by Judith Leger
closer to the caverns, swished through their larger kin. They
flicked with huge teeth and claws to leave bloody slashes on
the enemy rogues that fought under Arcane’s orders.
She held her breath at the sight of the mystic beast diving
for Lior. The white female flew at the desert floor, reversed
direction to rise straight up, aiming for Arcane’s underbelly.
Arcane dodged. He slashed toward the white dragon’s
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head.
Seren’s heart rose to her throat.
Lior swerved out of the way at the last moment. In her
place, Bask blasted Arcane with rays of pure magical energy.
The beast passed through the bright beams, seeming
unaffected. In Arcane’s place, some twenty lesser dragons
surrounded Bask while driving Lior farther away.
Arcane circled, coming closer to the protective barrier,
and the spot where she stood. She kept track of his
movements, feeling uneasy with the way he eyed the magical
wall separating them.
“Leo?”
He grunted in response.
“Are you sure he can’t break through?”
The black man shifted, a frown on his face. “Pretty sure.
Why?”
She continued to observe the hypnotic rise and fall of
Arcane’s wings. “I want you to go below. Get ready to run
with Legion. Just to be on the safe side.”
“Seren?”
“Please, do what I ask. I want to make sure my baby is
safe,” she whispered.
He nodded, pivoted on his heel, and hurried toward the
stairs leading to the caverns.
Magic exploded behind her. She sent a quick glance over
her shoulder to see two huge beasts blasting each other with
fire. When she faced forward again, Arcane hovered even
with her, leering.
Terror froze her to stone.
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Chapter Twenty-Six
His skin itched. The dragon mark on Paladin’s left arm
twitched, the beast struggling for freedom. Rage at the
injustice of Arcane’s actions boiled over into his fighting.
High above the center of the cavern, Paladin sliced through
the armored underbelly of a lesser black dragon. His father’s
words filled his mind.
“Slice with the scales. A clean cut, no jerking. The blade
will go deep, the kill swifter.”
Dark blood, entrails, and dragonstones burst from the
opening. On contact with the air, the flesh and internal
organs evaporated into shimmering dust. The beast howled
while it fell, writhing with its death. Paladin concentrated on
keeping out of reach from most of the rogues’ breath, and all
of their clawed slashes. Lessons from years ago vibrated
through his mind.
“Draw in the magic, it will give you strength whereas
the breath will take it from you. Avoid, duck, roll, flip out of
the way then drive for the kill.”
To his right, Ren managed to avoid a massive swing from
another black rogue’s clawed hand. The wizard leapt from
the beast he rode, flipping over once to land on his feet,
balanced between the wings of another white dragon.
The dark haired man raised his staff to send a powerful
spell at his attacker, but a jarring strike to the underbelly of
his new ride knocked him off-balance. The blow sent Ren
sliding to the right.
Fear for his friend had Paladin angling in his direction.
Behind Ren, a massive billow of air, sand mingled with
glittering magical motes formed into the shape of a fanged,
six-horned dragon. Rimmed with gold, the sandy figure
roared in fury. Ren turned his head as he fell, eyes wide at
the sight.
Hoping to reach Ren before he tumbled off the white
dragon, Paladin whipped closer. Ren remained unmoving,
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his gaze locked on the beast behind him. The form streaked
past the wizard. It struck the dragon attacking him, blasting
a fissure the size of Paladin’s body through its chest.
The wizard tumbled and started the long descent to the
desert floor, his cape slapping against his body. He’d
dropped a few yards. More currents of magically charged air
mingled into four gold-edged dragons. Two caught the
wizard. They carried him to the ground. The others created a
buffer between Ren and any attacking enemy.
Concerned for his friend, Paladin landed next to him. Ren
waved a hand at him, demonstrating he needed no aid.
Paladin, even more determined to finish this fight, took flight
into the fray.
He lifted into the air, relieved Ren had suffered no harm.
After two successful strikes on a red and green rogue, a force
hit Paladin on the right side. Knocked off balance, he flipped
once, dull pain radiating from his hip. He glanced to his left.
Rylen, his wings unfurled, straightened and turned back to
him. The younger man, armored in white, motioned to him.
“Come brother, fight me. Alone. It is I that you desire to
destroy, is it not?” Rylen smirked, his gaze coated with a
misty darkness.
“Below then.” Paladin motioned to a sandstone slab
coated with magical dust a good distance from the entrance
to the caverns. “We will finish this.”
They landed on the smooth sandstone. Their wings
disappeared. Rylen slid both his swords free, one long, the
other shorter by half the length. The longer weapon, similar
to the one Paladin used, glinted in the twinkling sparkles
dotting the air around them.
