Force of Fire

by Ali Vali

  “And these beasts he’s created?” Piper asked.

  “The bite won’t kill you, but the poison will run savagely through you enough that it will take weeks to heal. By then, it will be too late, and only the power of the book will give the goddess back what she so desires.” Lumas let Rawney go for a moment and placed her hands on Kendal’s chest. “You serve the goddess as well as we have, so wield your sword with all the strength you possess, and protect what’s not only precious to you, but to me as well.”

  “Your child is safe with me.”

  “I know, so go back and remember your promises.” Lumas turned to Rawney. “We’ll be with you through this, and when it’s done, we’ll see each other again.”

  “When?” Rawney asked clutching her mother’s hand.

  “You’ll understand eventually, but for now you must go. It’s never a good thing to dwell too long in the past.”

  * * *

  “Are you sure?” Kendal asked as she finished putting on the armor Aphrodite had sent. Piper’s had the same design as hers, but the others were all stamped with dragons on the chest, while not the same one. “She’s had two days to figure it out.”

  “Again, sweetheart, cryptic clues aren’t always the easiest to decipher when you’re under a lot of pressure.” Piper raised her arms so Kendal could finish dressing her and sighed. “I feel a little ridiculous in this.”

  “If a big creepy snake with feet comes running at you, this will come in handy,” she said as she finished the straps. “Just remember to stick to me and keep the fangs away from this cute face.”

  “Trust me. I’m not losing sight of you.”

  They went downstairs holding hands a few hours before sunset and nodded toward Convel and Lowe, who were waiting for them at the landing. “There’s something weird in the air,” Convel said.

  “Like what?” she asked, knowing Convel’s senses were stronger than any of theirs, even in her human form.

  “Remember the other night?” Lowe asked, and all of them nodded quickly, not needing to expand on the question. “Something like that, only intensified. Whatever happened to cause that reaction the other night has only grown stronger in the last couple of days. It’s like a call to that wild part we all have, no matter if you’re a were or not.”

  “That’s exactly right,” Rawney said as she motioned them down. “A blood moon can mean so many things, but this time it seems to be drawing out a more animalistic nature in everything around here. I think it’s a call to the dragons to awaken.”

  “Have you figured out what your mother meant?” Kendal asked, and Piper elbowed her in the ribs.

  “Not yet, but I have faith,” Rawney said with a smile as Aishe nodded. “My mother has never let me down.”

  “Let’s hope that holds tonight,” Vadoma said from the center of the room, as if staying away from the windows. “We’ve found more of Ora’s sycophants close to the house and eliminated them, so I’ve told my people to stay close to you. If things get frenzied, try not to kill any of them.”

  “How will we tell them apart?” Piper asked.

  “They’ll be the ones not trying to kill you,” Vadoma said drolly. “I’m with the fleabags, though. Something’s off about this place.”

  “Call me a fleabag one more time,” Convel said.

  “Calm down. We’re all on the same side.” Vadoma smiled wide enough to show off her fangs. “Those things we saw, they’re like a hybrid of both of us—a were but also a vampire. If this guy makes enough of them, there won’t be enough humans to go around, especially if they’re non-thinking weres with an unstoppable thirst.”

  “If you see any of them, go for the head,” Kendal said, strapping her sword to her back. “Unlike Vadoma and her people, beheading will kill them, but do your best not to get bitten. It will slow you down enough to take you out of the fight for weeks.”

  “So what’s your plan?” Aishe asked, wearing the same colorful outfit as Rawney.

  “From what Vadoma’s people said, the altars are already loaded with wood for the fire ceremony, so when the moon is almost at its peak, we’re going to light them.” She put on the gloves and opened and closed her hands to seat them correctly. “If you can decipher the book, Piper and I will wait with you on the main pyramid, because I’m guessing the first to wake up will be Drakon and Peto.”

  “And then?” Rawney asked.

  “And then we’ll see,” she said as the herd of horses was brought around.

