War of the Raven Queen: The Goddess Prophecies Fantasy Series Book 6

by Araya Evermore

  ‘Praise Feygriene, look, the Dragon Legion of old! They must have kept their armour and their colours, and now we’ve all returned to take back what was stolen from us.’

  Asaph roared his pride as he passed overhead. The army, already overcoming dragon fear, paused their ordered marching, raised their weapons, and an almighty cheer rose up to greet him. Issa laughed, and Asaph roared again.

  ‘Wait; the dragons,’ said Issa. ‘They’re leaving!’

  Asaph banked towards Draxa. The Dread Dragon with the torn wings had gained on him. His dragons were flying away from the city.

  ‘No,’ said Asaph. ‘They’re leading the Dread Dragons away. They’re giving us a chance to take back our city. It’s our job now.’

  Asaph turned tight to face the dragon trailing him. He pooled the Flow and Issa joined him. Orange and indigo fire ignited his vision, and their combined magic, far greater than its parts, exploded into the Dread Dragon. Screams and the roar of the Dromoorai rider tore through the flames. Then they were flying through ash, scales, and smoking armour.

  ‘Incinerated!’ gasped Issa.

  Asaph understood then the power of a dragon and its rider. Roaring their victory, he angled his wings towards the castle and flew to the city gates where hordes of Maphraxies now poured out.

  The rush of their combined magic filled Issa with awe.

  She could read his will and intention in the Flow as if she were reading his mind. All she had to do was combine her power to his and the two willingly conjoined and became something far more powerful. Had her parents, a powerful bard and seer, felt like this when they used magic together? She suspected they might have.

  It reminded her of the orbs, the magic wanted to become one, like Illendri had wanted to become one. Water and earth combined, two forms of magic that should never have been separated. Magic strove for balance and harmony.

  Combining magic with Asaph was not without its cost, she felt exhaustion nagging at her mind and body. Asaph must have felt similarly for he did not pursue another enemy dragon but instead flew high and to the West.

  ‘Buying us a moment’s rest,’ he shouted over the rushing wind.

  ‘Look, ships!’ Issa shouted and pointed to the ocean beyond the craggy ridge west of Draxa. At least five of them could be seen. ‘Marakon.’ Butterflies swirled in her stomach. Ehka was somewhere out there too.

  ‘They’re not alone,’ Asaph grumbled.

  She squinted. Moments later she saw what he had seen, tiny gleaming boats moving uncannily fast.

  ‘Histanatarns,’ Issa said. ‘Hundreds! We have to help Marakon.’

  ‘We can only help them by keeping the Dromoorai away.’ Asaph beat his wings harder, spying another Dread Dragon rising up to them from below. ‘Just one Dread Dragon can take out the whole fleet. I doubt I can fight well in the air with this shoulder, my wings tire too soon.’

  Issa thought fast but came up with nothing good. Drawing on the Flow she burst it out behind them as white fire but the Dromoorai was ready and deftly pulled his mount back, and her fire passed harmlessly under its wing, energy wasted. The red amulet on its chest flashed, entrapping her attention.

  ‘Raven Queen,’ a voice called inside her head. She tore her eyes away.

  Another Dread Dragon came out of nowhere. It appeared suddenly above the peak they were passing and must have been lying in wait. Asaph jerked violently up. Issa saw the sky then the ground and thought she might be sick. The other dragon followed and then they collided. If the seat hadn’t been enchanted to keep her in it, she would have been thrown from it.

  Instead she was shaken left and right, the horrific maw of a Dread Dragon opened barely inches from her face, its red eyes seeing food. Issa screamed. Asaph rolled, and the ground came rushing towards them whilst both dragons clawed at each other as they fell.

  The second Dread Dragon was right beneath them now.

  Desperately she hunted the sky for the other dragons who could help but they had gone, taking as many of the Dromoorai away as they could.

  ‘Issa.’ Her name echoed from two amulets. The Flow weakened and disappeared, blackness swirled around her in the magical fields.

  Asaph shuddered and jerked. She glimpsed his enormous jaws biting and wrenching into the shoulder of the other dragon whilst he beat his wings furiously, trying to keep them all airborne. He twisted, managed to free himself and lifted into the air. She felt him hunting for the Flow but unable to grasp it.

