Tempest

by Karen Ann Hopkins

  His face was pale and sweaty. He reached out and I took his hand. “Ivan, you have to go back to Adria’s cave. She might open a loophole. You and Lutz can take Cricket and Angus to the valley.”

  He squeezed my hand, opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He nodded slowly.

  Another shrill trumpet blasted. I pulled away from Ivan and raced to join the others. The ball of light bobbed around a moss covered tree trunk. I stretched my legs, not looking at my companions. My heart stung at leaving Ivan, and even Horas, behind. Would I see them again?

  The smoke and mist illuminated bright red for an instant as a thousand screams pierced the air. I was running so fast that when our guiding light stopped, I went straight through it. I whipped around and Ila was standing there in her ghostly form. She was the same as I’d seen her in my dream—young and beautiful. But this time, Riley was beside her. He yipped at me and tears trickled down my cheeks. Even in his wispy state, I could see that he was young again.

  “Ila—you’re really here!” I reached for her, and then drew back when the chill touched my fingertips.

  “Hush, my dear, and listen. It takes an incredible amount of energy to manifest and speak to you. There isn’t time. You must trust me and obey.” I licked my lips. When she saw I was listening, she smiled. “The beast guards a den—a hole in the ground between the three boulders—that’s where Vorago is.” Her words came out quicker and harder. “You must stay on course. Cricket must become human—whatever the cost. The world is at stake. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. “But—”

  The ground shook and Ila began fading away. “Trust your instincts, things aren’t always as they appear…and they aren’t as hopeless either.” Her voice became a whisper. “I love you, my dear.”

  Ila’s light blinked out and Sawyer swept me into his arms and leaped sideways when the nearest tree toppled over. Insepth and Eae barely got out of the way in time, falling against us as we tumbled to the ground.

  “Come on,” Sawyer shouted, jerking me to my feet. We climbed over the mound of dirt and exposed roots until we saw the creature.

  “Bloody hell, we can’t catch a break,” Insepth groaned.

  A dragon nearly twice the size of Chumana stood with its back to the lake. It was completely black, but its eyes glowed red. When its jaws flexed, I saw flames and smoke. It flapped its wings and the gust was so great, another tree creaked and crashed to the ground. Several of the leviathans I’d seen in the water earlier littered the ground around the dragon, ripped apart in puddles of black ooze.

  It dropped its head backward, its muscles coiling. When its mouth opened and the blue fire streaked out, the sky lit up.

  I saw the boulders Ila had mentioned—directly beneath its distended belly. There were five Hellhounds biting into the flesh of the sea monsters, shaking their heads, and nipping at each other.

  Sawyer grasped my arm. “This is suicide.” His eyes pleaded with me. “You don’t have to save the world—it isn’t your job.”

  My tempest rose beside my fire and Gaia. I wasn’t alone—and I was strong.

  I ignored Sawyer’s pained look. “Insepth, stay here and cover Eae and Sawyer.” My gaze shifted. “You guys go get Vorago. I’ll take care of the dragon.”

  “Are you sure?” Eae asked with doubt-filled eyes.

  “Oh, yeah.” I stood on my tiptoes and brushed my lips across Sawyer’s tense mouth.

  His eyes narrowed. “Be careful.” He turned to Insepth. “I hope you’re as good as you think you are.”

  Insepth snorted. “No worries. I’ll clear a path.”

  “Even if we get the Growler out, there isn’t enough time to meet with our dragons. We’re doomed to fail, even if we succeed.” Eae’s voice rose with an urgency I’d never heard from him before.

  “Have a little faith—maybe we’ll get a miracle. Isn’t that what you Angels are all about?” I said.

  Sawyer didn’t give Eae a chance to respond. He let go of me and streaked down the hillside. Eae flashed a frown my way and took off after him.

  Insepth’s hands went up as he worked with his earth power. The ground shook, splitting in a long fissure in front of the dragon. One of the Hellhounds yelped as it lost its footing and fell into the abyss. Three of them were trapped beside the lake, but one of them was gathering speed, heading straight for Sawyer.

