Elemental Betrayal

by Toni Cox

  Then, Maia felt the air change. Something was wrong. There was a static charge in the air that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect and her heart fluttered with the terrible premonition that it brought with it.

  “Father, something is not ri…”

  BOOM!

  Maia watched in horror as Greystone exploded. For a brief moment, she saw a flash of light and the stones broke and tumbled, then the shock wave swept over them, flattening everything in its path. Dragons, horses, and warriors alike were all brought to their knees by the wave. Maia found herself on the ground; her horse fled; eyes closed and holding her ears, which were bleeding from the shock wave.

  When she opened her eyes again, there was pandemonium all around. The Gate lay broken on the plain before her. Vampyres swarmed through; at least a hundred at a time. Midnight seemed to have recovered from the blast and was trying his utmost to burn as many as he could, before they reached the army, which was still trying to recover from the shock wave.

  “It should not be possible,” Silas whispered beside her, also now horseless.

  She looked at him, wondering why he was whispering, but then realised that she could not hear the sounds of battle from below either. There was a loud ringing in her ears and she could barely hear Silas as he continued talking. She looked around, but her father and his Commanders were gone.

  “What is happening?” she yelled at Silas, unsure if he could hear her.

  In reply, he grabbed her by the arm and led her away. She resisted him, but he was strong and determined. They descended the rise on the far side, away from the battle. Once out of sight, he stopped.

  “I don’t know how they did it,” Silas said and Maia noticed that she could hear him better now. “Somehow they have managed to enlarge the portal. That is old magic. They should not possess the knowledge of it.”

  “Silas, we have to go and help them,” she pleaded.

  They heard Midnight roar in the distance. The sky beyond the rise was bathed in red light. The air was filled with screams and howls.

  Silas took her by the arms and looked at her. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I am fine. We need to go.”

  “Then let us …”

  “Lady Maia,” Rothea suddenly shouted behind them.

  They turned at the sound of her voice. Maia blinked at the sight before her and then Wolf ran to her, jumped up and licked her face. She ran her fingers through his fur, baffled as to what he was doing here and looked at the people. Rothea and Aaron leading an army of Night Watch and Sentinels, their horses caked in sweat and mud. Rothea raised a hand and someone came forward, leading Fire.

  “We found him along the way. I thought you might have need of him yet. What has happened? We felt the earth shake beneath us.”

  Maia gave Wolf another pat and then stepped forward to mount her horse, falling in beside Rothea. She gave Aaron a brief nod. He looked determined. Another warrior gave up his horse for Silas.

  “The Gate has been breached. The Vampyres are coming through faster than should be possible. Midnight is trying to hold them off, but I fear there are simply too many of them. We need to ride now.”

  Without another word, they urged their horses forward. They crested the rise and then galloped down towards the battle. The scene that greeted them took Maia’s breath away. In the short time that she had been hiding behind the rise, Vampyres had overrun the battlefield. In the centre, Midnight was creating a pyre with the bodies of Vampyres that he burned, but there were so many, that most of them slipped past him. Werewolves besieged every Battle Dragon. It seemed that they had been ordered to specifically target the dragons and take them out of the equation. The archers were shooting their arrows, felling the Vampyres as they came on, but more and more came through, taking the places of the ones who had gone before.

  Maia tried to see where her father was, but in the chaos before her, everyone looked the same. The fear she had seen on the warriors faces after the blast had been replaced with determination. Everyone was charging into the fight, Maia joined them, Rothea and Aaron by her side. Wolf ran ahead, snarling. She thought she should be worried about Aaron and Wolf, but they looked as fierce and determined as any of the other warriors around her. Besides, they needed every man; and wolf; they could get.

