Baleful Betrayal

by John Corwin

  "I kept abreast of Overworld events," Cora said. "I wasn't certain your forces would prevail against Daelissa."

  "I hate to change the subject," I said, "but can you ask the Mzodi fleet to help us?"

  Cora stood. "I will send the request. I apologize for accosting you."

  Elyssa smirked. "Not the first time it's happened."

  "Probably not the last," I said. "As far as kidnappings go, this one was pretty tame."

  We followed Cora through the spooky forest of hers, walking up two levels to reach the top deck. A cool breeze met my face and a dull roar vibrated in my ears. Seraphim sailors, most of them female, ran back and forth in response to the shouted commands of Illaena who stood atop a tall platform near the prow.

  "Sky pirates," I whispered excitedly to Elyssa. "I wish I had an eye patch so much right now."

  "How about a black eye?" she suggested sweetly.

  "I will speak with the others and let you know about gathering the fleet," Cora said. "Until then, please enjoy our hospitality."

  I touched a tender spot where a vine had stung me. "Think I've had too much hospitality already."

  Elyssa laughed. "Sky pirates, remember?"

  I wandered over to the railing and felt my jaw drop when I looked over the edge. A massive vortex whirled over a boiling ocean. Gusts of aether mixed with salty mist blew my hair back, leaving a thin coat of brine on my skin. The air within the whirling maelstrom glittered as if a million fairies had dropped a load of pixie dust inside.

  Hot wind blasted my face and the entire ship shuddered, rising and falling as if riding invisible waves of air. I gripped the railing and felt my gorge rise. Not far from me, Joss puked a load of glurk over the side then slid down to embrace the railing as if it were a lover. Another wave sent us soaring then crashing back down.

  Illaena gripped a bejeweled pedestal, fingers working furiously while other sailors manned pedestals near the giant wings on the side of the ship, manually adjusting their angles to fight the brutal turbulence. The ship listed hard right, tilting and groaning as if would fly apart.

  Elyssa grabbed the railing, eyes worried.

  "This is kinda fun," I said, holding out my hands as if I were riding a surfboard while the deck shifted and rolled beneath me.

  "All hands brace yourselves!" Illaena shouted in Cyrinthian. "Aether storm ahead!"

  "Yeah, maybe you should hold on too." Elyssa reached a hand for me, but I shook my head.

  "I'm fine." I held my footing as the ship coasted up a swell and dove down the next. "I totally could have made it through this on the rocket stick."

  The ship literally dropped ten feet then lurched up so quickly, I flopped on the deck like a dying fish and cracked my chin hard enough to draw blood. The ship dropped and rose again, slamming me into the deck.

  "Gak!" I shouted, desperately trying to reach Elyssa's hand, but only sliding further away as the ship pitched and rolled as if fighting the storm of the century.

  A vine shot out and secured me to the railing just as the entire sky beneath us went pitch black. The ship coasted to a halt and for a brief instant, all was completely silent. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the air grew so cold my breath fogged.

  Illaena banged the drum three times. "Pitch port, prepare for storm gust!"

  The ship rotated ninety degrees, bringing into view a monstrous black cloud billowing straight for us. My stomach tripped over my kidneys in its haste to get the hell out of Dodge. Just as a scream of terror ripped from my throat, the black cloud slammed into us like a brick wall. The ship creaked and groaned as if it were flying apart and lifted higher, higher, and higher still on the black wave.

  "Starboard haul!" Illaena cried.

  The crew pulled hard on the pedestals and the ship spun just as the wave crested, and suddenly we were flying down a sheer cliff of dark insanity. Lightning crackled, thunder rattled my bones, and it looked as if we were delivering ourselves into the darkest bowels of hell. We were going so fast, my lips flapped in the breeze.

  We plunged through the wall of lightning and death and into bright clear daylight, dust sparkling like glitter all around us. Gems of all sizes and shapes whirled through the air, caught in an updraft of aether so pure, it tasted like honey to my magical senses.

  Still shaking with fright, I unclenched my fingers from the railing, leaving imprints and claw marks behind. "W-where are we?"

  Illaena marched past, a smirk on her face. "We are in a class five vortex." She nodded over the side. "Look."

