A sound like leather on stone accompanied by rhythmic clicks announced demons in the hall, and Catrin knew time had indeed run out; now she could only act on instinct. The regent queen swung her massive body around to face the threat, and her tail smashed into a stack of stones against the outer wall of the cavern, which sent the rock flying into the demons. Bones snapped as the stone crushed rows of dark beasts. More rock collected near the entrance, constricting the demons to a narrow channel.
Catrin watched as the queen erected defenses on top of the bodies of demons, using the fallen monsters as building materials. She would have aided the queen, but the mighty serpent swung her head around to meet Catrin's eyes. Go!
This time Catrin allowed the compulsion since it only told her to turn and look. Her eyes found a huge, irregularly shaped hall that wound away from the main cavern. Glittering light danced on the floor and walls of the hall beyond, beckoning to Catrin with its beauty.
You will find what you need in there, Destroyer. Know that you have received gifts due to only the most noble, Dragon Slayer. Know that your actions will be remembered by all or by none based on your choices, World Render. May your fool of a dragon, the betrayer of his own kind, find solace in the emptiness that awaits him. You two are perfect together. Now, go!
Coerced as much by the darkness in her heart as the dragon queen's compulsion, Catrin retreated into the glittering hall. As she turned the corner, she saw things she would never have dreamed existed. There was a saddle, like the one she'd made, only hers was the crudest representation of this masterpiece. Every inch glittered in what Catrin knew was dragon ore; she could feel the energy radiating from it. Looking up, Catrin saw that enormous crystals made up the ceiling, and beyond lay open sky. Light poured in from the multifaceted crystals as they somehow gathered, focused, and amplified the light. The feeling of it was overwhelming for Catrin; never before had she felt so alive, so powerful. The sounds from the great hall kept her from falling into a trance, and she quickly turned to see what other wonders awaited. She could feel complex energies around her, energies more organized and structured than anything she'd experienced before.
From her left, she felt a pull that was elegant and poised, yet there was a potency to its touch that promised wondrous power. Catrin's eyes fell on something that looked like a herald globe, only a thousand times more evolved. It was beautiful. Reaching out her hand, Catrin moved toward the clear glass that housed what looked like a spider, its red and black body perfectly preserved in what had almost certainly once been molten glass. Catrin could not imagine how such a thing was created, and she hesitated before touching it, nervous caution temporarily stifling her desperate need to feel it. Another crash from the great hall and a bellow from the regent queen got Catrin moving again. Her hand closed around the globe, and pulses of power coursed over her body, enshrouding her in a latticework of power that undulated and moved like liquid.
Knowing the saddle would be of no use with the flightless queen, Catrin drew her sword and held the spider globe high as she charged back into the main hall, determined to save the queen of the regents.
Only one dragon remained to guard the vale, and Kenward knew that they would soon be completely unprotected. The regent dragons were losing; that much was clear. There was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. His ship was grounded high in the mountains, and even if they could get her into the air or water, she was neither sea- nor airworthy. It would take weeks to repair her. Kenward shook his head, cursing his own foolishness. Why worry about fixing a ship that would never sail again? He should be thinking of how to dismantle the ship and reassemble a smaller ship along the water. The thought nearly brought him to tears. Never before had he been faced with the prospect of dismantling his ship, and it was like thinking of taking his mother apart piece by piece and trying to reassemble her somewhere else. He knew he couldn't do it. If he were to build another ship, it would have to be built from what existed here on the Firstland.
In truth, there were plenty of raw materials on the Firstland; what Kenward lacked were the skilled hands of shipbuilders and the leisure to employ them. As it was, he had only the hands of sailors. There was not a safe place to be found except where they stood, and with only a single dragon remaining, he wondered how long this place would remain safe. Thunderclaps split the air, and the screams of demons followed. Everyone in the vale scrambled to high ground, peering into the war-torn valley beyond and trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Most already realized that what they heard was Catrin, and if she was still fighting, then there was still hope.