  There was a moment, just before they entered the melee, that Maia had a perfectly clear picture of her surroundings. Everything slowed down, the scene laid out in detail before her. Midnight, huge and magnificent, bathed in a mantle of his own fire. Battle Dragons, most of them rider-less, tearing into Werewolves, ripping them to pieces. Archers, still trying to hold their formations even in the face of the onslaught, loosening arrows faster than the eye could count. Warriors, on foot and on horseback, fighting with swords, knives, lances and all manner of other weapons, their faces grim. Low-ranking Vampyre soldiers, with their grotesque, angular faces, and taught skin, attacking mercilessly. Generals, more refined than their lower-ranking counterparts, were fighting with equal ferocity, slaying everything in their path. Things were so clear to Maia that she saw every drop of blood, every slash of a sword, every arrow fired. Then the world swam before her as a wave of nausea suddenly overwhelmed her and she almost toppled out of the saddle.

  A strong hand grabbed her arm and steadied her. Rothea nodded to her, a question in her eyes. Maia steeled her resolve and then they were upon the enemy. Fire screamed as they met their first Werewolf, but Maia’s Twin Blades sliced its throat before it had a chance to do her horse damage. Rothea shouted beside her, voicing her battle rage. Maia had lost sight of Aaron and Wolf, but Silas was still fighting beside her. In the midst of battle, she was unable to tell where anyone else was. All she saw now was the enemy in front of her.

  On and on they came, an endless stream of creatures from another world, intent on taking theirs. The smell of burning flesh and fur was choking the air, as was the smell of blood. Maia lost all perception of time as she wielded her weapons, concentrating only on the next foe ahead of her. If she thought about it too much, it would debilitate her. She wished Blaid were here, taking from her the affliction that assailed her when she killed.

  She felt herself become weaker and weaker. She had lost count of how many she had slain, but it was taking its toll on her. Her vision started dimming and her arms became heavy, but there was no respite. A Werewolf opened a gash on Fire’s rump and Maia had to rally to defend her horse. Then two Generals singled her out and, had it not been for Rothea, she would not have had the strength to fight them off alone. Everything became a blur; she felt the pain of everyone around her, felt every bite, every cut with the sword, every arrow piercing skin. Maia knew she had nothing more to give. She swayed in the saddle as Fire stumbled, his wound weakening him. She turned to look at the extent of his injury, but the sight of the large chunk of flesh hanging off his rear was the final straw. Everything around her went black and then she felt herself fall.

  Strong arms caught her just before she hit the ground. The tenderness with which they held her brought her back to the present and she opened her eyes to look into Aaron’s worried face. Wolf, Silas and Rothea surrounded her, protecting their downed princess. It looked hopeless, they were surrounded. Maia thought it could not be any worse, but then a sound so terrible filled the air, that even the Vampyres around them cringed in fear for a moment. The sound rallied her; she had never heard her dragon this angry, nor in this much distress. Still leaning on Aaron, she looked up into the grey sky and what she saw there frightened her more than all the Werewolves and Vampyres combined.

  The blast temporarily disorientated him, but he shook it off. The force with which the shattered rocks pelted his skin angered him beyond anything he had ever felt before. All around him the vermin that meant Bright-Shining-Silver-Star harm, swarmed over the fallen rocks. Outraged, he shot a blast of fire over the advancing creatures and the rancid smell of their burning flesh delighted him. Their screams were music to his soul. He flew around
the centre of destruction, unleashing his dragon fire on anything that moved. There were so many of them, swarming all around him. Wise-And-Older-Than-The-Hills had warned him that there would be many. He struggled now to contain them to the centre and many of them escaped his wrath. However, the sounds of battle behind him infuriated him even more and he concentrated his fire, roaring as the flames burned up his throat and engulfed the vile creatures before him.

  Soon, spears were flung at him, pricking his skin, irritating him. He turned, trampling, and burning the despicable devices the Vampyres had brought with them. Anything else in his path was obliterated in the process. He was starting to enjoy himself.

