“Who do you think they are?” Adina asked. “What do they want?”
“Likely, not anything good,” Apophis said. “They are definitely surprised to see us. Look how they scrambled off the rock. There are twelve of them, I think.”
“Maybe we should just leave,” Isabella said. “We could just fly over to the mainland and hide out for a while.”
The white-gold shook her head. “No,” she said sternly. “This island belongs to the dragons by right and we will defend it, if necessary. I will not be bullied or intimidated by those who don’t believe dragons and humans cannot live together in peace. We will go see what they want.”
Isabella knew better than to challenge the alpha so she turned to Adina before she jumped up on Sisera’s back. “Remember when I dropped that glass vat and sunk into the ground? I didn’t fill the hole, I just covered it with the vat. It would make an excellent hiding spot.,” she said before the gold-purple took off to follow Apophis.
The massive alpha dragon landed on the rock outcropping and flared her wings as a show of dominance. Sisera landed next to the rock and took the place that was normally reserved for Brendoth.
The dam that held back Isabella’s emotions broke when she scanned the faces of the men who stood before them. She immediately stopped when she found one that she recognized. She felt a lot of anger and fear flood through her, but what filled her most was fear.
It’s him.
Isabella crouched low on Sisera’s back. She could hear Apophis speaking to the High Priest of the Sacred Blood Brotherhood and his sinister-looking companion but the words may as well have been animal noises. The only thing in her mind was the painful memory of the fear she felt during the Sacred Blood’s attack on the Tower of Mara, when that horrible man had captured her and held her helpless, like she was a ragdoll in his magical grip.
“Isabella. Get it together. We’re going to have to fight.”
Isabella refocussed her eyes and saw that her former captor had taken off running toward the westside of the island which left her confused and disoriented.
“Don’t worry. Apophis is going after that one. We get the big group.”
The gold-purple pumped her wings and took flight.
“I’m sorry. I think I’m OK,” Isabella said as she fought to find her footing so she didn’t fall off the dragon.
“I can read your thoughts and your feelings. You can’t lie to me,” Sisera said. “But, don’t worry. Ten men is nothing compared to what we have battled before.”
“I suppose,” Isabella said aloud. Perhaps courage was like a smile, she thought, if you fake it long enough it becomes real. “Let’s burn them.”
Sisera hovered above the group of soldiers who had banded together to form a spiked shell using their shields and spears. Neat trick but it won’t help, she said before blowing out a column of dragonfire that completely engulfed the soldiers. When she stopped the attack, they found the soldiers to be unharmed and surrounded by a sphere of green light.
“The other one is a mage,” Isabella shouted as she scanned the ground for a sign of his whereabouts. “Circle around. We need to find him.”
The gold-purple flew up but the height made the task of finding a black-clad figure in the dark much more difficult so she began to dive when suddenly a massive, armored elephant appeared on the westside of the island.
“Where in the hells did that thing come from?” Isabella shouted, pointing at the towering beast.
“It’s probably just an illusion,” Sisera said. “Like he used at the Tower of Mara.”
Isabella was about to respond when Sisera twisted unexpectedly and began to fall toward the ground.
The soldiers below had taken advantage of the pair’s momentary distraction and launched an assault against them, throwing the spears with incredible power and accuracy thanks to the magic of Lord Zellox. What really surprised the dragon and her rider was that the spears actually pierced Sisera’s armor-like scales instead of rebounding or shattering as they normally did against her. One spear almost found its way into Isabella’s head but her magical shield of purple fire stopped it mere inches from her face.
The gold-purple had been flying too low to recover before she crashed into the ground. She rolled to stop fifty yards from the soldier’s shell of shields that was now without its spikes. Isabella managed to jump away from the dragon at the last moment but she also suffered an equally rough landing.
“Sisera!” Isabella screamed as she forced her battered body to pull itself off the ground and she ran to her dragon.
“I’m alive,” Sisera moaned. “I’ve never been hit like that before. Even that net the Brotherhood caught me in didn’t hurt as much as these things.”
Isabella tried to pull out the spear-shafts but they remained firmly lodged in the gold and purple dragonscale. When she tugged on them, she could feel the pain that Sisera was experiencing but luckily for her it was a diluted and dull sensation. She quickly ran to grab the spear she had deflected and inspected it. At the tip of the spear was black metal and had three nasty-looking barbs.
“This would be why,” she said angrily, shaking the spear at Sisera. “It will take a while to dig them out but I don’t have time. Those soldiers are on their way toward us.”
In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the soldier’s formation but it was definitely making slow and steady progress toward them. Isabella gripped the spear and ran toward the solid block of shields. She leaped into air and landed square in the middle of a shield that protected the group from above. The force of her impact knocked that man, as well as the two men who had their shields locked with his, to the ground. The other six men were knocked back but they did not fall. They quickly recovered from the blow and set themselves in a formation to fight the Dragonblood.
Isabella looked around at the men who formed a loose circle around her. Most had abandoned their shields but all were now brandishing their swords, menacingly at her. They all lunged together in a coordinated movement, attempting to stab her, knowing that she could not possibly defend all attacks simultaneously. The attacks all ended the same way though, deflected by purple fire.