With a grimace, Paladin nodded to the blade. “You would
defile our father’s sword in this manner?”
Rylen lifted a brow and sneered, “Defile? You foul the
very air I breathe.”
He charged at Paladin.
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* * * *
Seething hatred poured from the glance Arcane sent
Seren. Uncaring, she gritted her teeth and paced along the
edge of the stone overhang. She clenched and unclenched
her hands while she waited for him to make a move.
From the right, Lior rammed against his side, sinking her
pearl-scaled claws deep into his back and underbelly,
holding tight. Her mouth opened. The massive white dragon
bit into his arm, incisors slicing deep. Bones snapped, the
sound loud amid the battle. The mystic dragon’s arm hung
limp against his side.
Arcane roared, pain and fury evident in the cry. .
He swung around, shoving and pushing against the white
dragon, trying to dislodge her hold. He slammed her into
several approaching rogues. Releasing his black fiery breath,
he struck her in the upper body. Lior screamed, ending with
fire spiraling from her mouth. The streams of flames raced
toward Arcane.
While mother and son battled, Seren searched for any
sign of Paladin. The air thickened with a hazy mist. Worry
tightened her chest so fiercely that pain cut into her with
each breath. She sent up a
silent plea for his safety.
* * * *
On the defensive, Paladin planted his feet on the stone,
his long sword held horizontal across his chest, his shorter
one at his side. Rylen leapt up, his blade over his head. For a
moment, time stopped. The image burned in Paladin’s mind.
His father’s words came to haunt him.
“You are the future King of the White Dragon Clan. My
heir. Be proud, be strong, and never allow your enemy to
defeat you.”
His brother’s white-gold hair gleamed with the swirling
motes floating in the air around them. Fierce determination
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sparkled in his mist shrouded eyes. The next second, Rylen
swung down with all his strength. The impact of metal
against metal drove Paladin back, his feet sliding on the
stone. Blue sparks lit the blades’ edges grating over each
other. Sandstone dust floated up beneath their feet, choking
Paladin.
With a grunt, face-to-face across the blades, Rylen
complimented him with a grin on his face. “Well, done, but
not good enough.”
He shoved harder. Paladin broke to the left. Rylen swiped
back and forth, driving him toward the edge of the slab one
step after another. Their weapons connected over and over.
Amazed at his younger brother’s fighting skills combined
with his power, Paladin realized Arcane instilled these
abilities in Rylen.
After Arcane’s assault on him in his youth, Rylen cared
little for any type of fighting with weapons or not. Before that
incident, he had acted like a normal young prince, interested
in every aspect of his teachings, in particular fighting. The
dragon’s black breath had fouled him. Paladin tried to recall
the last time he’d seen his brother pick up a blade, but could
not, yet now he fought with an expertise beyond his
capabilities.
Arcane caused Rylen to act in the manner the rogue
believed all humans behaved. Arcane bestowed on his
brother this new fighting ability with the same magic used to
control him. Paladin shot a quick glance up in an effort to see
how the battle flowed. The lesser dragons, along with their
younger kin flew above him. Arcane and the seven great ones
fought elsewhere.
Distracted, he still managed to avoid a slice from the
right. The gust of air passing by his head spurred his father’s
voice to return from his memories.
“Pay attention. Your death is sealed if you lose your
concentration.”
He lifted his weapon to block, and succeeded in stopping
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the blow, but not in time to halt the next one.
“Too slow,” Rylen mocked, his eyes alight with malicious
intentions.
The shorter sword, turned with the handle aimed at
Paladin’s abdomen. The strike broke through Paladin’s
defense to hit him in the belly. The air whooshed out of his
lungs. Rylen shoved him with a shoulder in his chest,
sending him backward several feet. He hit the edge of a
protruding boulder and slumped. He tried to catch his
breath, but Rylen followed him, leaving him no time.
He rolled to the right in an effort to avoid a thrust. On his
feet, he resumed his stance, weapons held in defense. Sweat
dripped from his forehead, slipping into his eyes, mingling
with the dust to sting them. Rylen growled. Annoyance
replaced the intense glint in his eyes.
“Fight me,” he muttered.
“Never.”
“Are you such a coward?”
“No. You are my brother. Blood of my blood. My love for
you is stronger even than the hate I have for all Arcane has
made you do.”
“Fool—idiot.” Rylen charged, frustration disappearing
under his anger. Both his blades cut left and then right in a
flurry. Paladin blocked each one, adding to Rylen’s growing
fury.
