They were looking for something. No… not something, someone.
“If we don’t come back with anything, Radnak will have our hides.” A dragon said just a few yards in front of me and Jared.
Jared tensed, but I held him back with a look.
“She’s not here. They must’ve taken her to another one,” another growled.
“What of the others? There are more on his list to acquire.”
“Take all of them. He can pick and choose which ones he wants to use. We’ll kill the others later, but we need her. Radnak will not take it lightly if we let her slip away.”
So Radnak still did not realize who I was. Good. That was good. The second he found out, it was over for me. Though it had been clear back in Virginia, he wanted me for some other purpose, as he seemed to need these people, too. We had to figure out what his plans were and fast, before they hit the other outposts.
The two dragons moved closer to the trees, and I nodded to Jared, putting a finger to my lips. If we didn’t take them down, they’d walk right into us, but we couldn’t let them alert the others. Drawing a knife from its holster at my side, I held it at the ready and carefully maneuvered through the underbrush, Jared doing the same, so that we would be ready to take the two dragons down, quickly and quietly. Capturing them would’ve been ideal, but that wasn’t our goal tonight.
Saving the refugees here and now, that was.
They took another few steps, then a few more…
I lunged out and dragged the one on the right down to his knees, dragging my dagger across his throat as my hand covered his mouth, while Jared stabbed him in the heart. We let their bodies down slowly to the ground, wiped our blades on the leaves, and fell back into a holding position.
I was about to go check on Davis and the witches myself when the crackling of magic filled the air, and the smoke finally began to clear enough so we could see shapes thirty yards or so ahead of us through the trees and into the clearing where the outpost had once stood.
“Shit,” Jared whispered.
I nodded in agreement.
There had to be at least a hundred Black Diamonds, maybe more, attacking. We had around fifty with us, and there had only been thirty of our allies guarding this outpost. It was meant to be just an inbetween stop for those rescued on their way to the Underground and then onto another outpost. The smoke lessened even more, and I glimpsed dead bodies scattered on the ground, no more than lumps in the grass. My hand tightened on my knife, anger turning to rage as I growled.
“Move in,” I ordered, and heard it passed down the line. “Pick off the strays, keep to the trees until the last possible moment. Remember, we are outnumbered. Get the refugees to the portal and get out.”
Several looked exactly how I felt, wanting to shift and charge in with claw and wing, but a dragon’s anger could blind him. I would not bring back any of our own killed because of our carelessness. I drew my second dagger, and the line moved forward, spreading out until we formed a half-circle of death moving towards the camp.
The enemy clearly thought they had the upper hand and the fight was nearly over. They had no perimeter set up and no scouts searching for reinforcements. Such a pity. I spun out from behind a tree and plunged my knife into the neck of one, hearing the dying gasps and moans of other Black Diamonds as we crept closer and closer to the heart of the clearing.
Chains clanked, and I spotted several prisoners being shackled together and shoved into a huddle. I pointed them out to Jared, and he nodded, breaking off to aim for them first. A few other dragons went with him, as did a witch, already forming a shield around their bodies to give them a chance of reaching the innocents alive, then freeing them.
By the time we reached the actual outpost, my daggers were stained with blood and mud was caked up to my knees. We’d run out of cover, and they all held, waiting for my signal to attack. A trail of dead bodies lay stretched out behind us; I just prayed it was enough to buy us the time we needed.
“Attack.” I bellowed then let out a battle cry as I rushed forward into the fight.
Black Diamonds met us head on, forgetting about their prisoners. My knives met the blade of a sword, but I quickly overcame the bastard and drove my daggers into his chest. I flipped over his body and threw him at another charging towards me with his arms half shifted, claws extended.
“Blood Moon Priests,” I yelled. “Watch out for them.”
I couldn’t see the priests, but that meant nothing. I sank to my knees and rolled back to my feet, kicking another dragon. He caught me on the shoulder, and I staggered backward, taking a solid kick to the face and another to my back from a second attacker. I fought to get out of their hold, but one grabbed my arms, dragging them behind my back, while the other hit me again and again.