  “I hate surprises,” Piper said as Convel and Lowe transformed to head out first.

  “Tonight’s not going to be a lot of fun, then.”

  Hill was waiting for them in the office and didn’t say anything as they entered, appearing, she figured, like mythical creatures from a long-ago past. “Do you need me to do anything?” Hill asked, her eyes growing wider by the second.

  “I want you to stay here with Mac and Molly to keep an eye on the baby. There are people here who’d like to harm her because she’s mine and Piper’s, so if they manage to get in the house, use this,” Kendal said, holding a sword out to her. “Aim for the chest, and don’t get freaked out by what happens if you manage to hit your target. I’m counting on you to keep Hali safe.”

  “You can trust me,” Hill said, holding the scabbard with two hands.

  “You can trust all of us to do everything to keep Hali safe,” Mac said and hugged both of them, followed by Molly. “My family has suffered enough because of the bastards. I won’t allow it to happen again.”

  “Piper, please, don’t leave Kendal’s side,” Molly said.

  “Not in this or any lifetime, Gran. We love you, but it’s time to go.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  The small cauldron of fire illuminated the bugs flying around it, but it also highlighted Kendal’s tall form in her armor. The almost-black material tinged with maroon fit her well and made it easy for Piper to imagine her in all the lifetimes she’d lived as a soldier. Kendal was like a knight in shining armor who always stood up for what was right. Piper sensed they were surrounded not only by friends, but those who meant them harm, so she moved closer to Kendal and took her hand.

  “You know, building tugs was never this intriguing,” she said, and Kendal chuckled. “You think Hali and my grandparents are okay?”

  “I never thought I’d say this, but I trust Vadoma’s people to protect them. And if they make it through that line of defense, they’ll run into something equally terrifying.”

  “Are you going to share?”

  “Tala sent some more of her soldiers down but kept quiet about it until we just left. Not to mention your grandparents and Hill are there as well. I think Mac is dying to try out that sword I left with him, but hopefully he’ll just get to practice the moves I showed him.” Kendal glanced at Rawney and Aishe as they both stood with their eyes closed but their lips moving. “Five more minutes, and then we have to start.”

  “Did you bring what I asked for?” Piper asked, and Kendal nodded.

  “Rawney,” Kendal said, and the witch opened her eyes. “We’re almost ready, but you have to know about one more vision Piper had.”

  “What? Tell me if it’s something that could help me remember.”

  Charlie climbed the steps of the pyramid with the two urns they’d found with the first book. “Like Drakon, they’ve waited long enough.”

  “No. It’s all I have left of them,” Rawney said, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Remember what she said when we went back. She and Rowen will be with you always, so these are meaningless. The truth is in the ashes of the past, Rawney, but they also hold power over us now.”

  Kendal moved to the cauldron and lit the first arrow, which she shot into the farthest woodpile, lighting it. She kept at it until all seven of them were burning, and Charlie moved back down as the flames rose higher. He looked toward Piper, who held up her hand, remembering the night she’d come here with Lumas. She turned and glanced at the moon tinte
d in a warm red glow. Seeing the eclipse begin just at the bottom edge, she pointed to Charlie and screamed, “Now.”

  Charlie dumped both urns into the spot that had created the ashes so long ago, and the flames turned from gold to a deep red before the forms of Lumas, Rowen, and a few other women she didn’t recognize floated above them. The sight of them seemed to trigger something in Rawney’s mind, because she opened the book they’d found with the ashes.

  “In the name of all the women in my line, Lumas, Rowen,” Rawney said, naming all the women she’d been taught in her childhood as the founders of their family and the wielders of the power of their family book. That was the spell that broke the chain in her mind that had kept her from understanding the words on the pages. Her heritage and her inheritance were finally all hers.

  Piper remembered the language that followed as the same Lumas had used but still didn’t understand it. After three pages, the moon had disappeared completely, and the ground beneath them started to rumble. Kendal hung on to her. “Draw your sword, baby. They’re coming,” she said, and Kendal instantly did as she asked.