  Then he felt the distress from Bright-Shining-Silver-Star. She was in danger and feeling ill. He turned, taking out a group of creatures that had just come through the Gate with his tail. Scanning the battle before him, he searched for her. The mate of his soul was in danger. He had to find her. Everywhere he looked, her kind was battling the vermin. She would not take kindly to him killing her people, but he was prepared to face her wrath later, if it meant saving her life now.

  He located her and crouched low to take flight. He had just spread his wings, when something heavy settled on his back and a burning pain shot through his body where long talons ripped through his hide. He screamed first in pain and then in anger. What kind of creature was this, that could inflict such damage to him?

  Folding his wings, he dropped to the ground and rolled. The creature screeched as it scrambled out of the way.

  “Dragonzzz” It hissed at him.

  Midnight looked at the creature before him. Neither bat, nor dragon. A third of his own size. Red as blood, with a black spiny ridge along its back. Two legs to walk on with sharp talons. Two wings to fly with, tipped with long claws. Its ugly maw was a mess of needle-like teeth. It hissed at him again as they circled each other.

  Memories centuries old; memories of his ancestors; rose to the surface. It was an age-old foe, long forgotten. It was a Lava Bat. They were native to Naylera, known to roost in volcanoes. Besides the Werewolves, they were the only other fully sentient animals on that planet. They were demented; if the stories were to be believed. He searched its soul now, found it to be mildly intelligent, but with an undercurrent of vicious thoughts that made his spikes stand on end.

  As the creature attacked, he had no time to wonder what had made it side with the Vampyres. The Lava Bat rose into the air and launched the attack. Midnight met him half way, unleashing a stream of fire so intense, the people below screamed.

  “Firezzz” It taunted him, in no way harmed by the flames.

  Higher and higher they rose, circling. The Lava Bat used the talons on its hind legs to scratch at his belly. Midnight tried to grab hold of the creature with his front legs, so he could bite its neck, but the Lava Bat was agile. Again and again, it managed to avoid him. He screamed his fury at the beast, but it just hissed at him as he chased it through the sky. They twirled and dove, rose and plummeted, each seeking the advantage. Midnight was learning its manoeuvres and flight patterns. It might be fast and agile, but predictable. At the next turn, he angled his body and lashed out with his tail, slicing through one of the creature’s wing membranes with his caudal spade. The creature screeched in pain and flapped about for a moment, adjusting to the tear in his wing. Midnight took the chance and went on the attack. He took hold of it with his claws and while it struggled in his grasp, he bit down hard on its leathery neck. Immediately, acrid blood filled his mouth, burning his tongue and he had to let go.

  The Lava Bat flapped pitifully for a moment longer, before it could sustain flight no longer. Midnight watched as it dropped to the ground.

  “Dragonzzz”

  He whipped around at the sound. Two more Lava Bats hovered right behind him. The one to his left went on the attack right away, going for his underbelly. He warded it off with a downward swipe of his tail, but then the second creature was on his back, digging its talons into his hide and sinking its teeth into his neck.

  He arched his neck, erecting his spikes in the process. The Lava Bat screeched, but it held on. The other one had taken advantage of his momentary distraction and lacerated his softer belly skin with its sharp claws as it flew by beneath him.

  Screaming with fury, he unleashed a torrent of fire all around him. The pain was building his rage. He felt his blood dripping off him. The creature on his back still held on, deepening his wounds. The other was making passes, slicing here and there, as it went by.

  Midnight, mightiest of all dragons; he who had defeated the Mad-One; would not be taken down by these low creatures. Furious that they had so far managed to get the better of him, he changed his tactic. Just as the second one came in for another pass, Midnight dropped out of the sky. Folding his wings tightly to his sides, he let himself fall. The creature on his back held on, but he could feel its distress.

  The ground rose up to meet him. He was so close now. Just before the moment of impact, he spread his wings and turned in mid-flight. It was a dangerous manoeuvre for such a big animal, but it served its purpose. The Lava Bat connected with the ground with a sickening crunch, dislodging it from his back as he soared on back up into the sky.