  Insepth flicked his finger and a tree up rooted and smashed to the ground in front of the monster dog, slowing its advance, but not stopping it.

  The dragon lurched into the air in a much more graceful movement than I expected from something so large. Its head whipped sideways and its eyes found me.

  It hovered above the devastation Insepth was wreaking. Do you know who I am?

  The feminine voice in my mind was a slippery hissing sound. Insepth glanced my way and I motioned for him to continue. He brought another tree down squarely onto the hound and rolled the ground over the fissure to create a bridge that Sawyer and Eae raced along. As long as the dragon was focused on me, she didn’t see Sawyer and Eae making their way closer to her den.

  You’re a mighty dragon, I can see that, I shouted out to her from my mind.

  I am much more than that! I am Sin, the guardian of Hell’s gate. I was once an Angel, fallen from Heaven with the others who defied Him. A thousand years in the burning pit, consuming dark particles and unholy souls transformed me into this. She flapped her wings harder, stretching her enormous body out to full length. And you, she seethed, the bastard offspring of a human and an Angel, stand against me? Her laughter was a ringing, melodic sound, not what you’d expect from a dragon at all.

  I barely had time to react when she charged. Insepth leaped out of the way and I fell backwards. Sin’s mouth opened and blue fire rained down on me. I thrust my hand up and let my fire go. My orange and red flames crashed into the blue ones, holding them back as I jumped to my feet. Sin reared back and I felt her surprise vibrate through my brain.

  She dipped to the side and my flames shot past her. She landed and the ground groaned with her weight. My Gaia reacted, building a wall of earth up in front of Sin. She smashed through the barrier and lurched at me with her mouth spread wide. Her breath smelled like charred death and only a tree blocked her from swallowing me whole. I curled into a fetal position, hiding beneath the massive trunk. I didn’t know where Insepth was or if Sawyer and Eae had made it. I pummeled her with giant chunks of earth and trees, but she was too quick, dodging my efforts. What had started out as a distraction was now a battle for survival.

  With a sickening crunch, the trunk broke in half. I shielded my face as splinters and branches struck me. I opened my eyes, and Sin’s glowing red ones stared back, swirling with hatred. A drop of her spit fell from a sharp tooth, longer than my height, and her throat swelled, ready to release more blue flames.

  I closed my eyes shut tightly, waiting for impact. It sounded like I was lying next to railroad tracks beside a racing train when she let go. The flames broke the ground around me, blasting debris outwards. It was hotter than anything I’d ever experienced, and just when I was wondering why I was still breathing, I felt the delicious, pulsating surge of fire inside my veins. I opened my eyes and looked up. Sin’s mouth snapped shut.

  It can’t be—my flames kill everything—even Angels, she screamed.

  I’m not an Angel. I didn’t absorb the blue flames; they simply passed through me, disappearing into the dirt and smoke.

  Sin’s trumpet blast silenced Purgatory. She reared up on hind legs and brought them down. I was trapped in a depression caused by her fire and she was too quick for my Gaia to react. The dragon might not be able to kill me with her fire, but her enormous weight would definitely do the trick.

  It happened so fast I had to blink several times to verify what I saw. A red blur smashed into Sin, knocking her sideways. Red and black rolled down the h
ill together, crushing everything in their paths.

  Chumana!

  I am here, Chumana sputtered in my mind.

  I clawed my way up the bank and looked over the edge. Chumana was smaller than Sin, but her size gave her more mobility than the larger dragon. As they circled one another, Ormr swooped down, spraying Sin with his own blue flames.

  “Over here!” Insepth shouted.

  He was battling a Hellhound, who had him trapped beneath the limbs of a tree. One of the branches ran straight through his leg, pinning him to the ground. His hands flailed as he sent rocks and debris into one of the hound’s faces.

  With a sudden rush, flames sped from my fingertips, splitting into three streams and hitting each of the heads. The monster yelped, then fell over, twitching. I ran to Insepth, calling on my Gaia.

  “This is going to hurt,” I told him.

  The bellows and crashing below from the dragons’ battle brought his head up. “Just do it.”