“My turn,” she said and flew into a whirlwind of gold and purple. The heavy spear that she recovered from the soldiers was a blur in her hands, swinging wildly and bringing death to those it struck. She could see flashes of green light trying to defend the soldiers but she was moving faster than it could keep up. Soon, all six men lay dead on the grass.
“No wonder he wants you so badly,” the short mage said who sauntered toward her. He was a foul looking man, with twisted yellow teeth and dark, thin hair. “If I thought you would accept, I would offer you a position in my army but I know that you won’t.” The man strode up confidently, stopping just a few feet away.
“Kill him now.”
Isabella could feel the dragon’s need for vengeance but she hesitated. She could see a faint green shimmer completely surrounding the man which led her to believe that he was protecting himself with a spellshield. His magic had protected his men when the gold-purple bathed them with dragonfire so what could she do against it.
The roar of a dragon filled the night air. The two combatants turned to see what the commotion was. There was enough moonlight to see that there was a dark form now attached to the side of the white-gold.
The mage let out a sinister chuckle. “It seems that you are the only one left unharmed,” he said, “for now.”
Isabella reacted immediately to his implied threat. She swung the spear at the mage but the shaft of the weapon disintegrated in her hands which sent the black, barbed tip flying off into the darkness.
“Stop,” the mage said coolly. “I do not know the extent of your abilities and I do not wish to find out. I would like to offer you a deal.”
“Don’t trust him.”
Isabella agreed with Sisera’s assessment but she indicated to the mage that she would hear him out.
“This is not my
fight. Yes, I have a deal with Tarak which includes your capture. He did not mention, however, your extreme prowess in battle,” the mage said, his pale blue eyes locked on Isabella’s. “I suppose we could fight for a while and I can see that it would be a good one, but I did not get to where I am today by fighting good battles, especially ones where my victory is uncertain. So, here is what I propose: you allow me to leave and return to where I came from, which is very far from here, and I will go without any more hostilities toward you or your dragon. Also, I will leave without killing the woman who is hiding in your camp.”
The mention of Adina gave Isabella a sick feeling in her stomach. She had been certain that they would not have seen the old woman from that distance and in the dark.
“We are both in a bad position that we don’t need to be in. I personally have no interest in you, and you don’t know me, so for us to go through the dance would be utterly meaningless.”
Suddenly, there was a thunderous crash. Both the Dragonblood and the mage turned to see the source of the tremendous noise. All they could see in the moonlight was that a white form had struck a mountain peak.
“Apophis!” the girl screamed.
“Well, it seems that fate has played you a sour hand, though my proposal still stands. Fly away now and allow me to make my escape. I would give you my word but I doubt that you would take it.”
Isabella blankly stared at the repulsive little man, her mind racing to make the decision. Finally, she nodded and turned to walk toward the gold-purple dragon who was now struggling to her feet. Before her eyes, the spears that were protruding from the dragon’s body shrunk in size and fell to the ground. She turned back to look at the mage.
“A sign of good faith,” he said, flashing her a gnarled grin before walking away.
“He’s an interesting character,” Sisera said as Isabella approached.
“One I hope to never meet again,” she said aloud. “Are you OK?”
“Better now that those spears aren’t in me,” the gold-purple said with a sigh of relief.
Another thunderous crash sent tremors through the ground. The white form, that could only be the body of Apophis, hit the ground at the base of mountain that she struck.
“Do you think she’s dead?” Isabella asked, suddenly very scared.
Seems likely. She is not one to lay down during a fight. Sisera mindlinked.
The Dragonblood girl knew that Sisera’s attempt at humor was just a way of dealing with the sadness that Isabella could feel roiling within the dragon. Isabella was having a hard time keeping her own emotions in check but she forced herself to choke back the tears because they were still not out of the woods yet.
“Let’s circle around the outside of the island and attack from behind. That should give us a pretty big advantage,” Isabella said. Her voice was trembling as badly as her hands were but she was determined. A thought then occurred to her, “Are you OK to fly?”
“Yes. The wounds are healing already.”
Isabella climbed gently up the dragon’s back to ensure that she did not cause any more damage to the beast. The gold-purple pumped her wings, slowly at first, then when she was certain that they were strong enough, pushed off the ground and took flight.
The night was still dark, with the twin crescent moons providing only a limited amount of light but they did not need much to follow the mountains that lined the coast of the island. Sisera flew slowly at first but once her confidence in her wings grew, their speed increased and they soon rounded the north tip of the island.
“Are you ready?”
“I think I need a minute first,” Isabella said. “Just set down on that rock.”
The gold-purple landed on a large, flat-surfaced rock next to the coastline. The pair was sprayed with a cool, salty mist as big waves crashed against the base of the rock.
“I’m not sure that I am ready for this. When I saw him earlier, I froze. How am I supposed to fight him?” Isabella said loudly, not bothering to try to hold back her tears.
“You should have more faith in yourself. Look at what you have accomplished already. If you can defeat a whole army single-handedly, we should have no problem defeating this one man together.”