  She couldn’t see them yet, but she knew they were there and waiting, like they had the night Lumas and Rowen had stood here. In those first moments of freedom, the Order of Fuego had to pounce on their opportunity to finish what Lumas had stolen from them. It was her only explanation for being there at the precise moment they were cemented in stone.

  Rawney lifted her hands and screamed “a trezi” three times.

  “Awaken,” Kendal said as she stood in front of Piper with her sword at the ready.

  “Behind you, love,” she said, grabbing the Sea Serpent Sword Kendal had given her.

  Four of the creatures made it easily up the back of the pyramid, their mouths open as if ready to strike. Kendal moved quickly toward the closest one and sliced through the neck like she was returning a backhand in tennis. The next one hissed and made a strange noise as the head fell down the steep slope of stone. “Just hold it out in front of you to keep them away,” Kendal yelled as she repeated the motion. One was trying to get to Rawney, so Piper came down hard, surprised the head came right off.

  “Don’t think about it,” Kendal said as if reading her mind.

  The hideous thing trying to hurt Rawney was actually a young woman who’d had no choice in her creation, and she’d just killed her. She’d never been a violent person, so murder had never crossed her mind, but that wasn’t what this was, so Piper nodded as the pyramid started to really shake. The heads at the bottom of the steps broke away from the structure, and as they soared higher, new bodies seemed to materialize out of the fire’s smoke.

  The flap of Drakon’s wings fanned the flames, and he roared as if embracing his freedom, the smaller dragon at his side answering his call. Like in her vision, he rose and came to rest on the top of the pyramid and lowered his head to Piper. She took her attention off Kendal for a moment to stare into Drakon’s face, finding what she assumed to be gratitude, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Kendal fly off the platform, hit by the large reptile body that had dodged her sword.

  In Kendal’s place stood a smallish man with what appeared to be a cobra with feet, and its size was frightening. Whatever it was seemed to be protecting the man, who also held a book, and another man coming up behind him. Below them, everyone with them was fighting off the large number of creatures and snakes that had come from the jungle, so she was alone with Rawney and Aishe.

  “From the time of my grandfathers, we have looked over you,” the man she guessed was Alejandro Garza said loudly, and Drakon turned from her and straightened to his full height. His mouth opened, and it looked like he was about to rain fire down on Garza, but he paused. “You belong to me and the fire that burns in me.” He said the rest in another strange language, and the large dragon stopped and turned, now listening to the grunting noises coming from the thing next to Garza. Piper turned when she heard something behind her and stepped closer to Rawney and Aishe when she saw the two large snakes slithering up the steps.

  Drakon roared again, and Peto took to the air while the other pyramids started to come to life as well. Piper stepped back when suddenly the empty chambers along the avenue of pyramids burst open with dozens of dragons who also flew toward the skies to circle the area. Drakon growled, and one of the snakes slithered closer, seeming to grow as it coiled around the dragon’s body and bit right into the middle of his abdomen.

  “Kill them all,” Garza yelled, and Drakon shot a stream of fire down the structure toward where Kendal and her attacker had fallen.

  “No,” Piper yelled, and Drakon turned toward her next. His mouth opened and Garza laughed, but the big head came down again to stare at her. “You know me,” she said as the snake continued to bite, making the wound larger for some reason, and she suddenly realized what it was trying to do when it reared back and tried to shove its head in the wound. “Rawney, finish,” she said over the chaos.

  “Kill her,” Garza screamed again, and the creature next to him made more noise. Whatever it was made Drakon shake his head. “Obey me or die,” Garza said, picking up the sword Kendal had dropped in her fall. The large dragon didn’t seem to move as Garza moved closer, seemingly intent on driving the sword into his chest as the snake started to disappear inside.

  “Rawney,” Piper said, wanting to stop this. If Drakon died, she doubted Aphrodite would survive.