Lightning and fire coursed in and out of the top of the nearby mountain, as if the mountain itself were breathing fire. Dark bodies were tossed into the air and fell back down into the clogged valley below, their bodies acting as weapons as they tore through the rest of the demons trying to reach the top of the mountain. A gasp from behind made Kenward turn, and he saw what had frightened Farsy. Pelivor stood with his arms raised, and power pulsed around his hands like liquid light. A stream of it stretched across the empty air, reaching for Catrin, but what was even more amazing and terrifying was the white hot line that extended from the mountaintop toward Pelivor, as if Catrin were trying to connect with him.
When the two streams of energy were still some distance apart, the air between them filled with a humming line of plasma, and once the two flows were connected, a thundering crack split the air and knocked everyone except Pelivor back. He stood rooted in place, engulfed in a raging torrent of energy. There was no fear in his face, though, only a look of awe and sudden understanding. Then he started to move like a machine, his fists pumping in and out, and each movement released a swirling conflagration that he hurled at the demons and giants.
Kenward knew this could be the savior of them all, but it also meant that the demons would know exactly where they were and would surely send forces here to deal with them. The last remaining regent dragon looked down at Pelivor and gave a cry. Kenward tried to discern what the cry meant, but it soon did not matter as the dragon leaped from its perch of stone and disappeared into the air beyond.
"So much for the loyalty of dragons," Kenward said.
Chapter 19
Sanity is but a temporary state.
— Nat Dersinger, prophet
Feeling like the wind itself, Catrin attacked. Everywhere she turned, demons flew like leaves in the wind. Her sword high and the spider globe sending light streaming out through the gaps in her clenched fist, Catrin roared a primal battle cry. Twice she pumped her fist, and thunder shook the mountain. Wild energy reached out from her and licked the walls. Her hair rustled in a preternatural wind that gusted within the charged field around her.
The regent queen turned to look at her. You should be gone. Call him to you. Use the saddle and lance. Become your destiny and leave me to my fate.
"I don't want you to die." It was the most honest thing Catrin could say.
You are a credit to your race that you would still feel that way given my treatment of you. I'm afraid it is too late to save me, and in attempting to do so, you are endangering your kind's future. We are lost but I'll not allow you to be lost as well. Now go! Kyrien! To me!
The last might not have been intended for Catrin to hear, but the powerful call must have been heard on the other side of the world. Catrin reeled with the power of it, but she knew now the best thing she could do was get Kyrien saddled and fight the enemy from the air. She could save the regent queen yet.
But Kyrien did not come. No one could have resisted that call, and Catrin's heart climbed into her throat. The world moved unexpectedly as darkness crowded her vision. The thought of Kyrien lost, all of his kind dead or dying, nearly brought Catrin to her knees. Needing strength, she reached out for something familiar and comforting. Like the swiftest arrow, power extended from her outstretched hands toward Pelivor. The essence of him slammed into her an instant later, and lightning cleaved the air between them.
; Catrin staggered back to her feet, feeling the texture of the energy Pelivor lent her and, in doing so, learning all he knew about controlling the power and building efficient structures with energy. His mind amazed her in its precision and logic, the way he moved through problems by breaking them into smaller pieces and tackling each piece individually. Another energy responded to her call, and Catrin was shocked to see Kyrien land within the great hall. Blood dripped from what seemed a thousand wounds, and his nostrils flared with his rapid breathing. Frothy foam gathered around his legs, which trembled as he stood, panting. Never before had Catrin seen a creature that had given so much of itself. Kyrien looked as if he would drop over dead at any instant, and Catrin ran to him, her energy already caressing him, bolstering him, healing him.
No! his voice rang in her mind. Save your energy for the fight. I will survive.
Catrin wanted to argue, wanted to take the time to tend his wounds and give him time to recover, but he pushed her before him, his muzzle driving her toward the saddle.