“Filthy Shadowguard,” the dragon sneered with each hit. “You’re nothing. You hear me?”
I laughed, laughed as hard and loud as I could. He growled in rage and hit me harder, but I could take it. They’d done worse to me when I was their prisoner.
Just one mistake… that’s all I needed to wait for… he came too close, and I headbutted him, sending him flying back with a snarl as blood spurted from his nose.
I threw my head back, hitting the one who held me, then drew two more knives and sliced one’s throat, spun around and stabbed the other with both blades right in his chest. He gurgled his last few breaths before I yanked my blades free and charged into the fray again.
Aiden fought with a fury I’d heard about and only seen a few times. His blades moved with a mind of their own. If I hadn’t known he’d been so close to death, I never would’ve thought he managed to be wounded so badly. Bodies dropped right and left at his feet, and then he was darting off into the smoke-filled battlefield again.
Jared and the others were with one group of refugees, but there were still four more groups, surrounded by Black Diamonds. We had to get them out before they suffered a worse fate at the hand of their enemies. The enemy started to rally, and I roared, calling on the strength of our kin and the years of pain we endured. My call was answered by the others, and we threw ourselves at the enemy harder than before.
“Go. Get to the portal,” Jared yelled.
I turned in time to see him taking on a Black Diamond, defending dragons he once thought his enemy. A sword slashed across his shoulder and he grunted in pain, falling to his knees. The dragon raised his sword over his ready, ready to cut him down, but I slid through the grass and took out his legs, disarmed him and slashed his throat.
I hauled Jared to his feet, he nodded his thanks and took off to help more, bleeding and wounded, but not caring. We were more alike than I originally thought.
Another group of refugees was crouched before me, and I sprinted to find the lock holding them to the stake in the ground. I fumbled with it, but managed to break it with my knives, and they were free.
“Straight through the trees,” I urged them. “Go. And don’t stop for anything.”
Frightened faces stared blankly back at me until a Black Diamond threw himself at me, tackling me to the ground. They took off, and I caught glimpses of them being guided onwards by other fighters and the witches. The last few groups were being released as I scrambled back to my feet, but couldn’t take the time to look anymore.
The dragon swung two fists at my face, and I flew backward through the air, dazed. He hit harder than Tank. It felt like I had cotton in my ears and my vision was blurry as I pushed to all fours, trying to get back onto my feet, but a boot was planted in the middle of my back. I gasped for air as he stomped me into the ground. My knives had fallen from my hands; I spotted them just a few feet away, glinting in the fire consuming the outpost.
“You’re coming with us.” The dragon pressed me harder into the ground.
“Whatever you say, hotshot,” I snapped as my fingers closed on a knife. I swung my arm back and stabbed him in the shin.
He yelped, and I sucked in a breath as I rolled onto my back, jumped to my
feet, and took him down hard. My fist slammed into his face, and his body sagged. As I was getting back my balance to keep up the attack, a much brighter light flashed to my right, and I stared in horror at the portal opening, not ours, but one of theirs.
“No,” I whispered as figures emerged, more Black Diamonds.
They’d called for reinforcements, and we were out of time.
A couple of young kids were right in the line of their attack, and I yelled at them to run, throwing myself right into the dragons to give them a chance.
“Get out of here, go.”
“Slade,” Davis yelled. “We have to go.”
Kicking off one of the dragons, I started to run towards him when a scream stopped me dead. Two Black Diamonds closed in on another kid. The kid, barely ten, backed away from the crowd surrounding him.
“Slade!”
