by Kiersten Fay
Before Kyra could formulate a response, Portia grasped her arm and energy shot through her, giving her sensation of falling. Her first instinct was to reach out for something stable, but there was nothing. Her vision faltered, and suddenly she was racing over the land, through the trees, and past mountains. The speed was unfathomable. Once her feet met ground again, she wobbled and struggled to regain her equilibrium.
Bodies rushed around her, yelling and grappling, but she couldn’t make sense of any of it.
“Cale!” she yelled. Her sight began to clear and she could only gape at what must be the seventh circle of hell.
She stood at the edge of a low cliff, overlooking the town that surrounded the palace. Parts of the palace were on fire, the flames spreading quickly. Patches of land burned, stinking of ash, soot, and something else—her mind tried to block the smell, but it was too late. Flesh.
In the streets, people scurried in panic as Kayadon gunned them down in groups. A woman clutching a child screamed as she was overrun by a pack of hellhounds. Kyra let out a gurgled cry.
A shadow momentarily blocked the sun. The shape of it was distinct, with wings reaching wide. Her eyes followed the massive dragon as it progressed toward the helpless woman below, huddling to protect her child from angry, snapping jaws. The dragon landed hard, yet graceful. Its scales glistened in the sun and shook as a terrifying roar cut through the air. The smaller creatures had time to cower before the dragon tore into their flesh with teeth and claws.
Kyra’s attention drew upward. The sky was littered with crafts of all shapes and sized, some shooting at each other and some bombarding the ground. More dragons mingled in the mix, maneuvering through the crafts as though they were but inconvenient obstacles.
An explosion rocked the ground at her back, and she swiveled to see a mass of trees engulfed in flames, toppling to the ground. Cale appeared then. He reached to grip her shoulder and his lips moved as though he were speaking. She strained to hear what he was saying.
“Kyra, say something! Breathe!”
Was she not breathing? She felt her lungs jump to life, gasping for air and fighting against the icy shock that suffocated her. While trying to regain the ability to speak, she continued to survey. Opposite them on the cliff, Ethan and the demons fought to push back a wave of Kayadon and hellhounds. Some of the dragons were there as well. King Mar and two of his sons battled in their humanoid forms. Another dragon appeared—this one red—landing near the group. Great burgundy wings spread as its chest pulled in a deep breath. Then the dragon spewed a stream of boiling fire at their foes.
From the corner of her eye she spotted Ginn, still tied and lying on his side. The two Serakians who had brought him blinked out of sight, along with Portia—to where, she didn’t know.
My people are dying. My planet is burning. My nightmare, come to life.
She realized Cale was holding her up, but she couldn’t gather the strength to stand on her own. Tears streamed as she sank deeper into utter devastation. The end of her race, played out before her eyes. She had failed. Her father had been wrong.
Hopelessness consumed her, sucking away more of her strength.
Cale must have sensed it in her because he yelled in a harsh, grating voice, “Don’t you dare give up on me!”
“I can’t do this,” she rasped. “I’m not strong enough.” Her gaze traveled the destruction.
“Fuck that,” Cale growled, shaking her shoulders. His fingers dug in harder than he probably meant. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
She let the lie pass without a reply. Another explosion pushed hot air over them. The sound hurt her ears, but she barely flinched. Any second, one of those bombs would strike true. Then it would be over.
“Kyra?” Anya called, hurrying to her side. “Thank the gods you’re alive.”
The gods? Her mind raged. Where were the gods now? Where have they ever been?
“What’s the matter with her?” Anya asked Cale.
“I don’t know.” The concern in Cale’s voice tugged at her heart. She blinked, finally realizing her eyes had been frozen wide.
Nadua moved into her line of sight. Her fiery red hair matched the flames in the background. “Is she hurt?”
“I’m not hurt,” Kyra managed. “I’m just freaking out.”
She placed her hands on Cale’s shoulder and planted her feet. With effort, she buried her fear as best she could. Cale stayed close as though afraid she would collapse again. A very real possibility.