  I rose on weak legs and peered over the side. The ocean lay far below, visible in the calm eye of the vortex. The air pulsated with aether and what looked like pixie dust. "This is where you harvest gems?" I asked.

  Illaena nodded. "The deeper one goes, the larger the gems." She motioned to a group of sailors casting shimmering nets into the wall of black clouds only feet away.

  A moment later, they withdrew the net now laden with gems of all types and sizes.

  Elyssa's mouth practically watered. "That's amazing. What's the largest gem you've seen?"

  "Nearly as large as this ship," Illaena said. "But it was too deep and no nets could ever haul it in."

  Cora joined us. "I see you weathered your first aether storm."

  I wiped sweat off my forehead. "I didn't realize it was so violent."

  "Even the Mzodi still lose vessels to the aether storms." She inspected the area where my fingers had dug gouges into the wood. "I sent the request to the Muhala Kajeen, the leader of the Mzodi. She will return an answer shortly."

  I gazed at the violent winds of the black vortex. "Guess Flava was right about a rocket stick not being enough."

  The ship lurched. Illaena and Cora exchanged surprised looks.

  Gripping the railing again, I said, "I thought this was the eye of the storm."

  "That was no ordinary turbulence," Cora said. Her eyes widened. "Prepare for an incursion."

  Illaena ran to the central pedestal where she beat the drum four times. A horn wailed near the back of the ship and the crew raced into positions.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  Elyssa and I peered over the side with Cora. Far below, a giant blue crocodile with webbed wings burst from the ocean. Thrusting in slow motion, the wings carried the beast higher and higher. Gouts of steam burst from its lean reptilian muzzle. Scales glittering in the glow of aether, a dragon slithered like a flying snake directly for the Evadora.

  "Draxadis!" Cora shouted. "Draxadis!"

  Cora pulled us back from the rail as defenders took our place. "It's another incursion from the Dragon realm, Draxadis. In my first two months here, we saw one dragon. In the last three months, we have fought seven."

  "Wait—they're coming here from Draxadis?" The roar of the wind and the strange bellow of the dragon nearly drowned out my voice. "How is that possible without an Alabaster Arch?"

  "The vortexes sometimes open rifts to Draxadis." Cora watched as the sailors formed a line, crystal bows cocked and ready. "The Mzodi believe the two realms overlap."

  I didn't have time to ask another question before a tremendous boom vibrated the hull and the ship lurched sideways. Elyssa and I tumbled across the deck, skidding uncontrollably toward the railing on the opposite side. A vine snaked around my chest and another snared Elyssa before we flipped over the side and into the vortex.

  The ship righted, and I climbed back to my feet. The dragon's muzzle slid into view. Gold parietal eyes rose above the railing, regarding us with cold intent. Though the creature wasn't nearly as big as the earth dragons I'd seen, it was massive enough to do some serious damage. The defenders, anchored to the railing by vines, hurled spears of Murk at the beast. The projectiles shattered against the scaly hide, causing no damage.

  The dragon bellowed, a ragged guttural noise as if it had a loose flap of skin in its throat. The spear throwers continued their ineffective attacks, shouting and yelling. They might as well have been toy poodles barking at an angry bu
ll for all the good they were doing.

  "How in the hell have they survived this long if that's how they fight?" I shouted above the din.

  Elyssa gripped my arm and pointed to another group of defenders. "Look, it's a feint."

  The dragon gripped the railing with a clawed foot and clambered onto the deck after the spear throwers. It unlocked its lower jaw like a snake and hissed. Steam sprayed at the defenders who channeled shields to protect themselves. The other group ran up behind the dragon. Using their hands like stirrups, two of them launched a third up onto the dragon's long sinuous neck.

  The dragon bellowed and spun, but the defender gripped one of the long horns and hung on for dear life. The spear throwers launched another volley. The dragon lowered its head and hissed another jet of steam. The defender on its head used the moment of stability and swung around the horn, a long sword in hand.

  With a loud cry, the defender thrust the sword into the eye of the dragon. The beast unleashed a terrible wail and thrashed wildly. Its tail knocked two sailors across the deck, but Cora's vines snagged them before they fell over the side. The spear throwers backed off from the flailing creature. Dark red blood spurted from the eye, covering the deck in a crimson lake.