  Some of the tree’s roots were still intact in the ground. With a little effort, I pulled the tree up with the power, releasing Insepth. I covered my hands over the gaping wound and blood spurted between my fingers into my face.

  Diffusing the dragon’s blue flames weakened me, but I still had enough power to do a quick sloppy healing on Insepth’s leg. He put his arm around my shoulder and I helped him stand. We looked up. Thousands of blinking lights escaped from the undefended cave, lighting the sky like sunshine.

  “Look—there!” Insepth cried out.

  I followed his outstretched arm. People flooded out of the chasm, sprinting across the open expanse by the lake. A hound was waiting. It plucked bodies from the stream of those trying to flee and gave each one a brutal shake as though they were ragdolls before dropping the broken bodies on the ground. Tentacles reached out of the lake, snatching others and pulling them into the murky water.

  I didn’t see Sawyer and Eae anywhere, but I didn’t have much time to look for them. The hillside shuddered and dropped away. We fell and I used my Gaia to soften our landing.

  Sin had Chumana pinned to the ground and the red dragon was covered with gushing wounds. Ormr attacked the larger dragon’s head, but Sin’s wing came up, smacking him out of the air. He hit the ground in crumpled heap.

  I reached for my fire and Gaia, but they were both diminished. I watched in horror as Sin left Chumana to rip into Ormr, whose belly was exposed. Her teeth and claws slit him open and his bellow split the air. Chumana rolled, smashing into Sin, but she was too late. Ormr’s intestines spilled from him in a pile of warm liquid.

  Insepth grabbed my hand and ordered us to link. I didn’t even hesitate. When I gave him my Gaia, he used our combined resources and woke the nearest trees. Wind howled between their trunks as they came loose from the ground. The trees springing to life startled Sin and she backed away from Ormr. While Insepth attempted to control the tree’s movements, I focused on the lake.

  Opening up to my tempest, I called on the water, pulling it to me. It surged forward as a thirty foot wave, smashing into the black dragon. I had hoped that since she was a creature of Hell, water wouldn’t be her strongest element, and I’d guessed right. She thrashed in the putrid foam, flapping her drenched wings to take flight. Seeing her almost airborne, I took a gamble and entered a leviathan’s mind. The creature was in a state of panic and didn’t fight me when my will wrapped around its mind and forced it to follow my command. It breached the surface, clamping Sin’s foot in its mouth. Sin crashed back into the waves and Chumana dove in after her. For a moment, there were only waves and bubbles. Insepth ran to Ormr, and still holding onto to my Gaia, he attempted to heal the dragon.

  I couldn’t take my eyes from the surface of the inky water. The leviathan broke contact with me and I couldn’t sense Chumana’s thoughts.

  A giant wave rolled across the lake and they breached the surface in a tangle of flapping wings and snapping jaws. Chumana trumpeted, sinking her teeth into Sin’s neck.

  Nooooo, Sin squealed.

  The black dragon jerked as Chumana clamped down harder, and then Sin went limp.

  They plummeted into the ground, disappearing in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared enough that I could see again, Chumana stood on top of Sin, the black dragon’s heart pulsating in her mouth. She threw her head back and swallowed the organ down in one gulp. Her bellow was not triumphant; it was full of sorrow. She clamored down, plodding over to Ormr.

  Insepth stepped back.

  “I’m sorry. There was nothing I could do for him.” He looked up at the battle scarred Chumana.

  Tears flooded my eyes when she dropped her head to her mate and grunted, nudging him. Ormr blinked, tried to raise his head, and then went still.

  My love, be at peace, Chumana told him and his eyes closed.

  Still shaking, I turned away and pulled the small glass vial that Adria had given me from my pocket. I ignored Insepth calling my name and stumbled through the dust after the glowing ball that I knew was Ila.

  It hovered above Sin, where black flecks, swirling in dark smoke, drifted from her gaping mouth. It reminded me of when Ila had died, only it had been a glowing light that had left her lifeless body.

  Take it, Ila’s voice whispered.

