Ashes And Spirit (Book 3)

by A. D. Trosper

  With a breaking heart, the knowledge that Arella and Blaine were lost hit her. Maleena bowed her head and shook with sobs for the two horses as she held Emmaleen tighter. Arella, who had brought her through the lake of the dead to Galdrilene, who had continued to carry her despite the horse’s advancing age, now lay buried under muddy water and ash. The memory of Arella’s soft gray muzzle and large dark eyes filled her mind, and her chest ached with the pain of the loss. Heavy guilt hung over her at weeping for a horse when so many people were dead, but Arella had been there for her when no people were.

  Through eyes blurred with ash and tears, she watched the city of Taragen burn with uncontrolled green flames. Even that would likely be smothered by the ash before too long.

  “Yarnns Bend is gone. A cloud of ash and fumes rushed down out of the volcano and across both the north and east mother rivers. It destroyed and killed everything in its path. It went only a few miles north of Taragen,” Nydara sent. “It was terrifying to see.”

  Maleena sensed the sadness in her dragon and tried sending soothing thoughts to Nydara but failed. Though she had no idea what became of the border towns it was easy to guess. In the face of so much devastation, she could find no shred of soothing calm within herself to send.

  Calladar was no more.

  Maleena hugged Emmaleen close as Nydara opened a Slide. Then they were soaring over Galdrilene.

  The younger dragons in the caldera bugled a welcome, and several people poured out of the Dragon Hold. Nydara answered their call, happy to see her youngest children safe and sound in Galdrilene.

  Worry nagged at Maleena. Farynn had failed to answer Nydara’s repeated sendings. The red and her rider would have been too close when they lost the fight for the volcano. In all likelihood the Guardians had lost another pair, lost more family members. It was another point of grief that weighed heavy on her heart. They would begin the search as soon as the Calladarans they had managed to save were settled in Markene.

  As the silver glided in to land, Maleena shoved her grief down and buried it under the needs of the here and now.

  Nydara took extra care to land smoothly. With Maleena held in the saddle by only a single safety strap, and Emmaleen in her arms, she didn’t want to take any chances with either of them. She furled her wings and eased down on her belly, extending her front leg for her rider.

  Maleena coughed more ash and grit from her throat as Marda and the newer riders rushed to them. It was clear from their faces that the younger dragons had kept them appraised of the situation on the border. Relief and worry filled their faces. Toren jumped up on Nydara’s leg and reached for Emmaleen. Maleena handed the babe to him and unbuckled the single safety strap.

  Toren lowered Emmaleen into Marda’s waiting arms. “Oh my sweet little thing, come to Marda.” She snuggled the ash-and-dust-coated baby close to her large bosom and glanced up at Maleena. “If it’s all right, I will get her bathed and into clean clothing.”

  Exhausted, Maleena nodded as she took Toren’s helping hand and slid from the saddle. Without Mckale there and sapped of mental strength, Toren’s emotions bombarded her, but it was either accept his assistance or fall flat on her face. She rubbed at her eyes; the insides of the lids felt like they were coated in sand.

  Gideon grabbed her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist to help her off Nydara’s leg. The well-trained healer’s touch was a relief. Though his emotions were still there, they were much quieter and held in tight control. Leaning heavily on him, she started for the inner terrace before coughing and doubling over. A large glob of black mucous flew from her throat and onto the grass at her feet.

  Gideon held her steady until it subsided then the familiar warmth of Healing magic spread through her, settling in her lungs before spreading to the cuts and bruises that marred her skin and then finally to her eyes. “You’re going to have another coughing fit in a moment,” Gideon said. “Healing has broken everything loose in there before it can settle and cause any issues. All of that has to come up now.”

  Maleena nodded just as the need to cough hit her hard. Her chest ached as it racked her body and mouthfuls of ash-darkened mucous came up. She shuddered, gagged, and started coughing again. And then, as abruptly as it began, it stopped.

  After several experimental breaths, she straightened and brushed her hair back from her face. A puff of dust and ash rose in the air. Gideon waved his hand in front of his face dispersing it. “Why don’t you take a bath now. You’re even more of a mess than Emmaleen.”