  The second Dread Dragon came alongside them, truly enormous, its black metallic scales gleaming. So close was it, Issa trembled. Then the Dromoorai beast came into view. Its blazing eyes locked onto hers as the chains of the reins it held clanked and strained in its metal gauntlets. It lifted its claymore and struck savagely at her before she could pull Illendri free. The sword missed, sliced downwards and scoured the dragon harness instead.

  Asaph turned his head and breathed fire at it, forcing it to drop back. The immense heat of his flames instantly made her sweat. The first Dread Dragon came alongside them again, on the other side. It closed to attack and Issa held Illendri ready. The claymore came down—awkwardly, or so she thought, and missed her by a good margin, striking the harness in a spray of black fire.

  The harness jerked loose and Issa grabbed onto the rails realising what they were doing. They don’t want to kill me! She stared at where the straps had been sliced and were now fraying on both sides. Clever bastards!

  ‘They’re attacking the harness, with magic too!’ Issa shouted, rushing the words out. ‘They’re trying to separate us.’

  ‘Or force us to land,’ growled Asaph.

  Dread Dragon fire forced him to bank sharply left. One of the straps snapped and the dragon seat lurched. Issa screamed and clung on.

  ‘We can’t land and take on two. Perhaps I can lead them away,’ said Asaph.

  ‘The harness won’t last that long! Wait, let me fly, I can fly,’ said Issa. But trying to think in the midst of battle was impossible.

  ‘They’ll snap you up in a moment, no!’ Asaph flew harder but with each beat of his wings the remaining straps frayed a little more.

  They were north of Draxa now and there was nothing but white and grey jagged peaks below.

  ‘Asaph, it’s going to break. When it happens, I’ll fly. I’ll be able to hide my fall with the talisman. I don’t know what else to do!’

  Asaph growled. ‘So be it, I’ll lead them away. You get to Marakon or Velonorian or even the seers, if you can. I’ll come back for you.’

  A Dread Dragon screamed above them and dropped out of the sky. It landed on Asaph’s back, its enormous talons gripping on to the harness rails and shunting them down. The straps snapped. Issa fumbled with her own ties as the harness came completely free. The dragon wrenched it off Asaph’s back with her inside.

  Trying not to scream, she let go her grip and slipped through the rails. The talisman pulsed, and her raven mark burned. Wind rushed around her then through her feathers. Flapping, she righted herself and drew her wings close, darting towards the earth as fast as she dared.

  When the ground was only a few yards away she slowed her descent and dared to look up. Still in the grip of the Dread Dragon was the dragon harness, but Asaph was free. Perhaps they hadn’t noticed her fall, for both Dromoorai continued to harry him.

  ‘Fly, Asaph, fly fast. The Goddess protect you!’ She sent her mind-speak out to him hoping to let him know she was safe.

  A raven cawed in the distance. Between her and the looming walls of Draxa, flew Ehka. She cawed back, overjoyed. Lifting high over the castle she looked down. There lay Vornus’s slain body and a pool of dark blood now frozen on the ice beneath him. She ruffled her feathers and looked ahead.

  South west and at the edge of the city walls, the Feylint Halanoi had engaged the Maphraxie horde. East, Marakon’s ships had just reached the inlet. Histanatarn boats swarmed them, preventing them from launching smaller rafts. Perhaps she could help them from a distance.


  Issa spied an empty balcony jutting out from the castle with a partial view of the inlet. She landed and changed form.

  ‘Water, hear me,’ she commanded, touching Illendri and holding her other hand outstretched. Away from the enemy, the Flow came unhindered, but exhaustion weighed heavy on her. She needed to sleep.

  The elemental responded eagerly, and she closed her eyes to listen to it. In her mind’s eye she saw water lifting each Histanatarn boat into the air, higher and higher. Gargled screams came, but she did not need to open her eyes to look and risk losing her concentration.

  ‘Higher!’

  The screams intensified. Then she swung her hand to the left in a chopping motion and released her grip on Illendri. She opened her eyes to see every Histanatarn boat tumbling out of the sky to smash into the ocean. The archers on the ships swiftly hailed arrows into the sea.