I glanced back at Davis and knew the second he saw my resolve. The next moment, I had my head down and pushed as hard as I could to get to that kid. I had to save him. Had to stop him from being dragged back into that world. As I ran by him, I swung him up into my arms and kept on going, veering right as I tried to cut back into the trees and get to the portal and the Underground. Muscles screaming, I growled and pushed myself even harder, the kid shaking horribly in my arms. The portal was there, I could see it. Aiden and Davis were waving everyone else through and then it was just me and the kid.
“Stop them!”
I threw a look over my shoulder and skidded to a stop, setting the kid down. “Go, get to safety.”
“What about you?” he asked, voice trembling.
“Don’t worry about me, kid.” I ruffled his air then turned to face the Black Diamonds that were far too close. If they didn’t close the portal now, they never would.
I expected to hear the kid take off, but he stepped up beside me, and though he was pale as a ghost, he curled his tiny hands into fists and planted his feet. It was like staring at the smaller version of myself, and I couldn’t help, but smile even as behind me, I heard Davis yell one final time before the light dimmed, and I knew the portal was closed.
The Black Diamonds had paused, unsure of what I’d been about to do, but when they realized I was merely a distraction, they came at us at once. I pushed the kid behind me, trying to keep him safe as we were quickly surrounded with no chance of escape.
“Move aside,” a growling voice yelled, and my breath caught.
That voice. I had never wanted to hear that voice again unless I was standing over his body and he was begging for me to spare him.
The crowd of dragons parted, and the six-and-a-half-foot tall frame of Nikolai appeared, a scar running across his forehead, his teeth filed to sharp points, and armed from head to toe. His dark eyes narrowed when they spotted me, and then he broke out into a leer.
The kid behind me clung to my jacket in fear, not that I blamed him. When I was little and saw this bastard coming, I did anything I could not to be noticed.
“Slade,” Nikolai stated, his fingers already moving to the blades at his hip. “I should’ve known you would be here. Always thinking you can save everyone.”
“Look around,” I pointed out.
He flashed those sharpened teeth at me and let out a sharp laugh. “It appears you no longer fear me. We’ll have to rectify that. Take them both. Chain them.”
“Let the kid go,” I demanded, but the dragons ignored me, grabbing us both and shoving us to our knees. “Hey,” I whispered to the kid, and he stared at me, bottom lip quivering. “You’ll be fine. I swear it.”
“Making more promises you can’t keep.” Nikolai stood over me, but my days of being intimidated by him were over. “You will feel pain, more than she did in the end.”
A deep growl erupted from my throat as I bared my teeth at him.
“Ah, good, you do remember. Then you know exactly what to expect. Bring them,” he yelled, as he straightened. “We have much to discuss and our time is short. We are expected.”
We were hauled to our feet and dragged past the dead and dying as the fire continued to rage. The portal was still opened, and we stepped through. The clearing disappeared, and I expected to see the Black Diamond stronghold, but instead, we appeared in a camp atop a rocky hill. The stars shone brightly overhead, too cheery for my current situation. The dragons threw me and the boy into two separate cages beside one another and locked us in. I grabbed at the bars, tugging on them, but they held solid.
“What’s your name?” I asked the boy quietly, sitting on the side of my cage that pressed up against his.
He sniffed hard as if trying to hold back his tears. “Benji.”
“I’m Slade. Nice to meet you, Benji.”
“Why are you being nice to me?” he asked, and his voice cracked. “This is my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“You came back for me, if I’d just run, you wouldn’t be here.”
“And you’d be alone,” I said quietly. “Benji, we’re going to be alright, I swear it. Do you believe me?”
He wiped at his face but nodded. “What’s going to happen to us?”
I wished I could tell him nothing, that we’d be kept prisoners and that would be the end of it, but if Nikolai was here, they were looking for more than just captives. My sister’s screams filled my ears all of a sudden, and I growled, trying to drown out the memories of how much pain he caused her before she was finally killed. I’d been unable to save her. Nikolai, he knew I’d seen it all.
“Nothing,” I lied. “They’ll probably hold us here then take us back to the stronghold. We’re going to be just fine, Benji. Just fine.”