  She shook her head and placed her hand on his arm. “Will you please check over Emmaleen and make sure her lungs aren’t full?”

  “Of course.”

  “Please hurry. I think most of the people of Calladar are going to need help, and I would like to take a group of healers back with me. There are quite a few that will need more extensive healing. I know Serena, Nolan, and Nira are there, but they will exhaust themselves trying to heal the numbers that need it.”

  “Give me a moment to check Emmaleen and gather the tower. It won’t take long.”

  Though weariness still weighed her down, she climbed on Nydara’s leg and hauled herself into the saddle. Within moments, Gideon returned. “I cleared Emmaleen’s lungs. They were nearly as bad as yours.”

  Maleena breathed a sigh of relief and held her impatience to return to Mckale. It wasn’t long before most of the Tower of Healing came running into the caldera out of breath and faces flushed. There was no time to allow them to rest after the long dash through the city and up the massive stairway to the Dragon Hold.

  Nydara lifted off and the image formed in the silver’s mind of the wide field in Markene that Tellnox sent where they had taken the refugees. The dragon opened a Slide all the way to the ground. A minute later they were in Markene, surrounded by an overwhelming amount of wounded.

  Many of the New Sharren and Shaderians who had been moved here during the battle were mixed into the field, doing their best to help address the wounds while they waited for the healers.

  Serena rose unsteadily to her feet and walked with quick strides to the next severely injured person as Nydara landed. Not far from her, Nira closed the eyes of a woman who hadn’t been reached in time. Nolan remained steady, eyes closed as he worked on a Shaderian. Gideon and the rest of the healers who came through the Slide fanned out; there was no shortage of those who needed them.

  Maleena yanked the safety straps loose and leaped from the saddle. It only took her a moment to locate Mckale and race through the field littered with injured and blood. He knelt in the trampled grass with Grandme still in his arms. Serena wasn’t far behind her. Maleena dropped to her knees next to him.

  Grandme opened one eye, the other completely swollen shut. Bruises and lacerations covered most of her face and body. “Emmaleen?” she whispered.

  Maleena smoothed the old woman’s hair back. Her hand came away wet with blood. “She is fine and in Galdrilene now.”

  Grandme smiled and sighed. “I told you I would always keep her safe.”

  She coughed and groaned as Serena arrived and reached for her. Her hands barely touched Grandme when the old woman let out a final sigh and went limp. Serena pulled her hands back. “I’m so sorry, Mckale.”

  Mckale didn’t respond, he just stared down at the woman who had raised him. Though his face remained expressionless, tears glistened in his eyes. Serena stood and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before she turned to find the next person she could help. Though her eyes were dry and her attention already focused elsewhere, Maleena sensed the grief in her at not being able to save everyone.

  Anguish rolled off Mckale. Maleena sensed his need for space and remained quietly by his side, not reaching out or trying to comfort him. Her own heart was breaking for her bondmate and for herself. Grandme had been family to her as well. Tears fell silently down Maleena’s cheeks making tracks through the light coating of ash. They stayed like that for a long time. It wasn’t until Mckale finally laid Gra
ndme down and carefully arranged her arms and clothes that Maleena spoke. “Where is the rest of your family?”

  He stood and swept the large field crowded with New Sharrens, Calladarans, and Shaderians. “I have no idea. I don’t know if Sonja was one of the dead in that collapsed building. I don’t know if Kaden was one of those killed on the wall. Or what has become of my father or—” he broke off in a cough.

  Maleena waved one of the healers over. “Let them heal you, and I will help you look for them as soon as I return.”

  “Return?”

  “Are you ignoring Tellnox? Belynn and Farynn are missing and not answering calls to them.”

  Another cough wracked him as a healer laid his hands on him. “I will go with you to search.”

  “What about your family?”

  Mckale shook his head and leveled a looked at her. “Belynn and Farynn are my family too. If my father and siblings are here then they are safe. If not, there isn’t anything I can do for them. Taragen is buried already.” He rubbed his hands over his face, smearing the gray coating on his skin. “Belynn and Farynn are Fates know where.”