  Maggot appeared, making her jump. He crawled up onto the balustrade and sat beside her. Without saying anything, the demon lifted his beloved Jabber and hurled it. It flew fast as an arrow and passed right through the nearest Histanatarn climbing onto wreckage, causing it to fall and disappear beneath the surface. Jabber arced and shot back to its master. Maggot caught it deftly. With his tongue clenched between his lips, he concentrated and hurled it again.

  She smiled then had an idea. ‘Illendri,’ she whispered to the orb, asking it to command earth and water once more.

  She raised her hand and snow lifted from the ground then solidified into shards of sparkling ice. Marking a group of Histanatarns aboard a large piece of wreckage, she flicked her fingers and let the shards fly. With the Histanatarns in disarray, the unhindered sailors now lowered their rafts. She swept her eyes over them, thought she glimpsed a tall, dark-haired man, then lost him in the rush.

  Issa scanned the steps and the walkways above and below. There were no Maphraxies or necromancers. Yet! They would be too focused on the army at the front gates, but Dread Dragons could see Marakon’s ships. It was only a matter of time.

  35

  The Perfect Shot

  Issa called her raven form to her as the first rafts ground on to the pebbles, and flew to land on the beach.

  There, in the front boat, was a man with an eye-patch. She ran to Marakon.

  ‘Well met, Raven Queen,’ he bowed in a showy manner making her blush.

  Bokaard jumped out of the boat beside him and gave Issa a hearty slap on the back. ‘We never anticipated sea dogs,’ the big man growled.

  ‘Have you seen the Navadin?’ Marakon, pressed eagerly.

  Issa nodded. ‘Indeed, they’re with the Feylint Halanoi and attacking the front gates as we speak.’

  ‘Then let’s not delay. We’ll storm Draxa immediately and meet them on the other side,’ said the commander, his expert eye analysing the granite cliff and walls before him.

  ‘We made it through the castle in disguise but there are many within. Maphraxies, death hounds, necromancers…It won’t be easy,’ said Issa.

  ‘We’ll hunt every one of them down,’ growled Eiretonne, swinging his axe.

  ‘Most will be engaged at the front. Our greatest advantage now is the element of surprise. Let’s go,’ said Marakon, motioning his soldiers forward.

  Issa ran to the steps with him, then paused. ‘I’m best out here. I’ve been in there and I can’t say I want to fight in dark tunnels again. Asaph and Velonorian need me, and probably my horse.’

  ‘So be it, Raven Queen,’ Marakon agreed. ‘Look out for Jarlain, tell her we’re here.’ He squeezed her shoulder and ran on, his soldiers piling after him.

  ‘Stay safe, missy,’ Eiretonne called back with a wink.

  Maggot, who had been hiding behind her boots the whole time, now spoke. ‘Where to now, Issy?’

  She bent down to speak to him. ‘You remember Thiashar?’

  He wrinkled up his nose.

  ‘Thiashar is with Iyena,’ she said. ‘I need you to find Thiashar and stay with the seers.’

  Maggot winced. ‘They’re too bright, the seers, their magic hurts.’

  ‘I know, Maggot, but where I go you cannot come. I have to fight, on a horse. You won’t be safe with me. Stay with Marakon until you find the seers.’

  ‘Much danger, Issy. The one the Dragon Lord killed, he’s not the dangerous one. The other human hunts only for you, I heard him talking. He has much power. You must stay away from him.’

  Issa stared at Maggot, a shiver trickling down her spine. ‘I know who he is, Maggot, Hameka, Baelthrom’s chosen. I’ll be careful.’

  She glanced up at the cliff and the windows high up in the castle above, feeling as if eyes watched her every move, she swallowed. ‘Go, Maggot. Stay in the shadows and with the soldiers for as long as you can, then stay with the seers. If anything happens, go back to the Murk and tell the King. We might need his help before this day is through.’

  Ehka cawed above, so she lifted her arms and let the raven form become her. Maggot’s upturned face shrank as she rose into the sky then turned east towards the front gate.

  The battle had moved, thankfully in their favour. No longer were the Feylint Halanoi at the gates; they had spilled through the city walls into the ancient market square, filling every corner of the city and reaching even to the front gates of the castle itself.