  I hesitated. Was I doing the right thing? In essence, I was tampering with God’s will. Queasiness flooded my stomach, surging up my throat. Everything we had gone through was for this moment. Ormr had died for it.

  My mind was numb when I opened the vial and held it in the stream of dark particles. It didn’t take long to fill the small bottle with the stuff. I replaced the lid and tucked it back into my pocket.

  Ila’s light swirled around me and I shivered. But even for the taint of the particles and the cold touch of her spirit, the contact strengthened my resolve as a vision of us standing together on a warm autumn day in her valley filled me. I could even smell the daisies that rustled around us in the breeze. The world can go on—the end is not set in stone.

  A hand squeezed my shoulder. “Ember—it’s time to go.”

  It was Sawyer. He was covered in blood, but it wasn’t his own. He nodded over his shoulder.

  Eae gripped the shoulders of a man, helping him to stand. His bones poked out from his grayish skin and his dull, watery-blue eyes bulged from the hollows of his skull. Even for his diminished state, I recognized him for what he was—a dolphin-man.

  We had Vorago.

  Chapter 22

  In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

  Isaiah 27:1

  Ivan slid off Chumana’s back and leaned against me. He was still weak, but his golden eyes were brighter and he breathed easier.

  “I do not like this place much.” He glanced around at the windswept beach as rain drops pelted us. “But I’m glad to be back.” He smiled and pulled the cap further down on his head.

  Eae was the last to leave the dragon’s back and jumped down with a gracefulness that no one else had.

  “I’m surprised there isn’t a welcoming party.” Sawyer grunted, lifting his chin towards Vorago.

  The dolphin man tilted his head back, letting the rain wet his face. It occurred to me that if I hadn’t felt rain on my skin in hundreds of years, I’d be enjoying the feel of it too, instead of shivering in the stiff wind like I was.

  Insepth pointed at the sea. The water parted, forming the same walls of water we’d walked through days earlier. We waited beside Chumana as Adria and her dolphin soldiers approached. My heart pounded harder when Cricket galloped past Adria, followed closely by Angus. Lutz’s pace quickened, but he didn’t break away from the group.

  I wonder if a horse is worth Ormr’s life? I looked up at Chumana, who eyed me. Her tone wasn’t hostile. It w
as simply a question.

  I placed my hand on the red, leathery skin of her foreleg. As subtly as I could, I filled with water power and used it to soothe Chumana’s emotions. Her leg trembled beneath my touch.

  I’m so sorry. You came to our aid when you didn’t have to, and it cost the life of your mate. I hung my head, fresh tears trailing down my cheeks.

  Warm breath blew my hair back and I looked up. Ormr and I are thousands of years old. We knew the risk, but had no choice. Sin was a vile creature, corrupting a dragon’s body. She tilted her head and smoke puffed out of her nostrils into the damp air. Her presence in Purgatory tipped the balance, affecting the entire world. She could not be left unchecked—the Creator wouldn’t allow it. A grumbling chuckle reverberated through my mind. It was not to save you that we attacked Sin. It was for Him and ourselves.

  I smiled. Your timing was good. Another small laugh shook me. What will you do now?

  I will raise my clutch and wait and see if you succeed in stopping the apocalypse.

  You’re having babies? My heart leaped into my throat. The memory of Ormr lying alongside the lake with the corpses of Hellhounds and leviathans disappeared from my mind. The salty sea water smelled sweeter and my head cleared.

  It is a long process, but it has been begun. She dropped her head to eye level with me. I wish blessings from above, and luck from below, on you. May you succeed, little one.

  I stroked her forehead, enjoying the humming that vibrated my entire body. I wondered if I’d ever feel the soothing sensation again. Reluctantly, I stepped away, giving her room to meet Adria. The water Watcher listened to the dragon, and then wrapped her arms around the end of Chumana’s snout.

  Cricket slid to a stop and snorted. I pressed my face against her warm black neck as my fingers scratched Angus’ head. He whined happily and for a moment, things didn’t seem so awful.

  No one spoke and together we watched Chumana slip into the ocean, disappearing into the surf. Hundreds of leaping dolphins breached the surface, escorting the dragon into deeper water.