  Quickly he sought out the remaining creature and went on the attack. He did not try to out-fly it; it had much greater manoeuvrability, but rather tricked it into coming to him. Two, three times, it flew past him, opening a new cut with each pass. Then it was his turn. He waited for just the right moment. Angling his wings, he changed his position. Then he spun, slicing his tail through the air as the creature came past and with the satisfying sound of tearing flesh, ripped the creature in half.

  Blaid urged his tired horse forward. Lilith had already done so much for him, but she had more to give. They covered the remaining distance to the Gate so fast, that he had barely time to take in the scene before him as it came into sight. Shattered stones, almost invisible beneath the heaving and writhing bodies of the enemy scrambling over them. Midnight, concentrating his fire into the middle of the circle, light so bright, that it rivalled even the most brilliant sunrise. Warriors, fighting for their lives and their land, the sounds of their weapons not quite drowning out the screams of the wounded.

  He crashed into the outer ring of fighting, swinging his blades. Two, three, then four Vampyres fell in quick succession to his sword. He tried to orientate himself; he had to find Maia; but there was fighting all around him. He fought on, slashing as he pushed forward. Lilith lashed out with her legs, ears laid flat against her head, but Blaid felt no fear from her. She was in her element.

  Then he felt it; Maia’s distress. He screamed in rage, taking out a Werewolf that got in his way. Turning Lilith’s head, he headed the other way. He had to get to the other side of the battlefield and the fastest way would be to go around. Beheading two Generals, he eventually broke free of the fighting. He urged Lilith to a gallop, but the scream that washed over the battlefield at that very moment brought her to a quivering standstill.

  His heart raced as he watched Midnight rise into the air, fighting what looked like a smaller, red dragon. Although smaller, Blaid could feel the danger from it and Midnight was having obvious difficulties. He put his hand on Lilith’s neck to steady her and then urged her forward once more. Every minute, more Vampyres came through Greystone, bringing their Werewolves with them. In the short time that it took him to circumvent the battlefield, at least a thousand more had come through. With Midnight fighting his own battle in the air, the Vampyres were now free to swarm the battlefield.

  Once, he thought he saw Lord Longshadow, surrounded by his Commanders, locked in battle with a number of Generals. He rode past, however, Maia his main concern. More than once, he was waylaid, adding to his frustration. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not reach her. He yelled for her, but the sound of battle drowned out his voice. He needed to get back into the middle of the fight if he wanted to find her.

  “Run, my swee
t,” he said to Lilith as he jumped off her and gave her a slap on the rump.

  She neighed in defiance, but he had already turned and was striding towards the nearest Vampyre. Soon he was in the thick of it and Lilith out of sight. Within moments, he was covered in blood, killing without pausing. The fact that he could not find Maia, was bringing on his black rage. He tried to suppress it, knowing Elves would pay with their lives if he were to give in to it.

  Then, the strangest feeling suddenly overcame him. He still felt the black rage building, stronger than ever before, but it was held in check as if by a gentling hand. For a second, he closed his eyes, feeling Maia within his mind. When he opened his eyes again, they were cold and focussed. He was Death and he had a job to do.

  Watching Midnight fight the red creatures, had almost brought her to tears. She felt so weak. Fire was gravely injured. Aaron still held her up and Rothea was doing her best to keep the enemy off them. All looked lost; she had nothing left to give.

  Then, suddenly, she was angry beyond words. It was a similar feeling to what she had felt during the battle at Shadow Hall where she had slain all the Generals. For a moment, she did not understand, struggling to control the rage. Then it became clear to her and a deep calm settled over her. For a second, she closed her eyes, feeling Blaid within her mind. When she opened her eyes again, they were cold and focussed. She was Life and she had a job to do.

  She pushed herself away from Aaron and stepped past Rothea. She did not hear the words they shouted at her, but only saw the battle in front of her. In her mind, she saw Blaid somewhere else on the battlefield, and although they were not physically together, they were now fighting as one.