Her heart rate slowed, and she regained an even enough breath to ask, “What’s the plan?”
A ship blazed to the ground, crashing into a cluster of ruined homes.
Nobody spoke for a moment. The demons and dragons still fought behind them on the plateau, keeping the Kayadon from closing in. Their position was well chosen. The land jutted out, making it impossible for attackers to come at them from the sides.
“I saw us here in a vision once,” Nadua informed her. “I don’t know more than that. I don’t know what to do. There are so many of them.”
Anya said, “Our people are confused and scared. The battle started so fast.” She trailed off as if at a loss.
A few yards away, Marik fended off two Kayadon at once. Sebastian took on a group of hellhounds. Sonya and Ethan shot into the horde, dropping Kayadon left and right, but it seemed as though two more popped up to take their fallen comrade’s place. A never-ending stream of them poured from the thick forest. Did they somehow know royal blood was just feet away? Eventually they would break the line and find out.
Anya and Nadua’s features became bleak. They looked to Kyra as if she had the answer. As if she were the one to save them, but she only ever had one good blast in her and it wouldn’t even cover the full length of the cliff.
Anya frowned, grabbing her by the hand. Kyra blinked at her little sister. The gesture was meant for comfort, but it gave her an idea.
“We need to make a circle,” she said.
Nadua understood instantly. Anya took on a confused expression.
Kyra turned to Cale and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m sorry I lost it for a second, but I’m okay now. Well, better, at least. Go help your family and send Ethan over here, okay?”
“I should stay with you,” he insisted.
“And miss out on ripping Kayadon to shreds?” she forced a tentative smile.
“I don’t care about that any longer. I just care about you.”
“Well, I need you to keep those Kayadon off of us. We’re going to do something to intensify our magic, and we can’t be interrupted.”
He gave a tight nod and then pulled her in for a kiss teaming with heated promises. Her hands lifted to wrap around the sides of his face, and she put a few of her own promises into it. When he let her go, she saw red beginning to flood his irises. “I will bring you their heads.”
“You do that, big guy.” She watched him go, oddly turned on by his brutal pledge.
Below, two more explosions crashed near the palace. The ship that had caused them was being tag teamed by a group of smaller, swifter crafts. Smoke billowed from its thrusters.
Ethan joined Kyra and her sisters, looking bloodied and bruised, but already in the process of healing. “Cale said you needed me. Are you hurt?”
“No. We’re going to form a circle.”
Still clasping Anya’s hand, she held out her other to Nadua. Without hesitation, Nadua took it and then Ethan closed the circle between her and Anya.
Kyra explained mostly for Anya’s benefit, “You’re going to funnel your magic into me. Do you think you can do that?”
They all nodded.
Nadua yelled over the noise of yet another blast. “I’ve only done this a few times.”
“I know, me too. We’ll just have to do our best.”
With that, they went quiet, concentrating on activating the circle. Booming vibrations slithered over the ground. Screams wafted up from the village below. Gunfire echoe
d, and dragons roared. Kyra tried to push all of that to the back of her mind as she worked on rousing her magic.
It didn’t take long. To her magic, the sound of carnage was like opening a tin can to a herd of cats. She let it shake and stretch and lick its chops. Then, like a lion on the plains, its ears pricked up. Anya squeezed her hand, and Kyra was flooded with her power. The strength of it nearly knocked her off her feet, but her magic ate it up.
Heat surged, followed by an influx of energy. Her magic flared, swirling inside her. She kept it caged, expecting resistance, but it seemed to understand that it would soon be free. In the next instant, with the help of Anya’s magic, the demon’s rage took on a new level, and Kyra got a glimpse of what Anya must constantly live with. She could actually taste their fury on her tongue. She could sense the anger roiling off the Kayadon, the fear of the townsfolk, the confusion of the surrounding animals. Every molecule of energy created a different impression, and it all stole a place inside her.