  “Their last known location was near the volcano. I hope the fact she lost control of it and isn’t answering now doesn’t mean what I fear.”

  He started to answer but doubled over with hacking coughs, bringing up everything that had coated his lungs. When he was done, Mckale straightened and took a few deep breaths before saying, “Let’s see if we can find our missing sister.”

  Pushing aside the weariness that threatened to drag her under, Maleena nodded and walked toward Nydara.

  Kirynn blinked against the grit in the air as Varnen and Jocelynn worked to clear away the rubble of the keep. Though Marden had barely survived the battle, it was on shaky ground. The dragons circled high keeping watch. It wouldn’t be long before the next wave of attack came. With Calladar and New Sharren destroyed, it was only a matter of time before they returned to finish off Shadereen. On the ground, the three Ke’han who survived the battle and their red-maned, blue Nagas walked the streets in search of any enemy survivors.

  If it weren’t for Namir still flying strong, they wouldn’t be carefully moving tons of stone. Somewhere in the collapsed keep, Vaddoc still lived. Thankfully, Jocelynn had managed to convince Namir that it was best if he didn’t start tearing through the ruined keep in search of his rider.

  Now Jocelynn sat perfectly still on the ground, her hands on the rubble, searching out the spots most likely to give way when they moved certain stones. After melding the weak areas together to keep it from crushing anyone underneath, Varnen lifted it away with air. It was slow going. Not that they could leave now anyway. Only an hour after the battle ended, evacuations were still underway.

  The ground trembled under Kirynn’s feet, and she reached for Syrakynn, “The next attack?”

  “No,” the red returned. “The results of the eruption in Calladar are reaching us.”

  Through her connection with the dragon, Kirynn saw the Blood River choked with floodwater, mud, and debris raging out of control. “Is Welan, or any of the other western villages, in the path of the flood waters?”

  “No, they appear to be far enough back. It helps that the river widens here before it enters the bay.”

  Kirynn breathed a sigh of relief. It would be a little longer before they could move the people of the western villages. She turned her attention back to the work in front of her. A few paces away Vaddoc’s mother, Setsie, stood tall and watched. The woman had refused to evacuate though she sent her daughters over their protests. Kirynn’s attempts to reassure her fell on deaf ears. Setsie told her she would evacuate once she knew what had become of her only remaining son.

  Time crawled yet neither Varnen nor Jocelynn stopped the tedious task of digging with magic. Finally, Jocelynn glanced over at Kirynn. “Be ready. When Varnen moves this next group of stones, he will uncover the open space I sense inside.”

  “Is it safe to walk across?”

  Jocelynn nodded. “I won’t let it fall.”

  Kirynn stepped gingerly onto the rubble and began climbing to where a section of fallen wall was being moved. Marcaius, Loki, and Nira followed. As she hauled herself up the last bit, she caught sight of the top of a light shield and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Crouching at the lip of the opening, she peered down into the dusty darkness. “Vaddoc?”

  “We are here.” His voice sounded weary.

  “How many?”

  “The Council, Apiatan, and a handful of servants,” he called up.

  Even with her dragon-enhanced sight it was difficult to see the people who stood at the bottom of fifty paces of collapsed stone. “Can’t you light it up down there?”

  “I do not have the energy. I’ve been keeping all of this from crushing us for…how long have we been down here?”

  “A while. You can let the shield go. Jocelynn has reinforced everything around you. It won’t fall now.”

  The shimmering dome disappeared, and she thought she saw a shape slump to the floor. “Hang on a moment, Namir and Merru are coming. With some rope we should have you out in no time.” Kirynn waved her hand in signal. The two gold dragons landed and several people rushed forward to tie long coils of rope to the saddles.

  “Sounds good. We have several injured down here. One man took a pretty good blow to the head before I could get him under the shield. He is not doing well.”

  “Nira’s here.” Kirynn thought she heard something along the lines of thanking the Fates.

  Beside her, Nira stood and brushed some of the dust and grime from arms. “I need to get down there.”

