by Bianca D'Arc
Caught in a tree.
Blessed be the Mother of All.
“Riki!” The black dragon trumpeted Nico’s distress as he made his way back to where she’d fallen.
“I’m all right. I landed in a tree. I’m pretty high up. I don’t think the skiths can reach me up here.”
But they certainly had spotted her. Nico could see that easily enough from his position above. Several of the deadly creatures paused at the base of her tree, trying experimentally to spit at her, but thankfully, she really was out of their range.
“Can you shift and fly out?” Nico knew it was a long shot. She was too new to her wings to be able to shift and fly from such an awkward position.
“I doubt it. Not right now, anyway. I’m too shaken up. I’m content just to stay here for a bit. Nico, you have to go warn the Jinn.”
“I can’t leave you!”
“You must. Nico, even the magical circle around the encampment won’t keep out this many skiths. This is an attack. An organized one. Even I know this many skiths don’t just appear on their own. Especially not this far north.”
Nico had to acknowledge she was right. Someone had herded these skiths to attack the Jinnfaire. The people on the ground were mostly defenseless against such fierce creatures. Only dragons could adequately defend against an army of skiths, with their fire. It was the one thing skiths were afraid of.
But the Jinn claimed there were black dragons among them. Perhaps there would be enough to defend the huge number of people at the Jinnfaire. He wasn’t sure, but it really was their only shot.
“Nico, you have to help them!”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“But you have to. You must.”
Nico sighed with resignation. He knew what he had to do.
“You’re right.” Nico flew in a circle above Riki for a moment more, wishing he could kiss her, knowing he couldn’t. “Stay right there, sweetheart. Don’t move a muscle. You should be safe from the skiths where you are, so don’t try to go anywhere else, all right?”
“Believe me, I won’t move an inch. I’m still shaking too badly, for one thing.” Her little chuckle carried through her thoughts. Sweet Mother! How he loved this woman.
“All right. I’ll be back as soon as possible, with help. Stay right where you are and remember that I love you more than anything in this world.” His thoughts softened as he turned to wing away toward the Jinn encampment. “Without you, I’m lost, Riki. Stay safe for me, my dearest love.”
“I love you too, Nico. Warn the people, then hurry back to me.”
Riki sat in the tree, content to be safe for the moment from the spitting skiths so far below. Most had given up on her, but a few still lingered at the base of her tree, keeping her penned. The rest were moving steadily toward the Jinn encampment and that worried her. Those people had little to defend themselves against such a massive incursion of the deadly creatures.
But they claimed to have a few dragons among their number. She’d seen one already when Estella changed right in front of her. So they had some protection, at least. They would probably need Riki’s healing skills when it was over though. People and dragons were sure to be injured and she would do all she could to help heal them. They’d been so kind to her, she wanted to help them in return.
“Is that you, little witch?”
A sickening, slithering voice sounded through her mind in a perversion of the way she communicated with Nico. Riki looked around for the source of the voice. Someone was watching her. Fear skittered through her already adrenaline-charged body.
“Come, little witch.” She would swear it was Lucan’s voice. “Come home to me, little witch, or my brothers will sever your head and eat your entrails.”
She felt the anger rising with the words, but where were they coming from? Lucan was nowhere to be seen. In fact, she couldn’t see one single human within range of her high perch. The only living things left in the area were skiths. All the animals had fled before the evil creatures or been eaten.
Then Riki noticed one skith in particular seemed to be watching her. The others slithered around below the tree in a mass of scaly flesh, but this one stood apart, its slitted eyes trained on her. It made her skin crawl.
This was where the voice originated. Could Lucan somehow channel his thoughts through the skiths? The idea was terrifying, but it explained why these skiths were so far north and why they were heading en masse toward the Jinn encampment without a single human soldier driving them.
Lucan was controlling the skiths.
It was the only explanation.
Loralie had warned of this, in her oblique way, all those months ago. She’d told Lucan, in Riki’s presence, how he might discover a way to communicate with and control the creatures with which he was blending his essence. Lucan had crowed in delight at the thought, but Riki had always felt the significant look Loralie gave her was meant as a sort of warning. She hadn’t understood it at the time, but many things she’d seen and heard back then were starting to make a horrific sort of sense.
Lucan could not only control the skiths, but he could see through their eyes. And he’d found her. He knew exactly where she was. Panic set in until she realized she was well and truly stuck in this tree. To move was suicide. To stay was even worse. Lucan would send his men to recapture her and who knows what tortures he would think up when he finally had her back in his control.
Despair washed over her. The only choice she had left was how she would die. Should she wait to be recaptured and let Lucan kill her by slow degrees over the course of what could easily be years? Or should she jump and end it quick, letting a skith sever her head?
Anger rose up to smother the fear Lucan struck in her soul. There was another choice.
Defiance.
And this time she wasn’t alone. Nico would help her. He would return for her any moment, and the Jinn had promised their aid as well. She could do this. She could stand up to Lucan for the first time in her life, and she knew there would be others standing with her, if she needed them. She wasn’t alone anymore.