If this must be done, then let us do it. I can no longer take the guilt. Let this be at an end.
Catrin moved as if in a dream, her mind unable to cope with the consequences of this day. Never before had she seen a species wiped from existence, and she prayed she'd never witness it again. When she sat astride Kyrien, goggles on and strapped in, she could barely remember how she had come to be there, and she marveled at the beauty of the saddle. In her hand waited the greatest shock: a lance of gleaming filigree extending from the sword Strom had made for her, as if the two had been made to fit together. When Catrin's memories began to return, she realized that the sword had been made to Kyrien's specifications, yet she could not reconcile why Kyrien would have done that if this were not supposed to happen. Taking a deep breath, Catrin had no choice but to return her attention to the present. Atop the saddle, Catrin felt secure; the many buckles on her leather flight pants allowed her to strap in. Again she was amazed at the foresight of her dragon.
Kyrien, though seeming only slightly recovered from battle, tucked his wings and charged back into the great hall. An unbidden battle cry issued from Catrin's lips, and it turned to a scream as Kyrien leaped from the heights without ever opening his wings. Demons clogged the entrances and flew into the open air before Kyrien's maddened charge. With a trail of energy leading back to Pelivor and the wind trying to tear her apart, they fell like a stone. There were lurches and bumps in their descent that Catrin eventually realized were the times Kyrien attacked. They dived along the mountain face, Kyrien extending his wings in only small amounts to make adjustments to their flight path. Catrin would have launched attacks of her own, but she could not get her body to respond; the forces acting on it were simply too intense. Even her scream was choked away.
Then the saddle pressed into her hard, and Kyrien extended his wings. Catrin saw the army of demons, giants, and men in orderly formations, waiting to fill the void when their comrades fell. Finally Catrin was able to control herself, and she reached out for energy. She nearly swooned. The saddle responded with alacrity. The charge of millennia leaped to her call. The fiery link with Pelivor surged, and the energy of the comets resonated in a way she'd never felt before.
You're burning up!
Only then did Catrin realize that she rode amid a maelstrom of fire, her body a conflagration. Without hesitation, she launched a dozen attacks at once. Pelivor's control combined with the saddle's energy and Catrin's will caused the world to explode. Ranks of the enemy, formerly so orderly and geometric from above, now looked as if they had been tossed by a giant wave. Trails of smoke filled the air as balls of fire streamed into those who scaled the rock face. Lightning reached out to anything close to the great hall, but in the back of Catrin's consciousness, she knew that she needed to be careful not to hit the regent queen. Determination filled her as Kyrien brought them around for a pass along those closest to the queen, and Catrin almost smiled as a cloud of demons filled the air before them, thrown from the great hall by a very alive regent queen.
"We can save her!" Catrin shouted.
Kyrien made no response.
The air around them suddenly filled with teeth and claws, reaching for Catrin and tearing at Kyrien's already tender hide. Nothing could have prepared Catrin for the maneuvers Kyrien undertook to keep them both safe. It seemed impossible that they were still alive. A sizzling, crackling sound followed by a loud boom made her wonder how much longer that would remain true. Light exploded around her, and Catrin felt the shock of it, even though Kyrien took the brunt of the attack. His flight became erratic, and Catrin scanned the skies, ready to protect the stunned dragon from any new attacks. Kyrien regained stable flight, but Catrin knew he was not fully recovered. Ferals came in close, and Kyrien's reactions seemed delayed. For a brief instant, Catrin's mind registered the fact that the dragons were all riderless. She wasn't certain what it meant, but she was certain it meant something. It was not something she could ponder long.
When the buzzing, crackling sound filled the air around them again, Catrin searched the clouds and seas, trying to find its source. It was coming from the ships, which were now moving in formation once again.
