it borrowed. It will take them a while to recover their energy.”
“They saved us,” Devarius whispered.
“Yes, they did,” Ellisar agreed.
“You were right,” Devarius said.
Ellisar smiled. “It does not matter who was right or wrong. What matters is that we survived. And that we make the next step before the empire returns. We need to prepare. We need to be ready.”
“I’m anxious to return to Adeth Isle,” Devarius whispered.
“As am I,” Zaviana agreed.
Chapter 41
Devarius looked back at the city. Saefron was now abandoned. He hoped they could come back one day. Everyone who had died lay in an unmarked grave. Men stayed up all night making individual holes for each person. But they hadn’t the time to make gravestones. However, their mapmaker did have time to make a map where each person lay. The gravestones would come ... one day. If they ever truly defeated the Dragonia Empire and could return, they would give everyone a headstone. However, no one planned to return to Saefron to live. It was now Adeth Peak Isle. If they ever defeated the empire, they could move back to the land of Kaeldroga, where the people would be happiest. But, never again would it be Saefron.
He looked forward to returning to the island. Devarius wanted to continue training with the wyverns. He wanted to continue to learn how to use the wyvern oil, how to improve his aerial combat. What he truly wanted was freedom. His appetite had tasted revenge. Over the last few days, he’d slaughtered dozens of empire soldiers. But he’d had enough killing. He didn’t like killing other men. They were the same. Whether brown, white, or tan, men were men. Devarius hated killing men. He hated what they stood for. All he wanted was for them to see the t
rue corruption of the empire and to think for themselves.
They would arrive at the ships soon. Devarius walked by Zaviana’s side. After all these years, he was finally reunited with his sister. He’d thought he’d have to search the entire land of Kaeldroga, even over to Dragonia to find her. But she’d come home. They hadn’t had a true home in years, but when they were together ... that was home.
All the men and women of the resistance walked in silence toward the ship. They mourned the death of their loved ones. Devarius understood. Scuffling ahead of him snapped his attention from his thoughts. A woman screamed in the distance. Devarius pushed through the crowd, trying to see what was amiss.
Ellisar stared back at him, a sword protruding from his chest. Blood oozed out of his mouth as he collapsed forward. The emperor, Galedar, stood with a triumphant grin on his face, his sword held steady, blood dripping off of it and onto Ellisar’s back.
Devarius unsheathed his sword, charging the man. Everyone parted as Devarius yelled. Galedar raised his eyebrows as Devarius approached him. Devarius’ sword slammed into the space where Galedar stood, but he was no longer there. Turning, he searched for the emperor. A shadow disappeared in the corner of his eye. Devarius ran after it. The shadow twisted this way and that, disappearing through the crowd of men.
Galedar was gone. He’d stabbed Ellisar through the chest, then turned into a shadow to flee like a coward. Devarius gritted his teeth. He sheathed his sword and ran back to check on Ellisar. Devarius turned the leader over.
“Ellisar,” Devarius whispered.
Ellisar smiled. Blood gurgled from his mouth. He wasn’t dead yet ... but it wouldn’t be long.
“I’m sorry,” Devarius said.
Ellisar shook his head. “You’re in charge now, boy.”
“Me?” Devarius asked.
Ellisar coughed. More blood spat from his mouth. He nodded.
“Why me?”
“You’re the leader everyone needs right now. You will do well.”
Dragonia: Revenge of the Dragons (Dragonia Empire Book 2) Page 18
