by Devri Walls
Although there were still plenty of Shifter-Dragons battling with the true Dragons, this portion of the battle was almost over for him—he wasn’t needed here anymore.
Alcander flew over to Einar, who was exchanging shots with a powerful Tavean. Alcander used his staff, feeling no shame as he caught the enemy in the back. At the loss of his rider, the Shifter-Dragon faced Alcander. As he puffed up his chest, Einar darted forward on his fox, spearing the Shifter-Dragon through the heart.
“You are starting to favor that,” Alcander said, eyeing Einar’s sword.
Einar spun the sword in his hand, looking at the bloody blade in appreciation. “It really is quite useful.”
“I am going to the island,” Alcander said as he took another shot over Einar’s shoulder. “Stay here until the threat is neutralized, then join me. The Dragons are with us now—they should be treated and protected as any other rebel.”
Einar almost smiled as a Dragon swooped by his right flank to grapple with a Shifter-Dragon. “I never thought I would see the day.”
***
KIORA SLUGGISHLY TWISTED TO avoid the magic the Omelians were throwing. The whirlpool faltered and threatened to collapse. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but her eyelids felt like lead—it required an extraordinary amount of mental effort just to open her eyes again.
The icebergs tipped and were pulled into the core. Mercifully, the swirling water was working in her favor to pull many of the Omelian attacks off course—otherwise she might already be dead.
A streak of color twisted its way around the surface of the whirlpool. It dove. What was that? Kiora blinked, trying to focus. Finally she understood what she was seeing. A royal Dragon was heading straight for her. She cut through the water with her wings pinned against her back.
The Dragon Queen angled up, using the momentum she had gained from her drop into the lake to push her through the water. She wrapped her clawed feet around Kiora, jerking her up with her. As soon as they broke the surface, the queen spread her wings, pumping with all her might to get them back into the sky.
***
EMANE AND THE REST of the rebels stood silently, watching and waiting, as the Winged people abandoned their attempt to penetrate the water barrier—too many of their kind were already dead. They spun in a flurry of legs, wings, and arms within the horrible current Kiora and Alcander had created.
Some of the Shifter-Dragons had escaped the ongoing air battle with the Dragons and flew over the top of the island. The Winged people pulled back to allow them through and they spread out around the water barrier.
Emane narrowed his eyes, trying to ascertain their plan.
Each Shifter-Dragon hovered in place. They simultaneously pulled back their heads and unleashed a torrent of fire over the top of the barrier. Steam rushed up, hissing, and concealing the attacking force in a veil of white.
Emane’s jaw dropped. They weren’t trying to break through the barrier—they were trying to evaporate it. And it was working.
***
ALCANDER BUBBLED AS HE approached the forces surrounding the island. He was alone. He hovered above the enemy on his fox, watching as the Shifter-Dragons moved into place and steam billowed upwards. Alcander frowned. It would take them a while, but it was a good plan. They didn’t need to evaporate all of it—just enough that they could break through without getting caught up in the current.
Alcander prepared to drop down and take out a Shifter-Dragon on his way in. He had to get through the oculus on his first attempt—his magic was critically low and he couldn’t hold off an attack, even with his staff.
Just before he dropped his bubble, the magic left him and he found himself completely exposed. Someone had unsheathed a talisman. The water barrier started to fail. It dipped—Jasmine’s talisman was in use. But suddenly it became solid again—Kiora had just unsheathed hers as well.
Cries from the enemy below told him he had been spotted. The Winged people were subject to the same loss of magic, but the Shifter-Dragons still had fire.
Swearing, he headed straight for the oculus. His fox dropped through the hole and Alcander yelled out to the Domats below, but they had no warning he was coming. He leaned back, cringing—the spears were too close to miss.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Demise
THE ILLUSIONIST TRIED TO put up a false image once it realized where Kiora was, but it was too late—Kiora had already seen the direness of their situation from the air. The Omelians and Illusionist were deeper within the whirlpool than she had realized, and she released the water.