Catrin opened her mouth to tell Kyrien, but he was already turning to dive for the attacking formation of ships. Just when Catrin thought the lightning would strike, the air exploded with fire, but she felt no pain, only the radiated heat. Alongside them, a feral dragon was engulfed in a web of charged air. It folded up like a swatted moth, dropping beside them. When Kyrien pulled up, the dragon continued falling and struck a warship on the prow, driving it underwater in a shower of exploding timber and sending its masts crashing into the ship adjacent to it.
Missed me.
Catrin almost laughed-almost.
No dragons had gotten close enough for Catrin to use her lance, but it felt good in her hand, far lighter than she would have believed from looking at it. Even as thin and delicate looking as the gold wire comprising it would seem, it felt solid and gave her confidence. When she pointed it at the next ship she could hone in on, she applied her will, and the lance responded. The delicate wires hummed and shone, light dancing across them in rolling waves with shape and texture. Like mist over the world at daybreak, it flitted along the surface and even over the empty areas between the wires. Erupting from the tip of the lance like liquid smoke, it roared through the air toward the ship. When the beam of energy struck amidships, the warship did something Catrin had never seen before: it imploded. It started slowly then accelerated, essentially folding the ship in half and sending it to rest at the bottom of the shallows.
Kyrien banked away from another feral attack, and Catrin could hear the cries of man and demon from below. There was panic in many of those cries, and as unlikely as it was, Catrin felt as if the battle were turning in her favor. The ships had no way of avoiding her attacks, and it was just a matter of time before she took all of them out, stranding them, just as she'd done to the Zjhon when they had invaded the Godfist. Sending waves of devastation into the midst of every formation of ships she could see, Catrin did her best to cripple them. Only the ferals were able to disrupt her attacks. Kyrien's evasive maneuvers made taking aim exceedingly difficult, and many of her attacks missed their marks. Those that landed, though, were equally as destructive as the first.
Doing their best to stay above or behind Catrin and Kyrien, the ferals made for elusive targets. They knew how dangerous she was, and they had no intention of giving her a clear shot. Instead, they tried to hide in Kyrien's blind spot and attack Catrin from above. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling knowing she was being hunted from behind, let alone from above and behind. Somehow Kyrien seemed able to sense them and managed to keep Catrin outside the reach of their attacks. Twice he was able to cause ferals to collide with one another. The first pair had simply flown off in separate directions, but the second pair collided with a sickening crack. Though the impact had killed only one of the beasts, the two became
hopelessly tangled, and both plunged into dark water. Neither rose again.
The problem was that all of this was but a distraction from their true purpose, which was to defend the regent queen. It seemed only an instant had passed, but when Catrin looked back to the top of the mountain, waves of demons were swarming into the great hall, and no more flew from the entrances. Panicked, Catrin shouted to Kyrien, but her voice could not be heard over the rush of the wind. Still, Kyrien made straight for the great hall, his own anxiety radiating from him. Both seemed to realize that their attacks on the ships and ferals may have come at the ultimate cost. Catrin's skin felt clammy, a prickly feeling making her shift in the saddle. Hurling vortices of air before them, Catrin knocked the demons clear, making a place for Kyrien to land. Even as he glided in, Catrin pumped her left fist, and from her right hand issued pulses of power that traveled down the lance, intensified, and pounded back the demon horde.
Quickly scanning the area, Catrin could not, at first, locate the regent queen. Then her eyes landed on a swarming, black mass roughly the shape of the dragon queen. The taste of bile filled Catrin's mouth, and she did not hesitate in blasting away the demons using nothing but air, trying to be careful even in her haste. The giant dragon's great maw turned to them, demons still clinging to her face, trying to blind her. Catrin used targeted blasts of air to dislodge them, Pelivor's precision aiding her greatly. The thought of Pelivor caused Catrin to panic anew. The gleaming trail of energy still extended back to the sailor, but she could no longer sense him. Immediately she released the link, and all she could do was pray that she had not inadvertently killed her dear friend.
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