When Benji finally drifted off to sleep, fear exhausting him, I studied every inch of the camp I could. I counted the enemy and kept an eye out for Blood Moon Priests but saw none. Yet.
Nikolai had disappeared into a tent with four others I had recognized. They were higher-ups. This was a full-on encampment, which meant they were preparing for an all-out war. Where the hell were we? I hoped for a clue to tell me everything I needed, but that would be too easy. My eyes started to droop eventually, and my body ached from the few beatings I took during the rescue mission.
As my eyes closed, my thoughts drifted to what was happening in the Underground. And Everest. I pictured her crooked grin and her yellow-green eyes watching me as we sparred. How they darkened when I kissed her, and her cheeks would turn bright red. She was probably pissed at me for not coming back.
Don’t come for me, I prayed to her, knowing she couldn’t hear me, but I had to try anyway.
She might’ve said she was nothing like Zara, but she was braver than she thought. As soon as she realized I was in trouble, she would try to find me and get herself captured in the process. Her face kept me company as sleep finally overcame me, dragging me down beneath its dark waves, blocking out any trepidation of what the next few days would bring.
Seven
Everest
The infirmary was chaos and overflowing with wounded. I darted from one bed to the other, dropping off clean bandaging and delivering freshly made salves and healing potions for the more severe cases. Fredwin and Elsa jumped in to help, too, all of us doing our best to keep up. Screams and cries of terror and pain were all I heard as more and more rushed through the portal. So many injured. I stopped by a bedside as a hand reached out for mine. A witch, I didn’t know her name, but she’d been helping Amelie with her potions. I gripped her hand hard and knelt by her side.
She tried to speak but couldn’t get the words out. A bloodied bandage covered her chest and then her eyes fluttered closed and her hand went limp in mine. Dead. Just like that, she was gone.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, hating I hadn’t been able to do more.
After covering her with a blanket to let the ones in charge of the dead know she was ready to be taken out, I threw myself into helping those I could. Mom and Amelie were right beside me. directing those not injured to the cots and out of the way of thos
e who needed our care. After what felt like a few minutes, I was beyond exhausted but pressed on.
“Everest,” Mom said and handed me a cup of water. “How are you doing?”
“Ask me later,” I mumbled, drank down the water, and went to fetch more salves when a witch called out they were ready.
Growing up, I never had cause to wonder if I had a strong stomach or not. Nice to know after seeing so many grisly wounds, none of it made me sick, though I was furious. Some of the wounded were kids, crying for their parents that hadn’t come through the portal yet and might not. Every few minutes, I glanced up hoping to see Jared, or Aiden… or Slade, but so far, they were still stuck in the fighting. Jenny and Preston manned the position on this side with Tank and the others left behind in case the Black Diamonds made it through.
I was spreading a salve on a dragon’s arm, one of our fighters, when a scream made everyone turn in panic. Two dragons burst out of the portal with three Black Diamonds right behind them. The witches immediately moved in a line, me included, to protect the wounded, while the others fled down a corridor leading to the training room. Jenny and Preston moved as one unit, and I was transfixed as they took on one dragon together, bringing him down beneath their blades in seconds.
Tank fought a second, but his wounded side made it hard for him to maneuver and the dragon got the better of him. Mom yelled for the witches to form a shield and together, we held out our hands. Mom stepped back behind us, and I felt my power grow within me as it had with Slade. A violet shield expanded around me, and I pushed it out as it joined the others around me, protecting the wounded. The two Black Diamonds charged at it, bouncing off. In a rage, they roared and slammed into it again and again until the fighters came at them and dragged them off.
But not before one of them focused on me and his eyes widened in triumph.
“Kill him,” Tank yelled after noticing his reaction as well.
The Black Diamond’s companion fell beneath another’s sword, but he managed to sprint back through the portal. Now I felt sick, and Tank stared at me with a look torn between regret and worry.
Dragon Guard Page 6