“Damn you!” she screamed at the evil creature. “Damn you to the seven hells and back again!”
Anger bubbled up and with it came the heat and fire of the dragon. Never before had it been so close to the surface, though she recognized it as the power that had lain dormant in her soul all her life. Only now, she could tap into it.
Riki reveled in the fire, letting the power bathe her soul in its purity. Renewed, she opened her eyes and pointed to the skith.
Flames shot from her outstretched hand, shocking her. But it felt right. The flame was real enough, but it did not burn her, for it was of her, part of her very soul.
Calling on the fire of her dragon nature, Riki poured all she had into the flame, sending it to the skith through which Lucan watched, reveling in its screams of death.
The other skiths scattered, slithering away from the flame that burned pure and hot. This was magical flame and it consumed only the skith, leaving the forest around it unburned.
Riki felt triumph rage through her. She’d just killed a creature that should never have lived in the first place. For some reason, that knowledge made her feel good, though she’d never taken a life before. Riki had been taught as a child that all life was sacred, but she’d learned the hard way some things were too evil to live.
Lucan was one of those. Skiths were another.
Killing the skith didn’t fill her with the dread she expected. Instead, she felt…not exactly happy…but rather, justified. She felt the rightness of her actions and would shed no tears over it.
Skiths were just…wrong. She felt it in her soul. They didn’t belong to this world and should never have been created.
That was it. That’s the secret knowledge that clicked into place, though she had no idea how she knew it. Skiths were no creatures of nature. No, they’d been created by wizards, and evil wizards at that.
Riki didn’t know where
the knowledge came from, but she didn’t question it. Nico might know the truth. She would ask him when he returned.
Nico arrived at the encampment in the nick of time to warn the Jinn about the oncoming army of skiths. He was amazed by the way these nomadic people responded to his trumpeting cry. Within moments, a legion of black dragons flew over the sprawling encampment. Nico had never seen the like. At least a dozen black dragons filled the sky.
When Draconian forces took to the sky, the dragons came in a rainbow of colors, with leather-clad knights on their backs. Once in a while, a black dragon would lead such a contingent, but there were precious few blacks left in his homeland. This, though, was an embarrassment of riches. Nothing but riderless black dragons filled the air over the camp while the Jinn scurried in organized chaos below.
Wagons moved to encircle the tents and barricades of all kinds sprang up around the perimeter. Men with sharp weapons stood ready behind the barricades and rows of women stood ready behind them, armed with longbows. Other women—the old and the very young—stood ready with braziers and oil to light the arrows and do other tasks to help the fighters.
But the dragons were disorganized. Nico could easily see they’d never fought in formation before. They were like young recruits, not knowing how to keep out of each other’s way.
There was little time to organize them and no time for diplomacy. Nico flew into their midst and took charge, dividing them into pairs and assigning sectors like the general of dragons and men he truly was. None questioned his right to command them, and within short order, the defense was ready.
Just in time, too, for the skiths encircled the camp and attacked from all directions at once. Nico had just enough time to offer up a prayer to the Mother of All before diving into the fray, flaming skiths as he went, with the help of the other black dragons.
“Where is your mate?” Estella flew close, frying skiths with broad swaths of her flame as she passed.
“She’s safe for now. Look out behind you!”
“Damn these creatures!” Anger filled the woman’s words, along with frustration as a stream of venom narrowly missed her. “How do your knights and dragons do this day in and day out?”
“It is a lifelong quest,” Nico answered soberly, keeping an eye on the entire battlefield. He had to shore the Jinn dragons up, darting in where needed. Already three of the Jinn dragons were badly hurt and out of the fighting. Women on the ground were dousing their venom wounds with water and healers were tending them.
“This is a battle for which we are ill-prepared. I see that clearly now.” Estella’s determination sounded through his mind as she flew past. “But that will change. Prince Nicolas, you must see to Riki. Her safety is crucial.”
Nico looked around at the battle. The Jinn dragons were sloppy fighters in the air, but they were getting the job done. Over half of the massed skiths were dead already and the rest would soon be joining them, a result of both the skilled assault of the ground fighters and the disjointed dragons fighting from the air. He judged they were well on their way to victory, which meant he was free to go rescue his new wife from that tree.
He’d just turned in the direction of her perch when a single black dragon flew over the forest.
“Riki!”
“Sorry I’m late.” Humor and love sounded through her voice in his mind. The other dragons welcomed her with trumpeting cries and she answered in return, though her voice was unsteady—so unused to being a dragon she was.
“By the Mother, am I glad to see you.”
“Me too, Nico. Me too.” Relief sounded through her voice and he was never happier to hear her wry spark of humor. “Uh, Nico? Um…how do I get down?”
He chuckled and smoke issued from his dragon mouth. “Watch me first. I’ll set down on the ground and catch you. All right?”
“I’ll try.”