The whirlpool stuttered, and then the rim collapsed in on itself. A moment later, the sides flowed back to the center, colliding with the dropping top and spraying water skyward. The threads of the Omelians and Illusionist went silent.
Kiora’s magic vanished as a scream of anger rolled through the sky. Jasmine.
She pulled the cover off her own talisman with thick, heavy fingers. Her magic immediately returned.
The queen looked down at her as they flew toward the island. “You are beyond cold, little one.”
Kiora smiled through chattering teeth. “Thank you . . . for everything.”
The queen gave her a flickering smile before focusing forward with grim determination. “You don’t have much time to recover before we reach the island, and I don’t know where Jasmine is—she is still hiding. Get ready.”
That statement sent more ice through Kiora’s veins than all those minutes in the freezing lake. She couldn’t fight like this. She focused completely on warming herself, using a spell to dry her hair and clothes. She tried to relax as she hung beneath the Dragon Queen, claws wrapped gently around her waist.
As they neared the island, Kiora’s head was finally clear enough to notice the swarm of Winged people and Shifters that surrounded the water barrier. With the talismans uncovered, the barrier around the outside of the island had vanished and the giant spears poking up from the sand were clearly visible—as were the piles of bodies, and the ring of blood-red water that surrounded the beach.
“The only way in is through the top,” Kiora said.
The queen skimmed along the lake, making sure to keep them low and away from the sputtering remains of the air battle behind them. Just as the queen pulled up and headed for the oculus, Kiora felt the thread she had been dreading. A shot of magic hit her, ripping her free of the queen’s claws and sending her tumbling toward the spears.
***
EMANE SAW ALCANDER DIVING through the mass above them, heading for the entrance. “Pull them back!” he screamed, flailing his arms at the Domats. “Alcander!”
One of the Domats perked up his large, black ears.
Alcander passed through the oculus.
The Domat yanked his spear back, shouting at the others.
Alcander’s fox screeched in panic, then veered into the opening created by the first Domat. They barely squeezed between the other spears. The fox crashed into the sand, crumpling, and Alcander flew off the saddle, landing hard and rolling.
Emane ran toward him and helped him up.
Alcander swore vehemently. He looked at the Domats, who had turned their attention back to the top of the oculus.
“They are trying to evaporate the barrier,” Emane said, motioning upwards.
“I know,” Alcander said. “And I can’t reinforce it without my magic. We’re lucky it’s still holding.”
“Where is Kiora?” Emane asked.
“There.” He pointed at the beach.
Emane turned just as Jasmine appeared behind the Dragon Queen, hovering in midair. The queen pulled up to avoid the spears that surrounded the island and Jasmine extended her hand, magic flying from her fingertips. Kiora was struck from behind and ripped from the queen’s claws.
Emane pounded across the island, Alcander next to him, frantic to reach the shore.
***
KIORA TWISTED THROUGH THE air, and then scaled feet jerked her backwards. The queen pull
ed her tight against her stomach, wrapping her legs and wings around Kiora to protect her. The queen then flipped her body around to face their enemy, releasing a firestorm that forced Jasmine to shield.
They were still falling. Kiora couldn’t see the spears coming up beneath them, but she knew they were there. She screamed, struggling against the queen’s grasp.
They jerked to a sudden stop. The queen gave a long, slow, groan, then her wings opened and flopped awkwardly to the side.
A wooden spear pressed against Kiora’s shoulder, having punctured through the queen. Hot blood that wasn’t hers ran down her side and soaked through her clothes. The queen lowered her with jerky movements. Kiora dropped to the ground and pushed out a shield around the two of them.
“Please,” Kiora begged as she finally found the courage to look up at the Dragon Queen. “No.”
The queen hung from two spears—one pierced near the top of her wing. The other had penetrated her hide, but it wasn’t deep. The Shifter-Dragons who had been impaled were struck on their undersides—the vulnerable area for a Dragon. But the queen had turned backwards. Maybe she would be all right. Kiora allowed herself to hope.