  Battle fury was thick in the air. She could sense it keenly in this form for it filled her with anxious excitement. Fighting outside, against the abominations that were Maphraxies, was what she longed to do. She soared over the outer courtyard where the battle raged thickest. Black and red blood splattered the snow all the way from the outer gates to inside the city walls where it turned into slippery dark mud.

  The snow and ice made fighting difficult. Boots slipped on the frozen ground, sometimes in the soldier’s favour, sometimes costing their lives. She spotted a gang of elves, golden helmets gleaming beneath the splatters of blood and mud. Velonorian stood amongst them. Thank the goddess the elf was alive.

  Animal roars shook the air and she looked to where the Navadin fought. Two dark brown bears lay unmoving in the mud, black iron spears sticking cruelly out of necks and spines, their riders unmoving beside them. She lost sight of the fallen as other Navadin swarmed over them, savagely fighting back the enemy horde.

  Another bear roared, lifted himself up, his rider hanging on somehow, and smashed its paws down upon a Maphraxie, crushing its skull. His rider stabbed her spear through the neck of another. Jarlain. Her keen avian senses recognised the way she moved and her smell even from this distance.

  Issa lifted higher and turned back to where their army flooded into the city. Feylint Halanoi horsemen pressed forwards, trampling any enemy careless enough to get in their way. Further back, stretcher bearers exited the forward press of soldiers, working tirelessly to collect and carry the injured and dead. Far beyond at the tree line stood hastily erected tents, more soldiers readying themselves, and spare horses tethered.

  A horse neighed and reared, his black coat freshly brushed and shining. Duskar! Issa cawed. Someone had even managed to get a saddle and bridle on him. Velonorian, she smiled inwardly.

  She landed beside the horse, changed form and hugged his neck. He quivered and whinnied.

  ‘You’re full of pent up energy,’ she said as she pulled herself into the saddle. ‘I’ll bet you can’t wait to get into battle.’

  ‘Do you need a weapon, my lady?’ asked a young squire struggling under a burden of swords and spears. ‘Maybe some metal armour, or another to accompany you?’

  Issa smiled down at the freckled-faced boy. ‘The dragon armour I wear will protect me better than any steel, and my own squire is waiting for me, in the thick of battle.’ She winked.

  The boy suddenly turned crimson and opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Then, to her dismay, he kneeled and said, ‘Yes, my Queen Issa. I–I didn’t recognise you. Immediately, that is.’

  Issa blushed. ‘I’m not really a queen, I don’t even have my own
land.’

  ‘A Queen of Ravens is still a queen,’ said the boy quietly, awe in his eyes. ‘More will follow you than any other in all the lands.’

  The words hit deep, and she recognised the foresight in the boy’s words.

  ‘If you carry on reasoning like that, you’ll make an excellent knight one day,’ she said.

  She wheeled Duskar around and he reared and neighed excitedly. Issa laughed at his power and eagerness, and he leapt towards battle, snow spraying up from his hooves.

  The city gates loomed, and the first Maphraxies appeared. The closest did not see Illendri arc down across the back of its exposed neck, and they had already moved past it before she could see it fall. The next—a dark dwarf—disappeared under Duskar’s hooves. A black axe swung, Duskar reared, Issa clung on. Hooves and Illendri struck out together. The Maphraxie flew backwards, taking down its comrade. On she pressed, not needing to tell Duskar where to go, together they fought in every direction.

  For a moment, she was beside a bear, a deep wound in its shoulder made it limp and its rider bled from a gash to his forehead. The rider constantly wiped blood from his eyes. A Maphraxie advanced on them, another coming from behind. Issa whirled Duskar around trusting the Navadin to take the first. Her sword struck hard against the blade of a black axe. The shock should have shattered her sword or her arm, but Illendri didn’t buckle or even notch. With the slightest command of the Flow, sparks flew, and the black axe cleaved into two.

  The Maphraxie stared at its blade, shock an odd look on its deformed face. Issa brought her sword back and the Maphraxie fell, jerking. Dancing Duskar back around, she found the Navadin had gone and instead a group of mounted Feylint Halanoi fought beside her.