  As the sword went up, Morgaine stopped it, and sparks flew from the blades. The man with Garza ran up to help, and the creature must’ve mistaken it as an attack on his master and sank his fangs into the man’s throat and didn’t let go until every drop of blood seemed to drain from his body. While it was engaged in the feeding, Piper stabbed it through the chest and stepped back in case it disengaged and came after her.

  She moved toward the stairs but didn’t take her eyes off the creature, even though she could hear something or someone running up the steps behind her. The thing made another noise that was almost a howl and then started to change in what seemed like a painful process. When it was done, Oscar Petchel lay before her, clutching the wound in his chest.

  Kendal passed her and headed toward Garza as if to get her sword back, even though her side was bleeding. He lifted the weapon and held it out in front of him, but she kicked it out of his hand and punched the middle of his face. “Obey me,” he yelled again, but the dragons continued to circle.

  Drakon seemed to listen and was starting to turn to attack Kendal, so she turned and sheathed her sword to face the dragon unarmed. Piper realized what she was doing, so she tried her best to keep his attention on her as Kendal started jerking on the snake’s thick body to pull it out.

  “If it gets all the way in, I think whatever power Garza has will take hold,” Kendal yelled as she started to make progress. “If he controls the pack leader, he controls them all.”

  Alejandro picked up his book and glanced down at it as Kendal continued her tug-of-war, then started speaking in the foreign language. He spoke faster as Kendal neared the head, finally drawing her sword. The passage he said again sounded like he was repeating himself, so he ran toward Kendal as she raised her sword to behead the night god he and his family had worshipped. The snakes needed the dragon bodies to gain the power they needed to control humanity.

  “No,” he said as Kendal’s sword came down and severed the thick, powerful body from the head.

  Kendal pulled it out completely and threw it off the platform, ignoring Alejandro as the other snake made ready to take the dead one’s place. “Kendal,” Piper said loudly as Alejandro got close with a dagger in his hand. Kendal moved aside at the last minute when the thing that had knocked her off the platform came running up and sank its fangs into Garza.

  The expression on his face was one of shock and anger, and the last thing he uttered was “Pauline.”

  * * *

  The fight raged on for a while longer, but eventually the bodies of dead girls littered the ground,
along with the fathers who’d sacrificed them to Garza’s dark god. Pauline had been the only one who’d shifted back to human form and held the wounded Oscar to her chest. Kendal wasn’t sure how many of Ora’s minions were left, but Convel and Lowe had considerably thinned their numbers as Vadoma fought with them against Garza’s forces.

  What awed her was the dragons now sitting on the pyramids around them and the avenue below them. Lumas’s spell had made use of the chambers, but their purpose wasn’t revealed until Rawney set them free.

  Morgaine, Lenore, and Charlie joined them on the main pyramid, and Kendal held her sword up. “To a victory well fought,” she said, and Morgaine slammed her sword against hers, followed by Charlie. The three of them together sounded like a loud bell had been rung, and the dragons lowered their heads as Aphrodite appeared.

  “Thank you all for giving me back a piece of myself,” Aphrodite said, caressing Drakon’s head when he bowed to her. “They will be safe with me from this day forward.” She snapped her fingers, and all but Drakon disappeared. “I should’ve taken them all those years ago, but I allowed myself to be convinced they’d be better off here.”

  “I can see now why they’ve been revered through time,” Kendal said, holding her hand up, and Drakon pressed his nose against it. “They’re beautiful.”

  “They’re like you, my dragon warrior,” Aphrodite said and smiled. “Noble of heart and loving of their families. I created them to show man that no matter what the outward appearance, love comes in all forms if you only let it flourish.”

  “What were those things?” Morgaine asked, pointing to the body of the large snake Kendal had pulled from Drakon’s abdomen.

  “That’s what Garza’s ancestors created with the help of some dark force. It might’ve been Ares or some other entity that exists to try to plunge the world into darkness of its own making.” Aphrodite glanced out at the carnage below them. “This kind of thing is their idea of heaven, and Garza tried to up their power by taking over my dragons’ bodies like he did with all those girls.”