Breaking from this new onslaught, Paladin slid away to
leave a broad gap between the two of them. He took deep
cleansing breaths, trying to remain calm under his brother’s
onslaughts. “Soon, the mystic dragon will be gone. We will
defeat him. He will die. Do you truly believe I would harm
you knowing this?”
Mimicking his words in a high nasal tone, Rylen swiped
his sword down from left to right. “We will defeat him. Ha,
more like Arcane will devour all of you. Do not
underestimate the strength of that one.”
“Neither should you believe so strongly that Arcane is the
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better. We fight for our very lives. I swore to protect the
woman and child I love. I will be victorious.”
For the first time since the battle commenced between
them, Paladin surged at his brother. His sword connected
with Rylen’s again and again. Powdery sand coated his
tongue. His breath rattled with each short pant of air he drew
between his teeth.
A dragon’s scream of anguish distracted him. Rylen took
advantage of his quick glance at the sky. His brother swung
wide, missing him, but followed with a thrust of his shoulder.
Paladin took the full force of the shove against his left side.
He stumbled and went down on one knee. Rylen corrected
his direction. His brother raised his weapon above his head,
crazed laughter ringing out in the sudden silence of the battle
around them.
Exhausted, Paladin tried to regain his stance, but his legs,
weak from the battle, trembled, the muscles exhausted. His
brother angled his blade down, aiming for Paladin’s head.
* * * *
So lost in her search for Paladin, Seren didn’t notice
Arcane break free of Lior. The iridescent scales on the mystic
dragon’s body flickered with his pass in front of her. She
stiffened and stepped back, her focus returned to the beast.
He circled and headed straight at her. Opening his
mouth, he blasted the barrier with black flames. The barrier
shifted, rays of lightening streaking from where the breath
hit. Without stopping, he rammed his head against the
magical protection.
More electrical streaks raced from the area impacted by
his head. The barrier cracked. Air whooshed over her,
bringing the scents of burned flesh and blood—human and
dragon–along with an array of other odors she couldn’t
identify. The sudden impact of the wind through the hole
shoved her back a step. She clasped her hands at her waist,
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her gaze riveted on the beast before her.
“You thought to hold me with this pitiful excuse of a
barrier? You presumed too much, human.”
His nose, followed by his jaw, squeezed through the
opening, disrupting the magic in the barrier. He forced his
head further inside the protective shell.
Calm came over her. Her mind vaguely registering him at
all. Instead, memories of the days before Mandy’s death
&
nbsp; danced through her mind. The laughter, sharing hugs and
kisses, the playground, teaching her to ride her bike, all her
love given to the little girl, her child, her life, then...
Her skin heated from the inside out with the memories of
her lifeless child bright in her mind. The laughter and joy
ended for eternity, all her love buried with her daughter. Or
was it?
Legion’s gently rounded head, his clear dual colored eyes,
one blue, one gray, the milk-sloppy smile Paladin swore
came from gas, shoved her painful memories aside. The fire
under her skin increased. Sharp pain cut into her shoulder
blades. She cried out. Taking deep breaths to ease the
pressure, she reached back and felt...Her finger traced over
soft feathers. She gaped in amazement. Wings came from the
inner section of her shoulder blades. The soft feathers glided
beneath her fingers.
“Wings will not help you, human.”
She lifted her gaze to Arcane. Fear no longer controlled
her, only the need of a mother to protect and guard against
encroaching evil.
“Do you know your weakness against me?”
The dragon’s brow creased. “I have no weakness.”
Moving one step closer to him, she nodded, a smile
playing across her lips. “Yes, you do.”
She held out her hands, stretching her fingers wide.
Another step brought her in front of him. “You assumed
because I am human, I have no strength, but you’re wrong.
My strength lies in the love I have for my child. My love for
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those who have worked so hard to keep me safe from you.”
“Therein lays your weakness. Love is weak. Useless.” He
narrowed his eyes, unmoving.
She touched the outer edges of his mouth, placing her
hands flush to his scales. “Because I am human, I have the
ability to feel greater emotions, to know truer power simply
by believing. You don’t, and because of this you will fail.”
She finished speaking. The glow surrounding her body
migrated to her hands and exploded, shaking the stone
beneath her feet. Arcane, eyes wide with what could only be
called surprise, gaped at her. He pulled free from the split in
the barrier, but not soon enough. A sizable portion of his left
bottom jaw turned to dust under her attack. The light
streaked up the sides of his face, slicing deep into his left eye.
Howling, he swept a hand at Seren. He missed. Lior, Sinimal,
