by Dima Zales
With the same pompousness as before, the cardinal says something to me, his hands theatrically outstretched.
“We are on the side of righteousness,” Itzel translates breathlessly. “Beasts like you cannot defeat—”
My fist smacks into the cardinal’s jaw with great pleasure, stopping his tirade.
He falls like a garbage bag, and I jump over him, punching another monk in my way.
“Allow me,” Ariel says as she passes me. Head bent low, she carves a path through the monks with the ease of an NFL player going through malnourished kindergarteners.
I follow, occasionally punching monks and dodging their staffs. Soon, we find ourselves running down a corridor with angry monks on our tails.
They can’t keep up with our suit-enhanced speed, and before long, we leave the pursuit far behind.
Thunder booms outside. We’re almost out of time.
Nero roars in frustration, and a tower explodes somewhere in the castle.
“Through here,” my father says and turns left into another corridor.
“What is it that you want, lizard?” Lilith repeats. “Out of respect for the lizard king, I’m doing my best not to kill you, but—”
A castle wall breaks in the distance.
“Is this personal?” Lilith asks as we turn another corner. “I’ve never killed one of your kind.”
“Just a little further,” Rasputin pants and picks up speed.
“Maybe you need a seer?” Lilith asks. “If it’s Rasputin that you’re after, he’s not as good as the legends will have you believe. Certainly not worth dying over—”
“So she doesn’t know he came for Sasha,” Rasputin mumbles under his breath. “That’s good.”
“I can ask Nostradamus to make time for you. He’s much, much more powerful,” Lilith says. “You’d owe me a favor as a result, but he’s worth it.”
“Does she mean that Nostradamus?” Felix sounds as out of breath as an overheated bulldog. “The one who predicted Hitler and—”
“He’s not someone you or Nero ever want to meet,” Rasputin says between his own gasps. “His prognostications caused a lot of grief.”
I don’t join in on the conversation, saving my strength.
We sprint through the carnivorous plants’ display we passed earlier into the large hall with the exit doors on the other side.
“This is beginning to get on my nerves,” Lilith says.
Oh no.
This is when she activated her deadly gate-like sword.
“Ariel, grab Itzel and keep up,” I gasp out as I torpedo forward. “There’s almost no time left.”
The sound of our suited feet slapping against stone rings through the large hall as I push my legs to their very limits, and a breath later, Ariel overtakes me, with Itzel slung over her shoulder like Santa’s bag.
With her free shoulder, Ariel slams into the large doors, breaking them into shards in the process.
I’m a couple of feet away from the exit now, and I can see Nero and Lilith in the sky.
“Leave!” Lilith says as she waves the deadly sword in wide arcs. “Last chance.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
“Ariel, point Itzel at Lilith!” I shout. “Itzel, I need you to shoot her with your ball lightning as often as you can.”
My plan is simple.
It’s time Itzel’s mojo messed up someone else’s powers.
If I’m right, Lilith’s luck will not apply when it comes to Itzel’s projectiles.
Hopefully.
“I can only toss a few before I pass out from exhaustion,” Itzel says as Ariel grabs her from her shoulder and points her head at Lilith as if she were a bazooka. “I also have trouble doing anything under this much stress—”
“Do your best,” I say as Nero flies toward Lilith. “Now!”
With a grunt, Itzel shoots her ball just as Nero’s tail starts to strike at Lilith’s sword-wielding hand.
As the projectile flies through the air, I hold my breath.
Nero sees it and stops his tail just in time—which saves it from getting chopped by the sword, like in my vision.
The ball lightning hits Lilith in the back, spreading blue plasma energy through her. For a second, it looks like she has a force shield similar to the one in our suits.
Clearly, luck didn’t help her dodge the projectile. Then again, she’s lucky to be so resilient—I half expected, half hoped she’d go up in flames or at least fall out of the sky. At least she looks stunned, as if she got tasered.