As Anya’s magic continued to flow, she reached to connect with Nadua. Their energies circled and brushed up against each other, posturing and getting acquainted. Then it combined into one swirling mass, and she sucked in a breath. She opened her eyes, but her vision was no longer her own. Images whizzed by, nearly making her dizzy. It was as if she were viewing a hundred films on fast forward while running past the screens at lightning speed.
Suddenly, time folded in on itself.
Everything melted into nothing and then reformed like cooling metal from a forge. The process repeated until nothing was recognizable.
Layer by layer, her sense of self peeled back like a rose in bloom. The petals withered and fell, stripping her to the soul. The last layer was the one that defined her as a being and soon that was gone as well.
The glow of the suns lapped at her essence, and she breathed it in. As she exhaled, she felt herself falling, churning and whirling down, like riding an open drain. At the bottom, she found a spark of light. It was pulling her in. Sucking her down. The pressure was immense.
An extreme noise flooded her ears as she squeezed out the other side. A thick pool of dark silence greeted her as well as an infinite pattern of lines, spread out in all directions, crossing and merging and breaking apart.
Her essence shot forward, scattering like a million beads. She saw everything and nothing. Her rational mind worked to piece it all together.
Overwhelmed and confused, she felt as though she were on the edge insanity. Mentally, she cried, “Stop!”
At the simple order, everything shuddered and slowed to a crawl. She looked back. At the end of a long tunnel, she saw the cliff where her body stood. Beyond that, ships hovered, frozen in mid-action. A dragon posed in the sky with its wings tucked in, mid-dive, but it didn’t move.
She faced the nebulous, seeking other entities, but she seemed to be alone. All was obscure except for the tangling lines. They glowed in a warm rainbow of colors. Some appeared brighter and trailed freely, while others were dim and clung like a weaving vine.
Her attention focused on a particular cluster where a dark line wrapped tightly around a set of bright ones, leaching energy.
Recognition sparked.
She reached out, and the second she did, her essence was sucked in, forced to follow the darkened vine like a speeding train. An instant later, she came to a halt in the middle of a strange room.
Somehow she knew where she was. Understood instantly that the handsome face of the man crouched over a large desk was the face of the Kayadon who had started it all.
Chapter 33
Though young and handsome, his features were gaunt, drawn tight with exhaustion and regret. His sorrow melted into her and became her own. Its crushing weight ate at her, consuming hope like an unquenchable thirst.
Disheveled papers lay over his desk. Tomes lined shelves that took up two full walls. This once great scientist sat defeated—the destroyer of his people. He ran thick fingers through his slick black hair and hung his head.
The door burst open and another dark-haired man entered, alarm painted across his lightly tanned face. “Our people can no longer shift,” he announced. “We need a cure. Now!”
“My research is at an end,” the scientist replied in an unsteady voice. “There is no cure.”
“People are dying!”
The scientist shot to his feet, rage joining the overwhelming sense of failure. “I know people are dying! There is nothing I can do!”
Kyra realized then that neither of these men still lived.
The scene shifted.
A great swarm of ships jetted toward an evening sky, vibrating the ground. Plumes of exhaust choked the fertile, yet withering, land. Every grain of sand left behind was tainted by the plague that swept through the Kayadon— a plague that had decimated a third of the population in a matter months.
A vaccine had slowed the process for a lucky few, and in a desperate attempt to find a cure, the survivors set off for lands unknown.
Kyra rode along in fast-forward as they approached planet after planet, bargaining for help and, in some cases, unwittingly infecting those who would provide it. Every time they moved on, desperation grew as madness claimed the minds of many.
They happened upon the demon planet and found them immune. Hope reigned for a time. The Kayadon bartered for test subjects, with outlandish promises: riches, technology, and secrets of the universe. But when the demons discovered the atrocities performed in the name of science, they rebelled, resulting in a war that shattered the planet and divided not one, but two nations. Many of the Kayadon were growing weary, and the brass action against the demons was met with outrage. Those who spoke up were culled with callous regard, silencing further protests.
And the search continued.