Emane and Alcander skidded onto the beach and Kiora yelled a warning. Jasmine floated above the lake. She extended her hand toward the two boys, a sick smile on her face.
Kiora dove toward Alcander and Emane, throwing a shield to protect them. The shot connected. Kiora scrambled back to her feet as her shield cleared of color. Jasmine’s eyes were rich with malice and fixed not on her, but on the Dragon Queen.
Under Jasmine’s control, a spear from the beach wiggled itself free of the sand. The queen, realizing what was coming, bellowed and blew flame. Jasmine casually shielded herself from the attack and catapulted the spear forward.
The spear ripped through the queen’s belly. The queen gave such a gut-wrenching, ear-grating roar that Kiora, Emane, and Alcander dropped to their knees. The Dragons in the sky turned away from the air battle, bellowing in answer. The larger warrior Dragons dropped into battle formation and sped toward them.
Kiora ran, putting a shield around the dying queen, using some of the precious little magic she had remaining in an attempt to pull the spear free from the queen’s stomach.
Jasmine ripped up every spear from the sand and turned them toward Alcander and Emane.
Alcander grabbed Emane and yanked him toward Kiora.
The queen glanced weakly over to the two boys as they leaped behind Kiora’s shield. “Save them,” she whispered. Her head dropped forward with a jerk as her thread silenced.
Bile rose up in Kiora’s throat, acrid and sharp. She whirled on Jasmine, who met her eyes with self-satisfied glee. Then she tossed the spears into the water.
Emane frowned. “What is she doing?”
Jasmine sent a wave of magic blasting forth that dissolved the barrier over the island.
Lake water poured down, rushing across the sand and knocking many of the rebels off their feet. They scrambled back up as the Winged people and Shifters who had been hovering above the barrier dropped down to attack.
The rebels were ready, swords extended. A Winged man swooped low toward Emane. He ducked and shoved his sword up though the man’s stomach. The Winged man crashed to the sand. The Shifter-Dragons blew fire. Without shields, the rebels dove out of the way—a rebel Omelian was not fast enough and burst into flames. Marlocks sprinted around the island, Taveans riding them, their speed allowing them to get close to the enemy before being noticed. Bodies fell to the sand one after the other as the Witow weapons found their marks on the otherwise helpless enemies. The warrior Dragons soon joined the fight, lighting the sky with fire, and battling the Shifter-Dragons.
Over the sound of water, the screams of the enemy, the screech of swords, and the battle cries of the rebels, Kiora heard Jasmine laughing. Kiora’s blood boiled, further consumed with anger. Jasmine had pulled down that barrier so the battle could continue, so she could stand back and watch as every living thing her father had loved more than her destroyed each other.
***
ALCANDER AND EMANE STOOD back-to-back and stepped out from Kiora’s shield. Alcander unsheathed his sword, holding it with the ease of someone who had grown used to the weapon.
Emane pulled his bow, nocking an arrow. “You take the low ones—I’ll take the high ones.”
The Winged people attacked because they had been ordered to, but there was fear and uncertainty in their eyes.
A Shifter-Dragon dove for Emane, his claws outstretched. Emane aimed for the heart, but then a giant Dragon, brandishing razor-sharp claws that were just a little too long, a red stripe running down his scales, smashed into the Shifter, pushing him to the ground and plunging its claws through the enemy Shifter’s chest.
The red-striped Dragon turned his head to look at Emane. “Watch your back, Prince.”
Emane grinned as he pointed his bow skyward, tracking a Winged man and loosing an arrow. “Why bother when I have you to do it for me, Drustan?”
Drustan smirked at him before flapping his wings and returning to the air.
Jasmine and Kiora’s magic collided with a burst of magical explosion that pillared upwards between them.
A Winged man dove, heading for Emane.
Alcander leaped up and shoved Emane’s head down. Swinging his sword, he took off half the man’s wing. Emane straightened as the Winged person fell to the ground, screaming.