  “Nira,” Marcaius glanced at her. “We’re trying to get people out of the hole, not put them in there.”

  Her brows drew down over her golden eyes as she shoved several black ringlets of hair out of her face. “I’m aware of this. However, I won’t stand here waiting while people are dying.”

  Marcaius stood and matched her frown. “It won’t be long before they’re lifted out.”

  “And how well do you think the injured will fare being hauled up out of that?” she pointed at the hole for emphasis.

  Kirynn growled under her breath and got to her feet, then stepped between them. Marcaius was one of those rare reds who got attached to a partner. “Marcaius, we don’t have time for this. I know you feel deeply for Nira; however, you are going to have to set that aside for now.”

  Namir and Merru lowered themselves from the sky until they hovered above the hole, their beating wings kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Kirynn sneezed. Great, just what they needed, more dust. It already coated them so much that Nira’s dark skin and Marcaius’ light were the same odd shade of grayish brown.

  Nira turned without another word to Marcaius and reached for a rope. As soon as she had it hanging down through the opening, she slid down it.

  Kirynn grabbed another rope and started hauling it over the mound of stone. Loki and Marcaius did the same. In short order, all four ropes dangled down into the darkness. After several moments, Namir began to ascend with Merru right behind him.

  Councilman Owen and three servants came up. Both had injuries, though nothing that couldn’t wait. The dragons flew slowly to solid ground and set them down gently. Mages in yellow robes helped untie them, and the dragons again maneuvered until they hovered above the opening. After several trips the last four came up; Vaddoc with Cat held securely in one arm, Apiatan, the last Council member, and Nira.

  Setsie walked slowly toward her son as he set Cat down. Though she had expressed very little emotion during the extraction, tears now shimmered in her eyes as she embraced Vaddoc. Kirynn gave him a quick nod then turned toward the landing Syrakynn.

  Cat dashed across the rubble to Namir with a delighted meow and rubbed against the dragon’s leg while the gold turned affectionate eyes on the orange feline. He crooned deep in his throat and lowered his massive head so Cat could rub his face on Namir’s.

&nb
sp; With a smile, Vaddoc walked over to the two and scooped Cat up. After helping the feline up onto Namir’s back, he climbed into the saddle. Kirynn knew without a doubt the orange tabby would be among the evacuees.

  The next few hours were spent working their way quickly west toward the Blood River as they evacuated Shadereen. Between the five dragons it didn’t take long to move them, but getting them gathered and ready was time consuming. Considering all the wreckage from the earthquake, the evacuation of Shadereen was moving in an orderly fashion.

  After Sliding their last large group of Shaderians from Marden and the small villages close to the capitol, Syrakynn opened a Slide over Welan. All that remained to move was Welan and the four other villages now perched just out of reach of the Blood River. Though it no longer raged like an angry water spirit, the fast-moving muddy river was still well above its normal flood plain.

  Loki and Merru came out of a Slide to her left. The pair banked to land, the sun rippling along Merru’s scales like golden fire. Below them the villagers were already gathered in preparation. A mix of Border Guards, Boromari Defenders, Kantherian soldiers, Ke’han, and Galdrilene mages ranged in a line to the east of the village. Syrakynn angled her wings to land. Once Kirynn made sure everyone was accounted for, she could get them through a Slide. It wouldn’t take long to move them to safety, or what passed for safety.

  Several dark Jumps opened in the sky, spewing Kojen and mages across the plain. Shadow Dragons burst into the air all around them. Syrakynn changed course, yanking herself higher into the sky with powerful strokes of her wings.

  A massive black dragon hovered just above the ground not far from the village. A cloud of oily shadows flowed from the dark-haired woman and raced toward the village in a wave.

  “Loki!” Kirynn shouted across the distance between them. Loki took his eyes off the emerging Shadow Dragons and glanced at her. Kirynn pointed toward the cloud. Merru disappeared into a light-bending weave at the same time a shield sprang up between the cloud and the village. The big black rose higher into the air, the shadows rising with her. Suddenly the black was knocked sideways in the sky. She turned to fight the invisible pair that had hit her but found only empty air.