They discovered Evlon soon after. It was quickly surmised that if a cure existed, it would be here. The suns flooded the land with magic that all but stopped the plague in its tracks. Kayadon leaders, deformed by the sickness growing inside them, gathered to discuss the best course. Wanting to avoid another war that might ruin their last salvation, they devised a hasty takeover.
A swift evacuation of a handful of inhabitants was surprising, but inconsequential. These creatures who called themselves Faieara had but one leader to overthrow, and it was done with few casualties.
The Faieara were easy enough to control after the surrender of their king. Labs were erected and research resumed. The occasional rebellion, whether Kayadon or Faieara born, was easily squelched. Meanwhile, the plague progressed without a lasting cure, and the Kayadon continued to succumb, their numbers dwindling. Their leaders pressed on, convinced they would soon be saved.
Her magic stirred, and she was propelled back into her body with a painful snap, like that of a rubber band. The noises of destruction slammed against her eardrums. She sensed a ship closing in, targeting them. The others noticed it too.
Still fighting a wave of Kayadon, Sebastian screamed over the rumbling, “Stop that ship!”
Kyra could see it all as though part of her was still out of her body.
Shifting to his dragon form, Mar launched into the air, disturbing the dirt with his powerful wings. His sons quickly followed, dodging a barrage of gunfire from the craft. They latched onto the ship’s hull, ripping into the metal with their claws. The ship veered right as the pilot tried to shake its load. Sputtering and spewing black smoke, it lost control and disappeared over the cliff, taking the dragons with it. Moments later, a boom shook the ground.
She felt Ethan’s magic then. The creature within her greedily furrowed around it, taking it in and reveling in the enhanced power.
The circle had been closed, their magic linked.
With a carnal sound, magic exploded in all directions. It swirled and stretched, expanding for miles, arching high as though to reach out into space. It tasted the air, touched every leaf, and sensed more magic for which to ease its hunger.
But there was a job to do.
&n
bsp; Kyra’s first thought was to rein it in. That’s what she had done her entire life—struggled to contain the massive power that burrowed deep inside. But if she held back now, all would be lost.
She let out a long breath and let go.
The moment the leash snapped, another blast of power erupted in a volcano of energy. Once again, she left her body, flowing over the land as if she’d merged with the magic. No. That was wrong. She was the magic. Suddenly, it made sense. All this time she hadn’t been fighting a creature that lived within. She had been fighting herself. The magic was neither good nor evil, merely an extension her.
The revelation took the span of a second. She gazed out at the battle seeing it from a hundred different angles. Many of her people had joined the fight. Azule was in the crowd, along with his guild. Some Kayadon too had taken up arms against their own kind. Curious, the magic reached inside them, finding the same thing it had discovered in Ginn.
A spark of goodness.
She now knew what had to be done, and she was unafraid.
Cale sliced through yet another Kayadon, but the bastards kept coming. They poured from the forest like a flood. It was as if they knew this was where Kyra would be. The thought made him strike out harder as his next victim rushed forward.
Thankfully, none of them wielded those debilitating guns. He hadn’t had time to consider why, he’d just grabbed the nearest fallen sword and joined the fray.
The dragons had not returned from their ride over the cliff, and their absence was felt. The Kayadon were gaining ground.
He, Marik, Rex, and Sebastian formed a line at the bottleneck of the plateau, holding back their foes with guns and blades. Sonya fell back, aiming her gun to take out any creature that managed to slither past.
Suddenly, a heavy whoosh of air pushed at his back—a pulse spreading outward. The Kayadon momentarily stilled, considering the disturbance. Their creatures paused as well and tilted their ugly heads. A sinister smile curled Cale’s lips. Kyra was about to unleash her gift.
A couple of Kayadon, with better sense than the rest, began backing away. The rest surged forward as if realizing their time was short. He raised his arm to block a stray sword blow and metal cut deep into his forearm. As blood trickled, he wrenched his blade through the neck of his attacker and kicked its body back, throwing three other Kayadon off balance.