“He’s not just any man. You don’t know. You weren’t there,” Isabella snapped but instantly regretted her outburst. “I’m sorry. I know that you are not the enemy. I just don’t think that I can face him.”
“I know that you can. I can feel it pent up inside of you. I can feel your need, your thirst, for vengeance. You need to stand up to him for what he did to you. To all of us. This time there is no cursed armor and I will be there alongside of you. We have to do this. For Apophis.” Sisera began to choke up too when she mentioned their fallen leader. “Besides, Adina is still up there and we can’t leave her to be found by that monster.”
Isabella nodded. Of course, Sisera was right. They could not abandon Adina. The old woman had become like a grandmother to Isabella and she loved her dearly. She ran a sleeve over her eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
Sisera flew slowly to the peak of the closest mountain. The mountains that surrounded the island were hundreds of feet tall but had a thin base in comparison, only a few dozen feet across. The ocean-side had the look of any other mountain, though much steeper but the other three sides were entirely vertical. This allowed them to sit so close together and create the bowl like effect. Isabella only now thought about how odd it was.
“Obviously, created with magic.”
“Obviously by someone with great power. Let’s hope this Tarak doesn’t possess that level of ability,” Isabella said as the dragon landed on the peak.
They looked down at the scene below and Isabella gasped. It wasn’t the still corpse of the white-gold laying crumbled in the distance, though that struck a deep chord. The High Priest had found Adina.
“The mage betrayed us. Look. He is still there.” Sisera said through the mindlink.
Isabella instantly felt rage start pushing out all other emotions. “Let’s find out if he is truly as strong as he says he is,” Isabella said with as much confidence as she could muster. She stepped off the dragon’s back and let herself fall down the sheer cliff. She figured a dramatic entrance was in order.
Both men jumped back in surprise as the dragonblood girl slammed into the ground causing a tremor to shake the earth. Free from the High Priests hold, Adina immediately took off running south into the darkness.
Isabella stood in the slight crater cause by her impact, poised to fight. Flames grew around her hands as she shouted at the mage, “You said you were leaving. We had a deal.”
The mage looked nervous for a moment then a smile began to creep onto his face. “We still do. I just thought that you might need a little help,” he said as he let out a sinister chuckle.
Isabella wasn’t sure who looked more surprised; herself or the High Priest who was standing twenty feet in front of her.
“Traitor,” the big man shouted as he realized the plot against him and lunged toward the mage with his twin daggers out.
The mage threw up his arms and shouted to Isabella, “Burn him!”
Feeling all her fear and anger bubbling inside, Isabella focused her energy on the High Priest, the man who’d caused so much pain and distruction. She channeled that energy into her attack. Dragonfire instantly burst from her hands and completely engulfed the man in flame. A bubble of green light appeared around the High Priest, capturing the fire inside.
“It’s a spell bubble. He can’t get out or put out the fire,” the mage said as he continued to hold the spell in place.
Isabella watched in horror as her dragonfire melted the man inside the green sphere of light but she was thankful that she could not hear him if he screamed. She hated him more than anyone else in the world. This man was part of the attack on her family, friends, and followers and he tried to take her prisoner. She also held him responsible for the disappearance of Raven and Shayla, and by extens
ion, Caritha. She wanted nothing more than to kill this man but the way she got her revenge just did not feel right. This made her no better than the man cackling away as he held the bubble in place.
Sisera landed on the field next to the Dragonblood girl with Adina firmly on her back. The dragon knew what the girl was feeling and remained quiet. Words would not help right now anyway.
The green sphere slowly disappeared and the flames went out. Isabella moved closer to see but there was nothing left of the High Priest except for a charred body wearing a gold necklace with a black crystal pendant.
“As per our agreement, I will be taking my leave,” the mage said, a smile beaming on his face. He walked over to the burnt corpse, knelt down, and placed a hand on it. “I must say you do excellent work. You may now add ‘servant of Lord Zellox’ to your list of achievements.”
The wretched man laughed and it sent shivers down Isabella’s spine. She probably could have attacked him then, before he could react but she did not. She stood silently and watched. Blue light engulfed the man and the corpse. It began to grow brighter until Isabella could no longer keep her eyes on it. When she looked again, they were both gone.
Still without speaking, the trio walked over to the body of Apophis who was still heaped unceremoniously. Isabella and Adina began to sob uncontrollably, holding each other for comfort. Sisera wrapped a wing around the women and cried in her own way.
After a few moments, the tears dried up and Isabella broke the silence, “So, what should we do now?”
“We go to the witches on east Droll. They need to know what happened,” Adina said.
“Right,” Sisera said. “And, we need to find Brendoth before Nelarth hears of this. This changes everything. Caritha and Apophis were the only dragons capable of containing Nelarth. We could all soon be at war.”
“Didn’t Apophis say that there was another dragonblood near to the witches?” Isabella asked.
Adina responded with a nod. “That could be interesting. If we leave now, we can be there by breakfast time.”
Dragon Flight: Sisera's Gift 3 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 5) Page 31