  Elyssa and I retreated from the carnage. With a ragged sigh, the blue dragon went still, steam whistling from its throat like a tea kettle signaling ready.

  The defenders clasped arms and raised their hands in victory.

  They never even saw the giant red claw slashing over the railing behind them.

  Chapter 18

  "Dragon!" I shouted, but my warning was lost to the roar and thunder of the vortex.

  Bodies tumbled like rag dolls as the huge claw swept them aside. Another scaly foot slammed onto the railing, and then a red dragon clawed its way onto the deck. If the blue dragon had been the size of a horse, this red one matched an elephant pound-for-pound.

  A vine jerked Cora away an instant before massive jaws snapped down on her head. The other vines caught airborne defenders, pulling them away from the new threat, but many of them were bloodied and unconscious from the surprise attack. The dragon snaked across the wide open deck toward Cora.

  A wall of vines blocked the creature, but it snapped through them with powerful jaws. Two of the uninjured spear throwers shouted and got the beast's attention, but the kill squad was out of commission, two of them lying motionless near the bow.

  I took off my shoes and handed them to Elyssa. "Keep an eye on these."

  She dropped them on the deck. "You distract, I'll kill, okay?"

  "Hey, don't lose my shoes!" I couldn't wear them for what came next.

  "We'll get you new ones if the dragon eats them, okay?" Elyssa drew her sai swords. "What's the plan?"

  Drawing upon my demonic nature, I unleashed a little taste of hell and manifested. Black claws pushed out my toenails and fingernails, muscles coiled around my legs and arms, swelling me to twice my height and size. Horns spiked through my forehead momentarily blinding me with pain. I slammed the cage door on the demon to keep myself from fully spawning. The more demon I let out, the stronger I'd become, but I'd lose all control and rampage, doing more harm than good.

  Using my claws to dig into the wood and keep my balance, I raced across the deck toward the dragon. The creature lunged at Cora, but her vines kept her just out of reach. The dragon abruptly changed course and fired a stream of red liquid from its throat at the vine. The acrid smell of molten lava stung my nose.

  Cora cried out as the hot liquid burned her vine to ash. She thudded to the deck. The dragon raked razor claws at her face.

  I streaked across the open deck and threw myself against the monster's foot. The impact knocked the attack off course and twisted the dragon's leg awkwardly. It roared and lost its footing, but the impact also knocked me into a flat spin across the deck. I dug my claws into the deck and screeched to a stop.

  "Come get me, you, uh, big stupid dragon!" I shouted, my voice deep and guttural from the demonic shift.

  The dragon twisted its sinuous body and rose to all fours, webbed wings spreading wide. Golden eyes glared at me, and a forked tongue snaked between gleaming razor teeth. Curving horns rose behind the dragon's eyes, much like the ones on its dead sibling lying on the deck a few yards away.

  Without the crew, the ship drifted to the side. A wing caught in the dark vortex, hurling the ship sideways, spinning out of control. We plunged through the wall of darkness, riding up and down violent wave after wave of air. I dug in my claws, and even the dragon held on for dear life. Another hard gust jettisoned us out of the vortex and into a foggy wonderland.

  The dragon growled and looked at me with foul intent. I saw Elyssa using the dead dragon as cover to sneak up behind the new threat. She didn't have a chance without my help.

  The dragon bellowed and streaked toward me. I roared and charged.

  What in the hell am I doing?

  This was like a mouse playing chicken with a steamroller.

  Sulfur stung my nose as the beast opened its mouth. I dodged left and a stream of lava narrowly missed my face. Using my football skills, I juked right and drove my shoulder into the monster's neck. It was like crashing into a wall made of diamonds. The dragon scales had no give in them whatsoever. I bounced backward and landed hard on my ass. The lava breather arched its long neck and reared back. Quick as lightning, it struck.

  I rolled out of the way an instant before razor teeth snapped into me. "You really don't want to eat me!" I shouted, and rolled the opposite way to avoid disemboweling by dragon claws. "I didn't take a bath today!"