Nero takes advantage of the assist and lunges at Lilith, his right claw aiming for her sword-wielding arm.
“Shoot her with another ball,” I order Itzel, going on intuition.
Grumbling something under her breath, the gnome does as I say—just as Lilith recovers from the first hit and pierces Nero’s claw with her sword.
The plasma blade goes straight through the dragon’s palm, and Nero roars in pain.
Itzel’s second ball lightning hits Lilith in the head.
Snarling, Nero reaches lower with his claw, impaling it further with the sword. Once half the hilt is in his flesh, he jerks the claw away, ripping the weapon out of Lilith’s hand.
Flying up, he shakes the injured appendage, sending the sword flying in a wide arc. It lands a sprint away from me as a fountain of blood gushes from Nero’s wound, covering Lilith from head to toe.
Recovering from her stunned state, the goddess dives for the sword—and finally catches the sight of the five of us.
“Gnomes.” She licks Nero’s blood off her lips mid-flight. “You will pay for your intrusion.”
“Itzel, one more hit, now!” I yell, running for the sword.
“I don’t know if I can do it anymore,” Itzel pants. “I’m lightheaded and—”
“Please try,” Ariel urges. “I’ve got you, I promise.”
Itzel grunts again, and out of the corner of my eye, I see another fireball hit Lilith.
It slows her down just enough to let me grab the sword and raise it above my head.
I have no idea if I can hurt Lilith with this thing, but I intend to try.
Except she might not be the only problem. Nero is swooping down, looking ready to kill me for the sword too. I guess he can’t tell who I am with the helmet blocking my features and the suit masking my scent.
“Itzel,” I say urgently. “Yell this in English through your external speaker: ‘Hey boss, it’s me with the sword.’”
Itzel’s voice sounds extremely weak as she does what I asked, but Nero slows mid-dive, his enormous dragon eyes locking in on me.
Lilith recovers her senses and comes at me.
“Itzel,” I bark, slicing at Lilith’s outstretched arm with the sword. “Shoot her!”
Lilith evades my strike and zooms up, then comes at me again. This close up, her angelic glamour is almost painful. Instead of fighting for my life, I feel like dropping to my knees in supplication.
“I can’t do it,” Itzel gasps. “I’m out.”
“Please try,” Ariel begs. “I know you can do it.”
Evading the blade, Lilith grabs the sword hilt right above my hand.
In desperation, I grip it with my other hand, and she flies up, lifting me off the ground.
In my helmet, my father sounds like he’s hyperventilating with worry.
I cling to the sword with all my strength. I’m pretty sure she’ll slice me in two if I let go.
“Itzel, she’s going to kill her,” Felix yells. “Shoot now!”
With the corner of my eye, I see Nero flying at us, but I doubt he’ll reach us in time.
“Oh no,” Ariel says. “Itzel just passed out.”
Lilith’s eyes lock on my helmet, and I kiss my life goodbye.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Suddenly, Itzel’s ball of light hits Lilith in the chest.
I could kiss the gnome right now. When Ariel said Itzel passed out, she meant after throwing this.
Lil
ith’s grip on the sword handle loosens. If this were a cartoon, I’d hover in the air for a second, waving the sword in amazement.
Instead, I plummet to the ground.
Surprising myself with how clear my head is, I locate the off button on the sword hilt and press it, hiding the plasma blade to assure I don’t accidentally chop off some body part as I land. I was not that high up, but I’m bound to at least break a leg or—
I land in someone’s outstretched arms.
Rasputin grunts with effort.
So this is why he was breathing so loudly. It wasn’t worry. He ran to catch me.
“You’re not as light as the last time I held you,” he says ruefully as he sets me down on my unsteady legs.
Letting the comment about my weight slide, I look around.
Felix and Ariel are running toward us with limp Itzel over Ariel’s shoulder, and Nero has grabbed Lilith with his uninjured claw.