Ky swooped over Alcander’s head and landed. His wings flared out behind him, already spattered with blood. He took a quick step forward, burying his sword into the man’s chest. The Winged man arched his back, a silent scream on his lips before flopping lifeless to the sand.
Revulsion ran through Emane, abhorred by what the Shadow had done to the land. She had taken Shifters and sent them into colonies of creatures who, because of her talisman, were left without magic—without anything to defend themselves with—and she slaughtered them, just as the rebels were slaughtering her followers now.
Alcander cried out in pain and Emane spun around. A Tavean with red eyes held a sword he must have taken from a dead rebel. He was pulling back, preparing for another attack, his blade covered in blood—Alcander’s blood. Alcander switched his sword to his other arm, bringing it up to block the next attack.
Emane pulled back an arrow and shot it straight through the Tavean’s neck. The enemy fell backwards.
Alcander’s wound was deep and blood ran down his arm. Emane kept his eyes on the sky and quickly shrugged out of his jacket and shirt. With the talismans uncovered, healing was out of the question. Using the tip of an arrow, he ripped the edge of his shirt, tearing off a strip to wrap around Alcander’s wound.
Alcander hissed as Emane tied the fabric in a knot, pulling tight.
Another Winged person dove at them. Emane grabbed his bow from the ground, standing and firing in one fluid movement.
***
KIORA WAS TIRING. SHE had been using massive amounts of magic while Jasmine sat back and waited. She grabbed the wind and sent it roaring forward.
Jasmine did a gentle wave with one hand and the wind rolled around her. The spears trembled and shook from the gale-force winds, but Jasmine’s hair was barely moving.
Kiora released the wind and jerked at the water, but Jasmine swiped that away too. She had more power than Kiora even realized and it confirmed what she had known for some time—Jasmine had been toying with her.
Jasmine inclined her chin and her green eyes flashed. A crackling red sphere of magic burst from her fingertips and raced toward Kiora.
Kiora knew she was in trouble. She put up her shield, but the magic broke through, picking her up and throwing her backwards.
She landed hard, at Emane’s feet. It felt like she had been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. Her breath was knocked out of her and she gasped for breath. Had her shield not taken the brunt of that shot, it would have killed her.
Kiora scrambled backwards, still s
truggling for air, and before she could stop them, Emane and Alcander stepped in front of her—placing themselves between her and Jasmine.
Jasmine looked to Alcander first. “The true Tavean king,” she said, her voice as cold as her soul. She waved her hand and tossed Alcander aside like a rag doll.
Kiora sucked in, desperate to breathe, air finally rushing into her lungs. She tried to push up on wobbly arms.
Emane drew his bow back and fired. Jasmine put her hand up and the arrow stopped, hovering in midair. She tilted her head and looked at him like he was an amusing pet. The arrow fell harmlessly to the sand. Emane dropped his bow, pulled his sword free, and pointed it toward Jasmine.
Kiora’s heart froze. It was just like the painting she had seen when they had first arrived in this land—she lay on the ground as Emane stood over her, protecting her from the Shadow, his sword out and his armband exposed in the sun.
Mayhem surrounded her. She heard the crackle of Dragon fire and the screams of people dying or being burned by fox acid. She felt threads dropping all around her. But it was as if everything had slowed and all she could hear was the ringing in her ears and could only see the scene playing out before her in slow motion.
“You think you can stand against me?” Jasmine said. “A Witow?” Her eyes were full of nothing but mirth.
Alcander came up from behind —just like the vision in the cave. He leaped up, flipped in the air, and landed on Jasmine’s back. Emane darted forward, using Jasmine’s surprise to his advantage. She twisted and Emane’s sword slid past her, nicking her side.
Kiora held out her hand as her magic trickled back, but she couldn’t fire—not without hitting Alcander or Emane. She put her hand to the sand instead, and the ground beneath Jasmine’s feet began to open.
Blood bloomed from Jasmine’s side, staining her dress. She screamed in rage and pushed out a circle of magic that threw all three of them backwards.