  The dragon didn't seem to care how I bad I smelled or tasted and chomped down. I twisted away, hot dragon breath scorching my backside. The dragon planted its feet to either side, pinning me between them. I wriggled, but even my demon strength couldn't overcome the power of those legs. Crocodilian jaws lashed toward me.

  A beam of brilliance smacked the dragon's snout. The energy refracted from the scales, but it was enough to blind the monster and make it rear back in confusion. Now free, I rolled out of the way and scrambled to my feet. Lanaeia continued channeling a beam of white energy until I dove out of striking distance. Flava and the legionnaires joined her attacks, lancing ultraviolet rays at the dragon.

  They quickly realized the dragon scales repelled the damage.

  I'd faced monsters like this before—summoned demons or shape-shifting Flarks with natural magic immunity—but that magical protection hadn't protected them from the effects of magic on the environment. I'd used fireballs to spill molten rock on a Flark, but I couldn't set this ship on fire to indirectly attack the dragon.

  The only other option was brute force. In my semi-manifested state, I was much stronger than normal, and I'd successfully battled monsters much larger than me. But this dragon was something else, sinuous, flexible, and incredible strong. The dragon scales posed a major problem. Elyssa peered out from her hiding spot behind the blue dragon and pointed at the angry monster bearing down on us. She needed a distraction and I had to give her one without getting eaten.

  "Keep attacking," I told the others. "We have to let Elyssa get into position."

  "But it's impervious to magic!" Lanaeia said.

  "Trust me, just keep it busy!" I unleashed a bolt of destruction and hit the dragon in the snout, which really seemed to piss it off.

  "Rawr!" it roared, and slithered toward us, lava spraying.

  I channeled a shield right in front of the molten rock, redirecting it back at the dragon. Scorching liquid splashed in the reptile's face, splashing off the scales like rainwater against a waxed car.

  "It's like hitting diamond fiber!" I complained. I tried a different tact. Elyssa used to kick my ass regularly when we sparred, but once she taught me some basic mechanics, I'd improved by leaps and bounds. One of the first things she'd shown me was that it doesn't matter how big something is if you can knock it off its feet.

  The dragon ran low to the ground like
a lizard, but if I could trip it up, that might give Elyssa the split second she needed. Direct magical attacks hadn't worked, and I sure as hell couldn't ram the thing, but what if I tried something that wasn't a direct attack?

  I didn't have time to reason through the alternatives. This was going to be a quick and nasty field test. If it failed, I'd be within nom-nom range of those deadly chompers. Elyssa leapt from cover and raced behind the dragon, preparing to leap onto its back. I had no time to lose.

  Watching laser-wielding pirates fighting an army of ninjas had always been a dream of mine. My experience as a newly minted sky pirate versus a dragon was terrifying, but I wasn't about to give the scourge of the seven seas a bad name by losing, especially in front of my girlfriend.

  Summoning my demonic rage to bolster my courage, I charged the oncoming dragon and prayed my little trick worked. "Beware the dread pirate Roberts!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

  The dragon licked its lips in anticipation of a demon burger—hold the mayo—and opened its mouth to gobble me whole. At the last minute, I veered right and slid through the pool of dragon blood. As I passed the dragon's left leg, I looped a web of Murk around it and jerked hard. The aether rope jerked taut. The dragon kept moving forward, but its leg didn't. Thrown off balance, it smacked face-first into the deck.

  Elyssa leapt for the neck. I scrambled to my feet and shot aether tethers to the dragon's horns and yanked hard. Still stunned, the creature didn't resist. Its neck looped backward, head upside down. Elyssa flipped in mid-air and buried both swords in the dragon's eye on the landing.

  The dragon bellowed and shook free of my tethers. The swords clattered to the ground as Elyssa vaulted free.

  "The swords aren't long enough!" Cora shouted.

  The dragon wasn't dead, but it was done. It raced across the bloody deck and leapt over the side, angry roars fading into the distance. Someone else shouted over the din of the vortex as Illaena and the deck crew reassembled. A rock face appeared through the gloom directly ahead. Sailors jerked on levers and the ship tilted hard left.

  Vines coiled around everyone, keeping them from sliding over the side, but the ship wasn't turning fast enough.