Leaving a trail of blood behind him, he loops in the air like a jet plane, then uses the momentum to throw Lilith at the side of the castle with all his might. He then dives for us as though he wants to eat us… but hopefully not.
Lilith’s body rockets through the air as if she was shot out of a giant ballista. Flying head first, she crashes into the castle—and the impact sounds as though ten million tons of TNT went off at once.
The wall bursts into little pebbles, and I lose sight of Lilith inside the mess.
The rest of the castle seems to ripple out from the point of impact, then implodes like a building under a controlled demolition.
I guess the damage Nero had done earlier weakened its structural integrity.
A dragon roars right next to me.
I unpeel my eyes from the still-collapsing castle and focus on Nero.
Instead of eating us, he’s landed a few feet away.
“Get on,” the next roar seems to say.
“He’s kidding, right?” Felix gasps.
“No, I think he means to give us a ride,” Ariel says. “Sasha should go first. I bet she’s dying to climb him.”
Not dignifying Ariel’s comment with a reply, I dubiously examine the giant mound of scales, muscles, and teeth in front of me.
With what sounds like an exasperated sigh, Nero gently grabs me with his uninjured claw and deposits me on his back.
I stash the sword hilt in the crook of my elbow and grab onto the massive neck in front me of as Nero lifts a screaming Felix and plops him behind me. Rasputin gets on next, then Ariel—and she manages not to drop Itzel as she clambers up the dragon’s giant body.
Nero roars again, and I think I hear the words “hold on” in there.
“Wait,” I start to yell, but he extends his wings and leaps into the air.
Felix screams bloody murder and grabs onto me in a way I’d usually find inappropriate. I let it slide on the account of us riding my boss.
These are definitely extenuating circumstances.
Over Felix’s screams, I hear Rasputin grunting curses, and though it might be my imagination, I think even the army-strong Ariel is squealing.
Movies like The Neverending Story make dragon riding seem fun, but it takes me all of two moments to realize that they’re all propaganda pieces, no doubt commissioned by dragons.
In reality, being on a dragon is as much fun as riding a raging bull on top of a plane—during a hurricane.
Leaving the floating island with its broken castle far behind, Nero swoops down toward the gates.
Everyone’s frightened screams gain in pitch, and I seriously envy Itzel in her unconscious state.
There is a small group of soldiers near the gates.
They look up and start to scatter, but Nero inhales a breath and spews fire in their direction.
I can feel the heat wave even through the suit, and our screams reach a crescendo.
Happy with the carnage he caused, Nero lands.
His giant claw puts me back on the ground.
“I’m alive,” I say with genuine surprise in my voice.
“I think I inadvertently tested the suit’s cleaning and recycling functionality,” Felix mumbles as the dragon sets him on the ground.
“Is that what that was?” Rasputin asks. “It felt—”
He doesn’t finish his thought on the account of a giant claw lifting him from his seat and gently placing him next to the gate we used to enter this hellhole.
I take calming breaths and examine myself. My hands are cramping from clutching at the scales on Nero’s neck, and I’m drenched in sweat but otherwise okay.
Distracting me from further self-assessment, the claw goes for Ariel, setting her and Itzel down without a hitch.
Empty of riders, the dragon glows with a bright light and then shrinks into a naked—and definitely humanoid—Nero.
His right hand has a horrible gash in it that’s still bleeding, but otherwise he seems okay.
Fine, who am I kidding? Nero looks much, much better than just okay. With sweat glistening on every chiseled muscle, he looks good enough to—
“Into the gate,” he growls, ruining the moment. Turning on his heel, he leads the way—and shows off his amazing backside in the process.
Ariel whistles low under her breath and slaps my shoulder. “You sure know how to pick them.”
“Dude.” I redden like a ripe tomato. “He has super hearing. I bet he heard that even with the suits.”
Nero looks over his shoulder, and there’s a hint of a smirk on his face. He waves for me to follow, then steps into the gate.
My face feels hot enough to cook an omelet on, but Ariel just shrugs.