Joy filled him, just watching his remarkable mate. Landing skillfully in the center of the encampment, he picked a clear area so she’d have a little room to maneuver. Nico turned, holding out his wings, coaching his mate into his arms.
“Aim for me, sweetheart. This is the way we teach our babies. Maybe someday soon, we’ll have a baby of our own to teach, eh?” He couldn’t resist teasing and chuckled when her wing beats faltered at the idea.
“Really? A baby?”
She seemed astounded at the idea. “Yes, my love, our baby. A little prince or princess to love and cherish. Part of us. Part of our love. Didn’t you think of that when you agreed to be mine?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far yet.” She chuckled and he saw smoke streaming out behind her as she aimed her flight path for him. “I don’t want to hurt you. Just let me tumble if I land hard, all right?”
“Sweetheart, you could never hurt me. Trust me to catch you and protect you. It’s what I was born to do.”
“You say the sweetest things.” Her voice sounded softly through his mind. “Watch out now, here I come.”
“You’re doing fine.”
Nico continued to encourage her as she slowed and dropped, aiming for him. She stumbled a bit at first, but all in all, she made a good showing for her very first landing. Nico caught her in his strong dragon arms, twining his neck with hers in a dragonish hug. She was so beautiful, so brave and special. She fit him in every possible way.
Riki stepped back, facing Nico as she willed the shift. When she stood once more in human form, she was fully dressed, but her feet were bare. She peered down at her toes in puzzlement as Nico chuckled smoke.
“Where are my shoes?”
“Elsewhere, obviously. Sweetheart, when you shift, you have to hold the image of your clothing—all of your clothing—to you when you come back. Actually, you should be quite proud. Most first-timers come back completely naked. You have your dress at least.”
“And my wedding band.” She held up the glittering gold ring to show him and it sparkled in the sun. Nico growled and it sounded like pure male satisfaction to her. “But I really liked those boots. How can I get them back?”
“Want to try again? Shift to dragon, then back again. Picture yourself fully clothed, including your pretty boots.”
She did so, noting that each time she shifted, it became easier. When she stood before Nico once more in human form, her boots were on her feet and a wide smile adorned her face.
“You’re a natural.”
They both turned as a dragon trumpeted in distress.
“You’d better go help them. I’ll help the healers.”
“Stay in the center of the camp. Promise me you won’t get out near the edges. The ground fighters are better than the dragons, but some of the skiths still might get through.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay safe.”
She hugged the secret of her newly discovered ability to throw flame even in human form, close to her heart. She’d tell Nico when they had more time. Right now, those Jinn dragons needed him. It was clear, even to her, they were not very well organized in their flight. Riki had already seen several near misses in the air and was glad to be on the ground, out of the way.
Nico took to the sky with a powerful beat of his wings. No matter how often she saw him in dragon form, he never failed to impress her. He was so beautiful, so competent, so sure of himself and his direction. She wished she could be just half as sure of herself, but she was getting there. With each new discovery, each little success, she was learning just who she was and what she could do.
Soon, she hoped, she would be a woman Nico could be proud of—and that she could be proud of herself. Little by little, she worked toward that goal.
Looking around at the scurrying Jinn, Riki set off in the direction of the injured dragons. She knew what to do for skith venom wounds all too well and would be happy to help these brave people.
Chapter Fourteen
About an hour later, the last skith was dead.
The Jinn dragons were rolling around in a stream not far away, washing the droplets of venom off th
eir black hides before returning to camp. Riki helped the wounded alongside a surprisingly large contingent of highly skilled Jinn healers. They even taught her a little about how to use her power without draining herself too badly. They were good people who showed her both respect and kindness, bolstering her self-esteem in the process.
“Riki?” Nico’s voice sounded through her mind. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the big yellow tent. They’ve gathered all the wounded here.”
“Can you get away or do they need you?”
Riki surveyed the orderly room. There were far more skilled healers than herself here and they had things well under control.
“I’ll come. Where are you?”
“At Estella’s tent. There’s a war council of sorts gathering.”
“Good. I have something to tell them.”
“Really?” Curiosity sounded in his words and she smiled.
“Yes, really.”
“What is it?”
“Wait and see.” She couldn’t resist teasing him. “I’ll be right there.”
Nico was waiting for her in front of the tent. He pulled her into his arms the moment he saw her. Nico kissed her deeply, his relief communicating itself through the kiss as he molded her to his strong body.
“I love you,” he said as he drew back, looking down into her eyes.
No matter how many times she heard him say the words, they always had the same effect on her. Wonder and joy shone through her spirit. Nico loved her!
Nothing could rival the feeling of knowing his love.
Nico kissed her again before she could respond, and then stepped back slightly, motioning for her to enter the tent before him. What she found inside was a grim group of faces, dusty and dirty from the hours just spent defending their very lives.
Riki felt a great sense of responsibility for these people. She’d brought Lucan’s wrath down on them.
Silently she walked to the table and stood before them. Conversation ceased as all eyes turned to her. Her mouth went dry, but she knew she had to speak.