Clutching my new sword, I go into the gate.
The Grand Canyon-like mountain ridge on the other side is just as breathtaking as before. Same goes for the borealis and the seven moons in the sky.
Ariel, Felix, and Rasputin step out of the gate after me.
“This way,” Nero says in Russian and points at the gate that leads to the world of fire we passed on the way to this one.
He strides toward the gate, and I give myself a moment to enjoy the sight.
Ariel moves Itzel from her left shoulder onto her right one and follows him.
“Wait,” Rasputin says. “Stop.”
Everyone stops, and Nero gives my father a seething glare.
“We should go this way.” Rasputin points at a green gate that’s closer than the one Nero was walking toward. “That path is much too dangerous.”
“It’s the fastest.” Nero crosses his arms across his chest. “With those suits and my help, you’ll make it, old man.”
“You’re wounded,” Rasputin argues. “Why take unnecessary risks?”
“We have to get a move on,” I say. “This world is—”
A familiar dragon roar silences the rest of my sentence.
His face tightening, Nero looks at the sky.
“Fine, let’s go to that gate,” he growls. “It’s nearer.”
Turning, he jogs for the green gate.
I run after him, and everyone else follows.
“So,” Felix pants. “You’re telling me we didn’t need to nearly get eaten by cannibal gnomes and all the rest of that? Do we even need the suits on this new route?”
“I haven’t needed one there,” Rasputin says, picking up his pace as another roar sounds in the sky.
“Itzel’s going to have a fit when she learns about this,” Ariel says, catching up with Nero.
“Well, we wouldn’t have needed her if we’d known about a safer path.” Felix is almost out of breath.
“Right, and we’d be dead now,” I pant. “Her ball lightning was the only thing that stopped Lilith, remember?”
“She blocked your visions,” Felix begins, but I don’t hear what follows because the unknown dragon roars again.
Less than twenty feet from the gate, Nero stops, his back muscles tensing—and my friends gasp in horror as the source of the roar lands, blocking our way to the gate.
Cha
pter Fifty-Five
This dragon looks slightly smaller than Nero was in that form, but that doesn’t make him any less frightening.
“Cass.” Nero spits at the ground in front of the dragon’s massive claws. “Still guarding the gates like a dog?” he says in Russian.
The dragon shines with energy, and a naked man stands in its place.
Clearly, dragons don’t choose what they look like in human form, as there’s no way this guy would voluntarily look like this. His forehead protrudes far enough to allow him to star as a caveman in a GEICO commercial, and his upper body is much buffer than his lower body, making him look like a rooster.
Giving Nero a look that belongs in the dictionary under “fury,” he says in a growly voice, “I knew I smelled a coward earlier, but you scurried by without saying hello.”
Cass’s Russian sounds a little strange, but I’m able to understand it—and since Ariel is not, I whisper a translation for her benefit.
“I’m going to give you a choice someone from your foul family doesn’t deserve.” Nero’s fists flex at his sides. “Fly away now, and you live. Your uncle will never know that you met me and—”
“How about I give you a choice.” Cass’s limbal rings expand. “Once you’re dead, your strange round-headed pets can pass through unharmed.” He looks at the five of us menacingly. “I almost feasted on them when they last came through, but I can forego a good meal for the sake of glory.”
Nero sneers. “You’d really fight me? I thought you and your coward of an uncle were only capable of hiring human thugs to do what you can’t.”
I translate Nero’s words for Ariel’s benefit, then add, “Sounds like Nero is accusing him or his uncle of hiring those people in clown masks who sent the bomb to our office and shot us with machine guns and the bazooka.”
The warlike expression Cass’s face gives way to confusion. “Humans?” He seems to taste the word and find it sour. “To kill a dragon? Why would I do something so stupid and futile?”
“Interesting,” I say after I translate again. “I think the guy doesn’t know anything about those assassins—or, for that matter, the modern weapons that can make a human dangerous even to a dragon.”
